This month I am Loving...

Music.

It seems appropriate to carry on with the music theme this week since May is NZ Music Month.  I can't think of a better idea than a month that celebrates music in all it's wonderful glory.

I love music.  All kinds of music.  In fact I'm probably something of a music junkie.  And one of the things I love doing is discovering new songs to listen to and to share them with others.

So here's a random list of songs that I have been playing lately.  Many of which you may not of heard but which I hope you might like and maybe even become addicted to - just like I have.

Cut My Hair by Luca Vasta

It was Amazon that got me onto this song; listed as it was as one of the songs to watch out for in 2013 and Luca Vasta as an artist on the rise.  And I'm so glad I checked it out.  Its boppy and catchy and a perfect head banging dance song.  So click on the link below and see what you think

Haven't Had Enough by Marianas Trench

Another song that I have been playing on instant replay.  I found this band courtesy of Teen Wolf  and have fallen in love with this song and Stutter which I also recommend that you check out.
 

Magic by Leagues

Another break out band that many are predicting as one of the bands to watch out for in 2013 and their debut record You Belong Here as a must buy.  I have to say I agree and I've already got my copy.

Blowin' Smoke by Kacey Musgraves

I'm usually not much of a country music fan but for some reason this song appeals to me.  Maybe it's because it's not as country as some but has a nice laid back feel to it.

Hold On by Alabama Shakes

These guys (and girl) are just awesome and so deserved last year's Grammy nominations which they or the Lumineers should of won but we won't go into that.  All you need to know is that you have you check them out.

Bones by MS MR

I fell in love with this song earlier this year after hearing it on the Season 3 trailer for Game of Thrones.  It's moody and soulful and the amazing lyrics are made even more so by the lead singer's  voice.  Their debut album has just been released overseas but until then have a listen to the video link below and see what you think

Head Bangers Unite: Rock Music to Fuel Your Inner Rock God

I may be an 80's pop queen in my heart but my soul belongs to rock n roll. Hard rock, classic rock, blues rock, I'm there in all my head banging, foot tapping glory.

Of course it wasn't always that way.

In the late 70's and the early 80's I was a disco dancing pop queen. First with the Bee Gees and Abba,  then onto the likes of  Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Spandau Ballet and all the rest. Pop for me was it.  Then again I was only 10 so what did I know.

Secretly though rock music had an almost dangerous allure for me.

This was the music after all that the black t-shirt brigade listened to.  The bad boys who wore faded jeans, black t-shirt's (often with a band's logo on them), drove beat up cars and were the kind of guys your mother warned you about.  Mates who hanged around together drinking, smoking and listening to rock music while girlfriends came and went.

I admired them from afar until I became one of those girlfriends and my first love and I bonded over music. I introduced him to The Cure, The Clash and The Jam while he introduced me to AC/DC, Def Leppard and the ultimate rock legends - Led Zeppelin.

From the moment I heard the first few bars of Friends, The Immigrant Song and Kashmir I was hooked and my love of rock music has stayed with me ever since.  After all who can resist those moments when you can get in touch with your inner Rock God.

Led Zeppelin Head banging rock just wouldn't be the same without these guys.

They are the ultimate in rock gods and deservedly so.  My only regret is that I was too young to see them at their finest during the early 70's and that I had to make do to listening to their music on vinyl and admiring Jimmy Page on the posters on my wall.

Yeah that bad boy rock guitarist did it for me again.

Jethro Tull Aqualung is considered one of the best albums... ever.  It certainly is a must have album for any dire hard music fan and my own copy was frequently played when I brought it back in 1985.

An unlikely rock band Jethro Tull managed to combine rock, folk and even a touch of classical music to produce a unique sound that was all their own.

And all fronted by the amazing Ian Anderson and his flute.  Who knew that a flute could rock music the way it could.

Cheap Trick Not as well known here as they are in their native America Cheap Trick had the reputation for being one of the best rock bands to see live and their album Live at Budokan is considered another must have album for any music fan.

I discovered them courtesy of  American Top 40 which I listened to religiously every Sunday morning as a teenager.

Guns N' Roses Tattooed, drug taking, model dating hard rock gurus Guns N' Roses burst onto the music scene in 1987 with their album Appetite for Destruction and a rock legend was born.

Sadly 6 years later the magic was gone and the band fell apart but the legacy of their music lives on in such head banging classics as Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers One of my all time favourite bands Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers are my go to music for starting any road trip.

Their songs are the songs I can bop my head along to while singing loudly to the words.

American  heartland rock at it's best I'm just surprised that they've never played a song of theirs on my favourite show Supernatural.  Because they so need to.

