Sitemap - 2024 - Sounds Good!
Gig Review: Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Night Live
Trying My Hand at Prose Poems (again)
Theatre Review: Sleeping Beauty — The Pantomime (Circa Theatre, Wellington, until January 11)
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 11
Podcast: Cujo — We All Float Down Here
Saturday Morning Records: #17 — Bob James’ “One”
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 23: Deep Purple, The Deep Purple Singles (1978/1993)
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 14)
Some things Old, some things from the News, some things Borrowed, and some Blues: (Take 6)
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 10
All My New (Potential) Book Projects:
How Killing The Bill Brought The Thrill of Peaceful Protest, Washed The Taste of The Anti-Vax Circus
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 7: Joe Satriani, “Surfing With The Alien” (1987)
Saturday Morning Records: #16 — D’Angelo’s Voodoo
Short Story: New Rural Madness
Dirty Spoons at Thistle Hall, This Friday, November 15 for Bottom Bunk Club EP Release
Poem: The Light Side of Neurodivergence
Ten Best Books I’ve ‘Started’ This Year…
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 9
We Launched The Book! Part 2: My Speech
Poem: I Was Listening to DJ Shadow When I Thought I Saw A Ghost
We Launched The Book! Part 1: Emily Writes’ Speech
Happy 40th: A Nightmare on Elm Street!
Saturday Morning Records: #15 — Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon
Featured Poet Spot at Fringe Bar, Thurs, 7/11/24
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 8
Richard Is Real Goddamnit — Part 3, The Book is Here, I Can Turn its Pages!
Poem: How I Met Patrick Bateman
Tone of Voice in the Short Stories of Langston Hughes
Playlist: Taking Care of Business # 5
Poem: How All of Fleetwood Mac Was Wild
Guest Poet at Fringe Bar: Poetry in Motion November (Thursday, November 7)
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 6: Dire Straits, “Brothers in Arms” (1985)
Saturday Morning Records: #14 — Mariah Carey’s Number 1’s
Book Launch: Saturday, November 9, 2024, 4.30pm
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 7
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 21: Henryk Górecki, Symphony No. 3 (1976, 1992 )
Welcome to The Pleasuredome & Perfect Strangers
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 6
My Favourite Martial Arts Movie Ever
Richard Is Real Goddamnit — Part 2, Phantom Billstickers Poetry Poster
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 28 – Billy Cobham
Saturday Morning Records: #13 — Cat Stevens’ Greatest Hits
Podcast: Firestarter — We All Float Down Here
Poem: James Brown Hates My Poetry But “I Feel Good” About That Now
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 5: Christopher Cross, “Christopher Cross” (1979)
The Live Concert Model Is Broken — It Needs Fixing
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 5
Poem: Explaining Suzanne Vega To My Father
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 20: Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl (2000)
Poem: The Live Version of One More Night
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 4: Elton John, “The Very Best of Elton John” (1990)
Gig Review: Esperanza Spalding Provided The Musical Balm We All Need
Poem: Paul Hertzog’s Score for Bloodsport
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 4
Next Stop: Amityville Film Franchise, Population, 46 Films (and Counting…)
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 19: Brian Smith, The Moonlight Sax Collection (1993)
Poem: Listening to AFFCO by the Skeptics on a Loop
Saturday Morning Records: #12 — Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Bass Culture
What is Happening in Fleetwood Mac-land?
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 3
Gig Review: Marcus Miller Opens Jazz Fest with Subtle Thriller!
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 2
Podcast: Dead Zone — We All Float Down Here
Playlist: Love Is To Die So Hold Me Now
Saturday Morning Records: #11 — Under The Pink by Tori Amos
Poem: Why do so many people hate Phil Collins?
Some New Music I Like! Ten Recently Released Albums
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 3: Seal, “Seal” (1991)
Poem: James Newton Howard Scores The Sixth Sense
“ I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 13)
Melatonin is for Pussies: The Raw Dog Dream Diaries — Vol. 2
Playlist: Tape Me Back To The Rivers of Belief, Vol. 1
Poem: Buying ‘A Love Supreme’ on CD in 1993
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 58 – Lou Reed and Metallica, Lulu
Audio + Typed Short Story: Luckily, Not Good Enough
Poem: Brian Eno’s Top Boy Soundtrack
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 18: Marshall Crenshaw, Marshall Crenshaw (1982)
My Tenuous Connection to Firestarter That Still Burns Bright
Poem: Listening To Bob Dylan at Red Rocks
Saturday Morning Records: #10 — Neil Young’s Freedom
Still Unforgettable. Still Fire.
