Dancing Keys

As you'll see this track really wants to make you move.

The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"

Stones Roses return with Danish

So the Stone Roses are resurected.

Wish I could say that I'm excited, but I'm not. It's a bit like The Matrix: when the sequells came (and sucked) it retrospectivley gave the original movie a bad feeling.

So far the only positive effect is that I discovered that the Raveonettes have covered I wanna be adored.

The End of the National

It's a bit like that incredible Amarone you drink at your friend's dinner. Casually opening that reasonably priced Zinfandel the next day just doesn't cut it.

When I saw The National in Europe they gave me a sensation that their recordings can't match: after the concert I couldnt't listen to the records for a while.

This time I was in the company of a couple that (despite a Spotify invite) never bothered to listen to the music in advance, so we listened to them a bit the following day. Quite nice, even though most of the conversation centered around their final number.

Their closing act is really quite a fabolous thing. They gather the band center front  and play unplugged (completely). Appart from singing along the audience needs to be completely silent (as you'll notice in this clip).

Supporting The National today!

Wye Oak are supporting The National at Beacon Theatre this evening.

Wonderful track from upcoming album Civilian:

Wye Oak – Civilian - Single

Brilliant!

You too? Not me!

Stumbled upon a one hour BBC documentary about U2.

It included footage from various live performances on Top of the Pops and already twenty or so minutes into the film they had shown material from "Achtung Baby".

"So what are the remainig 40 minutes going to be about?" I thought to myself, and found that people (many who seem to work at the BBC) actually think U2 mattered after the mid 90's.

My favorites:

Tomorrow - from the album "October", 1981

Where the streets have no name - from the album "The Joshua Tree", 1987 (this version live)

The Fly - from the album "Achtung Baby", 1991

Wanna listen to the new Tom Waits album?

http://www.badasme.com/

I've got codes!

Not the Breeders

More 90's stuff not from the 90's: The History of Apple Pie!

Reminds me of the Breeders.

Something new from the 90's

Seems that you mostly visit the site when I post something, so I'm going to assume you like my posts.

Here's an act from Brighton, England that I like.

So much 90's influence it feels like a time machine.

Reborn Chili Peppers

I wasn't impressed with the first single from RHCP's new album "I'm with you".

But after listening through the whole album I need to reconsider.

(iTunes let you stream the album, not sure if it still works.)

Spotify in the USA

Drop me a line if you want an invite to Spotify.

5 most inspiring mails win!

Soft Chili Peppers

Check out the new RHCP video on their site: redhotchilipeppers.com/.

I like the groovy baseline, but the chorus is sort of "been there done that".

Good sound is boring, bad sound is good.

I had to drive for 3 hours to a business meeting a few days ago, and brought along a set of (pretty decent) headphones I usually keep at work.

Alone in the car I figured I'd take the time to explore some music that I hadn't listend to for a while and expected would give me a bit of a HI-FI experience.

Started of with a few songs from Achtung Baby (what great work by Lanois!)  but actually tired quite quickly and moved on to some Depeche from late 80's, early 90's. Strangely, that got boring quite quickly and I browsed my iPhone for a while and suddenly felt an urge to listen to Tom Waits.

Listened through the first record from Orphans (Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards) and followed that with a few favorites from his early catalogue.

His music is an interesting clash between perfection and imperfection. He does his best to sing like a drunk, but never misses a note. The production is dirty, but perfect.

Three favorites:

Brilliant, TA!

I lied about TA and the story about the National.

Sorry.

This is true, though: TA introduced me to Angus & Julia Stone, and now I realize that I need to move to Brooklyn so that I can discover more bands from Australia.

And hang out with Matt.

Spotify coming to the USA!

About half of you out there are tuning in from the USA, so assuming any of you are repeat visitors you'll be happy to know that Spotify is coming to the USA (since I often link to tracks or acts in Spotify).


Click here!

Once part of the movement you can check out tons of music and a few lists I have made available:

On my mind - what I'm currently listening to

Running list

My door openener

TA (see previous post) told me about how the National formed as a band.

Apparently Matt Berninger had a huge loft in Brooklyn were he used to hang out with friends. TA told him he should do something more inspiring than just play pool and smoke, so Matt started a band.

