Friday, September 30, 2005



Nice one.
The Music Industry Commission has organised some great seminars for Monday and Tuesday next week, on Music Export. More info here. Now, there are about 10 musicians in this country who make a full-time living off of their music, and the rest of us have day jobs - so why the hell have the MIC scheduled these seminars during the day???? Didn't they research their target market??? Bloody useless.... Scuse the rant, but I was stoked to hear about these seminars, and I can't go.
Later. What a stink week. Someone crashed into my car in the parking building too. Bloody hate cars...

Wednesday, September 28, 2005



Forget Oreos, eat Cool J cookies
I love Oreos, but then there's shows like this. The VH1 Hip-hop Honors show was on US tv a few nights back, there's a bunch of clips here. only works in IE tho (and you'll need a fast connection to watch the clips).
Check out old school legend Big Daddy Kane coming on after TI and Common have had a go at a few of his tunes - he absloutely kills it, even busts a few moves at the end. Salt n Pepa are looking mighty fine too.

O-Dub writes it up in his post here... "...While the performances were uneven during Big Daddy Kane's set, the dancing was off the chain. Seriously, f--- the "Lean Back." They need to bring back hyperactive, hip-house body pyrotechnics. That bit at the end with Kane joined with Scoob (where's Scrap at?) was arguably the best moment of the entire evening. (And big up to the Roots for playing back-up band to full effect. Ahmir Thompson has not a bad life. Oh no.).." Nastack and Cocaine Blunts covered it too. Check out Common breaking during the Kane set, does some fine windmills.



for all you people who like old bastards... from Brooklyn Vegan...

No Direction Home is the new documentary about Bob Dylan by director Martin Scorcese. Last night I watched the first commercial-free two hours on PBS. I can't wait to watch part two tonight (Sept 27, 2005 from 9-11PM).

No Direction Home * For a recap of part one, images included, check out Starf***er's Music Blog
* Buy the DVD at Amazon.
* They have the soundtrack too.
* PBS has more info and a clip
* Roger Ebert gives it four stars
* Get Bob Dylan MP3s
* Get Cloud Cult's cover of Mr. Tambourine Man

also, from Stereogum... "Did you catch Part I of Scorsese's Dylan doc on PBS last night? Some incredible archival footage of Bob's influences. Odetta, Woody Guthrie, John Jacob Niles, Liam Clancy, Allen Ginsberg, Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez, Bob Neuwirth, Paul Clayton, Gregory Corso, Big Joe Williams ... still with me? No?
Well, the good news is Part II (tonight) is supposedly the funny part, chronicling the press conferences where reporters asked Bob questions so clueless, the songwriter went into exile for seven years.
A sampling from Editor & Publisher (via Gawker):

REPORTER: You don't sing protest songs anymore.
DYLAN
:All my songs are protest songs. All I do is protest.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Suck on your glasses.
DYLAN: You want me to suck on my glasses?
PHOTOGRAPHER: Just suck your glasses.
DYLAN: Do YOU want to suck my glasses?

REPORTER: How many other protest singers exist?
DYLAN: About 136.
REPORTER: You say about 136—-or exactly 136?
DYLAN: Either 136 or 142.

Click here to watch (Realplayer) a clip from last night's show - Dylan performing "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat" in Dublin, 5/2/66.



...and for all you Radiohead fans eagerly awaiting their new album, Thom Yorke is blogging, hold your excitement...

"i dont know. what do people write in blogs normally?
i could write about how im finding it difficult to finish lyrics.
that there are giant waves of self doubt crashing over me and if i could allieviate this with a simple pill ...
i think i would

although it is a necessary part of the procedure. but that would be dull wouldnt it?

i could write about watching V festival.. how i thought Dizzee Rascal stole it..

or ponder the imminent energy crises that awaits us even before our governments get their arse in gear over climate change.

or how amazing the sky is outside with the moon hiding behind fast moving clouds and the bats swooping close to your head.

which? hmm

i have absolutely no idea what i am talking about."

