DRONG-O-LOIDS!
Ack! Sorry to ya for missin’ the last coupla weeks of YEAHS & NAHS — I got buried by deadlines, health problems, and familial strife — and my car (which I need for my day job) broke down halfway to the bush WITH MY SENILE FATHER INSIDE. My dad is like Frank Costanza x Grandpa Simpson + the worst backseat driver in human history (“now, you know how to flick on the headlights, don’t you?” [folks, it was 1pm in the afternoon on a very sunny day]) so the psychic damage caused by ending up on a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles type quest with him for 6ish hours has had me all but bedridden since Easter.
For those who don’t know, YEAHS & NAHS is YNR’s (usually) weekly recap and recommendations column for paying subscribers, where we catch ya up on what’s dardy as/blows chunks, and tell ya how best to get it in ya. As I mentioned last time, I might have to knock it down to fortnightly if my non-YNR commitments keep hammering me as hard as they have been, but yeah, my dream is to make this my full-time gig, and folks, there’s only one way to make that happen…
Have you ever had an 80 year old man ask you if you “see that truck” 40 fucking times on a two lane road that is just you and a series of oncoming sixteen wheelers for 4+ hours?
Good gravy, let’s get down to business before I completely lose it…
THE ROUND-UP!
(Jay Leno voice) “hey, did ya see this? did ya hear about this…?”
don’t mention the war… (re: my Andor review)
Ah, a classic bit of YNR controversy. I was asked to review season 2 of Andor for The Saturday Paper, and made the classic Schwartz Media mistake of talking about the genocide in Gaza. Whoops!
Since the genocide began, I’ve felt pretty guilty continuing to write for TSP and Schwartz. In my wonky moral reckonings, my activism work and outspokenness on Gaza in every other facet of my work and life more than made up for me reviewing the odd TV show for them. But the truth of why I keep working for TSP is ultimately pretty material: I am poor, and they are the only Australian publication that pay me what could be called a living wage.
Forging my career solely from Perth means that any toehold I’ve ever held in the national/international media has been hard won and precarious at best — all my ‘peers’ are email addresses and @s, I know no one, I’ve met like three of them in 20 years, I know the face-to-face ins-and-outs of what is a very incestuous clique of Melbourne/Sydney wonks and wankers about as well as I know whose playing for the Wallabies (rugby is illegal in WA [I hope?]). Morry Schwartz is as real and important to me as the cane toads in Morris Gleitzman’s seminal work, Toad Rage.
The old pickpocket in me sees every Australian publication as a simple means to a quick buck (do you know how easy it is to write an article? it is to hard work what a light spank is to a good root), but perhaps my ‘otherness’ in the industry has allowed me to disengage from its machinations a tad too much.
Schwartz’s well known policy re Israel/Palestine/Gaza has cost them some of the best talent this country has ever put forth. It has damaged their reputation in a way that is not mendable. Few publications in Australia squander so much good will (most start evil, and only get more evil) in return for so little. From a purely business decision, it’s hard to see their ongoing ‘head in the sand’ schtick as anything other than deeply stupid (at best). Can a media org owned by one family with deeply vested interests and wildly specific politics truly be considered independent? The fact we consider it so is deeply grim, and says so much about the state of Australian media as a whole.
As I say in the piece, to not discuss Andor in the context of Gaza is both cowardly and dumb, irregardless of Gilroy and Disney’s insistence that you don’t. To not do so would also be bad writing. Despite what this column suggests, I can’t stand bad writing — especially when it has my name on it.
Anyway, you can read the piece below. I was really counting on the $880 (i’m kinda fukt without it tbh) so if you like it, and want to keep me from writing for idk, The Mick Hunter Times, or whatever’s next, then consider becoming a paid Drongoiloid, cheers.
ps I was going to put Andor in this week’s YEAHS but I’ll say it here: it’s one of the best TV shows of the past 20 years, and you don’t need to know a lick about Star Wars to enjoy it. Don’t miss out cos you don’t know who Plo Koon is.
Battler Droids Are Go!
I host a weekly Aus news, politics, and culture podcast with fellow dreck savant
called . It’s damn good! You should check it out wherever you get your podcasts (although apparently they aren’t live on apple podcasts yet, for some reason? lmk if you know how this works, cheers).Since the last YEAHS & NAHS we’ve had two episodes drop. In one, we talk to Crikey’s Charlie Lewis about the campaign, Dutton’s woeful innings, and state of Australian political reporting. Listen here:
In last week’s ep, we have writer/author Cher Tan on to discuss the state of OzLit, and the struggle to be an independent writer within Australia’s deeply conservative, some would say cowardly, publishing and media industries. Give that one a listen here:
We are in the process of moving the pod over to Patreon, hiring a producer, and setting up socials. Until then: listen wherever you can. We’re both really proud of what we’ve done so far, and have big plans for the future. And if you’re a listener, lmk! Would love to hear your thoughts.
wishlist NOCK LOOSE you silly billy
Did you think I’d forget? My debut novel NOCK LOOSE drops July 1. You can ‘wishlist’ (no, idk what it means either) it right here, right now. Just click the beautiful cover:
If you want to review it, or interview me about, slide into ye olde dms here or elsewhere (insta is easier).
YEAHS & NAHS…
ft. Sinners, The Accountant franchise, Warfare, Cher Tan and more!
Before we dive into this weeks YEAHS & NAHS, here’s a guide for new subscribers/readers as to how they (currently) work:
Nah, Yeah = stuff I like 👍 and reckon you’ll like 👍
Yeah, Nah = stuff I don’t like 👎 that sucks big time 👎
Ya get me, cousin?
Paying Drongoloids ONLY beyond this point. But boy is it so easy to become one for a measly 5 buckaroos a month. And boy oh boy do I need that money rn! The more paid subs we get, the more in depth I can get with YEAHS & NAHS and the rest of it: I’d like to be covering more local (as in Aus) artists and doers of all stripes. Help me get there, friend-o.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Yeah Nah Review to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.