On A Roll

If you're looking for the perfect cultural barometer, it's hard to go past TV's most loveable family, The Simpsons. In one memorable scene, every shop in the Springfield Mall is replaced by a Starbucks, all victims of rampant globalisation and the free market economy.

A similar sentiment is expressed in Paul Kelly's latest radio hit, 'Every Fucking City' from the Roll On Summer EP, which laments the growing homogeneity of cities in the Western world. Kelly says the song was inspired by a recent visit to Dublin, Ireland.

"I hadn't been to Dublin for about five years," Kelly explains. "This certain part of town called Temple Bar had just completely changed. It had become a trendy, tourist part of town and it could have been anywhere. That's sort of where the song came from.

"It's mainly [about] Western cities; there's a bit of a tendency for them to become more like each other. There's a certain part of town where the bars look the same, as if they could be a bar in any other city. Everything seems interchangeable. I think every city is different if you look and stay out of the tourist areas. That song was kind of a light-hearted look at that.

"I guess that's the word that's on everyone's lips at the moment - globalisation. It's a fact and it does tend to homogenise things and spread brands all over the world. It can make places very far apart look very similar to each other.

"The other idea behind the song is. you know, when you're in love or rejected in love, every place seems the same anyway. If you're in love, everything's great and you're walking on a cloud and if you've just been knocked back, then everything's the same."

For a live recording, its radio play has been quite amazing, but as Kelly points out, the audience became a third instrument.

"It was recorded at the Continental last year, not long after I'd written the song. I listened back to the tape and I just liked the way the audience feels. I haven't even tried to record it properly. I thought 'Why bother?'. It's not a song I'll put on my next record, it's just one of those songs that comes along. That's what really started off the idea of putting out an EP as a stand-alone thing."

'Every Fucking City' includes a myriad of Kelly's sharp observations, none better than "Now I'm in a nightclub in Helsinki /and they're playing 'La Vida Loca' once again/ and I can't believe I'm dancing to this crap/ but I'm a chance here.".

So, have you danced to 'Livin' La Vida Loca', Mr Kelly?

"I don't know about 'La Vida Loca'," he laughs, "but I have danced to some rubbish in my time."

As you'd imagine, the song's already become a popular request.

"I was playing at one of the Olympic shows at the Domain," he recalls. "It was a big concert with Neil Finn, Leonardo's Bride, Mark Seymour and there was 100,000 people there. Someone yells out from the front 'Play 'Every Fucking City'!', [but] there was children there - you've got to think of the kiddies."

Kelly's upcoming national tour is his first in some time, following a break occupied by of all things, an acting job.

"It's an unusual project, I guess. It's a short film (One Night The Moon), which will be on the ABC next year. It's based on a true story about a young child that goes missing on an outback property. It goes for one hour and the story is told through music, mainly, with very little dialogue in it. The characters sing songs and the music is a big part of the film. It's a very stylistic piece. I've seen some rough cuts and it's got this real distinctive look to it."

Kelly's also continuing his habit of writing songs for other singers, including some collaborations on Christine Anu's new album, Come My Way.

"I guess I've always had a pretty strong drive to get other people to sing my songs. I often write songs that I think are better sung by other people. That's always been a fairly important strand in the songs that I write. I like to write those other kind of songs, mainly for women.

"My records come out a certain way because of the limitations of the way I sing and the way I play. I'm influenced by the music that I love, but I'm never going to sound like that in a million years. I love Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Arabic singing or Marvin Gaye or Al Green, but there's no way in the world I can touch that stuff.

"Sometimes you stretch yourself in your writing, trying to get to places you know you might not be able to get to with your playing or singing, so you try and pass them on to some other people."

After this tour, Kelly is bunkering down in the studio for some serious recording.

"I'm planning to do an album at the end of the year and the group of songs I've got for that are probably more quieter songs - more reflective. There's a lot of songs about time and. getting old [laughs]."

Are you feeling the pinch?

"I've been feeling the pinch. look, I felt old at 21, just like Neil Young."

Paul Kelly plays Arena Friday Nov 17. Roll On Summer is out on EMI.