just one more summer before i go

alright everyone, it's been fun, but it's time i went. this has been written here before in some ways but yeah - i'm off to sydney to live. however, i'll be back for a couple of days in march (the 23rd, i think) before a three week jaunt in italy. unsure of what i'm doing after that, but hopefully something exciting.

if there's anyone who wants to keep in touch with me via email (that i don't already have their email) then i'd love to receive yr emails: richardmacf@gmail.com is the address. i've posted about a new site a few weeks ago, market fresh, but keep checking that out. i'll be getting involved with radio and music writing over in the big sydney as well and posting my adventures up there. there should be lots of gig reviews, album reviews, hopefully a few interviews (actually, there will be a deerhoof interview up there real soon). thanks tim and shea for being such a pleasure to do this fine radio show with. if i get to do any radio in australia then i'll let you all know of online listening links and all that. until next time...

k thx bye!

love richard xxoo

this is the end,it hurts to set you free, the end

richard is gone like dorothy to the land of oz. letus raise a glittery red high heel in his honour

1. link wray - ace of spades
2. messer chups - mobile coffin
3. akron/ family - dylan part 2 (angels of light & akron family)
4. my morning jacket - magheeta (it still moves)
5. animal collective - did you see the words (feels)
6. arcade fire - neighbourhood #3 (power out) (funeral)
7. sleater kinney -modern girl (the woods)
8. bright eys - old soul song (live) (motion sickness)
9. new pornographers - the bleeding heart show (twin cinema)
10. castanets - as you do (cathedral)
11. clap your hands say yeah - the skin of my yellow country teeth
12. queens of the stone age - little sister (lullabies to paralyse)
13. blood on the wall - mary susan (awesomer)
14. mogwai - glasgow mega snake (mr beast) SUPER ADVANCE FROM THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY WORLD OF DELIGHTS EARS BLEEDING NOSE BLEEDING BRAIN MELTING HOW DO YOU SAY GENIUS IN SCOTTISH?
15. the ponys - i am with you (celebration castle)
16. ween - don't get 2 close (2 my fantasy) (pure guava)
17. meat puppets - backwater (too high to die)
18. suburban kids with biblical names- little boys in the ghetto (#3)
19. dick dale and his del-tones - nightrider (best of)
20. the trashmen - miserlou (best of)
21. elvis costello - this year's girl (this year's model)
22. devendra banhart - long haired child (cripple crow)
23. teenage fanclub - goingplaces (grand prix)
24. drones - baby2 (wait long by the river...)
25. ryan adams - 29 (29)
26. you am i - guys, girls guitars (#4 record)

thank you and good night

shea and timmy dodgers

christmas eve fun

okay folks. here's a hot tip: the wunderbar, this saturday (or christmas eve) is going to host two really talented solo artists/singer/songwriters from auckland. and i'm spinning some records, too.

dudley benson is a solo artist with some experimental leanings and an ear for sweet pop sensibilities. he's joined by lawrence arabia (james milne, ex-brunettes and current member of the reduction agents), who is supporting bonnie "prince" billy on some of his new zealand 2006 tour. they're both real good...and super indie (of course).

i'll be playing lots of beautiful music from artists like these:

stars, the new pornographers, devendra banhart, the clientele, joanna newsom, mazarin, saturday looks good to me, belle & sebastian, the field mice, casiotone for the painfully alone, animal collective, architecture in helsinki, kate bush, the cure, jens lekman, pavement, the robot ate me, the olivia tremor control, the presets, the radio dept. and so fourth. lots of hot new shit, some of which you may recognise from guitar media.

it'll be a kickin' night, and what better way to spend christmas eve than at the wunderbar?

it's just not going to stop - I'm the man that loves you... PLAYLIST 20/12

hey all, christmas time no rich, here's the americana/ wierd rockabilly/ psychobilly/ surf special.

start out with

1. joe henry - richard pryor addresses a tearful nation {scar]
see www.popmatters.com for a sensational essay on mr pryor. rip.

2. steve earle - ashes to ashes [jerusalem]
3. tex perkins - lucid [sweet nothing]
4. bruce springsteen - Long Time Comin' [Devils And Dust]
5. wilco - ashes of american flags [yankee hotel foxtrot]
6. gillian welch - barroom girls [revival]
7. jolie holland - old fashioned morphine [escondida]

