The Beatles as they might've appeared on our telly

Mike's Pith & Wind - The Beatles
The ‘other’ Chris Wilson, (Darkie), was wearing a Beatles’ T-shirt at the Big Fun Night and I made a mental note to get one for myself. I’ve got plenty of T-shirts at home, but none of them make a statement about where I’m coming from - and where I’ve come from – better than this plain white job with a faded The Beatles logo as featured on Ringo’s bass drum head* printed on the back. (There may have been something on the front too, but I didn’t see the front).
The only other band whose shirt I’ve felt comfortable wearing is Steely Dan, and while I’m also quite happy to play a ‘best of’ Steely Dan CD over the PA between sets, for some reason The Beatles’ output doesn’t seem to cut it in this domain, which has given me pause to reflect on this band I once adored and whose every song defied criticism.
It could be just this particular compilation’s selection of songs, but, in any case, after playing only four or five of them, the vibe is so muted I feel compelled to switch to something more suitable. As a matter of interest, the first few songs from The Beatles: 1967-1970 are; Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and With A .Help From My Friends, and, well, they’re pretty Beatles-ish, but I never expected I would ever feel defensive about them.
I guess they’re a little like Weird Harold, the Oberheim DMX drum machine I just sold, in that they so perfectly define the era that maybe they can be hard to listen to for any length of time in a contemporary.. read more

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Dick's Toolbox - Peter Garrett
It is difficult to feel sorry for Peter Garrett. His approval of the Four Mile uranium mine in far northern South Australia was another large erosion of his already paper thin public reputation. The assumed credibility with the green and hip generation built up over his years of fronting Midnight Oil, his time as head of the Australian Conservation Foundation, his Board membership of Greenpeace International and his attempt at a Senate seat as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party, have vanished.
His previous credentials may have persuaded the ALP apparatchik to offer him a seat on the basis of his marketability, but, if you don’t live up to your brand image, people desert you in short order and Peter’s political future would seem troubled. As well, you get the impression is that there is a deliberate policy of.. read more