Between a Clenched Fist and a Kiss: Useless......: The Very Best of T.V. Smith!

If you don't know about the work of T.V. Smith, I encourage you to get educated.

A great way to find out about his music (you can buy his whole catalog later). Originally with punk legends The Adverts, he has persevered over the years, accumulating a very impressive songbook.
While staying true to his ideals. He's one of the good ones.

If it tastes so good, why do you feel so sick?

Useless is a greatest hits collection of his music which came out in 2001 on JKP records in Germany. Fans may quibble over individual song selections, but I think it is pretty damn great. It was released at a time when most of his music was out of print, so this was produced as a quick fix to that problem.

But the collection was re-recorded versions of the originals, which would normally give me pause to consider purchasing it. But this greatest hits set is pretty essential in my view. First of all case, Smith is in very fine form. Which is no great surprise. But his backing band?

None other than German Primo Punks, Die Toten Hosen! So you have a world-class songwriter teamed with a completely kick-ass rock band. It's a perfect storm of punk rock perfection!





Previously he has made similar collaborations, making an EP with Finnish punks Punk Lurex Ok, the Future Used to Be Better, which is also another amazing collaboration.

But what make Useless so good is that while the songs have a great anthemic quality to them, Smith's lyrics are smart. The music never fails to get you worked up, while making you think. And the song My String Will Snap was put on record for the first time, for all you completists.



The disc isn't that easy to get, but seems to be available at Smith's on-line store, where there is plenty of other items worth checking out, like many of his recently reissued solo albums and even tour diaries. A good place to help support a worthy cause.

Sheena was a Punk........Ramones Legendary Punk Girl Abides

Everybody knows the legendary song "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" by The Ramones, the hyper energetic punk anthem! A punk rock homage to the Beach Boys you might easily say. Everybody loves the Ramones, even a lot of people who profess a hatred for the Punk Rock. These guys were Teflon...

But what of our brave Sheena?

 

That iconic young woman who broke with conventions and rebranded herself as a Punk. She didn't care what anyone thought. With that sort of Ramones exposure, she became sort of a global phenomenon. Celebrated by fans of the new sound, she became the toast of the world like a New Wave Josephine Baker, first  traveling from  Forest Hills Queens.....

To Deutschland:



And on to Brazil:




Even reaching the shores of Japan!




But like Icarus, who flew to close to the sun and plummeted back to Earth, there is always the inevitable critical backlash.....



And new fashions and movements appear to replace the old.........



And eventually, most of us have to grow up and move on with our lives, leaving our ideals behind....self actualization through commerce maybe.......



But there is always hope for new adulation from a new generation. There used to be 15 minutes of fame, but in these days of juiced globalization and technological innovation it's probably closer to 5.

But just keep your eyes and ears peeled--you never know where Sheena may just turn up again......?

La Dusseldorf--Viva---A Very Very Powerful Motorik and a case for Telefunken.....

I have been listening to the first two La Dusseldorf albums for the past week. They are an experimental electronic group from Dusseldorf, Germany from the 1970's, and two of the members were in the group Neu! Klaus Dinger wrote the songs. I won't use the stupid term given for this type of music. I'd much rather call it Telefunken, which is a name I saw on the back of Viva. I like the way that sounds, stylish and cutting edge. And funky. Actually, in reality I think it is the name of German company that produces very high-end microphones.

Gonna set my soul on fire.....

I bought Viva, the 2nd album, a few years ago, and it, like its eponymous predecessor basically took my world by storm. Though I listen to all types of music, some of the more highly lauded electronic groups just don't grab my interest. But La Dusseldorf plays some incredibly audacious music. When this music first came out it must have been even more eventful, because when listening to this today its very evident how influential these guys have been to bands I am very familiar with. And not just electronic music, but rap, punk, and movie soundtrack composition. What I mean to say is, when I first heard them I felt I had been here before, but of course, that was not the case at all.

But to be clear, a jazz group might attempt to emulate Ornette Coleman, but the results might turn out a little different. La Dusseldorf is that sort of special. There are imitators, but I don't know of anyone who could do this better. People more schooled in electronic music would probably have a few names for me, of course.

