They say bad things and London buses come in threes. Of course, when you're waiting for a bus you want it to come quickly; you don't want bad things to come at all. But come they do. Sadly, in the space of a few weeks, the deaths of three prominent figures in the music business have been…Read more Lucky Man
Track of the Week
Into the Night
Life is mostly mundane. We all have our daily routines: the school run, walking the dog, watching the latest episode of our favourite soap opera. Of course, every day is different in small ways, too: a new crossing lady today, the Labrador with the dark chocolate eyes has lost his ball, the TV soap has been postponed to…Read more Into the Night
This Is The Life
Until recently Crotchety Man's living room contained a TV, a video recorder and a conventional Teac Hi-Fi system consisting of an amplifier, a digital radio tuner, a CD player and a pair of speakers. The TV was a basic model but it had a good picture. The Hi-Fi system wasn't that expensive but its KEF Q-Series…Read more This Is The Life
This Is The Last Time
Keane released their first album, Hopes and Fears in 2004. It's a collection of strangely captivating songs, more pop than rock. Superficially, there's nothing much to lift them from the mediocrity of the mass music market and yet they soothe like an Indian head massage, seep through your skull and infiltrate the mind. This is the Last Time is probably the best known…Read more This Is The Last Time
Red Right Hand
Crotchety Man is easily bored. Because of that he is always listening out for something different. Red Right Hand is deliciously different. The very first sound you hear is the Tang! of a tubular bell ringing out over a deep bass riff with punctuated organ chords and the soft swish of brushes sweeping taut snare drum skins. That's an…Read more Red Right Hand
Tokyo
Sophie was a confident young woman now looking for friendship, romance, love. She had come to this restaurant a few times before. It had an Alice In Wonderland theme, which appealed to her sense of fun and Sophie always felt comfortable here. Tonight, though, as she walked past the sign saying "private function" and made her way down the steps to the basement, she was…Read more Tokyo
When I’m Sixty Four
Now that I'm older, lost all my hair many years ago, Will you still be sending me a valentine, Birthday greeting, bottle of wine? If I nod off at a quarter three, slippers on the floor, Will you still need me, will you still feed me, Now I'm sixty four? If the Beatles idea of old…Read more When I’m Sixty Four
Down Here
Crotchety Man was a bright child. The headmaster of my primary school (ages 5 - 11) told my parents that in any ordinary year I'd have been top of the class. That there were a couple of other kids in my year smarter than me was, he suggested, a statistical fluke and I'd probably go…Read more Down Here
Island
One day in 1969, when I was just a lad, rippling piano arpeggios rang out from the radio. That was odd because the portable transistor radio in the kitchen was always tuned to the light entertainment channel. Radio 3, the BBC's classical music station, might have been on in the living room but not until…Read more Island
Birdland
Birdland is in New York. Currently it's in the Theater District of Manhattan but Weather Report's track of the same name harks back to its original location on Broadway. Judging by the music, it must have been a magical, joyous place then, always full of happy sounds. Birdland is the first track on the Heavy Weather album…Read more Birdland
Crotchety Man 