I've just received this from a member of Loughborough's Little Big Band. It was published just a few days ago and has already clocked up well over 150,000 views. You won't want to miss it, believe me! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDkz3l_CSE
2020s
Wrapped Up
On Friday (1st Dec), The Guardian carried an article about the Spotify Wrapped personalised listening summary, which is delivered to Spotify subscribers as an animated video every year. In the announcement email, Alex Petridis wrote: "The annual summary of your listening habits has become a phenomenon – but aside from being a marketing wheeze, Wrapped…Read more Wrapped Up
Omission
Shh ... Don't say a word! This blog's mission is to fill in the gaps ... in your listening and mine. The unintended and unforgivable omissions from our collections must be purged. To that end, I would like to bring to your attention an acoustic guitar track by the jazz musician, Julian Lage. https://open.spotify.com/track/3k5DKMMsGADkmtIVa72D7p?si=88e0f6d4328c4321 A…Read more Omission
Black Classical Music
The lounge TV was tuned in to Later ... with Jools Holland. On the bill were some names I recognised (Róisin Murphy, Nitin Sawhney, Suggs) and some I didn't (Tom Walker, Yussef Dayes, English Teacher). When Jools announced the fourth act, the camera focused on the saxophone player in a 5- or 6-piece band. Taking…Read more Black Classical Music
CYRM
I see a dark future ... This is a post for Curiosity Corner. Until yesterday, I didn't know there was such a thing as "doom folk". But here it is - and with a 5-star review in The Guardian's Sleevenotes column. https://open.spotify.com/album/7KBKojoN6AMpr5iQzKd2qD?si=B4KD_lQeTsOGUmzazeiHJg 45 minutes of doom-laden Irish folk music Folk songs are often inspired by…Read more CYRM
The Navigator
"You are the Navigator", said Max, the alien machine pilot of the spacetime ship. It's a frustrating job at times. The charts are in your head. You know the way to go. You know the quickest way; and you know the scenic way. But the captain has the wheel, and we must go where he…Read more The Navigator
The Harmony Codex
Busy, busy, busy. No time for the tools of the wordsmith's trade. But I can just squeeze in a wholehearted recommendation of Steven Wilson's latest solo album release, The Harmony Codex. https://open.spotify.com/album/0qEIPJU8WQdXpr3eIc6dHK?si=c_RzD9nZToix9Y6hXvEJ9Q Steven Wilson's seventh solo album Anyone who is at all familiar with Steven Wilson's work will find no great surprises in this codex.…Read more The Harmony Codex
Harvest Time Selection
The seeds of musical composition are sown in the Winter. They germinate in the Spring and bear fruit when the Autumn comes. There was a marvellous illustration of that principle in my Spotify Release Radar this week. Not only was there a sample track from the new album by Hidden Orchestra, one of my very…Read more Harvest Time Selection
Ezra Collective
Last night, the missus and I watched a film that had been languishing on the video recorder, waiting for us to find a free 2½ hour slot in our evening schedules. It was called Hidden Figures, and it was about three African-American women working as 'computers' assigned to NASA's Mercury space program in the early…Read more Ezra Collective
Solstein
Viking sunstone 'Solstein' is the Norwegian for 'sunstone', a birefringent form of calcite. It may have been used by the Vikings for navigation in mediaeval times, although that idea is still little more than speculation, as this article on the Wikipedia wiki explains. "It permits the observer to follow the azimuth of the sun, far…Read more Solstein
Crotchety Man 