Look out! He's got a knife!

Maori TV rules

I love being able to turn on my tv in the evenings and hear Maori being spoken. It's a beautiful language and you can't hear it anywhere else in the world.

Think about that, for a second: nowhere else in the world can you hear Maori spoken. For me, this is a big reason why Maori tv is so important.

Maori culture is at the root of my patriotism. When you get down to it, what have the people of New Zealand really got that noone else in the world has? Maori culture. It's worth celebrating.

As far as I'm concerned, bash Maori and you bash New Zealand. Rubberheads like Gerry Brownlie will never understand that. It's exasperating, but ultimately they're missing out so fuck 'em.

What New Zealand movies are most popular overseas? Things like Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors and Utu. Why is that? 'Cause they don't have stories about Maori anywhere else.

Damn, I was even jazzed to see ads for The Warehouse in Maori. Stephen Tindall understands Kiwi patriotism.

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - FZ

You know, I don't really give a toss whether anyone reads this durn thing or not. Jack said something on his (essential reading) site about how I need to drain the text from my frontal lobes and he hit the nail on the head. I've had other text outlets lately, but my blog finger has been itching.

So now I've found a scam that allows me to post from work (though it makes everything look ugly) and I'm just going to waste it writing about music.

So how come there hasn't been a really great rock & roll album since Exile In Guyville by Liz Phair in 1993? There's been no shortage of bands going "ROCK ROCK ROCK" but as Keith Richards would say "Where the hell's the roll?" I blame metal. Everyone's parents used to say that rock & roll is just noise, and the metallers were silly enough to believe them. I used to love heavy riffing as much as the next bonehead but frankly I'm sick of it.

You've Got To Hear the Music by Dimmer is noone's idea of a great rock & roll album but it is one of the best albums I've heard that's come out in the last few years, local or otherwise. I've got to admit a preference for the funk-laden single "Getting What You Give" which everyone's dog has been comparing to Sly Stone. The rest of the album is solid too. Anika Moa's vocals blend so smoothly with Shayne Carter's that I'm suspicious something unsavoury is going on along the lines of a David Cronenberg sexual mutation/merging. I'm going to their gig on Friday just to see if they're really both tumorous growths on each others' crotches.

Speaking of Sly and the Family Stone, I've been listening to their Essential collection and I've got to say that despite the generic label (The Essential Leonard Cohen, The Essential Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Neil Diamond, Paul Young...) and cover (b&w image of artist) it's actually pretty good for a $16 2-CD set. The remastering isn't all I'd like, but it kicks Sly's other unmastered CD releases off the shelf. Plus you get 8 out of 11 tracks from There's A Riot Going On, although I can't explain the odd order they're shuffled into.

Frankly everyone should get hold of a copy of the Sly & the Family Stone track I Want To Take You Higher and turn it up to 11 right now and shake your rump!

It's also nice to hear where the Beasties got Shadrach from (Loose Booty, from one of Sly's lesser later releases).

Abruptly, the post ended!

the Auteur theory: why do we accept this crap?

The auteur theory was invented in the late 1950s by some French film critics (like Trauffaut and Godard) who wanted to call attention to the director because they wanted to be directors themselves.

So why do so many people take it as the truth?

I can understand why, for example, Orson Welles was an auteur. He was a director, sure, but he also wrote his own scripts, designed costumes, designed sets, cut film, often put up the money, usually starred in the movie, and sometimes was the only consistent crew member (eg Othello or Chimes At Midnight).

But why does (for example) Ron Howard get credit for the authorship of his movies? Apollo 13 was written (uncredited) by John Sayles, Ransom was written by Richard Price, and their fingerprints are all over those movies. The look of A Beautiful Mind is significantly different from the look of The Grinch; is the same Ron Howard the reason for the difference, or is it down to one being shot by Richard Deakins while the other was by Donald Peterman? How is Ron Howard the author of any of these movies?

Who's responsible for this massive gyp?

Pimping for my homies

Okay, listen up.

Tomorrow night, Wednesday the 21st, The Dukes of Leisure are having their debut gig at Bodega. I've seen them play, and they're real good. Trippy laid-back ambient - kinda Mogwai, kinda HDU, kinda their own thing.

Most of the band are already gigging musicians (members of the K1500 Project, Kamahi, Idle Faction and others) but this is a whole new deal. They're playing with Cue The Sun, and there will be a full enhanced visual environment (it says here...) and it's only a fiver.

This is the ideal opportunity to get in on the ground floor for a cool new band. Things kick of kinda early - 9:30ish - so I'll see you there!

Also this Friday at Katipo (on Willis Street - nice cafe) there's an acoustic singer/songwriter session on Friday night (the 23rd). Talented people with acoustic guitars singing their own songs. Kicks off at 7:30 - a great way to lead in to Dimmer at Bodega! (Most of the people playing will be going to Dimmer.) See you there too, undoubtedly!

Michael King died!

Man, what a shocker - historian Michael King and his wife were killed in a car accident. And right when he seemed to be beating cancer.

First Janet Frame and now this - it's a bad year for New Zealand letters already!

Even the Act party, previously believed to be immune from human emotion, are shocked.

King is probably the most popular New Zealand historian outside of school rooms - people actually read his books for fun. I guess we'd all better pick up a copy of his most recent book, the Penguin History of New Zealand - although it sounds like everyone but me already has...