Posts Tagged Essay
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September 21, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Stanley Crouch
The jazz critic and writer Stanley Crouch has died. He was 74. He published widely, including essays, novels, plays and poetry – but he is best known for his music criticism. And within that jazz. He was a rigid purist. He hated hip-hop, he was in vocal opposition to rap and its tendencies to lead […]Archive
July 30, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 223: Lance Philip
Welcome to episode 223 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 […]Archive
June 29, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Neil Peart Was The World’s Most Overrated Drummer
A few years back I reviewed a Kindle Single, a keen drummer’s list of his Top 30 Drummers. Keen drummers don’t always make the best writers and this book – well it’s a sliver of a book (as is the point of Kindle Singles – seems wrong in this instance to bestow a title like essay) – […]Archive
March 14, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
In Praise of Hobbies Where You Kinda Suck: The Wonderful Experience of Being Quite Shit
I was never the greatest drummer. But I made a living from it. For a while. I made more money playing the drums in bands around the country than I have ever made from writing. I’d pack the car for a weekend and play songs I didn’t love to audiences there for beer and I […]Archive
December 3, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Back To The Excellent: Wings’ Much Maligned But Brilliant Back To The Egg Album at 40
At some stage in the coming weeks or months or next year there will be a new reissue by Sir Paul of Macca – his often shat-on final Wings album, Back To The Egg is rumoured to be part of the next round in the ongoing reissue/reappraisal reviewing of the McCartney/Wings canon. It’s possibly my […]Archive
October 9, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Emily Nussbaum: I Like To Watch
I Like To Watch: Arguing My Way Through The TV Revolution Emily Nussbaum Random House [This Review Originally Appeared At The Spinoff] What Emily Nussbaum knows is that dressing up to eat a burger and pay double is fine sometimes, if it makes you happy. But what a lot of us love is a glorified […]Archive
July 28, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Alan Duff: A Conversation With My Country
A Conversation With My Country Alan Duff Penguin Alan Duff wrote one of New Zealand’s most important books – Once Were Warriors. It’s not a particularly well written book. But its timing was crucial. It meant something. Since then he repeated the formula until no one cared, perfected the Old Man Yells At Cloud-persona of the truly entitled, right-wing newspaper columnist […]Archive
September 9, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
No Holiday: On The Decision Around Having “Another”
This piece first appeared on The Spinoff and is also included as one of the pieces in the book “Is It Bedtime Yet?” by Emily Writes & Friends I always wanted a daughter named Billie. Simple really. As soon as I heard Billie Holiday’s voice I was sold. Her voice, that sound, and the idea of her […]Archive
February 26, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Teju Cole: Blind Spot
Blind Spot Teju Cole Random House Award-winning novelist, essayist and journalist Teju Cole here provides an innovative, masterful meditation on the way we see things; the relationship/s between words and images. Blind Spot is all at once a set of micro-essays, a photography book, a travel diary and yet it transcends all – stands on […]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 3, 2017 by Simon Sweetman