The History of Axel F

It had to be done really. I hope for my sake Im not the only person to subject myself to multiple versions of the same song.

1984: Axel F was orignially a composition by Giorgio Moroder's in-house studio programmer Harold Faltermeyer.

It was used for the motion picture "Beverly Hills Cop", and named after the lead character (Detective Axel Foley, intended to be Sylvester Stallone, but rescripted for Eddie Murphy). It was composed using three instruments: a Roland Jupiter 8, a Roland JX-3P and a Yamaha DX7. The soundtrack won a Grammy for 'Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special'.

Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F.ogg 1.4Mb

1995: Clock first covers the song, and garners a #7 placing in the UK chart.
I think its a pretty decent version...

Clock - Axel F.ogg 1.4Mb

1997: Daniel Malmedahl records vocals for a Crazy Frog for ringtone provider Jamba!. He was trying to imitate the sound of a two-stroke moped engine, and later had his house broken into and vandalised because of creating this sound. [article]

1998: Planet Bass cover Axel F, and only pips at #74 in the UK.

2001: Spacecorn cover Axel F, to no chart success.

2003: Murphy Brown & Captain Hollywood cover Axel F, with no chart success.

2005: Bass Bumpers take Daniel Malmedahl's vocals, mix it with a sample from the 2003 remix of Axel F, and release it as Crazy Frog (based upon "The Annoying Thing"). It was endorsed by Jamba. Crazy Frog is now negotiating his own TV series.

Crazy Frog - Axel F.ogg 1.2Mb

*get em before Jan 5

30 Years of Dance Music

Look how far you've come, Mr Oonst!


1975: Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby.ogg 1.6Mb

1985: Dan Hartman - We Are The Young.ogg 2.2Mb

1995: Kenny Dope - The Bomb.ogg 1.5Mb

2005: Deep Dish - Say Hello.ogg 1.5Mb


Take a slice of Donna, Dan, Dope or the Dish this New Years and celebrate!

*Get em before Jan 4.

2005 Q&A Capsule

Like last years Q&A, here is the 2005 edition:

What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Looked at a map, found somewhere I've never been to before, and drove there. I discovered Ponga. It's going to be a sought after suburb of Auckland within the next 10-15 years. Mark my words.

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Sure did. Improved my game this year in regards to friends and socialising.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. Lets wait till next year. I'm certain two friends will become Mums by this time next year.

Did anyone close to you die?
One of my Uncles. Mike Francis.

What countries did you visit?
None sadly. Nearly went to Rarotonga.

What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
A partner to share some interesting journeys I plan to undertake in the next year.
Closer friends.

What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Mostly deaths knock me back a bit, and as there's hardly any good news in the world, we'll start with the bottom at the top:
Jan 20: George Bushs inauguration. Why America why?
February 6: Channel Z closes down. A sad day in NZ radio history.
April 2: Pope John Paul II dies. A great loss. Even sadder news, Prince Charles marries Camilla. yuk.
April 8: Mike Francis died of spinal cancer.
June 13: Michael Jackson was aquitted of all charges. I knew he was innocent!
July 2: Live 8 begins. Go Geldof, you crazy hippy!
July 7: The London Bombings. Complete unneccesary mindlessness.
August 7: Peter Jennings dies. A great and honest man, and great loss. A week later, David Lange passes away. Where are all the good guys going?!?!?
August 29: Hurrican Katrinae wipes out New Orleans. Makes George Bush look like a racist. Oil prices rise dramatically.
October 1: The second Bali Bombings. Complete unneccesary mindlessness.
October 11: The Aardman Animation Studios had burnt to the ground, destroying three floors of plasticine including my dear childhood mate, Morph.
October 19: Saddam Hussein's trial begins. I say execute the bastard.
October 31: John Haynes dies in Melbourne. A technical mastermind that leaves a radio legacy behind.
November 13: Wrestler Eddie Guerrero dies unexpectedly.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Becoming a boss of 3 people, and being responsible for a key business department, and hearing recognition of my work at the end of the year by my awesome boss.

What was your biggest failure?
Missing some important dates in my sisters itinerary.
Not exercising enough (although deliberate to gain a bit of weight).

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just my sniffles in June.

What was the best thing you bought?
My new car (yes another one), clothes and comfy shoes.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Two best friends announcing their engagement!
Bob Geldof organising Live 8

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
All the terrorist activity is concerning.

Where did most of your money go?
Out of my account. Not into it.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Moving into my current home. I love it here. It's just right.

What song will always remind you of 2005?
I have my top 10 lists coming shortly.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder? happier
ii. Thinner or fatter? same as last year
iii. Richer or poorer? richer (thank goodness)

What do you wish you’'d done more of?
Time management. Still haven't got that completely licked yet.
Try new activities, although I did a lot of road trips this year.
Delegating - although Im getting better at this.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Doing all the work for everyone else.

How did you spend Christmas?
I spend christmas with my family, like every year.

Did you fall in love in 2005?
No. I only found one person I liked this year, but shes not right for me.

How many one-night stands?
A couple, dare I say.

What was your favorite TV program?
24 without a doubt. Enjoying Desperate Housewives, Eyes and Boston Legal as well.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not hate, but dislike Brent Impey (CEO of Canwest NZ) for deciding to close Channel Z, replacing it with possibly New Zealands worst radio format.

What was the best book you read?
The Davinci Code and Survey 2/2005.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Soul Chocolate: Kanye West, Common, John Legend, Alicia Keys - the modern versions of Lionel Richie, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye. Modern r&b really hit home with me this year. On a lesser but significant enough scale, early 70s Genesis and Hall & Oates. Have they been inducted or honoured in any way?

