Lachlan X. Morris, the self-confessed 'psychedelic dad-rocker'

Lachlan X. Morris, we’re told, draws inspiration from “old-school songwriting and pop formations” with influence from ‘70s pop music and “a sprinkling of psychedelia and doomsday themes”.

So what is dad rock?

“It’s the music equivalent of the ‘cool’ dad who wears sandals, prefers it if you call him ‘dude’ and definitely believes in conspiracy theories,” Lachlan said.

Seems like Lachlan is poking a bit of fun at the labels we tend to give music, which we might say, has been going on since the days of dad rock.

“I think obsessing over genres is a bit of a waste of time, so I thought I’d have fun with it and confuse people,” he said.

Letters: In the Herald’s mail on October 26, 2018

Lachlan said his dad-rock style is “the perfect synergy of everything I love about classic pop or rock – The Beatles and Beach Boys – but with some stranger sonic tangents”.

He’s essentially fusing some “nostalgic songwriting elements and ‘70s melodies”.

For those still in the dark about dad rock, the Urban Dictionary defines it as “classic rock you first heard from your dad's old record collection”.

Lachlan mentioned the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

We’d throw in Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, the Eagles, Black Sabbath, The Who, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits.

Herald music journalist Josh Leeson drew a link between Lachlan’s music and the band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre. This makes sense and accounts for the aforementioned doomsday theme.

Oh, by the way, Lachlan’s new single is titled Stray Dog.

He’ll be performing at The Ori at Cooks Hill on November 2, the Bitter & Twisted Festival at Maitland on November 4, Newcastle Art Gallery on November 16 and The Cambridge in Newcastle on December 6. 

A Twitter handle called @JetsChants2018 has popped up, with videos of chants for the Newcastle Jets.

With the Jets having lost last year’s grand final due to a shocking mistake by the video assistant referee (VAR), this chant is sure to be loud. It’s sung to the tune of The Temptations song, War – what is it good for. 

Read more: The long-lasting impact of a powerful photo

It goes like this: V-A-R, what is it good for, absolutely nothing. 

We like this one, too. It’s sung to the tune of the Pet Shops Boys’ track Go West: We’re red and blue, go Jets, we will conquer you, go Jets, you will leave with only pain, go Jets, so we sing it once again.

This one is sung to Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust: Doo doo doo, another win to the Jets, doo doo doo, another win to the Jets. And another three points and another three points, another win to the Jets. Hey, we’re gonna get you too, another win to the Jets.

Topics took readers for a stroll down fig lane on Tuesday, with a story from The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate on May 25, 1960.

The story reported that Alderman Jones, of Newcastle City Council, had called for a plan for “the ultimate removal of the line of large Moreton Bay fig trees in Islington Park”.

Brian Laut, who lives out the back of Cessnock, told Topics that the Islington Park figs’ issue was what brought Joy Cummings into the public arena.

Joy, of course, went on to become Australia’s first female lord mayor.

She was lord mayor of Newcastle from 1974 to 1976 and 1977 to 1984. 

A bloke has attracted a bit of attention for using a mobility scooter to tow a boat at Belmont. We heard around the traps that he was on his way to go fishing. Not sure if he caught any fish, but we did hear a police car caught him.

Fraser Island has been in the news, with Harry and Megs dropping in for a royal visit.

“Fraser Island has a connection with Newcastle. Am I the only person to know this?” reader Howard Bushby asks.

Howard says there’s a shipwreck off the island, which was once the SS Maheno. 

Funnily enough, an image of the ship ended up on brass plaque at Coal Monument in Newcastle East. The vessel was depicted as a “coal-carrying ship”. But Howard believes the SS Maheno was an ocean liner. He doubts it ever hauled coal. He wonders whether anyone else knows about these links.

It’s quite possible you’re the only one, Howard. Until now, that is.