This was just my second feature on RNZ for 2020 – well, there’s been a bit of other stuff going on of late… Still, I got the call, was asked to put together a thing about best Album Openers. So I did. Jesse was away, so I chatted to Anna Thomas on the day. On the phone. […]
I had all these bubblegum cards – but never really stuck with the collecting. Apart from the Batman cards. I had the whole set. They were released in conjunction with the 1989 Batman movie. And I was obsessed with that. First off I loved Batman. Secondly the soundtrack album was by Prince. I was into […]
Cherry on Top: Flirty, Forty-Something, and Funny as F**k Bobbie Brown w/ Caroline Ryder Rare Bird Books, A Barnacle Book I’m a sucker for groupie-books – it started with Pamela Des Barres I guess. And this is the second book by Bobbie Brown and the second book by Bobbie Brown that I’ve read. Ridiculous.
Bill Orcutt Odds Against Tomorrow Palilalia If you’ve ever imagined what the common ground between John Fahey and Derek Bailey might sound like – then Bill Orcutt is your guy. He’s an Ornette Coleman-like guitarist. He’s equal parts punk, blues and jazz – as he cuts astonishing new shapes through old traditions. Primarily a soloist, […]
Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells II, 1992 Mike Oldfield has made a few Crap Albums I Love but I’m choosing this because it catches him in a lie – previously whinging about how people expected a volume two and that’s what he would never give them…it also meant, after giving in and giving this to The […]
Commodores, Natural High (1978) So many great Commodores songs – and albums. And I realise, just now, that I have mostly concentrated on the back-end of their career – left the first half for the compilations and singles rather than collecting up those first few records (so I’ll address that). I also just had a […]
Lilly Hiatt Walking Proof New West Records Lilly Hiatt has been quietly gathering steam across four records to date – this is her finest though – and the real announcement: She’s arrived. She’s here. She’s a great singer and terrific songwriter and here’s the absolute (walking) proof.
To read a whole book in a day is one of the great joys – and luxuries – of this modern life. For me, first it was Garfield and Footrot Flats. Then it was those adventure books by Willard Price. Probably after that there was something else – maybe a Barry Crump book if I’m […]
David S. Ware New Quartet Théâtre Garonne, 2008 Aum Fidelity David S. Ware lost his battle with kidney failure in 2012 – it was a blood infection that got him following on from his 2009 transplant. He played in pain and without many people knowing for the last two decades of his career. Including here […]
Dennis O’Brien, Still In The Same Dream (1980) Dennis O’Brien, owner of Wellington’s Slow Boat Records was once Dennis O’Brien: Singer/Songwriter. And this is one of his albums. I like this. I’ve had it for a while – you can get a career overview on CD – and that’s decent too but I really like […]
Daniel Lopatin Uncut Gems – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Warp Records A strange adrenalin pushes the movie Uncut Gems – but then its anti-hero Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is compelled by a very strange adrenalin: For him it’s less about winning than it is not completely losing. In his gambler’s mind if he doesn’t lose […]
Here is your four weeks off: Now go write that fucking book you’re always on about. Your kid could have painted that abstract masterpiece so now, with your guidance, is the chance. Fill the museums of your mind. All of those house concerts aren’t going anywhere but they’ll clog the ether forever. Sing! Sing! And […]