Who loves Neil Finn? I do!! He is a master songwriter and the work he's done, from Split Enz through the current incarnation of Crowded House, is phenomenal. Solo stuff and Finn Brothers (with Tim) are also chock full of awesome. And now Neil's son Liam is on the scene...there is waay too much musical talent in that family, am I right?

Finn-ish.

Oh dear.

*sigh*

oh yeah, it's the BOMFUNK

in seriousness, there's a whooole lot of metal bands from Finland isn't there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_from_Finland
only one I can see I know is HIM.

I quite like Woodface, and I've got Together Alone but I have to admit to never playing them anymore.

That Finnish artists list doesn't mention Wimme - not Finnish metal but my favourite Finn. Traditional "yoik" singing with ambient electronic backing - nice.

Sorry, not Crowded house either, I know I too, only have Woodface, but saw them last year when they were on a double bill with Peter Gabriel - very good they were too - but PG was deffo the highlight for me - then again, from comments I heard around me and reviews I've seen since, most of the audience were Crowdies so it probably evens out somewhere...

You know, I seriously can't believe that nobody here is into Crowded House and the other Neil/Tim Finn projects! Listen, if anyone is willing and able, go find a DVD from a few years back called Seven Worlds Collide. It's a live show featuring Neil Finn and friends...including Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder, Lisa Germano, Tim Finn, Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead, and Sebastian Steinberg. It's an awesome show even if you're not familiar with the Finns.

I like crowded house.

Apparently, Eddie Vedder grew up on Split Enz songs ; according to Neil Finn in Q magazine, a new album is due round about April, featuring contributions from sons Liam and Elroy, Johnny Marr, Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway, amongst others.

Yes, heard about the new disc and am stoked to hear it! It features the lineup (more or less) from the series of concerts Neil did in the 90's and that was AWESOME. Also, if I remember correctly, Eddie Vedder has an even stronger bond to the Finns then just being a fan. He is an avid surfer, as they are, and he often takes surfing trips to the Finn's native New Zealand. On one of these trips, late 90's, I think, he was out with Tim Finn and came off his board. Tim Finn apparently helped life guards to rescue Eddie and get him on shore. So I think his relationship with the Finn family is fairly tight, besides the professional stuff they do together.

I have always liked Crowded House even though I'm more into deep, dark, post-punk psychedilia (and more recently nu-folk)
The guitar on "Stormy Weather" is pretty close to the sort of stuff Will (of Echo & the Bunnymen) can achieve.

Together Alone is one of my favourite albums, with a cool story about how it was made:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYHbywNEGY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoySd1j1qnE

in another thread, ChrissieInFL wrote:

Bright Grey wrote: Looks interesting. My gold standard for band bios are my Split Enz and Crowded House books. Which books are those, Bright Grey? I love the Finns and wonder if I'd be able to track those down as I'd be quite keen to read them.

The Split Enz book is called Stranger Than Fiction and is a collector's item these days and if you can find a copy it's usually expensive. But several years ago permission was gained from author Mike Chunn to scan the book and put it online here:

http://www.book.russells.id.au/

Not the easiest way to read it because each page is uploaded individually (was done in the days before pdf converters etc were common), but you can always print out your own copy...

But it's a good yarn.

Along with STF, essential listening for any Enz fan or just interested in music biographies is the fantastic Enzology series made by Radio New Zealand, which can be streamed or downloaded here:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/enzology


The Crowded House book is called Something So Strong and these days can be purchased direct from the author Chris Bourke:

http://www.chrisbourke.co.nz

Might be worth sending him an email first to make sure he still has copies before going through the ordering process. He also has lots of articles and reviews about CH and the Finns he's written on the site.

Last week was 4 years since Paul Hester died...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD8pMIH1puw