• David
• 29 Dec, 2016

The Czars - Best Of (2014)

Probably best known for the band that preceded singer John Grant’s solo career, The Czars made a bunch of stunning records years before his fame.

• • #theczars

• David
• 26 Dec, 2016

The Monochrome Set - Cosmonaut (2016)

Another record from my London haul, this vinyl/CD combo harks back to a familiar sound I first encountered and thought had ended in the early to mid 80’s.

• • #themonochromeset

• David
• 23 Dec, 2016

Loop - A Guided Eternity (1990)

Not the usual Friday evening fodder, but when one wants to purge this is as good as it gets. This just about drop kicks every musical genre known to man (and alien) out the window but still transcends all of it.

• • #loop

• David
• 18 Dec, 2016

Katatonia - Discouraged Ones (1998)

Also picked this up cheaply (on heavy vinyl) during a smash and grab run at TWH. These Doom Metallers from Sweden went all Opeth and lost the growly vocals.

• • #katatonia

• David
• 17 Dec, 2016

Mountain - The Best Of Mountain (1973)

$15 at TWH buys a big slab of Mountain on vinyl at the peak of their career. I’d pay a lot more just to have a pristine version of “Mississippi Queen” on analogue.

• • #mountain

• David
• 14 Dec, 2016

Kristin Hersh - Wyatt At The Coyote Palace (2016)

I looked high and low for this (you definitely won’t find this on Amazon). I finally got a copy via The Book Depository, delivered for $11.

• • #kristinhersh

• David
• 13 Dec, 2016

Various Artists - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble - The Wizards Of Oz (2015)

Usually the Aussies really know how to fuck things up! Rugby Tests against any opposition, humility (never ’erd of it!) and coffee (I’ve never had a good one over the ditch!

• • #variousartists

• David
• 11 Dec, 2016

Opeth - Sorceress (2016)

Swedish Death Metal you can play to your church-going 90 year old grandmother or at the very least you are comfortable knowing you don’t have to reach for the volume controls every few minutes to avoid the growly bits.

• • #opeth

• David
• 10 Dec, 2016

Little Feat - Live In Holland (1976)

Fantastic DVD/CD set of Little Feat playing live at the Nederlands muziekfestival Pinkpop in Geleen. Picked up at the Red Shed for $6!

• • #littlefeat

• David
• 08 Dec, 2016

The Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo! (1995)

Loved the Boos from their first proper record, 1992’s “Everything’s Alright Forever”. That was a rowdy, and somewhat murky affair (just post MBV’s “Loveless”) but definitely hinted of great things to come.

• • #thebooradleys

• David
• 06 Dec, 2016

Martin's Session - Dec 16

Theme: Births, Deaths and Marriages

• • #martinssession
  • #brucespringsteen
  • #thewho
  • #jeffbeck

• David
• 05 Dec, 2016

Donald Fagan - Sunken Condos (2012)

Picked up in London for about £2 or $3.80 in NZ currency. That’s a lot of great music for less than a cup of coffee.

• • #donaldfagen

• David
• 04 Dec, 2016

Brian Eno And David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981)

Astounding collaboration between two greats. Profound and genre bending - personally, I don’t think it will ever be matched for it’s daring.

• • #brianeno
  • #davidbyrne

• David
• 02 Dec, 2016

The Associates - The Affectionate Punch (1980)

Very rowdy and abrasive (in small measures), exquisitely delicate and engaging (in bigger measures) and left field (completely). This is 1980 folks.

• • #theassociates

• David
• 30 Nov, 2016

Sonic Youth - Evol (1986)

This album was probably the starting point for me when music shifted from an Anglo-centric template (The Smiths, The Cure, The Bunnymen) to a much richer and wider aural palate and gave me a greater appreciation of American bands.

• • #sonicyouth

• David
• 29 Nov, 2016

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)

Ok, let’s do this then! Sometimes it’s a process with Radiohead. Listening clinically, seeing what all the fuss is about and trying to makes some sense of it all.

• • #radiohead

• David
• 25 Nov, 2016

Moby - Play (1999)

I can’t believe this is getting close to 2 decades old (give or take a couple of years). The perfect feel good, no-brainer record for a Friday night.

