Music Quiz: Who Died First?
Congratulations to Rich, Tony, and 2loud2old, who all scored full marks in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz is slightly…
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Husband House by Sneaky Feelings
I’ve undergone a career change this week – I’ve dropped from full-time to a few hours a week, while my…
Music Quiz: Put the Word in Two Song Titles
Congratulations to everyone who scored 20/20 in last week’s Lego quiz. This week requires you to find the overlapping word…
Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
My most played album over the last month has been Kacey Musgraves’ third major label long player, Golden Hour. Musgraves…
Walk On By – Isaac Hayes
My walk to work this week has been different than usual. Can any of my perceptive readers guess which city…
Music Quiz: Lego
Congratulations to Music Enthusiast Jim, who successfully named 35 of the 37 women in the rock and roll hall of…
The French Inhaler by Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon was an industry veteran by the time he made his major-label debut in 1976. He’d toured with the…
Music Quiz: Women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Tony, who smoked the rest of the field in the tricky song title quiz last week. This week’s…
Radiohead Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
The members of Radiohead formed the band at high school – they were originally named On A Friday, reflecting their…
Screwed by Janelle Monáe featuring Zoe Kravitz
Up until this year’s Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe’s entire musical career has consisted of Afro-Futurist concept albums, based around her…
Music Quiz: Song Title Not In Lyrics
Congratulations to 1001 Albums Geoff, who won the music quiz for a second straight week, scoring 42/90 in joining the…
Hit Me Like You Did The First Time by The Flaming Lips
With all the success The Flaming Lips enjoyed with their layered, emotional Pet Sounds-inspired albums like The Soft Bulletin and…
Music Quiz: Make the Band Name
Congratulations to 1001 Albums Geoff, who scored full marks in last week’s tough singer geography quiz. This week you need…
Mark Prindle’s Greatest Hits
Between 1996 and 2011, Mark Prindle wrote thousands of album reviews for his website, www.markprindle.com. His reviews were often focused…
Haitian Fight Song by Charles Mingus
Although jazz bassist Charles Mingus was best known for his musical accomplishments, he was a renaissance man with interests in…
Music Quiz: Singers by Birth Country Minefield
Congratulations to Tony, who scored 40/40 in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz, my score won’t be difficult to beat…
Heads Roll Off by Frightened Rabbit
‘Heads Roll Off’ has one of my favourite openings – a Church-like organ fills the room, before a chugging guitar…
Music Quiz: Before and After
Congratulations to Rich, Tony, and 2loud2old, who all scored 25/28 in last week’s 7 to 1 female artist quiz. We’ve…
Arguing with Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scarrufi has run an internet site since the 1980s, covering not only music, but travel, film, politics, and pretty…
White Queen (As It Began) by Queen
Making and reading lists is one of the Great Pursuits of music geekdom, and I’ve certainly indulged from time to…
Music Quiz: 7 to 1 Female Artists
Congratulations to Tony (), who headed off Rich and Chris for the highest score in a tough duets quiz last…
Under Attack by ABBA
It’s been an interesting month for 1970s band reunions – first we had Fleetwood Mac drop Lindsey Buckingham, effectively becoming…
Music Quiz: Duets
Congratulations to Boppins and Tony, who scored the only 15/15s in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz concerns duets. Pick…
Ofakombolo by Jupiter & Okwess
My wife and I are away on our tenth wedding anniversary holiday this weekend. I wanted to post a song…
Music Quiz: Aircraft on Album Covers
We had lots of full scores in last week’s relatively easy quiz – congrats to Rich, Tony, jprobichaud, Chris, J.,…
Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn and Herbs
Every New Zealand #1 single… Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn and Herbs Topped the NZ chart from 5 October…
Music Quiz: Complete the Band Name with a Picture
Congratulations to Tony () who scored 19/20 in last week’s quiz. This week’s is a bit easier – it requires…
Rockism and Poptimism: or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Carly Rae Jepsen
I’ve been recently reading about Rockism and Poptimism, two different schools of music criticism. It’s been interesting for me, both…
I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song) by Los Lobos
The most interesting news story to emerge from New Zealand this weekend was an attempted monkey burglary at Wellington Zoo.…
Music Quiz: First Line of Songs
I think last week’s Beatles quiz had a record number of entirely correct entries – well done Chris, introgroove, Geoff,…
September by Earth, Wind & Fire
It’s already Easter Sunday in New Zealand today, so it seems appropriate to cover a piece of music that I…
Music Quiz: Finish The Beatles lyrics
Congratulations to Rich (), who scored the only 100% in last week’s quiz. This week’s quiz requires you to complete…
Man Without Ties by Paul Westerberg
The Replacements are one of my favourite bands of all time, with their rough and ready bar band sound contrasting…
Music Quiz: Which Band Released Which Songs?
