constantly searching for sentiments to conform with one's limited vocabulary, rather than developing one's vocabulary in order to keep pace with one's expanding sentiments --- that to me typifies "nz" music; at its worst it wears this as a badge of achievement, at its best it overturns this stultifying inarticulateness boldly

Dont be a Hater :)

i watched a thing on ole courtney the other night ... i think on e..... was babysitting...
anyway i have a lot of sympathy for her now. i had thought that she was a husband-killing biatch but now... plus i really really really like her song ' but julian im a little bit older than you'

Not to mention Pixies, Husker Du, Black Flag, Meat Puppets, and archaic post-punk stuff like the Raincoats. And they created something damn near perfect of their own. Nothing wrong with credible influences.

Maybe Pluto sort of almost are, they were introduced to a world of meatheads by opening for Muse. Otherwise the other three are pretty marginal. Mint Chicks are known by a handful of (well-adjusted, non musically-obsessed) people I know as 'that crazy band'. And I wouldn't think any of them know The Shocking Pinks or Die!Die!Die!. All good bands though, best examples of idiosyncratic NZ artists too.