So something weird happened on the way to my mailbox. Somewhere along the line, the USPS decided it could not actually deliver to me the package my penpal sent. So no new Matthias Reim in the que. I only have a few sound bites from the songs to hear. It is a shame to since I have all kinds of time to learn this CD. Pen pal is reshipping so hopefully the second time will be magic.
In the meantime there is Spotify, and a new app I added to my phone: 8tracks. It started, as so many things do these days with a Pintrest pin. Hot British guys reading Poetry and Prose. Mostly Cumberbatch (Happy Birthday, Old Man!) and Tom Hiddleston. There are a few other great voices; Alan Rickman to make you cry (still not over that), Richard Armitage (for those who miss a tortured Guy) Michael Caine (still waiting for that Alfred smackdown on Bratman), Kenneth Branaugh (because Shakespeare the movies) and David Tennant (expecting Don't Blink to punctuate the Sonnets). It's great fun. And I am sleeping better.
In fact, off the Lexapro and with these gents in me ear all night, not only am I sleeping through BUT I am also not having nightmares. Major HUZZAH! Those things were killing me. And not so softly either. The panic attacks that shoot me out of bed for literally no good & logical reason have stopped. I think this means that I will have to make sure I only watch them being good guys. Or in Armitage's case, the wishing he could be better Guy and not them being assholes about life and everything. Fortunately it will be a while before there is more Jessica Jones. And Netflix has taken the Doctor away until the new streaming BBC is ready. So the only danger is accidentally engaging the memory files and triggering some kind of avalanche of terror. I also skip Hiddles. Sorry Tom, but Loki.... I can't.
Now if only I could find Josh Brolin and Goetz Otto reading things, my audio library will be complete.
Any way. As I was cruising through this new app I realized it is a lot of playlists. And there are German playlists. Matthias playlists. I don't know how this all works. But somehow, there is a way to make my mobile music experience great again. And I shall do so while I await the new CD. In the meantime, well rested me is having a blast with the energy from actual restful sleep.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Happy Birthday
Today, being the second of October, is Sting's birthday. I am listening to "The Last Ship" on Spotify right now. I've never not had money for a new Sting CD so thankfully there is Spotify for the foreseeable future. It's been 10 years since his last album of original tunes. And a lot has changed in those 10 years.
At once they seem to have been the longest decade of my life and the shortest. I measure my life in milestones more than in years. It seems, with the notable exception of Matthias Reim to hold my heart in time of heartache, Sting is the soundtrack underscoring those milestones. When I find myself inconsolable at points in which the losses in my life are so poignant there is always an album which lets me do my grieving and find the strength of hope to get through the hardest part of the process: the letting go and getting back to life. Most of that time, when I miss someone most, I return to Soul Cages.
Soul Cages got me through Dad's sickness and passing. It is difficult to describe all those feelings. Anyone who has lost someone knows them... knows them well. Anyone who has been there knows there is little that can be said to make it better. The Hallmark™ card to hold all the sentiments for those occasions would be as tall as the Statue of Liberty and still not be able to convey the support a grieving person needs. Or desires. In fact the grieving person usually doesn't know what would help until the help arrives. Cue Sting.
His father passed and Soul Cages was his process to deal with it. You don't just miss the person in the flesh from the moment of passing. You miss the whole thing: the times that you shared and the times that you blew off. There are things that our fathers tell us that we do not heed when they are with us that we cannot then ask them to repeat once they are gone. You grieve for that. Then you feel the guilt. Here's the thing though, you also miss yourself.
Soul Cages looks at what life was like growing up in Newcastle, especially "All This Time" which is one of my favorites in his entire body of work. When a parent passes you miss those times that you remember fondly, pictures play in your mind like a fading 16mm film. You miss the places you were when you were there. You miss your hometown and the way it was while you were growing up. You miss the vision of yourself when you see those films in your mind. Looking through old books in rainy weather is torture; and much needed. In less than two weeks I will mark the 8th year of my father's passing. Soul Cages came to me a year before he passes, it paved the way for the process to come. I bought it the same year that Sacred Love came out, the same day it came out.
When my father did pass two weeks after his 90th birthday I remembered the CD, the liner notes Sting wrote. For a month I only listened to Soul Cages. I planned the funeral with the director alone. I made mistakes that alienated my cousins on my father's side. I gathered the pictures for the memorial alone. I talked to the doctors about his condition and was the only one of the three of us to know that he was not coming back. I stood alone in the hospital room with no one to hold onto. I survived those horrible moments with Sting's dulcet voice in my head... singing me through the breaths that I would have to take to make it downstairs to my car without upsetting the whole hospital. My brother wailed onto his wife's shoulder while my sister was on the plane to get here. The German patient, bless his heart, calmly ordered his meal from the bed next door.
Everything changes when you lose the last of your parents. If you haven't prepared yourself very well you lose your entire self. As prepared as I was I lost a good chunk of who I was and what I thought my life would be. In the process of settling his affairs I lost a lot of the security that we expect to have out of life. And having lost that I lost my faith in myself. I never really realized how tied into my father my own thoughts of my self identity were. Thanks Freud, but it isn't about sexual maturity (which I know because my "type" is completely different from my dad. My dad actually influences whom I gravitate toward in the realm of spiritual assistance~ Sting. My dad is mostly Welsh.) In many ways, Mr. Sumner and my dad are a lot a like. Mr. Sumner was a milkman and my dad a farmer and neither of them understood the artistic drive in Sting and me. But by the end, they both gave blessings for each of us to be what we wanted. I can not say if this is the case with Sting, but I still feel that even with the blessing to go forth and create art I am somehow disappointing Dad. For the first time in my life, and lasting these last 8 years, I have considered being something other than an artist.
That would be like considering being something other than human. Oh I would love to be a Time Lord. But I am human: frailly, blessedly and incontrovertibly human. And I shall need a hefty dose of Sacred Love to help me find myself as I have always imagined myself to be and to be what my Dad blessed in his last conversation with me. But I am not ready for that just yet. If I were I would not have been so eager to distract myself with Matthias Reim these last 4 years. So as I listen to The Last Ship, I find the sequel to Soul Cages that I was looking for.
I wish that I had the liner notes that come with the CD. But alas.... not until I have some money to go get the CD. And that brings me to the reason that I am writing about Dad and Sting today. It being Sting's birthday, and that birthday falling smack in the middle of the Season of Loss™, there is no better day to think about who I still have in my life and how thankful that I am for them. Especially Sting.
Sting,
Happy Birthday.
I am so thankful for you, for your art, for your willingness to put your heart, soul,
experience into song to share with the rest of us. I do not know how I would have
gotten through so many of my life's experiences without your words
to comfort or convict and pointing the way under the Dog Star.
Thank you.
I owe someone else a birthday greeting. It is hard to write this one though because I feel so much empathy for him and one of the things that he struggles with... I wasn't really expecting to get that involved with that particular greeting. But I am an Aquarius and I am waking up from a long spiritual slumber so it probably should surprise none of us that I'm more involved than I should be.
Monday, September 23, 2013
This is What They Mean When They Say to Be Yourself/Love What You Love & The Universe Will Manifest It
I think I should probably do a separate page for the food geek in me. It could take up quite a lot of space as I am about ready to squee senseless from the joy of receiving two cooking magazines in my goodie box from Germany.
I have a wonderful pen pal. I've said it before. And I shall say it again. She is a thoughtful person and eager to share the things that she loves with other like minded people. One of those things that we love is the music of Matthias Reim. That fan frenzy is how we met. Online during the week of his release concert this year. We have a lot of other things in common, but Matthias is the main thing. There is not a feeling I can feel in which his music does not provide comfort or encouragement. It is all there. And really that is the best kind of music. When music, or any art, comes from a life lived fully and with the joys and sorrows that happen you have the best kind of music ever. And that is perhaps why modern American music annoys me: it really is about nothing. And not in a good Seinfeld way.
Between Sting and Matthias Reim, I should be all set with the emotional support to get through the rest of my life. Maybe. I'm one of those introverts that has a hard time with people and goes into seclusion. Then when I get bored of having to be my own company I come out of the cave guns a blazing and ready to tackle the world only to find myself tripping over the gun belt that has slipped off the hip because I do not really know what I am doing. And when I fall on my face I need someone to help me that can offer the help without judgment. Enter music. And German music is particularly helpful to me since no one around me will no what ails my heart. I can not be made fun of. I can not have my heart turned against me. It is perfect.
At work the guys always say that my radio is broken. I think I will just have to tell them that they need to upgrade their universal translators. But I don't want them to know that my heart is still heavy from the events involving Sir Knight. Nor do I want them to know that their own brand of ugliness has gotten to me. Matthias can sing abut his heart being squished into a bloody pulp with a great dance beat behind it to disguise some of the anguish. And no one in that laundry room is the wiser for it. No one needs to know that I feel the way they want me to feel. No one need know that I am the Schwanenkönig and how keenly I feel the loss of their friendships.
And as always, Unverwundbar is my shield, Matthias my guardian angel and Über sieben Brücken is the courage to continue when I do not want to, there is light after the dark night, there is life after the ashes of despair. I know, two of those songs are not his. But his voice is the one that lends the conviction to them that allows me to take the message seriously. Lest you all thing it is all despair in my little corner of the world it is not. Matthias makes a great dance tune.
His is a soul that feels every feeling with passion. It is easy to ride the waves with him. It certainly feels safer than trying to navigate feelings without a guide. And now, thanks to my pen pal the collection is complete.
