New Psych Soul

Sometime I would like to listen to some old fashioned music and search my archive for some psychedelic tunes. It's a little shame that nowadays musicians doesn't fit in that old sound of smoking goods and keeping the songs long with improvisations. An old hippie friend of mine gave me the advice to listen to the 'Phenomenal Handclap Band'. I never heard before and searched the web to get me an overview of their works.

I was astonished how they combine old fart music with the nowadays possibilities. It is music you have to take time to listen to. For me it is music I can relax to - so try it.

The Phenomenal Hardclap Band - I be born again

The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Journey to Sierra da Estrella 

Trio

Yesterday I was thinking about the Montonie in Germany. Origin was a post of Swiss Adam and a comment from Dirk. Finally Dirk offered a tune from Ideal, who was gods at their time in Germany as he said. I still remember their first record and it was a highlight in that so called Neue Deutsche Welle (New German New Wave). Most of it was terrible and not worth to be listened to. But there was another side of it. It was the time, when everything in music was allowed - without frontiers and new horizons. 

In this time everything could be possible. New groups with new sounds are shot like mushrooms.It was the time I spent a lot of nights in Stuttgart in a small club, where in the early 80s played all the bands of the NDW and also bands from from the British island. I can remember listening to the Cure who jammed with their support (a German punk band called Abwärts) after their gig. At one of these evenings I went to a concert featuring Trio, a small band from northern Germany. 

I knew them from a single, which was very soft. Only spoken words from a guy talking to his former girlfriend on the telephone, trying to get her to an engagement once again. Of course it was not successful but was a good step into the music of Trio. I went there with no more expectations than having a good evening with some live music. So I went on a warm spring evening to the place where they played. It was a very small club in the red light district in Stuttgart. It was on the first floor on the left side - the right side was a well known fun house. So we waited, that they would let us in and while we stood in the row all the customers of the fun house passed us with their heads kept down to the floor. 

It was a very small club where they played their gig. If there where more than one hundred people it would be more that can beard to. As I finally got inside the club I hit for a bottle of beer and I got it. While having my first beer I talked to the guy next to me. We talked about this and that and finally about music. It was very interesting to listen his view of how new music might look like. After another beer he apologizes that he has to go, as he makes an appearance. I did not recognized that I was talking to the guitar player of Trio.

I listened to a lot of concerts in this time but none of them impressed me more than them. It was nearly anarchy to play in a band with only a simple drum, no bass, just a few accords an a singer who sung German and English in one song. It is still amazing and burned in my heart.

Listen, enjoy and have a good week

The good, the bad and the ugly

It is Sunday and a day to recreate. The weather is not too bad but not so good that now I would absolutely outside. On the desk are letters and bills piling should be answered or paid. I should also make our tax return done. So many thing I should do and I ask myself this question: Where should I start and what is the most important?

And I gave myself an answer: fuck it! Most important thing is, that I can recreate and enjoy myself. So I went checked out my DVD's and found out one of my favorite Western movies.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles respectively.Ennio Morricone composed the famous film score, including its main theme. It is the third film in the Dollars Trilogy following A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). The plot revolves around three gunslingers competing to find a fortune in buried Confederate gold amid the violent chaos of gunfights, hangings, American Civil War battles and prison camps.

I love this movie for his widescreen pictures, them mean faces of the actors and reducing the dialogs to a minimum. 

Ennio Morricone - The Trio

Thank you all

I have my blog for almost one year online. Sometimes I post simple things simple, sometimes subjects things that move me and sometimes I want to publish music that is close to my heart. In this way I would like to thank to all those who read my post and occasionally. All of you gave me inspirations in my musical taste. Let me please be part of your community in the future.

This one is from the latest record of Steve Mason - once a member of the great Beta Band. More on the blog of Swiss Adam. Thank you for introducing into the music of Mr. Mason.

In this working week goes  by quickly.
Have fun what ever you do.

