Music

In the case i would have to create a list of music that i´ve heard quite frequently around the millenium change, the album Vegas by The Crystal Method would be on this list for sure. Vegas was their debut album and it´s music ccompanied me for a quite a time and through many situations. Thus some important situations of that time are connected to this music and thus i really like this music.

Now it´s 2009 and Crystal Method published a new album. Divided By Night is their fourth album. I wasn´t really fond of their two other albums they´ve published in the mean time (Tweekend and Legion of Boom) but their actual album is much closer to Vegas, thus i´m really starting to like it. I don´t know if this music will be as important for me as Vegas but at least it´s very good music .

I would like to speak out some recommendations: Dirty Thirty, Smile? and Double Down Under. A rather untypical, nevertheless good track is Falling Hard.

Okay, this music is from Scandinavia and its good, too. Like the last album from Röyksopp (the last recommended listening). But the rest ist pretty much different. To be exact: it´s the diametral opposite. Much harder, much faster, much darker. My first recommended listening is a cover version. Play Dead is a great song, but as we all know: Bjork squeaks (I like her voice, other people search for earplugs). The version of Pain is great without losing much of the original. So you should give Play Dead a try. My next favourites are Walking on Glass and Psalms of Extinction. I won´t publish a screenshot of the cover. It´s horrible ... looks like Johnny Depp .. whould give you the wrong impression of the music.

Okay ... i already see questions in your mind ... what did Mr. Moellenkamp smoked to recommended this music. A few days ago a metalized version of Careless whisper and now electro pop. Just to answer this question: Nothing.

Due to my vacation and the preparation of my vacation i missed the new album from Röyksopp. Röyksopp? Yes, it´s a norwegian group making electronic music. Many Mac Users know their music, at least one title, as their song Eple was the music in the Setup Assistant of Mac OS X v 10.3 Panther.

After four long years since The Unterstanding, they published a new album: Junior. I´ve just downloaded it and i´m really linking it. It´s something like a mix of their first (Melody A.M.) and their second album (the already mentioned Unterstanding album). It´s melodic and danceable like Understanding, but has many parallels to Melody. Why do i like it ... don´t know ... but the music matched my mood at the moment really good.

I just wan´t to recommend a few songs here: Röyksopp forever is a good example for the great instrumental track from this group. My favorite songs of this album are "This must be it", "The Girl and the Robot" and "You don´t have a clue".

Just pure luck that i´ve found this album. I searched for another band, found the Nip/Tuck soundtrack album and voila ... found Syntax. The music on the Meccano Mind album is something in the direction of dark electronica. At the moment the music that matches my mood at best. Dark ... with Ambient influences ... headphones, closing the eyes and start leaving the world for a moment.

The album "Meccano Mind" is already 4 years old (doesn´t sound this way ... could be 2008 as well), but according to Wikipedia there is hope for a second album in 2009. At the moment i have two tracks on heavy rotation: Pride and Message. Another excellent track on the album is Bliss.

I forgot to post this article yesterday. Peter Gabriel had his 59th birthday yesterday. So, happy birthday too you, Mr. Gabriel, and thank for providing my favourite music for almost 20 years now.

Was soll man von einem Tag halten, den man mit einem Lied, das unter anderem diese Textzeilen enthält, in Dauerrotation beginnt:

Es blendet uns zu sehen und schmerzt uns, Dir zu Lauschen
Doch scheint es so, als wuerd es hier nichts geben mehr als Rauschen
Schliess die Augen sanft, mein Kind und bleib in meinen Armen
Ich trage Dich hinweg durch diese alte Welt

Au weia ....

This recommendation is from the darker side of my musical taste. It´s Collide ... an electronic band from California. I´ve wrote about this band in this block back in 2005. How can I describe Collide at best. Hmm ... well ... think about the more melodic pieces of Nine Inch Nails (like Ruiner, Heresy and Perfect Drug) with female vocals.

The both musicians of Collide published their new album end of September. I really waited for their new album, as their remix album Vortex was somehow addictive and albeit their spin off project "The Secret Meeting" produced excellent results it made the waiting time for the new Collide album a little bit longer for me, as Collide is still a tiny little bit better. As usual with my taste of music: You like it or you hate it. I recommend Tongue tied & twisted, Spaces in Between and Shifting for a first taste.

After my recommendation for the Amy MacDonalds album i´ve got some question from friends what´s had happen to my usal favourite music. Nothing, my dears, nothing. I just extended my taste in music with that scottish artist. So i wan´t to recommend a new album. It´s the perfect opposite to the last album. Dark, really dark .... perfect for my usual mood in the winter. When my soul catches the colour of the time when i wake up. And to the others, which are unaware of my old music taste. Well ... that´s normal ... i´m not depressed or something like that. I just like such music. Other friends speculated because of this music taste when would start to transform the guest restroom to a terrarium for flying foxes or bats. But that is a different story.

Today i want recommend Nekrolog 43 from Diary of Dreams. Yes, this music again ... i´ve talked about an earlier album last year.

