Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!
The passing of Ozzy Osbourne has got me feeling sentimental
Feels like heresy but for the longest time I thought he was the worst singer in Black Sabbath's history and couldn't appreciate his solo work either.
My interest in heavy metal started in the mid-1980s when I began buying cheap vinyl, particularly Wasp's "Inside the Electric Circus."
That album didn't get a lot of listening, but was followed with an introduction to Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain" and then things got progressively heavier with Guns n' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" and into Metallica just before "And Justice For All."
The pursuit of thrash metal and headbanging at the rollerskating rink was accompanied with learning to play guitar, then Faith No More's cover of 'War Pigs' made me realise I needed to learn about Sabbath.
Their earlier material had slower tempos and those blues shuffles that now make Van Halen sound like they can't keep time because everyone is so used to hearing quantised rhythms.
Many late nights were spent exploring the extensive catalogue of Sabbath and I remember for the longest time I thought their peak was 'Zero the Hero':
That monstrous overdubbed guitar riff and horror movie clip really rocked my teenage world.
The production sounds flat today, but the chord changes that build toward the chorus are fun.
Anyway, the interest in playing guitar was fuelled by nights at my cousin's bedsit apartment.
We would rock his Marshall half-stack into the early hours, messing with an Alesis effects unit and drum machine.
My cousin Chris was a fan of Ozzy's lesser-known guitarist, Jake E Lee.
In particular I remember there was a lot of rewinding the videotape of a live show to appreciate this solo in 'Killer of Giants':
Listening now I appreciate the melodic sensibility balanced with squealing pitchbends and fingertaps.
However, Ozzy's singing still grated on me.
How was it that someone who'd been at the birth of metal, launched so many careers and worked with so many of my favourite musicians could sound so flat and look so goofy?
Then 1991 saw the release of "No More Tears" and, amazingly, it still is amazing:
Those saturated colours of the MTV era, that remarkable riff from young Zakk Wylde and even the synthesisers sound gooder than I remember.
And, even as binge-drinking kid in denima jacket featuring Satan on numerous patches, that Beatles-esque segue in the middle was what made me pay attention.
I got the reference and it was audacious.
Years later, after recognising 'The Wizard' from being sampled by Cypress Hill, I realised I needed to reconsider Sabbath and found Ozzy's singing to be less of a problem for me.
I mean, I still think there are people who do covers of his material that elevates it -- such as Charles Bradley here:
However, for the little my experiences are worth sharing, I began to really dig Ozzy as I got older for the way his music took me back to these moments where I came to appreciate something that a younger me hadn't enjoyed.
I read his autobiography after finding a secondhand copy and it is one of the funniest things I've read since Ben Elton, although I would've liked more reflection on his trauma and those he inflicted.
Or even more detail about working with so many incredible musicians.
The role of Ozzy's music has become bittersweet as people I associate with it have died.
My cousin Chris was an influence for so many years and more recently the tune 'Mama I'm Coming Home' was such a poignant performance at Ozzy's last gig.
When I shared it with my partner, she reminded me it had also been the last post that a friend had made on Facebook and I realised that I'd forgotten that moment for a reason.
At the time I'd 'liked' the post and thought I was looking forward to her return to the Riverina.
Then, after events that don't need to be shared, I had gone back and unliked it for feeling as though I might have condoned suicidal ideation.
Sadly, it's another powerful feeling that I now associate with Ozzy's music.
That's some spin
Surprised to see Leeton's Roxy on the front page of The Guardian today
However, the article details the Theatre is ONE "of 36 regional venues where the NSW government expects more than 76,000 local residents will see 10 travelling productions booked over the next 12 months, after the allocation of $700,000 from the Regional Arts Touring funding program."
This article seems like an attempt to address criticism of the shocking shortfall in funding for essential organisations across NSW, such as 20% of the Regional Arts Boards who missed out in the recent four-year funding round.
Viewing art through a broken window
One of the Riverina's most notorious artists has been served a court attendance notice more than three months after his shop displayed images of politicians and a billionaire in German World War Two uniforms
Local member Michael McCormack has described Agzarian's art as “beyond disgraceful” and reported it to the police.
At that time the authorities decided it had not broken any laws.
It's possible the court notice will draw on the Crimes Amendment (Prohibition on Display of Nazi Symbols) Bill, although the artwork carefully avoids representing a swastika but does include SS insignia.
An important distinction is that the poster isn't glorifying Nazis, in fact it's ridiculing them.
