Lets Update Nature's Best: 2010-2013
Six60, Lorde, Home Brew, Troy Kingi and Maisey Rika all make their debuts in the list - where will they land? Read on ...
If you want to catch up on the Nature’s Best story so far, here are the posts so far: Introduction | 2001-2002 | 2003-2004 | 2005-2006 | 2007-2009
Before we get to the next batch of tracks …
2007-2009 reconsidered …
Based on the voting from last week’s additions:
The majority of votes for OpShop’s “One Day” thought it should be lower or should be off the list, so I’ve dropped it from #70 to #93.
The vast majority felt Anika Moa’s “Dreams In My Head” should be lower than #37, so I’ve dropped it to #57.
Most voters thought that The Mint Chicks’ "Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!" should be higher, so I’ve bumped that from #49 to #36.
Voters felt Ladyhawke’s “Paris Is Burning” should be higher than #105, so I’ve bumped it to #95; and felt that Smashproof’s “Brother” should be lower than #18, so I’ve bumped it down to #33.
The remainder of the selections seemed to sit well with you all, so I’m leaving them right where they are. Let’s get on with the new stuff!
> The Naked & Famous - "Young Blood"
Okay, lets start this week with a hot take: I think the Naked & Famous are massively over-rated, and only succeeded as hard as they did because of the music industry at the time (peak MGMT) and a measure of international success off the back of this song, and eventually won the group an APRA Silver Scroll, seven Aotearoa Music Awards and peaked at #1.
I’ve put this at #114 for a start; lets see what the votes say.
> The Phoenix Foundation - "Buffalo"
Phoenix Foundation are currently in the list at #54 with “Damn The River”; this song is the lead single from their 2010 album Buffalo - an album which won 4 Aotearoa Music Awards (out of 8 nominations) and was shortlisted for the Taite Music Prize in 2011. I reckon this one deserves to land at #85.
> Six60 - "Don’t Forget Your Roots"
Okay, full disclosure: I don’t like Six60 in general - nor L.A.B., nor most of the dozens of other so-called “BBQ Reggae” bands in this country. However, credit where credit is due: Six60 are arguably this country’s biggest and most popular musical group. Heck, they sell out a stadium tour every summer. “Don’t Forget Your Roots” is a quintessential Kiwi anthem - it led to six Aotearoa Music Awards in 2012, and was the highest selling NZ single of the year. And I think the Te Reo Māori version ("Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō”) released in 2019 on the Waiata compilation only helps its case. I’m feeling #8 for this one.
> Ladi6 - "Like Water"
Ladi6’s second album The Liberation Of was both a critical and a popular smash (it won the 2011 Taite Music Prize) behind the success of this song, “Like Water”, which spent a combined 22 weeks on the chart and was nominated for Single Of The Year at the 2011 Aotearoa Music Awards. Ladi6 is one of those artists that deserve recognition on a list like this; I’m feeling a #59 but could go higher.
> Avalanche City - "Love Love Love"
Where were you the first time you heard the opening ‘blinga-chinga-ching’ guitar chords from this one? Avalanche City is the solo outlet of Dave Baxter, and this song won him the 2011 Silver Scroll Award. It is also his biggest hit, peaking at number one on the singles chart and selling double-platinum. Still, I reckon #103 is about right to commemorate this one.
> Kimbra - "Settle Down"
Kimbra is more famous for a guest appearance on a Gotye song (I won’t write its name here, lest it earworm you). Her debut album, Vows, won 4 Aotearoa Music Awards in 2012, including Album Of The Year. But it eventually sold better in Australia and was eventually nominated for Album Of The Year there too. Given the success internationally, and the success globally with Gotye, I reckon Kimbra deserves mention, and I’m feeling #120 for this one.
> Devilskin - "Little Pills"
Another band that really just deserve mention. I’m not a fan personally, but its undeniable that Devilskin are the sound of local mainstream heavy music at present, so I reckon #135 for this, probably their best song, is about right.
> Home Brew - "Alcoholic"
At last we come to Tom Scott, probably the best rapper this country has ever produced, at least in terms of technical skill. The self-titled Home Brew was nominated for five awards in 2012, winning just one for Best Urban/Hiphop Album, mostly because the lyrical content caused a lack of promotion, and the industry didn’t yet know what they had in Scott. The people knew, though: Home Brew debuted at #1 on the album charts and stuck around for almost four months. #80 for this one, but Tom Scott will be back.
> Maisey Rika - "Tangaroa Whakamautai"
So, while a lot of our discussion has been about mainstream success, Maisey Rika has been plugging away in the background, making music on her own terms and pushing forward the use of Te Reo Māori in popular genres for decades, leading to five albums charting in the Top 40, multiple Aotearoa Music awards, multiple APRA Awards (including multiple nominations for the Silver Scroll), numerous nominations at the Waiata Māori Awards, and as if that wasn’t enough, Rika is an Arts Fundation Laureate. There are many ways to measure success; Maisey Rika is one of our most successful (and, I would argue, important) modern songwriters. "Tangaroa Whakamautai" is the highlight track from her 2012 album Whitiora, and peaked at #9 on the singles chart. I reckon #45 is right for this one, and Rika will definitely be back too.
> Troy Kingi - "True Love"
Another successful modern songwriter who’ll end up on this list multiple times is Troy Kingi: at the time this song was released, he was so far under the radar that it didn’t win any awards, didn’t chart, wasn’t even released as a single. But those who heard the song knew: this was something special. Kingi is in he middle of his 10-10-10 quest currently - 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years - but before we get to those, lets put “True Love” at #39.
> Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "So Good At Being In Trouble"
Following the break-up of The Mint Chicks, singer Ruban Nielsen relocated to Portland, in the US, and formed Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and now plays across North America as frontman of a well regarded indie band; their debut eventually won the 2012 Taite Music Prize. This track is from their second album, and is one of their best. Given the group’s success, and the ongoing influence of the Nielsen brothers, I’m feeling #72 for this one.
> Lorde - "Royals"
I can’t say any more about this song than has been said; if you want to know about the legacy of this song, read the Legacy section of its Wikipedia entry. All I can tell you is that it was (rightly) lauded by critics, showered in awards, and peaked at #1 in twelve countries including the United States and the UK. Like it or not, “Royals” is the most famous and most successful New Zealand song of all time, and I feel weird putting it anywhere except #1.
So there we have it - a new #1 after all that! We’ve added 12 new songs to the list, which takes us to 147 songs in total. And I’ve updated the playlist. Next week will be another fun one with Benee, Broods and L.A.B. up for consideration.
Thanks everyone - make sure you vote!
Ka kite, Chris
Just catching up on this series now and really loving it!
Surely Devilskin are due their "cool, actually" moment any day now, anyway I liked that track a lot more than I expected