R.E.M.

Been spinning the new R.E.M., and fondly remembering Michael Stipe's and my moment at Dell'Anima. That moment being my eyes bugging out when he walked in with his bespectacled wonderfulness, oblivious to the fact Out of Time defined my childhood. A couple tracks from Collapse Into Now will likely make an appearance on my 5th Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K run playlist - not that you really need to lean on your playlist when nearly the entire Fan is out on Monument porches, howling.

And when you're not pounding pavement, you're bleeding Black & Gold this Saturday. Nobody's eatin' crow in RVA.

R.E.M. // ÜBerlin

20 Years and The Notwist

Twenty years ago to date, the Berlin Wall opened it's gates and East Germans were free to cross over the imposed border. After 28 years of traveling restrictions under the hand of Leonid Breshnve, former president Mikhail Gorbachev's public renouncement of the doctrine led to a rapid fall. One offhand, confused affirmation from a senior communist official that the restriction was being lifted and millions poured through into West Germany.

Fist-pump inspiration to post The Notwist. Formed that same year a bit outside of Munich, they continue to pour a stream of synthesized syrup into your cerebellum. With a start of roughhousing punk LP's, the Notwist have evolved their sound into it's current incarnation - song oriented 80's (fittingly) indie pop electronica. Searing strings, warm mellow bass and icy bells come with the recent addition of the 21-member Andromeda Express Orchestra. Oh and glockenspiels. They've got glockenspiels too, but I'm not sure what descriptive temperature I can associate with those.

"Hands on Us" comes from the June 2008 release making a second appearance on ES - ref Jan. 2009 "5 Songs I've Liked More Than Others" - The Devil, You + Me. A bit tense, paranormal and vague, it would've been a good howly week post had I not been such a no-show. I know, I hate me too.
"Sturm 2" is nearly titular of the scored soundtrack done entirely by The Notwist for Hans Christian Schmid's recent film, Sturm. Basic plot - a Bosnian woman to testify against a Serb commander after the Yugoslav Wars. Not finding many sung praises for the visual manifestation, but if you're fluent in German and can speak to it better? Have at it.

Twenty years. Die Freiheit.

the Notwist // Hands On Us
the Notwist // Sturm 2

Junior Boys

These Ontarians blew up, whatever that means these days, right off the bat in 2003, when they released something good enough for Christian Fennesz to remix.

The song Fennesz really liked.

Their new album is Begone Dull Care, on Domino. It is named for the short film by animator Norman McLaren.

As usual, it was difficult for me to choose just one new track to share. One I really like called "Work" was recorded in Berlin and sounds like DJ Hell a bit-- I didn't want to beat you over the head with Hell any more-- and another is basically electro RnB ("Sneak a Picture"). The song I choose is like neither of those.

Junior Boys // Dull to Pause

Miwon

Continuing to swim around in the huge heap of Deustch sent to me by Forced Exposure. I feel like Scrooge McDuck.

Miwon hit up das Berlin club scene as a DJ for awhile but it seems he's more into his studio these days. He's been recording on a label City Centre Offices, based in Manchester y Berlin, with which I am heretofore not familiar but seems pretty tight.

This track, "A to B," is indeed the most accessible on the album. That's why I chose it. It takes from Fleetwood Mac with singers Maho Masuda, from Japan, and Sibylle Fendt, who also took the photo below. If you know Fleckfumie, their guitarist Nick Gloeckner is also on here, along with Galaktlan, who is from Estonia, on synths.



Miwon // A to B

Shitkatapult - Strike 100 compilation

Shitkatapult is the mostly electronic label out of Berlin started in 1997 by Marco Haas, who is also the artist T Raumschmiere. Sascha Ring, who is the musician Apparat, helped run it for a while but has gone back to strictly makin his own music.

Strike 100 came out at the end of last year to mark the 100th release by the label. It's 2 discs of ambient fuzz that alternates between soft and prickly with also some environmental sounds, though many of the songs do have annunciated beats, and vocals even.

Man it's really hard for me to decide what to upload.

Okay okay okay. One from each disc: Felix, for whom google turns up sparse info, at least in English, and Fenin, whose English isn't very good but who knows the word "homies." A lot of these guys seem to cite reggae and dub as influences, which I find interesting.


Flier for an Apparat CD release party. I might have died.

Felix - Outside on a Cold Day

Shitkatapult // Fenin - Lastkahn

Circlesquare

Do people mention INXS ever when they're talking about Dance Rock?

This guy, Jeremy Shaw, is from Vancouver but lives in Berlin. Whenever music people talk about moving to Berlin I think of Stephen Daedalus in Paris with puce gloves carrying a flower. Ha.

Anyway this is fucking sick. What I'm listening to is Circlesquare's new release from !K7, Songs About Dancing and Drugs. Apparently his previous album, Pre-Earthquake Anthem, was like "a molasses drip laced with codeine" so I'll have to check that out, too.


The children of scientists are more predisposed to have Asperger's.

All Live But the Ending