Day 38 Special AKA "War Crimes"

Killing your own people - even if they have been given drugs by al-Queda - is a crime.

The numbers are different, the crime is still the same...

Day 37 Common "Be"

Beautiful, thoughtful production from J Dilla, great track.

Watch it here

Day 36 Cliff Nobles "Love Is Alright"

This is for Robert & Rose, whose amazing wedding we went to over the weekend – a much needed fillip after time in Christchurch. This is the song I wanted to play but ran out of time...

Days 31-35 Bill Evans “Peace Piece”

I've been offline for a number of days. After the earthquake hit Christchurch, I headed down there with Susan to help Susan's mum & brother out a little. I've been all over the globe, to all sorts of strange and supposedly dangerous places. I never thought I'd be in a disaster zone in Shirley. We shovelled silt, emptied the house of furniture, and were continully spooked by aftershocks. Christ only knows what it must have been like to go through the big one, and to have to try and rebuild.

I won't add to the lake of ink being used to point out that there was a real spirit of solidarity amongst the people down there, although that struck me too. To adopt a friend's Bertold Brecht quote “everyone needs help from everyone”, and that's how it seems to me there right now.

Needless to say, thinking about music seems superfluous at the moment, as do most other things. The most appropriate thing to wish those still toughing it out down there is some peace – peace from the shaking, peace of mind. So here's a little. Good luck, everyone.

Day 30 Prince "Paisley Park"

Much as I love Prince - and growing up in the '80's, how could I not? - I wish he'd made more of this slurred, out of focus, psychedelic rock.

Day 29: N.W.A. "Express Yourself"

I used to regularly put this on the ULU union bar jukebox back in '88. The line "some suckers just tickle me pink" always had me snorting into my subsidised beer.

Day 28: Gayngs "Gaudy Side Of Town"

A track from one of my favourite albums of last year. Just right for a virtually-catatonic day in the sun listening to the cicadas...

Day 27: The Staple Singers "Let's Do It Again"

Ok, so I missed day 27, but it was such a beautful day I couldn't face staying indoors hunched over a keyboard. Here's what I was listening to as the sun shone....

Day 26: Aloe Blacc "I Need A Dollar"

Went to see this guy live last night and it was fantastic. As well as having a great voice, he's got the social conscience to go with the 70's stylings (his comment that "we are fighting a war against capitalism right now" went down particularly well.)

I could have posted one of his lesser known songs, but that would just be wilfully obscure. So, here's the best the best single of last year.

Day 25: The Fall "Lay Of The Land"

This is a cool group…

This is from the first Fall album I ever owned – “The Wonderful & Frightening World of...”, and still my favourite.

I reckon this is the quintessential Fall track: murky and unfathomable, often hilarious, a punkabilly din no-one else can emulate. Genius!

Day 24: The Loft 'Up The Hill & Down The Slope'

Another one from the 'we coulda been contenders' pile. An indie classic that still swings...

Day 23: Dionne Warwicke 'You're Gonna Need Me'

As sampled by J Dilla. I picked up a vinyl copy of this for $10 last night - he shoots, he scores!

Ortography fans will note that this album comes from the short period when Dionne spelt her surname with an 'e' on the end, on the advice of an astrologer. God, why do I remember this crap, or even know it in the first place?

Day 22: The Real Thing "You To Me Are Everything"

Despite what you might think, I'm not totally averse to a bit of a love song on Valentine's Day (sponsored by Hallmark.)

So here it is, courtesy of 4 scousers in preposterous outifts from 1976 - The Year Punk Broke...

Day 21: Guitar Wolf "Summertime Blues"

A hot & sunny Wellington afternoon - blasting this out seems to hit the spot...

Day 20: The Pharoahs "Freedom Road"

For the brave people of Egypt

Day 19: Badly Drawn Boy "Once Around The Block"

"The last great single of the 20th Century", as Tim Hall so memorably put it.

Day 18: Johnny Burnette "Train Kept A-Rollin' "

Vicious rock & roll from Johnny Burnette. Put your cat clothes on...

Day 16: The Pharcyde "Ya Mama"

Ah, the Golden Age of Hip Hop. Or was this after The Golden Age? Bloody good, either way

Day 16: Ruthless Rap Assassins "And It Wasn't A Dream"

Reminds me of the mean streets of Moss Side, where I spent 6 months around the time this came out.

Classic British hip hop - why weren't they huge?

Day 15: Howard Tate "Ain't Nobody Home"

This was the first song i ever played on radio - not on Active, but on a short-lived internet station that Rich Walker worked for and invited me & Clive Johnson on (thanks, Rich). We were so bad the show never went out - but I have the recordings somewhere, and I plan to blackmail Clive with them just as soon as he comes into some money.

Day 14: Julian Cope "Reynard The Fox"

I'm not a massive Copey fan, but I love the 'Fried' album – it has something of the old, weird England about it – and this song in particular.

Day 13: The Beach Boys "God Only Knows"

This is for Stefan and Kat, who got married today.

Day 12: Candi Staton "Young Hearts Run Free"

An achingly melancholy southern soul ballad pretending to be a disco track

Day 11: The Jesus & Mary Chain "Never Understand"

Ah, the Mary Chain. 'The quintessence of adolesence' as someone described them many years ago (me while drunk, actually.)

Great video, too. I'm not sure how many other music videos from '85 would still look this fresh.


I can't embed it, so go here for it.

Day 10: Super Furry Animals "The Man Don't Give A Fuck"

On the day (after) John Key announced the election date, here's one that gets to the heart of Tory policy, at home and abroad.
...