What did you want and get?
A new car. A new home.

What did you want and not get?
I'm grateful for eveything I get, and keep trying for what I haven't got.

What was your favorite film of this year?
Still haven't seen King Kong, but Star Wars Ep III, War Of The Worlds, Batman Begins and of course Madagascar were all great fun.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27 and spent it with my family, like every year. We have a summer BBQ and drink a few bottles of bubbly.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had the opportunities to action the many ideas I have floating around in my head. They are doozies too.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Pasifikation of the Palagi. Funkier, a lot more street, but also a strong improvement in formal wear. I bought two suits and 5 or 6 pairs of formal pants and tops (& jackets). A lot of money went on clothes in 2005.

What kept you sane?
Keeping a clear vision of my future, and constant understanding that to move forward, one must overcome hurdles.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Leisha Ward-Knox

What political issue stirred you the most?
Taxes. I agreed with both Labour and National this year on the taxes issue. And fuck, dirty politics let the issue become a nation divider. Kinda glad that the Greens are one boat short of a fishing trip, and Winston scraped in on a dinghy.

Who did you miss?
On the rifle range? At the 17th? Where?

Who was the best new person you met?
Hayden Beetar of RCS (and proud Springbok). Next time loser!! haha.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
Obstacles are lifes path to learning.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
In regards to the world: "Everythings Ruined" (Faith No More)
In regards to my life: 'Looking back, I know I was walking around in disguise' "Lolas Theme" (Shapeshifters)

Top Ten's of 2005

Top Ten Posts
1. Farewell Channel Z
2. Roadcasting
3. Is Auckland Shot?
4. New Rock Radio: Passé?
5. Q96FM Ten Years On
6. Live8 Kicked Ass
7. Stranger With Chocolates
8. The 'Other' Don
9. Peas For My Pod
10. Thoughts on 2004

Top Ten Songs
1. Breaks Co-Op - the Other Side
2. The Black Seeds - So True
3. Michael Jackson - Can't Help it (Tangoterjie Remix)
4. INXS - Pretty Vegas
5. White Stripes - My Doorbell
6. My Chemical Romance - Helena
7. Snoop Dogg - Signs
8. Recloose - Dust
9. Fat Freddys Drop - Wandering Eye
10. Nickelback - Photograph

Top Ten Moments
1. Recalling 'Pinball Number Count' by the Pointer Sisters:
2. Endless nights playing Grand Theft Auto on the X-Box (which ended up frying itself with so many running cheats!)
3. Launching the website for my radio station: retrohitradio.co.nz
4. Buying my new car
5. The roadtrips, discovering new places.
6. Achieving milestones at work.
7. Getting hammered on bubbles. I don't usually drink alcohol.
8. The three moments just after I learnt about what happened in Bali, London and New Orleans this year.
9. Having time off. I could get used to that.
10. Seeing long time friends move away. An emotional moment.

Top Ten NZ'ers I admire
1. John Greet
2. Jane Yee
3. Shaun O'Neill
4. Amanda Billing
5. Phully
6. Satiu Simativa Perese
7. John Campbell
8. Nicola Legat
9. Eteuati Ete
10. Tofiga Fepulea’i

Top Ten Websites or Bloggers
1. wikipedia.org
2. hype.non-standard.net
3. mozdev.org
4. fm3red5.blogspot.com
5. digitaleargasm.blogspot.com
6. www.jefitoblog.com/blog
7. newyorkality.blogspot.com
8. radioscope.co.nz
9. opendir.blogspot.com
10. viprhealthcare.typepad.com

Top Ten Places To Be
1. Kouatuna
2. Orewa
3. Ponga
4. Tairua
5. Devonport
6. Karotahi Beach
7. Clarks Beach
8. Opou Point
9. Cornwall Park
10. Hunua

Surveys & Telemarketers

I enjoy giving my opinion, when it comes to customer surveys. Especially when I get something for it, be it a discount off my bill or a gift from that company.

Telemarketers are pond scum, scraping desperately to anyone with a pulse to buy into their product. Especially when you have no intention of buying, offer a pllite 'no' yet they still persist to try and convince you. All those hurdles are in front of them before they call, right down to the exact words to say when someone politely says 'no'.

If theres anything to be learnt by this, simply hanging up the phone may not be enough to deter telemarketers, unless they are very clever and mark you off the call list for 'gadgets' but keep you on for 'household products'. They're slimy bastards.

Here's one guaranteed way to kill off these guys. Turn their product against the call they are making. Make the product evil in the telemarketers eyes, and conscience will take over. Learn from a great comedian. Listen to this recording (in Ogg format) before Dec 27 to get an idea.

Killing Heidi

Hey. Whatever happened to groups like Killing Heidi?

Ella & Jesse Hooper, Warren Jenkin and Adam Pedretti are Killing Heidi and made an impact on NZ TV and Radio in 2000, with the singles 'Mascara' and the radio-saturated 'Live Without It'. Whatever happened to music like this?


The official website tells me they have built their profile, and for all I know are still hot at radio, getting sucked down Australias iTunes 100 times a day and are rilthy rich. They're still with Sony music, and NZ is lacking somewhat in the promotion of indie rock. Oh how people are still talking about the loss of Channel Z. If only someone were listening to them.

[Killing Heidi - Live Without It] ogg/1.5Mb (2000) buy
[Killing Heidi - Mascara (Acoustic Mix)] ogg/1.6Mb (1999) buy

Post 228

Well, I finally made it. Post 228.
Great to be here. The view here is very 228'y.