Last week’s unusual quiz format threw a few people, and we had a lot less entries than usual. Congratulations to…
Piano Concerto, Op. 42, by Arnold Schoenberg
Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg had a controversial career – he was a modernist who embraced the 12 tone scale, and…
Weekly Music Quiz: Mystery Songs, Mystery Album
Congratulations to Tony () who scored the sole 100% in last week’s Metallica and Wiggles quiz. This week’s quiz requires…
Paul Simon Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
Paul Simon has enjoyed a long, worthwhile solo career since Simon and Garfunkel‘s breakup in 1970. A musical chameleon, he…
Guess I’m Dumb by Glen Campbell
In late 1964, Brian Wilson quit touring with The Beach Boys so that he could focus on composing and arranging…
Music Quiz: Metallica or The Wiggles?
Last week’s history quiz produced a wide range of scores, but congratulation to the three players who were all tied…
The Story Of Rock and Soul Music: Album Reviews and Lists 1960-2016 by Scott Floman
When I first started this website, almost twenty years ago, I was an obscure part of a community of amateur…
Richard by Nadia Reid
My favourite musical discovery of 2018 has been Nadia Reid. Reid is from Dunedin in the south of New Zealand,…
Music Quiz: History in Song
Congratulations to Rich and Tony who both scored 25/25 in last week’s music video quiz. This week’s quiz requires you…
Your Significant Other’s Favourite Music
Over the past few days, I’ve been reviewing Lauryn Hill’s discography. It wasn’t a difficult task – in the twenty…
New Mistake by Jellyfish
There’s recently been a study released, based on streaming data from Spotify, that indicates that most people gravitate towards music…
Music Quiz: 1980s Music Videos
Congratulations to everyone who scored 100% last week – Rich, Chris, J, Geoff, 2loud2old, and Tony. This week’s quiz requires…
Five Musicians who look like Librarians
There’s a stereotype in popular music of youth and charisma, but not everyone fits the mould. Here are five very…
Night So Long by HAIM
I’ve already discussed HAIM recently on this blog, and I still find their sunny harmonies like musical comfort food, but…
Music Quiz – Dropped Albums
Congratulations to Aaron from who scored a perfect 20 in last week’s quiz. I think this week’s quiz will…
Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega
We’ve recently been away on a family road trip. My six year old is tolerant of different music, only once…
Music Quiz – Greatest Hits
Congratulations to Tony and to 2Loud2OldMusic, who both scored full marks in last week’s debut album quiz. This week we’re…
Restoration Day by Deborah Makarios – Book Feature
Usually this blog focuses on music, but my sister-in-law, who’s a full time writer, just self-published her first novel. Deborah…
The Classical by The Fall
Over the last fortnight, while on holiday, I’ve been reading an oral history of Rough Trade Records, who boasted acts…
Weekly Music Quiz: Debut Albums
Congratulations to Rich and Aaron who both scored full marks last week (and apologies to any late entries – I…
Borderline by Madonna
As an eager young music fan, I was perhaps an archetypal rockist. I wasn’t necessarily sexist, but 19 year old…
Weekly Music Quiz: Big in Canada
Congratulations to Geoff and Tony who both scored 28/30 in last week’s tough anagram’s quiz. Geoff is going to have…
Ella Guru by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
One of my favourite books is The Rolling Stone Rock ‘n’ Roll Reader, a collection of Rolling Stone articles and…
Music Quiz: Anagrams
Congratulations to the 20/20 scorers last week – 2loud2oldmusic and keepsmealive both scored full marks. I found this week’s challenge…
Revolution Blues by Neil Young
It sucks to be me, but I’ve just spent most of the last week at a work conference at a…
Music Quiz: Caps
Congratulations to Tony and KamerTunesBlog who both scored a perfect 20/20 last week. This week’s challenge is to identify the…
The Moody Blues Core Seven Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
Between 1967 and 1972, Birmingham’s The Moody Blues released seven studio albums, commonly referred to as the core seven. They…
Highwayman by Paddy McAloon and Jimmy Webb
One of my favourite musical discoveries of 2017 has been the solo catalogue of Jimmy Webb. While his 1970s albums…
Christmas Must Be Tonight by The Band
I spent my time at University working in a supermarket part time, and it only served to deepen my apathy…
Beatles Album Battle: Revolver vs Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
For all the great music that The Beatles made, my favourite two albums from the Liverpool quartet are their mid…
Locked Inside by Janelle Monáe
I haven’t spent a lot of time with Janelle Monáe yet, but she’s impressive; able to enjoy popularity despite an uncompromising…
Blog Dylan: Live in 1966
Bob Dylan’s a major musical figure who I haven’t covered on this blog yet. He has a huge discography, brimming…
King Crimson: Five Best Albums
King Crimson aren’t so much a band as a series of bands, all featuring idiosyncratic guitarist Robert Fripp. With a…
Nature’s Best? 30 Great New Zealand Songs
Welcome back for the 4th and final episode of my run through of New Zealand’s 30 greatest pop songs –…
Nature’s Best? 30 Great New Zealand Songs (part 3)
This post is part of the collaborative blog series on compilations organised by Vinyl Connection. Welcome back for the 3rd installment…
Nature’s Best? 30 Great New Zealand Songs (part 2)
This post is part of the collaborative blog series on compilations organised by Vinyl Connection. Welcome back for the 2nd examination…
Nature’s Best? 30 Great New Zealand Songs (part 1)
Welcome to the Various Artists/Various Blogs Festival! Check out this page at the Vinyl Connection for all the posts as we…
Paul Kelly – Life is Fine
Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly doesn’t have a lot left to prove with the 23rd studio album of his career. While…
Long Time Missing by Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene passed away unexpectedly in his sleep this week at the age of 59. The critically acclaimed power pop…
Gustavo by Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle
Mark Kozelek has steadily released a handful of brilliant songs on most of his albums, ever since the Red House…
Haim: Classic or Dud?
