It’s taken me longer than I thought to follow up my earlier post about my recent trip to Germany. It’s been two weeks since I returned and I’ve been catching up on reading and watching films in that time. I also spent a few days babysitting my nephews and, even though I really enjoyed it, I needed a few days to recover from it. I had spent the earlier part of that German trip outside Bavaria, but the latter half of my visit was spent exclusively in the area that the locals refer to as Bayern. After leaving Micha’s birthday party in Siegen, he drove us both to his place in Nuremberg. Micha was working the next day and I had had a little too much to drink the previous night, so we took it easy and just had a beer or two as we watched a few episodes of the always hilarious Black Books. The next day I wandered around the city of Nuremberg, though I only made it to a few record stores on Jakobstrasse and to a lovely park called Woehrder Wiese. I had been here before and it’s quite large and clean with a nice beergarden. I ate a fine lunch there and was back again that night with Micha and another friend of mine named Christian and his wife Ria, both of whom also live in Nuremberg. We drank one or two beers and decided to call it a night around one in the morning as the lads had to work the next day
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Life is a Losing Game
Yesterday, Amy Winehouse became the latest member of the so-called “27 Club”, a group of singers and musicians who all died in their 27th year. The announcement of her death was certainly not a surprise and, in fact, was in some ways expected due to the singer’s fondness for drugs and alcohol. In this regard, she had much in common with the other members of the 27 Club, though she was also a talented songwriter and performer. However, she hadn’t released much original material over the last few years and her live performances had become increasingly more shambolic. I first encountered her music in 2004 at a time when I had little time for pop music. Then I came across her single Fuck Me Pumps and I remember being struck by the song’s witty lyrics as well as the brash delivery by its singer. This led me to her debut album Frank and its more consistent follow-up Back to Black. Unfortunately, interest in Winehouse’s private life overshadowed interest in her music and her slim body of work is unlikely to make her as important a member of the 27 Club as the other six that I present below
Cartoon Music For Superheroes
Last week I returned from what has become an annual visit to Germany. Over the next few days, I hope to tell you about the second half of my week spent in Bavaria, but today I’ll write about my first few days spent near the town of Siegen (about 90km east of Cologne). That’s where my friend Micha’s family lives and I was there to help him celebrate his 30th birthday party with his relations and friends. Micha had the rather novel idea of getting all his guests to dress up as either a cartoon or comic book character. Amazingly, the vast majority of them decided to wear a costume, with cowboys and characters from Disney and The Simpsons proving to be popular. Micha’s brother Dennis was particularly impressive with his belt of Duff Beer in his role as Duffman
Parties in the USA
Today is Independence day in the USA and it’s as good an excuse as any to listen to some music about the United States. 4th of July by X originally appeared on the L.A. band’s 1987 album See How We Are. The song blends punk, country and powerpop influences that mask its lyric about relationship troubles on Independence Day. Kim Wilde’s Kids in America was written by her brother and father and was, unsurprisingly, a US hit for the English singer nearly thirty years ago. In 2007, the Californian all-girl group The Donnas recorded a rocking version of it for the Nancy Drew soundtrack. Matthew Sweet also appeared on that soundtrack and he offers a faithful version of Tom Petty’s classic that appears on a 2005 compilation called High School Reunion. In 1988, Sweet had co-written the title track of Everything’s Different Now by ‘Til Tuesday. That was the band’s third and final album, but lead singer Aimee Mann released her well-received solo debut Whatever in 1993. 4th of July is my favourite song on the album, though it’s a rather downbeat number. “Today’s the Fourth of July,” Aimee sings. “Another June has gone by. And when they light up our town I just think, What a waste of gunpowder and sky.” Two years before making his first big breakthrough with 1975′s Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen recorded one of his most enduring songs on his second album. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) is set in New Jersey as Independence Day draws to a close. It’s one of his most poetic songs and its air of melancholia is mixed with a sense of optimism. The Hollies released it as Sandy on their Another Night album from 1975. Massachusetts musician Jonathan Richman was starting out around this time and he’s been making music and partying ever since. Parties in the USA is taken from 1992′s I, Jonathan album and it goes out to everyone celebrating the 4th of July today, particularly all the Gildays in Cincinnati
Kids In America (Kim Wilde cover) – The Donnas
American Girl (Tom Petty cover) – Matthew Sweet
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (Bruce Springsteen cover) – The Hollies



