10 Favourite Bass Players
With its dual functions of rhythm and melody, the electric bass guitar is a staple in most genres of popular music. Its role varies between different acts – sometimes the bass is buried deep in the mix, the glue holding…
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.
Great B-sides: If Only You Were Lonely by The Replacements
The Replacements started as a bratty punk band, but as the 1980s wore on they lost their rough edges. They signed to a major label and shot for mainstream success. Their best years are generally reckoned to be the mid…
Music Quiz: 50 "Rock" Songs
Congratulations to Tony and Geoff, who both scored 32/32 in last week’s 1990s quiz, with Tony scoring the faster time. This week you need to complete song titles with “rock” in them. I scored 49/50 – I was tricked…
Neil Diamond's Five Worst Songs
Adult contemporary superstar and Hebrew Hunk Neil Diamond is a fascinating figure to me. His music is an uncomfortable blend of Brill Building pop, gospel, and confessional writing, like he can’t make up his mind whether he wants to be…
Great B-sides: Girl on LSD by Tom Petty
The late Tom Petty was a brilliant singles artist – he wrote hit after hit of likeable, jangly rock. Contemporaries like Bob Seger and John Mellencamp were popular in America, but didn’t translate to New Zealand radio as easily; Petty’s…
Music Quiz: 1990s Song Title Beginnings II
Congratulations to all of our quiz participants last week. But a special mention goes to Jim, Rich, Aaron, 2Loud, J., and Tony, who all scored 100%, with Tony finishing at a blistering pace with 5:23 to spare. This week’s quiz…
Great B-sides: Pictures of Bernadette by Talk Talk
The untimely passing of Talk Talk mastermind Mark Hollis this week has sent many fans back to re-examine his masterpieces. Many Talk Talk fans opt for the group’s final two records, the spacious and experimental Spirit of Eden and Laughing…
Music Quiz: 20 Famous Guitar Players
Noone managed to score 22 out of 22 in last week’s pictograph puzzle, but lots of people scored 21. Congratulations to Rich, Jim, 2loud2old, and wdeod who all joined me. This week’s quiz requires you to recognise 20 recognisable guitar…
New Music Review: Mitski – Be The Cowboy
Mitski Miyawaki was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother. She studied at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music, during which she self-released her first two albums, and served a short stint as a vocalist in a prog-metal…
Great B-sides: Under the Ivy by Kate Bush
Kate Bush‘s 1982 album The Dreaming was excellent, but it wasn’t especially commercially successful. She’d previously enjoyed ground-breaking UK success; her debut single ‘Wuthering Heights’ made her the first female artist to hit UK number one with a self-penned song.…
