There's an examination subject in the Scottish Education system with the title "Modern Studies". It aims to develop students' knowledge and understanding of contemporary political and social issues in local, Scottish, United Kingdom and international contexts. When I was in the middle school (ages 13-15), those of us in the Science stream had two periods…Read more Light a Fire
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Lightning Blog
Crotchety Man is spoilt for choice and pushed for time this week, so this will be a lightning blog covering a very mixed bag of musical delights. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/30KeiOLVyhGOxkhIwhxkPd?si=1bff15e7d15b4b0e We start this Spotify playlist with a band I damned with faint praise in this post back in January 2020. But Rick Mitarotonda's Goose has a knack…Read more Lightning Blog
Yesterday
Two years ago a film by Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis was released in UK cinemas. It was shown for the first time on British TV last night and the Crotchety Couple watched it from the comfort of their sofa. The film is called Yesterday and it tells the story of a bit-part singer/songwriter who…Read more Yesterday
Rabbit Hole
Cyberspace is full of holes - rabbit holes that lead to wierd and wonderful places. From the familiar safe haven of Spotify I suddenly found myself tumbling through the subterranean halls of pop music, immersed in the stream of a recent release with hardly a sniff of hip hop. How wierd is that? The sounds…Read more Rabbit Hole
A Taste of Honey
The other day, on my daily walk (weather permitting), I met a bee. A big, fat bumble bee. The first of the year. And, when I got home, an email informed me that our Little Big Band will be starting rehearsals again soon, now that the Covid-19 restrictions are easing. Better start practicing again, I…Read more A Taste of Honey
Your Power
When this song came up in my Hubzilla feed I could guess from the title that it is about the abuse of power. But who, I wondered, is it addressed to? Is Billie Eilish admonishing a loved one, berating a political leader or even condemning a whole society? But the Crotchety ears were tuned to…Read more Your Power
Lucky Dip
Hear My VoiceLiquid EvolutionLord It's a FeelingThe Gift of LoveClocks For this post I'm offering an assortment of easy-on-the ear pieces: three songs and two instrumentals. Click on the images above to enlarge the picture; click the caption to go to the corresponding YouTube video. Alternatively, all five pieces have been collected as both a…Read more Lucky Dip
Unchain My Heart
Unchain My Heart was written by a guy called Bobby Sharp (about whom I know nothing more). It was recorded by Ray Charles in 1961, by Trini Lopez in 1963 and, of more relevance to this post, by Joe Cocker in 1987. Here's a somewhat muted video of Joe Cocker's version. I recommend you turn…Read more Unchain My Heart
Order! Order!
Looking through my recent 'likes' I see several pieces worthy of a mention in these pages. So it's time for another playlist, methinks. But how do you choose the order of the tunes? Are there any rules? Or does it just come down to personal preference? And what happens if you get them horribly out…Read more Order! Order!
Radar Blips
My Release Radar this week included several interesting new pieces by not-so-new artists spanning a wide range of styles. I'm featuring them in another Spotify playlist this week. But before we get to that, I must pay tribute to Peter Green, who's death was announced yesterday. Rolling Stone placed the blues/rock guitarist born Peter Allen Greenbaum…Read more Radar Blips
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