It’s costume chaos week on House of Drag – but who surfs the waves and who gets washed ashore? Sam Brooks power-ranks episode three of House of Drag. After a shaky beginning, it seems that House of Drag is beginning to find its feet on the catwalk. Episode three is an altogether tighter ship, with clear narratives for the … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on the Real Pod, we power through a delicious week on Bake Off, a bridesmaids scuffle on Project Runway NZ and a huge showdown on House of Drag. Jane and Duncan share their … Read more
This week GKBO showed us what baking heaven really looks like: a cock on a pie. Welcome, ye olde roosters, to Pies and Tarts Week. Tara Ward power-ranks. Oh GKBO, you spoil us. I thought nothing could reach the giddy heights of last week’s biscuit extravaganza, when we scaled the Eiffel Tower and bathed in the … Read more
It’s a story as old as time: a great book makes for a perfectly fine television series. Sam Brooks reviews My Brilliant Friend. You know how when you see a photo of the Mona Lisa it doesn’t look that impressive? When you’re actually there in front of it – despite its suprisingly small size, despite the … Read more
Alex Casey talks to national treasure Suzy Cato about her new kids album, life after Dancing With the Stars and remaining zen about the pending future hellscape. It’s been half an hour and I can’t get Suzy Cato to say a bad word about anyone or anything. Not The Wiggles (“full support to The Wiggles, … Read more
OG fangirl Tayi Tibble reviews Tommy Genesis’ new self-titled album. I’m the OG Tommy Genesis fangirl. It’s just a fact. Sometimes it just be like that. I’ve loved her since she was on her dark-wave Atlanta trap kick with Father and Awful Records. I loved her when she was pulling big school-girl x military general … Read more
Claire finds the foundation for her very own American Dream, while Brianna encounters second wave feminism – same difference, right? Tara Ward recaps episode three of season four of Outlander. There’s an old Scottish proverb that says “he who finds the strawberries, must smoulder at the horizon until his donkey flees and his wife loses her … Read more
In the eighth episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to remake a secondhand bridesmaid’s dress for their models. Henry Oliver ranks the results. Let’s talk about Caitlin. Let’s talk about cheating. Let’s talk about sharing and ideas and helping. Caitlin and Benjamin have been tight since the get-go. Benjamin is the best designer … Read more
Luke Buda and Don McGlashan have today released “Children Don’t Belong in Jail”, a protest song about the refugee children detained on Nauru. The song, released in association with trans-Tasman advocacy group Mums 4 Refugees in the leadup to Universal Children’s Day on 20 November, seeks to add energy to and raise funds for calls to … Read more
In the mid-1980s, a teenager paid five dollars for a Katango fan club parcel. Thirty years later, her son attempts to track down the missing goods, or at least a refund. Katango was one of thousands of bands in the 1980s. Their members were effeminate young men who wore make up. Their fashion was loud … Read more
New Zealand has its own drag reality show now, House of Drag – but how does it fare under the mighty shadow of RuPaul’s Drag Race? Sam Brooks tunes in. Once in a generation, a piece of work comes along that is so much of landmark, so much of a game-changer, that everything that comes along after … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to writer of funny songs and not funny songs, Bret McKenzie, about his new project/tour Strange Caravan and which is definitely 100% not a band (even though it’s very similar to a band). A few years ago, a few old friends started an irregular jam session, intending to help each other work … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on the pod, we are still fizzing after our incredible first Real Pod meet-up, A Very Corny Christmas at Nando’s St Lukes. Which notorious cornies showed up? Did anyone step ‘in it’? And … Read more
Alex Casey visits the chaotic House of Drag mansion, and meets the dragstars changing the face of local reality TV. At the end of the winding driveway of the House of Drag mansion, we are met with two drag queens luxuriating in nude underwear, eating cheeseburgers and dangling their feet in the enormous fountain. It … Read more
Six years after first arriving on our screens, Jono and Ben air their final episode tonight. In tribute, Dylan Reeve looks back on the best part of the show: Guy Williams’ NZ Today segment. For a certain group of overseas internet users, New Zealand’s most prominent journalist isn’t who you’d expect. It’s not John Campbell, … Read more
