I'd Like To Thank The Academy, My Family, And God.

There has been a terrific response to the Counting The Beat Alternatuis (see the post below). This may even become an annual event.

Some of the winners have been in touch and made acceptance speeches.

Album of the Year: Steve Abel - Little Death

Steve recommends people check out the tracks he has streaming on MySpace.

Best Male Solo Artist: Dudley Benson

Best Group: The Mint Chicks

In My Humble Opinion

Never mind the Tuis - Here's the Alternatuis.
Last week the Tuis were held. These are probably the biggest of the NZ music awards. There are a number of categories based on commercial and artistic success. Unlike the Silver Scrolls, which are judged on songwriting ability, for the Tuis sales and public appeal do count. This week Counting The Beat will feature some of the Tui winners alongside the Counting The Beat picks for artists and releases of the year - The Alternatuis. The criteria for selection is simply whether or not Counting The Beat rates it or not - hence, In My Humble Opinion.

Single of the Year: Chris Knox and The Nothing
What is a single anyway? There are hardly any singles actually released anymore. A single nowadays is just a track picked for promotion and airplay. Even the single charts are put together on the basis of both airplay and sales. Whether it is a real single or not - to succeed it must have a hook, be catchy as hell, and preferably a great sing-along chorus. The Tui was picked up by Pluto for "Long White Cross". The Counting the Beat Alternatui goes to Chris Knox and The Nothing for "Great Big Puppy Eyes".

Best Male Solo Artist: Dudley Benson
Dave Dobbyn picked up the Tui for this category- his fifteenth. While he must be respected for his longevity and genuine talent, these award shows can sometimes seem a bit like the Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan show. Here on Counting The Beat we like to showcase new talent so the Alternatui goes to newcomer Dudley Benson. I guarantee you haven't heard of this guy. He put out an EP, Steam Railways of Britain, in a limited run of 75 - a surefire way to cultdom and obscurity. But what a voice. Take a listen.

Best Female Solo Artist: Bic Runga
Bic Runga won the Tuis For Best Female Solo Artist and Best Album, and you won't get any argument from me. Birds is a fantastic album full of dark, slightly unsettling but fragile songs. Runga is a fantastic performer and a truly great songwriter. Notable mentions in the female solo artist category go to Miriam Clancy (stream of live performance here), Reb Fountain (tracks on myspace) and Flip Grater (songs and video). New Zealand is producing some very good female singer-songwriters at the moment. These three are top class.

Best Group: The Mint Chicks
Pop-punkers Elemeno P pick up the Tui. There was absolutely no doubt in the Counting The Beat camp who the Alternatui would go to. The Mint Chicks are the stand out group of the year by far. Their album Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! is superb. These guys write pop songs full of oddball structures and tangential ideas. Live, they go off like the Energiser ad. As previously heralded here on the Counting The Beat blog the Mint Chicks are currently the best band in the land.

Best Rock Album: Jakob
One of two Tuis for The Bleeders in this category, they also took out Breakthrough Artist. The Alternatui goes to Jakob for their third album Solace. Jakob are a guitar, bass and drums instrumental three piece whose songs are at once brooding , powerful and beautiful. They draw influence from the isolation and power of the landscape around their home town, Napier. I once saw this band perform at The Big Day Out. They were so loud the whole crowd took an involuntary step backwards. They built slowly to a huge crescendo and then the gear blew up - literally - smoke / silence. Awesome. The Jakob website is currently being rebuilt so check out some tracks from their myspace page.

Album of the Year: Steve Abel
As mentioned earlier Bic Runga got the Tui for best album. My pick is a little old but one of the strange things about the Tuis is that they seem to span a long timeframe. This year Dave Dobbyn was nominated for Available Light, the same album he was nominated for last year. So, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me. Steve Abel's Little Death has also had a previous mention on this blog. He is an extraordinarilyly good songwriter - the album is haunting and quiet with the songs he often performs solo live augmented with additional instrumentationon including accordion and the additonal vocals of Golden Horse singer Kirsten Morrell. A hidden treasure in the New Zealand music scene, check out this stream of a live performance.

