Scottish indie veterans Belle And Sebastian released their twelfth studio album Late Developers just last year. Shortly before the release, however, the band decided to remove one song from the tracklist because the album felt too long for the song: What Happened To You, Son?. Belle And Sebastian released this as a a few days instead. The driving track is reminiscent of jangle pop and features a playful bass line, a nostalgic guitar riff and concise keyboard sounds. Stuart Murdoch explained that the song is about his youth and the difficult phase he went through in his late teens. He had failures at university and in almost everything he tried at the time. During this time he was obsessed with certain bands from the 80s. Presumably, as for many self-doubters, this was Morrissey because many of the ingredients of this song are reminiscent of him. Anyway, another superb song from a band that seldom do it wrong.
Seems that a couple of mates out there celebrated birthday throughout the last weeks. It's my birthday today and I am fifty five. Another one year older, however, wiser? I don't know and it's not necessary to know it. This song is one of my all time favorites. Released in 1981 Flying Lizards version of Barret Strong's Money is a classic masterpiece of the past-punk and New Wave era. Reduced to the minimum with a steady rhythm the vocals tells us what money can stand for. They did many more excellent cover versions but this one is the best in my opinion.
This year we had the chance to go to Hawaii but we missed it. Christianes sister married there and we were invited. But for several reasons we couldn't take the chance. First one was that I changed my job in my office to become a risk controller in the bank and we changed on a new operating system were I was hardly integrated just at the day of her marriage. The second one was that Christiane started a new job at the time of wedding as well. So we decided not to travel for a few days around the world and sent our best wishes to them. In fact of our busy working we took just a few weeks to go to Mallorca in early summer. The weather wasn't that bad but every time we started a little journey into the hillside it started to rain. So we spent a lot of time in the local pubs to watch the UEFA EURO with some British guys. All in all a year with no very big highlights but a year of relaxed going on.
Some records that made fun this year.
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand: Great Indie-rock from Glasgow
Interpol - Antics: Indie-Rock as well from over the Atlantic ocean
Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Loves Bad News: Fantastic music in the tradition of Pavement, Pixies and Meat Puppets
Morrissey - You are the Quarry:
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days: Just good songs
Melissa Auf der Maur - Auf der Maur: Mostly overseen rock album
Velvet Revolver - Contraband: One of the best hard rock records of the decade
Four Tet - Late Night Tales: Fantastic remixes
Some songs from this year that are worth to be played again:
And that's what we've been seeing in the movies:
The Aviator: Great Scorsese movie about Howard Hughes
Million Dollar Baby: Another good drama from Clint Eastwood
Ray: Great biopic about the life of Ray Charles
The Motorcycle Diaries: Good to see the young Che Guerva riding
Head-On: Very emotional drama about the life of Turks and Germans
Hellboy: It's a cute little devil
Shaun of the Dead: Zombies could be funny
Let's take a little look what happended in the world:
251 pilgrims were killed by a Hajj stampede in Mina // Rebellion in Haiti and Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president // Terrorist bombing in the Madrid railways kills 191 people // The start of banning smoke in working places, pubs and bars starts with laws in Ireland // North Korea bans mobile phones // Greece wins the UEFA-EURO in Portugal (what a shame, that defense can win against playing forward) // Armed robbers steal Edward Munchs the Scream in Oslo.
What one must hold of Morrissey, the cover already betrays: there Morrissey poses as a tastefully dressed dandy with machine gun – he embodies exactly this ambivalence also in excellent manner. You are the quarry connects demanding, melodic and minor-heavy guitar-rock/pop with political lyrics, to big gestures and a pinch Morrissey like megalomania: He sings "I have forgiven Jesus", and this points in which class he sees himself and to whom he has to prove here something else. In addition this striking and warm voice – this carefully produced and on no account stale album completely gets by without gap fountain pen and stands out anyway from the mass product in rock and pop, but why also the "old people" should leave the field without a fight to the "boys"? Maybe also, therefore, the machine gun, or he has reloaded only for his critics? My favorite:„ Also it is for ridge of the way to them“ – subversively about weapons.
Jeff Buckley is another artist that died too young. The bare facts are as well known as still staggering: Jeff Buckley drowned on 29 May 1997 at the age of 30 years immediately prior to the completion of his second album spirited singing in Mississippi in the waves of an oncoming ship. The question must, of course, still hot, if he even alive in 2000 would be a valued and famous artists, or whether only the myth of his death helped him to the veneration still received everywhere it is. We do not know, and Buckley will never know the answer. His music lives from his tender voice and his vocal range about several octaves and his ability of improvisation. When I listen to his songs I recognize vocal artists like Morrissey, Robert Plant and sometimes Freddy Mercury. He released with Grace only one studio album but his influence to bands like Radiohead, Coldplay and Muse is immense.
