Bob Dylan played Spark Arena in Auckland last night. Ol’ buds Henry Oliver and Harry Cundy were there and emailed back-and-forth about it afterwards. Henry Oliver: We’ve been to many of the same Dylan shows over the years, sometimes together. This one was like many of them but also like no Dylan show I’ve seen … Read more
An essay by Philip Matthews in response to the publication of Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize lecture. I keep hearing about allegedly weird Joaquin Phoenix interviews that don’t really seem that weird at all. Internet news alerts say we need to talk about that Joaquin Phoenix interview or they might put out some quick Buzzfeed summary … Read more
After weeks of working sources deep inside New Zealand’s political parties, Henry Oliver reveals the songs dominating the office stereos at campaign headquarters.* * Not really. We freely admit this entire playlist is a work of speculative fiction. National Eminem – ‘Lose Yourself’ A source tells the Spinoff that, despite the trouble caused by the … Read more
The Spinoff Music team review albums from Mount Eerie, Aimee Mann, Bob Dylan, Nelly Furtado, Vallis Alps and Anna Makirere. ALBUM OF THE WEEK Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me One of the saddest albums ever Phil Elverum’s wife died last year. They had a one-year-old daughter. He made a tender and painful … Read more
The Nobel Committee’s recognition of Bob Dylan shines a light on the transformative power of songwriting – a craft that very much belongs in New Zealand schools, writes Mike Chunn. Listening to a song is like taking a journey. The mechanics of that trip depend on the song, in the main. That is, words and … Read more