Fiona Apple - "Not About Love"

Fiona Apple wasn't the first young artist to be exploited by a record company.... with the video of her single "Criminal". She hit back by criticising the industry at an awards ceremony and suffered a backlash from the media. By the time she released her third album "Extraordinary Machine" in 2005 she was no longer the mainstream artist her label had probably hoped. Although she still sold truckloads of records, it was nowhere near her debut. Extraordinary Machine was leaked onto the internet before she reworked some tracks, changed the producer and finally officially released it a couple of years later. It is an album that is worth investing some time in.... the rewards are fruitful, both lyrically and musically. "Not About Love" is a good example of her state of mind at that time.

The Naked And Famous - "Young Blood"

The Naked and Famous have been the darlings of the bnet (student radio) stations for the last couple of years.... since their first EP in 2008. But maybe even they wouldn't have expected their latest single "Young Blood" to debut at number one on the NZ singles charts. Not that it isn't worth it, it's just that the top of the charts is usually hijacked by the Kate Perry's and Christina Aguilera's of this world. Their debut album isn't too far away as well and I look forward to that. "Young Blood" sounds very much like some material from Passion Pit, Crystal Castles and even MGMT, but without being wannabes.... they've been doing their own thing for a couple of years, so it's not a case of jumping on the bandwagon. They sound like a young band finding their groove and establishing themselves firmly on the musical landscape. The rest of the world shouldn't miss out on this. It is the best Number One song on the NZ charts since Joy Division's "Love will tear us apart" or the Screeming Meemees' "See me go". A couple of future blogs right there.

Kate Nash - "we get on"

Kate Nash has the ability to tell a story in her songs that a lot of people can relate to. Her lyrics are as real as her English accent, which isn't disguised at all in her songs. With "We Get On" she tells the story of a cheating boyfriend and her friends supporting her with their revelations of disliking him from the start.... from there, she watches a bit of CSI and tries to convince herself that he doesn't matter to her. It is a bitter tale, which is expressed with some passion. It has some great lines that I was going to paste below.... but it's much more powerful hearing it from the heart. This live piano version is my preference and it is also the one played on Bitter FM.

Undertones - "Teenage Kick"s

Northern Ireland band The Undertones released "Teenage Kicks" in 1978 and it is now a classic song that kind of defined that era. They were more on the power-pop side of the punk genre... particularly because they had a great singer with a unique voice and quaver.... in Feargal Sharkey. John Peel was a huge fan from the day he received a demo tape of "Teenage Kicks" and had stated regularly that it was his all-time favourite song. It still sounds fresh now and certainly deserved the acclaim it has received until this day.

Snapper - "Buddy"

Flying Nun band Snapper released "Buddy" in 1988 on their self titled EP. The sound of Snapper is quite straightforward really.... start with some shared vocals by Peter Gutteridge and Christine Voice, add some distorted organ, then add some distorted guitar and then add some drums.... combine it all with some fuzz and how about some more layers of distortion. The result is a melodic drone masterpiece like "Buddy".

Meryn Cadell - "The Sweater"

Canadian Meryn Cadell released "The Sweater" in 1992 on her "Angel Food For Thought" album. It is a clever and very funny song about the obsessions and crushes of teenagers. It starts off with....

"Girls,
I know you will understand this
and feel the intrinsic incredible emotion
You have just pulled over your head the worn,
warm sweater belonging to a boy"

I remember buying the album after seeing the video of this song on TV. It got played a bit on bFM and then sort of fell under the radar... so I'm happy to bring it back to life on Bitter FM.... well, in Taupo at least.
I later found out that the excellent musical backing track was a sample from a Syd Dale song.... so I've included that below as well.



KPM Klassics - Syd Dale - "Walk & Talk"-1968

Die! Die! Die! - "Ashtray! Ashtray!" (EK REMIX)

Auckland punk outfit Die! Die! Die! have been remixed. I never would've thought this song would get the remix treatment. It has been done well though.... it hasn't turned it into an unrecognisable dance floor anthem, thankfully. The original song is from their debut self titled album, which was recorded and mixed in Chicago by Steve Albini..... and would be no surprise to any Big Black fan. "Ashtray! Ashtray!" is a full-on highly intensive punk rock song. And while it has aggressive shouting vocals (which are fantastic, by the way), the band is as tight as a Michael Cullen budget. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!

