Leopard Skin

 

Until the early 80s, all I knew about Cologne was that they had a good football team and several carnival bands. That changed abruptly when German bands started singing in their native language. The Cologne band BAP rose to fame in the wake of this scene. I saw them back then in a small club in Stuttgart and thought they were pretty decent for a local band playing mainstream. At that time, the peace movement was very popular. Wolfgang Niedecken, the founder of BAP, emerged as the political conscience of an entire generation that demonstrated against the stationing of Pershings in Germany and the phasing out of nuclear energy. I could identify with many of their ideas and goals at the time, but at the same time my ambivalent relationship with Cologne developed. The reason for this was that people from Cologne have an inflated sense of self-worth and fundamentally reject everything that doesn't come from Cologne or consider it inferior. I have always found it difficult to come to terms with this attitude. But back to the music. Many of BAP's songs have long since become popular favourites. Most of them aren't even that bad, but the bottom line is that they are often banal. In 1995, Niedecken, who considers himself an avowed fan of Bob Dylan, released an album on which he performs Dylan songs in Cologne dialect. And I recently listened to this record again and thought that every artist can probably produce a highlight once in their life. All the cover versions are superbly performed and arranged, but the way Dylan's lyrics have been translated into German is sensational. They were not translated word for word, but the poetry of the songs was brought out - even if it is often difficult for me as a South German to understand. All in all, My Back Pages, Jokerman and Absolutely Sweet Marie in these versions are classics that I always return to

American Gypsy Punk

 

Last week our friend SWC named Gogol Bordello on his latest competition. That is enough to give them again a place at this little place in the net. Formed by Eugene Hütz in 1999 in NYC as a punk-rock band and inspired by Romani and Ukrainian music mixed with punk and dub and adding traditional instruments like accordion and violin to their sound. I saw them live almost 40 years ago in a small venue around my place and was excited of their presence. Eastern gypsy sound meet punk and it was a pleasure to see them. They had so much power in their sound and could compared to Les Negretes Vertes or Nyah Fearties. It is music I didn't listen to for a long time but still fascinated of these elementary sound.

It All Comes Down To This

 

Almost one year ago A Certain Ratio, one of the first and finest post-punk bands from Manchester, released their 1982. Now they are back with another new album, an album that is simply inspiring. Based on their traditional sounds they show that they arrived with their kind of music in today. They have always been difficult to categorise musically, the post-punkers from Greater Manchester. A Certain Ratio remain true to this claim to this day, but have deepened and refined it over the decades rather than honing it, as is the case with many bands of the same age. This album is a shimmering panopticon of styles and sounds that does not deny its basic DNA, consisting of funk and Factory sound. What A Certain Ratio deliver is always completely independent, stylistically confident, diverse without sacrificing funk and fantastic bass lines. In some moments they are reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen, while in others their metronome-like drumming is reminiscent of Can. It is also an album you could listen from the start to the end in one row. And this is one of the greatest compliments I can give to any artist. 

Monday's Long Song

 

Last week another compilation for Shelter Me was released via Paisley Dark Records. Shelter Me is a collective set up to use music to raise funds to tackle homelessness in the UK. It is another collaboration of more or less well known electronic artist presenting their newest kind of releases. I think any project supporting homeless people in these days should be welcome and if it is only that we remember them.

A Tribute To Curtis Mayfield

 

Last year in autumn Cologne's WDR Big Band and the WDR Funkhausorchestra made a tribute concert in honor to the music of Curtis Mayfield. He was one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement who also conveyed a great social message with his music. Many of his songs are monuments to the soul and funk of the seventies. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of orchestral sound, but this concert is a highlight of musical quality. All the musicians involved are in a class of their own and a sound experience in itself. Treat yourself to an hour and enjoy well-known songs in an extraordinary guise.

Monday's Long Song

 

Another release by Martin Jenkins aka Pye Corner Audio and another spooky electronic excursion into his space. A steady beat is the floor for some improvisation with synths. Not the worst way to start into another week.

