Reflections following Newstead Live!

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Stephen Whiteside
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Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:33 am

I've just returned from Newstead Live!, where I've had a great time, as always.

A couple of things struck me - well two things, really, one new and the other not so new, but both related.

The not so new one is that, while there are plenty of "up and coming" musicians on the folk scene, the same cannot be said for poets/reciters.

The second, newer one, is that the younger musicians are not especially Australian in their outlook. They are far and away most likely to be influenced by Americana, with England/Scotland/Ireland coming in second place.

I have heard John Williamson lamenting the Americanisation of the Australian country music scene.

As I see it, there was huge resurgence in Australia and Australian history amongst Australians in the 70s. This was partly reflected in the "bush band" wave which has now largely passed. Australian film and theatre were booming, as was literature. The bush poetry revival was swept along in all of this, and it continued through the 80s and 90s. Now, however, it seems to have largely passed.

One could argue that the poetry, like the music, could continue with more American and British influences, but it hasn't, so there is obviously something else going on.

I discussed this with a young woman at Newstead. She told me that being a poet is no longer seen as 'cool' by young people. This doesn't really shed any light on the question, but is just another way of saying the same thing.

When I was a young man in Melbourne in the 70s, I found it incredibly exciting to hear that there was a story telling competition at the Port Fairy Folk Festival. I became involved as soon as I could. It was held in the Sea Scouts Hall. There was no seating. People stood cheek to jowl and spilled out onto the street.

The story telling continues at Port Fairy today. The audience is seated. Less than half the seats are occupied. Ironically, the standard is a lot higher than it was back then, but the competition no longer excites the imagination in the way it once did. The stories are now more varied than they once were, too, with European stories (not so much the American) also featuring prominently now.

So where does all this leave us? The poetry scene seems to be more strongly associated with Australia and Australian history than the music scene. Take away the interest in Australia and it dies, unlike the music.

There would appear to be something else going on which works against the poetry. The music is now far more sophisticated than it used to be. The spoken word is just the spoken word, and audiences would appear to be demanding more - and performers are demanding more of themselves.

Though this is spurious, in a way. Mistakes are much less obvious if you are just one of a number of musicians. If you are a lone reciter, there is nowhere to hide. (The music, too, is often lyrically fairly simple. Is this a part of the general "dumbing down" we hear so much about?)

I have to say I find all this puzzling. My romance with Australia and its history has never dimmed through the years. I can still recall how excited I felt about it all back in my twenties, and can't understand why there aren't large numbers of young people who feel exactly the same way today.

You might say it comes down to the schools, but I don't recall receiving much teaching on Australian history at school. I didn't study it formally until Year 12, and the teacher was pretty dreadful, really.

I am sure John Williamson dreamed of being the first of a great wave of Australian-sounding country music singers. As things stand now, though, he looks very isolated - the exception that proves the rule, in spite of an utterly brilliant career. Australian country music would appear to have been captured by America. Is this a new trend, or is it simply reverting to its default position, with Williamson the aberration?

And what does this say about the future of poetry/reciting at folk/country music festivals in Australia?

SLAM poetry is healthy and popular, but it says nothing about Australia. It is equally at home in New York, London, Auckland, Vancouver and Johannesburg - and you don't generally find it at folk festivals, though we do have "Bad! Slam! No! Biscuit!" at the National.
Last edited by Stephen Whiteside on Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Vic Jefferies
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Vic Jefferies » Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:31 pm

I see our current problem of declining interest in Australian music and bush poetry as a symptom of the world we now inhabit where American "culture" and Americanism is all pervading. We watch American movies and television and listen to American music all day everyday. We read American literature and magazines and slavishly follow American fashions, not only in clothes but food and to a large extent behaviour. We are relentlessly bombarded by multi national advertising almost without pause.
In this climate John Williamson is indeed now almost an aberration. However, I believe what we can learn from John is that if we can produce someone good enough, talented enough (as John is) they will succeed. What we must not do is give up or as so many of our talented country and western singers have done, cave in and meekly follow another country's culture.
I am still a firm believer in if you or your product is good enough the mob will instinctively know and support you.

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Shelley Hansen » Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:44 pm

Hi Stephen

This is a very interesting post, throwing additional light on previous discussions we've had around this topic.

