tba

free music

2009-04-06T21:02:00.002+02:00

instead of a writing a review of a popular band with a music company deal, this time I want to direct you to the opposite end of the musical spectrum: free music. creative commons (cc) music.

if you are familiar with the concept of creative commons, you may know that it is described as "free - as in free speech, not as in free beer."

a few days ago a website called the free music archive has been launched that distributes music produced under creative commons licenses. these licenses act as an alternative to copyright. as an artist, you can publish your art from one of a selection of cc licenses to make sure consumers can do more with it than simply consume it. the most restrictive of the cc licenses allows anyone to redistribute the work. this is exactly what is supposed to happen on the free music archive.
but a lot of artists use licenses that are even less restrictive. some allow you derivative works, like remixing or using the music as a background track for your own film. on the free music archive, you can browse the music by the licenses they have been published under, which lets you know exactly what you can do with the song.

if you need music for any project you are involved with, the free music archive probably is the easiest way to find it. and dont think it is just cheesy keyboard music. I simply clicked on the pop button and had a look at the songs available on the first page that came up - I already found some artists names I am familiar with. and dont forget: if the license allows it, you dont have to use the whole song. you can just use a drum intro or an a capella part.

these license things may sound strange when youu read about them for the first time. you may even wonder why they chose the free in the name. well, thats because this time, it does not only mean free speech. it also means free beer.

now go and explore it! here is the link

gigomania 2009

2009-02-18T07:42:00.003+01:00

gigomania 2009 has started, I'm having a little break after the first round of gigs. It's time to reconsider and review.

The first one in a long row was Roisin Murphy, seen at Huxley's, Berlin on 13th November 2008. If you've seen her solo or in the old Moloko days, you may know: Roisin is a tiger on stage. she is the only artist I know who does not need a support act to heat up the crowd from the very first moment. she is the only one if seen in years who takes stagediving seriously. And I must admit, for me it was the first time I did not see a gig, but a show - meaning choreography, costumes and video instalments. All of which Roisin would not actually need, because she herself was the most interesting thing to watch, not her clothes and hats.

support act: none

audience: approx. 1000. gay fashionistas (almost exclusively) and lesbians

visuals: video art, costumes, two background singern + a band

performance: singing so incredibly fine that for parts of the gig I was not sure if this was playback or not

movements: from revised dances to stagediving, plus a tiny assistens running up and down the stage to catch the items roisin would have to trough around during her performance

venue: looks like an old theatre, wooden floor on the second made me feel uncomfortable about solidity, drinks price average to high

highlight: I touched Roisin.

next on my list was Oasis, who played the Arena Berlin on Sunday, 18th January 2009. I must admit there is not much to write about. The whole thing was a disappointment for me. I had bought the tickets months before, so I went, even though I had a fever. Now a gig is a good gig if I can dance or jump around, I need interaction, with the band or the crowd and I need to somehow vent my feelings by screaming or singing along. What I do not need is to stand in a corner, high on medicine, unable to move and sipping orange juice.
What happened on that gig? apparently, Liam Gallagher went off stage in the middle of I'm outta time because he could not sing the high notes, apparently Noel Gallagher did barely move at all, apparently they played The Masterplan (which I love) and so on, but I would not swear on that, because I do only vaguely remember.

support act: The Twisted Wheel, who played a smaller (much smaller) gig at the privatclub the day before. That was probably great, because they are a good band, but at the Arena nobody really paid attention.

audience: approx. 5000. From ordinary guys with bad boring haircuts to over-dressed britpop guys with even worse haircuts to young girls with too tight tops to girlfriends who just tagged along.

visuals: four screens only about half of the audience could see because the venue was to large and, and which were not really used to capture what was going on on stage.

performance: a couple of old hits + the good new songs, a high-profile band and a nervous singer

movements: Noel - none, Liam - too much

venue: so large it felt uncomfortable - how can the crowd feel united in the songs when it is that big. in fact it was so big I did not even hear the "so sally could wait"-chants at my end of the venue.

highlight: 5000 people - and Fran Healy walking right past me.

Not much more than a week later I felt way better and had the kind of a gig I am looking for. Little Man Tate played a show at the Magnet Club, Berlin on Monday, 26th January 2009. I was a bit uncertain about how the audience would receive them, because they are such an apparently British band. I never know if this is maybe misunderstood by the Germans. Indeed, the people who made the party were a couple of British fans in the first row. They were eager to shout and interact with the band, so I just mixed with them and danced and sang along.
They played a couple of new songs which I had not heard before. So it took a while until the hits were played, but the new stuff is pretty nice, too. Apart from that, LMT must be one of the nicest bands ever, because they encouraged the whole audience to come and chat with them after the gig and go have a drink with them. They are very much the kind of lads you'd like to be friends with.

support act: I was told it was a terrible Berlin band, but i got no clue because i spent the time drinking beer in a pub near the venue.

audience: approx. 50. the Brits in the first three rows, behind them a mixed crowd, from young girls to old farts.

visuals: all band members wore black leather shoes. you can't miss the little details when there is no light show going on.

performance: Jon Windle kept on insisting his voice was coarse, but really he sang quite well!

movements: me - a lot!

venue: very small, intimate, laid back on a Monday evening

highlights: Fran Healy is a friend of the band and was there. 50 people, but this time I did not see him. lesson learned.

Read the next gig date and calculate why this post is called gigomania - it was only Saturday that I went out again. A lovely bunch of people from Manchester called The Whip performed at Knaack Klub, Berlin on Saturday, 31st January 2009. The last time the played Berlin was about a year ago, and back then, there was virtually no one there. But over the last year, they built up quite a fan base in Germany and I 've read a few articles about them in music mags. The Whip are rising and their time will come.

support act: I think they were the support, or at least the first band in a row of two.

audience: approx. 200. party people.

performance: good singing, good drumming

movements: They really tried this "clap along" thing. It only worked sometimes. The audience was greatin the end but a bit shy at the beginning.

venue: it's got a bar and a pedestal at the side so everyone can see. but there is a pillar in front of the stage.

highlights: Fee drumming and drinking beer at the same time.

The last one so far is Travis. After selling out the Kesselhaus in no time at all, their gig on Friday, 6th February was relocated to the Huxley's, which they eventually sold out, too. We keep in mind: singer moves to Berlin + is married to a German + new record released + he appears in every magazine and radio show talking about berlin = Berlin goes all crazy about him.
Seeing Travis live has been on my list for a long time. When they came back, I felt 16 again, and I was surprised their new songs could touch me as much as the old ones did back then. However, at the gig I realised I did not want to share that with the audience. I mean the band was great. And nice. And they made a good show for the masses. But I did not feel like mass pogo, especially not if you have to explain what pogo is first. So if you got the chance, go and see Travis, they are good. But not for me on that day.

support act: Some boring band who tried to look and sound indie

audience: approx. 1000. secretaries with their boyfriends, who usually never go to gigs , snuggling throughout the show

performance: They know how to play their instruments!

movements: Singer: lots of jumping, bass player: lots of posing, guitar player: lots of bending

venue: The toilet attendant does want you money, but you can get free candy from her, too!

highlights: Fran Healy, and everyone saw him!

Mystery Jets: Two Doors Down

2008-07-30T21:24:00.002+02:00

such a brilliant 80s parody I am a bit worried it's actually not a parody:

some of the scariest...

2008-07-02T10:17:00.004+02:00

... so-called artists were found on this myspace page today.
There's no need telling you what page this is, but the friends list is extraordinary, don't you agree? It comprises a variety of "artists", but somehow they all seem to be clones. Here are the white people making black music for white people, and the black people performing the white people's black music for white people. Here are white people claiming to be just like black people, and the whites love it. It is all artificial, synthetic, fake, and I don't even mean the imposters only.

On the other hand, I bet you can hum a tune for nearly every one of these pictures and wont get it our of your head for hours.

It's a sad artificial white imposter world of music..

The Whip @ Magnet, Berlin

2008-04-18T23:06:00.004+02:00

The Whip are a four-piece electro band from Manchester, and one of the sweet memories of my time in the city. I saw them live there about a year ago, at a time when in all of Germany, no one had heard of them yet. Now they are the next big thing (if you wanna call it that way) and you can hear them on the radio and read about them in music mags. With their debut album X Marks Destination released very recently, it was time for them to tour the Continent for the first time ever. I very much looked forward to seeing them, as nostalgic feelings for my time in Manchester keep growing and growing and I think the music is fucking awesome.

I recently started to learn playing the drums and one of the things I learned to play is the thrilling beat of their single Trash. It sounds very simple, but is hard to play because you have to be absolutely exact. I mean, everything has to be in sync, even more than with any other drum pattern I have worked on so far. I decided to make a little research project out of the gig. I wanted to watch the drummer Fiona as much as possible, to learn something from her. It looks like what she does is hard work. She does not seem to stop playing the bass drum at all, and it is all very straight-forward, energetic, like a computer. In fact, she must be a human drum machine!

However, for the first few songs I was not concentrating on watching her drumming at all. Instead, I was dancing wildy, jumping up and down and enjoying the music just as the rest of the audience did (they were not at all as lame and hesitating as a berlin crowd in front of an unknown band is usually). A few years ago I was listening to electronin music extensively and I had thought it was time to go out dancing to electronic music again soon. However, I despise the typically electronic dj sets you usally get, because I know there will always be music I think is absolutely shit, silly and not worth dancing to. Not with The Whip! I was enjoying every single minute, every single beat - the ones I watched carefully and the ones I moved my body to.

The gig was over with no encore after 45 minutes, but what else can a band do than play their reportoire, which naturally isn't that extensive after they've just released one single album. I bought the cd afterwards from their very nice bass player Nathan, and so should you! It was a marvellous evening.

Mike Long

2008-04-08T20:19:00.006+02:00

Who's that boy? That you dream of?

The one with the exquisite taste in music? Who knows good tunes from original sixties band The Creation to eighties power punk X-Ray Spex to the very recent Robyn?

never heard of any of these? who's this guy who can also give you sixties Beatles, eighties Michael Jackson or rather contemporary The Knife?

Who is this guy who appreciates a sweet soul ballad just as much as a laid-back reggae rhythm or an old funk classic? Punk is on his list just as much as Kraut music or, of course, cock rock - I mean satire.

Who's the guy dancing to each of this classic tunes, with a uniqueness that makes any average white-guys-can't-dance white guy have a little crush on him.

Who he is? He's Mike Long. He's gonna be a star!

Flight Of The Conchords

2008-03-19T20:25:00.005+01:00

Here's to funny things happening in music recently. Flight Of The Conchords is a musical comedy duo from New Zealand and they got their own tv show, too! But I'll spare you (or rather me) reciting biographical details and trivia I could only copy from other websites (obligatory link #1: the homepage; obligatory link #2: wikipedia; obligatory link #3: myspace). and give you something to see first and then my thoughts afterwards.

If You're into it

Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

Inner City Pressure

Business Time

Inner City Pressure is not bad, eh? You can tell it is a total rip off of The Pet Shop Boys, but yet it is such a unique song. The sound is so much the same but they did not just add different lyrics to a familiar melody.

What fascinates me about Flight Of The Conchords is that at first I thought how clever they were not forming an ordinary band, but making a comedy thing out of it. That way they are not limited to one style of music and they do not have fixed roles (like who plays what instrument etc.). Although their live shows are with acoustic guitars only (at least as far as I have seen on youtube), they can play all sorts of music in the show - quoting music history from ragga to hiphop to french pop to electronic music to folk, from David Bowie to Pet Shop Boys to Sisqo and so on. Then I wondered whether this meant they weren't so clever at all, because basically when you use a musical style and just copy it for your own song, then there is a lot of work that has been done for you already. But if you listened to the songs closely, you should object now - of course. What makes each song remarkable different from any music it was inspired by is how the two guys use lyrics to comment on their inspiration, to ironically over-emphasice and ridicule what was at no point meant to be funny by the original artists - hence the comedy aspect.

"you know you're not in high finance
considering second-hand underpants"

is what the Pet Shop Boys would never have added to their description of the lifes of young rebelious west end boys.

Same goes for rapping the obligatory hate rhyme:

"Other rappers dis me
Say my rhymes are sissy.
Why? Why? Why?
What?
Why exactly?
What? Why?
Be more constructive with your feedback, please. Why?"

and If You're Into It is just thoughts of a boy - a boy nobody ever told when to stop!

"If you want me to
I could hang 'round with you
If I only knew
That's what you're into.
You and him
Him and you
If that's what
You're into
Him hanging 'round
Around you
You're hanging 'round
Yeah, you're there too.

...

Then on our next date
Well, you could bring your roommate
I don't know if Stu is keen to
But if you want we could double-team you
How about you
And two dudes?
Him, you and Stu
In the nude
Being lewd with two dudes with food
Well, that's if Stu's into it, too"

It's soo well done how all the sounds of the vowels correspond with each other. This is very you can see how much lyrics with music and poetry have in common - the sound has to project the meaning. The way they do it shows they are not only good lyricists, but also fantastic musician. This is very clever, musically and lyrically!

never say never!

2008-02-28T14:09:00.003+01:00

I'm wanna start one of these conspiracy theories that never die - because they are about people not being dead:

Keith Moon, animal, world-class drumming monster, former The Who member (1964-1978), infamous for his rampant, never beaten hollow drum beating, died at the age of 32, looking a lot older because of drugs and booze and all. Or so we think. The truth is, he's given up drumming, moved to Canada and now writes acoustic songs (no drumming!) for his new girlfriend Feist. You don't believe that? Why then is her song called My Moon, My Man?

100ths post!

2008-02-25T19:39:00.003+01:00

Margot vs. Leslie

What do these to Ladies have in common? The first one was the first Lady in a small country that shaped my Mom's view of live, the second one is the number-one artist from a great country that, hm, my Mom probably does not know much about.

The first one was how my Mom memorised the second one. I went to the record store with her because I really wanted to give her The Reminder as a present. My Mom asked which record I was looking for and I said "From a singer called Feist". To my very surprise she told me she had heard of that woman already, "isn't she the one from Canada?". "Yes, she is, how did you know?" "Well", my mother said, "I only remembered because Feist is Margot Honeckers maiden name.

Sandmännchen all over the world

2008-02-18T10:55:00.004+01:00

In his song It Was A Strange Time In My Life, Jens Lekman uses a popular melody to make 17 seem even younger than just not 18 yet. It is the Sandmännchen title melody from the all-too-familiar children's good-night tv show. There is one thing about products of art for kids: They stay in the heart and arouse feelings much more than most things people get to know later, because they are among the first things that shape a person's taste, and they connect to a time when whatever happened seemed to be okay. That is way the Sandmännchen song caught very positive reactions last Saturday night. And I curiously did my research to find out to whomever we owe this little sweet melody.

