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‘The world was looking for someone that looked like him, with his style, swagger and voice’ … Pauly Fuemana, frontman of OMC (Otara Millionaires Club). Photograph: Deborah Smith/Simon Grigg/Huh Records‘The world was looking for someone that looked like him, with his style, swagger and voice’ … Pauly Fuemana, frontman of OMC (Otara Millionaires Club). Photograph: Deborah Smith/Simon Grigg/Huh RecordsMusicIn 1996, singer Pauly Fuemana and producer Alan Jansson wrote a smash hit that came to define the decade and changed New Zealand’s music industry forever.

Know the scoreOperaFor the last of this series, we turn to one of the greatest of all composers for the human voice, a man who lived through the Third Reich and two world wars, and whose gorgeously expressive music helped create one of cinema’s most famous moments Richard Strauss (1864-1949) dominated classical music at the turn of the 20th century with a series of works that pushed post-Romanticism to extremes and pre-empted the innovations of modernism.

CultureObituarySharon SheeleySongwriter of Poor Little FoolThe first song of the Los Angeles-born songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who has died of complications following a cerebral haemorrhage aged 62, was Poor Little Fool. It became a million-selling number one for Ricky Nelson in 1957 and the same year she co-wrote the hip-hitting Somethin' Else, which became a 1959 hit for Eddie Cochran. Sheeley had been under rock 'n' roll's influence since she was 16.

Film blogMoviesThe Death at a Funeral remake should have died an early deathIf Hollywood must persist in gutting pre-existing movies for new projects, why not be really radical? How about a musical Avatar, for instance?Hollywood's chronic creativity drought will be familiar to readers of these pages. An imperfect storm of youthful inexperience in the executive ranks, collective animus toward that which dares to be different, and risk-averse corporate ownership has all but swallowed up the original idea in Tinseltown.

10 of the bestNick Drake10 of the best: Nick DrakeNick Drake only recorded three albums during his short lifetime, yet choosing 10 songs that best capture his delicate magic is still a challenge Nick Drake: In search of his mother Molly 1. Hazey Jane IIAllow me to begin this playlist with a personal story. I was 15 when I first picked up a copy of Nick Drake's second album, Bryter Layter, from my local record shop and sat down to play it on my parents' stereo.

Some of the richest people in the US have made millions from trailer parks. GuardianHomesIt’s an unusual but potentially lucrative investment: billionaire Warren Buffett is heavily invested, and his and others’ success is prompting ordinary people to attend Mobile Home University, a ‘boot camp’ in trailer park ownership The number one rule is stated twice, once in the classroom and once on the bus: “Don’t make fun of the residents.” Welcome to Mobile Home University, a three-day, $2,000 “boot camp” that teaches people from across the US how to make a fortune by buying up trailer parks.

10 of the bestMusicCurtis Mayfield – 10 of the bestDeploying sweet soul and blistering funk – and pouring his gorgeous, honeyed falsetto over it all – Curtis Mayfield veered between breezy optimism and hard-edged political commentary 1. Move on UpBy the time the 1960s drew to a close, Curtis Mayfield had already made an indelible mark on pop. His soulful, gospelised group the Impressions had topped the R&B charts and crossed over to score pop hits, moving confidently from honeyed love songs such as Gypsy Woman to powerful anthems that scored the civil rights struggle: Keep on Pushing, We’re a Winner and, finest of them all, People Get Ready.

The Handmaid's Tale: episode by episodeThe Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's Tale recap: season three, episode two – like blood on snowOne group stands out in red, the other hides in grey, but what the Handmaids and the Marthas need to do is put aside their differences and kickstart the revolution Spoiler alert: this recap is for people watching The Handmaid’s Tale, series three, on Channel 4 in the UK. Please do not add spoilers for later episodes in the series.

Life and styleThe night of the hunterIt began as a fun day out quad-biking in the Australian outback. But it ended in disaster - with one young man killed by a crocodile and his two friends perched all night in a tree while the predator circled belowIt's "the Wet" in Australia's Northern Territory, which means tropical cyclones, monsoon rains and stifling humidity. Out in the bush, 80km south-west of Darwin, heavy rainfall turns the red earth to mud and swells the Finniss river, partially submerging the trees along its banks and flooding the whole area.