Summer has returned to central England. The sun is shining, the grass is green, the flowers are blooming. In the corner of our garden there's a large buddleia bush full of blossom and the butterflies love it. So, by way of celebration, here's a short playlist of 'butterfly' songs. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_hAakygTXsEDpHf_cKehh-wAqVTVEAWJ Tracks (with Spotify links) Dog…Read more Butterflies
1990s
Rain Tree Crow
Occasionally we come across a band, an album and a track that all share the same name. If my memory serves me correctly, the Vinyl Connection blog site gave a technical term for this nominal trinity a few months back, but I have been unable to track it down. So please forgive me if this…Read more Rain Tree Crow
An Outcast of the Islands
Or, Finding Colin This week Burning Shed is inviting pre-orders for an album called Still. This new release appears to be by a fish called Colin (Bass) and a pen called Daniel (Biro). Crotchety Man recognised the pen as a writer of ambient aural pieces but the fish was hidden in the aquatic weeds of…Read more An Outcast of the Islands
Excalibur
A valuable work of art had gone missing. Detective Inspector "Crotchety" Mann was on the trail. His only clue was this track on Spotify from an album called Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring, under the artist name, Excalibur. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLJ3aQ6MaeY The thieves should have been more careful to cover their tracks. Although Spotify had no information…Read more Excalibur
Sleepwalk
It's a sleepy Sunday here in Crotchety country. Mrs C has gone away for a few days, all is quiet in the neighbourhood and the late summer sun is bathing the house in its warm lazy rays. No-one is around. No children play outside, no cars drive down the street. No sounds break the silence…Read more Sleepwalk
Annobon
Crotchety Man has never been religious. He found the prevailing Christian teachings unconvincing and with so many other religions peppered across the spiritual landscape, all offering the One True Way™, it seemed foolish to commit to any one of them. Then, back in 2010, he came across the website for the British Humanist Association. The…Read more Annobon
Old Love
Crotchety Man has become hopelessly distracted lately. The object of his latest passion is taking up far too much of his increasingly precious time and is never far from his thoughts. An old love has been rekindled by seductive words in a seemingly innocent email. You see, the ageing rocker has been invited to join…Read more Old Love
The Black Rock
March came in with an icy blast here in the UK. We had 10 - 20 cm of snow, much of the country's transport system ground to a halt and some unfortunate motorists got stuck on a Scottish motorway for eight hours. It was all due to "the beast from the east" - a weather…Read more The Black Rock
Weeping Willow
A few days ago the Crotchety ears were tuned to their favourite radio station. The brain between the ears was only half listening when an unfamiliar but rather pleasant song came on. It turned out to be something called Weeping Willow by The Verve. That reminded me that I'd heard a few Verve songs in…Read more Weeping Willow
Thight Lines …
... and Screaming Reels No, I haven't spelled that wrongly¹. My Track of the Week really is called Thight Lines and Screaming Reels. Then again, it must be a spelling mistake. Somewhere between Colin Hodgkinson's pen and the record company an extra 'h' must have crept in. Perhaps it was a communication problem between an English…Read more Thight Lines …
