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Posts Tagged Ry Cooder

Archive

August 26, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

My New EBook: Selected Interviews (Vol. 1)

I’ve just published my new e-book – a selection of some of my favourite interviews. There are new essays and context-notes around each interview and the range of subjects takes in not just musicians but two pro-wrestlers, a filmmaker and a comedian. There are 15 conversations documented from living legends (Joan Baez, Ry Cooder, Mavis […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Amazon, Author, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Cassandra Wilson, Comedian, Comic, Damon Albarn, Drummers You Just Can't Beat, e-book, ebook, Filmmaker, George Clinton, I'm Calling You From The Edge Of The World...Are You There?, I'm Calling You From The Edge Of The World...Are You There? : Selected Interviews From New Zealand (Vol. 1), Interviews, Jeff Beck, Joan Baez, John Waters, Kindle, Mavis Staples, Movie, Music, My New Ebook, My New EBook: Selected Interviews (Vol. 1), Pro-Wrestling, Ric Flair, Rob Schneider, Ry Cooder, Sananda Maitreya, Selected Interviews, Selected Interviews From New Zealand, Simon Sweetman, Sonny Rollins, Steve Vai, Terence Trent D'arby, Todd Rundgren, Vol. 1, Writing ·

Archive

March 10, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Hobbling On

When I was 13 I was in the school’s First XI hockey team – the youngest and at that point 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 Crossroads, Hobbling On, New Plymouth, Passion and Warfare, Poem, Poem: Hobbling On, Ry Cooder, Steve Vai ·

Archive

September 15, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

Wellington Film Society: Preview – Paris, Texas (September 17)

The Wellington Film Society showed Santi-Vina last week. This week it’s Paris, Texas. I’ve seen a lot of Wim Wenders films. I’ll watch almost anything that is scored by Ry Cooder. I love Harry Dean Stanton, and Dean Stockwell too for that matter. I’ve read plenty of Sam Shepard including his Motel Chronicles which was […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 6.15pm, Dean Stockwell, Embassy, Film, Harry Dean Stanton, http://www.filmsocietywellington.net.nz/, Mon, Monday, Motel Chronicles, Movie, Paris, Paris Texas, Preview, Ry Cooder, Sam Shepard, Sept 17), September, September 17, Soundtrack, Texas, Wellington, Wellington Film Society, Wellington Film Society: Preview, Wellington Film Society: Preview – Paris Texas (September 17), Wgtn, Wim Wenders, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

March 19, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 422

Ry Cooder, Jazz (1978) Ry Cooder made a series of albums across the 1970s – “genre” albums – he took on blues and country and the various permutations. Here it was overt – Jazz – but we’re talking old; we’re talking, too, of a time when jazz was dead or dying (the mid/late 70s). All […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1978, Covers, Guitar, Jazz, LP, Record, Ry Cooder, Shine, The Vinyl Countdown # 422, Trad, Traditional, Vinyl, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

February 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

Gat This: My Top 10 ‘Guitar’ Albums

A while ago I described something/someone as “guitar music” and was chortled at from all directions; there’s no such thing as guitar music. This is not a genre. This is no way to explain or define music. Andres Segovia and Derek Bailey and Jimi Hendrix and Django Reinhardt and Eddie Van Halen have all made amazing music by approaching the same instrument (or versions of […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 10", Andres Segovia, Blow By Blow, Buckethead, Colma, Derek Bailey, Diary, Eric Clapton, Gat, Gat This, Gat This: My Top 10 ‘Guitar’ Albums, Grant Green, Guitar, Guitarist, Guitarists, Harmonic Crusader, Instrumental, James Blackshaw, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Live At The Lighthouse, Lyle Workman, Marc Ribot, Music By Ry Cooder, My Top 10 ‘Guitar’ Albums, Passion and Warfare, Ralph Towner, Rootless Cosmopolitans, Ry Cooder, Santana, Steve Vai, Surfing With The Alien, Ten, Top 10, Van Halen, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

December 5, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Mavis Staples: If All I Was Was Black

