Are you tired of electric guitars? Fed up with the sound of oscillators, filters and shapers? Do you yearn for the sweeter tones of traditional musical instruments? Then Acoustic Environment by Mark Hillis is the album for you. Mark is a guitarist and photographer from San Diego, California. During his college years he teamed up with…Read more Acoustic Environment
Album of the Month
A Whisper …
Tuesday morning. Barney is almost here. This year the UK's Meteorological Office is naming the storms that hit us. Abigail, the first storm of the season, brought floods last week; Barney is now following in her wake. The forecasters have promised us strong winds and more heavy rain; there is likely to be some disruption to transport.…Read more A Whisper …
The Remedy Of Abstraction
I've said it before, but I just love the Internet. Did you know there are websites dedicated to listing weird band names? And lists of funny names feature in quite a few music blogs, too. Most of the names in those lists are, not surprisingly, either mildly offensive or downright obscene. Some, though, are rather…Read more The Remedy Of Abstraction
Free Henry Fool
While looking for Bill Bruford CDs I was directed to the Burning Shed website. Burning Shed publishes CDs and vinyl records on behalf of a few select musicians and hosts the online shops for various artists/bands. Two things make Burning Shed admirably different: 1) the copyright of the works they publish remains with the artist and 2) it…Read more Free Henry Fool
Thank Christ …
It was the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki just recently. Watching the memorial services on the television reminded me of the Groundhogs album Thank Christ for the Bomb. The title was intended to be controversial and (I assume) to raise the question of whether the use of atomic…Read more Thank Christ …
The Gnome’s Revenge
In 2007 Josh Dick and Brad Scoville used computers to create a music album for their U.S. college project. They called themselves Free Admission, the album was called Revenge of the Lawn Gnome and the result is available for free streaming and download on Jamendo, Last FM, Soundcloud and the Josh Dick website. There are…Read more The Gnome’s Revenge
Landscape
In my first chemistry practical at school we explored the difference between mixtures and compounds. Most metallic elements, we were told, have certain properties in common: they are hard and shiny; they conduct heat and electricity well; they ring when you strike them. Non-metals, like sulphur, are usually soft and powdery, are insulators and scrunch quietly if you…Read more Landscape
Reflektor
The older I get the harder it is to find new music that stands out. It's like prime numbers; there are infinitely many of them, but they get harder to find the further you go. Just once in a while, though, mathematicians find a new prime and sometimes, in my wanderings through the soundscape, I stumble…Read more Reflektor
Satanic Majesties
For some of you what I'm about to say will be heresy, so sit down and take a deep breath before reading on. The Rolling Stones only made one album worth listening to: Their Satanic Majesties Request. Well, that and their very first compilation album, Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), which only a few…Read more Satanic Majesties
Feels Good To Me
I was going to have All Heaven Let Loose by Bill Bruford's Earthworks as my album of the month for March but it's not available on Spotify and there's not much point writing about music my readers can't listen to. So, instead, I'm going back to Bill Bruford's first release as a solo artist, Feels Good To…Read more Feels Good To Me
Crotchety Man 