P.J. Proby released in the late 50s songs as Jett Powers. Based in the tradition of Elvis Presley he released some marking tunes in rockabilly. A few years later he did some shows in Great Britain and all the young girls stood in the crowd screaming to him and his sexual inspired show. This is a classic from his early years.
New music to start into the next working week. It is the latest single by Hop Along, an American indie folk-rock band from Philadelphia. It's a nervous song with great guitar chords and the dominant voice of Frances Quinlan shifting from disruption and jubilate.
This song a few years ago is also worth to listen to:
After the first sunny morning yesterday the weather turned back into a cold and cloudy mixture. I know that I don't have to complain because a lot of you had heavy rain and even snow yesterday. So I think it will be a good way to start the day with a brand new song by Bernhard Eder. He's an Austrian musician and multi-instrumentalist. It's a fine down-tempo guitar-pop song from his upcoming new record.
And as a bonus: his version of Nick Drake's 'Place to be' played live somewhere in Austria:
Back in real life after my military service and going to work as a regular employee in my job in a bank. I found my peace of mind spending eight hours in the office to hang around with my pals in the evening. It was also the days we formed a football team sponsored by the owner of the pub we hang around. This pub was hardly frequented especially on weekend. In the early 80s there are only two ways to serve music to your guest. Either you play a tape or you switch on the radio. So the idea grew that me and some friends will DJing on the weekends. And from then on I used to walk into the pub on Friday or Saturday with a wooden box full of records playing them to the audience. I remember some unforgettable evenings in these days. Looking back to the music I think a lot of classic songs were released. It's only a short list but man I love this songs.
Owned me the newest album by Julie Campbell aka LoneLady and I have to say that it's one of the best in this year so far. It's a record that spreads between early Manchester sound like Joy Division, Wire and A Certain Ratio and early Prince when Wendy and Lisa were true his sound. Listening to this record is like a journey between the coolness of the early 80s New Wave and the funk and groove of the late 80s. All in all a record you should give a listen to.
Something new arrived from Down Under. Tame Impala released her new single. It's hard to type their sound. Main member and founder is Keven Parker. He is heavenly influenced by late 60s/early 70s psychedelic rock and electronic music. If you listen to their earlier songs you can hear that he borrowed a lot from My Bloody Valentines by the way he uses fuzz, feedback and pedals to create his sound. 'Let it Happen' is a psychic pop song with full of harmonies, disco-grooves that turns into a synthie space-boogie. Like someone said: Space is the place.
As another godfather of Rockabilly should be named Charlie Feathers. Although he had no really chart-breaking hit singles he made a lot of classic tracks that should not be forgotten. As a Mississippi born child of a farmer he moved to Memphis to sign finally SUN-label. I'm very close to the way he plays this kind of music and this will be not the last one in this series.
Something new from the four-piece Alternative rock band Wolf Alice from Northern London. It's a lot more rock, grunge and garage stuff compared to their early ones. The new single extends the spectrum by influence of faded away shoegaze, space rock and a little bit of Krautrock. The song comes along with a construction rather unusual for a pop song and shows singer Ellie Rowsell vocally in unexpected territories. Loud, great.
New music galore arrived throughout the last weeks. Now I've got some time to listen to them and sort out that wasn't worth to give a listen.
The first band is called 87 and is located in San Franzisco. That's what they tell us about their music:
We landed in San Francisco from different places. Patrick was born in Atlanta and has spent much time in Athens, Georgia and Seattle. He has always been into unique Indie Rock. Hanako is from Yamanashi, Japan and has spent a lot of time singing and playing Jazz in Tokyo. Nate hales from the tiny Wisconsin town of Black River Falls where he was influenced by Classic Rock while playing in local bands. We think this odd mix of backgrounds and our willingness to experiment leads to songs that are different, interesting and weird. Our genre is kinda hard to pin down. It probably falls somewhere close to these categories: Outsider, Anti-Folk, Psych-Folk, Lo-Fi, Indie Folk and Indie Rock. All their songs have a big quality on their own. I like 'Teardrops' for them acoustic, forward leading verve and the bass and harmonies of Hanoko. This song reminds me on the days I used to listen to the Woodentops in the mid 80s. And the ballad 'Aitai' sung by Hanako is just great.
