Bernard Zuel

"Throughout his own war, Putin used strikingly similar language. “We didn’t start the so-called war in Ukraine,” he said in February 2022. “We are trying to finish it.”."

Favourite New Zealand cricketer

The network of Liberals behind two 'grassroots' childcare campaigns The childcare groups say they are the voices for everyday parents. What they do not mention is that they are supported by a network of current and former Liberals.

We finally figured out what's the go is with the au pair. "Grassroots campaign" for taxpayer funded nannies and au pairs is astro-turfed by ex-staffers and a Liberal consultancy. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

more: "the thing about the Shah of Iran is that he was a repressive piece of shit who was hated by his people, and his fuckery led to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 — and that’s how Iran went from being a repressive monarchy to being a repressive theocracy. meet the new boss, yadda yadda."

“I’m buggered and I’ve had enough”

Today we are all David Littleproud.

BILL CALLAHAN – MY DAYS OF 58: REVIEW BILL CALLAHANMy Days Of 58 (Drag City) HAPPY BILL CALLAHAN, wise Bill Callahan, is a comfortable presence now, some years and several albums into what you might call a transformation, though it probab...

The cover looks like Frank Sinatra's September Of My Years, the songs traverse similar territory of late middle-age contemplations of what's been done & what's been lost, there's an edge to the empathy, & it satisfies. Deeply. A new Bill Callahan reviewed.
www.bernardzuel.net/post/bill-ca...

After Turning Away Refugees, Trump Presses to Protect Iranian Soccer Team

Presumably being a raging hypocrite is his way of saying, oops, sorry about that whole school business, though I definitely didn't do it, a big boy did it and ran away, but yeah, like, totes sorry.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...

Justice Department and Live Nation Reach Settlement Terms in Antitrust Case

Got to hope the judge doesn't sign off on this middling punishment for a company happily destroying all around it in the music business, not least in Australia (not affected by any US deal it seems) while claiming victimhood & beneficence simultaneously.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/a...

Still shopping local and coastal. #morningpop #tuesdayvinyl #richardclapton #goodbyetiger

Beach blanket bingo. #morningpop #tuesdayvinyl #australiancrawl #theboyslightup

BILL CALLAHAN – MY DAYS OF 58: REVIEW BILL CALLAHANMy Days Of 58 (Drag City) HAPPY BILL CALLAHAN, wise Bill Callahan, is a comfortable presence now, some years and several albums into what you might call a transformation, though it probab...

Adult fare.
"The man whose pleasure in the minutiae of domesticity is out & proud & whose low rambling voice can come with a light self-mocking tone or a simple isn’t-this-something-to-behold sheen, is back. But back with qualifications (& many French horns)."
www.bernardzuel.net/post/bill-ca...

The presence of a “Blacktown Boogie” on an album with Get That Jive implies the possibility of a “Carlingford Choogle”, surely. We wait. #morningpop #tuesdayvinyl #drqgon #sunshine

A proper moment at a party on Saturday night as someone, enthusing about how AI is so good for researching & writing for you, asked me, a writer who researches, if I was excited too & interested in - at which point i said No, & looked at him become more perplexed. But but ...

Playlist? Yes! For all? Yes if you like to mix Curtis Mayfield, Frank Sinatra & Lisa O'Neill with James Blake, Iron&Wine & Neil Sedaka, shots of Hem, Style Council & Laura Lee+The Jettes, Hen Ogledd, Marc Hunter & Ruskin Rowe, Hot Chip & Rose City Band + 9 more.
open.spotify.com/playlist/4D5...

Dr Assal Rad—

"In case you can’t tell by reading this post, Israel killed almost 400 people, including 83 children, in Lebanon this week."

Some days you need some Adam Schlesinger. #morningpop #ivy #apartmentlife

BAD BLOOD? GOOD GENES: A PLAYLIST If you've got it, flaunt it, sing it, sell it. CLICK HERE TO LISTENFind more playlists from me, some with more Neil, at Spotify.