The Sandmännchen idea was created sometime around 1959 by a West-german radio moderator who already presented an evening show for kids based on good night tales. With the idea of the figure behind, a TV show was to be created. However, when TV people from the former GDR heard about this, they wanted to be faster. The Eastern Sandmännchen was created and aired before the Western one, and according to its composer, the title song was written within three hours, after the lyrics were give through the telephone. Wolfgang Richter was the name of the guy who did the song. In the end, what had started so sudden turned out to be a major success. Today, there are Sandmännchen shows in a lot of European countries such as Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Hungary, Norway and of course Sweden. And while the idea of telling bed stories to kids is universal, the song itself isn't. Every language has a different recording of the song, and you can listen to some of them, including the one Jens Lekman must have heard every evening, on the official Sandmännchen webpage.

Jens Lekman @ Lido, Berlin

2008-02-17T15:35:00.003+01:00

Saturday night and Jens Lekman is in town! How could I dare not going, especially when I got the ticket as a present (thank you!). As expected, Jens got the masses making a pilgrimage to the Lido, the metro to the venue was packed with people speaking in scandinavian tongues. The growing population of Scandinavians in Berlin is no secret, and neither is Jens' fondness of the city. He has been very charmingly building up a song by describing in detail how to get to Berlin when you are coming from Sweden or Denmark (Easyjet takes 45 min, but Saefflebussen costs 5 euro less, and "knowing Berlin I was sure I could make use of that 5 euro somehow". I enjoyed this story very much, as I am familiar with the pleasures of seeing the baltic sea from the sky and 20 hours on the road all through Denmark and over the bridge to Sweden). The crowd, very likely comprising of Scandinavian-enthusiasts like me, screamed with laughter. Jens definitely is one of an entertainer who knows how to grab the audience by the balls. His show was not that long at a first glance, but three encores really did the deal. In fact, he sang until there was "no more song to sing" (I am sure he has got 10 new songs in his mind at any time) and he said he felt like dancing. No dancing for us there, though, as the after show party was not at the Lido, but in a different venue far away. After hanging around at the venue for at least another hour and a quick drop-in at the döner round the corner we decided to go to the party. It took us 45 mins to get there, changing train twice and freezing, just to be turned down at the door: We were told our tickets are not valid for the after show party and it was 6 Euro entry. I had just spend 6 Euro on a Jens Lekman record and the stupid temptation to speak to the gorgeous drummer about my attempts at banging the drums. I guess I made a little fool out of myself with little-girlish talk, but at least I bought the record. Anyway, no fucking Karrera Klub after show party for us, back to the concert: The record I bought, Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo, was the last regular song they played and it had this little showdown built in when all the members of the band put down their instruments and danced up and down the stage. There was still music playing then... No hard feelings here, the band was great and I eat my hat if this talented bunch of girls (plus one boy) was not playing life. However, girls (exxageration for dramatic puposes: it was only just one girl) in front of me were sobbing quite noisily when Jens played Pocketfull Of Money, alone with his acoustic guitar. I had no reason to cry last night, I enjoyed it very much.

What the world not needs:

2008-02-04T13:02:00.000+01:00

Shitty techno remixes!

What could be more exciting than the b-side of a single you just bought? Hopefully it is not an album track, and not a reheated track from years ago. Recently I've seen a lot of remixes of the a-side on the other side of the record. But what could be worse than these oomsta-oomsta-techno remixes which all got the same beat and stretch the voice to make it mickey-mouse-like? This is soo boring. That's fucking with a DJ who pays good money for a song. Is it too much to expect a "decent" b-side? What has worked so well with covers recently is that a lot of people now recognise that what makes a good cover version is a distinction from the original and some imagination in the interpretation of the song. Unfortunately this does not seem to matter for remixes. I actually don't wanna say names, but It's just happened with the vinyl single of Simian Mobile Disco's I Believe. I love this song. I'd love to dance to it in a club. I'd be really excited if I heard a thrilling remix. But I am turned off by uninspired boom boom boom.

woof woof baa

2008-01-18T21:10:00.000+01:00

I'm laughing my head off at the moment listening to The Beatle Barkers interpretation of Hard Days Night. As for msucial interpretation, there isn't much new to it, only the lyrics have been substituted with dog woofs and sheep baas. I found it in a podcast by the British poet and musician Martin Newell. It is a very entertaining song that becomes even more entertaining with what Martin Newell has to say about his memories of the 60s and The Beatles. You can download and listen to the whole thing here, the song comes on in about the half or so of the podcast.

01 - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators: Keep Reachin' Up & Amy Winehouse: Back To Black

2008-01-11T23:15:00.001+01:00

01
NICOLE WILLIS & THE SOUL INVESTIGATORS: KEEP REACHIN' UP (2006)
AMY WINEHOUSE: BACK TO BLACK (2006)

These two records largely made my year. I like them both so much there was no way of choosing one of them over the other. Each perfectly fits into one of the two halfs this year has been for me. Keep Reachin' Up is me in Manchester, I can see myself sitting on the bed doing make up and getting ready for going out. I can feel this even now listening to it, the memories are so intense. Back To Black is me in Berlin. The images that come up are less, well, images, rather diffused, but the feeling is the same. I feel butterflies in my stomach when I hear these records. The perfect soundtrack for 2007.
Both records were released in 2006. Like I wrote before, I think that even if I made a list of records released in 2007, it would still make a lot of sense to consider albums that came out in the late 2006. A good records, a NUMBER ONE RECORD needs some time to climb to that position, to become worthy enough for this. This is Keep Reachin' Up for me. Ironically, the first time I heard about it was in a Best-of-2006-list, namely as the number one of the best soul records of 2006, chosen by the staff of Picadilly Records Manchester (which was elected "best independent record store" by the readers of Music Week and "one of the best shops at all" by The Observer in 2006). Their praise of Nicole Willis' record sounded so good I just had to get it. I was curious whether the record would keep the promise made by Picadilly Records - whic was stiring the Northern Soul fire that had been burning in me since I came to Manchester. Needless to say that is just what it did.
Back To Black, however, needed a lot more time to make it into my heart. Although I had heard about Amy Winehouse already when her first album Frank was released, I did not mind her at all back then. I have complained about her quite harshly, but in her case endless repetition of her songs, being played over and over kind made way for her record - through the backdoor.
So Keep Reachin' Up won my heart at the very beginning of the year, and in a straight, steady way. Back To Black only had very few time to overwhelm me, because it took the long way round. But both had to get my in the end.

The two records are very much different, regarding their popularity. Amy Winehouse was massive this year, whereas no one seems to have heard of Nicole Willis at all. I got the feeling that the record might be a bit of a grower, not in terms of the music, but in terms of popularity. Musically, they have a lof of things in common. Both are outstanding up-to-date and new Northern Soul records, and, I must admit, the only two modern Northern Soul records I know about. There might be more coming up this year, with songs like the remix of Frankie Valli's Beggin' getting quite some attention. For me, discovering and exploring Northern Soul was the biggest musical gain I got this year - even more than living in the city of music.
2007 has been the year of Northern Soul for me, and what would be more obvious than to mention Amy Winehouse as the woman who made Northern Soul music fashionable this year. You couldn't avoid Back To Black this year, the songs seemed to be in everybody's ears and her name on everyone's lips. But Nicole Willis made way for her in my heart. So now I hope that the people who love Back To Black could make space in their hearts for Keep Reachin' Up...

02 - The Coral: Roots & Echoes

2008-01-06T20:14:00.000+01:00

02
THE CORAL: ROOTS & ECHOES (2007)

Similar to Rjd2's The Third Hand, Roots & Echoes has been frequently on the turntable in autumn 2007. And I literally mean "turntable" this time, as there was no way of avoiding The Coral whenever I went out to listen and dance to great records. All of The Coral's albums have their great moments and when I heard the band at clubs or bars, it was not even that likely I would get to hear a song from their latest record. But I have chosen this one as my favourite because it is the one I have listened to most frequently. Plus Who's Gonna Find Me definitely is one of the songs of the year for me, and it is on this album. But then again, I only discovered Dreaming Of You (from The Coral) this year, and it should have been inside my heart and head from 2002 on. But maybe I would not have been ready for this sixties-influenced, bright and shining pop/rock music back then, I think I was listening to quite different stuff then. That is why I'd rather have the latest record as my favourite in this list, but all the others are great, too.
Anyway, Rjd2 and The Coral is what I have been listening to heavily over the past few months, and to be honest, maybe this is one of the reason they ended up so high in the ranking. For the records that you listened to in the first half of the year may not be in your short-time memory when you are compiling the list, and the ones that you found out about by the very end of the year may be to fresh to really mean something to you. You will soon see how I tried to overcome this problem in my number one.

03 - Rjd2: The Third Hand

2008-01-06T19:59:00.000+01:00

03
RJD2: THE THIRD HAND (2007)

I have written about this one here. It is still hard to believe I read about this record in a hiphop magazine first. But yeah, Rdj2 used to be a hiphop sampling dj once. With this record, he has created something more atmospheric, more dreamy, more melodic. This has been the soundtrack for my autumn this year. I used to listen to this one all of september when I was riding my bike. It is a bit of a twisted record, I find it very hard to add "labels" to it. But unlike last time I wrote about this record, there is now something I can give you to hear. Please have a look and listen at Work It Out, which represents the feel of the album very well, I think. It may sound repetitive when you've only listened to it once, but If you give it a few more tries you will realise there is a lot going on in the song.

Rjd2, by the way, is not the guy with the crutches, but, among others, the guy in the blue/white checked shirt following him at the beginning.

04 - The Clash: The Clash & London Calling

2008-01-02T19:19:00.000+01:00

04
THE CLASH:
THE CLASH (1977),
LONDON CALLING (1979)

2007 brought me lots of new musical styles to listen to, and punk rock certainly is a very influential one. I always knew about The Clash, but never paid attention to their music until I went to Britain. When I was there, The documentary about Joe Strummer, The Future Is Unwritten, was in the cinemas. I only saw the film after I got back to Berlin, but the big fuzz that was made about it was something I couldn't escape from. One day I heard Rock The Casbah on the local uni radio station. It's a song I had known before but didn't know which band it was from. I also hadn't heard it for a long time, so it was kind of like discovering it for the first time - this wild, energetic, yet bright and jingly song. I then started to listen to lots of stuff from The Clash, that's why I cannot really choose one particular album to put here in the list. There are lots of Clash-classics, and most of them are on these two records: Janie Jones, White Riot, Career Opportunities, Garageland on The Clash and London Calling and Guns of Brixton on London Calling.
I also got some dvds abouth The Clash from the local library in Manchester. The band was everywhere this year, I even ended up in their local pub in Camden one evening when I was in London - and it was not at all intentional, nor something I knew when I got there. I only found out a lot later. Just like I found out how great this band is very late.

05 - The Detroit Cobras: Tied & True

2008-01-02T18:04:00.000+01:00

05
THE DETROIT COBRAS: TIED & TRUE (2007)

On we go in the new year with old music. This record contains songs from the 60s, all covered by the band The Detroit Cobras. I like that all songs are really powerful, even the slow, sad ones. I read about this record in a music magazine, and the description sounded so tempting I just had to listen to it! I didnt like everything on it at first, only my first favourite song: Only To Other People. I liked it so much that I have the whole album some more spins. It took a bit of time, but now I like it very much. It also quite well represents what kkind of music I particularly listened to this year: energetic, good , loud, and rather often with interesting female singers.

06 - Love: Forever Changes

2007-12-25T17:27:00.001+01:00

06
LOVE: FOREVER CHANGES (1967)

Forever Changes is a record I got as a present, as something I "must have". The first time I listened to this record was at a party, when I was hanging around with some people who all knew this one and wanted to hear it. A discussion about Arthur Lee started, the guy who wrote all the songs. Some people had seen him live a few years earlier, shortly before he died. A lot of attention was drawn to the record, so I listened to it quite often afterwards, and quickly fell in love with it. Yet this record is another on of these cases where I got the special edition, and maybe shouldn't have. The record itself is great, and there are some nice versions of the songs on it as well, but all in all, you don't really need all the special stuff that is on there. After all, a record is a record, and when it's over, the songs that follow kind of destroy the atmosphere the record created. However, to talk a bit more about the songs, Alone Again Or is great, I knew this one even before I got the record. And I later found out that I had also heard Always See Your Face before, as it is on the soundtrack of High Fidelity, one of the greatest films about music there is. However, Forever Changes is not about single songs, but they whole record in itself is what you gotta listen to.

07 - The Zombies: Odessey and Oracle

2007-12-24T14:21:00.000+01:00

07
THE ZOMBIES: ODESSEY AND ORACLE (1968)

I rarely listened to the record in a whole, I must admit. Rank 7 is more about certain songs that mean so much to me. This entry is mostly about Care Of Cell 44, about Leave Me Be, Time Of The Season, This Will Be Our Year - songs that are so important for me this year, that the whole record had to make it onto the list. Yet this is all about The Zombies as well, because these songs stand for their sound in general, their music, which I find incredibly good this year. When I discovered Leave Me Be, it was another of these instances when I fell in love with a voice. I was in a state of mind when I could literally feel the sadness this song emerged from. Later I heard Time Of The Season, which is so different from Leave Me Be - a bright song about happyness and love. After that, it took a while until I got the record. I got the new 30th anniversary edition as a present. It's a nice records, because everything a Zombies-newbee needs to have from the band is on there. And I love most of the record very much, songs like This Will Be Our Year (which it was!), Brief Candles and Maybe After He's Gone. They are all fantastic, but none of them can quite shake me as much as this one song does: Care Of Cell 44. It's a long story behind this one. It's about me...

8 - The Bishops: the Bishops

2007-12-22T15:21:00.000+01:00

8
THE BISHOPS: THE BISHOPS (2007)

The Bishops stand for all the great rhythm'n'blues and beat music I discovered this year. This is a fresh young band from London who just represent this great hard 60's sound and style so very well. A records that pushes you and makes you jump up and dance! I love their energy, and I am also very much into their sophisticated stylishness. Okay, I am repeating myself.
I like the band for how they combine dramatic lyrics that actually say something sad(The Only Place That I Can Look Is Down or Will You Ever Come Back To Me) with very danceable beat music. The Bishops are just one of the many many many recommendations that, ironically, came from all the way home to make my time in Manchester. I was told to go to their gig. I had the chance to see them both in Manchester and, later, in Berlin. But both times, it was not destined to happen. May I get a another chance? This probably depends on what's going to happen next with the band. Let's hope they keep it up!

