Father of two, Island Bay

As a Sky Digital Music subscriber ("14 digital audio channels for only $1.99 per month") I was pleased to see they've added track information to their website. Which is a good move, as without it there's no way of finding out exactly what music you're listening to. But it does beg the question, why can't this information be shown on the TV screen? It is a digital service isn't it?
I've emailed them and await their reply with interest.
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"She came from Greece/she had a thirst for knowledge ..." Well, it's not quite "Picture yourself on a boat on a river" but it is the inimitable William Shatner, now lending his vocal talents to Jarvis Cocker's britpop classic. You can listen to it here, along with other selections from his forthcoming album "Has Been" - which include a song co-written by Nick Hornby!
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This is one of our famous Island Bay sunsets, as seen from our front room (otherwise known as my office) earlier this year. A test of Blogger's new image-posting thingy.
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Proof, if it was needed, that this incredibly boring band really do stink, in more ways than one!
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According to this article the Oz equivalent of Sky TV will be introducing a PVR-type service from next March. Does this mean NZ will be close behind? Let's hope so.

While in the past NZ has been right up there with introducing new technology (we're a nation of early adopters and proud of it!) things have really slowed down recently. No Digital Radio. No HD TV. No TIVO. No iTunes Store, Rhapsody or Napster.

Blame the Government. Blame corporate greed. Blame our copyright laws. But please somebody, make it happen!
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Today was a rare day in Wellington, when wearing black was not a good thing. Just in case someone mistook you for one of those crazy Destiny Church fellas. If it hadn't been so cold, I would have taken off my black leather jacket, just to show I didn't share their attitudes. Not that I'm a great supporter of the Civil Union Bill either - don't really see the point - but man, those guys are a worry.
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Yes, that's me in the corner shop (or New World, or Woolies), choosing my provisions. Scrutinising every product for that stamp of approval from the Heart Foundation.
Gosh it's fun being forty one!
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Density Church International - happy clapping for jesus Ha!! And not a black shirt in sight!
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Bit surprised to discover today that Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is the 'third best-selling album of all time'. Or rather, third best-selling album in the US, which apparently is the same thing. Would have thought that "Dark Side of the Moon" sold more copies.

I never actually bought a copy of "The Wall" - and in fact I've never heard it all the way through, or seen the film. But then I'm more of a "Wish You Were Here" fan myself. I do remember when "The Wall" first came out though - as we arrived at the first Sweetwaters festival in January 1980, David Gilmour's guitar seemed to echo from every campsite.

Surprised also to see the number of double-albums on the list - and shocked to see The Eagles - possibly the most boring band of all time - are number one.

Oh - and the link between this post and the previous one is of course that The Scissor Sisters' album features a cover of "Comfortably Numb".

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The other week I treated myself to a couple of new CDs - a rare occurrence these days, now that I'm a responsible father and provisional taxpayer. So what goodies did I get? Umm, well there was the obvious Keane album (Travis meets Coldplay at a Freddie Mercury convention) but my other purchase was a bit out of the ordinary for me - The Scissor Sisters debut. Which could be described as what the Fab Five would sound like if they were a band rather than straight guy makeover merchants. Or, more charitably, what a bunch of talented and ummm, colourful New Yorkers sound like after overdosing on their parents mid-70s LPs.

Yes, instead of the recent graverobbing of the late-70s practised by the likes of The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand, the Sisters go back a bit further and get their inspiration from prime-period Elton John, Bee Gees, Supertramp and the like. To be honest, not my favourite era, but somehow it works!

The album is currently one of the highest rated on Metacritic, but it does have its flaws. I could do without the three or four falsetto cod-disco numbers, but more restrained songs like Laura, Return to Oz and the single Take Your Mama make this a worthy purchase.

Oh, and I liked the Keane album too.

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