Dub dot dash

Pop music is killing home taping.
In The SST, NZ Idol judge and former music exec Paul Ellis says that NZ Idol is about instant celebrity, admitting that last years's winner had produced an album that was rubbish (still sold a truckload tho, right?). He makes the point that the winners had hardly any understanding of the workings of the music industry, and that Ben Lummis had only just started to gain some insight into how it works in the last few weeks, since he's been dropped by his record company. Gosh. It's about creating TV spectacle, nothing more.

NZ Idol's CD 'crap' - manager
15 August 2005 Sunday Star Times
Last year's New Zealand Idol winner, Ben Lummis, locked himself in a TVNZ bathroom and refused to let his manager, Idol judge Paul Ellis, hear his first album because it was so terrible, Ellis has revealed.
The singer was depressed after making what Ellis calls "the worst-sounding album of my entire career" with a company, Sony BMG, which didn't care.
"You don't make a record in 15 days and then have it in the shops," says Ellis, who is also judging this year's competition. "It was crap. It was heartbreaking. I don't blame the producer, I don't blame the record company, I don't blame Ben or myself. It was the time constraint."
In an interview in Sunday magazine today, Ellis says despite Sony BMG dumping Lummis this year, he will stick by him "because he's a great guy". But he admits he would never have worked with Lummis if it hadn't been for his Idol win.
"If he had walked into my office he would have been rejected straight away. "Ben had good intentions from the people who care. TVNZ cares. I care. BMG doesn't care."


From the ridiculous to the sublime - also in the SST, Tom Bailey of International Observer interviewed (archived here)


KanyeWestSounds.com - "Kanye West meets the Beach Boys." This Grey Album-esque remix project produced by Lush Life (who he?) blends Kanye West and the immortal Pet Sounds. Spine ain't feeling it but the "All Falls Down" re-rub is a near-masterpiece IMHO and the "Get Em High" sounds real good too," says Different kitchen.


Speaking of mashups, Go Home Productions has a bunch of em up now, for download... my faves are Eminem/Grover Washington ands Shannon/Rolling Stones....

Go Home Productions 'Popular Art Too' Promo CD (2003)
This compilation rounded up everything post 'Daft Britney', up until early 2003. Including a couple of tracks made under thinly disguised names. All tracks have been remastered.
For info about the tracks, refer to the bootlegs/mash section. Next month I'll upload the 'Remixology' mix for WFMU from 2003.


MORZEPPELIN >Morcheeba / Led Zep / CCS

BACKSTAB ME ONE MORE TIME Britney / O'Jays

LAZY KELLY'S PAPA Xpress2 ft D.Byrne / Kelly Osborne

DAYTRIP TO HEAVEN Belinda Carlisle / The Beatles

IF YOUR GIRL WAS STONED Aaliyah / The Stone Roses

HAPPY BEHAVIOUR Bjork / Mary J Blige

2 MONTHS IN A DISCO The Trammps / Underworld

I DREAM OF PUSSY Khia / I Dream Of Genie

AIN'T NO SUNSHINE IN MY CLOSET Eminem / Grover Washington

NOBODY MAKES THE SWEET JAM TASTE BETTER Various


BABY'S GOT A CRAZY HORSE Prodigy / The Osmonds


JUSTIN LIKE BLONDES Justin Timberlake / Blondie


CHRISTMAS ON THE BLOCK JLO / Paul McCartney

DIRRTY MAGIC Xtina / Grover Washington


LIKE I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU Justin Timberlake / Scritti Politti

ULTRATHIN Ultra Nate / Thin Lizzy

LET THE MUSIC GIMME SHELTER Shannon / Rolling Stones

(GHPSauce)
BEASTIE KETCHUP Beastie Boys / Las Ketchup

English Cheddar Produce
BEYONCE ABOUT THE HOUSE Beyonce / Man About The House

CRAIG DAVES FLAVA Craig David / Dave Allen



David Lange, RIP
TV One's Mark Sainsbury summed it up on Sunday night, introducing his interview with David Lange. He said if you are too young to remember David Lange as Prime Minister, you don't know what you're missing. Seeing the extended clips of Lange's Oxford Union speech was wonderful -what a fantastic speaker. I interviewed him on BFM a few weeks after the first election under MMP, in 1996. He answered the phone by simply stating his name, which threw me for a moment - holy crap, it's David Lange! During the interview he was very scathing of MMP, suggesting that he was glad that he wasn't still in parliament under this new sytem. Remember, at this point Winston Peters was holding the country to ransom while he played 'kingmaker', and Peters dragged this out for a total of 9 weeks.

In more recent comments, Mr Lange praised Helen Clark for making MMP work during his recent interview on Campbell Live, as RB noted "Lange offered his verdict on Helen Clark with grace and good humour. She had, he said, stabilised an MMP environment that had been collapsing: "without once falling prey to the idea that she did so through charm."

David Lange's valedictory speech on his departure from Parliament in 1996 is worth a read - the Herald have an edited verion here, and thanks to a poster (MB) in the comments at DPF's blog, here's the full text.