Along with a possible posthumous Robin Gibb album and talk of the first solo Barry Gibb release since 1988’s Hawks soundtrack, Bee Gees fans also have a new boxed set to look forward to in 2014. Released in April, The Bee Gees: The Warner Bros. Years 1987-1991 will comprise five CDs covering three studio…
Tag: Music
RIP Charlotte Dawson – Elton John’s Blistering Attack Against Trolls, ‘All The Nasties.’
Charlotte Dawson. So sad to hear about New Zealand / Australian broadcaster Charlotte Dawson’s death. Whatever the details turn out to be, she was someone long tormented by online abuse. The things we say to each other online are often so staggeringly horrid – hopefully this makes some people think again before typing. As Elton…
Eminem At Western Springs, Auckland – My All-Time Hip-Hop Top 20
Eminem. Has anyone ever written blogs about Captain & Tennille and Eminem on the same day? It’s the question on everybody’s lips this summer. Suffering a whiff of FOMO* right now with 50,000 of my fellow Aucklanders at the Eminem Western Springs gig, I couldn’t resist making a semi-controversial list. Here are my top 20…
Captain & Tennille Divorce After Nearly 40 Years Of Marriage – The Forgotten Art Of Cuss-Free Pop Music
Captain & Tennille. I’m mildly gutted to hear Captain & Tennille are divorcing. After 39 years of marriage! I only found this out when I saw that this Valentine’s Day was 40 years since they married. Unsure whether they were still a couple, a quick Google search revealed they’d gotten a divorce just last month….
‘Valentine’s Day’ By Bruce Springsteen – One Of His Most Underrated Ballads
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Here’s one of the great underrated Bruce Springsteen ballads, Valentine’s Day, from 1987’s Tunnel Of Love. It’s a reflective, melancholy piece with some spiritual themes too. This has always been my favourite verse: They say if you die in your dreams you really die in your bed But honey last night I dreamed…
Sheryl Crow Gets Her Political, Rock & Roll Swagger Back – ‘Shine Over Babylon’
Sheryl Crow. For her 52nd birthday, here’s precisely the sort of Sheryl Crow song I wish more people knew. I saw a recent interview where she said she wanted to be remembered for music that mattered so with that in mind, have a close listen to Shine Over Babylon. From her excellent 2007 LP Detours,…
RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman – A Sad, Stunning Burt Bacharach Instrumental In Tribute
Philip Seymour Hoffman. Some people mock the tributes and grief seen on social media when celebrities die, as if we kid ourselves into thinking we’ll miss people we never knew in the first place. Maybe sometimes there’s a slither of truth in that, but it overlooks our ability to be profoundly inspired by figures we…
The Time I Requested A Song At A Sly & The Family Stone Concert
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…
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…
