Category: Music-ing
-
South Canterbury
April went by the way someāa lotāof months do: going to work, going to the gym, going to dinner, going to movie night, going to the Bait House. First itās the first and then itās the fifteenth and every Thursday is recycle day and Sunday morning is the veggie market and on and on. There…
-
What Are You Doing Musically At The Moment?
Itās been over a year since I sang in public. It was last Easter for my bandmateās leaving gig, at what used to be Medusa but is now something else. I sang two songs I wrote and one cover, wearing a Def Leppard t-shirt and some heavy eyeliner my bandmate applied to my face while…
-
Shows: Bullet Points
Some excellent things about tonightās Morcheeba show ā¢ My new friend at work asked me yesterday if I wanted to go and I didnāt even have to pay full price for the ticket so we went shopping and for dinner and the show was early and we got to sit in chairs and only stand…
-
It Was So Clear To Me That It Was Almost Invisible
I went to see Neko Case last night, right around the corner from my house. It was my birthday presentāI turn thirty-nine on Wednesdayāand at first I was a little ambivalent about going. Not because I donāt love Neko Case, but because itād been a long day at work and it was sort of chilly…
-
We Will Have Band Practice Again
Saturday night my good friend and bandmate Jez had his last Wellington gig. It was easily the best one Iāve ever been to: I got to Bar Medusa early for soundcheck and he did my makeup in the bar toilet and the place was as packed as Iāve ever seen it and for his final…
-
Finally, The Winter Boyfriend Video
Last year I wrote a song. I sang it to myself a lot and talked about a lot and practicing it a lot with my friend Jez. At first I used to say āband practiceā in quotes because I reasoned that thirty-six year old public servants with no musical ability donāt really go to band…
-
Band Tension
[Chiara and her bandmate Jez are working on their new song at their friend Rachelās flat. From behind a closed door some indications of band tension begin to emanateā¦] Chiara: But it goes: the verse about the whiskers, then the pre-chorus with the abalone, then the Pacific Ocean pre-chorus, then the chorus. Jez: What Iām…
-
Creative Collaboration
Since Iāve got back from my trip itās been all go re: the video for the the song. Did I mention? (Um, yes, I believe Iāve mentioned I wrote a song). My bandmate has done several videos for his own fantastic self so I knew it could be doneāI certainly wasnāt going to let something…
-
Wellyversary
Last night I celebrated my five years in Wellington with a gig at the limiest-green dive bar in Wellington, where the owner happens to be a friend of a friend and where I see shows all the time. Iāve been planning this for months, referring to it as my Wellyversary: two friendsā bands played, some…
-
I Wrote A Song
My big new thing is that I wrote a song. Iām thinking a lot lately about my family, and feminism (a LOT about feminism), and social media and its discontents, and circus, and money, and how I want to knit a lot of scarves all of a sudden, but underneath and around and on top…
-
Heaven’s Hammer
Right before I left for Malaysia this past Christmas I sat down on the floor of my bedroom and made a mix CD for my dear friend who lives just down the hill from me here in Mt. Vic. Little did I know that on the very same night she was making me a mix…
-
St. Swithin’s Day
Thinking back now I suppose you were just stating your views What was it all for For the weather or the battle of Agincourt And the times that we all hoped would last Like a train they have gone by so fast And though we stood together at the edge of the platform We were…
-
Psychic iPod
Rama, my beautiful friend from high school whom Iām pretty sure I havenāt seen since the mid-nineties, is not only a stunning artist but also a person with big ideas, like big ideas. I go through all the illustrations in his portfolio every couple of months to see what heās been thinking about lately, and…
-
I Could Fall In Love Again
This morning I went to Sunday Tribal Jam, which would be my first dance class since, like, August. Everything I thought would happen did happen: I forgot how to stand in angled formation: I remembered how to three-quarter shimmy: I got sore arms merely from holding them up, let alone doing anything with them: I…
-
Right Now Playlist
I have a Right Now playlist on my iPod, for the songs I canāt get out of my head. I feel guilty, sometimes, about not putting it on Shuffle more often and only listening to like eight songs, all day every day, but such is life. Hereās what Iām listening to a lot right now.…
-
The First Really Warm Day
Two of my three interviews in the last two days have been held at cafĆ©sāthatās Wellington for you–and as I walked down Cuba Street after my last one this morning the sun decided to come out. Interview wear for this would-be social worker usually means Nice Shirt And Not-Jeans, and all of a sudden I…
-
Nod-Head Bouncy-Dancing
