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Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Entertainment News/ MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS - MONDAY!
Monday, May 01, 2017
Released today: The Anniversary Edition of 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9)'
– “A splendid time is guaranteed for all” –
This June 1st marks 50 years since The Beatles’ John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr astonished and delighted the world, ushering in the Summer of Love with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a groundbreaking masterwork that became popular music’s most universally acclaimed album. In anticipation of the album release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Take 9) [the lead radio track taken from the forthcoming Sgt. Pepper’s 50th Anniversary sets] has been released.
– “We hope you will enjoy the show” –
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-20120531
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-20120531
“It’s crazy to think that 50 years later we are looking back on this project with such fondness and a little bit of amazement at how four guys, a great producer and his engineers could make such a lasting piece of art,” says Paul McCartney in his newly-penned introduction for the ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Anniversary Edition. ..Sgt. Pepper seemed to capture the mood of that year, and it also allowed a lot of other people to kick off from there and to really go for it,” Ringo Starr recalls in the Anniversary Edition’s book.
Amidst intense media speculation about the band’s next move, the single bridged what was then
considered a long gap between the Revolver album, released in August 1966, and ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ which followed 10 months later.
This is the first time Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been remixed and presented with
additional session recordings, and it is the first Beatles album to be remixed and expanded since the 2003 release of Let It Be… Naked. To create the new stereo and 5.1 surround audio mixes for ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell worked with an expert team of engineers and audio restoration specialists at Abbey Road Studios in London. All of the Anniversary Edition releases include Martin’s new stereo mix of the album, which was sourced directly from the original four-track session tapes and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by his father, George Martin.
A little bit of history.... this is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Beatles. Released on 1 June 1967, it was an immediate commercial and critical success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the albums chart in the United Kingdom and 15 weeks at number one in the United States. The album was recognized for its innovations in music production, songwriting and graphic design, bridging a cultural divide between popular music and legitimate art, and symbolizing the 1960s counterculture. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honour.
In August 1966, the Beatles permanently retired from touring and began a three-month holiday from recording. During a return flight to London in November, Paul McCartney had an idea for a song involving an Edwardian era military band that would eventually form the impetus of the Sgt. Pepper concept. Sessions for what was to become the Beatles' eighth studio album began on 24 November in Abbey Road Studio Two with two compositions inspired from their youth, Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane, but after pressure from EMI, the songs were released as a double A-side single and were not included on the album.
In February 1967, after recording the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band song, McCartney suggested that the Beatles should release an entire album that would represent a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band. This alter ego group would give them the freedom to experiment musically. During the recording sessions, the band furthered the technological progression they had made with their 1966 album Revolver. Knowing they would not have to perform the tracks live, they adopted an experimental approach to composition and recording on songs such as With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life. Producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick's innovative recording of the album included the liberal application of sound shaping signal processing and the use of a 40-piece orchestra performing aleatoric* crescendos (*i.e. relating to or denoting music or other forms of art involving elements of random choice -sometimes using statistical or computer techniques - during their composition, production, or performance).
Recording was completed on 21 April 1967. The cover, depicting the Beatles posing in front of a tableau of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by the British pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth.
Sgt. Pepper is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the use of extended form in popular music while continuing the artistic maturation seen on the Beatles' preceding releases. It has been described as one of the first art rock LPs, aiding the development of progressive rock, and credited with marking the beginning of the Album Era. An important work of British psychedelia, the album incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde, and Western and Indian classical music. In 2003, the Library of Congress placed Sgt. Pepper in the National Recording Registry, honouring the work as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".That same year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number one in its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". As of 2011, it has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. Professor Kevin J. Dettmar, writing in the Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, described it as "the most important and influential rock and roll album ever recorded".It is the best selling album worldwide of the 1960s.
A little bit about the cover... The album’s vibrant artwork, including its extravagant Pop Art cover which finds The Beatles surrounded by a crowd of heroes in a 3D collage, was created by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth in collaboration with the band. The original artwork is showcased across the suite of Anniversary Edition releases, including the album’s pull-out sheet of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cutouts. Housed in a 12-inch by 12-inch box with lenticular artwork and two bonus posters, the six-disc Super Deluxe set is presented with a 144-page hardcover book. The book includes new introductions by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin, and chapters covering comprehensive song-by-song details and recording information, the design of the cover, the album’s musical innovations and its historical context by Beatles historian, author and radio producer Kevin Howlett; composer and musicologist Howard Goodall; music producer and writer Joe Boyd; and journalists Ed Vulliamy and Jeff Slate, illustrated with rare photographs, reproductions of handwritten lyrics, Abbey Road Studios documentation, and original ‘Sgt. Pepper’ print ads.
