…something so bad that it’s unimaginable comes along. There I was, enjoying a quiet Saturday evening with a cup of tea on the sofa, watching New Zealand’s music station for old fogies, when J2 threw me something I think the Americans call ‘a curveball’: I was exposed to a blonde woman with a guitar, lounging around a farm shed, shaking her fists to the rhythm of a very mediocre country tune (aren’t they all?) and was treated with lyrics that made me spill my tea and confining the best girlfriend ever into conniptions. Here an excerpt:
I’m lifting high
up in the summer sky
it’s time for me to fly
I’m chasing my dreams inside of me
they will set me free
Or something like that. There was more fist shaking and talk of ‘coming down on someone like a country storm’, lounging around in a red dress and all sorts of things.
Apparently this is a woman called Aly Cook. She has a website and all and is apparently famous. You can watch the amazing video here. Maybe she should fire her lyricist? And the guy who does her videos? And why does she wear underwear in that breezy old shearing shack?
It just shows that just because it’s from New Zealand it doesn’t have to be any good. Bit like the National Party, really.
Messaged from the Outhouse 
Just want to say thanks… as thanks to this posting.. I’ve had a number of hits and emails and I’ve even sold a couple of DVDs. Which add to the old adage “any publicity is good publicity”… I felt quite hurt when I first read what you wrote about me, my song, and the nice people like my vid director who have helped me acheive my goals. Then I thought.. no I’m proud of the song, of the fact, I did some of my own camera work in the US on that video. I got it out there without a record company, any financial backing or any NZOA funding. I’m proud of my acheivements. Having my first single solo single nominated for APRA Country Song of the Year 2005, and with my former band DNE being nominated for Juice Television Dance video of the Year 2001 for Be There. Which also got playlisted onto MTV Europe. My compositions have been licenced for use on TV including shortland street and Love Bites and new song GROW was a finalist in the MLT Songwriting awards. I am proud of the video maker as well, who is a 6 times quantas award winner for TV editing and won the KNACK award at the NZ music video awards in 2006 for best video made for under 5k .. Hes worked for TVNZ for the last 17 years. Your posting also alerted me to the fact J2 had the song back in the rotate so thanks for that.. Thats a fairly poison pen you’ve got there in the outhouse.. perhaps you should shove it somewhere while your seated out there .. Or pick some major signed artist with a big budget who doesnt have to struggle to scape pennies together to do their art or worry about where their next recording budget is coming from ..
Hiho,
and thanks for posting.
Well, I don’t think there is any doubt that music will ever please everybody. Tastes differ, and some of us can’t stand country music, including me. Your video was obviously made to make people look, and so you can tell your director that he definitely succeeded in having me bound to the the TV screen for the length of the song. Unfortunately I didn’t happen to like what I saw. That’s life for an artist: you’re supposed to stir people, and in the case of that song and that video it backfired (on me).
But as you said:
Bad publicity is better than no publicity.
Again,
thanks for posting.
D
P.S. I assume I take the comment about the poisoned pen as a compliment. Thanks.