2015: In Memoriam

In 2015 we lost some amazing musicians. 

Rest in peace. 

Cilla Black – British singer (72)

John Bradbury - Drummer with the Specials (62)

Graham Brazier – Hello Sailor lead singer (63)

Andy Fraser – bass player with Free (62)

B.B. King – American blues guitarist and singer (89)

Ben E. King – American solo singer, singer with the Drifters (76)

Lemmy – Motorhead singer and bass player (70)

Cynthia Robinson – trumpter player and singer in Sly & The Family Stone (71)

Percy Sledge – American soul singer (74)

Chris Squire – bass player with Yes (67)

Allen Toussaint – New Orleans songwriter, piano player and producer (77)

Scott Weiland – Stone Stemple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer (48)

- Sam 

Nowhere Bros Gig Guide - December 21

2016 Summer Gig Guide - December 21 Edition 

Fat Freddy’s Drop “Bays New Zealand Tour” – December 27 – February 7

Weird Al Yankovic – January 5 – Powerstation

Leon Bridges – January 9 – St James Theatre

Summer in the Square with The Chills – January 11 - Aotea Square

Kurt Vile – January 12 – St James Theatre

Mac DeMarco – January 13-14 – Kings Arms

Kate Tempest – January 15 – Kings Arms

Viet Cong – January 22 – Kings Arms

Summer in the Square with the Buskers Festival – January 29-31 – Aotea Square

Laneway Festival – feat. Beach House, Thundercat, Vince Staples, Leisure, Silicon and more – February 1 – Silo Park

Cat Power – February 3 – Crystal Palace

Splore Festival – February 19-21 – Tapakanga Park

Ragamuffin – feat. Wu Tang Clan, UB40, Macy Gray, Junior Marvin’s Wailers, Savage and more – February 20 – Trusts Stadium Arena

ASAP Rocky – February 24 – Vector Arena

WOMAD – feat. St Germain, De La Soul, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and more -February 18-20 – Pukekura Park

Jesus and Mary Chain – March 4 – Powerstation

Marlon Williams – March 9 – Powerstation

Auckland City Limits – feat. Kendrick Lamar, The National, Naked and Famous and more – March 19 – Western Springs Stadium

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – March 24 – ASB Theatre

Brian Wilson – March 26 – The Civic

Tweedy – March 27 – Powerstation

The Stranglers – April 13 – Pwerstation

Black Sabbath – April 28 – Vectora Arena

Iron Maiden – May 1 – Vectora Arena 

- Sam 

Why I won't care if Kendrick loses at the Grammys

Last year, Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys. He lost out to Macklemore’s The Heist. Kendrick fans were enraged, and I was one of them. It was a farce, Macklemore even felt it necessary to apologise to Kendrick. It didn’t make sense to me.

Back then, Kendrick was still an up-and-coming rapper. He put out a really solid debut album in 2011 called Section.80, a year later he dropped a few singles for his follow-up record, which performed well on the R&B and Rap charts, but failed to crack the top 10 on the Hot 100. However, the album was a success, hitting #2 on the Hot 100. A remarkable achievement for anyone, let alone a 25 year old making a commercially successful Hip Hop concept album. How often do we see concept albums anywhere nowadays, let alone those which hit #2 on the charts?

When I first heard good kid, m.A.A.d city, I reckoned it was a game-changer. Subtitled “A short film by Kendrick Lamar”, the album is an overwhelmingly ambitious piece of art, with first-person narratives of Kendrick’s experiences growing up in Compton, dealing with issues such as gang violence, drinking culture and drug addiction, and crucially the incredible production handled by Dr. Dre gave it the substance it needed. Hip Hop hadn’t seen anything like it since the golden era. Yet it still lost. This is nothing new when it comes to institutionalised award ceremonies, commercial success is often the deciding factor. What deserves to win doesn’t always win.

Things are different this time around. Kendrick’s no longer an up-and-comer. He’s established himself. He’s the King of New York. Hip Hop fans don’t hesitate when calling him the best rapper going around. He collaborates with his closest rivals, there’s no animosity between them. In fact, come next year we could see a project between Kendrick and J. Cole, if the “Black Friday” release is anything to go by. More importantly, To Pimp a Butterfly has had much more of a significant impact, not just commercially, but in terms of affecting cultural consciousness. The singles are wildly infectious, and for the most part, preach positive, uplifting and hopeful messages. People are singing “I love myself” and chanting “we gon’ be alright”. The same couldn’t be said about the singles from good kid, m.A.A.d city, as great as they were.

