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February 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Inheritance: DVD

Inheritance

Director: Vaughn Stein

Madman

Fresh from watching the terrible Force of Nature I couldn’t have managed a better double-feature of car-crash bad-scripting if I’d googled it…Inheritance is a fucking stupid mess also. But that seems a lot sadder given a strong cast and the potential (if you watch the trailer) for something to be pulled out of the bag, some magic trick, some way of transcending the absurdity. But no. That is the only suspension of disbelief here, you really want this movie to work because Simon Pegg is so often so great and here he is playing a monster-prisoner with an American accent. But there’s not even any scenery to chew. This whole thing is fucking dank. Read More »

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February 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Ian Nathan: Stephen King at the Movies

Stephen King at the Movies: A Complete History of the Film and Television Adaptations from The Master of Horror

Ian Nathan

Palazzo Editions; None Edition

I’ve been calling myself a lapsed fan. It’s a Forgive Me, Father scenario. It’s been years since I’ve read anything by Stephen King (well, that’s not quite true, I recently read one of the co-written novellas from the last decade and it was okay, but it didn’t feel like it quite counted). When I was a kid – well a teen – I was a big-time Stephen King fan. From 13-25 I reckon; I definitely slowed down after high school but those school years it was all about the Stephen King collection – there are still a few of the classics I haven’t read (and indeed I’m finally midway through The Shining as I write this). Read More »

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February 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Raindance

It starts to rain and it feels so good –
safe inside and the smell of the concrete

but that’s only easy to say from the comfort
of a seat, no leaks. Warm clothes and food

and then, within an hour you are over it and
ready for the sun to shine. Such privilege

and so demanding. And this is what many
of us know and we barely even stop

to consider ourselves lucky. We use
expressions like Rain on my parade

but nine and a half times out of ten
we wouldn’t attend the parade – we’d all

be inside, hoping for rain, cursing how
hot it is – planning our next excuse to

bump plans and watch whatever the
streaming service tells us is best; when it

rains it bores. When it pours content
on us like a thunderstorm we dance

like Gene Kelly in an alternative ending,
our privilege shuffling backwards in its

very best high heels, doing everything
without thinking, doing everything we do.

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February 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Force of Nature: DVD

Force of Nature

Director: Michael Polish

Lionsgate / Madman

There are bad films where you leave them on and you start to laugh at how bad they are. They are unintentionally hilarious and then – somehow – spontaneously enjoyable. They are the type of entertainment they could have never planned to be. Then there are bad films that are so bogged down in badness as to be something you absolutely wade through. If they’re really bad – like Force of Nature – you might not even remember them while they’re still playing. Did I get to the end? What? It’s still playing now? But I’m staring at the screen and I can’t follow this convoluted storyline at all. I thought I turned it off? What? I didn’t? Huh?!

Force of Nature is so pleased with the pun of its title and the tagline that apparently adds to that: When the perfect crime meets the perfect storm – that no further thought was given to the script. Read More »

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February 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Willie Nelson: That’s Life

Willie Nelson

That’s Life

SMG

Just last year, Willie Nelson released one of his greatest records in some time. Just lovely. At 87 he didn’t sound a day over 85, the way he’s sounded since at least 1985. And in true love ‘em and leave ‘em style here is, just a few months later, with another brand new set of recordings. This one is all covers of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra. And if you thought that was Bob Dylan’s latest trick, this is actually Willie’s second set of tunes by Ol’ Blue Eyes in the last few years – That’s Life following on from 2018’s My Way.  (Don’t you just love the way that Willie can make a line his own – even with album titles, even when taking a song made famous by someone else and just deciding that’ll be the name of his new album). Read More »

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February 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Dropping Bombs

if you didn’t bomb
you couldn’t ever know
what it is like to truly nail it; this
is true of yourself and in the work of others

so last night I was sure to tell
the guy at the door as I left
after seeing his band that he was great; that
the group was fantastic and his songs were the best

he seemed pretty chuffed. He did not
bomb – he had in fact nailed it. And if he needed it
he had my word as well, someone told him he was good; the
very next day at the reading

I comfortably spoke my words, new work
and I could feel myself bombing, I could tell
that it wasn’t going well – no one was into it; they
waited patiently and offered some applause but we all knew.

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Joel Ross: Who Are You?

Joel Ross

Who Are You?

Blue Note

Joel Ross was just 23 when he released KingMaker – a hell of an album, his debut as a leader. Not much more than a year on he’s back with this second album leading the band (a killer-good band) and making a case for himself, already, as a rejuvenating force for – and with – the vibraphone. It’s a dexterous instrument with a duel role as rhythmic force and melodic conduit. Ross takes both roles seriously and knows how to effortlessly switch between them – giving ample space to the other soloists in his band as well. In particular Immanuel Wilkins on the alto sax and Jeremy Corren at the piano. But also harp-playing wunderkind Brandee Younger sits in on roughly half of the album and the interplay between her instrument and Ross’ is sublime. New bassist Kano Mendenhall replaces Benjamin Tiberio from the first record and drummer Jeremy Dutton continues to build layers (Art Blakey) and offer surprise attacks (Elvin Jones) in a manner so befitting of the spiritually informed modern jazz that’s on offer here. Read More »

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Sweetman Podcast # 247: Talia Marshall

Welcome to Sweetman Podcast. It’s 2021. But I started this year with conversations recorded at the very end of 2020. Now we’re into fresh conversations recorded in 2021. And this is episode 247 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 library. Read More »

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February 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P. Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti has died. He was 101, a month off turning 102 in fact. What a life. The poet and publisher would have been important had he never written a word himself – he was a founder and co-owner of the legendary San Francisco bookstore and imprint City Lights and as a publisher he was the person pushing forward many of the Beats into print. He was sometimes referred to as a Beat himself and didn’t agree with that tag.

He was famously arrested on obscenity charges for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem, Howl. For that alone he would be important to literature. Read More »

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February 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon

Noon

Megaplum / ATO Records

What a wonderful anomaly Leo Kottke is – a folk guitarist, but also a jazz guitarist and there’s classical in there, it’s just an absolute stew. He also doesn’t seem to have ever gone too far down the eccentric path (Bill Orcutt, Sir Richard Bishop) nor the drinking-too-much-to-be-pleasant path (Johns Martyn and Fahey). Just a guy with his guitar – playing his shows and recording his albums, sitting in on some sessions (I first heard him as the guitarist for Rickie Lee Jones, it was so, so unbelievably good that I was back to his late 60s debut solo record after that…) Read More »

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