Sitemap - 2022 - Sounds Good!
Poem: We Were Somewhere Near Masterton
The Greatest Movie of All Time…
Ready to (Listen to) Rock (Again)
That One Time, At Christmas, When We Talked About The Best Movie Ever Made…
Poem: The Typewriter Under The Christmas Tree
Reconnecting With Rock (Finally) in Late 2022
Gig Review: Kendrick Lamar (December 16, Auckland)
Shopping Karts: Are You Ready 4 Madness?
On The Occasion of Going 1000 Days Without A Drink
What A Good Score # 28: Northline by Willy Vlautin and Paul Brainard
The Kindness of Strangers: To Linda from The Guns N Roses Show
Revisiting Five Films That Stay With Me
The Complete Fucking Thrill of Seeing Kendrick Lamar Live
Gig Review: Sharon Van Etten (December 13, Wellington)
Sharon Van Etten Owns The Stage Now: What A Gig!
Short Story: Sailing Right Behind
Anthony Loyd’s Bloody Love Letter
What A Good Score # 27: Aliens by James Horner
Short Story: Most Moral High Grounds Are Pretty Low
Gig Review: Guns N Roses (December 8, Wellington)
A Review of Guns N Roses in 2022: I Loved This Show So, So Much!
For Linda, From The Guns N Roses Concert…
From The Archives: When Musicians Take Fire At The Critics
Private Joke/r: On The Impact of Full Metal Jacket
Short Story: Riding Seven Year Cycles
Playlist: Guns N Roses 2022 Tour Setlist
The Chain is Finally Broken… R.I.P. Christine McVie
Pinocchio - The Pantomime: Theatre
Building My Perfectly Imperfect Antilibrary
Playlist: Celebrating The Genius of Dr. John
Superstylin' Once Again: Seeing Groove Armada Live
Gig Review: Groove Armada (November 27, Wellington)
Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin: Ali
Celebrating The Greatness of Dr. John
Dirty Spoons live at the Common Room, Hastings
Playlist: Electric Stomp, Eclectic Bomp, Party-Party
The Start Of The Worst Summer You Ever Had
My New Single Is Available Now – Second Storey Teller: The Picton Killings
At The Halfway Point of Season Two of The White Lotus
I Love Where Music Takes You, I Love Where Music Allows You To Go
My New Single Is Available Now – Second Storey Teller: Tuatara
What Year Had The Best Music For You?
Dahmer Is Dead And I Can't Stop Watching!!
So You’ve Been Asked To Talk About Your Work But Your Work Is Long And The Talk Is Short
My Discogs Account: The List of My Records and CDs
Would You Like Some Serial Killers With Your Binge Watching?
What A Good Score # 26: Brassed Off! by Trevor Jones
Short Story: Be Kind. Please Rewind.
My Top 10 Rewatchable Horror Films
Unknown Caller: Midnight Deluxe
Last week, we had no internet.
Having Mercy: Sisters Aren't Singing Like They Once Could
Top 10 Endlessly Rewatchable Halloween Season Movies
Seeing Don McGlashan Live: Class Act
Short Story: The Big Blue Volvo
Ten Years Ago I Wrote My First Book
Gig Review: Don McGlashan (October 28, Wellington)
On Waking To Hear That Jerry Lee Lewis Is Done – He Spent His Life Both Killing And Dying
Short Story: The Start Of The Worst Summer You Ever Had
Press Release: Kae Tempest To Tour NZ (Feb 2023)
Gig Review: Sisters of Mercy (October 26, Wellington)
Short Story: A Def Leppard Says Wot?
It’s 2022 – Have You Started Your DVD Collection Yet?
Dirty Spoons Highlight Reel: Live at MOON, September 25, 2022
Short Story: Strange Currencies
What A Good Score # 25: Hamlet by Ennio Morricone
I Am 14. And Unable To Take The Hint.
