Talking Smack: Honest Conversations about Drugs

Honest, intimate conversations with some of Australia's best musicians, including Paul Kelly, Gotye, Tina Arena, Phil Jamieson, Steve Kilbey, Mick Harvey and Holly Throsby. Of all the creative industries, the most distinct link between drug use and creativity lies within music. The two elements seem to be intertwined, inseparable; that mythical phrase "sex, drugs and rock and roll" has been bandied about with a wink and a grin for decades. But is it all smoke and mirrors, or does that cliché ring true for some of our best-known performers? In this fascinating book, journalist Andrew McMillen talks with Australian musicians about their thoughts on - and experiences with - illicit, prescription and legal drugs. Through a series of in-depth and intimate interviews, he tells the stories of those who have bitten into the forbidden fruit and avoided choking. This isn't to say that stories of ruin and redemption are avoided - they're not. These celebrated performers have walked the straight-and-narrow path of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and prescription medication, as well as the supposedly dark-and-crooked road of cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and methamphetamine. By having conversations about something that's rarely discussed in public, and much less often dealt with honestly, McMillen explores the truths and realities of a contentious topic that isn't going away. Talking Smack is a timely, thought-provoking must-read that takes you inside the highs and lows of some of our most successful and creative musicians. Paul Kelly Wally de Backer (Gotye) Steve Kilbey (The Church) Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon) Tina Arena Spencer P. Jones (Beasts of Bourbon) Mick Harvey (ex Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) Lindy Morrison (The Go-Betweens) Ian Haug (Powderfinger) Bertie Blackman Tim Levinson (Urthboy) Holly Throsby Jon Toogood (Shihad) Jake Stone (Bluejuice)