Ironic (don't ya think?) given they won a Grammy (Best Comedy Album) in February for their debut EP, The Distant Future.
The last New Zealander to do so was opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in 1984.
Clement and McKenzie then stunned more than a few mullets among the Kiwi rock and pop fraternity when they walked off with the big prizes (Album of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist of the Year and International Achievement) at the New Zealand Music Awards in October.
"What the . . . ?" cried the critics before pointing out the obvious: that the Conchords are a comedy act first, a music act second.
Yet perhaps those quick to condemn forget that comedy-theatre outfit the Front Lawn, featuring Don McGlashan, won three Tuis in 1989 (Most Promising Group, Best Film Soundtrack/compilation and International Achievement) for the album Songs from the Front Lawn.
For their debut album, much of which comprises songs from their first series on United States cable network HBO in 2007, Clement and McKenzie chose to work with producer Mickey Petralia, whose credits include Ladytron's Light & Sound and Beck's Midnight Vultures.
That collaboration with Beck is notable; Beck has often employed a similar grab-bag approach to his production, mixing folk, funk and the rat-a-tat wordplay of hip-hop.
Hence, Petralia imbued the Flight of the Conchords with a studio authenticity that served to heighten the joke.
You have to feel for Wellington outfit the Phoenix Foundation, that six-headed musical beast from Wellington who, having been nominated for three awards (Best Single, Best Group, Best Rock Album), ended up with nothing despite an ambitious, upbeat and exceptional third album, Happy Ending.
Still, we shouldn't be too surprised come the Tui roll call.
Last year, young, noisy upstarts the Mint Chicks came from nowhere and walked away with the three big prizes (Album of the Year, Best Group and Best Rock Album) as well as a couple of minor gongs (Best Music Video, Best Album Cover) despite sophomore album Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! barely registering on the sales charts following its release in September 2006.
Other left-field winners include garage rockers the Datsuns (Best Album, 2003) and the Bleeders (Best Breakthrough Artist, Best Rock Album, 2006).
Of particular interest at this year's awards was the induction of Dunedin indie rock act Straitjacket Fits into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
Fits singer, songwriter and guitarist Shayne Carter expressed equal measures of pride and surprise at the recognition: "I am naturally suspicious of awards, mainly because of all the great artists who never get acknowledged at those sorts of dos and, really, who is to say this is better than that? Music is such a subjective thing.
"Having said that, it's very nice for our band to be acknowledged like this.
It's gratifying to think it had some lasting impact . . . good music is like that.
It'll always be good music, no matter what era it's from - just as bad music can never improve with age.
The true stuff has staying power."
On that note, let's pause for a moment and consider those Kiwi musicians whose songs have resonated the loudest over the past 12 months . . .
Turn it up to 11 . . .
Shihad went back to the future for their seventh album, Beautiful Machine, where sinuous guitar lines and pulsing synths provided a strong whiff of 1999 effort The General Electric, albeit without the vitality of that fourth album.
Frontman Jon Toogood tamed his guttural scream ("don't it feel good just to be alive") and adopted the radio-friendly approach (take single One Will Hear The Other) that has appeared from time to time over the years.
Given the quartet tend to release an album every second year, it will be interesting to chart their progress (or otherwise) in 2010.
Likewise, the Datsuns continued to evolve, Headstunts, the follow-up to 2006's Smoke and Mirrors, mixing basic riffery with punk, pop and even gospel-chorus flourishes.
With the inevitable British media backlash to the early hype getting to them, the former Cambridge rockers left London for Germany, where much of the self-produced Headstunts was recorded.
The Mint Chicks also moved base, from New Zealand to Portland, Oregon, a city they claim suits their relaxed lifestyle.
The United States also clearly offers a considerably larger potential audience for the band's peculiar blend of raw rock, punk and new wave.
After a break of five years between albums, Fur Patrol returned with Local Kid, a cathartic response to several years of record-label shenanigans culminating in the departure of original lead guitarist Steve Wells in 2004.
Following plenty of soul-searching, the remaining trio, fronted by Julia Deans, got back to basics and put out their best set since 1998 debut EP Starlifter.
Return of the veterans . . .
Dave Dobbyn and a small posse set up their gear in London under the guidance of influential producer Adrian Sherwood, whose credits include Coldcut, Primal Scream and Depeche Mode.
The result was Anotherland, which mixed the romance of the single Wild Kisses Like Rain with some soul and funk experimentation.
The effervescent Tim Finn got a little reflective on his solo album, The Conversation, his songs of love, fatherhood and domestic reflection aided by a stripped-back approach.
Inviting long-time Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Raynor and violinist Miles Golding, the first person to depart the band (in 1973), and choosing to avoid bass or drums proved a wise decision, moving Finn's voice from familiar mid-tempo AOR into a more intimate setting.
Wayne Mason put out his third solo album, Sense Got Out, with backing band the Fallen Angels.
Having spent more than four decades writing songs, Mason continued to sharpen his pen, his lyrics revelling in the everyday, albeit set to a good tune.
