Seeing is believing. Or is it? Is what we see real, or is there a worrying gap between perception and reality? Philosophers have been arguing about this for centuries. One thing is certain: optical illusions and hallucinations exist so, at least in those cases, our perceptions must lead us astray. In most everyday situations, though,…Read more Perception
Knats
Playing jazz with a funky groove An Internet search for 'Knats' produces information about those pesky little flying insects, gnats. We don't suffer from gnats in our house, although we do sometimes have ants in our kitchen. I can tell when the ants are roaming because I can hear Mrs Crotchety muttering to them. Sometimes…Read more Knats
Dark Sky Reservation
Stargazing in New Zealand My autograph collection became a lot more valuable on Tuesday. It cost me a pair of concert tickets, a CD and a tram ride, but that's nothing compared with the signature of the UK's poet laureate, Simon Armitage. Simon Armitage's signature on my copy of the Dark Sky Reservation CD. That…Read more Dark Sky Reservation
Salamander
A curious salamander Nearly all the pieces featured in these pages so far revolve around electric or acoustic versions of the guitar or the piano (or both). And tracks with neither drums nor other forms of percussion are even more scarce. So that salamander could be forgiven for being curious about the band I have…Read more Salamander
Stick Jam
Careful, guys, steps ahead ... How many ways can you think of to use a stick? You might throw it for your dog to fetch. If it's a nice straight stick, you might use it to keep your runner beans upright. Or you might drop it off a bridge in a game of Pooh sticks.…Read more Stick Jam
The Gathering
A nighttime gathering. Dancing at a rave in the woods, perhaps? A review of Mark Wingfield's Elemental album on the Cirdecsongs blog prompted another expedition into unknown regions of cyberspace. The burning question was "Who is that guy?". It turns out that Mark Wingfield is an English jazz guitarist with strong connections to some of…Read more The Gathering
The Fellowship
Tolkien's good guys The Lord of the Rings: You've probably seen the films. You may have read the books. But, unless you were quick off the mark, you won't have listened to Dave Brons' musical interpretation of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic story. The first instalment of his Celtic prog rock trilogy was only released…Read more The Fellowship
Born from Ashes
Fawkes, the phoenix, is born again At the very end of the sixties the Genesis band completed a journey From Genesis to Revelation. Starting from the same place in 2026, Alberto Rigoni, Michael Manring and Stuart Hamm took a different route, and ended up in the much darker realm of Dystopia. Along the way, they…Read more Born from Ashes
Topography of Mind
The Lost Map of the Mind Wanderers My friends have organised an exotic Camel ride so that we can explore the Topography of Mind, and I hope you will join us. We will be following in the footsteps of recent prog rock explorers and guided by a map supplied by the Israeli band, Telegraph. They…Read more Topography of Mind
Sitting with the Fish
At The Deep, a famous tourist attraction in Kingston Upon Hull, UK. The biggest fish tank I have ever seen is the one pictured above. It's the size of a small church, and there's a glass tunnel that runs through it. All kinds of fish swim beside you and above you, as you walk through.…Read more Sitting with the Fish
Crotchety Man 