Getting Louder Now: a Courtney Barnett fanzine [TRANSCRIPT]
Transcribing the fanzine I made about Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett so you can read it at your own leisure, and more importantly, for free.
If you know me in any close capacity, you will know that I adore Australian indie rock musician Courtney Barnett. She’s my favourite solo artist of all time, but I don’t really have anyone in my life who I can gush about her music with. So, to combat this, this month I made a fanzine talking about her and her work, as well as my personal experiences as a fan. Here is a transcript of the full zine.
Note: I created this zine with minimal planning, so all the text was basically made up on the spot with little to no editing. If the language is a bit looser and more colloquial than my usual posts, that’s why. You can also check out my other zines on Instagram at @miamakeszines.
PAGE 1 - Let’s Start An Anonymous Club !!!
Being an enormous Courtney Barnett fan, you might think that I know exactly where I was the first time I heard her music. Truth be told, my earliest CB memories are very shoddy. I know the first song I heard from her was ‘Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party’, because I saw it on an Alice Oseman playlist and I really liked the title. Same with the second song I discovered, ‘Avant Gardener’. But I’m not sure when I made the distinction of being a superfan rather than a casual listener. I guess I just went from having some songs on a playlist to waiting for each single from THINGS TAKE TIME, TAKE TIME with bated breath when I was in Year 12.
Seeing Courtney live in March 2022 was the first time I’d ever been to a gig by myself, mainly because I couldn’t think of anybody who’d be keen enough to come with me. (Or indulge me screaming ‘History Eraser’ and ‘Elevator Operator’ at the top of my lungs as my concert footage would later reveal.) After that, I went to see her documentary, ANONYMOUS CLUB, in the cinema by myself after a uni class. Then in December 2022, I attended the Milk! Records Xmas gig solo as well. I waited all alone till 11pm to see Courtney take the stage.
And so, my passion and enthusiasm for the music of Courtney Barnett has always pretty much been a solitary affair. But I hope making this fanzine gives me an opportunity to gush with others about one of my all time favourite artists and talk about why I love her so, so, so much.
PAGE 2 - courtney barnett for dummies: a beginner’s guide
city looks pretty
avant gardener
pedestrian at best
write a list of things to look forward to
depreston
nameless, faceless
nobody really cares if you don’t go to the party
PAGE 3 - “I’M HOMELY, I’M A SCORPIO!”
Courtney Barnett is an Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne/Naarm. Born in 1987, she grew up in Sydney and Hobart. Her music can best be described as ‘indie rock’ + ‘alternative rock’, although she is often associated with the in-joke Australian music scene that is ‘dolewave’. After stints in several bands, she released her first EP called ‘I’ve Got a Friend called Emily Ferris’ on Milk! Records, her own label, in 2012. Her next EP, ‘How to Carve a Carrot into a Rose’ came out the following year, and combined with her first release, was put out as ‘The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas’. It contains her most well known song, ‘Avant Gardener’. In 2015, she released her debut album, ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’, followed by 2018’s ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’. Her latest album, ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’, came out in 2021. Barnett has collaborated with the likes of Kurt Vile, Paul Kelly, and Jen Cloher. Her current band consists of bones Sloane on bass + backing vocals, and Dave Mudie on drums, percussion + backing vocals. She also has several other members as session/touring musicians. Most notably, she is cool as fuck.
PAGE 4 & 5 - The Courtney Barnett Equation & THE DOUBLE EP: A SEA OF SPLIT PEAS (2013)
Courtney’s first ‘album’ of sorts is a compilation of her first 2 EPs, ‘I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris’ and ‘How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose’. There are some absolute bangers on this double EP, such as ‘Are You Looking After Yourself ?’, ‘Scotty Says’, and her most well known song, ‘Avant Gardener’. It’s very much an introduction to Courtney’s style even if it’s a bit rough round the edges as all early work typically is. Rocking guitars and clever stream of consciousness lyrics that have drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly. Personally, I think CB does it better than both of them. The Double EP also features the banger ‘History Eraser’, and there is concert footage I have of me screeching the lyric ‘AND IN THE TAXI HOME, I’LL SING YOU A TRIFFIDS SONG !!!’ from the song. Naturally, this footage will never see the light of day as it is quite embarrassing how off key I am.
PAGE 6 & 7 - ‘Are You Looking After Yourself ?’ art spread
PAGE 8 & 9 - SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT. (2015)
Courtney Barnett’s debut album is more of the good stuff we first heard on The Double EP, but refined - tighter, wittier, more polished. I love this album title so much and all the chair-themed artwork. A lot of CB’s album art - if not almost all of it - is hand drawn by her which is super cool! There are so many absolute TUNES on this record from the Party Central Bangers - ‘Pedestrian At Best’, ‘Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go The Party’ to the Sad Boy Hours - ‘Depreston’, ‘Boxing Day Blues’. One of my favourite songs on this album is ‘Small Poppies’, which completely grew on me as a song after I heard Courtney play it live and I 100% just ascended. One of my fave debut records + a great place to start if you’re unfamiliar with her stuff! :)
PAGE 10 & 11 - ‘Small Poppies’ art spread
PAGE 12 & 13 - TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL (2018)
I’M NOT YOUR MOTHER,
I’M NOT YOUR BITCH!
(d-did i stutter? a little bit.)
TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL is Courtney Barnett’s sophomore album. It also happens to be my favourite of the 3 she’s released so far. What I absolutely love about this album is that it’s so raw in the sense that every emotion is laid bare. There’s a lot of anger here, a lot of hurt and pain and exhaustion, yet there’s also a sense of trying to navigate through it all. And even though it is nursing with such primal feeling, Barnett still manages to articulate how she feels in a way that makes sense and in a way I continue to relate to. This album is permeated by an underlying thread of honesty - from its title to its cover - a close up polaroid photo of CB’s face - this record feels like cutting the bullshit and going straight to the heart of the matter. The guitars are a bit heavier, the lyrics are a bit darker, but I love Tell Me How You Really Feel all the more for it. I can relate wholeheartedly to Barnett’s feelings of self-loathing and almost exhausting levels of self-scrutiny. However, the record also contains my favourite CB song, ‘Sunday Roast’, which she wrote in high school (!!!) and finished some odd years later. It’s such a comforting, reassuring song - “keep on keeping on, you know you’re not alone”. I have yet to hear her play it live, but if and when I do, there’s a high chance that I will cry.
PAGE 14 & 15 - ‘Nameless, Faceless’ art spread
PAGE 16 & 17 - THINGS TAKE TIME, TAKE TIME. (2021)
I have a soft spot for this album as it was the first Courtney Barnett album where I got to be present for the release. I remember anticipating each single eagerly and listening to the full album while getting ready for school in Year 12. Compared to her first 2 albums, it feels like a much more subdued affair, clearly influenced by the isolation and slow days of lockdown. But it also feels more peaceful, as if you can hear Barnett working on the problems that had plagued her mental health during Tell Me How You Really Feel, Overall a beautiful, gentle record.
PAGE 18 & 19 - ‘Oh The Night’ art spread
PAGE 20 - FURTHER LISTENING
LOTTA SEA LICE (2017)
(collaborative album with American musician Kurt Vile)
MTV UNPLUGGED (2019)
(Live in Melbourne)
EVERYBODY HERE HATES YOU B/W SMALL TALK (2019)
(single - Tell Me How You Really Feel outtakes)
END OF THE DAY (2023)
(soundtrack album - music from CB’s documentary film ‘ANONYMOUS CLUB’)
PAGE 21 - Milk! Records & Anonymous Club
Milk! Records 2012-2023
Milk! Records is Courtney Barnett’s own independent music label, which she founded with her then-partner Jen Cloher in 2012. Since then, it’s become a hub for nurturing various musical talents based in Melbourne. Funnily enough, Milk! Records actually started as a drawing on the back of Courtney’s CDs to make it look like she had a label + therefore more legitimacy in the eyes of those she sent her music to in the early days. Sadly, Milk! Records will be closing after eleven years.
anonymous club → a documentary film directed by danny cohen
Last year, 2022, I got to watch ANONYMOUS CLUB, a documentary film about CB and her ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’ tour. It was incredibly honest and moving, and I felt like I was getting a proper glimpse into the (often turbulent) brain of one of my favourite creators. The film was also shot beautifully - it’s very aesthetically pleasing and I would like to rewatch it again sometime in the near future.
PAGE 22 - I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT LETTER THAT I’M GONNA GET FROM YOU!
There are few artists that have made me feel as seen as Courtney Barnett does. Many people have spoken about how her down to earth, dry + sarcastic lyrical observations make her appeal to listeners. To me, listening to her music is like someone has reached inside my brain and listened to all the thoughts and feelings rotting away there. When I first properly listened to Tell Me How You Really Feel, I really felt understood by the anger and frustration oozing out of its songs. I would listen to ‘I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch’ at my most furious and ‘Sunday Roast’ at my lowest. I felt seen by the opener ‘Hopefulessness’ and the lyric “you know, it’s okay to have a bad day. Courtney’s music has really helped me through my mental illness and continues to help me navigate through the very messy and confusing time that is my young adulthood. For however long I’m listening to her music, I don’t feel lost - or at least, someone is happy to be lost with me.
I love how independent and DIY CB is. I love the hand drawn album covers + merchandise, as someone who is far more into the handmade and analog. I love that she is a left handed guitarist who seldom uses a pick, as someone who is also a leftie guitarist and averse to using picks. I think Courtney Barnett is criminally underrated as a guitarist. She can finger pick something so beautiful or make it wail and scream. It seems to me that she plays so intuitively, so naturally, and I am in awe of what she can just do with a guitar and her voice. She is my favourite solo artist and she inspires me every day, as cheesy as that sounds. Courtney Barnett may not be Australia’s biggest musical export (yet) but she’s my favourite. I hope this zine has been able to express even a small fraction of how much I admire her.
PAGE 23 - My Favourite Courtney Songs & Further Material
MY FAVOURITE COURTNEY SONGS !!!
Kim’s Caravan
Sunday Roast
Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party
Are You Looking After Yourself ?
I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch
Write A List of Things To Look Forward To
Small Poppies
Untitled (Play It On Repeat)
City Looks Pretty
Here’s The Thing
Scotty Says
Before You Gotta Go
FURTHER MATERIAL.
ANONYMOUS CLUB DIR. Danny Cohen
The J Files: Courtney Barnett
@courtneymelba on IG + Twitter
PAGE 24 - ABOUT THE CREATOR :)
Mia Rankin (she/they) is a 20 year old journalism student + music fanatic who loves making zines, collecting records, and referring to themselves in the third person. When not making zines, they can be found reading, doing improv, talking someone’s ear off about Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, or eating shredded cheese from the bag. ‘Getting Louder Now’ is a fanzine she made to express her unabashed love for Australian musician Courtney Barnett.