Author Archive
June 29, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: All Day Hustle, Dawg!
The big boss came over to meet me, and I was hard at work…Googling Pam Dawber. What had she been up to since Mork & Mindy? I remembered My Sister Sam and some TV movies. But where was she now? Never mind, the big boss wanted to know how I fitted in. I told him […]
June 29, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Authors I Admire: # 18 David Foster Wallace
It’s become problematic to talk about David Foster Wallace, to rave about his literary prowess because of his behaviour. But there was a time when he loomed large for me. He was one of the best of his generation. A man who channelled irony and earnestness to write hilarious and dark stories, going to places […]
June 29, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Going Back To Lou Reed: Time To Revisit His Strange, Wonderful, Weird Catalogue
It was strange when Lou Reed died. I wasn’t all that sad, concerned, upset; he was 71 – he started cheating death in his 30s. And though he’d been a clean-living portrait of near-enough-to-health for the last 20 years and most of the last 30 years, time was always going to catch up; the indulgences […]
June 27, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
The Beast: Revisiting John Bonham’s Glory
I recently finished reading Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin. Look, it’s not great. Don’t rush to read it – but as is so often the case with a music bio, I loved the journey it helped to facilitate. My criticism of the book is that there’s not enough of interest in […]
June 26, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: The Same Plughole After All
I write in the mornings now. It’s cold. Crisp enough to blow smoke. No coffee-fuelled, wine-toasted late night thoughts. Just a few lines before work. Load the dishwasher, make breakfast for the family, quick shower – and off! Sometimes I leave a wee poem to trickle and maybe glisten. But it’s all just for the […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Massimo Morante
It was sad to hear of the passing of Massimo Morante. He was 69. The guitarist was a founding member of the legendary Goblin. The Italian prob band, formed nearly 50 years ago, created a series of brilliant records across the 1970s and in particular is known for its contributions to the horror movie genre. […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Short Story: National Party Conference
We were not infected. We were not to blame. We were not chasing. We were not being chased. We were not the control in the experiment. We were not a part of any of it. We sat high on the hill. We watched. We wrote notes. (Like this). We told stories – mostly about our […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
When You Have To Work To Love An Album And It’s Worth It
I’m often asked about a time when I changed my mind and/or got it wrong. Here’s an example then I guess. When I first heard Let England Shake by PJ Harvey, I did not like it. I didn’t like it at all. I just did not connect with it. The title song was okay, and I quite liked […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Two Decades Of Writing About Music Now Gone
Seven-year cycles are a thing. In the year 2000, I wanted to write about music, so I contacted the local paper, told them I was the best – they didn’t believe me but the fire was lit. I chased them down and got them to submit. Or perhaps I should say, they allowed me to […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Remembering Puppies
Puppies – I always hated the name – was a small bar located ever so slightly off the beaten track in Wellington city central still, but a basement, yet another Wellington venue with an annoying pillar in the way. It was a stoned-throw from the action but if you could summon the enthusiasm to get […]
June 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Tubi: Free Films, All Sorts of Madness, Lots of Fun
Tubi…or Not Tubi? I resisted Tubi for a while. A few people mentioned that I might like it, given it has a lot of content, and within that a lot of martial arts and horror films. Tubi is free and easy to install on your smart TV or access via a browser. The catch is […]
June 23, 2022 by Simon Sweetman