A Couple of Unrelated Things Before We Start ... Robert Fripp posted a very moving tribute to Bill Rieflin on his Facebook page this week. Bill was a drummer and keyboard player who became part of the wider King Crimson family. He succumbed to cancer on Tuesday. Burning Shed is offering a free download of…Read more Soften the Glare
Band
Artificial
artificial /ɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adjective made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural. "her skin glowed in the artificial light" (of a person or their behaviour) insincere or affected. "she gave an artificial smile" It always puzzles me why 'artificial' has negative connotations. I suppose it's because mankind's…Read more Artificial
Pavlov’s Dog
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist. He was born in 1849 and in 1904 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Pavlov was studying the digestive system in dogs when he noticed that his test subjects would salivate as soon as the research assistant who normally fed them entered the lab. In…Read more Pavlov’s Dog
Supersister
This post was prompted by the following product announcement by Burning Shed: All five of Supersister's glorious 1970's releases (Present From Nancy, To The Highest Bidder, Pudding En Gisteren, Iskander and Spiral Staircase) on limited edition coloured vinyls. It's a mystery why old Crotchety Man should have taken any interest in this. The band was unknown…Read more Supersister
Wally
Crotchety Man has been hearing a lot of slowish soft-to-ambient music recently and was looking for something with a bit more bite to spice up his listening hours. But the airwave gods were not paying attention. Although the cuisine was excellent and the menu was varied, each dish they served up had clearly been prepared…Read more Wally
The Kinks
It was 1963 when the Beatles' She Loves You sparked my road to musical Damascus moment. For the next two or three years the Beatles were the benchmark for every song I heard on the radio. Only the Rolling Stones challenged them for the honour of the Crotchety Kid's 'best band' rosette. But there was another group at that time that sounded…Read more The Kinks
Bob Dylan
When it comes to Bob Dylan, Crotchety Man came late to the party. He had raved about House of the Rising Sun (by the Animals), adored Blowin' In The Wind (by Peter, Paul and Mary) and swooned over Mr. Tambourine Man (by the Byrds). He was moved by The Times They Are A-Changin', With God on Our Side and Just Like a…Read more Bob Dylan
