kiaora bro!

psssssst!!!!

2007-11-12T12:51:00.000+13:00

Ok so some great artists are coming to little old NZ shortly. PJ Harvey, Jon Bon Jovi, Kiss, not to mention all the BDO artists so far announced...

But the most underrated international act of the season, coming to the North Island in December, is The Gossip.

This queer punk-soul band comes from the US, where they've been knocking the socks off people for some time now. Finally they're coming to play for us, and most of the country still have never heard their kickass sound!

I shouldn't pigeon-hole them as queer- they're as queer as the Scissor Sisters, Le Tigre, Bloc Party or Tegan & Sara: ie they have openly-gay band members, but they don't sing all their songs about "life as a homo muso". "Standing in the way of control" is, however, a lovely ditty about homophobia in US politics.

The reason why every man woman and child should wrap their ears around The Gossip is that they are fantastic. Beth Ditto's huge, sexy voice makes the band sound like Janis Joplin in leather pants. Funky leather pants. With hot pink stilettos... they have been likened to The White Stripes if it was fronted by Aretha Franklin. Ditto was also voted NME's coolest rock icon of 2006.

One of the great pleasures of living in New Zealand is that from time to time, we are visited by a huge, stunning and influential rock band, and we get to see them someplace intimate for just a few bucks because they're not mainstream-big enough to have made it on to our radar yet. Let's not forget even Christchurch was once visited by Nirvana, they played the Dux De Lux...

The Gossip are playing December 8th at the King's Arms Auckland, and December 9th at the SF Bathhouse Wellington. It should be something like this:

check out these little mp3s as well :)

http://download.yousendit.com/A2F2EAF355AE4FFE
http://download.yousendit.com/96AA44162103F685
http://download.yousendit.com/108C052813CC9FE6
http://download.yousendit.com/DDA6689E67D786F4

Living in a cave (but it's nothing like the Flinstones)

2007-11-09T11:21:00.000+13:00

I'm living in a cave at the moment. That sounds so glamorous- like I should have a dinosaur waste-disposal machine and read a newspaper etched in stone.

But actually it's not like that at all. I'm living in a series of small dark rooms. I work during the day in a small dark room lit by computer and tv screens, and I work during the night in another small dark room lit by computer and tv screens. It's fun, taking on work on-the-side, but I really feel like what sunlight I do see burns my eyes...

The best way to make peace with this existence is with the right sounds to keep me going. I'm listening to a lot of Ed Harcourt, particularly his album "Here Be Monsters". My former music-guru once handed me a copy of this album, promising me it would forever more be an essential cd in my collection. He was right. It's beautiful, timeless, and it's never the wrong time to put it on.

I have since gifted it to many of my friends. If you ever see it in the store, buy it!

I've also been listening to lots of Breaks Co-Op. Their first album "Roofers" is one of NZ's great classics, and their second album "The Other Side" is another- despite having been thrashed in one too many cafes right after its release.

As well as breaking out the classics at times like these, I like to find new stuff and make up a playlist of delicious new discoveries and re-discoveries.
Here are a few choice MP3s to add some sparkle to your day, they've sparkled up mine! They're going straight on to my iPod playlist.

They are: Bloc Party- Like Eating Glass
Cat Power- Metal Heart
Gomez- Don't Let Me Down (Live Beatles cover)
Joan as Police Woman- The Ride
and the very random
CocoRosie- Madonna

http://download.yousendit.com/25A79E0C20D70891
http://download.yousendit.com/7B817AFC2493BAA5
http://download.yousendit.com/2383CD433AA227F5
http://download.yousendit.com/0BEFB3E50712D002
http://download.yousendit.com/AED614BC7445A9C5

crazy for mash

2007-11-01T13:45:00.000+13:00

For as long as music has existed, less-talented-but-better-looking musicians have re-released sure-fire-hits by more-talented-but-not-so-hot musicians. I hate that.
What I do love however, is creative and respectful reuse of great tracks. NOT "ibiza remixes" where a song is sped-up and butchered with a casiotone, draining it of all soul; but great samples, mash ups and covers that capture the original and use it for good, not evil.

I used to think that mash ups in particular were gimmicky until I travelled to Nepal and found that although sometimes it can get horribly lost in translation, the gangsta-rap vs. bollywood mash up is truly fantastic.

Then the Grey Album was released (and quickly banned), which was such a beautiful little marriage of music that renegade bloggers still host it and try getting it out there. Like here.

http://profile.imeem.com/I1zL4t/playlist/KBLn6AQ-/the_grey_album_music_playlist/

Check out "What More Can I Say", it's fantastic.

I love great covers of great songs, too. I've said that before.

