Once a month or so I have a chat on RNZ on their Afternoons show with Jesse Mulligan. These things start – randomly and stop in much the same way. I hope to keep doing this. For a while at least. I think I started in December of 2015, so now four years into it or so… For […]
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In) Daptone Records It was such sad news that Sharon Jones died at just the age of 60. She was such a vital performer and her music – and the way she presented it – was all about joy. One […]
Todd Rundgren, Hermit of Mink Hollow (1978) It’s my first place when returning toTodd Rundgren. He’s never far from my mind (a genius, yes, yes, wizard and truly a star…) but if I haven’t listened to anything by him in a while then this is the one that pulls me straight back in. Because, I […]
it always feels like at any moment someone is about to say, “is this some kind of joke?” and all i can say, in reply, is “yes, yes it is” and they’ll ask further, “well what sort of joke is it then?” and i’ll have no answer. i’ll laugh. i’ll shrug. i’ll say, “i don’t […]
Pearl Jam MTV Unplugged Sony Legacy Fuck, I hate Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder with his weapons-grade laryngitis – making enough bad music himself but having undue influence on the awful Nu-Metal Years where the Creeds and Stainds of that world gargled marbles and spat out cliches. Bleurgh!
Black Flag Everything Is Broken (Live 1984): The Full 1984 Radio Tokyo Studios, Los Angeles Broadcast Taurus Records These bootlegs pop up on the streaming sites and then they’re taken down. You grab them while you can. The timing of this one is sublime, as I’ve been recently devouring Black Flag’s catalogue like I’m a […]
This year The Cuba Press published nine new collections of poetry. Seven of those poets (myself included) will be reading this coming Tuesday, October 27, at Palmerston North’s Central Library (6.30pm). The local lad is Palmerston-based John Cristeller. He’ll be joined by Mary Cresswell, Janis Freegard, Richard Langston, Rachel McAlpine, me – and visiting from Otago, […]
Keith Jarrett, Restoration Ruin, 1968 Somewhere in my quest to collect a whole heap of things by Keith Jarrett (not everything – because how could you?) I found out about this album. The Oddity In His Catalogue. Recorded and released in 1968 it is his second album. It is unlike anything else he’s made. Jarrett […]
Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes (1983) It wasn’t the first Violent Femmes album I heard (that was a compilation) but it is the band’s first – and their very best. Everything you need to know about this band is on this record. It’s a classic debut. Perfect summation. There are other good songs on some of […]
you stole the truth when you told a lie, you sold your soul for whatever they had.
About once a month or so I have a long chat on RNZ about a particular music or a theme – for their regular Tuesday music features. I wanted to do something different this time, so came up with the idea of playing a bunch of different songs in different styles that are all just […]
Welcome to episode 235 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 […]