Posts by Russell Brown
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
And in this morning's Press: the historic Canterbury Provincial Chambers will be locked up and sitting until there is $108m found to fix and strengthen them – which will be at least 10 years
-
Thanks Greg.
For another angle – and to fully underline the state of mystery and confusion in which Christchurch has been placed – readers may also wish to make the time to read Barnaby Bennett’s new post on the status of the Christchurch Convention Centre decreed by the government.
See: Christchurch Convention Centre: The closer I look the less it makes sense.
-
Capture: "They Were Doing A Pretty Good Job", in reply to Jonathan Ganley,
A bottle and a shell, somewhere in North Africa. From my grandfather’s photo album. Some of the photos are worth sharing, so I’ll scan and add them to this post.
That's a splendidly ordinary image.
-
We missed SJD at Southbound Records yesterday – arrived just in time to see people staggering out of a very hot, crowded shop.
But Sean was kind enough to offer names on the door for their Saturday night show at The Tuning Fork. So Jim and I went.
Firstly, SJD were brilliant. Just wonderfully relaxed and in command of their music. Some really top-notch banter with the crowd too.
Secondly, it was my first time at The Tuning Fork as a venue (it’s a kind of overflow room for Music Awards after-parties). It’s a weird space, but a very good one for live music. Because it’s part of Vector Arena, it has five metre windows, which have been covered with five metre drapes the length of the room.
The effect is like being in the live room of a studio – the sound is amazingly clear and detailed because it’s not reflecting off anything. Even better, there are relay speakers further back in the room and the stage is quite high, so sightlines are good. The bar (in contrast to the King’s Arms) is at the back and (in contrast to the rest of Vector Arena) it even has a good range of beer.
You wouldn’t go and hang out there, ever, but as a place to go and hear live bands play, it’s remarkably good.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: Record Store…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
<edit: hmmmm see what ya mean – still 5466?>
That's really quite odd.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: Record Store…, in reply to Mike O'Connell,
Getting back to the theme of this post, Penny Lane in Sydenham was absolutely humming yesterday. Armfuls of stuff, all vinyl half price (except DD’s Diamond Dozen), heading out the door. Nice that the sleeve artists Scott Jackson and Sam Harrison happened to be on hand with Delaney during the signings.
I was pretty amazed to find vinyl copies of Humphreys and Keen’s classic The Overflow for $10 each at Marbecks yesterday. Got me one of them.
It was also nice to hear Lawrence Arabia play a bunch of new songs in his little set outside Marbecks in Queen’s Arcade.
-
Hard News: What would a harm reduction…, in reply to Mikaere Curtis,
None of this is to say we should have an unregulated market. Freedom to use does not require an unfettered freedom of access to purchase, we need to be sensible about distribution and promotion.
For the same reason that the British parliament passed the Adulteration of Tea Act in 1776. Products should contain what it says on the label, and especially should not contain anything that poses a serious risk of harm.
-
Hard News: What would a harm reduction…, in reply to Mikaere Curtis,
We need to talk about promoting safety not “harm reduction”.
I think the message settled on "harm reduction" as a consequence of the recognition that there is no perfect safety. Indeed, it's a good thing that the legislation says "a low risk of harm" rather than "safe". Even caffeine isn't "safe". But I do get your point about a more positive framing.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: Record Store…, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
A couple of years ago I threw out all my CDs, earlier this year I deleted all my mp3s. Now I’m 100% streaming, either Spotify or YouTube. It works.
There’s a lot to stream now – not just Soundcloud but great BBC and NPR playlists, even whole preview albums on the NPR site.
But I do still have an old-fashioned desire to own things, even files. I’m sure lossless files sound better when I hook up the subwoofer on the deck and my new ($88) car stereo has a USB port in the front. I can just fill a flash drive up with songs and it starts playing music whenever I start the car.
And it was nice putting on the original 1987 12” of Prince’s ‘Sign o the Times’ this morning (I got it at a record fair recently), just hearing how it sounded.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: Record Store…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Me too – I’m putting the above two vinyl treasures on Trade Me later today!
Ooh. Post the the link when they're up and I'll let some people know.
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 332 333 334 335 336 … 2279 Older→ First