9. cold harbour -loser leaves town [s/t ep - see www.coldharbourband.com]
10. the gin club - drug flowers - see www.lovepolice.com.au
11. the drones - baby2 [wait long by the river and the bodies of your enemies will float past]
12. sparklehorse {feat pj harvey] - piano fire
13. mark lanegan and isobel campbell - ramblin' man [ballad of the broken seas]
14. lee heazlewood - cold hard times [cowboy in sweden]
15. bernard fanning - songbird [tea and sympathy]
16. neko case - tightly [blacklisted]
17. goblin mix - the winter song [goblin mix and the exploding budgies]
18. johnny cash - i see a darkness [american 3] - bonnie prince billy cover
19. beck & emmylou harris - sin city [return of the grievous angel tribute to gram parsons]
20. songs ohio - i've been riding with the ghost [magnolia electric co]
21. neil young - far from home [prairie wind]
22. rolling stones - sweet virginia [exile on main street]
23. iron & wine - women king [women king ep]
24. country mike - country christmas [country mike's greatest hits]
25. tim rogers & tu - stray dog bruise [spit polish]
26. gourds - gin & juice [cover]

merry christmas y'all and remember

NEXT WEEK IS RICHARD'S LAST SHOW SO EMAIL YR REQUEST/ NICE WORDS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION.

peace to all

timmy d and shea

everyone's a v.i.p. to someone

just a short note to direct you to a transcript of the go! team interview i did last week. it's very interesting - sam dook is a lovely guy. can't wait to see them at the big day out!

the interview is here, at a new blog i'm starting due to my relocation to sydney in 10 days (shit! that's so soon...). tim and i have big plans for a huge website that will surpass pitchfork media in pretension. more details on that later, though. more details, too, will be up here on wednesday, about a super exciting christmas eve bash!!!

It Started And Then It Just Kept Going ..... Top Ten Songs of 2005

as a follow up to our top ten albums of year, this show is all about our favourite songs. pretty ambitious, i guess - but rewarding. when you listen to (or saturate yrself) with as much music as we do (both in effort to find stuff for guitar media and our own, obsessive, selves) it's really something when one song out of the thousands actually sticks out won't quit til you've listened at least 50 times...

timothy dodgers' top ten solid gold hitz

10. sigur ros - glosoli [takk]
9. animal collective - grass [feels]
8. magnolia electric co.- the dark don't hide it [what comes after the blues]
7. sage francis and bonnie prince billy - sea lion [a healthy distrust]
6. oneida - did i die [the wedding]
5. ryan adams - 29 [29]
4. black mountain - don't run our hearts around [s/t]
3. the drones - shark fin blues [wait long by the river...]
2. tim rogers & the TU - i'd rather be krund [ghost songs/ dirty ron]
1. okervil river - for real [black sheep boy]

richard's countdown top of the pops megamix

10. why? - gemini (birthday song) [elephant eyelash]
9. tom vek - nothing but green lights [we have sound]
8. jens lekman - maple leaves [oh you're so silent jens]
7. the clientele - my own face inside the trees [strange geometry]
6. stars - ageless beauty (most serene republic remix) [ageless beauty single]
5. wolf parade - it's a curse [apologies to the queen mary]
4. the lucksmiths - sunlight in a jar [warmer corners]
3. serena-maneesh - un-deux [serena-maneesh]
2. architecture in helsinki - maybe you can owe me [in case we die]
1. the most serene public - relative's eyes [underwater cinematographer]

other favourite songs of the year that wouldn't fit in top tens/filling out the rest of the show:

21. the phoenix foundation - damn the river [pegasus]
22. the decemberists - the engine drive [picaresque]
23. sleater-kinney - modern girl [the woods]
24. clap your hands say yeah! - over and over again (lost and found) [clap your hands say yeah!]

//

shea the indie kid's top 10 songs of the year

10. stephen malkmus - freeze the saints [face the truth]
9. sambassadeur - new moon [sambassadeur]
8. wolf parade - grounds for divorce [apologies to the queen mary]
7. the boy least likely to - paper cuts [the best party ever]
6. bachelorette - love is a drug [the end of things ep]
5. suburban kids with biblical names - little boys in the ghetto [#3]
4. the new pornographers - bleeding heart show [twin cinema]
3. the decemberists - the engine driver [picaresque]
2. sufjan stevens - casimir pulaski day [illinois]
1. clap your hands say yeah! - in this home on ice [clap your hands say yeah!]

if you're cool, and you know you are (you're on this site after all), post your own top 10 songs of 2005 in the comments section. go on. do it. now. okthanksbye.

pack yr romantic mind

hey, you! listen to the friday drive show this week (16/12) at about 5pm because i'm interviewing the go! team. yay! this makes me want to use lots of exclamation marks (!!!) because i've loved the band for ages and look forwad to seeing them at the big day out. and it should be an interesting interview. we'll probably play it again on next week's guitar media, which will otherwise be an alt-country special, i think, if yr still planning on doing that, tim? i'll be away, you see. i'll post the go! team interview transcript up here, too.

this week (13/12) is the guitar media top ten songs of 2005 show. it's been interestingly easy to pick my favourites. one thing i have noticed is how emotive and sissy most of my picks are. i guess the more poignant songs leave the most impression after repeated listen, for me, at least. thanks to everyone who posted their top ten albums. keep them coming, and please do post yr top ten songs when the lists are up. anyway, this song here is definitley on my top ten songs, i'm not sure where though. and besides, that would be telling, wouldn't it? i got it from said the gramophone, which has recently had a list (all available to download) of one of the writers top twenty-two songs of the year.

jens lekman - maple leaves [ep version].mp3

It's not the winning but the effort that counts - top ten albums of 2005

wow. here's the bit where we say how we're so geeky and shit and like to compile lists. so um yeah here goes. tim & richard's respective top 10 albums of the year...

- richard's top 10

10. the lucksmiths - warmer corners [track: great lengths]
download a hiccup in yr happiness.mp3
9. the new pornographers - twin cinema [track: twin cinema]
8. tom vek - we have sound [track: nothing but green lights]
7. the most serene republic - underwater cinematographer [track: content always was my favourite colour]
6. wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary [track: shine a light]
5. sufjan stevens - illinois [track: decatur]
4. architecture in helsinki - in case we die [track: wishbone]
stream the album.
3. the clientele - strange geometry [track: since k got over me]
download st pauls underneath a sinking sky.mp3
2. broken social scene - broken social scene [track: fire eye'd boy]
1. clap your hands say yeah - clap your hands say yeah [tracks: over and over again (lost & found), upon this tidal wave of young blood]

albums that didn't make richard's top 10, but are super good:

boards of canada - the campfire headphase
deerhoof - the runners four
edan - beauty and the beat
kiss me deadly - misty medley
serena-maneesh - serena-maneesh
the decemberists - picaresque
m83 - before the dawn heals us
devendra banhart - cripple crow
the phoenix foundation - pegasus

- tim's top 10

10. the white stripes - get behind me satan [track: red rain]
9. pelican - may the fire in our throats beckon the thaw [track: sirius]
8. black mountain - black mountain [track: no satisfaction]
download druganaut.mp3
7. spoon - gimme fiction [track: i turn my camera on]
6. dirty three - cinder [track: ember]
5. bright eyes (ick) - i'm wide awake it's morning [track: landlocked blues]
4. devendra banhart - cripple crow [track: some people ride the wave]
stream the album.
3. ryan adams - jacksonville city nights [track: hard way to fall]
stream the album.
2. okervil river - black sheep boy [track: black]
1. tim rogers & the temperance union - dirty ron/ghosts songs [tracks: broken stuff, kalgoolie]

and tim's honorable mentions...

Sigur Ros Takk
Animal Collective Feels
Antony & The Johnsons I Am A Bird Now
Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
New Pornographgers Twin Cinema
Decemberists Picaresque
Architecture In Helsinki In Case We Die
Smog A River Ain't Too Much To Love
Kings Of Leon Ah Ha Shake Heartbreak
Oneida The Wedding
Magnolia Electric Co. What Comes After The Blues
Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers

and if I had the full album before last week this would have made my top 10 but now Pitchfork is going to fucking ruin it for me

The Drones Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By. Sensational. Absolutely rock n' roll from Melbourne, Rock City, Australia.

- shea (the indie kid)'s top 10

10. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
9. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
8. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #3
7. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
6. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
5. Architecture In Helsinki - Incase We Die
4. The Phoenix Foundation - Pegasus
3. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
2. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Honourable Mentions:
Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth
The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever
Deerhoof - The Runners Four
The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners
The Decemberists - Picaresque

post yr on top 10 in the comments section below. go on. you know that deep down, yr just as geeky as us...

mixtape connection vol. 5 - 2/12/05 [photos]

click on the photos for larger images, and click here for more photos.

everyone's a critic and most people are djs

thanks so much to everyone who came to mixtape connection on friday night. it was too fun a night, really - easily the best turnout so far. i'll have some photos of the night uploaded in a few days. oh yeah, and if anyone's wondering about the tracklist for the free mix cd that was being given away, here it is:

gary numan - cars, cut copy - saturdays, caberet voltaire - talking time, new order - the beach, the rapture - i need yr love, tom vek - nothing but green lights, joy division - transmission, devo - cold war, talking heads - making flippy floppy, rogers sisters - 45 prayers, gang of four - return the gift, franz ferdinand - i'm yr villain, the human league - don't you want me, datarock - fa fa fa, duran duran - girls on film, tom vek - i ain't saying my goodbyes

don't forget: this weeks show (6/12) is the top 10 albums of the year. next week (13/12) is the top 10 songs of the year. both tim and i will select our respective top 10s. i've been going through and working mine out today. it's pretty hard - there are so many good albums from 2005, not to mention those that don't have any guitars.