Poetry Reading: 'Richard' - 4th Time Around
Poem: Friends With Todd Rundgren
Dirty Spoons to play Whanganui, Saturday, October 5, 2024
Poem: A Failure To Read The Room
Playlist: Taking Care of Business # 4
Turns Out Somebody Wants This Very Much
Saturday Morning Records: #9 — Frank Sinatra’s Watertown
Poem: How Miles Davis Played It Cool
My Ten Favourite Albums That Feature Famous Stars Hiding In Plain Sight
Richard Is Real Goddamnit — Part 1
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 2: Lenny Kravitz, “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1993)
Poem: Paul Kelly Starts A Fire
This Is The Fucking Review! — On Paddy Gower’s Back-Issues…
Poem: Lindsey Buckingham’s Strange Genius
Melatonin is for Pussies: The Raw Dog Dream Diaries — Vol. 1
Ten Times I Didn’t Hate The Film or Show But Absolutely Could Not Rate The Film or Show
Poem: ‘Comfortably Numb’ Plays While I Stare Out The Window at The Wing of a Plane
TAPE Me Back To The Future — MADE For Tape # 1: John Farnham, “Whispering Jack” (1986)
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 12)
The True Story of How I Got Back Into Reading Poetry in Public…
Saturday Morning Records: #8 — Billie Holiday’s Solitude (aka ‘Billie Holiday Sings’)
Poem: No Such Thing as ‘No Such Thing as a Free Lunch’
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 17: The Doors, The Soft Parade (1969)
True Fans Know It's The Album After The Greatest Hits That Matters
Poem: I Don’t Like The Band Rush But I Almost Wish I Did
TAPE Me Back To The Future: MADE For Tape — the start of yet another new series…
Justin DeHart: Towards Midnight - New Zealand Percussion Vol. 2
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 57 – Judson Mancebo, Babies Love Michael Jackson
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 16: Paul McCartney, Off The Ground (1993)
The Story of My New (and also First) Stereo:
Poem: On Lisa Stansfield Being A Terrible Mother
Gig Review: Iron Maiden Live — Long Live Eddie!
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 15: The La’s, The La’s (1990)
Tell Me Lies Netflix, Tell Me Big (little) Lies About How Good Your Next Limited Season Is Gonna Be…
Poem: My Affordable ADHD Diagnosis
Saturday Morning Records: #7 — Night and Day by Joe Jackson
What A Good Score! – #41: The Social Network by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Books That Blew My Mind # 12: “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis
Playlist: Anxious Brian — Melodic, Soulful, And Just A Bit Lonely…
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 11)
Poem: I Used To Drink A Lot And Once It Probably Saved My Life
Explorations of The Body, Transcendence, and Transcending the Body in the recent fiction of Pip Adam
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 14: Yanni, Live At The Acropolis (1994)
The Substance — My favourite film of 2024 has arrived
Playlist: It’s Half Past Five Somewhere And You Need To Make Me A Drink
Podcast: The Stand — We All Float Down Here
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 13: The Strokes, Is This It (2001)
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 27 – Steve Jordan
Saturday Morning Records: #6 — Horizon by The Carpenters
Poem: When You Were Someone (Else)
Two Brilliant New Albums Buried In Different Ways
Playlist: The ‘Richard Poems’ Soundtrack
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 10)
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 31: Janet Jackson, Wellington 1998
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 12: The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan (2005)
Saturday Morning Records: #5 — Drama of Exile by Nico
Todd Rundgren’s “Something/Anything”: One of the Most Memorable Record Store Recommendations
Don’t Look Back in Amber: The Instant Nostalgia of the Oasis Reunion Announcement
The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2024
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 11: The Finn Brothers, Everyone Is Here (2004)
Poem: They Used To Put Bells Inside Cofffins, Now They Just Put Doctors On Overtime
I Often Wonder What Dave Armstrong Is Thinking
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 9)
Happy 80th Birthday Moe Tucker
Audio + Typed Short Story: Not Much Of A Bookstore Job
Podcast: The Shining — We All Float Down Here
Gig Review: Wellington Raw Comedy Quest 2024 Final
Poetry Reading: National Poetry Day (Fri, Aug 23, 2024), Undercurrent Bookstore, Wellington
Saturday Morning Records: #4 — Blues & Roots by Charlie Mingus
Where Have All The Bands Gone?
