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READ ABOUT IT
The big music books keep coming. Here are three of 'em:
BLACK TIES, RED CARPETS, GREEN ROOMS
Richard Wilkins: host of Keynotes, the violin-playing Kiwi
pop star known as Richard Wilde, the bearer of the news
that Jeff Goldblum was "dead". My expectations weren't high,
but I'm pleased to report that Richard's book ($32.95, New
Holland) is a rollicking read. With the help of co-writer
Carrie Hutchinson, Richard adopts the Roxette approach to
rock writing: Don't bore us, get to the chorus. No boring
personal details here, Black Ties is a collection of fun
anecdotes, including being admonished by Michael Gudinski
after back-announcing Elle Macpherson and James Reyne at
the ARIAs: "Thanks Elle, thanks James. What a good-looking
pair. And James, you're looking good, too!" Gudinski snapped:
"Mate, you can't say that sort of shit these days. I was
sitting next to Deborah Conway and she said that line was
really inappropriate." Richard has been a TV constant since
April 1987, when he beat Russell Crowe to get the MTV gig.
"Yeah, Richard and I both auditioned for MTV," Rusty admits.
"He got the job and became a TV star in Australia. I became
an international movie star. Suck shit, pal." It's easy
to take Richard for granted and be jealous of his hair.
But he's been on-the-spot for some of the biggest showbiz
stories of the past 25 years: the deaths of Michael Hutchence
and Heath Ledger, co-hosting the first televised ARIAs in
1992, and asking Britney Spears if she was still a virgin
- the day after September 11. Unfortunately, as entertaining
as it is, the book lacks edge. Everyone - even the difficult
stars - is "gorgeous" or "lovely"; there is no genuine dirt.
But there is surprising self-deprecation. When Richard lists
his occupation as "high-wire circus performer", the immigration
officer says, "Mate, with your talent, I hope that you've
got a big fuckin' safety net."
DIRTY DEEDS
P. J. O'Rourke said: "If you say a modern celebrity is an
adulterer, a pervert and a drug addict, all it means is
that you've read his autobiography." Mark Evans has been
guilty of many of the sins of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll,
but his book, Dirty Deeds ($32.99, Allen & Unwin), leaves
you thinking he's a top bloke, the type you'd love to have
a beer with. Mark was AC/DC's bass player from March 1975
to May 1977, playing on TNT, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
and Let There Be Rock. Told in wonderfully colloquial language
("There is a real art to keeping two ladies happy in the
sack, I can tell you, and it was a load of fun learning
the ropes"), the book reveals how a kid from a South Yarra
housing commission flat ended up in our greatest rock band
- and why the strange trip lasted just two years. The first
book written by an AC/DC member, Dirty Deeds is definitely
one of 2011's best rock reads.
A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME …
Michael Gudinski resists all offers to do a book. As Samuel
Goldwyn said, "I don't think anyone should write their autobiography
until after they're dead." But a star of Gudinski's Liberation
label has written her life story at the age of 34 - and
it comes just a decade after John Lomax's biography, Red
Desert Sky, "the amazing adventures of the Chambers family".
What could Kasey Chambers possibly add? Plenty. She doesn't
dish the dirt on ex-managers or lovers, but she candidly
confesses her struggles with an eating disorder - her weight
slipped to just 44kg after releasing her 2006 chart-topper,
Carnival. Kasey also reveals a sleep disorder, which started
after a relative of a friend tried to sexually abuse her
when she was 11. Sounds heavy, but A Little Bird Told Me
… ($35, HarperCollins) is actually an inspiring read, filled
with family and fun facts (Did you know that Angus & Julia
Stone appear in the Not Pretty Enough clip?). Written with
Jeff Apter (who also helped with Dirty Deeds), A Little
Bird tells an unlikely tale - the Seventh Day Adventist
daughter of a fox hunter, who wanted to be Cyndi Lauper,
and ended up landing on Letterman as Australia's country
queen. And the best thing is you know she's got a lot of
great records left in her.
WHERE'S THE BEEF?
The cultural cringe is alive and well. If it comes from
overseas, well, it must be better. Paul Kelly has never
performed at an AFL Grand Final, yet we pay a lacklustre
Meat Loaf big bucks (some reports say $1 million) when,
ultimately, it's mega promotion for his tour. Why? Later
that day, we tuned into the RocKwiz series return. A top
episode, but why did the show break with format to allow
Suzi Quatro to do two solo songs? The other guest, Chris
Cheney, has had as many Top 40 hits in Australia as Suzi,
but he got to do just one song.
CHART WATCH
Gotye makes it eight straight.
Somebody That I Used To Know GOTYE (number one)
Inescapable JESSICA MAUBOY (25)
Kasey's new album lands at 21.
Making Mirrors GOTYE (number four)
Prisoner THE JEZABELS (nine)
White Heat: 30 Hits ICEHOUSE (12)
Vows KIMBRA (15)
Blue Sky Blue PETE MURRAY (19)
Storybook KASEY CHAMBERS (21, debut)
Yes I Am JACK VIDGEN (26)
Moonfire BOY & BEAR (34)
Rrakala GURRUMUL (37)
The Quickening FUNKOARS (38)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Autumn Leaves HUXTON CREEPERS
Covered By Snow DEAD LETTER CHORUS
Dark Magic SAND PEBBLES
Freefalling THE KILLJOYS
Nova Scotia JOHN PATRICK & THE KEEPERS
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