my favourite song ever is..

Recovery Mode

I didn't give up!! I just can't type.

Being there..

Joan as Police Woman, Oran Mor, Glasgow 14,4,2007

When I saw that Joan is coming to Glasgow to play in Oran Mor, I went that very moment to buy a ticket. I bought it.. despite I don't like Glasgow. Maybe because the last time I was there I drove in different direction on the motorway for a while. It's a European kind of thing.

So saturday night in the kingdom of doom, I became lazy cat and was tempted to stay in warm sofa/garden and cuppa > tea/cofee/dvd (de fau de) profile but.. I had to go. Traffic suprisingly good, problems with parking and yes.. it's official > I am Eediot. Oran Mor is beautiful church which became a pub-art venue-restaurant after the Glaswegians lost their faith. So I was waiting at the wrong gate. It took me a while to notice that all the people who were waiting there were gone. Should give up daydreaming. Nevermind. I missed a few songs of the support singer. Don't know his name anyway.

She came on stage in pink dress, pink boots because "she loves vibrant colors". She started to sing alone with the fender piano and everybody was astonished by her strange "nasal" voice. Her skinny figure was balancing on the piano stool because she was pretty much working with the dynamics of her voice, it kept her on and off the microphone. After first song she was joined by her bandmates, bass player Rainy Orteca and drummer Ben Perowsky. Rainy is damn good bass player. I don't know anything about her orientation but she played the bass in very "man" style. Seemed to me. She looks like a Robert Smith's sister minus weird hair. I was tempted to fuck off back to the bar to buy her a choclit, because she looked so unhappy. Smile appeared on her face twice that night, while they played song which demanded an involvement of the audience (clapping) and then when they were playing the last "punky" song. Probably her intention. Ben's precise drumming just confirmed my opinion that good drummer makes 70% of the band.

Joan played all the songs from both her records and some new songs. She was responding to the audience after every song, having a small chat with the "brave" ones. I think that everybody was really pleased by her presence. She was very natural. One might say.. sweet. Especially when she said that she is going to play more love songs, becauase she fell in love recently /for the first time in her life, she says/. The girl in the crowd shouted on her, something like "I noticed the ring!" and Joan, with big smile on her face, showed engagement ring and went: "Oh.. what the fuck?" And she laughed, very amused.

It's very strange that Joan started to sing in her 30's. She says she was singing a lot as a child, but she stopped in her puberty, I appreciate that she released her own record more than 10 years after Jeff Buckley's death. Some people would be "milking" it, being in her position.

The only thing which was little bit annoying was her anti-Bush-iraqwar-Condoleeza Rice rant. Even it wasn't proper rant. It seems that every American artist is using that kind of politics to get the sympathy of the audience. I don't agree with that war - Bush, but why she is starting with that shit on the concert where 99% of the audience was pissed? I don't know.

Anyway her concert was GREAT. Unforgettable experience to see her/hear her sing Real Life. If you have a chance to see her, just go. She was better than Motorhead, and Motorhead are damn good.

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THC blog Nr.1

01 Postal Service - Such a Great Hights
I love their melodies.. hate their rhythms! It's like a joke.. like Zisou's music for diving.
02 Sonic Youth - Reena
Such a great song and again.. absolutely overlooked by media.
03 Whitest Boy Alive - Burning
I found that song on Allan McGee's myspace site. It reminds me Boys Don't Cry by The Cure. Cheerful music with sad lyrics.
04 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Date with A Night
Being seventeen again, go out at night, get pissed and fuck the bones off the bodies. A date with a Night.
05 Primal Scream - Rocks
06 The Jam - Town Called Malice
Primal Scream and The Jam always make me feel good.
07 Roxy Music - More Than This
Mr.Bob Harris..
08 Mike Oldfield - In High Places
Oldfield sucks!! But there is always one song on every album which is great. This one is from Crises and Jon Anderson from Yes sings in it. I love Simon Philips drumming here... it's like reggae.
09 Texas - Summer Son
I hate Texas!!! But I like the bells in this song.
10 Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
Oh Buzzcocks.. I never thought about them as a punk band. They are like Beatles. Every song is a smash.
11 Squeeze - Another Nail in My Heart
Squeeze are going to play some gigs again, which is great. This song is so brilliant..
12 Pixies - Is She Weird?
I don't like using the word Genius. But he is..

is she weird, is she white
is she promised to the night
and her head has no room
and her head has no room

13 Santana - Samba Pa Ti
Santana is the most recognizable guitar player ever. He speaks through it.
14 Lynda Lyndell - What a Man
Everyone knows it.. everyone loves it.
15 Blondie - Atomic
People know that song from Trainspotting, Sleeper's version. So this is the original.. much better.
16 Stereolab - Vonal Declosion
17 Slade - Far Far Away
I think that Slade were really weird, their clothes.. bloody hell. They were skinheads before that glam rock weirdness. Noddy Holder wrote this song about being homesick while they were touring USA in 70's. He's got really great voice.. and Dave Hill had a great haircut.
18 Stereo Total - I Love You, Ono
Song which is is about the refusal of being a part of our system (big system, big money, big brother) was used in the advert for Sony camcoders. How weird is that?

"No no no no I don't need it
Perfect system I am fallin"

19 Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
I don't know why I like this song. Stupid lyrics, one melody again and again, even a recitation. Brilliant
20 The Greenhornes - Can't Stand It
They knew The Lost Art of Being Cool.
21 Karel Svoboda - Navstevnici

ps for2headlesschicken

Somebody deleted all music..

I'm lazy..

