Halleluwah by Can
Germany’s Can were too ahead of their time, and too weird, to enjoy a hit record, but they were hugely influential; for instance, when Radiohead ditched guitar rock in favour of more experimental work, Can were one of the bands…
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.
A Rose Is Still A Rose by Aretha Franklin
For some reason I never found Aretha Franklin’s original studio albums in second-hand bins, and for years the only album I owned from her was a double disc retrospective. The second disc dabbles in her 1980s work, with star power…
Eleanor by Vigilantes of Love
Vigilantes of Love took their name from the New Order song ‘Love Vigilantes’. The band hailed from Athens, Georgia, a city with rich pop music heritage; in all honesty they’d probably struggle to break onto a list of greatest musical…
Pavement (by voting and webpoll)
I’ve been covering Pavement’s albums over the last week or so – revisiting their five albums has helped me to appreciate them more, and how full of ideas their albums are. They’re definitely a strong contender for the best guitar…
Trump and Climate
I know this is usually a music blog, and apologies to my regular readers for the change in topic today – this is just a one-off. I’m hardly qualified to be a political commentator but wanted to vent a little.…
Male, Middle Class, and White
Right now, I have created 63 artist pages on this blog, and 59 of them are white. Two of the four non-white artists covered are relatively obscure New Zealand acts. And here’s a random selection of ten songs that my…
Inherently Sexy Barley Fields – Quotes By Sting
I’ve been covering Sting on this website this week: I generally find that his solo career is under-rated – while The Police have great singles, their albums all have filler, and the terrific 1992 Greatest Hits is most of…
Three Great Albums – Marquee Moon, Spilt Milk, and Southeastern
I’ve had a lot of time for writing recently; some leave and then a work trip with long haul flights and time in airport lounges. Lately, I’ve made several pages for acts with only a handful of albums to their name.…
New Zealand Music Month
Each May is New Zealand Music Month. It’s a promotion that has outstayed its welcome, especially as New Zealand has outgrown the cultural cringe for homegrown music that was evident in the 1960s and 1970s. But, perhaps not coincidentally, I’ve…
A Duck in a Microwave – and other music jokes
Soul singer Bill Withers was one of the most universally loved performers of the rock era – does anyone not enjoy nuggets like ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and ‘Lean On Me’. As well as his music, Withers was also the subject…