Just like most bloggers. Nice one.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Zane Lowe swears into trouble....
more here. The warning at the start of his Most Punk show back in June, delivered by an old lady... "Hello ladies, boys and girls, I thought that you might like to know - in the spirit of punk rock – the following show includes, what we often refer to as language. So if, like me, you are offended by such words and phrases as: arse; bollocks; tit...." and on and on. Mr Lowe will be in town for the NZ Music Awards on October 5, and is playing with Breaks Co-op on Oct 7.

AK is a ghetto
The Auckland inner-city ghetto is coming sooner than you think. Proof? Read this. "Recent Department of Labour statistics reveal new student levels have dropped from 30,486 in 2003 to just 17,488 in 2005. Many of these students were being accommodated in Aucklands CBD within close proximity of many language schools, several which have since closed. Even more alarming is the large reduction in Chinese student numbers from 14,100 in 2003 to 2,700 in 2005. Many of these students were located in and around Aucklands CBD." The apartment market is flooded - 12,00o completed, 4,000 under construction, and 3,000 in planning stages.

Listen to the Fugees "Take It Easy" - the comeback starts here.
Village Voice on The Fugees: Reunited and Not Very Good.
"... Take It Easy" is nearly six minutes long, and it ends in a minute and a half of Wyclef guitar noodling. Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again. Maybe we'll get another Lauryn solo album someday."

Monday, September 26, 2005

Image of people listening to audio (Image: Vismedia)

spotted on BBC News website..."Radio has its eye on podcasters"

the photo caption says "You never know what people are listening to on iPods nowadays" - well, we Antipodeans know, it's them dudes from Steriogram, right? Article makes no mention of the band at all. Nice photo op tho. What's wrong with his finger?


Final cut is the deepest (From the Guardian)
Improvised on the spot or months in the planning, a great promo can give a song life after the charts. Sam Delaney talks to directors about their favourite clips... Link

DCist's interview with Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation. "Honestly, we have pretty simple criteria: no tobacco, fast food, soda, defense contractors, corporate media giants, or energy companies. We have licensed a song once to a big bank; that was probably crossing the line."
Ring the alarm playlist, BaseFM, Saturday September 24.
Toots and the Maytals -Funky Kingston
Bim Sherman – Just like a King
Jah Screw - Juks and watch dub
Fred Wesley and the JBs – You can have your Watergate but give me some bucks and I’ll be straight
George McCrae - I got lifted (Mischief brew re-edit)
Damian Marley feat Bounty killer and Eeek-a-mouse - Khaki suit
Boozoo Bajou feat Willie Hutch (RIP) - Treat me
Jackie Mittoo - Chicken and booze
Che Fu – ET research
Ranking Joe - Don’t follow Babylon (BAF meets Waiwan remix)
Lyn Taitt - Stepping up
J-Live - Aw yeah
Roy Ayers - Holiday (DJ Spinna remix)
Salmonella Dub - Loop 7 (DLT remix)
The Katzenjammers - Cars
Archie Shepp - Blues for Brother George Jackson (Mondo Grasso remix)
Donovan Carless – Be thankful
Damian Marley - All night
Fugees - Fu-gee-la (Sly n Robbie remix)
DJ Format – Black cloud
Ballistic Brothers - Prophecy reveal
Infinite Livez - Intchaa (Blufoot vs Jstar remix)
Perfect - Hand cart boy (ever heard a song that mentions the vegetable Bok Choy in its chorus? This is it!)
King Tubby & Roots Radics – Caring for my sister
Nextmen feat Dynamite MC - Blood fire
DJ C and Quality Diamond - Let it Billie (jungle mix)
Joe Gibbs - Chapter two
Blackalicious - Rhythm sticks
Miri Ben-ari - Play chillin in the key of E

Wednesday, September 21, 2005



Copped from Boing boing... Naijajams is a terrific musicblog maintained by a group of "like-minded Nigerians who share a common interest in Nigerian music."

It's not a commercial venture, just a labor of love -- and there's a lot to love. Great posts on contemporary afropop, juju, reggae, all things Fela, and vintage highlife, including this wonderful item about Ghanaian bandleader E.T. Mensah, known as the King of Highlife throughout English-speaking Africa some fifty years ago.