Patrick Bates is located in Richmond, VA and gives us a kind of psychedelic blues ballads. 'In the end' is well produced and arranged. Seldom heard a song that starts slowly with a picking guitar and a tender voice ending with a soft saxophone cascade.
Sheffield gave us Joe Cocker and now David Woodcock, not related to Tony Woodcock who scored for Cologne in the early 80s. But the music he plays with his band The Dead Comedians is similar to him. He played earthy, effective and straight to score another goal. And so is their sound. Directly based on the best of The Replacements or The Clash. Catchy songs and I think if you listen to them live it would be an evening you'll never forget.
Embleton tries to find out how American, Country and Tom Petty could sound nowadays. The result are some fine tunes with acoustic guitars, a suffering country voice played slow. Not the hottest thing around but worth to give a listen to.
From Calgary, Canada comes a singer/songwriter duo named Georgia Sound with songs really over the average. Not only laments of love's gone with a sad and somber voice. No their songs are really optimistic, played up-tempo, are arranged very well and the voices of Ryan Roy and Shannon Magee are superb.
The Sound Position is the project of Michael Dugger trying to find his own place between ambient, downbeat and as he says: experiments with electric techniques, sounds and compositions. The result is mellow tunes to relax and having a tea.
1979 seems like independent music has grown up. More and more influences ware taken over so that we have now a bigger musical spectrum. There are still the bands that play the rhythm and blues influenced new wave like The Rumour and Joy Division stuck deeply in their own fantastic sound. It was the year great pop songs were made by independent artists like Kristy McColl or Squeeze. Looking retrospective to this year I have to determine that it was the year electronic sound entered the indie stage. Fat Gadget or Cabaret Voltaire opened our ears for something different and new. It was also the year British kids discovered a type of music that was forgotten but still present in the shade: Two-Tone and Ska. Bands like the Specials, The Beat, The Selecter and Madness gave us the sound of the summer and The Jam weren't the only ones wearing suits any more. For me it was the year I had to do my military service. Almost a lost year staying away from my crowd and less money to buy records. It was also a time when I spent my leisure with five more guys in room listening mostly to Dire Straits, Pink Floyd's 'Wall' and ABBA or something else from the first Disco wave in Germany. Sometimes I got the chance to play one of my tapes and the result was still the same: offering them new music is like throwing pearls before swine. Anyway, here are some songs that might make you a happy start into the weekend.
Ba k in 1984 Helene Folasade Adu released her first album. It was not the kind of music I used to listened to. It was at the end of the year when my former girlfriend asked me to help her sister to move out of her friends flat. I arrived at their place after work and nothing was prepared. It was a single room in a shared apartment. Five very kind of people lived in there. And they were very different in the way they lived. They lived the balance of arty jazz-fusion, punk and New Wave and just mainstream as well. I came there and nothing was primed. All the freaks sat in the kitchen, having some drinks, eating paella and having a good time. If they didn't want to do any job for moving to another place I decided to join the company. I remember some discussions what we should listen to. Someone would like to hear some new music - the other ones would like to hear some arty jazz/fuision. After all we agreed on the pop-jazz record of the year. We listened to her music for many hours. I can't remember when I listened to a record one day for so many times and I still love her music in a very sentimental way. After all it is a classic from the 80..
Another band from Dunedin is needed to be featured in this series (thank you, Dirk). The DoubleHappys were a short-lived band that had a great influence to the Dunedin sound in the early 80s. They didn't released a regular album - only some singles and EP's but their sound was fantastic. They made real great songs in this time with a straight bass, forward driving drums and some guitars that could drive you crazy. Listening to this songs again it reminds me a lot to Jesus and the Mary Jane without their feedbacks. Great stuff.
