Sly Stone. Crazy dream stories are much like poetry on the radio: boring and usually vaguely awkward. But I’m going to take a punt and describe last night’s possibly edam cheese-inspired drama in the hope it’s semi interesting. I dreamt I was at a Sly & The Family Stone gig at a nonexistent 1000-seater venue…
Category: Music
The Lorde Headline You’re Not Reading – ‘Team’ Becomes The 3rd Biggest Kiwi Hit In America Ever
Yesterday’s twin Grammys for Lorde and co-writer / producer Joel Little make it one of the most significant days in New Zealand music history. Winning Best Pop Vocal Performance and the even more prestigious Song Of The Year, Lorde also got strong reviews for her live rendition of the song in question, Royals. With Royals…
Sophie Madeleine Covers The Bee Gees ‘You Win Again’ – Why This Is Complex, Unusual Pop Music
Sophie Madeleine. To celebrate Barry Gibb’s announcement of his first solo American concert dates, here’s a charming little cover of the Bee Gees 1987 UK #1 hit You Win Again. Performed by British singer Sophie Madeleine in 2011, it was part of her 30 Covers 30 Days project. On her YouTube site she explains: “Being…
RIP Phil Everly – A Forgotten 80s Top 10 Hit With Cliff Richard
Single sleeve, 1983. Phil Everly – one half of pioneering rock ‘n’ roll duo The Everly Brothers – has died aged 74. My appreciation of The Everly Brothers initially came through the incredible artists they directly influenced – everyone from the Beatles to the Beach Boys to Simon and Garfunkel to Bob Dylan to the…
The Real Barry Gibb Appears On The Barry Gibb Talk Show: The Symbolism Of It All + What He Was Wearing Around His Neck
Justin Timberlake (Robin Gibb), Barry Gibb & Jimmy Fallon (Barry Gibb). *SEE JANUARY 6TH UPDATE BELOW. Christmas has come early, the real Barry Gibb has just performed on the beloved Saturday Night Live skit The Barry Gibb Talk Show. And what was he wearing around his neck? The pounamu (greenstone) he was given in New…
Alicia Keys Concert Review Vector Arena, Auckland – Plus 2 Of Her Songs Bacharach Would Be Proud Of
Alicia Keys. I tweeted last night that five years ago Alicia Keys at Vector Arena rocketed into my all-time top 10 concerts and that there was no pressure on Alicia as a result. When she was nearly 30 minutes late taking the stage, rumours* started circulating that due to my tweet she was feeling overwhelmed…
Commodores Bassist Ronald LaPread’s Powerful Tribute To Nelson Mandela – 1 Of The Commodores Most Inspiring Songs
Nelson Mandela. Last night on The Two on Newstalk ZB we paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, taking calls from listeners for the entire three hours about what the great man meant to them. One of the callers was none other than former Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread. Having grown up in Alabama during the Civil Rights…
Bee Gees Cracking Jokes & Singing Silent Night On Cilla Black’s 1983 Christmas Special
From a nonexistent Bee Gees LP, photo circa 1973. Less than two weeks out from Christmas, it’s time for a good Christmas-y post, so here are two clips, one from the Bee Gees and the other from Sheryl Crow. The Bee Gees clip is both charming and unique. Appearing on Cilla Black’s TV show in…
Nelson Mandela Dies – U2 Pays Tribute With ‘Ordinary Love’
Nelson Mandela. “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” I thought of this Nelson Mandela quote a couple of days ago when New Zealand politician John Banks was once again trying to tell all who’d listen that anyone who knows him knows he’s an…
30 Years Since Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s Death – The Stunning Surf Gospel Of ‘River Song’
Dennis Wilson. Yesterday would’ve been the 69th birthday of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson so I played a bit of his spectacular solo work River Song on the radio in his honour. After playing the clip it occurred to me it must be close to 30 years since his death (through drowning) and a quick Google…
20 Years Since The Bee Gees ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ – Their Finest Post-Fever Song?
Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb – 1993. This November marked 20 years since the Bee Gees released one of the strongest ballads of their career with a song that – had it not been for the likes of Mr Blobby – may’ve even been a UK Christmas #1. As it turned out, the brothers had…
So What If We’re Controlling All The Oil? Prince, Sheryl Crow & The Debate Over Deep-Sea Oil Drilling
Sheryl Crow. In New Zealand right now there is a huge amount of talk about the rights and wrongs of deep-sea oil-drilling, so I thought it only appropriate to find a way to link this topic to a couple of songs. Like a lot of debates, I’ve been frustrated at peoples’ desire to make this…