Life is always in progress - and mine also. I have stood several years in the direct customer contact and sold bank products. In the course of the time it was heavy to do this from full conviction. Selling products that I didn't want to buy was not my business any more. That's why I have accessed when my employer has offered to me a place as an internal audit. This decision has stamped my future occupational way with lasting effect. Away from the counter I found the job that fitted to me like a perfect suit. Not only doing the same things day by day over the year I found out that the audit was varied and diverse. They also sent me continuing educations. Never thought that I will go to education at my age. Of course I have not known whether I can fulfil the expectations. But I tried it and I won. This new job made me more and more relaxed. Also in my private life changes stand out. Living with Kerstin in my now overfilled barchelor flat we decided to look for something bigger to live in. One evening she told me that she found the perfect one and urged me to look at it immediately. So we took a little walk and then I saw it: An old ramshackle house which must be entirely renovated. I told to her that she should be aware that absolutely my craft abilities themselves are limited to a minimum. She answered to me that this things doesn't matter and that she knows a lot of people helping the renovation. So we discussed for a several days and finally bought the house. From now on I spent a lot of time and weekends on the building site.
Although I was busy I took the time to listen to music. These records were published this year and are still worth listening to:
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head: The return to their punk rock roots
Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray: Great record to drive by
Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Month & 2 Days In The Life Of: The best alternative to gansta rap in these days
House of Pain - Fine Malt Lyrics: Not only black people can rap. Starting of the white attitude in rap
Sugar - Copper Blue: Bob Mould surprises me with his debut. Great songs, especially 'The Slim'
Annie Lennox - Diva: Maybe her best record after leaving the Eurythmics
Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Meldodies: Debut of the best British space rock band
Morrissey - Your Arsenal: Surprising debut with more influence of Rockabilly
Lucious Jackson - In search of Manny: Still nice alternative album
Pat Metheny - Secret story: Very fine combination of Jazz, Rock and World Music
This is what we watched in the movies - and some of them I would like to see again soon:
Basic Instinct: The whole world talked about one scene - but a good movie
A Few Good Men: Showed us how American justice works
Bram Stoker's Dracula: Fantastic - especially Gary Oldham
Wayne's World: Excellent, Baby
Unforgiven: My favorite western movie ever
Far And Away: Once again Tom Cruise - made fun to watch it
Scent Of AWoman: The great 'blind' Al Pacino
The Crying Game: Great British drama
Indochine: Epic movie of a time long gone by
Malcom X: Biopic about the muslim leader and human rights activist
Reservoir Dogs: This movie set a higher level to crime movies
Reading this list again, I think they made more remarkable movies these days than now.
As said, we lived in our own small world but it doesn't mean that we didn't watched what's happened in the world:
George H.W. Bush is falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Miyazawa and fainting // The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia begins to break up - war and slaughter ahead // Hugo Chavez tries the first time to get President of Venezuela - this time unsuccessful // The Maastricht Treaty was signed, founding the European Union // Mike Tyson is found guilty of raping a 18 year old girl // UN Security Council sends a peacekeeping force to former Yugoslavia // John Major gets Prime Minister // Los Angeles riots after the acquittal of the for police officers in the Rodney King beating trial for six days // Bosnia War and the UN peacekeepers withdraw from Sarajewo // Denmark wins the UEFA Championship against Germany 2:0 as a substitute team // Bill Clinten was elected to the President of the USA // Drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison // Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona // mass rally in Rostock, Germany to protest neo-nazi attacks on refugees and immigrants
A Fellow Traveller is an American phrase from the 1940s/50s for a sympathizer of Communism or particular Communist States and no card-carrying member of a Communist Party. Jeb Loy Nichols has consciously decided to give this name to his band. I was barely alone listening to this record. Most of my mates couldn't agree to it. Some said there ain't no groove in it, others said it is too much country music in it or this reggae sucks. Maybe everyone is right but just these Ingredients makes this record so good. Grown up with C&W he came in touch with punk rock and moved to NYC and later to London. In London he lived together with Ari Up, Neneh Cherry and Adrian Sherwood. I fell in love to this sound: a mixture of sountrystyle music, accustic instruments, Jeb Loy's nasal voice and the combination of dubelements and a very good trombone. For me one of the best records ever (and one song from the Fellow Travellers inspired the name of the blog).
Congratulations to his 54th birthday. I like him from the first recordings with The Smiths till his latest works. Less singers can express their feelings with their voices like he can. That's one of the reasons I will ever like him - the other is, that he is exactly on the day as old as I am. Morrissey - This is not your country
