Arcade Fire reloaded

'No cars go' in Vienna

Impromptu 'Wake up' in Porchester Hall

Still goosebumps.

...and if the snows buries my, my neighborhood

Severeal years ago i was in Vienna with my then best friend, C. Of course i was in love with her, more than with anyone before. Of course i confessed her my love, and of course she felt just friendship towards me. She leaned her head against my shoulder and i was...sad. Days later i needed a jacket and took the one i wore that very night. While putting on the garment, i was suddenly overwhelmed by something i wasn't sure what it was in the beginning, my heart started beating, my skin was covered with goosebumps. The jacket had taken on her odor.

Saturday i was in Vienna, once more. I saw Arcade Fire. Today i jumped into my car, and they suddenly played one of their songs on the radio. Heart started beating. Goosebumps all over. The air had taken on the odor of Arcade Fire.

I have probably seen the best concert of my live this weekend. I don't want to give here any interpretations of their lyics, or discuss this 'collective'-band-concept. I would fail. What i can do, is interpreting people's faces at the concert, the joy they expressed, the passion they shared. Music can change so much, not that i didn't know that before, but i has been a long time since a single event gave me such a big impetus.

Of course it was snowing that very night, almost all over Austria.

Public Enemy No. 1 (in Linz)

This blog is definitely much too much into music involving rock-and-roll-guitars. But hey, I'm running this site from Linz, which is not only known for it's quality-steel and fresh air, but also for the large number of the hip-hop crews residing here.

Therefore it was once characterised in German magazine 'Der Spiegel' as being [quote] 'Austria's ghetto-city, the thoughest one Austria has'. Linz, so the author of the article continued, that's basically drugs, chemical industry and violence. Me personally, i never leave the flat without my Uzi and a pocket fully of hand grenades.

So, what was I up to? Ah, yes, a shamefully on this page underrepresentated genre: hip-hop. More exactly: Public Enemy. Luckily these guys have nothing to to with the gangsta-cliché, but a lot with attitude, protest and the highest quality of modern music. So, as some sort of compensation, and more importantly, because the song is really really worth it, i present you Public Enemy with 'Harder than you think'. Enjoy!



mp3: Public Enemy - Harder than you think

Old friends, glory old days

Thx to all you lovely people for a great night! Was nice seeing you again, hope that we can rejoin soon.

Hugs,
Bernie

Bloc Party go rave

Bloc Party go back to the 90ies and recorded this bewildering song: Flux.



I love the video. Nice trash : ) It's so good to see that Bloc Party take another route than all those young British rockers. Keep going off track!

These boys are: Tocotronic

Tuesday this week a friend and me went to see Tocotronic down in Posthof, Linz. Earlier this year i declared their new album 'Kapitulation' as probably 2007ths best release so far. It still is, leaving announced sensations as Radioheads 'In Rainbows' far behind. (By the way: Anyone ever heard someone talking about the new Radiohead album? And by saying so I don't mean this oh so revolutionary way of distribution. See?)

Anyway, the concert was enlightening. Last time I saw Tocotronic in Linz was 5 years ago, same venue. How different two gigs of one and the same band can be. 2002: The concert hall packed with people. 2007: Hum, let's say it was half full. Ok, 2/3rd full. Which is still embarassing for Linzer indie-lovers. 2002: A lame concert, with a support act playing Tocotronic against the wall. 2007: Tocotronic at it's peak.

First of all to mention: Accepting Rick McPhail as a 4th band member gave the sound of Tocotronic a major boost. Highly complex walls of sound bursting out over the crowd are a result of this, producing memories of late 80ies/early 90ies shoegazers My Bloody Valentine or Ride. Additionally i am of the opinion that McPhails guitar gave the songs more precision. Some might say this kind of took away Tocotronics 'rebellious' attitude. I say they were never more rebellious than now.

Second, Tocotronic are proponents of something i call 'Neue Ernsthaftigkeit' ('new graveness'?). And I don't speak ironically. End to 'Spaßkultur', end to Sportfreunde Stiller! Example? Listen to the song 'Explosion': 'Everything is yours/a world made of paper/everything explodes/no will triumphates'.

Third, bassist Jan Müller was loaded like a howitzer.