These Immortal Souls

 

Sometimes it takes re-issues to remember a band that I listened ages ago. This happened when I got the news that the albums by Australian post-punk band These Immortal Souls was released a few days ago. Formed in 1987 in London from the ruins of Crime And The City Solution, an another underrated band by Rowland S. Howard they brought us back an almost impossible combination of blues and punk. I remember their first album was on heavy rotation in the gothic scene back then. And I have to admit that that I liked their music in these days but wasn't a huge fan of them. But listening to the albums decades later I can got aware that they were more than a post-punk epigone.  Howard is croaking the lyrics Cave-stylish but his guitar is sharper than many others and their influences are massive. On These Immortal Souls it sounds like the Doors had a session with Bowie. Not the music for every day but ace from time to time.

These Immortal Souls - Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)

These Immortal Souls - These Immortal Souls

These Immortal Souls - Blood And Sand`She Said

These Immortal Souls - The King Of Kalifornia

Fly Like An Eagle

 

Steve Miller, a West-Coast blues guitarist from San Francisco released his ninth album Fly Like An Eagle back in 1976 and was one of those albums older friends of mine raved about almost 50 years ago. I remember when I was the first time in a hippie pub in my home town for one of my first pints this album was the soundtrack for more than one hour. I have to admit that I didn't knew the artist and his combination of country blues and psychedelic sounds fascinated and impressed me. This album was one of my first bought long players and I grabbed out a few days ago and the music is still fascinating to me and not only for sentimental moods. Steve Miller was one of these artists late hippies and not born punks could agree. Of course he stole some riffs from British bands like Free from All Right Now on Rocking Me but this doesn't really matter because it sounded like a song by himself.

Monday's Long Song

 

In 2010 The Orb released Metallic Spheres, a collaboration with Pink Floyd's guitarist David Gilmour born during a charity session. There is only one song on each side and a superb fusion of ambient and old style psychedelic guitar. It was an album that is played in many chilled out bars when I was in Asia these days. Last year a remix of this album was released and shows the beauty of this collaboration once again. For me a perfect start into the week.

The Orb & David Gilmour - Round Side: Seamless Solar Spheres Of Affection (Round Side)

Sasha

 

VfB Stuttgart supporters have not exactly been spoilt in recent years. Several relegations to the second division were well deserved - as was the immediate promotion to the Bundesliga. Otherwise, our capacity for suffering was tested as we regularly found ourselves in the lowest regions of the table. At the end of last season, we escaped another relegation by the skin of our teeth. It is all the more astonishing that we are now level on points with Bayern Munich and will almost certainly play internationally next season. Many people realised that this team has potential, but the fact that it can translate its strengths into winning games amazes me almost every weekend. We will see where this journey will take us. 

Another newcomer released a new single last week. Uche Yara is a 21-year-old musician and producer from Austria with Nigerian roots who currently lives in Berlin. Her music sounds like a psychedelic trip accompanied by Far Eastern folklore, guitar solos and a dark, pounding beat. Uche Yara impressively demonstrates her vocal range here. And now we also know that she can rap. An impressive pop song and one should follow the further development of this artist.

Piano Man

 

In the late 70s, when everything was centred around punk and new wave, a friend offered me a ticket for a concert whose musician I didn't know and of whom I hadn't heard a song until then. As admission was relatively cheap and I had nothing better to do, I went with him. Until then I was more than suspicious of a singer/songwriter, but after this concert I had a completely different view. Billy Joel completely won me over in those two hours. Outstanding songs with intelligent lyrics, perfectly arranged and performed with such intensity are something I have rarely experienced before or since. And I'm surprised that I didn't give him and his songs, which have accompanied me for decades, a place in this little corner of the internet sooner.

