Let’s go back to the beginning …

In the Spring of 2015 a post with the title Feels Good to Me appeared in these pages. The Crotchety Man blog was less than three months old then and there was a veritable cornucopia of music itching to be the inspiration for an aspiring wordsmith. So many exciting bands, so many wonderful albums, so many amazing tracks. But it seems like a lifetime ago now.

For the last few months the trade winds of the blogosphere seem to have lost their strength and the sails of the Good Ship Crotchety have hung loose on the yardarm a little too often. The captain has been scanning the horizon for signs of fair winds but, except for a few fluffy white fair-weather clouds, he has found none. The sea is calm, the air is still and the skies are cornflower blue. If the breeze doesn’t pick up soon we may find ourselves in the doldrums.

At the suggestion of the first mate we have changed course. The ship is returning to familiar waters where the dolphins play and the sparkling song fish are plentiful. But there is no sign of them in their old haunt of Spotify Sound. This particular species must have said a fond goodbye to the past and moved on. Apart from a few inaccessible private CD bays and continental LP shelves they now live only in the wide open waters of the YouTube sea. So that’s where we must go.

And here they are, as resplendent as ever. The science officer is curious; he wants to test the water. At either end of August he will take a sample and hold it up to the light. Although even he doesn’t expect that will provide any useful clues to what makes these shimmering shoals so full of life.

The crew deployed the fishing nets this afternoon and brought back a fine haul. The cook has drafted in the cabin boy to help prepare our supper but he always complains when he’s in the galley. We tease him mercilessly. “If you can’t stand the heat”, we say, “we’ll give you a taste of Springtime in Siberia”.

Officially, we are on a voyage of discovery with orders to bravely go where no music blog has been before, but for now it’s time for a little shore leave. And it feels really good to me.