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Books to Celebrate NZ Music Month

New Zealand Music Month happens every May, it's a reminder that we have so many talented musicians, singer, songwriters here in Aotearoa. There are so many great gigs and events that happen throughout the month and then finally ends with a celebration at The New Zealand Music Awards. Here are some great reads from NZ artists and writers to enjoy!

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1
Chris Knox

Chris Knox

ByCraig Robertson

I've got things I can't recall Like the colours of my bedroom wall Oh, I can't decide if I Want to know these things or why They bother me and tantalise me so – from 'I've Left Memories Behind' In the mid-1990s, the Village Voice described Chris Knox as 'indie rock's premier oddball singer songwriter'. When Knox suffered a stroke a decade later, music icons such as Yo La Tengo, Bill Callahan, Neil Finn, and Shayne Carter all showed up for concerts and a tribute album. Who is this epileptic, opinionated, shorts-and-jandals-wearing, endlessly creative musician and artist from New Zealand? This is his story – from a childhood in 'flat, rectangular and boring' Invercargill to years of creative experimentation in Dunedin to family life in Auckland; from The...

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2
Songs from the Shaky Isles

Songs from the Shaky Isles

ByGareth Shute

Songs from the Shaky Isles provides a vivid account of how popular music arose in our far-flung island nation. From early songs that could only be heard in person through to modern hits which spread digitally to all ends of the earth. It's a fast-paced, big picture account that shows how wider society influenced, and was itself impacted by, the country's musical culture. There's also plenty of room for outrageous anecdotes and insightful analysis. It's a treat for music fans and history buffs alike.

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The Clean
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The Clean

ByRichard Langston

Now, you said it was yesterday, yesterday’s another day Heading round in make believe, I don’t know if it’s you or If it’s me oh, I don’t know, I don’t know Tally ho, tally ho! In 1978 in Dunedin the Kilgour brothers, Hamish and David, and their schoolfriend Peter Gutteridge, got together to form a band called The Clean. When Robert Scott joined in 1980 the band found a combination that endured for nearly forty years. The Clean profoundly changed alternative music: hitting the New Zealand charts for months with a single made for $50, ‘Tally Ho!’; helping establish Flying Nun and a music scene independent of the big labels; pioneering a low-fi, do-it-yourself approach to rock music; and touring internationally to influence bands like Pavement and Yo...

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4
Don't Dream It's Over

Don't Dream It's Over

ByJeff Apter

Don't Dream It's Over by Jeff Apter delves into the journey of Crowded House, one of the most iconic bands of the late 20th century. The biography covers their rise to fame, the personal dynamics within the band, and the challenges they faced along the way, offering an intimate look at their musical legacy.

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5
How to Loiter In a Turf War

How to Loiter In a Turf War

ByCoco Solid

A genre-bending work of autobiographical fiction from one of Aotearoa's fiercest and most versatile artists. Like nothing you've read before, How to Loiter in a Turf War is a lucid, genre-bending, cinematic work of fiction from one of Aotearoa's most versatile artists. It's a day in the life of three friends beefing with their own city, Tamaki Makaurau. With gentrification closing in and racial tensions sweltering, the girls must cling to their friendship like a life raft, determined not to let their neighbourhood drift out to sea. Fast, ferociously brilliant, crack-up funny and unforgettably true. 'This book paints a picture of the Auckland I grew up in - when waiting for the 025 to town was a gamble, and the answer to the question 'where are you from?'...

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6
Dead People I Have Known

Dead People I Have Known

ByShayne Carter

When we crashed over the line two and a half minutes later, there was a short, disbelieving silence and I could feel my knee trembling behind its sarcastic 'Disco' patch. A song I'd written had just been played to the finish, and what's more, it hadn't sounded weak, or delusional—it had, in fact, kicked. I backed down from the mic. Here was a new world of sound. Its sky was borderless, and its horizon curled off a previously flat earth. I'd been given a virtual superpower and a flame to shoot from my fingers. In Dead People I Have Known, the legendary New Zealand musician Shayne Carter tells the story of a life in music, taking us deep behind the scenes and songs of his riotous teenage bands...

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