Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts

Tuesday 19 May 2020

Not Heroes


While out for a walk today I was listening to "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps" by David Bowie which I nearly said was one of my favourite Bowie albums but then I remembered this post about the problems with listening to David Bowie albums. That is a little further information on the album, when "Teenage Wildlife" came on I thought , this sounds very like "Heroes".

"Scary Monsters and Super Creeps" sort of follows on from "The Lodger" which was the final Berlin Trilogy album and was the next album he produced so I shouldn't be surprised that that the sound textures are the same and Bob Fripp's guitar features heavily on both "Teenage Wildlife and "Heroes".

It's probably a good idea to share both pieces with you so you can here the similarities and they are both wonderful songs.

I suppose if anyone is allowed to borrow from Bowie , Bowie can.

I know this is a pitifully short post but just wanted to share this with you.



Tuesday 17 December 2019

Exclamation Mark


Although I've rightly described David Sheppard's Brian Eno biography "On Some Faraway Beach" as like wading through treacle (I'm just over half way through, the book is also extremely readable. Almost every page throws up something I either didn't know or hadn't noticed.

The band Ultravox were originally called Ultravox! , a homage to the German band Neu! (originators of motorik, and heavy influencers of lots of bands) , the exclamation mark was dropped at some point , possibly when John Foxx left and Midge Ure joined. That was one thing I was unaware of.

During the Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite produced first album Brian Eno was invited to work with Bowie (who had recently been producing Iggy Pop) on his next album at the Château d’Hérouville where Elton John recorded "Honky Chateau" and the single "Honky Cat" was obviously a nod to this.

The thing is this album was "Low" , the first of the "Berlin Trilogy" and while Bowie , Eno and Iggy were between Berlin and the Château d’Hérouville I was unaware and always assumed that the album was fully formed in Berlin.

We will go with the finest song from the Ultravox! debut , "My Sex", it is disturbingly good , with John Foxx's monotone machine voice over a fragmented lush backing.

Friday 28 September 2018

Throwing Darts In Lovers Eyes


Over the last couple of days I've been listening to "Christian F" and I have posted about it here and here in the past. It's a cherry picking of Bowie songs from the Berlin era and quite short although that may be just me wanting more and more.

It opens with the excellent istrumental "V2 Schneider" which like most Bowie songs, once it starts you have to listen to the end, although this is effectively an instrumental with background vols chanting the title.

It contains a live take on "Station To Station" which is possibly my favourite Bowie song, although it is split in a few brilliant sections after opening with the electronic steam locomotive sound, finally hitting the excellent coda of "It's Too Late ... The European Canon is Here"

Also the title of the post comes from that song and it's a violent image that has stayed with me since I first heard it, another example of Bowie's excellent poetry. I have found another live take to share with you, for you to enjoy and the weekend closes in on us.

Enjoy