Gig Review: MonoNeon (October 22, Wellington)
Dirty Spoons Highlight Reel: Live at the Common Room, Hastings, October 1, 2022
It’s 2022 People – Have You Started Your DVD Collection Yet?
The List of Every Movie I Own on DVD
Try Three # 5: - Sometimes They Comeback Strong
Gig Review: Lalah Hathaway Sings Donny Hathaway (October 19, Wellington)
Short Story: The Curtain Called And Said Pull The Other One
Try Three: # 4 – New Country Songwriters
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Short Story: I Am 14. And Unable To Take The Hint.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ 45 Year Film Moment!
The Privilege of Having Too Many Books
School Holiday Diary: We Drove To Christchurch and Back
My Uncomplicated Feelings About Kanye West
Dance With The Dead: Driven To Madness
Lou Reed: Words & Music, May 1965
What A Good Score # 24: Catch Me If You Can by John Williams
Short Story: The Picton Killings
A Few Quick Ones While He’s Away
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 21 – Victor DeLorenzo
Try Three: # 3 - Bowie, Lou and Iggy Lost But Finding Themselves Again
Short Story: The Old Joke Gets An Upgrade
Stubs: # 292 – The Picasso Century, NGV, Melbourne, 2022
Darren Pickering Small Worlds: Volume One
Second Hand News: The #newfound poems
Gig Preview: Dirty Spoons, Common Room, Hastings Fringe, Saturday, October 1, 2022
Short Story: Lost In Manhattan
Dirty Spoons Live at Moon Bar: Full Set (Sunday, Sept 25, 2022)
YouTube Is The Best TV Channel In The World
Playlist: I Don't Hate These Songs!
Happy 75th Birthday, Stephen King
What A Good Score # 23: Planet of the Apes by Jerry Goldsmith
Lou Reed: I’m So Free - The 1971 RCA Demos
A New Short Story: Good To Be King
New Single: Shopping Karts - Olympus
Gig Preview: Dirty Spoons, Songwriters' Showcase # 55, MOON1, Sunday, September 25, 2022
Watching Epic: Sometimes The Film Experience is Worth More Than The Film
On: Typewriters and Typing and The Music of Typewriters
The Words and Music of Randy Newman
The Plus-Sized Big Screen Experience
Movies of My Life # 28: First Blood
Words and Music by Randy Newman
Richard Marx: Stories To Tell - A Memoir
Gig Preview: Dirty Spoons, Brooklyn Acoustic - Two Todman, Saturday, September 17, 2022
What A Good Score # 22: The Fabulous Baker Boys by Dave Grusin
Loving Letterboxd So Going Pro
Ten Essential Songs by Simon Sweetman: Chosen in 2015
Short Story: Psycho Killer (The Shining)
Right Here Waiting For This Book
From The Archives: A Chat With Antonio Sánchez
Playlist: Not Punching Down, Covering Up!
The Illogical Extremes of Being a Promotional CD Reviewer
Archival Features: 10 Songs on My iPod
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 27: Leonard Cohen, Wellington, 2009
Playlist: OST - A Sampler of Soundtrack Favourites
What A Good Score! – #21: Bloodsport by Paul Hertzog
Gig Review: Mick Foley (August 24, Wellington)
This Friday is National Poetry Day
Phantom Billstickers Poetry Day 2022: Reading at Schrödinger's Books
Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia Dalt: Lucy & Aaron
Alexander Flood: The Space Between
Playlist: Pick Up The Pieces of Yourself
What A Good Score! – #20: Lantana by Paul Kelly
Reb Fountain live at the Opera House
Gig Review: Reb Fountain (August 20, Wellington)
New Album: The Second Second Storey Teller Story
The Compact Disc Just Turned 40
Gunter Herbig: Flower of the Sea
Take Two Woodstock 99 Documentaries And Make One Dark Reminder of Misogyny (And Shit Music)
Sweetman Podcast # 274: Megan Dunn Returns
The Wonderful Worlds of Tom Robbins
How We Listen To – and Collect – Music Has Always Been Changing
The Woodstock 99 Documentaries
From The Archives: My Rob Schneider Interview
Poem: Plus One For The Tile Shop
My Regression: Reading Novelisations, Watching TV Movies
My New Single Is Available Now – Second Storey Teller: The Residuals
The Changing Ways We Listen To And Collect Music
Bring Concert Films Back To the Big Screen
I Watched 24 Hours of 'Love Thy Neighbour' So That You Don't Have To
Film, Books, and Music = TVMovies, Novelisations, and Soundtrack CDs
A Very Benign And In-Character Midlife Crisis: I’m Back Buying CDs
Reality’s Bite Is Worse Without Bach
Elizabeth - A Portrait in Part(s): DVD
Short Story: Let’s hear it for the meritocracy!