For the 58th Grammy Awards, Kendrick has received a staggering 11 nominations, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year (“Alright”) and Best Rap Album. He might win all of these. He should win at least one. Does that mean he’ll win any? No. I’ve learned my lesson from last time. He could easily lose Album of the Year, most likely to Taylor Swift or The Weeknd. I won’t care. Kendrick’s well past the point where getting one or many small replica gramophones actually means anything. He’s attained a far greater achievement – the hearts and minds of his listeners, and judging from the interviews I’ve seen of Kendrick talking about the album, that’s exactly what he set out to do. In that sense, he’s already won.

- Karl

Nowhere Bros Gig Guide - November 27

                                  Nowhere Bros Gig Guide - November 6 Edition

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – December 12 – St James Theatre

AC/DC – December 15 – Western Springs Stadium

Fat Freddy’s Drop “Bays New Zealand Tour” – December 27 – February 7

Northern Bass – feat. Shapeshifter, Ladi6, Homebrew and more – December 29-31 – Mangawhai

Rhythm and Vines – feat. David Dallas, Hollie Smith, P-Money, Concord Dawn and more – Gisborne

Weird Al Yankovic – January 5 – Powerstation

Leon Bridges – January 9 – St James Theatre

Laneway Festival – feat. Beach House, Thundercat, Vince Staples, Leisure, Silicon and more – February 1 – Silo Park

Splore Festival – February 19-21 – Tapakanga Park

Ragamuffin – feat. UB40, Macy Gray, Junior Marvin’s Wailers, Savage and more – February 20 – Trusts Stadium Arena

ASAP Rocky – February 24 – Vector Arena

WOMAD – feat. St Germain, De La Soul, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and more -February 18-20 – Pukekura Park

Jesus and Mary Chain – March 4 – Powerstation

Auckland City Limits – feat. Kendrick Lamar, The National, Naked and Famous and more – March 19 – Western Springs Stadium

Brian Wilson – March 26 – The Civic

Black Sabbath – April 28 – Vectora Arena

Iron Maiden – May 1 – Vectora Arena 

The Ultimate Hip Hop Playlist (2015)

I am a sucker for old school hip hop. The classic age, the golden age between 1985 and 1995. During this period the beats were magnificent, the production fantastic and the sampling out of this world. This was a pioneering period for a new style of music that has since gone on to become one of the most popular music genres. I do not really warm to modern hip hop, I think it has been co-opted by the industry and doesn’t stand for much in terms of political or social ideas like hip hop acts of the past did. That said, not all of todays hip hop is bad and there are a few tracks that are just as good as the best from the golden age. So, with this said, I have decided to list my top twenty favorite hip hop tracks. There are several things I like in a good hip hop track. Sampling, matching fresh beats with little snippets or samples of other records to me is an essential component of hip hop, and a component that is seen less these days. Good beats, the best hip hop tracks for mine have the sickest beats and backing tracks to them. You want something to groove to when you listen to hip hop that is for sure, and good beats provide that. And, finally, lyrics that mean something, lyrics that explore social and political themes, lyrics that encapture a time or place, and that are not just about being in the club or getting drunk. So, all this considered, I reckon the songs on this list encapture nicely all that is good about hip hop and to me represent some of the best hip hop tracks.

Kurtis Blow – The Breaks (Kurtis Blow, 1980)

Grandmaster Flash and the Furous Five – The Message (The Message, 1982)

NWA – If It Ain’t Rough (Straight Outta Compton, 1988)

De La Soul – Say No Go (3 Feet High and Rising, 1989)

De La Soul – Me Myself and I (3 Feet High and Rising, 1989)

De La Soul – Eye Know (3 Feet High and Rising, 1989)

The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By (Bizzare Ride II the Pharcyde, 1992)

Snoop Dog – Who Am I? (What’s My Name?) (Doggystyle, 1993)

Wu Tang Clan – Shame On A Nigga (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993)

Wu Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993)

Outkast – Players Ball (Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, 1994)

Beastie Boys – Sabotage (Ill Communication, 1994)

Warren G – Regulate feat. Nate Dogg (Regulate... G Funk Era, 1994)

2Pac – California Love (All Eyez On Me, 1996)

Outkast – SpottieOttieDopaliscious (Aquemini, 1998)

Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty (Black on Both Sides, 1999)

The Roots – The Seed (2.0) (Phrenology, 2002)

Kendrick Lamar – i (To Pimp a Butterfly, 2015)

Average Rap Band – Mother Mary (Stream of Nonsenseness, 2015)

Average Rap Band – Bending Spoons (Stream of Nonsenseness, 2015)

- Sam