Why Science Fiction is the only legitimate artform of the 20th and 21st centuries
Local artist, writer and intellectual David Cauchi is giving an address at the Film Archive on Saturday afternoon.
David is a right old character, and also the painter of one of my favourite works of art — entitled The fab four (Tasman, Cook, Du Fresne, De Surville) (above).
More info after the jump.
Ukes at lunch
We love the library. We do. And many of us are in there at least once a week, and not just to admire the architecture. (For some of us it has something to do with those kid’s pacifiers DVDs having just a seven day loan period. But we digress.)
Like the Wellingtonista, the library too is celebrating NZ Music month – they’re hosting a quiz that always ends with the chance to win a well known brand of MP3 player. Nice.
But even better, there’s a performance by local Super Group The Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra this Thursday 12:30pm at the library.
If you are feeling brave enough to visit MySpace, check out some videos here. And should your immersion in the Wellington music scene be as pitifully shallow as this sad individual‘s, then you should consider your attendance on Thursday to be compulsory.
Food! Show!
Hurray, it’s finally here. You know how we feel about the Food Show, so really, nothing more needs to be said except for what better way to drink off your hangover from Country Club: England?
Flight of the Conchords: HBO Premiere
A little late today, still recovering from last night’s bowling…
But worth the wait! The first episode of the Flight of the Conchords’ HBO show is now online for your viewing pleasure.
Wellington Music Month 6: a shameful secret.
So alone among the Wellingtonista, I have a terrible secret: apart from an early album from the Black Seeds, I have no current Wellington Music in my collection.
None.
Not even Fat Freddy’s Drop.
In my major period of buying music, Wellington music for me was a bit fringe and wacky, and worst of all, not on Flying Nun. There were occasional songs that caught my attention: Bill Direen & the Bilders’ Do the Alligator; that amusing Elephunk song; one or two songs from the Six Volts… and that’s about it. Wellington was full of arty jazzy stuff that frankly I despised.
Time has moved on – about 20 years in fact – and somehow Wellington’s musical renaissance has passed me by. This is not good.
So I need help!
What are the top five albums by Wellington bands in the last five years? Answers please: I must remove the shameful stain of my musical ignorance!
Pirates vs. Ninjas
So in every city, there are always people who are stupid and misguided and wrong. That’s how we got Kerry Prendeghastly for a mayor, after all, and the bypass too. In another classic example of people who are backing the wrong team, these people are planning on dressing like ninjas to attend the first screening of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Yo me hearties, rise up and fight off the evil ninja threat! Everyone knows that pirates are cooler. Thinking otherwise is like saying robots could win in a fight against tigers. As if!
Charity Dinner & Dance, June 16
Get your glad rags ready, and pay a bit more attention to Dancing With the Stars over the next few weeks.
The Asia & Pacific Ladies Association are hosting an authentic Indian & Continental food evening with live entertainment!
- Enjoy the music & excellent company
- Win great door prizes (win a door?)
- Bring friends & reserve a table for 10
Saturday 16 June
(I know this is early, but you need time to find that perfect outfit right?)
From 6pm
Indian Association Hall
48 Kemp Street
Kilbirnie
Drinks BYO or available for purchase at venue.
Tickets $50
Contact (021) 855 789 or (04) 477 0628
And the charity? You’ll be helping keep the “FREE” in Wellington Free Ambulance.
Entertainment book: 88
Having recently purchased an entertainment book through the social club at work, I am determined to get more than my money’s worth out of it, so I’m going to try and work my way through it systematically.
First up I wanted a quick dinner before bowling, and since I didn’t have the book with me, only the gold card, it had to be somewhere in the ‘fine dining’ section, and it had to be somewhere in the Courtenay Quarter to be near The Lanes. A quick search on their website led me to 88 on Tory Street.
Wellington Music Month 4: Gettin’ Serious
Some favourites:
The Avengers
For a time in the late sixties The Avengers were one of the highest profile rock bands on the New Zealand scene. Their song Waterpipe is one of the greatest songs to ever glorify the joys of using water in your bong. The 1968 debut LP Electric Recording has possibly my favourite album cover art ever — look how cool they are — as well as being a damn good record. They went to try their luck in Australia and broke up in ’69.
Bailter Space
Look — we have to let Christchurch have The Gordons, and The Skeptics were undoubtedly from Palmerston North, but I’m going to have to insist despite them beginning in Christchurch and ending up in New York, that Wellington be allowed to claim shoe-gazey atmospheric noise rockers Bailter Space as its own. They were an incredible live band, known for being one of the loudest of their era. Their gigs were few and far between, and many people still speak in hushed, reverential tones about the week in 1993 when there were TWO Bailter Space gigs. And their albums still stand up as being some of the best music to ever come out of New Zealand.
Birchville Cat Motel
a.k.a. Campbell Kneale. As Wikipedia sez,
although largely unknown in his home country, Kneale has toured many times throughout Asia, America, Europe, and Australia.
Daft name, and yet this one-man trancendental drone/noise act is surely the closest thing Wellington and New Zealand has ever had to a global music superstar.
Eight more, after this…