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Sa., 5. Apr. – The Clientele
by jingo, the prinzenbar has a lovely interior. I always thought that nice surroundings add this extra special something to a gig. lavish ornaments frame its high walls, and indirect moodlighting in red and warm white sets the scene. you can stand in amongst the crowd or if you're a snob you can watch from the balcony. the prinzenbar is what I believe they call a maisonette room. fancy.

the thing that ticked me off was they only sold becks or astra, one more undrinkable than the other. with a great brewery on their doorstep – duckstein – hamburg venues should know better than to sell rubbish beer.

but that was soon to be forgotten when the lads from The Clientele came on stage. it was raising them 30 cm above the crowd. by the time the three guys had set up their instruments the club had filled with an estimated 100 people. that was all it took to make it chockablock. it felt really intimate.

the second song into the set was the beautiful “since k got over me”, a personal favourite. from what I remember “here comes the phantom” and “bookshop casanova” were about the only songs from their most recent album God Save The Clientele. they played quite a few older songs from their first album suburban light.

what didnt surprise me was that the microphone of alasdair mclean was permanently set to a mega-hall effect and that was part of the reason why the band sounded live as perfect as on record. the thing that did surprise me was that they came across quite prog-rockish later in the set in “the garden at night” and another song, with 5 minute guitar soli from alasdair, who is an excellent guitar player btw. the other song that stuck out was their version of the tv personalities song “picture of dorian grey”.

here's the setlist, many thanks to my lovely fotonana for a) nicking it and b) typing it up.

reflections after jane
since k got over me
6 am morningside
here comes the phantom
we could walk together
mondays rain
bookshop casanova
lamplight
somebody changed
what goes up
-
garden at night
I want you more than ever (we're not so sure about this one, the setlists' corner piece is missing)
tv personalities cover: a picture of dorian gray
and a brandnew song without an ending

after the set the guys from Adventure-Playground were making us dance to old faves like felt, the field mice, another sunny day, and the sea urchins to name but a few.

it was a great night out!

let me say one thing - it wont take me till easter next year to put together a list of this year's top albums. with the knowledge i've got today and without having even listened to half the music here i can safely say these are going to be in my top ten albums of 2008.

The Occasional Keepers
i'm sososo excited that they're releasing a new album. Nana so kindly introduced me to them last year and right from the first listen i was hooked. now Bobby just posted a message on myspace saying they've finished recording yesterday. the album's produced by none other than Ian Catt of course. so excited!

update: <3 (8.9/10)

gentle touch - in memory of savannah (9.8/10)
lost for words

crystal stilts - alight of night (9.3/10)

astrolab (9.3/10)
keith's spirit lives on in indonesia.

vivian girls - s/t (9.3/10)

minisnap - bounce around (9.2/10)
less than the bats and more than at the same time.

caUSE co-MOTION! - it's time (9.1/10)
this is so good that i dont care that it's a compilation of singles and eps. all songs stay under 2 mins, punkpop at its finest.

resplandour (9.1/10)
twilight is dreamy perfection.

secret shine (9/10)

bubblegum lemonade - Doubleplusgood (8.8/10)

the motifs - cross paths (8.8/10)

the smittens - the coolest thing about love (8.7/10)

airfields - up all night (humblebee) (8.7/10)

july skies (8.7/10)
soothing

Moscow Olympics - Cut the World (lavender) (8.6/10)

Hammock - Raising Your Voice...Trying To Stop An Echo (8.6/10)

the lodger (8.5/10)

Durutti Column - Sunlight To Blue... Blue To Blackness (8.2/10)
after the release of one or two albums which, much to the dismay of my other half,
i mischievously tagged as 'world music' Viny seems to have found his inner muse again. a marvellous album which takes us right back to the beginning. i can hear a lot of LC and The Return of... in there, in an altogether darker, more reflective mood than on the last albums.

this is ivy league - this is ivy league (8.2/10)
a true summer album. love a summer chill.

get well soon - rest your weary head (8/10)

days - ???
so far there is only the splendid downhill ep out on shelflife but i'm hoping for more

celestial - crystal heights (7.9/10)
their second album unfortunately doesnt quite live up to the expectations i had after their superb first album. somehow more than half the tracks all sound the same. too much sugar, not enough chocolate. the title track crystal heights is nice though.

tears run rings (7.9/10)

blind terry

pelle carlberg - the lilac time (6.9/10)
best part of the album is the name

pains of being pure at heart

m83 - saturdays=youth

kloot - play moolah rouge (6.8/10)
play disappointing MOR

paul weller - 22 dreams (6.6/10)
robert forster (6.5/10)
james - hey ma (6.3/10)

wedding present - el rey (5.5/10)
lyrics (5/10) singing (5/10) music (6/10)
unterirdisch

to complete my previous post, here are the top 35 tracks of 2007. this excludes my fave album tracks, which i've already mentioned on the album list.


