Nature's Rest

It has been 25 years since APRA representatives deliberated, voted, and bestowed upon the public their definitive list of the top 100 songs Aotearoa has produced. Today, I will be continuing this noble work, and creating a supplementary volume. I will call this ‘Nature's Rest’. First, some parameters.


A little sleuthing showed that 91% of the songs in the original ‘best 100 songs’ were released in the 25 years before the release of Nature’s Best, in 2001. That means that only nine songs in the circa 13.8 billion years before 1976 made the cut. Following this trend, I could include a functionally infinite number of songs from 2001-2026 (about 70,000,000,000). To keep things manageable, let's cap it at 50. 


This is meant to be a supplement, an addition to Nature's Best, not a revision of it. I will not try to retread old ground by pointing out areas in which Nature's Best falls short. I will certainly not point out, as an example, how many other, better songs there could have been than Cheryl Moana Marie by John Rowles. It is not the Blather way to say ‘if you were trying to corner the 70s crooner market, you could have picked I Guess it Doesn't Matter Anymore by Mark Williams, or Montego Bay by Jon Stevens, or even Thru the Southern Moonlight by Rockinghorse’. There will be no comparisons to any other love songs about women with reo names, which didn't make the cut, such as Ngaire by the Mutton Birds, or Niwhai by Finn. I simply won't go there. 


32% of the songs on the original Nature’s Best were performed by members of either Split Enz or Th’ Dudes. I have limited the entries to one song per artist (there is actually a sneaky duplicate, see if you can find it). This limitation isn’t supposed to be representative of what the ‘best’ songs are, as some artists have to be better than others, but it does mean I get to flex how much of a music snob I am. On that note, there is no Brooke Fraser or Six60. I don’t care if it’s popular, or part of the cultural zeitgeist, it’s not good or close enough to art for me. I have endeavoured to strike a balance between popularity and good music. I know the two are not synonymous (or mutually exclusive), but no one wants 50 deep cuts, right?


I am also eliminating international collaborations. That means no Girl so Confusing by Lorde and Charli XCX, or Moonshine by Savage and Akon, or anything along those lines. The line has to be somewhere, unfortunately. I don’t make the rules (I do), I just enforce them (I don’t).


Lastly, this list will be presented without commentary - much like the original Nature’s Best. I have made a playlist on Qobuz, though. Check it out here:

https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/63793331


With all the admin out of the way, let’s get to the honourable mentions, and the reason they did not make the grade.

  • Sunshine Day by Spacifix, Huge song, but not that good.
  • Ernie by Fat Freddy’s Drop. Probably their best song, but does not match the energy of the original Nature’s Best, which was punchy and high-turnover.
  • My House by Kids of 88. You couldn’t get away from it if you had a TV or a radio in the early 2010s. But now you can, so let’s do just that.
  • We’re Electric Kiwi by Electric Kiwi. Only omitted because I couldn’t find it on Qobuz. My wife wants it noted that she *strongly* disagrees with the inclusion of this - even as a joke.
  • Running by Evermore. Ruined by so many television adverts, unlike We’re Electric Kiwi, which was heightened by them. Please refer to the previous note.


The list, as follows, in no particular order:

CD1

  1. Apple Pie Bed by Lawrence Arabia
  2. Riverhead by Goldenhorse
  3. Mine by Dimmer
  4. Wild Animal by Liam Finn
  5. Sunbed by Phoenix Foundation
  6. 80’s Celebration by The Reduction Agents
  7. Wavy by Muroki
  8. Hunnybee by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
  9. Green Light by Lorde
  10. Soaked by Benee
  11. Sophie by Goodshirt
  12. Bathe in the River by The Mt Raskil Preservation Society
  13. Brother by Smashproof
  14. Stay/Go by Elemeno P
  15. Vampires by The Dukes
  16. My Delirium by Ladyhawke
  17. Like Water by Ladi6
  18. Is the Honeymoon Gone by Troy Kingi


CD2

  1. What I Want by The D4
  2. 80 Down Scenic by Home Brew
  3. All Aboard by The Datsuns
  4. Something Good by Bic Runga
  5. Long White Cross by PLUTO
  6. Our Song by Goodnight Nurse
  7. Welcome Home by Dave Dobbyn
  8. Loose Wire by Luger Boa
  9. Tijuana by Midnight Youth
  10. B Your Boy by Voom
  11. K by the Tutts
  12. Kātuarehe by Anna Coddington
  13. Moving On by Steriogram
  14. Everything by P Money
  15. Lock and Load by Paselode
  16. Killing You by Broods
  17. Ballroom Baby by the Checks
  18. Always on My Mind by Tiki Taane


CD3

  1. No Ordinary Thing by Opshop
  2. Dreams in My Head by Anika Moa
  3. Pūhā me te Porohewa by MĀ
  4. So True by The Black seeds
  5. Young Blood by The Naked and Famous
  6. The Otherside by Breaks Co-Op
  7. Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! by The Mint Chicks
  8. Not Many by Scribe
  9. For the People by Nesian Mystik
  10. Kei te Mārama by Marlon Williams
  11. Wandering Eye by Fat Freddy’s Drop
  12. Pray For Prey by The Dartz
  13. Giddy Up by Katchafire
  14. Whangamatā by Michael Llewellyn
  15. Āio by Lost Tribe Aotearoa
  16. Teenage Dreams by King Cannons
  17. Always Be Here by Dane Rumble
  18. Phlex by Blindspott


Comments are always welcome. Email at blathermag@gmail.com, or on the ‘Contact’ tab of the website.

You’ll note that I carefully hid that this list has more than 50 entries, simply by splitting it into three parts. Follow for more canny tips.