i'll have some more concrete news about a really great christmas eve gig that will be happening at the wunderbar in a few weeks. solo singer/songwriter dudley benson is performing solo, and james from auckland band the reduction agents will be playing a set too. i'll be djing in support, probably playing more mellow stuff - probably lots of freak folk and indie-pop. either way, it'll be a lovely christmas eve at the wunderbar. more news soon.

all this warm christchurh weather has made it great for sunny albums like the new belle & sebastian, the life pursuit. we previewed a bit on guitar media last week and i played some on the friday drive show. it's actually really good - much better than the disapointing dear catastrophe waitress. fluxblog has an mp3 up for download:

belle & sebastian - song for sunshine.mp3

the undercurrents

Richard MacFarlane talks with local indie-rockers The Undercurrents about being a band in Christchurch.

The Undercurrents are definitely a Christchurch band. Whether it’s in their upbringing, location in history or the band’s sound, there is something undeniably local to this city that surrounds the band. With a style of indie-rock described as “meditation at volume”, their influences can be traced to older Christchurch acts like The JPSE, The Hiss Explosion and Squirm, as well as international indie bands like Pavement, Silver Jews, Sebadoh, or even Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Their emotive onstage presence saw them recently win the 2005 RDU Roundup Band Competition, but many would have heard of them before this, thanks to extensive radio play on New Zealand’s b-net stations (namely singles “She Was Not Absurd” and “Wish Upon a Star”, the latter of which was nominated for Best Un-released Single at the 2004 b-net awards). Live shows with Dimmer, The Shocking Pinks, The Bats and Gerling have helped, too. Their location within the Christchurch music scene, has helped, too – with a short spell from Pine’s Stephen McCarthy on drums, before finding their now-solid line up of Nik O’Keefe on bass and vocals, Marcus Winstanley (ex Barnard’s Star) on guitar and vocals, Simon Nunn (U.S.S. Hit Machine) on drums, Jamey Holloway (ex Centre Will Hold) on guitar and vocals, and Mike Summerfield on violin.

Since forming in 2003, the five-piece have been casual, if not a little timid in their approach to making music. “We’ve just been taking our time. It’s kind of a social thing; it gets us all out of the house.” Jamey says. “We had this old garage out by jade stadium. We just went around there, and because we had a computer and recording equipment we could just muck around and record some stuff. It took us a while before we put out something – we’re kind of a bit ‘take your time’ – slow at things. We didn’t have a big plan of world domination or anything.”

It could almost be thought of as unusual that the band haven’t left for greener pastures, with the (debatable) presence of a “cultural cringe” that Christchurch is unfortunately often labeled with. Instead of taking the oft’ traveled trip to Sydney or Melbourne to “make it big”, The Undercurrents continue to work hard in the city they know and love.
“I think a lot of bands see moving away as something you have to do. So it almost increases the credible market here, and there’s a lot of potential for a better market here. It seems a bit stupid to talk about a market because it sounds like it’s engineering towards money, but more a market in terms of people being interested. There’s a lot of interest here – there’s heaps – it’s just a matter of being a little bit persistent.” says Mike.
“There’s so much culture here that hasn’t been embraced yet” adds Jamey. “You can make any move in Christchurch. There’s a lot of different possibilities and different worlds, just depending on which tracks you run. It seems a lot more interesting that way, rather than just packing up and leaving”

Aside from the odd foray into Dunedin and Auckland, The Undercurrents have consistently played shows at venues like the Dux de Lux, The JetSet Lounge and The Wunderbar. But it was still with great surprise (to themselves, at least) that they won the Roundup Band Competition. For Jamey, “It has all been pretty positive so far. Fortunately, tall poppy syndrome doesn’t apply yet. We’ve been around for a few years, and the idea of some really new band winning isn’t that realistic, really. You don’t get great bands that form three days before the competition.”

There is certainly a history of indie musicians doing well on their own terms in Christchurch. The Undercurrents embrace the do-it-yourself attitude that, while not assuring any great “mainstream” success, has proved successful with lovers of real, genuinely crafted music. “I think a really good example for us, has been bands of the Failsafe Records kind of generation, like Squirm who could do it themselves on their own terms, or even Salmonella Dub, who have never compromised what they do, it’s all just sort of come to them.” says Jamey. “We do want to have our music heard by a whole bunch of people. We’re certainly not going to compromise ourselves or our music to achieve that. It’s right how it is.”

The Undercurrents play with The D4 and Che Fu and The Krates outdoors at the Dux-de-Lux on NYE. The single "Oceans Wide" and the Video being made by Gorilla Pictures will be out in Feb 2006.

* Published in The Christchurch Press, December 1st, 2005.