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Posts Tagged Essay

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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 […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Author, Authors I Admire, Authors I Admire started life as a series of posts on the Phantom Billstickers Facebook page Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Authors I Admire: # 18, Authors I Admire: # 18 David Foster Wallace, Blog, Books, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, D/FW, David Foster Wallace, Essay, Infinite Jest, Short Stories, The Girl With The Curious Hair, Writer, Writing ·

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April 28, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Once I Was Such A Good Shot

When I was 13 I was in the school’s First XI hockey team, at that point the youngest and even the first ever junior to be in with the seniors. We were playing the best school in the league and in the final moments of the game the ball was dragged back in front of […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Ankle, Blog, Essay, Good Shot, hockey, Music, Once I Was Such A Good Shot, Story, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

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March 14, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Short Essay About Ronnie O’Sullivan’s World-Record Fast-Break

Ronnie O’Sullivan might be the best player to ever chalk up a cue and pocket the balls in the right order. And that was certainly the case on a night in 1997 when he scored the maximum number of points (147) in the shortest amount of time. In just over five minutes he put every […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Dennis Taylor, Essay, Fast-Break, Mick Price, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s World-Record Fast-Break, Short Essay, Short Essay About Ronnie O’Sullivan’s World-Record Fast-Break, Snooker, Stephen Hendry, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

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March 11, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Not Much Of A Bookstore Job

One year, when I gave up on university before it gave up on me, I made a last ditch effort to climb the hill and instead of going to class I studied the wall at Student Job Search, saw a piece of paper with a listing for a bookstore job. I’d always wanted one of […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Book, Bookstore, Bookstore Job, Essay, Not Much Of A Bookstore Job, Story, Student, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, Writing ·

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March 10, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Could Parasitic Fandom Ever Mean Anything: When Eminem Wrote Stan

When Eminem sang a song called Stan, he imagined a world where a crazy fan was outraged by the star not recognising how much he cared, too busy to reply uninterested in acknowledging that it was the fans that helped make stars who they were, how they are and what they became. It’s a lurid […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Could Parasitic Fandom Ever Mean Anything, Could Parasitic Fandom Ever Mean Anything: When Eminem Wrote Stan, Dido, Eminem, Essay, Hip-Hop, Rap, Song, Stan, Thank You, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, When Eminem Wrote Stan ·

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January 2, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P. Joan Didion

Just ahead of Christmas it was very sad to hear of the passing of Joan Didion. She lived a long and extraordinary life and wrote so beautifully, so dutifully also. She was a chronicler of times, putting art into journalism, putting her life down on the page alongside all she captured. She’s been one of […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Author, Book, Books, Essay, Essays, Eulogy, Joan Didion, Journalism, Non-FIction, R.I.P., R.I.P. Joan Didion, Tribute, Writer, Writing ·

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December 13, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Books That Blew My Mind # 9: “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris

Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris I’m not really one for Christmas books. But there’s one favourite, one must, every year I read (and now re-read) David Sedaris’ story, The Santaland Diaries. It’s special to me for a couple of reasons – first of all it was my introduction to the world of Sedaris. I […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris, Book, Books That Blew My Mind, Books That Blew My Mind # 9, Books That Blew My Mind # 9: “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris, Christmas, David Sedaris, Diaries, Elf, Essay, Essays, Holidays, Holidays on Ice, Macy's, Reading, Short Stories, Story, The Santaland Diaries, Xmas, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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November 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Unfinished Intro To A Life-Long Essay Celebrating Drums

My favourite underrated drummer ever – having to name just one – would be Stevie Wonder. I say this because a lot of people probably still don’t know that Stevie Wonder played the drums on a lot of his great recordings. And would always get up and jam live. I went to a drum-clinic something like […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Buddy Rich, Drummer, Drumming, Drums, Essay, Greg Bissonette, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Mick Fleetwood, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Unfinished, Unfinished Intro To A Life-Long Essay Celebrating Drums, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Want more? Check out my Substack ·

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October 31, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

In Praise of Lana Del Rey

There’s a new Lana Del Rey album out. This is not a review. A preview at best. But the reason I’m mentioning this now – and in this way – is because this is the first Lana Del Rey record that has been released since I’ve been a fan. I’m often asked about times I […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Blue Bannisters, Essay, In Praise, In Praise Of, In Praise of Lana Del Rey, Lana Del Rey, Praise ·

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June 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

My New EBook: Wrestling Is Fake. That’s What Makes It So Real – Selected Grapplings (2005-2015)

I’ve just published my new e-book, my third. This is the first one that’s not about music at all. This is a selection of my various writings about pro-wrestling. I’ve fallen in and out with the “sport” over the last three decades, but I can’t quite shake my fandom, certainly don’t want to ignore my early […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Amazon, Books, Column, DVD, e-book, ebook, Editorial, Essay, Goodreads, Kindle, My New Ebook, My New EBook: Wrestling Is Fake. That's What Makes It So Real - Selected Grapplings (2005-2015), Nostalgia, NZPWI, Off The Tracks, Pro-Wrestling, Review, Selected Grapplings, Selected Grapplings (2005-2015), Simon Sweetman, VHS, Wrestlers, Wrestling, Wrestling Is Fake, Wrestling Is Fake. That's What Makes It So Real, Writing, WWE, WWF ·

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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 […]
Posted in Blog, Podcasts · Tagged Acast, Aldous Harding, Anchor, Anchor FM, Apple, Blog, Chat, Column, Creative Writing, Criticism, Dunedin, Emerging Maori Writer, ep.247, Essay, Essayist, IIML, Interview, iTunes, Kiwi, Maori, Mother, Newsroom, North & South, NZ, Off The Tracks, Pantograph Punch, Podcasts, Poem, Poems, Poet, Poetry, Pop Culture, Reading, Rugby, Simon Sweetman, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Stuff, Sunday Star Times, Sweetman Podcast, Sweetman Podcast # 247, Sweetman Podcast # 247: Talia Marshall, Sweetman Podcast: Talia Marshall, T Leaf T, The Spinoff, Wellington, Writer, Writing, Yeastie Boys, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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December 16, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Kae Tempest: On Connection

On Connection Kae Tempest Faber & Faber Social For some 20 years Tempest has been a writer and performer – plays, poems and a novel have been printed. Spoken-word shows incorporate music and poetry, there are book-length single poems and recorded albums that share titles with printed-word publications. To me it’s all exquisite. A quite […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Book Review, Comic Essay, Essay, Faber & Faber Social, Kae Tempest, Kae Tempest: On Connection, Memoir, On Connection, Poetry, Spoken Word, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·
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