The Deluxe 2CD digipak is slipcased with a 50-page booklet abridged from the box set’s book, and the 2LP Deluxe Vinyl is presented in a faithful reproduction of the album’s original gatefold jacket.
Below is a movie about the making of Sgt Peppers...
For all those trainspotters out there, here's the 50th Anniversary Release track listing:
CD
(‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix)
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life
Deluxe [2CD, digital]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album, plus various versions of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She's Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
8. Within You Without You [Take 1 - Indian Instruments]
9. When I'm Sixty-Four [Take 2]
10. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
11. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
13. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
14. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 7]
15. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26]
16. Strawberry Fields Forever [Stereo Mix - 2015]
17. Penny Lane [Take 6 - Instrumental]
18. Penny Lane [Stereo Mix - 2017]
Deluxe Vinyl [180g 2LP]
LP 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
SIDE 1 SIDE 2
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1. Within You Without You
2. With A Little Help From My Friends 2. When I'm Sixty-Four
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3. Lovely Rita
4. Getting Better 4. Good Morning Good Morning
5. Fixing A Hole 5. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. She's Leaving Home 6. A Day In The Life
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
SIDE 2
1. Within You Without You
2. With A Little Help From My Friends 2. When I'm Sixty-Four
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3. Lovely Rita
4. Getting Better 4. Good Morning Good Morning
5. Fixing A Hole 5. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. She's Leaving Home 6. A Day In The Life
LP 2: Complete early takes from the sessions in the same sequence as the album
SIDE 3
1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 And Speech]
2. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1]
4. Getting Better [Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End]
5. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
6. She's Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 4]
SIDE 4
1. Within You Without You [Take 1 - Indian Instruments]
2. When I'm Sixty-Four [Take 2]
3. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
4. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
5. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Take 8]
6. A Day In The Life [Take 1 With Hummed Last Chord]
Super Deluxe [4CD/DVD/Blu-ray boxed set]
CD 1: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ 2017 Stereo Mix (same as single-disc CD tracklist, above)
CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
1. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 1]
2. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 4]
3. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 7]
4. Strawberry Fields Forever [Take 26]
5. Strawberry Fields Forever [Stereo Mix - 2015]
6. When I'm Sixty-Four [Take 2]
7. Penny Lane [Take 6 – Instrumental]
8. Penny Lane [Vocal Overdubs And Speech]
9. Penny Lane [Stereo Mix - 2017]
10. A Day In The Life [Take 1]
11. A Day In The Life [Take 2]
12. A Day In The Life [Orchestra Overdub]
13. A Day In The Life (Hummed Last Chord) [Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11]
14. A Day In The Life (The Last Chord)
15. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 1 – Instrumental]
16. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [Take 9 And Speech]
17. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 1 - Instrumental, Breakdown]
18. Good Morning Good Morning [Take 8]
CD 3: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates
1. Fixing A Hole [Take 1]
2. Fixing A Hole [Speech And Take 3]
3. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Speech From Before Take 1; Take 4 And Speech At End]
4. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! [Take 7]
5. Lovely Rita [Speech And Take 9]
6. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Take 1 And Speech At The End]
7. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Speech, False Start And Take 5]
8. Getting Better [Take 1 - Instrumental And Speech At The End]
9. Getting Better [Take 12]
10. Within You Without You [Take 1 - Indian Instruments Only]
11. Within You Without You [George Coaching The Musicians]
12. She's Leaving Home [Take 1 – Instrumental]
13. She's Leaving Home [Take 6 – Instrumental]
14. With A Little Help From My Friends [Take 1 - False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental]
15. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) [Speech And Take 8]
CD 4: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and bonus tracks in Mono
(Tracks 1-13: 2017 Direct Transfer of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Original Mono Mix)
14. Strawberry Fields Forever [Original Mono Mix]
15. Penny Lane [Original Mono Mix]
16. A Day In The Life [Unreleased First Mono Mix]
17. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds [Unreleased Mono Mix - No. 11]
18. She's Leaving Home [Unreleased First Mono Mix]
19. Penny Lane [Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single - Mono Mix]
DISCS 5 & 6 (Blu-ray & DVD)
Audio Features (both discs):
- New 5.1 Surround Audio mixes of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album and “Penny Lane,” plus 2015 5.1 Surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 / DVD: DTS Dolby Digital 5.1)
- High Resolution Audio versions of 2017 ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix and 2017 “Penny Lane” stereo mix, plus 2015 “Strawberry Fields Forever” hi res stereo mix (Blu-ray: LPCM Stereo 96KHz/24bit / DVD: LPCM Stereo)
Video Features (both discs):
- The Making of Sgt. Pepper [restored 1992 documentary film, previously unreleased]
- Promotional Films: “A Day In The Life;” “Strawberry Fields Forever;” “Penny Lane” [4K restored]
It's New Zealand Music Month!!!!
