A poster promoting the 2021 sci-fi film, Chaos Walking. In my experience, it's rare for brothers and sisters to get on well with each other. So, if you put three pairs of siblings in a band together, it wouldn't be at all surprising if chaos ensues. But the Bradford band, Mischief, is proving me wrong.…Read more Kin & Chaos
funk
The Omnichord Real Book
Meshell Ndegeocello Hmm. Ominchord. What's that, I wonder? Just a minute, while I look it up ... ... Well, as far as I can make out, it's the electronic equivalent of the autoharp. It was invented by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation in 1981 and was in production throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A new…Read more The Omnichord Real Book
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
Protocol
"The use of the word 'extinction' breaches diplomatic protocol", says dinosaur. protocol[ proh-tuh-kawl, -kol, -kohl ] noun The customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence and etiquette. An original draft, minute or record from which a document, especially a treaty, is prepared. Medicine. The plan for carrying out a scientific study or a patient's…Read more Protocol
Ebi Soda
Ebi Soda is a curious name. It sounds like a soft drink or a foreigner's pronunciation of 'episode'. But, in fact, it is neither of those things. It is a 5-piece contemporary jazz band based in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of England. The Crotchety Library contains almost no other information…Read more Ebi Soda
Isolation
Fed up with Covid restrictions? Longing to get back to the old normal? Well, here's an album that will put a spring in your step and banish those isolation blues to the musty pages of the history books. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_laIbzhC50SwNk5dui0F639xGE9D0jpy2c The Backstage is a band born in adversity. When Steve Hackett's U.S. tour was cancelled last…Read more Isolation
Run For Cover
Crotchety Man has been exploring Hubzilla country for about three months now. I've come across interesting artefacts in all the arts, including literature and painting, but I haven't ventured much beyond the celestial music sphere so far. Even in this relatively confined space I've been introduced to all sorts of hitherto unknown wonders. Hubzilla seems…Read more Run For Cover
Another Language
I enjoy a challenge. Persuading a computer to do what you want is always challenging, but it can be immensely rewarding, too. That's why I chose a career in programming. When I retired after nearly 40 years of writing software I assumed I'd continue to do a bit of coding for fun to fill the…Read more Another Language
Soften the Glare
A Couple of Unrelated Things Before We Start ... Robert Fripp posted a very moving tribute to Bill Rieflin on his Facebook page this week. Bill was a drummer and keyboard player who became part of the wider King Crimson family. He succumbed to cancer on Tuesday. Burning Shed is offering a free download of…Read more Soften the Glare
Crotchety Man 