It’s a 1990s revival week but with sneaky aliases. The leaders from two of the 1990s most beloved guitar bands are back. Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus has released an album with The Hard Quartet. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke are…
3 Wind It Up by Gwen Stefani Topped the NZ chart: for 2 weeks from 25 December 2006. Gwen Stefani was already an established star before she went solo. She sang for California ska-punk band No Doubt, fronting hits like…
I don’t know what we will do with our lives now that almost 50 rounds of compilations are done. But we could try linking albums to artists. Even if you don’t know the albums, you should be able to link…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the two-album set Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from 1965 to 1968 and was a major influence…
Curtis Lee Mayfield started his recording career in the 1950s. He was a member of The Impressions, whose first single, ‘For Your Precious Love’, was released in 1958. He emerged as a songwriter in the 1960s with hits like ‘People…
It’s the final quiz in the series. It’s dedicated entirely to Beatles compilations. It’s a weird quiz, with some gimmes like 1 and The Blue Album, but also some tricky ones. Even people who know every Beatles song probably don’t…
This week’s selection of albums is dark but enjoyable. Soccer Mommy confronts loss on Evergreen, while an ageing Robert Smith wrestles with mortality on The Cure’s fourteenth album. Soccer Mommy Evergreen 2024, 8.5/10Evergreen feels like a return to basics for…
9 Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO (featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock) Topped the NZ chart: for 11 weeks from 4 April 2011. The two members of LMFAO are descended from musical royalty. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder…
Welcome back to the final conventional week of this epic series. There’s a number 50, but it’s dedicated entirely to Beatles’ compilations. Does anyone know why 49 isn’t IL in Roman numerals? I scored 13/20 this week. I struggled…
Two English-based artists this week. Australian Nick Cave is back for another album of piano ballads, albeit less doom-laden than usual. Kelly Lee Owens explores her pop-oriented side on her fourth album Dreamstate. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Wild…
