Inspiration comes from many places, some familiar, others less so. It lurks in bushes where it can't be seen and it hides in plain sight among the ordinary, every day objects of our humdrum lives. We may have passed this way many times before but our blinkered eyes missed the beauty of the city park and gazed past…Read more Oh Woman, Oh Man
Track of the Week
Fine Time
A song from 1988 appeared again on the Crotchety Early Warning Station's radar screen a few days ago and it reminded me of the 7" singles I used to have. Although I spent my formative years in the days when sales of singles far outstripped those of albums I only accumulated about a dozen of them.…Read more Fine Time
Summertime
After childhood and adulthood there is a third age of man, an age in which the ignorance and naivety of youth have evaporated, the responsibilities of work and parenthood have been largely left behind and we are free to use our time-ripened talents in any way we choose. In affluent countries with modern healthcare the number of third-agers…Read more Summertime
Brass In Pocket
There's been a deliberate focus on new songs recently on Crotchety Man so I think it's now time to remember an old favourite. Brass In Pocket was the first big hit for The Pretenders in January 1980. Chrissie Hynde never liked the song but the public loved it and she still plays it when she's touring…Read more Brass In Pocket
Redemption Song
I realised the other day that I have sinned. This blog has no mention of Bob Marley! Fortunately, it's Easter and Jesus died to redeem us of our sins (or so the Christian Church would have us believe). So, by way of penitence, I have chosen Redemption Song as my Track of the Week. Both the…Read more Redemption Song
Bottle
Paul Weller will be a father again this summer. It will be his eighth child. The announcement came hard on the heels of the news that The Modfather's 13th solo studio album, A Kind Revolution, will be released on 12th May. Shortly after that a film called Jawbone will reach the movie screens. The soundtrack to Jawbone was written…Read more Bottle
Thight Lines …
... and Screaming Reels No, I haven't spelled that wrongly¹. My Track of the Week really is called Thight Lines and Screaming Reels. Then again, it must be a spelling mistake. Somewhere between Colin Hodgkinson's pen and the record company an extra 'h' must have crept in. Perhaps it was a communication problem between an English…Read more Thight Lines …
Love
This week I thought I'd pick the Lana Del Rey song, Video Games, off the pending pile but, after some background listening, I've realised that just about any Lana Del Rey song will do. That's the thing with this singer; all her songs are gorgeous but they all sound much the same. So, for my Track of the Week,…Read more Love
Where’s the Revolution?
There has been a sea-change in politics recently: Britain is leaving the EU, right-wing 'populist' parties have been gaining support across Europe and America has an inward-looking, protectionist president. All the economics experts said Britain will be worse off if it leaves the EU but the people feared immigrants were stealing their jobs and destroying the British…Read more Where’s the Revolution?
Cantorum
This is the second instalment in my campaign to introduce a new term into the dictionary of musical styles: orchestral beats. That tag first appeared in my review of the Archipelago album by Hidden Orchestra in November of last year. Then last week's Release Radar included something that sounded very similar: Cantorum by Penguin Café. As far as…Read more Cantorum
Crotchety Man 