• • #moby

• David
• 24 Nov, 2016

Pink Floyd - Meddle (1971)

I heard a great interview on my commute to work this morning - a 40 minute cycle ride completely zoned out courtesy of episode 755 of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast .

• • #pinkfloyd

• David
• 23 Nov, 2016

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (1974)

On Vinyl (Remastered 2016) One of my favourite Bowie records - this REALLY takes me back. As a barely-teenager, I was really starting to get completely obsessed with the whole alien freak thing and happened to win this on a local radio promotion.

• • #davidbowie

• David
• 20 Nov, 2016

John Foxx - 21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City (2016)

John Foxx has been making brilliantly retro, analogue music since he fronted the first incantation of Ultravox back in the late 70’s.

• • #johnfoxx

• David
• 19 Nov, 2016

Santana - Greatest Hits Live At Montreux (2011)

On Blu-ray Five bucks! Well $4.98 really. While not a great fan of the last few decades, this great concert from 2011 covers much of his early catalogue with some more contemporary surprises thrown in.

• • #santana

• David
• 18 Nov, 2016

Bernard Herrmann - Psycho - The Original Film Score (1960)

On Red Vinyl This is just scary!! From the moment the needle drops this thing is nerve wracking. There’s a real sense of dread.

• • #bernardherrmann

• David
• 16 Nov, 2016

Slint - Spiderland (1991)

It’s that time of the year to bring this beauty out. What a fucking bonkers week!! Earthquakes, storms, floods (all predicted by Brian Tamaki by the way) and the further indignity of work!

• • #slint

• David
• 13 Nov, 2016

Stereolab - Chemical Chords (2008)

More of the same but different from the labs. Consistently reliable over all of their albums there’s always some subtleties on offer with each album.

• • #stereolab

• David
• 11 Nov, 2016

Tyrannosaurus Rex - A Beard Of Stars (1970)

On vinyl This is definitely hippy dippy stuff preceding Marc Bolan’s glam days. I couldn’t resist picking this up on vinyl today at TWH.

• • #tyrannosaurusrex

• David
• 10 Nov, 2016

Tindersticks - The Waiting Room (2016)

The Waiting Room Film Project videos Totally uncategorisable, Tindersticks remain an enigma. I couldn’t for a moment explain the experience of listening to them - there’s simply too much to take in.

• • #tindersticks

• David
• 09 Nov, 2016

David Bowie - David Live (1974)

On vinyl of course! Another essential record from my formative teenage years. First experienced, along with many other auditory pleasures, at my Uncle’s pad in Palmerston North.

• • #davidbowie

• David
• 08 Nov, 2016

Chris's Session - Nov 16

The themes were: Artist/band not  from USA nor UK., Old artist still do-oo-oo-ing it (cannot be younger than our oldest committee member, nor won a Nobel prize)., Another example/update for a theme that you enjoyed from a previous month/year

• • #chrisssession
  • #santana
  • #paulsimon
  • #jamestaylor

• David
• 06 Nov, 2016

Curve - Cuckoo (1993)

Another great find at the record fair yesterday. Curve’s second release in pretty mint condition. This is a huge sound with lots of fuzz and riffy keyboards.

• • #thecure

• David
• 05 Nov, 2016

The Creatures - Boomerang (1989)

Dropped in for a beer at The Free House this afternoon with my lovely wife Sarah and son Peter. Coincidentally, a “Black Vinyl Brown Beer” record fair was in full swing in the yurt.

• • #thecreatures

• David
• 03 Nov, 2016

Giant Sand - Heartbreak Pass (2015)

Finally bought myself a copy of this. I’ve been listening to this on Tidal for months and just needed a copy for prosperity.

• • #giantsand

• David
• 02 Nov, 2016

Mew - +- (2015)

You always know what you are getting with Mew. More beautiful, rich and melodious anthems that soar with multilayer voice(s) to the fore.

• • #mew

• David
• 01 Nov, 2016

Psychic TV - Fishscales Falling: A Smorgasbord Of Delights (2016)

Heard this beast of a record while shopping at Rough Trade. I was fully engaged with it playing throughout the store.