TA told him to book a concert at Radio City Hall, and that he needed to create some kind of a signature act, like walking through the audience with a really long microphone cable.

I think he might be lying, though. In fact, I made all of that up. I'm the liar.

Previous blog posts about the National:

Matt explains why they are different live.
My thoughts after seeing them live.

Inspiration

Friend TA (who makes films) pointed out where Radiohead might have been inspired when making the video for Lotus Flower:

The Radiohead version:

Really like this.

Post Punk music for a post punk oldie.

I might have a new favorite band.

Good Winter

Bon Iver's music, especially the 2007 debut For Emma, For ever ago, is the kind of stuff that makes me want to share my thoughts here.

This review of his latest album, Bon Iver, makes me wonder if I should be writing at all.

Brilliant stuff, both the review and the music.

footastic!

Enjoyed a great Foo Fighters concert the other night.

Dave Grohl really is an entertainer and seems to have a big heart and large sense of humor.

Was struck by how the Foo Fighters remind me of the Pixies, more so live than on album.

Apparently, Dave has a drinking problem:

Going bananas about monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys' latest album "Suck it and see" is brilliant!

I know it sounds like a cliché, but they really have "grown up"! (And presumably, so have I, since I get it.)

Sound and lyrics clearly illustrate the passing of time compared to their first two albums. They even managed one or two Beatle flirts...

Singles so far:

Franz's offspring

Might be an illegitimate child.

Pretty cocky, at any rate.

This is what you get when parts of Franz Ferdinand meet up with others: Say hello to Box Codax!

Great coffee, shitty croisant.

A good friend put me on to My Morning Jacket long ago, but for some reason I didn't react.

Now I've suddenly discovered that they're behind loads of good stuff.

But,

their albums aren't solid. Pity.

This is brilliant, though:

Those dancing days

Saw the Charlatans yesterday.

The band were pretty much as I remembered them: a Stone Roses / Oasis / Happy Mondays mix and as much as I enjoyed the concert it's not what I brought home from the evening.

When the band finished their set a DJ took me on a trip down memory lane. Hit after hit from the indie / alternative scene time stamped "90's" filled the dance floor and I remember thinking of a few tracks he didn't play that I needed to dig up when I got home:

Looking for hot stuff

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are on the move! According to this article on Rolling Stone a new album will be out later this summer - new guitarist and all...

Event though I imagine that they have their best years behind them I'm curious to hear what their new sound is like.

While we wait: three classics!

Primates online

The Arctic Monkeys will be streaming their new album from their home page (www.articmonkeys.com) shortly.

I like the single they have released so far and hope I get a chance to listen in tomorrow.

Missing vocals

This cover of "Paranoid Android" indicates that Thom Yorke's vocals might be quite important for Radiohead's sound.

Just a bit.

Worlds collide and now I need to dance

Ian Brown - the front man of the Stone Roses.

Behind one of guitar pop's greatest albums ever.

After a few years and then some more, an interesting second attempt.

Not long ago, this wonderful solo accomplishment.

  

Now this.

I want to cry

In the car this morning I listened to The National "High Violet" and was reminded of how just about every track is amazingly good.

The anguish I feel as each track comes to end quickly turns to astonishment as the following track turns out to be just as good, if not better.

This emotional roller coaster almost makes we want to cry.

The only album I have previously experienced this with is Radiohead's "OK Computer".

Not running.

I recently listed 7 favorit covers.

Might have included this version of "Running up that Hill", had I heard it.

Actually, I probably wouldn't have. But it's quite nice, none the less.



The original:

My neighborhood executive

When I was 17 I worked at a packaging factory, and for various reasons the Managing Director offered me a ride in to town one day (punctured tire on my bike).

When we got into the car he took off his jacket, loosened the tie, put on a torn jeans jacket and turned up the stereo. We listened to the Stones and talked about music for the duration of the trip.

Not exactly what I had expected.

At a garden party last weekend I struck up a conversation with P., a nice chap with a lot of hair. Turns out he's a senior executive at an IT consultancy. It also turns out he's a musician and a fan of the Japandroids.