Remembering When The Ultimate Warrior Wrote Me A Christmas Card
Isn’t Music The Best? Oh, And How Good Are Rhetorical Questions By The Way?
Bring Back Concert Films on the Big Screen
My New Single Is Available Now – Second Storey Teller: Have You Ever Been Experienced?
Jeff Porcaro Was All About Time
What A Good Score! – #19: Hannah And Her Sisters by Various
Poem: When Love And Hate Collide
Poem: There’s No Better Test For Authenticity Than The Real World
Poem: Targeted Ads on Instagram
Some Commentary on Some of The New Poetry
My First Ever Single Is Available Now – Second Storey Teller: Don't Be A Cunt At The BBQ Eh
Joni Mitchell Returns To The Stage
The Subtle Genius of Ted Danson
There’s Nothing Funny About Post-Rock And That’s Probably Why I Like It
What Was The First Film You Watched As A Family?
Poem: As You Pass Through The Shadows
Jim Guthrie: Nobody Saves The World (Original Game Soundtrack)
My First ‘Proper’ Horror Story
Poem: From Wellington To Melbourne
In Cold Blood vs. The Bonfire of The Vanities: Non-Fiction Novels and The New Journalism
What A Good Score! – #18: Rush by Eric Clapton
Music Is The Best: The Update For The Week as I Head For a Break
My New Ebook: Milking It - Spilled Thoughts over Music, Books and Movies
Try Three: # 2 – Gentle Guitar Instrumentals
Short Story: How We Got To This Place
Edith Wharton: Tragedy and Satire in The House of Mirth
What Was The First Movie You Watched As A Family?
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein: Stranger Things 4 (Original Score From The Netflix Series)
Poem: Be A Good Cunt At The BBQ Eh
My First Ever Album Is Available Now - Second Storey Teller: Everybody Wants To Fool The World
Gig Review: The Johnnys (July 6, Wellington)
The Rodger Fox Big Band: REIMAGINED! The Rodger Fox Big Band plays Sir Dave Dobbyn
Stubs: # 291 – NGĀ TUONE by Riki Gooch, Wellington, 2020
The Best Time Watching Stand By Me
Short Story: The Year of The Rat
Poem: Live To Play Another Day
Try Three: # 1 - Roots, Reggae, Soul
What A Good Score! – #17: Dead Man Walking by Various Artists
Short Story: We Could Mend Fences
Authors I Admire: # 18 David Foster Wallace
Going Back To Lou Reed: Time To Revisit His Strange, Wonderful, Weird Catalogue
Some New Poetry With A Bit Of Commentary
The Beast: Revisiting John Bonham's Glory
Poem: The Same Plughole After All
Remembering Superstars of Wrestling
Short Story: National Party Conference
When You Have To Work To Love An Album And It's Worth It
Poem: Two Decades Of Writing About Music Now Gone
Tubi: Free Films, All Sorts of Madness, Lots of Fun
The James Cabaret Was One Of The Very Best Places To See Live Music in Wellington
The Video Store Raised Us And We Turned Out Okay…Mostly
What A Good Score! – #16: The Shawshank Redemption by Thomas Newman
Poem: I Dreamed I Met Bill Frisell
Appreciating John Bonham (Again)
Short Story: We Can’t Build Our Dreams
What A Good Score! – #15: Baraka by Michael Stearns
Poem: Leave Something Be, And It Changes Anyway
The Executioner's Song Is The Greatest Big Book I'll Ever Read
Poem: Prince Understood The Assignment
Campfire Tales at The Royal Hotel: Saturday June 11
Shopping Karts: 'Til The Wheels Fall Off
Poem: Writing Advice From Out of Africa
Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin: Ghosted
The Return of The Son of Shameless Self Promotion: Happy 200th Newsletter
Poem: Choose The Fire You Can Put Out
I Love This For Vanessa Bayer!
