Vote For Pedro: The one-year anniversary of Covering The Mouse is fast approaching. To celebrate, Kurtis is asking his readers to vote for their favorite Disney covers that he’s posted. Head on over here to let him know what you want to hear.
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My niece has been in town this week, visiting with her boyfriend who’s from New Zealand. That’s all the excuse I need to present a collection of Kiwi music. Special thanks to Frank and to Kiwi Sue for helping me put this week’s post together.
Wing “Highway To Hell” (AC/DC)
Wing was born in Hong Kong but moved to New Zealand, where her apparently well-to-do husband has financed a series of CDs featuring Wing’s singular performances. She is so famous she was featured in an episode of South Park. She reminds me a lot of Mrs. Miller.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists “Six Months In A Leaky Boat” (Split Enz)
When I was researching the song I discovered that people either love this song or absolutely despise it. I’m not sure why, it’s harmless enough. This is just Ted Leo and his electric guitar, doing his best Billy Bragg impression.
Bic Runga “Ashes To Ashes” (David Bowie)
I had never heard of Bic Runga before I started writing this post but she’s apparently quite popular in New Zealand. And rightly so, she’s got a beautiful voice.
Head Like A Hole “Summer Nights” (From the musical Grease)
HLAH were huge in New Zealand before they broke up, even snarling traffic by playing atop a rooftop in downtown Auckland.
Stephen Malkmus “Death And The Maiden” (The Verlaines)
New Zealand is so isolated that people outside of NZ haven’t heard many Kiwi bands and so there aren’t a whole lot of covers of them. Especially once you get past the Finn brothers (Split Enz and Crowded House). But here’s a cover of New Zealand’s Verlaines.
Rachael Barton “God Defend New Zealand” (Traditional)
Rachael Barton is a very talented classical violinist from Chicago. Here she has her way with the national anthem of New Zealand. And it’s a strange national anthem. Usually a national anthem boasts about how great a country is and/or how mighty its military is. This one basically asks God to protect the nation from everything from foreign invaders to athlete’s foot.