Musical Anti-Virtuosity in New Zealand’s Nature’s Best

This article presents an analysis of Nature’s Best (2002), three albums that represent the mainstream and critical canon of New Zealand popular music. I argue that Nature’s Best predominantly conveys the viewpoints of white, male songwriters, many of whom belonged to a “Golden Generation” of New Zealand musicians. Further, the tracks on Nature’s Best are frequently imbued with a sense of musical anti- virtuosity, which provides a representation in song of masculine tropes that are common in New Zealand culture