Aver & Move 78: The Algorithm Smiles Upon You
Neil Young: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971
Let The Songwriting of Mary Gauthier Save You, It’s Certainly Saved Her
Short Story: Be Careful How You Say You Were Not There
What A Good Score! – #14: Bird by Charlie Parker with Lennie Niehaus
Not Everything Is On Netflix: Go Back To The Movies!
The Experience of Seeing Movies
Poem: Be Like The Drummer For The Renderers
Sinead O’Connor Singing Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered – That Is What Did It
The Best New Zealand Music Drives Me Home
Poem: I Hear That Train A-Comin’
Apparently The 30 Best Horror Films Of All Time
I Was On TV For Seven Years As A Music Reviewer…Good Times, Mostly…
Poem: There’s Only One Thing Better…
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Dirt Does Dylan
Music for Sleep: The Healing Power of the Moog
Steve Moore & Bluetech: Liminal Migration
Where Have All The Kiwi Soundtracks Gone?
The 30 Best Horror Films Of All Time…of all time?
Everything Must Go: My Last Time At The Record Fair
Zombi: ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1
Poem: Don’t say slave, you are free
Mike Post About My Favourite TV Composer
Daniel Pemberton: Slow Horses - Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack)
Short Story: When The Music Phase Is Over Tune Out What’s Right
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 53 – Iggy Pop, "Brick By Brick"
I Wrote and Delivered a Monologue ONCE
What A Good Score! – #13: Under The Cherry Moon (aka “Parade”) by Prince
They Call Him Magic: The Magic Johnson Doco Series
Photos from Photospace: Dirty Spoons w/ BOX OF HAMMERS and Bachelor of Architecture
Poem: The Lonesome Death of Bob Welch
Mike Post About My Favourite TV Theme Composer...
The Best New Zealand Music Drives Me Home
Gig Review: Garageland (April 29, Wellington)
BOX OF HAMMERS: Fallen Star - death of a Space Tourist
Nicholas Britell: Succession - Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack)
Poem: Sting Is A Terrible Lyricist
Short Story: Hawke’s Bay, 1993
I Wrote And Delivered A Monologue Once
Danny Elfman at Coachella (2022)
Gig Review: Hermione Johnson with Riki Gooch and Anthony Donaldson (April 21, Wellington)
Those Days Were Ours: Part-Remembering Happy Days
The Movie That Cemented My Obsession With Music
John Williams / Berliner Philharmoniker: The Berlin Concert
Playlist: Phil Spector's Greatest Hits
My New Ebook: Extra Stencil Threat - Short Fiction
The Return to Live Music Was A Truly Beautiful Experience
Playlist: Graham Brazier's Top 20 (1978)
A Few New Poems + My Latest e-Book of Short Stories
A Few Stray Thoughts on Billie Holiday
A Few Stray Thoughts On Bruce Springsteen
Short Story: The Gladstone, 1982
Christopher Nicholas Bangs: WeCrashed (Original Series Soundtrack)
Short Story: Heroes Are Hard To Find
What A Good Score! – #12: Eyes Wide Shut by Jocelyn Pook + Various
Sweetman Podcast Now Part of Substack: "Sounds Good!"
