On roadies

4/16/2007 1:39:00 AM

I started my professional life in the early eighties as a roadie for a major act. I remember how the other roadies laughed at my packed sandwiches. I soon learned why.

One of the greatest living guitarists, Dick Dale, has the following advert on his website:
"Wanted: Road crew. Based in Southern California. No drugs, No smoking, No alcohol. MUST!!! have strong work ethics, clean appearance and a good driving record."

It's been up there for at least a year now. That pretty much says it all.

Just like a gothic girl

4/13/2007 10:55:00 PM

Picture this: you get on a local bus in Antwerp and stay on it for an hour and a half. You observe an endless string of residential smalltowns and school girls going home.

Then you get off. A kiosk, a Chinese restaurant, a gas station. And little else. But look more carefully. In front of a small club you see a group of die-hard gothic girls squatting with roadies. Welcome to Biebob Vosselaar!

I've often wondered how those gothic creatures always manage to pop up at the right place at the right time. The 69 Eyes gig was the perfect way to descend into Good Friday.

People are strange when you're a stranger.

Working class hero

4/5/2007 9:24:00 AM

Johnny Marr never got to the top of the US charts as the guitar hero of the Smiths, which is one of the great injustices in pop history.

Well, now he is up there as the rhythm guitarist of Modest Mouse, an indie band from Washington - of all the places. No jingle jangle, no solos - just what the song requires and nothing else.

I guess this goes to show that if you do what you do best long enough you'll reap the rewards one day.

Pure bliss

4/4/2007 10:10:00 AM

Very few radio stations do anything truly interesting online. And, surprisingly, most radio websites are clumsy, messy and low-tech.

The notable exception is, again, Pure FM. They have become a fantastic clearing house for new talent: www.puredemo.be

Keep up the good work, guys, and record companies finally become totally irrelevant, which will be a big relief for many. They have done enough harm already.

Totally addicted to bass

4/2/2007 8:56:00 PM

Nothing beats a good bassline. It has unfortunately become a rare commodity thanks to music-making software. You just can't get it right with those.

Here are some of the greatest basslines in pop history:

Good Stuff/ B-52's

So groovy. And that Kate Pierson sure can sing.

Celebrate/ An Emotional Fish

I just love songs that begin with bass only.

Rising Son/ Massive Attack

There's something threatening about this song - in a positive sense.

Why old music sounds bad

3/29/2007 10:05:00 AM

I'm so sick of reading comments on how bad old music sounds online.

Well, of course it does if you download it in that format that has an m in the beginning, a 3 in the end and a p in the middle. Yes, that format that does not reproduce the sounds "inaudible to the human ear".

Get that same music on vinyl and put it in a record player from the same era, and voilà!

Let's take an example. Download the "Theme for Great Cities" by the Simple Minds. Yes, it does sound like shit on your device. Then get the same song on 12" vinyl (yes, I know it costs a fortune), and listen to it through a turntable from the early seventies (yes etc.).

Otherwise, it's your loss.

Machinemuzik

3/26/2007 1:23:00 AM

It is unfortunate that all music-making machines sound so natural these days. That's probably why people keep paying astronomical prices for vintage Casio, Commodore and Roland gear at eBay.

Here are my favourites in the Casio VL-1 category:

Da Da Da/ Trio

Stays in your head for days with just one play. Great lyrics.

Der Komissar/ Falco

A Casio masterpiece. Just like a cheap digital watch that never lets you down.

Tower of Song/ Leonard Cohen

Took this guy to a whole new level. I've heard he actually "plays" the Casio on this track.

Flashback I

3/23/2007 9:22:00 AM

I'm blessed with overdeveloped auditive memory. It enables me to store the magical moments of my life as audio files. Here's one of them:

A windy June afternoon in 1978. Lying on my bed in a cottage by the lakeside listening to the radio. The following songs are played without interruption:
- Freddie Are You Ready/ Wigwam
- Baker Street/ Gerry Rafferty
- Year of the Cat/ Al Stewart.

Sometimes I think it's all been downhill ever since.