Shine A Light

 

This is not you might think. Not the song by The Rolling Stones from their album Exile on Main Street. It is from a new album Adam introduced us last week by 100 Poems, a band from Dublin by DJ Mike Wilson. Everything's Balearic When You Believe is a tripped out excursion in electronic, house, psyche, prog, dub and Balearic blissed out beats. Seldom heard such coherent mixes of different styles since a long time. Balearic beats meat Westcoast sound meets guitar solos, meets horns. A mixture that is far above many things I listened to during the last months. Maybe it is not everyone's cup of tea but for me one of those albums that makes the difference to other peoples stuff

Monday's Long Song

 

It is April and a quarter of the year is behind us. I was thinking about a song for this month and my first thought was April Sky but decided that I should go for another song because many others would post this song by JAMJ. So I came back to a song from 1969 by a band I listened very often in my young men's days. Deep Purple released this song on their third album and marked a shift away from their progressive roots to hard rock. This song is also an example how Jon Lord tried to combine rock music with classic music. April is a three-part classic rock suite starting with an organ and Blackmore on an acoustic guitar to give over the command in the second section to a chamber orchestra and finishing with hard rock. An example how good this collaboration could work.

Deep Purple - April

Red Hot + Blue

 

One of the most obscure compilations of recent decades appeared in 1990. There have always been albums on which musicians have been honoured. This album, however, is something special. It was released by the Red Hot Organisation, a charity to support HIV/AIDS relief worldwide after a spike in deaths among artists and intellectuals in NYC. I can't say why Cole Porter's music was used as the main theme, but the fact that so many artists from so many different musical genres recorded their versions is remarkable. Every song could have been written by David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Jungle Brothers, The Pogues or Sinnéad O'Connor. And that is probably the greatest praise for Cole Porter's songs, which have lost none of their fascination even after more than 30 years.

Spring Calling

 

It is spring and it seems a lot of bands are going to release new stuff. So did Jezebell/Jesse Fahnestock who released Jezebellearic Beats Vol. 1 a 20 track compilation and as the title suggest there are variations of Balearic music. The ones I heard were all great in their way worth to give them a listen.

Interplay

 

Yesterday Ride released their seventh album after a longer break. I tried not to set my expectations too high for this record, as Andy Bell's last releases were more than above average. And with this basic attitude, I was not disappointed. Certainly not a milestone in the history of music, but an album that will certainly appear in many annual best lists for this year. In their new songs, Ride move away more and more from the classic sea of guitars and reverberating sound of their earlier albums and seem to have discovered Tears For Fears and Talk Talk for themselves without losing their roots. In the case of Ride, it means that a band has brought together all their influences and experiences and packed them into varied, dense songs, so that "Interplay" adds playful aspects to the hypnotic melodies and guitars and synth elements, psychedelic folk, mystical games and electronic beats run through the songs. An album in which escapism, longing and melancholy flow just as much as perseverance, cohesion and energy swirl.

Live Music On German TV - Once Again

 

During the last days I listened often to MC5, probably the most influential heavy band from Detroit. Their rough and earthy sound is still far above everything I listened to in my very younger days and influenced a lot of bands decades later. I can remember when I first saw this in 1972 on a Saturday afternoon and my parents couldn't understand why I loved this kind of music. It was probably one of their last live appearances before the band broke but shows exactly what they are famous for.

Ghost Ranch

 

Sometimes it is unbelievable that there is band 20 years on duty and releasing records after records and I didn't got any notice from them. This thoughts went through my head when I got the new of the latest record by Son Of The Velvet Rat, a band formed by Georg Altziebler and his wife Heike Binder from Graz, Austria. Their sound has nothing in common with music I was used to from my neighbors. It is reasonable because they left their homeland and moved years ago to Joshua Tree, close to the Mojave desert, Southern California. Their sound could be described as a very Townes Van Zandt magnificent version of Americana or desert rock. Altziebler's rough voice sounds perfect to songs with great (county-)guitars. And a song like Rosary where Marc Ribot adds a guitar performance can't be bad. A record I will sure listen more than once this years.

Mondays Long Song On Tuesday

 

Just in time for last weekend, I caught a cold that left me doing nothing but lying in bed sweating. That's why I didn't find the time or the muse to write anything for my blog. Since today I'm feeling better again but not well enough to go to work and catch up on what I had planned. Rich Lane is a British DJ and producer releasing since almost 10 years mixes for his Cotton Bud label. Most of them are high quality and featured at this place several times during the last years. His latest release as Chug Norris is another example for combining chuggy rhythms with smooth vocals and electronic piano fragments.

