Posts Tagged Reviews
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January 20, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Radio Head: RNZ Features and Reviews
In 2015 I started reviewing albums on RNZ – a quick chat, mentioning a couple of artists, playing a couple of songs. I loved it. I love talking on radio. Love the medium. Love the challenge of “reviewing” music that way. It’s different from writing about music – or should be. Some radio reviewers write […]Archive
January 9, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Taste Matters
We’re still in a bit of a poptimism boom – people wanting (only) to find the good in things; supported by the idea that success, and selling, proves the point – this must be good. Hundreds/thousands/millions thought so. So there. I’ve reviewed more ‘good’ albums than ‘bad’, probably by two-to-one, or three-to-one, but it’s always like pissing in […]Archive
December 11, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: I Wrote My First Poem Over 30 Years Ago
I handwrote the poems first, then typed them up after – and I was inspired at first by the music I was listening to and the poetry I was reading. There are still a few poems that survive from those early years and I’m locked in a pact with myself to never look at them. […]Archive
December 5, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Why Didn’t You Write About My Experience When You Were Writing About Your Experience?
This band is overrated, didn’t you know that when you wrote about how much you rated them? That album sucks actually – not that I’ve heard it but I’m disappointed you didn’t hate it on my behalf. Why would you even bother saying that book was good? I mean, I wouldn’t know, but I’m not […]Archive
December 4, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
RNZ Reviews: December 2021
Once a month or so I have a chat on RNZ on their Afternoons show with Jesse Mulligan. I’ve been doing it for about five years now. Most months. This was my first time in for 2021. For my final session of 2021 I found two albums that featured covers, moving the original songs to solo piano; two […]Archive
November 30, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
The Nostalgic Pull: Forever Grateful
I’ve always been aware of the nostalgic pull; it drives my writing in so many ways. The reason I wanted to get into writing about music in the way that I did was to recap. I used to keep diaries of the albums I bought, the albums I listened to each day. For years I […]Archive
November 13, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Good Mourning: Remembering The ‘Good Morning’ TV Show (1996-2015)
Even people who never watched the New Zealand TV show Good Morning still reference Mary Lambie (the host from 1997-2003). I never watched the show – well, hardly ever. It was a university holidays indulgence for a time. Like classic “sick-day” viewing. A mix of soft interviews and hard/heavy infomercials. And then, one day, in 2005 I […]Archive
November 11, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 273: Dai Henwood
Hi and welcome to episode 273 of Sweetman Podcast – finding my way back into podcasting after a nearly three-month break. As with last year’s lockdowns I paused the podcast. But we’re back now – at least through until the end of the year. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual […]Archive
November 8, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
RNZ Reviews: November 2021
Once a month or so I have a chat on RNZ on their Afternoons show with Jesse Mulligan. I’ve been doing it for about five years now. Most months. This was my first time in for 2021. This month I talked about two records from artists that I believe have been influenced by Nick Cave – and in […]Archive
October 15, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Seeing Simon & Garfunkel. Twice.
Back in 2009 Simon & Garfunkel played. Twice. And I went to both shows. I only found out I’d be at both gigs at about 4pm on the Friday of the weekend they played. But, good stuff. I’d always been interested in the idea of attending back-to-back shows by an artist but it’s an extravagance that […]Archive
October 9, 2021 by Simon Sweetman