Covering Franz

The first time I heard Franz Ferdinand I had just checked into a hotel room and MTV or some other music channel was on the TV. "Take me out" came on and I remember frantically looking for pen and paper to jot down the name of the band.

They recently released and EP with covers of their own music - one of them is by LCD Soundsystem.

So, here is that cover, followed by Franz Ferdinand covering Britney Spears. And to top it all off, a favorite LCD Soundsystem track. (No, I don't have a favorite Britney track.)

Live Cohen

I've been thinking of listing my favorite concert experiences. (I KNOW you care).

Or maybe just sharing my favorite live recordings.

How an act performs live is quite central to my overall rating of that act. Partly, I feel that real musicians should be able to perform live - I mean, you can pull of just about anything in a studio these days.

Also, experiencing an act live often adds new flavors to my perception of the music and the people behind that music.

One act I would have liked to experience live is Leonard Cohen. I had the chance a year or so ago, but (oddly) couldn't be bothered to organise the excursion.

There's something about seeing live acts old enough to be my parents, and that were shaking the world in the 60's and 70's that makes me want to say "oh grow up and get a fuckin life".

Problem is, I'm the one who doesn't have a life... They (the elderly rock stars) are doing just fine.

Tired of new music!

A friend's friend plays guitar in this band that delivers classic rock with style and energy: Vintage Trouble.

My first CD

The first CD i  bought was the ablum Floodland by Sisters of Mercy.

I was 17 and worked in  a warehouse in a small town near Cologne. I didn't have a CD player so a colleague recorded the CD onto tape so that I could listen to it on my Walkman.

I remember being really amazed by that fact that opera musicians (I assumed) had agreed to record with the dark and mysterious characters in Sisters of Mercy.

7 defining influences: #1 The tapes

When I was 9 or 10 years old some neighours bought a new stereo. As a result, their old tapes sounded like shit and instead of just throwing them away they gave them to me.

A whole bag full of tapes. Tape after tape of recordings with Johny Cash, ELO, Dolly Parton and - the Beatles.

I know I know - half of you are thinking bla bla bla yeah yeah yeah, can't we ever stop talking about those pompous English guys? (The other half are thinking "of course, what else".)

Learning to like and understand the Beatles was instrumental in helping med develop my taste in and fascination of brilliantly written and well performed music. Initially mostly charmed by the earlier albums it took some work getting used to the more advanced music that came from Rubber Soul and onwards.

I remember a dinner party about 10 years ago. A close friend in to hard rock laughed when I attributed most modern music to the Beatles and said "I can't see why everybody is so full of the Beatles!  What did they ever do except yeah yeah yeah and do do do?"

I quickly sat him down and played three tracks, in this order:







Yeah, yeah yeah!


Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles
6. In the car
5. The collective
4. The stranger
3. DJ
2. Jerome

Friday, I'm in a trance

Heard a track on the radio that included sampled bits of "Street Dance" by Break Machine. I remember that my then 2 year old little brother used to "break" to it.

For some reason I came to think about Fatboy Slim. Brilliant Friday stuff.

Is this the one?

For some reason this makes me think of Christmas, I think it has something to do with the chords in combination with the chorus.

Works well Aprés Easter too. Here are The Van Doos with "Is this the one?".

A not so gentle reminder

Just in case you haven't taken the time to listen to Foo Fighter's latest contribution to the ever growing collection of rock classics, here's a quick reminder.

This second single from the album Waisting Light, "White Limo" reminds me of Queens of the Stone Age, and if you find it too "hard" I still think you should listen to the album as this track isn't typical of a majority of the material on the album.

Would you like a cup of tea with that hook?

A preview from The Victorian English Gentlemens Club next album: ‘A Conversation’. Not quite as well behaved as the band's name might indicate.

For Free

Just stumbled across this Spotify competitor:

listen.grooveshark.com/

Beatles and Dylan included!

Cold Primates

Even though I was a huge Arctice Monkeys fan in the beginning of time I hardly knew they still existed.

Turns out they're alive and kicking.

This new track opens with what sounds like the Doors on an expedition to Manchester.

ring ring

I think I need to review all the different acts I have launched as "the next big thing" over the past year or so. So far all have failed to make any sort of impression on the world.

