Something Elsewhere
Short stories, satires, thinking-out-loud stuff and nonsense for your enjoyment, amusement . . . or otherwise. Just utterly Elsewhere.
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER: And a pause for thought
13 Jul 2024 | 2 min read | 1
This is Dry July. It's the month when some people stop drinking and instead get on social media to announce their alcohol-free virtue to whoever is out there. They join others who, whatever the month, will write “Now eight years sober” and watch as friends and strangers respond with “good one, hun” or “well done, just three years for me”. Social media... > Read more
AND THE REVOLVING GOES ON (2024): Crowdies, Klaus and Ernie
27 May 2024 | 2 min read
Crowded House's cover art for their forthcoming Gravity Stairs is far from the first to reference the 1966 Beatles' Revolver designed by Klaus Voormann. Voormann's first encountered the Beatles when they were playing in Hamburg. The story has become legend, how after an argument with his girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr -- an aspiring photographer who would take seminal images of... > Read more
A FAST 15 MINUTES: Is it better in English?
11 May 2024 | <1 min read | 1
A 15 minute programme of familiar songs sung in a language other than that in which they were written. The global village goes pop, in its own words. For more of these fast 15 minute programmes go here > Read more
oh, i know this one!
THE AMA FINALISTS (2024): Guess who's baaaack . . .
22 Apr 2024 | 4 min read
After taking a year off in 2023 when there was an analysis of the awards and how inclusive (or not) they were, the Aotearoa Music Awards return. And that absence means that some albums -- like the Beths' Expert in a Dying Field for example -- which were released in 2022 were up for inclusion. It makes for a big -- and yes, inclusive -- awards so here goes. The awards event takes... > Read more
A FAST 15 MINUTES: Start Me Up
14 Apr 2024 | <1 min read
Here's something for you at Elsewhere when you have 15 minutes to spare. Have a listen to this, a short programme about how songs can be started with a hook, a riff, nagging repetition and so on. Enjoy . . . and see how many songs or titles you can recognise. > Read more
getting a song going
SOUND THINKING #9: The podcast for music people
22 Mar 2024 | <1 min read
The ninth episode of the music podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Chris Warne, Veronika Bell, Andra Jenkins and I review four new albums by Jesus and Mary Chain, Delaney Davidson, Kaylee Bell and Adrianne Lenker. Good informed comment. Here it is. For other episodes of Sound Thinking go here > Read more
SOUND THINKING #8: The podcast for music people
16 Mar 2024 | <1 min read
The eighth episode of the music podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Chris Warne, Veronika Bell, Andra Jenkins and I review four new albums by The Black Crowes, Dandy Warhols,Amiria Grenell and Kacy Musgraves. Good informed comment. Here it is. For other episodes of Sound Thinking go here > Read more
THE TAITE MUSIC AWARDS (2024): And the nominees are . . .
5 Mar 2024 | 1 min read
One of the most interesting and prestigious events on the local music calendar is the annual Taite Music Prize which recognises an exceptional album and is judged on musical merit not sales. The awards have expanded to include Best Independent Debut Award, another for outstanding music journalism and a classic independently released album from our past. There is also an award for... > Read more
SOUND THINKING #7: The podcast for music people
2 Mar 2024 | <1 min read
The seventh episode of the music podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Jeff Neems, Veronika Bell, Marty and I review four new albums by Liam Gallagher with John Squire, Faye Webster, The Bevis Frond and Drop Spindle. Good informed comment. Here it is. For other episodes of Sound Thinking go here > Read more
SOUND THINKING #6: The podcast for music people
25 Feb 2024 | <1 min read
The sixth episode of the music podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Jeff Neems, Chris Warne, Veronika Bell and Marty review four new albums by Church and AP, MGMT, Bird Machine and Greg Johnson . . . and share thoughts on LAB, ticket prices and the new Bob Marley biopic. Good informed comment. Here it is. For other... > Read more
SOUND THINKING #5: The podcast for music people
16 Feb 2024 | <1 min read
