Perhaps you are familiar with the unexpected hanging paradox. A prisoner on death row is told that he will be hanged one day next week and that he will not be expecting it. The prisoner ponders this and reasons thus: The hangman only works on weekdays, so I won't be hanged on Saturday or Sunday.…Read more Lisa O’Neill
2000s
Chris Opperman
Opperman was first inspired to become a composer by hearing the music of Frank Zappa. The Chris Opperman website The Zappa influence on Chris Opperman's compositions is clear on his debut album, Oppy Music, Vol I: Purple, Crayon. But there are more strings to his bow (and his piano) than that. The solo piano pieces…Read more Chris Opperman
Free Speech, No Offence
Warning: Some readers may find some of the views expressed in this blog post offensive. On Saturday, The Times published an article by our Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. It was prompted by an incident at a school in the North of England in which a Quran suffered some minor damage. The reports in the media…Read more Free Speech, No Offence
Anna Maria Jopek
From the pictures of Anna Maria Jopek on the Web, you'd have thought she is a glamour model. Her hair is the colour of sun-ripened wheat, her eyes shine cornflower blue, and her feminine curves would grace the cover of any glossy magazine. But AMJ is not known primarily for her looks. She is a…Read more Anna Maria Jopek
Talvin Singh
In rehearsal, 2009 There we were, round at a mate's house listening to his excellent hi-fi, when he selected a track from his extensive collection and announced the artist as Talvin Singh, OBE. (That's Order of the British Empire for those of you outside the UK.) Embarrassingly, I had to admit that I had never…Read more Talvin Singh
Grandbrothers
The grand piano usually leads a solitary life. It rarely teams up with other instruments, especially electronic ones. So, the intimate connection between Erol Sarp's grand and Lukas Vogel's electric hammers and dampers may be unique. Together, Sarp and Vogel are Grandbrothers. Sarp is a classically-trained jazz pianist; Vogel is an electronics engineer who builds…Read more Grandbrothers
Diagonal
Scanning through the list of artists, albums and tracks earmarked for further investigation, I noticed that one band appeared twice. Diagonal's latest two albums, Arc (2019) and 4 (2021), each had an entry. With nothing else begging to be heard, it was time to follow this oblique reference and acquaint myself with the band. Information…Read more Diagonal
Sunlight to Blue …
A Burning Shed recommendation this week: Sunlight to Blue ... Blue to Blackness, a 2008 album by The Durutti Column. The band's name has always puzzled me. It turns out to come from an anti-fascist military unit in the Spanish Civil War under the leadership of one Buenaventura Durruti. (Although the commander's name is spelt…Read more Sunlight to Blue …
Stranger in Paradise
A post on Hubzilla this week had me searching the wetware memory banks for a song from the sixties. The tune was familiar, but the title escaped me for a while. In the end it came to me in the shower - it was called Stranger in Paradise, and it was sung by one of…Read more Stranger in Paradise
Fjieri
Fjieri is an Italian band. It was formed in 1997 by Stefano Panunzi and Nicola Lori. Their music falls at the soft end of prog rock, somewhere between Tim Bowness and King Crimson. They have released two albums: Endless (2009) and Words Are All We Have (2015). Both albums are superb, as you'd expect from…Read more Fjieri
Crotchety Man 