40 Records In 40 Years (26/40 - 1999)

Last week I told that me and Kerstin made the decision to go separate ways. Now I asked myself what to do with your new life? Should I creep away in my flat and live a life of sorrow or should I go out looking for another woman? I am not really sure what I thought I should at this time but I remember that I started to contact my older mates and friends more and more. I also started playing football again. The last thing I wanted to start was a new relationship again. But sometimes the life  plays a trick to you and you cannot fulfil your intentions. This trick came to me with Christiane which I met in my local pub at the end of last year. I knew her for a long time because she has been in a relationship with my brother's class mate. The more we talked about nearly everything we recognized that we thought about most of the themes the same way. It was also great that we had the same kind of strange humor, liked the same movies and what was important - the  same music. That's what I didn't knew from my former wife - she was in that fucking Cologne stuff not paying any listen to The Smiths or something like that. And at last thus we have become a couple. To find out whether we also can spend longer time together we booked a vacation to Southern Italy. And at least it worked. We had a real fine time in this small club spending a pretty nice time together. I remember one evening when we watched the UEFA Champions League final together. It might sound strange for a German but I supported Manchester United this evening. The reason is that I don't like that snooty team filled up with so called stars. So Mario Basler made a pretty goal and it looked like they are going to win another time. I ordered me another beer to stand the last five minutes as Teddy Sheringham tied in the injury time. And Ole Gunnar Solksjaer made it perfect to minutes later. We both were happy about this result and had a wonderful evening. But there was one more thing that impressed me more this year. We are able to watch a solar eclipse in our hometown. Presumably I will never get this experience again when the moon pushes before the sun and it becomes pitch-dark on midday. Totally silence on our market place and so a good feeling to have. It was also the year I quit my job because I got in trouble with my bosses. But this will be a story maybe told next time.

Here are some records I used to play this year ...

• Blumfeld - Old Nobody: German Indie Pop at it's best
• Blur - 13: Very good record including Tender
• Terry Callier - Lifetime: A brilliant album by a legend
• The Beta Band - The 3 Eps: Underrated at this time
• Built To Spill - Keep it Like a Secret: Arty high school rock
• Tom Waits - Mule Variations: He's back with a superb late work
• Michael Franks - Barefoot on the Beach: It's jazz and a little funk but fine songs
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication: More direct than before and listen to the bass
• Diana Krall - When I Look in Your Eyes: A lot of great ballads and versions on it
• Underworld - Beaucoup Fish: Fantastic record made for dancefloor
• Fun Lovin' Criminals - Mimosa: They were cool as hell at this time

... and some songs you will surely remember:

The movies we went in this was:

• The Matrix: Bewildering story but style-pedagogic camera settings
• Notting Hill: The romance of the year
• American Beauty: Kevin Spacey at his best
• The Green Mile: Just a wonderful movie
• The Blair Witch Project: You don't need millions of dollars to make a great movie
• Arlington Road: Are your neighbors terrorists? 
• Fight Club: Bored men try to get their fulfillment in boxing matches
• Sleepy Hollow: Excellent pictures and a mystery story makes a fantastic movie

And some remarkable things that happened in 1999:

The Euro is established - no way back // Bill Clinton is acquitted in impeachment proceedings in the US Senate // Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey // Former Warsaw Pact members Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic join NATO // A fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly 3 years // For the first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10.000 mark // The Kosovo War drags on // Manchester United defeat Bayern Munich 2:1 in the injury time of the UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona (thank you Mr. Solskjaer) // Napster debuts on Internet and millions starting downloading tracks .

I picked out this record by Jim O'Rourke as the one that I connect with this year. Jim O'Rourke is an American musician, composer and director influenced with jazz and classical music. He collaborated at this time with Sonic Youth playing bass. Why I love this record? Because them compositions, arrangements and songs on it. This was one of the less records I listened from the first to the last song in a row. Never a dull moment on it. Even if he plays long and quiet songs. You think nothing will happen and suddenly some pearls begin to creep into your ears. And also the cover version of Burt Bacharach's Something's Big is worth to listen. Eureka is simply a masterpiece and very underrated.

Jim O'Rourke - Women of the World
Jim O'Rourke - Something Big
Jim O'Rourke - Ghost Ship in a Storm
Jim O'Rourke - Eureka