Sub Pop Rock City

5 Reasons Why Music Is Recession-Proof

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:33:29 -0800

They say there are two industries that will always survive tough financial times - the entertainment business and the necessities trade. People will always need toilet paper, soap and high-speed broadband. That's just a fact. But people also need a good laugh when the purse strings are taut; and this is where the entertainment business is bullet-proof. From Civic's $1 movie Tuesdays to pay-what-you-want album downloads, the appeal of art's escapism has never been wider. ...

The King of Pop's Final Playlist

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:46:03 -0800

I just called my wife to let her know the news. Michael Jackson's dead. She's not a huge fan, but even she knows that it's a big deal. Because as bizarre, macabre and overinflated the King of Pop's recent life may have become, the fact is, the man was a troubled genius who changed the face of popular music. Beneath everything, I don't think anyone can deny that.

So here's to you MJ, your final playlist. Because Farrah Fawcett had the sexbomb curls, but you had soul. ...

Eminem's 'Relapse' - A Statistical Analysis

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:18:17 -0800

Ten songs you should never sing to your wife.

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:19:51 -0800

My wife has this nickname for me. She calls me ‘gums'. Just gums. I don't expect it's because she's particularly fascinated with my pinky mouth-flesh. I mean, if my gums are my most endearing feature, then we've got a huge problem. It's probably all in the way she says it. It sounds a lot more like ‘Guurms" when she says it, which doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense either, but go figure.

Being the wife of a music reviewer has its pros and cons. ...

To The Honourable Governator

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:27:57 -0800

To the honourable governator,

My name is Luke Oram and I am a columnist for the Yahoo!X music entertainment site (http://new.nz.music.yahoo.com/). We here in New Zealand are huge fans of your body of work, your body and indeed your efforts to clean up California. ...

So You Missed out on a Kings of Leon Ticket New Zealand?

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:03:27 -0800

Even by the standards of Southern Hospitality the Tennessee sons Kings of Leon have been very good to our little country. They've been down here more times than Shania Twain's been down to hang at her whare in Wanaka. In fact, they should just have the place, before it's ruined by disgruntled Wanakans (Wanaka-ites?, Wanakers? Ha.)

At their Melbourne show on Saturday, Caleb Followill hailed Australia as the Kings' "favourite place to be". ...

10 Iconic Items of Rock N Roll Clothing

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:42:56 -0800

The media's a funny beast. Here in New Zealand they've called a brief recess in the recession to turn their lenses back to David Bain, the once-convicted, once-pardoned accused murderer and his re-trial. Of course anyone who remembers the case won't be surprised to see the old photos of Bainsy attending court in his iconic home-knit sweaters, which have now become more popular than the actual events that landed him wool-clad on the court steps. ...

The Second Coming of MJ

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:23:07 -0800

The rumour mill is working overtime (and it won't stop ‘till it gets enough) - apparently Michael Jackson is in London and gearing up for a "special announcement" tomorrow which the media are predicting could spell several comebacks at the O2 arena. Now when it comes to any kind of news RE: M. ...

Six degrees of separation – Switchfoot dances with the devil.

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:24:19 -0800

The rules of the game are simple - to connect two seemingly opposing forces through six degrees of separation. The medium - Myspace, of course. Granted, that place is basically a ghost town, every time I log in I get lambasted by virtual tumbleweeds. That being said, now that the trend-slaved Johnny Q. Public has scrambled for Facebook's 15 minutes of fame, Myspace is left as a pretty good place to find your favourite bands. ...

Ten songs to listen to while the world collapses around you

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:49:00 -0800

There's a recession going on, petrol prices are up the yin-yang, houses are through the roof. Hell, some guy just held up a brothel in Wellington at gunpoint. Let's face it, this is the world Rage Against The Machine warned you about. Those guys must be so smug right now.

Here's ten tunes guaranteed to give you the perfect 3mins 30 of faux-escapism. ...