Monday's Long Song

 

For no great reason I stumbled across Felt, a forgotten band from the Birmingham area, at the weekend. Felt were active in the mid-eighties and released several albums and singles that unfortunately never had much commercial success. 

Maybe it's because they couldn't write catchy songs and their jangly guitar sound didn't really fit into the era of post-punk and emerging electronic music. Their often long songs with sparkling guitar passages were clearly modelled on Tom Verlaine and Television, without adding their own touch to the sound. Or is it really because, as Lawrence, the band's leader, once said, John Peel didn't like the band? Be that as it may, they made their musical mark with their first two albums in those years.

Felt - The Optimist And The Poet

Monday's Long Song

 

One of the reason why punk could start in the late 70's was that most of the music was boring, often heard and nothing new was released. But it is also often overlooked that there were actually bands that had their own fascinating sound. Bill Nelson's Be-Bop Deluxe were one of these bands. While they were initially categorized as just another epigones of glam rock, they had so much more to offer. Incorporating progressive rock, folk and massive guitars, they were light years away from the mainstream. Towards the end of their existence, they even tried to integrate elements of new wave into their sound. I recently listened to their live album Live! In The Air Age and was thrilled. They still sound fresh and fascinating. In this context, I remember how many words of praise Tom Verlaine has rightly received and how few Be-Bop Deluxe have, even though their sound is so similar.

Be-Bop Deluxe - Shine

Tom Verlaine 1949 - 2023

 

During the last months many artist died away that meant a lot to me. Now I read the sad news that Tom Verlaine passed away last Saturday at the age of 73. I think I don't have to tell much about his musical history with Television and what his music meant for punk rock in New York in the late 70's. For me was Marquee Moon the synonym of how a guitar should be played in the next decades. It was fascinating how he built a new and unique sound from the heritage of the Velvets. This song is from his third album with the same title.

RIP Tom

Tom Verlaine - Words From The Front

The Foreign Correspondent Returns - Stories About German Rock Music # 40

Maxim Rad is a German singer born in Hamburg, guitarist and composer. He published in 1980 his first solo album Times Ain't That bad, a mixture of New York New Wave and in British dyed pop. His main influences for this record were the early Talking Heads records and especially Television. He once said about this record: the forming member of this group, Tom Verlaine, belongs to few genius which the rock music has produced during the last years – not least because he proved ten years after the avant-garde rock the Velvet Underground recently that craft "dilettantism" could be more creative and produce a more interesting, because opener form of rock music, than the more virtuoso ex-servicemen in her artistic running dry. A rock form open in all directions is my image of ideal pop music. He divides the destiny of many other musicians that got a lot of positiv critical acclaim - he was less successful. I think, only a few people in Germany will remember his name but it's worth to listen to his songs again.

Enjoy and have a good weekend.

Maxim Rad - Times ain't that bad
Maxim Rad - Upset your doubts
Maxim Rad - What are you killing tonight
Maxim Rad - White action - African lemons