I'm hoping this will be the exception to the rule: The Bell with "Whatever did you say".

I like the mix of influences, including New Order, early Depeche Mode and the Cure served with a huge portion of POP.

7 great covers: #1 Feeling good

So. Finally.

Number One. Numero Uno. The shit.

Can it get any better? One of my favourite bands of present times covering one of my favorite artists of past times. (Sorry about the adverts - Muse have dissalowed the embedding of the YouTube clip).




I started this list with a punkrocker covering a jazz classic. Only fitting that I end it with a rock version of another jazz classic.

Previous great covers

#2 Hey Joe

#3 Hallelujah

#4 Personal Jesus

#5 When tomorrow comes

#6 Mad world

#7 I'll be seeing you

With a little help from my friends

A handfull of my favourite songs:

7 great covers: #2 Hej Joe

Many might not even know it's a cover, but legend has it that Chas Chandler of the Animals was looking for somebody to cover "Hey Joe" with when he stumbled upon Jimmy Hendrix in NYC.

The exact origins of the song are disputed, but the earliest known recording is from 1965 with the Leaves. I never heard any other versions of the song other than Hendrix's, so I would be lying if I said that the interesting thing about Hendrix's version is how it in some or other fashion adds something new to the song.

It just rocks.



Now that actually I have heard an earlier version of the song I must say that Jimi's feels just slightly more interesting.





Previous great covers
#3 Hallelujah
#4 Personal Jesus
#5 When tomorrow comes
#6 Mad world
#7 I'll be seeing you

7 great covers: #3 Hallelujah

In my previous post I wrote that listing "Hurt" as one of my great covers would be slightly obvious.

To prove I'm human I now give you an even more obvious choice:



There's somthing about Buckley's interpretation that adds a divine sense to the song, something that gives the song a different direction - from a sense of sarcasm to a sense of total devotion.



Previous great covers
#4 Personal Jesus
#5 When tomorrow comes
#6 Mad world
#7 I'll be seeing you

7 great covers #4 Personal Jesus

Listing covers without touching upon Cash's "American IV: The man comes around" would be a little silly.

Listing "Hurt" would be a little obvious.

Besides, I don't like that cover as much as many others seem to do, probably because I like the original version which I will assume hasn't been played as loud as it deserves in most homes.

One cover on that album that I prefer to "Hurt" is this:



The original:




Previous great covers
#5 When tomorrow comes
#6 Mad world
#7 I'll be seeing you

7 great covers: #5 When tomorrow comes

As you may have noticed, I like covers that move a song out of its original context by changing something. Like adding Iggy's attitude to a jazz song, or transforming a synthezised pop arrangement into an accoustic guitar. Turning fast songs into slow songs may seem like an easy trick, but it isn't always as successful as this.



The original:




Previous great covers
#6 Mad world
#7 I'll be seeing you

7 great covers: #6 Mad World

I think I first heard Gary Jules' cover of "Mad World" in the movie Donny Darko, and was convinced that R.E.M. or Michael Stype were responsible for this rather pleasant interpretation of the song. I still think the vocals are incredibly typical of Stype, but the effect was even bigger and more confusing before understanding that it actually wasn't Stype. (I couldn't find anything on the internet when searching for "mad world stype".)



The original:



Previous covers
#7 I'll be seeing you

7 great covers: #7 I'll be seeing you

My father and I spent an evening trying to convince my younger brother of 12 years that jazz once was what punk came to be many years later: a combination of new sonic landscapes and a "FUCK YOU" attitude.

Iggy Pop seems to have made that connection. This is his and Francois Hardy's interpretation of jazz classic "I'll be seeing you".




The song was originally written for a musical, but came to a wider audience through Bing Crosby in 1944. It can be downloaded here, but isn't available on YouTube. Instead, I give you Billy Holiday.

6 seconds of fame

The Amen Break has been sampled more than 400 times since the 80's, mostly in hip-hop, jungle and drum & bass. You may have hummed, danced or even rapped to it thousands of times, but neither the drummer or composer ever got a dime.

Could be that this a good thing. Sharing is a powerful force and a prerequisite for innovation.



PS Thanks, Eyvind.