I'm Just An 80's Pop Queen

I have rather eclectic taste in music.

I love classic rock, hard rock, indie rock,  pop, jazz, blues and a realm of other types of music but in my heart I am an 80's chick.

The 80's was the era I grew up in.

I had the padded shoulders, the frilled shirts, the leg warmers and most importantly the music.  Boppy, poppy, new wave, new romantic music with a mix of emo thrown in for good measure.   My bedroom wall was covered in posters of my favourite bands and I had a stack of records which by the end of the 80's could fill an entire wall from floor to ceiling.

Going to music shops and flicking through records was one of my favourite things to do.  What new treasures and discoveries would I find today?

Music of course was everywhere.

This was the era that MTV started and Saturday afternoon's must-watch viewing was Ready to Roll and Sunday was filled with listening to American Top 40 on the radio and at night it was all about Radio With Pictures hosted by the very laid back Karyn Hay.

80's music was what it was all about, the era of video clips and pretty boys who sometimes wore more make-up than you did.

Duran Duran  were my 80's idols.

I had posters of them plastered across my bedroom wall and while my friends lusted after lead singer Simon Le Bon my heart belonged to the sensitive, quiet, bad boy guitarist John Taylor.

Yes even then bad boys were my thing.

Surprising as it might be to some Duran Duran are still going strong today some 30 years later and though the boys are somewhat older now and more settled with wives and children John Taylor still plays a mean guitar and makes my heart flutter just a little.

Paul Weller  Indie God, Mod God, Rock God.  Paul Weller, singer, song-writer and guitarist has been called them all and like Duran Duran he is still performing today.

Never really that well known outside of Britain, Paul Weller's music has involved and changed over the years. From the new wave mod of the Jam, to the R&B pop mix of Style Council to the raw, gritty soul/rock of the solo artist he is today.

And today he is still winning awards including the Godlike Genius Award in 2010 by NME.   Pretty good for a working class boy from Surrey.


The Cure  Not the kind of boys you would want to take home to mum The Cure were the Goth and emo band of the late 70's and 80's.

Yet despite the wild hair, pale face make-up and black eyeliner  these guys could sing and play. 

Their music was dark and tormented and mournful and I knew all the words to Let's Go To Bed and Love Cats.

Hall and Oates Admitting you like Hall and Oates is a bit like admitting you like Abba & disco.

Totally not cool. 

Then again I've never worried that much about being cool.  Kiss On My List, I Can't Go For That, Out of Touch, Private Eyes.  These were the songs that I played again and again on my cassette deck and even now I still love their up-beat boppy tunes.

Not being cool is actually kind of neat.

The Police 80's music really wouldn't be complete without these guys despite the fact that they burst onto the music scene in 1978.

From the moment we heard the words "Roxane. You don't have to put on the red light..." I and everyone else was hooked. And from then on they produced song after song of which we all had to have and sang and danced along too.

These guys were and are legends.

Favourite Kiwi Music

What do your favourite Librarians listen to when it comes to Kiwi music? I flicked out an email to a random selection to give you an insight and maybe some ideas of new New Zealand artists and albums you can try out at your library.

Neil Finn - Mean to me - well that's Crowded House - but hey! isn't Neil Finn Crowded House?

Don't dream it's over by Crowded House

Che-Fu – Fade away : Rhythm, harmony, sentiment

Avalanche City - because my 6 yr old grandaughter and I can sing along together - both our favourites at the moment

The trouble with Kay - Sneaky Feelings. Makes me singalong

Lawrence Arabia - It's my kind of music.

Bic Runga, Sway, favourite album and artist for her voice, tune and words. Haunting quality

Dennis Marsh is my Favourite kiwi artist

This is just a small selection and keep coming back because it just might grow. Of course, which Librarian likes which music is something that you will have to work out for yourself.

Swimming in nostalgia for NZ Music Month

I am a child of the 70's and 80's when it comes to New Zealand music (which can sometimes be quite scary when I look at the vinyl that I am still hanging onto). However generally its happy nostalgic feelings of summer days, cicada's blaring in the background and good Kiwi music (for some reason I relate the music to summer rather than winter - which psychologists may find interesting and worthy of comment).

I can remember one particular misspent day in my youth hanging out in the old Trillo's nightclub in Downtown Auckland enjoying a cornucopia of NZ music including Tina Cross, Rob Guest, The Dudes and others. However my favourites were Citizen Band with songs such as Julia, I feel good and Rust in my Car. To date I have only been able to find their music on the great Nature's bset compilations. But today I am in seventh heaven as I have just discovered that one of their albums has been released on CD and is available through the library. Rust in My Car has all their best hits and my request has been lodged so hopefully it is winging it's way to me for the next two weeks of listening pleasure and reliving some memories.

