Considering that half the music we listen to nowadays is made on a PC, and that the internet has become the primary means of getting hold of music for many, it's surprising that there aren't that many songs about computers or the web. Download the Counting The Beat - Computer Games podcast

With judges including Tom Waits, Robert Smith (The Cure), Loretta Lynne and Frank Black (Pixies)and a US$25,000 first prize the International Songwriting Competition is a big deal. Kiwi acts have a history of doing well in the contest and soem of those entries are featured in this episode. Download the Counting The Beat - International Songwriting Competition podcast

This episode features a bunch of new and recent releases. Download the Counting The Beat - New & Recent Releases Feb 08 podcast

Last year saw an interesting development in the local music scene - the revival of folk music. Well, not so much folk as folk influenced indie pop. And while it would be fair to say that this isn't an overwhelming trend (I'm not arguing this is the new Dunedin Sound or anything) there were a notable number of, mainly pretty young, groups picking up acoustic guitars and counting in with a "one, two, folk you". Download the Counting The Beat - What the Folk! podcast

If you spend a bit of time wandering around the internet reading music blogs (and since you're reading this, I presume you do) you'll find that there are a number of bloggers obsessed with covers. I'm pretty fond of them myself so a while back I decided that I would run an occasional series called Covering The Beat - NZ bands covering NZ bands. The first Covering The Beat featured three bands covering The Chills. This episode casts a wider net although Flying Nun originals still feature. Download the Counting The Beat - Covering The Beat 2 podcast

Every year the New Zealand Music Commission makes a big fuss about the kiwi bands making an appearance at the auspicious South by Southwest(SXSW) music conference in Austin, Texas. I've always been a little cynical about this. The way it's been spun makes it sound like even getting on the bill is a sign of making it when in fact thousands of bands appear and I've yet to hear about an NZ act that made it big as result of making the trip. However, this year I've been following the conference on-line and it does sound like one hell of a good party. My plan now is to find some way of getting someone to pay for me to go to the next one. There are a host of Counting The Beat favourites in this year's line up and this podcast episode will feature some of them. Download the Counting The Beat - NZ @ SXSW podcast

Another month and another batch of great new releases. Download the Counting The Beat - New Releases March 08

In late 1978 / early 1979 there were a series of sighting of mysterious moving lights over the Kaikoura Range that many believed were extra-terrestrial craft. However, unlike many flying saucer sightings, these unexplained objects were seen by credible witnesses and were caught on film by a TV crew. There were even unexplained radar readings that coincided with their appearance. The event caught the imagination of the country and the world. The Kaikoura lights were behind the title of the 1991 Flying Nun compilation Pink Flying Saucers Over the Southern Alps and 28 years after the event The Mysterious Tape Man recorded a track, 'Kaikoura U.F.O.'. This episode features NZ songs about UFOs. Download the Counting The Beat - U.F.O. Podcast

On April 19 independent record stores across the USA are marking Record Store Day. The purpose is to highlight and celebrate the role independent record stores play in promoting and providing an outlet for the music that your supermarket, chain store or Warehouse doesn't stock. These stores are under threat world wide. In Auckland probably more record stores have closed in the last ten years than remain open. The result isn't just a decline in convenience. When small and specialist record stores disappear there is an impact on the kind of music that can be made, distributed and purchased. Chain stores just don't stock music from outside of the mainstream, their focus is on the dollar. While the people who run really good independent stores definitely want to make a buck they are also music fans and that makes all the difference. One of the greatest record shops I've ever known was Crawlspace Records on K Road in Auckland. Download the Counting The Beat - Record Store Day Podcast

What's going on? There is an avalanche of great new releases at the moment. In fact, there are too many to cover in one episode of Counting the Beat. Watch out for a second April round-up coming soon. Download the Counting The Beat - New Releases April 08 Podcast