Here in the UK, summer has slipped gently into autumn. It's always a season of change, but recent events have been much more dramatic than usual. We have a new prime minister. We have said a fond farewell to our queen of the last 70 years. And, closer to the Crotchety home, my father has…Read more Changes
rock
Avalanche
It doesn't take much to trigger an avalanche. Sometimes a fresh fall of snow or the warmth of the rising sun on a mountain slope is enough. In this case, though, it was just a brief entry on a social media feed - barely more than a link to this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjn1Z83g9c Aimee Mann…Read more Avalanche
Altitude
The Airbus Perlan II glider in flight. On 2nd September 2018 the Airbus Perlan II glider claimed a record for "the highest sustained flight by a winged, manned, subsonic aircraft", recording an altitude of 76,000 ft (approximately 23 km) soaring over Argentina on the high stratospheric winds pushed upwards by the Andes mountain range. Another…Read more Altitude
Nothing Left to Say
I'm a firm believer in the adage, "If you have nothing to say, say nothing". And, when I started this blog post, I had nothing to say about Imagine Dragons. So it came as a bit of a shock to discover that they were phenomenally successful in the 2010s, especially in the U.S. They had…Read more Nothing Left to Say
Party’s Over
It's time for a change of style. So far this year, we've had humour, jazz, blues, folk and indie themes - today it's pop and soul. Visually, Rag'n'Bone Man cuts a striking figure. He stands 1.96 m (6' 4") tall and weighs 125 kg (275 lbs, or nearly 20 stone). And his big frame carries…Read more Party’s Over
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Right, pin back your lugholes, listeners, because I've got a real treat for you this week. Set aside the next 45 minutes and press Play on this video of Rodrigo y Gabriela in Seattle, 11th May 2014. But, first, turn off the phone, send the wife out shopping, gag the kids and muzzle the mutt.…Read more Rodrigo y Gabriela
Gotta Serve Somebody
Normally, I choose the music first and it suggests a theme. This week it's the other way around. The theme is sleaze, and the track I've chosen to illustrate it is Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody from his 1979 album, Slow Train Coming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC10VWDTzmU This week a British Member of Parliament, Owen Paterson, resigned after…Read more Gotta Serve Somebody
The Man In The Garden
The LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden This little ditty dropped into my Spotify Release Radar playlist this week. It's from a new double album release called Little Eden, and it reminded me that The Bevis Frond has not yet featured in these pages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xry1bbx864 The theme of…Read more The Man In The Garden
Mercury Music Prize 2021
This year's shortlist for the Mercury Music Prize was announced on 22nd July. The prize celebrates albums by artists from the UK and Ireland released in the qualifying year. According to its website it is "the music equivalent to the Booker Prize for literature and the Turner Prize for art". Allowing for some understandable self-promotion…Read more Mercury Music Prize 2021
Roots
Roots by Vincent Van Gogh Many years ago now there was a regular light entertainment program on the radio†. It included a series of comedy sketches, one of which purported to answer listeners' questions on just about any subject relevant to contemporary living. There might be questions on important issues in art or politics, for…Read more Roots
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