Steve Mason - Never be alone

Social Commitment

As some readers may know, my wife and me spent our last holidays in Sri Lanka. Last during the festive season and New Year. We were able to establish a close contact with a local family and learn a lot about their lifestyle, views and everyday life during this time. What impressed us the most was how they all deal with their relationships compared to our having a relative poverty. Although very little disposable income, the whole family has retained its warmth and cheerfulness. The main income for the ten-member family consists of a small widow's pension from which they must earn their entire livelihood. Occasionally is something else from odd jobs to supplement the family budget a little.

In long discussions, we have learned that the family does indeed have specific dreams as they could stand on their own feet financially in the future. It is missing one hand to the financial requirements and secondly to concrete plans. So C. and I decided to start a project that helps to make their dreams become real. We started a blog where we describe our aims, present the family and show up the possibilities in some business what they can imagine. Sure, it's just about collecting money but we can guarantee that all the money will be used as a foundation for future of our Sri Lanka friends.

The project has been running for some time and we have already received some financial support so that C. has traveled to Sri Lanka to coordinate the use there site. After Rins has purchased a license, we want to buy them in a tuk-tuk for money can be achieved for the livelihood from transporting passengers.

Rolling Stones - Too much blood (Arthur Baker Dub Mix)

The road to Wembley

Today I have recompensed myself, while I have looked at the football match live by my local pub. Although I am certainty no fan of Bayern Munich I have hoped that they will win the play. Only for one reason that I like Barcelona still less than them. Reasons therefor will be told another time. And they did! They beat the 'best team in the world' 4:0

Came home after the play and wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. So I checked my box for some music to relax and have a final drink to. I found an old Krautrock-record by Neu!. It was released in 1972 and I am still astonished what they did with their synthesizers and guitars. Combining a pulsate rhythm with electronic effects made them almost incredibly at this time. Some members of Neu! joined later Kraftwerk - also band with the same influence and also produced by  Conny Plank . 

Enjoy some Krautrock an have a good time

Neu - Für Immer (Forever)

Richie Havens RIP

Another great voice is gone. He died yesterday as a result of a cardiac infarction. I'm not really in Folk music but I always loved his dark and tender voice.

Richie Havens - Here comes the sun

Reflection

Let's start the day with a little bit of soul. Don't know why but recently I listen to this kind of music. I really like this old stuff.

Have a good week.

Diana Ross & the Supremes - Reflections

Recommended from my brother

During the last weeks I had a lot of work to do at the office. Occupied with calculations, controlling, development of new uses I had after end of work not the muse to see after what there is new in music. The more thankfully I am, that to me my brother posted me his favorites from 2013 so far on facebook.

Yesterday I took some time to check out what he recommend to me. Without him I still would know the The Foals released a new record. I knew them from their last two records and I was curious whether they could hold her standard. I was not really surprised that they made again a record you could listen with fun in the future but this is a really amazing record. It is sad, that less people in my country know them (not you and your friends Martin) and  I wish them a bigger audience.

Foals - Everytime 

Does somebody have interest in classical music?

If you follow my Blog you might know, that I have some favorite style of music I like to spent to you. And sometimes I try to give you a few inspirations of music I think that more people should listen to. I know that not everything is right for anyone - but anyway I will keep on feature music that means a lot to me or music which makes sense in the context. Today I got a short contact with my youngest brother over Facebook. He has recommended me some new music, to him very much like most warmly. Some of the albums I know and like (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Push The Sky Away) and some of the records I've never heard before.

he recommended me the newest record from Ludovico Enaudi 'In A Time Lapse'. Enaudi is an Italian pianist and Alt-Classical musician and nearly 60 years old. About ten years ago he started writing the scores for a number of films or had his music included in soundtracks. In 2010 he wrote the music for trailer of 'Black Swan'. Maybe some British will have heard some of his track in the TV drama Series 'This is England 86/88'.

I got some rips from the internet and listened to it last night - and it was overpowering. For a guy who is really not in classical music it made a lot of fun to me. It's just music to relax and to come down to find yourself.

Give him a chance, listen  and enjoy.