As I was getting ready to write this so that I could talk about German food and especially the baking, she wrote me to tell me a few things about the package. Which is funny because she prevents me then from asking her if she was sure she wanted to give me her copies. None of them were shrink wrapped so I assumed it was from her personal stash. She had two copies of the signed CD so one is mine now. The story of the Mallorca edition though has put me out of sorts. And I don't think that I will write about food now.
I've been trying to collect all the CDs. I have all but two of Sting's, all of the Monkees albums were re-released for their 40th anniversary. It is only fitting that I should strive for all of the albums from Matthias. Considering finances, I always put this one at the bottom of the list. And as luck would have it, the used dealer on Amazon ran out and could not get more. Amazon was out for a long time, so long that it seemed that maybe it was out of print. 7Leben caused a huge run on his work. And Unendlich depleted the rest of the supplies fairly well. As a matter of fact, Unverwundbar for a long time could not be had for less than 100 Euro. Yikes! I love him but I still have to live.*
So I told my pen pal that I had everything but that CD. She said it was a minor CD and not really a must have. I told her that I had guessed as much. But the version of Hallelujah that I like the most is in the Midnight Show because it has the screaming violins and sounds like the kind of church music that makes dead popes roll in their graves. [This is obviously not what Matthias intended. It is how my particular brand of schadenfreude manifests itself. And a commentary on my opinion that better church music would keep more butts in the seats instead of driving people away. My opinion. And it could be wrong.] Obviously this is something that she remembered from many months ago.
She had the opportunity to help the family help Matthias' father downsize. As they were going through his personal belongings they came across 5 copies of this particular CD. He asked if she knew anyone who could use them.
And she did.
Complete.
*quick fact checking at amazon tells me that their supply of Matthias Reim anything is slim. They are down to hard copies of singles and only a few compilation albums... which I already have. No Mallorca.
 |
| Unendlich live CD, Midnight Mallorca Mix CD, a life changing book by Hape Kerkeling, Mozart Kugeln and assorted lebkuchen, and two magazines of German style cooking and baking |
I have a wonderful pen pal. I've said it before. And I shall say it again. She is a thoughtful person and eager to share the things that she loves with other like minded people. One of those things that we love is the music of Matthias Reim. That fan frenzy is how we met. Online during the week of his release concert this year. We have a lot of other things in common, but Matthias is the main thing. There is not a feeling I can feel in which his music does not provide comfort or encouragement. It is all there. And really that is the best kind of music. When music, or any art, comes from a life lived fully and with the joys and sorrows that happen you have the best kind of music ever. And that is perhaps why modern American music annoys me: it really is about nothing. And not in a good Seinfeld way.
Between Sting and Matthias Reim, I should be all set with the emotional support to get through the rest of my life. Maybe. I'm one of those introverts that has a hard time with people and goes into seclusion. Then when I get bored of having to be my own company I come out of the cave guns a blazing and ready to tackle the world only to find myself tripping over the gun belt that has slipped off the hip because I do not really know what I am doing. And when I fall on my face I need someone to help me that can offer the help without judgment. Enter music. And German music is particularly helpful to me since no one around me will no what ails my heart. I can not be made fun of. I can not have my heart turned against me. It is perfect.
At work the guys always say that my radio is broken. I think I will just have to tell them that they need to upgrade their universal translators. But I don't want them to know that my heart is still heavy from the events involving Sir Knight. Nor do I want them to know that their own brand of ugliness has gotten to me. Matthias can sing abut his heart being squished into a bloody pulp with a great dance beat behind it to disguise some of the anguish. And no one in that laundry room is the wiser for it. No one needs to know that I feel the way they want me to feel. No one need know that I am the Schwanenkönig and how keenly I feel the loss of their friendships.
And as always, Unverwundbar is my shield, Matthias my guardian angel and Über sieben Brücken is the courage to continue when I do not want to, there is light after the dark night, there is life after the ashes of despair. I know, two of those songs are not his. But his voice is the one that lends the conviction to them that allows me to take the message seriously. Lest you all thing it is all despair in my little corner of the world it is not. Matthias makes a great dance tune.
His is a soul that feels every feeling with passion. It is easy to ride the waves with him. It certainly feels safer than trying to navigate feelings without a guide. And now, thanks to my pen pal the collection is complete.
As I was getting ready to write this so that I could talk about German food and especially the baking, she wrote me to tell me a few things about the package. Which is funny because she prevents me then from asking her if she was sure she wanted to give me her copies. None of them were shrink wrapped so I assumed it was from her personal stash. She had two copies of the signed CD so one is mine now. The story of the Mallorca edition though has put me out of sorts. And I don't think that I will write about food now.
I've been trying to collect all the CDs. I have all but two of Sting's, all of the Monkees albums were re-released for their 40th anniversary. It is only fitting that I should strive for all of the albums from Matthias. Considering finances, I always put this one at the bottom of the list. And as luck would have it, the used dealer on Amazon ran out and could not get more. Amazon was out for a long time, so long that it seemed that maybe it was out of print. 7Leben caused a huge run on his work. And Unendlich depleted the rest of the supplies fairly well. As a matter of fact, Unverwundbar for a long time could not be had for less than 100 Euro. Yikes! I love him but I still have to live.*
So I told my pen pal that I had everything but that CD. She said it was a minor CD and not really a must have. I told her that I had guessed as much. But the version of Hallelujah that I like the most is in the Midnight Show because it has the screaming violins and sounds like the kind of church music that makes dead popes roll in their graves. [This is obviously not what Matthias intended. It is how my particular brand of schadenfreude manifests itself. And a commentary on my opinion that better church music would keep more butts in the seats instead of driving people away. My opinion. And it could be wrong.] Obviously this is something that she remembered from many months ago.
She had the opportunity to help the family help Matthias' father downsize. As they were going through his personal belongings they came across 5 copies of this particular CD. He asked if she knew anyone who could use them.
And she did.
Complete.
*quick fact checking at amazon tells me that their supply of Matthias Reim anything is slim. They are down to hard copies of singles and only a few compilation albums... which I already have. No Mallorca.
Spread the Love
Hey folks,
It would seem that there are enough of you real people reading this to keep the spam stats lower than average. Yay you! Could you do me a favor and spread the love on the blog around a little? Google is sending people my way from the Eurozone and Google+ is helping a bit more than I thought. But I still have vampires, zombies and fake adsense topping the stats charts.
I know. I know. I know..... upgrade the security software. I have to make an appointment for that and for the next two weeks work has me running all over the place. I have to write a lot today and schedule posts to keep things fresh and fun.
Well fresh.
No. Fun too.
My pen pal sent me a package of goodies from Germany. I guess the cats had fun sitting on it while waiting for me to get home from work to open it. They played King of the Mountain. And it was not an easy mountain for two hefty cats to claim. Kudos to them for even trying. Funny thing is, once it was open and they saw there was nothing in it for them they left it alone. Didn't even dig around in the cookies. Of course if they were dogs that would have been a holenutther episode.
Anyway... pics to come. I am excited as I now have a complete Matthias Reim music collection and a DVD. Swooning commences in a few minutes. Lots of time translating ahead as there are two cooking magazines with the most delicious looking dishes in them. Oh..... wow. I hate that I will be so busy at work. I want to listen to new music, cook, bake and work on my German!!!! But I still have to pay the bills.
In the meantime keep coming back, share some posts, +1 some posts... your clicks are like garlic to spammy vampires. Um.... Spampires? Did I just make a new word? Yep. I did. Add that to your lexicons!!
It would seem that there are enough of you real people reading this to keep the spam stats lower than average. Yay you! Could you do me a favor and spread the love on the blog around a little? Google is sending people my way from the Eurozone and Google+ is helping a bit more than I thought. But I still have vampires, zombies and fake adsense topping the stats charts.
I know. I know. I know..... upgrade the security software. I have to make an appointment for that and for the next two weeks work has me running all over the place. I have to write a lot today and schedule posts to keep things fresh and fun.
Well fresh.
No. Fun too.
My pen pal sent me a package of goodies from Germany. I guess the cats had fun sitting on it while waiting for me to get home from work to open it. They played King of the Mountain. And it was not an easy mountain for two hefty cats to claim. Kudos to them for even trying. Funny thing is, once it was open and they saw there was nothing in it for them they left it alone. Didn't even dig around in the cookies. Of course if they were dogs that would have been a holenutther episode.
Anyway... pics to come. I am excited as I now have a complete Matthias Reim music collection and a DVD. Swooning commences in a few minutes. Lots of time translating ahead as there are two cooking magazines with the most delicious looking dishes in them. Oh..... wow. I hate that I will be so busy at work. I want to listen to new music, cook, bake and work on my German!!!! But I still have to pay the bills.
In the meantime keep coming back, share some posts, +1 some posts... your clicks are like garlic to spammy vampires. Um.... Spampires? Did I just make a new word? Yep. I did. Add that to your lexicons!!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
One Lining a Geek
On line dating is a pain in the ass for a lot of reasons. For me the biggest reason is the one-liners. You know, those cute things guys say that are supposed to make them sound "Fonzie Cool" and make you want to jump in bed with them. I've gotten tons in the last few months. And they are annoying.
Most of them are as simple as "Why aren't you in jail? It should be against the law to look that good."
Um? Thank you? But....
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
It's a shy guy trying to not sound like a dithering idiot and getting the guts to talk to you. I know. The problem is that he sounds like a dithering idiot anyway. Did you read the profile? Is there nothing that my profile told you that makes you want to ask a question? Make a comment? Let me know that you read it and understand my terms? No?