Playlist: Taking Care of Business # 3
Audio: Torch Song For My Father
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 26 – Jaki Liebezeit
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 10: The Orb, The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991)
R.I.P. Gena Rowlands — She Was Never Bad In A Movie Ever
Poem: The “Johnny, No!” Memorial Library
Saturday Morning Records: #3 — Real Life by Joan As Police Woman
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 8)
The Police: Synchronicity - 40th Anniversary Edition/s
Fuck Yeah! Alison Moyet is Touring New Zealand!
Video Poems: Three 'Richard' Poems featuring musical references
How Humpty Dumpty Is Going To Have The Very Best Autumn (Thanks To Poor People Being Lazy)
Micky Dolenz: Dolenz Sings R.E.M.
National Poetry Day: Friday, August 23, 2024
Paris Olympics 2024: That’s A Rap!
Poem: Reflection — What you are
Saturday Morning Records: #2 — The Best of Little Anthony & The Imperials
Do You Remember Those Classic Albums Docos?
Podcast: Salem’s Lot — We All Float Down Here
The Best Selling Movie Soundtracks vs. The “Best” Sounding Movie Soundtracks…
What Did Prince and Morrissey Have In Common Besides Great Taste?
What A Good Score! – #39: Angel Heart by Trevor Jones & V/A
Playlist: Five Hours of Blue-Eyed Blues and Jam Band Songs
Saturday Morning Records: #1 — Willie Nelson’s Teatro
Albums I Could Not Live Without (Part 4) - New Turntable/New Listening Room Edition!
Short Story: Muddy Waters Was The Inventor of Electricity
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 7) — Special Guest: Si White
Ten Songs I'd Still Like To Cover
Deadpool & Wolverine — The Soullessness of Immortality, In-Jokes and Multiverses
What A Good Score! – #38: 1922 by Mike Patton
Final Tracks: An Epic and Ongoing Series of Playlists
Playlist: Taking Care of Business # 2
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 6)
Books That Blew My Mind # 11: “The Monster At The End of This Book” by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin
Podcast: Carrie — We All Float Down Here
The Best Guitarist in The World: # 14 – Sterling Morrison
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 5)
Playlist: Good Kid A, m.A.A.d City
Poem: We All Must Live In The Broken Poetry of This World
What A Good Score! – #37: The Day of the Dead by John Harrison
Playlist: The Jazz Fusion Contusion Comes From Cruising For Aural Bruising
X, Pearl, MaXXXine…A Trilogy Ruined
How One Song Saved Two Musical Acts
Playlist: Taking Care of Business # 1
Little Richard: I Am Everything (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 4)
Short Story: Only One Thing Was Off Limits
A Lifetime of Listening To Lou Reed
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 9: Smashing Pumpkins, Live/Unlicensed (1994)
Poem: A Lifetime of Listening to Lou
Poem: The Most Miserable Fucking Thing You’ve Ever Heard In Your Life — aka, Semantics
I Will Dance On Your Grave While Spitting, Or Something!?
It Turns Out I Like TOOL (again)
Video Poem: The Billy Joel Madrigals
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 3)
Legally Binding And The Second DVD Player
It’s Often About The Steps You Don’t Take
Remembering The Great Donald Sutherland via 10 Favourite Film Performances
How I Got My Start In Journalism
Playlist: The Beatles In New Zealand - 1964
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 30: TOOL, Wellington 2002
Reminded that Meshell Ndegeocello is The Greatest
Poem: The Billy Joel Madrigals
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 56 – Sting, Ten Summoner’s Tales
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 8: Lucinda Williams, Essence (2001)
“I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again!” (Vol. 2)
What A Good Score! – #36: The Music of Red Dead Redemption II by Daniel Lanois and Various Artists
Poem: Ry Cooder Making Music In His Own World
I’m Trying To Take A Break From TV
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 7: The Beach Boys, Endless Summer (1974)
AI Music Demo: "Urban Reflections"
Poem: No One Is Exactly Who They Say They Are
New Series: I’ll Fix This. I Can Make It Cool Again! (Vol. 1)
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 6: Rage Against The Machine, Evil Empire (1996)
Gig Preview: Dirty Spoons on the bill for Folk-elmorn @ Vogelmorn, Friday, June 14, 2024
What A Good Score! – #35: Phantom Thread by Jonny Greenwood
Poem: The Parable of The Man in The "Who Farted?" T-Shirt
Gig Review: Rapping, Producing, DJing, Often All At Once - Black Milk Delivers The Goods
Poetry Reading: Richard 3rd LIVE — aka even more ‘Richard Poems’, third time lucky
Short Story: In New Zealand More People Die From Potholes Than Cancer
Shit That’s Good! Crap Albums I Love # 55 – Peter Frampton, Startrax
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 5: FREE CD! Celebrating Rip It Up Magazine Issue 200 (1994)
Roger Kellaway: Live at Mezzrow
They Say You Can Never Have Too Many Books Beside Your Bed…
Watching American History X as a Sunday night Family Movie
Sweetman Podcast # 276: Jon Ronson
Some things Old, some things from the News, some things Borrowed, and some Blues: (Take 5)
The True Story of the Failed Cider Playlist…
VIDEO: Dirty Spoons Live at Music Planet
JOHN PRINE SHOWED ME HIS PUSSY ON INSTAGRAM!
