A subjective list, just in time for summer.
Is Auckland its own music genre? Judging by the sheer volume of songs that have been written about the city over the years, I think it should be.
Tāmaki Makaurau as a genre captures the different experiences of the city, from the transcendence of Piha to the grit of Karangahape Road and the many, many tributes to suburbs in the west and south. Many tracks are literal, like ‘Dominion Road’ by The Mutton Birds and Homebrew’s ‘80 Down Scenic’, while others simply sound like Tāmaki thanks to lyrical laments about the cost of housing or driving on cruising around the motorways.
What started as a singular themed episode on 95bFM sprawled into two more shows, a growing Google Doc list and now this highly subjective ranking – just in time for summer, when Auckland’s denizens will either be enjoying the city or cruising (out) on the freeway in the hot hot sun.
1. ‘Dominion Road’ by The Mutton Birds
As an artery for transport, people and culture this road is arguably one of the city’s most significant streets. It was immortalised in song by Don McGlashan in 1992. The lyrics have stood the test of time and are perhaps more relevant than ever given Auckland’s homeless population has doubled in the past year.
2. ‘Brother’ by Smashproof
It sat in the number one spot for a record-breaking 11 weeks but commercial success wasn’t the only significant thing about this 2009 single. It was written in response to the death of 15-year-old Pihema Camerona who, after being caught tagging a garage, was chased for 300m by Bruce Emery and stabbed to death. Emery received a four-year manslaughter sentence and was released after serving less than two years in prison. The band wanted to question the prevalence of gangs, violence, police brutality and racial inequality in South Auckland.
3. ‘Auckland Tonight’ by The Androidss
The Androidss might have been from Christchurch but this seminal work, released in 1982 when Auckland was a comparative metropolis, captures the energy and allure of the country’s biggest city and its burgeoning punk scene. The population was around 790,000, the stock market crash was five years away and the Gluepot was still open. So was The Windsor Castle, which warrants a mention.
4. ‘In The Neighbourhood’ by Sisters Underground
Brenda Makamoeafi and Hassanah Iroegbu left an indelible mark on Tāmaki Makaurau with their debut single; you’ll still hear it on any given weekend somewhere in the city. Though it was released in the winter of 1994, sticking around the charts for three months, it comes into its own in summer, when things are hot and cruel. The truly iconic music video was shot around Māngere by Greg Semu and Kerry Brown.
5. ‘Verona’ by Elemono P
A fitting suggestion from Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick (who recently caught up with Lyric Waiwiri-Smith at the song’s titular bar) this track left a generation of the city’s young people with the idea that Verona was full of romantic possibilities. How many people actually met their soulmate there isn’t readily available data.
6. ‘How Bizarre’ by OMC
Upbeat and blissed out in equal measures, this song marked its 30th anniversary this week. While it was an international hit for Otara Millionaires Club and topped charts around the world, the music video is very Auckland and very 1990s, shot at Ellerslie Racecourse in a Chevrolet convertible (with sweet Sina in the front).
7. ‘Andy’ by The Front Lawn
More McGlashan! Of all his Auckland-inspired oeuvre, this is the most poignant. Yes, it paints a beautiful picture of the city while references North Head and Takapuna Beach, but it’s really about living with grief as society swiftly marches on. Things change; glass buildings go up and money seems like everything (this was 1989 remember) but the past is still there under the surface. After all, this city is a landscape of loss and memories – particularly at this time of year. While it was tempting to put the band’s 1993 hit ‘Queen Street’ in the ranked cohort too (it namechecks Victoria Street, Vulcan Lane, the Civic Theatre, and since departed Smith & Caughey’s and The Savings Bank at number 260), you’ll find that in the honourable mentions down the bottom instead.
8. ‘Urban Planning’ by Geneva AM
History, however complicated, is writ all across the city and is the subject of this song from the Auckland artist’s debut album ‘Pikipiki’; from the motorway that was a river to waka in the museum and the many, many maunga destroyed in the name of progress.
9. ‘312’ by Swidt
One of two bus anthems on our list, this one’s about the culturally significant Onehunga-to-Auckland-City route. The service was cut in 2018, leading to community campaigning to reinstate the service, which was described as a lifeline for families in the neighbourhood. Back then a three-bedroom house in Onehunga sold for around $884k and leased for $597 a week; now they’re over a million dollars, with rentals around $700.
10. ‘Cruise Control’ by Headless Chickens
Peak Auckland summer mode is driving around the city with this gem on full blast.
11. ‘Welcome to CA’ by Diggy Dupé, choicevaughan, P.Smith (aka Troy Kingi)
From the Silver Scroll-winning soundtrack to the 2021 miniseries The Panthers, which captured the politics of 1970s Auckland and experiences of urban Pasifika (Dupé grew up in Grey Lynn) this track references familiar locations like Point Chevalier beach, state houses, inner-city streets and “the belly of the beast: Grey Lynn, Ponsonby” while also laying out the landscape of a profoundly impactful period in Auckland’s history: the Dawn Raids and the rise of The Polynesian Panther Party.
