Back On The Blog

Hello comrades, I started a little break the week before because there were so many other things to do and to arrange that I wasn't able to write my daily posts. I would like to thank you all for your warm words and be sure it means a lot to me. In the last ten days I worked on our divorce, fixed the selling of our apartment, supported my former wife because she can't control and direct our son any more, had some guests in our apartment and, in addition I had a difficult and extensive job to do. Sometimes I haven't know what things should be first done or arranged. Now I hope you understand that I needed some time for a break.

Anyway, for God's sake there are some things that fetched me back on the ground again. First was watching the games of the FIFA World Championship in Brazil, playing pool with my mates and music of course. So I try to keep running this blog as you might know it. I still have some ideas for the upcoming weeks and to continue my series.

Normally my co-worker arrives almost three hours later in the office as I usually do. So I have plenty of time to play my music alongside. Last week happened that within half an hour three songs appeared by the random list with one subject. All songs trade of the fact that a man calls the person or to call tries he loves to persuade them of it as importantly it is to him that he can meet them once again.

The first one is Sylvia's Mother by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.The song is an autobiographical song in which  the author Shel Silverstein to his own unsuccessful love. Always I have loved the suffering voice of Ray Sawyer trying to get Silvia on the phone again and her mother blocked telling him him that his love moves away with an other man. I remember my hairs stood up when I first heard him begging 'Please Mrs. Avery, I got to talk to her only for a while'. I can feel the sadness when her mother said 'And Sir, won't you call back again'. And always the operator cuts in to ask for more money throughout the conversation.

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show - Silvia's Mother

The singer doesn't really suffer but he tries to get a date over the telephone. It's the 1959 hit single from J.P. Richardson better known as The Big Bopper. He was on of the other guys who died in an airplane crash together with Buddy Holly and Richie Valance. I started reading about rock music in the early 1970s with Nic Cohn's Pop History. I will never forget what he wrote about this song: He stands in a telephone box, calls a girl and must create like mad to move them to an engagement. He sweats, he giggles, he babbles and dribbles. One feels how his fat shoulders twitch like in the delirium. His stupid suit wraps up him wei a tent, his eyes overflow and his lower lip hangs down limpy. 'Chantilly lace and a pretty face, pony tail hanging down, wiggle in her walk, giggle in her talk. Lord makes the world go round ... Makes him feel real loose, like a long-necked goose'. And all the time he melts away.
And if nothing reaches, of course not, but he does not surrender, nevertheless, and roars and shouts like a democrat from the south with an election rally. The result makes no difference anyway, but the acting achievement counts. 'Ohh Baby' he howls 'You know what I like, You know'. And at this moment he explodes, resolves.

The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace

The last one is from a band that was famous during the German New Wave. I hate it if they are called in the same breath with bands, they've basically have produced musical garbage which achieved unfortunately commercial success. Trio aren't that way - they were more punk and radical then a lot of others. Anyway, they adapted this theme with spoken words on a simple melody. A guy calls his former girlfriend late at night (probably drunk) to get in contact again with her while he listen to their former song. I've to admit that I listened to a song that was recorded by Dombrowski as the girl speaking in this telephone call and I wasn't in the mood to convert my vinyl. So enjoy the video from German TV.

http://www.myvideo.de/watch/7791603/Trio_Sabine_Sabine_Sabine_1982

Hello, Sabine

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

er how are you 

pay attention sometimes

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

is on the radio

and er they had this music on the radio

and er there I had to think of course of you

(Sabine Sabine Sabine)

because you had said also last sometimes

I should call quietly again

(I love you I love you)

however, nevertheless, you have said, nevertheless

however, determines certainly

and then this music you know

yes, and then thought I call, nevertheless, sometimes

what, hello, hello, Sabine

I thought only

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

yes, how like how er oh

nevertheless, you know

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

this I don't see in such a way

this is not necessary 

(Sabine Sabine Sabine)

