Nuzeeland!

Well, I mean, New Zealand's music is usually heartily ignored, apart from our old friends of Crowded House a long time ago, so it can still fit into the Blog's description. To be honest, I have no clue at all of what New Zealand's music scene looks like now. But I do have a double-disc of New Zealand's classic tunes on. And so, I shall now introduce you to wonders such as the magnificent Blerta. Now, they were active in the 1970s, so my claim that it is Hugh Grant talking s actually ridiculous, and I apoligise to those who believed me. I only thought this because I was told this by the person who gave me the CD, and only Wikipedia were kind enough to correct me. Anyway, I like it. If you're wondering, Blerta stands for Bruno Lawrence Electric Revelation and Traveling Apparition - Bruno Lawrence being the most prominent member of the group. I'm still not actually sure why I like this song. It's certainly not my usual style, so I can only suppose that it's got something to do with the optimistic, hippy-like lyrics. Oh yeah.

Blerta - Dance All Around The World

Darcy Clay. I don't think you'll know him. This was his only real hit, and that was in New Zealand and no further. One interesting fact: he killed himself in 2002 before an anti-suicide gig. "Jesus I Was Evil" was recorded on a 4-track recorder in his bedroom, or at least all the instruments were, and I think it's easy to tell, but it's great. Not necessarily a classic, but give it a chance and after a while you'll like it. I started playing this repeatedly when I first heard it, and I think the Wikipedia description of "country-fried punk rock" seems just about right. I haven't any other of his stuff, but this seems like a good start. Oh, and by the way, he opened for Blur when they went to New Zealand.

Darcy Clay - Jesus I Was Evil

Fur Patrol, orginially from NZ, now live in Australia, but by Jesus the lead singer's got a good voice. Nice song to relax to, this was released some time in the year 2000, when the band still had all its 4 members. Which it doesn't anymore since 2004, yet they carry on regardless, which is nice since they decided not to replace the guy who left as a sign that he could come back whenever he wished. Oooo goody. The song is called Lydia, and is a call for attention more than anything, as some other girl seduces her man. I think. I really like that soft guitar that pops in everynow and again.

Fur Patrol

Now how can I mention New Zealand without mentioning Split Enz? They even made it to the UK and America in the late 70s/early 80s. Not that they were that successful, as their quirky approach wasn't much appreciated by the critics at the time, something of a shame - although they did get to a top ten spot. In some of the more remote parts of the US, they were even met with a hostile reaction to their music. Anyway, I've struggled to choose an apt song to represent them. The band had some serious trouble with members leaving, but somehow managed to pull through regardless. Anyway, I've decided that "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" is the best song to show their style. Typical of the time really, what set them apart was their live performance, which although I wasn't born to see was something of an originality, with them dressing up etc... And making it more interesting to watch than, say, a folk music artist who just stands on the stage and strums gently on his guitar.

Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat

That's all folks!

UPDATE: It turns out Split Enz are doing a reunion tour thing in Australia in June... I guess that means we won't be seeing them in Europe then.