I used to enjoy a drink. I was really good at it; the best maybe too good even. So I’m taking a break, it’s good to give the others a chance. And I’m giving myself another chance too. Cheers!
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Poem: The Glass Isn’t Half Empty, It’s Half Full
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“Weird Al” Yankovic: The Idiots Are Winning (Live 1984)
“Weird Al” Yankovic The Idiots Are Winning (Live 1984) Shockwaves To my knowledge there’s never been an official standalone live-concert-album release from “Weird Al”. And this certainly isn’t – this is a bootleg, an old radio broadcast of Al and band’s appearance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest in 1984.
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Dinner Party: Dinner Party
Dinner Party Dinner Party Sounds of Crenshaw / EMPIRE What a supergroup! Dinner Party is the name of the band-project and the name of this 7-track mini-album/EP featuring Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder. That’s almost too much talent to pack into one studio on any given day – and this mini-album […]
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The Great Spotify Shuffle Game: Roadtrippin’ Playlists
School holidays. Kids in the car. The only thing worse than letting them take charge of the stereo is feeling the burn of their complete lack of engagement and interest if you stay in charge of the soundtrack to the car-trip. But how do you make it work – and fair? We might be a […]
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The Vinyl Countdown # 96
The Kinks, Kinda Kinks (1965) In the battle of the bands between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones I often think the real winner was – or should have been – The Kinks. They combined the same energy of both bands in their earliest outings and as Ray Davies grew and developed as a songwriter […]
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Poem: Holiday Browsing
The shops in Martinborough have lovely ladies in waiting to sell you anything you do not need – all sorts of things for your apartment, you know to make it look like a farmhouse I guess. The latest 2008 bakeware, novelty greeting cards from a local artist, a wonderful bust of a gentleman leopard, his […]
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R.I.P. Joe Porcaro
Joe Porcaro has died. He was aged 90. The patriarch or a musical family Joe was a trained jazz drummer and educator. He worked in sessions across kit and percussion and stretched over so many genres – but he could also be found in a jazz club playing his first love, leading or sitting in […]
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Morgan James: Memphis Magnetic
Morgan James Memphis Magnetic Hedonist Records I guess I’ve wanted to be a fan of Morgan James more than I’ve ever been a fan. Until now that is. Memphis Magnetic is the record that proves the hype and goes beyond it; it’s the real proof that she has something to say as well as an […]
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Poem: Sly Stone Forever Alone
Sly Stone forever alone, even when fronting the family band. If you want him to stay he’ll be around today and available for you to hear. He left it all on those records, so you could dance to the music. He left it all in that space. The best songs he made still sound Fresh […]
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Sweetman Podcast # 220: Ruby Solly
Welcome to episode 220 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can now get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify […]
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The Vinyl Countdown # 97
Miles Davis, Live In Europe (1964) There was a time when I had a hundred or more Miles Davis albums loaded onto an iPod. When I lost the iPod in a burglary it was gutting – we’d been robbed, while we slept! – but there was a certain freedom or catharsis that came from no […]
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They Say It’s Your Birthday – 80 Great Thingos By (and about) Ringo: Ringo Starr at 80
1. He was the first drummer to use a drum-riser on TV; sales of sticks and kits went up about 400% the next day after his appearance on Ed Sullivan. 2. The drum feels and fills and groove of Rain 3. Ringo’s malapropisms, wit and rejoinders. He gave us the lines that fed into Eight […]