THE DO - "ON MY SHOULDERS"

If you like a unique singing voice, then this song could be for you. The Do are a French/Finnish duo. The members are Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy. Olivia was born in Finland but formed the band with Dan in Paris in 2005. "On My Shoulders" is a beautiful but unconventional pop song. The guitar and drums are quite intoxicating along with the strings.... but it's the voice that is the real winner here. She sings with a lot of passion and her voice even cracks with emotion. There is an underlying fragility to that sweet voice, which just adds to it's charm. I hope you enjoy this one.

Radiohead - "Just"

I'm not really going to tell you anything you probably don't already know about Radiohead..... so my rant will be short. This song "Just" is as good as any Radiohead song. Basically, because every Radiohead song is good. They have been very consistent with album after album.... while sometimes challenging or experimental, they still never disappointed. "Just" has a video that has had people debating or just trying to figure out ever since it was first shown. If you know what is said at the end... please let me know. Although it is obvious there isn't anything to know.... it's the mystery itself that has the impact and it's quite interesting what theories people come up with.

One Shot for Glory - The offical national New Zealand football team (The...

Maybe the emotion of the surprise draw with Italy at the world cup has got the better of me... but this is a bit of harmless fun. I'm more of a rugby fan but I'm really enjoying this ride the All Whites are taking us on. It will probably be all over on Friday night, so let's enjoy it while we can.

The Black Keys - "Tighten Up"

Ohio two piece blues rock band The Black Keys have been reasonably prolific since forming in 2001. They have released about seven albums, a couple of EP's and a collaboration album with hip hop artists, under the name of Blakroc. On top of that, singer guitarist Dan Auerbach released his debut solo album last year. They have a similar sound to The White Stripes but they aren't wannabes. "Tighten Up" was the first single from the latest album Brothers.

The Wannadies - "Hit"

Like the previous blog... The Wannadies are from another part of the world that over achieves musically. This time I'm talking about Sweden. I'm not even referring to the obvious, but more so the healthy Indie scene over there. The Wannadies formed in 1988 and only just broke up last year. This song "Hit" was on their most successful album 'Bagsy Me' which came out in 1997. This was one of many gems on that album. "You and Me Song", a single from the previous album, was added to the album as well after the success of the Romeo + Juliet movie at the time... which featured it on the soundtrack. "Hit" is typical of the Wannadies sound. It has the poppy vocals backed by a rough or more unsettling energetic background. They are quite different to the Pixies and Nirvana, but have perfected that quiet/loud song structure in a similar way.

Datarock - "Fa Fa Fa"

Datarock are a dance-rock or electro-rock band from the musically over represented city of Bergen in Norway. The late 1990's to early 2000's was the peak of what was known as Bergen Wave... with bands such as Kings of Convenience and Royksopp making a name for themselves internationally and putting the city on the map. Datarock came along at the end of that period with the release of their debut album "Datarock Datarock" in 2005. "Fa Fa Fa" was a single off that album and had an instant appeal from the first time I heard it. They are fans of 80's bands Talking Heads and Devo and that influence can be heard on this song.... particularly Talking Heads. Check it out, it is Fa Fa Fa Fantastic!

Ana Tijoux - 1977

Ana Tijoux is a French/Chilean hip hop artist that has only come to my attention with the release of her second solo album "1977" recently. The album is named after her year of birth.. which was in France while her parents were in exile during the dictatorship of Pinochet. She now divides her time between France and Chile and is a bit of a star in both countries and latin America in general. The title track and single "1977" has her rapping in quick bursts with a fantastic background of beats and strings.... and even horns. This song has been an obsession of mine lately and hopefully soon I can move on to the rest of the album.

Luger Boa - "On My Mind"

After a couple of excellent albums with the D4... Jimmy Christmas has now got his new band 'Luger Boa' up and running. The D4 are either on an extended hiatus or have broken up... the reports are mixed. But Luger Boa is the best substitute you could ask for. They still have that highly intensive garage rock sound of the D4 but with added pop sensibilities. "On My Mind" is a catchy hook laden rock out. It is from their debut album "Mutate or Die" which would make any D4 fan proud. "On My Mind" is the perfect party song.

