I was never that into Skunk Anansie – and for petty reasons I think. My flatmate was into them. He talked about her sexy bald head. He wasn’t the only one. I was working in a music store at the time. And people loved this band. Or this person. They weren’t sure which – was she the artist or was it […]
Skinny Hobos Lucifer (ep) Skinny Hobos I really liked the band’s debut self-titled album – and that was despite not liking the band-name or cover-image. That’s good though, it meant the music cut through; it’s the music that matters after all… And I said somewhere near the end of that review that when the dust settled the band’s […]
She said, ‘you’re not going to read the poem about Michael Jackson are you?’ I said, “I am going to read the poem about Michael Jackson”. She said, ‘you can’t’. I said, “I can”. She said, ‘Aw…it will be awful, I can’t bear to watch, you can’t….’ I said, “I probably will still read it…” And then several different poets got […]
The Incredible Jimmy Smith Featuring Kenny Burrell and Grady Tate, Organ Grinder Swing (1965) This was a no-brainer for me. For not only am I a huge Jimmy Smith fan, I’m into Kenny Burrell and Grady Tate too. In fact it’s the idea of this combo that sells me, particularly. And if anything I’m particularly focused on Grady Tate right now – such a great touch, […]
I could easily have told you that I was quite a big Orbital fan – I enjoyed them. Still do – in theory. But I never play their albums. I knew some singles. I knew some moments, I had a compilation album – I liked some of the clips, I liked when they were featured. I had friends […]
Joni Mitchell in blackface back when no one gave a shit – also she’s a woman, so was probably making a joke of it – or some kind of comment about being oppressed, and knowing other people that were, and her jive-talkin‘ character there on the cover of her Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter wasn’t racist, just reckless. The […]
You never know when something special is going to happen. We’re lucky to have too many events and moments of entertainment and distraction, we cannot possibly get to a fraction of them – so how would we know about all the special things we are missing. And the horrific slaughter in Christchurch just this past […]
Elsewhere you might read all about how Drive Like Jehu was this classic, underrated or seminal band and that their second and final album Yank Crime was just absolutely the one – a forgotten or lost classic, a gem, a must-have, a must-hear. Etc… But you will not hear that hear. This is landfill-hardcore of a time and place. That time […]
Split Enz, I Hope I Never [Single] (1980) What a song this is! Where did it come from? What does it mean? There’s a story – a rumour, perhaps – about the triggering of this song. I know about that. You probably do too. But what I mean is the inspiration for not only the lyrics, the […]
Welcome to episode 159 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and La Petite Chocolat. 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 library. This one’s a little different – it’s […]
I’ll tell you how I come up with these poems, since you never asked. It’s guesswork framed by some memory that almost happened, or it’s the toned-down reimagining of an ugly truth. I’ll start with something real – then imagine how it might have ended. Or I’ll drift towards a truth, by inventing some sort […]
Hal Blaine has died. The session drumming legend was 90. What a life. What a legacy. If he wasn’t the most prolific sessioneer skinsman he was certainly the most successful of the busy-schedule players. A part of one of the greatest groups of all time – The Wrecking Crew (not a band as such, a collective […]
