Southend-on-Sea lies on the north side of the Thames estuary to the east of London. It's a seaside resort with all the usual tourist trappings: a beach, gift shops, an amusement park, a few hotels and lots of guest houses. But Southend is most famous for its pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world at a…Read more A Whiter Shade …
classical
Toccata and Fugue
We all lost an hour when the clocks went forward last night. And, today, Crotchety Man slipped a few centuries back in time. It's a big leap from Jimi Hendrix to J. S. Bach but it's not so hard, really. These days, all it takes is a few clicks of a mouse. The Toccata and Fugue…Read more Toccata and Fugue
Lucky Man
They say bad things and London buses come in threes. Of course, when you're waiting for a bus you want it to come quickly; you don't want bad things to come at all. But come they do. Sadly, in the space of a few weeks, the deaths of three prominent figures in the music business have been…Read more Lucky Man
Acoustic Environment
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
Fanfare for …
The ghosts of October have melted into the first fog of the autumn and November has arrived in our village. Last night the Crotchety Couple cowered inside while excited young voices passed by our house, rising to a crescendo and fading away again. Then, unexpectedly, there was a brisk rapping on the front door. Fear gripped my heart as I went to…Read more Fanfare for …
The Rising Sun
This time, for my Track Of The Week, I'm going to do something a bit different. Instead of focusing on a specific recording I'm going to explore about a dozen different versions of the same song: The House of the Rising Sun. The link is to a Spotify playlist containing recordings from 1941 to 2001…Read more The Rising Sun
Danses Sacrée …
On those rare afternoons when Mrs Crotchety is out and I have nothing particular to do I like to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music. Last Monday Stuart Maconie was presenting solo and in amongst the usual rock and indie tracks he played something by Debussy called Danses Sacrée et Profane. It's a quiet, contemplative…Read more Danses Sacrée …
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
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2
Every two years since 1978 the BBC has staged a Young Musician of the Year competition. I watched the final in 1982. One of the finalists was an 18 year old pianist. I liked her. Well, of course I liked her, she was a young woman with poise and confidence, and she was about to play my…Read more Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2
Crotchety Man 