Take Me Out

Last week I once again visited the website of the Austrian radio station FM4 to read a review of a mini-series about Franz Kafka, the 100th anniversary of whose death is being celebrated these days. In addition to this article, the new single by a Viennese band that I hadn't heard of before was also presented. Baits are a band in classic rock guise with bass, drums and two guitars and play a melodic version of grunge-pop. Their songs are usually under three minutes long but always performed with incredible power. A band to remember and worth following their further development. 

I'm In The Mood

I have to admit that I am not very firm with blues and most of the nowadays artists are boring me. But the old black artists that made the blueprint of rhythm 'n' blues in the 60's are a place I come back from time to time. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker are the names I play at my place sometimes when I am in the mood for it. John Lee Hooker released in 1989 an album filled with his kind of blues collaborated with artists like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Gerorge Thorogood that stamped the sound of a short summer. With these musicians, he has created a small masterpiece that is undoubtedly timeless, integrating different styles into his very own sound. A special look back at an extraordinary album that has lost hardly any of its fascination. 

John Lee Hooker - I'm In The Mood

John Lee Hooker - Sally Mae

John Lee Hooker - The Healer

Ibiza Macht Frei

 

Rheinzand, a musical project from Ghent, Belgium, released four years ago a wonderful self titled album. It was played at my place very often and I like their relaxed Balearic moods. Now they returned with a re-work of their latest album Atlantis, Atlantis by Pete Blaker from the Netherlands, a producer who tried to give these songs a new outfit. Moving away from their dance-floor moods he created with new instrumental layers and dubs a new flavor with their songs. Most of the songs can take you to another dimension if you are ready for a Balearic trip.

Monday's Long Song

 

I can't believe that I didn't featured Johnny Marr at this little place of the internet. Of course I named him several times especially when The Smiths were around. A few days ago I came back to his live album Adrenalin Baby from his tour in 2014/15 recorded at various venues in Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol. It is one of those live albums I always wished I could have been part of the crowd. 17 songs full of energy and enthusiasm and great versions of songs we all know by The Smiths. And it also shows Johnny's abilities of playing guitar. 

Johnny Marr - Playland

And as a bonus a live version of a song from a short lived project. In 1989 Marr and Bernard Sumner of New Order formed Electric an alternative dance band. The original was a song with a fantastic bass line and the voice of Neil Tennent made this an outstanding record of this time. That this song also works with a more guitar based sound is one of the highlights of this album.

Johnny Marr - Getting Away With It

Two For His Heels

The older I get, the more I appreciate the qualities of singers and songwriters. One of them is Sheffield's Richard Hawley, who announced a new album last week. The Wiener Standard labelled his music "somewhere between Roy Orbison bombast, soft rockabilly rumble and songs from the Lee Hazlewood and Johnny Cash school". Two For His Heels exactly a song in this label, a sparse, atmospheric and cinematic song about a deal that goes wrong, its low blues rumble reminiscent of Link Wray and Duane Eddy. Nothing less the song of the week for me.

Love Mhisachine

A few days ago I found an album in my collection that I forgot that I owned. Supermax is Austrian musician and producer Kurt Hauenstein and he released his second album World Of Today back in 1977. It was the time when disco music with a massive funk influence was on it's peak. When me and a couple of friends were DJ-ing in the early 80's Love Machine was the song we played to fill the dancefloor. This song went to high position in various charts and is still a highlight of this genre from these days. Listening to this record after almost 50 years it sounds fresh, not overproduced and far ahead of time. Some R 'n' B artists would die for this bassline today.

Supermax - Love Machine 

Corrupt Data

Last week Pye Corner Audio, a British music project by Martin Jenkins released since a decade steady new musical experiences in electronic music. Most of them and their remixes are far over the average of many other releases. The last one is another cosmic experience on a house based floor with great beats and a rhythm you could get lost by. Another piece of electronic music that could last the test of time.

