Last round for this little series about Saturday. We start with Sam Cooke, who sadly died far too early and had a good number of hit singles before his murder. The next one was written by CCR's John Fogerty and covered years later by Dave Edmunds. Finally one of my favorite songs by Tom Waits. Seldom was a cruising through a Saturday night on the search for solution better described as by him.
In The Neighborhood shuffled up during the last days on my mobile phone and made me listen to Tom Waits' second album Swordfishtrombones once again. Once again I couldn't believe that this record is 40 years old. I remember when I bought this record in autumn 1983 only because I enjoyed his ballad Jersey Girl on his album before. And I wasn't disappointed about Swordfishtrombones. It is an album that shows Tom's ability of storytelling in short songs. Mainly most of the songs are based on blues and rhythm and blues pattern and added with jazzy and piano moods. This was a highlight of his output and beaten by his next record Rain Dogs.
Kerala Dust is a band formed in London in 2016 and now living and producing in Berlin. As they said about themself, they grew up with the sound of Tom Waits, Can and Velvet Underground you can hear references to them in their sound. They added to their rhythmic sound a bit of Talking Heads and dancefloor and you have a melange that is incredible. They released their last album earlier this year but I forgot to listen to it. But now I found the time to enjoy their unique kind of music.
Tom Waits was known in the early 80's for his interpretation of bar-room jazz and his stories of the darker side of America. I liked him because of his broken voice and his abilities to songs other artists stole and made success with their versions. This changed for me when he released Swordfishtrombones and a year later Rain Dogs. He still had his unique voice but he tried more unconventional and added more percussion to his songs. Rain Dogs is a classic of the 80's and the songs still sound fresh after all the years. The cover is a reproduction of a photograph by Swedish photographer Anders Petersen at Café Lehmitz (a cafè near Hamburg's red-light boulevard Reeperbahn) in the late 60's. The man and woman depicted on the cover are called Rose and Lilly. A year ago or so I purchased a book of his 60's photographs and the soundtrack to watch the pictures is still Tom Waits.
Since Bella Ciao appeared on Spanish television series Money Heist this old Italian folk song which was adapted by Italian partisans in world war II was played all over this summer. Probably less listeners will know the background of this song and the reason why it's got a hymn for fighting people. The reason why I post this song is that Marc Ribot released his latest album recently. Some of you might know him from his work with Lounge Lizards almost 30 years ago. He collected songs of resistance and adds his quiet guitar phrases over the song. On Bella Ciao Tom Waits joins Ribot who played also guitar on his famous album Rain Dogs after years of absence. His voice is broken and it sounds like an actor in his very last years doing the great job he did his life. There was no critical acclaim for this song and justified as another unnecessary version of this song. I really like this song because of the reluctant guitar of Marc Ribot in combination with Tom Waits' singular voice. Maybe the world needs more protest songs today.
Now, finally, it is a fact that Germany is not the unbeatable team during a tournament which all the same as badly they play, they will get into the next round. This team didn't show me everything I expect from them: playing a fast and inspired football and the will to win. Too many players that won most of the titles they could win and not able and willing to give all to succeed. Anyway, this World Cup is over and I am glad that better teams can show what they are able to play. Now I am looking forward what the English and Belgium teams will show in this tournament.
Sometimes it happens that I read the news that an old album was released a long time after it's first release and I ask myself why I had forgotten this record. This happened by the re-release of Red Devil Dawn by Crooked Fingers. It was first released back in 2003 as the third record by the North Carolina based indie-rock band. It was a record that was played often at my place almost 15 years ago and I remember that I was fascinated by their very unique sound. This crude mixture of Americana, combined with bluesy and melancholy mood made this record worth listening. Sometimes between Springsteen and Waits they create their own kind of music. Listening to this album makes me think that this could be a forgotten classic.
A few days ago a new album was announced called Skeletal Blues by LOCKS, a band a never heard before. My first thought lead me to Nick Cave and his beautiful dark murder ballads. And I wasn't far away of it. LOCKS are a London based trio playing a superb dark folk. I couldn't imagine that the sound played with a double bass, fiddle and guitars will work - but it does. It is a bit like Nick Cave and Tom Waits deciding to follow the folk road. Music to walk over the graveyard at midnight.
This is not a cover version in the classic way. But HMHB made a unique version at a Peel-session years age based on the old Leadbelly song. Not taking the words one by one and adding an accordion to their sound. I always loved HMHB and their humour in music making cover versions with new lyrics in their very own style. It is a classic song that sounds great in almost every version ever made. Here are some examples of what could be interpreting this old song.
Just came back from work and had only a little time to prepare next day's post. The reason is that a new series starts on TV. It's a fiction drama about losing all fossil resources. Norway will stop petroleum production in case of a environmental disaster. Europe has to make a new plan how it can cover it's power demand in the future. It's a story based on a Jo Nesboe novel. So here's just another song from an artist that accompanied me during the last decades. For me it's one his best songs ever.
These days Robert Plant, the voice of Led Zeppelin, released a new record. The release was announced since a few weeks and since this time I try to get a listen to it. I don't know the reason why I look forward to a release of a 66 year old man that must have his best times behind. Probably for sentimental reasons or because he's a singer that impressed me sometimes. There must be reasons why he played Glastonbury this year - and the videos from his appearance wasn't worse. Anyway, here's his latest single. The guitar was borrowed by Tom Waits and the drums sounds a bit like Einstürzende Neubauten and Robert Plants voice fits to this steady rhythm. A classic if would be released 30 years before.
