For those of you who can't make it to my New Zealand Music Month display, here's an idea of what it's about...

Choosing the best 100 New Zealand pop songs of all time is fraught with problems. The first one is song eligibility. Then there is the big issue of how to judge the merits of one song over another.

“Natures Best” is an attempt to compile a definitive New Zealand music collection. There have been other attempts, like “The Great New Zealand songbook”, and more recently “On Song” which is a print only collection at this stage. However, these song collections tend towards one person’s kiwi favourites as opposed to an attempt at a comprehensive anthology. The songs which appear on Natures Best are all originals, written by musicians who were all born in this country. Songs were voted for by various people within the New Zealand music industry, and then ranked in order of votes received.

Like any list, it’s as interesting for the songs that didn’t make it, as for the ones that did. It could be argued that there is an over representation of New Zealand’s song writing royalty. Neil Finn, Tim Finn, and Dave Dobbyn, in their various musical entities, account for 11 of the top 30, and 25 of the top 100 songs, while world class song writers like Jenny Morris (who had a long stellar solo career in Australia, full of catchy pop songs), Andy Dickson & Liam Ryan (The Narcs), David Kilgour (The Clean) and Robert Scott (The Clean and The Bats) miss out all together. There are a few Dave Dobbyn singles included in this display, and one each from Split Enz and Crowded House, but the emphasis is on the songs that were conceived, recorded and manufactured right here in Aotearoa.

But how did The Narcs’ 1984 song of the year “Heart and Soul” not make the grade? Or “Missing in Action” from the same album (both singles included here). And how exactly did Darcy Clay’s highly unusual “Jesus I was evil” not only make the 100, but make it all the way to number 15? It looks completely out of place up there, but there it is!

Music has that glorious way of dividing opinion.

Aside from that, “Natures Best” is a fine Kiwi compilation. OK, so personally I think some of those Split Enz and Crowded House songs could have made way for others to give a broader representation of local talent. But it’s a difficult task, and we should be grateful that someone took the time and effort to turn the idea into reality. If you don’t already own a copy of the DVD, you know what to do. Every household should have it, and regularly watch it.  

There is also a small tribute to Dave McArtney

I had included Dave in the ‘very unlucky to miss out’ category of the “Natures Best” song compilation, until I realised that he actually wrote the Hello Sailor Kiwi pop anthem “Gutter Black” all by himself. The song has of course gained a wider audience as the theme tune to the local television series “Outrageous Fortune”.

When he formed and fronted his own band Pink Flamingos, the catchy radio friendly tunes continued to flow from his song writing pen. ‘Dance on’, ‘Virginia’ (“All right, all right Virginia, you’ve got me loving every inch within ya”), ‘Infatuation’, ‘Is that the way’, ‘I’m in heaven’, and ‘Pink Flamingo’ (“Get ya get ya get ya get ya feathers away from my nose”). The titles and words might not mean much to most people, but I bet there’s a nod of recognition when the song is heard. It’s a bit of a travesty that none of these appeared on the abovementioned compilations.

A quick glance online following the news of his death, clearly showed the esteem in which he was held within the music industry, both as a quality song writer and as a quality person. The overwhelming consensus among writers was that he was a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with. 

He is a true Kiwi rock legend.