“NZ Music Month has a way of throwing up the unexpected; that song, artist or event that you experience that captures you in a way that only music can. There are plenty of opportunities for people to experience local music this May, so make the effort and see what new musical adventures await.” said NZ Music Month Manager, Simon Woods.
Music Commission Chief Executive Cath Andersen says “This year the focus of NZ Music Month is music discovery – most people now have a favourite local artist, so we think May is the perfect time to try and find your new favourite New Zealand band.”
There is a huge volume of events nationwide to cater for every musical taste.
Again libraries from across New Zealand are hosting concerts, exhibitions and showing films that celebrate local music with over a hundred events featuring an amazing array of artists scheduled nationwide.
The Christchurch Music Trust CHART has a programme including the NZ Music Month CHART Showcase on 11 May at The Darkroom; and Wanaka will again play host to the YAMI Sound Summit, a weekend of music industry workshops, panels, and showcases for anyone aged from 10 to 110 years.
Levin is having its fourth annual NZ Music Month Day, a community event with local performers playing at a dozen locations across the Horowhenua township.
The Carter Observatory in Wellington has four special NZ Music Month concerts, featuring live performances by some of the capital’s best artists. Also in Wellington is a special NZ Music Month Mothers Day show Takitimu Karanga, hosted by Toni Huata with special guests including Betty-anne Monga and Mara TK
The Otara Music And Arts Centre are holding a free workshop series every Saturday in May, including hip hop music production and a Drummers Day Out; and the Official NZ Music Month Summit will be held by the Music Managers Forum and NZ Music Commission at the Auckland Museum on 20 May, coinciding with the final weekend of the landmark Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition.
Prime TV will be playing New Zealand music documentaries in the Tuesday evening Prime Rocks slot throughout May, and the Rialto Channel are back with their 13th Floor NZ Music Month sessions every night in May, featuring exclusive performances filmed for 13thfloor.co.nz every evening at 8:30pm.
Not only will there be events happening throughout the country, but New Zealand artists are performing across the globe this May.
“We know that people all over the world are listening to New Zealand artists, and this May we will also be highlighting some of the amazing achievements and in-roads our musicians are making internationally.”
What is NZ Music Month?
Firmly entrenched as part of our cultural landscape, the month of May has gone from a period of encouraging radio to play more local tunes, to a 31 day celebration of homegrown talent across the length and breadth of the country.
NZ Music Month is a promotion run by the NZ Music Commission that takes place each May, in association with other organisations including NZ On Air, Recorded Music New Zealand, APRA, The Music Managers Forum, and the Radio Broadcasters Association. And obviously NZ Music Month could not succeed without the support of the country's labels, media, the general public, and, most importantly, the artists themselves.
Here at NZ Music Month HQ we can still remember back to the year 2000 when it all kicked off. There was plenty of great music being made but not enough people got to hear it, see it, or have it on their shelves. It's bloody marvellous to see how far things have come.
With local music of so many different kinds blasting through our airwaves, soaring off stages, webpagesand apps, and rumbling out of ludicrously lowered cars at the lights these days it is hard to fathom why things weren't like this earlier. Well, along with the vast amount of talented musicians responsible for all the great songs, and the hardworking folks who support them professionally and personally, we'd like to think that NZ Music Month has played a part.
We want to help you get to great gigs, make new musical discoveries, and get excited about your faves from the past. With a bunch of new releases looming over the horizon, hundreds of gigs around the country, and media of all kinds gearing up to get behind NZ Music Month you won't be able to miss it.
