I think I remember, presumably around the end of 1966, watching The Beach Boys play Good Vibrations on BBC TV's pop music programme, Top of the Pops. I liked the song partly because it was quite unlike any other pop record I'd heard. This wasn't a beat group with two guitars, bass and drums, nor was…Read more Good Vibrations
No Reason
It's a bright, but frosty morning here in the East Midlands region of the UK - a day in which the rising sun should be welcomed by peeping out from the bedclothes with a sleepy smile and snuggling down for another twenty minutes while the central heating chases away the overnight chill. It's Sunday. There's no reason to get up…Read more No Reason
Rekt
Crotchety Man doesn't make New Year resolutions. But this year I want to write more about recent releases. So, this week I've been sifting through my Release Radar, a playlist automatically created by Spotify every Friday based on my listening history. Only new releases appear on the Radar and although my taste is relatively broad I…Read more Rekt
The Curse of Blondie
I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this Internet thing. It seems to have all the information you could ever want (and a lot more besides) but to find what you're looking for you have to know where to look. I've searched for Blondie's eighth album, The Curse of Blondie, on streaming sites in the past…Read more The Curse of Blondie
Jessica
We started the year in quiet contemplation here on the Crotchety Man blog but now it's time to shake off the torpor of the holiday season and get moving. And, you know, nothing says "let's get this show on the road" better than Jessica by The Allman Brothers Band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TqmGptGZbM Jessica is an instrumental from the Brothers and…Read more Jessica
Finding His Voice
The Crotchety Man blog is now two years old and, as you can see, the boy is beginning to find his voice. According to mumsnet.com, a two year old will be "behaving increasingly like adults do". That site goes on to say, "About one in five children of this age has at least one tantrum a…Read more Finding His Voice
Peace of Mind
Let's start 2017 with a sweet, gentle instrumental - something to soothe away the excesses of the New Year's Eve party and ease the conflict and bitterness that was the hallmark of the year just gone. This is a track called Peace of Mind from the Natural Elements album by Shakti. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FSq8zCZ1hI Shakti was an east-west…Read more Peace of Mind
Anthology – June Tabor
Some time in the early 90s I went to see a band called Perfect Houseplants. They were a four-piece modern jazz band: saxophones, keyboards, bass and drums. As often happens with jazz bands each musician had a solo slot early in the performance and another member of the band would announce the soloist to the audience. After Martin France…Read more Anthology – June Tabor
A Christmas Playlist
As Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year instead of a track of the week I've put together a Crotchety Christmas Playlist on Spotify. In the process I discovered several rather good Christmas albums. I recommend the playlist to accompany your festive turkey and afterwards I think you'll find these yuletide collections will go down…Read more A Christmas Playlist
I Believe in Father Christmas
Christmas songs are always sweet. A few are sugar plum sickly. One yuletide song, though, can be savoured every year with no queasiness at all. It is Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas. Those of you who admired Greg Lake's music will know already, I expect, that he died of cancer on 7th December, so…Read more I Believe in Father Christmas
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