Anyhoo. I'm pleased to pass on the good news to all you Scrubs fans out there that they are half way through making the next series. TV2 in New Zealand have the contract I believe, so YAY!

Zach Braff's Garden State Blog has more info, watch the video post, or bookmark his new website (zachbraff.com) which is under construction by robots.

Here's the theme to Scrubs for your pleasure. Rub it against your leg or whatever, thats your business.

[Lazlo Bane - Superman (Theme to 'Scrubs')] ogg/1.5mb buy

Fresh Air

Having played around with those portable apps over the last week or so, I now find myself making the web all about "me". My way of surfing it, my way of customising it.

For example, a web browser like Firefox is so customisable. If you use Firefox, why not plug in the Real Groovy search engine I just built and uploaded to mozdev.org. Click the 'plugin' button at the bottom of this site to install it :)

You'll also find lots of other NZ made plugins there such as Trade Me, NZMusic, NZ Herald, PriceSpy and more.

Makes me feel good to know that 'free' doesn't mean crap.

Speaking of feeling good, 2005 showed strong growth in NZ roots music.

Acts such as Fat Freddys Drop and the Black Seeds really hit the mainstream big time this year, Katchafire continued their ride alongside Breaks Co-Op and Rhombus. Che Fu and The Feelstyle morphed hip hop with roots as well this year.

Meanwhile Salmonella Dub have been off the radar, but at least you can see them in raglan at Soundsplash this coming February, alongside up-and-comers Cornerstone Roots.

Listen to these and imagine you're on a back country NZ road in the middle of summer, eating Trumpet ice cream.

[Black Seeds - So True] ogg/990kb buy
[Fat Freddys Drop - Wandering Eye] ogg/1.3Mb buy
[Rhombus - Mile High] ogg/868kb buy
*get em before Dec 21, 2005. These NZ tracks are encoded in mono, keeping original NZ music netsafe.

Serious

Oh what a great night. Digging around a few more archives and I found a track called 'Serious' by Duran Duran. It was the second single from the album Liberty in 1990 and because it flopped, the label canned the next two singles from the album. Oh choice. Way to let a band down. Thanks EMI. (Ordinary World would be the next single around 3 years later)

Arjan then informs me that Ferry Corsten has just sampled that very track that flopped in 1990, into his new single 'Fire', and its blowing up Europe!. How does the world just somehow come together like this?

This is my life. Weird occurrences like this happens to me all the time. So I edited the Wiki for the original song. Look at my name in lights, man. Yo. Word.

I've added it as a 'Retro Reborn' track on my radio station, which now has a website. It's a bloody good remix.

[Ferry Corsten - Fire] ogg/1.6Mb 2005/Single
[Duran Duran - Serious] ogg/1.7Mb 1990/Liberty
*get em before Dec 20

Oh, and I got my U2 ticket, thank christ for that.

I want it MY way

Use Firefox at home, but forced to use Internet Explorer at work?
Use OpenOffice or AbiWord at home, but forced to use MS Office at work?

Those IT people have to wake up! You're gonna love this news.

"Portable Apps Suite is a collection of portable apps including Firefox, Thunderbird, NVU, OpenOffice, AbiWord, Sunbird, Gaim and Filezilla, all preconfigured to work portably and be easy to back up. Just drop it on your USB portable device and you're ready to go."


That's right - no computer administrators to deny you access to your favourite non-microsoft programs anymore! I'm so over the moon about this!

• Carry your web browser with all your favorite bookmarks
• Carry your calendar with all your appointments
• Carry your email client with all your contacts and settings
• Carry your instant messenger and your buddy list
• Carry your whole office suite along with your documents and presentations
• Carry your antivirus program and other computer utilities
• Carry all your important passwords and account information securely

Just download the .zip file of what you want, and extract the files to a folder on your USB drive. Everything else is done for you. No installers, nothing. All FREE, and available on any Operating System!

If you don't own a USB, NOW is the time to buy one. You'll get a really good USB drive for under NZ$200 and it will likely have a longer shelf life than your current computer. nb: I hear there is also a version out there for CD-RWs if USB drives ain't yo thang.

Soon there will be Audio & Video Editors, Games and Game Emulators, Image Editors & Viewers, password managers and the biggie - Antivirus.

Go seek yours >> portableapps.com

ps - Microsoft's Vista will either be very impressive or simply miss the boat. Methinks that net is simply too fast for them to keep up.

Dirty S.O.B's! - follow up

I had an email from a Florida reader, asking for a follow up to my run in with mice I had last year (click to read).

The unnerving truth to the matter revealed that we did indeed have more than one or two more mice. We had about a dozen on Flinstones factory rotation.

That was not welcome news. There was another factor to the problem I had not really given much thought. It was mid-Winter, and instead of using the fireplace, we used gas heaters to warm the house, which was a very attractive attribute to student mice, and their realtor cashed in.

The house warmed up rapidly, rather than gradually like a fireplace would do.

Mice are deathly afraid of fire, but not smoke. Essentially, we offered them a sauna. This partly explains why we'd never had the problem before - we previously used the fireplace to warm the house, but when we used gas heaters, they sometimes hid IN THE FIREPLACE! (it was cozy, and unused), and explains why we found one of their access holes in a cupboard next to the hot water cylinder.

I believe something like the shake away product would work on summer evenings better than the bite of winter. The mice 'came in' to the warm (where the traps were) and we managed to kill them off with a peanut butter laced minefield. We did okay there. You're right, they would become desensitized if traps hung around their cold corridors.

