2020: Close, But No Cigar

I realise I’m a bit late to be casting a beady eye all the way back to 2020, but given the retro-centric nature of everythingsgonegreen, any blogpost covering work from this century might very well be considered an unexpected bonus. Being timely, current, and relevant has never really been this blog’s thing. If you’re here, you probably already know that.

I’ve already looked at my ten “most played” or favourite new album purchases of 2020 (here), but I also want to share a few thoughts on those that made the “close, but no cigar” list … albums I picked up, enjoyed, but for whatever reason didn’t quite make the final “albums of 2020” list.

I’ll start with a couple of homegrown efforts that could easily have made the cut for that list alongside the four local albums that did. Two albums that sat well beyond the mainstream Kiwi pop saturation point that gave us commercial behemoths like Six60, Benee, and L.A.B. as key local industry flagbearers in 2020. As so often, the best local stuff tended to fly well beneath the radar of fans of the aforementioned. Which is a shame … and probably not really a shame at all.

Darren Watson’s Getting Sober For the End of the World came very close to making the cut, but it just came down to the fact that I drew the line at a strict ten. I completely get why a few of the more learned local scribes were quite happy to label the album as his best ever, and it was yet another top-notch effort from the country’s foremost exponent of the blues and roots music.

Tauranga-Auckland pop-rock outfit The Leers returned in 2020 with an (album-length) EP called The Only Way Out Is In, which was recorded in Los Angeles in late 2019, before being given legs ahead of this year’s summer festival circuit. It revealed a softer, more chart-friendly (and crucially, festival-ready) sound, and I was pretty hooked on it for a few weeks late on in the year.

 Elsewhere, Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways got a lot of love, and the old fella keeps coming up with new ways to remain relevant. I’ve always been a little bit hot and cold on Dylan; I absolutely love a handful of Dylan albums, but given that he’s released dozens upon dozens of albums across a 60-year timeframe, loving a “handful” probably doesn’t equate to fully paid-up fandom. Rough and Rowdy Ways was chock full of Dylan signature moments, but mostly it appealed for the way its seemingly effortless stream-of-consciousness narrative kept finding raw nerves to twist and tweak.

Only slightly younger than Bob, the ever reliable and always relatable Paul Weller came up with yet another top set in the form of On Sunset. Weller is a living legend, there’s no two ways about it, and On Sunset contained little slices of all of the many styles that Weller has thrown at us across the past four decades (and more). Rock, soul, pastoral folk, plus rhythm and blues. A genuine hybrid. Weller shows no sign of slowing down whatsoever.

I’m a big alt-80s nut. That goes without saying. Yet I somehow managed to miss everything that Dutch darkwave/goth merchants Clan of Xymox released during what might be called their peak years. I put that right last year when I picked up a copy of the 2020 album Spider On The Wall, which turned out to be a revelation, and the album got a lot of my ear-time during the year. I’ll have a dig back through the band’s extensive back catalogue to see what else I’ve missed.

Kruder and Dorfmeister’s 1995 was one of my rare CD purchases during the year. Brand new, yet somewhat ancient in that it was a collection of tunes that only ever previously saw the light of day on an (unreleased/pre-release) white label some 25 years ago. Discarded and only recently rediscovered by a duo not exactly renowned for being especially prolific since their mid-to-late 90s heyday. Whilst it doesn’t in any way scale the heights of K&D’s best stuff like Sessions (1998) - not much does, after all - I reckon there’s enough on 1995 to satisfy fans, with snippets of that trademark plush/warm production aesthetic they’ll all be very familiar with. It just seemed so appropriate that I got this one on CD, via mail order.

 When I compiled the blog’s albums of 2019 list, I bemoaned the fact that Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors was a relatively late arrival on my radar and I perhaps hadn’t given it enough attention. Oddly enough, I got that chance in 2020 when a heavily reconfigured version was released under the guise of Whole New Mess. Effectively a stripped-back variation on tracks originally found on All Mirrors, I downloaded a copy of Whole New Mess and it once again sat there in my “must listen to” folder for far too long before I got to it. But I heard enough to know it was exceptional, and I’ll be returning to Olsen again soon. I think.

As ever, Polish dub artist Radikal Guru released his latest album, Beyond The Borders, near the end of the year. He’s got form for this sort of thing - by my reckoning this is the fourth time he’s released stuff right on the cusp of the calendar change. That hasn’t stopped three of those albums featuring on my year-end “best of” lists in the past. Not this time though. I picked up Beyond The Borders far too late to give it sufficient digestion time so it missed the cut. I may (or may not) give it a full review in the coming weeks. I’m a big fan of his stuff and I’ve listened to Beyond The Borders a fair bit already in 2021.

The Heaven and Earth Association album 4849:1 was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of 2020. In a year full of too many unpleasant surprises. I wrote a little bit about it here.

There were only a handful more album purchases, none of them especially memorable, and all reviewed on the blog; Moby’s All Visible Objects, Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush, and Pet Shop Boys’ Hotspot.

But wait … we’re not out of the 2020 woods quite just yet. I’ve got a bunch of compilations and reissues, plus a bumper set of EPs, that I haven’t ticked off yet.

