Culture

“We’re from the streets of western Sydney,” chanted thousands of Western Sydney Wanderers' supporters as they marched onto Newcastle’s Hunter Stadium on March 29.

The strike of musicians at the San Francisco Symphony has already had an immediate impact on the institution. Only a few days after walking out, management called off a large East Coast tour. For the Symphony, which has posted a deficit for each of the past four seasons, this will hurt.

A selection of the past fortnight's celebrity news... John Farnham voted Australia’s best singer of all time - who didn't make the cut but should have? http://bit.ly/11e6w7d Blood On The Dancefloor Discuss Jesus And Rape Alegations In New Song http://bit.ly/14IaDvA Marilyn Manson The New Face Of Saint Laurent http://bit.ly/16qMcAT Justin Bieber's Pet Monkey Seized By German Customs http://bit.ly/XRqjFe Boston Police Posing As 'Punks' Online To Get Information And Shut Down House Shows http://bit.ly/16pC0Zt

Austrian hardcore punks Astpai jack up heavy slabs of guitar with speeding snares and leering lyrics. They serve up a rare and biting musical take on Austrian politics. Green Left’s Mat Ward spoke to frontman Manfred Herzog, also known as Zock.

The Price of Valour: The Triumph & Tragedy of a Gallipoli Hero, Hugo Throssell, VC John Hamilton Pan Macmillan, 2012 393 pages, $34.99 (pb) Captain Hugo Throssell, one of nine Australian soldiers to win a Victoria Cross for supreme bravery at Gallipoli in 1915, stunned his home-town audience of patriotic Australians in 1919 with his statement that “the war has made me a socialist”.

The Managed Heart, Commercialization of Human Feeling Arlie Russell Hochschild University of California Press, 2012 339pp, $39.95 Forcing front line staff to engage at a “personal level” with customers has been an increasingly obnoxious part of low paid workers’ employment. To obscure the all-pervasive low quality of the “food” and “services” that capitalism offers, what is sold now is the “experience” of social interaction. Key to the Happy Meal is the “happy sale”.

A selection of this week's celebrity news... Pink Floyd's Roger Waters Urges Fellow Musicians To Ditch Israel http://bit.ly/ZzxyUJ Lostprophets Frontman "Furiously Denies" Baby Rape Charges http://bit.ly/W8vUut Chinese Political Activist Ai Weiwei Is Making...A Metal Album? http://bit.ly/XEAn7U Village Voice Name Lars Ulrich As The "Douchiest Drummer Of All Time" http://bit.ly/YjDy4B Ailing Morrissey Cancels Entire US Tour, Shows Won't Be Rescheduled http://bit.ly/YBodZd

Beyond Capitalism? The Future of Radical Politics Luke Cooper & Simon Hardy Zero Books, 2013 Luke Cooper and Simon Hardy should be congratulated on producing a thoughtful contribution as to how we build a movement capable of defeating capitalism and creating a socialist society. From climate change to the financial crisis and austerity, the neo-liberal project has failed. Where it once promised prosperity, it can only deliver ashes.

Punk pioneers UK Subs released their 24th politically-charged album last month, to rave reviews. Appropriately titled XXIV, it nears the completion of their bid to release 26 albums whose titles begin with each letter of the alphabet, in order. Frontman Charlie Harper spoke to Green Left's Mat Ward.

Football Rebels Presented by Eric Cantona Al Jazeera Started screening March 11. Al Jazeera is screening a five-part documentary on the stories of five football heroes whose social conscience led them to challenge unjust regimes, join opposition movements and lead the fight for democracy and human rights.

On February 3, Artists Against Apartheid Australia (AAPA) sent an email to the organisers of WOMADelaide 2013 with a request to reject funds it received from the Israeli embassy for the upcoming show of the Alaev Family. The call is part of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, initiated by a wide range of Palestinian groups. It targets Israel in a bid to force it to abandon its apartheid policies against Palestinians.

A selection of this week's celebrity news... Lady Gaga Recovers From Hip Surgery in Gold Wheelchair http://eonli.ne/X4Peop Fifty Shades of Grey Porn Film Lawsuit Settled http://eonli.ne/X4A0jr Giuliana Rancic Teams Up With Nonprofit Bright Pink for Fab-U-Wish™ Initiative to Help Women Battling Breast cancer http://eonli.ne/X4votx That Taylor Swift Fan Letter You Spent Hours Glitter-Gluing? Well, It Ended Up in the Trash! http://eonli.ne/12NcbV0 Rihanna gets naked for a good cause http://eonli.ne/15L034B