The world is broken. It is broken in so many ways. There are inexcusable wars; there is unconscionable famine. Schoolchildren have to go on strike to tell the politicians that they are not doing enough to combat climate change. Gunmen kill our brothers and sisters just because they follow a different religion. And even the…Read more Everything Is Broken
rock
Time of the Season
Time takes its toll on all mechanical things. Sooner or later the cog wheels become clogged with a sticky gunge, the hands on the clock face slow to a crawl and the pendulum shudders to a halt. And what applies to the steady tick-tock of a grandfather clock also applies to the fast spinning disks…Read more Time of the Season
We Built This City …
For me, nothing sums up the Spirit of Christmas better than this cute and slightly silly video. It's for fun, it's for the family and it's for a worthy charity. And I'm delighted to say that 75,000 people agree with me because it has taken the number 1 slot on the official UK charts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iEB8bfP7wE…Read more We Built This City …
Theme for an Imaginary Western
Sometimes it's easy to choose a track of the week. More often it's hard. This morning was shaping up to be one of those difficult days. The Crotchety Couple have had a few days in which nothing quite goes according to plan. On Monday we went to a Christmas Carnival. Going via my dad's it…Read more Theme for an Imaginary Western
Whiskey In The Jar
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I'm late!", moaned the fluffy white bunny shaking his long furry ears in shame and humiliation. And he was. Very late. Crotchety Man had outsourced his next Track of the Week to White Rabbit Publications because he was going to be otherwise engaged at the weekend. There was a final band…Read more Whiskey In The Jar
Spiral Cities
Facebook sucks. Early in the morning of Thursday, 8th November I checked my news feed. Among a few useful, but unexciting, notifications there was one by Fyfe Dangerfield announcing that he would be interviewed live on the RadMac show on BBC 6 Music 'tomorrow' afternoon. That was worth a diary entry and the Crotchety Ears…Read more Spiral Cities
Glass Towns
The Crotchety Man blog gained another follower last week. There's nothing remarkable in that - it happens from time to time and the current total of 71 is hardly something to get excited about. I usually check out the Gravatar and the Home page of new recruits to my personal campaign to promote good music.…Read more Glass Towns
Desperate for Your Love
There is no divide - no ditch, no fence, no wall separates the classical from the contemporary - and no band illustrates this better than Sky. All the members of Sky were classically trained musicians who chose to make pop/rock/classical cross-over music. The most high-profile member of the band was John Williams, who was already…Read more Desperate for Your Love
Old Love
Crotchety Man has become hopelessly distracted lately. The object of his latest passion is taking up far too much of his increasingly precious time and is never far from his thoughts. An old love has been rekindled by seductive words in a seemingly innocent email. You see, the ageing rocker has been invited to join…Read more Old Love
Birdwatcher – Episode 1
Fyfe Anthony Dangerfield Hutchins was born in 1980 in Mosley, a suburb of Birmingham in the heart of the UK's West Midlands conurbation. His family moved to the leafier and somewhat less cosmopolitan town of Bromsgrove when he was eight. The Crotchety Brain knows he is a classically trained pianist and avid birdwatcher but, sadly,…Read more Birdwatcher – Episode 1