Jed and Hera - "Issues"

We've already had Hera on this blog with her single "Feels So Good"... a song that still gets plenty of airplay on Bitter FM. Hera Hjartardóttir was born in Iceland and moved to New Zealand in her early teens. She returned to Iceland regularly in the early part of her career and also recorded some material there (in English and Icelandic). Her use of facial art, which she applies before performances, is inspired by the Maori moko and Celtic warrior paint. Jed and Hera is a collaboration with fellow Christchurch musician Jed Parsons. They have developed into a much-loved folk duo around Christchurch and the rest of us are catching on. "Issues" is their new single - a bittersweet folk song with plenty of harmonies and even more character.



Hera - an Icelandic star



Hera - "Makebelieve" from 2002

The Specials - "Ghost Town"

I was about to put together today's blog post, when I happened to notice the most viewed post today was Morrissey's "Margaret on the Guillotine"... it is, after all, the day of Margaret Thatcher's death. That song was posted on June 16, 2011. I personally don't want to turn this into some sort of anti Margaret Thatcher stand, particularly today. However, there were so many songs in the 80's that were inspired by Margaret Thatcher. To be fair, no Tory leader would ever please the left wing working/middle class. But her iron fist policies and reforms (what was known as Thatcherism), were way out of order for this group of people. It didn't take long before the musicians were expressing their anger through song... and there was no shortage of them throughout her reign. One was "Ghost Town" by The Specials, which was a lot more subtle than most of the others. Now a timeless classic, but it does portray the bleakness of Britain at the time.



Morrissey - "Margaret on the Guillotine"

It may not be the best time to re-post this. But just to verify the antagonism, here is the original blog post from 2011.....


One thing has to be said about great songwriters... and that is their ability to convey messages and subjects in a cryptic, ambiguous and subtle way. Often getting the message through to us eventually, sometimes with the help of a press release, and other times giving everyone a differing opinion. There have been books written about a single Bob Dylan song... let alone, hundreds of books pondering the lyrics provided by him and many other artists. Which proves that we like to have an opinion on, and discuss the meaning of, a lot of the great songs out there. Morrissey is a great example of a lyricist with so much respect... with tons of literary references throughout his songs. However, there is one such Morrissey song that he completely forgot about subtleties and he just went for the jugular. That song is "Margaret on the Guillotine" from his post Smiths debut solo album 'Viva Hate' (the album was originally released as 'Education in Reverse' in New Zealand) released in 1988. It was about the then Prime Minister of the UK, Margaret Thatcher. His tongue may have been in his cheek, but it made me a little uneasy the first time I heard it... partly because this time I didn't have to decipher the lyrics at all... my perspective would've been the same as everyone else's. A grand political protest statement? or just lyrically lazy? Either way, I forgave him.

The Kane Gang - "Respect Yourself"

The Kane Gang's 1985 cover of the Staple Singers' soul classic "Respect Yourself" came along at the time dance music was making inroads into the synth-pop market and soul music was having a resurgence. From my point of view, "Respect Yourself" by The Kane Gang was the missing link between the new wave and cult bands, the pop stars (Madonna, Prince etc.) and the new (formerly underground) dance scene. Nowhere near as essential as the original, but for me it was huge.

Chvrches - "Now is Not The Time"

Chvrches are a Scottish synth-pop band who are creating a bit of a buzz at the moment. With only an EP 'Recover' under their belt so far, the debut album is well anticipated. "Now is Not The Time" is from the EP and it is fvcking fantastic.

UNKLE - "Money And Run" (feat. Nick Cave)

I know fans of Nick Cave would be pleased with the recent release of the brilliant Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album 'Push the Sky Away' but there may be few who missed his guest appearance on the 'Unkle' album 'Where Did the Night Fall' album. It was actually part of the re-release version with the additional 'Another Night Out' disc. The song is "Money and Run"... think of it as a little gift from your favourite Unkle.

Wesley Wolfe - "Stranded With You"

Wesley Wolfe is a great musician/producer from a town called Carrboro, not far from Chapel Hill. He could be described as a bedroom producer, however, his output is not like your typical lo-fi folky, or even your typical computer electronica whizz-kid... much more pop sounding, but from an indie kid. "Stranded With You" is from his 2011 album 'Cynics Need Love Too' and it has a hypnotic beat and great vocals. His talent doesn't stop there though. He also lathe cuts all his releases (and others) on to vinyl, from his apartment. This process basically gives you a master copy when you buy it... instead of pressing copies from the master. Long live vinyl!



Here is a time lapse video of Wesley Wolfe lathe cutting a copy of his album

Natacha Atlas - "Eye Of The Duck"

Natacha Atlas is literally like an atlas when you look at her ancestry and influences. Belgian raised by her Moroccan/Egyptian/Palestinian father and British mother. She moved to England with her mother when her parents separated. She joined Transglobal Underground as the lead singer and belly dancer before launching her solo career. She is multilingual and has recorded songs in all of the languages she speaks, including Arabic, French, English, and Spanish. In fact, she is very popular in France due to her French language releases. She is now considered one of the greatest exponents of the East/West fusion... which started with Transglobal Underground. "Eye of the Duck" is a perfect example of East meets West and it has so many things going on.... Dancehall, RnB, Middle Eastern, Pop, Rap and Electronic... oh, and you can even hear some Auto-Tune vocals as well. She is supported by former band mate Tuup from Transglobal Underground and Rap artist Princess Julianna. I guarantee that this could get any party going and if there happen to be a couple of belly dancers in the room, even better.