12. ‘Rent 2 High’ by Avantdale Bowling Club
Released in 2022 amid soaring property values (Auckland’s average hit $1.4m) and a housing crisis in Tāmaki Makaurau. Three years on, New Zealand’s gurning for a hit of high house prices appears to be easing, and while rental supply might be at a 10-year high, as Gabi Lardies noted a few months ago, that doesn’t necessarily mean tenants have more power.
13. ‘City Scenes’ by Features
Befitting the title of the band’s debut single, the music video is chocka with familiar city scenes from 1980s Auckland: scaffolding, Shortland Street, those old red phone boxes and the historic Courtville apartment building.
14. ‘Southside’ by David Dallas (featuring Sid Diamond and Mareko)
A “South Auckland anthem” written as a tribute to realities of life in that corner of the city, this 2013 David Dallas track ruminates on suburban ambitions and the working class experience while challenging preconceptions. Shout-outs include the Otara Scorpions, while the video, a “no frills view of home”, sees Dallas at the old Papatoetoe train station wearing a 278 cap.
15. ‘Grey Lynn’ by Abel Tasmans
Released in 1990 when the suburb was on the precipice of social and economic change, this was on the album Hey Spinner (which also includes another very Auckland song in ‘Michael Fay’, about the titular rich lister).
16. ‘7pm in West Auckland’ by AKL MADZ (featuring Church, Melodownz, The Shogun, Habibi Double G, Hunnarr, Kaio)
Shout out Eastdale Road.
17. ‘Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens’ by Tiny Ruins
Has anyone else bothered to write a song about the gorgeous hothouse in Auckland Domain, where “nobody feels cold”? Hollie Fullbrook did in 2014.
18. ‘AKL Girls’ by Church and AP
This one goes out to all the girls in the city who love being indirect. Canvassing East, West (pretty stoners), South, Central (fly) and even the shore, this is basically Tamaki Makaurau’s version of ‘California Girls’.
19. ‘Auckland is Burning’ by Die Die Die
Another South Island band inspired by Tāmaki Makaurau. The angsty lyrics have aged well and it’s a good one to thrash out amid a snarl of traffic.
20. ‘Another Day in Tāmaki’ by Greatsouth
“When it rains, it pours, in Auckland, coming down full force.”
21. ‘The Dirty South’ by M.S.G.., FRO and Laćyke
The video was shot at Sturges Park in Ōtāhuhu and this track is an ode to South Auckland suburbs like Ōtara (“274”) and Māngere (“275”), addressing stereotypes, suburban violence, cultural isolation and the reverberating effects of colonisation.
22. ‘Marion Bates Realty Company’ by Anthonie Tonnon
Hands up who’s been kicked out of a rental in Auckland?
23. ‘Birkenhead’ by Mali Mali
A beautiful, mournful song by singer-songwriter Ben Tolich about growing up in Auckland and facing adulthood. Much like driving around the city, it’s full of meandering recollections of Rainbows End, faded fibreglass pools and the kind of wire fences that are now an endangered species.
24. ‘Up the Bus’ by Dick Move
A recently released ode to the 886 bus route and the beauty of Auckland’s (actually pretty good) public transport complete with the requisite “thank you driver”.
25. ‘Te Atatū’ by Rewind Fields
The hotly debated peninsula has never sounded dreamier than in this hazy 2022 track from Callum Lee.
26. ‘Mosquitos’ by The Beths
Remembering a flood-ravaged Auckland via a visit to Oakley Creek.
27. ‘The Real Karangahape Road’ by Graham McGregor
Released in 2023, six decades into his career as a folk artist, McGregor had plenty of fodder for this fond tribute to K Road, namechecking The Rising Sun (closed), The Pink Pussy Cat (closed) and the Naval and Family (still there!)
Honourable mentions
‘Motorway’ by Fazerdaze, ‘Durham Lane’ by Supervillains RMC, ‘Karanga-a-hape’ by Dick Move, ‘80 Down Scenic’ by Home Brew, ‘Welcome to Nowhere’ by The Mint Chicks, ‘April in the City’ by Babe Martin, ‘Sussex Street’ by Tentacles of Destruction, ‘Hip Hop Holiday’ by 3 The Hard Way, ‘Living in the City’ by P.H.F., ‘Saturday Night Stay at Home’ by The Suburban Reptiles, ‘Helensville’ by SJD, ‘South Auckland’ by 276, ‘Watch’ by CCTV, ‘K Road’ by Linn Lorkin, ‘10:55’ by MCOJ and Rhythm Slave, ‘Piha’ by Ian Pooley, ‘Queen Street’ by The Front Lawn, ‘Flowers in Hendo’ by Mohi, ‘Auckland CBD Pt. 2’ by Lawrence Arabia, ‘Insect Near Piha Beach’ by Four Tet. OK, and ‘One Tree Hill’ by U2.
What’s your favourite song about Auckland? Let us know in the comments!
