Honestly it kinda hit me last Tuesday morning. Was sipping coffee checking tour dates for Crowded House when I saw it pop up – Neil Finn’s big birthday this weekend! Felt ridiculous that it almost slipped my mind. This legend deserved way better. Figured I couldn’t just scroll past – had to do something proper.
The Scramble Starts
Right, only had like 3 days. First thing I did was run around my place looking for anything Finn-related. Found an old Split Enz vinyl tucked behind my Hitchcock DVDs. Dusted it off with my sleeve. Then remembered that red beanie I wore nonstop after seeing them in ’08. Perfect centerpiece.
Needed decorations though. Rushed to the cheap store downtown. Grabbed:
- A bunch of black and white balloons (classy, like his tunes)
- Some terrible silver streamers that kept sticking to everything
- A cheap “Happy Birthday” banner that misspelled “Birthday” as “Birtday”
Totally forgot tape. Ended up using toothpaste blobs to stick things to the wall. Worked… mostly.
The Soundtrack Hassle
Playlist had to be flawless. Spent hours scrolling my library. Started with Crowded House stuff like “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” obviously. Then dug deep into Finn Brothers tracks. Paused when “Only Talking Sense” came on – still gives me chills.
Big moment? Finding that ridiculously rare live version of “Stuff and Nonsense” from a ‘99 radio session. Took ages to dig up the file. Burnt it onto a CD anyway – just felt right for a birthday bash.
Day-Of Madness
Birthday morning, blew up those balloons. Nearly passed out blowing up the last huge black one. Made a giant mess with glitter trying to jazz up the toothpaste-spots on the wall. Looked chaotic. Somehow fitting.
Made a simple cake. Dropped the sugar shaker right into the bowl. Left it. Figured a crunchy cake was punk rock enough for Neil. Wrote “HBD NF” messily on top with red icing. Looked more like “H8D NF.” Oh well.
Celebration Time
Turned off the lights, cranked the playlist. Just me and Neil’s voice filling the room. Sang way too loud during “Fall At Your Feet.” Stared at that beanie under the disco lamp. Felt strangely awesome.
Called up two other Finn fan buddies. Yelled excitedly over the music about Neil surviving the music biz this long. One mate started drunkenly reciting lyrics from “Four Seasons In One Day.” Perfect nonsense.
Ate the crunchy cake while watching grainy live clips on my laptop. Screen flickered. Didn’t care. Just sat there grinning, icing on my chin, surrounded by slightly deflating black balloons stuck with dried toothpaste. Best damn DIY birthday bash ever for a bloke I’ve never met. Because music? That connects. Happy birthday, Neil. You absolute legend.