Short Story: Take Each Man’s Censure But Reserve Thy Judgment
The Day We Took TV Escapism To Its Extreme
Aerosmith: 1971 - The Road Starts Hear
Poem: Donuts The (W)Hole of My Soul
Tricky and Rickie: Two Great Recent Music Memoirs
A Few Stray Thoughts On Johnny Cash
Grizzly Man: One of My Favourite Documentaries
Poem: Thinking About Daniel Johnston
20 Years Ago I Bought My First iPod
What A Good Score! – #11: The Young & The Restless by Various
An Important 20th Anniversary We All Forgot…
Bernard Herrmann’s Subtle Rage
There’s a Clip I Watch on YouTube and I’m Not Joking When I Say I Look at it Most Weeks…
I Miss Sonic Youth But The Music Is Always There
You Must Read “Grand” by Noelle McCarthy – Out Now!
A Vinyl Affair – Wellington’s Record Fair: Saturday, May 14, 2022
Brian Tyler: Those Who Wish Me Dead (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Short Story: The Day Harrison Died
Movies of My Life # 27: Stand By Me
Poem: P.T. Barnum Addresses A Fearful Nation
Little Richard: Hindsight Is 2020
I Miss Sonic Youth But The Music Is Forever
Short Story: The Soul of Jazz is Forever Dancing
Poem: If I Hadn’t Told You Then You Would Never Have Known
Poem: Advice on Writing a Poem about Christopher Luxon
Robin Guthrie: Springtime - EP
Tour Announcement: Lucy Dacus Returns to NZ (June 2022)
Short Story: Just The Financial Cost
You Definitely Need The Gloves
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 26: Michael Jackson, Auckland 1996
A TV Love Like This: Once In Every Lifetime...
Poem: As Far As Guiding Lights Go
Micro-Blogging Music Prose-Poems
Brian Wilson In His Room, Making Art
Short Story: You Definitely Need The Gloves
Bob Odenkirk: Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
Bob Odenkirk’s New Must-Read Memoir
Short Essay About Ronnie O’Sullivan’s World-Record Fast-Break
Thinking About The Place Beyond The Pines
For Giving Bukowski: Discovering Charles Bukowski and Letting Him Go
Could Parasitic Fandom Ever Mean Anything: When Eminem Wrote Stan
The Age of Aquarius Will Outlast Us All
Poem: Locked Into The Same Game
Guest Post: Mission to London - Kapralova's "Military Sinfonietta" by George Henderson
The Email From Robbie Williams
The Visceral Thrill of Eddie Murphy’s Early Stand-Up
Poem: Poem Found Inside A Eula Biss Book
Playlist: Tears For Fears Sampler
Aaron Lupton and Jeff Szpirglas: Blood On Black Wax - Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl
A Blank Page Never Hurt Anyone
Poem: Remember, You Humans, How Lucky You Are
Playlist: A Year of Little Somethings....
So Long Facebook, Thanks For All The Likes
Playlist: Mark Lanegan Sampler (R.I.P.)
Goodbye Facebook, Thanks For All The Likes
Carly Pearce: 29 - Written in Stone
OST: A Good Score Is One of The First Things I’ll Always Notice About A Film
Joshua Moshier: The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack)
What A Good Score! – #10: Taxi Driver by Bernard Herrmann
The Marketing Genius of Friday The 13th
Movies of My Life # 26: Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Beth Hart: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin
Poem: New Cherry-Flavoured Self-Loathing
R.I.P. Mark Lanegan, Welcome Back Tears For Fears…and a few other little topics…
Time Casts Its Spell: When Silver Springs Became The Secret Weapon It Had Always Threatened To Be
The Redemption of Rocket Queen
Stubs: # 290 – Come Together: Abbey Road, Wellington, 2020
Finding Delmore: Only In Dreams
Poem: The Prize For Industrial Application
"Sounds Good" Turns 1: My Substack Newsletter Has Been Going For One Year
What A Good Score! – #9: The Killing Fields by Mike Oldfield
Freddy Krueger Is White Male Privilege
Horrorfying: Overdosing On Horror Films To Cure The Frights
A.A. Williams: Songs From Isolation
Poem: Start Super-Spreading The News
Walking In Memphis: Man, It Sounds Good Tonight!