• • #psychictv

• David
• 31 Oct, 2016

Field Music - Plumb (2012)

This is one busy record. Always up there on my “should not be obscure” list, Field Music deliver truly dynamic, tempo changing, complicated but catchy pop music.

• • #fieldmusic

• David
• 29 Oct, 2016

Various Artists - Califia: The Songs Of Lee Hazlewood (2010)

Brilliant compilation of obscure (mostly) 50’s and 60’s artists recording Hazlewood songs. Just as the title implies. Like all things “Hazlewood” there’s a real coolness factor and a wealth of hit’s and misses.

• • #variousartists

• David
• 25 Oct, 2016

Steven Wilson - Hand Cannot Erase (2015)

The night before going to see this genius live in concert in Auckland, I thought I better give this another run through.

• • #stevenwilson

• David
• 24 Oct, 2016

Tortoise - The Catastrophist (2016)

Don’t let the cover put you off! It’s pretty hideous but I suppose it does lend itself to the awkwardness of some of the music.

• • #tortoise

• David
• 20 Oct, 2016

John Foxx - Metamatic (1980)

In 1977, as a bare assed teenager - Ultravox changed my life. This was the great John Foxx years and those first three records changed my musical roadmap.

• • #johnfoxx

• David
• 19 Oct, 2016

Matt Berry - The Small Hours (2016)

More minor key madness from Mr. Toast. OK, it’s the same song played 57 slightly different ways over 5 albums but I just love this guy.

• • #mattberry

• David
• 18 Oct, 2016

Elton John - Rock Of The Westies (1975)

One of my guilty pleasures is still liking some early Elton John records. While this is possibly my favourite Elton John record, for numerous and quite frankly unexplainable reasons, this is definitely the end of the line as far as my E.

• • #eltonjohn

• David
• 16 Oct, 2016

Darkside - Psychic (2013)

This is a strange one. I love it but couldn’t for a minute recommend it to anyone without some big disclaimers.

• • #darkside

• David
• 15 Oct, 2016

Steve Mason - Meet The Humans (2016)

As with all of the Beta Band releases, Steve Mason’s song writing and mastery of the pop hook continues. This is a meandering beauty that just creeps along dragging you along with it.

• • #stevemason

• David
• 14 Oct, 2016

Cornelius - Sensurround (2008)

Is this the best sounding 5.1 DTS recording on the planet? This little chunk of plastic rendered by my player and theatre system/amplifier in glorious surround sound certainly warrants that tag.

• • #cornelius

• David
• 12 Oct, 2016

The The - Soul Mining (1983)

Deluxe Vinyl Box Set I bought this big box of vinyl back from Old Blighty and dodged an overweight luggage penalty by a few grams.

• • #thethe

• David
• 11 Oct, 2016

Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate (2016)

Brilliant second outing for this London born Ugandan. I saw a lot of references to this while in London, so had to bring this home.

• • #michaelkiwanuka

• David
• 08 Oct, 2016

Temples - Sun Structures (2014)

Brilliant debut from 4 Kettering lads. Along with Tame Impala, who springs to mind immediately, these neo-retro specialists are stuck in a mid to late 60’s time warp.

• • #temples

• David
• 07 Oct, 2016

Assoicates - Sulk (1982)

Billie Mackenzie had one of the most distinctive and extraordinary voices in pop/rock history. He eventually met a tragic, self-inflicted demise despite being an exceptional but underappreciated talent.

• • #assoicates

• David
• 06 Oct, 2016

Polica - United Crushers (2016)

On pink vinyl. I can honestly say that no one makes music quite like Polica. It is however, a band that gets right inside my brain and like any mind altering phenomena, I just want more but I’m not sure why?

• • #polica

• David
• 05 Oct, 2016

Grouplove - Big Mess (2016)

I didn’t know much about this LA group before impulsively booking a ticket to see them play at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.

• • #grouplove

• David
• 05 Oct, 2016

Shellac - Dude Incredible (2014)

This is just an earthy, no frills, 3 piece (including the legendary Steve Albini) making another great racket. Probably the antithesis of the previous Grouplove session.

