Yes, it really has been over 18 months since I've given my blog site any attention. What better time to do something about that than New Zealand music month. I have recently added two pages, Crowded House and South, which is basically a Flying Nun page. In the unlikely event that you happen to be at the Education library on the Dovedale campus of the University of Canterbury, there is a small NZ music display there. This is also where I spend most of the week working, so please do drop in and say hello.

Don McGlashan-National Treasure. A small exhibition is on at South Library Christchurch in the staff area window, to accompany his acoustic tour with Dave Dobbyn.

Go to

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2013/don-mcglashan-national-treasure/christchurch-city

http://bethere.co.nz/music/2013/12508-don-mcglashan-national-treasure

Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan are coming to Christchurch as an acoustic entity. Don McGlashan may, arguably, need more of an introduction to the music public than Dave, so a small tribute exhibition will be happening leading up to the concert. Details to be confirmed. Watch this space...

I know I've recently posted something about 80's 'pub' band "The Narcs", but the news that member, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Ryan is returning to his hometown Christchurch to work at CPIT is worthy of a revisit.

The Narcs started out in Christchurch as a raucous 3 piece band-guitar/bass/drums. Liam joined just before the 1984 album "Great Divide". That album contained the song that they are probably most remembered for, "Heart and Soul", which attained 'song of the year' status. Liam co-wrote that with lead singer Andy Dickson.

As well as adding a new dimension to the band with his fine keyboard skills, he also contributed heavily to the song writing. His other great moment from that album is "Missing in Action" which he wrote, and was released as a nice picture cover single.



He also wrote "Diamonds on China" which was one of the big songs from the 1985 self titled album.

 

As with many Kiwi bands at that time, they deserved more financial success. They produced two albums and a small collection of singles and EP's, but it is a shame they didn't have a longer career as a band, as all members were capable of writing some great songs.

  

"Soft Bomb" by the Chills is a great album. A really great album. It's one of those rare gems that has to be listened to from start to finish. The big single was "Male monster from the id". Strange title, but one hell of a song, especially when played very loud. A much better song than "Pink Frost", and one I would prefer to hear on the radio.

 

The second single was "Double Summer", a nice enough tune, but lacking the power of the first single.

 

 

The best thing about "Soft Bomb", besides the actual music, is that it was not only released on vinyl (in the age of a booming CD market), but also a limited edition blue vinyl edition. A nice partner for the green vinyl edition of their previous album "Submarine Bells".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apart from Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, my other big schoolboy crush was 80's Kiwi singer/songwriter Sharon O'Neill. The ultimate rock chick, with the big hair and lots of leather. Wow. Maxine was her biggest hit...

Australian picture cover

 

But my favourite single was an earlier tune called "Words" which got a fair bit of radio airplay, but unfortunately wasn't released in a picture cover. One of the more interesting covers is this German only copy of the single "Danger" from her album "Foreign Affairs" (which also featured "Maxine")

 

 

 

It was also released in Australia, with a pretty cool cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed last night's doco on The Dance Exponents immensely. It did make me wonder why it wasn't picked up by TV1, the station with arguably the largest potential audience. Once again, I got the impression that commercial naivety within the local music industry at that time, and general mismanagement, robbed these guys of greater fame and fortune. To follow up that incredible debut album "Prayers be answered" (with all those catchy tunes), with the dark and mysterious single "Sex and Agriculture" always struck me as perplexing.

But more criminal was the fact that their anthem "Victoria" was never released in a 7 inch picture cover. The 12 inch single had a nice black and white picture cover, but not the 7 inch version. Come to think of it, too many classic Kiwi 7 inch singles were released in rather insipid plain company paper sleeves. "Outlook for Thursday" by DD Smash is another single short changed in this regard. The cost of a decent picture cover proved prohibitive for most financially struggling local bands back then. Maybe a catalogue of classic New Zealand pop tunes can be re released today, complete with good quality picture covers. Maybe even some limited edition coloured vinyl pressings. That can be a goal for New Zealand music month 2014.