First of all, I was immediately struck by the upbeat, almost joyful demeanor of the songs on Viva. I don't want to overgeneralize, but there is a lot of glum electronic music and certainly when I became a music fan, there was a lot of obsessing over people becoming machines and machines becoming people. This music has an organic looseness and funkiness to it that is extremely appealing.

Secondly, without trying to overstate things, repetition in electronic music is not an uncommon thing.
Throughout these records, the music changes in inventive and artistic ways. The songs never gets boring, even on the lengthier numbers, and the music is downright swaggeringly aggressive in places. I am always surprised and disappointed when the album seems to end so abruptly.

Thirdly, and most significantly, are the drums! The drums and percussion playing here are simply otherwordly. I'm not talking about John Bonham lengthy drum solos. Great drummers have subtlety in their game, Hans Lampe and the Dinger brothers bring It in La Dusseldorf. They have that propulsive drive in the music, "motorik" as it is described, and the contrast between the vivid steady, trance-inducing beat and the music constantly swirling around it, which creates something profound. The beat is definitely the difference maker in this music, what sets it apart.



The 20 minute Cha Cha 2000 which originally must have been the entire vinyl side 2, is apparently an electronic music classic. I like it and I am a person who generally is not a fan of songs dragging along. Between punk rock and doing half hour blues jams in somebodies basement for half an hour made me a  proponent of tight editing. It's a hell of a lot nicer to listen to than say, Freebird, which is actually much shorter than this. I mean has anyone ever heard anyone make a sarcastic request for Cha Cha 2000 at a rock concert?

This was again, a situation where I completely underestimated the quality of this music. Though by no means a unknown band, the critical praise they get is completely deserved. So good that I was compelled to open my big mouth about it. Check out the glammy electro perfection of White Overalls which at first listen reminded me of The Clash!



So Viva is my feel-good album of the week. Check it out. And I still like the name Telefunken, so I'm sticking with it.

A Continuum Transfunctioner Happy New Year Mach 2!!!! Die Toten Hosen!!!

Happy New Year everybody!!

Die Toten Hosen----Auld Lang Syne

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer!----Part 4--Die Toten Hosen!!!

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing Loud for All to Hear!

Die Rosen Hosen (Die Toten Hosen)--Stille Nacht

Rocktoberfest!!! Die Toten Hosen's Kauf Mich!

Sie haben sich enstschieden fur ein Produkt as unserm Haus

I don't speak German but I like Die Toten Hosen quite a lot. Kauf Mich! (Buy Me!) is a fun sounding album and the band members are very musically accomplished. I was hoping the name translated into English was "tight trousers" as an homage to the faux four band The Rutles. Apparently it means dead trousers, a German expression meaning a place with nothing, literally the "dead pants". On Kauf Mich! there is a sing song soccer anthem/biergarden quality to a lot of the of the songs. The album actually walks a tight rope between metal and punk--sometimes they remind me a bit of Bon Jovi with the vocals and guitar flourishes (Hot Clip Video Club). I don't doubt their convictions though, because these guys have been putting out the punk rock for more than twenty years and to be fair, their songs are in a myriad of styles. The only album in English is the English Lessons Album, where they do versions of punk songs by bands they admire, with the original singers on vocals. They are one of the few German punk bands to have found popularity internationally.

Apparently Kauf Mich! is an album where the band addresses issues in German society, such as Aids, Racism, Intolerance. Throughout the album there are ads interspersed, probably sarcastically lampooning topics. This is another example of a band that plays a jolly sing-along like Drunter Drauf und Druber, but lyrically they are probably more addressing serious issues. But despite that it seems that these guys have an abundant sense of humor as can be seen in a song like Rambo Dance. Sasch...Ein aufrecther Deutscher is a  harsh indictment of German racism wrapped in a punk polka.

On Lead Vocals is Campino. Lead Guitar is Breit, with Kuddel on Rhythm Guitar and Andi and Wolli on Bass and Drums respectively. I am listening to this album again as I am writing this post and I can't believe what a good album this is. Perfect to drink beers with. Prost!