35. The Lovekevins
Tamagochi Freestyle

34. The Clientele
Isn't Life Strange

33. The Postmarks
Let Go

32. The Ladybug Transistor
In Between

31. Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time
Aldermaston

30. The Shins
Australia

29. The Ladybug Transistor
Always On The Telephone

28. Ian Brown
On Track

27. Radiohead
House of Cards

26. Turin Brakes
Stalker

25. Vector Lovers
rusting cars and wild flowers

24. The Indelicates
Sixteen

23. Taken By Trees
Julia

22. The Wombats
Kill the Director

21. Friska Viljor
Monday

20. Los Campesinos!
You! Me! Dancing!

19. Days
Downhill

18. The Exploding Boy
Shot Down

17. Air (feat. Neil Hannon)
Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping

16. Lucky Soul
One Kiss Don't Make a Summer

15. Air
Space Maker

14. The Thrills
Nothing Changes Round Here

13. The Lodger
Let Her Go

12. Piano Magic
the last engineer

sooo many good tracks on part-monster.


11. Club 8
Leave the North

this year's album was a return to form for club 8. i chose the more brooding leave the North over Whatever You Want because I think it reflects the much needed gentle progression in their sound.


10. Fireflies
x-mas song

Great non-crimbo crimbo song. Best enjoyed in the summer, I'm sure.


09. Mark Ronson
Stop Me (feat. Daniel Merriweather)

Mark Ronson has created something quite special with his collaboration record of cover songs. Amongst the many interesting covers this is a great mellow version of stop me. mark has turned it into a song in its own right without taking away any of Morrissey's gentle despair. oh yeah did i mention this is my favourite original out of the songs on that album? so it has to take pride of place.


08. Tears Run Rings
A Question and an Answer

another wonderful lavender records release.


07. The Airfields
YR So Wonderful

in anticipation of the now past release of their first album they've brought out a three track ep in october. i call what they've done shambolic twee core. :) feel free to make up your own tag. as long as we agree it is a quality song.


06. Maps
It Will Find You

best track on an otherwise disappointing album.


05. Tunng
Bullets
such a positive, happy song. it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. great tune.


04. Blind Terry
When Prefab Sprout Wrecked My Mind

this song is messing with my head. ...all the time humming the same same song, round and round and round... how blind terry wrecked my mind. i dont normally go for too much sugar in my songs. what's this then? this is superb. i have no idea why. but it is superb.


03. The Bridal Shop
from seas

it's a perfect song.


02. At Swim Two Birds
A Kind Of Loving

couldn't resist it. may you all be enchanted by his voice. then come back for more.


01. Moscow Olympics
Still

I might be pushing it a bit in terms of the release date of "still". their EP came out at the very end of December on Fraction Discs but this song has been up on myspace for ages. the first time i heard it in the summer i knew this would be my number one for 2007. great song.



also on the jukebox:

saturday looks good to me - Make A Plan
hepburns - Fire Red Car
wilco - On and On and On
the tough alliance - 1981
twig - Our Bashful Knees
math and physics club - Nothing Really Happened
seabear - Libraries
love dance - Honestly, Honestly
shout out louds - Impossible

1.Cats on Fire - The Province Complains on Marsh-Marigold


this is my top album of 2007. and probably of 2006 for that matter. a release truly worthy of taking the top spot in the very long list of top notch albums of 2007. quirky enough to be different, clever enough to make me want to sing along, catchy enough to stay with me for an indefinite time. one of the best pop records of the last years.
if i had to compare them to another band it would definitely not be the smiths. contemporary music writers do not seem to know any other 80s indie band any more. instead at times i'm reminded of the brilliant hey paulette.

I Am the White-mantled King



2. The Orchids - Good To Be A Stranger on Siesta


you got to admire the lads. they play more melodic, more mature pop than in their best sarah times. this album is a gem.

Another Saturday Night



3. Piano Magic - Part Monster on Green UFOs


when piano magic are good, they're pure genius. their melancholic, sometimes dark lyrics get to me every time. an autumn album.

incurable (reprise)



4. Celestial - Dream On on Skipping Stones Records


dreamy pop, jangly guitars and tender vocals make me wish it was the sarah pop 1987 era all over again. the excellent swedish labels connected with this record, lavender records and fraction discs, seem to do just that. they make me incredibly happy and grateful.

