A few good times in my life
Yesterday Dirt Bogarde, a DJ and producer from the midlands, released a new song. I followed him since a couple of years because he released some outstanding dark Balearic songs. Now he's back with a powerful chugging song. Faster than before but still with superb cosmic adventures.
Last week I finished my series about songs with whistling in it. In the meantime, I’ve prepared a new series, but I’ve postponed it again for now, because it occurred to me once more that The Clash also used a harmonica in their songs from time to time.
The harmonica is commonly associated with traditional blues and folk music. Research has shown that there are countless songs across a wide range of genres that wouldn’t be the same without the harmonica. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring some of these songs here.
Let's start with a movie soundtrack from Once upon a time in the west, the legendary Spaghetti Western by Sergio Leone. As is so often the case, Ennio Morricone was responsible for the soundtrack, and once again he managed to score a film scene with music that is instantly recognizable. Even in the closing scene featuring the final duel, the music builds tension, orchestrates it, and then rises only to return to its starting point. Rarely has a scene been accompanied by such a long and perfectly suited musical score.
As mentioned earlier, The Clash’s Train In Vain was the inspiration for this series. Train in Vain isn’t the first song about lost love on London Calling—or, to be precise, not even the first song about the loss of one of the Slits on London Calling—but it is the most open and direct. By the time the album was being made, The Clash had already decided to ignore many of punk’s commandments, but breaking the commandment “Thou shalt not sing obvious, heart-wrenching love songs” was their boldest and most defiant move yet. Thanks to Mick Jones for that.
Another song that immediately came to mind in this context is “I Wanna Take You Higher” by Sly and the Family Stone. Released in 1969, I discovered it when I was fifteen, after a friend played me a record that belonged to his older brother. A bluesy guitar riff opens the song, and the longer it goes on, the faster the tempo gets. Sly Stone sings his heart out. From that moment on, it was clear to me what psychedelic soul and funk could be.
This series aims to highlight bands that have been around for years and take a closer look at their early days. This time we go for Yo La Tengo, an indie band formed in 1982 in Hoboken, New Jersey by Ira Kaplan and his wife Georgia Hubley. The couple are huge baseball fans and so they took the phrase 'I've got it' from a midfielder that he will get the ball. Ever since a player shouted that and bumped into his teammate—who didn’t speak English—and had to learn it in Spanish, it’s become a baseball anecdote.
From the very beginning, Yo La Tengo were hard to pin down musically, as they had a very broad musical range. Their influences span from jangly guitar rock to noise to the raw, raw sound of the Velvet Underground. But cover songs are also a regular part of their repertoire.
Since their debut album *Ride The Tiger*, they have rarely achieved commercial success, even though they have released many excellent albums over the past 40 years. I've seen them twice live in the 90's and every concert was fantastic. Rarely have I heard such a wide variety of different influences on a debut album that is, in principle, composed solely of classical instruments—influences that have lost none of their appeal even today.
Yo La Tengo - The Cone Of Silence
Yo La Tengo - The Forrest Green
Yo La Tengo - Alrock's Bell
Yo La Tengo - The Evil That Men Do
Today they play some of the best psychedelic-influenced indie rock.
Last week WarChild Records, a British benefit NGO, Help(2), their second charity album that supports children in war zones. The first “Help” compilation, released in 1995 in the wake of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, raised approximately 1.25 million pounds for the children.
Once again, this album features well-known artists who have recorded their own songs or cover versions for this project. Since this is a social project, I will refrain from providing a detailed review of the individual tracks.
For this irregular series on cover versions, I’ve chosen Fontaines D.C.’s version of a song by Sinéad O’Connor (who also appeared on the first compilation with an excellent version of “Ode to Billy Joe”).
You could hear what happens when Steve Davis, a six-time former world snooker champion, and Kavus Torabi, a member of the prog rock band Gong, join forces on The Utopia Strong’s 2019 debut album. Nothing more and nothing less than an album featuring songs rooted in krautrock and brimming with modular improvisations.
The centerpiece of the album, however, is the 10-minute track Brainsurgeons 3, which builds on a simple techno beat and minimal bass, featuring a crescendo of tambourines, bagpipes, and what sounds like a soprano saxophone, inviting listeners on a journey into space. This is what it might sound like when prog rock and electronic music meet in a recording studio.
I’m back in the blogsphere after taking a short break. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling a bit listless and lacked the inspiration to write anything worthwhile. Whether that’s because I’m starting to feel the effects of spring fatigue as I get older, I’ll leave that open to interpretation.
Anyway, a new pop song by Meek got me back on the track. "I jumped up on the bar and started lip-syncing along… everyone in the bar was screaming, ‚I’m so fucking fabulous" is the song’s anthemic core, which transforms heartbreak, therapy, and financial worries into a self-deprecating statement.
The friendly folks at Austrian radio station fm4 described the song as follows: “Fabulous” is a self-empowerment anthem that blends glam rock and pop opera. In the verses, Meek laments the pitfalls of everyday life and the pain of unrequited love. Deep in her heart, however, she feels: “I am fucking fabulous!” The catchphrase, initially delivered on the back burner, becomes a beacon halfway through the song. The driving force behind it is a guitar riff inspired by the rock band Queen and their singer Freddie Mercury. Added to this is a Bohemian Rhapsody-style stereo effect during the chorus.
There’s nothing more to add to that, except that we’re going to be hearing the phrase “I am fucking fabulous” even more often.
It looks like there is a vibrant music scene in Vienna. During the last years I became aware of some very good music, whether indie rock or soulful new rhythm and blues. The last one was sanna frankie, a singer/songwriter from Vienna who recently released their debut album cerberus. In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed, snake-haired dog that guards the entrance to the underworld. He ensures that the living cannot enter and the dead cannot escape. In her own words, he is not a monster to her, but a guardian who helps her keep her thoughts about inner turmoil and emotions under control while she writes. Whether that is necessary remains to be seen. The result is a great indie pop song with a catchy melody that sticks in your head.
