I'm sure you remember a train journey like this... It was bright and sunny when you boarded the train but dark clouds rolled in and now it has started to rain. All you can see in the window is a few orange streetlights outside and the reflection of the seats and the passengers inside the carriage. It feels as…Read more Stop This Train
rock
Stairway to Heaven
Our living room is light and airy but rather bland: magnolia walls, white ceiling, beige carpet. A raspberry red sofa and a matching armchair add a big dollop of colour but they are old and the covers become increasingly shredded each time our beloved cat uses the furniture as a scratching post. The time has come to re-think the…Read more Stairway to Heaven
Baker Street
London is a big city. A really big city. The population of Greater London is currently estimated to be about 8.6 million, only slightly less than New York. Crotchety Man was brought up in the suburbs of England's capital city and it will always have special memories for me. London, though, can be a lonely place…Read more Baker Street
Satanic Majesties
For some of you what I'm about to say will be heresy, so sit down and take a deep breath before reading on. The Rolling Stones only made one album worth listening to: Their Satanic Majesties Request. Well, that and their very first compilation album, Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), which only a few…Read more Satanic Majesties
End To End
Some bands I like, some bands I love. If I love them I'll buy several of their albums; if I only like them I try to find a Best Of... CD and maybe one or two download tracks. Blondie I like. At least, I like most of what they were doing in the eighties. I…Read more End To End
Journey of a Sorcerer
A few days ago I was listening to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music when over the airwaves came the theme tune from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Stuart Maconie was doing the show solo that day and the track was part of The Chain - "officially the longest running listener-generated thematically-linked…Read more Journey of a Sorcerer
Feels Good To Me
I was going to have All Heaven Let Loose by Bill Bruford's Earthworks as my album of the month for March but it's not available on Spotify and there's not much point writing about music my readers can't listen to. So, instead, I'm going back to Bill Bruford's first release as a solo artist, Feels Good To…Read more Feels Good To Me
Side
This blog is the story of my journey through the hills and valleys of the land we call Music. On my travels I have already come across a shape with three sides (Alt-J, "the alternative triangle band") and one with five sides (Pentangle, whose trees they do grow high). It's hard to imagine a shape…Read more Side
The Black Lamps
An ex-colleague of mine from work plays bass in the Barnsley post-indie/rock band The Black Lamps which has just released its first album. The music is pleasant, if unexceptional. Nice album cover, though.
Hey, Joe!
One of my Christmas presents was a DVD of the Woodstock Festival of 1969. Watching the first hour or so brought back happy memories of my adolescent days so I'm going to start my music blog with a real blast from the past, Hey Joe, by the incomparable Jimi Hendrix. (Image from http://rockstarwallpapers10.net. Used without permission.)
Crotchety Man 