To sample a taste of New Zealand music from this era any of the Nature's Best double albums are a great start. There is also a DVD selection and a song book for the musicians amongst you. If you want to have a look more generally at what we have, then enter a subject search for New Zealand Music and you can see everything from Brass Bands to the most up to date albums.

I will have a chat to some of the other librarians and hopefully by Friday will have a list of everyone's favourite Kiwi song to share with you on the Top 5.

May is - New Zealand Music Month

Welcome to New Zealand Music Month. When we celebrate the best of what Kiwi music, past and present, has to offer. Plus there's still an opportunity to for our future musicians to win big with Auckland Libraries.

Many of our central Auckland libraries are hosting free concerts for New Zealand Music Month. To find out where, when and what time here is the link through to our events page with the relevant information. There is music across all genres and ages from ukelele to spanish dancers, classical to jazz or hip-hop to country and western. Out west Massey, New Lynn and Waitakere Central also have free concerts and here is the link to their times.

One of the main events is the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra concert this Wednesday 4th May. The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO), Auckland Libraries and Auckland Art Gallery jointly present a concert of young talent and to premiere a new piece of music composed by Callum Blackmore. The evening recital at Central City Library is a highlight of our New Zealand Music Month programme of events for 2011.

It will premiere a new composition we commissioned recently, 'DSIR Man', composed by Callum Blackmore and include performances by several other APO Young Achievers. 'DSIR Man', a piece composed for French horn and piano, was inspired by Warren Viscoe’s artwork, D.S.I.R. Man (wood and metal, 1985), currently on display at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.

Seats for the concert are limited, so book your ticket now by phoning (09) 377 0209. You can also book online or at the Central City Library (First Floor desk).

In the meantime stay tuned this month to the Blog and see what our favourite Kiwi music is.

Josef Trethowen - on tonight at Whangaparaoa Library

Remember - Josef Trethowen is performing at the Whangaparaoa Library tonight at 6.30pm. He'll be playing a couple of songs off his EP, "Inside the Wendy House" then will stay around for a short jam session post-performance. Bring in your instruments and join in.

Celebrating Music Month at Whangaparaoa Library

A quick reminder that Josef Trethowen will be performing at the Whangaparaoa Library on Thursday 20 May at 6.30pm. He'll be playing a couple of songs off his EP, "Inside the Wendy House" then will stay around for a short jam session post-performance. Bring in your instruments and join in.

An Acoustic Night at the Library with Josef Trethowen

We are thrilled to announce that Josef Trethowen will be performing at the Whangaparaoa Library on Thursday 20 May at 6.30pm during NZ Music Month. He'll be playing a couple of songs off his EP, "Inside the Wendy House" then will stay around for a short jam session post-performance. Bring in your instruments and join in.

Josef Trethowen is an acoustic singer/songwriter from Auckland. After being in a few bands and having toured with Excel Performing Arts as a guitar player he is now concentrating on gaining musical maturity and expanding on his depth and range of song writing abilities.

Josef's songs are inspired from his interpretations of life around him. Be it personal, emotional, moral, political or religious his songs aim to react upon the listener. His warm, catchy, heart felt music is inspired by many different easy listening sounds including acoustic rock/pop, country, classical, new age, and is accompanied by powerful vocals and deep lyrics.

Sonic Museum

Auckland War Memorial Museum has just completed an interesting new project, the results of which are launching in NZ Music Month. They have commissioned some of the biggest names in New Zealand music to work on a ground-breaking project called Sonic Museum. Musicians and sound artists from the dance, rock, ambient, orchestral and jazz scenes have been invited to write and record a track inspired by a gallery of their choice in the museum.

Museum Director Dr Vanda Vitali says “This exciting project highlights the way in which our thoughts, feelings and sensations are constantly reorganised by new experiences. On the one hand the music allows us to consider how others can be inspired by galleries in the Museum. At the same time the tracks develop our own experience of the displays, encouraging a new awareness of the collections, of ourselves, and of the world in which we live.”

Artists and the reinterpreted galleries are:

- Tiki Taane, Maori Court

- Don McGlashan, Origins Gallery

- Nathan Haines, Oceans Gallery

- Phil Dadson, Ancient Worlds
- Chris Adams, World War 1 Sanctuary

- Rachel Shearer, Volcanoes

- Richard Francis, Land Gallery
- Rosy Parlane, World War 2 Hall of Memories

- Tim Coster, Landmarks: International Design and Decorative Arts

Sonic Museum

From Thursday, 7 May at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Only $10 to hire headphones or to download all tracks from Amplifier NZ Music