Some amazing photos in this article!

This is the opposite of doomscrolling: it's metal scrolling! We are very excited to share with you our brand new Heavy Metal Timeline, taking you through the history of metal in Aotearoa. @garethshute.bsky.social has done a great job on this: www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/hea...

Brand new: Michael Larsen (from Grey Parade) has put together a great list of Ten Lost Earworms from the 80s, featuring The Mockers, IQU, Sneaky Feelings and more. Do you have any faves here? www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/ten...

I spoke with @tonylstamp.bsky.social on RNZ's mixtape. Some of the chat was about my book - Songs From The Shaky Isles - but mostly we spoke about NZ music history & how my life has intersected with it at various stages. Plus played some laidback tunes! www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Kia ora, it's Rāmere Monday afternoon, and time for the AudioCulture Quiz. This week we have a special quiz celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, with questions by Gareth Shute. How did you get on? @garethshute.bsky.social www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/aud...

Searching for the Aotearoa music scene on Bluesky? We've done the job for you 😘 (Encouragement to let us know accounts we're missing) 💿💿💿

Nau mai ki te Wiki o te Reo Māori; first up is the phenomenon that is Waiata Anthems. The first album in 2019 covered many genres: the pop of Benee & Drax Project, the soul of Stan Walker & Teeks, & country courtesy of Tami Neilson. By @garethshute.bsky.social www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/wai...

A nice positive story for your weekend...

Crucial lore drop - thank you Nicholas Lindstrom, 95bFM, @audioculturenz.bsky.social & of course @garethshute.bsky.social 95bfm.com/bcast/audio-...

Some beautiful album covers here. And you can see them in person at Objectspace in AK until Nov.

In the recently announced Hottest 100 Australian Songs as voted by Triple J listeners, there were 2 in the Top 10 with strong Aotearoa links: No. 5 was Crowded House 'Don't Dream It's Over', and at No. 10 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye ft Kimbra. www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/kimbra

Dick Move are making serious noise at the moment, in Aotearoa and overseas. They formed in 2019, in the depths of Karangahape Road’s Whammy! bar, which writer Bee Trudgeon says was a natural segue of late-night political discourse into musical action. 1/2 audioculture.co.nz/profile/dick...

Looking forward to seeing a buttload of bands at Going Global Fest starting tonight 🎩

SONGS FROM THE SHAKY ISLES is No.6 on Newsrooms' NZ Nonfiction bestseller list! Available in all good bookstores! newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/22/t...

This week's 100% fun & funny Aotearoa music special on 95bFM Freak The Sheep is now up! 🥳🤣🎵 Listen here: 95bfm.com/bcast/freak-...

The Music and Times of @chriscudby.bsky.social As well as charting more details of the Low Hum era, @garethshute.bsky.social provides another case study of the art school crossover into NZ indie music. With Elam, this goes back to Split Enz... www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/chri...

What do Golden Axe, Audio Foundation, and Under The Radar have in common? Or – who recorded the first Vaporwave track in NZ? That would be Chris Cudby. @garethshute.bsky.social sheds more light on these questions here, it's a fantastic read: www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/chri...

So close to the goal, I just need another 200 or so people to chip in NZ$3 each (which for my overseas followers is less than 2 American dollars or Euro)

Seems like a trivia question - what do Golden Axe, Audio Foundation, and Under The Radar have in common? Or - Who recorded the first Vaporwave track in NZ? If you are in the NZ music scene, then you'll enjoy discovering the answer to these questions and more ...

After taking #GutInstinct (one of 2024's strangest, boldest Aotearoa features) international, @dillamonster.bsky.social's faux public service announcement/audiovisual purification programme is available to watch at home via New Zealand streaming service AroVision - and at an encore cinema screening

Welcome viewers! Oops sorry, wrong audience. But this week's AudioCulture Quiz is all about music and TV, with questions by @garethshute.bsky.social How did you get on? www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/aud...

If you haven’t checked out the Infinity Sessions yet, here’s what they’re all about, and where to watch the rest of them - had a good time with at home on the couch with The Beths and Chelsea Prastiti last night thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/...

Showcased on 7 Sharp last night, @garethshute.bsky.social's illuminating & detail-rich Songs From The Shaky Isles - A Short History of Popular Music in New Zealand is out now in all good book stores AND record stores via Bateman Books 📖

Everyone needs to see The Weed Eaters

‘Immediately cease and desist’: Indie promoters in Auckland told to stop putting up gig posters www.stuff.co.nz/culture/3607...

