40 Records in 40 Years (32/40 - 2005)

In view of the fact that we had undertaken no bigger trip last year we started this year with another trip to India. This time we wanted to explore the north or Rajastahn or maybe known as the land of the kings. Located in the north-east of India it is famous for its palaces and the great Thar Dessert. We knew that there less infrastructure in this part of India so we hired in Mumbai a taxi driver to take us for a 18 day round trip. And after all it was the best election we could make. Fixing a price a day that included everything made it easy to calculate and we didn't have to watch out a taxi driver any day. We told him about what kind of lodgings we expect and he picked out everything fine. Of course we knew that he get commission to bring us to this lodgings. It was a very easy way to travel through this country, sitting in the back of the old Amassador cars with no air-condition. It was fantastic to visit all the forts and palaces in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Udaipur. We were highly impressed by Pushkar, a small town with a small holy lake for the Hindus. Once a year hundreds of traders assemble in this town around to sell their camels. It's impressive to see thousands of camels often painted and ready to sell. We had great fun walking through this crowd, sitting down to some traders drinking tea and smoking some cigarettes. Another experience will also remain to us always in recollection. It is when we spent one night in the desert. We arranged that someone took us out in the dunes in the very late afternoon just before sundown. These were two impressions which remain unforgettable: The absolute silence and the cold at night. How glad we were when a boy came next morning to bring us a hot cup of tea.

The records impressed me also this year:

• The Arcade Fire - Funeral: Fine Indie Rock from Canada
• Tocotronic - Pure Vernunft darf niemals sterben: Another great record from one of Germany's best band
• Hard-Fi - Stars on CCTV: Sounds like back in the late 70s
• The White Stripes - Get behind me Satan: Maybe their masterpiece
• Element of Crime - Mittelpunkt der Welt: Another great German record
• LCD Soundsystem - same: Great track galore
• Marcus Miller - Silver Rain: Perfect fusion sound
• The Dead 60s - same: Perfect combination of punk, ska, dub and reggae
• Paul Weller - As is now: Another great record of the modfather
• Wolfmother - same: The return of Black Sabbath

Some of this years songs that stood the test of time:

Just a short look into the cinema in 2005:

• Brokeback Mountain: The other side of western
• Capote: Seymoure Hoffmann at his best
• Walk the Line: Fantastic biopic about the life of Johnny Cash
• Sin City: Sensational
• Fever Pitch: Fantastic novel - great movie

Some notes from the rest of the world

Another stampede during a religious pilgrimage kills more than 250 people in India // ETA is bombing in Madrid again // North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons // Pope John Paul II dies // You Tube is launched // Massive rain in Mumbai, India with nearly 40 inches in 24 hours // Bloody civil war in Chad is starting

Von Spatzen und Tauben, Dächern und Händen (From sparrows and pigeons, roofs and hands) is a real top album. There is nothing in it to turn. "After you and how many of your friends" the measuring pole was extremely high. Kettcar has done justice to the expectations. Nevertheless, according to my personal opinion this album is even better than the predecessor. It begins with the song Deiche (dykes) a powerful song with great guitars and the magnificent sentence 'Only becaus one has got used to it, is not brilliant normal' and furthermore there are wonderful songs which act from the truthfulness of the love like of mentioning 48 Stunden (48 hours), Balu und Nacht (night).

Kettcar have packed me like for a long time nobody more. I keep this album for the best German-speaking album for many years has found accomodation. To handle their kind with the German has completely inspired me. They tell these small magic stories are able to grow in the head to novels where own cinema runs off, go down in the demimonde between dream and reality. Simply great!
No weak point can be discovered. This album develops a magic them is fantastic. Musically you sum up everything, the beat comes if he must come, the piano puts accents where to one more accent is absent, the guitars bring everything home like it must be a gigantic praise, smaller fine guitar rock pop in the best best way Dirk Darmstaedter used to do it. Kettcar simply didn't do anything wrong on this record.

Kettcar - Deiche
Kettcar - 48 Stunden
Kettcar - Balu
Kettcar - Anders als gedacht
Kettcar - Nacht