The NSW Crimes legislation does recognise "a reasonable excuse" for "for an academic, artistic or educational purpose," so it might be that someone unhappy with the police's initial assessment may have exerted additional pressure to have the man charged.
It is worth noting the Agzarian had a long career in academia, before the controversies that followed his "treasonous" contributions to an exhibition in Wagga during 2005.
His artist statement from that time gives context based on personal experience.
My own view is that the hounding of Agzarian reflects a kind of "broken windows" policy by conservative politicians, despite further alienating themselves from the arts community and progressive constituents.
In criminology the broken windows theory proposes that visible signs of crime and disorder, if left unaddressed, can create an environment that encourages further crime and disorder, potentially leading to more serious offenses.
While many of McCormack's colleagues have argued for free speech, they fall silent when it comes to supporting their critics.
I would suggest they should read Voltaire, but I've just learned that he didn't explicitly say or write the often-quoted phrase "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
However, politicians have made so much money through defamation law cases that I doubt they care at all about giving Australians a right to express themselves.
Meanwhile those hypocrits yell from "coward's castle" as words spoken in parliamentary chambers are reported under a different set of laws.
Muybridge by Guy Delisle
This graphic novel covers a lot of Eadweard Muybridge's life, innovations and influence
Muybridge is a name that was only a little bit familiar to me at first and his photograph showing a horse has all four hooves off the ground while galloping is a technical feat, although it's hard to appreciate from over one hundred years later.
These old cameras were heavy and involved to use, which reflects a commitment to camping and working in a remote location.
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The innovations developed by Muybridge really are remarkable and Delisle links the invention of synchronised photography with the famous "bullet time" technique.
It was also interesting to learn his presentations used a moving picture technology that pre-dated cinema.
Create NSW needs a kick in the arts
Recently I learned that a number of regional galleries and three of NSW's regional art boards were unsuccessful in securing four-year funding from the state government through Create NSW
While Minister for the Arts John Graham has asked we wait for the two-year funding decisions to be finalised, many of the organisations needing financial support will have already had their planning for the future disrupted.
This morning there's an interview being broadcast that I recorded with ABC Riverina yesterday, where I outlined some of the benefits of funding creativity.
There's data that shows Australians engage with the arts more than sport, although I think it's a bit of a false equivalence since both activities reflect our national culture.
One of my themes is that spending money on cultural practices is an investment in the future.
When you look at art you are able to get a perspective through the senses and thoughts of another person, so art builds empathy -- which is sorely needed in contemporary times.
It is at best ironic and at worst a sad indictment on NSW's arts ecosystem that one fifth of the regional arts boards were denied funding in this round, as they are the organisations placed to assist non-metropolitan communities to access grants.
Orana Arts is one board that was denied funding and I've been part of their innovative Studio Collab project for a few years, gaining opportunities to learn and collaborate and network with other regional artists.
I'm grateful for their residencies and other opportunities to promote creative practices, such as my talk on the cut-up technique.
Brian Eno has argued in a recent book that, where children learn through play, adults learn through art.
I think it's an important idea, since we gain perspectives and learn new capacities through experiencing culture.
It's as simple as feeling emotions when watching TV, those aren't considered art often enough to recognise the skills developed by a team of people to present interdisciplinary media.
In my ramble with journalist Sally Bryant I mentioned how 40 years ago the band Mental As Anything had a hit song called 'Live It Up'.
That band was a group of art school students and their exhibitions were opened by prime ministers, but their music was an unexpected outcome from their creativity (and possibly a desire for free drinks).
The song 'Live It Up' went on to appear on pop music charts around the world for two years, even returning to the Scottish charts as recently as five years ago.
It is one of our enduring cultural exports and an example of how something like free art education can lead to surprising outcomes.
As the world becomes increasingly fueled by (so-called) artificial intelligence, there's a need to invest in art to develop human creativity.
There is also a need to promote art-making for the benefits in developing empathy and, as careers are lost to AI, it will offer a balm in the well-being that arises from engaging in activities within our communities and sharing in the joy of creating.
NSW teachers were recently told the creative domain was a focus in the High potential and gifted education policy and that's exciting as it's an area that I believe can be taught.
However, every teacher knows the role of modelling to demonstrate their lessons and it's vital for students to see the arts are valued.
So, c'mon NSW State Government, Create NSW needs funding to give the arts a boost and regional communities deserve better.
Young perspectives
A student asked if I had a girlfriend and I replied, "yeah for about 23 years now."
"I've tried a few times," I explained.
"23 years," the student pondered. "I thought you were about 19."
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