Monday's Long Song

 

At the end of the 80s, the German music scene came to a standstill and many musicians were looking for new paths. Some of them turned to the jazz scene and, like Jazzkantine, experimented with a crossover between jazz, hip hop, rock and sometimes soul. 

By chance, the former bassist of avant-garde rockers Kraan and trumpeter Joo Kraus met in a pub in Ulm to start an unusual project. They obviously struck a chord with their own blend of acid jazz and trip-hop. 

I was able to experience that Tab Two (trumpet and bass) were particularly convincing live when they performed in my home town in our favourite pub before travelling to the annual jazz festival in Montreux (which was only possible because the owner was good friends with Hattler).  

New Song On Sunday

Last week another song by British DJ, Remixer and producer Neil Parnell aka Tronik Youth was released via Berlin's Nein Records. To be honest, Ghost in the Shell is new but a rip-off by Alan Vega's Ghost Rider from 1981. While Vega builds his song on a simple rockabilly riff, Tronik Youth has taken a pulsating synth riff as a basis to let echoing vocals circle in the background. And he actually manages to give the song a new guise without destroying it or freezing it in awe. You can't kill good songs.

And I couldn't resist to feature the original with scenes from Marlon Brando's The Wild One.

When Punk Met Reggae

 

During the week I became aware of a compilation that deals with the fusion of punk and reggae at the end of the 70s. And yes, it includes the essential bands such as The Clash, The Ruts, Stiff Little Fingers and The Specials, but also The Piranhas.

The Piranhas were a band that originally emerged from Brighton's punk scene in 1977 and became famous when they covered Tom Hark, a South African folk standard that made it into the charts. 

They've only released one album, but it's filled with ska-inspired new wave, which was absolutely danceable and was a favorite of mine when I was still occasionally on the road as a DJ. Looking back, I have to say that they wrote more good songs than the rest of comparable bands at the time and have been unjustly forgotten.

Leather Friday

 

For no particular reason, I was watching old videos of The Doors again a few days ago and realized what a presence Jim Morrison was. The fact that he has achieved cult status is certainly also due to his clothes, especially his leather trousers. In music, leather generally stands for freedom, rebellion and wanting to be different. The more I thought about it, the more musicians came to mind who celebrated the leather look and gave me the idea of presenting this in a small series.

At the end of the 60's, Jim Morrison was the idol of many who wanted to be different. His metaphorical lyrics, hypnotic gestures and radical attitude to life made him a superstar. However, he also knew how to present himself visually and so his leather trousers became the outfit of his rebellion.

To stand out in the whole glam scene, Alvin Stardust decided to dress completely in black leather. His music is strongly reminiscent of early rock ‘n’ roll and what could be more obvious than to dress like this?

In the wake of new wave, a Belgian singer emerged at the end of the 70s who was also a huge chart success dressed in leather. Plastic Bertrand is just a footnote in music history, but even his song and outfit are memorable.

Bank Holiday

 

Today, Germany is commemorating the reunification of the two countries 35 years ago. While many believed in recent years that the two countries had grown together, I think that there is much more that separates us than unites us. Wages in the east of Germany are still significantly lower than in the west. Many areas are structurally poor and there is a lack of jobs. These may also be the reasons why right-wing extremist parties are gaining massive support there. 

But this is not intended to be a treatise on the state of Germany, just a few thoughts that occur to me spontaneously on this holiday. Therefore, only two songs from East and West that are more closely related to reunification.

Paris 1919

 

A few days ago I rediscovered John Cale's third solo album after not having listened to it for years. It's probably well known that Cale was a founding member of the Velvet Underground. But that he had a classical training as a musician is probably less so. 

He has always tried to explore the boundaries of music. His musical spectrum ranges from the deconstruction of listening habits to avant-garde pop. And he achieved the latter with Paris 1919. Rarely has his music been so catchy and fascinating. A timeless masterpiece that in many places is reminiscent of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter, which was produced by Cale at almost the same time.

Falling Leaves

 

Today marks the start of October and with it the regular time between summer and winter. The leaves turn into a play of colors and finally fall, it gets cooler and rainier. The days when you could go out without a jacket are over for the time being. 

I was looking for a song for today that featured October, but couldn't find one that really fitted the bill. So I switched to autumn and came up with a song by Yo La Tengo from 1997. Autumn Sweater is from her album of the same name and is a song that divides opinion. For some, it is perhaps the only indie rock song that lasts more than five minutes without a guitar and creates a hypnotic atmosphere with organ, strong drums and tempered bass. For others, it will simply be too boring. For me, the former is true. 

Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater