Having had the pleasure of listening to the digital version of Merge Records' Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox for the past two months, I was pleasantly surprised to see the 2-CD set show up in the mailbox this week. I had forgotten that it was coming.

For those who have missed the boat thus far, pick this up. If you're a fan of Kiwi rock or American indie rock, you'll find much to like here. If you're a Knox fan, it's a no-brainer. Even if the music wasn't great, it's for a great cause: Helping Knox to recover from a June 11, 2009 stroke that left him debilitated.

Knox is a gifted songwriter who seems intent most of all on entertaining himself. His songs are concise, biting, darkly humorous, goofy and extremely catchy. The most-successful artists on this set use that as a launching point, putting their own stamp on the tune. These are kindred spirits, if not in sound, than certainly in soul. Jeff Magnum, Yo La Tengo, Mountain Goats, Lambchop... it's an impressive set.

Pitchfork had a nice feature with Knox this week where they asked what he listened to at five-year intervals in his life. With the help of the Straightjacket Fits' Shayne Carter, he offers energetic affirmations of artists like the Beatles, Robert Wyatt, Neutral Milk Hotel and Beck.

Labels: Chris Knox, music

It's a shame that it took Chris Knox having a stroke to lead to this, but the new 2-CD tribute to Knox, Stroke, is a fantastic collection of songs from the New Zealand songwriter performed by 34 simpatico artists. The proceeds from the set go to help Knox, who suffered a life-altering stroke on June 11 of this year.

Albums like these are usually a bit spotty, but the participating artists all seem to not only understand Knox and his music, but are able to approach it with the same wild and wooly spirit he brought to his songs.

The disc is a who's who of New Zealand pop, with luminaries like the Chills, Peter Gutteridge, Shayne Carter (Straightjacket Fits), Alec Bathgate, the Bats, David and Hamish Kilgour and others in the fold. Several U.S. indie acts also contribute, from Bonnie "Prince" Billy to Bill Callahan to, most marketably, Jeff Magnum.

You can purchase the set right now digitally from Merge Records for just $11.99 ($14.99 for FLAC files) or spring for the limited-edition 2-CD set for $19.99. That one will be mailed in late February, but you'll get the MP3 version right away. Do the right thing and spring for this. All of the money goes to help Knox with his recovery.


I saw Knox perform a solo show in the mid '90s, and it was one of the most captivating, enjoyable shows I've seen. His energy made it all but impossible to remain passive, and his knack for strong hooks made each song a singalong despite my never having heard some of them before. To know that this energy was bottled up because of the stroke and the resulting health woes is saddening; to know that Knox seems hell-bent on recovery and that this 2-disc set might help in some small way to speed that process, makes it doubly good.

To learn more about the disc, go to its web site, which features information about each track and contributing artist.

Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out

Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son

Labels: Chris Knox, music