Soundtrack to your studies - 1998

There was some controversy at Orientation this year, with AUSA putting on a series of gigs mainly on campus, while certain staff from bFM put on an opposing series of events during the same week! The Powerstation shook with the ultra-heavy sound of US grunge-metallers The Melvins and also had the more atmospheric sound of Australian group, The Dirty Three. Meanwhile at Shadows, you could catch long-running local group Shaft.

For most of the 90s, the main festival was the Big Day Out but it took a year off in 1998, leaving punters to look for other options, such as The Gathering in Golden Bay, Rippon Festival in Wanaka, or the Vans Warped Tour in Waihi. The Warped Tour headliner was Blink 182, who were popular amongst the pop-punk crowd but still a year away from releasing their breakthrough hit ‘All The Small Things.’

The highest-selling single that year was ‘No Matter What’ by Boyzone, but the most surprising chart hit was The Feeler’s album Supersystem. It was the top-selling studio of the year - the first time a New Zealand band had managed this achievement since the official chart began in 1975. It didn’t quite sell as many copies as the Bee Gees live album, One Night Only, but it was still a mighty achievement. The Feeler's success was largely driven by the ridiculously catchy single ‘Venus’ which seemed to instantly make them both the most loved and most hated band in the country.

What was pumping on your stereo while you were on campus? Suggest songs to add to our 1990s playlist, and you could win $100 Flying Out voucher.