Mavis Staples If All I Was Was Black Anti/Epitaph What a decade it’s been for Mavis Staples – riding on a high note ever since 2007’s We’ll Never Turn Back with a constant victory-lap of touring and this now deep collaboration with Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco. It hasn’t all been amazing, I couldn’t get too excited […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, ANTI-, Blues, Epitaph, Folk, Gospel, If All I Was Was Black, Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples, Politics, Pops, Protest, Racism, Rick Holmstrom, Ry Cooder, Staples, The Staples Singers, Tweedy, Wilco ·

Archive

July 26, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Songs of Randy Newman: (Part 1)

I first saw – and heard – Randy Newman talking on a documentary that was made to celebrate 20 years of Rolling Stone magazine. He was one of a few – assembled – talking heads. He said funny things like, “I don’t know how Elton John was rated but I always rated him highly. He […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Family Business, Film Composer, I Think It's Going To Rain Today, Jim Keltner, Maverick, Part 1, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Sail Away, Score, Short People, Singer/Songwriter, Songs, Soundtrack, The Songs of Randy Newman, The Songs of Randy Newman: (Part 1), Toy Story, You Can Leave Your Hat On ·

Archive

May 3, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Bring The Family Is A Classic Album: John Hiatt Should Get The Band Back Together And Re-Record It!

I like John Hiatt – he’s a guy you can pretty much always rely on. There’ll always be a good song – probably half a dozen. And somewhere in there, on each album (and he’s done more than 20) there’ll be a truly great song. Again, maybe more. He’s never really been a blues artist but always […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 1980s, Alone In The Dark, Bring The Family, Bring The Family Is A Classic Album, Bring The Family Is A Classic Album: John Hiatt Should Get The Band Back Together And Record It!, Have A Little Faith In Me, Jim Keltner, John Hiatt, John Hiatt Should Get The Band Back Together And Record It!, Learning How To Love You, Lipstick Sunset, Little Village, Memphis In The Meantime, Nick Lowe, Re-Record, Redux, Revisited, Ry Cooder, Stood Up, Terms of My Surrender, Thank You Girl, Thing Called Love, Tip Of My Tongue, Your Dad Did ·

Archive

April 7, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Kitsch or Classic: What is Your Favourite 1980s Soundtrack Album?

Here’s a very simple question for you – what is the best 1980s film soundtrack? What is your favourite?  I ask this because I’ve only recently realised that I am something of a collector of film soundtracks – particularly ones from the 1980s. Obscure, obvious and all points between. You want it (or most likely […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Giorgio Moroder, Kitsch or Classic, Kitsch or Classic: What is Your Favourite 1980s Soundtrack Album?, Less Than Zero, Madonna, Over The Top, Prince, Purple Rain, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Sammy Hagar, What is Your Favourite 1980s Soundtrack Album? ·

Archive

August 9, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 657

The Haden Triplets, The Haden Triplets (2014) When this was released – I would have been interested anyway, due to Ry Cooder’s participation. But I already knew about The Haden Triplets and the Haden family and was eager to hear this…having followed YouTube clips, and solo albums and other bands that featured members from this […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 2014, LP, Petra Haden, Rachel Haden, Raining, Record, Ry Cooder, S/T, Self-Titled, Tanya Haden, The Haden Triplets, The Vinyl Countdown # 657, Vinyl ·

Archive

July 9, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Faris: Mississippi To Sahara

Faris Mississippi To Sahara Reaktion Faris Amine, born to an Ethiopian father and Touareg mother, tries something different, something that elevates him beyond being just another Desert Bluesman. Here, he takes songs from the Delta and drags them through the mud and back through the sands of his time, making Son House’s Death Letter over […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Ali Farka Toure, Blues, Desert Blues, Faris, Mississippi To Sahara, Muddy Waters, Ry Cooder, Son House, Talking Timbuktu, Tinariwen, World Music ·

Archive

July 4, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie: Altamira [OST]

Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie Altamira [OST] Verve Mark Knopfler and Evelyn Glennie’s soundtrack to the film about the life and story of the man who discovered the Altamira Caves is, for the most part, a gorgeous set of soft, stately instrumentals. You’ll not only spot Knopfler’s trademark sound you can link this – directly […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged [OST], Album Review, Altamira, Cal, Evelyn Glennie, Finding Altamira, Last Exit To Brooklyn, Local Hero, Mark Knopfler, Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie, Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie: Altamira [OST], Michael McGoldrick, Paris Texas, Princess Bride, Ry Cooder, Score, Soundtrack ·
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