Living wild. Old Man Crotchety is in a sentimental mood today. Sentimental, but not at all gloomy. Outside, it's sunny, and the air is autumn fresh. It is a bit breezy, though. So, here's a version of Wild Is The Wind by the wonderful blues-rock singer and guitarist, Joanne Shaw Taylor. https://open.spotify.com/track/3PWcYUrHSwfFubOB2NLdMH?si=8a5ec2f3f750418f A track from…Read more Wild Is The Wind
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The Hungry Heart
A feast for the hungry heart. The Crotchety Blog Library contains a lot of music, and I had forgotten that Bruce Springsteen recorded a song called "Hungry Heart". Google, of course, knows better. But I wasn't looking for that today. I was searching for a picture to illustrate smalltape's excellent album, The Hungry Heart. (I…Read more The Hungry Heart
Wishing Well
Caption competition: What is that frog saying to the pretty maiden? There's always an air of mystery about a wishing well. What lurks in those dark watery depths? If I make a wish, will it come true? What's the going rate for a wish, these days, and is there a discount for a bulk order?…Read more Wishing Well
Take Me To The Pilot
I can think of two reasons why someone might say "Take me to the pilot". Either they have a gun to your head and are about to hijack the plane, or the pilot has collapsed, and they are offering to land the aircraft safely. You would have thought that Elton John and Bernie Taupin would…Read more Take Me To The Pilot
Mail Order Quarks
This Quark is far too handsome to be on mail order, I think. What the skibidi is this? An American band called French TV offering Star Trek characters by mail order? No, it's just a tongue-in-cheek title for a 10-minute musical composition constructed in the Zappa mould. It's one of those slightly zany flights of…Read more Mail Order Quarks
Self Titled
Quite often, when an artist releases a new album, the reviews say "this is their most personal yet". Generally, though, you can take that with a pinch of salt. The writer may just be searching for something to say that would give you a reason to listen to it. In the case of Kae Tempest's…Read more Self Titled
Luminous Giants
GoGo Penguin's compositions often have an astronomical theme. I was drawn into their orbit in 2018 when they released their album, A Humdrum Star, and I've been floating around them ever since. When they chose to call one of their latest tracks Luminous Giants, they were almost certainly thinking of a type of red giant…Read more Luminous Giants
Nightfires
Suddenly, as the music reached a climax, one of the dancers careered into the fire, releasing a million sparks up into the air – nothing to protect him except the magic of the fire. Up and up they went, rising high on the thermal column pushing up into the darkness, mingling as they ascended, as…Read more Nightfires
Dragonfly
Here, in the Northern Hemisphere, it's early summer. A time when our gardens are full of insects, creeping across the lawns, buzzing through the air, pollinating the plants. And the most spectacular of all is the big, brightly-coloured dragonfly. The Welsh poet, W. H. Davies, was so impressed by a specimen of Odinata anisoptera that…Read more Dragonfly
The Price of Love
The Price of Love was written by Don and Phil Everly (The Everly Brothers), and released as a single in 1965. It reached no. 2 on the official UK pop chart. There have been several other versions of the song, too - notably, one by Bryan Ferry included on his 1976 album, Let's Stick Together.…Read more The Price of Love
Crotchety Man 