Work always has it's perks. It's no secret that Midnight Oil's music is very special to me. I got a signed copy of "Big Blue Sky", Peter Garrett's memoir, a few weeks ago before my trip down under and I just finished reading it last night. It's one of the most well written memoirs I have read in a long time. Aside from his stories surrounding music in Australia, I was really moved by the brevity in his words, his relentless dedication to the environment as well as his activism for indigenous land rights, conservation, and prison reform. Growing up in Canada, so many of my friends and chosen family are Indigenous and I have seen first hand the palpable unrest and the systemic discrimination they face, so his passion for these issues is something that is particularly moving for me.
Politics is not something I "get" or am ever enthralled by, especially these days experiencing elections for the first time living in the U.S., let alone the capital. In the words of my dad who visited a few weeks ago: "The options can't be Bushs, Clintons and Trump, this country has played such a pivotal role in history and it needs fresh, invograted, motivated young and intelligent minds that are in tune with what's happening in the world today". I digress. Reading this book reminded me how it might be possible for even something like politics to be redefined- how inspiring it can be to have someone of that caliber of intelligence, depth and sense in one medium of expression use their voice as a platform in another like this. Definitely a cool moment in time. I'll also never stop holding out hope that I will get to see one of my favourite bands play live.
On a side note, I am about to head to the airport and I want to leave you with these photos from the Broad museum today- which was rad. California, until we meet again, I'll continue to experience you in my dreams.