Not playing this playlist would be hard to do with multi-Neil Sedaka mixed with The Clash, Courtney Barnett+Waxahatchee & Maude Latour. Add Curt Perkins, Martha Wainright & Fountains Of Wayne, with The Womack Sisters, Naked Lunch & Inner Life. +13 more.
www.bernardzuel.net/post/bad-blo...

Cat v Mouse - a battle for the ages. #morningpop #itcheandscratche #hoorayforeverything

Lost my job … left my wife and baby … my mother-in-law moved in … might as well say we’re through. Mr Hooker having a moment. #morningpop #sundayvinyl #johnleehooker #thekingoffolkblues #beatdisc

Ask for Lizzie R. #morningpop #allmanbrothersband #idlewildsouth

Who’s seen Jezebel? She was born to be the woman I would know. #morningpop #ironandwine #womanking

Sky grey, grass wet, but … #morningpop #danagehrman #oceanblue

Australian gas producers reap windfalls as Iran war chokes global supply Santos, the country’s second-biggest listed oil and gas producer, finalised a deal with a commodities trader at more than double recent market rates.

We should be taxing the fuckers into the ground.

War profiteering used to be a bad thing…

www.afr.com/companies/en...

(Relatively) early doors Shelby, lucky & cheap find at beatdisc records. #morningpop #shelbylynne #temptation

Maybe in autumn is the only time I fall. #morningpop #jillscott #towhomthismayconcern

My Autumn's Done Come

Saturday read (& listen) #5. A playlist giving you autumnal shades of Style Council, Kim Deal+Morgan Nagler, Jessie Ware & Small Faces; the 4 Rs of Robyn, Randy Crawford, Robyn Hitchcock & Raye; Offset, Emmylou Harris, Secret Affair, Eurythmics, Queen Latifah +more
open.spotify.com/playlist/0Jq...

MORNING CONFESSIONAL? WIND BACK WEDNESDAY FINDS BECK REVELLING, MAYBE REVEALING Come May, armed with an orchestra, maybe a rumpled suede suit, but definitely songs from albums like Sea Change, Mutations and Morning Phase, the artist once, currently and very likely forever known a...

Saturday read #4. As tickets for his next tour went on sale this week, Beck-no-surname-required appeared in WindBackWednesday to talk conjectured confessions, bat back assumptions & avoid "conversational directness". How'd that go do you reckon?
www.bernardzuel.net/post/morning...

FELICITY URQUHART AND JOSH CUNNINGHAM’S ORDER – MAKE US ONE WITH EVERYTHING NONE OF THIS FLASH hotel room malarkey, not even a café in some on-trend spot with a hissing coffee machine in the background, for Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham in interview mode. Today they g...

Saturday read #3. If you're going to get life advice, take it from people who aren't shits, who have dealt with shit & whose songs are anything but shit. Maybe the takeaway from a new album by & this conversation with Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham.
www.bernardzuel.net/post/felicit...

SOUL WHEELS UP FOR JALEN NGONDA, ADDING JOY WITHOUT A LICENCE CAUGHT AT THE BEGINNING of his second visit to Australia – maybe you saw one of his irresistible groove shows in January 2025 – just as he is announcing a second album due out mid-year, Jalen Ngonda i...

Saturday read #2. Three countries he might call home, two decades he might as well come from, one licence he might still need. Getting into the nitty & a touch of the gritty with neo-soul-man-on-the-rise Jalen Ngonda as he chooses more things for joy.
www.bernardzuel.net/post/soul-wh...

Saturday read #1. Before he did the festivals this weekend, Iron&Wine's Sam Beam sang quietly, played solo, laughed often, looked biblical, sounded Californian, told us about cows in the pasture & serpents in the heart. It was good. Here's more words.
www.bernardzuel.net/post/iron-wi...