How he combines traditional Arabian music with a mystic sound you can see here:
Let's cross the border to Austria today. Wolfgang Ambros is a well known singer/songwriter in the German and Austrian scene. He got famous by his song Schifoan, telling us about what fun it could be driving in a fresh snow downhill. This song is very popular at the hot spots in the alps when you finish skiing at your your local bar. Lot's of people singing along to his song - especially the refrain. Sure, it is some kind of freedom that you can have when you are driving in a fresh snow. But Wolfgang Ambros was more than a one hit wonder in the skiing scene. He has made an album about the mountaineering and has made clear like the mountain dwellers think and feel. It was very local and no one out of Gemany/Austria would ever recognized it. Anyway it was a record I grew up with. In the late 70s he made a record with songs from Bob Dylan in Austrian language. He didn't translate his words one to one into German - he tried to transfer Dylan's meaning and intentions into my native language. And I have to say it was a very good job. Many songs on this record have a deep melancholy in it. This is typical for music made in Vienna these days. It is nearly 40 years ago that I listened to this songs and I forgot how wonderful they are. Wolfgang Ambros had a feeling for the meaning of these songs. And I don't know anyone better to sing these songs in German (maybe Wolfgang Niedecken from BAP - but this is another story to be told). A few years ago he made another record with cover version in Austrian language. This time he interpreted songs by Tom Waits - a very good record as well.
One of the artists that has accompanied me during the years is Tom Waits. I grabbed out his fantastic record Mule Variations on this lazy Sunday morning and one more time I was astonished how many good song are on this record. Most of them carried on a sparing bluesy rhythm with reserved guitar inserts. Just the perfect music to start into this Sunday.
Last week I told that me and Kerstin made the decision to go separate ways. Now I asked myself what to do with your new life? Should I creep away in my flat and live a life of sorrow or should I go out looking for another woman? I am not really sure what I thought I should at this time but I remember that I started to contact my older mates and friends more and more. I also started playing football again. The last thing I wanted to start was a new relationship again. But sometimes the life plays a trick to you and you cannot fulfil your intentions. This trick came to me with Christiane which I met in my local pub at the end of last year. I knew her for a long time because she has been in a relationship with my brother's class mate. The more we talked about nearly everything we recognized that we thought about most of the themes the same way. It was also great that we had the same kind of strange humor, liked the same movies and what was important - the same music. That's what I didn't knew from my former wife - she was in that fucking Cologne stuff not paying any listen to The Smiths or something like that. And at last thus we have become a couple. To find out whether we also can spend longer time together we booked a vacation to Southern Italy. And at least it worked. We had a real fine time in this small club spending a pretty nice time together. I remember one evening when we watched the UEFA Champions League final together. It might sound strange for a German but I supported Manchester United this evening. The reason is that I don't like that snooty team filled up with so called stars. So Mario Basler made a pretty goal and it looked like they are going to win another time. I ordered me another beer to stand the last five minutes as Teddy Sheringham tied in the injury time. And Ole Gunnar Solksjaer made it perfect to minutes later. We both were happy about this result and had a wonderful evening. But there was one more thing that impressed me more this year. We are able to watch a solar eclipse in our hometown. Presumably I will never get this experience again when the moon pushes before the sun and it becomes pitch-dark on midday. Totally silence on our market place and so a good feeling to have. It was also the year I quit my job because I got in trouble with my bosses. But this will be a story maybe told next time.
Here are some records I used to play this year ...
Blumfeld - Old Nobody: German Indie Pop at it's best
Blur - 13: Very good record including Tender
Terry Callier - Lifetime: A brilliant album by a legend
The Beta Band - The 3 Eps: Underrated at this time
Built To Spill - Keep it Like a Secret: Arty high school rock
Tom Waits - Mule Variations: He's back with a superb late work
Michael Franks - Barefoot on the Beach: It's jazz and a little funk but fine songs
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication: More direct than before and listen to the bass
Diana Krall - When I Look in Your Eyes: A lot of great ballads and versions on it
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish: Fantastic record made for dancefloor
Fun Lovin' Criminals - Mimosa: They were cool as hell at this time
... and some songs you will surely remember:
The movies we went in this was:
The Matrix: Bewildering story but style-pedagogic camera settings
Notting Hill: The romance of the year
American Beauty: Kevin Spacey at his best
The Green Mile: Just a wonderful movie
The Blair Witch Project: You don't need millions of dollars to make a great movie
Arlington Road: Are your neighbors terrorists?
Fight Club: Bored men try to get their fulfillment in boxing matches
Sleepy Hollow: Excellent pictures and a mystery story makes a fantastic movie
And some remarkable things that happened in 1999:
The Euro is established - no way back // Bill Clinton is acquitted in impeachment proceedings in the US Senate // Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey // Former Warsaw Pact members Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic join NATO // A fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly 3 years // For the first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10.000 mark // The Kosovo War drags on // Manchester United defeat Bayern Munich 2:1 in the injury time of the UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona (thank you Mr. Solskjaer) // Napster debuts on Internet and millions starting downloading tracks .
I picked out this record by Jim O'Rourkeas the one that I connect with this year. Jim O'Rourke is an American musician, composer and director influenced with jazz and classical music. He collaborated at this time with Sonic Youth playing bass. Why I love this record? Because them compositions, arrangements and songs on it. This was one of the less records I listened from the first to the last song in a row. Never a dull moment on it. Even if he plays long and quiet songs. You think nothing will happen and suddenly some pearls begin to creep into your ears. And also the cover version of Burt Bacharach's Something's Big is worth to listen. Eureka is simply a masterpiece and very underrated.
