About this ebook
The story of the man, the music, the art, the attitude. Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly tells the story of one extraordinarily creative man's journey from the obscurity of punk rock to the heart of New Zealand culture.
'I've got things I can't recall
Like the colours of my bedroom wall
Oh, I can't decide if I
Want to know these things or why
They bother me and tantalise me so'
— from 'I've Left Memories Behind'
In the mid-1990s, the Village Voice described Chris Knox as 'indie rock's premier oddball singer songwriter' and, when Knox suffered a stroke a decade later, music icons such as Yo La Tengo, Bill Callahan, Neil Finn and Shayne Carter all showed up for concerts and a tribute album. Who is this epileptic, opinionated, shorts-and-jandals-wearing, endlessly creative musician and artist from New Zealand?
This is his story – from a childhood in 'flat, rectangular and boring' Invercargill to years of creative experimentation in Dunedin to family life in Auckland; from The Enemy's first gig at Dunedin's Beneficiaries Hall to Toy Love's tour of Australia and on to Tall Dwarfs' escapades around the globe; from tape loops and crashing cutlery recorded on a TEAC 4-track to the biting satire of Jesus on a Stick comics and Listener opinion pieces; and from home-recorded LPs delivered by hand to the ubiquitous voice on ads for Vogels and Heineken.
Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly tells the story of one extraordinarily creative man's journey from the obscurity of punk rock to the heart of New Zealand culture.
'Then again, all the time, every minute, neverending, unrelenting, all around us, without pausing, endless endless, all-pervading, movement motion, this way that way, ticktock, freefall, love love, kiss kiss, make do be is was I me b c d e f g h I think nothing's going to happen.'
— from 'Nothing's Going to Happen'
'I've got things I can't recall
Like the colours of my bedroom wall
Oh, I can't decide if I
Want to know these things or why
They bother me and tantalise me so'
— from 'I've Left Memories Behind'
In the mid-1990s, the Village Voice described Chris Knox as 'indie rock's premier oddball singer songwriter' and, when Knox suffered a stroke a decade later, music icons such as Yo La Tengo, Bill Callahan, Neil Finn and Shayne Carter all showed up for concerts and a tribute album. Who is this epileptic, opinionated, shorts-and-jandals-wearing, endlessly creative musician and artist from New Zealand?
This is his story – from a childhood in 'flat, rectangular and boring' Invercargill to years of creative experimentation in Dunedin to family life in Auckland; from The Enemy's first gig at Dunedin's Beneficiaries Hall to Toy Love's tour of Australia and on to Tall Dwarfs' escapades around the globe; from tape loops and crashing cutlery recorded on a TEAC 4-track to the biting satire of Jesus on a Stick comics and Listener opinion pieces; and from home-recorded LPs delivered by hand to the ubiquitous voice on ads for Vogels and Heineken.
Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly tells the story of one extraordinarily creative man's journey from the obscurity of punk rock to the heart of New Zealand culture.
'Then again, all the time, every minute, neverending, unrelenting, all around us, without pausing, endless endless, all-pervading, movement motion, this way that way, ticktock, freefall, love love, kiss kiss, make do be is was I me b c d e f g h I think nothing's going to happen.'
— from 'Nothing's Going to Happen'
The story of the man, the music, the art, the attitude. Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly tells the story of one extraordinarily creative man's journey from the obscurity of punk rock to the heart of New Zealand culture.
'I've got things I can't recall
Like the colours of my bedroom wall
Oh, I can...
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About the author
Craig Robertson is a professor of media studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the author of The Passport in America: The History of a Document (' provocative' – New York Times) and The Filing Cabinet: A Vertical History of Information (' captivating' – The Atlantic). Robertson grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, where as a student he wrote a thesis on the ' Dunedin Sound' , as well as articles for Rip It Up and a fanzine on local bands.
Craig Robertson is a professor of media studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the author of The Passport in America: The History of a Document (' provocative' – New York Times) and The Filing Cabinet: A Vertical History of Information (' captivating' – The Atlantic). Ro...
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