Linda Burgess on the soundtrack to her life. We drove up to Auckland last month. Our darling Edward, who, if suddenly out of sight, could well be found waving from the roof, was turning four. Unlike the time before, we weren’t turned back at Havelock North, when our phones, and the phones of the friends … Read more
The announcement that Peter Jackson’s latest project is a Beatles documentary is proof the decorated director has finally gone too far, writes Duncan Greive. It seems scarcely credible to suggest at this point, but Peter Jackson used to be cool. He made silly, weird movies about New Zealand – its monsters and its murderers – … Read more
Steve Braunias heads out to New Lynn to ponder two new books on His Holiness of the Church of Enduring Beatlemania, John Lennon. There is a new, beautifully produced and monumentally pompous book about John Lennon, Imagine John Yoko, and the best and most impressive place to inspect this holy relic in Auckland, in New … 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 new albums from Paramore, Harry Styles and Low Cut Connie, and a not-new album from The Beatles. Paramore – After Laughter The best pop-rock front person of the 2000s is back! I’ve been a casual fan of Paramore for a decade now (gosh, that caught up with me quickly!), spanning as … 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 Abbey Road producer and engineer, Guy Massey. Henry Oliver talks to Guy Massey about remastering the Beatles and how to make even non-Beatles records sound really good. Either download (right click to … Read more
The eleventh episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they are joined by Lawrence Arabia’s … Read more