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Reading, Wellington, and whatever else – teenblog@wcl.govt.nz

Tag: New Zealand Music

New Audio-Visual items

Here’s a wee look at the new YA DVDs and CDs in this week. First, some DVDs – not many new ones (a couple are very retro).

  • » Under The Mountain – This is an old NZ television show that first screened in 1981. It is based on the Maurice Gee classic and the screenplay was written by Ken Catran, interestingly. Billy T. James is in the third episode!
  • » Eerie Indiana : The Complete Series – Another old television series (1991), this also has a cult following. It was an X-Files for teens, and all the episodes are in this five-disc set.
  • » Hair High – This is an animated feature. The cover describes it as a ‘gothic high school comedy with a ‘Carrie’ like story‘.
  • » The Best of Bubba’s Freak Circus – Something to do with motorcycles. ‘Never before seen – double backflip on a minibike!‘, says the cover. Fancy.

And loads of CDs!

  • » Elemeno P – Elemeno P. The latest album from the very successful NZ rock band. 
  • » VYP  (Voice of the Young People) – Lil Mama.  With a single titled ‘Lip Gloss’ you might flip past this album, but it does get a fairly respectable 71% on Metacritic.
  • » Lessons to be Learnt – Gabiella Cilmi. This is Cilmi’s first studio album. She is Australian, and her voice has been compared to Amy Winehouse.
  • » E=MC2 – Mariah Carey. She is able to sing in the ‘whistle register‘.
  • » Live in Phoenix – Fall Out Boy. A recording of Fall Out Boy in concert.
  • » White Sunday 2 : The Book of Mark – Mareko. This is Auckland rapper Mareko’s third studio album. White Sunday is a holiday in Samoa, falling on the second Sunday in October.
  • » Steppa’s Delight – Various. This is a compilation of dubstep tracks. Dubstep – a genre of electronic music from the UK – is an offshoot from drum and bass.
  • » Kelis : The Hits – Kelis. Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.
  • » Dev2.0 – Dev2.0. This is a Disney-backed quintet of child actors covering Devo songs. It comes with a bonus DVD with clips, interviews, and so on.
  • » Here I Stand – Usher. His new album. Usher was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee – two words that sound great spoken out load. Try it. Chattanooga Tennessee.

New Audio-visual stuff

A stack of new CDs has arrived. Here is the list. Hours of listening pleasure awaits!

 

  • Step Up 2: The Streets – Various. This is a soundtrack to a film about dancing in the rain, judging from the cover.
  • Set in Stone – Brian McFadden. Ex-Westlife member and bingo caller, this is his second solo album.
  • Juno – Various. This is another soundtrack, but with much better music.
  • Riot – Paramore. This band from Tennessee is big in alternative music circles.
  • Bittersweet World – Ashlee Simpson. Not so big in alternative music circles.
  • Blackout – Britney Spears.
  • Beautiful Machine – Shihad. Did you know that Shihad formed 20 years ago? I’ve seen Jon Toogood shopping at the supermarket, interestingly.
  • Hard Candy – Madonna. I can’t quite picture Madonna pushing around a shopping trolley.
  • Rockferry – Duffy. She has the highest-selling album in the UK this year.
  • Clubbers’ Guide ’08 – Various.
  • Konk – The Kooks.
  • Keep Me On Your Side – Goodnight Nurse. The album cover is cool! It moves!

 

 

New Zealand Music

It’s New Zealand music month at the moment so I’m sure you’ll all be racing down to the library to get your hands on some Kiwi music to listen to. I’m here to help. New Zealand produces a lot more than just the Fat Freddys and the Brooke Frasers that get played to death on the radio, so here are some alternatives. I’ve also tried to keep these relatively newish.

  1. Mint Chicks – Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!
    A heavily punctuated title from one of my favorites. This is pop-punk at its very best, it’s all catchy hooks and sweet danceable guitars. Also keep your eyes out for their always entertaining videos.
  2. Disasteradio – Visions
    With its keyboards and synths approach Visions sounds like your big brothers old video games having a dance party with some crazy 80s cartoon from Japan. So, awesome then.
  3. The Checks – Hunting Whales
    They do that early 70s rock thing that’s pleasingly in vogue right now. They’ve been over in the UK honing their craft and this is their little gem of a debut album. Put on some skinny jeans and rock out!
  4. Cut Off Your Hands – Blue on Blue
    A charming-sounding 80s indie pop throwback. Cut Off Your Hands are danceable post-punk revivalists from the fertile North Shore scene up in Auckland and this is a great starting point.
  5. Liam Finn – I’ll be Lightning
    He crafts wonderful pop songs, plays all the instruments, has performed on Letterman and has the kind of beard that any man should one day aspire to. Yup, he’s pretty good and so is this album. In fact one could make a case that this is the best record ever made by somebody with the last name Finn, gasp!

These can all be found in the YA section, but you don’t have to stop there. The Adults collection contains some amazing treasures and can be snapped up for the tiny fee of $1! Why not try out some of these bands; The Clean, The Veils, White Birds and Lemons, The Sneaks, The Verlaines, Toy Love and all the countless others?

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