Sweetman Podcast # 275: Henry Rollins
Poem: The Best Singers Are The Ones Most People Have Never Heard Of
Music Movies Aren’t Made For Me — And I Need To Remember That. Plus, They’re Getting Dumber…
Playlist: Sunday Chill, Monday’s All Good!
Poem: Bloom Where You Are Planted
Lenny Kravitz: Blue Electric Light
Five Albums I'd Never Heard Before By Bands I'd Never Even Heard Of...
Playlist: Heading Out On The Highway
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 25 – Roger Taylor (Queen)
Poem: Christopher Luxon Clears His Throat
Theatre Review: Transmission:Beta (Circa Theatre, Wellington, until June 15)
1994 Was The First Year of Tarantino
From The Archives: A Rick Wakeman Interview from 2012.
Hi! It’s Him. He’s The Greatest Coverer of Taylor Swift Songs.
Billie Holiday and Me Vs. ChatGPT
Gig Preview: Dirty Spoons, Songwriters' Showcase # 84, MOON, Sunday, May 19, 2024
I Know What Jennifer Did…And I Don’t Give A Shit!
Poem: Towards an Understanding of Humour in Poetry
Keith Jarrett: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
John Carpenter: Lost Themes IV - Noir
In(side) A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 4: Crash Test Dummies, God Shuffled His Feet (1993)
Maybe getting a Dumbphone is the answer to everything?
Saito Kinen Orchestra / John Williams / Stéphane Denève: John Williams In Tokyo
Poem: I Never Did Get My Garfield Phone!
I Watched Baby Reindeer Just Like Everyone Said I Had To!
Poem: The Stain on the Floor at Taco Bell
Dirty Spoons Playing Live In Store at Music Planet, Sunday, May 19, 1pm
Happy 50th: I Want To See The Bright Lights
Poetry Reading: 3 More ‘Richard Poems’ — LIVE
Drums & Demons Is The Best Book I’ve Read About Something Utterly Tragic
Poem: Final Lines As Cold As Winter
On The Pleasures of Someone Else’s Record Collection…
Dirty Spoons at The Next Big Thing, Saturday, April 27, Masterton
Jon Ronson is coming to Wellington!
Gig Review: What The Fuck Happened To Beth Orton’s Voice? And Why Was It Still Such a Great Gig?
That Time I Wrote A Press-Quote To Order:
The True Story of Why I Matter-of-Factly Hate Camping
Here's How Much Of A Soundtrack Lunatic I Am!
Poem: A Western Song from The Tibetan Singing Bowls
New Poems (The Non-Richard Kind...)
Tour Announcement: Bob Mould to play Three NZ Shows (November 2024)
Short Story: How Beyoncé Saved Country Music With Her Bottomless Resources
Best Westerns! Help me find some Winter Western Watching…
Senseless Apprentices: 30 Years since the death of Kurt Cobain
Getting Limbic: It's good to work outside of your comfort-zone
Poem: God Moved Through His Fingers
Poetry Reading: 3 ‘Richard Poems’ — LIVE
Stephen King Bookclub # 1: Carrie
Movies Of My Life # 33: Carrie
Creed and King Crimson. Barry Lyndon and King Kong. Wrong. And Not Wrong. Snob. And Anti-Snob.
Film: Godzilla x Kong — The New Empire
Poem: Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing
Short Story: Oh, Well, You Had To Be There!
If I wrote a book about the movies…
What A Long (Strange) Weekend It Will Be…
Buying Books and Reading Books Are Two Different Things…
Winston Peters with a Phil Collins DEEP CUT!
