Mick Harvey (The Bad Seeds): 'Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs'
Channel: Andrew McMillen
Date: 29/10/2014

Mick Harvey – founding member of The Birthday Party, and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – speaking with Australian journalist and author Andrew McMillen for his book 'Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs', which was published in July 2014 by University of Queensland Press.

This clip was filmed at Mick's studio in North Melbourne in June 2013, immediately after our 90 minute-long interview on the topic of drug use of all sorts – illicit, legal and prescription – which was then published as one of fourteen chapters in 'Talking Smack'. (This clip shows our second take, as the camera fell over halfway through our first attempt, robbing the scene of some of its spontaneity – as Mick gleefully played up the second time around.)

Mick Harvey: "I felt it sounded like a worthwhile subject for someone to be investigating, or doing interviews about, or looking into. So I felt that if I could find the time, then it might be a worthwhile thing to do."

Mick's chapter from 'Talking Smack' was published on Cheeseburger Gothic, the website of Australian author John Birmingham, in August 2014, and can be read here: http://cheeseburgergothic.com/show/6005

More about 'Talking Smack' below, and at http://talkingsmack.com.au/

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'Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs' by Andrew McMillen (UQP, 2014)

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, including Paul Kelly, Tina Arena, Gotye, Steve Kilbey (The Church), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon) and Holly Throsby.

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'Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs' was published on 23 July 2014 by University of Queensland Press. The book is available in paperback (RRP $29.95) at bookstores throughout Australia, and as an ebook throughout the world. http://www.talkingsmack.com.au/buy/

Video credits:

Creative Direction: Hans van Vliet, IV Motion (http://ivmotion.com.au/)
Animation: Hans van Vliet, Zac Bavas and Ryan Grzesiak
Music: ‘I Miss You’ by Hunz (http://hunz.com.au)
Editing: Hans van Vliet
Director: Andrew McMillen