Posts Tagged Blog
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May 18, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
The Way It Is With Prince
When Prince died I wasn’t a mess, and I was surprised somewhat by that. It just never happened. It was a strange day, sure. And I wrote about it – the memory of (finally) seeing him (just two months earlier) still so fresh in my head – but I find it so much harder to […]Archive
May 16, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Where Have All The Kiwi Soundtracks Gone?
My fascination with film scores – listening to them, collecting them – began with a New Zealand movie. But you wouldn’t have such luck now. When I was a kid the Footrot Flats movie, A Dog’s Tail Tale, was a local blockbuster. It was at the cinemas, at a time when not every Kiwi film […]Archive
May 16, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Watching Music
The best way you can learn about music is by listening to it – sure, you can research, ask questions, read up, get opinions from others…these are all smart ways to build your knowledge, but number one is to listen widely. And far too often. Reading about music has been a big part of my […]Archive
May 13, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Everything Must Go: My Last Time At The Record Fair
Today I will be at A Vinyl Affair – Wellington’s Record Fair. I am pretty sure it will be my last time selling records there. Not because it’s a bad time – it’s a great time and a great place, but because it’s the end of the road for me as a record sell. Last […]Archive
May 12, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Bono’s Book
This is absolutely no lie: I’m pumped to read Bono’s memoir. Out in November. Here’s a wee extract. Bono is perhaps best known of course for being the “There’s Wally!” of rock-docs. But when he’s not being memed, when he’s not promising change, when he’s not getting right in under the goat(ee) of post-punkers, he’s […]Archive
May 12, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Mike Post About My Favourite TV Composer
In primary school, way back a hundred years ago or so, I learned about Mike Post. He was the guy that wrote the theme tune for Hill Street Blues. I loved that show. I didn’t really understand it so well, at first. But it was one of the shows I was allowed to stay up […]Archive
May 11, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
On: Neil Young’s Decade
The first time I thought about what a decade meant – what it truly, actually means – is when I heard Neil Young’s compilation, called “Decade”. It’s a double tape, or CD – and a triple album. I first heard it when I was about 12 or 13, a decade on I was still hooked. […]Archive
May 11, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Rude Awakening
My mum had this uncle who was a real Jack the Lad, a real cad, he was Tony Soprano before there was ever any Sopranos, we are talking 60s, 70s, early 80s. A nightclub owner in Hastings who was more than that and up for it all. But I only really have one memory of […]Archive
May 10, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
My Pink Floyd Tapes
There I was at 12 and 13 and 14, listening to the music of Pink Floyd on cassette tape. Roger Waters’ first two solo albums too. But it was the Floyd stuff that meant the most to me. Had me copying out the lyrics on an old typewriter. Old school: pause/rewind/play and then pause/rewind/play and […]Archive
May 9, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
I Wrote and Delivered a Monologue ONCE
I can’t act. Maybe that’s because I can’t lie. It’s also because I can’t – I just know that. I’ve never really tried. But I can only ever be myself, and that’s a hard enough gig some days. But I can stand up and read – poems, stories, that sort of thing. I’ve delivered guest […]Archive
May 9, 2022 by Simon Sweetman