40 Records In 40 Years (22/40 - 1995)

When I look back to this year I see the horrible pictures of the thousand dead Bosnian who was slaughtered in the Srebrenica massacre. Compared to my personal life I have to say that I stay in paradise. All is well an peaceful: I live in a comfortable house, have two young kids and a wife I love and no need to cry about lost or killed persons I used to life with. So this was a year in my life that was very quiet. Just doing my regular job and watching the kids getting older. I spent the most of the time with my kids or we went to visit my parents in law near Cologne and I have to say that it was just a good year.

Records that impressed me much in 1995:

• Goldie - Timeless: My entrance into Drum and Bass
• Tricky - Maxinquaye: Trip Hop at it's best
• Neil Young - Mirrorball: The old man together with Pearl Jam
• Pulp - Different Class: This album is the reason why I listen to them for ages
• Scott Walker - Tilt: Great songs in a bleak, forlon and funereal mood
• Leftfield - Leftism: House music at it's best
• Black Grape - It's great when you're straight .... yeah!: Underrated record

Some movies that I saw in these days:

• Seven:
• Braveheart:
• Outbreak:
• Smoke:
• The Usual Suspects:
• Desperado:
• Get Shorty:
• 12 Monkeys:
• Dead Men Walking:

What happened in the rest of the world:

A UN tribunal on human rights violations in the Balkans charges 21 Bosnian Serbcommanders with genocide and crime against humanity // Three far-right National Front activists kill an 17 year old Comorian kid living in France // Barings bank collapses after broke Nick Leeson loses 1.4 billion USD by speculating on the Tokyo Stock Exchange // Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system // Oklahoma city bombing kills 169 people including kids // Jacques Chirac gets elected president in France // Srebrenica massacre: Units of the Army of the Republika Srpska under the command of general Ratko Mladic enter Srebrenica with little resistance from Dutch peacekeepers of the UN Protection Force, going to kill thousands of Bosniak men and boys and rape many women // Miguel Indurain wins the Tour de France for the fifth time.

A year with very good records and new sounds and it's hard to pick out one record. I decided to choose Long Fin Killies first record Houdini. I am liking this odd gem of a record. I seldom have heard something like this before. If you can imagine A.R. Kane, Cockteau Twins, Slowdive and early Krautrock on one record - than try this one. Long Fin Killie was a Scottish experimental rock / post-rock band and released three records on Too Pure label. The first thing that came to my mind was: 'Damn, this drummer is a genius' The band is amazing - so amazing that I kind of wish, there were no vocals. Sunderland bubbles on like Morrissey. The odd thin, though, is that the vocals are pretty sporatic and there are noc choruses as a majority of other songs in post-rock style. All in all it's a distinct sound with emphasizing the bass and using offbeat percussion and violins as a garnish. There are hypnotic passages where guitars, percussion and violin circle like spray around the rhythmic booming waves of the booming waves of the ball. One of the highlights was posted last year - it's the brilliant moment when on The head of Dead Surfers, Mark E. Smith (a label mate of the band) joins the vocals.

Long Fin Killie - (A) Man Ray
Long Fin Killie - Flower Carrier
Long Fin Killie - Homo Erectus
Long Fin Killie - How I Blew It With Houdini
Long Fin Killie - The Heads Of Dead Surfers