Culture

  • When Ol' Blue Eyes was pink

    Amongst all the homages to Frank Sinatra that have saturated the media since his death, the Sinatra who did not always break bread with Republicans, hang out with the Mafia, insult women or sing anthems celebrating individualism,

  • Pacey production of an Australian classic

    Summer of the Seventeenth DollBy Ray LawlerNew Theatre542 King St, NewtownUntil June 27 Review by Helen Jarvis The New Theatre has revived this Australian classic in a pacey production directed by Elaine Hudson. Ray Lawler's 1953 script retains its

  • Celtic rock: from the extraordinary to the pedestrian

    Bothy CultureMartyn BennettRykodisc through FestivalThis Strange PlaceWolfstoneGreen Linnett Records through Festival Reviews by Barry Healy From Bob Dylan's amphetaminecharged '60s ballads and the Beatles' and Jimi Hendrix's LSD-drenched anthems,

  • Pete Seeger: fighting back with music

    Pete Seeger: fighting back with music By Tom Bridges “I had a beautiful long-necked banjo, the 'Pete Seeger' model ... and I played it constantly. I had a sweetheart too, who gave me a Pete Seeger album for my birthday ... At last

  • A tale in two cities

    A tale in two cities Reviews by Conrad Barrett Two films dealing with working-class alienation and its symptoms have just been released in major cinemas. One set in London, the other in suburban Australia, both deal with drugs, crime and violence

  • Portraying the stolen generations

    Portraying the stolen generations In the interest of BennelongGovernment House, Macquarie Street, SydneyMay 26-June 4, 10am-4pm This display of photographs, text and indigenous art evoking the issues affecting the stolen generations and their

  • Compelling outcasts

    Compelling outcasts The ThiefDirected by Pavel ChukhraiWinner of the Venice Film FestivalShowing at Dendy and Cremorne cinemas from May 21 Review by Francesca Davis Set in 1952 and seen through the eyes of six-year-old Sanya, The Thief is a

  • When the class is no longer working

    Who's Afraid of the Working Class?Written by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Christos Tsiolkas and Melissa ReevesPerformed by Melbourne Workers Theatre, featuring David Adamson, Daniella Farinacci, Eugenia Fragos, Bruce Morgan, Glenn Shea and

  • Chosen by the listeners

    Chosen by the listeners 4ZZZ Hot 100Through Shock Records Review by Mike Byrne and Lynda Hansen BRISBANE — Community radio 4ZZZ was born 23 years ago, the first FM station in Queensland. Stations like 4ZZZ were set up from funding from the

  • An apt ALP hero for the times

    An apt ALP hero for the times Nice TryBy Shane MaloneyText Publishing, 1998. 312 pp., $19.95 (pb) Review by Phil Shannon Murray Whelan, senior adviser to the Labor minister for water supply and the arts, is in more trouble than Mandrake again.

  • 'I won't stop fighting until I'm dying'

    The Peace Arch Concerts and Freedom Train and the Welsh Transatlantic ConcertsPaul RobesonFolk Era RecordsSend US$20 each to 705 South Washington St, Naperville, Illinois 60540, USA Reviewed by Barry Healy In 1925, a young black man in New York