Remembering Martin Phillipps on East FM, Saturday from midday
As a Gen Xer and NZ music enthusiast, it’s taken these days to comprehend the loss of Martin Phillipps, who died last Sunday aged 61. That’s too young, but what an extraordinarily full life, with a significant chunk of it on the road playing his music of The Chills to audiences in this country and across the planet.
As an indie-rock band out of Dunedin, and for its Kiwi fans (us Gen Zers), it has always been a great source of pride that one of ours generated attention abroad.
They attracted fans everywhere, and the only time I met him was on foreign soil at a venue, The Orange, at Islington, in London, around 1996. Our band had a gig upstairs in the acoustic room, while The Chills were headlining in the main room below. Sound check times overlapped and we talked while waiting around. They were road warriors, on one of their many UK and European tours.
I remember seeing them at the late-great Gluepot here in the late 1980s, too, the last NZ gig before heading overseas for the first time to fly the flag for the Dunedin Sound.
Martin Phillipps will be missed. A great New Zealander who accentuated our national character in all his eccentricities. The legacy he leaves with us is priceless, music so vast in quantity and lush in quality, and those who were fortunate enough to acquire a taonga from recent online sales of his legendary pop-culture collection know they now possess a wonderful connection to a man that showed the world what Kiwis can do. And acquire.
There are many of Phillipps’ and The Chills songs that are part of our national cultural DNA, the soundtrack to the Gen Xer life – I Love My Leather Jacket, Heavenly Pop Hit, Pink Frost, Kaleidoscope World, Doldrums, Rolling Moon – and recent albums, Snow Bound (2018) and Scatterbrain (2021), are regular favourites, especially the driving song Complex:
I’m not the man you think I am
I’m a complex piece of the plan…
Essential viewing: One of the best music documentaries is The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps, made in recent years and telling the story of a determined Kiwi bloke driven to take his music to the world, and of a band that must have the record for most members over four decades. And at the end, he and they were at their most settled and enjoying the most original of NZ indie rock n’ roll. – PJ
I’ll be playing music by The Chills on tomorrow’s She’ll Be Right on Saturdays Show with PJ Taylor, midday to 4pm on East FM, East Auckland’s fair-dinkum community-powered public service radio station, on 88.1FM and 107.1FM on local frequencies, nationally and globally at www.eastfm.nz... and on app iHeart Radio.
Photo: Martin Phillipps in the 1980s. Page 293 in John Dix's book Stranded in Paradise, the History of NZ Rock n' Roll 1955-1988.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.5% Yes
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14.8% No
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2.8% Other - I'll share below
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Riddle Alert! Who’s Up for Some Brain-Busting Fun?
4-letter word, always done tomorrow,
We’re out of tea, the ultimate sorrow!
Without the eye, you owe me some money,
No sugar no nectar no sweetness no honey,
4-letter word, if by chance you choose,
You can never win, you can only lose!
What is the 4-letter word?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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