The quest of a disco dancer

3/21/2007 12:33:00 AM

I'm so glad the '90s are over. It was so boring to dance to that noise that had no lyrics, no melody and no groove.

Today's dj's are so much more interesting. What we are seeing is basically a return to what djing was in the '80s - choosing the right string of songs to keep people dancing. Try these:

Du Hasst/ Rammstein

A killer, especially in the beginning.

Firestarter/ Prodigy

An easy song to jump to. Good for boxing also.

Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Nirvana

For some reason, people don't mind your stepping on their toes when this song is playing. Or at least I hope so.

Oh yeah, and this list was inspired by dj's Angesombre and Drakks. Thanks for Saturday!

On war films

3/16/2007 2:40:00 AM

I generally hate war films. They usually glorify acts that should be despised. There are very few exceptions:

Der Untergang (2004)

Gründlich in a very chilling way. Filmed under unforgiving fluorescent strip light. The Americans should leave the making of war films to Germans altogether.

La vita é bella (1997)

Gives a totally new meaning to tragi-comic. Very torturous stuff to watch for a father.

Malena (2000)

A fantastic allegory: the disgracing of a beautiful woman as a sign of the lurking evil inside everyone - just a small step away. 

Waterboy to waterboy

3/14/2007 1:46:00 AM

Isn't it disappointing when go see one of your childhood heroes and they have lost all their magic?

No such danger with Mike Scott, a great angry old man. His show at the Ancienne Belgique was extatic - not least thanks to the wonderful Brussels audience. This town has a unique rock scene. Very strange acts attract full houses here, which is immensely uplifting.

When Mike said "I didn't think I would play that again" after "Old England Is Dying" we all knew what he was talking about.

But Mike, stop making unnecessary comments about people like Britney Spears. They make you look smaller than you are.

So me!

3/12/2007 2:00:00 AM

We all have songs that we think are about us. My list has remained the same for almost ten years:

Left to My Own Devices/ Pet Shop Boys

Everything fits - the lyrics, the atmosphere, even instrumentation. I often find myself singing the chorus by myself.

Traveller/ Talvin Singh

The soundtrack of my life. The song that I would like to have played at my funeral.

One Caress/ Depeche Mode

The darker side of me. Describes a recurring aspect of my life that I call the point of no return.

Cemetery gates

3/9/2007 1:18:00 AM

Here's a tip for those of you who haven't decided what to do this Easter.

I know it's a cliché but try spending a day at a cemetery. Take a big bottle of water and go to, say, Père-Lachaise in Paris. Reserve a whole day for this. Walk slowly. Read the tombstones, study them carefully. Think about your life. What would you want to leave behind? It's a strange process, profoundly heeling.

When you leave the cemetery, you feel very alive. And that's a promise.

Si vous assumez la nationalité belge...

3/5/2007 4:53:00 AM

I used to think that the French can't rock'n'roll. The good old Indochine has made me change my mind.

Their show at Forest National was something I haven't seen in years - a political concert. Brave talk, dangerous talk!

And I'm glad you stopped fumbling your hair, Nicola. It almost destroyed the otherwise historical DVD, Hanoï.

Something to sing about

3/1/2007 12:15:00 AM

The sad thing about most of today's singers is not that they can't sing - it's that they have nothing to sing about.

Go see "La Môme". It's a great film about someone who had a lot to sing about.

I just don't understand why this film is being exported with the title "La Vie en Rose". That title has nothing to do with the film.

Would this be the right time for Francois Lévy to put his great exposition on the road?

Spring albums

2/27/2007 7:27:00 AM

Probably due to my end-of-winter birthday, my year begins in March. It's my favourite time of the year, full of promise and bluster. I always return to the same albums at this time of the year:

The Cult: Love

If I had to find a guitar sound to describe the beginning of spring, it would be Bill Duffy's White Falcon in the beginning of "Big Neon Glitter". All over the place.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Pleasuredome

What Trevor Horn does during the first two minutes of this album is still unsurpassed in the intro category.

Pet Shop Boys: Please

"West End Girls" still gives me a longing for London, a long lost friend.