But if there's one thing that truly excites me in music it's the beautifully executed sample. Like this one:

mmmm. and this one: http://download.yousendit.com/3CF95A5B492428F3

and my new favourite: here's the original track, sampled heaps and heaps of times by many different artists. Listen, see how many you can pick! I found this on a wicked site: http://www.soul-sides.com/

http://download.yousendit.com/B54868B54C761876

tasty.

shiny new music makes happy little people

2007-10-29T14:57:00.000+13:00

I love that lead-up to Christmas where artists are releasing stuff and announcing they're releasing stuff. It's cool. Goldfrapp have just announced they're bringing out another wee gem in February, which is exciting.

Here's one of my faves from their last two albums, and it has a pretty cool vid too:

Other than that exciting bit of news, I suggest y'all head down to your local music store and wrap your ears around the new Bettye Lavette album called "the scene of the crime". It's fab. This woman can definitely sing and she's so incredibly underrated. Her last album was a collection of covers. Check out her doing Dolly Parton :

PJ Harvey's new album "White Chalk" is one I suggest you don't really bother with. I am a big fan of Polly, always have been. But apart from a few exciting experiments with interesting sounds, and a couple of cool singles, I certainly wouldn't waste my money on an album that sounds alot like all those tracks on her previous albums that you would usually skip.

I have to make mention right now of the coolest thing PJ Harvey ever did though: Desert Sessions. They're a supergroup, made up of various rock stars including PJ Harvey, Josh Homme, Chris Cornell and Twiggy Ramirez. Having gifted the world with the Desert Sessions, I forgive PJ Harvey for any shit that she puts out, ever.

Let's not forget Flight of the Conchords, the comedy duo that New Zealand gave no attention to until they got discovered and made it big in the US. They've released an EP, with their full album coming up shortly. They're very very clever boys, although we have to admit they've been recycling the same stuff for as long as we can remember... it's fun to hear their tracks on the radio at the moment though! Their HBO show rocks. Check it out www.hbo.com/conchords/

and of course there's Kylie to look forward to, although I'm afraid I might be a bit disappointed by her album "X"...

we'll see.

For My Homegirl

2007-10-25T14:49:00.000+13:00

I did a little road trip recently last weekend, it was great. I love driving long distances, because it gives me an excuse to make great mixtapes, and listen to them uninterrupted for hours. On this recent roadtrip, I actually resurrected some old mixtapes, which made it even better. It's so fun to listen to all my favourite songs from a few years ago.

I was going to make a big, shiny blog post dedicated to my awesomeness at compiling roadtrip mixtapes. Actually, I thought I'd share some of the awesome roadtrip mixtape tracks from those old CDs (2003-2004 vintage) I was listening to in the car on the weekend.

Until I was reminded that I am a bum who drives long distances, while my homegirl is a legend who runs long distances instead.

Personally, I don't want to use my legs when I have a perfectly useful motor vehicle. But some people like using their legs, and my homegirl is doing a roadtrip of her own this weekend, in the form of a half-marathon.

I am so humbled by her innovation to use her body for something more useful than just sex and eating, that I want to dedicate a little blog post to her.

here's a little mini-mixtape for those who like to run. Yep, it's a tacky little taster...
http://download.yousendit.com/9CE19CAA6614BD78
http://download.yousendit.com/C03A39DF5A603F00
http://download.yousendit.com/1F08AC0401C80CBA
http://download.yousendit.com/936BEC22569C3475

He's coming down in a blaze of glory!!!

2007-10-18T13:56:00.000+13:00

Oh yeeeeahhhh.

The man who rocked my childhood is coming to visit! He's going to play a few tunes, pull a few sweet moves and maybe even rock my world one more time to make it last.

That's right, it's my secret man-crush...

Jon Bon Jovi.

Oh yeeeahhhh.

Thanks to a few crazy fans out there who put together a petition asking Mr. Bon Jovi to please come play for us here in Aotearoa, the man himself will be playing one show in January.

Why he's only coming to Christchurch I don't know. I suppose it's a great way to filter out the hard-core fans from the kids who want to go 'cos he was cool in the 80's and 80's retro is so hot right now...

Only a true hard-core fan would subject ones' self to the city of Christchurch in order to be rocked. I intend to be rocked- I know I can cope with at least two days in Christchurch. I've been acclimatising gently over the years. Most people can barely cope with passing through- but I'm tough. I'll do it for the man who rocked me as a child.

Oh yeeeaaahhhh.

My gift to you all (with love)

2007-10-16T10:10:00.001+13:00

I love the music slut's MMM. It makes me happy. In honour of that, I want to make all of my blog readers happy too.