I would try sprinkling shake away throughout the basement or attic in the middle of summer, and have traps near vulnerable food sources. Keep it fresh though, as yes - they are smart little shits. I watched one (the last one of the litter it seemed) eat the peanut butter off the end without snapping the trap. Just keep refreshing it, coz the bugger is bound to slip up and cop it.

If you have no luck within 3-5 days, maybe another Jonothan could have tips (he's in Florida), or just infest your house with lizards. They love their protein!

[Dangermouse Opening wmv/700kb] 1981 (edit from 1986)
*get it before Dec 13

INXS Switch Over

Still, he says, with the "training wheels" from Rock Star removed and the album Switch unleashed upon the planet, the band now faces the challenge of convincing its audience Fortune is not a gimmick, but the man to make INXS a proper band again. It's not going to be easy, considering the huge shadow cast by a natural-born rock star like Hutchence. "What we do is what we do and we had no choice in the matter when Michael departed. We're in a band and we play music," says Jon.

Switch is INXS' first album of new material since 1997's Elegantly Wasted and first without Hutchence, hence the title. Some people out there want not to understand the band, some are playing safe with their opinions.

Although most of the material was written before he joined the band, Fortune co-wrote three of the 11 tracks on Switch, including first single "Pretty Vegas." The album is a mix of '80s-inspired dance rock and tender ballads dedicated to late singer Michael Hutchence and his daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. It's a combination of some really fun songs — 'cause we're about celebrating the good sides of life — with a couple of really very special songs lyrically, very poignant, Farriss said. I think we're gonna reclaim a lot of stuff that's ours, that combination of some wonderful rhythms, rock fills, a bit of Motown in there and just great melodies.

I own every other INXS album, why not this one? In the long term, you'll probably buy it anyway. As for those gags about JD being a former Elvis impersonator, remember that Hutchence contributed to the "Its Now Or Never" Elvis Tribute album in 1994. (He sang 'Baby Let's Play House'). Both had a love of Elvis (see 'cock rock').

Here are a couple of treats for you. I found a single that came under the radar back in 1993 from INXS, called 'Freedom Deep'. Wonder no more where Coldplay got their inspiration for 'Fix You'. Secondly, what would you do if the phone rang, someone down the line said to you "sing something.. go now". Then to find that a composition was made from your bumbling goofy tones? Thats what happened in 1997 with the track 'Sing Something'. Quite enjoyable :)

[INXS - Freedom Deep ogg/1.7Mb] 1993/Full Moon Dirty Hearts
[INXS - Sing Something ogg/1.8Mb] 1997/bonus track
*get em before Dec 12

Sunday Nuggets 1

As I pilfer through my archives this Sunday, I find a song that Milla Jovovich (Lelu from The Fifth Element), and an early Jamiroquai release from 1993.
Enjoy.

[Milla - the Gentleman Who Fell ogg/1.7Mb] 1994/The Divine Comedy

[Jamiroquai - Blow Your Mind (Radio Edit) ogg/1.6Mb] 1993/CDS
*get em before Dec 11

Sunday Nuggets 2

This track was on a 4-track EP called 'Spin One'. It came out just after 'Love In Motion', and before 'Satellite' in '94. This track I felt was a great show of irony by Icehouse, considering they beefed up a lot of their live shows in the 80s, with .. glam. Try a slice. You won't recognise them apart from a subtle vocal bit. Its a mix by 808 State.


[Icehouse - Dedicated To Glam ogg/2Mb] 1993/Spin One
*get it before Dec 12

The Sindecut

I found this on a Virgin records Radio Promo disc from July 1990.

After 7's 'Cant Stop', Bass-O-Matic's 'Fascinating Rhythm', Steve Winwood's 'One And Only Man', or McSkat Kat's "Skat Strut' could have taken first spot on the disc, yet english hip-hoppers The Sindecut made the grade.

Track one on a labels promo CD is considered the heatseeker back then by PDs. Nowadays, its the labels recommended 'safest hit'. So sad it never went anywhere in NZ at the time. Probably because 'Suicide Blonde' and 'U Cant Touch This' were dominating the Hot 9 at 9.

The Sindecut had just signed a six figure deal with Virgin in 1990 after three years of vigorous promotion, with two singles behind them on Baad Records. It helped that they had great response in the UK from a 'live to air' on Capitol Radio. MC Crazy Noddy, DJ Fingers, Louise Francis, Lyn E Lyn, Don't Ramp and Spikey Tee signed to Virgin and released their first album 'Changing The Scenery', with first single 'Live The Life'.[stream]

Crazy Noddy and Fingers are good friends with UK producer Insane MacBeth who is one of the UK's first generation old skoolers (influenced by pirate radio DJ Westwood and Deckmasters - the DJs behind Cookie Crew), and aided them between '86 until they were signed.

Enjoy.

[The Sindecut - Tell Me Why ogg/1.9Mb] 1990/Changing The Scenery
*get it before Dec 8

With You

Portability is so 20th century. Here we see the first portable computer...


Haha. Where would many of you be today without your trusty laptop, or your cellphone?

In school, me and my ex flatmate had these 'timers', and we'd set them for 60 minutes just before each class period started. At 30 seconds before the end of class, we would stop work, pack our stuff away to the surprise of our teachers and on 3.. 2... get out of our chair and begin to walk toward the door. That moment the teacher is about to ask "where are you two going", where mid breath, the bell would ring. "Class is over Miss. See you tomorrow". Go portable clocks!

