Show 180
Long ago here at the Down Under Hour we declared the island nation of New Zealand to be a part of Down Under Hour territory, meaning all of its music and musicians are available to us. July 10 was a public holiday in New Zealand, set aside to recognize the Māori New Year, marked by the reappearance of the Pleiades star cluster in the morning sky. Celebrations run from July 4 to 19 and focus on remembrance, celebrating the present, and planning for the future.
With that in mind, this week it's all New Zealand music, starting with a brief example of a Haka, a traditional Māori performance that can be for welcoming guests, mourning the deceased, and preparing warriors for battle.
Tradition-plus
A snippet of a Maori haka, from the 2024 Kapa Haka Regionals competition.
Toons
Cross My Heart Hope To Die - Yumi Zouma, it's on their album No Love Lost To Kindness, which came out in January. The band is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Kei te Mārama - Marlon Williams singing in the Maori language for an album he made in 2025, Te Whare Tīwekaweka.
Don't Go Back - Marlon Williams again, from his 2022 album My Boy. Marlon has been a long-time resident of Melbourne, Australia.
Only Talking Sense - the Finn brothers, Tim and Neil, from an album they made titled Finn, recorded in Aukland in 1994 and released in 1995.
Six Months In A Leaky Boat - Tim and Neil Finn and Split Enz, from their 1982 album Time and Tide, which was recorded in Sydney. Split Enz, as with many New Zealand bands, moved to London and then Australia in search of fame and fortune.
Royals - Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, better known as Lorde, the song was her first mainstream hit, from her 2013 debut studio album, Pure Heroine.
LOL
Banter - comedy from Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, it was on their 2007 debut album The Distant Future.
Into the vault
From the vault, three songs by the La De Das
- How Is the Air Up There, a single off their 1966 self-titled debut album, written by US songwriters Artie Kornfeld and Steve Duboff, working as The Changin' Times, in 1965. Kornfeld went on to be one of the main guys behind the 1969 Woodstock music festival.
- Jump Back, another song from the 1966 album.
- All Purpose Low, a single from the La De Das' 1967 album Find Us A Way.
The Dunedin Sound
It emerged from the city of Dunedin on the country's south island. Here's just a few examples.
- Anything Could Happen - The Clean, from their 1981 EP Boodle Boodle Boodle
- North By North - The Bats, from their album Daddy's Highway, a 1987 release.
-.16 Heart-Throbs - The Chills, another 1987 release, from their album Brave Words.
- She Speeds - Straitjacket Fits from their 1987 EP, Life In One Chord.
Flying Nun, music, no hats
Much like the Sub Pop label out of Seattle. Here are a couple of recent Flying Nun releases.
Hard Evidence - Ringlets, a single that came out in May.
Front Row Seat - Office Dog from their album Prime Corner, which arrived in June.
Dom Mariani and the Majestic Kelp for start us off and moving us along but this week
Office Dog takes us out with The Everything Song.
