New Jersey’s James Murphy obviously has a terrific record collection – his favourite artists include The Fall, Yes, The B-52’s, David Bowie, and Can. LCD Soundsystem’s music echoes these influences, along with electronic pioneers like New Order and Kraftwerk. Murphy…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 4 Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex Topped the NZ chart for 6 weeks from 5 March 1995. Rednex Inspired by Ricky Skaggs, Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan “Öban” Öberg, and Ranis Edenberg formed Rednex. They…
Over the last couple of days, a treasure trove of Beach Boys outtakes has slipped out into the wild. It’s on Google Drive, archive.org, and other places. The leaked songs span the band’s career, but I’m most interested in the…
I often try to steer away from single-artist quizzes. But I figure Three Dog Night are a level playing field – most people know some songs, but probably not many mega-fans out there. Can you complete the titles of these…
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel started their recording career as Tom & Jerry in 1957, making teen-oriented Everly Brothers style pop. After a temporary split, they re-branded as Simon & Garfunkel, an earnest folk duo. Their debut album, 1964’s Wednesday Morning,…
Credits 3 I WISH I WAS FIVE – Scrugg (U.K.)(John Kongos) Personnel/JOHN KONGOS: vocals, guitar * PETE CLIFFORD: guitar, vocals * CHRIS: organ * DOC WATSON: drumsProduced by JOHN SCHROEDERRecorded in London, EnglandPye single #7N-17492 (1968) Scrugg John Kongos was…
I have an irrational love for John Finnemore’s Teddy Lester books. First published in the early 20th century, they were republished in the 1950s. My dad won some as school prizes, and I completed the collection on TradeMe (New Zealand’s…
Can you identify 20 artists by their third album? I identified them all in 1:03, although I had to resort to genre-based guessing for the last few. Congratulations to Rich Kamerman, who just pipped Max and jprobichaud for last…
On New Year’s Eve 1974, Mick Fleetwood invited guitarist Lindsey Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham insisted that his girlfriend Stevie Nicks was part of the package, and Fleetwood Mac’s tenth and most successful line-up was formed. The line-up of…
Warren Zevon emerged later than most of his LA singer-songwriter contemporaries. His work was often dark and nasty, like film noir in song. Zevon was born in Chicago – his father worked as a bookie for the notorious Los Angeles…
