Toby Creswell

The History of Australia in 100 Objects is a fresh, accessible take on Australian history. It explores both well- and little-known stories through the objects of the time and the people who made and owned them. Some stories are of pivotal moments in Australia’s past, including the Rum Rebellion, World War I, Federation and the birth of the Native Title Act. And yet sometimes these big events are most powerfully told through a small object belonging to someone long forgotten: a gold locket, a boomerang, a cup and saucer from the Country Women’s Association. Former Rolling Stone editor Toby Creswell takes each object as a starting point to tell the stories that make up our national history, exploring and celebrating key technological, social, political, artistic and sporting moments. From Ned Kelly's armour to Henry Lawson's pen and Julia Gillard's glasses, Creswell’s objects are sometimes iconic, sometimes unexpected and quirky; but the mix creates a compelling, multi-layered story. 'Through these often simple yet emotionally charged items, Toby Creswell makes history thrillingly immediate.' The Sydney Morning Herald

History of Australia in 100 Objects

When RocKwiz, the hugely popular SBS TV rock trivia show, look for questions, there is one resource they continually turn to Toby Creswell's 1001 Songs. The stories behind the great songs of all time from Gershwin to Missy Elliott, from Bob Dylan to Alicia Keys, Sinatra to Offsping, Leonard Cohen to Pulp are all in there. RocKwiz 1001 Songs tells the stories behind the best and most popular songs of the last century. It reveals background facts that will fascinate and intrigue, biographical information on each performer and also boasts a guide to the definitive and the oddball covers of songs. The book also features over 400 showstopping photographs and album covers. Not bound by ranking, era or album, RocKwiz 1001 Songs is presented just like an iPod on random. Discover how Ike and Tina Turner stole River Deep, Mountain High, how matching Body Shop shampoo inspired Courtney Love to write a song after the death of Kurt Cobain, and just who the other members of Sheryl Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club actually were. RocKwiz 1001 Songs provides endless entertainment and insider information on over a thousand artists and songs, right up to the minute the perfect book for music buffs, keen listeners, and anyone who's ever had a song stuck in their head.

1001 Songs

From the beginning of rock & roll to its evolution into pop, rap, punk, heavy metal, and beyond, RocKwiz Decades takes us on a journey through time – reviving and recalling the reasons why great songs live on. Songs create the soundtrack for our lives: they inform, stimulate, tell us about ourselves, thrill us and make us glad to be alive. Some songs stay with us for three minutes; others a lifetime. Each has its own quality, its own story. The songs of the sixties tell us of revolution and promise. The seventies speak of the striking contrast between punk and disco, or in other words: rebellion and hedonism. The eighties trumpet innovation and the nineties herald the arrival of mainstream hip hop. How will critics in fifty years’ time brand the songs of the early twenty-first century? As the era when the album died? The age of the anthem? In this new edition of Toby Creswell’s ultimate music companion, he tackles this question and more, delving into the songs that have been enriching, transformative or just earworms made for the minute. This is a book to treasure, a book of rediscovery, a book to open your ears. With dozens of forgotten gems and surprising discoveries, the writing is informed, opinionated and revelatory. From Bacharach to Bon Iver, Cream to Crowded House, The Doors to Dr Dre, Frank Zappa to Fatboy Slim – no rolling stone is left unturned. Toby Creswell wrote his first article in 1972. Since then, he has written extensively on music and popular culture, and his work has appeared in Australian and overseas publications that include Rolling Stone and Billboard. Toby is also the author of the books Too Much Ain’t Enough, The Real Thing and Love Is In The Air and co-author of The 100 Best Australian Albums and The 100 Best Albums of All Time.

The Greatest Songs of Our Time

RocKwiz Decades

Craig Mathieson

John O'Donnell

Australian music has a proud, colourful and successful history. In 2008, Australian rock and roll turned 50. This book names the best Australian albums of the last 50 years. It places each album in order (from 1 u 100) and discusses why each album deserves its place. It tells the story behind the making of the album, where the album fits in the artist's career and the album's impact on the local and world stage etc. The entries will feature new interviews with the artists and the producers/managers involved in the recording and the release of the album. It wouldn't be a good list if it didn't polarise people and we hope that this list will. We also hope that it will get people sitting around comparing their favourites and discovering or re-discovering these great albums and others. With 70 years of loving and writing about Australian music between us, we shamelessly believe we've earned the right to write this book. And we think we've got it right. Let the debate begin.o u John O'Donnell, April 2010 Finally, here is a much-needed list of argument-starting top 100 seminal/ influential/essential Australian albums of all time. Let the fight begin!

Toby Creswell

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