As you walk around the main block in Lismore, you can hardly walk fifty metres without seeing another grouping of hand-printed signs stuck to empty shop windows. These signs promote everything from bands playing and theatre productions, to natural health workshops, and (increasingly) signs from businesses looking for staff or saying they can’t open due to staff shortages. It’s like in the early days of COVID, except the staff shortages now are because people have moved away, after last year’s catastrophic flood.
Earlier this week I wrote a post describing the sadness I was feeling about the apparent “lack of progress” in the city’s recovery. When I went to the supermarket on Monday, there weren’t a lot of people around town, and no one seemed all that happy. By Friday night, things had brightened up a little, with reasonable crowds at some of the city’s pubs.
It was also great this week to experience a “micro school reunion” with my bestie from high school . The last time Louise and I were in Lismore at the same time was for our school reunion in 2004. As it’s forty years since we finished at Richmond River High School, we resolved this week to hold a proper reunion on the October Long-Weekend. In the days since I’ve been calling it at a number of bars to find a suitable venue, or at least that’s my excuse.
Great to see the You Are Here sign back and glowing in Lismore.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been over 40 years since my very first overseas adventure began. As I start planning my next trip, my mind keeps drifting back to that inaugural holiday: a life-changing journey to Germany in 1983.
I had been studying German through high school, and a small group of us—just three students and our dedicated teacher—spent years relentlessly saving up. We did everything imaginable to raise the necessary funds: intense fundraising, countless lamington drives, and punishing walk-a-thons. Finally, in our Year 12, we were able to travel. 1983 was an absolutely electrifying and pivotal time to be there.
Standing in front of the Berlin Wall in 1983
The stark reality of the Cold War was everywhere. The Berlin Wall still stood, and the chasm between West and East Germany was incredibly vivid. I can still recall, quite vividly, the palpable sense of fear when our train crossed the internal German border. The border guards coming on, the tension in the air—it’s an experience that remains etched in my mind, particularly because we did venture into parts of East Germany, Berlin in particular, as part of the itinerary.
What also stands out from that time, perhaps surprisingly, is the music. The early 1980s saw the incredible rise of the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave), and some of its biggest songs were taking the world, and even the Australian charts, by storm. I remember being in Year 12 at school and there were songs IN GERMAN on the Australian charts.
I remember how famous Nena‘s iconic hit 99 Luftballons became, and it remains the ultimate anthem of that era. But there were so many other influential songs from Germany and Austria:
This is the quintessential German-language hit in Australia. The original German version of the song (not the later English version 99 Red Balloons) was a massive success, reaching Number 1 on the Australian singles chart. It’s easily the most famous example of a non-English pop song dominating the charts at the time.
I remember the English language version was released in Australia, but it had nowhere near the impact of the German version. The English version was a hit in America, but not in Australia.
Even though this was a huge hit in Australia, about the Russian city of Moscow, it was actually by a German group, and was released in both English and German in Australia.
Trio – Da Da Da I Don’t Love You You Don’t Love Me Aha Aha Aha (1982): While exact peak chart data for the German-language version in Australia is less commonly cited than Nena’s, this minimalist track was a major international crossover hit and was certainly a prominent song on Australian radio and music television during the same era.
The song reached a peak position of No. 7 on the Australian Kent Music Report in 1983. This places it right up there with Nena’s 99 Luftballons as one of the most successful German-language songs to chart in Australia.
And then there were some more fringe performers, such as Nina Hagen, Kraftwek and Peter Schilling who I also loved!
And of course, there were others before-hand, though bands like Boney M, Silver Convention and Penny McLean sang in English.
Tonight, I’ve truly enjoyed reminiscing about those great German pop songs of the time, and the way they connected us back in Australia to what was happening overseas. While there are undoubtedly many amazing contemporary German pop hits today, it’s been a lovely trip down memory lane to those unique, unforgettable tracks of 1983 auf Deutsch.
Once again, the Andrew Olle Media Lecture, which I’ve been attending for over twenty years, delivered. A terrific speech about sports journalism, and the changing face of media, viewed from the perspective of award winning footy writer, Caroline Wilson. Good food, good company, good conversation. Always a pleasure to attend.
For the seventeenth time, Richard Glover does a terrific job hosting the Andrew Olle Media Lecture.The lecture is in memory of Andrew Olle, a legendary Australian journalist, who died from brain cancer. Associate Professor, Kerrie McDonald talks about brain cancer research.Describing her employment as a female footy writer in the 1970s as an “experiment”, Caroline Wilson described the changes in her career as a reflection of society’s attitude to women.The crowd waits in anticipation, as Annette Olle draws the lucky door prize of dinner at a fancy restaurant. Our table won!!!Dressed up, coming home after the Andrew Olle Media Lecture
I got out of bed far too early this morning. I needed to be in Martin Place by about five for the “official launch” of digital radio in Australia. I woke at about 4.15, and hit the shower until I was absolutely awake and then caught a cab into town.
5am, ahead of today’s digital radio launch.
There weren’t too many people around in Martin Place at about five this morning. Well, there were lots of radio station marketing people, and a few producers and announcers. From what I could see, I was possibly the only radio station manager, the remainder of whom were probably, sensibly, home in bed.
The only non-radio people I noticed at about five this morning were the garbos, and a few blokes in suits. “Do you think they’re going to work or coming from the bars?”, I asked a colleague when we overhead a couple of blokes in suits chatting on the way through.