Matariki

Todays lesson is MATARIKI..... you may sharpen your pencils now.

Yesterday was officially the start to Matariki (The Maori New Year) so todays blog is a celebration of that.
Matariki is celebrated when the seven stars (The Pleiades, commonly known as the seven sisters) first appear in the sky pre-dawn, along with the next new moon in the month of June. It is a time to reflect on the dead and celebrate new life.

Lesson 1, Listen to the following song... about Matariki. Written and performed by Ariana Tikao (click on her name below for link to her myspace page for the song)

Matariki by Ariana Tikao

Lesson 2, Watch the following trailer for the upcoming NZ movie 'Matariki'.



Lesson 3, (Optional, but there will be questions relating to this in the exam) Watch the following interview. Dylan Story - Matariki explained.



Now for the exam... oh, shit! Run out of time. I hope you enjoyed todays lesson. Your homework can be to watch the All Whites world cup match. Class dismissed.

The Eastern - Oh Mystery!

It's about time I posted a song by our friends from Lyttelton and regular Taupo visitors 'The Eastern'.... "Oh Mystery" is the title track to an EP that they toured to promote last year and it is also on their latest album "Arrows" and they have made this song their first video.... well done! In fact, it's no real surprise it has taken them so long to make a video.... because they just get out there and play and go on endless tours.... perfecting their craft, one gig at a time. So making a video wouldn't have been a high priority. Actually The Eastern's Adam McGrath explains it best with a blog from their myspace page www.myspace.com/theeasternfamily I've pasted it below, but I encourage you to check out their myspace page anyway.

(Below is a Blog taken from The Eastern's myspace page)

moving pictures
the general timeline of being in a rock'n'roll band nowaday's appears to be thus:
attend a course in popular music development at a college of higer learning
then
attend small business course
then
attend seminars geared to your development within the music industry
then
create a 'strategy' identifing target 'markets' and defining 'demographics' etc.
then
record album for no less then $20,000
then
apply for nzonair funding for video budget between $5/10,000
then
make video
then
partake in cross country tour of 'main' centres 4 shows should suffice, fly everywhere

as usual the eastern got it all ass backward and we made a video kids...500 shows,one album and two e.p.'s too late...for the princely sum of one $673 bar tab (four bottles of jamiesons, one of johnny walker not includeed), a bucket of good will and four homemade pizza's...

you can find it on the front page of this very myspace site...

all our friends came they dressed up real pretty and we thank them( but we did get them all drunk), apoligies to everyonewho was behind the cameraman, your dancing was perfect but being the eastern we demanded close ups...

it was a swell party makin' the thing...
cheers for sharing your bandwidth with us if you check it out
yours
mcgrath

( Blog taken from www,myspace.com/theeasternfamily )

Modern Eon - "Child's Play"

Modern Eon were a band from Liverpool in the post-punk era. They only released one album "Fiction Tales" in 1981 and I must have been one of the few people that not only had it.. but loved it as well. One of my favourite albums from the 80's. They were a synth-pop band but a little bit different than most of the others around at the time. The album doesn't vary in style much throughout but flows well. It is an album that is best consumed whole... with a break half way through, for turning the record over, of course.... that's because it hasn't yet been re-issued on CD or even available to download. I have to convert my vinyl copy to mp3 and "Child's Play" is the obvious choice to be the first one for Bitter FM playlists.

Tall Dwarfs - "The Slide"

This is probably my favourite Tall Dwarfs song or Chris Knox song... although, that's a big call, so I might have to retract that statement in a future blog. "The Slide" was released in 1987 on the "Dogma" EP and later the "Fork Songs" LP. It has recently been covered by Shayne Carter on the "Stroke - Songs For Chris Knox" album... which is a Chris Knox tribute album, with the proceeds going to him to help with his recovery from a stroke he suffered about a year ago. "The Slide" seems to have higher production values than a lot of their home/ 4-track recordings.... so it could have been at this stage where they progressed to a studio. The subject matter of "The Slide" is euthanasia and is a bit on the morbid side. But with that said, you still can't take away the fact that this is a work of art... a Kiwi indie classic.