Album Review: Darren Watson - Getting Sober For The End Of The World (2020)

I’m not sure I want to be sober for the end of the world. I’m not even sure I want to be sober. But that’s one hell of an album title, and given everything else that’s been going on around us in 2020, you might be surprised to learn that Wellington bluesman Darren Watson had locked in that title for his latest album long before we were lumbered with any of this pre-apocalyptic global Covid-19 saga. 

It’s probably fair to say this album has been one of the more difficult releases of Watson’s long career. It’s been a bit of a process. From the initial Pledge Me rallying cry in November 2019, which heralded an “early to mid-2020” release date for Getting Sober For The End Of The World, through a prolonged lockdown period as tracks were recorded and mastered, right up until this week’s release date, Watson has been hard at work, piecing it all together without any real certainty of outcome or timing. And yet, somehow, despite all of those very real challenges, it arrived perfectly formed, fastidiously crafted, and bearing all of Watson’s trademark attention to detail. And, let’s face it, you’d need to be sober to make any of that happen, surely. Fair play.

I’ve already seen a few early reviews from learned scribes suggesting that Getting Sober is Watson’s best work yet. With just a few listens under my belt before writing this, I’m less keen to go that far … for now. After all, the bar was set awfully high after 2018’s Too Many Millionaires. 

What I will say is that this album adopts a very similar approach to Millionaires, which was a far more stripped back variation on blues and soul than a lot of his earlier work. What worked there, works well again. Watson’s ever-maturing voice and gat-work again take centre stage, but a few of the same players are back to help out, most notably - without really wanting to single anyone out - Terry Casey, who adds an harmonica masterclass to several (of the nine) tracks. 

Album centrepiece ‘Ernie Abbott’ is a stand-out. One of Watson’s best ever tracks. More than just a story about an unsolved murder, it’s a heartfelt, if forlorn, plea for justice. A sobering reminder of one of this country’s worst and more gutless acts of domestic terrorism. A fitting tribute to the every-day working class ordinary bloke who goes about his daily business barely noticed. There but for the grace of God etc … 

Watson’s penchant for including local covers continues – this time we get ‘Love That I Had’, penned by fellow Wellington musician Matt Hay. There’s also Robert Johnson’s ‘Preachin’ Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)’, which acts as an ideal album closer. My own favourite track so far, just for the little bit of grime added to the vocal mix, is ‘Broken’, which simply oozes authenticity and stylish execution. 

I’m a little gutted I’m going to miss Watson’s album promo gig at San Fran this week. Wrong day, wrong part of the world for me. I was all set for another Paekakariki date with Watson before the most recent round of Covid-19 restrictions somewhat prematurely put paid to that idea. Another night then, but in the meantime, I can raise a sneaky glass to Getting Sober For The End Of The World. 

You can pick up a copy of the album here.

Albums of 2018

It’s that time again. Time to revisit some of the albums that made the biggest impression on everythingsgonegreen across 2018. The obligatory year-end “best of”, or in the case of this blog, those albums that got the most ear-time on my pod throughout the year. There’ll have been better albums released in 2018 than the ones listed below, for sure, no doubt, but if they didn’t make their way into my collection then they won’t have made the cut here. These are simply the “new” albums I own copies of and listened to the most, no more, no less: 

10. Cat Power - Wanderer 

I’ve endured an on-again off-again relationship with Chan Marshall’s music over the years, so I couldn’t really call myself anything other than a fair weather fan. But I thought Wanderer was a welcome return to form for an artist who hasn’t had her problems to seek over the past decade or so. It was certainly one of the more unexpected additions to my collection, and an album that kept growing in stature with each and every listen. Wanderer felt like a very deliberate return to the basics which served Marshall so well when she first emerged a couple of decades ago: strong songwriting, subtle hooks, simple structure and arrangements ... all geared to place emphasis firmly back on that sultry, seductive vocal. It was a very consistent set, with no real stand-out tracks, apart from the Lana Del Rey collaboration on ‘Woman’, which might just be something close to a career highpoint. A mature piece of work that possibly flew under the radar of all but her most committed fans. It didn’t get a full review on the blog but the above should suffice.

9. Darren Watson - Too Many Millionaires 

I can’t pretend to be all that knowledgeable about the blues, but I know enough to appreciate the fact that Wellington’s own Darren Watson is a serious talent. Too Many Millionaires is merely the latest in a long line of releases to prove that point. My review can be found here. 

8. Dub Syndicate - Displaced Masters 

I try to grab at least one release from the On-U Sound catalogue every year. I’m a man of routine and habit, and some 30-year-old habits can be hard to shake. Plus, I know what I like, and I like what I know. This one is a late 2017 release, of sorts, but as I was quite late getting to it, I’ll include it here regardless. Great for On-U devotees, but it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. My review can be found here. 

