Hop, skip and jump. Three kinds of movement. But probably not what Sonar had in mind when they recorded their Three Movements album. https://open.spotify.com/album/3cnkDweGrKifrvJNZKjUWb?si=8N0zZSIfTtG-Hy8oaZuS2g Sonar is a quartet with a traditional rock band line-up: two guitars (Stephan Thelen, Bernhard Wagner), bass (Christian Kuntner) and drums (Manuel Pasquinelli). Their output, though, is nothing like that of…Read more Three Movements
Album
3-Headed Prog
Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound of Hades. For prog lovers and three-headed dog lovers, I present a trio of prog rock albums by bands new to the Crotchety ears. The first is vintage Italian prog from 1973. The album is called Arbeit Macht Frei and you won't be surprised to know that it takes as its…Read more 3-Headed Prog
Here Is Everything
As moons go, Earth's is pretty big. Of the hundreds of moons in our solar system, only Ganymede, Titan, Callisto and Io are larger. But the members of The Big Moon band have their eyes on even bigger things - much bigger, in fact. They have brought the whole universe into our backyard, made an…Read more Here Is Everything
Amor Fati
Amor Fati is a Latin phrase with the literal meaning, "love [your] fate". It encapsulates the Stoic philosophy, which espouses a calm acceptance of life's up and downs. If the event must occur, Amor fati (a love of fate) is the response. No looking backwards. Sideways. Only forward with a smile. From an article in The Observer.…Read more Amor Fati
Ritual Diamonds
Crotchety Man is no fan of ritual and has never been impressed by bling. The preparations for the coronation of King Charles III leave him cold. For the next couple of weeks, he will be ignoring the crowns and the bunting going up in the towns and the villages around here. And, when it's all…Read more Ritual Diamonds
The Book of Secrets
Magpie Murders Not so much a blog post, more a placeholder again this week. The bug that laid me low last time has left me with a lingering lethargy and a backlog of tasks to finish. But let's not despair. In a recent mailing, I uncovered a secret. In fact, a whole book of secrets,…Read more The Book of Secrets
Beyond the Illusion
2D or not 2D? The Crotchety wordsmith is officially on sick leave today. A nasty dose of 'flu has stiffened his fingers and addled his brain. So I'm just going to recommend the 2021 album, Beyond the Illusion, by Stefano Panunzi for your listening pleasure. https://open.spotify.com/album/7z1TQoe3meczYTzERbnJlM?si=5F3XmegCTQiiGbsSYfniyw There are strong influences of Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn…Read more Beyond the Illusion
Time Zones
Time Zone Clock "Tempus fugit", they say, when you are wasting time. And the speaker usually means you are wasting their time as well as your own. The insinuation is that time is too precious to be wasted, and those who squander it are bad boys and girls. But how can we decide how best…Read more Time Zones
Afrikan Culture
Shabaka Hutchings is a paradox. A paradox, that is, in the sense of "a person, thing or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature" (dictionary.com). He was born and lives in the U.K.'s capital city, but he has inherited dark skin and African features from his Barbadian parents. His last name is fairly common in this…Read more Afrikan Culture
Out of the Mist
The original line-up of Renaissance was: Keith Relf (guitar, vocals), Jim McCarty (drums, vocals), Louis Cennamo (bass), John Hawken (piano) and Keith's sister, Jane Relf (vocals). The band was formed in the Spring of 1969 and just a year later it was falling apart. Through various personnel changes, the band quickly morphed into a second…Read more Out of the Mist
Crotchety Man 