My Mum Was Nico's Driver

 

A few days ago a song by a band I've never heard before came to my ears and never let me go since. HANN is a Manchester based indie-pop band and derived by the singers first name Hannah. I don't know if the story of the song is true but it is clever using name dropping in a good pop song. Of course nothing new and exciting but just another good song for the upcoming summer.

The brilliance of the song's lyrics is that I remembered Nico once again. Born in Germany as Christa Päffgen before the war she became a model and moved to New York where Andy Warhol got aware of her. He also was the one who introduced her to Velvet Underground where she got a member of. Although she couldn't sing her voice fitted together perfectly with the Velvet's sound. In 1967 she released her first solo album Chelsea Girl a little masterpiece by her. With the help of her bandmates Reed and Cale and Jackson Browne she created probably the blueprint of doom and gothic sounds that should became decades later famous. On 18 July 1988 Nico swings on her bike; dressed in black leather trousers and other heavy clothes, her emaciated body collapses in the shade at 40 degrees in Ibiza. The woman, who turned the head of many of the most desirable men of the 60s and also became an icon musically, leaves her life on a roadside in the bright sun of Spain. 

Nico - These Days

Purchased (Not Only) By The Cover

It was in 1982 when Lou Reed released his eleventh album The Blue Mask after a few records that were not bad but didn't reached his own level. Together with Velvet Underground collaborator Robert Quinn Reed made one of the best never expected albums from 1982. I loved the way the mixed the guitars separately on the left and right channel. And Lou Reed wrote a few of his most intimate songs since a very long time. He found the balance between intimate ballads and bleeding guitars. The cover features a blue version of the photograph he used on Transformer ten years before. I still love the cover because it is pure and it has a touch of Warhol's Factory.

Lou Reed - Waves Of Fear
Lou Reed - The Gun
Lou Reed - The Blue Mask

Monday's Long Song

In 1968 The Velvet Underground released their second album White Light/White Heat a revolutionary record. It was their first record after they ended their collaboration with Andy Warhol and finally could work on their very own sound. Sterling Morrison once said:

"We were all pulling in the same direction. We may have been dragging each other off a cliff, but we were all definitely going in the same direction.

And you can this in almost every song on this album but the quintessence was Sister Ray. Lou Reed talks about drag queens and a failed orgy while the band is jamming on three chords. And this song is an orgy of distorted, feedback-driven and rough sound where you can listen to instruments like you never heard before. One of the reasons Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto formed Buzzcocks were their both interest in this song.

The Velvet Underground - Sister Ray

Silver Bullets

A few weeks ago I had a little series about the Flying Nun label. Now I found out that The Chills, one of the main protagonist of the new sound from New Zealand made a new record. They still do their picking, little twangy, funny new wave sound added with some piano. Not the worst way tho start into a new week.

The World Is Dub Enough

These days I listen a lot to dub and reggae. It's this kind of music to slow down and relax. One of my favorite bands playing dub is located in Switzerland and is maybe known by their crazy dub versions of songs by The Clash. I follow their career for years but never get a chance to see them live. Anyway, this is not the time to complain - it's time to play their music. This one is a classic for them. Deep bass added with a lot of echo and some superb accents on organ and guitar.



As said, the were known by their versions of classic tunes they surprised with their last years record. It's called Burroughs in DUB and features Burroughs himself talking over a dub motive. For those who don't him, he was the godfather of the so called beat generation. In his early years he got addicted to drugs and was out in South America in search of a drug called yaga. Then he turned to Europe and Morocco where he completed his well known works Naked Lunch and Junkie. In the late 60s/early 70s he got in contact with new artists like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Dennis Hopper and Patti Smith in  New York. This song is based on Burroughs' tour as spoken performance artist in the mid 90s.

A Love From Outer Space

Recent days I listened a few times to different remixes of this song. I thought by myself often where the hell I know this song from. Being sure that it wasn't Andrew Weatherall that gave me this song - only fantastic remixes of them. While working on my series it occurred to me suddenly. It was on the 1989 album from A.R.Kane with the short title 'I'. A.R.Kane were a British dream pop duo, hailed from East London and also a part of the recording collective MARRS. While their first record was more into the rock clichè their second turned into trip hop and acid house. I got them records on recommendation in the late 1980s and played them a few times. At this time their music was pretty disturbing - not really rock music and not pop music. But later I found out that their music was a kind of blueprint of the future dancefloor sound. 

A.R.Kane - A Love From Outer Space

A.R.Kane - Catch My Drift

People who died

A few days ago my player shuffled on my way to work a song from Jim Carroll about friends of him who died long before their time. Later that day I grabbed out his debut album 'Catholic Boy' from 1980. Long years ago I read his autobiographical book 'The Basketball Diaries' concerning his life as a teenager in New York City's hard drug culture. I was astonished to read what he made trough in his younger years. In his diaries he writes about his life between the ages of twelve and sixteen, detailing his sexual experiences, high school basketball career, and his addiction to heroin, which began when he was 13. There must be a movie about this starring Leonardo Di aprio but I haven't seen it yet. Later he became a member of the factory working with Andy Warhol. Jim Carroll died exactly four years ago on a heart attack. RIP

The Jim Carroll Band - People who died

Lover's Spit

Leslie Feist, known professionally as Feist, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, performing both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. Round 2007 she was very successful by releasing her album The Reminder, which gave her nomiations for the Grammy award, the best album of the year, best new artist and on and on. For me The Reminder was one of the best albums in this year. She impressed me a lot with her clear and also rough and intensive voice. At some times I could listen to her songs for long time. Still worth to remember that amazing songs. 

 Feist - Lover's Spirit ((Redux) Broken Social Scene)