Kingsmill Defends His Corner
News posted Wednesday, July 8 2009 at 11:00 AM.
Related: Tripe J, Richard Kingsmill.
It would be hard to find a more polarising figure in the Australian music community than Triple J music director Richard Kingsmill (sit down, Pav). A man beloved by some for his passionate commitment to Australian music and bemoaned about by many for the veritable encyclopaedia of programming failures they see at Triple J, one thing’s for sure – his is not an easy gig.
In a recent interview with mag Tsunami, the man known as ‘The King’ (that’s Mr K to you and me) defended his corner passionately, confessed that he reads online blogs for tips and stated, point blank, that there’s nothing he could do to improve Triple J at the moment. Righto, glad that’s sorted then.
Kingsmill’s never one to take an exchange about his role lightly but Tsunami seemed to catch him at a profoundly phlegmatic and brusque moment for his role and for his relationship with local bands. Kingsmill states that he does try to get through all the CD’s he is sent, although the sheer volume received now requires ‘gut instinct’ and the ‘bullshit filter’ to come in to play. However, in an exchange sure to warm the cockles of the hearts of those-two-guys-who-aren’t-Gotye from The Basics, he also addresses the issue of playlisting, and then shunning, certain bands. His riposte is blunt : ‘So anyone that criticises us for not playing them – just because they’re Australian, just because they’re independent: fuck you.’
Although the example that Tsunami hit Kingsmill with is hardly apposite (Primary and Sneaky Sound System, anyone ?), The King still manages to make a passionate defence of not playlisting certain records and bands, noting that ‘the simple fact of the matter was – you made a worse record than the first one, that’s why we’re not playing it’. Before you jump down his throat, Kingsmill then proceeds to regale the interviewer with a tale about being pressured by Alex Lloyd’s people to play Lloyd’s third and fourth albums. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for a man pressured to play an Alex Lloyd record.
Kingsmill concludes the wide-ranging interview by defending his programming choices as ‘common sense’ and even addresses the idea of branching out into Triple J 1 and 2, confessing ‘we’d love it’.
The battle of wills displayed here couldn’t help remind Mess+Noise of the old Friday night fights on Lateline between Mark Latham and Christopher Pyne over which Tony Jones was required to intercede. In fact, Kingsmill pulls a mean impression of the Liberal member for Sturt in the transcript with his strident, impassioned speeches and dismissive tone to the interviewer.
There might be a life after JJJ yet, Mr K?
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less skip hop please?
Haha!
that's actually a pretty damn good interview.
Ouch.
Guy won't play his brother's band, he must have some conviction not to mention fights around the Xmas dinner table. It's just a pity that Triple Jay plays four-fifths of fuck all when it comes to rock and roll.
Fuck you back Kingsmill, you boring has-been/never-was
they were part of the classic album series though, weren't they?
so, triple j didn't play yr record, adam?
and sadly barman, not enough of 'the kids' - who are their target audience after all - want to hear rock and roll as we know it.
Yes, but I wouldn't put money on a new album getting a look-in. They didn't even make his personal Top 100 list.
Correct Mont but why does a non-commercial station give a rat's about market demographics? They should follow a Triple R or PBS model and be diverse.
i warrant the man is more accomplished than you.
Agreed.
Barman, didn't read the interview did ya?
Ya got me email. I didn't. I should?
I reckon.
I know this will get fixed as soon as I mention it- but the article is currently tagged as ''Tripe J''.
Rock and roll? That'll all be on Triple J 7 when it's launched and we're all fighting for a DJ slot...
How the fuck is this news??? Someone read a magazine and decided (obviously for M&N content output reasons) to print it here as news. So, is this site now controlled by Fairfax????
Transparent as fuck.
So what have I missed?
Or they thought that seeing as this debate about triple j happens EVERY TWO WEEKS that people may take an interest?
Because it's interesting and relevant to the M+N audience?
A m+n interview with Kingsmill would be good. Is there anyone under 30 who doesn't hate hip hop writing for m+n though? (not sarcasm)
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the really sad part is when you say:
thats just not true, your job is not imagine you are a teenager and to underestimate their intelligent, its to play them interesting current music that no one else plays. If Jarvis is one of the most interesting artists around, then let them hear him, how can they ever be interested if you wont expose him to them. jjj was good when you yourself use to do that. kids arnt dumb, they dont only like new artists who havent lived enough to have something to say, and kids really dont care if an artist is 10 or 20 or 40 years older then themselves, kids like music thats good if you let them hear it.
the other floor in you argument richard is:
Lucky for you, and sadly for us, this will never happen because without jjj support we we will never hear them, how could we?
and no one will ever be writing about them.
Thses are the problems with the national music radio system.
i'm with Nic, fuck JJJ and listen to Ted Nugent always.
when I was a kid I listened to older people because they had things to say. now I'm older and er jjj just ignore all my records...even though I started out on Classic Fm, getting airplay for all these forward thinking records. so I'm good enough for classic fm at 30 but don't have anything to contribute to youth culture in my 30s apparently. I mean I've made a bunch of albums now and never been played. h yeah I'm just a retard aint I, I made all this music like this because I got nothing to say yeah? like hell. I made it like this to say what I needed to say. Pity no-body has heard jack. really could do with a look in, though I aint complaining, why bother, deaf ears and all that. And it isn't in me to be that kind of person to push peoplearound for ends. I just felt and many others too apparenly, that I had something to say. In my own country I'm ignored by people that feel that a certain style of communication is required. What style? Here is the record. listen. that's it. t's making art. I don't have time to pander. I wish I could, maybe I'd be heard. Though it isn't in me. I believe in honesty and real. And God.
I'm in the 30-35 age bracket and Jarvis Cocker's solo material doesn't appeal to me. His lame set at Meredith didn't change my mind about him either.
They play shit like hilltop hoods. last year was the first hottest 100 where i hated most of the songs. i reached my official old status then
i flick between radio stations in the car... lately, i really feel like it's all over for me and JJJ.
Richard Kingsmill please ignore the post from kellyclarksonisgold, just read what was written 10 posts back.
What band are you in that didn't get playlisted, samiek?
hah thats funny, i was just gonna say, its funny how he assumes that everyone who is disappointed with the airwaves is a disgruntled artist. He is also quite assuming when he says there is no way jjj could be improved in anyway.
Ga just read my points, and also read Richards interview.
shhh samiek. this richard dude rang me in 04 and left a message on my answewring service saying he liked what I did. no digruntled. just bored of dumbing down kid culture.
this year was the first year since forever where i didn't vote in the hottest 100.
OLD!
Kingsmill needs to not buy into all this shit......
opinions are like assholes we all have one.
Less hip hop on JJJ though.
more good hip hop on triple j.
Got it! Samiek IS Jarvis Cocker!!
yeah.... it is funny. So anyway Samiek, which band are you in that didn't get playlisted?
My 19 & 21 year old brothers love Jarvis.
arguing/giving thought to Triple j is like fucking a bandsaw - usless and painful.