Inarguably the best sports drama of all time, Friday Night Lights, dropped in its entirety on Lightbox last week. Sam Brooks on why you should watch it – and the other cult classics you might not know are on the service. Friday Night Lights (S1-5) I’m surprised this show didn’t incorporate some sort of partnership with … Read more
It’s week 5 of GKBO, which means we’re halfway through our delectable voyage into baking nirvana. Tara Ward power-ranks the performances. I don’t even want to contemplate what I’ll do with my empty husk of a life when this is all over. GKBO is my TV biscuit lighthouse. Without it, the lolly stained-glass windows of my … Read more
Claire and Jamie aren’t in Lallybroch anymore. They’re in Kansas (or somewhere south of there). Tara Ward recaps the second episode of season four of Outlander. When we last left Outlander, things were more desperate than the time Jamie had to eat Mrs Crook’s lumpy bannocks. The Fraser’s journey to Aunt Jocasta’s plantation River Run … Read more
In the seventh episode of Project Runway New Zealand, the designers had to make an athleisure look for Georgia. Henry Oliver ranks the results. Well, this is good timing! Just this week I was reading about the history of the athleisure/activewear trend and GUESS WHAT, it is, in fact, not a trend at all, but the … Read more
What do you get when you mix a South Korean auteur, a French-sounding British spy author and a ridiculous attractive cast? A genuine must-see. Sam Brooks reviews The Little Drummer Girl. When I think of John le Carre, I don’t think sexy spy drama. If anything, the man has done whatever he can to dispel … Read more
Charli XCX played twice in Auckland on Friday night – at Mt Smart Stadium and a performance space/yoga studio on K Road. Dejan Jotanovic was there. I don’t have many regrets in life but being “too hungover” for a Charli XCX show I had tickets for back in 2015 is absolutely up there. At the time Charli … Read more
Lydia Burgham reflects on over a decade of being a Taylor Swift fan, and reviews her Reputation Tour show at Mt Smart Stadium. I just turned 21. And the one constant throughout my young adult life has been my adoration for a certain blonde haired pop star who sings about her feelings. Taylor Swift’s Fearless … Read more
Alex Casey dives into the second season of the least relatable show on television. What have you been up to over the past couple of weeks? Have you been fighting the council to protect the lives of stray cats, judging Miss Rotorua, selling wine barrels barrels across the country, luxuriating at Huka Lodge and necking … Read more
Ahead of her stadium gig in Auckland, New Zealand, the pop star took a pay-per-minute electric scooter for a ride along Mission Bay, according to Ben Prince-Saxon. We talked to Ben to find out more about this epochal moment. EVEN MORE CRUCIAL UPDATE, ONE WEEK LATER: Confirming prank suspicions, it was revealed on the final episode … Read more
Delaney Davidson, whose album release tour starts today, talks to Henry Oliver about storytelling, collaborating and his new album Shining Day. Delaney Davidson sees himself as a travelling salesman. He has slicked back hair and a couple of days’ stubble. Suit, tie, hat when he’s performing. Clean shirt tucked into clean jeans when he’s not. … Read more
You’ve heard of them. All your cool friends and your coolest aunt watches them – but what the heck are these blonde dramas with subtitles? Sam Brooks is here to school you on the ubiquitous Scandi-drama. Lock the doors, lower the blinds, fire up the smoke machine and put on your heels, because I know … Read more
The Wombats are one of the most long-lasting bands from the mid-2000s British guitar rock revival. With them on their way to New Zealand, we looked into their story, and what it takes to outlive The Kaiser Chiefs. There’s a line in one of The Wombats’ first hits, ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’, that goes … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s a huge week for the almighty pod as Jeff’s eyes on Bake Off are officially not as blue as they used to be. Ploughing through another great week of reality TV, we ask more … Read more
Zip yourself into your sourdough onesie and relax into your ciabatta couch, because it’s Bread Week, my little GKBO doughballs of happiness. Tara Ward power-ranks episode four. Bread is both delicious and a science, which means eating lots of it makes you smarter. Don’t question me, my research is flawless and if anyone needs me … Read more