Clap Your Hands

 

Another Wednesday with songs which, in some way, incorporate hand clapping as a stylistic device in songs. Let's start with 12:51 the first single form the second album by The Strokes, an overlooked album by the band which has not received the same overwhelming acclaim as their debut.

Those sharp, percussive sounds in the intro and throughout the songs are actually snare drum rim clicks, played in such a way that they sound exactly like rhythmic handclaps. In my view, that justifies the inclusion of songs by the Violent Femmes and T.Rex in this series.

Sixty Five

 

Today I turn 65 and another year has passed far too quickly and I reflect on everything that has happened in these years. We are getting older and that is inevitable. And transience is a theme that crops up in every genre of music, from rock n' roll to country and blues. And songs that have dealt with getting older, the past and everything in between. It's impossible to pick a favourite, especially when you consider how much choice is out there. That's why I limited myself to the songs that came to me spontaneously and that have stayed with me over the years.

Purchased (Not Only) By The Cover

Back in 2001 everybody was talking about the next big thing from across the Atlantic ocean that will lead us into a new dimension of rock. It was the time when a NYC-based garage band called The Strokes released their first album This Is It. I listened to a few songs from this album and thought by myself it is not too bad for a new band and they were able to write some songs based on the basis of simple pub-rock with dominated guitars. All in all an album that made fun more of many others in this year but of course not the next big step into the future of rock. But what me made to buy this record was the cover. A lascivious photograph of a naked female body touching itself with a black leather glove in black and white made me wanting this record. Even if the music isn't relative in history this cover art glorious and stands the test of time.

The Strokes - Hard To Explain

The Strokes - Someday

The Strokes - New York City Cop

The Strokes - Last Nite

4th and Roebeling

Guitar, bass, percussion, song – good old rock'n'roll, brewed by four very young musicians from Pennsylvania. Mangy garage rock with a lot of blues and whiskey aroma in the tank, can be well sorted between Black Keys, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and Strokes – besides, has more than enough own riotous mark. The Districts will release their first record next February. This is their single in advance.