Fast Foward to 2005 and the internet is a part of our daily lives, wether we just surf the thing for todays news, email or whatever. It's already portable (has been for ages) but you need your palm equivalent or cellphone to run the programs. Consider the decline in internet cafe usage in the next 3-5 years just on that. Problem is, these devices don't yet (or may ever) have the grunt to do involved work.

John Haller is giving you your computer without your computer. How would you like all your bookmarks to go with you? No I dont mean uploaded to a myspace type website, i'm talking "bring your stuff with you", bookmarks, settings... software.

It's beginning now with applications like AbiWord, FileZilla, Firefox, Gaim, NVU, OpenOffice, Sunbird and Thunderbird (so far).

All you do is download the .zip files, extract to your USB thumb drive, and go. No installation necessary, no registry writing. Plug your USB drive into any manchine - even the reception desk of the lawyers office across the road and run YOUR browser, YOUR email client, YOUR office suite. Nuts huh?

Take a look.

Gotta have Faith

I heard this track on c89.5worldwide the other day [listen], and shit it got me bouncing around the place. Here's how this works incase you forgot.

I heard the track, today I paid for the copy controlled single, copied it, and put it here for you to download before December 4 to taste. Now you can go out and buy it.

Faith Evans can go bling shopping next week knowing that her gold card will have funds. Oh, and I also promoted a college radio station that also plays her music, and a local record store that sells it. ogg blogs are good.

[Faith Evans - Mesmerize (Freemasons Remix) ogg/2.2mb]
The First Lady/2005

Q Unit

What happens when you mix Queen and 50 Cent together? You get Q-Unit.

Oh geez. This is going to rile half of my friends, and make others go off the rail. Go HERE to download the album, and get high quality cover art (of above) also.

Before U Wreck Yo Self

Check yo self.

I use Woosh Wireless for internet access, and today I doubled my download speed for an extra fiver a month. I also took the Colmar Brunton customer survey today and told them how unhapy I was with their support staff but how wonderful the product is. Lets hope for improvements, and soon.

In the meantime, I moved my modem away from my desktop (where I had 74% reception) to the wall mount bracket (with suction cups) and now have 98% reception. Top that with a 256kbps connection, I can now share my rock n roll music with you a little faster. Im a happy man today.

[Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady ogg/1.3Mb]
*get it before Nov 30

Christmas Cheer

I'm on leave this week, so will keep this brief. If purchasing food presents as gifts for others, especially chocolate - check the expiry date!

Today, one of the most covered Christmas songs ever. From memory: Harry Connick Jr, Smokey Robinson, Lonestar, Frank Sinatra, Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Hilary Duff, Bruce Springsteen, Barry Manilow, Four Seasons, Pointer Sisters, and of course the original by Joe Harris with the legendary Benny Goodman & His Orchestra.

[Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town ogg/1.9Mb]
[Pointer Sisters - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town ogg/1.5Mb]
[Cyndi Lauper & Frank Sinatra - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town ogg/1.2Mb]

Also, I had an email asking for this. Love it or hate it, you gotta have it.
[The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopys Christmas (remastered) ogg/1.2Mb]

*get 'em before 28 Nov

Down Trou

Kiwi obviously sucks. NZ music does not IMO.

Has it anything to do with how CW have branded it, cliches and all. Is L&P better with a new logo that looks old, or the old logo that IS OLD, or are we sick of being force fed NZ music?

Channel Z served a great deal of the 'alternative' we now hear on Kiwi. Even hip hop and drumn n bass/nrg stuff. The Carly Binding track buffer or classic Crowded House song gets airplay on Morepork FM anyway.

It astonishes me that Kiwi is still on air. Impey was passionate about Channel Z, still he cannot escape the bureaucracy surrounding the 93.8 frequency in Auckland. The fact that noone listens should have him drawing new plans there, be it bringing in The Breeze, buying Base FM, resurrecting Channel Z (probably wont happen) or simply simulcasting Pacific on FM?

What a waste. Surely he realises that outside boxed formats, there are nearly 40,000 people listening to Tarana (15k short of Solid Gold, more than twice that of Kiwi, almost equal to George or bFM) and Auckland especially is so demographically fucked, where ethnic and socially active groups are where you actually get the most loyal listeners. Radio as a medium is thinning overall as a part of our media mix these days. How about an award of recognition for trying, but stick to what you know and make it work for as long as it possibly can.

He's put up a scarecrow, and its worked.

yeah. what a waste.

Ogg Help

Okay, heres how the Oggs work on this weblog.

Firstly, before I launch into this, If you are an artist, and would like me to remove the link to your music file, please get in touch and I will delete it.

An Ogg file (.ogg) is like an mp3 file. It is a compressed audio file, which you can download and listen to on your computer. Some portable media players also support the Ogg format.

The difference between mp3 and Ogg, is that Ogg is Open Source (free for anyone to use and make), and has better quality sound at higher compression rates. In english, that means the download size of the audio file is usually half that of an mp3, and takes less time to download.

To listen to an Ogg file, you need to install a media player on your computer that supports this file type. If you use Windows, you may already be able to, with Windows Media Player (you will need version 10). If you dont have it, save yourself the massive download, and use a small media player called Foobar. It can play pretty much any file type, and wont clog up your system, as its also Open Source (free to use, and modify if you know how).

Foobar Lite (plays mp2, mp3, mp4/aac, ogg, wav/aif, au, musepack, voc & snd audio files). This download is the one I have, is less than 1Mb and works perfectly. Or..
Foobar Normal (plays all above, as well as a few more including Monkeys Audio). This one is a waste of time, coz you may as well get..
Foobar Special - the full program, with support for all sorts of bizarre formats, and Windows Media (WMA) too if you like punishment.

I upload the Ogg files to the zShare server, which is a free website which stores any kind of file for 10 days. You will need to note the posted date of the Ogg file and add 10 days. Now, if you download it 3 days after I post the Ogg, the expiry of this file is extended by 10 days (so in theory, as long as people download it at least once a week, the file can exist there forever).

Also, as a courtesy, I will supply the file type (Ogg), as well as the file size of the download in megabytes (eg: 1.6Mb), as well as the year the song came out. If I feel you really should own the album (which the Ogg came from), I will be inclined to provide a link to a NZ retailer like the awesome team at Real Groovy, for you to go ahead and purchase online.

Thats about it. Its all in the name of fun, as well as some free publicity for the artist, thanks to my personal endoresement. I have no idea how that would help them out. Perhaps they have bizarre backstage requests, and on one occasion, that item will be paid for by my suggestion.

Back To The Block II

It's way cool to have a blog that a few people read, then through that, I can share my other activities and experiences with you and your mouse.
But what really made my day today, was having two separate parts of my life find each other without my intervention. I just planted the seeds.


So today, A song for Mel. Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for tuning in. Retro Hit Radio celebrated two years of existence on Monday November 14th. We are working on the new website as I type this... URL posted here in due course.

[Icehouse - Anything Is Possible ogg/1.9Mb] 1991/Code Blue
• get it before Nov 22, 05

Go Foobar!
It plays ogg files (and mp3 etc), and allows me to share these songs;
..at high enough quality yet small file size
..without hurting the artists
..without DRM.

Supermodel On My D

Sound familiar? Should it? Christmas followed by Summer is that funny time of year where most Lemmings succumb to the last minute shopping, and follow madness through christmas, to have a few weeks at the beach, or near a beach, or near a picture of a beach.


My awareness to this fact started last night by passing a womans magazine headlining the 6 week crash diet for your 'summer bikini body'. Yeah, here it comes with a faint scream, getting louder...

It's considerably odd to think that we subject ourselves to a bombardment of pre-summer advertising, we actually respond to it, and live a life of kaos in November and most of December (the 6 weeks New Idea work to), just to have a few weeks at the beach, or be near a beach, or near a picture of a beach, with people you may not necessarily know.

The scales are mal-aligned at this time of year, although for good reason. Two of my close girl friends within a two week period each got engaged to their men. Choiceness, and news like that overpowers the commercialism that surrounds this time of year, instead helping everyone 'ground self' to whats really important - friends and family. The point of christmas.


Buy Nothing Day is coming up too, just to remind us whats going on around us at this time of year. Hi Stuart!

After Christmas, let the lotion flow and sun cook it to the sound of the Fun Lovin Criminals. Yeeeeaaaah Boyyyy!

[Fun Lovin Criminals - Big Night Out ogg/1.7Mb] 1998
[Fun Lovin Criminals - Up On The Hill ogg/1.9Mb] 1999
[Fun Lovin Criminals - Couldn't Get It Right ogg/1.7Mb] 1999
• get em before 21 Nov 05

Writing, Recording & Touring

The cycle of a musician. INXS are itching to get back on the road, watching Irish equals U2 walk those grassways in '05. Fuck yeah, we want that again, right Garry Gary?

I spent 3.5 hours today writing up the year by year scripts for an upcoming programming element today, and learnt the extraordinary story behind U2's 1st EP "Three" and single. "Out Of Control" (image left)

NZ musicians might learn a thing or two from that story. U2 and INXS are two bands that really define my taste in music. They were quite unpolished back when, and that was cool. The lyrics were raw, songwriting style fresh, MTV hadn't swallowed their image yet, and they were 'next door'. FFWD 20 years, and they've both survived the corporate monster, making the monster move around them coz they made the monster.

Their music these days is really good, although polished, still fresh. I await the U2 concert in Auckland on St Patricks Day. The rumours were true, now for INXS to do the same and my life would be complete. The single "Pretty Vegas" goes on sale in Oz tomorrow. Album out at the end of the month.

I was going to place a Muchael Hutchence song from his 1999 solo album (the one that he worked on since 1995, and his friends completed), but Ive misplaced the CD somewhere. Instead, a remix of their fateful last single with Hutchence as lead (from 1997), and an early favourite of mine from 1983.

[INXS - Don't Lose Your Head (Andy Robinson Remix '04) ogg/1.9Mb] 2004/INXS The Remixes
[INXS - To Look At You ogg/1.7Mb] 1983/Shabooh Shoobah

Chrysler 300c

Seen these draping the streets yet?
If I win it big on Wednesday, Im getting one and going to play this track at full tit.

[New Order - Blue Monday (Deleon Remix) ogg/1.9Mb]

iPod alternatives

I was scanning my morning blogs when I read:

Five Reasons why I won't buy an ipod:

1. Three Letters - D.R.M. I want to be able to listen to all my mp3s in all the devices I have. No tricky copy-protection shit.

2. Anti-establishment. Ipod is very establishment.

3. Absence of features. Sure an Ipod video is cool. That is if you like watching videos in such a small screen. No FM radio. No recording whatsoever meaning no bootlegging.

4. Price. For a few less moolah, i can get a players with more features.

5. Drag and drop. I just want to be able to drag and drop files into it. No itunes shit.

Let's take a look at number 4, to show you that yes, iPods are popular, given the amount of advertising given to them. I feel that if you aren't aware of the alternatives, things like DRM will become standard and 'part of the deal'.