Fragile Heart



5. Trembling Blue Stars - The Last Holy Writer on Elefant


i played this record to death when i first got it. perhaps thats why it just made the top 5? it's a brilliant album, up there in twee heaven with her handwriting.

Idyllwild



6. Air - Pocket Symphony on Virgin Records


how could i have almost forgotten to include this album? it's more jazzy than its predecessors, quite brian-eno-esque at times, the more upbeat "once upon a time" being the welcome exception. yet space maker, "one hell of a party" (yes Jarvo sings and I didnt know at first, wondering why i liked it so much) and "somewhere between waking and sleeping" (sung by another indiegod, this time in the shape of a pixie, Neil Hannon) especially are the perfect soundtrack to the many rainy afternoons in lübeck.

One Hell of a Party



7. The Lodger - Grown-Ups on Slumberland


much like the rifles' album in 2006 this record is a source of instant endorphines.

Many Thanks for Your Honest Opinion



8. Gravenhurst - The Western Lands on Warp Records


another tortured genius released yet another fantastic record. nick talbot's fragile voice makes the dark atmosphere against the shoegaze guitars only seem more intense.

Trust



9. Tillmanns - A Careless Lifestyle on Fraction Discs


a record that took all the things i love about my fave bands and put them into 10 perfect songs.

Here's A Hit With Them In Mind



10. Voxtrot - Voxtrot on Play Louder


again, i played this album a lot over the summer. took it along to the U.S. and had lots of time to learn to love it on the long flights. a few months on i must say it didnt quite pass the test of time. a great debut nonetheless.

Brother In Conflict



11. At Swim Two Birds - Returning To The Scene Of The Crime on Green UFOs


yet again, roger is returning to the scene of the crime. the sole reason for putting my fave songwriter with this album in this list is that i love what he's done with a kind of loving. the original is a firm favourite of mine and yet roger managed to give it a new twist. the meandering "in bed with your best friend" also turned out nicely. you can hardly believe it's the same song. as for the rest of the album... let's say i'm looking forward to an album filled with brandnew songs. simply because you cant improve on perfection.

In Bed With Your Best Friend



12. Sambassadeur - Migration on Labrador


think swedish sugarcandy. think upbeat club 8. migration coats heartache with shiny shimmering pop arrangements. yet there's something dark and intriguing in anna persson's voice which makes me return to this recording time and time again.

Fallin' In Love



13. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War on City Slang


their best release since their first album nightsongs in 2001. it's got everything i loved about that album, the catchy melodies and the bittersweet lyrics.

Personal



14. Epic45 - may your heart be the map on Cargo Records


i love epic45. when i'm in the mood i can listen to them for hours on end and get completely absorbed by their sound.
this albums is an organic entity. it's alive. the breezy vocals and understated guitars make you wistfully think back to those crisp, early summer mornings when you didnt have to go to school because of the then seemingly endless summer holidays but you went ahead and got up really early anyway because there was so much to do, so much to explore. essential for my many train rides home.

The Stars In Spring



15.The Pigeon Detectives - Wait For Me on Dance To The Radio


see no. 7 for more info, another brilliant band from leeds. yes, their music is laddish and the nme likes them. so what? their sound is so overwhelmingly positive that it leaves me with only one qustion: where's the next indie disco?

Caught In Your Trap



[url=http://www.[spam nofollow=yes] 15 album tracks 2007

The other day Dean (newkid7) asked a question much too precious to see it disappear into our shoutboxes. A question so lovely and interesting that I'd like to share my answer here and hope that some people will like to do the same:

What song sparked your interest in music?

For me it wasnt really a song or a group but a person who made me love music more than most people around me seem to care for. A DJ at a local radio station for Berlin had a weekly programme at one o clock in the morning which I used to tape and and listen to after school. I liked to think of him as the "German" John Peel, he was English but spoke German in his show and played John Peel music without the weird stuff. He also had another English speaking programme once a week in which he used to play the newest indie hits and let listeners participate in the show by playing little silly games, all in English. Even the news, the weather forecast and the footie results (of the English premier league haha) were in English. This show did not just spark my girlfriends's and my interest for all things from Blighty. It being the time of the early 90s with British pop on the rise our group of girls all fell in love with that sort of handmade, heartfelt and glamourous kind of music. In those days listening to Berlin's youth radio station and going out clubbing were much closer connected than they are now. The radio DJs became club DJs at night and we danced the night away to tunes we'd listen to in the daytime. The music played came as a whole package that contributed a great deal to our musical socialisation and appreciation. Perhaps that's why music plays such an important role for me still.