PPS Even though I agree with the arguments in this film, I still think end consumers should pay for the music they consume.

7 defining influences: #2 Jerome

It's taken a while for me to write this post. Partly, I've been busy. But mostly, I think it has to do with the emotions I associate with growing up in Manila and some of the friends I had at the time.

When I came to the International School of Manila (ISM) as a 14 year old I was very into music, and very much into pop. I liked some alternative pop, but I wasn't a big fan of rock. In fact, I remember how some "bad boys" hanging around a juke box with torn jeans jackets (with Rolling Stones markings) had hassled me in Geneva before leaving for Manila. (I think they stared at me when I went in to a café to buy gum.) Obviously, rock was for bad people.

At ISM, I quickly became friends with Jerome, a Dutch chap in my home room who also shared a few of my classes. At ISM (and many other schools I attended), your identity was to a certain extent based upon where you came from. Jerome's gang was made up of a few Germans, two Norwegians, one Australian, a few Filipinos and a hand full of Americans. In this gang there was a continuous battle between the Europeans and the Americans about politics, cars, food, history and - music.

I hardly need to point out that European music was better than American music...

I realize now that Jerome was into quite advanced music for his (our) age. Apart from introducing me to the Smiths and the Cult I remember him playing Anne Clark:



Jerome also shared my interest for lyrics and we could spend a lot of time (mostly during our Economics class) discussing the angst in Morrissey's lyrics or imagery in Bono's. I may have missed out on the exact explanation behind the kinked demand curve but excelled att text analysis... Also, we thought we were very cool.

One big step I took holding Jeromes hand was towards guitars. U2 and the Cult were big steps, and when the Cult released their third album Electric they moved from alternative rock to more 70's inspired hard rock, a step I initially was uncomfortable with. But the lyrics helped me find my footing and soon I was singing along to Peace Dog and Lil' Devil.




I haven't met Jerome since 1988. I wonder if he still listens to music. I do, partly thanks to him.

Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles
6. In the car
5. The collective
4. The stranger
3. DJ

Remaining defining influences or influencers:
1. The tapes

10 k run

It's been some time since my last post.

Partly, I've been busy with work. Partly, I'm having a hard time completing my second to last post about my 7 most important influences.

Also, I spent the weekend out of town, competing in a seeding race in preparation of a half marathon later on this summer.

For some reason or other my music dissappeared from my iPhone during a back-up so I had to re-create my running list on Spotify.

Voila: one hour of running music. (The idea was that I would finnish with "Enter Sandman" pushing me along, but it didn't quite work out that way.)

Move those legs!

Celebrating my long lost fish

Listening to the radio last night I all of a sudden found myself singing along to a song I couldn't remember ever having heard, even though I knew parts of the lyrics by heart.

Turns out the song was a hit by An Emotional Fish - "Celebrate".

Great song by a band that either couldn't handle living in the shadow of U2, or were set up in some kind of a scandal with the BBC - my googling didn't bring much clarity.

When I get home I'm going to have to dig through my old singles and see what worms I find.

Strokes new album streamingly hot

Listen to a stream of the complete new Strokes album on their site:

http://new.thestrokes.com/featured/listen-to-angles-here

While you do, I'll be watching this instead:

Gold

A well made cocktail in my hand, a beautiful woman across the bar, and Nina Simone in my ears.

I'm not complaining.

Not Radiohead or NIN

This track by The Naked and Famous sounds like a cross between NIN and Radiohead.

Will run this on repeat for the rest of the day.

Guitars and sunshine

You can listen to the new Foo Fighters single here: http://www.foofighters.fm/.

Did I mention that I have tickets to their tour this summer? Inner circle...

7 defining influences: #3 DJ

The most common comment I got as a DJ was "You suck. Can't you play something that we can dance to?".

The fact that the dance floor often was full of moving bodies didn't seem to influence the overall picture; I sucked.

Most of the time I didn't mind. Obviously, the people who enjoyed the music were too busy dancing to chat with me. And anyway, life isn't a popularity contest. At least that's what I try to convince myself.

Appart from paying my bills while I "studied" at university, being a DJ gave me time to listen to a lot of music, and also gave me a legitimate reason to buy music. (We actually payed for music back then. In fact, I still do.)

