Author Archive
October 20, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Final Proof
you never know your luck, he said. next day, he was dead.
October 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Bobby Lees: Skin Suit
The Bobby Lees Skin Suit Alive Records I love a bit of dirty garage rock. But there’s a fine line between garage and garbage. A lot of pretenders. A lot of noble failures too, granted. It can be tough trying to steer straight, even when you aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel as you drive.
October 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 35
Bob Dylan, Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love) [Single] (1985) A lot of people reckon Empire Burlesque is rubbish – but I don’t. I quite like it. And I don’t think that’s just because I’m a bit of a Bob Dylan Tragic. Though, granted. It’s by no means a lost classic, […]
October 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: A Hard Act To Follow
Some 20 years ago, I took a call to interview an Ethiopian poet in Wellington. His was a refugee story. He had a book out – and I jumped in my car, met him at his job and asked him a few questions. Home straight after, I typed it up, drove back into town to […]
October 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Kurt Vile: Speed, Sound, Lonely KV [EP]
Kurt Vile Speed, Sound, Lonely KV [EP] Matador I guess it’s a wee stopgap – though this EP is something Vile was chipping away at, recorded in bits and pieces across several years during visits to Nashville.
October 19, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poetry at The Fringe – Sunday, 18 October 2020
It’s been a tough year for Poetry at The Fringe, as it’s been a tough year for everyone and everything. Events. Tough to sort and plan and adapt – and just as you’re going again you’re not. Poetry at The Fringe started. Then stopped. Then started again. And then stopped. The Fringe Bar was cautious […]
October 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 36
ABBA, Dancing Queen [Single] (1976) I can’t lie – I really started to appreciate ABBA after I heard Elvis Costello’s little nod to them in his Oliver’s Army tune. If he liked them they must be good. Prior to that it was just radio music from when I was a young kid and everyone seemed […]
October 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Reb Fountain: Reb Fountain
Reb Fountain Reb Fountain Flying Nun Records I’ve long been a fan of Reb Fountain’s work – her solo material, her collaborations; heck, if she’s on the stage as a backing singer (and I’ve seen her in that role often, as part of tribute shows or just working with a kindred musical spirit) she brings […]
October 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Ghost Touch
The ghost touch of time is with us always. I don’t feel any older and certainly no bolder but time is marching on. Dragging me with it.
October 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 37
Peter Gabriel, Plays Live (1983) I can’t remember when I first got this – but I feel like it was actually the very first Peter Gabriel album I bought on vinyl; primarily because I didn’t know it. I knew the first four albums – which this covers highlights from (as a double live album) but […]
October 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Hot Chip: Late Night Tales
Various Artists: Hot Chip: Late Night Tales Late Night Tales We make our own playlists and compilations and mixtapes and many people have long given up caring about the curated mix-album…but I’m still a fan. And I love the Late Night Tales series – for a start it’s still going after nearly 20 years (it […]
October 17, 2020 by Simon Sweetman