Roman Gods

 

It was in 1982 when me and a couple of friends made a break from work to take a five-week round trip through the western United States. It was a great experience for us to explore the country in a motorhome to get to know all the sights that the country has to offer.

The last days of our journey we spent in Los Angeles and I couldn't resist to go downtown in a record shop to buy me some albums. I found a little shop away from the main road and and it looked a little threatening from the outside with the visitors. Nevertheless, I entered and was greeted by a concentrated load of garage rock. 

I was overwhelmed by the power this band had and asked the owner for their name. He told me that they played Roman Gods, the debut album by The Fleshtones and recommended it to me, not only because he saw them live a couple of days ago. And indeed, it is one of those albums that stamped garage rock. The Fleshtones are deeply rooted in Rock 'n' Roll with the power of punk. Sharp guitars, a bit of organ and the voice of Peter Zaremba made them worth listening to. 

The Fleshtones - The Dreg

The Fleshtones - I've Gotta Change My Live

The Fleshtones - Stop Fooling Around

They proved that they can also impress live at their performance in Urgh! A Music War and also years later when I was able to see them live in Germany.

Monday's Long Song

 

Serge Gainsbourg has always been an artist who knew no boundaries and knew how to provoke with his music and lyrics. He achieved his masterpiece in 1971 when he released his concept album Histoire De Melody Nelson. 

It is basically a setting of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, which tells the story of the paedophile relationship between literary scholar Humbert Humbert and 12-year-old. Gainbourg's story begins in a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the man at the wheel daydreaming in his luxury vehicle until he loses control of the car and hits a cyclist. His gaze falls on the spinning tyre and the rolled-up blouse of the girl lying on the ground. Melody Nelson has red hair, Serge Gainsbourg whispers to the audience, red is her natural colour. Serge Gainsbourg has just described his Lolita experience.

So far, so good, but what does the album have to offer musically? The orchestral arrangements and the constant changes in dynamics mean that the listener is absorbed by the songs, most of which are only spoken or whispered.  The interplay of floating bass, dry drums and a few guitar chords in Melody anticipates trip hop to a certain extent.

Serge Gainsbourg - Melody

New Songs On Sunday

 

I haven't found many new songs this week that are worth talking about. What has fascinated me, however, is the debut album by Nick Höppner, owner of the Ostgut Ton label and Berlin Berghain DJ and Alex Kassian. The two met during the pandemic and developed plans for an album, which has now been released under the name H.A.R.D.

It is an album away from their club activities and convinces with songs that have clear references to krautrock, ambient and guitar-driven music. With its slowly building and effects-laden dreamscape, Circles could be from the better days of Tangerine Dream.

On No Harm, the two manage to approach the sound of Neu! and Can without it becoming embarrassing for them. The whole album is actually recommended, but will be overlooked by the masses

Alliance

 

As almost every year, Andy Bell presents us with a new album and a new collaboration. This time it's Timothy Clerkin, a record boss and producer who reworked a GLOK song years ago. The two allegedly first met at Andrew Weatherall's funeral and have stayed in touch ever since.

It was to be expected that an album would come out that once again shows the spectrum that Andy Bell can integrate into his music. From a tribute to Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized on The Witching Hour with fuzzbox and an acid-house-rock, this song stands out.

At the same time, he managed to record another hypnotic track on Empyrean, reminiscent of an Andrew Weatherall remix with its slow but constantly driving structure, ethereal voice and electronic modulations. An album that offers plenty of room for new discoveries even after repeated listens.

Aleonam

 

What a day it was yesterday. America has decided to entrust a convicted criminal and ultra-right populist with the leadership of a nation. In Germany, the governing coalition that has been in place for three years has finally failed after they couldn't really agree on how to solve our current problems and Stuttgart deservedly lost in the Champions League. 

In order not to have to think about these topics all the time and before I sink into depression, I listened to a piece of electronic house that was released a few days ago at the end of the day yesterday. Laghi is the project of Ribeirao Prato, a Brazilian producer who takes the listener on a spherical journey with his electric beats and hypnotic groove. 

Everything

 

A few months ago Transmission Towers, a two piece band from Liverpool released their first album Transmission One. I liked the outstanding track Everything, a mixture of tribal rhythms, some acoustic guitar and synths in the background and the hypnotic singing of Eleanor Mante but sadly this song went off my radar.

I got aware of this album again when Sheffield based producer Richard Barratt aka Crooked Man remixed the whole debut. He transforms the post-punk inspired original into a percussive hypnotic piece of electronica by replacing the guitars with drums and buzzing synth lines. Anyway, another overlooked song from this year.

Back To Schooldays

 

When I retired a few months ago, I never thought I would end up back at school. The fact that it turned out that way was down to a friend who told me that the local primary and secondary school was looking for reading mentors.

Around 400 pupils from 30 nations are taught at the school, which is just round the corner, and the proportion of pupils with a migrant background is 90%. So it comes as no surprise to me that many pupils have problems with the difficult German language. The aim is for selected children to read to me for 15 minutes from a book they have chosen themselves and for me to talk to them about the content and, if necessary, explain words that they are not familiar with.

Today is my first day and I'm already a little excited. Beforehand, I thought of a few songs that deal with teaching and teachers. Most of the songs have been around for 50 years or more, but have lost none of their lustre or bring back memories of that time.

Graham Parker - Back To Schooldays

Bob Seger - School Teacher

Rockpile - Teacher Teacher

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Teach Your Children