Paris 1919

While listening to Velvet Underground the recent days I remembered John Cale's third album. Although the title of his record remains the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 where they established a new partitioning of new Europe and the fixing of the war reparation that led us finally to The Third Reich the album is still on of the best of this period. Planed as a mixture of rock and pop it is filled with great and timeless songs. Maybe the reason for this perfect album is that Cale got the chance to play with great musicians like Lowell George and Wilton Felder.

John Cale - Half Past France
John Cale - Andalucia

Saudade

Saudade stands in the Portuguese for a form of world pain which contains longing and melancholy, but to have lost something lover also wanderlust or the melancholy. This song by Melbourne trio I Know The Chief is one that I can't get out of my mind. It is a perfect mixture of indie-pop and dancefloor. It could probably famous when it was released in the ABC years. Not to bad to start into Sunday morning.

Live Music On German Television

It was way back in 1972 when German Beat Club made a special with some kind of music that wasn't different to all other music int these times. At this times a lot of folks stuck into the  Woodstock generation sound and punk and new wave sound was not born yet. At this time Mike Leckebusch fulfilled himself a dream and he ordered Johnny Cash for a show in Bremen. In the back of my mind I can remember that I saw this feature on a late Saturday afternoon and I was impressed by this appearance by the man in black. Probably showing him at the hight of his career playing songs that are classics right now. At this time country wasn't the music you could agree to many folks. But with this show I got addicted to this kind of music sometimes/somehow. After all - the man in black at his best.

Searching For Sugar Man

A few days ago I watched the Academy Award winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man about the life of America born singer/songwriter Sixto Diaz Rodriguez. I have to admit that I didn't knew his name before but after it changed after this documentary. This film is a British-Swedish collaboration of two music fans searching the truth about the rumoured suicide of Rodriguez. He didn't made it great in his native country but he had massive success in South Africa almost 50 years ago. Seldom it is more worth to watch a documentary than this and it is good to remember a great artist.

Fake / Frei

I featured Die Nerven (The Nerves) on this place a few years ago as one of the best local bands at my place. Now they released a new album Fake. They call them most rottenly tempered band in Germany because they put depressive lyrics in their music. But for me it is a band, grown up in the tradition of Hüsker Dü, Fugazi and Sonic Youth with their noisy and speedy sound but also a bit of a little bit of Krautrock. All genres mixed to their very unique sound that makes them only in today's German new sound (and not only that they come from my greater district).

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

Always only against it

Always only against it

Never really there

Always only against it

Always only against it

But against what?

Always only against it

Always only against it

Never really there

Always only against it

Always only against it

But against what?

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

If everything lets go, release everything

Nothing remains

Die Nerven - Neue Wellen

Hermetica

A few days ago I listened to the first record by Annegret Fiedler aka Perel, a Berlin based DJ and producer and I have to say I like her sound very much. It is a crude mixture of Industrial, Minimal-Wave and synthie-pop with ingredients of Krautrock  ala Czukay and Plank and a minimal voice between Annie Lennox and Nico. Of course it is club music somehow but it is a flow and it's organic sound makes me want to listen more of it. If electronic music seems to be important today it should be like this.

Never Coming Back

Noise rock is not one of my favourite genres but sometimes I take this road when a song leads me this way. And so did A Place To Bury Strangers with the leading song from their newest album Pinned. APTBS are based in NYC and famous for their loud and atmospheric intensive live appearances. Never Coming Back grabbed me with the single guitar tone that leads to a spacey destruction at the end.




And another song from Pinned that shows that their sound works as well when they shift back gears.

Evolution

Back in 1972 Pete Townshend released his first solo album after years working together with The Who. It was one of the first albums ever I listened to in full time. An older friend of my close friend in school days introduced us to this record. Since then I was impressed by the work of Pete Townshend. Not that I like everything he did after The Who but I always felt that he made his very own music without his bandmates. The songs on this album are totally different to the sound of the mod-like The Who and maybe the reason is that Ronnie Lane guided Pete to another way of sound. These days an anniversary edition was released with some out-takes and other stuff. And on this record he showed us his affection to country/folk inspired music that he couldn't do with his band. But this doesn't matter at all - it is still fun listening to this old songs again.

Pete Townshend - Evolution
Pete Townshend - There's A Heartache Following Me
Pete Townshend - Time Is Passing