For as long as the human race has existed we have tried to understand our place in the universe. It's a question that goes beyond "where are we?" to the deeper mystery of "who are we?". And scientists have given us some of the answers. We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a…Read more A Humdrum Star
2010s
A Clutch of Collectives
collective adjective Done by people acting as a group. "a collective protest" noun A cooperative enterprise. "the anarchist collective and bookshop" What's the collective noun for 'collective'? Wiktionary defines a 'catch' of 'collective nouns' but is silent on 'collective' itself. I need to know because this week I want to bring to your attention two…Read more A Clutch of Collectives
A Thousand Shards of Heaven
The English word 'lunatic' comes from the Latin 'lunaticus', which means someone who is afflicted by one of the diseases of the mind caused by the moon. These days it is generally taken to mean a person who is endearingly foolish and unpredictable rather than actually mad and can be a term of affection. Perhaps…Read more A Thousand Shards of Heaven
Days of Pearly Spencer
Sometimes I feel I'm losing the will to live. It's usually when I'm ironing - shirts are so darn fiddly, aren't they? So I do my ironing weekday afternoons between 1 and 4 pm so that I can listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on the radio. They play some good music and they…Read more Days of Pearly Spencer
Girdik
We entered the draughty hall in silence. "What do you think 'Diz?", I said to my companion. He looked up at the vaulted ceiling and gazed for a moment at the stained glass windows. He paced down the aisle and stepped up onto the stage. He clapped his hands, twice; the sound bounced back at…Read more Girdik
But Wait … There’s More!
For this Album of the Month I was tempted to say simply, "see last month's post". You see, this is another review of a progressive rock live album by a band that has been around for more than 40 years and has recently found an astonishing new vitality. This time the band in question is…Read more But Wait … There’s More!
Off the Radar
Decisions, decisions ... What shall I choose for my Track of the Week? Well, there are several good candidates on my Release Radar today. How about Dança dos Miseráveis from the Marinheiro de Terra Firme album by Puppi, an Italian cellist based in Brazil? (The track starts at 22:54 in this YouTube video and you can ignore…Read more Off the Radar
Radical Action …
The Buddha described the way our thoughts constantly nudge and jostle us as like a troop of drunken monkeys swinging from branch to branch. As each chattering simian swoops by its toothy grin mocks us for our failings. Behind us, it says, lie broken dreams, ahead of us endless trials and tribulations. And, as one…Read more Radical Action …
Là-Haut
When Crotchety Man was a student studying biochemistry in the early seventies the class turned up for a series of laboratory practicals to be told that we were getting a new supervisor. For the next few weeks, instead of the fully qualified doctor of philosophy we had expected, they had appointed a 'demonstrator' who was…Read more Là-Haut
Burning Shed Free EP
Back in March 2017, in my Album of the Month post on Moroccan Roll by Brand X, I opined that the latest incarnation of the band had fully rekindled the energy and enthusiasm of their early albums. As evidence I cited a live version of Malaga Virgen recorded on their reunion tour just a few…Read more Burning Shed Free EP
Crotchety Man 