Friday night I went to see Fat Freddy’s Drop, and then, sort of by accident, Katchafire, both of which are NZ dub bands. I didn’t even know what dub was until I got here, but over the summer I randomly saw Ladi 6 and liked her a lot. When a bunch of friends invited me…
-
Kia Ora, Y’all
People! I am in! New Zealand! I am writing this to you, if you are in North America, which most of you are…from THE FUTURE! Actually I’m writing from a rather overpriced internet cafe, because that’s how I roll now, in lovely Rotorua, where I’ve arrived after a couple of rather blurry days in Auckland.…
-
Singing
The other day driving home from something I was having particularly good luck with the iPod on Shuffle. Sometimes I think that this iPodā¦actually, this iteration of this iPod, as I just switched it out again, for the fifth time since I dropped it and it broke last summer. I promise you, as I promised…
-
Monkey Brain Labor Day
It was a really good weekend, this Labor Day, maybe even because I wasnāt necessarily expecting it to be. Before the hurricane I was all concerned because I didnāt have plans and I felt like a big loser. Iād really been in the mood for someone to invite me to their fabulous beach cabin or…
-
Heavy Rotation
Well, when tells you to do something, you do it, regardless of your personal stance on memes. And actually I donāt have a personal stance on memes, now that I think about it. I just donāt tend to do them very often. This oneās pretty easy: just to list the ten songs youāve been thinking…
-
My Secret
Wake up a little later than usual because itās the weekend and at least have breakfast before you listen to the song, before you go out for the day. You donāt know all the lyrics by heart yet but let the melody settle in you while you get in the car and go to the…
-
I Won’t Let You Down, I Will Not Give You Up
I was not too excited about Hippie Woo Woo the other day. I was kind of rolling my eyes at the whole thing and thinking, āOkay, letās get this over with,ā when for some very exciting reason, āSuperstitionā by Stevie Wonder himself came on and we did a bunch of kicks and punches to that.…
-
Whatever Happened To That Breakup Mix?
Itās been what, five months since I talked a big game about how I was going to create the The Greatest Breakup CD The World Has Ever Known, right? Sorry for taking so long with that. Donāt laugh at me, but itās been a way more involved and personal process than I originally anticipated. I…
-
Songs On My Walk Home
I get off the bus at the library and stand patiently in the checkout line with my holds. Itās so pink and gold and gorgeous outsideā¦and light! Light at 5:00!..that I decide to walk home instead of catch another bus. My bag feels pleasantly heavy on my shoulder and I fish the iPod out of…
-
Tell Her This
A Music For The Masses collaboration.All lyrics are the property and copyright of their respective owners. All lyrics are provided for educational purposes and personal use only. Tell her not to go I aināt holding on no more Itās not the Friday nights watching movies you know heād love, or the emails you used to…
-
The Greatest Breakup CD The World Has Ever Known
Itās weird, you know, like Iām doing basically fine in re:breakup woes, but there isnāt much going on for me besides the near constant scanning of my internal emotional state. I must be a bucket of fun to be around lately, let me tell you, because even though Iām sipping my cranberry juice thoughtfully and…
-
Some Songs You Have To Be Careful
I’d had the song “You Are My Joy” from this album in my head since I heard it on the radio about a week ago. I am playing it right now as I begin this entry. It’s by some sort of Scottish indie supergroup, which I’m all for, and it came out about two years…
-
Mystery Mix CD
I found a CD in my CD box labeled āChiaraās Birthday Megamix 2004ā when I was unpacking the other day. Iāve been packing and/or unpacking every day for the past two weeks and Iāve been finding the most surprising things. Anyway, Iād never seen or heard this CD before, the fact that it has my…
-
Liam and Me. And Carl.
A conversation with Carl on the way to work this morning. Chiara: Oh, man. I canāt believe I watched all those Liam Lynch movies. I am so tired today. So tired. Carl: I canāt believe you did either. Chiara: I couldnāt help it. I am desperately in love. Carl: I know. Iām kind of in…
-
Under The Milky Way–collab entry
All lyrics are the property of their respective owners. All lyrics are provided for educational purposes and personal use only Under the Milky Way – The Church Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty Sound of their breath fades with the light I think about the loveless fascination Under the Milky Way tonight Lower…
-
Smells Like Teen Spirit–collab entry
All lyrics are the property of their respective owners. All lyrics are provided for educational purposes and personal use only I got to Seattle waaaaaaaay after grunge. I even got to Seattle waaaay after Singles. By the time I moved here it was right after the swing dance ska thing and we were moving, slowly…