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
But it is the latest one that really twisted my gizzard:
Can I borrow your library card? I want to check you out.
Really? Excuse my while I put on my Sherlock Resting Bitchface™: If you are checking me out and need a card to do so then I am an item in the library and not a library patron. Therefore I would not possess a library card at all. Do you not understand that a one liner has to make some amount of rational sense? No?
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
Good God Cumberbatch whatever you do, DO NOT use a one liner to try to pick up girls. DO, however, notice something about her personality which she has control over and will keep with her when her looks fade and only sparingly complement beauty. Anyone vain enough to want to be praised for her looks is going to be rather high maintenance. And anyone with a personality is going to be fun for you to trade banter with. I'm not saying that banter is a solid foundation but at least with someone who would like to spar with words you have a good shot of building your confidence.
And that is what these guys don't understand. If I have to use smaller words and even smaller concepts we are not going to get along and you should just move along. If I have to explain to you a TARDIS, how a transport works, why Schrödinger's cat jokes are funny, why a landspeeder/Death Star trade is a bad idea or the general appeal of BBC programming and the joys of Schlager music then we aren't going to get along. Unless you read the profile none of that is apparent. And a one liner doesn't do as much to open a door as you think it will.
Now I am not saying that the honest and truly well written letters have yielded a steady beau or are guaranteed to. I am saying that the thoughtful well crafted letter is going to be a better option than a Joey Tribbiani "How you doin'?", a Fonzie "aaay!" or snapping your fingers like the most interesting man in the Universe. I've managed to get some very nice letters, have those letters carry forward to a promising start only to lose the guy in 5 emails or less because Sherlock Resting Bitchface™ came out.
Someday I will find a guy that can handle nerdy as well as everything else I have to throw at him. But until that happens I have to suffer through the one-liners.
Most of them are as simple as "Why aren't you in jail? It should be against the law to look that good."
Um? Thank you? But....
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
It's a shy guy trying to not sound like a dithering idiot and getting the guts to talk to you. I know. The problem is that he sounds like a dithering idiot anyway. Did you read the profile? Is there nothing that my profile told you that makes you want to ask a question? Make a comment? Let me know that you read it and understand my terms? No?
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
But it is the latest one that really twisted my gizzard:
Can I borrow your library card? I want to check you out.
Really? Excuse my while I put on my Sherlock Resting Bitchface™: If you are checking me out and need a card to do so then I am an item in the library and not a library patron. Therefore I would not possess a library card at all. Do you not understand that a one liner has to make some amount of rational sense? No?
Move along. This isn't the Droid you are looking for.
Good God Cumberbatch whatever you do, DO NOT use a one liner to try to pick up girls. DO, however, notice something about her personality which she has control over and will keep with her when her looks fade and only sparingly complement beauty. Anyone vain enough to want to be praised for her looks is going to be rather high maintenance. And anyone with a personality is going to be fun for you to trade banter with. I'm not saying that banter is a solid foundation but at least with someone who would like to spar with words you have a good shot of building your confidence.
And that is what these guys don't understand. If I have to use smaller words and even smaller concepts we are not going to get along and you should just move along. If I have to explain to you a TARDIS, how a transport works, why Schrödinger's cat jokes are funny, why a landspeeder/Death Star trade is a bad idea or the general appeal of BBC programming and the joys of Schlager music then we aren't going to get along. Unless you read the profile none of that is apparent. And a one liner doesn't do as much to open a door as you think it will.
Now I am not saying that the honest and truly well written letters have yielded a steady beau or are guaranteed to. I am saying that the thoughtful well crafted letter is going to be a better option than a Joey Tribbiani "How you doin'?", a Fonzie "aaay!" or snapping your fingers like the most interesting man in the Universe. I've managed to get some very nice letters, have those letters carry forward to a promising start only to lose the guy in 5 emails or less because Sherlock Resting Bitchface™ came out.
Someday I will find a guy that can handle nerdy as well as everything else I have to throw at him. But until that happens I have to suffer through the one-liners.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
An Oasis in the Chaos
So while the world is busy falling apart around our ears some people are calm and composed enough to continue to do what they love to do. September 24th Sting releases a new album entitled "the Last Ship". I got to hear some of it previewed on his website. Sounds to me like the sequel to "Soul Cages". And today Spotify notifies me that Sir Paul McCartney has released a new album and the first single, "New" was available to listen to tonight.
Music Geeks rejoice! The Masters are back at it and as strong as ever.
And I suppose there is a lesson to be learned in all of this talent. And of course, it comes from the Brits: KEEP CALM & DO WHAT YOU DO BEST. Sir Paul, Sting and Matthias will keep making music no matter what happens in the rest of the world.
Music Geeks rejoice! The Masters are back at it and as strong as ever.
And I suppose there is a lesson to be learned in all of this talent. And of course, it comes from the Brits: KEEP CALM & DO WHAT YOU DO BEST. Sir Paul, Sting and Matthias will keep making music no matter what happens in the rest of the world.
Monday, August 19, 2013
They'll Forgive Anything But Greatness
I love these guys. The first album was awesome. The second, Scoundrel Days, was simply brilliant. It was the title of this post, a line from the title track here, that hit me over the weekend. This is the thing that I have been struggling with the last few years where I work. In the American Corporate Culture of getting paid to do nothing, those who strive are persecuted. The Geek will inherit, but it will be a long hard struggle when swimming against the tide of lack luster performers. It's been hard. And as I dig in to fight the good fight while there are lies and rumors being spread, manipulation and punishment for things that are not true and attacks on a daily basis because I can outperform so many and make the girls club look bad without even trying, because I do not fit in with the un and under educated, I've hardened myself. I thought resilience meant that I had to convert all of my energy and skill into a narrow focus of will. Perform. Perform. Perform instead of Dance monkey, dance.
That tack is killing me. Slowly my psyche is rebelling and twisting against the pressure to win and claim my name. The anger at having so many people believe someone whose accomplice already confessed to trying to destroy me because of jealousy has been stuck in me. I kept it close so that I would not forget and thus drop my defenses.
And then I listened to the playlist on which this song appears. And I heard this in the refrain
We believe through the lies and the hating that love goes free.....
And we see.... as our lives are in the making
We believe through the lies and the hating that love goes free
Through scoundrel days
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Purity, Purism or Puritanism?
 |
| still shot from "Take on Me" video: THE BEST VIDEO OF THE MTV ERA EVER! Directed by Steve Barron using Max Fleischer's rotoscope technique |
Music, from the first note I ever heard, is where my soul revels. A song or a melody will stick in my head rather quickly, and also permanently. I might not get all the words right off... but the melody. Ah the melody....
Music is primal.
Alluring.
Soothing.
But above all it is unifying.
And as with all things in Geekdom, if I am passionate about it then I will defend it, support it, protect and encourage it. And if I hate it, it will not live in my heart at all. I am that way with all things.
Music is one of those things in which the exploration is endless. It begins with that first note and it continues right through everything else that you encounter. The lifelong love of music is one of constant tending. My music collection is the only garden I will ever be able to grow. But here is the thing: This garden, for the better part of my life has been as rigid as a boxwood parterre. My music collection rejects the haphazard landscape of an English Garden full of riotous colors and species.
So here is the other thing, as will happens with Geeks, I have always been a purist. I loved spinning records. The snap, crackle and tinny pops as the needle found imperfections on its orbit around the spindle were part of the songs. Cassettes took the character (read imperfections) away from the record. But you could take them more places. Records were fragile. Cassettes, it turned out, were fragile too. For a while the Walkman made music mobile. Then CDs came along. They were expensive. While they boasted an enhanced listening experiences by eliminating the things that I loved about records, I hated them. I resisted the change. Then they were the only format in which new music was available so I had to bend.
Where I refused to yield was in the category of remakes. Or worse, the habit of sampling. Sting does a beautiful job with his work. NO ONE. NO ONE should be allowed to poison the purity of the original work. Most remakes were horrible. Someone who liked the song would do a cover version without having a clue as to how to use their own voice as an instrument. I abhorred covers. I fought covers. I dropped friends who enjoyed cover music. I was a purist. Some people called me a snob. But honestly, in the early days it was crap. Besides, the songs that we hear in those years where we are first forming our tastes beyond the limits of our parents influence are special. The songs have special meanings. They are frequently attached to all of our firsts, to our friends and the memories of events that shape who we are. For someone to come along and change those songs means that they are changing parts of our lives that matter to us. And it used to infuriate me. After all, I was a purist.
That would seem to imply something has changed. It has. I've been a damn Puritan about music. Oh I still hate the new stuff from the likes of Katy Perry and K$sha. That will never change. House music is still a bit beyond me.... I saaaayyyy. The Puritan in me just doesn't want to like techno/house/trance music. Yet, I have found myself listening to some things that I should not, as a purist, enjoy.
Here's the thing. I will never like new House music with lyrics that are either unintelligible or should be unintelligible because of the content of the lyrics. What I will like, what I do like, is on my spotify account under the heading "cringe-worthy". It started with trying to kill one Barry Manilow song with a dozen other Manilow songs. You know how it is when you get an ear worm stuck. Most of the time you can kill it simply. This ear worm shared characteristics with a ceti eel and demanded a more strident approach. It didn't work like I thought it would.
I found that spot in me that cringes when I hear Manilow, the Bee Gees and company but can not resist some toe tapping. I can not recall exactly how the whole process went. All I know is that at the end of 3 and a half hours I have a playlist that is full of covers of classic songs done in the House/techno trend currently popular in the clubs. Songs from Frankie Valli, Sting, BeeGees, covers of new wave hits and Reim club mixes. They are songs that made me cringe when I was a child are now toe-tapping head-bopping favorites.