The band toured in 1985 to promote their newest EP. Towards the end of the tour the band were traveling south from Auckland by train, and the band member Wayne Elsey, in high spirits, climbed out of a carriage. The train passed under a bridge, killing Elsey instantly.
The two remaining members of the band decided not to continue with the name, but later formed the nucleus of Straitjacket Fits which became one of the leading acts of Flying Nun's second wave. Their first EP became a classic in New Zealand rock music. Remarkable is their song 'She Speeds' with it's edgy lead vocal, a dynamic jagged guitar and stabs of strings which tumbled into a churning melodic chorus. That they are not just another guitar based band they show us on 'Sparkle That Shine' a classic pop song with a great downbeat groove and fantastic harmonies.
I know it's not that typical twanging sound in this song but it shuffled up recently and I can't get it out of my mind. It's a song by a guitar player that was forgotten during the last years - Johnny Marr. The song is from his 2013-EP 'Banging ON' and I am still fascinated of the song. The song is based on a solid ground by an accentuated bass and a straight drum so Johnny Marr can show us how to treat a guitar and it never gets dull.
I read recently that it needs only three chords for a good song but the song itself must be good first of all, so that he can live on three chords. And then I listened to MOURN (not to confuse with the Glasgow band Mourn), a new Catalan band and thought by myself that they know this sentence as well. The members Carla Pérez Vas, Jazz Rodríguez Bueno and Antonio Postiu Echeverría, have reached the majority scarcely, bassist Leia Rodríguez Bueno is generally first 15. The name of her first single which is not included on the debut album, however is in youthful contrariness: "Boy's ares cunts". If you listen to the song you hear particularly the influence of PJ Harvey at many places, in the guidance of the guitar melodies, the straight song manner of singer Jazz or her place-wise sharp yelling.
I am no big fan of the world music because to me there is too much dogma in it (you got to love everything in this genre even it is worse). But I have a huge sympathy to African music. These days Fantasma, a band from South Africa released their first album. It's a nice mixture of electronic club music, folk, HipHop, psychedelic pop and a good guitar in the back.
It was in 1978 and lots of people felt happy listening to Rod Stewart singing about 'Hot Legs' or Kansas' 'Dust in the wind' I turned into another kind of music. I felt bored with all this music - not that I didn't liked some of these but now there was another kind of music that gave me much more. It was fast, loud, raw and full of emotions. But it was hard to talk about this music with the folks I hang around. Most of them disclaimed this music because they stuck in the old fashion patterns they were used to have. You've got no chance to convince them that 'Alternative Ulster' is more than a whole record by Van Halen. It took me a long time to understand that this music is more a conviction and a boundary from everything 'old'. In this time I started to listen to the lyrics more than before and I understood that there were more people out there thinking the way I do. And the more I listened to this music the more the lads changed I shared my time. There were a few punks that adapted this attitude, some Teds and ordinary looking people like me. And finally we were a little scene in our town and years later we started to play our music in a club (but this will be another story to be told). Punk and New Wave wasn't played in public radio in these days so I began to buy NME regularly to get informed what's new. An older friend of mine which I used to play football together was the owner of a record shop and he had open ears for this new music. And he was very quick to get the new stuff to sell. I don't know how many hours I hang around in his shop listening to the new arrivals.
No record in 1983 has pulled me more in the spell than the first one of The Violent Femmes. When indie music changed their style once again (New Order, Aztec Camera and The The appeared) a three man band released their first album. Those three nerds from Milwaukee used a little more than guitar, stand-up bass and a snare drum. One of the reasons I still love this record after 30 years is their music and songs in itself. Simply constructed songs with sticky melodies, sung by a young man with a voice that reminds me to a siren, backed with a frenzied bass playing and primal, intuitive drumming.
The world of Violent Femmes is a world of sex. streets and smoking and wandering around in the haze of the night trying to find your way back home. And maybe they told me more of life than any other band in these times. And they made you feel that they understand you and you can agree to their songs (another band are the Undertones - but this is another story). It was the lyrics from 'Add it up' that was burned in my mind when I first listened to them.
