Your Ghost

 

Since a few week TheRobster is running a superb series of imaginary 7''s after a long running series about the singular adventures of R.E.M by JC & TheRobster. It was a highlight of the weekends during a couple of months and brought me back listening to their albums once again. When I listened to their songs again I remembered a song by Kritstin Hersh from 1994. Your Ghost was her first single and it was remarkable because it was the only collaboration with Michael Stipe on backing vocals. It is song that reached British charts until number 45 and one of those songs touched my soul in a way I couldn't explain. Only because it is beautiful.

Monday's Long Song

Last December I featured The Vacant Lots at this place with another long song from their latest album. This album combines two EP's of this Brooklyn based duo who carries the spirit of psychedelic rock and minimal rock and roll. I forgot this album during the last months bur I rediscovered it a few days ago. Their first recordings were collaborations with Sonic Boom and Alan Vega and you can hear their influences on the whole album as well as song structures we all knew by Echo and the Bunnymen. Damage Control is one of those overlooked albums from 2020 and it rises the more I listen to it and not only because it reminds me to long forgotten times. 

Nobody

 

In the past few days I have found little time and inspiration to post something at this post. Partly because I had too much to do at work and not to put something on paper sitting in front of the screen after work. Instead of continuing the blog I preferred to go for a walk or meet with friends. That doesn't mean that this blog come to an end. 

Farewell Dear Ghost is another talented band from Vienna, Austria and highly in Austria's independent station fm4.orf.at during the last years. Now they are back with a new song and the band moves from electronic influenced indie-pop to a much more guitar based sound. It is nothing more than a great piece of indie-rock like I never heard for a long time. 

High And Wild

After touring a long part of 2018 with Wooden Shjips Carlisle based  band The Lucid Dream released their fifth album The Deep End a few month ago. With their new album they added to their guitar dominated sound narcotically driven and danceable vibes. The bass rumbles and a disheveled percussion shuffles into an ecstasy based groove. 

Monday's Long Song

 

During the weekend Drew featured his latest purchases on Twitter. Beside Richard Norris' superb Hypnotic Response he also owned a release form a 30 year old collaboration between The Grid and Robert Fripp. The Grid was formed by Richard Norris and Soft Cell's David Ball as an early dance group. Robert Fripp was well known as a leading member of King Crimson and one of the first rock musicians that collaborated in the early 90's with new electronic music. The Grid and Fripp met for several sessions and the result was released on two albums almost 30 years ago. But there was more material that cried out to be released. The result is Leviathan where Fripp plays his Frippertronics to a sea of ambient. Fantastic music and a classic on another planet.

Shane

A few days ago I heard the news that Julian Temple made a movie about the varied life of Shane MacGowan. I didn't saw the move but as far as I know Punk chronicler Julien Temple frames the tragic story of the broken hero of the 80s with original footage from the 77's point period as well as animated stories and old films. This gives an equally coherent and broken picture between compassion and agitation, poetry and the story of a radical life in thsense of the Irish soul. In times where you could find 'Nor Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs'-labels in pubs his parents moved from Ireland to a London suburb where he grew up as Irish scum. This changed when he got part of the punk clique of Siouxie Sioux, Adam Ant and Don Letts that stamped vintage punk when he formed as an entourage of The Clash his own punk-band Nipple Erectors. It seems that MacGowan always had the idea to combine classical Irish music with the energy and ruthlessness of punk. The result was a "kick in the butt" of the Furays and Dubliners and modern Irish music, full of directness, full of drunken fun, full of longing and sadness, but not for Ireland, but for the Irish diaspora in London, England and the world. Therefore it is good to listen to them songs from time to time.

The Pogues - Connemara, Let's Go

The Pogues - Sally MacLennan

The Pogues - Boys From The County Hell

Every Knee Shall Bow

 

The recent days a song appeared on my mobile phone on my way to work. It was a song by U-Roy a Jamaican DJ and reggae musician who was one of the earliest artists in this working with sound systems. His early records were produced by Lee Scratch Parry and he sadly never got the credits he should have. This version of Every Knee Shall Bow was toasted with over with Johnny Clarke (hi Jim) in the late 70's wand a contribution by Clash's Mick Jones. Another timeless song and sad that U-Roy passed away a few month ago.

U-Roy - Every Knee Shall Bow

Moin

 

Moin is the German word in Northern Germany for saying hello and also for a new band from London. Formed by Joe Andrews and Tom Halsted probably known as Raime who released during the last years a couple of EP's influenced by British techno and dance music, industrial and gothic. Now they are back as Moin with a new album named Moot! On some tracks they sound like Fugazi made a new record, other ones have a more percussive mood. The way they transport a post-punk sound into now is very exciting and more than average in this genre. Another eclectic find this year for me. 

Free Ride

 

Richard Norris is another artist with a massive output during the last months. Between his monthly releases of Music For Healing he found the time to take a musical trip where German kosmiche music meets psychedelia, hypnotic repetition and an old Korg drum machine. Hypnotic Response is a perfect symbiosis between spaced out German electronic music and ambient mood. You can find more here.

Monday's Long Song

 

Since the late 60's Steve Hillage was a well known guitarist and member of the Canterbury psychedelic rock scene. 45 years ago he moved to New York to record his second solo L. Together with Todd Rundgren he made a classic cosmic rock album. Unusually for him he recorded a couple of cover versions. Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man is one of these examples how to turn a simple folk song into a spaced out guitar sound.

Steve Hillage - Hurdy Gurdy Man

Bloody Waters

 

H.E.R. stands for Having Everything Revealed and is the alias of Gabriella Wilson, an American R&B-singer from California. Already as a child she had a record contract, from which she could finally free herself to start her career artistically self-determined. At just 24 years old she has already received an Oscar, some Grammys and numerous other awards. With her new song she made me investigate for more of her songs. I describe it as modern R&B with a massive touch of Marvin Gaye-like soul. Like many other black artists  H.E.R sings about racism, ongoing protests, rebellion. But not loud and aggressive, instead calm and emotional.

 

Don't know why this song has came to my mind but I can't get them off my mind. Tony Joe White was an American guitarist and singer and known as a main figure of Southern American blues and swamp rock. He had no big commercial success except Pork Salad Annie but appeared on many albums as a session musician. He died a couple of years ago at the age of 75 and if you have a bit affection to blues rock you should give him a listen. 

Tony Joe White - Willie and Laura Mae Jones

Monday's Long Song

 

A few days ago I got the news of a compilation by a label I didn't heard before. Toulouse Gouffre Club shows only local bands but with a wide spectrum of sounds. The bands take you from rave to techno to downtempo to electric to Italian disco and back. I love this sampler because listening the first time to this you don't know where the next song will take you to. The best start might be label head Arabian Panther but the rest is also worth a visit. Seems like Toulouse has a great musical scene to explore