Most of the clubs I played at had a more or less explicit alternative flavour, which made life easy for me. But I still needed to figure out what worked and what didn't. And I also needed to weave in 70's disco and 80's pop and even (this hurts) 90's euro-techno.

As I became more and more experienced I learned I few tricks:

• Don't try to fill the floor early in the evening with the latest hits unless you're prepared to use them again.
• Always have one long, mainstream song prepared incase you need to go to the bathroom.
• The right choice of songs is more important than perfect mixing.
• It's OK to loose one third of the floor when you switch genre - just make sure you stick to that genre for at least three more songs and you'll be fine.
• The best floorfiller, early on in the evening in a club with lot's of girls (ladies?) at the bar: Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams".

One interesting reflection is that most of the DJ's I hung out with at the time played various types of music as DJ's, but all hade similar tastes off the dance floor. We played Black Box ("Ride on time") on the dance floor, but listened to the Pixies at our after parties.... In other words, we were prostitutes.

Ultimatly though, being a DJ just gave me a reason to be a huge prick! I still remember telling one of my best friend's sisters that she couldn't choose what music to dance to at her own party. Since I got payed to play music, I new what was right, and what was wrong, and she could go to hell.

I'm still sorry.


Previous defining influences or influencers:

7. First singles

6. In the car

5. The collective

4. The stranger

Remaining defining influences or influencers:

2. Jerome

1. The tapes

Shiny happy people

I used to be quite the ornithologist and could go off for walks with close friend J. to enjoy nature, silence and friendship.

In Swedish, the Kite is called "glada" which is near to the Swedish word "glad": happy. Since we are such crazy and unpredictable funny guys, we would start singing "Shiny happy people" every time we saw a Kite.

After helping launch the indie music movement and putting out some 4 or 5 incredible albums, R.E.M. lost some (all?) of their initial momentum but developed an uncanny talent for creating songs that were so brilliantly likable that they could make me cry.

Bur after having heard the song 3 times I would be bored, and after three more I needed to cry again.

After spending some time with Radiohead's "The King of Limbs" I realize that they are the exact opposite of the R.E.M. of today. It takes time to understand and appreciate their music - but it lasts.

In fact, the first single, "Lotus Flower", has grown so much on me that I can't even begin to understand how I didn't come to love it from the start.

Our Japanese friends

In case you wonder why this blog is called "thinkin' about music", the answer is simple.

There already is a "thinking about music", here.

I wonder what happened, Michelle! Where did you go?

By coincidence, one band that was much more interesting live than on record is Eggstone. And they had an unproportionally large fanbase in Japan. Did you research that, Michelle?

An explanation?

I complained about the difference between the National live and on record. Matt explains:

The National - MTV Shows

Still waiting for the National

So now I've seen them live - The National.

Pity, really, because now I can no longer listen to their studio material. Not until they find a producer who can capture the energy, power and delicacy of the band.  And what's the deal with keeping Matt Berninger's phenomenal singing a secret?

Appart from being blown away I was impressed by the fact that they actually have two lead guitars (rather than one lead and one rhythm), and that they on one song, "Afraid of everyone" used two base guitars.

7 defining influences: #4 The stranger

This the is countdown of the seven most important influences or influencers that formed me and who I am today - when it comes to music.

I'm not sure if it was in 11th or 12th grade, but at some point we read Albert Camus' "The Stranger" in my literature class. I remember sitting in class (with favorite teacher Mrs Valdes) discussing various passages out of the book. At some point, it dawned on me that the song "Killing an arab" must be about the book.

I listened carefully to the song and discovered that the lyrics quite accurately describe the murder scene and Mersault's subsequent existential torments. Any uncertainty was resolved by the final words Robert Smith says (quietly): "I am Mersault".


I wrote a paper comparing Camus' writing technique to the song and was allowed to bring a tape with the song to class to include in my presentation.


Imagine the scene: 20 or so relatively serious students in a classroom (the typical multinational mix you would expect in an international school somewhere in Asia). I'm wearing white trousers and a light blue t-shirt with the Rossignol brand on my chest. Yes, I was very serious about my position as the European sports jock - not that I made any varsity teams (but then alpine skiing was one sport I at least could pretend that I would have been really good at...).


