Homo Viator

That voice, that attitude, that body language. Great DVD to buy: Amy Winehouse, Live at Shepherd Bush.

It took my sis to show me that Pete Doherty has more than a good taste for women. They guy has skills, too. My current favorite song is called There She Goes by the Babyshambles. You may all know it, but since my music library does not features too many songs written after 1979, this has been a pleasent surprise to me. Below two videos and versions of the song:

Live




Album Version

Even if you have read this already, I would recommend you read it again from "Here my take..." onwards, as I rewrote that part.

Still cant get enough of this video! I guess the reason is that after more than 10 years of listening almost entirely to non-current, old music, I could never ever get enough of those legendary artists. A fellow blogger made a list of the artists, who make up this wicked musice video and even though it is not entirely complete, it comes very close to it and it is in the order of the video.

If I ever meet the director of the video, I would ask him three questions: 1. Why did you not open the vid with Bob Dylan? 2. Why is there no footage of the Beatles, the greatest band to ever walk this planet? Come on, they were bigger than Jesus Christ! And 3. What the fcuk are Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys and some other modern starlets doing among those legendary artists? Do you go that far to please the MTV generation?

When trying to understand the Berlin hype around Electro music or the world's admiration for starlits like Rhianna (can´t be bothered to google the correct spelling of her name. Not a name worth remembering anyway. Noone will remember her in 50 years!) or Jay-Z, I always ask myself why our generation does not deserve to be blessed with a true genius, an icon of the kind that you see plenty of in the video below. Musicians that our great grandchildren would study at school. Thinking back I guess that Madonna and Michael Jackson were the last true icons who shared my times and who came close- not that close,but close-to those below.

Here my take on a plausible answer: The mass has gone tasteless and unlike to the 20s, 30s, 50s and 60s, there is no real political or socicultural movement that drives our music or is being driven by music. (Please do not call techno or electro a movement. Electro only drives and is driven by drug intake and if it ever was a movement, it would be the dullest and most stagnant movement of mankind. It lacks transcending or overlapping creativity and hence never really changed, enhanced or influenced anything of importance: Not art, not fashion, not architecture, not literature, NADA! Techno and Electro are nothing but a handicapped offspring of our generation's lethargy. Let's not even talk about Hip Hop!

I am sure there are talented and original songwriters out there, but I doubt any of them will become lasting icons, who will move a generation. Great music has always accompanied great times. Let's face it: Our times just aren`t great at all. Everything we do has been done before. The youth has all the freedom it could ask for and everyone is far too comfortable to demand change. In the 60s people went to the streets to demonstrate for change. Today people demonstrate for NO CHANGE. Look at France and Italy! Everyone wants to keep the status quo. Now that is obviosuly not the best climate for a songwriter to become legendary. Worse than that: Our generation does not even want songwriters. It prefers beats over lyrics.

If we did not have the internet I guess that socio-cultural change would suffocate at levels that marked those static 80s. One thing is for sure: Our musical legacy will end up being pretty much the same.



Featured Artists

Frank Zappa,Billie Holiday,Simon and Garfunkel,Roy Orbison, P J Harvey,Ella Fitzgerald,Bob Marley,David Byrne’s white shoe from Stop Making Sense,Louis Armstrong,Shoe from Run DMC,David Bowie,Rory Gallagher or Dave Grohl?,Lou Reed,Frank Sinatra,Wilco,Mick Jones (The Clash),Nat King Cole,Paul Cook,Keith Moon on drums,Rolling Stones,Nina Simone,Marvin Gaye,Janis Joplin,Temptations,Sharleen Spiteri,Elvis Costello,The Ramones,Jimi Hendrix,Topless cymbal player John Bonham from Led Zeppelin with Guster, Krist Novoselic on bass (Nirvana),Dave Grohl on drums (Nirvana),Kurt Cobain (Nirvana),Joe Strummer (The Clash),Johnny Cash,Iggy Pop,Radiohead (Thom Yorke),Beyonce,Jane’s Addiction,Elvis Presley,Al Green, Morrisey,Beck, Elton John,The Police,Run DMC,Wu Tang Klan,Beck,The Temptations,Jack White,Meg White,Funkadelic,Kurt Cobain jumping,Charles Mingus,Keith Richards,Jimi Hendrix,Bob Dylan,Chrissie Hynde, Alicia Keys,Ray Charles,Little Richard,Clash,John Bonham on drums (Led Zeppelin),Smokey Robinson,Keith Moon,David Bowie,Billie Holiday,Smokey Robinson,Elvis Presley,Robert Plant,Vladimir Horowitz,Ronnie Spector,David Byrne,Chuck D claps hands with…,Flava Flav,Jerry Lee Lewis,Jay-Z,Patti Smith,Apollo Sunshine,Steview Wonder on drums,Prince...many gaps I think but closing with Frank Sinatra is classic.

You probably think I am crazy and believe me: I cant believe I am writing this post. It is probably of particular surprise to you, considering that I made fun of Germany's most successful international band in my last post on them. But yesterday I saw a MTV Special on Rammstein and was intrigued and surprised of what I saw. First of all, I saw the most mindblowing concert acts and pyro-shows that I have ever seen. At times the lead singer transforms into a terminator type of figure with fire rockets and flame throwers on his shoulders and arms. Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison were among the first musicians to experiment with fire on stage and they would not believe their eyes if they saw how Rammstein perfectionized the musical pyro-show. I would never buy or listen to their CD, but their show is ridicolusly crazy, and I cant wait to go and see them live.



On top of that, the band members appeared to be completely different than I thought. On stage they play a role and look like Gothic freaks coming straight out of hell. But during the interview they presented themselves as a bunch of smart, articulate, well read, deep thinking and sensitive shomasters. I have not heard such a good, authentic interview of any rock star since the glory days of Rock, which have long passed.



Unfortunately I could not find a good example of their pyro-acts on Youtube, but here is a video of their concerts anyway. Plus, check out their gallery and you would be surprised how differently they portray themselves with every evolving record.