"If you were out dancing in Lagos or Accra in the 1950s and early 60s, highlife music is what the band was most likely playing," reads this post, "It was a music of the times – it reflected the optimism and hope individuals had in a the early days of self rule. You can hear this in the light-hearted themes and uplifting sounds."

When you listen to this MP3 of E.T. Mensah and his Tempos Band doing their midcentury hit, “All For You,” it's hard not to feel a little more upbeat than before you clicked.
Link (Thanks, DJ Carlito!)"

Red hot or not
The new Jurassic 5 single is out in our shops, damn fine tune called Red Hot, featuring a collaboration with killer funk band the Dap Kings, taken from J5's forthcoming album. Unfortunately, not all the collaborations on the new disc are likely to be this good...

"The upcoming Jurassic 5 album will have a duet with Dave Matthews. In the blogging world I believe the tired ol' phrase is "jumped the shark." It has never been more fitting. Congrats on losing those last two strands of street cred, J5, and good luck playing catch up with the Black Eyed Peas." via Coolfer.


hey LJ kids! - Art Brut Guitarist Quits Band Via LiveJournal.





RIP Willie Hutch
"Veteran singer-songwriter-producer Willie Hutch, who helped compose several hits for the Jackson 5, died Tuesday of undisclosed causes in Dallas. He was 59.

Best known for his work at Motown, his association with the label began in 1970 when record producer Hal Davis asked Hutch to help complete a song for the Jackson 5. "I'll Be There" became a hit for the group as did Hutch's subsequent collaborations with the quintet: "Got to Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye."

Hired to work regularly with other Motown artists by label founder Berry Gordy, Hutch logged production credits on albums by the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, among others.

Branching into soundtracks, Hutch penned the music for the 1973 blaxploitation movie "The Mack." The critically acclaimed soundtrack spun off two of Hutch's biggest R&B hits, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick." More here.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Susan Wood - the most boring person on television?
Here's the evidence, judge for yourself... In the Weekend Herald's Timeout section, they do a weekly Q&A with a local actor/musician/DJ/celebrity, along the lines of "My typical Friday night is..." "Which means on Saturday morning you'll find me..." and here's what Susan Wood came up with for one of the questions.

Q Saturday evening. If my dreams came true there would be a gig by...
A I'd rather be sitting by the fire than at a concert, I'm afraid.
[And we're afraid that's the most unimaginative answer to this question in the history of this column - Editor]


random linkage....
A video for the K-otix remix George Bush Don't Like Black People" is here: Link

High school percussion band performing DJ Shadow. (spotted via Poplicks)

THE NAKED SAMOANS REVEAL THEIR SECRETS - not even, ow!
[TV3 release - 60 words] "The brains behind BRO'TOWN, who first found fame as a theatre troupe [no, they are a comedy group] called The Naked Samoans, tell 60 Minutes about their sources of inspiration and the work that goes into making the award-winning animated local comedy. Reporter Mike McRoberts talks to David Fane, Oscar Kightley, Shimpal Lelisi and Mario Gaoa."
60 MINUTES - 7.30 pm, Monday September 19, 2005, TV3

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Ring The Alarm playlist, BaseFM, Saturday Sept 17
Jackie Mittoo - Earthquake
Overnight players - Shaka the great
Dizzy Gillespie - Matrix
Patti - Jo -Make me believe in you (Ashley Beedle and Phil Asher re-edit)
Damian Marley - Move
Barrington Levy - Collie weed
Amadou and Mariam - Coulibaly
Che Fu - D&D
Mckay -Bluesin it
Curtis Mayfield - Gypsy woman (live)
The Abyssinians - Mandela
Boozoo Bajou feat Joe Dukie and U Brown - Take it slow
Freddie Cruger feat Desmond Foster - Bad mutha
International Observer - Dirty Harry
Leela James - Ghetto
Spanky Wilson - Sunshine of your love
Rae and Christian feat The Congos - Hold us down
Little Brother - Hiding place
King Tubby - Dark destroyer dub
Augustus Pablo - Song of the east
Lee Scratch Perry - Run 4 cover
The Nomad - Look around
The Meters - Just kissed my baby
Nextmen feat Demolition Man - Piece of pie
Lee Scratch Perry - Upsetting dub
Kora -Politician
Jurassic 5 feat the Dap Kings - Red hot

Friday, September 16, 2005



There is no depression in New Zealand
There's an email doing the rounds from Don McGlashan and some associates, highlighting some of the good things that have happened under a Labour government, urging people to get out and vote. Don's comment folllows...

