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April 11, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Rick-Rolling Through My Tape Collection: Remembering The Generation of Cassette Tapes
I own Rick Astley’s Whenever You Need Somebody on tape. I bought it when it was released. I found that old tape just recently. (I have it on vinyl as well – nutcase!) Buying tapes – it dates you. I mowed lawns to earn money to buy tapes. Then I’d listen to the new tape […]Archive
March 21, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
On: Giving Up Everything
Elton John had it wrong – or rather Bernie Taupin if you prefer. Sad songs are not the ones that say so much – it’s only a special type of sad song; where there’s hope peeking through, where there’s an attempt at stoicism – the head being held high, an aim to move on, an attempt at rebirth or a […]Archive
March 20, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Get Rhythm: Best Rhythm Guitar Players
It is not often that you see lists of great rhythm guitar players – well, not compared with lists of best lead guitarists. So, I thought we’d make one. And let’s be clear – it is to praise guitarists for their rhythm-playing ability. So if you want to select Jimi Hendrix that is fine, but […]Archive
January 31, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Bands That Will Never Be Cool Again Ever: Dire Straits
At 14 I was in the throes of a Dire Straits obsession. Time is a healer, and I am okay now. But back then, I wouldn’t hear a bad word. And this all culminated in seeing the band live in Auckland at the end of 1991, just my second concert featuring an international act (actually it was […]Archive
January 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
PressPatron on Off The Tracks: Click to Donate and Support
As of today you’ll notice PressPatron on Off The Tracks, a banner button asking you to donate (if you wish) and a button in the side bar which tells you more specifically:Archive
December 24, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 192 2017
epidural ˌɛpɪˈdjʊər(ə)l/Submit Adjective – ANATOMY on or around the dura mater, in particular (of an anaesthetic) introduced into the space around the dura mater of the spinal cord.Archive
December 19, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Good Gig, Bad Conversation After…
I used to play in an Irish band – we’d tour around the central North Island (and one time we went to the top of the South Island). We went where the gigs were. It was a working band. Some weeks were hard slog; others were easy. Sometimes there was no work. Many times the […]Archive
October 25, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
On Song: Five Years Old/Five Years On
Five years ago I released a book. On Song looked at 30 of the best New Zealand songs, 30 of my favourites. We started with a long list of at least 100 songs and whittled and whittled. I say ‘we’ – I am referring to the publisher, Penguin. And me. I was commissioned to write […]Archive
October 12, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Music Snob: Apparently…
There’s an almost anti-intellectualism angle at play when you hear all these whining, soppy or pious points of view that the death of Glenn Frey from the Eagles is as important as David Bowie’s and/or Lemmy’s and/or anyone else who has shuffled off recently. Lives matter. Absolutely. But when we mourn a musician we are […]Archive
August 25, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
I Was Architecture Dancing When They Were 12: Remembering When Autozamm Wrote A Song About Me, Made A Video With Some Fat Goof Eating ‘Sweets’ To Get Their Point Across Then Promptly Deleted It When The Backlash Hit
It was weird. I wrote about how this band, Autozamm, seemingly a band (with a shit name) that no one gave a fuck about. I wrote about how they’d been funded and funded, they’d score so much money from the Govt-purse and done 5/8s of fuckall with it, max. They were garbage. But they kept […]Archive
August 22, 2017 by Simon Sweetman