Injustice for all...

The following has to be one of the most shocking, embarassing and shameful [for Australian Immigration anyway] stories I've heard of late and it's even worse when you consider this isn't an isolated incident.



Daighila are a hardcore/punk band from Malaysia and came to Australia to do a brief East Coast tour late last month, but upon entering the country ended up being interrogated for several hours and then placed in a detention centre for another 24. In a statement to fans on their blog they explain that:

"...They 'assumed' that we came to find jobs and become illegal workers. Despite the lack of proof to convict us and the fact that we've already booked a ticket back from Brisbane, they insisted that we allegedly came to find jobs like the other groups of Malaysians who were detained prior before we arrived. We also presented proofs that we have stable lives in Malaysia. But it was all ignored..."

The band were sent back to Malaysia without any reinbursment or refund for their already purchased return tickets and each member copped a massive fine. It's sad that this happens in the "lucky" country, especially because the band worked really hard to come out here. They weren't going to make any money off their shows, they were doing it for their love of music and the connection they've made with people through their music [whether you like the genre or not].

Sad indeed...

In Defence Of Indie Boys

Normally, I would not take an a attack on "indie boys" as a personal one, because I believe myself to be above such trivial things...fuck it, who are we kidding? I love arguing. Especially when I'm right. Which is all the time. And as the token "Indie Boy" I feel obligated to defend the title, even though I am way to hip to ever really consider myself any such thing.

I frequently use the term postmodern as an adjective, noun and verb. I read T.S. Eliot when I'm depressed and the most labour I have ever done for money is withdraw it from my trust fund personally. I judge merit of character by people's music tastes and only watch films directed by Gus Van Sant. I fit into my sister's jeans (she's a model) and I'm goddamn proud of it.

The cultural revoloution of the 20th Century has given us the freedom to do whatever the fuck we whenever the hell we want to. Society has progressed to the point where the concept of gender roles is deemed trite and irrelevant. Third Wave Feminism and Post Gay culture has heightened emphasis on the discursive power and fundamental ambiguity inherent in gender terms and categories. Women are no longer expected to conform to the rigid standards of conventional beauty, and men no longer have to participate in (homoerotic) body building contests to prove how macho and virle they are.

Patrick Wolf is the posterboy for a whole subculture of men who are tired of the preconceived abstraction of masculinity, and are comfortable enough with their sexuality to wear gold hotpants. He is not so insecure that he can only express him self through base, "traditional" symbols of masculinty (killin' shit), and can instead write a song about his love for another human being without feeling like a "pussy."

But whatever, I don't have time for this. I have a hair appointment at 11, and I still have to find something to wear.

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Trash