Auckland Libraries has recently subscribed to a new e-resource called Zinio. The Zinio subscription allows you to read a number of magazines in electronic form for free. There's definitely a lot of titles there, but I had a squizz specifically at the music ones and here's what they've got right now:

Billboard, Guitarist, Opera Canada, Guitar Techniques, Rhythm, Total Guitar, XXL, Guitar Player, Computer Music, Electronic Musician, Future Music, Recording and Music Production, Rolling Stone.

There's some good reading there. If you'd like to know how to download these to your computer or portable device then head over to the Auckland Libraries website and read the info under Zinio.

Timothy Blackman, Stelth Ulvang and Shenandoah Davis.

Timothy Blackman is one of my favourite local artists, and he was kind enough to let me interview him in the basement of the Auckland Central Library. In a happy coincidence, we were able to be joined by Stelth Ulvang - a multi-instrumentalist for the Grammy nominated band The Lumineers (who were in town to play the Big Day Out), and Shenandoah Davis - a classically influenced songwriter who was touring with Anthonie Tonnon. Later that night, I recorded some of their live set at an Auckland art space on New North Road.

You can download it directly here (right click the link and chose "save link as"): Podcast: Timothy Blackman, Stelth Ulvang and Shenandoah Davis

Local music and pop culture website The Corner have announced their decision to shut down. Notorious for sometimes brutally honest reviews of local bands' singles, the site always inspired debate, as a lively comments section attested to. In addition to reviews, features and Q&As, The Corner felt like the spiritual successor to Real Groove and Volume when it took over releasing new installments of the local band compilation Awesome Feeling (check out our post and interview about the Awesome Feeling compilations over here) in mp3 format. In a fishbowl music scene, The Corner was notable in the way it was never beholden to advertisers, record companies or the bands themselves. As they put it themselves, The Corner tried to prioritise "quality music, quality writing and a loose unwritten philosophy of gentle agitation over appeasement, holding no cows sacred and avoiding assumed local critical convention wherever possible".

They posted something of an obituary to themselves today, and you can read the post (sadly for the last time) over at The Corner. You heard em, start your own website.

Here's a few more of our favourites to listen to in the month of May. Here are some thoughts:

1. this acoustic version of Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) shows just how good of a guitarist Ruban Nielsen is. He's very, very good, right?

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This Saturday, May 24, Auckland Central Library is hosting a mini music festival for New Zealand Music Month from 11am-3pm. It's going to be quite a time. Here's what you're in for.

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A Broadway Musical inspired by the work of Tupac Shakur is on its way, and EW.com has posted a sneak peek video of work in progress. Although it's not a biographical tale of Tupac himself, the musical, titled Holler if Ya Hear Me, is inspired by his lyrics and music. Take a look a look at it over here.

New Zealand Music Month is great a reminder to discover new local music and revisit some old favourites. So with that in mind, we'll be uploading some Spotify playlists of our favourite tracks. Some of the songs are recent discoveries, while others have been around for quite some time. There's not really a theme, they're just tracks that I hold very dear! Click play on the Spotify widget below to listen, hope you enjoy.

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Parachute Music has announced that their 2014 festival was the last of such events for the organisation. Check out the interview above to hear Mark De Jong talking about the decision. And here's a presser from the organisation.

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True that. The legendary hip hop crew Wu Tang has announced that it's only going to sell ONE copy of its new album. The album might be purchased by a corporation (a la Samsung) who would enjoy the cachet of bringing Wu-Tang's new record to its customers. Or it could be bought by a millionaire who'd keep it to themselves, or even altruistically give it to the rest of the world for free.

Another element to their plan would be taking the artifact itself on a tour of museums, galleries, festivals and such things. There would be a charge to attend, heavy security to guard against recording devices, and visitors would have to listen to the album on headphones provided by the venue. The primary producer of the album, Tarik 'Cilvaringz' Azzougarh explains it like this: “One leak of this thing nullifies the entire concept.”

And while you're on that Wu-Tang buzz, check out Amos Barshad's recent and very excellent 10 part feature on the group at Grantland.

ps. this record is going to leak, right?

With their New Order-esque backing, soulful singing and unique stage presence of their singer Sam Herring, Future Islands have been setting the internet abuzz with their beautifully unusual Letterman performance. If you've been hiding under a rock lately and have yet to see this, their performance of Seasons (Waiting On You) is really something.

Add one of the world's best comic book companies to one of the world's best stories, and you've got a great book. Hip Hop Family Tree #1 is a Fantagraphics (Ghost World etc) comic telling the origin stories of hip hop. Printed on gorgeous paper, they've recreated the nostalgic feel of cheap comic book paper on a high quality stock. The artwork and colouring are stunning.

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Boycrush is the project of Alistair Deverick. Alistair is a very good drummer and a nice dude, which can put you in pretty high demand. Accordingly he's been in such bands as The Sami Sisters, The Hot Grits, Bannerman, Lisa Crawley, The Shades, Watercolours, Panther and The Zoo, Lawrence Arabia, Haunted Love, Lucid 3, and The Ruby Suns. Whewsh, that's quite a list. Blessed with this minimal, dreamy pulse, Secrets shows his own work is up there with the best of his musical collaborations.