So, one minute I'm that guy, the next minute half the class is staring wide eyed at me, and Eric (I think his name was) exclaims "You listen to THIS type of music?!?".


And I realise, right then and there, that music was the platform I needed to build my personal brand. 


Yes, I listen to that type of music.


I don't think I ever wore that Rossignol t-shirt again.


Album version (with "I am Mersault" 2:07 into the song, listen very carefully), poor quality.



Single version

Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles

6. In the car

5. The collective

Remaining defining influences or influencers:
3. DJ
2. Jerome
1. The tapes

7 defining influences: #5 The collective

This the is countdown of the seven most important influences or influencers that formed me and who I am today - when it comes to music.

I spent three or four of my university years living in a collective. The apartment housed three (and a half) students and when adventurous Hagar moved out E. and I decided to have a look att a tall bloke who had just moved into one of the dormitory's a few floors down.

The interview was a serious affair. Two issues needed to be resolved: was he interested in moving in, and what music did he listen to.

He answered "yes" on the first, and "pop" on the second.

We returned back to the apartment and discussed what to do. What exactly did he mean by pop? What if, I argued, he turned up with a bunch of Michael Jackson records, or maybe even Back Street Boys? Was it worth the risk? I'm not sure E. was equally concerned, I actually think he might have liked the idea of somebody normal getting on my nerves a bit...

I remember feeling very grown up when we decided to take him aboard despite not having mapped out his taste in music. I even think I thought to myself that I might learn something new, even if it did mean listening to Michael Jackson.

Turned out that M. was a perfect match. "Pop" equaled the Beatles, Pixies, Ride, Breeders, Eggstone - a bunch of stuff I was well acquainted with and a whole bunch of stuff that I needed to get acquainted to.

It also turned out that M. became quite an influence, teaching me to appreciate country and softer guitar pop than I was accustomed too. He was always prepared to challenge any of my beliefs, and always ready to test different projects. Like listening to Frank Sinatra on old vinyls for a whole weekend.

Or like the time Kravitz released "Are you gonna go my way?" This was the time before mp3's and unlimited access, and often record companies would release new singles to MTV and radio stations before they were available in record stores.

We both considered that track to be the best thing to happen R'n'R for ages, and after a long night on the town we came back to the apartment, put on MTV and decided to wait until they played the video. We waited a good 4 hours, watched Lenny's drummer with the big black glasses and went to bed without saying a word.

I'm convinced the years in the collective opened my ears to a lot of music I would otherwise have been deaf to. But I still categorize people according to music taste. There are friends, and then there are FRIENDS.

Previous defining influences or influencers:
7. First singles

6. In the car

Remaining defining influences or influencers:
4. The stranger
3. DJ
2. Jerome
1. The tapes

I'm really old

Rolling Stone's readers have voted their top 10 albums from the 90's. Check out the list here.

My first reaction was that I could have lived with 5 of these albums on the best ever list, but then again,  I had a lot of time to listen to music in the 90's.

OK Computer, Nevermind, Achtung Baby, Siamese Dream, What's the morning glory; in fact, all groups behind these albums par G'n'R (who I loved to hate) and Pearl Jam (no relationship) belong to my absolute favorites of all times.

Interesting that Smashing Pumpkins managed to get 2 albums onto to the list - overall I would consider Radiohead the bigger act but I guess it is a matter of debate if their best work came in the 90's or after.

The interesting thing is something completely different though. I was in a sushi bar the other day and heard music by Suede (where are they on the list?), Green Day and some other act from the 90's. I asked the guy behind the counter if he was in charge of the music and he said: "No, it's the radio channel Classic Rock!".

Classic Rock? CLASSIC rock? WTF?!?

I thought classic rock was Led Zeppelin et al. Good music, but OLD.

Apparently I'm old.

Tom is a clown

New single on youTube and album for d/l now!

Check out the new Radiohead single "Lotus Flower" here:



and go to www.thekingoflimbs.com/ to download the album.

Single reminds me of Thom Yorke's solo work. Amusing video, don't think I've ever seen Thom do the role of a dancing clown before.