Los Angeles-based Greg Johnson also showed off his songwriting chops, Seven Day Cure, his eighth studio album, among his best yet.
Teaming up with long-time collaborator Ted Brown and employing a talented team of stateside musicians, Johnson chose to produce his own music and it turned out to be a good move as he pushed the vocal faders up, highlighting his lyrical growth.
And Hammond Gamble swapped his acoustic for an electric guitar and let rip on solo album Ninety Mile Days, aided and abetted by producer Rikki Morris, backing singer Debbie Harwood and others.
Long associated with the blues, Gamble revealed a wide range of compositional ability, moving from soulful ballads to upbeat yet harmonically complex pop.
Not to be outdone, Barry Saunders laid down his first piano track and even dipped into the Phoenix Foundation's back catalogue on his recent album Zodiac, which was once again produced by former Mutton Birds member David Long.
Who the . . . ?
Sidekick Nick, aka Nick Buckton, signed up with major label Sony and got released on a wave of hype generally assigned to more radio-friendly fodder.
His debut album, Miscellaneous Adventures, was a fun and interesting romp through often lo-fi terrain.
Renee-Louise Carafice's debut album, Tells You To Fight, might have been less joyous, but it had plenty of power nonetheless.
Made a ward of the state and sent to a high-security mental institution in Auckland in 2003 because of fears for her safety, Carafice used the recording process as part of her recovery.
The result was something haunting and unique.
Digging deep . . .
Having come to attention in 1998 with Christchurch all-girl hip-hop act Sheelahroc, Ladi6, aka Karoline Tamati, finally put out a solo album following a plethora of collaborations with a range of musicians, including cousin Scribe and Fat Freddys Drop.
At last, Tamati's voice was up front, Time Is Not Much covering some big themes, from the birth of her son to the recent death of a young relative.
Another act with Christchurch roots, Salmonella Dub worked with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released the live recording Feel The Seasons Change.
Drawing on material from their most recent album, Heal Me, as well as including a few older tracks, the outfit chose to use the NZSO as an integral part of the arrangements rather than some occasional backing band.
The fourth album from Wellington outfit the Black Seeds, Solid Ground was aptly named.
The roots-reggae-dub vibe remained strong, though touches of urban funk and cop-show themes provided a hint of possible future exploration.
Elsewhere, the self-titled third album from Rhombus took in various points of the musical compass, blending dub, reggae, soul and scratchy funk.
Key vocalists MC Antsman, MC Mana and Lisa Tomlins were joined by some interesting guests, including Jamaican artists Ranking Joe and Junior Kelly.
The result was eclectic, but perhaps their best yet.
Detroit techno turntablist Recloose, aka Matt Chicoine, mixed funk, jazz, disco and slow jams on his third studio effort, Perfect Timing, a title that reflected the treasure trove of inventive beat-making.
Closer to home . . .
Dunedin quartet the DFenders made headlines when they made the top five of the People's Choice section of the New Zealand Music Awards courtesy of loyal fans who jumped online and voted furiously.
They may not have won, but they still got to attend the celebrations, which given the band members' party-time attitudes, was probably reward
enough.
They also put out a self-titled debut album that reeked of the 1980s (think The Cars).
Top-shelf local recordings included Alpha State's full-length debut, Lines, which showcased frontman Mike McLeod's songwriting ability and a sympathetic cast of players.
A key factor in its success (at this stage artistic rather than financial) was the transparent and assured production of Rob Falconer, also the band's drummer.
In fact, the rise and rise of production skills among Dunedin musicians has been one of the highlights of the year's crop of releases.
Take, for instance, Thomas Bell's work with Onanon, which meant the band's at times fervent twin-guitar attack was left unkempt but still made sense.
Elsewhere, Tono's debut EP, Love & Economics, recorded at the University of Otago's Albany St studio, mixed by Stu Harwood and mastered by Dale Cotton and featuring Tono's band, the Finance Company, was an exercise in attention to detail.
So too was Harwood's work with his own outfit, the Tweeks, who adopted an approach somewhere between the Kinks and the Verlaines for their self-titled second album.
Those who have followed the Tweeks' progress over the past few years would know this was a band more concerned with forging their own path than impersonation.
Thus any influences were subsumed then regurgitated as angular, interesting pop songs.
Sadly for Dunedin fans, the members of the Tweeks relocated to London a few months back in an effort to further their ambitions.
The Tweeks were not alone: plenty of relatively obscure Kiwi musicians have crisscrossed the globe in search of a good gig, a key point made in author and musician Gareth Shute's book, NZ Rock: 1987-2007, released in May.
Though the overall theme of NZ Rock was upbeat, Shute was also careful to balance the hopeful tone with a cold dash of reality.
In the closing paragraphs of the book, he writes: "The odds are still stacked against local bands breaking into the mainstream of overseas markets, though the more innovative [or lucky] ones will hopefully be able to create a niche for themselves that is able to sustain them over their career."
Though Shute's warning is borne of research and experience, it need not put a damper on the artistic fire.
Popular music has always swayed in a space where reality and dreams collide.
