Tag Archive
New Zealand: Bic Runga – Belle
Back when Wukailong and I started this blog, my first ever music post was about New Zealand’s Bic Runga. Over the last few years, she’s been raising her son Joseph and taking a break from the music business. But children get older and she felt it was time to record again. Thus was born her [...]
Taiwan: We Save Strawberries (草莓救星)
Formed in Taichung in 1998, We Save Strawberries is one of the more popular indie bands in Taiwan and one of my personal favorites. Their style can best be described as eclectic, drawing from all kinds of sources such as folk, light rock and electronic pop. Their lead singer Labi Wu (吳嘵萓) has a soft, feminine [...]
Movie Review: 2 Days In New York
Before I even start this review, I have to make one thing clear: I’m a big fan of both Julie Delpy and Chris Rock. Putting them together caught my interest right away. That, and the fact that the movie was written and directed by Delpy made me curious as to what she would create. There’s [...]
USA: Exit Clov
This week is Taiwan’s annual Spring Scream festival, held in Kenting which is located in the very southern part of the island. Started in 1995, it’s become an annual rite of spring for Taiwanese youths, where they can catch the latest musical acts from a variety of styles. This year, making their first appearance at [...]
Israel: Eatliz
What’s an Israeli band doing on Pacific Rim Shots? Aren’t we all about PacRim countries? So how does Eatliz get on here? Easy, they’re about to tour China! The tour is planned around the JUE Festival (which this year headlines Death Cab For Cutie) but they’ll be hitting other cities to increase their exposure. Here are [...]
New Zealand: Kimbra
Kimbra released her first album in New Zealand on August 29th of last year and a few days later in Australia. It made the top five in both countries so she’s still a relatively unknown singer yet her future looks bright. Possessed of a fine voice, her style is in the pop/soul range, at least [...]
Taiwan: The White Eyes (白目樂隊)
Just released, here’s a new video from The White Eyes called “In Lust I Lost”. Featuring Gao Xiao-gao (高小糕) on lead vocals, they describe themselves on their MySpace page as Garage/Psychedelic/Punk, though this song is more flowing and melodic. You can find five songs on MySpace to sample if you want a broader selection of their [...]
Taiwan: Newly Released Music
There have been several new albums from Taiwan bands and singers that have caught my attention recently. Here is a review of what’s going on in the music world, or at least a sampling of it. Aboriginal singer/songwriter Ilid Kaolo (以莉‧高露) has just released her debut album, My Carefree Life (輕快的生活) in the last week, a [...]
New Zealand: Bic Runga
As a regular feature, I’d like to highlight a different musical artist located somewhere on the Pacific Rim. I’ll start with New Zealand’s most popular female singer, Bic Runga. For the people outside of New Zealand who are familiar with her, most know the song “Sway” which was a popular hit and also appeared in [...]