God Help The Girl - Funny Little Frog

God Help The Girl is a project put together by Stuart Murdoch from Scottish band 'Belle & Sebastian'. At this stage, they have released a few singles, an EP and an album. The album is basically the soundtrack to a movie that hasn't been made yet. Stuart Murdoch has written the story and the filming begins next year. God Help The Girl features three female singers and a few guest singers and players... along with Stuart himself. Although, he does take a back seat and the girls take care of most of the singing. "Funny Little Frog" is actually a Belle & Sebastian song from 'The Life Pursuit' album. The 'God Help The Girl' version isn't too far from the original orchestrally but the singer this time around gives it more of a 'Dusty in Memphis' sound. It is beautifully sung by Brittany Stallings who won the part from an online competition where people could add their vocals to a demo. Don't get the wrong idea though, this was no Britain's Got Talent. She was picked from 400 entries and going by this song, I hope we hear more from her in the future.

Promises - "Baby It's You"

This is another lost classic we play on Bitter FM.. due to it not being played by commercial radio so much. It was a huge hit at the time but it seems to have out lasted most of the radio friendly fodder of the time. There was something about the video that interested me at the time, I wonder what it was..... Promises consisted of three siblings from Canada but were based in LA at the time. They were definitely a one hit wonder, at least in NZ anyway, where "Baby It's You" was a number one for five weeks. There was a rumour going around that the female singer had died not long after, but that's all it was, a rumour.... she is still alive and well today.
The song has a chorus that most bands would kill for... So see below what the fuss was about or take a trip down mammary lane.
I better check it out myself to see what it was about that video.

IMonster - "Daydream In Blue"

Sheffield band 'I Monster' have been an electronica favourite of mine for years. I first heard this song... coincidently, around the time I also first heard The Gunter Kallmann Choir's version, which I thought was the original. But it was originally released by a Belgian band 'Wallace Collection' in 1968. However, I Monster sampled the Gunter Kallmann cover version and added other samples and extra vocals etc. This version has really given the song another life. Lupe Fiasco even sampled it for his own version featuring Jill Scott. So technically he sampled a sample of a cover.... in fact most of the samplers used all but the original..... are you confused yet? I Monster have a knack of adding enough tweaks and turn enough knobs to lift a song without over doing it. Another thing about them is their fascination with Hammer Horror movies, which I also share. Their name "I Monster", a record label of theirs "Twins of Evil" and a recent single "Lust For a Vampyr" were all Horror movies.




And just for the hell of it, below is the trailer for the Hammer Film "Twins of Evil"

Patti Smith - Horses (full studio version)

OK, we will keep the New York theme going. About a decade after The Velvet Underground, New Yorkers had another ground-breaking artist on the scene. This time it was Patti Smith and she could be seen playing at CBGB's and hanging around with the current emerging punk scene artists like Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine. She had a poetry inspired style of performance, which she has carried through her career. Her debut album "Horses" is ranked as one of the greatest albums, to this day. The title track is actually a part in a trilogy or medley called "Land". It is broken into 3 parts with "Horses" being part 1. It has tributes and borrowed lines of another song within its 9 or so minutes. If anyone got to see the excellent NZ movie "In My Father's Den" you may remember the inspirational use of this album.... particularly "Horses" during a crucial scene. It reminded me how powerful the song was and it was a work of genius by the director.

Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting For The Man

I could have chosen any of the songs from the debut album from The Velvet Underground for this blog. But "I'm Waiting For The Man" is a good representation of their sound and has to be one of their greatest songs anyway. The album 'The Velvet Underground & Nico' was released in 1967 and features plenty of other classics like "Sunday Morning" and "Venus in Furs" along with the Nico sung "Femme Fatale" and I haven't even mentioned the classic drug song "Heroin"..... In fact, drugs were the subject matter for a lot of their songs, including "I'm Waiting For The Man" which is about waiting to buy some heroin from a drug dealer...... he goes on to say "$26 dollars in my hand" and even the street corner. I love the New York sound from that era and it's well known that The Velvet Underground influenced a lot of bands and still do. The Dunedin sound of the Flying Nun bands in the 80's had a real Velvet Underground influence... in my opinion. Particularly The Clean or anything from David Kilgour thereafter. I'm sure I'm preaching to converted anyway, with a song such as this, so I've included a live video from 1972 as well... which is a slightly different version.