'When I was a teenager in Muldoon era, the Maori language was risking becoming relic, Maori grievances were dismissed or ignored, and the government crushed land protests with police cordons and bulldozers.

Now, my kids can go to a primary school with a strong Maori language component; Maori TV is getting off the ground, and Treaty settlements look like they might be worked through within the next 15-20 years (which is blindingly fast, considering it's 150 years of complex history they're dealing with). When I look around at other ex-colonies, I feel tremendously proud that I live here, in a country that has committed itself to trying to set things right. There's a long way to go, but I know which party I'd trust to keep up the good work. Gerry Brownlee as Minister of Maori Affairs? It would be funny if it wasn't so serious.

- Don McGlashan

You've got til 5pm today to get enrolled to vote, so do it! Vote early, vote often. (Full version of Don's email under comments)


My Adidas
via Spine: "Good article on branding calls hip-hop culture "the one uniform force in the American marketplace", citing companies like Reebok's current success being down to their use of rappers in advertising campaigns."


And finally, spotted on the footpath opposite the Library on Lorne st earlier this week, this charming note...


Thursday, September 15, 2005

Jean Jacques Perrey in San Francisco Thursday
[via Boingboing] "If you're an incredibly strange music fan in the Bay Area, don't miss this. RE/Search Publications is hosting a record release party Thursday evening for French composer Jean Jacques Perrey, creator of some of the most amazing moog pop and musique concrete of the 20th century. The event is a record release bash for his new recording, Jean Jacques Perry's Circus of Life. The party is at Varnish Gallery, September 15, from 7 to 10pm. The following, from JeanJacquesPerrey.com, are some of his favorite tracks from his classic 1960s albums on the Vanguard Records label. If you don't know Perrey's brand of in sounds from way out, this is a great place to start your journey:
 Wp-Content Images Circus Of Life1) "The Little Man From Mars" "This is the very first recording I did for Vanguard. It is special to me because it was the very first experiment with tape loops, despite Pierre Shaeffer's (negative) advice!"

2) "Spooks in Space" "The first one I made with the crazy loops. The idea of crazy tape loops had been inspired to me by a dream I had about Jean Cocteau and Edith Piaf."

3) "E.V.A." "Because it had been suggested to me by Walt Disney, and it is timeless and futuristic. Also, it is a tribute to the first man who walked on the moon." [as sampled by Gangstarr, hiphop heads]

4) "Baroque Hoedown" "This was a "co-composition" with Gershon Kingsley. I'll put "Baroque Hoedown" down because it became the theme song for the Disneyland's Electrical Parade, 6 years after Walt Disney passed away. But Walt is still alive in my heart and my soul."

5) "Visa to the Stars" "It became an Esso commercial, co-composed with Andy Badale (Angelo Badalamenti,) and also has something related to science fiction."
Link to party info at Laughing Squid, Link to purchase "Jean Jacques Perry's Circus of Life"


Via Coolfer...Future of Music Summit: Day Three -- P.M. Panel 10: Radio, Radio: A Discussion on Payola...
snip... "Jared Ball of FreeMix Radio disagreed with the argument that it’s a free economy and he took issue with the practice of paying for repetitious airplay...
The premise that payola is good, said Schwartzman, is correct if the money one is willing to spend on promotion is a measure of its quality. Under that logic, he said, the Big Mac is the best hamburger in the world..."

