Jack Black as Funny as Ever in Bernie: A seriously class act from the fatty

Bernie

Bernie is a tragic comedy about a likable push over. The undertaker of a small town  Bernie is known to almost all Catheridges inhabitants as the most popular man in anyones books. When it comes to helping people no problem is to small for Bernie that he wont help. Whether it's your overdue tax returns your dead husbands corpse or upgrading your coffin to the top of the line model he's your man.

The lead actor who plays Bernie is Jack Black so if you aren't a fan this is probably not a film for you .Having said this I would advise anyone that missing this movie is a terrible blunder as it is a moving, seriously funny and excitingly stressful. I would go so far as to urge even the most adamant Jack Black hater to dis-regard there contempt of him and give it a chance, even if its a slim one. I say this not to cause such person to have a terrible time but to try and open people to a person who is an extremely talented human being. I stress this as I have come across a lot of people who do not care for Jack Black in the extreme some insisting he is only good for eating mac donalds and being used as a speed bump. I strongly disagree with such a diagnosis of Jack Black because in my eyes he symbolizes a dead end loser making a go off what life has to offer him. After all he did have a huge house in the Beverly Hills in his early twenties and that success demands some respect. I believe the underground meets the mainstream dialectic is best summed up in someone like Black because in all honest how many people do you that can play the guitar gaining a number one hit in the U.S, act like he was born to do it and tell hilliarous jokes with eye catching facial gestures that would make Jack Nicholson weep. 

Furthermore if your a fan of Tenacious D this movie will rock your socks off  because Bernie is a man that likes to sing in the severe extremes. He's a person known to all the village as a man that will sing any song at a funeral no matter how obscure. From the chart topping Guns and Rose's "Sweet Child of Mine" to Leonard Cohen's sucky songs he has it on lock. In my view Bernie is man made of the rarest calibre as he's the sort of person that would learn the whole guitar solo from "Stairway to Heaven" just to play for your dead ass.

Finally the plot of this film is hard to scratch at without giving to much action away so i've purposefully avoided it. But I'll give you a brief guide of events . Bless Bernie's heart he gets in trouble with the law and everyone has to rally around him and fight for his freedom. But enough of that see this movie and have a fantastic time. 

Moss B

David Dallas' "Buffalo Man" Mixtape -- Is He Crazy

David "D-Dot" Dallas recently dropped his mixtape Buffalo Man. 

His latest release since "The Rose Tint" is inspired by the undisputed funky white brother from another mother Jamiroquai, and seriously to even mess with J's songs puts anyone on thin ice even Dallas. The reason being that Jamiroquai never really fell of the "bandwagon of quality" as hits have consistently been dropped by the English born native. From the earlier days off Jamiroquai's career to recent times seeing him pile up a healthy amount of tickets in his Lambo the mans a legend. Although the singer may also drive to fast in his Ferrari's for the long arm of the law one may also feel a little bit racy listening to the mixtape from NZ's leading hip-hop head. Undoubtedly David's snap back is well and truly off and motioned in the direction of Jamiroquai in a gesture of respect.

First of all i'm a fan of David Dallas. He's pretty cool as he represents Samoa with class. Just don't count on him tweeting you back lol. I tried many times to get a retweeted to no avail haha. The stand out tracks off the album are easily discernible being; "Put it on the line", "Trouble" and "Never Let you Down". If you consider for a second that the release only has six songs thats it's a really good average of quality dope tracks. Having said that its not all rosy I wouldn't go giving "Buffalo Man" an A+ just yet. Instead I'd give it a solid B+ the reason being he is sometimes off key, falls over his own rap flow and is generally full of too much bravado all we need is substance. 

I don't mean to be overly critical because I really like D-Dot to me he arrived on Something Awesome and laid his claim, forever in the NZ history books.
The reason being his open hearted in his lyrics to the ups and downs of life.
The Buffalo Man i "fuck you" laughs .But, with tracks like the lead single "Ever Get The Feeling" his raps also lack a strong groove as the beat either goes to slow or fast for his rapping. But I can forgive this because David is hyped and I can hear it in his voice, their is some serious cash to be made if he blows up over the Atlantic. Drake the Canadian raptor banked a slick   $14 milli of one smash album, so yeah, theres a reason he's gigging crazy over there with his crew. Lets face it Davids odds are far better than blowing up than a bum off the street hitting the Big Wednesday bankroll. 

I'm gonna stress if Dallas can get his flow under control, bolster up his lyrics with some honest lyrics and smash a hit production with P money he could end up with a platinum plaque stateside. All he has to do is really channel all his potential into his next record. David Dallas is a star definitely on the rise and I ain't surprised.

Moss Bioletti

Lady Hawke's Anxiety :Recorded on The North shore and in England-- And Yes its giving me anxiety ...Not!!!

An album that delivers a groovy, upbeat, feel-good vibe in which the mix of instruments and modern sounds in the songs work well with Pip Brown’s smooth, strong voice.