Icicle Works

Almost 40 years ago Liverpool's The Icicle Works released their self titled album a classic record of the post-punk era. At this time Ian McNabb had a flair for excellent melodies which he underpinned with his unmistakable guitar sound. Their debut album entered the top 20 with several hit singles like Birds Fly, Love Is A Wonderful Colour and years later Understanding Jane were highlights of new-wave pop and still songs I always like to listen today. Timeless music that has inspired many bands to come. 

 

Monday's Long Song

 

Another eclectic song for this series I found in a deep corner of my hard drive. 40 years ago German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten released their third album Halber Mensch. With their noise music, the Neubauten hit the nerve of the times and became Germany's most important representatives of music that knew no commercial boundaries in the 1980s. While their first two albums were characterised by improvised noises that were artfully put together, their third album offers a shift towards more rhythmic music. With Yü Gung they move towards the dancefloor with a strong rhythm and, as always, Blixa Bargeld's cryptic lyrics, which are difficult for me to understand. No wonder Adrian Sherwood has given this song a remix that is rather untypical for him.

Einstürzende Neubauten - Yü Gung (Adrian Sherwood Remix)

Wild God

 

Last week Nick Cave released the title track of his upcoming album. I am a huge fan of him and I wasn't sure what to expect because he has continued to evolve his sound throughout his 40+ year career. And I was pleasantly surprised that after his melancholy, loss-driven albums he was able to find positive attitudes in his songs again. Wild God starts accented calm and builds over the course of over five minutes to an enthusiastic and celebratory, anthemic furor. He still uses cryptic lyrics but as far I understand he sings/talk about searching. A very good song shorten the time to his new album. 

Eternity

 

These days I was introduced to Georgia Ochoa aka Seagoth, a 19 years old British producer and singer/songwriter by a link from my inbox. Not knowing what expected me I switched to their bandacmp site and found a remix by GLOK/Andy Bell. Further investigations named their sound bedroom-pop and I couldn't find a song that I can assign to this genre. This remix is a wistful affair, long-drawn sounds are picked up by a soft drum machine and Ochoa's warm voice gliding over them. And Andy Bell fulfilled this song with a superb remix. Of course not the next big thing but a song that will be played at my place more than once in the next days.

Pacific Ocean Blue

 

I have to admit that I have been a fan of the Beach Boys and I like many of their 60's pop songs with their great harmonies but I don't own more than a best-of compilation. But I love Dennis Wilson's first and only solo album Pacific Ocean Blue. Dennis was the only one in the band that could be called as a real surfer and therefore it is consequent that he died by diving in the harbor in California. He was the drummer when the Beach Boys played live and his life was anything but straightforward. Haunted by demons he joined Manson's family and his life was full of drug abuses. In 1977 he released his album where he played most of the instruments. I think it was his only and last chance to get back into 'normal' life. And he made a masterpiece. Filled with great songs about love, loss and sometimes the chance of a brighter future it seems like a sentimental one. And yes, it is sentimental and has a somber tone but it is true and an album I return constantly.

Dennis Wilson - Dreamer

Dennis Wilson - River Song

Dennis Wilson - Farewell My Friend

Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blues

Atomic Dog

 

In December 1996, some friends and I ventured into a musical genre that we only knew to a limited extent. We only really knew funk and soul from James Brown and were excited to see what the godfather of funk had to offer. All we knew was that George Clinton was going to take us on a journey into the depths of funk. Out of nothing but funk, he creates a party for himself and his audience, two and a half hours long, not a second of it boring, an eternal return of the same and yet endlessly entertaining. Bootsy Collins, without the master of the powerfully strummed electric bass guitar, sets the mood for the long evening. After what felt like an eternity, the master took to the stage. Golden suit, huge golden top hat, psychedelic glasses on his nose, the coolest grin in the universe just below and the journey began. Many songs, often stretched to the limit, but always with a rhythm that never let go.  I've been to many concerts, but a concert where funk dominated and inspired in such a way was unique. It is time to remember this music. Great stuff.