Very dark lyrics with lines like

Hey, prison cell
you can not keep me here
Silent waters are deep you know

in The Plaque or

My home is where my heart died
Don't listen to what they say
I may not be your best friend
and I know you feel the same

in the track Remedy Child. Surely not music for everybody or depressive people. But i like it It´s a really good album. At first you should try The Plague. If this music is your style you should try the titles already mentioned. When you don´t like this track, you shouldn´t go farther

Strange mood at the moment ...


No fear, i will not do that stuff from the video ... i have music for that ...
(at iTunes)

I wrote at the article about this aviation video, that Volker hit me at two weak points. Good music is one of them. And the music in this video is simply great. Luckly a commentor in Volkers blog wrote the name of this great artist. The woman writing and performing this music is Amy MacDonald. It´s good to hear such music to get remembered about the fact that there is still music in the world of commercial music dominated by guaranteed talent-free products of casting shows.

I strongly suggest to listen to the music: Suggestion for a first try are Footballer´s Wife(definitely the best on the album), This Much is True or L.A. from her album This is the life.

PS: Its one of the sure signs of getting old when the music you like is from persons younger than yourself. This musician is just 21 years old.

Wieder mal eine Hörempfehlung für ein einzelnes Lied: Vielleich erinnert sich noch jemand an das unsägliche "Kiss me" von Sixpence non the richer. War eine Zeitlang mein Lieblingsgrund das Radio wieder auszuschalten. Ein Song aus der Kategorie "Annoying Song - played dammed too much".

Man darf sich aber fragen, was die Sängerin Leigh Nash heute macht. Denn sie macht richtig gute Musik. Insbesondere wenn Sie mit Arne Van Petegem zusammenarbeit. Ich möchte hier allen "Kiss me" geschädigten All Along the Wall im Styrofoam Remix wärmstens ans Herz legen.

Sh... can´t get this tune out of my head ...

Ich habe mich geraume Zeit gefragt, ob ich für dieses Album eine Hoerempfehlung aussprechen sollte. Man guckt ja immer besonders genau hin, wenn ein Teil von Wolfsheim neue Musik herausbringt. Und gegenüber eine Spectator lässt dieses Album doch zu wuenschen übrig. Und wenn man genau hingeguckt, erreicht Herr Heppner nicht die Qualität alter Zeiten. Vieles wirkt schon schon mal gehoert. Es fühlt sich an wie Wolfsheim, es hoert sich an wie Wolfsheim, aber irgendwie ist es nicht das Gleiche. Und ohne die Stimme des Sängers wuerde wahrscheinlich niemand wirklich Kenntnis von dieser Musik nehmen, da sie von dieser getragen wird.

Was man sich aber vor Augen halten muss: Man vergleicht hier die Musik einer wegweisenden Band (die sich auch erstmal finden musste) mit dem Solo-Erstling eines Künstler. Und so kann man dann doch eine Hoerempfehlung aussprechen. Für sich genommen ohne die Bürde ist es ein gutes Album. Und wenn man sich den Mist anhoert, der einem sonst so in die Ohren gespuelt wird, muss man sogar konstatieren, das die Scheibe sehr gut ist. Für das nächste Album erwarte ich aber mehr. Aber als Ersatzdroge nach der Aufloesung Wolfsheim erscheint es ausreichend.

Als persönliche Hörempfehlung möchte ich Euch "Walter (London or Manchester)" und "I hate you" ans Ohr legen.

Heppner (bekannter als die Stimme von Wolfsheim) scheint wohl zeitnah ein neues Album herauszubringen. Zumindestens kann man es jetzt bei iTunes vorbestellen. Als Teasersingle gibt es Alleinesein. Es gibt schon das Video dazu bei Youtube ... aufgenommen - wie man unschwer erkennen kann - in der schoensten Stadt der Welt. Ich bin mal gespannt, wie das Album wird ...



PS: Hmmm ... meine gute Freundin Corinna meinte eben, das wuerde uebers Jahr zu neunzig prozent meiner Freizeit passen

The solo studio albums of Peter Gabriel are outstanding. Without any question. And the live performances of Peter Gabriel are not from this world. But i have a somewhat divided relationship to some of it´s other works. The "Passion" album for example: I asked other PG fans and it was the album with the "one song". There was only one really good title: A different drum. But not all of his side projects were that mixed: Ovo was excellent.

A few weeks ago, Peter Gabriel released "Big Blue Ball". This release are the results of a collaboration of many WOMAD (a world music label initiated by Mr. Gabriel) musicans round about 10 years ago. And my thoughts are somewhat mixed: I´m not that world music fan. I´m a PG fan. So not convinced about all the tracks. Nevertheless there are really good pieces on it. "Whole Thing"(more like in his US/So phase) for example. Or "Exit Through You" and "Burn you up, burn you down"(both more similar to the music of his Up phase). From the pieces without the master the track "Everything Comes from You" is my favourite.

But at the end: I can´t wait for I/O - the next pure Peter Gabriel album.