Music With A Message – My Newstalk ZB Interview On Why Pop Matters

A few weeks back I was interviewed on another Newstalk ZB show, Total Recall, about pop songs that have a message and a conscience. As someone who loves popular music and the possibilities of the format (including when it’s being highly socially charged) this is one of my favourite topics. In the clip below (approximately…

Coast Soul Turns 1! Celebrating 50 Years Of The Greatest Soul & R&B

My soul and R&B iHeartRadio station and Coast FM radio show, Coast Soul, turned one last week. To celebrate, all the featured artists were the greatest of the great – think Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, the Temptations, Diana Ross, the Commodores, Aretha Franklin etc. One of the joys of creating this station is the balance between…

The Commodores 10 Funkiest Songs

The Commodores in the mid 70s. Today is the 66th birthday of one of the funkiest bass guitarists in history so it seemed like a good time wheel out this little top 10 list. Ronald LaPread was the bassist for the Commodores from 1969 until his departure for a new life in New Zealand in…

The Top 5 Underrated Lionel Richie Ballads

In my attempts to get over being unable to attend last night’s Lionel Richie concert (and mini-Commodores reunion with bassist Ronald LaPread), I thought I’d bust out another one of my “underrated” lists. A few days ago I wrote of Lionel Richie’s considerable funk credentials with a piece about the 10 best Commodores funk songs,…

Missing Kiwi On MH370 A Passionate Lionel Richie And Bee Gees Fan

The latest developments in the mystery of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 have turned attention towards the pilot and have in turn raised hopes, albeit faint, that the people onboard may still be alive. It’s really only when you find out the personal stories about people involved in tragedies that your cold fascination with a news…