9 - Little Man Tate: About What You Know

2007-12-22T14:52:00.000+01:00

9
LITTLE MAN TATE: ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW (2007)

This years' list is gonna give a lot of reference to the time I spent in Britain. Being in the country of music for five months, and spending almost all the time in the city of music (I am talking about Manchester) does of course have some nice effects. I had great experiences there and some of them had loosely or tightly to do with Little Man Tate.

The first time I heard about them was last year, in autumn 2006. Back then I went to a Peter, Björn & John gig in Berlin where they were touring with Little Man Tate. But I had no clue who they were and so we missed the show. But things that are destined to happen simply happen! In Manchester I had lots of opportunities to gain as much from the musical atmosphere there as possible. This included going to clubs and record stores (Manchester's Oldham Street has a larger number of record stores than any other street or area in Britain), namely The Roadhouse (venue) and Picadilly Records (store). And one day on myspace I got a bulletin saying the Little Man Tate were doing a few free gigs in Britain to promote the release of their new single. The gig was in the Eastern holidays, and they were giving out tickets in Picadilly Records on a specific date. By then, I had become very interested in the band because of their great rock music and their smart titles like Man I Hate Your Band. So I rushed to shop right in the morning to make sure I got two tickets - as a special surprise for someone special who was gonna spend the holidays with me. The gig was great. And I mean not only the band, who were rather tired (you could tell by the voice of the singer that they had been touring the continent) but still put on a great show. For me it was also fantastic to observe the audience - lots of Brits, weird guys who were into stage diving and partying hard. And they adored the band. The atmosphere was very much alive.

The record, About What You Know, also brings back lots of memories of things that I experienced, which could only have happened in Britain. I went to a big house party, were two hundred people squeezed themselves into a living room to see Foals play for free, and everything I hear House Party At Boothys I can't help but thinking of that. In most party of the album, the lyrics just refer to specific things I have seen that are part of the British culture. I am failing to properly describe this here, let's just say that it's great Britrock, and with this records I feel like I listened to it from a British point-of-view, not as someone who hears it and has to wonder what it is like to know all this. Cause this time I know!

10 - Danger Doom: The Mouse And The Mask

2007-12-21T20:35:00.000+01:00

10
DANGER DOOM: THE MOUSE AND THE MASK (2005)

This one is so fresh (for me) it could be a regular blog entry. I Listened to it very few times so far. Already it is bringing back lots of the good feelings hiphop used to give me some years ago. Danger Dooms voice is very charismatic, a bit mysterious and it gives me so much pleasure listening to what he has got to say. And he has got something to say. And finally, someone in the rap scene who has got the nerve to have some humour. When I had my hiphop phase, 6 or 7 years ago, I admired the mcs for being able to articulate so many many interesting thoughts in one song, and sometimes telling great stories. Then I felt new school had nothing important to say anymore, apart from a few valuable artists like The Roots or Common. The best hiphop, for me, is what groups like The Pharcyde or A Tribe Called Quest used to do in the early nineties. And The Mouse and The Mask very much sounds like that.
Hello rap music, In casef there's more we're-ina-a-good-mood-and-can-also-have-aluagh-about-ourselves like that, I wanna be friends again!

Top Ten 2007

2007-12-15T12:29:00.000+01:00

The end of december is the time when people go crazy for making lists. lists they wish for christmas, lists of things to do next year and, of course, lists of great stuff of this year. I am no different and just like last year, again I am going to make a list of ten records I discovered in 2007. They have not all been relased this year, but this is the year I discovered them and these ten records quite well sum up what has been going on this year.

Picking my 10 fave albums of 2007 was not difficult at all. But I am still working on the ranking. Whatever, in the next few days till new year I am going to look back on my year 2007 and write a bit about the most fantastic albums that accompanied me through it.

Frankie Valli and the mysteries of video shooting

2007-10-10T21:58:00.000+02:00

"beggin', beggin' you
put your dancing shoes on baby"
(slightly edited, ;-) )

Frankie Valli - Beggin' (pilooski edit)

The most amazing song for me at the moment.

Why on earth they shot a video like this one is a mystery to me. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (why the full name of the band isn't spelled out correctly is a mystery either) were, among other things, successful in the British northern soul scene in the 60s. Considering the timeline, the 1950s petticoat dancers are a complete miscast, and the sound doesn't really apply to these 80s hiphop dancers either.

There are people dancing northern soul nowadays. I bet these two young men would have loved to take part in the video:

Better luck next time!

And in case you would like to see and hear more northern soul (like I do!), try these guys:

Justice live at "I love Techno"

2007-10-06T16:18:00.000+02:00

Kinda old, but this still hits me like a rock. I am more and more into Nu Rave.

Finally Amy

2007-10-04T22:13:00.000+02:00

I may possibly be the last person on earth to fall in love with Amy Winehouse's music. It had been suggested a few times before by friends, who all said that "that's quite the music you'll like". So I gave her stuff a try. And I hated her guts. I called her voice the "voice of a duck being minced through a meatgrinder." That's a really bad thing to say. I am honestly sorry, Amy. I love your music. I adore your voice. I love your beats, and melodies. I appreciate the fact that you dress and style just like you want to. I admire your frank and open lyrics. I've been listening to them a lot recently.
There was no avoiding Amy after I started working for a company which provided its staff with music at work. And while I was doing my chores her songs just slowly crept into my brain until I was able to distungish them from each other (there are three I heard, You Know I'm No Good, Back To Black and My Tears Dry On Their Own). I learned to recognise the beats and within the first few seconds of a track I could tell there was an Amy Winehouse song coming up. I was a bit afraid of listening to the Back To Black record at home because I thought "what if I get used to it to quickly and then I can't stand hearing it at work anymore?". But I was just way too curious to not find out what the other stuff sounds like. And I love everything.

Amy Winehouse's songs are modern classics. The love with which they are made, the uniqueness of the power she puts into them.. I hear Amy Winehouse is not too well these days. I hope she will make it and stay a fascinating personality. But no matter with how many more records she'll eventually come up with, I predict that Back To Black will be a classic, something to appear on the top of all-time hit lists in fourty years, a record people will discover and listen to in a long while. Because It's timeless. So I guess I am not too late, I'm still right on time!

The Coral

2007-09-16T23:36:00.000+02:00

It's been two weeks since I announced a post about The Coral. In these two weeks I've been listening to them extensively and a whole range of phantasies and thoughts have come up to be shared with you.
The first time I actively listened to them was a few weeks ago, it was their album Magic & Medicine, their second one, released in 2003. I found it good enough to become excited when I got their first one, The Coral, as a present. I really liked Magic & Medicine, but had only listened to it twice or so. That's why the debut album was a bit of a disappointment for me then, I was rather interested in discovering Magic & Medicine a bit further than being introduced to something that sounded different. However, everything about The Coral became interesting for me again very recently with their current single Who's Gonna Find Me, an absolutely smashing piece of music. This is the song I have briefly written about in the last post, the video is embedded there as well, but to keep this post complete, here it is again:

This song just got what I'm looking for at the moment - a northern soul beat, great guitars and an extraordinarily good pop melody. Plus it represents one of the singers great gifts: He really can sing! It's not the voice that much this time that makes me crazy. Okay, the voice is distinct and clear (two things I really like), but there's so much more. The strength, the skills! No note is missed and you can hear this guy loving what he does.

With Who's Gonna Find Me blowing my mind away like that I just had to get the record - their fifth, entitled Roots & Echoes. The other songs got less tempo than this single, but still they manage to create a certain magic. I'm gonna write about one particular song here, which to me kinde represents the whole record and what I feel could be the idea behind it. The song is called She's Got A Reason, and can be listened to on The Coral's myspace.

The lyrics are, as far as I understand the song, about a woman in demand, a woman searching for something. She is restless and wanders around:

"...she soaked to the bone
the roads she walks on
well it won't lead her home"

But there is more to it:

"the princess and kings
all the beautiful things
and more

she won't wait
she'll never look back
through the fog
the mirrors have cracked
...
watch her go and she sings
dum dum da da da daaaa"

I can't help but thinking of fairy tales here. Is she like a modern Snow White, a princess who lost all her love, the mirror's cracked and now she is walking through the woods. But if it is so, I think this version of Snow White got a clue about what's going on. She's not really lost, she knows that the road she follows does not lead her back home, but to somewhere else, a place were it can only be better, because anything would be better than being home, "a place where she cries", just like in the fairy tale.

This is my idea of the theme of the song, and I apply it to all the other songs on the record. The topics, I think, are quite similar to this one. "Snow White", or the girl in She's Got A Reason, leaves home because she is rejected by someone. So is the character in the songs Remember Me. In Put The Sun Back we can hear about a relationship that is about to fall apart - it's a last cry for help, to avoid rejection. Rebecca You is not at all this hopeful anymore. Jacqueline went away already, and the song Cobwebs is about reflecting what went wrong with oneself. However, there are lots of strong moments in the lyrics, like in Fireflies, when he sings

"you won't see me cry".

Fireflies also has one of the nicest lines I've heard since Martin Newell's Julie Profumo, I mean as a reflection of my attitude on life. When Martin Newell sings

"take you with me
if you're going that way"

you got

"wherever I'm going
that's where I belong"

in this one. Just like Snow White is leaving to find a new and better home. And she lived happily ever after.

There's loads more to The Coral, but I can't possibly pack it all into one post. Part II coming up soon! You'll be reading about how I found my love for their first record The Coral and how I ended up hearing Dreaming Of You three times in a row three times a day.

my current fave song

2007-09-03T20:50:00.000+02:00

I love this one, I don't know why. it's really playing inside my mind all the time at the moment. I'll try and blog about this, I promise. And about Martin Newell. I announce this here to get some desperately needed motivation.

The Coral - Who's Gonna Find Me

RJD2 - The Third Hand

2007-07-12T16:34:00.000+02:00

It was about time for me to like a record so much I feel it is worth being recommend. My new favourite album is RJD2's The Third Hand.

Well, as far as I know RJD2 has released quite few records so far, and I know him has a hip hop sampling dj. However, the new record quite blew me away because it combines a number of styles. What drove me to listen to it was a review I read that stated something like "RJD2 seems to be more relying on psychedelic and the beatles here than on hip hop beats." And damn right this is! The first song and, as far as I know, new single you never had it so good is based on piano chords. The second one, have mercy, is extremly funky. I find the lyrics quite amusing, as they remind me of German train workers being on strike recently:

Oh my goodness
I've been waiting for a train all morning
Lord Allmighty
I got a downtown shot to get to
Oh please
I got no car to bring me
...
Lord have mercy
have mercy have mercy
on these old fools
Lord have mercy
have mercy have mercy
'cos I won't do

Probbaly not what RJD2 wanted to say, but nevermind. Same goes for laws of the gods, which sounds like a angry girl's revenge on her ex-boyfriend:

Oh lazy man
you broke the laws of the gods
...
don't come home for a week

Enough interpretations...I discovered this record just three days ago, and already came up with some weird conclusions. One suddenly hit me this morning when I listened to the record in the queue at the post office: The thing is, one of my favorite songs so far is sweet piece. The chorus just appeals to me very much, and now I think I know why: May I be so presumptuous to claim it's like the electro hymn George Michael has not been writing recently? "Not him again again" I hear you scream, but listen for yourself. It's electronic, a soft electronica, it's about unaknowledged love or misconceptions on love, and his voice sounds so, well, like George Michael.

Likewise noteworthy: rules has perfect bonds to good old triphop and someday is played with an acoustic guitar. Not quite your average hiphop dj, ey?

We are now coming to the sadder part of this blog. What ever happened to radioblogclub? Is it just me or is it gone, making room for a page full of advertisement? What happened to all the radioblogclub links I put on this blog?

Not all the songs I mentioned are available there, but do try and listen to RJD2 on his myspace.

Remember Nirvana ?

2007-07-09T09:35:00.000+02:00

Well, you probably do, and I just wanted to inform you that the Baby on the "Nevermind" Album turned 17 in June.

It's sometimes amazing how time flies by. I still remember how that album was all the craze back in school ... And that was 15 years ago.

Digitalism

2007-06-05T13:28:00.000+02:00

One of the spearheads of the so-called "New Rave"-movement is a band based in Hamburg/Germany, called "Digitalism". Tracks are released on the french label "Kitsune", and after a few singles/EPs the two dudes have finally finished their Debut-Album called "Idealism". And I don't actually want to write alot about this except that I love their music and urge you to check them out too.

"Zdarlight"-Video, their first big hit :

"Pogo"-Video, the current Single :

Digitalism on myspace.

the curse of Rory Gallagher

2007-05-26T04:31:00.000+02:00

Rory Gallagher - I'm not awake yet

I discovered this song by pure chance when I was listening to some playlist containing the clash on radioblogclub. I am not really interested in any other of his songs. I did ready his wikipedia entry, but I forgot about it afterwards. Frankly, I do not care who Rory Gallagher is.

Just this song really hit me. I reckon it is the most beautiful piece I have heard for a really long time. And I just figured out that ever since I heard it I am having fuzzy sleeping habits. Like I do not sleep. It is hard to fall asleep. I dream shit. It takes me ages to wake up, spending much time in this weary state when you are conscious but unable to move or open your eyes. And I feel awkward afterwards.

Is it the curse of Rory Gallagher?

CSS and The Gossip Myspace Secret Show @ Roadhouse, Manchester

2007-05-21T14:37:00.000+02:00

This is gonna be a long one, but worth the read! ;)

Some bold facts: Myspace UK has been organising two secret shows so far, this was the second one. I learned about it in a bulletin sent out by the Myspace Secret Show UK page. It announced the date and place, May 18th Manchester, but I only found out about who would play a couple of days before the gig.
To get a ticket I had to befriend the myspace profile (which I had already done ages ago) and CSS's and the Gossip's myspace page. Then put the three in my top eight, print out my profile page, and then, they day before the gig, go to the local book and music store Fopp to queue for my ticket.

My friend and I arrived at the store two hours before they started giving out the tickets, only two be quite surprised that there were people queuing already! So we took our place in the line and waited. Somebody took pictures of us holding the prints of our profiles. I mention this because we were exposed to photographers let loose quite often. They started handing out the tickets on time, and soon, after showing the prints and an ID, we got a wristband, a ticket and some buttons which said things like "you looked better on myspace" or myspace is for losers but you're all f*cking on it.

Holding the tickets in our hands we thought of two things. First: we got the tickets, no more queuing! (how wrong we were...) Second: oh, the tickets say dress code: shock. What are we gonna do about this?
I won't explain what we wore, in case you may read my description too well and then I got no idea if weird pics of me will finally come up on the myspace page...

But we did dress up a bit the next day and went for a nice pint. The tickets said Doors 8:30, so we where there 8:30. Only to have to queue again, for an annoying one and a half hour. Why this was like this, I do not really know, but I got my suspicions: there were cameras again. People handing out flyers, people taking pictures. And a film team that filmed the queue, encouraging everyone to cheer. Of course, if you wanna persuade people who weren't there about how busy it was, you got to make the audience queue. But for one and a half hours?