top 5 music festivals in Europe

Haldern (ohne Spiegelzelt!)
Primavera Sound
Benicassim
pop revo
Summercase Barcelona


top 5 twee

Brian
Tompaulin
Cat's Miaow
Field Mice
(the mighty!) Tramway

top 5 electropop

Lali Puna
American Analog Set
Looper
Christian Kleine
Ulrich Schnauss

top 5 spoken singsong

Black Box Recorder - Child Psychology
jegsy dodd & the original sinners - Grumpy Old Men
sultan of ping f.c. - Where's Me Jumper
Death By Chocolate
baxendale - Music for Girls

and please compare clientele - Losing Haringey to spearmint - First Time Music. do they sound very much the same (except for the chorus of course) or is it me hearing things?

top 5 live - shows where you'll always get your money's worth

Cure - Wuhlheide Berlin, August 2005
the best gig i've ever attended and ever will.


after a lovely stroll through the woods we entered an open space flooded with sunshine, the stage in front, the amphitheatre seats behind us. there were people from spain, france and norway happily talking to each other. it was such a relaxed, friendly atmosphere that one could have mistaken the scene for the setting of an intercultural day out, had it not been for the occasional bob lookalike. for the three support bands we had an excellent view sat at the back. just before the band came on stage we got up and moved closer which was no problem at all at that point. even though the venue must have been nearly sold out. we found a neat spot right in the center, about 20 rows back. there was still enough room to dance. the band was playing with such vigour that you really had no choice but to do exactly that. you could see and feel that bob and his extrovert guitarists loved to play that night. bob's such a sweet shy luvely lad (at 46 lol)... a soft hello as a greeting and a bit of banter in between the songs. the crowd loved him. the setlist included Fascination Street, alt.end, The End of the World, Inbetween Days, The Figurehead, A Strange Day, Push, Just Like Heaven (!), From The Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Lullaby and Never Enough. After what seemed no time at all two hours had passed and the band came back after a short break for the first of three encores. and they were more than the icing on the cake, we could have AND eat our cakes this time: At Night, M, Play for Today, A Forest, Three Imaginary Boys, Grinding Halt, Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing an Arab and Faith was the last song. fantastic! as if "bloodflowers" had never and "three imaginary boys" and "seventeen seconds" just been released. bob smiled his shy bob smile and after nearly 3 hours the band vanished into the night, leaving us humbled and utterly satisfied.


I Am Kloot - Manchester, Barcelona, Berlin
johnny's got a great voice which sounds even better live. eric cantona on the drums.

Divine Comedy - T in the Park, FIB Benicassim, Haldern, Berlin
splendid oldschool entertainer.

Paul Weller - T in the Park, FIB Benicassim, Haldern, Berlin
the voice! the energy! the man is just gettting better and better.

Wedding Present/Cinerama - Leeds, Berlin, Paaren im Glien
pure energy! and a wall of guitars!


and whilst i'm at it:
bottom 5 live

stephen patrick Morrissey - Arena, Berlin December 2006

expectations were running high because he was an all time hero of mine. to do mozza justice, the "arena" as a venue is horrible and the setlist was well chosen. but the sound was bad, he had no stage presence (flicking the mic cable like a lasso over and over again doesnt keep anyone entertained for longer than a few minutes), i couldnt see anything behind what i felt were 7000 other people, people didnt know the old songs (nobody around me was singing to panic!) and the tickets were overpriced. in short, most disappointing gig ever.

American Analog Set - Magnet Club Berlin, September 2005
just mindnumbingly boring. no crowd interaction, a lot of shoegazing going on.

Camera Obscura - Night and Day Manchester, September 2003
tracyanne was never satisfied with the sound, she was constantly putting her finger up or down to indicate to the sound man at the back which mic to turn up or down. she looked like she was chewing on a lemon. annoying. she's still got a lovely voice though.

Ian Brown - Berlin Festival, Paaren im Glien, July 2005
god he really cant sing. makes you appreciate what a wonderful job the producers did on The Stone Roses album.