I want my eMtv
Anyone heard about the new music tv channel starting up? Called ALT, apparently.
Ah, Noizy has the goss here... of course!
"There's a new free-to-air TV channel setting up shop in Auckland on UHF channel 62. The creators promise it will have a strong focus on music, which means there's going to be an excellent outlet for all those indie music videos that NZers seem to be so good at making, but which don't seem to get their fair share of airtime on the bigger commercial stations. "And," says Thane Kirby, head of programming, "together with the late night boundary pushing programming we're investing in, it’s definitely going to an interesting alternative in TV Land." Indeed. The test pattern will be going live on October 4th, with the channel aiming to go fully live on November 14th. Get tuned, and stay tuned... Channel 62

They're looking for presenters too, so email em if you want to audition...
famous@channel62.co.nz. They're also after ideas for shows - you take em to lunch at Pregos or SPQR and pitch them your idea - "Be aware that you'll be footing the bill - that's standard tv practice". Ha ha.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Shock! Horror! Evermore!
So, in a surprise win, Evermore take out the Apra Silver Scroll songwriting award for 2005. Oh hang on, that's not really a surprise, it's boring as fuck. Two thumbs up to their manager for sending out a press release at 4pm yesterday announcing the win several hours BEFORE the official ceremony. Noizyland notes that "The release gushed lyrically about the win, which came over other NZ luminaries such as Dave Dobbyn (fair enough) and The Finn Brothers (who, er, weren't actually nominated). Ah well.
Live performances this year saw Pitch Black perform Evermore's 'It's Too Late', Plan 9 did Pluto's 'Long White Cross', Jordan Luck & Brian Bell performed Dave Dobbyn's 'Welcome Home', Batucuda Sound Machine played The Mint Chick's 'Opium of the People', and The Checks put their spin on Goldenhorse's 'Out of the Moon'."

Still, selling 75,000 albums in Oz aint shabby, but not even gold status (sitting at less than 7,500 sales) in NZ? Guess we're sleeping on our own talent again... nah, my earlier verdict stands.

ADDED: Just noticed this in the Herald story... ""But when you look at some of the songs that have won in the past - there's some amazing songs - it's just a compliment to be nominated," [Evermore's Jon] Hume said.
UH OH, HANG ON - artists are responsible for entering their own songs into the Silver Scroll Awards - no-one nominated them.


Phil Collins is wack
Coolfer on day two of Future of Music Summit. Panel 05: I Am The DJ: Podcasting, Webcasting and Music... and Panel 07: Sampling and Shared Art...

"Producer Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy fame, a knowledgeable musician and an animated panelist, is perplexed by the fact that he doesn't know how much a sample costs. It depends on what part of the song and how long the sample, but the unpredictability is, in his opinion, prohibitive to the creative process. If he wants that Phil Collins” snare drum, he complained, he could either go into the studio and get those specific instruments or he could sample the sound. Kohn said to that, “Phil Collins spent a lot of time creating that sound.” “That snare sound he made isn't original, Shocklee replied....

Shocklee repeated many times that he believes artists who sample sounds shouldn't be held to the same costs and procedures as artists who take samples that represent the heart of the song. Shocklee produced Public Enemy's early, classic album by creating rhythms out of multiple samples, many of them unrecognizable. Those albums would not be made in today's licensing climate, a fact that Shocklee admitted today and has expressed publicly in the past. His position did not have the legal expertise of panelist Bob Kohn, for example, but he clearly represented a point of view that is common in the hip hop world..."

Monday, September 12, 2005

Housequake
Coolfer reports extensively on the Future of Music Summit in Washington DC...

snip.."Sam Jennings, director of Prince's NPG Music Club, said he started the club with Prince four years ago. Prince if very open to experimenting, he said. Last year everybody who bought a Prince concert ticket got a CD; -- the price was built in -- and they sold 1.5 million CDs while bypassing retailers.

Though SoundScan counted those sales and kept Prince in the Top 10 for much of the tour, it disallowed such bundling practices in the future. Thus Prince won't be near the top of the charts next time he does it, or if another band wants to try the same strategy. “If a million and a half people have you CD, who cares?” Jennings asked to much laughter.'