There you go - the Counting The Beat Alternatuis. Any questioning of the judges decisions will be treated with utter contempt. You can check out the full list of Tui winners here and if awards are your thing also take a look at the bNets.

Hauraki Hoedown Highlight - Ramblin' Jack Elliot

Apparently the name Ramblin' Jack is not as it may seem the mark of honor given to a well travelled man (although I'd imagine that he is that as well) but is rather the result of this 75 year olds propensity to retell countless stories before answering even the simplest of questions. It's kind of ironic that a man so prone to the conversational arts can produce an album of 16 tracks that clock in at a mere 32-and-a-half minutes. "My Old Dog and Me" lasts 19 seconds!

As you might suspect the story goes a little something like this: born 1931 in New York, ran away from home as a teenager and joined a rodeo in an attempt to fulfill his childhood dream. Learnt to play the guitar and started busking for a living. Eventually he hooked up with Woody Guthrie and lived with him as a kind of student. Not too bad. And at 75 Ramblin' Jack has changed labels and released "I Stand Alone" on the Anti- label (home to the likes of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Michael Franti & Spearhead) with an assortment of guest backup players including Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Lucinda Williams, and celebrated rockers Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker, Nels Cline, and X / Knitters drummer DJ Bonebrake.

I played one of the longest tracks on the CD: "Arthritis Blues", a nicely sung prescription of folk cures for the protaganists arthritis including apple jack, gin and opium, none of which seem to do the trick. The only cure seems to be shared misery. Theres a lot of tales shared with the listener on this short CD, tales from songs collected over a life of travelling. In an anecdote that may resonate with people on the island, Elliot was going to call this CD "Not For The Tourists" because it was recorded in response to his daughter's request for songs he loved but never played in concert. When she asked why he did not play them in public, he replied "These songs are not for the tourists".

There's a couple of free downloads of the "not for the tourist" songs available from the Anti- site, here: http://www.anti.com/media.php?id=33

The full playlist of the Hauraki Hoedown can be found at the Casa de Country Mike.

Dj Simon - MIx & Mash 7th Oct

This weeks show was stuffed full of new goodies including a new track from Beck's, Cell Phone's Dead, a signature Jacque Lu Cont Thin White Duke Mix of The Killers new single When You Were Young, a great new track, (supported obviously by a stunning video) from Beyonce and two 'not so new' remixes from the DFA although they are just released on the brilliant new 'DFA remixes - Chapter 2' CD out this week. Am still loving the CSS - Let's make love and listen to death from above single (is anyone hearing that up there in the northern hemisphere?) but in the end my track of the week has to go to..........The Rapture - Get Myself Into It (Serge Santiago Edit). First up, I'm just glad that The Rapture have a returned with a quality single after a three year wait and this subtle, funky remix from Brighton's own Serge Santiago is excellent! Download it from http://kimberleymansfield.multiply.com/music/


Hour 1 Part 1 - 22:19

Shapeshifter - Electric dream
Nerd - She wants to move (DFA remix)
Beyonce Feat Jay-Z - Deja Vu
Beck - Cell Phone's Dead


Hour 1 part 3 - 21:18

Basement Jaxx - Hush boy
Chromeo - Destination overdrive (DFA remix)
The Killers - When You Were Young (Jacque Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)
Peaches - Downtown


Hour 2 Part 1 - 19:13

The Gossip - Standing in the way of control - (Soulwax nite version)
Goose - British mode
The Rapture - Get Myself Into It (Serge Santiago Edit)
CSS - Let's Make Love & Listen Death From Above


Hour 2 Part 3 - 27:42

The '25 minute mix'