• • #shellac

• David
• 04 Oct, 2016

Bruce's Session - Oct 16

The themes were: A Roadtrip song, A Favourite bath/ shower song, A Wellington song (we can’t all afford London)

• • #brucessession
  • #neilyoung
  • #therollingstones
  • #jeffbeck

• David
• 02 Oct, 2016

Gavin Harrison - Cheating The Polygraph (2016)

5.1 Surround DVD Audio Having just returned from my overseas excursion to the UK, I’ll be focusing this month on stuff I bought home (and there’s a shit load!

• • #gavinharrison

• David
• 02 Oct, 2016

The Cure - Seventeen Seconds (1980)

On newly minted, 2016 remastered 180g Vinyl While not exactly something I bought back from London (I was going to but saw it was cheaper in NZ so I didn’t).

• • #thecure

• David
• 07 Sep, 2016

Susie Hug - Tuscon Moonshine (2010)

On a previous trip to the UK (2010) I was busy trawling through the bins at Sister Ray Records and heard this superb album playing.

• • #susiehug

• David
• 06 Sep, 2016

Black Box Recorder - England Made Me (1998)

London, here we come. On the big 24+ hour flight tomorrow - first stop to Dubai then another 8 hour haul to Heathrow.

• • #blackboxrecorder

• David
• 05 Sep, 2016

The Band - Music From Big Pink (1968)

This is not something I ever listened to in the past. Afterall, I was just a nipper when this came out.

• • #theband

• David
• 04 Sep, 2016

Suede - Coming Up (1997)

I remember seeing Suede on TV whilst on holiday in Hastings around the time of the release of this album (Jools Holland if I remember) and was totally blown away.

• • #suede

• David
• 01 Sep, 2016

Genesis - Selling England By The Pound (1973)

OK here it is. As well as being my favourite record it’s also the most significant, full stop! It’s a bold move I know but this just has so much past history for me, from adolescence through to (apparent) adulthood.

• • #genesis

• David
• 30 Aug, 2016

Tool - Salival (2000)

After a day of hearing the “I’m so busy” chant at work (ah diddums!) it’s time for a blow out. Tool live is one of the greatest rock events I have ever experienced.

• • #tool

• David
• 27 Aug, 2016

Blur - The Great Escape (1995)

Still working sequentially through Blur’s massive 21 box. This is their forth record in as many years and follows on from the brilliant Parklife.

• • #blur

• David
• 26 Aug, 2016

The Young Gods - Knock On Wood (2008)

DVD For The Young Gods to make an all acoustic live record is like Nana Mouskouri going death metal. But hey, it works a treat.

• • #theyounggods

• David
• 24 Aug, 2016

David Bowie - Re:Call 1 (2015)

On Vinyl It’s not a mandatory requirement to understand or even pretent to understand what a musically gifted genius is singing about.

• David
• 23 Aug, 2016

Nick's Session - Aug 16

THEME = Fire/ hot/ warm for each round. ( if you’re struggling, I’ll accept cold/ icy/ freezing, but you’ll definitely lose points!)

• • #nickssession
  • #neilyoung
  • #vanmorrison
  • #brianeno

• David
• 23 Aug, 2016

Various Artists - Deutsche Elektonische Musik 2 (2013)

I needed some thinking time this afternoon while working out what to play at tonight’s “Shut Up And Listen” session. While I’ve got it pretty well sorted you just over think things sometimes.

• • #variousartists

• David
• 21 Aug, 2016

Damon Albarn - Mali Music (2002)

Damon Albarn/Afel Bocoum/Toumani Diabaté/Mali Music Brilliant collaboration beween Damon Albarn (leader of Blur who I listened to the other day) and several Malian Muscisians.

• • #damonalbarn

• David
• 19 Aug, 2016

Blur - The Magic Whip (2015)

On Double Vinyl! I’ve had this a while, but was reluctant to play so as not to be disappointed. No fear of that however, it’s a bit of a humdinger.

• • #blur

• David
• 17 Aug, 2016

Riverside - Out Of Myself (2004)

I’ve followed this great Polish progressive metal band (for want of a better description) over the last decade. This is their debut record.

• • #riverside

• David
• 16 Aug, 2016

Electrafixion - Burned (1995)

Hey, I like this. Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant go full throttle and grungy during their post-bunnymen/pre-reformation period. Full of searing guitars and anthemic meanderings - it’s a wall to wall classic.

