CDs From The Vault: 2003-2004

Our music review archives go back 20 years now. In that time various Library Staff members have reviewed a huge range of material, across every genre in our collection and, since we used to have multiple copies of titles, we still hold a lot of these items in out off-site storage facility.

Due to a catalogue upgrade the links from our old HTML Music & Film web-pages no longer worked, so they became unavailable to browse some time ago. However, since from February 1st of this year we are running a one year trial where all CDs will be free to borrow, we thought it was a good time to go back and revisit some of these old reviews for a new series called ‘CDs From The Vault’.

Chain gang of love / Raveonettes
This long-awaited full length album from the Danish duo stretches the promise of their debut EP with a brilliant array of new material (this time in the happier key of B flat major, while never straying too far from their Jesus and Mary Chain roots. (Neil P.)

 

Under the influence : Ian Brown
The second in the series of stars-make-their-own-compilation-CDs, this is a timeless selection by the onetime Stone Rose. Hip hop, reggae, soul, gospel (and a token white number!) make up a mouth-watering melange of classics, some of which you’ll never hear anywhere else. (Neil P.)

 

La revancha del tango / Gotan Project
The Gotan guys blend the sexy syncopations of tango with the dark, echoing textures of dub and the beats of house and nu jazz to create a sound that is at once timeless and extremely modern, familiar and completely original, and basically just so darn all-around hip that it’ll infuse your squalid little urban apartment with all the allure of a smoke-filled Parisian jazz club. (Robert)

Paradigm shift / Sheehan, Rhian
Wellington musician Rhian Sheehan presents his first downbeat album, an easy-listening, attractive blend of acoustic instruments & electronic computer wizardry. These are very individual soundscapes, with sound effects, samples and melodies all beautifully melded together. Lotus Hartley (Nomad) sings – and somehow you will not be surprised to read on the leaflet that Jeremy Geor ( 50Hz) was involved in this whole slick local production. Rhian Sheehan trained as a guitarist – there are also a couple of his own pure & lovely acoustic guitar tracks on this album. If you like this you might also like two other local albums: Haunted out-takes by Aucklander Sola Rosa (and his previous album Solarized). (Pauline)

Tallahassee / Mountain Goats (Musical group)
Another in the “lo-fi” genre, a friend put me on to this. If you’re a fan of Bonnie “Prince” Billy, or Smog, then check this out. (Fiona)

 

 

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Visit our Central Library collection at Te Pātaka: One Night Only!

The Te Pātaka Collection and Distribution Centre houses Wellington Central Library’s collection, and for one night only you can visit, browse and borrow!

Looking for some special summertime reading? On the hunt for that perfect picture book? Or maybe you’re missing all those classic graphic novels?

We’ll be opening part of our Te Pātaka Collection Centre to the public for a pre-holiday exploration. You’ll be able to browse and borrow books from select parts of our off-site storage collection, including:

  • Fiction
  • Large print
  • Graphic novels
  • Teen fiction and graphic novels
  • Children’s fiction and comics
  • Picture books

Spots are limited and visits are restricted to one hour, so bookings will be essentialreserve yourself a spot now (choose one of the four slots). We can’t wait to see you!

Details:

What? Te Pātaka Open Night
Date: 17 December
Time: 4pm-7pm (limited to one hour slots)
Location: Johnsonville (details on registration)

Book your spot

The full Central Library CD collection is now available to borrow!

It has been a huge job to relocate all our Central Library collections to a new home at Te Pātaka, our new collection and Distribution Centre located in Johnsonville. However we are very happy to announce that the Central Library CD collection is available to be borrowed again in its entirety. Items can be reserved via our online catalogues from Te Pātaka to be collected from any of our other Branch Libraries.
We have decided to remove any fees for reserving items from Te Pātaka. However we have introduced a $2 charge per item if people do not pick up their reserved items within 7 working days of being notified they are available for pick up. This is to help keep the items in the collection circulating for everyone to access.

