Split Enz classic has new shades to its colours
SOMEONE smarter than me once said, ‘‘The measure of a good song is one that can be reinterpreted in many ways by many people.’’ It’s not 100 per cent true, of course, but it’s an interesting metric.
Performing covers is one way musicians grow into their own, emulating their idols, and is, therefore, a high form of flattery.
Paying tribute to the beloved, idiosyncratic songs of Split Enz, 40 years after they were birthed into the world, True Colours, New Colours reworks the classic album that spent 10 weeks atop the Australian charts in 1981. An eclectic selection of artists from Australia and Aotearoa give their distinctive takes, each reimagining a song they love and adding their unique creative flair.
Chelsea Jade dives straight in the deep end with a dreamy, synth-heavy vision of Shark Attack that slows down the frenetic energy of the original to a steady sway. Shihad put meat on the bones of I Got You, adding substantial heft to its already infectious riff, before The Beths bring harmonies of delight to What’s the Matter with You.
Some artists warp the originals more than others, and it’s interesting to hear what different singers keep and discard from the Finns’ melodies. Bernard Fanning of Powderfinger gives a spooky spin to I Hope I Never, before a grunty guitar crunches into the chorus. Stan Walker takes Poor Boy and gives it a full soul makeover, while pop pin-ups Lime Cordiale soup up Nobody Takes Me Seriously.
The album’s title has it backwards because it’s the new versions first, but then it rolls straight into Split Enz’s original songs, fraught and kinetic – and you marvel at the creativity then and now.
Two movies with powerful soundtracks showcase two very different eras of hip-hop, each with its own story to tell. Music from The Movie: Dawn Raid chronicles the rise of the South Auckland record label, with choice early cuts from Deceptikonz, Aaradhna and Adeaze , as well as the songs that took Dawn Raid international.
It’s tough to overstate the influence they wielded, the demand they created and the legacy they left for the hip-hop scene thriving here today. A great time capsule of a unique era in local rap.
Meanwhile, Judas and The Black Messiah (scheduled to hit Kiwi cinemas on March 11) and The Inspired Album accompanying it features rap heavyweights like Jay Z, Rakim and Black Thought and creative new voices like Smino and Masego. The film dramatises the true story of Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, who was betrayed and ultimately killed by police in 1969.
Contributing artists were shown the film and asked to respond in song and the powerful verses resonate with anger and frustration in reaction to the injustice and aggression shown by law enforcement then and now.
It’s hip-hop at its most meaningful, speaking truth to power, with a wide range of styles and voices that keep it interesting and bode well for the upcoming movie.
Across
1. Perfect world (6)
4. Soldier of fortune (9)
9. Hurtful remark (4)
11. A wind direction (abbr) (3) 12. Cut (3)
13. Agreement or treaty (4)
15. Property divider (5)
16. Jar (3)
17. Minor quarrel (4)
19. Garden tool (4)
21. Flying toy (4)
23. Spin out (3)
24. Colour of the rainbow (6) 26. Stopper (4)
27. Single unit (3)
28. Inventive humour (3)
30. Pace (4)
31. Relating to sound (5)
32. Resources (5)
34. Obsession (5)
35. Practical joke (4)
36. Turn down (4)
38. Ancient form of you (4) 39. Bathroom powder (4)
40. Grabbing (6)
44. Look at (3)
45. Fit for consumption (6) 46. Bun (4)
48. Twelve months (4)
50. Fertiliser (6)
51. Sicken (3)
53. Coat of a stoat (6)
57. Balanced (4)
58. Opera song (4)
59. Yield (4)
61. Property document (4)
63. Mildly intoxicated (5)
65. Trainee (5)
67. Projecting piece of wood to insert in another (5)
68. Footwear (4) 69. Tie the knot (3)
70. Snow sport equipment (3) 71. Appeal (4)
72. Accident (6)
75. Garland (3)
76. Cast off (4)
79. Greek letter (4)
81. Poker pot (4)
82. Anger (3)
83. Immature insect (5) 84. Notion (4)
85. Increase the speed of an engine (3)
86. Annual illness (3)
87. Genus (4)
88. Device for keeping flight on course (9)
89. Chewy confectionery (6)
Down
1. Disagreeable (10)
2. Type of bread (4)
3. Pale-faced (5)
4. Plain clothes (5)
5. Dilapidated (3-4)
6. Free from an obligation (6) 7. Rocket (7)
8. Tug (4)
9. Most excellent (4) 10. Sourly (8)
14. Collar-less style of jumper (4,4)
18. Citizens (6)
20. Food preparation room (7) 22. Tiny amount (4)
25. Russian assembly (4)
29. Point of dispute (5)
30. Genuine (7)
33. Glorify (5)
34. Friendly (colloq) (5)
36. Belief in a supreme being (5) 37. Man-made fabric (5)
41. Semi-precious stone (5)
42. Harden (5)
43. Conservationist (colloq) (7) 47. Gangling (5)
49. Dodge (5)
52. Cut open (5)
54. Bureaucracy (3,4)
55. Impossible to weaken or change (4-4)
56. Set free (10)
59. Stylishly excellent person (5,3)
60. Cease (6)
62. Engrave (4)
63. Weighty book (4)
64. In the black (7)
66. Naval officer (7)
69. Hit hard (6)
73. Beam of light (5)
74. Approximately (5)
77. In this place (4)
78. Prima donna (4)
80. Minor argument (4)