Posts by Grant McDougall
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Simon Sweetman is the worst music writer in the country. He is to music writing what The Feelers are to music: dull, insipid, unchallenging and mediocre. This is a man that gave a recent Tears For Fears re-issue a rave review, for f--ks sake.
That Dom Post article is interesting, in that it's all about subtext, not subject. It's having a pop at Judith Tizard through her failing some small quiz. I expect assorted music biz types also bombed out in it, but there's no mention of that. I suspect that National's arts and culture spokesman / woman (whoever it is) would've done just as bad. I've no qualms with the Dom Post taking a pop at Tizard, but I just wish they'd be more honest about the context they do it in.
Conversely, if it was "NZ Film Month" I bet the Dom Post would've been all gushy about it, peeing their pants over all the Wellington film types (that's a pop at the paper, not Wellingtonians, btw).
However, I saw the clip of Tizard singing at the launch on the news last night and it was just as embarassing as that wretched version of 'The Gambler' that Labour ministers did at the recent conference. It makes them look stupid and they really need to step away from the mic.
As for Chris Knox's comment's, well, I admire the guy's honesty: it is a great opportunity to promote his umpteenth album. Also, NZ Music Month in general seems to be about promoting the more commercially-friendly end of the scene. If it gets a few people the recognition they crave, good on 'em.
But NZMM's, by and large, of no consequence to the less commercial bands, yet they still manage to get themselves known through other means. I was talking to Die! Die! Die!'s manager the other day and their about to tour America with the Van Bondies, which will do their "career" a lot more good than having a couple of songs played on commercial radio.
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I like GST and think we should keep it. It's an excellent indirect tax. Yes, it does suck that food prices are going up. But a lot of the revenue gained via GST is going back into the gov'ts education / health / education / welfare spending which is there to support those on lower incomes.
What goes around comes around. -
Regarding Emerson's in Dunedin, apart from the places already mentioned, Al Bar in lower Stuart St also has it.
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those hideous fake-Irish and fake-English pub interiors.
Ain't that the truth. The long-established, much-loved Dunedin pub, The Albert Arms (on the corner of George and London Sts) had been a very, very good, unpretentious pub for decades.
Then about a year ago, it was bought out and transformed into what I call a "kit-set Irish pub" called - cue gagging - The Bog, completely with all manner of the usual generic rubbish used to signify "Ireland".
I went there on its opening night about six months ago and took great advantage of their ever-so-generous offer of unlimited free Guinness. Other than that, I have not darkened its doorway again and do not intend to.
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As an aside, I'm old enough to remember when "SST" meant great albums by Husker Du, Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, etc...*wistful sigh*
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It's way harsh to call them dropkicks just because they are victims of crime who have turned up to a forum to hopefully hear some words of wisdom about how violent crime is being addressed by political parties.
So they should have just stayed home and looked at the Statistics NZ web site, to rationalise their situation, get some perspective, get a grip and reassure themselves? Great.
I was refering to the SST, not the actual victims. Yes, I do reckon the SST should look at the statistics, rather than lying about an increase.
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but telling a hall full of people gathered around their belief that crime is spiralling out of control that crime is in fact falling is never going to go down well.
It's a pity these drop-kicks can't simply go to the Statistics NZ website and have a nosey at the crime figures. If they did, they'd see that the clear, on-going trend is that, overall, crime has dropped. It's that simple.
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Good write-up, Grant. According to this morning's Otago Daily Times, the report was completed on March 15.
In the month since, the NZFU has basically gone through it with a black marker pen and censored all the critical, contentious and damning comments, in order to save face. (The ODT does give examples, but the actual stories not on their crap-heap website, so I can't link to or cut 'n' paste it, sorry).The report's a gutless white-wash, simple as that.
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I saw them play at Vic Uni Orientation in 1997 with Superette and Fur Patrol - definitely one of my top 15 gigs of all time.
I saw that too, it was their last ever gig, so count yourself lucky that you saw that magnificent band live.
I didn't see their first gig, supporting the Go-betweens at Sammy's, Dunedin, in early '89, but I did see their second, playing at Alastair Galbraith's warehouse flat a few weeks' later. The other bands that played were [smugness on] Plagal Grind and the Dead C [smugness off].
I saw the 3Ds in at least 11 different venues, let alone how many times I saw them at Sammy's or the Empire. If you ask me nicely, I can provide some trivia / an anecdote about their appearances at these venues...
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Now all I need is for Blues to turn on a win for me at Eden Park tonight. I'm not holding my breath.
Wise move that you didn't, as it turned out, eh? Still, at least your team sometimes shows the potential to win, unlike those *&^@$% Highlanders. Bah!