I’ve spent a lot of time on this blog so far with music from the 1960s and 1970s, and it’s…
Landed – Ben Folds
As a piano playing singer and song writer, North Carolina’s Ben Folds is almost inevitably going to draw comparisons to…
Neil Finn – Out Of Silence
Neil Finn is a respected elder statesman of New Zealand pop, with a recording career that stretches back to Split…
Five Best Bruce Springsteen Albums
It took me a while to warm to Bruce Springsteen – the radio mostly played his 1980s hits from Born…
Holy Grail by Hunters & Collectors
Melbourne’s Hunters & Collectors started as an arty new-wave band, but ‘Holy Grail’, released in 1992, is slice of Australian…
Tuesday’s Top Tens
Happy Tuesday morning* (New Zealand time)! Often on Tuesday morning I feature an artist that I’ve recently added to the…
Second Song – TV on the Radio
Brooklyn indie band TV on the Radio were formed in 2001. They’re effectively a rock band, but their music is…
Elvis Costello Albums: Ranked from Worst To Best (The First Ten Years)
He scored a recording contract in 1977, as the punk and new wave movements opened the doors for fresh artists.…
Jesus Was A Cross Maker by Judee Sill
California’s Judee Sill had a troubled childhood, losing her father to pneumonia at eight years old. Her mother’s second marriage…
The Go-Betweens: Albums Ranked from Worst To Best
Brisbane’s The Go-Betweens are one of my favourite bands, but it’s sometimes difficult to explain their appeal. Robert Forster and…
How To Make Gravy by Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s a respected songwriter in Australia, with a solo career that began in 1981. He’s the type of figure…
Straight Into Darkness by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
There are a substantial number of songs by the late Tom Petty that I love and that I could have…
As I Sit To Play The Organ in the Notre Dame Cathedral – Sparks
I’m publishing this blog entry in advance, and this song gives an indication, better than any other piece of pop…
Stuck Between Stations by The Hold Steady
When my wife and I bought our first house, it was a small two-bedroom doer upper. It needed plenty of…
Never Talking To You Again by Hüsker Dü
I don’t want my weekly song post to turn into an obituary thread, but the world of popular music lost…
Neil Young: Five Best Albums
Neil Young has enjoyed a long and erratic music career. His first brush with fame came with Buffalo Springfield in…
Cool in the Pool – Holger Czukay
We’re reaching peak rock star death era – many of the musicians active during rock music’s formative years are reaching…
The Band: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best
After years of playing live, The Band recorded the Basement Tapes with Bob Dylan, where they developed their unique melding of rock…
I Wanna Be By Your Side – Syreeta
Not content with merely creating some of the greatest albums ever made (and winning a bucket-load of Grammy Awards) during…
Come Around – Sugar
Whether he’s recording as the guitarist and co-leader of Hüsker Dü, as a solo artist, or as the leader of…
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft – The Carpenters
The Carpenters, from Downey California, released some transcendent songs in the early 1970s. Karen Carpenter’s beautiful voice showcased beautiful melodies…
Anchor Me by The Mutton Birds
Don McGlashan is up with Dave Dobbyn and the Finn brothers as New Zealand’s best mainstream guitar-rock writers. He’s best-known…
Sweet Freedom by Michael McDonald
When my wife and I bought our own first house, we lived next door to a young man with mental…