The weather was absolutely brilliant all week. So I was much more in the garden than behind the computer desk. Many people called the local Scottish councils to find out what's the shiny thing on the sky. Well now we all know that this is THE SUN.
Thanks to all the guys who posted some comments here. I am very surprised and happy because of that response. Some of you wrote some interesting details about the albums, somebody informed me about the name of one instrument (great!) and the others just came to say thank you. This is the way I like it. Cheers.

Uusitalo - Vapaa Muurari (2000)
Another project of Finnish Vladislav Delay (Luomo,AGF/Delay etc). This guy is producing so many different records so it's a little miracle that he still keeps the quality. His Uusistalo project is partly minimal techno.. partly some fucking ambient glitch whatever. It's organic, full of sex (seems to me) and it's estranged. Musicians claim that techno is just a beat and few sounds easily created on synths.. and it's a bollocks! I was trying to create some techno like music, but the melody came in and it wasn't techno anymore. And creating your own sounds? You have to spend ages to find something good. It's not easy and this is the reason why I admire the guys like Delay who are producing good IDM. Delay new record WHISTLEBLOWER (out in may 07 and you can download it from Delay's website for nice 6 EU) shows that he went even deeper into glitch, where the only rule is "there is no rules". If Luomo is very listener friendly project, than his collaborations with AGF is sometimes almost unlistenable (performances). It's music you need to find the KEY for.

Ry Cooder - Paris,Texas (1985)
This is an ideal record for people like me.. those who live at night. I am pretty sure that Batman has his copy in Batmobil and is enjoying this melancholy music while he drives through fucking Gotham City. Paris, Texas is a great film.. it's a long time since I saw it, and it's a long time since Wenders directed a good film.

Roxy Music - Viva! (1976)

I didn't like Roxy Music until the last month. And I LOVE them now because of Viva! Their studio records were a bit boring for me, but the live versions are so fucking powerful and moving. Some bands should record only live albums. Suddenly "Out of Blue" has the urgency which the original version never approached. Pyjamarama (released only as a single) was never so hype and funky. Now I like almost every RM album. Because there, under the cover of sophisticated producing, is hidden a lot of really great songs. Viva! was recorded in the period of 73-75. The concert band was enhanced by brilliant bassist John Wetton (King Crimson,UK,Asia...) or a keybord,strings by Eddie Jobson (Frank Zappa, King Crimson or Jethro Tull).

Portable - Version (2005)

Portable is Alan Abrahams (South Africa) project. Very rare mix of tribal rhythm structures and glitch, minimal techno. It sounds like a Aphex Twin jamming with African drummers.

Peter Gabriel III (1980)

The fundamental record of my childhood. I had a copy on the tape (who knows what it was nowadays?) recorded from some Polish radio broadcast. I was about 8yo and the only place I was listening to that record was my stepfather's car. I still remember the feelings I had when the ??marimbas?? came in "No Self Control". Shivers! I made up a story for myself about Gabriel. On that record is so many references to war or army, so I started to think that Gabriel was a man who went through every fucking war all around the world and now is singing about it, also I was convinced that he is very poor and hunted by police. I just kept the story with me and later, when I went to Germany, I realized that I was right. I found a music managazine on my father's desk. There were pictures of Gabriel posing in empty demolished house, sitting by the table being very very cold. My childish fantasy was satisfied.

This album is sometimes known as Melt. Because of the great cover. I can't stand Gabriel's lyrics and his self-expression. I just loads of shite, but his music is incredible. His ability to write all the songs, put together those musicians (Robert Fripp,Kate Bush,Paul Weller!!,and oh.. Phil fucking Collins) while using the latest recording technology, and Fairlight synth is a proof of being a real visionary. Back in 1980 he was well known ex-member of Genesis, but he went for infuences to punk (not using the cymbals is idea from PIL) or minimal music (Lead a Normal Life). There is Gabriels probably most famous song.. Biko. Pathetic.. but really powerful.

Panasonic - Vakio (1995)

Panasonic (now Pan Sonic, they had to remove "A" because of legal issues) is duo form Finland (again). Their music is real dark shite. For tough guys only. Noises, frequency oscillations and rhythm structures. Not an easy listening. I saw them in tv,, a music video for "Urania". One of the best videos ever. So industrial.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)

Recently I noticed that I am listening to the soul music.. Marvin Gaye. Bill Withers, Diana Ross or Michael Jackson's Off The Wall. I don't know where it came from, but I am really enjoying it. Marvin's sad story (dead of gf,drugs,bankrupt,being killed by own father) is well known so there is no need to repeat it. It just a real shame that nobody knows that album now.

Mad Season - Above (1995)

Grunge was just a word. Just an excuse for not using then very unfashionable words like "metal, hard rock or punkrock". Mad Season were Above all of it. They weren't real band though. Just members of Pearl Jam,Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees recorded one of the most beautiful record. It's sad to listen what Layne was singing.

Wake up young man, it's time to wake up

Your love affair has got to go

For 10 long years, for 10 long years

The leaves to rake up

Slow suicide's no way to go, oh

Blue, clouded grey

You're not a crack up....

And 7 years later he was dead. Fuck.

Kronos Quartet-Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (1995)

I think that the is the best of his work. Not so repetitive, more colourful.

King Crimson - Red (1974)

King Crimson's the darkest record. Wetton's distorted bass, Bruford seems to use all his 6 arms to play drums and Fripp is playing guitar so aggresively that even their contemporaries like Black Sabbath sound like coffee - table music. King Crimson recorded a lot of great albums. But Red is very different. It evokes the hell or something like that. The atmosphere is so urgent, there is no pressure relief. Providence is a nightmare even for arty wankers.. There is some mellotron in Starless, but again.. the song ends in metallic fury! King Crimson were trying to reinvent RED sound on 1995 comeback album Thrak and they were surprisingly successful however Thrak is more refined. Red has the real dirt.

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