Not Rock On

This is a song I wouldn't have held possible in 1980, but it was reality in
1981.
We thought we had just got rid of all the 60s & 70s Supergroups, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker (check his CV!), etc...
Can now is respected as one of the originators of new music, everybody knows this and them. On the other hand Public Image Limited (PIL) was a collective to destroy the music as it was and ... they created beauty!!!
Even after he left PIL in 1980 Jah Wobble (we don't care about given names!) went on to design space with his bass.

This record opens up space as none I had heard before. Listen to "How much are they" with big bass speakers on the rim of the desert, there is nothing like this!
I still enjoy this Bass sound, living in a normal flat.
A few years after this Jah Wobble started working with Bill Laswell,
GET YOUR HAND ON EVERY AXIOM CD YOU SEE!!!

Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble, Jaki Liebezeit - Weltrekord EP

Labels: German stuff, New Wave + Indie

Posted by Jörg at 7/30/2006 11:02:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

No posts for a week, but I had to visit my brother in Munich.
On the flight I read the Sueddeutsche Zeitung about a public reading of the 1000songs series featuring one of my favorite entertainers Bernd Begemann performing the best songs of the last 50 years! This was close to heaven, music nerds talking, plus my favorite entertainer playing, and all of that for just 4€ !
Go to berndbegemann.de and you can see some nice videos there + more!

He was at the Atomic Cafe with Philipp Oemke and Johannes Waechter, the journalists that created this fantastic project, who showed some entertaining qualities too. They were promoting the final of their books on 50 years of Pop music.
http://www.1000songs.de

The great surprise was, that I won that "Best of" book of the series by spotting "Love will tear us apart" from the first few chords Bernd played on his guitar as the song the internet voters chose as best song of all times!
I was asked on stage to get it. Bernd wanted me to sing but I had to deny...
It was a great evening with Bernd playing songs from music history (and some of his own), accompanied by the two journos in a pretty nice way, followed by an after-show with nice 60s Pop and Soul (MOD POWER!), I danced a lot!
I was really overjoyed by this evening as I did not have so much fun for a very long time (living on welfare...)!

In the end of the evening I even jumped the stage to get the book I had just won signed by the actors, and they did. Bernd did not know he would be playing just a few Kms away of my place a week later at Omas Teich Festival in Großefehn, although I asked, but who can store all his appointments in his head if you have a management.

Of course this is not a link to the standard version of Joy Division's "Love will tear us apart", this is a version from the John Peel session of 26.11.79 produced by Tony Wilson (Head of FACTORY), broadcast on 10.12.1979 and included in the 4 CD box "Heart and Soul".

Joy Division - Love will tear us apart (Peel session 26.11.1979)

Thanks to Florian Zick for the photo from his cellphone! You can't see much but WE know who is who.

Labels: German stuff, New Wave + Indie

Posted by Jörg at 7/27/2006 03:22:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Yesterday was my birthday, so now I can post a song that is really close to my heart.
Marc Almond, then Marc & the Mambas, recorded several songs around 1981/82 that are absolute classics in my eyes, in this case I don't care about you!

I was given "Untitled", the first Solo outing by Marc Almond of then chart-storming Soft Cell, in August 1983 by my girlfriend, after we both loved "Torch!" by Soft Cell. It did not take me long to adapt to these wonderful versions of the songs of sometimes then unknown authors. I immediately loved "Caroline says"! I did not know anything about this song. I had heard of Lou Reed, wild side, yada yada. But this man really could write songs!

Most were original Marc + songs, the collaborators were the Amazing Annie Hogan, Magic Matt Johnson (some also know him as The The), Cute Cindy Ecstacy and anybody not mentioned on the sleeve. My thanks go out to Val Denham and Huw Feather for the fantastic Non-Psygnosis artwork!

I chose this because this is my favourite song :

Marc & the Mambas : Caroline says

This song is such an enhancement to the original by Lou Reed from his famous 1973 album "Berlin"

AND I JUST LOVE IT!!!

You can compare it to the original here:

Lou Reed - Caroline says II

Labels: New Wave + Indie

Posted by Jörg at 7/13/2006 04:24:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Yesterday I heard that Rudi Carell died last week, THE showmaster in Germany since the 70s. Today Jürgen Klinsmann, the coach of the german football team, that gave us so much joy and pride in the last weeks, resigned.
And now I found out, that Syd Barrett died at 60 recently.
Three messages of a different depth of meaning. Rudi had cancer for a while, Jürgen decided to step off at the height of his fame, but Syd?
We knew he lived as a recluse somewhere in England, but he should live!
This is my tribute to him, go out and buy his rare albums!
This one is by the Television Personalities, also known as the TVP's to friends. Their "head" Dan Treacy knew about Syd's qualities as a musician and songwriter, so he wrote this song:

Television Personalities - I know where Syd Barrett lives

In 1987 I at least knew where Dan Treacy lived when I visited Matthias Hanich in London and he showed me Dan's house.
...and now I found out, that Banana Nutrament had this idea before me. Whatever...

