Apparently, singer/songwriter Neil Finn isn’t content to sit back and let his ridiculously talented offspring handle the musical load in his family. Just a year removed from Crowded House’s excellent Intriguer album, everyone’s favorite Kiwi is headed back into record stores as part of a project called Pajama Club. Originally named Pajama Party (I guess the ’80s freestyle group of the same name raised a stink?), the band consists of Neil, his wife Sharon, and musician Alana Skyring. Indie musician Sean Donnelly will join […]
Posts tagged "Crowded House"
Liam Finn Brings “Lightning” in a Bottle to Boston
The talent apple doesn’t always fall so closely to the tree. For every Jakob Dylan or Ben Taylor or ?uestlove, there’s…well, let’s not go there right now. When your dad is Neil Finn, one of my ten favorite songwriters of all time, the bar is set that much higher (at least for this music lover). Liam Finn’s 2008 debut, I’ll Be Lightning, vaulted him over the bar. A solid collection of quirky pop (with a bit of a rockier sound […]
Popblerd Presents!: The Top 40 Albums of 2010 (25-21)
Hey folks, I’ll be taking tomorrow off from posting because I intend to stuff myself silly with Christmas-related goodies (many of which will very likely contain alcohol), and I haven’t had the opportunity to build up my usual backlog of posts that I can fall back on when I’m lazy/stuffed/drunk. So to you Popblerd! readers who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a safe and joyous holiday. To those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, enjoy your Chinese food and Tron: […]
I Guess “Dependable-Or” Was Already Taken?
One of the most consistently solid songwriters of recent times (who doesn’t really get the props he deserves) has been Neil Finn. I’ll admit to not being familiar with Split Enz (an issue I hope to rectify soon enough), but whether solo, recording with his brother Tim, part of the 7 Worlds Collide collective or as part of Crowded House, I think he’s the singer/songwriter for whom the term “Beatle-esque” can most readily be applied. And although there might be […]
New Release Report 7/13/10: Too M>AI>NY Symbols
Whatever happened to letting the music do the talking? Yes, M.I.A., I’m referring to you. The set up for the Sri Lanka-born rapper’s third album (which is called “Maya” but is spelled out with some ridiculous set of symbols that I have no desire to replicate here) has been marred by a bizarre video and a flame war with a New York Times writer who decided to air out some…shall we say, inconsistencies in M.I.A.’s actual lifestyle vs. her artistic […]
"Intriguer" Marks Crowded House Return: Album Due in June
When most bands reunite after a long absence, they reunite and then implode yet again. Thankfully, with Crowded House, that is not the case. My favorite New Zealanders (now with one black guy who looks like this guy I used to work with named Chris) reappeared in 2007 after an absence of nearly fifteen years. While the resulting album, “Time on Earth” wasn’t the equal of past efforts, it was a solid album, and I was fortunate enough to see […]