Here is my gift to you. A choice selection of aural delights for your listening pleasure, enjoy :)

http://download.yousendit.com/3AD92A100723348A
http://download.yousendit.com/77008C2C6E772458
http://download.yousendit.com/6905834F6F57EF62
http://download.yousendit.com/07656191235C9A56
http://download.yousendit.com/3CE63E03064C45CA
http://download.yousendit.com/FD0B4CCE431DFA72

there's magic in rainbows

2007-10-12T15:37:00.000+13:00

Thanks, Radiohead. Your new album is lovely.

It's really cool- released without the restraint of a record label, yet with the awareness and cretive boundaries of an artist who knows they have to eventually sell it to one.

Radiohead released their new album "in rainbows" on the internet, both as a rather expensive yet special box set, and on MP3 format. For the digital copy, punters can pay "whatever they think it's worth".

How could I know what it's worth before hearing it? If it's like "Hail to the Thief", or "OK Computer", or "the Bends", then it's worth selling my grandmother for. However if it's the sort of rambling bullshit of "Amnesiac", then I wouldn't pay a cent.

So I downloaded it and paid nothing.

Some people have praised Radiohead for sticking it to the man, and have paid up to US$1000 for it. Others, like me, are cheap-asses. Some people had the guilts and paid full cd price for it, only to be pissed off because MP3 quality is not as good as cd. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT???

I figured that if I liked it, I would buy it once it gets released on CD in stores. And of course, that's what they're going to do, they're aiming for January.

Of course they're currently in negotiation with the big four record companies.

Very clever! Get the hype, get some data on how many people would buy the album, then negotiate with the record companies. Unfortunately, there will be some very pissed off fans who have already paid for the album and don't want to pay for it again!

I, however, love the album. It's wicked. It's like they took all the best bits from their previous work, and mashed it up into this lovely album of niceness. It's not whiney, it's not depressing, it's not even all that political. It's just good ol' Radiohead doing what they do, and well.

I highly recommend everyone downloads this album. Just don't pay for it :)

Home is where my heart is...

2007-10-09T10:13:00.000+13:00

I miss Auckland. I really do. There's not much more to say.

It's my home, and I am stuck in a little town far far away.

I miss Ponsonby Road, K'rd, Cheltenham beach, Muriwai, Piha...

I miss my friends, I miss my cafes, and I miss the warm weather.

So today I give you some songs about Auckland. I always get all weepy and homesick when I listen to songs about Auckland, because I'm totally lame like that! Join me in my lameness.

I'm a wanker at heart. You can take the wanker out of Auckland, but you can't take Auckland out of the wanker. The coffee just doesn't taste the same without a place to sit and look fabulous while people drive by and look at how fabulous you are.

OMG!!! so much music!!!

2007-10-04T14:46:00.000+13:00

I am so excited this week about two big bits of news...

Radiohead's new album, and the first BDO 2008 announcement.

Radiohead have a new album called "In Rainbows", out 10th October. You can buy it as a box set, very swanky, or you can be a cheap bastard like me and take advantage of being able to download it from the official website and pay WHATEVER YOU WANT. That's right, you can be scabby and have it for free if you want. Will I feel at all obliged to pay through guilt? Nah, probably not. However if I do enjoy it, I might just buy the CD. I guess that's what I like about free downloads. If I do like it, I usually go buy it. Nobody really loses any money in the music business.

http://www.inrainbows.com/

and...

check out the first BDO announcement here http://www.bigdayout.com/ it's very exciting. Rage Against The Machine are getting back together to rock our socks off, and the lovely Bjork will once again grace our shores as well. Also serenading us will be Dizzee Rascal, very cool. Yay! Now I just have to figure a way out of this small town, and hitch a ride up to the big smoke to catch the sounds!

back to the 80's

2007-10-02T11:23:00.000+13:00

I know, there's Blue Monday, Uptown Girl, The Final Countdown and many more... but I'm sure you'll agree this is right up there.

You've seen the ultimate 90's pop song, (whether or not you agree with me). Here's the equivalent 80's pop song.
I could think harder, and think of one that I like better for different reasons, but this song has to be the one that gets every single person of a certain age singing along and bopping a little bit, thinking about what they wore and who they pashed at the school disco.

and I don't care that it's a cover. That doesn't make it any less legendary.

Back to the 90's

2007-10-02T08:31:00.000+13:00

I think this song has to be the ultimate 90's pop song. Not that it's the best pop song of the 90's, nor was it the biggest hit, but it's the song that takes people back there as soon as the first few bars are played.

You see people listening to this song... their eyes glaze over as they think of how cool Rachel, Ross, Monica, Joey and Chandler were the first time around. They think of who they were dating, who their best friend was, and where they were at the time this song was a hit.

http://www.emp3world.com/mp3/36605/Spin%20Doctors/%20Two%20Princes

Teenage Version 2.0

2007-09-25T09:21:00.000+12:00

Reeling from the excitement of hearing that there's a new Kylie album coming out shortly and that therefore, there is a god; I'm having a good day. It's raining, and usually that only excites the surly teenagers because apparently it's a good thing when your mascara runs down your face. It's not panda-eyes, it's a fashion statement.