7. The Breeders - All Nerve 

I wasn’t too impressed with All Nerve after my first couple of listens. In fact, I recall messaging a friend much earlier this year to say “the new Breeders is just like the old Breeders, but not in a good way” ... as though I was expecting some kind of revelatory experience. Labouring with the belief that somehow the band would show signs of progression, or somehow offer something different from the tried and trusted MO used on EVERY other Breeders album. But with false expectation being the mother of all disappointment, I then decided to just relax and enjoy the album for what it was. And it turned out to be another genuine grower. Familiarity became anything but contempt, just feelings of warmth, comfort, and a much fuller appreciation of a damned fine rock n roll album. An uncomplicated rock n roll album. A stop-start fast-slow hybrid of fuzz, surf, and power pop guitar. Everything I could realistically expect from the return of the band’s Last Splash-era peak line-up. So yes, not a lot different from the old Breeders, but still a bloody good album. Another one that didn’t get a full review on the blog.

6. Marlon Williams - Make Way For Love 

It wasn’t so much a breakthrough year for Marlon Williams because he’d already achieved that much, but he did win best solo artist and album of the year at the NZ Music Awards, plus a highly coveted Silver Scroll. My review for Make Way For Love is here. 

5. The Cure - Torn Down 

Another year drifts by without any new music from the still active and touring Robert Smith. But there was this, Torn Down, a Record Store Day special. A fresh set of Smith remixes of old material, and a belated sister release for 1990’s Mixed Up. That will have to do. Truth be told, I loved it, and my review is here. A review, incidentally, that was the blog’s most read/hit “new” post of 2018. 

4. Thievery Corporation - Treasures From The Temple 

From all accounts - not least the word from the duo itself - Treasures From The Temple is supposed to be a “companion” release to last year’s largely overlooked Thievery Corporation album, Temple of I and I. Mostly because it’s a collection of remixes and leftover work from the same recording sessions. But it’s also a whole lot more than that rather underwhelming description would suggest. It’s an immaculately produced, eclectic mix of reggae, dub, hip hop, synthpop, and electronica that defies any real definitive genre categorisation. You could argue that the music of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton (plus assorted associates) hasn’t really evolved much since the release of the duo’s 1996 downtempo classic (debut) Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi, yet the formula applied back then still works today. The best of the plethora of guest vocalists who feature include rapper Mr Lif, reggae dude Notch, and the divine Racquel Jones. One small reservation: the glossy production and sheen on a couple of roots reggae tracks somewhat detracts from the authenticity of those vibes. It may have worked better if they’d left some grit or dirt in there. No full review on the blog for this one either.

3. Moby - Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurt 

This one is a bit deep and cynical in places and I’m not really sure why I’ve grown to love it as much as I have. Is it because of those traits, or in spite of them? Whatever, if it wasn’t exactly a comeback album for Moby (who remains prolific), it certainly heralded the return of his music to my own cynical and frequently insular world. Reviewed here. 

2. The Beths - Future Me Hates Me 

2018 could hardly have gone better for The Beths; extensive touring, a well received debut album, and massive amounts of barely anticipated global exposure. My review of the superb Future Me Hates Me is here. 

1. Antipole - Perspectives 

Perspectives tapped into my often suppressed love of all things dark and dramatic. It’s an album of remixes, drawing its source material from Antipole’s late 2017 release, Northern Flux (reviewed here). I didn’t manage to give Perspectives a review on the blog because it arrived in early November and I’ve spent the past six weeks or so fully absorbing it. Fully immersing myself in it. I think my familiarity with Northern Flux - which is effectively a stripped back version - only enhanced my enjoyment of Perspectives, with the remix album adding depth and texture to a set of tunes I had already fallen in love with. There’s a fair amount of additional percussion and synth thrown into the mix on a lot of these tracks, layers of the stuff even. And more generally, there’s an extra edge to the production not always evident on the original album. Although Northern Flux comes with its own standalone charms, of course. Perspectives includes remix work from the likes of Ash Code, Delphine Coma, Kill Shelter, Warsaw Pact, and Reconverb, to name just a few. I knew nothing of Antipole at the start of 2018, but discovering the band, and then digging further into the Unknown Pleasures label - and associated acts - opened up a whole new world. And yes, I realise it’s probably a little unusual to have a remix release as my album of the year, but I make up my own rules as I go along here in the padded cell that doubles as the everythingsgonegreen office. 

Close but no funny cigar: 

Through the first half of the year Rhye’s Blood got a fair old workout, but ultimately the chilled out take on soft-core disco was perhaps a little too lightweight to stay the distance. 

Suede’s The Blue Hour was yet another solid effort from one of my favourite bands of the past 25 years. Suede rarely falter, and this album was yet another quality addition to the band’s extensive discography. 

First Aid Kit’s Ruins held some appeal, before I decided it was all a little too similar to Stay Gold, the band’s last full-length release from 2014. I remain a big fan of the Söderberg sisters and their sweet border-defying harmonies. 

Local band Armchair Insomniacs caught me by surprise with their eclectic self-titled debut, which was highly polished and crammed full of great hooks. Where the hell have they been hiding? (Reviewed here) 

Also flying a little under the radar - for all but committed club fiends - was the globetrotting, sometime Auckland-based DJ Frank Booker, who raided his own archives to digitally release two disco-drenched mini-albums, Sleazy Beats and the Untracked Collection. Both on Bandcamp, both superb. Sleazy Beats qualifies as my short album or EP of the year.

