It’s the rejection that fuelled a comedy legend: the failed TVNZ pilot from Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Paul Horan writes about his hunt for the footage for the NZ comedy documentary Funny As. This post was originally published on 9 August, 2019. There have always been people in my line of business that are … Read more
Keen to expand your general knowledge? Behind on the sexbot craze? Want to know more local history? You could start with these documentaries on TVNZ OnDemand. Forget the latest fad of “books” and set fire to ye olde newspaper, because there’s no better way to discover the mysteries of our weird and wonderful world than … Read more
When comedy documentary Funny As was made, a lot of interviews got left on the cutting room floor which NZ On Screen quickly picked up. Here are some of our favourites. We’re a pretty funny bunch us Kiwis. Trapped on a tiny island at the end of the earth it appears we’ve evolved just a … Read more
It’s the rejection that fuelled a comedy legend: the failed TVNZ pilot from Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Paul Horan writes about his hunt for the footage for the NZ comedy documentary Funny As. There have always been people in my line of business that are desperate for credibility. After their years of fretting, lobbying … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major new IPCC report released, Queenstown’s mayor puts a halt on airport expansion plans, and abortion bill passes first reading. The latest major, global climate change report has given a more complete picture of the damage being done to land itself. The IPCC report details how … Read more
New Zealand music’s most famous musical comedy duo return to the stage in Flight of the Conchords: Live in London. Calum Henderson reviews. New Zealand television networks have always got a lot of shit for not giving Flight of the Conchords their own series. Fair enough, in hindsight this does seem like a pretty bad call. … 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
It’s competitive out there for high schools these days. It seems like there are a million exams schools claim to prep their kids for in order to propel them to global dominance. But which high school has produced the most number one albums in New Zealand music history? James Dann investigates. High school can be … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Attempt to get foreign buyers ban exemption ruled out, Auckland Council needs volunteers for homeless census, and PM Jacinda Ardern becomes a mother. Speaker Trevor Mallard has intervened on procedural grounds to prevent an exemption to the foreign buyers ban for a single luxury property development, … Read more
This week Flight of The Conchords play three nights in a row at the O2 Arena, one of the UK’s biggest covered venues with a capacity of 20,000 people. Gareth Shute determines how they stack up in the history of New Zealand live performers. Back in 2010 it was big news when Flight of the … Read more
From House of Cards’ sinister trumpets to The Fresh Prince’s iconic rap, TV theme tunes are powerful signifiers and also, just occasionally, standalone hits superior even to the show they prelude. Elizabeth Beattie examines five of New Zealand’s television theme songs to sift the cultural gold from the mud. We can tell a lot about … Read more
It’s been 10 years since Bret and Jemaine first appeared on the small screen in their HBO series Flight of the Conchords. By way of celebration, The Spinoff writers enter a fierce debate to complete one gargantuan task: ranking every song that featured on the show. 44) “Stay Cool” I mean, I went to the … 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 Alex Casey and Madeleine Chapman about the best FOTC songs, the worst FOTC songs, and every song in between. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to fellow Spinoff writers Alex … Read more
Ten years ago, HBO screened the first episode of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s Flight of the Conchords. And look, there, sitting outside that shop. Isn’t that Spinoff music editor Henry Oliver? If it’s 10 years since the first episode of Flight of the Conchords aired in the US, that means it must be about 11 years … Read more
While walking through the Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition at the Auckland Museum, Henry Oliver thought to himself: which decade had the best music? Rather than telling you his answer, he’s asking for yours. Final Round: which decade is definitively The Best? First, the results from last week’s vote: Top seed, the 2000s, continued it’s … Read more
Jemaine Clement on creating ‘Bowie’s in Space’, the Flight of the Conchords’ paean-parody to their musical hero. In 1999 Bret McKenzie and I were sitting with our guitars in our dingy flat in Wellington trying to learn David Bowie songs. They were catchy, which usually translates to being easy to play. Not David Bowie. He’d … Read more