Overall, it was a reasonably enjoyable morning, with a large crowd of people attending, and a genuine sense of camaraderie in the air. Even though we’re all rivals in some way shape or form, many of us have worked together in the past, and there was a good feeling in catching up with people you only ever see occasionally.
Shooting the group photo for the digital radio launch in Sydney.
As for digital radio itself, I think the potential is pretty amazing. Already there are a few new stations on air, though with nothing you couldn’t otherwise find on the net. And more are bound to be launched over the next 6 to 12 months.
Although I have access to one at work, I haven’t actually bought a digital radio yet. Personally, I think they’re still too expensive, and I’m prepared to wait for the next generation of receivers – only a few months away – which also incorporate internet radio, tapping into your home wireless network. In my lounge room, I have my computer set up to my sound system, so I can listen to good quality audio over the net all the time. I’m keen, however, for something in my bedroom which is where I also do a fair bit of listening.
Digital radio launch in Sydney, August 2009.
In the midst of a couple of busy days, I came home for a couple of hours to break up the long day and even managed to have an hour or so asleep on the couch.
I went back to work at about 3 and did a few more things.
Coming home tonight I was impressed by a lovely moment on Sydney buses. You don’t often hear about bus drivers being kind and considerate, so I thought I’d share this story of a bloke asking for directions at Railway Square. Rather than just tell the passenger he was at the wrong spot, the driver said, “Grab a seat and I’ll drop you off on the way”. How cool is that?
My friend, The Best Judge and I went to see comedian, Joel Creasey at the Enmore Theatre tonight. He’s one of the “young gay comedians” that includes the likes of Tom Ballard, Josh Thomas, Hannah Gadsby and Rhys Nicholson to name but a few.
I think it’s fascinating to have this group of young comedians for whom their sexuality is “not an issue” (as for many young people these days), but also an essential part of their act. Not so long ago, it wasn’t like there were too many options for people who were gay or lesbian to be a comedian, unless of course you wanted to be “Mr Humphries” or perhaps a drag queen. But times have obviously changed.
And there’s a bunch of comedians who will happily tell you their “coming out” stories. Notably, I saw both Josh Thomas and Tom Ballard who based whole shows around their coming out. Joel Creasey is a bit different though. His sexuality is apparent, but there’s a lot more to his show than a “coming out” story. At one point in tonight’s show he said, “I won’t tell you my coming out story because it’s so incredibly boring” (or words to that effect).
I thought tonight’s show was pretty well crafted and it gave me a few laughs. It had a real sense of purpose, I thought. And while “being gay” was apparent throughout the entire show, this was a lot more than a “gay show”. The only “coming out” aspect of the show was his “admission” he was a former Young Liberal, at which point he presented a photograph of himself with John Howard. I’m not entirely sure it wasn’t photo-shopped, as there’s a lot about his show which is exaggeration – in particular, his monologue about his mother being an alcoholic, and his story about the Channel 7 Perth telethon. Even if we was a Young Liberal, it’s pretty evident from tonight’s show that all sides of politics are worthy of ridicule.
The show went for about 75 minutes and I never lost interest. His pacing is 100 miles an hour (which I’m sure will slow with age and maturity), and he comes across as well-read (meaning some of the jokes were pretty obvious, while others were more subtle and required a backlog of cultural knowledge). With a good narrative, use of props, and lots of intelligent humour evident in tonight’s show, I came away thinking he has great potential. I hope he does well. The only downer was the mis-spelling of his name on the sign outside the theatre. Hello?
Aside from that, it was another good day at work. Before the show I ran into a friend with some exciting news, and after the show The Best Judge and I caught up for a few drinks at The Sly Fox.
Spotted these on the way home, so thought I’d share. It’s worth noting, Lowes is normally a reasonably conservative discount clothing store for men. A great place for jocks, sox, and other “men’s stuff”. At around $200, this range of suits is tempting (for a bit of fun), and great to see them doing something a little different.
Once again I’ve decided my Swedish is better when I’ve had a drink or two, or three or four.
I first discovered this a few years ago at a bar in Stockholm. I was chatting in English with a couple of Swedish guys, and when the topic got around to learning the Swedish language, I discovered my Swedish was far better after a few drinks. We enjoyed a reasonably fluent discussion after the third or fourth beer, as I recall.
The notion was further re-inforced when, after a boozy night in Stockholm, I happened upon a taxi driver who was taking me “the long way home”. I knew exactly where I wanted to go and how to get there, but I guess he assumed I was some dumb tourist from Australia, and so took a left turn when he should have taken a right, which would have resulted in a significantly higher fare. I was able to challenge him, negotiate the “right way home” and ensure he stopped the meter early to compensate.
Deep down, I think the “speaks better when I’ve been drinking” scenario is because when you’re feeling less inhibited due to alcohol, you’re also feeling less self-conscious about your failings, in terms of vocabulary, fluency and that “weird accent”. In short, it becomes more instinctive, and less “thought out”.
The “speaks better when he’s been drinking” scenario happened again the other night. I was walking home (and I’d had a drink or two) and surprisingly crossed paths with a couple of young women speaking Swedish. Our conversation, though brief, was almost fluent, even though I haven’t been to Swedish classes for most of the year, and I’m feeling a bit rusty.
This year has been quite busy work-wise, and I haven’t had much in the way of motivation to go to Swedish class at 8.00pm on a Wednesday night. Put simply, I’m far too tired by the time Wednesday night comes around. I’ll possibly return to Swedish class next year. Or maybe I’ll just keep drinking? :)
