Wasup wit Noo Zeeln rap?

Here is NZ rapper Tommy Ill's new single - it's called 'Come Home Mr Ill' and it's pretty good. Give it a watch if you haven't seen it yet...

I really like the mixture of old and new technology, the hand-made/home-made look and the sampled & recycled materials - audio and visual. It is, in many ways, very original and very Kiwi. There's one thing though that spoils it for me, and it seems to be common to most (if not all) NZ rap and hip-hop:

"Th' lyric is reel clevah and the images are pretty, but 
why he gotta taawk like he come from noo york city?"

We hope in all things new

Here's the brand spanking new music video from Stevie Starr. The song is 'We hope in all things new' and is the second single from the album of the same name. Take a look.

If you liked that, you can download the single from www.thesteviestarr.com for free.

Better yet - come to Bodega on Thursday night and take in the whole show. Stevie will be performing a set with the band (sadly, minus the string quartet this time who will be with us in wave-form only), with images from BudapestTV, and support from Janina and Christchurch band 'Drift'. $10 on the door.

Music TV is crap... mostly.

I just read a very perceptive article about the sad state of music television these days, and about how one of my favourite bands has redeemed the art form of the music video.

The music video that inspired the article is 'Glosoli' by Sigur Ros, whose music videos really are exceptional. But don't take my word for it. Go and read the article, then go to Sigur Ros' vimeo page where you can see a whole bunch of wonderful stuff in much better quality than YouTube. My favourites are Glosoli, Hoppipolla, and Untitled #1 (aka. Vaka), but they are all wonderful. This link actually takes you to the second page which is older stuff. They have newer stuff too. I'm sure you'll find it. There are some live clips mixed in as well. Just beware - they like to push the boundaries a bit. In particular, the music video for 'Gobbledigook' has a lot of nudity in it. It's all good fun, but don't watch if you think you'll be offended.

Actually, no. I take that back. Do watch it, and feel offended if that's your honest response. Art is supposed to make you feel something and it doesn't always have to be happy rainbows and fluffy bunnies. Anyway – it's far less objectionable than the pole-dancing C4 serves up these days. "I like to stroke his big... ego". Really – what a load of pubescent nonsense. Sigur Ros' music videos are much less predictable and a lot more honest and tasteful than that.

In case I've made you nervous - here's a safe, delightful one to get you started. Enjoy. :-)

Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla from sigur-ros.co.uk on Vimeo.