Thin lines. Between genius and madness. Between success and failure. Between order and chaos. Is that what Thinium is about? Or is this the Immortal Onion's way of reminding us of the tissue paper layers in the vegetable that makes us cry? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNP5SIMf2_Q This Polish jazz trio has appeared here before - in February 2021…Read more Thinium
Track of the Week
Wild Grey Ocean
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
Shingles
The Milky Way above a shingle beach in Suffolk The word 'shingle' has many meanings. It could denote a roof tile or small pebbles on a beach. Several places have 'Shingle' in their names: Shingle Cove (in Antarctica) and Shingle Street (a community and conservation group in Suffolk, UK), for example. And, in the plural,…Read more Shingles
Prayer for Amerikkka
It's been a hectic time in Crotchety Land for the last few weeks. Old Man Crotchety has done little other than move his 92-year-old father into a retirement apartment, and it's proved to be much more burdensome than anyone could have imagined. Quite apart from the unbelievable mass of belongings in his old house (see…Read more Prayer for Amerikkka
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
Bloom
Roses bloom, algae may bloom, and musicians bloom sometimes, too. Yazz Ahmed, trumpeter and flügelhorn player, has been blooming since 2011, when she released her debut album, Finding My Way Home. This Track of the Week is from her second album release, La Saboteuse (2017). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHDayLZdPIY The general style of Yazz Ahmed's work is ambient…Read more Bloom
Bite the Bullet
To adjust to unpleasant circumstances. e.g. "The severe drought is forcing everybody to bite the bullet and use less water." dictionary.com A few days ago, a drought was declared in half of England. Crotchety County falls within the drought area and this part of the English midlands has sizzled to 30+ degrees C. Our once…Read more Bite the Bullet
Light is Dim
Hommage aux Frères Pigeon Spöket i KöketÅkervinda Today I'm offering a collaboration between a folk big band and a choral quartet. The instrumentalists call themselves Spöket i Köket, which is Swedish for Ghost in the Kitchen. (Literally, the spook in the cookhouse.) If you think of a 50s dance band playing traditional folk tunes, you'll…Read more Light is Dim
Tünel
Tünel is the Turkish word for "tunnel". The one pictured here carries water 120 kilometres across Finland from Lake Päijänne to a reservoir at Vantaa on the outskirts of Helsinki. (The photo was taken when it was undergoing refurbishment.) It seems unlikely, though, that Naci Oğuz had this particular rock channel in mind when he…Read more Tünel
Fleeting Future
A single mother and a married man enter into an affair with the understanding that their relationship is purely sexual. Though they agree the relationship has no future, they find themselves increasingly drawn into each other's company.Imdb The present is always fleeting. As soon as it has come, it has gone again. And yet it…Read more Fleeting Future
Crotchety Man 