Nick Bollinger
Essential Albums: Shona Laing - South
Shona Laing was just seventeen when she had her first national hit in 1972. Fifteen years later, she was reintroducing herself as a different kind of artist. In this episode, Nick Bollinger looks at… Audio
Essential Albums: Strawpeople - Broadcast
If any New Zealand band captured the synth-pop zeitgeist of the mid-90s it was Auckland's Strawpeople. In this episode, Nick Bollinger takes a close listen to their 1994 album Broadcast, which served… Audio
Essential Albums: Warratahs - The Only Game In Town
The Only Game In Town launched Kiwi country institution The Warratahs on a career that has spanned four decades. In this episode, Nick Bollinger revisits this debut, talks to some of the people… Audio
Essential Albums: Collision - Collision
New Zealand funk band Collision only ever made one album, but it is now regarded as an Antipodean classic of lost 70s funk. In this programme, Nick Bollinger dusts off his precious vinyl copy, and… Audio
Essential Albums: Dudley Benson - The Awakening
With his choirboy background and unusual palette of chamber instruments, Dudley Benson presented a unique artistic vision on his 2008 debut album The Awakening. Nick Bollinger talks to Benson about… Audio
The Mixtape: Harry Ricketts
Harry Ricketts is a Wellington-based poet and educator who recently published his eleventh volume of poetry. In In this episode of The Mixtape he plays some of his favourite records and talks to Nick… Audio
Nick Bollinger on Wellington's history of jam bands
RNZ's resident music historian talks us through a key component of the local music scene. Audio
Bressa Creeting Cake - Bressa Creeting Cake
Bressa Creeting Cake came of out of West Auckland in the mid-1990s with an album full of sonic and songwriterly surprises. Nick Bollinger takes a close listen and talks to members Geoff Maddock and… Audio
Music feature: "Unfit for air play"? Not any longer!
It's time for our music feature and today we're playing some of the songs found in a mysterious old leather-bound ledger labelled 'Banned records' in the RNZ offices. Started sometime in the 1950s… Audio
Not for Broadcast - Part 5: The Word From On High
In the final part of this series Nick Bollinger explores more songs about God and sex, and hears from some current broadcasters about a few records they played but maybe shouldn't have. Audio
Not for Broadcast - Part 4: Explicit Content
Sexual innuendo has always been a staple of the pop song, but when is a song too sexy for the radio? The fourth part of this series looks at the history of songs, sex and censorship. Audio
Not for Broadcast - Part 3: Political football
What's the difference between a political satire and a campaign song? In the third part of this series Nick Bollinger listens to some songs about politicians that were deemed suitable for broadcast -… Audio
Not For Broadcast - Part 2: Teenage Rebellion
In the second part of this series Nick Bollinger goes back to the 1950s and looks at how a nationwide morals panic influenced the songs that were played - and not played - on New Zealand radio. Audio
Not For Broadcast - Part 1: Book of the Banned
From the earliest days of radio, there have been songs that were deemed unfit for airplay. Who banned these records and why? Starting with the discovery of a mysterious old leather-bound book, Nick… Audio
Essential Albums: Chris Knox - Seizure
Chris Knox was one of New Zealand's most prolific and provocative music makers, before he suffered a serious stroke in 2009. In this episode of Essential New Zealand Albums, Nick Bollinger discusses… Audio
Fat Freddy's Drop founder Chris Faiumu dies
Chris Faiumu, the founder of the band Fat Freddy's Drop, has died. Audio
In Orbit with Julien Dyne & The Circling Sun
Boundary-busting local jazz collective The Circling Sun have just released their second album Orbits and Nick Bollinger has found himself immersed in its rich rhythms and original compositions. He… Audio
Remembering two legendary musicians with Nick Bollinger
Kara Rickard has a kōrero with Aotearoa music journalist Nick Bollinger about the legacies of music legends Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. Audio
Nick Bollinger and Elliott Childs talk about music books
Two music writers discuss what they've been reading lately. Audio
Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes
Nick Bollinger reviews an instrumental collection from the LA trio. Audio