NZ Music Month will also be spreading the word about everything else that's going on around Aotearoa, so stay tuned for our personal picks throughout May and dig deep into our comprehensive gig guide to find gems that tickle your fancy.
Catch you out there... For more info go to: http://www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz/
Thursday, April 27, 2017
New tunes on Groove FM
Hey Groovers
We've recently added fantastic tracks from Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox including their Swing versions of 'All about that bass', 'Creep' and 'I will survive'. We also have an amazing Barbershop vocal version of 'Happy' (Pharrell Williams) by 'Straight no chaser', Galdys Knight & The Pips doing the 'Sesame Street Theme' and some nice new Jazz grooves. If you haven't listened to Groove for a while the time to tune in is now. Don't forget we're on the (free) Tunein app on mobile devices.
Other new grooves:
Sunset Lover - Petit Biscuit
Shake ya Boogie - Mocean Worker Feat. Steven Bernstein
Toxic - Postmodern Jukebox
Swing You Winners - Bart & Baker feat. Tape 5
Adding this week: Tracks from the Amazing 'La la land' movie soundtrack.
We've recently added fantastic tracks from Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox including their Swing versions of 'All about that bass', 'Creep' and 'I will survive'. We also have an amazing Barbershop vocal version of 'Happy' (Pharrell Williams) by 'Straight no chaser', Galdys Knight & The Pips doing the 'Sesame Street Theme' and some nice new Jazz grooves. If you haven't listened to Groove for a while the time to tune in is now. Don't forget we're on the (free) Tunein app on mobile devices.
Other new grooves:
Sunset Lover - Petit Biscuit
Shake ya Boogie - Mocean Worker Feat. Steven Bernstein
Toxic - Postmodern Jukebox
Swing You Winners - Bart & Baker feat. Tape 5
Adding this week: Tracks from the Amazing 'La la land' movie soundtrack.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Reflecting on ANZAC Day
Yesterday was ANZAC day, commemorating 102 years since New Zealand and Australia's involvement in WWI.
At a service at the National War Memorial Pukeahu Park in Wellington Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy thanked veterans for their service and commitment to the country:
"A hundred years ago most of our troops were on the western front in northern France and Belgium. As the war progressed, the names of obscure villages, towns and ridge-lines where so many of our men lost their lives, became part of our national memory."
Below is a small selection of responses to the day, from various sources on the web.
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| www.safeground.org.nz |
Reflecting on the Legacies of War on ANZAC Day: http://safeground.org.au/reflecting-on-the-legacies-of-war-on-anzac-day/
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| http://www.sbs.com.au |
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/04/25/anzac-day-women-front-line-commemorate-day-reflection
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| http://nzkindergarten.org.nz/ |
This is a Kindergarten's perspective:
http://nzkindergarten.org.nz/announcements/kindergarten-children-mark-anzac-day
The RSA's approach:
http://rsa.org.nz/Remembrance/Anzac-Day
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| from www.newshub.co.nz |
And a response to that article: "If this 12yr old 'NZ First' war apologist is the result of kids at ANZAC Day, should we ban kids from ANZAC Day?": http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/04/26/if-this-12yr-old-nz-first-war-apologist-is-the-result-of-kids-at-anzac-day-should-we-ban-kids-from-anzac-day-nzpol-theamshownz/
DISCLAIMER: WHILE GROOVE HAS QUOTED FROM THE SITES ABOVE WE HAVE DONE SO IN THE INTERESTS OF SHARING INFORMATION. WE DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH ANY OF THE CONTENT ABOVE AND THE IMAGES AND OPINIONS OF THE SITES QUOTED ARE THEIRS AND THEIRS ALONE. WE THANK THE SITES FOR ALLOWING US TO SHARE THEIR VIEWS.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Record Store Day 2017
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| Brooke Singer, French For Rabbits signing records |
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| French For Rabbits |
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| French For Rabbits |
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| French For Rabbits |
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| Teeth (?) |
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| Teeth |
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| Teeth |
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| Teeth |
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| Teeth |
Live Photos: The Darkness + Push Push - The Powerstation, Auckland April 20 2017
Yes, it's a little outside our brief but our friend, the wonderful Trevor Villers sent us photos of the concert featuring the return of Mike Havoc's bogan band Push Push and the return of the jumpsuit rockers The Darkness.
