Greatest Hits XLII
We’re back into the normal rhythm of greatest hits albums. There are a few I haven’t heard of this week. Is anyone into Guano Apes? Or N-Dubz? I scored 16 Can you beat me? Congratulations to Tony, who scored…
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.
Gillian Welch: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best
For someone born in New York City, Gillian Welch has the uncanny ability to evoke the pastoral music of a bygone America. Part bluegrass and part Appalachian folk, she’s able to sound authentic. She’s accompanied by guitarist Dave Rawlings, who…
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum
They enthralled John Lennon and Paul McCartney with their “Chaucerian wordplay and heavenly Baroque accompaniment”. Procol Harum Gary Brooker sang with The Paramounts, who enjoyed the UK top 40 hit ‘Poison Ivy’ in 1966. Brooker left The Paramounts and formed a songwriting partnership…
Music Quiz: Greatest Hits XLI
There’s a changeup this week after 40 quizzes of the same format. Your challenge is to locate the greatest hits album based on two songs from it. I somehow scored 16/16, with a series of educated guesses. I had…
New Music Reviews: Arooj Aftab and Sabrina Carpenter
Two very different female solo artists this week. Arooj Aftab inhabits a space between folk and jazz on Night Reign. Sabrina Carpenter is between country and 1980s pop on her breakout album Short ‘n’ Sweet. Arooj Aftab Night Reign 2024,…
Nuggets: Moulty by The Barbarians
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965-1968 and was…
Music Quiz: Greatest Hits XL
We’re up to greatest hits quiz 40. According to my maths, we had a five-way tie for first at 14/20 last week – congratulations to all the winners. It’s another tricky one this week. The 1960s male bands (as well…
New Music Reviews: Charly Bliss and Mdou Moctar
Stranded in Australia during the COVID pandemic. Stranded in the US after a coup in Niger. This week’s theme is dislocation, with the power pop of Charly Bliss and the guitar rock of Mdou Moctar both affected. Charly Bliss Forever…
Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo
The siren beats of Pasifika communities in Auckland made it to the top of the American charts, with some help from Jason Derulo and BTS. New Zealand in the US charts Historically, the top of the US charts has been…
Music Quiz: Greatest Hits XXXIX
It’s spring here in New Zealand, which means insanely high winds most of the time. It’s lovely when the winds stop though. This is one of the tougher Greatest Hits quizzes, at least for me. There weren’t many artists I’m…
