Midnight Oil

Subject: Music and politics
From: "Tom Spencer" <tomspencer@eml.cc>
Date: 10/07/2008, 9:52 am
To: powderworks@yahoogroups.com.au

Dear Powdies

1. The 3 August gig will be remarkable not only for the "Oi" (half the
"Oils") component of the evening:

"Wendy Harmer will be auctioneering John Mellencamp's autographed Fender
Acoustic Guitar; a Fender signed by The Doobie Bros and Chicago;
T-Shirts signed by the Doobie Bros; rare X-File T-shirts and caps; a
custom jacket from Gibson given to Emmylou Harris which she has signed
and has sent for auction; memorabilia from Jimmy Buffet and Graham Nash;
a Sony HD Bravia; signed cookbooks from celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay,
Kylie Kwong, Tobie Puttock and Sommelier Matt Skinner; accommodation
packages at Establishment Hotel in Sydney and Jonah's in Whale Beach."
(Oils website)

2. PGa is copping a hammering from a media outlet other than that of
Uncle Rupert.  The July 'Monthly' ('Australian politics, society and
culture' AUS$7.98 ) has a standard head-shot of PGa (the right half of
his face in shadow - you know the one) with the large head-line "IN THE
DARK? The same dirty old energy".  The suggestion that PGa is in the
dark on climate change is reinforced by a lead article which closes with
the statement that "Sure, it would be interesting to see Peter Garrett
finally explode, cross the floor and join the Greens - but it needn't
come to that" (obviously I'm not the only one still hankering for the
old-style Oils gigs where PGa both did his nut and then exploded across
the stage in dance!).  The writer of the "In the Dark" article itself
refers to PGa four times as being non-committal (The Greens' Christine
Milne also helps by sinking the boot in), in the face of coal industry
sums of money that are "a force of nature" in their magnitude and hence
weight upon PGa and the young Rudd Govt.  If only there was an
independent forum through which the govt and the coal industry could
each act...

t