Plump DJs - Electric disco (d. ramirez remix)
Cassius Toop Toop (Cassius Reggae Rock Mix)
Robbie Williams - Lovelight (Soulwax Ravelight Dub)
Goose - British Mode (Jester Mix)

Hauraki Hoedown Playlist

I followed on from another BOBcast - this time celebrating the onset of daylight savings time by playing songs with the word "time" in the title. A significantly easier task for a country boy than some of Bob's earlier themes I discovered that I had a plethora of "time" related tracks at my fingertips so instead of the usual one or two offerings I extended the cast for another hour. Here's a list of what I played:

All the Time in Airports - The Handsome Family
A Matter of Time - Los Lobos
Baby Let the Bad Times Be - Junior Brown
Cry One More Time - Gram Parsons
Hard Time Killing Floor Blues - Chris Thomas King
Honky Tonk Night Time Man - Merle Haggard
Pretty Woman Won't Give Me the Time of Day - National Grain
Time Changes Everything - Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
Right in Time - Lucinda Williams
Time of Your Life - Pickin' on Green Day
Hard Times - Waco Brothers
On Time - Soledad Brothers
Funny How Time Slips Away - Elvis
Just Passin' Time - Dwight Yoakum
Big City Good Time Girl - Wayne "the Train" Hancock
One More Time - Alejandro Escovedo
Hi Ho Silver - Freakwater
Dumb Blonde - Dolly Parton
Japanese Cowboy - Ween
People Learn Things When I Drink - Ron White
Nashville Radio - Jon Langford
Tornadoes - Drive-by Truckers
Driving Nails in my Coffin - Ramblin Jack Elliot
O Death - Ralph Stanley
Kiss of Death - Split Lip Rayfield
Star Witness - Neko Case
Winter in the Hamptons - Josh Rouse
I Feel Just Like A Child - Devendra Banhart
Wine Don't Lie - Dale Watson
Ain't Life Hell - Hank Cochran and Willie Nelson
Donkey Ride Straight to Hell - Michael Sheehy

Thanks to everyone who filled in the Beach Radio survey by either dropping it off in the station or filling it out online. Will try to get a bit of an aggregate of what we found out and post on the blog in the coming weeks.

Mix & Mash Radio Show - 23 Sept 2006

So, yeah, this weeks show. Was a a corker (even though I say so myself) There were new tracks and new bands all over the place and a general feeling of freshness in the air(waves) :-) That said, I so wanted to play the new Scissor Sisters single, I don't feel like dancin', this week. Petty it turned out to be a complete pile of old gubbins! Number 1 in the UK my arse!!!

Never mind, there were a couple of new Soulwax remixes to keep us all happy!


Hour 1 Part 1 - 20:47

The Gossip - Standing in the way of control (Soulwax remix) Go here to download this track! The second remix package of 'Standing In The Way Of Control' and here we have a lairy, synth heavy rocker from Soulwax. On the single there's also a percussive remix from Playgroup that utilizes the vocal to full effect and to round things off Headman serves up one of his dubs - Essential!!!!
Goldfapp - Satin Chic
Beck - Cell Phone's Dead (first of two tracks from Beck's soon to be released CD 'The information' coming out on Oct 3)
Roni Size - Brown paper bag (From New Forms from back in 1997 blimey almost 10 years ago...Roni Size played the Fu Bar, Auckland this Saturday.


Hour 1 part 3 - 19:33

Coldcut - True Skool (Playing Sept 28 St James, Auckland)
Basement jaxx - Hush boy (The current single)
CSS - Let's Make Love & Listen Death From Above (Brilliant)
Yoko Uno - Walking On Thin Ice - [Felix Da Housecat's Tribute Mix] An old (2003) but essential track from Felix da Housecat)