Labels: New Wave + Indie

Posted by Jörg at 7/13/2006 02:12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Last night the German team beat Portugal 3 : 1 in the game for the third place in the Football World Championship (no, it is not the FIFA World Championship!).
Although many of the crucial players were missing due to injuries (and the No. 1 goalkeeper Jens Lehmann stepped back to let the former No. 1 Oliver Kahn get his last game for the national team, that is fair play!), it was a very good game!
Afterwards the players were getting a party, where everybody was asking, what would have happened, had they really won the cup. Nobody asked for the cup now, everybody enjoyed the fantastic mood of the night, as of the whole tournament. On banners in the stadium in Stuttgart you could read "Champion of the Hearts"! Everybody wants to keep our coach Jürgen Klinsmann now, a few months ago (after a devastating friendly ending 1 : 4 in Italy) his career seemed to have ended. Now everything he did was right, the american fitness coaches, taking very young players to the tournament, choosing relatively unknown players over older ones. I hope he will keep doing his work! Yes, we here in Old Europe have enjoyed it very well!

To celebrate this, I post a single by Palais Schaumburg, ZZ 23 from 1980. The B-side is Palais Schaumburg - Macht mich glücklich wie nie which translates to "Makes me happy as never before".
Well, this is a little overexaggerated for the moment, but it was a nice evening with also some tears of joy.
Of course as usual on Not Rock on, you get the A-side as well, Palais Schaumburg - Rote Lichter

Their style of minimal Art-Punk-Funk was pretty unique in 1980. Singer Holger Hiller was/is a kind of DaDa poet (many more solo work after the split from PS, just wait...), very strange lyrics, but perfectly matching the music.

Labels: German stuff

Posted by Jörg at 7/09/2006 05:55:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Tonight the thing everybody in Germany could not think of in the past weeks has happened, Germany was kicked out in the semifinal by Italy. They have been the better team, so it is ok, but it hurts nonetheless. I am curious, how the mood in the country will develop after this. There still is the game for the third place on Saturday in Stuttgart, I hope we will give the boys a nice show.

So today I am in a bit of a melancholic mood, and which music suits it better than the fantastic Thirteen Moons from Sweden!

So finally this is my Thirteen Moons post.

If you try to find anything about them on the net, you are lost. You find stuff about Gallerys, Indian mythology and more that has nothing to do with these fabulous musicians.
The Thirteen Moons were Göran Klintberg and Anders Holm ft. Mats Gunnarsson, Per Akerlund, Hakan Almqvist and many more! I bought their first two LPs almost knowing nothing, just the story about the young guy on the cover being the grandfather of one of the two. And then, after putting the record on, I loved it!
Unfortunately I don't have the old issues of SPEX (german music magazine) from that time here. I remember that Hans Keller (also member of Geisterfahrer) wrote a very emphatic article on the Thirteen Moons.

Their LPs were issued on the Wire label. The first was "Little dreaming boy" in 1986 with the picture of a young man, followed by "Origins" in 1987 with some
little girls collecting flowers on the cover. Both LPs were issued on one CD, which you finally get here now!

In 1990 the last record, "You will find mercy on your road" was issued as WRCD 012 on Wire. Unfortunately I did not hear anything after this!
The music is very beautiful! You have to like the vocals , although. If you know Peer Gynt, you have a hint! Clever pun, isn't it?
Wonderful music, wonderful lyrics!
I am not a great wordsmith, just in LOVE with the music!
GIVE IT A CHANCE! IT IS FANTASTIC!

These are the complete "Origins" and "Little dreaming boy" LPs ripped from the CD. ENJOY!
And GO OUT AND BUY their records, check your local second hand dealer!
I remember Amoeba and Rasputin in Berkeley, when I was there for a nice holiday. I found the EP in a very fine second hand record store in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for 4 $ in perfect condition!
BUT BUY!!!

Thirteen Moons - Little dreaming boy 1986

Thirteen Moons - Origins 1987

I just added the Thirteen Moons - A true story EP 1986
mp3pro@96kbps


In the comments there is a message from Mats Gunnarsson from the Thirteen Moons!
Here are some websites where you can find info on what he is doing now :
Orkester Chesty Morgan.se
www.captainmurphy.se
DiamondDogs.info
Göran is a sommelier now and had done some solo Stuff (maybe you can find it on bolero.se)

Some of these links are not working any more...

While I was re-editing this post, I was just thinking not to re-up the albums so you would have to run through your local second hand record dealers, but then I made up my mind that there are so few of these records left, you should get a chance to listen to this wonderful music!!!!???!!!!!!!!!

If you still get it anywhere, please remember the original musicians and support them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labels: New Wave + Indie

Posted by Jörg at 7/05/2006 02:57:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

After that post it is hard to say that the German Team did it again, really!
1 : 1 after the game, then the penalties 5 : 3!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a special occasion as it is in Germany.
WE LIKE IT!
Sorry for Argentina but not, they had lots of chances to kick us out!

Herbert Grönemeyer & Amadou & Mariam - Zeit, dass sich was dreht

This is another very popular song in Germany at the moment, for our team!

Oliver Pocher - Schwarz und Weiss

There is also an English version by Frameless & German Football Fans!

Frameless & German Football Fans - Black and white

Labels: German stuff

Posted by Jörg at 7/01/2006 05:22:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Wir Sind Wir: Peter Heppner and Paul Van Dyk

This is a video about the last sixty years of German history, fighting against the negative mood that prevailed in Germany until a few weeks ago, before the World Cup miracle started. Now you see german flags in the streets every day, something not seen for a lot of years, but now it is about fun, peace and joy, not about war!

If you look at the track to the end, I hope that you will understand that we are not the Ugly Germans anymore!

Labels: German stuff

Posted by Jörg at 7/01/2006 12:08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post