While Australia’s live music industry continues to struggle, musicians turning to the local games industry for composing jobs are striking gold. Music in video games has evolved quickly through technical and creative innovations, leaving behind that synthesised, 8-bit or “chiptune” music sound popular in early arcade and console games. Game soundtracks are an integral part of the overall tone and experience of players, with some composers’ work attracting attention outside o

A car passed, the driver’s window rolled down and the man spat two crude words at the young mother standing with her baby on the path. It was 2001, only a few months after the twin towers at the World Trade Center fell on the other side of the world, and 20-year-old Ayesha was walking her son to the nearby shopping centre from their Maribyrnong home. Unsure and afraid, Ayesha could only freeze. It has been more than 20 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U

“When I first heard about BreadTube, I thought it was a meme.” Chris – going by Shark3ozero online – has been producing left-wing content on American politics for close to two years. With a nearly 50,000-subscriber YouTube channel as well as a dedicated following on streaming platform Twitch, Chris has comfortably embedded himself within the steadily growing online left, nicknamed BreadTube by its community. “A lot of people think BreadTube means you’re specifically anti-Ca

“It was a gradual process. I just went there step-by-step,” journalist Craig Idlebrook says about becoming an anti-vaxxer. “I was always trying to figure out how to live more naturally.” Now years removed from this period in his life, Craig is able to reflect on what lead him down that path. “It’s sort of like coming out of a fever dream,” he said. Craig now actively supports the other side of the debate, and tries to nudge people to get the vaccine . While currently the

“The thing that needs to be realised is that every level crossing is different,” Parkdale father Dave Harrison says. “Parkdale is one of the last true villages left in the state, that in itself needs to be recognised.” The proposed removal of the Parkers Rd level crossing in the seaside village of Parkdale has embroiled the township in a major struggle. The Andrews Government has committed to removing 85 dangerous level crossings around the state by 2025, with Parkdale set t

“I wish when I was growing up, I had some character that was openly bisexual. I would’ve been like ‘that’s what I am’, but I didn’t have that at all.” Melbourne Uni culture studies senior lecturer Dr Hannah McCann says getting some representation for bisexuality has been a long time coming. “So having any character, let alone a huge mainstream comic character identify as bisexual is really significant for challenging the stigma around the identity,” she says. DC Comics has a

“The movie comes alive in the theatre.” Keen filmgoer Alex Breen – like a multitude of fellow Melburnians – is excited to return to the cinema after the long lockdown. “I look forward to taking full advantage of these screenings. I’m excited to get back into the cinema and see some movies with friends,” he says. The one problem is the overwhelming choice of new release films coming up. Cinemas have a backlog of films originally intended for release through August to October

Rarely does a song encapsulate an artist’s decades-long development in such a uniquely retrospective manner as in Polish band Riverside’s latest single, Story of My Dream . It’s their triumphant first release with guitarist Maciej Meller since the death of founding member Piotr Grudziński in 2016. Riverside has skirted many different styles beyond their bedrock of cinematic progressive rock. Frequently courting metal, industrial, ambient, folk and soundscapes, the band has

A petition with almost 150,000 signatures asking for gender-affirming surgery to be covered by Medicare was posted to the Government’s website last week. The petition organiser said gender-affirming surgery – to allow someone to “have their outward appearance match how they truly feel on the inside” – could cost up to $30,000. “I know of someone personally who is struggling to bring together the money to get this surgery as it is not covered by Medicare, even though this spe

“We [The Climate Council of Australia] did a ranking of about 31 countries in terms of climate action – and Australia ranked 31 out of 31 countries. Dead last.” Professor Will Steffen, climate councillor at the Climate Council of Australia and Emeritus Professor at ANU, has joined many experts in condemning Australia’s response to the global climate crisis. World leaders have converged on the British city of Glasgow for this week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (CO

It is September 27, 2021, and the country is shut down by the All-India farmers’ strike. At the Amritsar toll plaza, the women farmers are cooking food for more than 200 protesters. “They serve everyone but hardly eat anything themselves,” Manbir Sandhu, a social activist, says. Amrinder Kaur asks a young girl serving food to give her just a quarter of a serving. “I can’t eat much. One sip of water per hour is sufficient. I’ll have to use the toilet otherwise. It’s better t

A hyper-violent, Korean survival drama might not sound like a recipe for a megahit. But when Squid Game premiered on Netflix, it wrapped its tentacles around audiences worldwide, smashing records and sending social media into a meme frenzy. The series garnered 111 million viewers in one month, eclipsing the racy period drama Bridgerton and securing The Crown as Netflix’s biggest new release ever. Despite all the hype, Squid Game isn’t just the internet’s latest obsessi