40 Records In 40 Years (25/40 - 1998)

In 1998 was one year which had a basic incision in my life. As I have already indicated in the last post of this series, a final decision has liked. Me and Kerstin decided to go separate ways.We didn't made it easy to decide but I didn't want to move away from my native country to follow my wife to hers. She got more and more homesick to her family and the way of living. It isn't that Cologne was more attractive but she missed the Rhenish way of life so much. It was decisive also that our daughter should be sent to school and we both agreed that it better to make a cut right now than to deliver it on the back of our children. I remember when we sat together for evenings talking about all our options, drinking and having tears in each other eyes. And finally we have separated in friendship and love to allow it to everybody to start a new happy and contented life. The hardest thing was to explain it to the kids because in their age they cannot understand the reasons for separating. Although I have mourned about the loss of the children of the deepest heart, we both had to tell them about a new nice world in which they will live in future. So we packed the things together and moved them to their parents house in spring. I started to sell the house and found me a nice apartment in my hometown and contacted people I haven't seen for long years. Suddenly I recognized that I was back in my older life as a free man with less responsibility, however, also more desire in the life.

In this time I spent a lot of time listening to my old records and looking for the new ones that was released this year.

• Air - Moon Safari: Superb record made in France
• The Notwist - Shrink: German arty new rock music
• Massive Attack - Mezzanine: Another fantastic record
• Tortoise - TNT: Even their second record is great
• Two Lone Swordsmen - Stay Down: First time I recognized the great Andrew Weatherall
• Madonna - Ray Of Light: Maybe her last good record
• Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children: New great sounds from Scotland 
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Carry On: A compilation of great songs and voices
• Robbie Williams - I've Been Expecting You: Perfect pop - nothing more or less

A few well known songs that I listen to this year:

Here are some movies that are worth to remember:

• Saving Private Ryan: Steven Spielberg shows us the real World War II
• Life Is Beautiful: It is hard to explain a KZ as a playground to your son
• American History X: Shocking that this could happen in the United States
• The Big Lebowski: One of my favorite movies. No one is cooler than The Dude
• The Celebration: Wonderful Drama about lifelong lies
• Run Lola Run: Every Story has three sides. Fantastic!
• The Truman Show: Are we real or are we in a show?

Somethings that happened in the world:

More massacres in Algeria // Suharto resigns after 32 years as President of Indonesia // India and Pakistan testing nuclear weapons // The second Congo war begins - 3.900.000 people are killed until it ends in 2003 // Hugo Chavez is elected as President of Venezuela // Pol Pot dies in Cambodia // Marc Dutroux a Belgian child abuser and child murder escapes from prison // The era Kohl ends in Germany after 16 year; Gerhard Schröder is elected to the new chancellor // France is the new FIFA World Cup champion // Kaiserslautern becomes as the first promoted team this years champion in the German Bundesliga

"Make my nipples hard, let's go"! This input sentence of Danielle Brisebois directly with the entrance in the CD describes what happens while hearing this CD: Creeps! And if we are honest: When did we have the last time creeps while hearing music?? That's what I thought when I first listened to this record. Gregg Alexander was the leading figure behind The New Radicals. Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is one of these records walking on the narrow burr between perfect pop music and pure kitsch. What it makes it worth to listen are his screaming song, the crashing guitars, these catchy, almost in a kitschy way mainstream to seeming ones. This album contains cool good mood wrecks directly beside soulful ballads of this decade. I think it was the right record at the right time this year. After all I have to say that this record is a very underrated diamond in this genre.

The New Radicals - Someday We'll Know
The New Radicals - Crying Like a Church on Monday
The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
The New Radicals - Mother We Just Can't Get Enough