Tunes for a manic Monday
Junkyard Band - Sardines (Tittsworth Bmore Club Remix)
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl (Diplo Remix)
Damian Jr Gong Marley vs Jim Jones - Welcome to Diprock (Low Budget remix) and more over here at The Rub
Katrina: Kanye's Gold Digger remixed, "George Bush Don't Like Black People" (via Boingboing)
Link to "George Bush Don't Like Black People" MP3 (8.7MB). Mirror.
New remix of Run-DMC's "My Adidas" here or here. Produced by nomadic.

via Coolfer... "Australia will get iTunes on October 3rd but Warners and Sony BMG are currently holding out -- just as they are with iTunes Japan. The Forbes article says the sticking point is Apple's insistence on selling all music at the same price, an issue labels have been increasingly vocal about." [Corrected]
Ring The Alarm, playlist, BaseFM, Saturday Sept 10
Boozoo Bajou feat U Brown and Joe Dukie - Take it slow
Jackie Mittoo - Jumping Jack
Simon Bogle and Ghetto Priest - Dry bone (Groove Corp remix)
George McCrae -I got lifted (Mischief Brew re-edit)
John Gibbs and the US Steel Orchestra - Steel funk
Jungle Brothers - How you want it we got it (Upstate remix)
Lone Ranger- Automatic
Horace Andy - Fever
Salsoul Orchestra - Getaway
Bootsy and Bernie Worrall - When Bernie speaks (Moog-heavy tune as tribute to late Robert Moog, RIP)
Tony Allen and Afro Messangers - Road safety
Damian Marley feat Nas - Road to Zion
Perfect - Hand cart boy
Run DMC - My Adidas (Nomadic remix)
Rev Run - Mind on the road
Little Brother - Lovin it
Augustus Pablo - Jah rock
Nextmen feat Dynamite MC - Blood fire
Relcoose feat Hollie Smith - Game goes on
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - How long do I have to wait for you
Kanye West and K-O - Gold digger (George Bush don't care about black people remix)
Temptations - Plastic man (two songs in a row about George Bush - what a happy accident!)
Glenn Brown - At the crossroads
Milton Henry -Gypsy woman
Stevie Wonder vs the Clash - Casbah wonder (dunproofin.co.uk)
Leela James - Rain
Fat Freddy's Drop - Roady (Walnut remix by the Nextmen)

Friday, September 09, 2005



All the way live
Catch Mister Recloose and his mighty live band this weekend in AK town - tonight at the Rising Sun, Saturday up at Leigh Sawmill. Saw em playing live on Coast on Maori TV last night, wicked outfit.
The Recloose live band is Riki Gooch (TrinityRoots) on drums, Deva Mahal on vocals, Mike Fabulous (The Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties) on guitar & bass, Isaac Aesili (Opensouls, Solaa) on trumpet & percussion, James Illingworth on keys, Adan Tejerina (The Eggs) on percussion, and producer Recloose on tenor sax, melodica & sampler.

Saturday night Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns (featuring one Gareth Shute, award-winning author by day, bass playing ace by night) celebrate the release of their debut album at the King's Arms. They're joined by Bachelorette and the Nudie Suits.


Diplo says farewell to DJing
(via Boston Phoenix paper)

"Wes Pentz is best known as a DJ called Diplo, but right now he’s giving me tips on how to steal jeans from Urban Outfitters. Two years ago, while he was earning a living as a social worker at a North Philadelphia elementary school, he did a lot of shoplifting. He says it was easy — not because he was a master thief but because pilfering jeans was the last thing anyone expected a young, middle-class white dude to do.

Well, maybe not the last thing.

The last thing anyone would have expected out of a young Wes Pentz is that he’d start a series of successful Philly club nights dubbed Hollertronix, school the hipsters of America in untamed strains of ’hood music from Dirty South hip-hop to South American ghetto funk, and in the process generate international buzz for a female Sri Lankan MC/pop sensation. But that’s precisely what Diplo has done, and he’s had a blast along the way. So why on earth is he quitting?"

Full story here. The interview transcript is also pretty funny. Diplo is currently preparing Piracy Funds Terorism Part 2 Mixtape for release. Hot damn.

From the same paper, Amadou and Mariam live review/blurb here....

"At Joe’s Pub last month, I heard a few indie grumbles about the authenticity of Dimanche à Bamako vis-à-vis Amadou & Mariam’s previous albums — which weren’t produced by Chao. The backing band didn’t help, an unfortunately dressed and grimacing collection of French musicians who threatened to drain Amadou & Mariam’s considerable charisma and charm. Not so with the album: it’s as infectious as advertised. As for its authenticity, there’s more to this duo’s musical background than the traditional sounds of Mali. When I ask Amadou about that, he lists what he and Mariam heard growing up in Bamako, on Radio Mali: "Cuban dance music, French songs, James Brown . . . "

"Pink Floyd," interjects Mariam. "Led Zeppelin. Deep Purple. Bad Company."

"Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton . . . ," continues Amadou.

"Beatles," says Mariam.

Here Amadou starts singing, "Don’t Let Me Down."


Hunter S Thompson's Suicide Note
Via Stereogum.. "Rolling Stone has published the gonzo journalist's final written words. He left the note for his wife before committing suicide in February.

No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun - for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax - This won't hurt.

It was titled Football Season Is Over and appears in the new Rolling Stone with the Rolling Stones cover.


From Popbitch.... You’re terrible Coldplay
Muriel’s Wedding actress speaks wisdom

An Australia man was driving down the freeway when he noticed the woman in the car beside
him waving. When they pulled up at the lights he wound down the window.

"I've just bought the new Coldplay album", she said. "Do you want it? It's crap!"

The man said yes, and she chucked the CD through the open car window. At that point he realised it was Muriel's Wedding star Toni Collette."


Barbara Bush runs her mouth off
Quote - After touring the Houston Astrodome on Monday, Barbara Bush said, "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivleged anyway, so this is working very well for them." (emphasis added)

Finally, thanks to the person who left me this delightful note...
"the perfect album to load in your new ipod nano?"
http://waxy.org/random/audio/Bill_Cosby_-_Talks_To_Kids_About_Drugs_(1971)/

I've blogged this before, but I've never managed to track down the last song on this, so cheers, anon.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Stab stab stab
Die Die Die are touring to support their debut album this month, but their label's site says "apologies to Gisbourne but the show got cancelled as the venue thought the band’s name was inappropriate for a gig with the recent stabbings in the area(!)"


The Mercury Prize has just been announced - the Kaiser Chiefs were hotly tipped , but the award went to Antony and the Johnsons.

"Led by New York-based singer Antony Hegarty, they beat acts including Coldplay, favourites Kaiser Chiefs and hip-hop artist MIA. The £20,000 award is for the best album of the year by a British or Irish act. "I think they must have made a mistake," Chichester-born Hegarty said. "I am completely overwhelmed. I think that's insane."
There was some minor controversy when he was nominated, as he hasn't lived in the UK for 22 years. Hang on, hear that? It's the sound of a backlash blowing in, right about now.


some MP3 blogs for you..

Souled On

Vinyl Addicts

Last night an MP3 saved my wife


FFD Chart Watch - last week they were at #13, this week #18. Shihad have a new video doing the rounds, but still no sign of their album returning to the top 40.

ADDED: Ah, the sad stuff you see floating round the internets....

"The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States is unpaid medical bills. Half of the uninsured owe money to hospitals, and a third are being pursued by collection agencies...." more here from Malcolm "Tipping Point" Gladwell's article on the failure of healthcare in Amercia in this week's New Yorker magazine (via Boingboing)

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Ring The Alarm, playlist, BaseFM, Saturday Sept 3
Dancing Djedi – Body surfin
Jackie Mittoo – Earthquake
J Osbourne and Burro Banton – The truth
Tony Alvon and the Belairs – Sexy coffee pot
Rhianna – If it’s loving that you want
Jackson 5 – ABC (Tokyo ska paradise orchestra remix)
U Brown – Gal so bad
Ray Barretto – Soul drummers (Tim ‘Love’ Lee re-edit)
International Observer – London dub
Viceroys meets Angie Stone – My man (Upstate remix)
SJD – Southern lights (Kid Loco remix – out as bonus disc with Southern Lights album in October)
Twilight Circus feat Luciano - What we gotta do (Groove Corp remix)
Leela James - Good times
Cornerstone roots - Forward dub
Nextmen feat Demolition Man – Piece of the pie
Led Zep vs Snoop – Drop it like a whole lotta love
OJays – 992 arguments
Skatalites – Coconut rock
Joe Gibbs – Heavy duty dub
Aim – Just passin thru
Ramsey Lewis Trio – Wade in the water
Barrington Levy – If you give it to me
Boozoo Bajou feat U Brown and Joe Dukie – Take it slow
DJ C and Quality Diamond – Let it Billie (jungle mix)

Monday, September 05, 2005

Are friends electric?
Congrats to The Electric Confectionaires from Takapuna Grammar School, winners of this year's Smokefree Rockquest. One of the judges, Matt Headland from Warner Music observed that "the New Zealand music scene needs a quirky band." Perhaps someone from FMR can introduce him to the Mint Chicks.


