Click the image for animation I love Spotify. Its collection of songs and instrumentals is vast. The Spotify app looks good, and it works beautifully well. It has even made a good stab at learning what I like. My only gripe is that its recommendations pull me towards the most popular artists (which almost invariably…Read more Another Sweep of the Radar
soul
Blood In The Water
Ian Anderson, Al Di Meola, Leslie Mandoki, Richard Bona In 1992, László "Leslie" Mándoki, a Hungarian drummer and producer, started his Soulmates project. The original line-up was: Ian Anderson (flute, vocals), Jack Bruce (bass, vocals), Al Di Meola (guitar) and Leslie Mandoki himself (drums, vocals). That's plenty to justify a post in these pages. But…Read more Blood In The Water
The Omnichord Real Book
Meshell Ndegeocello Hmm. Ominchord. What's that, I wonder? Just a minute, while I look it up ... ... Well, as far as I can make out, it's the electronic equivalent of the autoharp. It was invented by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation in 1981 and was in production throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A new…Read more The Omnichord Real Book
Ezra Collective
Last night, the missus and I watched a film that had been languishing on the video recorder, waiting for us to find a free 2½ hour slot in our evening schedules. It was called Hidden Figures, and it was about three African-American women working as 'computers' assigned to NASA's Mercury space program in the early…Read more Ezra Collective
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
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
Isolation
Fed up with Covid restrictions? Longing to get back to the old normal? Well, here's an album that will put a spring in your step and banish those isolation blues to the musty pages of the history books. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_laIbzhC50SwNk5dui0F639xGE9D0jpy2c The Backstage is a band born in adversity. When Steve Hackett's U.S. tour was cancelled last…Read more Isolation
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
Another Language
I enjoy a challenge. Persuading a computer to do what you want is always challenging, but it can be immensely rewarding, too. That's why I chose a career in programming. When I retired after nearly 40 years of writing software I assumed I'd continue to do a bit of coding for fun to fill the…Read more Another Language
Love & Hate
When it comes to human emotions there can be no greater contrast than that between love and hate. And I guess that goes for cartoon characters, too. Bugs Bunny loves all the other characters he meets, even the ones that hate him - especially the ones that hate him, in fact, because they lead to…Read more Love & Hate
Crotchety Man 