Posts by Simon Grigg
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hard News: Free the Street, in reply to James Butler,
Is this the right time to say I've never watched an episode of Shorties? Is it any good?
Same, James. Licensed music to it many times, so I'm grateful it exists (and provides solid employment) but I've not seen more than 10 minutes of it in a sitting.
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours? (Food…, in reply to Helga,
I go to Khyber Spice for cheap milk, great yoghurt, spices, sometimes vegetables and curry leaves - grape leaves and rice - samosas.
That's place with the amazing olives too, right? I'll speak up for Sandringham - that block of shops is incredible. Although I note the big stacks of pirate DVDs have disappeared...
As have, across the road in the Punjab Muslim fast food joint (is that Shubh?), all the images on the back wall. I used to love seeing John Key and Helen Clark next to Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and, yes, Osama Bin Laden.
-
RIP Donna. She changed the world (with a little help from Giorgio Moroder):
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Lilith __,
When I got a new prescription last year it was almost $400 to re-use my existing frames!
Here they have these fancy machines they put on your nose. They press a button and it prints a prescription out the top in seconds. It's free if you buy glasses and if you require a longer eye test that's also part of the gratis service. My last pair of glasses cost around $110 including the Porsche frames - and I was given a second pair with a no-name frame as a safety backup at no extra charge.
Glasses seem to be one of the great scams of New Zealand. Why you should be charged for the test when you are about to be overcharged for the frames and lenses still bemuses me.
-
Hard News: " To prostitute yourself to…, in reply to Russell Brown,
As I tweeted in the midst of it, she had the awareness and easy confidence of a high-functioning psychopath.
The day before I'd watched the brilliant but harrowing Herzog C4 series on capital punishment in the US. The guy who featured on the second of the three was really chilling in his slightly charming detachment from his actions.
As I watched Brooks there was an uneasy parallel (and yes I'm aware that she didn't commit calculated murder as did Werner's target but the easy - almost disarming - emotional distance from the wrongness was the same).
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Islander,
Cicadas are reciprocal- but both tui & korimako will use tropes from other intruiging sounds
In Bali there was a bird that I'm convinced was recycling the incessant dominant local racket - the whine of low CC motorcycles. I have no idea what it was but it did it very accurately in the early morn.
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Danielle,
Hrm. Unorthodox - but interesting - choice.
No so unorthodox - one of those pointless Mojo thingies also named it thus, as did the fabulous but sadly late Roy Carr in his just as fabulous The Beatles - An Illustrated Record way back when.
Mostly it's the originals that do it for me (with the exception of the Smokey tune which betters the OG).
On the shortlist for most kickass unappreciated opening song:
It has the most kickass opening quartet of songs - never matched IMO.
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Hebe,
I had no idea it is well regarded.
Lennon's response was:
To this day, I have no idea what [Aeolian cadences] are. They sound like exotic birds.
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Russell Brown,
DJ History
As you're aware Russell, Bill Brewster is in town - he's asking for pointers here.
Somebody needs to introduce him to some of our local crate digging legends over a beer or three.
-
Hard News: Where do you get yours?, in reply to Danielle,
Revolver: it's the best Beatles album. I think we can all agree on this. ;)
Nah, nah, nah: With The Beatles is it I'm afraid.
To back this I happily quote William Mann in the pre-Rupert Times:
harmonic interest is typical of their quicker songs, too, and one gets the impression that they think simultaneously of harmony and melody, so firmly are the major tonic sevenths and ninths built into their tunes, and the flat submediant key switches, so natural is the Aeolian cadence at the end of Not A Second Time (the chord progression which ends Mahler's Song of the Earth).
Nuff said...
As one who devotes far too much time to musical trawling on the interswamp I do like Boomkat, Piccadilly and Phonica for purchase, Factmag for edgier pointers and Resident Advisor for obsessive electronica.
The tips I find on DJ History are always worthwhile once I get past the Balearic references to obscure Fleetwood Mac records.
And my mate Hugh in Melbourne for the endless list of quite amazing soul, world and reggae mixes he fires in my direction.