He’s just a poor boy, though that story’s seldom told / There must be 50 ways to earn some income / Every day there’s endless streams but Spotify doesn’t pay for dreams / Heaven holds a place for those who pay / In the clearing stands a chancer, writer by trade * Still, tomorrow’s gonna […]
Vivarium Director: Lorcan Finnegan Vertigo Releasing / Umbrella Entertainment Vivarium is a debut feature by Lorcan Finnegan (loosely based on the short story ‘Foxes’ by Finnegan and Garret Shanley; Shanley developed it into the screenplay) – and so it deserves a big thumb’s up for the effort. But the simple truth is it falls away, […]
Chopin: Polonaises – played Arthur Rubinstein (1953) What I’m remembering, now I’m cataloging my records – and it was sorta excruciating going through all the classical (not that there’s that many but just all in one glut, they’re sometimes hard to find specific versions) is that I gravitate to solo piano – and piano-led/based works. […]
Paul Kelly Forty Days Cooking Vinyl Limited I keep thinking this is a very prolific period for Australia’s greatest songwriter. But actually it’s just a purple patch – within a purple patch. He’s always been regular and often prolific with his output but the last decade has seen a combination of ends-tying compilations and themed-shows […]
I love the music the Carpenters made. Nearly every sha-la-la-la, and probably most of the wo-oh-wo-woes still shine. But Richard was weird. And Karen was scared. And when you see that you start to hear that. And it’s not that it makes the music better – or worse. But it’s hard to not know it […]
Welcome to episode 225 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 […]
Lou Reed Audio Violence ’89 (The Legendary Boston Broadcast) Smokin’ Badger Lou Reed found his mojo again – big time! – with his gritty, sublime New York album (a novel or movie in the form of a record). We’ll soon get to hear the expanded edition, b-sides, extras – and at the time of release […]
Brahms: Bruno Walter Conducting The Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Symphony No. 4 (1960) Once I opened myself to the possibilities of classical music the thing I loved most – and still do – is that your new favourite work can hit you on first listen. And it’s 200 or 400 years old. You’ve never heard it […]
Robbie Robertson of The Band once told me that Bob Dylan was “the one standing highest on the mountain with the brightest torch…” OKAY, he didn’t say that to me, it was part of a documentary that I saw about 25 years ago. But it stuck… I’ve always admired Bob Dylan’s straight-bat approach – ignoring […]
Trini Lopez has died of complications from Covid-19. He was 83. His debut album Live at PJ’s is one of my all-time favourites; one of my most-played records. And it is without a doubt the album I would recommend as music’s equivalent of a Happy Pill. I find it impossible to hear this album without […]
Sebastien Tellier Domesticated Record Makers Okay, without any question or hesitation this is easily my least favourite Sebastien Tellier album. BUT, it’s still pretty fucking good. At least in places. There’s enough here to have me hitting it up for a while – and then just focussing in on the blinders, like Hazy Feelings, which […]
Lenny Bruce Fat Boy: The Genius of Lenny Bruce Big Buzz Productions / Format Music Lenny Bruce. One of the names you can’t escape in a discussion of American comedy. One of the guys. Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Woody Allen. These are the sorts of names that come up when discussing the development of […]