Vintage Advantage
Some older performers have been treated with disdain by their industry but, as entertainment writer Christine Sams reports, the times they are a-changin'.
THERE was a brief moment at last year’s ARIA awards where everything seemed right in the Australian music industry.
Independent musician John Butler - who last week won song of the year with Zebra - stood on his chair to sing all the words to John Farnham’s You’re The Voice, while Farnham was being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. (The year before, younger fans, including Kylie Minogue, had joyfully celebrated the induction of Olivia Newton-John into the Hall of Fame).
(<p class="photocredit">Editor’s note</p> - more about Olivia on last page)
For ARIA event producer Mark Pope, who recalls the Butler story fondly, it was the way things should be in Australian music a young artist proudly saluting the achievements of a musician who has gone before him.
But so often in this country that isn’t the case.
A number of older artists in Australia are treated with disdain, humour or even indifference by fans, media commentators and other musicians, despite the fact that many of them paved the road to success for the industry as a whole.
“It’s almost as though, if you haven’t been in the charts for the last two weeks, then goodbye, it’s all over,” Pope said. “In our fast-paced world of what’s hot and what’s not, we devalue the substance of what’s been left behind.”
“Unfortunately advertisers have a totally narrow focus on ‘youth, youth, youth’. There’s an obsession with this word ‘demographics.”
It’s hard to believe, given the phenomenal success of his Last Time tour, but Farnham struggled to get airplay on Australian radio when his last album was released. Other older artists have spoken of their frustration at the current focus on young pop artists, not only from their position as senior music makers but also listeners.
“Over the past decade or so there has been a bewildering generational conflict both inside and outside the music world,” wrote musician Richard Clapton in an essay titled State Of The Art. “It appears the marketeers have decided to box us into boltholes called demographics. Surely the strength of the music industry should come from its diversity”
As a creative and feisty baby boomer, Clapton wasn’t afraid to do some finger-pointing at the musicians of Generations X and Y.
“Most ‘modern’ music is now simply a blatant regurgitation of music created over the past 30 or 40 years,” he said.
“Apparently the next big crop of bands is even more plagiaristic and derivative than their predecessors of recent years and the ‘cool’ thing of today is to deliberately mimic the pop stars of the 1970s.
“The videos are pure Countdown circa 1977, and there is a plethora of these bands queuing up in the wings. This is all fine and I don’t have a problem with it except why is it that the same critics who have already crucified the original bands as ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘having passed their use-by date’ are now proclaiming this current crop of pop groups as being new messiahs?”
Pope doesn’t want baby boomers (and younger people) to wear rose-coloured glasses, he just wants older artists to be properly recognised for their considerable achievements.
“I’m not saying all boomer music is wonderful - we had our fair share of shitty music, just like the current generation,” he said. “But it’s about giving respect where it’s due. “For our cultural heritage it should never be just about sales as a measure of success, it should be about the songs that resonate.”
Much of the frustration from older artists comes from a lack of radio play. But even if some of our best-known artists aren’t releasing any new CDs, Pope hopes there will eventually be a situation where they are continually recognised (and saluted) for their contribution to our culture.
From Skyhooks and Little River Band to Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel, Pope said there were bands that undeniably shaped the nature of Australia’s music industry. “Those who have gone before have made the road a whole lot easier,” he said.
The situation is vastly different in the US and even Britain, where veteran artists often achieve a high level of public attention and respect from younger musicians. Think Springsteen, Dylan and older artists, including Luther Vandross.
“I notice how Americans treat the artists who have gone before them with respect and reverence,” Pope said. “But here it can sometimes be quite demeaning. It’s like this sense of ‘you’ve had your turn, now f–koff”
As with Clapton, Pope has emphasised that diversity should be the key. “I sense a change coming,” said Pope, who is determined to continue highlighting the success of veteran Australian artists with the ARIA Hall of Fame award.
“But we’re not doing it to try to redress the situation. Ultimately people will make their own choice.”
In his essay, Clapton-who released his new album Diamond Mine (executive-produced by Pope) last week-wrote: “I still have faith in human nature. I believe that music is food for the soul and is essential to our overall wellbeing.
“[But} it’s time to stop treating music as a cash cow, fronted by beautiful people to whom a stylist and a personal trainer are the only things you need to become a pop star.” (Of course, Clapton has respect for many younger musicians he has worked with, including Diesel and Taxiride, who have contributed to the new CD).
For listeners in general, diversity seems to Aside from the recognition of older artists, Pope believes it is essential for radio stations to star providing music for older listeners. Put simply radio marketeers to wake up and smell the roses
“Hello! There’s a whole bunch of us over he a big source of income,” he said. “And we still buying music.”
But when it comes to the musicians themselves key issue is about recognising the strength of old and experience within the local music industry of a self-consciousness about older artists, Pope the Australian public (and music industry) will shift towards celebration.