nevertheless, you know this now, nevertheless, is

nevertheless, you and I know you like last sometimes

(I love you I love you)

why? don't understand this now

last times you have spoken quite differently

so what

exactly exactly

and there you have said this would be everything smells

and this would go quietly thus and er

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

what oh hear, nevertheless, is even not true

oh god and and generally this is

(Sabine Sabine Sabine Sabine)

no if thus is then fits me also not

what

this would be clear even smells and würd me

(Sabine Sabine Sabine)

yes, or, nevertheless, what

no because, nevertheless, I mine this everything is so important not

Central issue you and I

and together and feel fine or

(I love you I love you)

cuddle, nothing with cuddle

it's finally over with cuddling

(I love you I love you)

then forget this shit

okay everything clearly everything clearly

It don't have to be

(I love you I love you)

then is clearly you call again

or ... it's all okay

(I love you I love you)

okay bye

Kralle Krawinkel RIP

The "Heart of Trio" is dead: the former guitarist of the band, Kralle (means claw) Krawinkel, died on Sunday. First announced a named after the ex-bandmate Stephan Remmler fan site of death, which was confirmed later by music manager George Glueck against the news agency dpa. Glueck referred to the widow of the musician. Krawinkel was 66 years old. Krawinkel had founded Trio together with Remmler and Peter Behrens in 1979. In Trio Krawinkel was responsible for the musical direction. "Stephan is a header, I am the heart and Peter? Peter is the asshole!" is an oft-quoted statement from him. In memory are also reduced its unique guitar solos, which he ever so moved on the stage in the length that the other two band members began to play table tennis. In 1986, the band parted. Krawinkel then tried unsuccessfully to start a solo career, but his album "Kralle" was a flop in 1993. Krawinkel withdrew temporarily returned to Spain, where he ran his own recording studio and walked to his hobbies Western Riding and olive breed. In 1998 he received an entry in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as he rode on a horse from Seville to Hamburg, and thus made the world's longest horse trek.

Trio

Yesterday I was thinking about the Montonie in Germany. Origin was a post of Swiss Adam and a comment from Dirk. Finally Dirk offered a tune from Ideal, who was gods at their time in Germany as he said. I still remember their first record and it was a highlight in that so called Neue Deutsche Welle (New German New Wave). Most of it was terrible and not worth to be listened to. But there was another side of it. It was the time, when everything in music was allowed - without frontiers and new horizons. 

In this time everything could be possible. New groups with new sounds are shot like mushrooms.It was the time I spent a lot of nights in Stuttgart in a small club, where in the early 80s played all the bands of the NDW and also bands from from the British island. I can remember listening to the Cure who jammed with their support (a German punk band called Abwärts) after their gig. At one of these evenings I went to a concert featuring Trio, a small band from northern Germany. 

I knew them from a single, which was very soft. Only spoken words from a guy talking to his former girlfriend on the telephone, trying to get her to an engagement once again. Of course it was not successful but was a good step into the music of Trio. I went there with no more expectations than having a good evening with some live music. So I went on a warm spring evening to the place where they played. It was a very small club in the red light district in Stuttgart. It was on the first floor on the left side - the right side was a well known fun house. So we waited, that they would let us in and while we stood in the row all the customers of the fun house passed us with their heads kept down to the floor. 

It was a very small club where they played their gig. If there where more than one hundred people it would be more that can beard to. As I finally got inside the club I hit for a bottle of beer and I got it. While having my first beer I talked to the guy next to me. We talked about this and that and finally about music. It was very interesting to listen his view of how new music might look like. After another beer he apologizes that he has to go, as he makes an appearance. I did not recognized that I was talking to the guitar player of Trio.

I listened to a lot of concerts in this time but none of them impressed me more than them. It was nearly anarchy to play in a band with only a simple drum, no bass, just a few accords an a singer who sung German and English in one song. It is still amazing and burned in my heart.

Listen, enjoy and have a good week