I always used to like new things. So what made me a Puritan about music? I don't know. What made the change? Well, that's an even bigger mystery. It must be that my senses were hit at the right time to catch my attention? But is it something that will be permanent? I don't think so. Most likely this is just going to be a phase.
But I think that I will at least fit in with more situations as my life expands as it always was meant to be. That's one of the best things about being a geek... we are curious. And we should get curiouser and curiouser as we grow.
I always used to like new things. So what made me a Puritan about music? I don't know. What made the change? Well, that's an even bigger mystery. It must be that my senses were hit at the right time to catch my attention? But is it something that will be permanent? I don't think so. Most likely this is just going to be a phase.
But I think that I will at least fit in with more situations as my life expands as it always was meant to be. That's one of the best things about being a geek... we are curious. And we should get curiouser and curiouser as we grow.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Herlichen Glückwunsch!
This year's ECHO winner for Schalger star is not Matthias Reim. Sadface. It is Peter Maffay. If Matze couldn't have it, I am glad that Peter has it. I don't know the criteria for this particular award, so I don't know how close the race between the contestants actually was. Many well wishers on Matze's Facebook page stated it perfectly: We don't need an award to tell us how wonderful a performer he is.
Peter Maffay has been at this for nearly as long as Matze. I first heard his music on that cassette I mentioned before. "Sonne in der Nacht"... it's beautiful and heartwarming. And I always smile when I hear it. I think that he is the one who originated Über Seben Brücken. It has become quite the concert favorite. Everyone knows it. And while I love Matze, and I love the version on the Unendlich album, I do think that Maffay's 2010 version is spectacular. In fact, I have seen some footage where they perform together live. It would be nice it they could get together and do some studio work.
Of course, just because I would like that to happen, doesn't mean that it will. or that anyone is even thinking about doing it. But I also think that a duet with Sting would be a good idea. That will
probably never happen but I can dream.
Peter Maffay has been at this for nearly as long as Matze. I first heard his music on that cassette I mentioned before. "Sonne in der Nacht"... it's beautiful and heartwarming. And I always smile when I hear it. I think that he is the one who originated Über Seben Brücken. It has become quite the concert favorite. Everyone knows it. And while I love Matze, and I love the version on the Unendlich album, I do think that Maffay's 2010 version is spectacular. In fact, I have seen some footage where they perform together live. It would be nice it they could get together and do some studio work.
Of course, just because I would like that to happen, doesn't mean that it will. or that anyone is even thinking about doing it. But I also think that a duet with Sting would be a good idea. That will
probably never happen but I can dream.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Unendlich
Unendlich means "infinite", "infinitely" or "infinity", "endless", "endlessly" or "unending". It's one of those very straightforward German words that is undoubtedly rooted in Latin. It is the name of Matthias Reim's new album. I wish that I knew how to take this album. My German fails me in this regard.
The album was released on the 25th of January.... I think that I have mentioned that. He gave a release concert in Berlin on the 23rd. It was wonderful. I didn't understand much of the conversation that he had with the audience. But I did understand the body language and facial expressions when he sang "wir sind Unendlich". It sounded like a "goodbye I'll always love you" song. Many of the songs on the album are sad. They aren't depressing, they are introspective. And there is a kind of emotion in the music that is hard to define. Perhaps I can not define it because I do not want to believe what my intuition tells me. Perhaps I can not define it because it comes from a very German part of the heart and soul that I am out of touch with. I am German. But I was raised here in the States where we miss a lot of things in the pursuit of money and maintaining World Power Status. And I think that it is there that true meaning in the lyrics for these songs lies. There were many tears in the audience.
It was as if a switch had flipped. We went from a high energy power rock vibe to" huddled under a blankie" sentimentality. With one song he stripped the German stoicism from the audience and laid everything bare. I hope that this is not his retirement album. It does seem to feel that way though it is too soon to tell because I haven't done the translation work that I want to. My best hope is that since nothing on the website indicates it is the last album that Matze will go on.
He has to go on. Unendlich introduces us to a genre of music that many politely ignore otherwise. He is a fan of Öst Rock. In the States we unforgivingly call it Commie Rock. Not because it espouses the values of said political mindset, we call it that because it comes from some place east of Democracy. Öst Rock is the folk music of a people cut off from its home by outside government forces without regard to the whole cloth of the German culture. It retains the use of traditional instruments but uses them in ways more consistent with the Hungarian classical composers and nomadic gypsies to add layers of depth to the hard rock elements. Öst Rock, more so than the West German rock bands, shares elements with American steel town/East Coast industrial groups like Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. And in Europe, because Berlin and East Germany were for so long held back by an iron curtain, it is an under appreciated art form.
Als ich Fortging belongs to a band called Karrussel. Karrussel is an Öst rock band. It first appeared on a Reim album in 2007, Unverwundbar. It is beautiful, brings me to tears every time. And since it was so well received, I believe that is why he chose to explore this genre on this album. He covers 5 or 6 songs from various groups on Unendlich. And they are wonderful. Beautifully haunting.... especially Am Fenster. And I think that he has made me a fan of Öst Rock. And amazingly, I might actually sit down and purposefully listen to Bon Jovi.... who knew?
My only complaint so far is that the new stuff is not on Spotify so that I can share it with you guys and the concert version of Ganz Egal is not on the album. That is one of my favorite songs ever (I know it by heart and what it means). But the new version is my favorite of all of them. I feel a lot younger listening to that song than when I listen to the original ballad version.
Best Album ever! And, as I predicted, it hit the number one spot within 2 weeks knocking Andrea Berg from her throne. Way to go Matze!
The album was released on the 25th of January.... I think that I have mentioned that. He gave a release concert in Berlin on the 23rd. It was wonderful. I didn't understand much of the conversation that he had with the audience. But I did understand the body language and facial expressions when he sang "wir sind Unendlich". It sounded like a "goodbye I'll always love you" song. Many of the songs on the album are sad. They aren't depressing, they are introspective. And there is a kind of emotion in the music that is hard to define. Perhaps I can not define it because I do not want to believe what my intuition tells me. Perhaps I can not define it because it comes from a very German part of the heart and soul that I am out of touch with. I am German. But I was raised here in the States where we miss a lot of things in the pursuit of money and maintaining World Power Status. And I think that it is there that true meaning in the lyrics for these songs lies. There were many tears in the audience.
It was as if a switch had flipped. We went from a high energy power rock vibe to" huddled under a blankie" sentimentality. With one song he stripped the German stoicism from the audience and laid everything bare. I hope that this is not his retirement album. It does seem to feel that way though it is too soon to tell because I haven't done the translation work that I want to. My best hope is that since nothing on the website indicates it is the last album that Matze will go on.
He has to go on. Unendlich introduces us to a genre of music that many politely ignore otherwise. He is a fan of Öst Rock. In the States we unforgivingly call it Commie Rock. Not because it espouses the values of said political mindset, we call it that because it comes from some place east of Democracy. Öst Rock is the folk music of a people cut off from its home by outside government forces without regard to the whole cloth of the German culture. It retains the use of traditional instruments but uses them in ways more consistent with the Hungarian classical composers and nomadic gypsies to add layers of depth to the hard rock elements. Öst Rock, more so than the West German rock bands, shares elements with American steel town/East Coast industrial groups like Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. And in Europe, because Berlin and East Germany were for so long held back by an iron curtain, it is an under appreciated art form.
Als ich Fortging belongs to a band called Karrussel. Karrussel is an Öst rock band. It first appeared on a Reim album in 2007, Unverwundbar. It is beautiful, brings me to tears every time. And since it was so well received, I believe that is why he chose to explore this genre on this album. He covers 5 or 6 songs from various groups on Unendlich. And they are wonderful. Beautifully haunting.... especially Am Fenster. And I think that he has made me a fan of Öst Rock. And amazingly, I might actually sit down and purposefully listen to Bon Jovi.... who knew?
My only complaint so far is that the new stuff is not on Spotify so that I can share it with you guys and the concert version of Ganz Egal is not on the album. That is one of my favorite songs ever (I know it by heart and what it means). But the new version is my favorite of all of them. I feel a lot younger listening to that song than when I listen to the original ballad version.
Best Album ever! And, as I predicted, it hit the number one spot within 2 weeks knocking Andrea Berg from her throne. Way to go Matze!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
A New Year and a New Outlook
Depression is often my closest companion in the months leading up to Christmas. And by that I mean close like a suffocating plastic bag over my mouth and companion like every bully I ever had in school rolled into one super destructive force. It starts in August when the history of loss begins. And it never really stops until the Sol makes it 's presence more prominent about this time of the year after months of being curled in the fetal position when I am not at work. This year there was no fetal fits that lasted days on end. A few days it did seem like I was waiting for the sky to fall. But nothing so frightfully traumatic as last year or the year before. Two things can be credited with the ease of my survival this Winter...
Music and Support
I know that I have gone on and on about how music heals; the composer is a kindred spirit because they have already processed a similar event and are either commiserating or guiding. How music gives our minds something to do besides rehash the thing that consumes us and leads us into the dark demonic woods of depression. And I will say again that one of the reasons that I really like the schlager musik is that it takes me out of my American mindset. First because I have to really pay attention and engage in the music instead of leave it in the background where it becomes just noise. And second, because with Matthias Reim, in particular, he has the kind of voice that can be background music without being ignored. His voice is so expressive that I can have him sitting on my shoulder as a guardian angel or in my fast like a drill sergeant trying to get my fat butt over he mountains on a long hike. He sounds in turn like a sage father, wise teacher, patient counselor, a bar buddy or the guy with the knee weakening voice you want to take home with you. In America I think that it is exceedingly rare to have someone who can be all those things in the music. Sting is close. And Billy Joel to some extent. But the music itself all starts to sound the same after a while.... white noise.
But with some of the pittance I got when my brother was done with the estate I sent away for music. Apparently the angry open letter to the Universe and EMI and whoever else was listening worked. Amazon now has the ability to convert USD to Euros and worked out the shipping issues. Yea! So I replaced more of the CDs that went missing. Got one that I never had. And pre-ordered the new one which Matze's website this time did not tell me was impossible. Unmoeglich is goofy enough sounding that I don't get too upset when it shows up... but it was always so disappointing to see. No more!!!!!!! Of course I can't win any of the offers because I am overseas.... really who has a couple of thousand dollars to drop what they are doing and hop a transatlantic flight to go see a concert being offered with only 3 days to make plans? I get it. But it would have been nice to be able to win the autobiography. At any rate... the music is here.
And it has helped tremendously. Unverwundbar, invincible, invulnerable or impenetrable, is one of the healing albums. I don't know which marriage that it followed. It doesn't matter. In the title track you find strength. He has set boundaries. And with those boundaries, intentional and otherwise, he isn't going to fall for the same old crap that he always fell for (though in Unberechenbar he will declare that no matter what happens when she moves on he knows she will still want him. Who hasn't been there?) because he will not fall in love. He also declares "Men are stupid" (a ground pleasing call/response portion of a MR concert), a statement that I can get behind. In "Als ich fortging" everything goes to shit when he goes away, every time he leaves some catastrophe befalls his life. Been there. In "Wie Man Liebt" he explains why men and women can't always connect on a love level... men are taught to make war, care about science and math they are taught strength and power but not love and tenderness. Makes total sense to me. "L'amour s'en va"... When love goes....
I think that you see where I am going with this.
All that I am feeling is in this music. He lives. He survives. Every time someone knocks him down he gets back up. And he is thriving. A lesson there. He is someone that you can have walk your walk with you and feel encouragement in the phrase "life goes on" not the dust off that you get from others who are too busy for you. With a CD he is never too busy, he won't tell me to go off and do my own thing while he does his and see what happens later. Matze has his life. I have mine and I never feel left alone. I do feel lonely. But that isn't the same as being left alone to sort out your own crap because you are too much for someone to deal with. I miss my last boyfriend and feel sad that the promise of continued friendship is not fulfilled to a common standard. I miss Sir Knight. I miss my dad. I count all the mistakes that I make at work, with relationships, with family. I count the missteps. I count all the lies that I have been told... and then I have to have the music because something has to keep my mind busy on happy things.
And then there is the support system.
We are our own first line of defense. But when that doesn't work there are others. My therapist is awesome. Sometimes I think all I am paying her for is t be my cheerleader. I might feel bad about that. But if it is true that it takes 7 positive things to wipe out 1 bad thing that you have been told then I guess I am getting my monies worth. And it doesn't matter why or how I hear some things. There are things that I have to be reminded of.
My facebook community had brought old friends closer and made friends out of old classmates that I didn't get to know before. Every.........
edit: every once in a while Blogger decides to impersonate our schools old computers and eat half of my homework. Sorry.... this post ends really abruptly and for the life of me I can not remember how this one was supposed to end. But I do know now why a couple of people aren't talking to me any more. Hmmm.....
Music and Support
I know that I have gone on and on about how music heals; the composer is a kindred spirit because they have already processed a similar event and are either commiserating or guiding. How music gives our minds something to do besides rehash the thing that consumes us and leads us into the dark demonic woods of depression. And I will say again that one of the reasons that I really like the schlager musik is that it takes me out of my American mindset. First because I have to really pay attention and engage in the music instead of leave it in the background where it becomes just noise. And second, because with Matthias Reim, in particular, he has the kind of voice that can be background music without being ignored. His voice is so expressive that I can have him sitting on my shoulder as a guardian angel or in my fast like a drill sergeant trying to get my fat butt over he mountains on a long hike. He sounds in turn like a sage father, wise teacher, patient counselor, a bar buddy or the guy with the knee weakening voice you want to take home with you. In America I think that it is exceedingly rare to have someone who can be all those things in the music. Sting is close. And Billy Joel to some extent. But the music itself all starts to sound the same after a while.... white noise.
But with some of the pittance I got when my brother was done with the estate I sent away for music. Apparently the angry open letter to the Universe and EMI and whoever else was listening worked. Amazon now has the ability to convert USD to Euros and worked out the shipping issues. Yea! So I replaced more of the CDs that went missing. Got one that I never had. And pre-ordered the new one which Matze's website this time did not tell me was impossible. Unmoeglich is goofy enough sounding that I don't get too upset when it shows up... but it was always so disappointing to see. No more!!!!!!! Of course I can't win any of the offers because I am overseas.... really who has a couple of thousand dollars to drop what they are doing and hop a transatlantic flight to go see a concert being offered with only 3 days to make plans? I get it. But it would have been nice to be able to win the autobiography. At any rate... the music is here.
And it has helped tremendously. Unverwundbar, invincible, invulnerable or impenetrable, is one of the healing albums. I don't know which marriage that it followed. It doesn't matter. In the title track you find strength. He has set boundaries. And with those boundaries, intentional and otherwise, he isn't going to fall for the same old crap that he always fell for (though in Unberechenbar he will declare that no matter what happens when she moves on he knows she will still want him. Who hasn't been there?) because he will not fall in love. He also declares "Men are stupid" (a ground pleasing call/response portion of a MR concert), a statement that I can get behind. In "Als ich fortging" everything goes to shit when he goes away, every time he leaves some catastrophe befalls his life. Been there. In "Wie Man Liebt" he explains why men and women can't always connect on a love level... men are taught to make war, care about science and math they are taught strength and power but not love and tenderness. Makes total sense to me. "L'amour s'en va"... When love goes....
I think that you see where I am going with this.
All that I am feeling is in this music. He lives. He survives. Every time someone knocks him down he gets back up. And he is thriving. A lesson there. He is someone that you can have walk your walk with you and feel encouragement in the phrase "life goes on" not the dust off that you get from others who are too busy for you. With a CD he is never too busy, he won't tell me to go off and do my own thing while he does his and see what happens later. Matze has his life. I have mine and I never feel left alone. I do feel lonely. But that isn't the same as being left alone to sort out your own crap because you are too much for someone to deal with. I miss my last boyfriend and feel sad that the promise of continued friendship is not fulfilled to a common standard. I miss Sir Knight. I miss my dad. I count all the mistakes that I make at work, with relationships, with family. I count the missteps. I count all the lies that I have been told... and then I have to have the music because something has to keep my mind busy on happy things.
And then there is the support system.
We are our own first line of defense. But when that doesn't work there are others. My therapist is awesome. Sometimes I think all I am paying her for is t be my cheerleader. I might feel bad about that. But if it is true that it takes 7 positive things to wipe out 1 bad thing that you have been told then I guess I am getting my monies worth. And it doesn't matter why or how I hear some things. There are things that I have to be reminded of.
- I deserve to be healthy
- Boundaries are okay
- I am loveable & deserve to be loved
- My talents should not be hidden
My facebook community had brought old friends closer and made friends out of old classmates that I didn't get to know before. Every.........
edit: every once in a while Blogger decides to impersonate our schools old computers and eat half of my homework. Sorry.... this post ends really abruptly and for the life of me I can not remember how this one was supposed to end. But I do know now why a couple of people aren't talking to me any more. Hmmm.....
Monday, December 10, 2012
Open Letter to the Verse
After all the ranting and raving I did on the subject of the stupidity of there being borders in a global economy that technology is able to leap in great cosmic bounds, you, Universe, have heard me. And apparently you agree with me that when information can be shipped via broadband there is no reason to keep the music I like out of my reach. And as an agent for change, Amazon.de has finally figured out how to get me my tunes on time and without the extortionist prices of a third party "collectibles" dealer. There is now, on its way to me, a shipment of Matthias Reim CDs straight outta Deutschland. The much covetted Unverwundbar (less than 8.00 EUR), Die Grosse Weihnachts Party and Hitbox.
Amazon and my bank now will let me make international purchases. How will taxation work? I don't know. I am waiting to see how that goes before I go overbaord and replace the rest of what was stolen two years ago. Or get new stuff. Though I did pre-order the NEW ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes.
So thank you for listening. Thank you for agreeing. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that no one figures out how to stab me with my own wishes.
Amazon and my bank now will let me make international purchases. How will taxation work? I don't know. I am waiting to see how that goes before I go overbaord and replace the rest of what was stolen two years ago. Or get new stuff. Though I did pre-order the NEW ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes.
So thank you for listening. Thank you for agreeing. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that no one figures out how to stab me with my own wishes.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Herzlichen Gluckwunsch zum Geburtstag Matze!
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| french styled macaroons from Simply Cupcakes of Traverse City |
Celebrating birthdays is fun when they are not your own. I hate my own birthday so I turn the attention to Mozart that day. And birthday celebrations just remind us that we have someone truly special in our lives without whom things would be dull, lifeless or just plain boring. So I throw a little party for one and send out this open letter to Matze.
