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It’s rare for any writer to be referred to as a genius, let alone a music writer. Think about what that means. It implies an almost omniscient ability to analyse, to get to the truth of things, to capture and describe, to effect change beyond music.

Yet this is how Brendon Annesley has been described time and again for his fearlessly outspoken writing on punk and rock ‘n’ roll in his fanzine, ‘Negative Guest List’. As a result Brisbane’s underground music scene is still recovering from his tragic death in 2012, aged just 21.

Despite his self-professed disassociation from the world (he once referred to a deep sense of shame that hung over him “like some horrible pillow of goatshit”), or perhaps because of it, he did what all great writers do: tell the truth whatever the consequences.

Ignoring threats of stabbing and banishments from gig venues, he exposed the mediocrity of the majority of bloggers and formulated his own legacy through his fanzines, his label and membership of the bands Meat Thump and White Cop, inspiring musicians and writers around Australia and far beyond.

But what is this musical subculture that invites such vehement passion and provides the material and context for a writer of outstanding talent to take flight?

Annesley's short life and sudden death is just one of the fascinating elements of Brisbane undergound music and perhaps offers an important clue to understanding it. Like him, its protagonists can be cruelly self-deprecating but, at the same time, fiercely proud.

Despite a population of only two million (half that of Melbourne and Sydney) Brisbane’s rich history of punk and rock has seen its cultural impact extend worldwide since the 1970s, beginning with the Saints (among the first bands ever to release punk) and continued today by the likes of Blank Realm and Kitchen’s Floor.

Committed to rebelling against the mainstream, there is little money to be made, but this has its own advantages. Creation and performance are equally unfettered, celebrating a freedom of spirit that brings to mind some of history’s most important artistic movements - the hippies of the 1960s or the French Bohemians in the early 19th century.

In this feature we take you into a unique musical world where collaborations take place at pop-ups, where people take their goon-sacks to BYOs, where it seems everyone runs a distro, where cassette tapes are preferred to downloads and zines over blogs, and where some of the most important gigs take place not at major venues, but at houses, record stores, or under bridges.

Welcome to Brisbane Noise.