• • #electrafixion

• David
• 14 Aug, 2016

Luke Haines - 21st Century Man (2009)

More name-dropping madness from this eccentric Englishman (Crazy references to Peter Hammil, Klaus Kinski, David Bowie and Yasser Arafat amongst others).

• • #lukehaines

• David
• 12 Aug, 2016

Jeff Beck - Live In Tokyo (1999)

Vinyl Picked this up during a very quick trawl of the vinyl racks at TWH. A double album for 1 cent shy of 20 bucks!

• • #jeffbeck

• David
• 10 Aug, 2016

Lindsey Buckingham and Little Big Town - Cross Roads Live (2006)

A nice collaboration between Fleetwood Mac’s guitar slinger and popular country harmonists in Live Nashville get together. There’s a mingle of some old Mac songs and Little Big Town tunes.

• • #lindseybuckingham
  • #littlebigtown

• David
• 09 Aug, 2016

Queens Of The Stone Age - Like Clockwork (2013)

45 rpm 12 inch Vinyl I first played this great big double slab of 12 inch 45rpm vinyl at 33rpm a while back (it sounded like Low hitting the sludge button) and it lasted all of 5 minutes before I realised.

• • #queensofthestoneage

• David
• 07 Aug, 2016

Lucinda Williams - The Ghosts Of Highway 20 (2016)

This is probably my favourite album of the year so far. It’s worth the price of admission alone just for the phenomenal band backing her.

• • #lucindawilliams

• David
• 05 Aug, 2016

Donald Fagan - Morph The Cat (2006)

Play that funky music white boy! This is great for a Friday night cleaning out my den upstairs. Never one to deviate from his vintage and well oiled template, it’s still comforting that he remains this consistently good.

• • #donaldfagen

• David
• 04 Aug, 2016

Sonic Youth - Dirty (1992)

The two live Sonic Youth shows I went to in Wellington in 1995 (with the Foo Fighters) and Auckland in 2004 (with J.

• • #sonicyouth

• David
• 02 Aug, 2016

Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express (1977)

On Vinyl More 70’s magic. Kraftwerk was so important to me at around the late 70’s early 80’s. While “Computer World” did the miles on my walkman, this beauty helped me usher in Bowie’s Berlin period.

• • #kraftwerk

• David
• 01 Aug, 2016

The Allman Brothers Band At The Fillmore East (1971)

On Vinyl of course! I have a much greater appreciation of The Allman Bros and am actively seeking out all I can find.

• • #theallmanbrothersband

• David
• 31 Jul, 2016

Santana - Santana (1969)

Vinyl This recently remastered vinyl record album had my jaw dropping and hitting the floor. Another album I remember from my sister’s collection sounding absolutely stunning on vinyl.

• • #santana

• David
• 29 Jul, 2016

Love And Rockets - Assorted! (5 albums)(2013)

Great compilation of unreleased and rarities from those post Bauhaus rockers. Surprisingly psychedelic and slightly bonkers at the same time. Daniel Ash remains a guitar slinging hero to me.

• • #loveandrockets

• David
• 27 Jul, 2016

Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (1972)

DTS 96/24 Fantastic remaster by Steven Wilson in all of it’s 70’s glory. Nothing more to say about this exept it’s one of my Desert Island disks.

• • #jethrotull

• David
• 26 Jul, 2016

Richard's Session - Jul 16

The themes were: Entree:  Light Hammond B3, Main:  Meaty Brass, Dessert:  Sweet and Tasty Wah Wah, Bonus Track

• • #richardssession
  • #porcupinetree
  • #tomwaits
  • #santana

• David
• 24 Jul, 2016

Various Artists - Morning Of The Earth Reimagined (2014)

This is the reimagined version of the wonderful “Morning Of The Earth” original soundtrack which I raved about a couple of weeks ago.

• • #variousartists

• David
• 23 Jul, 2016

Al Di Meola - Splendido Hotel (1979)

It was Al’s birthday yesterday so thought I’d get into some Di Meola magic this afternoon. While this recording shows it’s age (the keyboards especially sound dated) it’s still a great record to show off his versatility.