Thank you Martin

Ludovico Enaudi - Brother
Ludovico Enaudi - Discovery At Night

Ludovico Enaudi - Time Lapse

Why?

Today I planed to post about something else but the pictures I've seen yesterday move me still deeply. I can't understand why people do this. If they will attack their enemies directly on open field it might be acceptable but if innocent people will be attacked by hidden bombs it can never be acceptable. Here were blasting compositions used which are so person-despising we only know from war zones - and that it is indescribable. Bombs filled with metal bullets and nails whose only aim is to hurt peoples feet so that they will lose their legs.

I don't know if it was a terrorist attack of Al-Qaeda or if it was terror from the American homeground (what is still possible) - at last it doesn't matter. Too many people died yet or lost their life like they used too.

Victor Davis - Take it or leave it

Blind

Sometimes it's strange how fast the time passes by. You listen to a song thinking you heard it one or maybe two years ago for the first time. If you crawl the Internet for the date or release you'll be surprised that it was already five years ago that this track was first released. This happened to me when Hercules and Love Affair shuffled on my player with their first song 'Blind'. I am really not a big fan of Anthony Hagerty and his Johnsons (the sound is too depressive and I can't stand his falsetto songs not longer than three songs in a row) but in this song his voice fits like non else.

Hercules and Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)

Never stop loving me

Another Monday and and another week to work. Hope you have not to much to do and you all can keep your power to you and your family. So let us start this week with a song from the genius Curtis Mayfield. 

Curtis Mayfield - Never stop loving me

The winter is over hopefully

This was the first day it wasn't that cold like the weeks before and there was no rain also. We spent the afternoon in our favorite pub to watch our local team and it was the first time we could sit outside watching the game on a big screen. The sun burned on our necks and probably we should have taken some cream to protect our skin from sunburn. It was amazing sitting in the sun, having a beer at your side and after all seeing our team winning at home for a long time. Hope this (the weather and also the fortune for our team) will last for a longer time.

Blondie - X-Offender

Malaguena Salerosa

There are with certainty a lot of possibilities to discover new and good music. Earlier a record was recommended by the record trader or a friend gave you  the instruction to listen to this or that record. Sometimes you can be successful listening to the soundtrack of a movie. This happened to me when I watched the additional material on the DVD to Kill Bill II. I'm not interested in the whole making-of stuff but on the table of contend was announced a trailer from a band called Chingon. What appeared on my TV-screen was staggering. A few musicians sitting in a small club playing a traditional mariachi tune in rock style.

 Chingon was formed by Robert Rodriguez better known as a film director and screenwriter for his 2003 film 'Once upon a time in Mexico'. I really like this song for it's propelling rhythm and them howling guitar.

Have a nice weekend

96 years smiling

This is one of my favorite photographs because it expresses so many emotions: satisfaction, joy of living, love, warmth and happiness. I think that it cannot damage to look at something which exudes positive energy. So the working week is nearly done and we can prepare for weekend. Together with my brother in law Ed we'll join the pub nearby for some pints later this evening.

Have a relaxed and funny weekend people.

Cheers

Janis Ian - At Seventeen

Hell is around the corner

On my way home from work an announcement has struck me. It was an advertisement to a party downtown in our local cinema, where a DJ will play only music which was well known in the 90s. Because I know the DJ I can imagine what kind of music will be played. None of the music in the 90s that was new or innovative will be played. It's quite sure, that you can hear song of them boygroups like N'Sync, Take That, Boys II Men, New Kids On The Block, also tracks from some girlgroups and seriously Europop like Captain Hollywood Project, SNAP!. And if they in the mood for dancing he'll play some Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Lou Bega.

But I'm sure he won't play any of that songs of this decade that really impressed me. The 90s are filled with real great sounds - nearly every year a new sound. Trance, TripHop, House, Rave, Jungle, Drum 'n' Bass had much more influence in my musical development than any song you could hear over German radio stations. This is one reason why I quit listening to the radio.

