Covering The Beat 4

This episode is another instalment in an occasional Counting The Beat series, Covering The Beat, where I feature kiwi bands covering kiwi bands. You may be interested in checking out the previous Covering The Beat episodes - one (MP3), two and three.

I've got an eclectic bunch of originals and covering acts in this episode starting off with a rap novelty from 1989, Mod Rap - Double J and Twice the T covering Ray Columbus and The Invaders huge hit, 'She's a Mod' (read the story of the original song on NZhistory.net and see a promo clip for it on the video page). In 1989 Double J and Twice the T won most promising group at the NZ music awards. They were up against Upper Hutt Posse, another hip hop outfit who actually did go on to have a lasting legacy. There's great article about that on the Critic archives.

Die! Die! Die! claim to be influenced by The Gordons, Skeptics and The Dead C. They're also equally influenced by American outfits like Big Black and Shellac. It's probably easiest to call them punk. So what are The Gladeyes, an Auckland indie pop-folk duo doing covering them? Who knows, but their version of 'Shyness Will get You Nowhere' has rightfully been receiving wide acclaim. (By the way The Gladeyes shouldn't be confused with The Gladeyes, an altogether different band from Dunedin.)

I've featured punk-pop band Elemeno P's cover of The Verlaines' classic "Death and the Maiden' in an earlier Covering The Beat epiosde but I'm repeating it here because I recently had the chance to talk to Dave Gibson from Elemeno P about how that cover came about. That interview is included in the podcast - Gibson describes the song as one he is jealous he didn't write. The video for the original is one the video page.

Shihad were once managed by Gerald Dwyer, who had been frontman of notorious punk band Flesh D-Vice. After Gerald passed away Shihad released a cover of Flesh D-Vice's best known songs, 'Flaming Soul'. Cover lovers will also want to track down this single for Shihad's version of the Devo song 'Gates of Steel'. Incidentally there's a great little story about Dwyer and Shihad that I stumbled upon on From The Morgue.

And to finish - a band that you probably wouldn't expect anyone to cover is post-punk avant-garde noise merchants, The Dead C. However, although the bands performances and releases are now mainly improvisational, in earlier days the band were a little more song based, although it is still a brave band that would attempt a cover. That band is Xanadu. Their version of 'Sky' appeared on a CD issued with A Low Hum magazine a couple of years back. The original is from what I consider to be one of the greatest named albums of all time, Trapdoor Fucking Exit and you just have to watch the Dead C clip on the video page where they perform live on national TV in a style completely at odds with the show on which they were guests - simply stunning.

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New Releases from Old Rockers

As NZ Music Month dawns the new releases keep coming thick and fast as bands and labels hope to capitalise on the combination of publicity and parochialism that can see local acts' sales figures soar during May. I know I'm sounding a bit cynical but, while there is need for a debate about whether the states' intervention in the NZ music scene has been responsible for the promotion of bland international sounding acts over more diverse talent, I'm actually a fan of NZ Music Month. I like the idea of celebrating local music, after all that's why I put together Counting The Beat - it's certainly not for fame or fortune. My partner also likes NZ Music Month, if only because it means I might buy some new clothes. Anyway, here's another selection of great new releases - all from acts who have been on the scene for a good while.

How many great records has Chris Knox made? And how many units has he sold? Proving there is no universal balance of justice and good the latter figure may be only slightly larger than the first. Slugbuckethairybreathmonster is one of my favourite records of all time, Not Given Lightly is the favourite of many more. Knox's latest is his second album with The Nothing titled A Warm Gun. I think his songs benefit from the organic sound they get in a band setting, and he has some really good players in The Nothing, which appears to be heading towards becoming a real band. The album includes a couple of good old thrash outs but the best songs are the one which provide a sympathetic setting for Knox's lyrics to shine through. There are also some nice touches of strings and horns on some numbers which serve to complement rather than distract from the songs. Bookending the album are two different versions of 'All I Want Is You'. The second takes a bit of an everything but the kitchen sink approach to instrumentation that nicely combines Knox's pop song writing talent with his quirky musical approach. It's songs like this that mean while it may not be up there with some of his Tall Dwarfs' classics this is a record that will stick in your head and be one you come back to.

Shihad are another band I've been listening to for ages, ever since they embraced post-punk to their metal hearts and released the awesomely powerful Churn. They have always been an incredible live band - I particularly remember one show at the Powerstation, where they played the club like it was a stadium and left me soaked and speechless. However, their recorded output hasn't always grabbed me - while I love Churn, the "fish album", and most of The General Electric, Love Is The New Hate just didn't do it for me, apart from 'Saddest Song In the World'. Now Shihad's seventh album, Beautiful Machine is out. This is more of the of the big stadium rock ballads we have come to expect from Shihad and while that is not normally my cup of tea they do it so well I just can't seem to help but like it. You know, returning to the theme of NZ Music Month, I don't know if I would listen to this music if it was from an overseas band. Perhaps it's my cultural nationalist tendencies that overcome my normal reaction of avoiding anything that would play on The Edge.

The third release from an old fave comes from HDU or High Dependency Unit (they seem to use the names interchangably). Metamathics is only their forth album since forming in 1994 and follows a gap of 7 years since Fireworks that was punctuated only by the singles Tunguska (clip on video page) and Stupormodel, both now included on the album. The album doesn't herald any great change in direction, and that is just fine by me. It combines rip-roaring punk songs like 'Stupormodel' and long feedback drenched soundscapes like 'The National Grid' that remind me of a better recorded Dead C (again, no bad thing). The whole album is streaming on the HDU myspace page. There is also an earlier Counting The Beat episode featuring HDU available to download.

Now, go buy some kiwi music - or don't you love your country?

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