Geoff Stahl
A brief riposte to this comment over on Topical Ointment, by Nabeel, up Auckland Uni way. I’m hardly the “whinging pom” he confesses to be, but I’d agree in kind that various forms of media in New Zealand leave something to be desired. With few exceptions (and I’m thinking here of two shows hosted by Jeremy Wells, “Eating Media Lunch,” and “The Unauthorized History of New Zealand,” as well as “Outrageous Fortune”), I’m inclined to think that perhaps he’s been spoiled, somewhat, by his previous incarnation in the Land Up Over, so his distaste for things mediated here in NZ I’m willing to forgive. That’s not to say there’s nothing to complain about for lovers of stylish, homegrown pop culture, and being from Canada, and Quebec more specifically, I’m only too aware of what kind of cultural product one gets with wads of cash thrown at tried and true formulae courtesy a State deadset on perpetuating the status quo and a stunted notion of cultural nationalism (Robert LePage anyone?). I’m willing to forgive the pap and the teet-sucking just a bit, though what I’m about to say will only just serve to reiterate some of his points.
I’ll weigh in on this briefly just to note the dominance of the televisual airwaves by one CanWest, which happens to own C4, the “youth” channel which imports the bulk of its programming from the US (various MTV programs, South Park, Beavis and Butthead, and, thankfully, the Daily Show, but only once a week!), the UK (Little Britain) and Australia (John Safran’s Music Jamboree). Now, given my inclination to things audiovisual and viewy gewy good, C4 has occasionally given me some pleasure, but those brief moments are reserved for only a couple of programs, in between the moronic “Pimp My Ride” and sophomoric “Punk’d,” and a slew of other imported dated and stale tripe. After a viewing of “John Safran’s Music Jamboree,” an Aussie import with a wry and witty host giving us his take on pop music and related things, all of which can be quite humorous, I was struck once again by a fetid colonialism which I’ve been put off by more and more here (and that’s not just the primetime showing of Coronation Street - which also happens in Canada). It might well be a reflex (and increasingly reflexive) sense of cultural cringe I’ve been harbouring my entire life, living in another colonized context, but there is something in this that I find both frustrating and fascinating. Given that this show is set in Melbourne, which might arguably be the music capital of Australia, and that most of its humour relies heavily upon references that are so much part of what’s referred to here often as “The West Island,” across “The Ditch,” all of which are no doubt part of the media lexicon of young NZers, I’m inclined to think that, like the rest of the world and its experience of New York, Australia is a place many New Zealanders have lived while never having actually been there. There is something deeply, profoundly offensive about it, really. Of course, with an Aussie partner who loves both Melbourne and music (and I love all three, of course), we’ll be sitting through it, no doubt. I’ll be grinding my teeth, mind you. (I might add that Trailer Park Boys is showing here now, late at night, so maybe I’ll see her Aussie imperialism and raise her a set of Maritime Canadian stereotypes. Shelley’s hardly an imperialist by the way; I was just a slave to the metaphor.)
Someone in Australia once described to me the relationship between Australia and New Zealand as one in which the former “monstered” the latter. It’s a great description and one I’m happy to use as much as possible when confronted by shows like Music Jamboree, which is masqueraded here as a hip and happening commentary on a popular culture which both is and isn’t NZ’s own.
My preference for things musically NZ is pretty well-known, and it generally falls on this side of indie, doing my best to avoid the dub/reggae nexus which dominates so much of Wellington. The following are three songs which deepened my adoration for this place, oldies but goodies. There’s plenty of new music to choose from and down the road, I’ll no doubt put some up for you. For now, here’s a selection that has made me happy:
The Clean - Tally Ho, Beatnik, Chumpy
The Bats - Afternoon in Bed
And so many months ago, I posted a couple of Bowie clips with Klaus Nomi in the background. Here’s one I promised but didn’t deliver: Boys Keep Swinging.
G.