The fifth episode of the music podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Andra Jenkins, Chris Warne, Veronika Bell and I review four new albums by Idles, the Transits, Brittany Howard and Chelsea Wolfe and share thoughts on Graham Nash, Pearl Jam and more… Good informed comment. Here it is. For... > Read more
SOUND THINKING #4: The podcast for music people
10 Feb 2024 | <1 min read
The fourth episode of the podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Marty, Jeff Neems, Veronika Bell and Andra Jenkin review albums by Tinsley Ellis, Pony Baby, Mean Jeans and Matt Joe Gow. Good informed comment. Here it is. For other episodes of Sound Thinking go here > Read more
SOUND THINKING #3: The podcast for music people
3 Feb 2024 | <1 min read
The third episode of the podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Marty, Jeff Neems, Veronika Bell and Oxford Lamoureaux review albums by Green Day, J Mascis and local artists the Boondocks and Rosina and the Weavers. Good informed comment. Here it is. . For previous episodes of Sound Thinking album reviews... > Read more
SOUND THINKING #2: The podcast for music people
29 Jan 2024 | <1 min read
The second episode of the podcast in which Marty Duda of 13th Floor hosts some reviewers who discuss new albums. This week Marty, Andra Jenkin, Veronika Bell and I review albums by The Smile, New Model Army, Admiral Drowsy and Sarah Jarosz (not necessarily in that order, check out who does what and what they think here). For other episodes of Sound Thinking album reviews go here > Read more
SOUND THINKING #1: The podcast for music people
21 Jan 2024 | 1 min read
Late in 2023 a few articles appeared on the internet bemoaning the lack of music journalism in New Zealand. People looked back to the old days of Rip It Up, the Auckland Star and so on. The distant past in fact, and the world – the music world especially – had changed irrevocably. Just as musicians live in the online world of streaming and downloads, so does music... > Read more
THE BEATLES' CHRISTMAS RECORDS: They wanna wish you a merry crimble and a gear new year
12 Dec 2023 | 6 min read
Among the many remarkable things about the Beatles' short but crowded career in the global eye was that despite touring, recording, making films, doing interviews, filming clips of songs for broadcast (the precursors of video clips) and so much more, they managed to keep going in to the BBC studios to record radio shows. They first recorded for the Beeb before they had a record contract... > Read more
ART ON THEIR SLEEVES, AT AUDIOCULTURE (2023): Album design in the 2020s
22 Nov 2023 | 1 min read
The resurgence of vinyl albums – which outsold CDs in 2021 – has meant local artists are now seeing that having their music on record can be as important as their social media profile. The record is an artefact in a way that CDs could never be: the art in a jewel case too small to have impact, liner notes or lyrics rendered microscopic. And lets not get started on the meagre... > Read more
THE JB HI-FI GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL VINYL, VOL 4 (2023): Another 100+ albums to swipe that card for
13 Nov 2023 | 2 min read | 1
THE EDITOR SAYS . . . “Welcome back to black”. Again. Those who've followed the progress of the JB Hi-Fi Guide to Essential Vinyl will know this is the fourth such volume. It has become an annual affair because every week sees more and more reissues and new releases on record, and many local artists now see a vinyl release to be as essential as their social media... > Read more
BENJAMIN JAMES OF HERB'S MOBILE RECORD STORE, INTERVIEWED (2023): Has vinyl, will travel
10 Nov 2023 | 3 min read
Food trucks are common enough, but Benjamin James (“Yeah, Benjamin, everyone's a 'Ben', right?”) has a more colourful, diverse and musical version: Herb's Mobile Record Store. And it's probably coming to a town near you. Based in Wellington but going on the road in his multicoloured truck, he is bringing around 1700 records north through Whanganui, New Plymouth, Hamilton and... > Read more
THE CULTURE AND KILLING OF NATIVE AMERICANS (2023): Songs and stories of tragedy, resilience and murder
30 Oct 2023 | 5 min read
No matter what critics and commentators make of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon – true crime drama, exploitation and murder of Native American Osage people, white saviour story, the rise of the FBI or just another Marty gangster flick with Robert De Niro as the capo talking to Leonardo DiCaprio about family and loyalty – everyone agrees on one thing. That the New... > Read more