Nirvana/Little Roy - "Lithium"

Not too much more needs to be said about Nirvana and their groundbreaking album 'Nevermind'... except that it has recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary. "Lithium" was one of the standout tracks and is worth a revisit.



Little Roy is a Jamaican reggae artist who started out in the late 60's. He recently released an album of reggae versions of Nirvana songs 'Battle for Seattle.' "Lithium" is an example of how successful he was. Although, a complete album may be a bit too much.

Lana Del Rey - "Video Games" (live on Jools Holland, Oct.11, 2011)

This is the first (and probably last) time I will post a song twice on this blog. But after finding out Lana Del Rey appeared on the legendary 'Later with Jools Holland' show, I wanted to share it. This is evidence to me that she is the real deal.... and I'm still obsessed with this song anyway. I have never known of a new artist where the fans and critics are so divided. The people, like myself, who have been taken in with the beautiful sultry vocals and sensational song structure and songwriting, have been blown away. However, the abhorrence directed towards her by her critics, because of her looks, and whatever else, is a bit extreme to say the least. I admit, I feel that way about some manufactured artists... but my angle is usually from the musical point of view, and musically, I can only be positive about Lana Del Rey thus far.

Skrillex - "First Of The Year (Equinox)"

Skrillex is the musical name for Los Angeles Electro/Dubstep artist and producer Sonny Moore. "First Of The Year (Equinox)" is the first single from his third EP 'More Monsters and Sprites' which also features remixes of the title track to his previous EP "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites." The emphatic utterance of "Call 911 now" at the peak of song is actually sampled from a youtube video of a distressed woman yelling it out in response to skaters photographing or something like that. This song would impress the indie rock crowd as much as the Dubstep/electro-house crowd, and for that reason, I'm surprised it wasn't more successful. Although, the video was definitely successful. Anyone who has seen the movie 'Hard Candy' would be just as impressed with this tale of a predator picking the wrong prey. If you haven't seen the video yet... you are in for a treat. 12 million viewers can't be wrong.



The screaming lady "Call 911 now"....25 seconds in.

True Lovers - "Death Threat"

Auckland musicians Dion Lunadon (The D4) and Ben Maitland (Box Car Guitars) ran into each other and planned to start up a band on a few occasions and one of them was when they found out they were both moving to Los Angeles. However, that fell through and it wasn't until Dion Lunadon moved to New York and convinced Ben Maitland to join him, when they finally got a band going. 'True Lovers' was what they called the band and it wasn't long before they recorded their debut self titled album. The first single from the debut was "Death Threat" and it's a garage rock stomper. A bit like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion... but with Kiwi accents. Better than cool.

The Only Ones - "Another Girl Another Planet"

"Another Girl Another Planet" was the biggest hit for English punk/new wave band 'The Only Ones'. It came from the self titled debut album released in 1978 and its highest chart placing was actually in New Zealand at #44 and only in the top 50 for a week. So this so-called one hit wonder for 'The Only Ones' didn't even qualify for that title because it wasn't a hit at all. But the question remains... why the fuck not? It has to be one of the greatest punk/rock songs of all time. The intro slowly gets consumed by the most amazing guitar solo, and once Peter Perrett starts singing, it is clear we are hearing something quite special. Like 'The Stranglers', 'The Only Ones' probably found themselves in the punk/new wave scene by accident or by association... but The Only Ones ended up providing one of the genre's greatest moments. An undeniable classic!

The Avengers - "Paint It Black"

Okay, this the last 'All Blacks' related song post. A great version of a great Rolling Stones song to go into the Rugby World Cup final with.

Mr. Little Jeans -"Rescue Song" (RAC Remix)

Mr. Little Jeans is the stage name for Norwegian artist Monica Birkenes. The name comes from a character in the film 'Rushmore,' which was a source of inspiration. She is now in Los Angeles recording her debut album. The little material she has released so far has been remixed by many artists including The Naked and Famous, Passion Pit and RAC. "Rescue Song" (RAC Remix) is the perfect pop song/dance club hybrid. She has also recorded an interesting cover of Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"... so if you are a Bitter FM listener, you are definitely going to hear more from Mr.Little Jeans.

Saint Privat - 1,2,3... (Un, Deux, Trois)

We are not far away from the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and France on Sunday night. So to get into the spirit of the final here is an appropriate song from French band 'Saint Privat'... I say appropriate as in New Zealand 'Un' and France 'Deux' hopefully. Some say France don't deserve to be there but that is ridiculous because they won the games at the knockout stage and the others didn't, regardless of their style of play. So well done France... but obviously I am hoping for a New Zealand victory.

Mogwai - "Get To France"

Glasgow indie/instrumental rockers Mogwai have just released an EP 'Earth Division' and "Get To France" is the leading track. I'm sorry but I will have to use the 'melancholy' word for this song, once again. However, this time it hasn't got anything to do with the lyrics... because there aren't any, it's all in the mood of the instrumentation. My definition of this song is 'Indie rock meets classical music for a soundtrack to whatever you are doing.... as long as you are not too happy doing what you are doing. The best thing about Mogwai is their ability to surprise. And this is a pleasant surprise.

Elizabeth Harper - "Trouble In The Palace"

Elizabeth Harper is the lead singer for New York band 'Class Actress' and has also released a self titled solo album, and that is where you will find this song "Trouble In The Palace." She is a singer-songwriter of substance... here is an' artist with dark and melancholy lyrics but she sounds so uplifting and sweet. "Trouble In The Palace" recalls everything from 80's 'Smiths' and 'Sundays' to the current indie-folk it-girls... with some 60's charm thrown in. Take whatever you like from her sound, but one thing is for sure, you will be mesmerized.

