*I would like to point out that paedo jokes/references are incredibly dated now, but I am in Australia, so they're all the rage here, wah wah wah...Actually Australia being behind jokes are dated too, I need new writers, damn that strike in the US*
I'm not into it. I miss my jackets (I have quite a collection back home). I brought 3 with me, have I worn them? Actually I know that answer, and the answer is no I haven't...don't worry double breasted denim with eppilettes, I'll be home soon...
My friends over here run a Punk/Hardcore magazine called Death Before Dishonour and a few weeks back I was offered the chance to interview Billy Bragg at the Big Day Out festival on the Gold Coast (The Gold Coast by the way is horrific, it's neon hell, like a bad impersonation of Miami. The churches actually have neon crucifixes. If you are going to visit a coast in Queensland, visit the Sunshine Coast, it's beautiful and at the moment, unspoiled). I proverbially jumped at the chance. It was the last interview of the day, so I was semi-expecting him to be tired of answering variations on the same question, but he was the complete opposite (of not tired of answering variations on the same question i.e completely awake for answering variations of the same...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz).
He was awesome. Such a nice guy and it was an absolute privilege to interview him. I have no idea when the magazine is supposed to be out, but I'll let people know. He was fantastic live too. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the festival (in that it wasn't fantastic seeing them in person).
Great bands playing, Spoon, Battles, Bjork, Rage Against The Machine, but it was a really shitty atmosphere made that way by the amount of nationalist pricks in fluorescent clothes. I know there are idiots at all festivals, the Reading Festival in the UK has more than it's fair share of dickheads, but Big Day Out tops the lot. I was so surprised by the amount of people my age and younger wearing t shirts that read 'Support It Or Fuck Off', with the Australian Flag underneath. The worst one I saw was a home made one that said 'We Grew Here, You Flew Here'...nice...tonnes of people with southern cross tattoos and flags, like this prick...
I'm not saying Australia is a stand alone racist country, because the UK definitely has a massive problem and has done for way before my lifetime, but I guess what surprised me, was how much of this comes from people my age and younger. It's something I chatted to Billy (we're on first name terms now...it's so funny, he has this nickname especially for me, it's 'mate'...) about. I hear racist words much more over here than I ever have done back home. Could it be because political correctness is enforced more in the UK, so people try to hide their true feelings? Either way, it's not something I'm down no matter which side of the world I'm living on. Racism that exists in the UK is born out of frustration by idiots who feel that, as an old country, we are losing our cultural identity, so will vehemently defend the island against the influx of 'foreigners', yet it's probably the same people, whose favourite food is curry. I think with Australia, it's perhaps it's because it's still such a new country, that some feel that they haven't been given enough time to define their cultural identity, so want to set in stone what an 'australian' is. But it's the age old irony that immigrants don't want 'different immigrants' on their land.
It was Australia day last week and the same deal. People love the fuckin flag! What are you so proud of! A history steeped in genocide! Because I'm certainly not proud of mine, for that very reason. Not that I'd ever expect anybody from any country to be held accountable for historical atrocities (unless of course they're directly involved, i.e President Bush, ex Prime Minister Blair, President Suharto of Indonesia etc etc etc, the latter having the luck to die in a hospital as opposed to a prison only last week), but if you're going to celebrate a national holiday of this ilk, at least be respectful and aware of the real meaning behind it and don't perpetuate the ill-treatment of your native people. It's as retarded as July 4th in the US (do Native Americans celebrate that day...I doubt it, although it's dressed up as the day the declaration was signed whereby the US gained independence from the UK). If the UK celebrated a day by way of national holiday for every moment of tyranny the world over, I feel the 5 day working week would be abolished to make room for a 3 day weekend.
I'll leave this post with some fantastic lyrics written by Billy Bragg, from the song
Take Down The Union Jack
Take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset
And put it in the attic with the emperors old clothes
When did it fall apart? Sometime in the 80s
When the Great and the Good gave way to the greedy and the mean
Britain isn’t cool you know, its really not that great
It's not a proper country, it doesn’t even have a patron saint
It's just an economic union that’s passed its sell-by date
Take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset
And ask our Scottish neighbours if independence looks any good
‘Cos they just might understand how to take an abstract notion
Of personal identity and turn it into nationhood
Is this the 19th century that I’m watching on tv?
The dear old Queen of England handing out those MBEs
Member of the British Empire - that doesn’t sound too good to me
Gilbert and George are taking the piss aren’t they?
Gilbert and George are taking the piss.
What could be more British than here’s a picture of my bum?
Gilbert and George are taking the piss
Take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset
And pile all those history books, but don’t throw them away
They just might have some clues about what it really means
To be an Anglo hyphen Saxon in England.co.uk
WORDS AND MUSIC: Billy Bragg (2002)
xx
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