Tricky - Hell is around the corner

Mambo sun

Think it's a good idea to start the day with a little glam rock. Back to the days when narrow trousers, sild shirts and shoes with platteau soles were the last big thing. Ask myself how we could walk around this style. But anyway T. Rex and Marc Bolan was at the best on their second record released in 1971 called 'Mambo Sun'. This is the opening track from this record and it still sounds great to me (maybe just because I'm sentimental to these days).

T. Rex - Mambo Sun

Also on this record: Jeepster

Don't let me be misunderstood

I think this one of the most known songs ever. The original version was recorded by Nina Simone back in 1964 to be covered by Eric Burdon and the Animals in a blues-rock version. I noticed this song on one of my first records I bought from my own earned money. It was on the first Joe Cocker record and was on heavy rotation for a long time.

A disco version of this song by Santa Esmeralda, which took The Animals' arrangement and added some disco, flamenco, salsa and other Latin rhythm became a worldwide hit in the early 70s. Samples of the hand clapping can be found on Missy Elliot's 'Pass the Dutch'. It was also featured in Kill Bill 1 during the final fight between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii

Enjoy and have a good week people

Santa Esmeralda ft. Leroy Gomez - Don't let me be misunderstood

The Iron Lady and Red Wedge

The today's breaking news in all media concerns the death of Margaret Thatcher. Even in Germany it was a hot news. All medias told what good she did over her term of office and that she wasn't loved by her own people and that the way she did her job was the best for Great Britain retrospective.

If it was good to call slaughter Pinochet a friend, to raise a war in the Falklands, to do the population in the poverty, to diminish the mining and sending troops to stop strikes - than, yes indeed she did a very good job.

But there's something that will stand the test of time: She united a lot of people under the flag of Red Wedge.

From Wiki:

Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.

Fronted by Billy Bragg (whose 1985 Jobs for Youth tour had been a prototype of sorts for Red Wedge), Paul Weller and The Communards lead singer Jimmy Somerville, they put on concert tours and appeared in the media, adding their support to the Labour Party campaign.

"Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge", a 1919 lithograph by Lissitzky

The group was launched on 21 November 1985, with Bragg, Weller, Strawberry Switchblade and Kirsty MacColl invited to a reception at the Palace of Westminster hosted by Labour MP Robin Cook. The collective took its name from a 1919 poster by Russian constructivist artist El Lissitzky, Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. Despite this echo of the Russian Civil War, Red Wedge was not a communist organisation; neither was it officially part of the Labour Party, but it did initially have office space at Labour's headquarters. The group's logo, also inspired by the Lissitzky poster, was designed by Neville Brody.

Red Wedge organised a number of major tours. The first, in January and February 1986, featured Bragg, Weller's band The Style Council, The Communards, Junior Giscombe, Lorna Gee and Jerry Dammers, and picked up guest appearances from Madness, Heaven 17, Bananarama, Prefab Sprout, Elvis Costello, Gary Kemp, Tom Robinson, Sade, The Beat, Lloyd Cole, The Blow Monkeys and The Smiths along the way.

Thank you, that our heroes of the past could unite against you. I wish this happened in my time when her friend and our former chancellor Helmut Kohl was on duty.

The Style Council - Long hot summer

Living with unemployment

Today's track is from The Neurotics, a band I loved in my younger days. This is what Wikipedia knows about them:

As The Newtown Neurotics, the band began their career playing punk heavily indebted stylistically to The Clash and The Ramones. Over the course of the 1980s, the band dropped the "Newtown" from its name and simply became The Neurotics; along with the name change came a stylistic broadening, including slower tempos and horn arrangements. They released several albums on noted UK postpunk label Jungle Records. Lead singer and guitarist Steve Drewett took openly socialist stances in his lyrics throughout the course of the band's career and currently displays an anarcho-syndicalist sticker on his guitar. When the bassist, Colin Dredd, came down with pleurisy, he left the band; Mac (Travis Cut /The Pharaohs /The Skabilly Rebels)was brought in to play bass for some farewell shows (at which the band's entire catalogue was played), and the band called it quits in October 1988. Drewett went on to form an Afro punk band called the Indestructible Beat. Although the Indie Beats were disbanded in 1995, Steve Drewett is known to do occasional solo gigs.