George Clinton - Atomic Dog

Monday's Long Song

 

One of the reason why punk could start in the late 70's was that most of the music was boring, often heard and nothing new was released. But it is also often overlooked that there were actually bands that had their own fascinating sound. Bill Nelson's Be-Bop Deluxe were one of these bands. While they were initially categorized as just another epigones of glam rock, they had so much more to offer. Incorporating progressive rock, folk and massive guitars, they were light years away from the mainstream. Towards the end of their existence, they even tried to integrate elements of new wave into their sound. I recently listened to their live album Live! In The Air Age and was thrilled. They still sound fresh and fascinating. In this context, I remember how many words of praise Tom Verlaine has rightly received and how few Be-Bop Deluxe have, even though their sound is so similar.

Be-Bop Deluxe - Shine

What Now

 

About 10 years ago Alabama Shakes were exuberantly celebrated with their mixture of blues and southern rock. And rightly so, because with Brittany Howard they had a singer whose voice stood out from the crowd with its volume. Now Howard is back with her second album What Now. She left the paths of blues behind and moved into more complexity. She surprises with deep grooves, sensual funk and also tries to combine her roots with ambient. All in all a complex album worth to be listened.

Rockabilly Ruled Pt. 2

 

After writing about the Cramps last week, it's time to talk about another band that at the same time brought back music that had been lost for a long time. The Stray Cats were an American band who celebrated their greatest successes in England and on the continent in the early 80s. In Dave Edmunds, they found a producer who himself was knee-deep in rock 'n' roll. With their first record, they have brought us back closer to the roots of rock music. As a band that played their earthy music as a three-man combo with guitar, stand-up bass and simple drums, they were the sensation of the year in 1981. Decades later, their sound still sounds fresh and urban, setting the standard for all subsequent epigones.

Stray Cats - Runaway Boys

Stray Cats - Rock This Town

Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut

Stray Cats - Rumble In Brighton

Monday's Long Song

 

Shelter Me was a dance festival that took place over three days in December 2020. In their own word they said Shelter Me is a conscientious caring collective set up to raise funds, through music, in aid of homelessness in the UK and tackle a problem to our so called leaders wish to sweep under the carpet. Now this collective released an album with a lot of remixes of Strange State by artists that even played at the events. All the songs included a sample of Ofra Haza's Im Nin Alu. It's difficult to select one remix and I went for Richard Sen's version because it has a hypnotic groove all over the length of the song.

When We Were Beautiful And Young

 

Last week Mick Harvey, former co-founder of the Birthday Party and member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds announced a new album after almost a decade. His latest sign of life was when he released a couple of months ago a cover version of Marlene Dietrich's A Suitcase in Berlin which will also appear on his new album. I liked this version but forgot to write about it. Now he released When We Were Beautiful And Young another song from this album. And it one of those songs that you listen once and repeat it several times. The track is ethereal and haunting – a powerful reflection of the past delivered with moving grace and presence. The arrangements recall something from Burt Bacharach with a touch of Tindersticks: dramatic and melodic, the lyrics evocative and reflective. Weeping, sweeping strings augment the dramatic scenery and makes me looking forward to the full album.

Don't Fall

1981 was that year when a lot of new bands appeared on the scene. Most of them had their roots in post-punk and new wave and many of them didn't made a bigger career. Not because they weren't good enough but probably because they sounded similar to other bands that made it big or they didn't got the right promotion. One of those bands were Manchester's The Chameleons. Their music has the same gloomy mood like The Cure and Joy Division but they always tried to involve pop into their sound. I bought their debut Script Of The Bridge and was fascinated of their songs. All of them are timeless and I can hear their influence in today's bands like Slowdive or The National. This is a great legacy for an underrated band.

The Chameleons -   Don't Fall

The Chameleons - Up The Down Escalator

The Chameleons - Pleasure And Pain

Psychobilly Ruled

 

Today Kristy Wallace better known as Poison Ivy, the founding member of The Cramps turns 71. It's a good reason to remember one of the greatest bands who brought with their unique mixture of punk and rockabilly a new genre to my ears. I always loved them and their rough and earthy sound. Only two guitars, a small drum kit and with Lux Interior a singer that turned mad on stage. I was lucky enough to see them live almost 40 years ago in one of the best performances I had ever seen. There was never a title to a record that better describes the content than Songs The Lord Taught Us. 