Cat Power - "Satisfaction"

Another cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction".... Have I completely lots my marbles? Maybe not, but after the last blog was also an excellent cover of the same song, it might take some convincing to back it up with another one. But I'm up for the challenge and I don't think this will fail to impress. Cat Power released this on 'The Covers Record' album in 2000. She has stripped it right down and has definitely made it her own.... which isn't an easy task, considering the status of the original. The most interesting part about this version is the fact that it omits the choruses completely.... so, to some, it is unrecognisable. I caught her live at the Powerstation when she toured last year and she played this completely with the choruses and it was more in the style of the original.... but this is the version I will always prefer.

Björk and PJ Harvey - "Satisfaction"

This excellent cover of the Rolling Stones' classic song "Satisfaction" was performed at an awards show.... I can't remember which one and I'm actually surprised I even saw it at the time. I usually steer clear of all of those awards shows.... even the NZ Music awards. C4 did replay the NZ awards show music performances and left out the speeches etc. a couple of years ago, which I hope they have continued doing. Now, back to this song, if you haven't heard this before, you may be thinking, why the hell do we need to hear another version of Satisfaction since every bad covers band in every booze barn plays it as well?, and I would agree wholeheartedly.... if I hadn't heard this version as well. But I have, so we are all wrong. Enjoy!

Sleater-Kinney - Oh!

Sleater-Kinney were an Indie rock band from Washington and this is one of their many great songs. They broke up or announced a hiatus in 2006, after 7 albums. "Oh!" is from the 2002 album 'One Beat'... their post September 11 album. Although, not planned that way but some of the material was a reaction to the tragic event. Singer/Guitarist Carrie Brownstein is now a blogger for NPR Music with her blog "Monitor Mix" and is sometimes on "All Songs Considered" an NPR Music show that I download the podcast of. For new-comers to this band, you could start anywhere, as they have been consistently good right from their riot grrrl beginnings. But this isn't a bad place to start.

CONNAN MOCKASIN - It's Choade My Dear

Connan Mockasin is originally from Wellington three piece band Connan and the Mockasins. He has been based in the UK for the last few years. He toured the country recently to promote his new album "Please Turn Me Into The Snat" and the surreal "It's Choade, My Dear" is a single from that album. To describe the music as quirky would be an understatement.... However, it's not pretentious art rock or even self indulgent tinkering. It's so hard to classify as a genre... so it's better to just enjoy it for what it is. Weird and wonderful!!

Gillian Welch - Elvis Presley Blues

Gillian Welch and her musical collaborator Dave Rawlings have recorded about four albums of roots/folk/bluegrass music under her name and one just recently under his name. She also appeared on the soundtrack to the 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' film. "Elvis Presley Blues" is from the third album "Time (The Revelator)" and is a tasteful tribute to the King of Rock n' Roll. The song is sad in the way it tells of his loneliness and decline to the point that it was as if he was relieved to die. I read a biography of Elvis by Greil Marcus (Mystery Train), which covered his life up until his army days and the lyrics do hit home... like a punch in the stomach. And, yes he was just a country boy! To any Elvis fan this is powerful stuff. However, the song may be about Elvis, it is Gillian Welch who is the real star here.

Lyrics below....


I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler,
baby,
Like you never seen

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
How he took it all out of black and white
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
And he shook it like a hurricane
He shook it like to make it break
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby
With his soul at stake

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
He was all alone in a long decline
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
When he shook it and he rang like silver
He shook it and he shine like gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul

He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
He shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like he never seen

Jónsi - Time to Pretend (MGMT Cover)

Jonsi is the singer from Icelandic band "Sigur Ros" and he has just released a solo album. This is a cover of the MGMT hit "Time To Pretend" and was recorded live. It is a toned down version with his falsetto voice at the forefront, as with a lot of the Sigur Ros material. This is gold for a Sigur Ros and MGMT fan.... like me.




Below is the Original song from MGMT