English hard-rockers The Darkness played the first show of their three-date New Zealand tour last night at The Powerstation in Auckland joined by recently reformed rockers Push Push. Flamboyant frontman Justin Hawkins brought his A-game for the show, squeezing himself into a skintight electric purple jumpsuit and while the rest of the band weren't as sartorially outlandish they were no slouches on the stage, going guns blazing for the energetic live performance.
The addition of the reunited Push Push to the bill was a small stroke of genius. Mikey Havoc and his crew don’t take themselves too seriously either. After all, they are everyone's favorite High School joke. The looked and sounded like they were having a ball. Their lack of stage experience caught up with them when they were forced to wait while a malfunctioning computer was made to behave…leaving both band and audience silent for a few moments. But other than that, a good time was had, and they left the stage trippin’ (LOL).
English hard-rockers The Darkness played the first show of their three-date New Zealand tour last night at The Powerstation in Auckland joined by recently reformed rockers Push Push. Flamboyant frontman Justin Hawkins brought his A-game for the show, squeezing himself into a skintight electric purple jumpsuit and while the rest of the band weren't as sartorially outlandish they were no slouches on the stage, going guns blazing for the energetic live performance.
The addition of the reunited Push Push to the bill was a small stroke of genius. Mikey Havoc and his crew don’t take themselves too seriously either. After all, they are everyone's favorite High School joke. The looked and sounded like they were having a ball. Their lack of stage experience caught up with them when they were forced to wait while a malfunctioning computer was made to behave…leaving both band and audience silent for a few moments. But other than that, a good time was had, and they left the stage trippin’ (LOL).
All Photos by Trevor Villers
Friday, April 21, 2017
Groove Book Report- The Thirst - Jo Nesbo
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Saturday, April 08, 2017
The Beat Goes On – The BeatGirls’ Turn 21!
There is a party in town and all of Wellington is invited! The BeatGirls’ will return to Circa Theatre in April with their latest show The BeatGirls’ 21st – All Grown Up, celebrating 21 years entertaining audiences the world over.
The group has a long and successful history with Circa Theater which began in 1999 and has continued over the years with 'The BeatGirls’ 21st – All Grown Up' marking the trios unprecedented seventh show at the theatre. Their back catalogue of shows include the popular 'It’s My Party' (1999), 'It’s My Party 2' (2000) and 'Beatcamp' (2010).
The BeatGirls’ 21st – All Grown Up is not only set to be another stand-out show from the girl group, but a chance to reflect and look back on 21 years in the entertainment industry – a truly remarkable accomplishment and very rarely seen in NZ.
Initially only performing music by The Beatles, the repertoire now spans 8 decades incorporating many styles from Swing and Bossa Nova, Girl-group to Glam Rock, Soul to 70’s and 80’s to current songs by popular contemporary artists topping the charts.
“We’ve really re-invented ourselves over the years with new rep and costumes and kept the energy fresh and the show exciting” Founder of the BeatGirls’ (and The BeatGirls’ 21st – All Grown Up creator) Andrea Sanders stated when reflecting on the groups success over the years.
Circa One
Preview 31 March
1 – 15 April
Tues – Thurs 6.30pm, Fri – Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm
$25 – $52
Devised and choreographed by Andrea Sanders Featuring Andrea Sanders, Kali Kopae &
Carolyn McLaughlin.
http://www.circa.co.nz/the-beatgirls-21st-all-grown-up/
Friday, April 07, 2017
Groove Book Report: Tell Me My Name - Bill Manhire riddles; Norman Meehan music; Hannah Griffin song; Peter Peryer photographs – Published by Victoria University Press (Poetry + photographs + music CD)
Recently, I found myself caught up in the great Nobel Literacy Prize debate over whether Bob Dylan should have been awarded one or not. The arguments came from many sides but it all came down to this: Are lyrics poetry? That is, what makes lyrics suitable to be read; or recited; or sung or quoted; or used in a wedding speech; or a eulogy; or put on a pedestal and displayed around a Harbour walkway? Or anywhere? Do lyrics need music. Is that that what defines them or differentiates them from poetry? I guess the Nobel panel of judges decided that lyrics could stand alone as a legitimate branch of poetry – and QED a legitimate literacy work. That begs another question, too. Does a great literacy work have to be in a published book? Have any text or SMS works ever been nominated? Or even Kindle only editions. And, of course, one could easily argue that Rap is poetry – set to music or just recited. It doesn't need Hip Hop to sell it, but it helps. Don’t let’s get started on that one.The debate will rage, no doubt. In the meantime, here in New Zealand, there’s a world-famous poet whose writings often end up set to music, although he doesn't intentionally set out that way. In the case of poet and National Treasure, Bill Manhire, it was poetry. More to the point the poetry of Riddles. Manhire should know a thing or two about poetry as he founded the International Institute of Modern Letters, home to New Zealand’s leading creative writing program. He is now Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing at Victoria University of Wellington. Riddling entered Manhire's life when he was very small child. In the introduction to his new collection Tell Me My Name, he reveals the first riddle his mother ever sang to him. He might not have really understood then what the nonsense all meant but it created a strong memory and he sings it still:
“A wee wee man in a red red coat
Staff in my hand and a stone in my throat.”