Hats off to the subeditors at the SST... they managed to garble some great photo captions from the Juice TV Awards... "Fast Crew's Kid Debt (Kid Deft), Arachna, (R'n'B singer Aradhna), and King Kapasi (King Kapisi)". Worth the price of admission... Nearly as good as last weekend's goof; in the story on Generation Y talking to Callum Gittins, where he mentioned performing the song Gangs Of Paradise at school, the year it won a Grammy. Took me a minute, but then I got it- some subeditor with a limited knowledge of pop culture had corrected Coolio's big hit Gangsta Paradise. I got two words for you subs - Google it - that's all it takes, if you're unsure...


God, the pictures coming outta New Orleans are overwhelmingly sad ... there's the images of buses finally arriving to take survivors from the New Orleans Superdome off to Houston. Why didn't they evacuate them before the hurricane hit? In 2002 the New Orleans Times Picayune did a series of articles on the possibility of a hurricane hitting New Orleans - they found that 100,000 people in New Orleans didn't have access to private transportation to get out, in the event of such a disaster.

via allhiphop.com...
Kanye West criticized U.S. President George Bush & the government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina last night during “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” a live benefit concert on NBC. West deviated from the pre-written script. “It's been five days [waiting for help] because most of the people are black,” West said. NBC quickly cut away from West.

Russell Brown also on that one.. "Kanye West on a fund-raising Telethon: he abandons the autocue and just starts talking: ""I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family it says they are looting if you see a white family it says they are looking for food ... We already realize a lot of the people that could help are at war now fighting another way and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us ... George Bush doesn't care about black people." Mike Myers looks stunned." This is some funny ish...

here's something positive...

Offers by the thousands
MoveOn.org Civic Action, which set up HurricaneHousing.org on Thursday, said its Web site listed offers for 50,950 beds on Friday afternoon, and the number was climbing by more than 1,000 per hour.
Serena Howard's family in Fayetteville, Ark., set up a Web site called OpenYourHome.com on Wednesday with modest expectations. "We just put a Web site together so we could find a few families here in the Arkansas area" to provide homes, just as they have done in the past for
foreign exchange students.
They have been deluged with offers — including 1,300 families offering housing, churches offering their entire buildings, and many other people offering transportation for victims to their temporary housing all over the country.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Sun is shining, weather is sweet
Got a bunch of new records in the post (Boozoo Bajou with Joe Dukie and U Brown on the same track), the new isue of Vice magazine is out (the animal issue - got it from Beat Merchants), the weekend is here, and I'm DJing at a party saturday night. Sweet as!

via Coolfer... "Social networking behemoth MySpace.com founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe revealed the company plans to launch a record label in the near future and that they're scouting artists. Here's Coolfer five-star A&R tip on what kind of band to sign: Emo. That's the no-brainer of the year."
plus this mashup for you urban hipsters... The Bravery vs. M.I.A.: "An Honest M.I.A."

vai Pop Bitch...
Put down your weapons, pick up microphones!
Amid all the gloom in Iraq, one thing is cheering everyone up. They've finally got Pop
Idol - and don't even have to put up with Simon Cowell. Iraq Star started on satellite
station al-Sumeria six weeks ago, attracting more than 2,000 contestants and almost
60% of the nation's viewers every night.Sadly only a handful of women have dared to brave the country's Islamist wingnuts 36 year old Nada had her Baghdad apartment trashed after her appearance, while her landlord cut off her electricity and water supply. The early favourites are a barber called Mohammed, who sang Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, dressed in fake leather jeans, platform shoes and a Star Trek t-shirt, and Bilal, a 12 year old boy from Mosul whose own composition about the war's destruction of Iraq had all thejudges in tears.