I have to say something about what I consider to be some of the most ordinary radio to come from the entire ABC, excluding Australia All Over which is broadcast on the local ABC stations. I speak of Hack on Triple J.

Hack is the “current affairs half hour on Triple J” which comes crashing onto our radios at 5.30pm each evening, breaking the music for the ‘hollow air’ that is FM ‘talkback’. It is hosted by Steve Cannane, and supported by a number of journalists. The idea is that the young people of Melbourne are just not going to listen to Radio 3LO to catch the in-depth news coverage on PM, so instead Radio 3JJJ broadcasts a half-hour of what it considers to be current affairs of relevance to young people. Fair enough. Unfortunately the show is syndicated on Triple J nationally, which limits its scope considerably. Unfortunately also, its production is poor and does not flow at all with the music and comedic humour of the preceeding programme, Today Today. The two are an awful clash.

What I don’t especially like about Hack is that it often fails to ask some pretty key questions. And this in itself comes down to what I believe is fundamentally wrong with the programme – it can sometimes be driven more by agendas, not issues. In a subtle manner, it is all about saying to its listeners “Hey, can you believe this is happening?” rather than “This is happening, here are the issues”. I am not for a minute suggesting that the programme (and by implication the ABC) is bias. I know both accusations to be untrue. And the programe does some excellent work too. But often it infuriates me so much, and not because of the issues it presents so much, as for the presentations themselves.

This afternoon, Cannane noted that there has been a flood of listeners writing to the station expressing sympathy for Schapelle Corby, the Australian accused of importing 4 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia and who is subsequently facing the death penalty. But he also noted that virtually no-one had said much about Peter Qasim, the ‘illegal immigrant’ who sits in an Australian detention centre awaiting deportation, but has been there for 6 years. Both very sad cases.

Cannane invited callers to try to explain his observations, which they attempted with differing degrees of success. But I had to ask, what is the point of this piece of journalism? What does it prove? Is this really the first-rate current affairs we expect from the ABC? Is the number of letters and e-mails to Triple J a real “issue” worthy of so much airtime? And even so, is it surprising that Australian listeners might just be a little better able to empathise with a fellow Australian? It is not to say Australians don’t care about Qasim, but perhaps just have more trouble relating to it. Understandable surely.

As routine, Cannane et al. dedicate a lot of energy towards criticising Alan Jones, talkback host on Sydney’s Radio 2GB. They mock and condemn him for being opinionated and arrogant. True or false, I cannot help but notice the parallel here. Was not Cannane being equally opinionated with the Corby/Qasim comparison, but just more subtle about how he airs his message?

Perhaps there is a deeper underlying problem at the Triple J network which doesn’t just relate to Hack (and seriously, what’s with the name?), but relates more to both the concept of what Triple J is supposed to be, and the quality of its news and current affairs in the context of the greater ABC.

I have a major problem with Triple J. Don’t get me wrong, it is always my radio station of choice (and musically is superior to all others), but the news service is seriously bad. When I wake up in the morning, there is one key piece of information I need – what will the weather be like? And with Melbourne’s ‘four seasons’ weather, this is especially important! And yet Triple J syndicates a national news service from Sydney, which is devoid of weather (but does contain proper news, to its credit). And infuriatingly, they slot ‘national weather’ at some unpredictable time later in the breakfast programme. Well, if I wanted to wait that long, I might just as well look out the window and take a guess. Or tune into another station.

Triple J has taken a hammering in the Melbourne ratings. In the last ratings survey for Melbourne, 3JJJ had 3.3% of the overall audience share, compared to 10.8% for rival 3MMM, with the highest rating stations being 3AW at 15.6% and 3LO (the local ABC station in Melbourne) with 11.2%. And while ratings are not important at the ABC, this still should indicate problems. And I have two guesses why this may be.

The first is Hack which is a ratings killer. People listen to Triple J for music, surely! If they want talk, there is 3LO or 3AW. Secondly, I believe the hourly news is inadequate. It tends to be Sydney-centric, it is too brief and completely non-local.

