As the demands of AI grow, each generation of microchips requires more energy, minerals and water to produce, driving a ruinous cycle.

Courtney Radsch discusses rehabilitating the idea of Luddites as people concerned with the control and impact of technology.

Eric Langberg argues we are experiencing a massive breakdown in the way humans process communication and the very act of meaning-making." Webworm with David Farrier

I was on my way to the location contemplating how the fuck I went from directing Zac Efron in a movie and working with Brad Pitt, to directing a couple of drunken yobbos in a music video for a song about how much they loved beer... Years back, I acted in the Bitter Not Better music clip directed by Matt Weston, who was producing it. In the music video, the Cosmic Psychos drugged me (with beer), kidnapped me, Justin Rosniak and Fitzy, chainsawed my arm off and blew me up in a barrel. It was time for revenge. Embedded Content When we arrived on the farm, I found Ross hungover and in no man's land on three hours’ sleep after smashing tins and playing a gig the night before. Makka was nowhere to be seen. Presumably asleep under a bush in the sheep paddock. I'll never know the truth. It's hidden somewhere between 5:00 and 9:00 a.m. And it's his secret to keep. He eventually rolled up, eyes hanging out of his skull, ciggie in his mouth, ready to roll... well, not really. But he's here, and that was a good start. In my experience, it's always key to look after the talent and make them feel comfortable before you roll the cameras. You know, talk about the scenes, the art of it all, character motivations and core themes... In this case, it meant having a coffee by myself, next to a flock of sheep and a wombat trap Ross had set up to try and finally get one over a long-standing foe. I was looking at my watch, wanting to start, while Ross and Makka sucked down cans of beer for breakfast and seemed in no real rush to get anything done. So I grabbed a Heaps Normal to try and blend in, leaned against the fence and asked Ross... "What was the inspiration for this song, Knighty?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like a real arty wanker. Cover blown. Ross looked at me like I backwashed his beer and handed it back to him (I didn't) and said - "A journalist said to me... Surely you can't write any more songs about beer, can you?... So I wrote ten more of ‘em.” And that was that. Matt Weston was producing this, and now I realised why I was here... and he was nowhere near it. Behind the scenes with Cosmic Psychos. Image credit: Anthony Salpietro Strangely, a sudden sense of calm washed over me. What more was there? It's a fucking song with four chords and six words in it. "I really, really, really like beer". I knew we were in the right headspace for the shoot. After Ben Blennerhasset, the DOP and the patient crew tinkered with a few lights, I loaded up the prop eskies with Bodriggy and Heaps Normal, because there didn't seem to be anyone else around who wasn't still half-cut from the night before or recently stoned who could manage anything. I needed Ross to find the prop apron Makka was supposed to wear, and I needed some dim sims and Chiko Rolls warmed up for the next scene. Anyone around to help? Weston? Guess not. I didn't know Ross was also a chef until he dusted off the air fryer and cooked the frozen food in it. Off we went. First scene in bed... drinking beer. Okay. Good start. Not that hard. Then into the shower, drinking beer... This is where my revenge was to take place. Makka was still half drunk, so I convinced him it was a good idea to strip off naked and jump in the shower with Ross. Now the footage is immortalised. You're welcome. Next was... Breakfast, drinking beer... Standing near some sheep, drinking beer... In a paddock drinking beer... You got the picture. Behind the scenes with Cosmic Psychos. Image credit: Anthony Salpietro We had a lot to shoot on the day, and seeing how many tinnies they were sinking, I thought we should probably pull forward the driving on the motorbike and sidecar scene in case we couldn't manage it later. It was a good call. Ross disappeared to bring down the motorbike from the shed while Makka fell asleep with a gut full of chicko rolls soaking up the alcohol, and I thought to myself... we could actually get this done on time and budget. Wrong! The motorbike had a petrol leak and took about an hour to start. We rigged up a camera to the rail on the cart, got Ross on the bike and rolled Makka off the couch and into the sidecar, slapped a beer in his hand, poured some petrol into the tank and sent them on their way fast so they could get back before it all leaked out. We didn't have a video link, so we couldn't see where they were or what kind of footage we were getting until they came back. The wait was long, really long. Like... did the Psychos drive off a cliff and die? Oh man. Behind the scenes with Cosmic Psychos. Image credit: Anthony Salpietro Then, just when panic was starting to set in... I heard the splutter of the old bike and looked up to see them coming down the dirt road hill. There was a small fire at Makka's feet as they rolled in neutral because all the fuel leaked out. And the fire... well, I still don't know if it was Makka's ciggie ash hitting the leaking petrol or if I believe Ross when he said it was a battery spark that hit the fuel. Either way, it wasn't good. The shot was fucked. Unusable. Far