November 2012 archives
Archive
November 30, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1455
Rowland S. Howard, Pop Crimes (2009) An unforgettable record, this. For many reasons. Firstly, the music is great – and it was a comeback/reminder but mostly for me this album triggers memories of the time I interviewed Rowland S. Howard. And he told me – flat out – on the phone that he was dying. [...]Archive
November 29, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
AC/DC: Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be
AC/DC: Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be Mick Wall Orion Books Mick Wall is a great storyteller and a great “Classic Rock” journalist (founding editor of that magazine in fact). He’s done the PR shill and been the hack covering albums and gigs. He’s lived as much of a rock’n’roll life as many of [...]Archive
November 29, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
Five Albums I’m Loving Right Now: Gregory O’Brien
Wellington-based, Gregory O’Brien is a full-time poet, artist, essayist, curator and cultural odd-jobs-man. His recent books include a monograph on Pat Hanly and a collection of poems, Beauties of the Octagonal Pool. His book length essay News of the Swimmer Reaches Shore (2007) was propelled into being by a strict diet of Fred Frith, The [...]Archive
November 29, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
Sassafras & Moonshine: The Songs Of Laura Nyro
Various Artists Sassafras & Moonshine: The Songs Of Laura Nyro Ace It’s funny – isn’t it? (Maybe a little sad also) – Laura Nyro struggled to reach a mainstream audience with her intense, personal and political songs and yet, as a songwriter she did just that: she reached so many people. But only as a [...]Archive
November 29, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1456
V/A, Southern Funkin’ – Louisiana Funk and Soul 1967-1979 (2005) Subtitled Dirty Grooves From The Deep South this excellent 2LP comp is a reminder of the parallel universes/other worlds that exist in music. Everything on here feels like a great funk gem – but so many of them are forgotten/unknown and certainly less compiled. This [...]Archive
November 29, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
Rival Sons: Head Down
Rival Sons Head Down Shock Yeah, I’m down on The Black Keys these days, sure, and adding to the strange, not-right live gig I saw the Keys offer recently has been hearing this, the new album from Rival Sons. Similar to The Black Keys in the retro-referencing rock and blues shtick that feels like more [...]Archive
November 28, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
ZZ Top: La Futura
ZZ Top La Futura American Recordings It’s a welcome return with this being the first ZZ Top album in nearly a decade. Road-tight, weathered, battered, gnarled and gnarly this band rages on with Billy Gibbons sounding like the voice of boogie-blues; a glorious croak that feels hundreds of years old and yet on the superb [...]Archive
November 28, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
Five Albums I’m Loving Right Now: DJ T-Rock
A hip-hop DJ and turntablist since the late 80s, DJ T-Rock (Travis Eller) is one half of American producer duo DJ T-Rock & Squashy Nice. They’ve just released Getting Through, their third album through New Zealand record label Why Records. You can listen to Getting Through on soundcloud over here, or buy it on bandcamp [...]Archive
November 28, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1457
Helmet, Seeing Eye Dog (2010) I love the early Helmet records and I bought this as a souvenir. I enjoyed seeing Helmet recently and prior to that I really enjoyed speaking with Page Hamilton. Copies of the most recent album were available at the gig – on vinyl with a bonus live LP featuring some [...]Archive
November 27, 2012 by Simon Sweetman
Five Albums I’m Loving Right Now: George Henderson
George Henderson was born in Scotland many years ago and has been creating music in New Zealand since the mid-1970s and releasing it fitfully since the mid-80s, mainly as The Puddle. In this our 21st Century he has taken a renewed interest in his so-called art and released a string of Puddle albums on his [...]Archive
November 27, 2012 by Simon Sweetman