Triple J has a responsibility to provide news and current affairs that are relevant and interesting to youth. So why can’t they localise the news bulletins? The hourly news could be 5 minutes (not 4) which would include local weather, broadcast from the local Triple J station rather than Sydney. It would also allow the local station to ‘tailor’ the news to the local audience. And they could in turn scrap Hack or re-format it.

As it is, it does not work for what it is supposed to be. And Triple J News lets down the station as a whole. If Triple J wants to be relevant to youth, then it can’t just do it with music. It has to provide information that is local, interesting and relevant as well. I am not suggesting Hack is a waste of time, but it is not serving its audience well either. And likewise, the content of the news is actually quite good (relying on the excellence of the ABC). It is the presentation that is lacking.

Over the last six months, I have purchased a few albums which I have been particularly impressed with, and considered worthy of writing about. I actually have very broad musical tastes, but these albums would all be found on the same shelf at the music shop. They probably fit best into the “chillout” section of the dance/electronic/beats genre. Classifying music into categories has never been my forté (and I am clearly bad at it), so I am not too fussed about whether that description is academically correct! Here are my mini reviews and recommendations….in any case, you can take a listen to the MP3′s and decide for yourself.

Skeewiff: “Cruise Control”

This has been unquestionably my best purchase of the last six months (of any genre), and having now owned the album for that time, I am still as keen on it as the day I purchased it which is, frankly, amazing. Triple J played
Nittry Gritty but I really don’t think this is the best track on the album. Many of the tracks feature a big-band sound; my favourites being Watermelon Man and Prelude. The other classic tune on this album is the last, Badinerie, which finishes the album off nicely. All the tracks are great except for track 11 (which oddly also got airplay on Triple J). It’s called Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya and can be irritating to listen to, mainly for its incessant repetition of the track’s title, similar to some Fatboy Slim tunes (I am thinking of Track 3 on “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby”).

“Cruise Control” is often not sold in the chain or specialist music shops without pre-ordering, which is what I was forced to do to get a copy. But it was worth the hassle and this is definitely one of my favourite albums. Very good for long drives, I might add! “Cruise Control” is pressed by Jalapeno Records in the UK.

Sample MP3s: Prelude, Watermelon Man, Badinerie

Fragile State: “Voices from the Dust Bowl”

This is a much more down-tempo album than the aforementioned, and is definitely a grower. The best track on the album is the first track called Four-Four-Four which very much reminds me of the classic 808 State tune Pacific 202 (is there a connection or at least an influence there somewhere?). This first track is the most upbeat on the album but others pick up at times, especially Paper Tiger at the end of the album. However “Voices from the Dust Bowl” as a whole is relatively chilled and is a great album for those moments when one needs to relax. While the music on the rest of the album differs quite substantially from Four-Four-Four and Paper Tiger, I also really like Cleo on Track 4. This album is best treated as a continuous listen; it’s really not geared very well for track skipping.

I had to have this album specially imported from the UK as I was unable to find a music shop in Melbourne which had it on the shelf. It’s another one of those classic albums which receives airplay on Triple J and yet is available nowhere. But again, it was worth the wait and I am most pleased with my purchase. “Voices from the Dust Bowl” is found on the Bar de Lune label.

Sample MP3s: Four-Four-Four, Cleo, Paper Tiger

Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band: “A Special Album”

If nothing else, the album and the cover booklet has to provide a laugh – classic 1970′s kitsch. Ralph Myers and the Jack Herren Band is a Norwegian electronica group consisting of Erlend Sellevold, Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm. The best track on “A Special Album” is definitely Think Twice, but Nikita and Casino are also good with the latter two being featured on some of those Ministry of Sound chillout albums last year. “A Special Album” is available on the Emperor Norton label. Unlike the previous two albums, this one is available at a number of music shops. “A Special Album” is also best as a continuous listen, but does allow for some track skipping.

Sample MP3: Think Twice

If you like this sort of music, some other artists and albums which I have purchased and also enjoy are Mint Royale (“On the Ropes” and “Dancehall Places”; although the former is a much better album), Bionik World (“Preset 001″; especially the track Schwingin’ which is a classic) and Röyksopp (“Melody A.M.”).