too shaky to use, so we had to tighten the rigs on the camera and had no choice but to send them on their way again. The good news was they made it back. The bad news was that we only had about two seconds of footage that was usable. Well, we'd shot a few things, and now everyone was hungry. Who am I to go against the grain? The snags were thrown down alongside a few more tins, and it was time to do the wood chopping scene. We put an axe in Ross' hand, my nerves were climbing, so I said "Just one chop" - that's all we need. He did it, and I was pretty happy to move on with one take in the bag. Then we got him in the gym to pump a 1kg weight and suck on some more tins. Now it was time to head up the dirt road on the property to the quarry to get the rest of the shots we needed before the sun went down. The plan was to rig a camera to the inside of the digger and get Ross spinning it around. But this is where the day-long drinking session and the night before came into play. Ross was in no shape to drive a digger. Sun fading, we called on Big Kev (They are always “Big” these blokes, aren’t they? Which makes sense, I guess, but I did wonder where little Kev was and if there even was one) to jump in the cab. He wasn't pissed; I don't know what his caper was... and he spun the thing around while we positioned Ross at a safe distance to get what we needed. The last four or five shots were a blur. We knew it would be a rush; we had one sunset and four or five different positions to get, and we needed to move two middle-aged, drunk blokes around quickly. The miracle is, we did it. Thank fuck Heaps Normal supplied their tasty non-alcoholic beer amongst the Bodriggy brews, or we never would have made it. The "I like beer" music video is not just a video about beer; it is drenched in beer. It now sits in the annals of Cosmic Psychos’ legend, for all time. Ben Blennerhasset and his crew managed to make ugly look beautiful on a tight schedule, covered in beer, which is no mean feat. I couldn't have done it without them. I'm proud of this video. I'm proud to have stepped inside the world of the Cosmic Psychos for a second time. I have to say those two clowns have got as much charisma as any movie star I've worked with. Enjoy the video. Have a beer. Jump in the shower with your mate. You deserve it. Cosmic Psychos’ new album, I Really Like Beer, will be released on Friday, 7 November. The band will take their new songs to “as many pubs as possible” on their forthcoming tour - tickets are available here. COSMIC PSYCHOS I REALLY LIKE BEER TOUR - AUSTRALIA 2025/26 FEAT. DAN PETERS (MUDHONEY) ON DRUMS FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER — Singing Bird, Frankston, VIC SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER — Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER — Corner Hotel, Melbourne, VIC WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER — UC Hub, Canberra, ACT THURSDAY 13 NOVEMBER — Uni Bar, Wollongong, NSW FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER — Crowbar, Sydney, NSW SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER — King Street Bandroom, Newcastle, NSW WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER — Racehorse Hotel, Ipswich, QLD THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER — Vinnies Dive Bar, Gold Coast, QLD FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER — Solbar, Maroochydore, QLD SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER — Crowbar, Brisbane, QLD SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER — Bangalow Bowlo, Bangalow, NSW WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER — The River, Margaret River, WA THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER — Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER — Indian Ocean Hotel, Scarborough, WA SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER — Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff, VIC FEAT. BC MICHAELS (DUNE RATS) ON DRUMS THURSDAY 1 JANUARY — Edge Hill Tavern, Cairns, QLD FRIDAY 2 JANUARY — Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville, QLD SATURDAY 3 JANUARY — Magnums, Airlie Beach, QLD SUNDAY 4 JANUARY — Metropolitan Hotel, Mackay, QLD WEDNESDAY 7 JANUARY — Harvey Road Tavern, Gladstone, QLD THURSDAY 8 JANUARY — Grand Hotel, Childers, QLD FRIDAY 9 JANUARY — MO’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast, QLD SATURDAY 10 JANUARY — Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga, NSW SUNDAY 11 JANUARY — Bellingen Brewery, Bellingen, NSW WEDNESDAY 14 JANUARY — Moonshiners Honky Tonk Bar, Tamworth, NSW THURSDAY 15 JANUARY — Finnian's Tavern, Port Macquarie, NSW FRIDAY 16 JANUARY — Avalon RSL, Avalon, NSW SATURDAY 17 JANUARY — The Marlin, Ulladulla, NSW SUNDAY 18 JANUARY — Beer Deluxe, Albury NSW THURSDAY 22 JANUARY — Tanswells Hotel, Beechworth, VIC FRIDAY 23 JANUARY — Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, VIC SATURDAY 24 JANUARY — Westonport Hotel, San Remo, VIC SUNDAY 25 JANUARY — Social Club, Balnarring, VIC MONDAY 26 JANUARY — Volta, Ballarat, VIC THURSDAY 29 JANUARY — Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool, VIC FRIDAY 30 JANUARY — Torquay Hotel, Torquay, VIC SATURDAY 31 JANUARY — Riverview Hotel, Tarwin Lower, VIC THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY — Royal Oak, Launceston, TAS FRIDAY 13 FEBRUARY — Forth Pub, Devonport, TAS SATURDAY 14 FEBRUARY — Altar, Hobart, TAS Embedded Content