If your name is Fender, it would be hard not to be a musician. Fortunately, Sam is a rather good pianist, guitarist, singer and songwriter. In fact, he is one of the biggest stars in the pop/rock/indie style around today. And he deserves to be. This song came up on my Spotify Release Radar last…Read more Wild Grey Ocean
rock
Fractal Sextet
A fractal is a complex geometric shape, but it's difficult to find a precise definition. One well-known example is the 'snowflake' curve, invented by Niels Fabian Helge von Koch in 1904. Start with an equilateral triangle, then add an equilateral triangle one third the size to each of its edges to generate a new, more…Read more Fractal Sextet
Changes
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
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
Crotchety Man 