The Thousands

Robert Forster is not technically a journalist. He was, however, one half of this country’s answer to Lennon/McCartney in the Go-Betweens. So, consider him more than qualified for his latest gig, sitting pretty alongside Helen Garner and Clive James as the music critic for highbrow periodical The Monthly.

The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll is a selection of Forster’s articles to date. It’s well-written, passionate stuff, funny in an arched-eyebrow, unapologetically hip way, an extension of his lyrical style. His subjects are varied but impeccably chosen, from Glen Campbell to Antony & the Johnsons, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to Paul Kelly. He does not shy away from hyper-commercial pap; in fact, a highlight is his piece on Delta Goodrem. It is a pleasure to read thoughtful deconstruction of that which is most constructed.

The book finishes with some works of almost-fiction and a couple of touching essays on Grant McLennan, his sadly passed accomplice and best mate. Forster speaks in the voice you occasionally acquire at the height of a good dinner party, when you grip the truth by the neck and can hardly believe how much sense you’re making. The difference is that he’s Robert Forster, and you’ve had too much to drink.