In college, I fell in love with New Zealand indie rock, which, in those long-ago days, was at its creative height. In 1995, I wrote an article for Steven Johnson's pioneering Internet magazine, Feed, in which I tried to sum up the New Zealand scene. The archives of Feed are unavailable, so I thought I'd offer the piece here, for whoever might be interested. With its talk of "grunge" and "record stores," it's a rather quaint artifact, but I hope it will lead one or two people to discover the music. As it happens, New Zealand is in the New York air at the moment; last night, (Le) Poisson Rouge hosted a musically overflowing benefit for the awesomely gifted singer-songwriter Chris Knox, who suffered a series of strokes last year, and the Clean are performing in Brooklyn tonight. I've still never been to New Zealand.
