Twitter: @StevenAuthor1
January 26 is known in Australia as Australia Day, when we celebrate the official arrival of Europeans on the country in... [more]
I received a late birthday present last week, from someone I hadn't seen for over a month. She knew of my liking for wei... [more]
I recently had a conversation with a couple of women about Australian music, based on a comment I made in a column I rec... [more]
After a long battle with brain cancer, Neil Peart has passed away, aged 67.
For many people, that name will not mea... [more]
I received a message on Twitter recently regarding my DVD reviews. Here is the question: "Is there a reason why you don'... [more]
As I said in my songs of 2019 column, there were a reasonably large chunk of quite good cover songs in 2019 (with many c... [more]
2019 was not a good year for new music from new acts.
Not at all.
Looking at the charts, so few of the songs did... [more]
On December 29, 2019, at the age of 75, Neil Innes passed away of a sudden heart attack. I was struck by a feeling of em... [more]
After my recent look at the film Santa's Slay, and my averring that I like bad films and it wasn't one, I got to thinkin... [more]
I looked at the new Cold Chisel album recently, and mentioned if it wasn't for another new release, that would be on con... [more]
A new Cold Chisel album. I can already hear the critics, the fans of Chisel from the 70s/80s, asking why they won't let ... [more]
I do enjoy a good anthology of short stories. Sometimes there is nothing like whiling away some time immersing yourself ... [more]
Christmas movies, in general, are tedious. They always have that happy little ending where the bad character (or suicida... [more]
Hey, it's Christmas! And what better way to celebrate than by reading a Christmas book! Well, I have looked at some more... [more]
Not Safe For Work!! Not good for kids!! Viewer discretion advised!!
Ah, Christmas, that time of the year when crass c... [more]
On December 2nd, 2019, a part of my childhood and teenage-hood passed away. Andrew "Greedy" Smith, founder and singer (a... [more]
As I have mentioned in the past, I am reading a lot of independent writing of late. The self-published market is growing... [more]
Ah, Charles Dickens. The bane of school children everywhere in the 80s and before. I was forced to read Great Expectatio... [more]
Just to make things clear – I live in Australia. To me (and all the people who live here), the season of Summer starts o... [more]
Recently, I write a column about the best cover songs of 1998, and one song on the list got me thinking. That song was '... [more]
It is no secret to regular readers that I am something of a fan of Bruce Springsteen. Well, one of my regular readers be... [more]
I am not sure what to make of this book. Okay, the fact I am writing a review means, as regular readers will know, that ... [more]
I have reviewed another book by Jennifer White – The Eyes of Death – here and so when I discovered that she had produced... [more]
Okay, before I start: NSFW WARNING! Seriously! Some of the lyrics/themes are insanely naughty!
Did you get that warni... [more]
Because of a birthday, I recently looked at the songs of the year 1998. In that column I indicated there would be anothe... [more]
Today's look back is brought to you by birthdays!
I was recently invited to a twenty-first birthday party. It's a lon... [more]
It's been a little while since I've looked at a classic album, so I thought I'd face one of the elephants in the room. I... [more]
There are very few people in the world of music that you can look back at and say that they changed things. In modern ro... [more]
Blink-182 are a band that I have enjoyed for many years. From the first time I heard tracks like 'Dammit' and 'Josie', t... [more]
Recently, it came to my attention that a television series (streaming series? What's the term nowadays?) has started whi... [more]
October 31st is Halloween in the Western countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Originally a lightening or popularisation... [more]
I have talked about Kitty Flanagan before, and her sort of autobiography/anecdote collection Bridge Burning and Other Ho... [more]
As regular readers may have guessed, most of my spare money finds its way to book and music sellers. I buy a lot more th... [more]
On October 6, 2019, rock music lost one of the best drummers it had, although he would not like to hear that.
Ginger ... [more]
Alice Cooper has been around as a band and as a persona for nigh on fifty years. In fact, one of the first cassettes I b... [more]
It is no secret that I am a fan of the Beatles. Their music, through my father, formed a great deal of the soundtrack of... [more]
I have started to get into a lot of self-published writing of late. The majority is okay – not brilliant, and I can ofte... [more]
So many films are released each and every year. For example, in 2018 in the USA more than 850 films were released. 850! ... [more]
I don't mind a bit of Quo in my life. The old classics get cranked too loud too often, and I even like the oft-derided '... [more]
I am a fan of Stephen King's works. I think there's only two of his books I don't own (including the Bachman books). He ... [more]
I commented in my recent review of the new Iggy Pop album that I'd bought 3 CDs and only reviewed that one because the o... [more]
I decided to splurge, having recently received a nice cheque from a place that likes my horror writing, and so I bought ... [more]
It was with some degree of shock that I read that Ric Ocasek, lead singer and guitarist of US band The Cars, passed away... [more]
Some time ago I looked at some great covers and parodies of the Queen song 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The feedback I received ... [more]
So, following on from the songs of 2004, I decided to have a look at the albums. In that songs column I mentioned that t... [more]
As I mentioned in my review of 24 Hour Party People, I recently purchased a cheap double DVD pack. Having watched the fi... [more]
I was going through the local cheap shop last week and I came across a double DVD pack. Now, other things have got in th... [more]
2004, 15 years ago (as I write this). I was a teacher and had a decent class that year, and this was also the first year... [more]
This is yet another book of drabbles. But unlike Worlds and Monsters, we are not with Black Hare Press this time, but wi... [more]
This column is brought to you by "biting the hand that feeds you".
This may come as a surprise, but the music industr... [more]
This album came up in my discussion of the year of awesome that was 1979, it being the first chart album I ever bought. ... [more]
Every so often you come across an artist that makes you sit up, groan and wonder what you've been doing with your life. ... [more]
Well, in our look at the music of 2007, we've already had a look at the songs of the year and the cover songs of the yea... [more]
I recently wrote about the the songs of 2007, and I've also written in the past about various cover songs. Well, it turn... [more]
September of 2007 was a special time for me. That was when my daughter was born. I've already explained how February 200... [more]
I have talked about my favourite film of all time here at Weekend Notes before, reviewing the DVD. The feedback I receiv... [more]
This is not my first foray into the world of the drabble, but for those who have come in late, a drabble is a piece of w... [more]
I am an avid reader. To be honest, most writers are. I normally get through a book in less than a week, and if it wasn't... [more]
I guess like most people of my generation, I first heard of Sammy Hagar when, in 1985 (I was 14), he replaced David Lee ... [more]
No, wait! Come back! Regular readers are probably checking to make sure this is by me, and not a mis-attributed link. Bu... [more]