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February 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Dropping Bombs

if you didn’t bomb you couldn’t ever know what it is like to truly nail it; this is true of yourself and in the work of others so last night I was sure to tell the guy at the door as I left after seeing his band that he was great; that the group was […]

Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Dropping Bombs, Poem, Poem: Dropping Bombs ·

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Joel Ross: Who Are You?

Joel Ross Who Are You? Blue Note Joel Ross was just 23 when he released KingMaker – a hell of an album, his debut as a leader. Not much more than a year on he’s back with this second album leading the band (a killer-good band) and making a case for himself, already, as a […]

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Blue Note, Brandee Younger, Immanuel Wilkins, Jazz, Joel Ross, Joel Ross: Who Are You?, KingMaker, Vibes, Vibraphone, Who Are You?, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Sweetman Podcast # 247: Talia Marshall

Welcome to Sweetman Podcast. It’s 2021. But I started this year with conversations recorded at the very end of 2020. Now we’re into fresh conversations recorded in 2021. And this is episode 247 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys Now – as you probably know, as […]

Posted in Blog, Podcasts · Tagged Acast, Aldous Harding, Anchor, Anchor FM, Apple, Blog, Chat, Column, Creative Writing, Criticism, Dunedin, Emerging Maori Writer, ep.247, Essay, Essayist, IIML, Interview, iTunes, Kiwi, Maori, Mother, Newsroom, North & South, NZ, Off The Tracks, Pantograph Punch, Podcasts, Poem, Poems, Poet, Poetry, Pop Culture, Reading, Rugby, Simon Sweetman, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Stuff, Sunday Star Times, Sweetman Podcast, Sweetman Podcast # 247, Sweetman Podcast # 247: Talia Marshall, Sweetman Podcast: Talia Marshall, T Leaf T, The Spinoff, Wellington, Writer, Writing, Yeastie Boys, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Coming Third

I second-guessed myself which I shouldn’t have done in the first place

Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Coming Third, I second-guessed myself which I shouldn’t have done in the first place, Poem, Poem: Coming Third ·

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P. Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti has died. He was 101, a month off turning 102 in fact. What a life. The poet and publisher would have been important had he never written a word himself – he was a founder and co-owner of the legendary San Francisco bookstore and imprint City Lights and as a publisher he was […]

Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged A Coney Island of The Mind, Author, Beat Poets, Beats, Bookstore, City Lights, Eulogy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet, Poetry, Publisher, R.I.P., R.I.P. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, San Francisco, The Last Waltz, Writing ·

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February 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon Noon Megaplum / ATO Records What a wonderful anomaly Leo Kottke is – a folk guitarist, but also a jazz guitarist and there’s classical in there, it’s just an absolute stew. He also doesn’t seem to have ever gone too far down the eccentric path (Bill Orcutt, Sir Richard Bishop) […]

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Acoustic, Album Review, Bass, Duo, Guitar, Jon Fishman, Leo Kottke, Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon, Mike Gordon, Noon, Phish, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Good Sports

all the books you’ll never read cannot help you. They sit like subs on the bench, awaiting a turn to impress the coach with no idea that it is the waterboy that collects up the jerseys, cuts the oranges, attempts to clean the dirty laundry

Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Good Sports, Poem, Poem: Good Sports ·

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February 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

John Densmore: The Seekers – Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists)

The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists) John Densmore Hachette Books John Densmore was a pretty good drummer but he’s a really bad writer. So it’s remarkable that he’s now up to book number three! The first was a given – a book about his time in The Doors; no one could argue […]

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Art, Book, Book Review, Creatives, Creativity, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, John Densmore: The Seekers - Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists), Meetings With Remarkable Musicians, Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists), Memoir, Music, Philosophy, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, The Doors, The Seekers, The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists), Wisdom, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Will Bates: Bliss (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Will Bates Bliss (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Milan Amazon Prime’s new original movie, Bliss, is getting a right royal roasting. But I quite liked it. I’m not about to mount a huge defense but in a world where utter fucking cack like Behind Her Eyes and allegedly clever time-filling series’ such as Russian Doll […]

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged [OST], Album Review, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Bliss, Bliss (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Fall On Your Sword, Milan, Morcheeba, Score, Skye, Skye Edwards, Soundtrack, Will Bates, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 22, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: mulligan

n. a mulligan is a second chance to perform an action, usually after the first chance went wrong through bad luck or a blunder He asked if I had ever thought of starting with a blank page and a list of skills shortages… He was talking about jobs, retraining, recruitment. It was partonising, condescending and […]

Posted in Blog, Miscellany ·

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February 22, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

The Weather Station: Ignorance

The Weather Station Ignorance Fat Possum You can make a serious album about serious issues that has groove, that has soul, that has not only heart but has actual art to it. It’s been done. Many times – and it always feels like a subtle magic trick. A few years ago Tracey Thorn did so […]

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Annie Lennox, Ignorance, Paul Buchanan, Portishead, Talk Talk, Tamara Lindeman, The Blue Nile, The Weather Station, The Weather Station: Ignorance, Tracey Thorn, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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February 22, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Books That Blew My Mind # 5: “The Dark Stuff – Selected Writings on Rock Music” by Nick Kent

The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent When I started reading about rock music it was whatever bios the library at school had. The first book I read was a dry account of the murder of John Lennnon. Not that the story should be full of laughs or anything but this more about the killer and […]

Posted in Blog, Miscellany ·
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Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

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