One of the most important signs of Spring, along with lambs and blossoms, is the first Big Day Out lineup announcement. And man it is a big one!  Tool, Rammstein, Deftones, Iggy and the Stooges, The Black Keys, MIA, LCD Soundsystem, Lupe Fiasco, Grinderman, Andrew WK, Primal Scream, Crystal Castles CSS, Birds of Tokyo, Airbourne, Plan B, Ratatat, John Butler Trio, Wolfmother, Jim Jones Revue, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Booka Shade, Die Antwoord and Vitalic.

Joining this international colossal contingent are a bunch of NZ youngbloods and heavyweights: Shihad, The Naked and Famous, Six60, I Am Giant, Kids of 88, Die!Die!Die!, Bulletproof and Street Chant. If you have read earlier posts you will know about the success of some of these bands at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards.

With Tool, Rammstein, Deftones, and Airbourne covering the main corners of Metal, it's going to be a loud day. But if you're not going to wear a black t-shirt, there's still plenty to choose from. A perfect day of dancing would involve the psychedelic MIA, punk-funkers LCD Soundsystem, sexy CSS with some Ratatat on the side, and of course, Lupe Fiasco.

As usual with BDO, there are quite a few happy returners, like John Butler Trio, who I'm sure will put many in that summer mood. My pick of the day is Grinderman: a reanimated Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, who will definitely rock your face off should you have the courage to get to their front row. I highly suggest you do.

Check out the Catalogue for these artists to prepare for what will be a very fun day. 

~Matthew

It’s awards season for New Zealand Music again! While Juice TV moved their celebrations to tie in with the end of May’s NZ Music Month, it’s still a Spring party for the prestigious APRA Silver Scroll Awards and Vodafone Music Awards 2010.

 

Last Wednesday at Auckland’s Town Hall, the Australasian Performing Rights Association awarded the Silver Scroll songwriting award to local kids The Naked & Famous for their anthem “Young Blood”. It was an interesting mix of contenders, including the charming Artisan Guns (who kindly performed a free show for us at Central Library in May), Julia Deans, The Mint Chicks and Anika Moa.

 

One of the most interesting elements of each year’s ceremony are the performances of finalist songs by different bands. This year, fellow Aucklanders Street Chant had a lot of fun turning up the volume on Artisan Guns’ “Autumn”. Which points to another noticeable thing about the 2010 awards: it’s great to see the celebration of so many young Auckland bands. It is a testament to how the current music scene here is thriving.

Artisan Guns "Hearts" EP

The Naked & Famous "Passive me, aggressive you"

Street Chant "Means"

 ~Matthew

It's widely known that musicians are some of the biggest geeks in the world (this is meant to be a compliment). So in honour of comic book month at Auckland City Libraries, I've come up with nine songs that mention superheroes or comic books.

1.  Matter-Eater Lad by Guided by Voices.  A song about an obscure Legion of Super Heroes character.

2.  Superman by R.E.M. I am Superman and I can do anything.

3.  Ghost Rider by Suicide.  Also covered by Henry Rollins for the soundtrack of The Crow.

4.  Can U Dig It?  by Pop Will Eat Itself.  We dig Marvel and D.C., Bruce Wayne auf weidersehn, Alan Moore knows the score.

5.  Waiting for a Superman by The Flaming Lips.  Song about the heavy burden of being Superman.  Also covered by Iron and Wine.

6.  I Am the Law by Anthrax.  Every time I think of Judge Dredd, I think of Sylvester Stallone mumbling "I am the law."

7.  That's Really Super, Supergirl by XTC.  That's really super, supergirl, how you're changing all the world's weather, but you couldn't put us back together.

8. Flash Gordon by Queen.  Theme song to one of the cheesiest and campiest movies ever.

9. DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake by Art Brut.  Because sometimes nothing is ever as good as a good comic book and a milkshake together.

So go out and buy/borrow some comic books, listen to music and be inspired.

 ~Jerome