Last week we had an Audience with a House on the Hill. They told us a story that asked where in life's rich tapestry we belong. So, this week, it seems entirely appropriate that we look for some answers. And where better to find them than in the studio of those master weavers of sonic…Read more The Weaver’s Answer
1970s
The House on the Hill
The English master was about to hand back our homework. "Before I return your books", he said, "I'd like to read you one of the essays". We sat there nervously for a moment, not knowing what to expect. Was he about to praise the text he held in his hands or lambast it mercilessly? And…Read more The House on the Hill
Message In A Bottle
Or, Tales of the River Bank¹. One morning in the summer of 1979 Crotchety Young Man was on his way to work. At that time he was based in the Berkshire town of Reading and his route took him over the river Thames at Caversham Bridge. There were rather more people than usual in the…Read more Message In A Bottle
A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
Before we get into the new year in earnest here's a belated Album of the Month post originally scheduled for December 2017. The album in question is called A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows and it was one of my first forays into the hinterlands of jazz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImHQwOKyL5s I must have bought this record in the late seventies…Read more A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
Hotel California
I love a good story. It might be an adventure story, a whodunnit or a sci-fi epic. Whatever the format there's always the urge to read on because you never know what will happen next. It might be in a novel or on a movie screen or, sometimes, in a song. That's what we have…Read more Hotel California
Sailor’s Tale
A desert is not just a place; it's also a time. The summer time in the northern hemisphere is often a desert for music lovers. In the summer not much is released and anything that does see the light of day is mostly old and often bedraggled: covers, remasters, demos, out-takes. But there is a…Read more Sailor’s Tale
Blowin’ Free
Crotchety Man was always small in stature. He came from small stock. Even his surname is thought to have come from the French for 'low'. (The Norman Conqueror throws a long shadow in these parts.) Small he was, but not stunted - more pigmy than masai, more hobbit than dwarf, everything in proportion. Inside that…Read more Blowin’ Free
