Tonight is the final of the German Football Cup, which would be nothing worth mentioning if VfB Stuttgart didn't get the chance to lift the trophy once again after almost 30 years. Stuttgart played a sensational season last year and finished second to be allowed to play in the Champions League this year. Which they did more than passably well. These additional games and bad luck with injuries meant that no more than 9th place was possible this season. All the greater the chance of being able to play internationally again next season with a win. Which, with all due respect, should be possible against an opponent that was promoted to the third division last week.
Today's song is from Viper Patrol, a band I don't know much and I couldn't find much more about them that they released their songs via Berlin's NEIN label. They are active since a couple of years and move on the ground of post-punk disco. Stickem convinced with a pulsing bass, echoed guitars and bleeps. An unexpected find.
Today is my birthday and I'm 66 years old. In my younger years, I could never have imagined that I would be this old. But with a bit of luck and a positive attitude towards life, I'm now closer to 70 than 60. I don't want to complain about the age either, because in the end it's just a number and says nothing about the person, no matter what they've been through.
When I was looking for a song with 66 in the title, I kept coming across the classic Route 66, but I didn't want to use it today. Instead, my choice fell on a song that Linton Kwesi Johnson released on his second album Bass Culture, which has lost none of its luster even today.
Street 66 told of a raid on a house party where revelers were ready to meet violence with violence. This was no fantasy: reggae dances were frequently broken up by police, batons drawn. After one such invasion, Dennis Bovell suffered a spell in jail on charges later dismissed on appeal.
On this day in in 1946 George Best was born in Belfast. He is best known for his successful career at Manchester United. Best, who is equally strong with both feet, combined the typical strengths of a winger in the form of great pace and acceleration with a strong goal threat.
He had his best time in 1968, when he won the European Cup with Manchester United. Unfortunately, he had problems with his alcohol consumption throughout his life, which ultimately cost him his life.
In 1987 Leeds' Wedding Present released their debut album George Best. Still a classic in fast indie rock. David Gedge wrote pop anthems that never stop working, songs whose lines could not be more honest. Sometimes soft and quiet, sometimes beguiling and loud.
I couldn't resist to feature With 66 Years, a very famous schlager by Udo Jürgens (please don't blame me, Dirk) from the seventies. Jürgens is a classic trained piano player who had several hit singles 50 years ago. In this song he describes that live is starting when you turn into 66.
Exotic Gardens is the side project by Peaking Light's Aaron Coyes. Recorded during the pandemic days the album shows his excursions into the fields of psychedelic, dub and haunting guitar lines. The songs are more raw than before but it makes them more interesting. The almost 10 minutes on Organize Your Movement has everything that makes him different to others. Wonderful bass lines meet Roland 303 meet industrial noise meet post-punk and finally meet dub. Well worth a listen.
In 1976 David Bowie released Station To Station an album that marked a transition for him. While he explored the soul and funk path on Young Americans and before he made Low with Brian Eno he released an album that wasn't an easy cost. Many people couldn't deal with this album at these days because it was unexpected that Bowie explored krautrock and the sound of Neu! and Kraftwerk. The title song is split in two parts. Starting slow with a hypnotic march and industrial noises it turns into a majestic groove that lasts for the rest of the song. The song has some kind of beautiful, intensely romantic melancholy that still grabs me after many years.
Working Batterie is a ne collaboration by New York based producer and multi-instrumentalist Pierre de Gaillande and Minutemen's Mike Watt. Batterie is the French word for drums and so many of the songs starts with them played by different drummers and Watt's joins with his bass. It is a mixture that spreads from pop-rock to jazz-punk and many in between. It is always great to hear Mike Watt playing the bass and at the best moments it remains to Watt's joyness of experimentation. Get more here.
Yesterday, HMHB announced the release of their new album for next month. It certainly won't be the next big thing, but as heard on the pre-release single, but Nigel Blackwell stays true to his line. Short, grating songs with satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. Good to have them back again.
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