Clint Mansell’s Music For Film Cuts Right To My Heart
The Impressions I Got: Discovering Curtis Mayfield At The End of A World
Sounds Good is One! Thanks For Reading
Poem: When Famous People Park Their Horse At The Watering Station In Our Town
The Soap-Opera of Fleetwood Mac
Paul’s Boutique: The Number is 718-498-1043
Poem: My Hobby Is Splitting Hairs And Putting Them In Jars That Shine Like Gold Under Azure Skies
Stubs: # 289 – Nathan Haines, Wellington, 2021
Lionel Loueke: Close Your Eyes
What A Good Score! – #8: Saturday Night Fever by Various Artists
Movies of My Life # 25: The Shining
Short Story: The Question That Hangs There. Still.
When John Coltrane First Blew My Mind
Some Of My Best Friends Have Been Songs
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
What A Good Score! – #7: The Man With The Golden Arm by Elmer Bernstein
Brian Tyler: Scream [Music From The Original Motion Picture]
Stubs: # 288 – Ben Elton, Wellington, 2021
50 Little Somethings For Your Weekend
Short Story: Flash Fiction Is Hard
The Very First Was Willard Price
Poem: Sufficiency vs. Relevancy
Barn - Neil Young & Crazy Horse – A Band, A Brotherhood, A Barn: Film
Justin DeHart: Landfall - New Zealand Percussion Vol. 1
What A Good Score! – #6: Glengarry Glen Ross by James Newton Howard, Wayne Shorter + Various
10 New Albums I Want To Hear (January 2022)
Gigs Are Being Disturbed, Which Is Still Better Than Gigs By Disturbed!
The Crude Farce of After Life Season Three
Poem: Back Then I Was Young And Stupid And Now I Only Have The One Excuse
The Brutal Genius of Neil LaBute
Nell & The Flaming Lips: Where The Viaduct Looms
Ex-Radio Head: No Longer A Music Writer/Always A Music Writer
Hans Zimmer & Steve Mazzaro: Army of Thieves (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)
Sometimes A Not Very Good Movie Is Brilliant!
Wellington Comedy Presents – Friday Laughs at The Cavern Club (Friday, January 21, 2022)
What A Good Score! – #5: The Proposition by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Poem: Turns Out I Collect Other People’s Boring Travel Stories
Lee Ranaldo: In Virus Time [EP]
Ten New Albums I Can’t Wait To Play A Lot!
Radio Head: RNZ Features and Reviews
Nicholas Britell: Don’t Look Up (Soundtrack From The Netflix Film)
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 25: Gorillaz, Auckland 2010
Poem: The Best Part About Aging
What A Good Score! – #4: Donnie Darko by Michael Andrews
Harold Mabern: Mabern Plays Coltrane
Frank Ilfman: Gunpowder Milkshake (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The Adventures of Billy Corgan – Artist in Residence
Short Story: The Real Reason For The Downturn In Patience
In Praise of Little Earthquakes, Now 30 Years Old
Poem: In Another Time And Another Place
Our Summer Holiday Viewing Diary
Poem: ‘Stop all the fun, cut off the bar-tab’ aka Holiday Funeral Blues
Johnathan Blake: Homeward Bound
An Update on Summer Reading (2021/2022)
Pasquale Grasso: Pasquale Plays Duke
Poem: Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs
What A Good Score! – #3: Battlestar Galactica Season 3 by Bear McCreary
I Fucking Loved House of Gucci, Y’all!
Jason Moran: The Sound Will Tell You
Poem: Exit Interview For My Soul
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 52 – Various, “Arthur The Album”