I agree with your assessment and the additional comments by Vic, and it's interesting to me that in our Aussie society that is now so multicultural, with so much Asian influence, we still follow America in our entertainment trends.

Like you, I've always found our rich history, culture and heritage to be anything but boring and I am still just as passionate about it as I ever was. Perhaps we too are aberrations!

I think you've hit the nail on the head with one contributing factor to declining interest in Aussie-themed arts ... and that's the "dumbing down" trend. Does it stem from a modern desire to have everything served on a platter, cut up into bite sized pieces requiring no chewing and very little thought?

You see it in many movies - high action, in-your-face comedy, sex rather than romance, simple plots. It's as if people don't want to look below the surface any more - they either haven't got time or simply don't care about deeper things. In our "have it now", communication-saturated world, this is how kids are being fed. We have so much to lose!

Cheers
Shelley
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Maureen K Clifford
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Maureen K Clifford » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:35 pm

There is a deliberate plan by many nations Govt's to dumb down their people. That way not to many ?'s are ever asked. There exists a great amount of data proving that the ruling elite not only tolerates, but effectively introduces policies that have a detrimental effect on the physical and mental health of the population...it effects everything from health to education and probably the worst nation at doing it is America, but we are not too far behind them IMO.. The masses over there are fairly easily led - with a bit of a herd instinct. It basically dehumanizes people - not a bad thing when you want them to commit war time atrocities, or allow Govt to introduce fracking or GM of crops. It also stops them asking the big ?'s. Why is education failing? Why do we have such high unemployment, and so many homeless? Why is there no cure found for cancer or the common cold? (Don't believe for a minute that there hasn't been but it would put the pharmaceutical companies out of business were they to release it)

An educated population knows its rights, understands the issues and takes action when it does not approve of what is going on - and we can't have that now can we. Stands to reason that if they have managed to achieve that it should come as no surprise that music, literature, poetry, education are all falling by the wayside.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-dumbin ... gn/5395928
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by keats » Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:54 pm

Yet still alive and well in our biggest Country Music Festivals. Bush Poets sold out 7 of 9 shows at the Longyard in Tamworth. Couldn't fit another body into the Bushwhackers shows. Folk Festivals have always been slow on the uptake of Australiana and are now really only Celtic Festivals. I wouldn't be overly concerned, unless one is intent on performing nothing but outdated Australian Ballads.

Cheers

Neil

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:25 pm

Vic: I agree with much of what you are saying. I am just sad that there is not a new wave of poets/reciters coming through.

Shelley: I think there is a lot of truth in what you say.

Maureen: I'm not sure that you can blame the government for this. After all, when bush poetry writing/reciting took off, we also had a government.

Neil: I'm not talking about whether bush poetry is or isn't popular right now, I'm just lamenting the lack of up and coming performers. This ties in with your own concerns about falling ABPA membership, surely. Also, I don't see that there is anything to be gained by pitting country music festivals against folk festivals. They both support poetry, and their similarities are greater than their differences.
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Vic Jefferies
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Vic Jefferies » Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:18 am

Maureen wrote:There is a deliberate plan by many nations Govt's to dumb down their people. That way not to many ?'s are ever asked. There exists a great amount of data proving that the ruling elite not only tolerates, but effectively introduces policies that have a detrimental effect on the physical and mental health of the population...it effects everything from health to education and probably the worst nation at doing it is America, but we are not too far behind them IMO..
I think I may have mentioned it before but I recently read a very funny and interesting little American book entitled "Deer Hunting with Jesus" which actually supports and in some ways proves the theory about dumbing down the populace for the benefit of the upper class. The nub of the book is that the education system in America is so poor that the graduates are so dumb, they don't know that they are dumb or that they are being mercilessly exploited by the rich.
I recommend the book as a good, funny and thought provoking read:
Review: Deer Hunting With Jesus by Joe Bageant | Books ...
http://www.theguardian.com › Arts › Books
Sep 5, 2008 - The subtitle for the US edition of this book was Dispatches From America's Class War. You might think it would be the Americans, not the British, who would run a mile from publishing a book with the phrase "class war" in its title. ... Joe Bageant argues that class is very much alive ...

Heather

Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Heather » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:06 pm

I had hoped to get to Newstead this year Stephen but life got in the way. I'm sorry I missed it.

Heather :)

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Reflections following Newstead Live!

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:02 pm

No worries, Heather. Maybe next year.
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