Nevertheless, we finally got inside, only to wait a bit more. Then CSS played. To be honest, I did not know any of their songs before, and one gossip song only. And to be honest, I was not particularly found of the music. I liked both bands attitude, the singer from CSS with glasses painted on her face and a fake tooth gap. I read about them afterwards that they started the band without knowing how to play any instrument. If that is true, bless them. But to me all the songs sounded the same.

Things were similar with The Gossip. Again, not really an idea what they sound like, yet I was familiar with some of the modern myths surrounding Beth Ditto, and maybe she fulfilled them again this night with her ultra-short dress and her party-attitude which could have resulted from drunkenness. But she does what she wants to (at least I hope she still wants to be like this, and it has not become a necessity to stay popular), and I appreciate this. Plus there was something else about her, which was clearly my highlight of the evening: her voice. Let me tell you, no matter what you think of her and her band, her voice IS amazing. They opened their set with a cover version of George Michael's Careless Whisper, and I as an old George Michael fan say they did it very well.

Here are some pictures my friend took:

CSS

The Gossip

The glowsticks

After these nice impressions, here is what the press said:

First of all, myspace UK still has not managed to put reviews, videos and pictures up on their profile yet. Maybe they will have when you read this, but they certainly did not have when I wrote this. Considering the fact that the gig was friday night, and I am writing this on a monday afternoon, I must say that's pretty lousy and lame of them.

However, the NME was really quick, giving us this story. Do I approve what they wrote there? Frankly, no, not all of it. But first, my congratulations to the author who figured out the setlist. How you can keep all these songs apart and recognise them is a miracle to me. But maybe he just nicked the setlist? Yet I do not remember Beth Ditto shouting for Paris Hilton to be put into prison. I also do not recall her dedicating the gig to Yoko Ono. And I was really sober. The rest seems true, though.

After the gig was over, there was a bit of djing going on, were once more I realised that either my electro time was ten years ago and is over now, or the best electro songs simply were made ten years ago, because what got me (and the crowd) going the most were some old nice tunes such as daft punk's around the world and mr oizo's flat beat. When we left they gave us free posters of both two bands, and we still had these glowsticks they had been throwing into the audience extensivly. Having spent less than five pounds for this night I was quite satisfied with the outcome. lots of annoying things, but who am I to complain when it's a bargain!

Harry And The Potters @ Urbis, Manchester

2007-05-21T14:09:00.000+02:00

Seeing Harry and the Potters was one of the most "different" gigs I have ever been to, probably. As you can tell by the name, the group is inspired by the Harry Potter books. In fact, all the song-lyrics are based on characters or episodes from the story.

Don't believe me? Here are some lyrics for you:

From The Human Hosepipe:

so we said there with all the couples kissing
and soon things began deteriorating
and you began turning into the human hosepipe

From Wizard Chess:

I don't want to go home for Christmas this year
I don't wanna see my family
...
I just wana stay at school with my best friends Ron
oh-oh-oh
we'll spend our Christmas playing wizard chess
...
oh-oh-oh
we'll spend our Christmas being invisible
oh-oh-oh
be invisible this Christmas

(my favourite song)

I enjoyed observing every single detail of the gig. Let me give you some facts: The Urbis is a museum. The band played in the entrance hall. Generally, they perform in theaters and libraries rather than concert hall or gig venues. Their audience comprises approximately 13 to 16 years-old kids. And oh, how these kids looked: Black eyeliner on allmost all faces, some in really colourful clothes, socks with different colours, but some dressed in black. Almost all guys with long hair, almost all girls with at least two different hair colours. Spome wore self-made t-shirts with lines from the books. Hard to tell if any dressed up as actual characters, hard to tell for me, at least. But there was no Harry Potter in the audience. And rightly so, because the kids knew there would be two Harry Potters on stage!

Harry and the Potters is actually two brothers (and a drummer), who look very much alike each other, and who did their best to look like Harry Potter. Dark curly hair, glasses, a scar drawn on the forehead. The even wore the Hogwarts school uniform. They looked really nice.

Okay, so what do we have so far: emo-kids going to a gig at three pm, two brothers, I'd say in their late twenties, dressed up as a adolescent wizard and a performance in a museum. What did I save for the end: the music!

Let me tell you, the music simply was a very sweet surprise for me. Listen to the songs the band has on myspace and you'll get no idea of what it is like to see them live. Live they rock! Or, more acuratly, they punkrock! They rarely played a song that was longer than one-and-a-half minute. The two Potters jumped around and screamed, there even was some serious moshing going on in the audience at one point. Lyrics were spit out, microphone stands were broken, the singer ran off-stage to dance and sing and cry with the kids, no reservedness, no timidity at all. And I thought: thanks somebody is saving these emo kids from teenage angst and makes them angry instead!

Bitchiest Popstars

2007-05-15T17:39:00.000+02:00

There are some really nice quotes in this top10-list of bitchiest popstars on virginmedia. And I even found it all by myself while googling.

labels

2007-05-14T14:27:00.000+02:00

The whole blog is now labelled. categories so far are:

music styles:
funk
heavy metal
hiphop
indie
pop
r'n'b
rock
soul

anniversary
announcements
artist recommendation
books
djing
gimmicks
live
mixtapes
records
that's life
trivia
tv
visuals

click on any of the links to read all the posts with this label.

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators @ Mint Lounge, Manchester

2007-05-14T13:26:00.000+02:00

The evidence of a funky night out! This pic was taken at the Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators gig in Manchester in early May this year. They blew me away with their 2005 record Keep Reachin' Up, which I discovered just very recently. I therefore did not really expect to get a chance to see them touring this record, but there they were, in the Mint Lounge, 8 or so guys on stage, starting the concert with a ten minute long instrumental introduction. In case you have not read about them before, they are a ten-piece finnish band playing music following the tradition of Northern Soul sound.

The intro gave my finnish company a change to admit the band actually really looked finnish, and let my anticipation grow immensly. And it got the audience in the mood, so everybody was already shaking their bits when Nicole Willis finally entered the stage. She has a wonderful stage presence: smiled, danced and enjoyed the music. I am not sure if I actually have to mention that her voice was superb. My finnish friend, usually a follower of Heavy Metal, and a bit of Jazz, was absolutely glad we went and told me he enjoyed the musicd very much. So did I! So did everyone.

some videos with the usual phone camera+youtube-upload-size problems. You do not necessarily have to watch them, just listen while you browse.

Herman Dune @ Roadhouse, Manchester

2007-05-09T08:30:00.000+02:00

This cool pic suggests that Herman Dune is another of these multicombo bands, with loads of people that are difficult to keep track of. It's not quite like that.
I am still not really familiar with the band's history or background, but as far as I understood the band actually just comprises two brothers from France or Israel or Sweden or the USA or all four or so?

But what do I care about where they are from when the song I like the most is about "being away". It is called I wish that I could see you soon.

When I saw them live in Manchester about a week after Easter, this song was the first of a row of songs that really caught me.
Maybe I wouldn't have liked them, had I just listened to this song, but seeing a band live of course always makes a difference. The beautiful female voice you can here in the song was provided by a singer from Baby Skins on stage. This woman had a really nice array of percussion instruments that I could never be able to name, yet describe. She used a different one for every single song, to accompany the drums and make things a bit more strange and dreamy.

The audience must have been crazy for Herman Dune's music. They even booed the singer when he didn't sing. When Andre Herman Dune, the singer, came back on stage for an encore, he chatted a bit at first, talking about music distribution, and how much better vinyls are compared to mp3s. He said he didn't have the time to go record shopping in Manchester, which he really regretted, and that he loved the idea of kids wanting records rather than mp3 downloads. This got him a little passionate (aren't we all, when it comes to this subject) and he kept on talking, for so long that people started to shout for a song. In the Roadhouse, there was a club night after the gig, and people feared there might not be time for a song if he went on talking.

But a brand new, very sweet love song was sung, everybody embraced, souls saved. Thank you, Herman Dune!

Midlake @ Sheperd's Bush Empire, London

2007-05-06T22:18:00.000+02:00

I have written about Midlake here and here
and you don't have to click on any of these links if you don't want to ;)

So, I went to see the band who won my last year's favourite-record-award for the second time. I thought the fact that they were in the same city as me at the same time was more than coincidence this time. Apart from that I had always wanted to go to the Sheperd's Bush Empire. There was a time in my life when I did not go to gigs (too much money spent on dope), so I would hang around with my friends watching live dvds endlessly. It became sort of a running gag after a while that all these artists we liked released dvds of gigs shot there. The repetition of shots from inside, all these amazing artists I "saw" and the dope made me really really wanna go there for once.

And the venue was perfect for that gig, for that night. We had seating tickets on the balcony. We had been hurrying around all day, travelling from Manchester to London, collecting keys, dropping luggage, making small talk to people we did not know, missing busses...and no time to sit down and relax. Until the gig started.

The atmosphere was great. Midlake's music just sounds so much better in a place like this. Sheperd's Bush Empire is an old theater transformed into a gig venue. They could have performed without any PA at all, I bet we would still have heard every single note.

The music was more psychedelic this time, I felt. Sometimes, the band would literally bend over their keyboards and instruments, soo much into their music. No long breaks between songs this time (that was what made me feel disappointed after seeing them in Berlin last October). I could just sit down and let the music flow through me.

The venue was sold out, and it sold out about six weeks before the gig. Apparently, people in London are really into Midlake. And what an interesting audience it was. Most of them were in their thirties, possibly, but I sat next to an approx. 10 year old boy accompanied by his mum. He seemed to really like the music.

That's why I can't stop blogging about them. One day, I'm gonna convince you all... ;)

Little Man Tate @ Roadhouse, Manchester

2007-04-27T09:41:00.000+02:00

To celebrate the release of their latest single this must be love, little man tate played a free set in the roadhouse manchester, my new highly favoured venue in this music city on the 29th march. It is a small place, and it was packed.

Little Man Tate are a party band, obviously. The front half of the venue was packed with very small, rather "wide" people with a lack of hair, excitedly moshing right from the very first song on. They celebrated the band very much, even though the singers voice was a bit fucked up ("I sound like a twat", he said throughout the set). But Little Man Tate had been touring the continent before for quite a while. This left the singer with a weak voice, and the whole band with the excitement of "playing back home". Interestingly, my company had seen them live in Berlin a week before and said the gig was totally different. People had been listening rather politely, and the songs sounded quite different. I guess Little Man Tate just belong to a way different league in their home country.
It sucks, but I'll mention their music only quickly: Very good. very catchy rock songs, with loads of melodies.

this must be love

gig update

2007-04-27T09:37:00.000+02:00

I shall announce that I have been very busy going to gigs over the past few weeks, and blog posts will follow very soon!

look forward to reading reviews of
- little man tate
- midlake
- herman dune
and
- nicole willis and the soul investigators

Discopunk !

2007-04-06T11:30:00.000+02:00

I have been at an "Indietronic"-Festival yesterday and had an amazing load of fun. Two bands where especially great:

First "The Plectrons", a band of four 19-year-old schoolkids with some great indie-behaviour, classic rock-setup (drums, bass, two guitars) and alot of kicking funk in the music. Taking the fact that they are yet to finish school I really see a great future for them. Check their myspace page.

The other band was "So So Modern" from New Zealand, cute costumes, live drums, guitars and a huge synth-rig infront of every member, which makes an amazing mix of dirty synthlines and blaring powerchords. I really hope to see them live again sometime in the future. Check their myspace-page.

It was great to get a truckload of this strange music I keep calling "Discopunk" and I am now officially a fan of two rockbands. Who'd h' thought, ey ?

Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators

2007-03-22T10:45:00.000+01:00

You are about to listen to something plainly beautiful. Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators' album Keep Reachin' Up. The incredients are quite extraordinary, though:

This is Northern Soul, somehow. But it is from "the other north": Finland.

This was not released in 1966. It was produced in 2006.

Apparently the band won every soul award there is last year. Not only for the great music, but surely also because everybody was so excited about the fact that there is a bunch of young people making a record full of kitchen soul. It was about time.

myspace

homepage

foals house party

2007-03-07T13:16:00.000+01:00

Friday, 2nd March, left me with the most packed party I've ever been to so far.

About 70 people squashed into the living room of an ordinary english house, and another 200 or so in the rest of the building, piling up in the hallway and on the stairs. We all came to see foals, an uprising british band who had a very nice idea: Free gigs at house parties. They are on tour around the UK at the moment, and told their myspace friends to let them now if they wanted them to perform in their city when they were there. And in Manchester, it did happen. After playing a gig for the public in the night and day cafe they packed their instruments and headed down to the house party. We all were eagerly awaiting them. Excitement was so high, and I knew that evening was gonna be special when, for the first time in my life, I was offered E. (Amazing, 4 years of clubbing in Berlin and no one ever want to sell me anything, but at my first party in smiley rave city I did not have to wait anz longer than five minutes). I don't do drugs, though, just so you know!

The band arrived around midnight (who knows...) and we all had to make room for them to bring their instruments into the living room. after that, the great pushing began, lots of people wanted to see them. I managed to get instead the room. It was so packed, a pin could not have dropped on the floor. I do not really remember how long their set was, it felt quite short, though, and left everybody so sweaty that people stuck to each other.

A very nice night out!

Stan Flashman

2007-02-18T12:35:00.000+01:00

Football almost is music, isn't it?

This is an interesting article I found on wikipedia:

Stan Flashman (born 1930 in East London, died December 1999 in Ilford) was known for many years as a ticket tout who claimed he could obtain tickets for almost anything.

In 1985 he took over as chairman of struggling Barnet Football Club who were heading towards receivership. Buying the club cost him just £50,000. Almost immediately the team improved and, with Barry Fry as manager, Barnet won the Conference and promotion to the Football League in 1991. Despite Fry's success as manager, he and Flashman had their differences and Fry was regularly sacked and then reinstated by Flashman.

He resigned as chairman in 1993 after they had narrowly avoided bankruptcy and expulsion from the Football League.

In 1995, Barnet goalkeeper, coach and manager Gary Phillips said of Flashman, "A lot of people knock Stan and I had my runs ins with him as much as anyone but at the end of the day he did save the place once. When he was good he was very, very, generous, and most of the time he looked after the lads well. Unfortunately when it went sour he, maybe, could have handed things a lot better." (Gary Phillips testimonial, May 8, 1995).

Flashman died of a heart attack in December 1999 at the age of 69.

read the wiki-entry here

What is intersting here is the very first paragraph. A tout who can get tickets for almost everything? How come he can? Where does he get them? If he can, how can I contact him? How much did he earn doing this?