Radiohead feat. Sparklehorse - "Wish You Were Here"

Sparklehorse toured with Radiohead in 1996 and they collaborated in 1998 with a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", which sadly, to me, is now a tribute to Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, who took his own life last year. It took me a while to listen to any Sparklehorse music after the death of Mark Linkous. But maybe the time is right for a fitting tribute.

Ruby Frost - "Odyssey"

Auckland singer-songwriter Ruby Frost (born Jane de Jong) is one to watch out for in the future. She is not only a great songwriter and vocalist, she also has a unique D.I.Y fashion sense.... with capes, sequined or glitter painted outfits to go with her stage presence. She had an interesting childhood with her parents founding the Parachute music label as well as being members of the Parachute band.... which meant a lot of traveling, along with her brother, around the world when her parents toured. As she got older she realized her musical direction was not necessarily in line with what the Parachute label was about, her taste was more Karen O, Joanna Newsom and Bjork, so she decided to do it alone and the result was signing with Universal NZ eventually. She is recording her debut album (after already releasing a couple of EPs) with Chris Zane (Passion Pit, The Walkmen) producing. "Odyssey" is a recent single that has been getting a lot of airplay on Bitter FM. It is a slice of cosmic synth-pop combined with a folkiness, possibly, inspired by her idols.

The Strange Boys - "Be Brave"

The Strange Boys are a Texas garage rock band. "Be Brave" is the title track to their second album and it's a barnstorming catchy sing-along song... like a 60's garage classic from a British invasion band, rather than an Austin band from 2010. They even get away with the addition of some clever saxophone. Impure and simple!

Split Enz - "Six Months In A Leaky Boat"

We have a container ship 'Rena' stuck on the Astrolabe reef off the coast of Tauranga. It is now New Zealand's worst maritime oil spill and it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Total disaster! Let's hope it's not there for six months.... but it sure is a leaky boat.

Godley and Creme/Gayngs - "Cry"

Godley and Creme released this single in 1985 and it became their biggest hit. A lot of it's success could be contributed to the groundbreaking video, which used a technology called analog cross-fading, or face morphing. Kevin Godley and Lol Creme had been directing videos since the days of their former band '10cc' and this video for their new musical partnership set them up for a successful career as innovative and creative video directors.... They directed famous videos for The Police, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and many more during the 80's.



Gayngs - "Cry"
Midwest American Indie band 'Gayngs' recorded a cover of "Cry" for their 2010 album 'Relayted'... as if that wasn't enough, they also covered the video... complete with a Kevin Godley cameo.

Haunted Love - "Librarian"

Dunedin band 'Haunted Love' have just released their album 'Spirit Revival' which should be worthy of your hard earned cash. However, today's post is about an earlier song they released called "Librarian"... a twee and wonderful ode to the librarian. With a video that could be subtitled "The revenge of the Librarians." Check it out here, but remember the library etiquette... shhhh.

Kraftwerk - "Telephone Call"

With the recent passing of Apple's Steve Jobs... the man behind the iPhone, I thought a song about telephones may be an appropriate sign of respect. As we know, telephones have changed so much in recent years, and listening to Kraftwerk's "Telephone Call" now, it does sound a bit dated... but only because of the technology changes, not the music itself. This was a good example of how Kraftwerk were way ahead of the pack in music technology. A 2011 version would be very interesting.

Tech Rockstar

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Colin Stetson - "Judges"

Montreal based saxophone player Colin Stetson has toured with Arcade Fire on a regular basis and has performed and/or recorded with many others including Feist, TV on the Radio, Tom Waits, The National, Bon Iver, LCD Soundsystem and Laurie Anderson to name only a few. He has released two solo albums 'New History Warfare Vol. 1' (2008) and 'New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges' (2011) and the song "Judges" from Volume 2 has been getting airtime on Bitter FM lately. You will not believe the sound he creates from a saxophone. Incredible!



(Judges performed live)

Candie Payne - "All I Need To Hear"

Candie Payne is a singer/songwriter from Liverpool with a penchant for the 60's girl group era. In fact, I would say the single "All I Need To Hear" is as close to Dusty Springfield you could get... other than playing a Dusty Springfield record. It is from her debut album 'I Wish I Could Have Loved You More' released in 2007, which was cruelly overlooked. At a time when Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones and the Dap kings were bringing back the 60's soul music in style, somehow Candie Payne was ignored. So perfect... this is "All I Need To Hear."

NEWMATICS - "Riot Squad"

With the Rugby World Cup 2011 at the knockout stage, it seemed appropriate to have a song with a rugby connection. In 1981 the South African 'Springbok' rugby team toured New Zealand. It influenced violent protests throughout the country for the duration of the tour. South Africa's apartheid policy was isolating them on the world stage and sporting contact was discouraged throughout the world. The newly elected National government had a strong stance against politics in sport and decided to allow the New Zealand Rugby Union to proceed with the tour. The protest movement grew in momentum and the country was suddenly divided in two. There were those who strongly opposed apartheid and could not accept any association with South Africa, particularly in their country... and there were others that didn't agree with politics getting in the way of sport, regardless of their opinion on apartheid. Because of the strength of the protest movement, the police had formed two riot squads and they became the face of the police during the tour.
Sometime in 1980 there was a police raid at the popular Auckland rock/punk venue XS Cafe (although, it wasn't highly publicised) where ska/post punk band 'The Newmatics' were playing. They later released a single "Riot Squad" about that incident in 1981. However, history changed all of that during the Springbok tour and it suddenly found itself as the anthem for the protest movement... and I am sure The Newmatics and Simon Grigg of Propeller Records didn't mind one bit. "Riot Squad" is a great slice of New Zealand history.... and musically, it stands up well today.



!981 Springbok tour footage (The flour bomb plane at Eden Park)