Ihre Musik macht mein schweres Herz leichter. Ich hatte mich selbst gefunden stürmischen Gewässern innerhalb einer Beziehung. Hoffnungen wurden enttäuscht. Confusion gesetzt in. ich mich, "wie konnte ich missverstanden haben" gefragt. Die Zeichen waren klar. Er sagte, dass er mich wollte. Er erzählte unsere Freunde, er wollte mich. Dennoch war mein Herz in Knoten verdreht ... gebrochen kalt und leer.
Jetzt muss ich auch meine glücklichen Ort zu finden. Ich wandte mich dann an die Musik, die ich in der Schule kannte. Um Youtube! Während ich die bekannten Lieder von meinem alten Mixed Tape gesucht, fand ich eine interessante Ikone ... ein Herz in einem verschlossenen Kette gebunden. Ich klickte. Der Song gestartet. Von der ersten Musik-Note wurde ich neugierig. Von der ersten Note, die Sie sang, war es zu lieben. Viermal Ich hörte, ohne zu sehen Video. Das fünfte Mal sah ich. Ich wusste, dann waren wir Seelenverwandtschaft.
Das Lied? Lebenslänglich. So begann die Besessenheit. Ich musste all Ihre Musik, die ich finden konnte, haben. Schnell ersetzen Sie die anderen: Herbert Grönemeyer, Spider Murphy Gang, Geier Sturzflug, Paola, Munchener Freiheit und ja ... vor allem Roland Kaiser. Ich auf dich hören ausschließlich.
Das war im Mai 2010, nachdem mein valentine Massacre. Jetzt sind fast drei Jahre später mein Herz ist warm und klar. Ihre Musik erfüllt mich mit Licht. Meine Seele tanzt auf jeden Ton. Mit Ihrer Musik ... ich bin unverwundbar.
Danke. Und heute, an deinem Geburtstag, ich wünsche Ihnen alles Friede, Freude und Glück, das Sie geben, um wieder zu euch kommen. Und mit dem neuen Album Konzertreise Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Gesundheit.
immer und ewige
Sherry
in English
Your music makes my heavy heart light. I had found myself in stormy waters within a relationship. Hopes were dashed. Confusion set in. I asked myself, "how could I have misunderstood".The signs were clear. He said that he wanted me. He told our friends that he wanted me. Yet my heart was twisted in knots ... broken cold and empty.
Now I need to find my happy place again. I turned to the music which I knew in high school. To Youtube! While I searched for the familiar songs from my old mixed tape, I found an interesting icon ... a heart tied in a locked chain. I clicked. The song started. From the first note I was curious. From the first note you sang, it was love. Four times I heard the music without wathcing the video. The fifth time I watched it. I knew we were kindred.
The song? Lebenslanglich. Thus began the obsession. I had to have all of your music that I could find. Quickly you replaced the others: Herbert Grönemeyer, Spider Murphy Gang, Geier Sturzflug, Paola, Munchener Freiheit and yes ... especially Roland Kaiser. I listen to you exclusively.
That was in May 2010, after my valentine Massacre. Now almost three years later, my heart is warm and clear. You rmusic fills me with light. My soul is dances to every note. With your music ... I am invulnerable.
Thank you. And today on your birthday I wish you the peace, joy and happiness that you give, to come back to you. And with the new album concert tour I wish you good health.
always and forever
Sherry
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A Collection
And you can play two ways. One CD is not Matthias Reim. And one CD is not music but it is Matthias Reim.
Today was day three of my vacation. And for a very pleasant surprise, the mailman delivered four of the CDs you see here. Sensationell, Wolkenreiter and Morgenrot which replace some of the seven that were stolen a few years ago and 10 Jahre Intensiv which is new to me.
It's been a great vacation day. I have missed these CDs. Matze has a great range of performing styles. And I love all of them. Ahem, even the country songs. Sensationell and Wolkenreiter are my favorite to relax with. There are quite a few toe tappers. But its the slow songs that make these albums for me, especially "Ich denk on Dich". From Wolkenreiter I prefer "komm ich nehm' dich mich", "mein herz ist kein hotel", "ich vermiss dich" and the title track.
Vermiss dich always makes me cry. It's one of the first songs that I heard that I didn't have to look up half the words. I knew what the song was about from the start. It was a song that helped deal with Sir Knight in our initial catastrophic failure. I love this music. As with Sting, he is a masterful storyteller and encourager during Life's troubles and the Heart's aches. They are songs that come from experience. And as much as I love these songs, I really hope that he is done having heart ache. Someone who has been through so much should sing more songs for joy like "nie mehr ohne Engel" and "Lebenslaenglich" and of course last year's Christmas album.
And maybe somehow, with the funny way that the Universe works, he will be able to do a project with Sting. How awesome would that album be!?!?!?!?!?!
Friday, November 2, 2012
6 Kinds of Excited
I got home from a rather easy day at work today to find my inbox at gmail full of happy news. As if getting the first of 5 CDs from Amazon was not happy enough news. Herbert Groenemeyer, 1987 Spruenge featuring Kinder an die Macht and Tanzen... ahhhhhhhh my 17 year old self is gratified. I've only waited this long to have the album in hand. But the BESTEST BESTEST BESTEST news ever....
Matthias Reim releases his next album "Undendlich" (infinite) for my birthday. Well.... it is out two days before my birthday. But January 25th is close enough. Happy feet are just dancing my butt all over the place. Of all the times not to have money to go this is not one of them. There are 30 concert dates so far. Last album was crazy with additional dates so I am hoping that this same is true with this one. And the coolest part is that he wrote the email for the newsletter himself instead of letting some schlepp from the record company do the posting. He is such a good performer.
And by good I mean considerate. Talk about someone who knows where his bread is buttered. And you know, within the music, you really get the sense that he is one of those artists that is going to be good and gracious to the fans instead of the guy who gouges the most money from a wallet as is possible. And I've seen videos of him out at a bar getting recognized and then playing "karoke" with the bar crowd from the bartenders spot just because its fun for the fans to have a treat once in a while.
I do hope though that he is not so bothered with that kind of thing that he suffers the Perfoming Monkey Syndrome and gets burned out. At his age that does not seem to be happening. Yay for the fans!
I go on a mini vacation in a couple of weeks. I say go. I mean take. I am not going anywhere as I am still cash poor. But I am taking the time off of work to go look for a new place to live and to raid my storage locker to change things up a bit and grab more art supplies. And I will spend that time trying to figure out how to post an MP3 to the site so you can hear the awesome. I would post a youtube video but they keep disappearing. EMI doesn't like to share across the pond.
As they say over there: pfft!
Matthias Reim releases his next album "Undendlich" (infinite) for my birthday. Well.... it is out two days before my birthday. But January 25th is close enough. Happy feet are just dancing my butt all over the place. Of all the times not to have money to go this is not one of them. There are 30 concert dates so far. Last album was crazy with additional dates so I am hoping that this same is true with this one. And the coolest part is that he wrote the email for the newsletter himself instead of letting some schlepp from the record company do the posting. He is such a good performer.
And by good I mean considerate. Talk about someone who knows where his bread is buttered. And you know, within the music, you really get the sense that he is one of those artists that is going to be good and gracious to the fans instead of the guy who gouges the most money from a wallet as is possible. And I've seen videos of him out at a bar getting recognized and then playing "karoke" with the bar crowd from the bartenders spot just because its fun for the fans to have a treat once in a while.
I do hope though that he is not so bothered with that kind of thing that he suffers the Perfoming Monkey Syndrome and gets burned out. At his age that does not seem to be happening. Yay for the fans!
I go on a mini vacation in a couple of weeks. I say go. I mean take. I am not going anywhere as I am still cash poor. But I am taking the time off of work to go look for a new place to live and to raid my storage locker to change things up a bit and grab more art supplies. And I will spend that time trying to figure out how to post an MP3 to the site so you can hear the awesome. I would post a youtube video but they keep disappearing. EMI doesn't like to share across the pond.
As they say over there: pfft!
Monday, July 2, 2012
New Voice
The perfect video and maybe the perfect voice for what I have been feeling in this round of grief. You all know that I do not normally go for the female voice. I think that is because it is rare that a woman in the music world (after 1978) has much to say to me. Madonna tries to hard to sound deep amd mystical while she is dancing on the surface of any topic. And the rest of them are just a bunch of party girls who are trying to elevate drunken disorderliness to a level of perfection reserved for saints and nobel prize winners. PeWerner, Adele and Lana Del Ray would be notable exceptions in Europe and Norah Jones is the exception here. Oh, and sometimes Cindi Lauper; Time After Time kills me when I here it becausse there is always someone that I miss when I hear it. But she is the first lady of PartyTown Rockers. However... I can still only take a woman's voice in small doses.
So it should be as much a surprise to you as it is to me that I am actually going to review a female performing artist. Right after I tell you how I found her and what kinda geek I really am. Single, having lost Sir Knight and finding myself outside of previous circles I need to rebuild my life's support systems. Of course it wouldn't hurt to have a good guy friend to She-Bop with... so off again to the dating websites. And to one I have not tried before. ACG (A Chicago Guy- haven't mentioned him in a while so I thought I would remind all ya all who he is) told me about a site he was having luck with. So I thought I would give it a try.
With more honesty that ever before, I filled out a profile that I could have sworn was going to chase away anyone of potential. But no. I found so many good matches in a high percentage bracket. Whoo hoo! I spent two days reading through the profiles of everyone who scored a high match. And I mean read; finally, I found guys who wrote books about themselves. No cheesey come-ons. No one liners that Fonzie used... that only Fonzie could have used. No overly rehearsed and overly used mantras about how perfect they are for the any woman. No words about flowers, chocoates and promises they don't intend to keep*... men who actually were able to fill out their information honestly. And there was a trend that I decided to pay attention to this morning when I happened across a music review on Wordpress.