There were plenty of reissues, retrospectives, and deluxe releases to catch my eye (and ear) across 2018, my own favourite addition being a toss up between Yazoo’s box set Four Pieces (the duo’s two albums plus demos and remixes), and Bronski Beat’s Age of Consent deluxe. The Yazoo release probably edges it on account of the volume and variety it offered. 

Compilation of the year - the inspired and long overdue late 2017 collection of New Zealand disco-era classics and not-so-classics, Heed The Call, reviewed here. 

Gig of the year? I didn’t get along to as many gigs as usual this year, but with a focus on quality over quantity I can’t really say I missed anything - or anyone - I really wanted to see. For my money, for the night, the vibe, and the company, it’s hard to go past Pitch Black’s sonic dub-driven extravaganza at San Fran in Wellington in mid-March. Reviewed here. 

In terms of cinema-going experiences, unlike last year, I can’t really hand-on-heart say there were any music-related films that held much appeal for me in 2018. And I include Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born in that assessment. But of the films I did see and enjoy, Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri was probably the pick of an otherwise quite limited bunch. And although it was a late 2017 release, and I didn’t catch it in a theatre, I thought Paul McGuigan’s Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool had easily the best soundtrack of all the films I viewed during the year. 

Right. That’s that, annual stocktake completed. Happy festive things and thanks for reading in 2018 …

Album Review: Darren Watson - Too Many Millionaires (2018)

A few months back, Wellington bluesman Darren Watson made an honest and heartfelt social media confession about how mentally and physically exhausted he felt in the wake of his most recent New Zealand tour. 2018 has been a big year for Watson. A new album, Too Many Millionaires, recorded and duly self-released, followed by the obligatory promotional treadmill, capped off by a series of gigs hot-footing it around the country. To paraphrase Watson, there wasn’t much left in the tank. Which is perfectly understandable. It’s the musician’s equivalent of a sportsman fronting a post-match interview with the requisite “I left everything out there on the pitch” … 

As is so often the way for blues artists of a certain vintage, Watson just keeps getting better with age. Even if Watson himself is unlikely to buy into that type of lazy cliche or stereotype. After all, he’s been breaking through barriers for the 30-plus years he’s been doing this stuff. As a passionate student of the genre, living at the bottom of the world, plying his trade thousands of miles beyond the heart of the Mississippi delta, forging a career playing a brand of music that many would claim to be the sole preserve of black America. 

Which of course it isn’t. Watson proves that. As have others. But it can sometimes feel that way. Particularly for anyone craving any amount of authenticity beyond the barely palatable blues-rock crossover fare which frequented mainstream radio in the Seventies and Eighties. 

In terms of the album itself, critics far more knowledgeable than myself - especially when it comes to blues music - have been swift to label Too Many Millionaires as Watson’s best work yet. And from all accounts it rates as his most commercially successful album to date. 

It’s certainly one of the more stripped back and less complicated albums he’s ever released. Something that not only serves to highlight the quality of the lyrics on offer, it also brings the work of Watson’s band into sharp focus. In particular, the tight rhythm section, and Terry Casey’s artistry on the harmonica. 

As with past work, Watson is not shy about mining New Zealand’s rich - yet mostly unheralded - blues heritage, breathing fresh life back into a Bill Lake number on the title track, and paying tribute to local legend Rick Bryant on ‘That Guy Could Sing!’

On ‘National Guy’, Watson unrepentantly explores similar themes to one that got him into some hot water with the electoral commission a few years back … 

“If you wanna share some of mine, well, get to the back of the line” … 

Opener, ‘Hallelujah (Rich Man’s War)’, and ‘Un-Love Me’, appeal as the best of the rest, and but you’ll not find a dud track anywhere on Too Many Millionaires. 

The only reservation for me, is that after the closing strut of ‘Past Tense’, I’m still left wanting more, and at just eight tracks, running its full course at a few ticks over 32 minutes, the album is perhaps a little too short. 

Planet Key Part 964 ...

I just wanted to post an update on the long running ‘Planet Key’ saga. Regular readers of the blog through 2014 and 2015 will be aware of how it all unfolded, but finally we have what should ultimately amount to satisfactory closure on the matter, with this week’s release of the Court of Appeal decision.

I include below last Thursday’s press release from songwriter Darren Watson and video designer Jeremy Jones in the wake of the Court of Appeal judgment (made in their favour), but firstly, here’s a quick refresher on roughly what happened … it went something like this:

The Electoral Commission banned Watson’s ‘Planet Key’ single in the lead-up to, and following on from, the 2014 General Election, effectively labelling it political advertising. Rather than the straightforward no-holds-barred slice of political comment it quite clearly was. Watson and Jones then took the matter to the High Court, with Justice Clifford eventually ruling in their favour, and more crucially, in favour of the principle of freedom of artistic expression. The Electoral Commission – in its infinite flawed wisdom – then decided to appeal the High Court ruling, which took it into the realm of (the surreal) the Court of Appeal, and this week’s final judgment, some two years after the controversy began.