Clearly, I have become old.

Just ask my sister. She's 14 and totally cool. You know, I understand the whole "emo" thing, but at the same time I don't believe in it. All that has happened is that somebody has branded teenage angst, and made an empire. very clever.

The whole thing was said best by this guy on public address.

Anyway I love messing with my sister and her buddies by sending cd's that were cool in the 90's but not mentioning that. Madam received a gift recently of the new Garbage best-of. It's very cool. I bought it for myself, and while listening to it I realised that it could totally pass as "emo" music, other than the fact that it's sung by an angry woman rather than a whiny boy.

I sent it, and apparently now Garbage are a hot new emo band that rock. For kids that supposedly live on the internet, they're easily fooled, aren't they?

video killed the radio star

2007-09-24T13:31:00.000+12:00

Fiona McDonald. I used to be your biggest fan. When I was a teenager, you knocked Madonna and Boyz II Men off the NZ music chart. You were so badass and cool, and you were my idol. Everything you touched was gold... Headless Chickens were nothing without you, and you brought Strawpeople out of obscurity and into the radios, tvs and even cd-walkmen of my generation.

But then what happened?

THIS HAPPENED.

You traded your Dr Martens for sensible shoes. You judged NZ Idol, hosted Ten Years Younger, and now you're peddling toilet paper and virtuous domesticity.

The chick I always wished was my big sister, who inspired my rebellion and fuelled my teenage angst has become such a disappointment.

It's so sad what tv can do to someone who was such a radio star. But Fiona, why you? Stevie Nicks isn't selling sugar-free muesli bars, Debbie Harry isn't dressing in cardigans and selling Metamucil.

All I have of you now, Fiona, is the memory of how cool you were.

For my buddy

2007-09-21T16:35:00.001+12:00

My friend announced he's off to Timaru this weekend. There's not much to say about that. There aren't many worse towns. Hamilton, maybe... Wanganui, yeah that's a crap hole too. But Timaru doesn't have that quaint bogan-ness or gangland charm of the other two. It's just a hole.

Deja Voodoo put it best! Have fun up there, buddy! Rip it up!

Today Tomorrow Timaru

Add to My Profile | More Videos

The Cure for Friday

2007-09-21T11:08:00.000+12:00

Why does everyone love Friday? I'm so tired from the week, that by friday I look kind of like:

and everyone around me says "poor me, I feel so bad" but they look like:

I guess it's the whole Friday deadline thing- especially when you know you're not going to make it out partying with your mates because you're not going to make the deadline, so you pre-empt that by drinking all week at home in front of the tv...

I have to cheer myself up. I'm sounding like such an asshole!

Song of the day today is one of those tracks that we hear so much wafting out of irish bars and sports bars, that generally, we pretend to hate it. But secretly, everyone loves this song.

And sometimes, when you feel crappy and grumpy, at least listening to this song and pretending you're drunk enough to stumble into a dirty sports bar, might just get you through the day.

Whatever happened to Baxter?

2007-09-19T15:57:00.001+12:00

I love NZ music. I really do. I'm excited because Jordan Reyne has a new album out, which is awesome. Not as awesome as her last album, but I'm very loyal so I'll at least plug it and give it a couple of listens.

There's alot of popular kiwi music out there... The Muttonbirds, Exponents, Crowded House: as kiwi as the buzzy bee. But I think the Marmite of kiwi music is that stuff that's not played so much on the radio, but is shit hot anyway. Like Jordan Reyne. Like the Relaxomatic Project. Like one of my millenium-era kiwi music faves: Baxter. The Marmite of kiwi music... not for everyone, but you might find it awesome if you'll just give it a try.

finally!

2007-09-19T13:31:00.000+12:00

it's something I've put off doing for too long now, but here goes my blog.

song-of-the-day has been something I've punished a select few with over the past months- now i can just post to my blog to share the love!

So, to all of you out there... enjoy :)

Today I'm having a Tegan and Sara marathon. I'm a bit addicted to their new album, "The Con", and to punctuate its lusciousness I'm listening to all their other stuff as well.

I live in a small town, where I had to order in "The Con" and wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive. Apparently one other person here ordered it too, not enough for the store to actually put it on the shelf. However, I was in there again yesterday and there it was on the new releases shelf! Well done, T&S- you've made it in Hicksville, New Zealand! To celebrate, 2 songs today...

Tegan and Sara, cheers to you.

http://www.fakedoom.com/vapor/teagansara/WalkingWithAGhost.mp3

http://www.theskywascandy.com/mp3s/may/the-con.mp3