Echo and the Bunnymen - Berlin Festival, Paaren im Glien, July 2006
they were supposed to be headlining the festival. came on stage and complained about being in the middle of nowhere and not in berlin. their faces stayed completely shrouded in darkness throughout the gig. we couldnt make out any of them. vain buggers. if you're on stage and want the audience's respect you have to have the guts to show your face. there was no interaction with the crowd except for this one bloke from birkenhead. couldnt understand a word. people were leaving the gig to go home because they were getting bored. that must have hurt ian mcCulloch so much that he announced that that was the last song and they were leaving after this. after 30 mins! the crowd was by that time shouting abuse at the band for their behaviour. what a shit ending to an otherwise good festival.

berlin ist arm. ist berlin deshalb sexy?

berlin hat nichts weiter vorzuzeigen als seine bewohner. seine bewohner allerdings sind überdurchschnittlich kreativ. kulturell ist berlin mit das beste, was europa zu bieten hat. es ist aufregend und spannend und jung und überdreht.

und abgrundtief häßlich. nicht nur in seinen schlafvorstädten mahrzahn und hellersdorf. in den neuen zentren wie dem potsdamer platz beherbergt es schreine der moderne aus glas und stahl. ausnahmen sind seine weltberühmte museumsinsel, unesco welterbe, und der gendarmenmarkt als einzig schöner platz von berlin. nur zwischen den beiden orten hin und her zu pendeln wird aber auch schnell öde.
in den szenevierteln ist die präsenz von verfall und hundekothaufen sprichwörtlich. in der oranienstrasse zum beispiel ist immer noch 1980. da kann man sich jeden tag wie herr lehmann fühlen.

apropos szeneviertel:
die sind das mekka der körperlich und geistigen 20jährigen provinzheinis.

geworden.
und wenn die ihrer spätpubertären phase entwachsen sind, ziehen sie weiter und machen platz für neue landeier.
alle normalen leute haben die stadt verlassen, als sie noch konnten. heute bewohnen studenten aus münster ganze stadtteile. machen sie unbewohnbar für alle, die nichts mit medien machen. die straße, die ich anfang der 80er zum kindergarten entlang ging, fahren heute die selbsterkorenen individuellen besserleber aus nrw mit alten diamanträdern auf und ab. wenn die nach hause fahren aufs dorf, kennt sie dort jede kuh.

berlin dagegen hat kein gedächtnis. es schluckt alle und verdaut sofort. macht sie teil des großen bunten treibens. der unendlichen auswahl. der schönen cafés und erstklassigen freiluftkinos. des zuhauses von sir simon rattle. und mark medlock. teil des lässigen lebens. des ständigen erlebniszwanges. des nicht-services. der überfüllten badeseen.

berlin, es war schön, aber ich werde dich nicht vermissen. qualitätszeit is woanders.


Berlin Sunrise
Asteroids Over Berlin
Bye Bye Berlin

when i think of blackpool the first word that comes to mind is...quaint. not quaint like york or chester or beatrix potter lakeland towns. but quaint as in lost in time. a town still trying to provide 1970s family entertainment.

free yourself from visions of drunken crowds outside the Syndicate on a sunday morning, drug-related petty crime and general decay. if you look hard enough you find that anywhere. you dont even have to try too hard to find this in gods own cities paris and barcelona.

ok so you wont meet guys wearing plastic bottoms and -breasts and silly wigs there. nor hen night parties with girls dressed in bunny costumes who fall all over the place at 4 o clock in the afternoon. but at least they're good for a laugh.

what appeals to me is the bittersweet melancholic feel of a seaside resort in the autumn. which blackpool has for the best part of the year. when all the amusement park rides and fruit machine arcades are still open but there's just a few visitors there to be lured in by their cheap thrills.

blackpool's great wide beach and promenade could accommodate a lot more visitors than they do these days. north pier with its splendid white railing and benches still tells the tale of how the town used to be a prominent seaside resort until the 1950s. any photograph from that era shows crowds of tourists on the beach and promenade. that was before blackpool holidaymakers discovered that lager and chips taste nicer in the spanish sun.

bill bryson said the golden mile with its illuminations was one of his biggest disappointments on his trip round britain. when i first saw the lights i found the excitement people get out of going down this stretch of moving, glowing lights and large illuminated models of cartoon characters in coaches at 3 miles an hour... quaint.

i doubt the lights have changed much since bryson was there. this is what appeals to me. a place which is out of time with its doctor who exhibition and madame tussaud's and funny girls and the white tower restaurant. stuck in an eternal time warp in the last decades of last century. yet all of these attractions still attract people. this i find reassuring when we all have to cope with an ever quickening pace of life. it's great to think it doesn't have to be like that all the time.

one could always take a break and go to the seaside.


Beside The Seaside
Blackpool Rock
Streets of Your Town