Happy birthday Ivy

The Cramps - TV Set

The Cramps - Strychnine

The Cramps - Garbageman

The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf

Monday's Long Song

 Last year Adam introduced me to Kidja, a DJ duo from Bucharest, Romania. I liked their album Transmissions Part 1&2 but forgot to feature them at this place. They are on duty since 20 years combining electronic soundscapes with element of new wave, industrial house and techno. It is this kind of sound that grows the more you listen to it.

Gift Horse

 

Another working week is behind me, filled with work that had to be done by a fixed date and unspeakable meetings. My personal highlight was that I finally gave my resignation to be able to retire at the end of July. After that, I had a feeling of freedom and lightness that I never expected. It's not that I don't enjoy the job anymore - it's more to do with the fact that I've created facts and now can focus on the time after I quit. 

Last Friday Bristol's post-punks Idles released their latest album Tangk that is more different than their records before. In their early days, like their colleagues Sleaford Mods and Fat White Family, they impulsively shouted their frustration with hypocritical society into the microphone. Not that they changed their aggressive heavy guitar dominated sound but they included more different styles into their sound. Gift Horse is the main track of this album and shows with metallic riffs and intelligent lyrics that they didn't lost their humor. 

Days

 

Today's Valentine's day, when lovers give each other presents and honour their love with gifts. There was a Valentine of Rome, an early priest of Christianity, who was executed for his faith on 14 February 269. He is said to have performed Christian marriages for couples, although this was forbidden at the time, more than a hundred years before Christianity was declared the state religion in Rome. In 1950, the first "Valentine's Ball" was organised in Nuremberg. From then on, the customs of Valentine's Day spread throughout Germany. Valentine's Day became widely known during the years of the Federal Republic's economic miracle thanks to increased advertising by the flower industry. I didn't celebreted this days since ages because it is just a commercial day where flower shops make the most sales. Anyway it is a day where love songs still come to my mind. Thinking of love songs there are always some that thematise the separations. And there is one song that shows a big love even if one got separated from his partner. Ray Davis wrote great songs with fantastic lyrics but Days is a highlight because he found the right words for maybe a never ending love. And CC your right a faithful cover seldom can fail.

The Kinks - Days

Kristy MacColl - Days

Monday's Long Song

 

Last Friday the sad news arrived that Damo Suzuki died at the age of 74. He was Can's lead singer on three albums. Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay detected him as a street musician in Cologne and inveted him for a gig at the same evening. His trademark was a special kind of psychedelic singing between whispering and singing. 

Rest in peace Damo

Can - Oh Yeah

Time To Listen To The Originals

 

I really like cover version. Especially when an artist rejig the original and reinterpret the song like he could be a song written by himself. During the last days some cover versions came to my ears and I thought by myself if it was necessary to release this versions. Sophie Ellis Baxter had a number one hit back in 2001 with Murder On The Dancefloor, a veritable piece of dancefloor back then. Now she's back at the top ten because her song was shaded for a scene in American movie Saltburn. Since you can find a lot of cover version and remixes especially on Soundcloud. One of them is made by Australian band Royel Otis. It is a nice one because they gave them a flavour of indie-rock. It is a nice version but I don't need it really.

Paramore's version of Burning Down The House is an example of a needless cover version. Made for a tribute album for Talking Heads that should be released soon. A version that is so close to the original that I ask myself did they ever listened to this song enough to understand what David Byrne meant when he wrote it. Absolutely waste.

  

L'Effet Domino

 

A few days ago French guitar duo The Limiñanas released released their latest collaboration with French DJ and producer Golden Bug. It seems like they found the time after several works together for a complete album. This song makes me curious for the whole album. It is a an example of great guitar works joining electronic beats. Sometimes it sounds like desert music on an electronic floor. Perfect for a ride in a cabriolet on a summer day.