Hour 2 Part 1 - 20:42

Beck - Nausea (new beck.com) From his new album - The Information
Phoenix - Consolation prizes (A recent release from the mighty Phoenix from France)
The Rapture - Get myself into it (Current single)
Keith - Mona Lisa's Smile (Track came out a couple of weeks ago and there's some cracking remixes, one from Simian Mobile Disco) Last week's record of the week but I've grown tired of it already, funny how that happens eh!)
Jarvis Cocker - C*nts are still running the world
Jarvic Cocker quote: "I wanted you to hear it now cos It's exactly 1 year since that Live-8 thing & it was the night of that event that I wrote this song. I apologise for all the swearing but sometimes that's the only thing that seems appropriate. It's in no way a criticism of Geldof & co. but I remember thinking at the time: "Where does engaging with these politicians/businessmen really get you?" - ( 12 months on & the cunts still haven't paid up as far as I can make out) - maybe the problem is something more ..... fundamental." - Bless im!! :-)

This song (and video) is available @ http://www.myspace.com/jarvspace


Hour 2 Part 2 - 25:23

The 25 minute mix

Peter Bjorn John - Young Folks (Tomas Andersson remake
LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Tigas out of the trance closet mix)
North Shore Pony Club - Computer Games
Robbie Williams - Lovelight (Soulwax Ravelight dub) Unbelievable! not yet released. Not a hint of Mr Williams on this one and its all the better for it
Buy now - For sale

Silver Scrolls Report: Are the Mint Chicks the Best Band in the Land?

Mission accomplished! Last Wednesday, media pass in hand, I joined the likes of TV3 and National Radio in a VIP room at the Auckland Town Hall. We were there to interview the five nominees for the 2006 Silver Scrolls - the country's premier music award. Having blagged my way in at the last moment and therefore having done no interview prep whatsoever I listened in on the other interviews, partook of the complimentary drinks , and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.

After the interview session it was the mix and mingle. A five hundred strong crowd comprised of the nations top musos. Feeling a little braver I spoke to Chris Knox, Evermore, Cody from The Mint Chicks, Eddie Raynor from Split Enz and Ray Columbus. Listen out for "Your listening to . . . " stings from the last two on Counting The Beat.



The award ceremony itself is fantastic. Each of the nominated songs is performed by another New Zealand act. This leads to some great suprises and some cross-genre car crashes. In the latter category would be The North Shore Pony Club and Aaradhna covering Evermore's Running, while highlights were South Auckland teenagers Spacifix doing The Reduction Agents The Pool, and The Mint Chicks awesome version of Anika Moa's Stolen Hill. You should be able to hear excerpts of these performances and an interview I ended up doing with Don McGlashan in coming weeks on Counting The Beat.

But back to The Mint Chicks. They have just released their second album "Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!" which showcases their ability to make great pop skewed by a punk-brat anarchic aesthetic that means you never know where they are going next. One song by these guys contains more ideas than a whole album by many artists. If you haven't heard their material check out the songs streaming here. Their cover of Stolen Hill at the awards just confirmed their brilliance. The song was transformed from being an introspective quiet singer-songwriter piece to a tense, edgy thriller. Apparently they now want to include it in their live set.

The Mint Chicks are one of only two currently recording bands on the Flying Nun label, once the proud vanguard of intelligent indie pop in NZ (the other being The Shocking Pinks). Russell Brown of Public Address has been running a top five Flying Nun post which makes interesting reading. The predominance of old material is telling. Lets just hope that the labels 25th anniversary is marked by something better than the dire 'Under the Influence" album that was released for their 21st.

A box set is promised. Now that Flying Nun is under the wing of a multi-national conglomerate I fear the acts included will be the obvious ones like The Chills and The Straitjacket Fits. I've got no argument with that but I hope it's not at the cost of some of the great acts with out-of-print material that risk being lost to history. Let's hear it for Marie and the Atom!

Blogging slackness leads to catchup

Due to one or two internet hassles over the past three weeks I've been a bit remiss in not posting the track listing of my last three BOBcasts, so I'm about to rectify that grossness.

