The Godfather: Peter Corris on the Jack of Hearts
If people of my generation, those of us who tuned in to popular music, were asked what was their favourite Bob Dylan song, I expect there’d be at least 20 nominations, maybe more. The early protest songs would register with many people, and then the breakthrough into...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on Ian Turner
I must have spent a fair bit of time in doctors’ and dentists’ waiting rooms because I can’t think where else I would have read the Reader’s Digest as often as I did. I had two favourite features – ‘Humour in Uniform’, which contained no doubt pathetically lame jokes,...
ANDREW McMILLEN Talking Smack: Honest conversations about drugs. Reviewed by Toby Creswell
Fourteen interviews with Australian musicians give rare insights into the mystique of drugs and the creative process. One Christmas a long time ago, I received a yellow card with a big capital ‘H’ on the front and inside, instead of ‘Season’s...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on travelling overseas
I recently compiled a list of the countries I’ve been to since leaving Australia for the first time at the age of 25. This was probably about the average age to travel overseas for an Australian in search of something back then, but far later than for some of my...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on the umbrellas of Newtown
Spring, more than winter, is umbrella time in Sydney. You might walk out on a sunny morning and get wet ten minutes later. You might take shelter, have a coffee and have to put your sunnies on as you start out and run for cover before you get home. Happily, in...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on beards
I’m growing a beard, again. The first thing I had to do was seek Jean’s agreement. Some women dislike beards. Others prefer them. I’ve known several men who, on shaving off their beards, have their wives or partners request them to grown them again. Jean offered no...NEIL YOUNG Waging Heavy Peace; PETE TOWNSHEND Who I Am. Reviewed by Toby Creswell
Neil Young reveals and Pete Townshend conceals in these contrasting rock & roll memoirs. The rock & roll confidential has occupied one of the least edifying shelves in the bookstore. The hazy memories of too many girls and too many drugs were shaped by...
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