And why is nobody making a feature movie out of this?

Happy Birthday

2007-02-18T11:23:00.000+01:00

With all these homemade happy birthday videos on youtube, I decided not to make another one, but rather put up these instead

this one's for the cats:

Too bad there was no god version of Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday to be found, but the last one pretty much does the deal, anyway! It's the other way round, but the blessings are just what I feel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

weekender

2007-02-11T22:39:00.000+01:00

FLOWERED-UP - WEEKENDER

this video from the very early nineties (91, i think) just really struck me recently. not only is it a nice overview of the british baggy/rave culture, but also kind of anticipates lauryn hill's everything is everything

and whoever claimed that mr chris cunningham was oh so brave to be the first to include final credits in a music video?

cooking beats beats cooking

2007-02-03T11:03:00.000+01:00

Click the empty space above, something is wrong with the preview window.

01 midlake - the trials of van occupanther

2007-01-18T19:05:00.000+01:00

01 midlake - the trial of van occupanther

the number-one-without-a-doubt record

it was about time i posted my number one record of 2006. midlake have been written about in this blog twice already: here, and here. i cannot do anything else but recommend them. this record was the soundtrack to my summer, fall and winter. listen to them on myspace. and go out and buy the record. enough said, words cannot descrive this, anyway.

plus: lots of videos by user worldsfair on youtube.

More Timbaland

2007-01-15T21:21:00.000+01:00

Whoops, so this blog got alot of attention from different websites. Thanx for that.

A few more things about this whole timbaland vs. tempest thing from me.

First of all, I am quite qualified to talk about this. I entered the scene some 15 years ago, first did some musics and graphics on the C64, later bought a PC and made music there.
So when I talk about C64-Arpeggios, I know what I am talking about.

Also I had an email discussion with Ronnie from rekkerd.org today which made me think about a few more aspects of this.

I am meanwhile absolutely convinced that timbaland ripped this track from tempest and/or GRG. Thats that. Those videos prove it for me. I mean, you never hear C64-Style arpeggios somewhere in Chart-Music and all of a sudden timbaland comes around with a beat which sounds so much like this track, this aint chance or coincidence. And even if it's not a perfect fit, doesnt matter, I guess the least that timbaland can do is chop stuff up a little bit.

Now, I spent the better part of the day reading around the net about this thing and it seems that on one hand alot of sceners or close-to-the-scene people are outraged while some non-sceners don't see the point.
You can read comments everywhere like "it was on the net for free, so whats the fuzz", "sounds like some crap-midi-file anyway" and so on and so forth.

The point is simply : It doesnt matter. Tempest made the track, and in the second he started the track he gained the copyright for it. This is the same thing all over the world. Do something of artistic value and it's yours. And just because he put it out as freeware doesn't mean anyone can rip it up or sample it. The only thing he gave up by releasing this as freeware is the right to charge people for listening to it.

Secondly, those stupid claims "hiphop is always about sampling". Yes I know. My music is samplebased too. I do know quite alot about sampling and how to do it and all. I keep a list of artists/tracks I sampled from, should the day come that I can make money with my tracks, I will pay for clearance.
And if you sample from artists from the industry, you normally have to pay alot. Which makes sense, really. Black Eyed Peas surely paid alot to Sergio Mendes to make this track they recently did. Because the track is nothing without that Sergio Mendes Sample.
You pay less if you sample some half second and put it back in the background, so the sample is not that important and all.
But all in all, the way should be like "hey, I love this sound of yours, used it in a track of mine
and now I will give you some of the money I earn with this track because without your sound my track would not have been possible this way." Every artist in the biz is very uptight about this and their copyrights and will go after you if you violate that.

And what do we have in this case ? Some frigging 8-bar loops which make up the whole song. If Tempest was in the biz he would get about 95% of the money this track generates, for sure.
But, and here is the point, he is only a "geek" who put up his "music for free on the net anyway".
All that timbaland did was adding some drums. Anyone with abit of musical knowledge and a cracked Fruity Loops can do this.
And that is the frigging point. The major portion of that track is done by Tempest/GRG. It's nice that Timbaland likes the sound and uses the samples, but pay for it and name your source, for christs sake. And share the better part of the money with those artists, because this track would not have been without those two people. Show some respect. (Thats the word all those HipHops are mumbling about all the time).

I would love to know what would have happened if tempest made a track using a (however small) sample from timbaland and got some attention for that.

In the scene rippers are considered people with low morale and respect, in the real world they make millions and get interviews for being such kick-ass producers. This sucks.

I seriously hope that tempest gets the money and backup he needs to sue Timbaland and/or Geffen Records, because I am afraid otherwise they will just sit this one out.

Timbaland rips

2007-01-15T10:33:00.000+01:00

There is currently alot of buzz on the net about Timbaland having ripped portions of a freeware C64 song without giving credits, let alone any money.

If it's true (and it seems to be) then this is a real shock, a successful producer like timbaland stealing from other people... Those people tend to rip your head off if you sample more than three milliseconds of their work, seems they take it much easier the other way around.

The facts about this read like this :

In 2000 Tempest does a MOD called "acid jazzed evening". A MOD is an Amiga-Music file, Amiga being the old computer (you probably played around with one of those if you are close to 30).
A while later someone called GRG converted this track into a SID-File (having asked tempest for permission beforehand), SID being the soundchip of the old C64-Computer (yet again, if you are close to 30, you probably had some fun with this one).

In 2006 the new Nelly Furtado album produced by Timbaland contains a song called "do it", which is apparently built around the SID-Conversion of "acid jazzed evening". In the liner-notes he claims full credit for this song. No hint of any other artist involved.

There is a great Youtube-Video around comparing these two songs :

Another video about a ringtone he released in 2005 :

I am very convinced about this, basically because of one thing : You can clearly hear the arpeggios of the C64 Track in that Nelly Furtado Track. "Arpeggio" is a musical term describing the style of splitting up a chord and playing the individual notes in fast succession, in "real" music its done on guitars or harps, in electronic music this is something very popular in trance music. However, a very distinctive style of arpeggios can be hard in alot of MOD and SID Files where they are done in a very special technical way (you can't even determine a real notelength for each small note). I do not know alot of real hardware or software synth that can do those kind of arpeggios, you need a real or emulated C64/Amiga for this (and have to know how to work these, too). (Edit: As was revealed meanwhile Timbaland has a "SID-Station" in his Studio, a Synthesizer built upon the Soundchip of the C64. Which is capable of playing tunes like the one from GRG...)

The point of all this is simply that even a big-ass producer like timbaland does seem to confuse the term "freeware" with "free to do anything with". If I put out music for free on the net like the MOD and SID files mentioned above, I still hold the copyrights to it and no one is allowed to abuse that stuff. It's just my decision not to charge any money for listening to it. It's strange that someone who is surely very uptight about his own copyrights does not care about other artists copyrights.

And I know that HipHop has always been about sampling, but there has been a "culture" about paying royalties for sampled material for some decades now, and thats for a good reason. Seems those vultures now start to grab their melodies and stuff from people who can't defend themselves. (Neither tempest nor grg will go to court with this, because as someone stated "it's a suicide mission to trial geffen records, or any other major for that matter.")

To this date, neither Timbaland nor Geffen Records have issued an official statement nor tried to contact tempest or GRG.

Part2 of this post with some more thoughts.

Links :

There is a discussion going on on the somethingawful.com-forums with some more in-depth background information.

A page on pelulamu gathering links and information about the subject (thanx for linking us).

Some more info on ukscene.

The digg-page about this with comments from tempest himself.

Def Sounds (an american Hiphop-Mag) catched on to the whole story.

Finally, the official ringtone which sounds very, very much like the original SID-File.

My Record of the Year

2007-01-06T09:05:00.000+01:00

This may sound utterly stupid to some people, but after going through some "official" 2006-top-album lists I realized that there is only one record that came out this year that I was spinning more than a few times, and that is "St. Elsewhere" by Gnarls Barkley. Oh, I love that one. Playful, sloppy beats mixed with lyrics that are great and sound like they have been written five minutes before the actual recording started. Since my sister already covered that one I won't write any more about it.

(I actually had some other records in mind but had to realize they all came out 2005).

I didn't like The Knife (actually had a small discussion with TBA about it, somehow I can't get into those cold electronics done by the people up north, just doesnt appeal to me), I am utterly bored with todays (Indy)-Rock music (I rather listen to some 60s/70s beat/rock/psych/prog, for me thats the real deal), I still can't get a finger on that (probably non-existing) phenomena called "Disco-Punk" and HipHop remained either the disgusting sexistic bullshit or the boring, uncreative intro-sampling "take a hit, make a hit"-shit it has been for a while now.

There have been some great tracks I loved in the dance scene this year (Robosonic - "Yasmin" (coconut wireless remix), Palermo Disko Machine - "Pump", Buscemi - Jazz Jumper, 1200 Beats - "Run it Dub" just fall into my mind), but sadly the clubs in my hometown keep up their love for minimal techno-stuff and those are tracks I listened to at home.

But basically in 2006 I just unplugged from modern music even more. I guess I did miss some great stuff because no-one told me about or I simply refused to listen (TBA is still trying all the time, hehe), but I was occupied with other music.
I spent my year listening to more of the 60s and 70s, jazz, soundtracks, disco, got alot of those old eastern-european records I love so much (jazz, funk, pop, you name it) and really started to get more into classic and contemporary classic music (like with synths and stuff, from the (you guessed it) 70s).

I really don't know if it's true what someone told me a few days ago in a bar, that art in general literally came to a standstill in the past years, lets see what the new 2007 brings.
But one of the reasons why I love 60s/70s music in general so much is simply the fact that back then all those musicians gathered together in a studio and started playing together whereas today with computers and stuff nearly all music, even the classic "band-on-stage" rock music gets recorded with each member of the band playing their parts alone in the studio, often recorded in "takes" and then cut and looped and modified to "fit". The magic of musicians interacting and playing together and with each other just isn't happening anymore. I don't know any recent tracks that made me listen closely to the way the bass-player in the background suddenly starts freaking out during the bridge (stiletto main theme), the way the drummer keeps varying his breaks all trough the song (warren schatz - "I need your smile") and I don't the goosebumps I get when in some 70s Bert Kaempfert song suddenly a string quartet starts playing some incredibly emotional chords. Maybe I am getting old. Sigh.

02 roy budd - get carter ost (1971)

2007-01-03T08:47:00.000+01:00

02 roy budd - get carter soundtrack (1971)

the get carter soundtrack, written by the film composer roy budd, was given to me by my brother in 2005 already. i enjoyed it from the start, but grew to love it even more in 2006. this is 70's jazz music, becoming very groovy at times. the record is a mix of calm, quiet tracks which sometimes have a psychedelic twist to them, and loud danceable funk songs, often with female vocals. it's hard finding videos for this one, but i'll drop in some wherever i can.

for a roy budd bio, i had to check allmusic.com, because i didnt know anything about him. well, apparently he was somewhat of a musical prodigy, teaching himself how to play the piano by ear before the age of six and started to work as a full-time professional musician when he was 16. most of the records he did were scores. allmusic says that get carter was his most-appreciated one.

the opening sequence of the movie with the opening theme gives a good idea of how roy budd's music sounds:

in case you find the music a bit too lame, keep in mind that the whole score was written to fulfil the purpose of accompanying the pictures. in the end of the video, you can hear a very short bit of looking for someone, another track of this album.

as i said before, the record can be divided into what could be "regular" tracks and what are called "themes". the main title theme, get carter, appears quite a few times throughout the cd. the intro itself is a version of it, too.

you can listen to the main version here:

i guess that this is one of the things i really like about this record: it's not a bundle of individual songs that you listen to in a row. instead, you got themes popping up again now and then like reccurring ideas, or different strings of a movie plot.
also worth mentioning is that the theme songs are by no means shorter than the other ones, which makes get carter quite a long-lasting experience.

and here's how the "classical" songs work:

one of my favourite songs is getting nowhere in a hurry. you can listen to it on myspace. in fact, all four tracks on the profile page are from the get carter soundtrack.

my definite number one track hallucinations i couldnt find anywhere, though. there is an okay remix version made for this youtube video:

it gets quite close to the original idea of the song, but unfortunately it is based on the instrumental. the vocal track underlines the structure of the song, makes it even more dreamy and weary. imaging these lines sung over the music slowly, very carefully:

"hallucinations
strange sensations
hallucinations
mind creation
why do i, why do i
try to fly to the sky

hallucinations
send me drifting
...
what i feel isn't real
am i lost? double-crossed

earth, sea, sun, sky
the world beneath my feet
slipping by"

only records number one gets more mystical.

03 the animal five - the animal five (2006)

2006-12-28T11:50:00.000+01:00

03 the animal five - the animal five ep (2006)

the having-so-much-fun record

the animal five is not really a full album, rather an ep, with six songs on it. not bad to have such a short record, after all this meant i could listen to it even more often!
to start your very first release with a song line like "you keep on begging for more" is a very posh thing to do. may i be reminded of oasis' debut phrase "tonight i'm a rock'n'roll star". but naming it spareparts instead of rock'n'roll star gives the whole thing an ironic twist (given that my assumption on an oasis-animal five connection is there at all, which obviously isn't very likely). how humble to ask for "only spareparts". this first song has what defines the animal five for me: melodies, a crazy singer, and the energy to really play with the guitars.

this one, sharks, was released as a single. i really like it, but the cream of the crop is the next one, sonic sea. you can listen to it on the animal five's myspace page. i can't really explain why, but it just moves me. is it because of the viking-esque male choir? or how the singer martin von inghardt squeezes so many lyrics in so little notes. or the fact that i interpret it as a song about music? what do you think? look for the answer here

i am waiting for the day when i'll hear pixiedust included in a dj set. it should get every indie kid on the dancefloor, when lyrically it's already hinting at next day's hangover. i've praised i love myself for hating you as "song title 2006" before, and now it officially gets the award. and i couldn't conclude this review any better than with the song title of the last track: live fast die old. listen to it, it's over, listen to it again, it never gets old.

btw: i was told the animal five got their name because the rolling stones mentioned them as one of their favourite bands, back then in the 60s or so. and well, the stones are not in this years' list, so guess which band i think is better..

