2011 - The Year of Women in Music

Happy New Year to you! I sound like my mother here but 2011 FLEW by & was a whirlwind full of crazy, mad & good things. Especially a great year for new music. I mean a GREAT year for WOMEN in music too. So here are some of my favourite artist releases from 2011 in no particular order.

PJ HARVEY - LET ENGLAND SHAKE

I love the PEEJ and this album has a lot of play this past year. Its kinda an album of protest songs which can come across as terribly  earnest but PJ Harvey pulls it off with patriotic power &  brilliance.

KATE BUSH - 50 WORDS FOR SNOW

Hello Kate where have you been? I love you and listen to you so much especially when I am alone in the house and tipsy on the wines. My GF and I invented a Metal Kate Bush choreographed dance one night at the Green Room in Melbourne that is how much you are adored in my circle. Only Kate Bush could pull off a concept album about a snowman. Her weird winter wonderland is dedicated to Misty the slowly dissolving snowman. Check it out.....

LYKKE LI - WOUNDED RHYMES

For the fans of girl group garage we have the fabulous Lykke Li with 60s doo wop that thumps! Great to dance to, to drink to, to sit to.

KIMBRA - VOWS

Putting aside that she is a Kiwi (like me) and also had a smash hit with Gotye, Kimbra is sex & sass in a camp Kylie way and I think I have a girl crush on her. And I love those girly girl outfits in the "Cameo Lover" vid.

LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

Lady Gaga is one crazy lady. I love her creativity & madness & (some) of her anthemic prose. Her costumes and contorted make up is the bomb. She poops all over Madonna who was still working at Dunkin Donuts age 25 yrs. I love her Marilyn Zombie ensemble for the 2011 Grammys duetting with country singer Sugarlady and drumming away on a grand piano. Classy!

BJORK - BIOPHILIA

Always pushing the boundaries, the year in music wouldn't be complete without mentioning Bjorks "scientific musical".  Most of the tracks are WAY out there with crazy break beats but I do like "Moon" and the Gondry video that goes with it especially as she is playing a harp which doubles as an accessory belt. Coooool.

Recent Record Finds

Just got back from the Operatic Societies 24 Hour Book Sale which is a very big book fair here in New Plymouth. Its held annually in the local stadium and - you guessed it - runs for 24 hours only! It kicked off at midday today so off Oscar & I went with some hope there might be a Thomas Tank Engine book left for us. Alas they had been picked clean. We had a really good rummage too but you have to be in first at these fairs to get what you want. The only book we purchased was a book on Vehicles which I can't currently wrestle from Oscars clutches to take a pic of. 

But we had better luck over in the LPs section and I'm really pleased with my haul. Nothing over $4 and the cheapest was the Joan Baez "Portrait of Joan Baez" for a mere $2. I've been listening to Kate Bush's "Kick Inside" recently so was chuffed to pick that up for $3 and the Rod Stewart ""Every Picture Tells a Story" gatefold with Ron Wood & The Faces is a steal at $2. The cover is a bit battered but record perfect. When I paid for my bargains a grey haired lady with "Joy" on her name tag said to me with a twinke in her eye "Ooooh Kris Kristofferson, he's so handsome isn't he". Yes Joy he is!