"Avoid musicians who claim their music is dark": Robert Forster on the rules of rock and roll

1. Rule 1: Never follow an artist who describes his or her work as dark.
2. Robert Forster, The Ten Rules of Rock and Roll
   

Driving backwards and forwards to my son's sporting commitments on Saturday morning I managed to listen to an excellent interview with Australian musician, author and critic Robert Forster on the ABC Music Show (you can listen here). Forster was talking about his recent book length collection of essays The Ten Rules of Rock and Roll - collected Music Writings 2005-09 and his forthcoming solo music show 15 Songs of Sydney, which will contain songs he wrote when he was living in Sydney, as well as songs of reminiscence, ranging across the Go-Betweens and his solo work.

There is recent interview with Robert Forster in the online magazine New Matilda. Another enjoyable interview (with some live music clips) is here.

I have written before about Robert Forster on this blog. He is always intelligent, insightful, thoughtful and funny. His writing and music is characterized by a humility and gravitas that is uncommon in most musicians and musical writers. His 2008 solo CD The Evangelist is among the best Australian CDs I have heard in the last two years.