Six men mentioned this woman on their list of favorite recording artists. Geeks, meet Regina Spektor. Straight outta Moscow and living in New York City, this woman is amazing. The review listed several songs. It was not until I listened to "Eet" that I really tuned in. She does sound like Adele with that breathy staccato. And there is a little Lana DelRay in her tone. But it is the lyricism that really brought me on board. "all the Rowboats" takes on a sci-fi fantasy inquery along the lines of the late greats Ray Bradbury & Kurt Vonnegut. It is empathic. Anthropomorphic. And something that reminded me of my 12 year old self that felt pathos when thinking of museums instead of awe and inspiration. Don't get me wrong... glad we can all see these great works. But I always thought it was a little sad to trap those things that could come to life under the right circumstances. And obviously with the success of "Night at hte Museum" I wasn't the only kid hoping the paintings would come to life. But... I digress.
The video for "eet" shows a key on a keyboard with some other musical notations and I wondered, how have I not heard of "eet"? So I did some research. She totally made it up. It was these two songs, Rowboats and "eet" that have me hooked. No, I do not think that she will replace Matthias Reim or Sting. Honestly, no one could. But she does sum me up quite well:
"And I am crying for things that I tell others to do without crying"
And you know what I find most interesting about the fact that these men like Regina Spektor? It shows me that some of my skepticism about the depth of a man's soul might be a bit unfounded. The fact that I have found the most shallow of them is not proof that they are all shallow. And what it does prove is that I may actually have to go to Europe to find what I am looking for. Other than one dear friend here and having found an old friend, this new site has not turned up anything local other than two really good people to talk to. But you know what? For right now that is all I should hope for. I hurt. My belief in fairytales is subparr to the hope that I have that Romance is not dead, having bled out in a dark alley when no one was looking. So for a while I will talk, share and learn how to open my thoughts and hopes again. In the Someday in the Future it will be time to look for that long term relationship.
Until then there is music to heal and music to share. And let's be honest, other than music, there is only food to level the playing feilds of culture and gender. The best way to get to know someone is to share their food and their music. Both are doorways to the soul.
http://www.youtube.comyoutube/user/ReginaSpektor?feature=watch this is the youtube channel. Since she has uploaded these, you an be certian they will not disappear from the playlists that you make.
http://youtu.be/2CZ8ossU4pc
So it should be as much a surprise to you as it is to me that I am actually going to review a female performing artist. Right after I tell you how I found her and what kinda geek I really am. Single, having lost Sir Knight and finding myself outside of previous circles I need to rebuild my life's support systems. Of course it wouldn't hurt to have a good guy friend to She-Bop with... so off again to the dating websites. And to one I have not tried before. ACG (A Chicago Guy- haven't mentioned him in a while so I thought I would remind all ya all who he is) told me about a site he was having luck with. So I thought I would give it a try.
With more honesty that ever before, I filled out a profile that I could have sworn was going to chase away anyone of potential. But no. I found so many good matches in a high percentage bracket. Whoo hoo! I spent two days reading through the profiles of everyone who scored a high match. And I mean read; finally, I found guys who wrote books about themselves. No cheesey come-ons. No one liners that Fonzie used... that only Fonzie could have used. No overly rehearsed and overly used mantras about how perfect they are for the any woman. No words about flowers, chocoates and promises they don't intend to keep*... men who actually were able to fill out their information honestly. And there was a trend that I decided to pay attention to this morning when I happened across a music review on Wordpress.
Six men mentioned this woman on their list of favorite recording artists. Geeks, meet Regina Spektor. Straight outta Moscow and living in New York City, this woman is amazing. The review listed several songs. It was not until I listened to "Eet" that I really tuned in. She does sound like Adele with that breathy staccato. And there is a little Lana DelRay in her tone. But it is the lyricism that really brought me on board. "all the Rowboats" takes on a sci-fi fantasy inquery along the lines of the late greats Ray Bradbury & Kurt Vonnegut. It is empathic. Anthropomorphic. And something that reminded me of my 12 year old self that felt pathos when thinking of museums instead of awe and inspiration. Don't get me wrong... glad we can all see these great works. But I always thought it was a little sad to trap those things that could come to life under the right circumstances. And obviously with the success of "Night at hte Museum" I wasn't the only kid hoping the paintings would come to life. But... I digress.
The video for "eet" shows a key on a keyboard with some other musical notations and I wondered, how have I not heard of "eet"? So I did some research. She totally made it up. It was these two songs, Rowboats and "eet" that have me hooked. No, I do not think that she will replace Matthias Reim or Sting. Honestly, no one could. But she does sum me up quite well:
"And I am crying for things that I tell others to do without crying"
And you know what I find most interesting about the fact that these men like Regina Spektor? It shows me that some of my skepticism about the depth of a man's soul might be a bit unfounded. The fact that I have found the most shallow of them is not proof that they are all shallow. And what it does prove is that I may actually have to go to Europe to find what I am looking for. Other than one dear friend here and having found an old friend, this new site has not turned up anything local other than two really good people to talk to. But you know what? For right now that is all I should hope for. I hurt. My belief in fairytales is subparr to the hope that I have that Romance is not dead, having bled out in a dark alley when no one was looking. So for a while I will talk, share and learn how to open my thoughts and hopes again. In the Someday in the Future it will be time to look for that long term relationship.
Until then there is music to heal and music to share. And let's be honest, other than music, there is only food to level the playing feilds of culture and gender. The best way to get to know someone is to share their food and their music. Both are doorways to the soul.
http://www.youtube.comyoutube/user/ReginaSpektor?feature=watch this is the youtube channel. Since she has uploaded these, you an be certian they will not disappear from the playlists that you make.
http://youtu.be/2CZ8ossU4pc
Friday, May 25, 2012
Geek Happy
Apparently with the wild success of last year's release "Seben Leben" anything with Matthias Reim's name on it is selling like hot cakes. The things that I had on my Amazon list are disappearing like crazy. Yea!!!!!!!!! That means that Matze is making the bg money. Right? I hope so. He has worked so hard to recover from set backs.
I finally found Maenner sind Krieger to replace the one that was stolen. Yea! It got here from Kentucky in record time. I have missed having that album. I don't know which is my favorite song, maybe Ich Will Dich Immernoch. Now I am waiting on a shipment from another Amazon vendor. I wait skeptically.
Here's the thing about being so Geek Happy, kids. You have to pay attention to what you are doing and not just willy nilly hitting the buy now button. You have to know your vendor. They are supposed to be from Jersey in USA. When I got the confirmation it turns out they are in Germany. So 6 albums for less than 20.00. 30ish with shipping. But there is an as yet to be determined import shipping fee which will hit my card when it hits the shore.
So what is the problem? They might be a fraudulent company operating under the GmbH name without the GmbH authority to do so. Customer comments suggests that the disks I am waiting for are going to be ripped & burned and the CD booklet will be subparr.
Really? Charge me good money for bad product and while you are at it just keep jerking this poor guy around. I am certain that Matze won't see any money for the sale if it is in fact a fake company. Really? His business manager didn't steal enough for him when he bankrupted him in 1995? Do we really think that two great albums are going to replace that which was lost? I am already pretty cheesed with the decision to start drawing economic lines after busting the global market open and making a small world smaller with global social media. If this turns out to be a rip off I am going to be more cheesed.
So lesson learned kids; Geek happy is not a reason to throw caution to the wind.
UPDATE:
I have recieved all of my ordered CDs. They are all in excellent condition. Matthias Reim reading kids stories is so adorably entertaining I want to pee from giggling squees every time I listen to it. My favorite story is the one about the Floppy Hat.
This was a great deal and I am eagerly awaiting the next round of price drops so that I can find Unverwundbar at a good price. Whatever the deal was with this company it seems to be resolved and I could not be more happy about my purchase. Of course my co-workers kinda wish that it was all a scam because it's been nothing but Reim Time in our laundry room.
I finally found Maenner sind Krieger to replace the one that was stolen. Yea! It got here from Kentucky in record time. I have missed having that album. I don't know which is my favorite song, maybe Ich Will Dich Immernoch. Now I am waiting on a shipment from another Amazon vendor. I wait skeptically.
Here's the thing about being so Geek Happy, kids. You have to pay attention to what you are doing and not just willy nilly hitting the buy now button. You have to know your vendor. They are supposed to be from Jersey in USA. When I got the confirmation it turns out they are in Germany. So 6 albums for less than 20.00. 30ish with shipping. But there is an as yet to be determined import shipping fee which will hit my card when it hits the shore.
So what is the problem? They might be a fraudulent company operating under the GmbH name without the GmbH authority to do so. Customer comments suggests that the disks I am waiting for are going to be ripped & burned and the CD booklet will be subparr.
Really? Charge me good money for bad product and while you are at it just keep jerking this poor guy around. I am certain that Matze won't see any money for the sale if it is in fact a fake company. Really? His business manager didn't steal enough for him when he bankrupted him in 1995? Do we really think that two great albums are going to replace that which was lost? I am already pretty cheesed with the decision to start drawing economic lines after busting the global market open and making a small world smaller with global social media. If this turns out to be a rip off I am going to be more cheesed.
So lesson learned kids; Geek happy is not a reason to throw caution to the wind.
UPDATE:
I have recieved all of my ordered CDs. They are all in excellent condition. Matthias Reim reading kids stories is so adorably entertaining I want to pee from giggling squees every time I listen to it. My favorite story is the one about the Floppy Hat.