• • #aldimeola

• David
• 23 Jul, 2016

Joy Division - Closer (1980)

On Vinyl I felt compelled to play this tonight. The impact is never less than profound.

• • #joydivision

• David
• 19 Jul, 2016

Los Lobos - The Town And The City (2006)

The first thing that struck me was the bottom end coming out of my speakers. What a great sound. It’s pitiful I know, but this is my only Los Lobos record and I am ashamed!

• • #loslobos

• David
• 16 Jul, 2016

The Velvet Underground - Loaded (1970)

My god! “Who loves the Sun” is such a lovely song to start VU’s final “real” record. All this talk about VU selling out doesn’t matter in the scheme of things - it’s still a beautiful thing.

• • #velvetunderground

• David
• 15 Jul, 2016

Opeth - Watershed (2008)

You can’t be a passive listener with this! It can lull you into your happy place one moment then punch you in the temporal lobe when you are all nice and cosy.

• • #opeth

• David
• 13 Jul, 2016

Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (1975)

Spooky, Eerie and unsettling, this electronic sculpture makes you keep looking over your shoulder as I certainly did as a mid-teen musical sponge.

• • #tangerinedream

• David
• 12 Jul, 2016

PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016)

Vinyl Saw this at TWH for only 6 bucks more than the CD - so couldn’t resist. Sometimes its hard to understand why something as well packaged as this, gatefold and poster included, could be considerably cheaper than the latest Pink Floyd vinyl remasters.

• • #pjharvey

• David
• 10 Jul, 2016

Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972)

Vinyl Listened to a 24 Bit digital remaster of this classic this morning on my Sunday morning sabbatical and was totally gob-smacked how good this is.

• • #deeppurple

• David
• 08 Jul, 2016

Steven Wilson - Transience (2016)

Vinyl Just needed to play all 3 sides of SW’s solo compilation. My boy Peter, who I’m taking to Auckland to see Mr.

• • #stevenwilson

• David
• 07 Jul, 2016

Rae and Christian - Sleepwalking (2001)

Only 2 stars on Allmusic and a few scathing “reviews” on Amazon suggests it’s not their best effort. Have I missed something?

• • #raeandchristian

• David
• 03 Jul, 2016

Various Artists - Morning Of The Earth OST (1971)

On vinyl Just when you think you’ve seen everything as far as ridiculous bargains go at The Warehouse, something even more astounding comes along.

• • #variousartists

• David
• 02 Jul, 2016

Peter Green - The Anthology (2009)

CD 1 It might be a month of trawling through some compilations and see where that takes me. (There might be a few lapses here and there as I’m easily side-tracked.

• • #petergreen

• David
• 26 Jun, 2016

Nathan's Session - Jun 16

The theme is “Digging through the archives”

• • #nathanssession
  • #neilyoung
  • #pinkfloyd
  • #tomwaits

• David
• 24 May, 2016

Martin's Session - May 16

The theme this month is 2016 Music Deaths – plenty to choose from, so pick three and turn up  to the next session

• • #martinssession
  • #variousartists
  • #davidbowie
  • #bobdylan

• David
• 19 Apr, 2016

David's Session - Apr 16

The themes were: Sorry, I nearly missed my deadline - think days, weeks, months, years or any measurement of time. (But NOT the word “time” by itself), It just wasn’t my cup of tea. A song from yesteryear that you appreciate a lot more these days., Let’s stop this reminiscing nonsense! Something from this decade

• • #davidssession
  • #brucespringsteen
  • #blacksabbath
  • #thechills

• David
• 29 Mar, 2016

Chris's Session - Mar 16

The themes were: _Space/ heavenly bodies , Some (or all) of the tune’s lyrics to be narrated or spoken , Neighbours/ neighbourhood _

• • #chrisssession
  • #paulsimon
  • #blacksabbath
  • #thetimejumpers

• David
• 23 Feb, 2016

Bruce's Session - Feb 16

The themes were: London, Bowie, Food

• • #brucessession
  • #davidbowie
  • #thechills
  • #johnmartyn

• David
• 26 Jan, 2016

Richard's Session - Jan 16

The theme for this one is lost

• • #richardssession
  • #nickcave
  • #paulkelly
  • #tameimpala