Liam Finn could rightly be identified as a world citizen. The New Zealand native was a globetrotting toddler, accompanying father Neil Finn on Crowded House tours, repeating the experience as a young adult with his own band, the renowned Betchadupa. To record FOMO, the sophomore follow-up to 2007 solo debut I’ll Be Lightning, Finn relocated to London, but moved to New York City three years ago. Finn’s third solo set, The Nihilist, runs the gamut of his genetic and experiential influences. Finn will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.
Finn: Tonetta has been making DIY music and music videos since the ’80s. He has only gotten more prolific with age, often posting multiple videos a week on his YouTube channel. Tonetta is the female alter ego of reclusive Canadian Tony Jeffry, who dances seductively to his/her crunchingly groovy songs. I sometimes like to play people his music first before showing the videos, as they are confronting masterpieces. There’ve been dribs and drabs of information that has made it’s way out into the ether … and an unfortunate exploitative piece on Tosh.0. But his music speaks for itself. One of my favorites, “$Viral$,” is a great song to play before walking onstage. It’s so much louder than anything else I’ve heard, and always seems to grab the attention of a chatty audience.