Here's a short piece about how I put together my new book: www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/gar...

Gone By Lunchtime: Thoughts on the Jacinda Ardern film and book

My new single “Drown” is out now via Bandcamp and streaming x

I went on The Fold podcast with Duncan Greive from @thespinoff.bsky.social to chat about my book Songs From The Shaky Isles AND the entire history of NZ popular music. He used to be editor of Real Groove mag so had some great questions! thespinoff.co.nz/podcasts

I spoke with Chris Schulz about how I was never going to write another book ... but then I wrote another book... boilerroom.substack.com/p/he-said-he...

It was great to have a nice long chat about my new book with Chris Cudby. Got into lots of different topics so should be a fun read!

First sighting of my book out in the wild...

The Weed Eaters is an amazing movie. Can't recommend it highly enough. As long as you're okay with a bit of gore, it's absolutely hilarious. Tremendously well edited so that it flies along. The acting is perfectly deadpan. Paul Kean (The Bats) and Delaney Davidson have great minor roles too

Herbs: Songs of Freedom I thought I was just bopping to the beat, but I was actually being educated, via Herbs music, about the Aotearoa I hadn't been taught at school.🥰 Herbs made me aware of the invasion of Parihaka, and realise Bastion Point wasn't the first, or the last, Māori land eviction.✌️

Some great NZ music books included in this 50% off sale (links in alt text)

The new Jonathan Bree concert movie filmed in Mexico is pretty amazing. The crowd sing along with every word and a bunch of them even burst into tears! youtu.be/NfGoqwrTDD4?...

My new book can be ordered now from Time Out Books, available from Monday! Link in bio. The cover shot of Boh Runga is by Ian Jorgensen. The back cover shows Howard Morrison ( 📸 Auckland Libraries) and Troy Kingi (📸 Mieko Edwards). #nzmusic #nzhistory #bohrunga shop.timeout.co.nz/p/songs-from...

This song is great!

The trio of Yolanda Fagan (Na Noise, Echo Ohs), Julien Dyne & James Milne (Lawrence Arabia), Half Hexagon's first two collections EP1 + EP2 are being bundled together in a limited vinyl edition w/ bonus tracks. Feel the haunting motorik radiance of new single 'Best Foot Work' & live video version.

'People say that we all have a book in us, and I don't believe that, but I do believe we all have a perfect radio interviewee in us, someone who can ramble on about our lives and dreams with great fluency,' writes @ashleighyoung.bsky.social. www.rnz.co.nz/life/culture...

Brand new: Wellington Heavy Metal in the 1980s. "The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, which started in the UK in 1979, finally arrived in NZ around the middle of 1980. I formed Tyrant with Paul Martin (Devilskin)... www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/wel...

I'm so obsessed by this James Dansey track, I can't stop listening to it!: open.spotify.com/track/6se3v8...

And The Gordons!

There's been a lot of lamenting lately about the lack of stadium shows in Aotearoa. But what good is a run of Coldplay shows if we don't have grassroots music venues left to support our communities?

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES: tonight on 95bFM Freak The Sheep we invite special guest Matthew Crawley of Thee Golden Geese into the studio for a very special on-air interactive Goose Your Own Adventure!!! 🗡 What does this even mean? Find out by tuning in from 8pm: 95bfm.com

Your weekly taster of the best in NZ releases, including the new EP by James Dansey (The Sneaks, Golden Geese) which is amazing!

Lucien Johnson’s 2024 jazz album Ancient Relics was celebrated by Mojo magazine for its “undeniable beauty, elusively wrought” and UK Vibe as “one of the year's musical highlights”...Johnson even got the nod from legendary BBC broadcaster/DJ Gilles... www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/luci...

A reminder that tonight's Princess Chelsea Fantasy Ball costume party with Golden Axe and Grecco Romank in Akl is an ALL-AGES event — an insane proposition unlikely to be repeated 🗡

Fab EP out now by James Dansey (The Sneaks, Lawrence Arabia, Ruby Suns) - blending te reo Māori lyrics, Witi Ihimaera inspiration, & James' love of Beach Boys & Enya open.spotify.com/track/6se3v8... Read more about him in this @audioculturenz.bsky.social article: audioculture.co.nz/articles/ten...

For those going to the Midwinter Ball, just FYI - Neverending Story is free-to-watch on Three Now and Labyrinth and Dark Crystal are on TVNZ+.