30 Years Ago: Michael Nyman’s unexpected chart success
Michael Nyman is not a pop star. Yet his soundtrack to The Piano has landed him in the commercial marketplace, writes GARY STEEL
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Macho Man Randy Savage
MATT KELLY loves records by washed-up wrestlers but Randy Savage's attempt to musically spar with Hulk Hogan is an unmitigated disaster.
40 Years Ago: Hammond Gamble
GARY STEEL chats with Hammond Gamble about his Allstars Sing The Blues with Beaver.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #100: Metallica with Lou Reed – Lulu
MATT KELLY somehow manages to listen to 90 minutes of possibly the worst collaborative album by major rock figures ever made.
Live Shows From Way Back – The Chills
GARY STEEL revisits his short review of a Chills gig in a pub one dark night in Wellington back in 1984.
Live Shows From Long Ago – Radioactive Band Of The Year contest 1984
GARY STEEL listened to the good, the bad and the ugly in an ‘alternative’ battle of the bands, 1984-style.
40 Years Ago: Working With Walt
GARY STEEL digs up a story about a Dunedin band from way back in 1984 in which he interviews Jan Hellriegel’s bro, Rob.
Rick Wakeman’s horrific Beatles ‘Tribute’
MATT KELLY finds a blotch in the prog-rock keyboard maestro's catalogue that's even more risible than King Arthur On Ice.
NZ music’s battle to be heard – 40 years ago, that is
NZ music acts whining about how hard it is to make a mark in 2024 might find this piece about the struggle to make
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Wing
MATT KELLY's tribute to one of the best/worst singers ever to grace NZ stages and Southpark, a true classic of awful. RIP Wing.
Graham Nash – Just a song before he goes (to Christchurch)
GARY STEEL joined a venue full of grey power in a two-hour journey through 60 years of music history.
Graham Nash’s 60 Years Of Songs & Stories
GARY STEEL chats with GRAHAM NASH about his halcyon 60 years in rock and his first-ever solo dates in New Zealand.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Captain Sensible’s Happy Talk
MATT KELLY has something to say about a punk icon making music softer than a pillowcase stuffed with whipped cream.
Diving Off The Deep End – NZ music from 40 years ago
Forty years ago Wellington had its second Off The Deep End festival of experimental music. GARY STEEL and a few chums wrote about it.
The Shadows: Interviewed 40 years ago
Way back in 1984 GARY STEEL had a natter with The Shadows during their New Zealand tour and extracted their exasperation.
Two Pink Guy albums for the price of one. Gah!
MATT KELLY listens all the way through (so you don't have to) to two of the most imbecilic records ever made. Shame on Pink
There’s a riot goin’ on: Riot III
Riot III's explosive and controversial music gets a respectful reissue 43 years later. GARY STEEL, who was there at the time, digs in.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Ladbaby’s sausage roll record
MATT KELLY reproduces a letter reprimanding in no certain terms Ladbaby for the unforgivable indiscretion of his sausage roll song.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Fallout Boy’s Mania
MATT KELLY once had a bit of a thing for Fallout Boy, but no more, savaging their Mania album for being the dog it
Riot 111: Wellington’s “terrorist” punk band
To celebrate the imminent release of a lovely vinyl platter capturing the key moments of Wellington's “terrorist” punk band Riot 111, here’s a story
