The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called ?, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about 11 or 12. I was on holiday in Ahipara with my dad and little sister, and we had Isaak’s 1995 album Forever Blue on repeat. My sister, who was seven or eight, would don my dad’s cowboy hat and do a full-throated, hip-swinging rendition of ‘Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing’ (hilarious and adorable). I would skulk off to the b ..read more

Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form our pop group TrueBliss. We’d never seen anything like this on TV before, and they quickly became world famous in New Zealand: their first single ‘Tonight’ debuted at number one, their album went platinum twice, and their national tour sold out. There were also T-shirts. The Popstars format was pick ..read more

Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether it’s a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations.  I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future doctors and lawyers.  But Dunedin lives under an autocratic regime, which limits patrons to sharing one bottle of wine between two people. Its a hard ask to build up the confidence to talk to that cute girl from Leith St on half a bottle of Cleanskin. Wellington, b ..read more

The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ‘A clear and decisive message’ Almost 48 hours on, reaction to the demotion of ministers Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds continues to arrive. Both lost their portfolios after performing badly over recent weeks, though PM Chris Luxon would not admit that performance was an issue in eith ..read more

What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say it.  look down at the plate on my lap: two sausages left with just the right amount of ketchup, lettuce strips floating on a stream, cells of oil in vinegar. Thom is sitting on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, nodding his head to a song as he pierces a roast potato and puts the whole thing in his mouth.&nbs ..read more

Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits. First published in 2021. All my grandparents suffered the war, like all the grandparents of anyone my age. Some of them two wars, even. It was hard to imagine as kids, as we watched our walk-shorts-and-socks wearing, grey-haired and church-going elders pottering about in their golden years. It also didn’t help that nobody we knew would ever talk about living thr ..read more

I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: I’m a public servant, and I’m worried about my job. There’s a second part that is perhaps less common, though let’s admit it, still pretty common: I’m not even sure that I want this job. Or this career. At all. Backtrack a little. I’m on the other side of 40. Back when I ..read more

While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell. First published in 2022. The high school’s head girl and boy each made a short speech, outlining what the day meant to them. The RSA rep talked about “young men and women…laid down their lives….defence of liberty”. The principal asked the assembly to stand and observe two minutes’ silence. Some 800 teenagers rose, stood with bowed heads, while staff and d ..read more

Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association. First published in 2018. When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of Drury. A crowd would gather around a cenotaph that rose between the Great South Road, the main trunk line, and our local rugby club’s changing sheds. I would stand with my fellow cubs, behind a thin tweedy line of RSA members. A bugle would blow, the sun and the national flag would rise, and medals ..read more

A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.   My World War I Poem   Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging.   Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum ..read more