Samstag, 2. November 2013

40 Records In 40 Years (14/40 - 1987)


Occupational change at the office. In addition to my general tasks they added new obligations to me. Now I have to switch to the customers to serve and to conclude contracts with them. That was exactly the thing I never wanted to.  But I had no opportunity to refuse this job if I wanted to keep my job. And I was to lazy to look for a new job because I was integrated in my social life and the big advantage to have a job in my hometown. After weighing all the pros and cons I bit the bullet and did my best, knowing that this will be my final job. Therefore me and Susanne decided to take a longer time for vacation this year. In summer we went for a four-week vacation to the coast of the Algarve in Portugal by car. It was 1.300 miles one way from our town to the final destination of Albufeira. As we go by car we decided to take not the shortest way and visit some other places on our way. So we first drove through France towards Marseille and from there up to Barcelona. We also stayed a couple of days in the beauty Camargue. It was an easy and free time to travel and to stop and stay if ever we had the feeling inside that this place needs to stay for longer. All in all we had a great time, not knowing that this was the best moments in our both life so far. Looking back to this trip I ask myself how I could manage driving this distance. Maybe you can do this when you are younger - today it would be too much for me.

This year's records that are worth to remember again:

The Triffids - Calenture: Another great record by a underrated band

Public Enemy - Yo! Bum rush the show: A monument of rap

U2 - The Joshua Tree: You couldn't ignore because it was played everywhere

Gary Moore Wild Frontier: Blues rock with Irish influences

Deacon Blue - Raintown: Perfect pop about life in Glasgow

The Cure - Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me: Back again with an more optimistic mind

John Hiatt - Bring the Family: A perfect combination of Blues, Country and rock

Terance Trent D'Arby - Introducing the Hardline According to ...: The return of soul inspired songs

The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come: Their legacy and final highlight

Nyah Fearties - A Tasty Heidfu: Minimal Irish Punk Folk; short songs - great fun

The Jesus and Mary Jane - Darklands: Gigantic

39 Clocks - 13 more Protest Songs: German New Wave goes Psychedelic

The Sister of Mercy - Floodland: Andrew Eldrich turnes into bombast 

Aztec Camera - Love: One more great record from one of the finest Scottish bands

Aretha Franklin - One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: The mighty voice goes back to the roots

Some songs that was played very often this years and others they should have been played more:











What was on the movies this year:

Good Morning Saigon: Robbie Williams as a radio DJ in Vietnam - awesome

The Untouchables: Fantastic movie about how to get Al Capone in jail

Dirty Dancing: Patrick Swayce tried to teach us how to dance

Dragnet: Dan Aycroyd's homage to the 50s cop series

La Bamba: Good biopic about the life of Richie Valens

Moonstruck: Nice movie about relationship in the family. Great: Cher

Angel Heart: Maybe the best movie about the devil ever. Fantastic: Robert De Niro as Lou Zeyfer (especially peeling the boiled egg)

The Big Easy. Corruption in the police department of New Orleans with great Cajoun music

Full Metal Jacket: Great idea to show military education on Paris Island and the reality fighting houses

Radio Days: Woody Allen takes us back to the times before television

Wall Street: Oliver Stone shows us how trading business works.

When I remember this year there are a few things that touched me personally:

The so called Unabomer Ted Kaczynski strikes another time in Salt Lake City with his bombing campaign against modern technologies // The Iran-Contra affair continues and blaming Ronald Reagan for not controlling his administration // The first appearance of the Simpsons in the Tracey Ullman show // Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II // Nineteen year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plan on Red Square in Moscow // Through a visit in Berlin Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet prime minister Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall // 400 Iranian pilgrims are killed in clashes with Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca // Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply at Wall Street and around the world // English jockey Lester Piggot is jailed for three years after being convicted of tax evasion //worker rebel against the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausesco in Romania // King's Cross fire in London Underground kills 31 people - after that the historic wooden lift was replaced // Barschel-affair in Germany: One day before the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein, reports the mirror, Prime Minister Barschel have let spy on the SPD's top candidate Björn Engholm // Rudolf Heß kills himself in Spandau prison // Zeebrugge disaster: Roll-on/Roll-off cross-channel ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes off  Zeebrugge Harbour in Belgium; more than 180 people die.


A year of very good music and essential records were released. Most of them I copied on tape listening to them on our vacation to Portugal and it was again very hard to decide what record I will show up for this year. Finally it was Prince with his monumental record 'Sign 'O' The Times'. Why?  Because it shows Prince on the highest level he ever reached. He was full of ideas and combined his influences from R&B, Dance, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Rock and Pop to an extraordinary mixture that stands the test of time. No song is like the other and the title track was a veritable chart breaker. His class was also recognized by the great producer Quincey Jones who asked him for a duet with Michael Jackson on 'Bad'. But he denied because 'he doesn't do things like that anymore'.

Prince - Adore
Prince - The Cross
Prince - Sign 'O' The Time
Prince - Starfish And Coffee
Prince - The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Keine Kommentare: