For The Spinoff Music, the big question of the day isn’t what dress Meghan Markle is going to wear, but what song she’ll be dancing to with Harry. Thanks to Spotify, here’s our best guess. Choosing a song to have your first dance to as a married couple is either super easy or super hard. … Read more
The royal wedding is tomorrow, and The Spinoff has a correspondent on the ground for all the late-breaking Meghan and Harry news. Let’s check in with him. Starring Ra Pomare This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us and … Read more
Everyone loves a cameo, and JessB has them all for you in her new music video for ‘Set It Off’. Has there ever been a bad cameo? Cameo creme – good. Cameo necklace – a classic. Cameo, singers of hit song ‘Word Up’ – a treasure. Even Anchorman 2, a hugely disappointing movie, had satisfying … Read more
Alex Casey dissects episode five of The Handmaid’s Tale, including the march of the child brides and a lovely holiday to the colonies. Contains spoilers, obviously. Finally, we’ve caught somewhat of a break. ‘Seed’ was perhaps the most relaxed episode of the season so far, and when I say relaxed I mean a couple of … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Auckland emo band Carb on Carb. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Nicole Gaffney and James Stutely from Carb on Carb, an Auckland-based emo band whose new album For … Read more
Obsessed with the royal wedding and not sure what to do with the few hours that are left in the lead-up? Proud royal(wedding)ist Tara Ward shares her pre-planning schedule. Friends, there is one more sleep until Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in the event of the century, and I am gripped by wedding fever. Gripped, … 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, Alex has only stopped spewing, Duncan has just woken up from a five-day coma, and Jane is trying to get away from both of them. Together they have a … Read more
In 2000, Fur Patrol dominated the New Zealand singles chart with ‘Lydia’, a song that merely a year later would be voted the 19th best New Zealand song of all time. And finally, 18 years later, ‘Lydia’ is streaming on Spotify. Tom Augustine pays tribute to a New Zealand classic. Some of the songs that … Read more
As of today, there’s a bunch of new ways to Lightbox! Sam Brooks counts them all, including premium subscriptions, movies, downloads and a kids corner. So you’ve got Lightbox. It’s your favourite place to stream The Handmaid’s Tale, Suits, UnReal and a range of other great shows. It sponsors your favourite TV section on the internet. It’s … Read more
Elleana Dumper asks the PM about all-ages shows, the problems facing the music industry and whether she ever considered a career in music. This New Zealand Music Month, I’ve really been enjoying the social media chit-chat – it’s that time of the year when everyone’s Kiwi musical sentiments are high, and we get to celebrate … Read more
The state-owned broadcaster has long resisted public service. Yet with $38m on the table, and the government’s relationship with RNZ rocky, moving Q+A to primetime could be be seen as a deftly timed olive branch The press release, under the headline “TVNZ powers up primetime political coverage”, came out at 3:25pm yesterday afternoon – until … Read more
At the height of their mid-90s fame, Jason Gunn and his sidekick Thingee made their own 60 minute movie, the Christchurch-set caper Jason and Thingee’s Big Adventure. Baz McDonald talks to team behind it, including Gunn himself. For New Zealand kids growing up in the early ’90s, weekday afternoons from 3:30 to 4pm meant one … Read more
Sometimes the judges on Dancing with the Stars can be just a little bit rough. Need proof? We’ve rounded up all this week’s meanest comments about celebrities moving around the dance floor. Presenting #DWTSNZ – Harsh Words. This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk … Read more
Kate Robertson talks to Auckland hip-hop/electronic/jazz band Yoko-Zuna ahead of Seamless, an all-ages show in Auckland this weekend. For Yoko-Zuna, 2018 looks set to be a tipping point. Consistently gaining momentum since their 2015 debut album This Place Here, the Auckland-based four-piece are finding themselves ready to break through the alternative sphere and well into the mainstream. … Read more