This was a great deal and I am eagerly awaiting the next round of price drops so that I can find Unverwundbar at a good price. Whatever the deal was with this company it seems to be resolved and I could not be more happy about my purchase. Of course my co-workers kinda wish that it was all a scam because it's been nothing but Reim Time in our laundry room.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Happiness is...
German radio. Specifically I am referring to SWR4 out of Baden-Wurteemburg. In the middle of doing some serious online christmas shopping, they played an older Matthias Reim song. The slowly building intro for "Verdammt ich lieb dich" started and I stopped every thing. It was as though the clouds parted and the angels descended. I can not even begin to tell you how that made my tummy and heart happy deep down inside.
Then this morning I heard "That's Amore" by Dean Martin. I haven't heard Dean Martin on the radio since Johnny Williams' program went off the air... 1979 maybe? Just as i was thinking that the best thing would be more Matthias Reim to follow that I recognised the song "Horizont". But it was not Matthias Reim singing it. Sadness. But still... how cool to get such a blend of music.
I can not understand though the Europeans keeping Dean Martin and Trini Lopez on the air. We do not. Not unless you get an oldies station that actually plays something earlier than 1970 that is not the Beattles or the Beach Boys. Or Elvis. But I guess everyone is going to always play Elvis. I am glad the Europeans keep our older stars' memories alive.
I think all this really tells me is that I need to be in Germany soon for some period of time. I seem to be meeting and gravitating to Germans, Hungarians and other Central European people on line. Of course music is the uniting factor and music is a universal language. [smiles] Yet... I seem to think like them.
Then this morning I heard "That's Amore" by Dean Martin. I haven't heard Dean Martin on the radio since Johnny Williams' program went off the air... 1979 maybe? Just as i was thinking that the best thing would be more Matthias Reim to follow that I recognised the song "Horizont". But it was not Matthias Reim singing it. Sadness. But still... how cool to get such a blend of music.
I can not understand though the Europeans keeping Dean Martin and Trini Lopez on the air. We do not. Not unless you get an oldies station that actually plays something earlier than 1970 that is not the Beattles or the Beach Boys. Or Elvis. But I guess everyone is going to always play Elvis. I am glad the Europeans keep our older stars' memories alive.
I think all this really tells me is that I need to be in Germany soon for some period of time. I seem to be meeting and gravitating to Germans, Hungarians and other Central European people on line. Of course music is the uniting factor and music is a universal language. [smiles] Yet... I seem to think like them.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Euro-centric
One friend of mine, as I introduced her to Matthias Reim music raved about an Italian metal band called Lacuna Coil while another friend has introduced me to Finnish band Nightwish. As I listen to this music Iam struck by how similar each of them are stylistically. That is not to say they copy each other. There is a common artistic sensibility that I think comes from living, breathing and learning music in a region rich with the history of classical and operatic music.
You can hear its influence in Matze's music where it is used for dramatic effect to introduce a pop (schlager) song where these other two bands launch into the richness of the tradition and bring it front and center of metal styles. The screaming guitar riffs don't seem so disjointed in European music as it does in American. I think of Van Hallen. While it is impressive what Eddie can do with his guitar there is little else from the rest of the band that really makes it feel solid. Now I have very European tastes so maybe that is why I have never really liked our hair bands and industrial metal. It just seems like most American music stops just short of being finished.
Though when I think of bands like Creed, Beck, Blaq Audio and the like there is still a lot of meat on the bones with these guys. But in terms of the richness of track layering it still seems lighter. And for no really good reason, I think it is because as a collective of New World-ers, we tried so hard to leave our European roots behind us that we didn't keep the best parts, the parts worth saving. Really, when you think of it how many truly great classical composers have we produced compared with Europe? we can appreciate it. But we don't learn it. Maybe it is different when you are in a music school like Interlochen or Julliard. For the rest of us it gets glossed over.
I was watching something on the official YouTube Nightwish channel and the band member being interviewed was talking about 70 percussion tracks and that being only half enough to do the job. 70? Are there 70 different kinds of drums? No. But to get one drum to be able to do ALL of the cool things that it can do and ALL AT ONCE I can see where you'd have to have multiple tracks. And that is the thing... the orchestration is the key. It is the support for the whole house of cards.
Layers. Richness. It all amounts to a vitality that I think is lacking in American music today. Look for example to Sting. English, with a rich education in European music, comes to America and when you compare his compositions to his contemporaries there is a depth of tonality that is missing from say Hall and Oates or Springsteen. Today it seems more to be about the costumes and the personality than it is about the music. Maybe not in Lady Gaga's case since she is classically trained. But there is little soul and a lot of heel in the modern stuff. And very little of it deals with the condition of being human and having a soul whether Heaven bound or for Hell. Its about the party and the temporary. Great for living in the moment if that moment is in Neverland.
I guess I just have a Euro-centric soul. Let's hope that this all sinks in an comes out as I write for NaNo in a few days. I think all of this is the perfect soundtrack for my plot.
You can hear its influence in Matze's music where it is used for dramatic effect to introduce a pop (schlager) song where these other two bands launch into the richness of the tradition and bring it front and center of metal styles. The screaming guitar riffs don't seem so disjointed in European music as it does in American. I think of Van Hallen. While it is impressive what Eddie can do with his guitar there is little else from the rest of the band that really makes it feel solid. Now I have very European tastes so maybe that is why I have never really liked our hair bands and industrial metal. It just seems like most American music stops just short of being finished.
Though when I think of bands like Creed, Beck, Blaq Audio and the like there is still a lot of meat on the bones with these guys. But in terms of the richness of track layering it still seems lighter. And for no really good reason, I think it is because as a collective of New World-ers, we tried so hard to leave our European roots behind us that we didn't keep the best parts, the parts worth saving. Really, when you think of it how many truly great classical composers have we produced compared with Europe? we can appreciate it. But we don't learn it. Maybe it is different when you are in a music school like Interlochen or Julliard. For the rest of us it gets glossed over.
I was watching something on the official YouTube Nightwish channel and the band member being interviewed was talking about 70 percussion tracks and that being only half enough to do the job. 70? Are there 70 different kinds of drums? No. But to get one drum to be able to do ALL of the cool things that it can do and ALL AT ONCE I can see where you'd have to have multiple tracks. And that is the thing... the orchestration is the key. It is the support for the whole house of cards.
Layers. Richness. It all amounts to a vitality that I think is lacking in American music today. Look for example to Sting. English, with a rich education in European music, comes to America and when you compare his compositions to his contemporaries there is a depth of tonality that is missing from say Hall and Oates or Springsteen. Today it seems more to be about the costumes and the personality than it is about the music. Maybe not in Lady Gaga's case since she is classically trained. But there is little soul and a lot of heel in the modern stuff. And very little of it deals with the condition of being human and having a soul whether Heaven bound or for Hell. Its about the party and the temporary. Great for living in the moment if that moment is in Neverland.
I guess I just have a Euro-centric soul. Let's hope that this all sinks in an comes out as I write for NaNo in a few days. I think all of this is the perfect soundtrack for my plot.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Eureka! Not the show... the exclamtory remark
I think I figured out why I like schlager music so much...
musically most of it is the stuff I listened to as a kid, standards, doo-wop and the stuff mom would have heard at her prom. You guys would know it best as the Stuff Marty McFly would have listened to at his Moms Prom in 1955. I get a hankering for the old stuff once in a while. But the songs are old and I am tired of the lyrics. This is paralel universe stuff... and yes once in a while you get some American stuff, Cat Stevens, Pat Boone and Roger Whittaker. But for the most part it is new to me kind of stuff that feels familiar.
Imagine, if you will, a world in which the Doors and the rest of the pychedelic bands never made it to the mainstream. Imagine mainstream pop music is not the Beattles but maybe the Four Freshmen. I may not be making a case for schlager too appealing. Its just a connection that I find fascinating.
Schlager is not really as tired as I might make it sound. Periodically it gets infused with new energy with Konstantine Wecker (Billy Joel) and Matthias Reim (Sting and Huey Lewis). Roalnd Kaiser is like the Hary Connick Jr or Michael Buble over there. Its all great stuff even if it isn't the Pink, Beyonce, Gaga stuff American music is. And the fact that I get blind sided once in a while by the scrap the kids are listening to these days may be EXACTLY why my ears are on German radio.
I don't know for sure.... I'm just musing.
musically most of it is the stuff I listened to as a kid, standards, doo-wop and the stuff mom would have heard at her prom. You guys would know it best as the Stuff Marty McFly would have listened to at his Moms Prom in 1955. I get a hankering for the old stuff once in a while. But the songs are old and I am tired of the lyrics. This is paralel universe stuff... and yes once in a while you get some American stuff, Cat Stevens, Pat Boone and Roger Whittaker. But for the most part it is new to me kind of stuff that feels familiar.
Imagine, if you will, a world in which the Doors and the rest of the pychedelic bands never made it to the mainstream. Imagine mainstream pop music is not the Beattles but maybe the Four Freshmen. I may not be making a case for schlager too appealing. Its just a connection that I find fascinating.
Schlager is not really as tired as I might make it sound. Periodically it gets infused with new energy with Konstantine Wecker (Billy Joel) and Matthias Reim (Sting and Huey Lewis). Roalnd Kaiser is like the Hary Connick Jr or Michael Buble over there. Its all great stuff even if it isn't the Pink, Beyonce, Gaga stuff American music is. And the fact that I get blind sided once in a while by the scrap the kids are listening to these days may be EXACTLY why my ears are on German radio.
I don't know for sure.... I'm just musing.
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