04 cocorosie - la maison de mon reve (2004)

2006-12-27T23:44:00.000+01:00

04 cocorosie - la maison de mon reve (2004)

'oooh, cocorosie...' seems to be the normal reaction from everyone who has heard their music. cocorosie wrap you in their music, they put you in a dreamy state and make you feel dizzy and stoned without drugs.
when i listened to them, i wondered how someone could come up with music as fragile as this and yet be so strong and humourous. i wondered why there had been a time in my life when i disliked female voices and it's own sensuous touch. cocorosie's songs are like carefully constructed swings that look instable, but when you ride them you can reach heights you never reached before. their fragileness and the open-hearted lyrics actually prevent vulnerability. the vulnerability i would have expected from girls making music like this.
to the songs: by your side is a perfect example of what i like about cocorosie. you've got this sporadic, yet unignorable beat, a beautiful melody and lots of extra sounds. squeaks, clangs, chirps with a voice like glass. yet the lyrics are far away from being naive schoolgirls' dreams, are rather extremely ironic:

"i'll be the best girl you'd ever meet
and for a diamond ring
i'll do these kinds of things
i'll scrub your floor
never be a bore
i'd tuck you in
i do not snore
i'd wear your black eyes
bake you apple pies
i won't ask whys
and i try not to cry
i'll always be by your side
even when you're down and out
i'll always be by your side
even when you're down and out
and its nearly midnight
and all i want with my life
is to be a housewife"

not convinced yet? how about these lyrics from jesus loves me:

"jesus loves me
but not my wife
not my nigger friends
or their nigger lives
but jesus loves me
dat for sure
'cause the bible tell me so"

(nevermind the video, i don't think it is an official one)

this is a fan video for not for sale:

05 tom tom club - tom tom club (1981)

2006-12-27T19:19:00.000+01:00

05 tom tom club - tom tom club (1981)

the inspiration record

unbelievable that this record was released in 1981. it sounds so fresh. hiphop beats, a female rapper, sing-along melodies. this is a good mood record, a well-made one. a friend and i honestly thought about forming a pop-group when we listened to this record. if we made music, it should sounds like this, we decided.
the record hits you already with the intro of the first song, wordy rappinghood, a rant about communication.
'ramta tamtam ramtamtam...'
ignore the video, the audience's clapping and the host's stupid words (!) and enjoy how the singer emphasises the lyrics:

genius of love conveys the impression of being really badly produced. the whole songs sounds low-fi and not well mixed. yet it is very inventive, there is so much going on in this song.

wordy rappinghood and genius of love may be the two catchiest songs, but the rest of the album is similar. tom tom club is the kind of stuff that you need before you go out or when you party at home. sounds like i had a lot of parties this year. ;)

06 jens lekman - oh you're so silent jens (2005)

2006-12-25T23:10:00.000+01:00

06 jens lekman - oh you're so silent jens (2005)

the a-flirt-to-come-back-to record

i got into jens lekman because pocketful of money was on a mixtape i got. I didn't instantly recognise this song's beauty, but one day at work it totally hit me. I had to press play again and lekman's gorgeous voice filled the shop with warmth. Then the girl who had made the mixtape for me and i discussed him. So here come the (very random) facts: jens lekman, living in göteborg, sweden, 25 years of age, loves music and travelling, gives away his music for free on his website, keeps a blog about music that outshines this one here. jens lekman and i had a short flirt this summer, but recently i put his record on again, and i think it is one of those that you don't listen to regularly, but will come back to every once in a while for a very long time. Read more here where i wrote about him before.

07 professor pez - we found the beach, where is the ocean (2005)

2006-12-24T21:16:00.000+01:00

07 professor pez - we found the beach, where is the ocean (2005)

the from-zero-to-hundred-
in-eight-months record

professor pez is a special case, and a hard one indeed. i did not at all like we found the beach, where is the ocean when i got it back in february/march. i had lots of trouble with the singer's voice, something that thankfully has been confirmed by another extensive listener. sometimes i still do not feel that comfortable with it. yet i gave the record a few spins and the chance to find its way into my musical memory. i realised this when suddenly i woke up with imperial airwaves playing in my mind or when the perfect test became my earworm for a whole week. there even was a song i instantly liked: steady amputations was so damn catchy it did get hold of my right at the very first time i heard it. what i love about professor pez is the lightness with which they create great melodies, the playfulness of their songs and arrangements, and the fact that they are an adorably bunch of young people – creative, intelligent, not at all made-up musicians playing the games of the record industry. these guys deserve not stardom, but praise for the fact that they love to make music. And hell, my wish for 2007 would be the chance to see them live on stage – either in bergen, where they come from, or because of a german release of their material.

the perfect test video. the ninjas are a norwegian bunch of people who call themselves new age ninjas:

08 the whitest boy alive - dreams (2006)

2006-12-23T23:27:00.000+01:00

08 the whitest boy alive - dreams (2006)

the love-at-first-sight-and-not
-even-the-slightest-doubt-before record

a record fof the category „i would never have discovered on my one". It was a present by a smart friend, the kind of friends that make a note somewhere in their mind when you say things like „i think erlend oye has one the greatest voices ever." and then they give you his latest record, a project called the whitest boy alive. A record that sounds like a unity. cosy, but danceable at the same time, with oye's voice very present in the foreground. I obviously share my favour with lots of other people: myspace is full of whitest boy alive fans, music press adores him. And this is very much a berlin thing. erlend oye, who put the musical world in awe with his band kings of convience and their records quiet is the new loud (2001) and riot on an empty street (2004), moved from bergen, norway to berlin in to become a dj at the club wmf. From there he made it into all sorts of music and arts magazines all over the world and onto the wall of the loo of my current favourite astro bar:

pencil: „... ?? ... be quiet"
blue writing: „quiet is the new loud"
black writing: „riot on an empty street"

ok, not that funny, but quite striking after three beers.

this live recording of burning gives a good impression of the sound and the people's love:

09 los lobos - ???

2006-12-23T09:29:00.000+01:00

09 los lobos - ???

the unknown record

i have no idea which los lobos record to put here. basically because i don't really know any los lobos record. the ride is quite good. it's from 2004 and it has a lovely version of bobby womack's across 110th street on it. someday from just another band from east l.a. is a killer track. i found it on the love song for bobby long soundtrack last year. what i like about los lobos is not a certain track or a certain album, but mainly the fact that i like their music at all. two years ago i would probably have neglected these mexican vibed sounds with partially spanish vocals. i didnt expect this, but i fell for them, instantly. i'm gonna listen to los lobos more frequently, more systematically. come back here to read more next year!

down on the riverbed:

10 postal service - give up (2003)

2006-12-23T01:40:00.000+01:00

10 the postal service - give up (2003)

the gonna-need-this-kind-of-

shit-for-the-rest-of-my-life record

because i listened to death cab for cutie's plans already in 2005 and because i listened to it extensively when i was unhappily in love (so it has this bad taste to it now) i'd rather want the postal service's give up in this list. the music is similar, but more electronical, more dreamy, less guitar. give up is not as good as death cab for cutie's plans, though. On plans i love every single song, am able to recall every single melody. give up is not that catchy. But i have ben gibbard's voice stroking my ear drums with lyrics just as sensitive and poetic as those on plans:

'tells your new friends
i am a visitor here
I am not permanent'

(the district sleeps alone tonight)

'they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay'
(such great heights)

'i want so badly to believe
that there is truth and love is real
and I want life in every word
to the extent that it's absurd'
(clark gable)

that's how you feel when you feel lonely, that how i feel when i yearn for something i don't know what it is. these songs, the district sleeps alone tonight, such great heights and clark gable are just randomly picked examples, the whole record is soo good.

just like plans, give up was there to lull me into sleep without making me cry, and to make me get out of bed the very next morning (when i put it on again) without making me skip forward to whichever song was my current fave.

This record was given to me by one of the dearest friends i gained this year, to let me know what kind of music he was into. Bingo – me, too. great way to become really good friends.

11 gnarls barkley - st. elsewhere (2006)

2006-12-21T01:30:00.000+01:00

11 gnarls barkley - st.elsewhere (2006)

the must-be-in record

why not start my top ten with a number 11? i made a list of records and ended up with st.elsewhere being the left-over. but hell, this record deserves a place in the hit list. let us start with the facts: crazy, the first single, was the summer song 2006. and righteously so, not only because it is damn catchy and puts everybody in a great mood, but also because it was the first song ever that reached the top of the charts in the uk without any distribution of physical copies of the track. in other words: it got number one only by downloads. make a note in your history books, people!

but what is even more important: gnarls barkley easily keep the standard of crazy throughout the whole record. the intro song go-go gadget gospel is a hymn that sets the pace for the rest of the songs.
gone daddy gone, i had to learn, is a violent femmes cover, one that is in fact quite close to the original version.

smiley faces is my favourite, just a thought the breakbeat ballade and transformer the song with the funny gimmicks. all in all, st. elsewhere is a record that lines up in a row with those of gorillaz or dj shadow. it combines hiphop with breakbeat with pop with soul with dance. we need more music like this. we need more summer songs like these - next year!

smiley faces, video version with a touch of the likes of spinal tap or a mighty wind:

tba's top ten records 2006

2006-12-21T01:28:00.000+01:00

music magazines are full of them, people talk about them in music forums and on christmas parties and i had already planned this one when i started the tba blog in september: my top ten records of 2006. it's not a list of albums released this year – it's a list of records i listened to extensively this year, the oldest one of them released in 1971. records that are part of my year 2006, that i won't ever be able to listen to again without recalling certain things that happened this year – the year, that for me personally was the best i've had so far. i'm trying to explain personal things a bit, aswell. if that's not objective, forgive me, but rankings never are and maybe this makes reading the blog a bit more entertaining.

count down!

Excuse me ?

2006-12-07T14:08:00.000+01:00

In the past months I listened to alot of 60s and 70s funk/soul/blues with female vocalists and got struck a few times by the lyrics, songs about their husband leaving them for the babysitter or the secretary (?), songs about obviously violent alcoholic men they love (??) but the song that popped up in my playlist just a few moments ago hits the can :

Donna McGhee - "Mr. Blindman"

"Mr. Blindman, you're a blind man, come and talk to me".

Wouldnt it be better to walk over to him ?! I mean, if he is blind ...

However, this also brings me to one of the best/worst musicvideos I know : Lionel Richie- "Hello". Enjoy, especially the crazy end.

Gosh, I need to make a house/brokenbeat-mashup of that track. I got it on vinyl, luckily.

Vocal Harmony

2006-12-06T23:10:00.000+01:00

Pandora Radio, a website I like as such, has opened a blog to give non-musicians insight in the history, techniques and process of making music, first podcast being about vocal harmony. Might be quite interesting for everyone loving music but having not much of an idea what it takes. The advertisement-like voice of the narrator sucks abit, but the topic makes that up.

dj me

2006-12-06T21:49:00.000+01:00

i made my debut as a dj last night, when the real dj had to go to the loo. i played three songs. one was a tune by dogdy, the second i dont remember, the third one was cigarettes and alcohol by oasis. i jsimply put the records on the player and faded in when the other one was over. i didnt get the chance to use the headphones because i didnt know how they worked. i counted the people that were in the bar afterwards - there were 21 people listening, bar staff not included. nobody danced, but nobody danced anyway. i think it was mighty sucessful. it was great.

disco punk

2006-12-05T00:24:00.000+01:00

looza is looking for a nice compilation of disco punk, or what we think is called disco punk: electronically remixed, danceable, fashionable rock music. basically guitar sounds mixed with electronic bleeps to get the whole crowd moving.

any recommendations, anyone?

trip to cologne

2006-11-25T14:35:00.000+01:00

last weekend i went to cologne to visit some friends of mine. here's everything music-related that happened to me:

on friday night my friend and i found out that we had missed jimi tenor - who had performed at the stadtgarten cologne on the very same day. i was not sad or so, i had had the opportunity to see him live in berlin, as well. but i like him.

roaming through the streets at night we found a music store selling this:

for whoever might be interested in sounding like eric clapton...

rather nice was to find out there is this bar in cologne:

and to find out you can buy an elvis for your decoration:

well, i also went to a gorgeous party called superconnected in a very nice place, rose club.

my friends also turned me into moloko this weekend, by showing my a video collection and an amazing live dvd.

must try harder

2006-11-23T10:23:00.000+01:00

some trivia.

MUST TRY HARDER: NEVER HAD A UK NUMBER ONE

Band
James Brown
Depeche Mode
Morrissey
Bob Dylan
Public Enemy
The Cure
Basement Jaxx
The Who
Radiohead

Highest UK singles chart position
5 (Living in America, 1986)
4 (People are People, 1984)
3 (You Have Killed Me, 2006)
4 (Like A Rolling Stone, 1965)
16 (He Got Game, 1998)
5 (Lullaby, 1989)
4 (Rendez-Vous, 1994)
2 (I'm A Boy, 1966)
3 (Paranoid Android, 1997)

i took this from dummymag newsletter.

Robosonic Mashup-Mixes

2006-11-21T19:22:00.000+01:00

Recently stumbled over two guys from Berlin called "Robosonic" who are doing minimal electro-tech-stuff as well as playing mash-up-nights all over the world. Their myspace-page offers two sets for download and I urge you to grab those. Mash-up at its best, all from 80s, hiphop, house/tech-stuff over to metal, it's a wild ride.

download set1
download set2

And while you are at it, make friends with them.

tribute records II

2006-11-19T23:52:00.000+01:00

yes, no need to explain anything. the pj harvey tribute cd was just as bad as i expected it to be. but i think i found something even worse:

have a look at this offer:

click on the picture and read the comments, this is entertainment!

tribute records

2006-11-19T23:21:00.000+01:00

a friend of mine is crazy about pj harvey, in the sense of being highly addicted. he has all her cds, some posters, buttons and t-shirts and a 6 dvd collection of music videos, live performances and tv interviews of her.

but i found something in a shop he definitely doesn't have yet: a wacky tribute cd called little fish (no, it is too old to try to make some extra money by a big fish reference). a tribute to polly jean harvey it says in a very cheapish font on a very cheapish version of some portrait of a lady by pablo picasso. (pj - the jumbled artist?). the whole thing is released by doppelganger records - how many more hints do we need to know about how this is gonna sound like?

but let me give you the track list:
01 back burner dress
02 n. titty down by the water
03 army of half wits c'mon billy
04 stretches of the famous send his love to me
05 johnny bic yuri g
06 p.w. (h)ell rid of me
07 mission statement water
08 dork 50ft queenie
09 lucy sheila na gig
10 vee dry

i haven't been listening to it yet, neither did i open the package and have a look at the booklet. but i am already wondering what there is to expect from a band called dork and what kind of polly doppelganger someone called lucy might me.

well, my friend's coming round on tuesday night and we'll give this record a spin. it had cost one euro, i'm sure it'll be worth every penny. i'll keep you updated!

george michael

2006-11-18T15:06:00.000+01:00

i am not in this picture.

