Taylor Swift is a megastar, and her celebrity profile sometimes overshadows her musical abilities. Opinions on Swift are wildly diverse. In some quarters, she’s dismissed as disposable music for teenage girls. In others, she’s highly respected as a songwriter and…
Congratulations to EclecticMusicLover who had the only perfect score in last week’s quiz. My performance this week is a little controversial. I was interrupted 3/4 of the way through, forgot to pause, and had to restart. I tried to reconstruct…
Two very different female solo artists this week. Mary Timony is a thirty-year indie veteran, having made her name in the 1990s with Helium. Portuguese-born Erika de Casier makes breezy R&B Mary Timony Untame the Tiger 2024, 7.5/10I only discovered…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 2 Freaks by Timmy Trumpet and Savage Topped the NZ chart: from 17 November 2014 for five weeks After years of bickering over the racehorse Phar Lap, pavlova, and Crowded House, ‘Freaks’ is a lovely…
Another week, and the artists are just getting more obscure. Can you guess these 20 artists from their greatest hits albums? Somehow, I thrifted my way to 19 I had a slight advantage where there’s a relatively obscure NZ…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled 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 a major influence on…
Don Henley was a star even before he began his solo career. He became the Eagles lead singer over the course of their 1970s tenure, fronting hits like ‘The Best of My Love’, ‘One of These Nights’, ‘Hotel California’, and…
Congratulations to EclecticMusicLover, who scored the fastest 20/20 in last week’s quiz. Someone made a ton of these Greatest Hits quizzes. We didn’t start at number 1, but we’re down to #24. This week’s challenge involves distinguishing between a bevy…
Two artists this week where I enjoyed their previous records, but I’m not quite so impressed by their most recent efforts. Atlanta’s Faye Webster plays a distinctive kind of country lounge, while Glass Beach are unclassifiable. FAYE WEBSTER Underdressed at…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 6 Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) by Billy Ocean Topped the NZ chart: from 9 December 1984 for six weeks Billy Ocean is best known for a string of hits in the…
