GO STERIOGRAM - legends! 4 nominations in the MTV video awards: Best Direction In A Video, Best Special Effects In A Video, Best Art Direction In A Video and Breakthrough Video. And now it's completely sealed - knitting is COOL!

David: I hate the word "orally", it makes me just *shudder*. I don't mind "verbally" though. So I go to Sounds all the time and look at the CDs. This whole downloading music from the internet never appealed to me - in part because I can't search my way out of a wet paper bag to find the music to start with, and downloading with a dialup connection is a pain in the butt even if the music is erm.. *free*. I mean, yeh I'm totally about paying full price for CDs so the music industry get's all its money and stuff yeh RIGHT ON. So I visit Sounds a lot because I like buying CDs. I don't like buying lots of things - I don't like buying clothes or shoes or cars or houses or groceries or petrol, but I fully love buying CDs and books and plastic containers and makeup. So I visited Sounds today with just enough spare cash to buy one CD. I'm doing okay so far working for myself but I'm a bit skint til Friday so I only had enough money for a few essentials: milk, bread, chicken, lamingtons and a CD to get me through the week. I'd already purchased the first four items on my list of life's basic needs and decided the treat of new music to work by this evening would be good. So normally when I go to Sounds I have money. I often go in looking for something in particular and end up buying nothing. For instance: going in there a few weeks ago to buy a Weezer album because I've always liked them and never had any of their music. I liked the Sweater Song and Buddy Holly and el Scorcho to name a few but they were across albums not all on one and I was feeling buying four Weezer albums was a bit over-the-top so I didn't buy anything. Or going into Sounds to buy Warren Zevon's last album and not finding *any* Warren Zevon albums and leaving in disgust. That's pretty much how my "going to Sounds" goes. Look for it - find it/don't find it - change-my-mind/stomp-out-in-a-grump. So today I went to Sounds with the decision to buy 1 CD. I started at the door with Avril Lavigne - yeh, that'd be a good one. She's cool, her music's cool, i have a few tracks of hers on my iTunes and having more'd be great, yeh *pick that up*. Two steps into the store I see Franz Ferdinand - that video on high-rotation on C4 is cool and the tune Take Me Out is catchy, yeh *take Franz Ferdinand CD and put Avril Lavigne in it's place*. Few more steps in the door and there's Linkin Park's Meteora. Damn, that's a damn fine album, I'd really like that I have most of their stuff on iTunes but none from this *pick up Meteora put Franz Ferdinand in it's place*. So I am in Sounds and so far made it in the door to the New Zealand music section. Bic Runga, GoldenHorse, Katchafire, Shihad Pacifier, Strawpeople arg! Decide that's just suicide because there are so many CDs there that I want I'll move further into the store and browse near the back of the shop. So I am in sounds and there it is, THE album, the BEST OF or DEFINTIVE COLLECTION OF or ESSENTIAL or WHATEVER Weezer. 2 disc set for $49.95. DAMN. I have $30. TYPICAL. I pick it up I put it down I pick it up I put it down. It has all the songs I've heard and liked. I pick it up I put it down. I can't afford it. Moving right along and look at these Radiohead CDs, sure, I have them all but these are NEW and CLEAN and NOT SCRATCHED. I pick them up I put them down. I pick one up that is all in Japanese and want it so badly without even knowing what-the-heck is on it. I put it down. So I am in Sounds and becoming agitated at how many good CDs are here and I am only allowed ONE! There in the P section is a new Proclaimers CD, Born Innocent. Well, Okay, I have no idea if it's new but I don't own it. I'm a huge Proclaimers fan. Must_have_all_the_albums. I put the Linkin Park CD in the Proclaimers slot and take the Proclaimers the two steps to put it down where Warren Zevon's final album The Wind used to be because now it's in my hands. But wait - Zevon, Weezer. I have the Weezer album in my hand again. Zevon. Weezer. Radiohead. Proclaimers. Linkin Park. Looking back up the alphabet at all the albums that have caught my fancy since walking in the door all out of sequence now and all calling me to buy them. So I am in Sounds and I am frustrated and annoyed. I can only buy ONE album and there are easily 12 I want. All I want is one to listen to while I work. But today on a day when I don't have enough money to buy everything in the world I see a bunch of CDs I would love to own. So I am walking out of Sounds without a CD in my hand. I am striding with purpose and decision. I pass other CDs that I suddenly see that I've never seen before. I slow fingers brushing plastic cases with "ooh I love this guy" or "ahh I love singing this" with a few "oh man I've been looking for that" but I keep moving. It's too late now I'm in that place, that frustrated place where I have made my decision and I'm sticking to it dammit. So I'm back were I started and I pick up Avril Lavigne's new album from the front of the Sounds store. Rounding the New Zealand music section trying not to hear Bic Runga or Goldenhorse or Katchafire calling for my attention, ignoring Strawpeople and Shihad and Radiohead I stride confidently up to the counter. I smile at the boy there and offer him the Avril Lavigne CD case and say "ahhh.." and he looks at me. "ahhh.. " He raises his eyebrows and I realise all Sound's boys are cute but this one's the cutest. "ahh.." and his fingers are on the CD case and mine are too and we're both holding it and suddenly I snatch it away from him and with one determined finger "be right back" zoom back to the front of the store to put Avril back and grab the Franz Ferdinand CD. "this one!" I say as I arrive back at the counter. So I have been to Sounds today and bought 1 CD to listen to while I work tonight. It's self titled by a band called Franz Ferdinand and it's okay.

Crikey there're some good music videos around at the moment - and some of the very best are from New Zealand! I don't know anything at all about Yellowcard except I like their video "Ocean Avenue" repetitive theme very much. Infectious, bouncey and homegrown, Fast Crew have made a joyous quirky video with the release of "I got...". I love everything about this video especially that one of the guys opens his mouth as wide as he can to get all his words out - and am fascinated by the checkboard dance mat - is it the same one from Steriogram's "White Trash", the Boost Mobile advert on tv and Scribe's (can't remember the name of the song) video? or does The Warehouse sell these checkerboard mats really cheap? :) Op Shops latest "No Ordinary Thing" is just beautiful, 3D animation - the colours, the ideas, the execution - I can't get enough of watching it. I heard the boys interviewed and the brief they gave the designers was to make something that included a the world exploding in reverse and a video where the viewer always got something new from it every time they watched it and by joves, the designers managed both things! and of course the song rocks as well. I can't help but sing loud to Hoobastank's "The Reason" and hereby apologise to anyone within listening distance. It's SO singable! I like the video too - and watch it whenever I can. It reminds me of website interfaces for some reason. That worn/weathered look of the back of the store and in the vaults is similar to the look of cool sites in various corners of the interweb (and maybe in a Jar near you this Summer) "Ride" by The Vines is awesome by the very thought of so many drum kits all playing at the same time. I'd LOVE to hear what that sounded like before they overlay'd the clean track. Watching all the bands rocking out is really really COOL. As everyone knows, I don't know much about music. I only listen to music in the car, and hardly anywhere else except when I bust out singing a chorus or wrangle the karaoke microphone off whomever has it and won't give it back - but I do like a little C4 most days because I love watching music videos and these are definately worth a look if you haven't seen them yet.