A Couple of Things

I was walking to work a few days ago. I walk into the city a couple of days a week and on this day, I was walking down Little Bourke Street towards the low point of the CBD where Little Bourke crosses Elizabeth Street and the runoff backs up in a heavy storm, and just back from the corner there was a suitcase. It was blue and battered, medium size, it had wheels and the extending handle was at full extension, an invitation for someone to come and drag it away.  It looked like someone had just let go of the handle and walked into a nearby shop for coffee or something. But there was no one near the case. No one at all. I was still a good ten metres away when I saw it and as I walked closer all these thoughts came into my head.

What if it was a terrorist bomb?

I mean if I were in an airport people would be reporting that bag and moving away. I didn’t know how long it had been there but I bet in a terminal the sniffer dog would have already arrived. I imagined the thing going off and blowing me to bits. But being ever logical I reminded myself that was very unlikely. I wasn’t outside anywhere that might be considered a target unless real estate agents and Asian grocery stores had rocketed past police stations, government buildings and places of non-Christian worship as the focus of hate and violence.

After all, these pull along suitcases are everywhere in the CBD. The homeless use them and this one looked beaten up enough to be in use by one of city’s rough sleepers. But it could also belong to an overseas tourist, who roll them along the footpaths enroute to and from Southern Cross Station and the airport shuttle bus. Or maybe it belonged to a member of a rural family that had come up on the train from the bush, somewhere like Warrnambool or Bairnsdale, here for a few days of shopping, visiting relatives or to see the footy in the big smoke.

But this particular suitcase had no one near it. By now I was parallel to the case where it stood against a wall out of the way of pedestrians. I examined it. The suitcase appeared to have a liquid leaking from it. There was a narrow, wet stream that had appeared to come from under the bag where the zipper’s track was and it meandered towards the gutter. Was it blood, had a dog just pissed on the suitcase, what else could slowly leak from a discarded medium size suitcase? A whole body couldn’t fit in a case that size but parts of a body could. I almost stopped but I kept walking. Then one of my favourite songs came up on my Spotify playlist and distracted by the opening guitar riff I thought no more about the suitcase until now. I keep wondering who has the job to collect and presumably dispose of the suitcase? How long did it sit unattended before removal? What did they do if it was very heavy?

Would I open it?

Would you?

On a completely different note, over the last month or so, in my part of the Facebook world, there have been lots of posts from Rush fans (Rush is a band, standby, more info forthcoming, gee keep your shirts on), all the posters being men as best as I can tell, about their reunion tour and their new drummer who is gasp, shock a female.

Now for those who have not heard of Rush let me explain. They are a revered Canadian three-piece rock band whose glory days were in the 1970s to 2010s and whose music is best described as Progrock.  So loud complex rock with intricate, long song structures, weird time signatures, classical and jazz influences and lots of bells and whistles in a figurative sense, not literally, although as not a huge fan, who knows there might be songs with bells and whistles. I digress. Still hard rocking but the total opposite to AC/DC for example. As a three piece to play this tuff well particularly in a live situation needs excellent musicianship and an extremely high level of collaboration. The three members of Rush had that in spades but in 2020 the drummer Neil Peart died. One of the great rock drummers he combined power, virtuosity with no shortage of pizzazz. So everyone thought that with his passing such a tight musical ship like Rush would not sail again.

But no, in 2025 the remaining members being bassist the wonderfully named Geddy Lee and boringly named guitarist Alex Lifeson decided to tour again and therefore commenced auditions for a new drummer. Now any professional rock drummer with the necessary skills i.e.  highly experienced session and touring rock musician, would have queued up for a chance at this hot seat. Obviously the two remaining Rush members, fully aware of what was required and the issues of legacy were going to take their time and appoint the right candidate so why was everyone so surprised when a woman named Anika Nilles won the job.

Immediately there were some doubts cast about the decision, which is understandable in a way. Music fans are passionate, generally middle-aged white men, rock and roll from this period in this style was always a male game, both playing and listening, so the backlash distasteful as it was, wasn’t that surprising. But it is insulting to Geddy and Alex to think that they weren’t to be trusted to pick the best replacement for their own long term, departed bandmate. Whoever they chose was never going to be a Muppet so why did everyone talk of potential disaster because she was female.

Anyway when the tour started that’s when all the posts started to be put up of concert footage of Anika absolutely nailing every single drum part and you can’t help but think that all these guys had their phones out filming, just waiting for one mistake in three hours of concert. Then they had to about face because she was apparently faultless and has been at every show since. I didn’t see anybody offering a mea culpa though. Watch the videos, Anika has brought not only the chops but an air of levity which Geddy and Alex are enjoying and feeding off. After all if you have been playing the same songs live for forty plus years you need something to keep it fresh.

Change is scary. Be like Geddy and Alex. Trust the process, knowledge and professionalism count, pick the best person for the job regardless of gender.

I am not a big Rush fan. I admire their undoubted musical talent but Lee’s voice has always been a hard no for me and I guess I prefer things a little more straightforward. So let’s have seven songs from rock bands from the same era as Rush’s pomp and prime that could not be further away from the Rush sound. And the Cramps always had female members so good for them.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap- AC/DC

Beat on the Brat – The Ramones

Milk And Alcohol- Dr. Feelgood

Let’s Twist- The Dictators

Louie Louie – By well, just about anyone

Pills – New York Dolls

Tear it Up – The Cramps

Photo by Gabriel Barletta