Here’s the press release in full:

COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS PLANET KEY RULING

The Court of Appeal has found that the release of the satirical "Planet Key" song and music video made by musician Darren Watson and video designer Jeremy Jones before the 2014 general election did not breach the Electoral Act or the Broadcasting Act, contrary to the view of the Electoral Commission. The Commission had advised Watson and Jones to remove their works from the internet and had told broadcasters that they could not play "Planet Key" on air. Non-compliance could result in a referral of the matter to Police.

Watson and Jones are happy with the result, which they hope will bring an end to their lengthy struggle with the Commission, saying that they welcome the Court's view that "the Commission's interpretation of the legislation limits the right to free expression more than is necessary to achieve the legislative purpose and more than can be justified in a free and democratic society."

There is also a sense of frustration at this point, as while the judgment vindicates the men's actions in 2014, it cannot reverse the fact that the Commission's actions prevented their works from being broadcast at the time they were most relevant. Ultimately though, they are hopeful that the decision might mean that other artists seeking to express their political views will receive more liberal treatment that they did, or even that the outcome might compel much-needed reform of the electoral law.

Gig Review: Darren Watson & Matt Langley - The Shoot Your Television Tour: St Peters Hall, Paekakariki, 26 June 2015

A tiny community hall in a small coastal village might seem like an unlikely venue for Darren Watson and Matt Langley to kickstart their nationwide Shoot Your Television tour. But last Friday night at Paekakariki's St Peters Hall it seemed like the most natural choice in the world. Indeed, even with the licensing restrictions which render the community trust-managed venue a BYO, everything was as near to perfect as these things can get on a chilly mid-winter evening.

I arrived shortly after the scheduled 8pm start time and was shocked to see the hall already close to full and buzzing to the vibe being created by "special guest" Bill Lake. A quick scout around the hall revealed a virtual who's who of local muso talent in the audience itself and I knew immediately we were in for a treat. There was no way Watson & co would be allowed to get away with anything less than the real deal with such a picky bunch of talented TV-forsaking-onlookers.

For the uninitiated, Bill Lake is something of a legend in local blues circles, a man Watson himself cites as a major influence, and an ideal curtain-raiser. It's around 20 years since I last saw Lake perform so it was wonderful to see him still doing the live thing as passionately as ever. His set - acoustic guitar, voice, and much self-deprecating humour - was a mix of the old and new stuff, one highlight being the old Windy City Strugglers' tune 'Can't Get Back'. Typically, Lake paid tribute to contemporaries like Arthur Baysting, Midge Marsden, and Rick Bryant - trailblazers all, and men cut from exactly the same cloth. His near flawless performance set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Next up we had folkie and self-confessed "Southern Troubadour" Matt Langley. Again it was very much the man/acoustic guitar template for the most part - save for Langley's "Bob Dylan" moments when harmonica became his default weapon of choice. I'll be honest, to my shame, I didn't know a lot about Langley's music, but that made no odds at all, given that many of the songs in his set were introduced as being "a new one".

Langley has a great voice; gentle, persuasive, fragile at times, silky smooth at others; one perfectly suited to the rather intimate surrounds on the night. So good, you could almost picture him as a crooner in another light ... or lifetime. There's no questioning his musical chops either, or the fact that he's clearly an immensely talented wordsmith, but as much as I became engrossed in his performance for long periods, I also found parts of it a bit too subdued. And there's not a lot of joy to be found in some of those lyrics.

But that's a minor quibble, specific to my own taste, and Langley certainly added plenty to the evening - during his own set and on the multiple occasions he joined Watson on stage during the final segment of the night. Like Lake, Langley also possesses a dry and offbeat sense of humour.

I have to confess by the time Watson came on in his "solo" guise I was feeling somewhat worse for wear after sharing perhaps a little too much of the BYO merlot (among other things) being consumed by the perpetually swaying Janis Joplin-wannabe sitting/standing next to me for much of the night. An otherwise complete stranger who somehow morphed into an impromptu gig-going companion ... proving that one of the upsides of community hall gigs is the overwhelming sense of community! (the sting in this particular tale/tail was her revelation that her day job involved drug and alcohol counselling) ...

The subsequent blur means it's a struggle to recall Watson's set-list in any great detail. He immediately stopped the room with his set opener, the title track from his St Hilda's Faithless Boy album. That much was very memorable. There were other songs from the St Hilda’s album, a damn fine version of ‘Crossroads’ (naturally enough), and several from his most recent outing, Introducing Darren Watson, including ‘Some Men’ and a quite lovely ‘Thought I’d Seen It All’. For the second half of his set, Watson was joined on stage (alongside Langley’s appearances) by partner and drummer extraordinaire Delia Shanly, whose touch and timing was a nice addition and gave those electric numbers a slightly fuller sound.   

Much to the crowd’s delight, we also got Watson’s two most recent singles, ‘Planet Key’, and ‘I Got Your Office Right Here’, which, unless I missed something important like belated shouts for an encore, closed the show.

