A dazzling variety of leading musicians and writers explore the nature of rock 'n' roll, what it means to them – personally, aesthetically, culturally, politically – and what it means to us as a country. Clinton Walker grapples with the origins of Oz Rock; Robert Forster dreams of Normie Rowe; Anna Krien meets an unknown teenage rock 'n' roll band living the dream right now; Richard Clapton recalls the Darlinghurst scene of the early 1970s; Stephen Cummings reminisces on his Melbourne adolescence; Martin Armiger reveals the diary he should have written, Greg Perano remembers his friend Michael Hutchence; China de la Vega hangs out with the Aboriginal rock 'n' roll song-men of Tenant Creek; and Brian McFarlane reflects on the intersections of rock with other popular music forms in the cinema, culminating in the recent hit movie, Walk the Line.
Christos Tsiolkas, Mark Seymour, Mark Dapin, Neil Murray, and John Birmingham also get their mojo rising. There is an extended interview with Molly Meldrum.
A 16-page gallery section features photojournalism, portraits, posters, and paintings; and a Songwriters Notebook exposes raw early drafts of lyrics from Cold Chisel's Khe Sanh, The Triffids' Wide Open Road and Paul Kelly's How To Make Gravy, revealing both the literary aspirations of the form and how much these songs have become part of our national voice.
