Spectrum
Back roads and pig urine: the Mad Max mythology
Ian Nathan’s book about the history of the Mad Max franchise is a lively read, even if some parts need to be taken with a grain of salt.
- by Tom Ryan
Latest
The dementia detective is on the case in this clever thriller set in an aged care home
When a fellow resident is found dead in Rose’s aged care facility, she knows all is not as it should be. Finding the right words, however, proves vexing – and compelling.
- by Juliette Hughes
Adam Hills is so popular he turns down offers from the royal family
The Spicks and Specks host is a huge star in the UK – and also a serious athlete.
- by John Bailey
Blondie were the darlings of punk. It just took us a while to realise
Chris Stein thought he’d gone back three decades when he and Debbie Harry brought their band to Australia.
- by JP O'Malley
Sister Act became a musical, but someone forgot to tell Whoopi Goldberg
Award-winning composer Alan Menken remembers the first time he met Whoopi Goldberg and explains why his “Razzie” didn’t really worry him.
- by Cassidy Knowlton
Think selfies started with the iPhone? Pharaohs beat us by 5000 years
A new exhibition reveals that the heavily filtered Instagram crowd has nothing on Ancient Egyptians.
- by Richard Jinman
The Taylor Swift of his day: Harry Houdini’s Melbourne tour
Alan Attwood’s novel is a fictional account of escapologist Harry Houdini’s time in Melbourne in 1910.
- by Simon Caterson
A brass band with acid house bangers? Hold on to your flugelhorn
At this year’s Rising festival, traditional brass bands meet classic techno tracks, and you’ll be surprised at the result.
- by Kylie Northover
Fashion needs a revolution. In Africa, it has begun
As the world counts the cost of fast fashion, a new exhibition visits sustainability’s ground zero.
- by Janice Breen Burns
Sore teeth, unpaid taxes and a possible melanoma. Am I in denial?
The old Anson has it coming.
- by Anson Cameron
Tears, relief and a room full of love greet Beth Gibbons’ stage return
The Portishead singer’s first solo album has been years in the making. At its first live outing in Paris, she shares the rapture.
- by Michael Dwyer