It’s week three but it feels like we’ve never had a world without Dancing with the Stars. We’re down one Real Housewife™ but there’s still eleven contestants left. We power-rank those who remain, and farewell one more star. ELIMINATED: Naz Khanjani (and Shay) – Cha cha Naz had something that nobody else in this competition had: a … Read more
Dream pop is the genre of the moment in the worldwide indie scene and New Zealand is no exception, with acts like Fazerdaze and Yumi Zouma gaining huge international audiences. Back at home, the associated sound of shoegaze has made a return, with a raft of new bands emerging onto the live scene. Gareth Shute … Read more
Angel, Dove, Mercy and the rest of the flock are back, as happy as ever in blue. Writer Anke Richter, a cult observer, watches Gloriavale: The Return. The best thing I could do to prepare myself for Gloriavale: The Return was to catch up on the latest episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’d be a … Read more
It’s been a huge week on Survivor NZ. The game is really heating up and absolutely no one is safe. Luke Harries takes a look at what went down this week. Adam & Tess v Dylan & Kaysha A cold war of sorts came to a head this week at Khang Khaw, between Adam and … Read more
You want mothers? Lightbox has ’em. Tara Ward takes a look at the best TV mothers to hang with this weekend. Mothers. They’re everywhere these days; at work, at the gym, on the television. They’ve even had the audacity to give themselves a day in their own honour (it’s tomorrow, FYI). Nowhere is safe from women … Read more
With the return of Three’s women-led sketch show Funny Girls tonight at 9.45pm, we bless ye with an exclusive clip from tonight’s episode. Funny Girls returns to Three tonight at 9.45pm This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us … Read more
Reggae musician Carl Perkins has died, aged 59, after a battle with bowel cancer. He was a member of pioneering Aotearoa reggae group Herbs in the early ’80s, starting on percussion with the band when they were recording their second album Light of the Pacific. He had a hand in writing the hit ‘Long Ago’ … Read more
From a wee toddler singing on the bus to entertaining unsuspecting commuters on Auckland’s trains, Geneva Alexander-Marsters reflects on her life on public transport and the POP Waiata project she initiated in 2017. I used to sing on the bus as a kid. My mother would take me with her on the morning commute to … Read more
Alex Casey dissects episode four of The Handmaid’s Tale, including tense baby showers and a walk down memory lane. Contains spoilers, obviously. June, in the sacred words of Fur Patrol, am I surprised to see you here with Lydia? No. No I’m not. After last week’s literal plane crash disaster, I knew it was only … Read more
There’s some huge Coronation Street news: New Zealand is in for a hardcore catch up. A shaken Tara Ward explains what’s happening. Hold the phone, stop the runaway tram, throw your wobbly trifle at the wall. Mark this day down in television history, for it’s the day that TVNZ made an announcement that will make Coronation … Read more
Erena Shingade talks to singer and big band leader Sal Valentine about originality, not fitting in, and his forthcoming album, This Party Blows. Plus – a video premiere! When we meet in St Kevin’s Arcade on a Sunday afternoon, Sal Valentine is a vision in monochrome. He wears a grey beanie, grey t-shirt (sleeves rolled … Read more
Square Dance Discotheque, a silent disco presented by Spark and Spotify, is set to be the hottest dancefloor in Auckland this weekend – and certainly the most interactive. So you’re not completely unprepared, here are five guaranteed bangers from David Dallas and Shapeshifter’s playlists. One hand raised vertically, the other placed horizontally on top, together … Read more
It’s New Zealand Music Month, an event started in part to encourage local radio to play local music. Did it work? Is it still working? We assigned Gareth Shute to take a sample of the most popular stations to find out. The battle to get homegrown music on local radio goes back a long way, … 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 feast upon a delicious meal of Nando’s (and wash it all down with some Peri Peri chips) while we recap that week that was. Which celebs have we … Read more
Patsy Stone visiting two of the most beautiful places in the world? Sold! Tara Ward watches Joanna Lumley’s TWO travel series which you can watch on Lightbox right now. Last night I dreamed I saw Patsy Stone trapped in a warm embrace with an over-sized, dancing seal. The sun was shining, Patsy was grinning wildly, … Read more