Why can't I get just one fuck
Why can't I get just one fuck
I guess it's something to do with luck
...
Broken down kitchen at the top of the stairs
Can I mix in with your affairs?
Share a smoke, make a joke
Grasp and reach for a leg of hope
There are lot's of stories in the internet telling them as a very good live band. And I've to agree. I saw them on their promotion tour for this record playing in a small club in Tübingen. There was no stage and the audience stood face to face to the band. It is one of those unforgettable evenings when you understand what magic could be in music. Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun Violent Femmes - Kiss Off Violent Femmes - Please Do Not Go Violent Femmes - Add It Up Violent Femmes - Prove My Love
Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone
Whilst the first two bands in this series were located in Dunedin The Bats were formed in Christchurch. Already with the first song to the Tuatara-compilation they showed us their trademarks: classic jangle indie-pop songs with wonderful picked guitar strings. The Bats are still on tour and working on new material. Their songs are still worth to listen and in my opinion some forgotten gems.
Named after the French poet Paul Verlaine The Verlaines are another New Zealand band that should be named in this series. Their songs are often not that song you expected when listened to half of the song. I thought many times how to describe their sound so let Wikipedia tell:
The Verlaines were noted for their angular, "difficult" song structures, wordy and downbeat lyrics, unusual subject matter all contained in often frantic up-tempo playing. The Verlaines were led by songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Graeme Downes although many other New Zealand musicians played guitar, bass, drums and brass instruments during the different stages of the band. Nevertheless - they made great songs we should listen to from time to time. Verlaines - Doomsday Verlaines - Death & the Maiden
Matthew E. White is back with a new album called 'Fresh Blood'. And he's back on a high soul level again. Smooth songs in the tradition of Isaak Hayes and Barry White (not with his voice - but his spirit). The first track of his latest record could be a classic if it was released 40 years ago. He's got the soul of the ones I named even if he was looking like a mixture of Bob Seger and Greg Allman. It's good old soul music played with a lot of soul inside. Worth to have a listen if you're in this kind of genre.
One of those artists that try to keep the rockabilly spirit alive is Reverend Horton Head, which I introduced in this series a few month ago. A couple of days ago I found two more cover versions he did. It's live and raw and some songs are too good to be destroyed by anyone.
I didn't expected that one of the oldest Indie-/Alternative-rock bands are back with a great song. Formed in 1997 they played a lot of tours throughout the years and I think it was in the first years of the new century that I saw them live. It was a relaxed concert with good guitars and a lot of that spirit they named Americana. For me not the worst song to start into the new week.
Enjoy.
And as a bonus something new from a young band from Austria. Musically deep in the 90s they give us a powerful indie-song with heavy guitars and a pathetic voice. As they sing in the refrain 'Everyone stays young, no one is getting old tonight' this slogan can model the life sometimes
.
I don't know much about the artist Ann-dee, exept that she was a female singer located in NYC. She names Nine Inch Nail as an influence to her sound. But it's more a journey into space. It's a delicious mix of rock beats, electronic sounds, bit of HipHop and over all her Asian-like breathed voice.
Heavyball are a London based band formed by the Nottingham brothers Salisbury a few years ago. The band is on their way to a modern interpretation of Two Tone and Ska. I never thought someone could make a cover version of Jimmy Summerville's 'Smalltown Boy' that is worth to listen too. But I was wrong. Listen to this version, with the driving rhythm, the ska-inspired guitars and drums and you'll know why Jimmy Summerville said 'Wow! Best cover ever' after he heard it.
It's some ambient electronic for Sunday afternoon that Postac gives to us. In 2013 Ezell Jordan began (and continues) to explore different genres of music after retiring from the punk rock scene, leading him to the world electronic music. It's a wonderful meditative music - perfect to relax with a good cup of tea.