August 28th - WEEKEND

Janet jacson - Weekend
Black Eyed peas - Weekend
Dillinger Escape Plan - Weekend Sex Change
Dwele - Weekend Love
Bill Anderson - Wild Weekend
Ted Nugent - Weekend Warrior
Wall Of Voodoo - Lost Weekend
Unknown Prophets - The Weekend
S O S Band - Weekend Girl
Soul Seekerz - Party For The Weekend
Letter Kills - For The Weekend
Neil Young - Out On The Weekend
Ann Nesby - This Weekend
Steve Harvey - Black & White Folks Weekends (comedy)
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Lost Weekend
Hard Fi - Living For The Weekend
Art Brut - Bad Weekend
Wet Willie - Weekeend
Sweetheart - See You On The Weekend
Terminal Head - Weekend Warriors
The Starting Line - Nights And Weekends
Rookie Of The Year - The Weekend
George Benson - Weekend In LA
Kurupt & DJ Shadow - Another Cali Weekend
Steve Warner - The Weekend
Debbie Deb - Look Out Weekends


Sept 4th - OCEAN

Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
Quercus Circus - Ocean Dreaming
Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
Groove Collective - Ocean Floor
Lustral - Ocean
Diana Krall - How Deep Is The Ocean
Led Zeppelin - The Ocean
Pablo Cruise - Ocean Breeze
Special EFX - Oceanna
Blue October - Into The Ocean
Manic Street preachers - Ocean Spray
Sparta - While Oceana Sleeps
Toad The Wet Sprocket - Walk On The Ocean
Mae - The Ocean
Starone - Songs Of The Ocean
John Mayer - Walk On The Ocean
Monica - I Will Cross The ocean For You
Acoustic Alchemy - Oceans Apart
George Strait - Ocean Front Property
The Decemberists - Oceanside
Pain Of Salvation - Oblivion Ocean

Sept 11th - SLEEP

John Lennon - How Do You Sleep
Bon Jovi - I'll Sleep When I'm dead
Cartel - The City Never Sleeps
Cher - We All Sleep alone
Electric Soft Parade - Sleep Alone
The Corrs - Only When I Sleep
Blind Melon - Sleepyhouse
Peter Gabriel & Enigma - While The Earth Sleeps
Peter Yorn - Sleep Better
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Meatloaf - Sleep On it
Brothers In Sound - Sleep Again
Garbage - Sleep Together
Controller.Controller - Sleep Over It
The Early November - My Sleep Pattern Changed
Eric Gales - Sleepy Time Time
Dave Mathews Band - Sleep To Dream Her
Texas - Sleep
Beastie Boys - No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Z Z Top - Sleeping Bag
Socratic - Sleepless Nights
My American Heart - Don't Sleep
Silverstein - Smile In Your Sleep
Fiona Apple - Sleep To Dream

Sept 18th - RAIN

The Feelers - Rain (Kiwi Group)
The Apples In Stereo - Rainfall
Counting Crows - Rainking
Sizzla - Rain Showers
Belinda Carlisle - Summer Rain
Rolling Stones - Rain Fall Down
Garbage - Only happy When it rains
Match Box 20 - Rainmaker
The Fall - Rainmaker
LTJ Bukem - Sunrain
Stunts - Raindrops
Blind Melon - No Rain
Angeline Ball - I Cant Stand The Rain
James Blunt - Tears And Rain
The Jayhawks - Save It For A Rainy Day
Grateful dead - Box Of rain
Guns And Roses - November Rain
The Cult - Rain
Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
The Underdogs - Sittin Here In The Rain (Kiwi Group)
Tim McGraw - She's My Kinda Rain
Amanda Marshall - Let it Rain
Mondo Grosso - Tree Air & Rain On The Earth
Degrees K - Raindrop
Cascada - Cant Stop The Rain
Blue Rodeo - Rain Down On Me

...........and there you have it folks, all up to date now, time for.................?