Manafonistas

I would have taken it on my best-of-list: Creature with the Atom Brain.
I recommend: @ Trix Antwerp

I met a young woman from Bulgaria in a Starbuck’s cafe in Cologne. We talked for a while: the jobs, the past, the holidays. She will be in Sri Lanka now. Or in a short time from now. I played „Cinnamon Girl“ for her, the trailer of the new Neil Young album „Live from the Cellar Door, 1970“. Immediately she liked the music, love (attraction at least) at first sound, she had never heared that voice before, it was the first time. I’m listening to the record now, like „Live At Massey Hall“, it is pure magic, transcends this genre of confessional songwriters by far. Two months before his solo perfomance at the Cellar Door (Miles Davis was also there, 1970) his masterpiece AFTER THE GOLDRUSH had been released. Pure magic. Anti-matter. Only love can break your heart. Best wine for listening to Cellar Door before midnight: Gigglepot, Molly Dooker, South Australia, 2009. (Order at Aix Vinum, Aachen). Beware, girls and boys: flying on the ground is wrong.

So much in advance: there is a big, big variety in the lists. At least three Manas have high ratings for These New Puritans, but there is nothing like a consensus omnium, no record that gets declarations of love from all sides. There is a lot of underground (names some might never have heared), there are familiar names (Boards of Canada, Carla Bley), there is heavy genre-crossing everywhere within these Top-20 lists (at least I’m thinking so). Lee Hazlewood is listed with a beautiful re-release. Not the only artist coming from old times. Looking back didn’t always stop at Jan. 1, 2013. I didn’t put it on my list, but if 2013 had seen a nicely packaged vinyl edition of Robert Fripp’s ancient Let The Power Fall, it might have left a big mark here and there: Frippertronics solo in a rude, sharp and expressionist modus operandi. Instead I found it on a flea market, buried between old vegetables, a dog’s house and a rotten bookstore. It’s my secret album of the year, glooming in the shadows. (me)

What music are you currently grooving to, Roger Eno is asked in the January edition of Mojo music magazine, and he says: „I never ‚groove‘ to music as I find such an activity unsightly and indecorous in a man of my age. This sort of question would be better addressed to Sir Bruce Foryth. If you’re referring to what I’m listening to, it would be medieval Netherlandish composer Gilles Binchois. Born in 1400, died in 1460. He’s very good indeed.“  Roger Eno has just released a revealing compilation called „Little Things Left Behind“ mirroring his years with All Saints Records, and a subtle blend of Satiesque moods, old British folk sprits, and modern chamber music with a dreamy edge. The Tindersticks love Roger Eno. 2014 will see the re-release of his brilliant debut „Voices“ which came into life in the famous Grant Avenue Studios of Dan and Bob Lanois.

Chris Howland ist tot. Er nannte sich „Heinrich Pumpernickel“, und wenn der Brite den den Plattenjockey gab, war sogar der deutsche Schlager auszuhalten. Der schelmische Vogel gehörte zu einer alten Bundesrepublik wie Nierentische, Tri Top, Freddy Quinn, Heimatfilme, Emma Peel, Winnetou, die Beatles in Essen, Sachertorte, Raumschiff Orion, und der Geruch der Kartoffeln im Treppenhaus. Wenn solche Menschen sterben, merkt man, dass eine Zeit schon lange zuende ist, von der viele einst dachten, sie würde schlichtweg immer so bleiben – eine Traumfabrik. Alles wird gut, war das geheime Motto, und die kolportierte Lüge, indes: alles ist aus, vorbei. History. R.I.P.

 
Amsterdam, early morning december 3, what will happen … happens
 
 

 
© FoBo
 

 
www.nowness.com / day …
 
 
GP: I think the biggest theme is nighttime. I work through the night, and there’s a different feeling in the air: a kind of stillness and clarity that I’m grasping at and trying to relay.