No, this is not the Gallagher brothers arguing after a night in their local pub, this is somewhere much more romantic. We are in an Arabian desert. It is night; the only light is from a half-silvered moon. Hidden among the dunes there's a shimmering pool of fresh water, surrounded by palm trees. The oppressive heat of the…Read more Midnight at the Oasis
The Rising Sun
This time, for my Track Of The Week, I'm going to do something a bit different. Instead of focusing on a specific recording I'm going to explore about a dozen different versions of the same song: The House of the Rising Sun. The link is to a Spotify playlist containing recordings from 1941 to 2001…Read more The Rising Sun
Take Me To Church
You know a song has caught the imagination of the general public when it's played to accompany the trailer for a popular TV program. I realised just the other day that Hozier's Take Me To Church has achieved that ultimate honour, and it's a really good tune, so I've chosen it as my Track of the Week. Needless to say…Read more Take Me To Church
That’s Entertainment
We have the Radcliffe and Maconie radio show to thank (again) for my next Track of the Week. There was the usual stuff coming over the air waves a few days ago: some news from "Alcopops"; snippets of amusing banter; an eclectic mix of music. Not all to my taste but generally speaking very entertaining. I…Read more That’s Entertainment
Thank Christ …
It was the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki just recently. Watching the memorial services on the television reminded me of the Groundhogs album Thank Christ for the Bomb. The title was intended to be controversial and (I assume) to raise the question of whether the use of atomic…Read more Thank Christ …
Danses Sacrée …
On those rare afternoons when Mrs Crotchety is out and I have nothing particular to do I like to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music. Last Monday Stuart Maconie was presenting solo and in amongst the usual rock and indie tracks he played something by Debussy called Danses Sacrée et Profane. It's a quiet, contemplative…Read more Danses Sacrée …
The Beatles
First I want to make it clear that The Beatles isn't one of my favourite bands. They made some terrific singles in the sixties but, overall, I think they have always been overrated. That said, they were the best pop band around in the mid-sixties and She Loves You was the song that prompted me to take…Read more The Beatles
Falling
A band called Here We Go Magic cropped up a couple of times recently. They were mentioned on a blog I follow and Guy Garvey (of Elbow) featured them on one of his radio shows. Out of curiosity I looked them up on Spotify. They're an interesting band. A touch on the happy-slappy side for…Read more Falling
40,000 Headmen
If you look up the definition of 'headman' you will find it means 'chief' but I think Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi were thinking of the primitive headhunters of colonial Africa when they wrote 40,000 Headmen. Being confronted by 40,000 wise old tribal chiefs would be bad enough but an army of savage warriors bent on adding your…Read more 40,000 Headmen
Born Under A Bad Sign
There was a documentary about Ginger Baker on the TV a few days ago. The programme is part of the BBC's Imagine series and it's available on BBC iPlayer until 7th August if you want to watch it. (I don't think the iPlayer service is available outside the UK, though.) Ginger Baker will be 76 next month.…Read more Born Under A Bad Sign
Crotchety Man 