Living with unemployment was recorded life on their farewell tour in Munich. Me and some other guys made a day off to drive 200 km to see them for the last time. And I remember very well that it was more than worth to see them.

Enjoy and have a good week people.

The Neurotics - Living with unemployment

World turned upside down

Got the information, that Billy Bragg released a new record. Haven't heard any song from it. But critics says that is more personal and less politically. I think this should not be the criterion if the record is good or worse. For me he made very personal songs also as good as politically ones. I love 'Walk away Renee' as well as 'The world turned upside down'. Will tell you more, when I got his new record.

Billy Bragg - World turned upside down

Post # 100

Now good half a year has passed, since I have put my Blog on-line. Starting a few posts a week and turned now to a daily posting. Written some personal stuff and also posted some music by my choice to please all the followers. Thank you all for the good and friendly response. I'll try to keep my level on the forthcoming post and look forward to your comments. 

C. and me are busy creating a social project in Sri Lanka. Some might know that we spent several times there and that we are close to a family living there. It is our personal aim to help them to create a business, it enables to them to be able to deny from this her living. More details you can find here.

Here's another gem from the late 70s. It is from the Tom Robinson Band and released in 1978. In this time it was called Punk music, but for me it was only R'n'R, played with enthusiasm, a very good feeling for hooks and transporting messages that were important to T.R. Maybe he was one of the first artist who outed himself as gay and also having success.

So have a good week all of you.

Tom Robinson Band - Power In The Darkness

Christine Keeler

Easter bank holidays are over and I've got to go back to office again. But for god's sake - weekend will come soon. Let's start the week with a little Ska I found in my library. I think that it's not necessary to explain anything about Ms. Keeler and the scandal in the 60s after she found slaughtered in her apartment. Maybe our politicians learned their lessons since then and act more discreetly.

Skatelites - Christine Keeler

Lost again

It is hard to a support your local team these days. You might know that I support VfB Stuttgart because I share their ups and downs for a long time. Last weekend we played against BVB Dortmund and from beginning it was as David would line up against Goliath. Of course Dortmund has much more abilities in playing football like Stuttgart has. So what can do Stuttgart more, than to bring out the old virtues of the classical football: fighting and running for every ball.

And they did well, although they got a goal close to the end of the first half. Coming back to the second half they did their very best to equal the result and they got success - they made it. But all hope was gone when they got the second goal close to the end.

I am not disappointed about the defeat - I have got used to it in the course of the season. But what annoys me is the way as trainers and players have weighted behind about supposedly brutal playing of Stuttgart. Sure, Dortmund defender has to be replaced because he broke his nose - Stuttgart defender had to leave the ground by a yellow/red card (by both cards it was no foul if you watch the scenes in slow motion). But nowadays every team should play like Barcelona with their short passing, fast and disembodied game.

What we will lose will be the classical virtues of the game: To win duels, tackle and the absolute will to win the game. What also bothers me is that so many players in the Bundesliga are trained in faking fouls. I look back to the days gone by when a defender like Vinnie Jones could be a hero - knowing that these days are gone forever.

Red Guitars - Steeltown

Now that I can hear music

This picture from the early 60s shows little Harold Whittles a kid who was deaf from birth. The photographer Jack Bradley took this photo just at that moment when the hearing aid was switched in for the first time. The surprise, this sense - this hear what is accepted for most by us as natural - for the first time perceives to be able, is expressed in this photo very well. 

I made some mind about people with impediments and think at least we should be grateful that we can use our senses. Otherwise, if someone is deaf or blind from birth he/she don't know what they are missing. I can't imagine my life without hearing and it is really hard just to play your favorite tunes in your head without playing them on an other system.

Todays track comes from a singer I don't know much about but he a couple of years ago he made amazing version of this Townes Van Zandt song.

Bill Baird - I'll be here in the morning