We have also curated a core collection of ‘Essential Listening’ titles from our large Central AV collection, many of which are unavailable on streaming services in New Zealand. All our ‘Essential Listening’ titles are taken from 1001 albums you must hear before you die & Nick Bollinger’s 100 essential New Zealand albums. They are also tagged on our catalogue. Just type in Essential Listening as a search and you can check them out from home, your device, or on our online catalogues in the library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures of just some of the CD shelves out at Te Pātaka to give you an idea of the scope of what’s available. We will be posting some videos of us amongst the collection soon, as we start to highlight some genres and titles for you!

Fear Factor: DVDs for Halloween

Test your Fear Level (Low, Moderate or High) with this selection of classic & lesser known Horror films & TV shows from our DVD collection at Te Awe & our offsite Storage Branch Te Pataka.

Halloween (1978)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: Moody. Tense. Created its own cult & changed modern Horror forever.
Neil: John Carpenter‘s low budget masterpiece spawned a million imitators, but none as good as the original.

 

 

Gremlins (1984)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Great family fun that never dates.
Neil: One of the Halloween at Christmas movies. Hugely entertaining fun in a twisted & dark way.

 

 

Near dark (1988)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Grimy & violent with Vampires as soulless spree killers. The anti-Twilight.
Neil: Kathryn Bigelow‘s genre redefining Vampire movie set in the American Midwest is a joy to watch for Horror film fans.

 

The hole (2009)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Intelligent YA film has 3 teens discover a mysterious bottomless pit, unleashing something that forces them to confront their own deepest fears.
Neil: No idea. Joe Dante usually makes a great film.

 

 

The cabin in the woods (2011)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: A meta tribute to Horror films. Great fun. Helped to launch the career of Chris Hemsworth.
Neil: Joss Whedon reverses every horror trope in this twisty film. Super clever.

 

 

The birds (1963)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: Hitchcock works out more issues.
Neil: Daphne du Maurier’s short story is given the Hitchcock treatment in this dated but truly disturbing movie which utilises Tippi Hedren‘s real life fear of Birds.

 

The descent (2005)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: The caving is super scary even before the true horror begins. Tips the whole female-bonding trope on its head.
Neil: Do not watch this if you suffer from claustrophobia!

 

 

Eden Lake (2008)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Brutal ‘Hoddie-Horror’ sees Kelly Reilly on the run from local nasties.
Neil: A frightening version of Deliverance set in the British countryside.

 

 

The evil dead (1981)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Sequels. A TV Show. Bruce Campbell. Enough said.
Neil: Classic schlock horror. If you’ve seen it, go back and watch it again. If you haven’t, watch to to understand the DNA of horror films.

 

 

Fright night (1985)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Another inspiration for Stranger Things. Teens fight monsters that adults don’t believe are real.
Neil: If you want to see mainstream American Horror was like in the 80s this is a great place to start.

 

The haunting of Hill House. (TV Series, 2018)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Gripping. Atmospheric. Psychological. One of the best Horror TV shows ever.
Neil: Shirley Jackson‘s reputation as a master writer of Horror makes this a TV show worth watching.

 

The wicker man : the final cut (1973)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: A classic inspiration for the recent Midsommar.
Neil: This was Christopher Lee‘s favourite performance. The detailed pagan ritual & rural Scottish setting give it a truly unsettling atmosphere.

The full Central Library DVD collection is now available to borrow!

It has been a huge job to relocate all our Central Library collections to a new home at Te Pātaka, our new collection and Distribution Centre located in Johnsonville. However we are very happy to announce that the Central Library DVD collection is available to be borrowed again in its entirety. Items can be reserved via our online catalogues from Te Pātaka to be collected from any of our other Branch Libraries.
We have decided to remove any fees for reserving items from Te Pātaka. However we have introduced a $2 charge per item if people do not pick up their reserved items within 10 working days of being notified they are available for pick up. This is to help keep the items in the collection circulating for everyone to access.

We have also curated a core collection of ‘Essential Viewing’ titles from our large Central AV collection, many of which are unavailable on streaming services in New Zealand. All our ‘Essential Viewing’ titles are taken from 1001 movies you must see before you die. They are also tagged on our catalogue. Just type in Essential Film Viewing & Essential Television Viewing as a search and you can check them out from home, your device, or on our online catalogues in the library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures of just some of the DVD shelves out at Te Pātaka to give you an idea of the scope of what’s available. We will be posting some videos of us amongst the collection soon, as we start to highlight some genres and titles for you!