Her songs tend to start off with a contagious beat and calming vocals, and then build up into catchy choruses you would sing along to when pottering round your house or cruising in the car. Though your body starts with a toe tap, before you know it you are giving a good old Kiwi head bang (though it's more of a side to side than the classic rock up down motion). That being said, Anxiety doesn't feel repetitive. The separate elements in each song make for a full and successful album, and the lyrics portray messages about life, relationships, questions asked, and stories told.

 In the album's titular song, Ladyhawke sings, 'Take me on a ride, show me how to hide the voice in my head', and is a personal favourite. 'Quick and the Dead' has a kind of army march beginning that is repeated in the second verse, and quickly gets stuck in your head. Songs like 'Blue Ryes' and 'We'll Find You' allow the listener to imagine how much of a good performer Ladyhawke would be live – and we'll get to see for ourselves when she comes to Perfect Storm in July. 

As a young singer/songwriter myself, I find Ladyhawke very inspiring – and I look forward to her developing and growing. Even the album cover is interesting, featuring a drawing of Ladyhawke with miniature Ladyhawkes entangled in her hair, alongside bugs, feathers and other bits. Perhaps it reflects ideas and symbolic pictures for the meanings she holds in her head, or entangled in her hair? I think it reflects her simplistic yet multi dimensional album, which I very much recommend is worth getting your hands on. Support New Zealand artists.

Written by Laura Hunter

Clap Clap Riots' "Counting Spins" = Rock with Attitude

An album review of Clap Clap Riot's: Counting Spins 

Clap Clap Riots debut album Counting Spins has been finished to an extremely high standard that demands respect. Any rock musician or rock fan knows that budgets are tight and sales are down so when a flawlessly produced album drops its serious stuff. I also vividly remember catching the members talking about how they financed the album by the dearest mother getting a bank loan which I had real respect for. To me this album reeks of well spent money that is undeniably world-class. The actions of the young men to carve out such a strong album with a lot on the line is impressive. Pressure who needs it. 

From the "Kasabian-esque" guitar tone and thundering bass drum of opening track "Holiday" a dynamic rock sound erupts from my speakers. For a second it causes me to abruptly think about Clap Clap Riot as a band objectively. I personally believe it's important to note their original approach is direction that is not strictly commercial or alternative but somewhere in-between which is better. I'm not saying that all NZ bands aren't original but unique pieces of art in NZ music in most cases aren't always truly realized. I personal believe that being located so far away from any real music hot-spots globally NZ bands do have a tendency to follow instead of lead .However, the wickedly phased guitars and gated claps of "Moss-haired girl" are a testament to a band that flourishes under the imaginative pressures in the studio. Once in full swing "Moss haired girl" really comes alive chugging along like a testosterone fueled Ozzfest at it's peak. The solid groove and playful lyrics I strongly believe would do well on radio (perhaps not an obvious pick but a strong one nevertheless).

The evocative lyrics of Counting Spins also adds a great deal of weight to the L.P making for a great aesthetic experience. My favorite track based on lyrics is 'Forget You'. Clearly a therapeutic break up song the simple chorus "I won't forget you baby" really hits home. This song really has a strong feeling of emotion within it. By listening to the song I actually feel a feeling of genuine love in the singers voice and that maybe overly romantic but I definitely think that he's working out some heavy emotional issues because "he's so cold- so cold". 

As a rock music fan I know that there is always a struggle to keep up with pop musics boundary pushing production level standards. Maria and the diamonds latest album and Katy Perry's music are a testament to the level of U.S/U.K's music production prowess. Fortunately Counting Spins is easily equal. It's first single 'So You Say' has achieved fantastic results of heavy rotation on all the major radio stations in NZ and has stormed the itunes rock charts for multiple weeks. I highly recommend this album!.

Moss

Lana Del Ray: Born To Die (album Review)

Lana Del Ray: Born to Die

I think to objectively review "Born To Die" on it's merits one needs to firstly address the swirling allegations that Lana Del Ray is a fraud and a rich girl who doesn't deserve anything. Just google the studio and you can see that she recorded her break out song "Video Games" in squalor. The studio is arguably run by Sony BMG however the hard times of the record industry are drastically apparent as the studio consists of virtually only a computer and a pair of speakers. Lana Del Ray's dad may be a millionaire but if she has been being spoon feed millions it doesn't make sense that she would sign a record deal for $10,000 and move into a trailer park in upstate N.Y to write her songs. 

In terms of the music on the album its great. I'm not saying their aren't only positives but in terms of a hit album that has immediate appeal this is a great album. My personal favorites are "Video games" which uniquely ties sparse electro-symphony production to an 1950's swag. While "Summer Time Sadness" has a melancholy hipster edge. Standouts are also "National Anthem" that chucks a nod to J.F.K (R.I.P) and "Blue Jeans" for it's contemporary take on modern life/love that conjures striking imagery through it's lyrical beauty.

  Moss Bioletti (The Neo-Kalashnikovs)