Poem: I Was (Friends With) A Teenage Psychopath
Neil Young and Joni Mitchell Came Back to Spotify
If The Drummer Is Great It Won’t Be Bad Music
Gig Review: I Saw An Animal, But It Made Me Remember Hearing The Animals And That’s All That Matters
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 24 – Sheila E.
The Lasting Impact of Once Were Warriors
Movies Of My Life # 32: Once Were Warriors
Short Story: Chris Bishop Is Taking a Range of Advice on a Range of Matters
What A Good Score! – #34: Blade Runner by Vangelis
The Apple of My TV Watching Habits Never Falls Far From The Tree of My Expectations
Some More Things For The Weekend…
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 23 – Alex Van Halen
Gig Reviewing In A Gig Economy
What A Good Score! – #33: Subway by Éric Serra
Gig Review: ヘイホー、レッツゴ Shonen Knife's Happy Pop-Punk Always Cuts Through
Happy 30th Birthday to a Beautifully Miserable Album
Invite your friends to read Sounds Good!
Gig Review: Weird, Wonderful, Silly, Sincere, Mesmeric, Mind-blowing: Mr Bungle/Melvins LIVE!
Gig Review: Mogwai Returned, Took Me On A Journey, But Gave Me Back My Ears This Time!
1994 Was A Big Year For Women In Music For Me
I Talked To An Animal: My chat with drummer John Steel (of The Animals)
Gig Review: The National Pushes Its Songs Through The Squall To Almost Delight All
The Best Villains Are Barely There
Droppin’ Names Like Galileo Dropped The Orange
I Know Why I Love Soundtrack Music So Much...
Poem: John Convertino's Press Roll
Poetry Reading: Slam or Be Slammed
Dominic Hoey / Trudi Hewitt: The Dead Are Always Laughing At Us
Gig Preview: The Offbeats Turn 30 - Win Tickets!
John Carpenter: Anthology II - Movie Themes 1976–1988
I Ran Down Most Hurriedly And Joined The Wellington Film Society…
Playlist: DJ Take The Power Back — Set 17/02/24, Valhalla
It was Sixty Years Ago Today...Some Other Important Life-Changing Music From 1964
Poem: Father. Son. And The Holy Roast
Henry Winkler: Being Henry - The Fonz…and Beyond
There Was A Time When CDs Were A Currency
It Was 40 Years Ago Today/ish...Nostalgia Hits Hard, You C(90) There Were Tapes To Be Made...
It Was The Best Gig Ever # 29: PJ Harvey , Sydney 2004
An Unranked List of The Best (Recent/ish) Music Memoirs I Can Think of Right Now...
Poem: A Hack, Just Like The Rest of Them
Theatre Review: Lads on the Island (Circa Theatre, Wellington, until March 2)
Dirty Spoons to play Island Bay Festival, Sunday, February 11, 2024
Gig Review: I Found Myself Lost In The Sound of Russian Circles Once Again
Short Story: Remembering The Upper Hutt Soccer Clubrooms
Music Will Wait For You - There's No Rush
2024 Oscar Nominations: Picks and Predictions
Pitchfork’s Dead. Thank god for that!
Theatre Review: The Supper Club (Circa Theatre, Wellington, until February 17)
Remembering That Sonny Rollins Concert; That Sonny Rollins Interview...
Poem: The Blues is Alive…and… well?
The Iron Claw Will Hold You In Its Grip
The Fairweather Metal Fan Goes On Two-Week "Home Alone" Bender
Poem: The Last Time I Saw Richard
Allison Miller: Rivers In Our Veins
What A Good Score! – #32: Greenberg by James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem)
Dirty Spoons' First Show of 2024: Common Room, Hastings, Saturday, January 20
A Ham Sandwich Walks Into A Bar
The 20 Gigs I Reviewed in 2023:
Movies Of My Life # 31: Wrestlemania III
Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 3: Metallica, Master of Puppets (1986)
Poem: That Was Now & This Is Then
Self-Titled Debut Albums That Encapsulate An Entire Career
Playlist: Aspirational Drumming
Darren Pickering Small Worlds: Volume Two
Poem: A 95 Year Old Man Bleeding On The Side of The Road
Playlist: Some of my Favourite Guitarists…
4 Reviews: 4 Movies, 4 Days...
Albums I Could Not Live Without (Part 3) - Roadtrip Edition!
The Troubled Times: Another (Fucking) Sunday