Posts Tagged Music
Archive
October 6, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Badges. Badges. Badges. Badges. Badges. Badges.
It’s 1987 – and my favourite band in the world (for a few months, anyway) is Def Leppard. I buy the cassette tape of Hysteria and I receive a free badge! It was metal, and triangular, in reference to the album cover/logo. And I loved it – possibly as much as I loved the album. It had pride of […]Archive
August 27, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
In Praise of Lockdown Listening Selections
Here are some albums I have been listening to regularly across the last two weeks. They are soundtracks and they are ambient and they are classical and most of them are albums I know well but haven’t listen to for a long time. They have been surprisingly affirming but also carry some heavy-heart doom about […]Archive
August 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Bill Conti Scores The Great American Novel
People talk about The Great American Novel like it’s a thing. It is a thing – but it’s not a book, and it’s never going to be. Bruce Springsteen probably thinks he’s written The Great American Novel. But he just dragged John Steinbeck down into rock’n’roll. There are many photographers that have taken The Great […]Archive
August 4, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
An Evening of Poetry and Music: National Poetry Day at Schrödinger’s Books (Aug 27, 2021)
Schrödinger’s Books in Petone is hosting a special event for National Poetry Day, Friday, August 27. Kicking off at 6pm their evening of Poetry and Music will feature seven poets reading from their work. And live music from local legend, Jeremy Taylor. I’m honoured to be one of the poets involved – reading new works, and […]Archive
August 1, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Paula Green’s Poetry Shelf: Thirteen Poems About Song
New Zealand’s Patron Saint to Poetry – Paula Green – does many great things with, and on, her Poetry Shelf, but over winter this year she’s been posting a different set of ‘Theme’ poems by varioius poets. Each Friday a new theme. I’ve loved them, have shared them all. And this week I was one of the […]Archive
July 30, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 268: Catherine Robertson
Hi and welcome to episode 268 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys and thanks to you readers and listeners. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it […]Archive
July 8, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Miley Cyrus Should Play Anita O’Day In A Biopic
I’m a big Anita O’Day fan and b) I’m currently on a massive Anita O’Day kick (though I might argue that I’m always on a Anita O’Day kick). And I’m also re-reading her autobiography. It’s such a great read – what a life, what a monstrous talent. What tremendous confidence she had when she took […]Archive
July 6, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
In Praise of Hanif Abdurraqib
Hanif Abdurraqib is a writer of words, observer of worlds. He’s a poet, essayist, cultural critic. I remember reading some of his articles on pop music – and liking them, but things really came alive for me with the release of his second book, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, a selection of essays. It […]Archive
June 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 263: Rikki Morris
Hi and welcome to episode 263 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys and thanks to you readers and listeners. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it […]Archive
June 18, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Fane Flaws
Fane Flaws has died. Sad news indeed, a creative giant – a force – one of New Zealand’s greatest ever multi-discipline artists has left the studio. Fane was a musician, visual artist, filmmaker, creator of music videos and co-author of books. He was a prolific multimedia experimenter – and he created some of the greatest […]Archive
June 17, 2021 by Simon Sweetman