I did leave the venue in something of a hurry as it turns out said Janis Joplin-wannabe lives a virtual stones’ throw from my own humble abode and she came fully equipped with her very own sober driver! … having clearly been adopted, the lift home provided the perfect end to an almost perfect Friday night.

The Shoot Your Television tour continues well into July … check the pic above for details of dates and venues. Whatever else you do, don’t miss it.

Or better still, go here to Watson's website and follow the appropriate links.

Planet Key Part 462

Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the water … there’s this, the Electoral Commission deciding to waste more time and more money appealing last month’s High Court ruling on Planet Key (see here).

 

MEDIA RELEASE Monday 4 May, 2015

'PLANET KEY' ARTISTS PROTEST APPEAL

Wellington musician Darren Watson has re-released his controversial 'Planet Key' single on iTunes and at amplifier.co.nz. The songwriter made this decision after hearing that the Electoral Commission intends to appeal the recent landmark High Court ruling in favour of Watson and video maker Jeremy Jones.

The Commission has said the “appeal is limited to questions of law” and it was “not seeking to challenge the findings in the [Planet Key] decision as they applied to the particular facts in that case.” However, Watson and Jones say that if any part of the ruling is overturned the effect on their work, and potentially for all other artists in New Zealand, will be to essentially silence political comment.

All royalties from Planet Key sales from May 4th will go to the Red Cross' Nepal earthquake appeal fund.

“The more folks buy it the more we can hopefully send a message that freedom of expression always prevails when it comes to an individual's comments, songs, writing, and actually all kinds of art” says Watson, “it's ridiculous that we STILL have to fight for this!”

The single is available here.

The Electoral Commission says there is an inconsistency between the ruling of Justice Mander in the Electoral Commission vs Greenpeace last year and Justice Clifford's decision in the Planet Key case.

Jeremy Jones says the cases are completely different. “I reckon it's common sense that the Greenpeace ruling re: 'advertisements' can still apply to political groups and the like … we're just a person who made a song, and a person who made a music video. We're not a political 'third party'.”

Jones has made the music video available to watch again from his Vimeo page, http://vimeo.com/102441715 but he hopes people will also buy the single to support both earthquake recovery and the principle of artistic freedom in New Zealand.

All paid downloads count toward the song's chart position. When Watson pulled Planet Key from sale in August to avoid potential prosecution it had reached #5 in the Official NZ Top 20 in a little over two weeks with almost no commercial airplay.

Release Ends

And so it turns out that there’s always some things in life destined to end badly (love being one certainty, and arguing with blinkered bureaucrats often being another). When one side becomes so entrenched in its position you just know it’s going to drag on until they’ve squeezed the life out of it. When one side refuses to let go and becomes blind to the overwhelming weight of facts in the matter. Even when every man and every last rabid canine in the world can see the bloody obvious …

Well done Watson and Jones. Not only can they see the big picture and what’s really at stake here in terms of artistic freedom, they’re happily donating sales proceeds to the Red Cross Nepal appeal at a time when further publicity will surely only enhance sales of a single they’ve already made a not insignificant loss on. Full respect.

I Got Your Office Right Here ...

Fresh from winning his legal argument against the Electoral Commission’s attempt to ban the broadcast of ‘Planet Key’, Darren Watson is back with a brand new single.

‘I Got Your Office Right Here’ was released yesterday, and while the new tune’s satirical bent might not be as immediately obvious this time out, the unrepentant Wellington bluesman sticks to the same tried and trusted political themes. And why wouldn’t he?

In addition to providing the requisite vehicle for Watson’s balls-out music, the latest up-to-the-minute and on point video clip (below) takes a wry look at the dodgy DIY skills, the bizarre hair-pulling fetish, and the creepy handshake awkwardness of a certain smarmy Prime Minister. Er, allegedly.

Check the clip, have a listen, and grab a copy of ‘I Got Your Office Right Here’ from Watson’s bandcamp page (here).

(Oh, and somehow, for reasons perhaps best kept to Watson himself, at the end of the clip there’s a nice GCSB-baiting credit offered to a certain blogger residing not a million miles from the page you’re currently on … infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me).

 

 

 

 

The Triumphant Return of Planet Key

It’s only taken eight months but finally we have a ruling on Planet Key. I’ve written a little bit on the background to that here and here. Out yesterday, the judgment strikes a firm blow for all who believe in freedom of artistic expression ... this from the press release:

The High Court has today delivered its judgment on the challenge brought by the makers of the satirical song and video “Planet Key” against the Electoral Commission’s opinion that the song and video were "election advertisements" under the Electoral Act and "election programmes" under the Broadcasting Act.

In a 76-page judgment, Justice Denis Clifford ruled comprehensively in favour of Watson and Jones. Significantly, he held that the Electoral Commission’s interpretation of the legislation “would impose limits on the right of freedom of expression of the plaintiffs and New Zealand citizens more generally in a manner which… cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

Darren Watson and Jeremy Jones say they are delighted with the ruling, saying that it vindicates completely their sense of grievance about Commission’s advice that Planet Key could not be lawfully broadcast, sold through i-Tunes, or posted on the internet.