Cowon Systems:
Highly Recommended

iAudio X5 (pic on right). I'm gonna go buy one of these puppies! Check the feature list - includes BBE bass, which any studio engineer will know is a delicious addition!

Creative has a tidy little unit too. The muVo (on left) will store 500 Songs, 8 Hours Video, Up to 999 Photos. Not good for voice recording, but has an FM tuner like the iAudio, unlike the iPod.

T2/2005

Congrats to Mai for the comeback (7.5% - up 2.3%), parachutes to Kiwi (0.2% - down 0.4%). A song for each station today.

[Lil Kim - Lighters Up ogg/1.5Mb] for Mai FM
[Elemeno P - Lullaby ogg/1Mb] for Kiwi

Top level survey results at Radios
Get your ogg player here

Recloose

It's Friday! Go make your head go boing boing, Oizo styles.

"Just when you think you’ve heard one too many disco loops, dropped one too many a dud pill, been smacked in the face by on too many handbags and wondered about the death of dance music one too many times, along comes Recloose to restore your faith in the genre." Phil Reed / Real Groove Magazine, NZ

[Recloose - Dust ogg/2Mb] Loop

Back To The Block

Heh - just had a fun night of listening to shocking old pop groups like New Kids On The Block, Milli Vanilli, Icy Blu, Bobby Brown, MC Hammer etc.


It reminds me of when the Olsen Twins were on Full House and 2 years old, and the days of old 91FM. hehehe (what? Kim & Corbett are still doing their breakfast show!?!)

Speaking of radio, if you want further hits in the face from the 80s / early 90s, and you find yourself in Manukau City, check out Retro Hit Radio on 88.1fm. Subtle plug...

Listen to the lyrics of this if you can handle it - a very retrospective song, from a no perspective crazy era! Comments welcome :)

[New Kids On The Block - Tonight ogg/1.6Mb]

Shee yit!

I just checked statcounter results.

A whopping 24% of you'z are using Firefox (mostly the latest version). Not that my site gets the massive hits like the Herald or anything. I'd like to see what result they get.

If that was a percentage of dung on gates' face, you'd certainly notice.

Good Bad Ugly

Two covers and a fantastic original today.

The good.
I caught onto the Transplants with Diamonds And Guns a couple of years back. I ran a new rock station at the time and we played them, aside other great bands like Muse, The Sounds, The Music, almost all the new rock acts heard on the defunct Channel Z or Hamiltons Generator. This single sees them team up with the Booyaa Tribe. Download this and let the funky beat BLAZE, coz summer is coming...
[Transplants feat. Booyaa Tribe - What I Can't Describe ogg/1.9Mb]

Bad:
Frankie J recently covered Extreme's More Than Words. It is a little pacey for me with too many vocal acrobatics, but Frankie J is consistent, and I guess I give hime credit for that.
[Frankie J - More Than Words ogg/1.7Mb]

Ugly:
Why do I even mention this? Coz I love the original so much, and I must warn you not to buy this single. This cover is dire, and depressing, whereas the original is honest and heartfelt. Some songs are just not meant to be covered.
[Aaron Hall - Tears In Heaven ogg/2.2Mb]

More FeMale

Thank fuck ex-Edge day announcer Tarsha Tolson has switched codes and is the new night host on the More FM Network. I think shes been doing it for a week now. I'd seriously had enough of Dominic.

I caught her show on Thursday night on my way home from St Lukes. I've never been a fan of Tarsha or her old station whos announcers LIKE TO SHOUT DOWN THE MICROPHONE, yet its a move long overdue by any Edge announcer. Nice to see that she can take control of her career and grow as a broadcaster, coz shit, The Edge for all its wacky gimmicks that only appeals to zit faced texters, obviously has gotten boring. More FM and the spinoff opportunities will be a great challenge for her.

First tip Tarsha - ease up on the SHOUTING!

[Monica - All Eyez On Me ogg/1.8Mb]
[Basement Jaxx - Good Luck ogg/2Mb]

get Foobar to play Ogg files.

Lennox & Stewart Return

I still love the Eurythmics. The breaking-in of The Tourists, the synth n sample early days, the rockier late 80s/early 90s, the solo efforts of the 90s by each and todays mellowing of undoubtedly radios easiest playlist add.


I have a pathetic Eurythmics collection. I have an old Greatest Hits which came out in '91 (lost sleeves) and 1989s 'We Too Are One'. I absolutely loved 'Revival' and 'Babys Gonna Cry', partly to the fact that 91FM at the time were hammering the snot out of them. In 1990 I heard 'Revival' at the Royal Easter Show, while a machine operator was packing up his equipment with a cigarette hanging out his mouth. The music was echoing through the emptying showgrounds. "R.E.V.I.V.A.L is gonna lift you right up from your prison cell"


Fast forward to November 2005. The new single is called "I've Got A Life" is released tomorrow (Oct 31). The new single is piggied on the back of something that makes my eyes well up. A collectors deluxe boxed set, which includes all eight albums: "In The Garden" (1981), "Sweet Dreams" (1983), "Touch" (1983), "Be Yourself Tonight" (1985), "Revenge" (1986), "Savage" (1988), "We Too Are One" (1989), and "Peace" (1999).