i got into george michael in 1996, when he released his "comeback" album older. let me just write a brief history of his musical life to let you understand who george michael actually is:
george michael started his career as one part of the 80's boy band duo wham, which actually weren't that much "boy band" at all. the guys were friends from school, not a casted ensemble, even back then george michael wrote all songs, instead of having a producer doing this for them. they even had two girls, shirley and pepsi , as background singers and dancers, and they were friends and regular members of the band.
george michael wrote careless whisper all by himself, being only 18 years old, and it's not a kitsch-ladden love song, but an attempt to express failure in a relationship, with one amazing sax solo in it.
then he grew up and went solo, becoming one of the most mega-selling artists of the early nineties with his album faith. its sucessor listen without prejudice seems like a renunciation to the music business, and after this record, george michael had to deal with personal struggles.
older is like him rising from the ashes of his old past, a grown-up, mature george michael with songs that were both loved by the audience and the critics. although i made myself familiar with his complete bio and discography later, songs from older, songs like jesus to a child, star people or spinning the wheel still are the cream of the crop for me.

older is one of the ten records i would take with me, if i had to go and spend the rest of my life on a deserted island (you know these kind of mind-games..). so naturally i would have wanted to see him perform live at one time or another. then he stated he would not tour anymore. then he announced his greatest hits tour. i bought my ticket on the very first day they were sold. i waited for months.

i didn't go. i skipped one of my favourit artists for going abroad to see a friend and go to a concert that consisted of a movie and three songs sung by one band i've only recently started to admire and have already seen live this year.

maybe i just don't like these grand mega shows and rather chose a cosy concert instead. what's the point in seeing george michael when, at no time during the concert, i get the chance to smile at him to make him see how much i enjoy his show?
i do not at all regret missing his show. but i thought i'd let you know i am thinking about it nevertheless.

robotron and maria's radio

2006-11-18T13:17:00.000+01:00

yesterday i went to see a friends' friends' band...nobody in our group really knew what they sounded like and what was to be expected. well, nobody would have expected this.

the mentioned band was called maria's radio, apparently a group of friends from school from a surburban area of berlin. this sounds cliche-ish, but they were in fact very good. one singer wore a chapeau clappe and long hair, looking like he just jumped out of one of the latest replay commercials, the other one wore a furry coat, appearing to be a bit more rebellious. the bass player was a cute, very small girl and the second guitar player the afforementioned friends' friend. (i didn't see the drummer). their music had a kind of psychedelic sixties appeal, they even had long blues-ish guitar parts. definitely a band with the potential to release a record!

it's sad the bad things have to be the highlight of this blog, but i just have to write about the band that preceded maria's radio: robotron were suggested as support act by the guitarist of maria's radio, so i was told, and wondering about what had gotten into him was just one of the many things we wondered about last night.
robotron had two people on stage, a guitar player in normal jeans and t-shirt, with the usual indie kid hair-do and, most importantly, a sane behaviour.
his counterpart on vocals was the exact opposite. this guy wore a brown mechanic's overall, a green scarf and bicycle helmet, and extremly big sunglasses. nothing wrong with that, people in recent tv reports about the latest band from nyc look exactly the same. neither did the fact that he took off the helmet to reveal a mullet with shaved parts in it shock me, not at all the fact that under his overall he wore a dirty old singlet with robotron written on it, plus fishnet stockings with an extremely short glittering mini skirt. i actually do respect that, having the guts to perform like this, in a small bar in front of very few people who were all square in the "we-are-fucking-cool"-way of thinking.
the thing that bothered me, and seemingly everybody else, was that their music was just so bad! every song consisted of guitar sounds, which, would they have been played with a "band", would actually have shown talent. but here we had those guitar sounds alone, without any consistency or change in rhythm, very sporadically accompanied by one or two hits on an electronical drum device (the singer, apparently, had no sense of rhythm). he started his performance with screaming loudly: "aaaaaah". and it was not like he tried to make this fit the melody or rhythm of the music, he simply, monotonously screamed. lyrics, when there were any, were impossible to understand. but i do recall they did a cover version of the kinks' you really got me.
a clever idea it was, actually, to offer figs to make the audience come closer to the stage, but how stupid it was to throw it at them later.
the whole show lasted about 45 minutes and i can't tell how many song they played, because each and every single on of them really sounded exactly the same.

robotron and maria's radio were like different poles last night and it actually is a shame that the second band was very good, but the first one will be subject of a story i can tell for the rest of my life.

music to read: lost in music

2006-11-05T16:07:00.000+01:00

i am currently reading lost in music by giles smith - a british guy who grew up in the 70s and played in some bands but never really became successful. it's an autobiographical story about his various encounters with pop music.

a very funny episode, roughly translated from my mind:

when i was about 14 or 15, in the mid-seventies, my older brother asked me to play in the band he was currently in because they had dropped their keyboarder. after a while we thought about letting our third brother join as well, but realised this would be too weird - we might become a band that only consists of brothers, like the jackson 5. my mom fooled around one morning at the breakfast table, saying we should name our band 'the smiths'. our response was a short laugh, followed by "we don't think there will ever be a band that could be successful with a name like the smiths..."

Laurent Garnier in my Hometown

2006-11-03T11:43:00.000+01:00

Laurent Garnier is DJing in my hometown this saturday and I would love to go there, but ... The club where this is going to happen is not very big and they anticipate alot of possible visitors, which leads to the crazy situation that there is currently a kind of lottery for the sheer possibility to buy tickets. You need to write them an email and then get an answer if you are allowed to come by on saturday and buy a ticket. Which is way too much hassle for me, also this means that the club will be packed with people and the evening will not be too pleasant.

However, this is kinda disappointing for me because I would really love to see him. For years now I did stay away from evenings with "famous" DJs or "famous" musicians DJing in clubs because I had a few rather boring nights which is especially bad if you pay alot of money. The problem is basically that they are mostly not better or different from most other DJs, sometimes they are even worse.
There are only a few people left that I would really pay alot of money to see DJing, those include DJ Koze, DJ Shadow, RJD2, Bad Boy Bill and a few other. Laurent Garnier is on that list too, but it seems I will just pass on that opportunity.

midlake live at mudd club berlin

2006-10-27T10:21:00.000+02:00

i think it's been mentioned quite a few times on here that midlake is my current favourite band, and that i can't get enough of their album the trial of van occupanther (released this june). i catched the record right back then after reading a review and have been waiting ever since to hear those great songs performed live - waiting for yesterday, when they performed at the mudd club berlin.

midlake had two support bands with them. the first one was a singer/songwriter called robert gomez, who had a five-piece band with him. physically, they looked a lot like what i expected from midlake on stage: drums, keyboard, bass, guitar - and a violin. their music though wasn't really moving me.

the second support act was fionn regan, one guy with an acoustic guitar and a little help from the drums, and this worked out perfectly. his songs were extremly catchy and the lyrics very smart. one could compare fionn regan with jose gonzales, only with a more beautiful voice and humour and entertainment added.

even before midlake started their gig, they impressed me with all the instruments they brought on stage. five guys on four keyboard stands (with 6 keyboards) and a selection of at least 7 guitars guaranteed the right sound, but had one disadvantage: the atmosphere suffered from that. while it was wonderful to hear the songs and see midlake do their best to make them as atmospheric and eccentric as they are on the album, the pauses between songs, when they plugged out and plugged in guitars, always brought me back into reality.
but of course i'm not gonna blame them for stopping songs once in a while (singer tim smith said this probably was the show with the most technical difficulties ever).

they played all my favourite songs. started with they cannot let it expand, threw in young bride really early, played a fabulous balloon maker and then drifted into songs from their first album bamnan and slivercork, which i think most of the audience (including me) were not that familiar with. everybody except the drummer switched places and the show became more calm then, but kicked back in with the trial of van occupanther songs, which are more energetic than the ones from bamnan and slivercork. it was a collection of my favourite pieces saved for the last minutes of the gig: roscoe, bandits and head home.

chasing after deer, a very laid back acoustic encore closed the set and now i turn back to the record again, one of the most beautiful records i've discovered this year. the live experience added a different perspective to it, and i can't wait for a new record with a tour that brings out all the best of midlake.

Gregory Sylvester Coleman is dead

2006-10-26T14:44:00.000+02:00

Gregory Sylvester Coleman was the Drummer of the "The Winstons", a funk band which did the Song "Amen Brother", which is the source of the "Amen Break", the Standard-Break for Drum and Bass, all sorts of electronic -Core music, early Hiphop and so on.

Although I am personally fed up with this break for nearly a decade now and even did an "Amen"-Diss in one of my older tracks, it definately is a very important piece of audio in the world of music.

Watch this video if you want to know more about it.

RIP.

Very nice.

2006-10-12T16:22:00.000+02:00

A Link

2006-10-12T08:11:00.000+02:00

Yep, I am busy too at the moment, but I do have an exceptionally great link for you :

The Top100 Musicvideos of all Time.

Lots of videos I didn't know about and the best thing is that they have a youtube link to every single entry in the list. Have fun spending some time watching those.

And first place is very well deserved.

sometimes i just cant get my head around this

2006-10-11T17:23:00.000+02:00

due to the fact that the university i study at is currently having a lot of fun sending me from secretary to secretary and telling me all sorts of crazy stuff about whether i can take a certain test or not, i have absolutely no time writing anything here. and i am just not capable of thinking about anything than party propaganda, mass media of the 15th century and illocutinary speech acts.

i am very sorry, but there will be nothing going on in this blog for at least two weeks, unless my dear looza writes something (don't feel obliged, i know you are busy, too).

depending on the degree of madness in my brain after these two weeks time i'll go on posting about nice music later or will probably just rant about ringtones being soo much better than real music. let's hope this won't happen..

hopefully, posts about the reception of music as part of a cultural heritage and about klaus renft, one of former gdr's most frequently forbidden musicians, who died very recently, will follow..

my current favourite song: jens lekman - pocketful of money

2006-10-05T23:44:00.000+02:00

jens lekman is a solo artist from gothenburg, sweden. being only 25 years old, he has already released a nice amount of albums and compilations. the good thing about him is that he is seeing the whole music business in a very relaxed way: 'If you like my music , please buy my records or download them legally' he writes on his webpage, but he also offers links for free downloads.

this page, however, is worth looking at once in a while, because he keeps on adding thoughts about his music and his life on the road. it's almost like a blog of it's on.

the song that got me into him about two months ago is pocketful of money, to be found on the 2005 compilation oh you're so silent, jens.
starting with finger-snapping and a piano, gently accompanied by bass, this song slowly turns into a hymn with brass and vocals in two voices. it's one of these songs that catch you right when you're listening to it for the first time, and then creates this certain feeling of desire and yearning every time you hear it.

the fastest way for you to listen to it now would be to follow this link.

here are the lyrics:

i got my pockets full of money
i'm gonna spend it all tonight
i got my pockets full of money
i'm gonna spend it all tonight

i hold my salary
i'm gonna set it to flames
on some girl i just met recently
i barely know her name

oh take me some place decent
where we meet up with true friends
where the people are pleasant
where the music never ends
where the music never ends

i can say that you are pretty
that would make me a liar
but you turn my legs to spaghetti
and set my heart on fire

you set my heart on fire
you set my heart on fire
you set my heart on fire

i'll come running with a heart on fire
...

you set my heart on fire
...

Mixed Tapes ?

2006-10-04T19:26:00.000+02:00

Who still got tapes anyway ?
Well, actually I finally dug out my bag of old tapes while moving and plan to digitalize all the old crap that is still worth listening (like old techno-mixtapes from as far back as 92/93 ... big up to DJ Ten (who sold his tapes for 10 bucks back then ... total ripoff.))

However, to hijack the idea I just want to give you this link to some mixsets (big difference) of mine on xstreamist.com

Better grab those mixes while they are up there, there will be a total exchange of mixes there soon (because I can use only 200mb).

I am currently working on some bigger text about sampling. And todays rockmusic compared to old rockmusic. And some rant about indyrock. And whatever falls into my mind when I finally have time again.

mixtapes

2006-10-03T22:17:00.000+02:00

this is a mixtape:

and this is mixed tape:

mixtapes:

every music lover likes getting them as much as creating some to give away. they are supposed to be mix of favourite artists and songs and some recently dicovered stuff, a broad overview of what you like.

i wanna show you what i listen to on a lazy day, as today was the german national holiday and that meant staying at home. i was 'hedgehogging' today, meaning i didn't go out and didn't talk to anyone on the phone. i rather listened to great music and thought of loved ones today - instead of communicating with them.

this is my mixtape:

01 dj shadow - gdmfsob (unklesounds edit)
02 the ramones - i wanna live
03 the innocence mission - when mac was swimming
04 ian brown - lovebug (acoustic version)
05 midlake - balloon maker
06 unkle - lonely souls (unklesounds edit)
07 flunk - morning star
08 noel gallagher - teotihuacan
09 karen dalton - something's on your mind
10 professor pez - stealin' sneakers (demo)
11 sgt. petter - honky tonk rose
12 madonna vs. ian brown - fear of music
13 blue oyster cult - (don't fear) the reaper
14 the cardigans - lovefool (dance mix)

i shouldn't actually post it here, because mixtapes are there to be given away, and i don't wanna spoil the anticipation. but you receiving this one, you know who you are and i hope you're looking forward to listening to no. 12 ;-)

tba on tour update

2006-10-02T22:59:00.000+02:00

not so many concerts coming up, but i will be here:
**Oct 26th MIDLAKE, Mudd Club, Berlin

--> my momentarily favourites (listen to songs here - click on open menu, then on media)

a texan band that uses lots of nature-like images of hunting and hiking for their beautiful songs.

and:
**Nov 06th GEORGE MICHAEL, Velodrom Berlin

--> all-time fave, and something that's surely gonna be fun!

read comments here after the gigs!

international music day

2006-10-01T20:37:00.000+02:00

today, october the first, is international music day. it was introduced in 1975, by lord yehudi menuhin, then president of the international music council. it's purpose is to arise awareness for the promotion of all sorts of musical art among the society.

what's this?
well, bon jovi maybe took this idea a bit too far by producing a collection of goods for babies called rockstar collection. have a look at prams, furniture and jewellery for kids, designed by jon bon jovi and tico torres, here or here.

nevertheless, the promotion of music is exactly what this blog is trying to achieve ;-)

so let's celebrate!

a record of love: ian brown's solarized

2006-09-30T14:51:00.000+02:00

one of my all-times favourite artists is ian brown. ian brown started his career in the 80's as the singer of the groundbreaking mancunian band the stone roses. he started a solo career when the roses split in 1995 and has released four records since, plus one best of cd.

his last regular release solarized is the record this post is going to be about.

let's have a look at the songs one by one:

