After taking a short break last week, we’ll now continue with a round of clapping hands. First one today's selection features John Fogerty. Centerfield is the title track from his third album and contains everything that made CCR famous.
Beck released Where It's At in 1996 as the lead single of his best album Odelay. The Dust Brothers produced this album that is full of great samples. And they did the same high class production they did on Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique.
The Cure released this song 1985 and moved to a brighter sound.
The harmonica is typically associated with blues and folk music as a key instrument alongside the acoustic guitar. This makes it all the more surprising when musicians from the indie and electronic scenes use it.The harmonica is typically associated with blues and folk music as a key instrument alongside the acoustic guitar. This makes it all the more surprising when musicians from the indie and electronic scenes use it.
Matt Johnson released what is perhaps his best album, Dusk, as The The in 1993. Its success is largely due to Johnny Marr, who, in addition to playing tasteful guitar parts, also plays the harmonica, which carries nearly the entire album.
The French electronic duo Air has regularly expanded their sound by collaborating with guest musicians. This was also the case in 2001, when they worked with Beck on their album 10,000 Hz Legend in addition to vocals, Beck also contributed harmonica.
Camper Van Beethoven, who helped pioneer indie rock in California in the early 1980s alongside bands like Black Flag and Sonic Youth, released their final album in 1989 before disbanding. As on their earlier albums, they remained true to their surrealistic, humorous folk rock.
This year also saw the return of old heroes after many years as well as new material from well-known and respected artists.
I was most surprised that The Cure were able to pull themselves together again and release a new album. To be honest, I didn't expect much from the album other than the old dish of flabby songs being reheated. However, it was not to be expected that they would present their best album since Disintegration and show that they are more than just a cover band of themselves. No one expresses world-weariness better than Robert Smith.
Matt Johnson has also taken almost a quarter of a century to release new material. His music still defies categorization. Somewhere between art rock and new wave, his perfectly produced songs are carried by his voice. The sound sounds like it did back then, but it is in tune with the times. An album not just for nostalgics.
Barry Adamson's new album has been playing on my record player since the summer because, after his time with the Bad Seeds, he has once again managed to capture his other musical influences from soul and blues in remarkable songs. Whether it's funk or a bluesy groove, everything is present on this album and where others lose themselves in the mainstream, he shows his true greatness.
Maybe it's my age that I've been listening to more (old) soul music this year, but it's music that felt good when I heard it. The only new soul music that sticks in my mind this year is Michael Kiwanuka. Sure, he likes to drift off into soul-pop realms, but he still shows great respect for his role model Marvin Gaye. A cleverly conceived album that once again lives from Kiwanuka's voice.
Songs:
Hermanos Gutiérrez are two brothers from Switzerland with Equatorian roots. They released an almost instrumental album that could be a soundtrack for a spaghetti western. Calm and beautiful.
Not only this song by Kurangbin is worth to listen.
Orville Peck and Beck made one of the coolest country-soul songs this year.
Another unexpected song came to my ears a few days ago. Peck & Beck released Death Valley High Beck was already a musical chameleon when the term didn't yet exist and Orville Peck is said to be a hip representative of dark country, whatever that may be. In any case, they manage to combine more ideas such as country, funk, blues and rap in just under three minutes. The result is an anthem to Sin City, which also convinces visually with a cameo by Sharon Stone, among others. A
Beck is back with a new song from his forthcoming album Hyperspace. It is a collaboration with songwriter and producer Pharell Williams. As always you Beck is good for new combinations in music. This time he uses a slide-guitar and harp to create an intoxicated hybrid of country and dancefloor-pop. Seems like he didn't lost preference for strange sounds.
The fact that the VfB can't keep up in many aspects with other teams of the Bundesliga was aware to me. Yesterday we had to come too the absolute low to witness as we have lost in Augsburg 6:0 after a catastrophic achievement. Deficits in playing the ball and defence, no will to move and tactical failures made this result suitable. In the evening the headcoach was fired and replaced by the coach of the youth team. I am tired of the weekly disappointments and I ask myself if it the way back to second league. If I think about players who have the will to win and fight for it during the whole game I remeber Englands/Manchesters legend Nobby Stiles, the toothless defender, without him England couldn't have won the cup in 1966
Another new band came to my ears the recent days. I use to follow the charts of Austrian radio station fm4 because this station is far away from the mainstream in my country. This station has indebted them to be a platform for independent, electronic music and local artists as well. Not everything touches my musical taste but a lot of songs were played there for the first time. In their last chart the highest new entry were Slide, a Swedish indie-rock duo. For me this songs sounds like a mixture of their musical tastes jointed together in a pop song. They borrowed a chorus by Oasis to create a pop song like Beck would probably do and stealing the melody by Pixie's Where is my mind and you get a very nice pop song.
In the late afternoon I will go like all two weeks to the home match of my team to be able to be present after long time once again at a victory. Well knowing that it will be a hard work to beat Freiburg it might be one of the last chances to stay in contact to the teams that might think their save.