Further to this, each reissued album (as all do now), has extras included:

IN THE GARDEN:
Le Sinestre (Taken from 'Never Gonna Cry Again' 7")
Heartbeat Heartbeat (Taken from 'Belinda' 7")
Never Gonna Cry Again (Live) (Taken From 'This Is The House' 12")
4/4 In Leather (Live) (Taken From 'This Is The House' 12")
Take Me To Your Heart (Live) (Taken From 'This Is The House' 12")

SWEET DREAMS:
Home Is Where The Heart Is (Taken from 'This Is The House' 7")
Monkey Monkey (Taken from 'Love Is A Stranger' 7")
Baby's Gone Blue (Taken from 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)' 12")
Sweet Dreams (Hot Remix) (Taken from 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) 1991' 12")
Love Is A Stranger (Coldcut Remix) (Taken from 'Love Is A Stranger 1991' 12")
Satellite Of Love (Previously Unreleased)

TOUCH:
You Take Some Lentils… And You Take Some Rice (Taken from 'Who's That Girls?' 7")
ABC (Freeform) (Taken from 'Who's That Girl?' 12")
Plus Something Else (Taken from 'Right By Your Side' 12")
Paint A Rumour (Long Version) (Taken from 'Here Comes The Rain Again' 12")
Who's That Girl (Live) (Taken from 'Miracle Of Love' 12")
Here Comes The Rain Again (Live) (Previously Unreleased)
Fame (Previously Unreleased)

BE YOURSELF TONIGHT:
Grown Up Girls (Taken from 'There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)' 7")
Tous Les Garçons Et Les (Taken from 'It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)' 12")
Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves (ET Mix) (Taken from 'Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves' 12")
Would I Lie To You? (ET Mix) (Taken from 'Would I Lie To You?' 12")
Conditioned Soul (Live) (Previously Unreleased)
Hello I Love You (Previously Unreleased)

REVENGE:
When Tomorrow Comes (Extended Version) (Taken from 'When Tomorrow Comes' 12")
Thorn In My Side (Extended Version) (Taken from 'Thorn In My Side' 12")
Missionary Man (Extended Version) (Taken from 'Missionary Man' 12")
When Tomorrow Comes (Live Acoustic Version) (Previously Unreleased)
Revenge 2 (Taken from the original soundtrack to the film 'Rooftops')
My Guy (Previously Unreleased)

SAVAGE:
Beethoven (Extended Philharmonic Version) (Taken from 'Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)' 12")
Shame (Dance Mix) (Taken from 'Shame' 12")
I Need A Man (Macho Mix) (Taken from 'I Need A Man' 12")
I Need You (Live) (Previously Unreleased)
Come Together (Previously Unreleased)

WE TOO ARE ONE:
Precious (Taken from 'Revival' 7") *GREAT SONG - was a Lennox single in '92!
See No Evil (Taken from 'The King And Queen Of America' 7")
King & Queen Of America (Dance Remix) (Taken from 'The King And Queen Of America' 12")
Angel (Choir Version) (Taken from 'Angel' 7")
Last Night I Dreamt The Somebody Loved Me (Previously Unavailable)

PEACE:
Beautiful Child (Acoustic Version) (Previously Unreleased)
17 Again (Acoustic Version) (Previously Unreleased)
I Saved The World Today (Acoustic Version) (Previously Unreleased)
Something In The Air Tonight (Previously Unreleased)

Now to round it off, and also my first official song sharing via blog, I give you 'Right By Your Side' from 1983's 'Touch'. You'll need an OGG player (I highly recommend Foobar).

[Eurythmics - Right By Your Side ogg/1.6Mb]

Too Cool

The browser wars are set to rip Microsoft in the guts before too long. Everyone I know uses Firefox now (I've done half the upgrades either personally or remotely via VNC) and they can't believe how:
• cool it is • different it is • customizable it is

They really have no clue on the security part, but are making massive in-roads around the internet now. I think it was the tabbed browsing bit, plus RSS and a few other things like the search box up top (Google/CDDB/Dictionary/IMDB/Wikipedia etc) really help make things easier.

As for the explanation for security? I just say that IE has gaping holes in it, whereas Firefox only has some borer.

Web masters are making their sites compatible with non IE browsers. Funny how Netscape is heralded by hardcore fans as the worlds "most used browser" ten years ago (when 14% of the world had internet access), and now it seems that it aint all that bad a browser (since its makeover), compared to IE. I guess the world needed a feasbile reason to switch, and SECURITY was the reason. IE is a hackers bitch.

If you do not use Firefox yet, please consider it seriously. It's foremost safer than IE, and secondly, cooler. Word.

NZ Fashion Week

Walking Rakes, Media Frenzy, International Guests - oh the glam of NZ Fashion Week! It's one week every year that every Nova fashion model has work. Did you know that Nova brought over Victoria KC and Emily S for Fashion Week? No? "Victoria is a fantastic walker, has a great personality and a stunning body." Yes, a fantastic walker!


Its the annual event for NZ's fashion industry, I just don't think middle NZ gives a flying... just like the TV guide awards, or the Radio Awards... but its eye candy if you care for the moment. Even Air New Zealand's (the major sponsor this year) staff uniforms were thrown under the sewing machine (or are they seconds from an op shop?).


Schedule Friday October 21:
11am 2Belles - Accessories (shed two)
12pm The Deutz Fashion Design Ambassador (shed one)
1pm AUT "Rookie" Graduate Show (the tent)
2pm Contemporary Salon Show: Miss Crabb (shed one)
3pm Hailwood (the tent)
4pm VERTICE/VAMP (shed two)
5pm Air NZ Best of Fashion Week (the tent)
6.30 Air NZ Best of Fashion Week (the tent)
7pm Karen Walker (shed two)
8.30 Air NZ Best of Fashion Week (the tent)

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