01 longsight M13

the opener is a love song to ian's home. Longsight, with the ward code (a ward is an electoral district used in local politics, mainly in england) M13, is the district were he grew up. this is were he met the stones roses' guitarist john squire and where they recorded their first, self-titled record. the lyrics praise longsight in this particular part:

let the stars shine on
until the break of dawn
let the stars shine on
and let her move, move like a queen
of Longsight M13

in various interviews, ian brown stated this song is about an inspiring place. he does so with very beautiful words:

got so many dreams
i think my head might explode

02 time is my everything

let the video play while you go on reading. it was shot by ian's wife fabiola quiroz-brown.

as ian brown is father of three sons, this song seems like an anthem for his kids, in which he claims that they are of the upmost importance for him:

time is my everything
for you I'd do anything
under the sun

child, don't you fear anything
for even the greatest men,
shall have to stand in line
i know you're gonna see it in the fullness of time

03 destiny or circumstance

it was when you smiled
and from the corner of your eye
i could see the sunrise shone on for miles

i've seen it all
i've never seen anything
so beautiful as you you're so gracile

this looks like a classical lyric about love, written for someone very special. but ian brown also knows very much how i felt when i saw him performing live:

is it your destiny or circumstance
leads you to the lord of the dance?
i admire your style
love your smile
cross the street
see you using all your guile
so our eyes our eyes would meet
soul arise love your smile
soul arise
love your smile

at least this part was written especially for me ;-)

04 upside down

this track is somewhat of an interlude. it is fairly short and does not have a classical structure with verses and a chorus. it is a very dark track that expresses ian's take on political issues.

a desert rose cascading waterfalls
the sands of time will blow my mind
the real wealth to hold is with your health
you were beside me all around
i know the world is upside down

note the hints on the stone roses, which occur in quite a few of ian brown's songs. here, he talkes about a desert rose and names waterfall, one of the most popular and beautiful tracks of the stone roses.

watch the video and hear how ian's voice has changed over the years. this song was recorded in 1989

05 solarized

first of all, the lyrics:

her heart gets broken
it's something she can't hide
she's cut like a diamond
from a mine as deep as time
the words that she's spoken
have energised my mind
a sheer elevation so like eagles high we'll glide

hot love it smoulders
it's something she can't hide
a manifestation of a force as old as time
now morning has broken
and solarized my eyes
her sheer dispensation
says like eagles high we'll glide

solarized in the sunrise
rise with the sunrise
soul rise in the sunrise
solarized in the sunrise
rise with the sunrise
soul rise in the sunrise
the light that she lives for in the dark she'll always find

not much i can add to this. the last line is like a promise for eternity and words like she's cut like a diamond from a mine as deep as time can only be outdone by what he sings in the next song:

06 the sweet fantastic

you I have found
i hope you'll always be around
and though nothing lasts forever
say you'll always be my pleasure

you I have found
i hope you'll always be around
and if everything lasts forever
say you'll always be my pleasure

the two verses build up a great connection. not only should the loved one always be there although nothing lasts forever, but also if everything lasts forever. this line warms my heart every time i hear it. what's even better than saying: I always want you to be with me? - saying if you're always gonna be there there is nothing greater i could think of.

07 keep what ya got

this track was written by noel gallagher of oasis. it was originally called teotihuacan and included on the soundtrack of the x-files movie, released in 1998. listen to a 30 seconds stream here to compare it with keep what ya got.

when the song was re-recorded, noel stated that he thought 'this song must be sung by ian' everytime he heard it. as an reference to my topic, this is noel showing ian his admiration.

08 home is where the heart is

home is where the heart is
i’m so glad you’re here to stay
and should you find yourself ever drifting away
i made a space my heart where you can stay
i saved a place in my heart where you may wanna lay

looks like a perfect combination of the aforementioned topics: it could be about a very special person, but also about a very special place.

09 one way ticket to paradise

this contains one of my favourite images about how life can be:

threw a dice came up with seven
now i'm on my way to heaven

i got a one way ticket to paradise

10 kiss ya lips (no i.d.)

this is ian's take on a political issue, a hot topic in the uk: the introduction of i.d. cards to stop terrorism and plane hi-jacking. again, very political lyrics, packed into an absolutely dancable cheerful song.

11 happy ever after

the instrumental outro of the album

bonus track: lovebug

this needs no comments, one of the most inventive lyrics about love i've heard so far:

Someone call the doctor, there's a fever going round,
write me a perscription for the cure that can't be found.

Doctor can't prescribe the medicine to pull you through,
it just dont exist cos its the lovebug catching you,
this ailment dont need healing, it wont leave you feeling blue,
its the feeling so contageous,its the lovebug catching you.

Someone call the doctor, there's a fever going round,
write me a prescription for the cure that can't be found,
this ailment dont need healing, it wont leave you feeling blue,
its the feeling so contageous, lovebug catching you.

It's the friend next to your shoulder who will stab you in the back,
pay no heed to enemies who come to you on the attack,
No known antidote nor expert treatment to assist,
here's a bug your system is unable to resist,
it takes mass participation to make every bit correct,
lovebug circulation, yes a medical success,
lovebug antidote immunisation for the best,
here's a bug thats gonna put your system to the test.

david hasselhoff is back!

2006-09-27T13:33:00.000+02:00

'the hoff' has released a new single entitled jump in my car. it features a girl group called the hoffettes (haha!)

is the single a smasher, a late summer song so to speak? er...probably not, but the video is quite sarcastic. i didn't know david hasselhoff would make fun of himself like that.

i admit it, i wouldn't say no to a ride in the k.i.t.t. mobile, but the very last scene of the video is a big no-no!

ABBA - My Mama said

2006-09-26T09:46:00.000+02:00

My favourate ABBA-Song is "My Mama said" on the "Waterloo"-Album.

This song is much more funk than disco, its very laid back and starts rather minimal but gets more complicated later with small solos and some nice chord-inversions and -progressions. Great breakbeat drums, funky guitar, some hammond licks and yet again: an incredible bassline.
Thats actually the part that brought me closer to ABBA lately, most of their basslines are amazing.

Couldn't find a video- or audiostream, but maybe I didn't look hard enough. Will put more time into that .

abba - two for the price of one

2006-09-26T02:12:00.000+02:00

sometimes it's very hard to pick a favourite song of a band you really like. there just seem to be too many that mean so much.

i was played abba tunes when i was still a little baby and they've been kind of like the first group i ever was fan of. back then i only knew about their greatest hits, but recently i started to explore their back catalogue.

apart from all their gold tracks there is one song that strikes me as highly interesting. it is one that sounds higly un-abba-esque, but in fact isn't. it's just that instead of a catchy melody, this one has a catchy bass-line in the chorus. it's called two for the price of one and can be found on abba's last record the visitors.

as it wasn't released as single or anything i didn't really expect to find a stream of it to put here, but surprisingly i found something even better: this is a video of a life performance of the song from a tv show called Dick Cavett meets ABBA. it looks a bit weird because the sounds doesn't match the audio at all, but it's still obvious that it is two for the price of one that was performed. and visuals is not what counts so much in this case. the lyrics are different from the album versions and the vocals of the abba girls are missing, too. nevertheless, it serves the intended purpose. just start the video, close your eyes or browse to another page while listening to this track, and then wait for the bass-line in the chorus.

there is so much more to abba than just dancing queen...

sugarcubes re-union

2006-09-23T20:12:00.000+02:00

according to very official sources (www.bjork.com) the sugarcubes are reuniting!

though a new release would certainly whirl up some dust, i believe it's better to feel their magic for just a single night: one the 17th of november 2006 the sugarcubes are performing in, you guessed it, reykjavik.

flight might be a bit to expensive for me, so let's hope for worldwide tv coverage and a live internet broadcast!

tea?
no thanks, i'll just take the sugar!

the animal five aka die dummen schweden

2006-09-23T18:31:00.000+02:00

wake me up!

That die dummen schweden party on thursday turned out to be just so fine. thanx to the animal five, who are one of the most outstanding live bands i've ever seen. as they were preparing the stage i anticipated what was yet to come, thinking: 'what a funny looking bunch of guys they are!' and it got even better.
the singer martin von inghardt, a very charismatic man, entered the stage just to jump right back into the audience and get the crowd going. throughout the - sadly very short - set he would be the perfect impersonator of a joker, the lonely bachelor on the couch, the stage diver and the impassionate performer. we witnessed him asserting silence among the crowd just to scream even louder. we enjoyed his oversized smiles and his dedication to the band and songs. he even wandered off stage to give me a long hug - unexpected, but yeah, enjoyable.

luckily i purchased their self-titled ep just before the gig, and it has been on constant replay for three days now. not only are their songs highly electrified, they also got perfect song titles like sonic sea, which fits perfectly into this blog as it is a song about - music!

who was the poor fellow who had to leave his workplace during every single song to fix the monitors and microphone stands on stage? the sound technician, honoured with a song called i love myself for hating you. ;-)

their six songs long set left me extraordinarily happy and wanting more. so, instead of coffee, i'd rather listen to the animal five every morning.

i'm wide awake now.

listen
and watch our for live videos of the gig!

the animal five got no record deal outside sweden!help them and buy the record here or here so they can perform in your town and get the change to get the cd released in other countries, as well!

popkomm

2006-09-21T12:17:00.000+02:00

you can tell by the increasing amount of young people with chaotic hairstyles in the street that popkomm is happening this week.
popkomm is europe's biggest musical fair and is always a good opportunity to go to amazing parties. over the last few years popkomm gave me the opportunity to see people like goldie or the stereo mc's perform live.

you can tell by my current chaotic hairstyle that i've been lying in bed all week, feeling sick, and therefor missed most of the popkomm events.

nevertheless i went and saw peter, björn & john last thursday. it was a really nice evening, the guys did their best to entertain the crowd. the continued playing even when the lights went off and sweat dropping from the artist is usually a very good indication of dedication to music.

tonight i am going to take my tired body and mashed brain to a party called die dumme schweden. this is something i've been looking forward to going to for a long time. it's a nice party with five swedish bands (at least two of them i already know i'm going to like) and a dj-set by a musician who has been ever-so inspiring when it comes to good underground music and older stuff.

but more on that later. i hope i won't have an aspirine hangover!

modern r'n'b confusion

2006-09-13T22:08:00.000+02:00

over the last two weeks i spent some days working at a different shop than where i usually am. my colleague there is quite into modern r'n'b music - which i have been neglecting ever since. i had to listen to a justin timberlake record three times in a row without realising this was mr even-hardrock-computer-nerds-love-his-music. i found out when i found the cd lying around some days later and thought: 'okay, maybe this is better than what i had to listen to last time!' apparently, it was the same stuff.

my colleague also had a joy denalane record which i confused with mary j. blige. it is quite a shame i didn't know who was singing, because i thought if there is one r'n'b artist i might like, it's mary. but seeing it the other way round there is hope yet, because it was only ms denalane i had to bare.

highly likely, r'n'b will remain a mystery to me, forever.

note: thanx to looza for updating while my pc was blinde. tune in soon again for other concert reviews and a little story about me visiting an official popkomm party.

moving as a musiclover

2006-09-13T15:27:00.000+02:00

I am soon moving to a new flat and apart from the usual stress and problems this involves there are rather specific problems related to music.

Some that fall into my mind :

- I hope I can listen to my music loudly in the new flat. I don't plan to reach "clublevel", but once I lived in a flat where the granny below came ringing the door as soon as I put some music on. Which made me wonder, aren't old people supposed to be generally hearing impaired ?

- I have to pack all my technical stuff properly. Lost a turntable once because it got smashed in the process of moving. Also have to make sure no cables disappear.

- 900 vinyl records are frigging heavy and a pain to pack up.

- yet again there will be a long process of adjusting in the new flat, finding the right place for the speakers, putting everything within reach (my amp doesnt have a remote) and the CDs and Records as close to the PC/Turntable as possible or soon my room will become the mess I tend to cause when I can't reach something or put it back without having to move my legs. I am a lazy dude.

A link

2006-09-12T15:14:00.000+02:00

For some amazingly beatiful music on myspace check "dox family".

No time for a long post, sorry.

9-11-2001

2006-09-11T21:57:00.000+02:00

Today is the Anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, but because this is a music-related blog this ofcourse has something to do with music.

On 9-11-2001 I saw Radiohead in Berlin for the first (and so far only) time live.

I didn't listen to Radiohead in their early and big days, "Creep" was and is a song that does not appeal to me and even "OK Computer" did not spark my interest.

But when "Kid A" was released I was totally stunned. A mix of rock, jazz and electronica I had never heard before. This and "Amnesiac" are still on my Top10 list of records "for the island" and I made all my music-producing-friends at that time listen to both records and most of them were amazed as I was, although none of them listened to any (Indy-)Rock aswell.

I haven't yet listened to "Hail to the Thief" or "Eraser" because I read it's more like the old "Radiohead"-Records. Maybe one day when I am really open for them I will give it a shot.

So, on the morning of 9-11 we prepared to catch a train when an hour before we had to go to the station someone called me up and told me to switch the TV on which I did and so I learned about the attacks that had taken place.
We went to Berlin anyway and the concert was very strange ... the crowd was very quiet, there was not much applause and Thom Yorke started to talk about his feelings after a few songs and it was all a very strange mood. In a way this was the most sad and the most intense concert I ever visited in my whole life.

The next day there was a lot of Fuzz in the Berlin' Newspapers because as it turned out all public events had been cancelled except for some Ice-Skating-Event and the Radiohead-Gig and so the papers started accusing Radiohead for partying after such horrible events, which was as far from the truth as I can imagine.

Also, out of sheer luck two weeks later I found an FTP-Site somewhere on the net which had a bootleg of this exact concert, but somehow I never listened to it more than once because I would like to keep the memory of this evening as the feeling I had without having a sharp reproduction of the music.

and that's where I come in

2006-09-11T19:21:00.000+02:00

Hello people, welcome me, I am the new co-author of this blog. I won't reveal yet who I am, maybe tba will wrote more about this later.

Just the facts that are interesting for this blog :

29 years old, spend alot of time listing to music, in the past I had punk/techno/d&b/hiphop-phases, I still listen to alot of musical styles but now my true love belongs to funk/jazz/soul/disco from the 70s, the other thing is house/tech-music that I love to go clubbing to but listen rarely at home (my speakers just dont pack it).

I am doing music for about 15 years myself now, never on a really professional level, but somehow I have to keep doing it to stay sane. Check www.loozabeats.de for some of the music aswell as my myspace-page.

I started DJing a while ago, yet again not really professional, it's just something that I have fun doing, some mixsets are avaiable at www.xstreamist.com/litm.

And I am collecting rare and obscure records from eastern europe, an obsession you can take a look at www.eastern-crates.com.

Gonna make my first contribution to this blog later tonight.

Looza

sonic silence

2006-09-11T19:03:00.000+02:00

my computer broke down. no music, no blogging, just the sound of other people typing in this internet cafe where i am right now.

but to quote india.arie, from her song about music:

you're always in my head