Over at the Austrian radio station FM4 the French producer and musician Marc Collin presented his latest project Bristol live. You might know him as the producer of Nouvelle Vague when he covered punk and New Wave songs into a Bossa Nova style. Now it seems he's on the way to give great songs of the TripHop era a new face. He picked out lot of my favorite songs and made a very own interpretation of them. It's not only covered - these versions show the great respect he has to this songs and he reduces them to their basics. Often with soft drums, a picking guitar that fades into psychedelia and an accentuated bass.
You can watch the limited live stream only for a few days here.
I made many thoughts during the last days how to replace the foreign correspondent series. Then I found the CD-collection Indie-Scene: The story of British Independent Musc in my archive recently. When I have read all the titles on the backside of the cover I have to admit that this was a golden era of music. It's music Dirk presents on with his superb series of girls tapes . So I will start a series about these era, the music we listened to these days and maybe reflecting these days.
At that time in 1977 the charts are filled with pop songs by ABBA, David Soul, The Eagles, Leo Sayer and dreadfully bad songs like Baccara with 'Yes Sir, I can boogie' and 'Mull of Kintyre' by The Wings. Punk and New Wave started to appear in this year and new bands paved the way to new music. American bands like The Ramones, Johnny Thunders and New York Dolls brought their music that was raw, fast and full of energy to London. And very fast kids adapted this music and created a very own scene. Punk was born. In Kings Road, London Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood established their boutique selling S/M-accessory to the kids. Everything was possible in these days. For me it was a rather new experience listening to different kind of music my friends used to listen to. Anyway, this was the dawning of a new era in music and this CD's are a good overview what happened in this 10 years.
These songs shuffled up these days and I've almost forgotten what great songs are. And there should always be some time to pay some tribute to Debbie Harry.
Maybe you know that I got divorced last year and if not it don't mean anything at all. Today my former wife will celebrate her 50th birthday and she'll marry her new love down in Sri Lanka. I wish the best for them and I'm sure she'll go her way leading to the place she want's to be.
A few days ago I played the old blues tunes by Robert Johnson again. Of course it was later in the evening when played these songs , however, still I am impressed from the intensity and passion with Roberts Johnson sing his songs. Here are some classics he recorded before he died too young.
A few month ago I posted the original of Jungle Hop that The Cramps made famous. Here's another song by Kip Tyler and the Flips. It's what this kind of genre stands for: a swampy sound with a bit of twanging guitars, a piano in the back and a saxophone.
Our mate Dirk needed some help a few days ago. After all he's happy to have all the bands and songs named on Iris' tape. The requested song was on a compilation of Flying Nun records, released in the late 90s. I knew that I've heard this song before and thought by myself it sounds a little bit like The Go-Betweens. I searched for the record and finally I found it.
Flying Nun records was a small label located in Christchurch, New Zealand. It's another post-punk label that was formed in these years. Their main intention was to record the original local music of Christchurch, but soon the label rose to national prominence by championing the emerging music od Dunedin, the second-largest city in the South of New Zealand. Flying Nun tried to make their music popular in Europe by the release of two compilations 'Tuatara' in 1985 and 'In Love With These Times' in 1990. While listening to those compilations again I decided to make a little series out of it because there was a lot of stuff on it that still didn't lost his charm over the years.
Hope you'll enjoy this little series and come with me to New Zealand:
The Chills are a guitar and keyboard rock band based in Dunedin and formed by Martin Phillips. Their sound reminds me on early Joy Division and Simple Minds. Anyway this song would be great when it would have got more airplay. So it's just a gem. I love this bass-line with them guitar licks and them more spoken that sung words.
Another Dunedin based band are Sneaky Feelings. Named by Elvis Costello's song they did a very fine mixture with jangle guitars and harmonies that sounds similar to The Byrds.
A little bit quiet for rainy Sunday morning. Christine and the Queens is very popular in France these days. Selling more than a million copies of their latest record. A fragile voice over electric Rhythm 'n' Blues leads us to wonderful pop songs.
