Singing drummer Andy Sturmer and keyboardist Roger Manning started playing together at high school in Pleasanton, California. They formed their own power-pop band in 1989. Jellyfish were never commercially successful and only lasted half a decade. But they’re the most…
Welcome back for another week of quizzing. Can you link 20 (increasingly obscure) artists to their greatest hits albums? There seem to be increasing numbers of artists I don’t care about (sorry Gareth Gates) but I scrounged my way…
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…
My nine-year-old daughter recently had a school assignment to write down her favourite similes in songs. It looked fun, so I’ve also taken on the challenge. Just to remind you, if you’ve forgotten since school, a simile is: a figure…
Good morning (NZ time), and I hope you’re ready for another round of quizzing. Like before, you need to link 20 greatest hits albums with their artists. I scored 14/20 – can you beat me? Apart from Ron Mael’s…
Two solo artists are back from unusually long hiatuses this week. Kamasi Washington’s tenor saxophone-driven jazz fusion is back for his first solo album since 2018’s Heaven and Earth. Husky-voiced British pop vocalist Dua Lipa is also back. Enjoy! Dua…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 3 Just Lose It by Eminem Topped the NZ chart: from 5 November 2004 for five weeks I’ve never devoted much thought to Eminem. I was almost through my teens when his breakthrough The Slim…
Welcome back for #29 in a series that seemingly never ends. Well done to EclecticMusicLover, who top scored with 19 I scored 17/20, which I was happy with. I’d never heard of Letters to Cleo, Baccara, or Katherine Jenkins.…
It might sound like another brace of female solo artists this week. But Cindy Lee is the stage name for Canadian musician Patrick Flegel, formerly of Women. It’s a strong batch this week – the mainstream maverick Billie Eilish, and…
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…