(Answer: a cherry)
From the traditional English Riddle, The Cherry Song.
As a university student he was introduced to Old English and Norse languages and Anglo Saxon riddle poems. "Objects like a cloud, a swan, an iceberg, would be described in slightly oblique, misleading ways.” This has affected the way he writes this new collection. Oblique but ultimately transparent references are important to this sequence of thirteen riddles. To add another dimension jazz scholar Norman Meehan has composer and plays some very atmospheric piano accompanied by Jazz vocalist Hannah Griffin. What’s interesting about the compositions is that none of them give any clues as to the answers to these riddles but they are revealing once you do know the answers. There’s one about ice that Manhire has peppered with tiny cluesin the lyrics. But musically Meehan gives little away save for the opening few notes of a melancholy violin, slowly groaning like and iceberg.
Manhire’s worked with Meehan and Griffin before, on Buddhist Rain, Small Holes in the Silence (Rattle Records), These Rough Notes (VUP) and the acclaimed Making Baby Float – poems written by Manhire about growing up in 1950’s New Zealand. Griffin’s voice is just as lush and warm on this new CD as it was on that earlier project. It’s almost a maternal angelic presence. Calming and soothing. She could sing the phone book or the US presidential results and still make the world seem alright. What’s abundant here is the space between lyrics and music. Like Manhire’s reading voice, it is slow, relaxed and measured. It is also slightly monotonic, with Griffin holding fast her course. Again giving away little but surprisingly it’s still seductive and enticing. You want to solve these. Or at least try.
The little hardback book that comes with the CD includes the full texts and eight photographs by celebrated artist Peter Peryer – none of which truly give the game away, either. They’re actually red herrings – images that provocatively lure you one way, and then another but ultimately have little obvious conections to the subject of the riddle. This is yet another layer of playfulness. I approached this as a CD review but it’s as much a book review – or a poetry review – as well. Upon my first reading, I looked at the ‘riddleness’ of each poem – what lies within the rhyme. I was looking for the word-smithing and the echoes, the enigma, and because of the rhymes the sweetly crafted melody. As poems, along there is an openness, as if you are walking through a wide-open paddock – endless green stretching to the horizon to meet the blue skies. No wind. Calm. Slow. Sensually sun kissed skin. A vast plain that could generate both movement and stillness. This is a bit of a trade mark for Manhire. He likes to leave the doors open and for the poem to breath. You can hear his soft, gentle voice in these lines. With him, it’s always what he doesn’t say that is important. Take this poem. Simply numbered ‘1’. I won’t spoil it by telling you the subject of the riddle but if you put yourself in the mind of the speaker you will travel with him to the destination:
The road goes by the house
the wind sings in the tree
we sing the travelling worlds
we sing quietly
(we sing quietly)
Thursday, April 06, 2017
GroThe Chinese Proverb - by Tina Clough
Hunter sets out to find and punish the man Dao calls Master, but he soon discovers there is more to this than enslavement. Before long he himself is being hunted by the boss of a drug empire whose sole objective is to kill Dao – she knows too much.
Protecting Dao and waging war while trying to keep the police from stifling his enterprise takes all Hunter’s ingenuity and determination and exposes him to deadly jeopardy. He enlists his old army buddy Charlie and her helicopter to help him, but things become complicated when Dao disappears.
Tina Clough grew up in Sweden and lives in Napier, New Zealand. Her crime novels are character-based with the emphasis on how ordinary people react when faced with danger – an exploration of what we might all be capable of when faced with threat and brutality.
Tina divides her time between translating and editing science research papers and writing crime novels.
http://lightpoolpublishing.com/
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