Watson and Jones’ lawyers say that the case upholds freedom of speech and protects the rights of artists to express their personal political views.

This is great stuff, and well done to Watson and Jones for what can only be described as an overwhelming vindication of their position … and well done to all of the legal beagles involved in getting the right outcome.

So, go and grab a celebratory name-your-price download of ‘Planet Key’ from Darren Watson’s Bandcamp page here.

Album Review: Darren Watson - Introducing Darren Watson (2014)

I mentioned in an earlier post how I’d been fortunate enough to sit down to chat with local bluesman Darren Watson. That conversation formed the basis of a feature piece for the December/January issue of NZ Musician magazine – click here for the online version, Bugged by the Blues.

Watson was also kind enough to present me with a CD copy of his latest album, Introducing Darren Watson. I found the album title something of an oddity given that Watson has already released four prior solo albums, plus another couple of even earlier albums under the guise of former band Chicago Smoke Shop. But I suppose, given the massive increase in national profile Watson enjoyed during 2014, the “introducing” part was perhaps rather fitting for some.

For those of us living in Wellington though, Watson needs no introduction, in fact he might just about be the hardest working “live” artist of the past couple of decades in terms of gigging in and around the capital – and that’s no exaggeration.

Actually, scrap the word “capital” and replace it with the words “lower North Island”, from support slots with major international acts to gigs in tiny bars/cafes/halls in places like Tokomaru and Paekakariki. For Watson, it’s clearly all about spreading the gospel.

As you’d expect, Introducing Darren Watson immediately comes across as the work of a seasoned pro.  The work of someone who has finely honed his craft over many years of playing live. Andrew Downes and Mike Gibson get the production and mastering spot on without attempting to polish things up too much – it is primarily a blues album after all, keeping things relatively rough around the edges is part of its charm.

If the album threw up the odd surprise or two (for me), they were merely reminders of just how versatile Watson is. For all that I say it is “primarily” a blues album, it isn’t “just” a blues album … there’s nods to old school soul, there’s slabs of funk, and there’s parts that skirt around the outer regions of a number of different genres. It rocks, rolls, and grooves in equal portions.

The key to a lot of that of course is Watson’s superb guitar playing, but it’s also obvious that his vocal has only improved with age – there’s something compelling about a more lived-in voice … the subtle nuances, the changes in tone and emphasis, the sense that Watson has actually lived some of the life experiences he’s singing about is a critical element to the authenticity of this work.

There’s eight Watson compositions – I’m an instant convert on opening stomper ‘Some Men’, and things only get better from there – plus two gems penned by fellow Wellingtonian Bill Lake, the well-worn ‘I Wanna Be With You’, and the hugely seductive ‘Thought I’d Seen It All’.

Overall, Introducing Darren Watson is a more than worthy addition to an already outstanding catalogue of work from New Zealand’s premier bluesman – you can pick up a copy from Watson’s Bandcamp page here.

Watson’s website is here.

The Prophet Motive ... and other stuff

The Prophet Motive - photo: Storm Ryan

Here’s my most recent piece published in NZ Musician (see link below). Due to space constraints the magazine edited it quite heavily from the original version I submitted, but that’s the way it goes, and it’s one of the reasons I like blogging here – there’s nobody to rein me in, which may or may not be a good thing!

In terms of writing magazine features – or at least sitting down to chat with artists and musicians – I’m a genuine novice and have no formal training, just a passion for music and words. I’m learning all the time, and one of the things I learned from chatting with the guys from The Prophet Motive is that sometimes it’s best just to shut up and let the artist(s)/subject speak. I recorded our conversation on my iPhone and when I played it back I was quite surprised with how much I rambled on myself, when actually, I needed to try and shape a feature from their words, not mine. I also needed to consider that some of it would be edited out, so ultimately I was a little disappointed with this particular piece. Although I didn’t let the guys down with what was eventually published, I felt it could have been so much better if only I’d let them do more of the talking. Because I know they had much more to say …

More recently I interviewed local blues and soul legend Darren Watson for the next issue of the magazine, and it was like chalk and cheese. Watson is so experienced in all matters media, he just took control, even in a crowded café environment where a lot of other peripheral distractions could quite easily have side-tracked us from the task at hand – right down to sorting out my coffee order for me! It probably helped that our paths had crossed a few times before, and that we had mutual friends from way back, but the key thing was I wound up with a lot more quotes than I needed. The end result was an article that was much easier to write, presumably easier to read, and the majority of words in the piece came directly from him. Which is how it should be.

Anyway, that’s for another post sometime in the future … in the meantime click below to learn a little bit about The Prophet Motive, a couple of very cool cats from Rotorua ...

Click here for "Density In Motion" as published in the October/November 2014 issue of NZ Musician

Calling Planet Earth ... Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

I’m not sure what piece of critical information I’m missing regards this ongoing Darren Watson/Planet Key farce, but I really don’t get it. Since when has artistic freedom and the basic human right to express an opinion been so heavily monitored and policed?

As I understand it, not only is mainstream media (TV, radio) broadcast of the song banned, but a request has been made for it to be removed from Vimeo and YouTube altogether. Next step, all sales will be banned (see press release below).

And apparently the “prohibition on broadcasting the song applies as a permanent ban, and not just at election time” … um, what? … the Electoral Commission now has an extended scope and gets to determine what is censored beyond the period leading up to a general election?! Really?

Let’s be clear, there is nothing obscene or offensive in either the lyrics of the song or the video clip, just two men (Watson and video producer Jeremy Jones) expressing a valid opinion on political matters. It is surely as simple as that?

Powertool Records Election EP

Having downloaded the video myself, and having published it on everythingsgonegreen a week ago (in an attempt to offer support to Watson’s position and to raise awareness of Electoral Commission folly), am I now to expect some contact from the Electoral Commission myself for having the audacity to publish a clip so mildly critical of our smarmy Prime Minister?

Is this where things are headed under the current government? And isn’t this what election campaigns are all about – people expressing opinions in the public domain?

Certainly local indie Powertool Records seem to think it’s okay to release an album of politically-motivated songs – by a variety of artists – in the lead up to the election (click here for Bandcamp link).

So what is the difference?

Look, I appreciate I’m only a layman when it comes to these matters, but I really can’t see what the problem is – specifically with regard to ‘Planet Key’ …

… if you can offer any informed insight as to what it is I’m failing to grasp, then I’d appreciate you letting me know in the comments section. Comments along the lines of “that big bad blues musician said naughty things about our humble leader” will not be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, here’s the full press release from a few days ago:

Electoral Commission Censors Musician and Undermines Freedom of Speech

The Electoral Commission has told Darren Watson, a musician, to stop selling or promoting his satirical song "Planet Key" or he may face prosecution.

The song and music video satirises John Key and members of the National Government in a humorous way. The music video has had more than 80,000 hits on video websites, including Vimeo and YouTube http://vimeo.com/102441715

"This is simply a satirical song. I wrote it at home and it's the musical expression of my own personal views", says Mr Watson. Jeremy Jones of Propeller Motion, the maker of the video, says he was motivated to make the amusing Monty Python-style animated clip after hearing the song and seeing an opportunity to work on a creative project with Mr Watson. Neither of the men received any payment for producing the work, but have sold the song through i-Tunes to recoup some of their costs.

However, the Electoral Commission has not seen the funny side and Mr Watson has received a letter saying that the Commission considers the song and associated video are "election advertisements" under the Electoral Act and "election programmes" under the Broadcasting Act.

The Electoral Commission is also threatening that the sale of the song through i-Tunes without a promoter statement is "an apparent breach of section 204F of the Electoral Act", which is an illegal practice punishable by a fine of up to $10,000.

"I object to the suggestion that I am some sort of political promoter. I am a musician and I feel very strongly about this kind of censorship", says Mr Watson. "I believe in artistic freedom."

The Commission has told TV and radio stations they should not broadcast the song outside of news programmes. The prohibition on broadcasting the song applies as a permanent ban, and not just at election time.

 Lawyer for Mr Watson and Mr Jones, Wendy Aldred, says she has asked the Electoral Commission to reconsider its opinion, saying the Commission's letter is incorrect in its approach to the law, fails to take into account Mr Watson's right to freedom of expression under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and is heavy-handed.

If the Electoral Commission does not revise its opinion the matter is likely to go to Court.

Planet Key

It seems ridiculous that the Electoral Commission has banned broadcast of Darren Watson’s blues/satire crossover track ‘Planet Key’. Rock music, and blues-derived music especially, has long been a vehicle for making political statements, but apparently that’s not allowed during a period leading up to a general election.

But let’s be honest, so far as criticism of Prime Minister John Key is concerned, Watson’s track is a fairly mild mannered affair, and is this really an appropriate level of censorship for a democratic country in 2014?

Personally, I think it stinks (on one level) and it does seem very odd that newly released biographies of Key, and that of political nemesis Winston Peters, can boldly sit (and be heavily promoted) on the shelves of bookshops throughout the land. Surely these books amount to little more than extended promotional blurbs? What is the real difference between extended statements of that ilk, and a short burst of humour from an otherwise fairly low profile local (Wellington-based) blues musician?

On the other hand, such madness often leads to curiosity among the masses, and Watson must be quietly chuffed that his track has caused such a stir. News coverage on national television and plenty of ongoing radio publicity (if not actual radio play) has seen ‘Planet Key’ racing up the iTunes chart, and there’s real irony in the Electoral Commission inadvertently giving the track a much higher profile than it might otherwise have received.

Thinking back to the 2011 general election, I can recall tracks from the likes of The Eversons and Home Brew making a small (actually minimal) impact on the campaign trail, and of course there was my own personal favourite from fellow Wellingtonians Gold Medal Famous, who released multiple versions of ‘John Key Is A Dick’ to very little fanfare or fuss.

In fact, 2014 has seen a Gold Medal Famous sequel to that release called ‘John Key Is STILL A Dick’ … pick up a free and uncensored version of that track at the GMF bandcamp page here.

Meanwhile, here’s the vastly underrated Darren Watson with ‘Planet Key’ …