Oh Jenny

"Yellow jokes come out of your mind..." Now that's a compliment. Just rediscovered the krautrock smorgasbord that is Faust IV: very yummy indeed.

Faust - Jennifer

Smiley Smile

"Give me your smile for the while,
May it guide us through the dark..."

A six pack to while away the time until the Smile Sessions come out. :-)

Sibylle Baier - Give Me A Smile MP3

The Dream Syndicate - When You Smile MP3

Operation Ivy - Smiling MP3

Faust - Giggy Smile MP3

John Prine - Illegal Smile MP3

Dexter Gordon - Smile MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 22

Back right at the end of another Wild Weekend, after a week-long hiatus caused both by a short trip abroad and some quite irritating computer problems. My router had re-programmed itself all on its own for some reason, and it took a while to get it to function again. But finally, here´s edition # 22, and once more the shuffle function of my iPod decided what goodies you´re going to enjoy. I know it's all been done before, and it's all been written in the book, but let´s carry on regardless, before the waters of oblivion come rushing in.

First up is Polly Jean Harvey, with a menacing plea from To Bring You My Love, her excellent third album. "Come home to your son, tomorrow might never come..." If I were Billy, I´d come running. Time to say hello to Valery and Vivien now, who in real life were the wives of poet TS Eliot btw. One of my fave tracks from the Basement Tapes. It´s about time all existing tracks from these intimate Woodstock sessions, false starts and all, were released properly. A new Bootleg Series installment perhaps Bob? And now that we´re at it, how´s Chronicles pt. 2 coming along?

PJ Harvey - C´mon Billy MP3

Bob Dylan & The Band - Too Much Of Nothing MP3

J.A. Caesar was certainly one of the weirdest exponents of the Japrock genre. His piece de resistance was the Kokkyou Junreika album from ´73, which you really should track down somewhere. An aural trip if there ever was one. Here´s a fine taster. More weirdness, in krautrock disguise this time, comes courtesy of Faust. These adventurers from the tiny town of Wumme really were years ahead of their time. "Who is satisfied? Who wouldn't sell his mind?
Who can really say?" Indeed.

J.A. Caesar - Haha Koishiya Sangoshou MP3

Faust - It´s A Bit Of A Pain MP3

Soul scorcher anyone? Try Mable John and an intense adulterers ballad from ´67 called Same Time Same Place. From the Stax stable of course. These understated horns and that swirling organ get the job done majestically. And we´ll conclude this Wild Weekend with a short but sweet ditty by Gumball, that fine early nineties noisy pop trio led by Don Fleming of B.A.L.L. fame. Hasta la proxima!

Mable John - Same Time Same Place MP3

Gumball - This Town MP3

Super Krauts

Guten Tag, Leute... Continuing our summer tenpack series, For The Sake Of The Song goes all German on you this time. So put on your Lederhosen and enjoy a krautrock primer of sorts,

showcasing the various exciting directions - electronic pop, avant-garde rock, neo-classical, ambient avant la lettre and a mix of all these - this utterly surprising genre could take. Auf wiedersehen!

Faust - It´s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl MP3

Can - Splash MP3

Popol Vuh - Brüder Des Schattens MP3

Amon Düül II - Wolf City MP3

Neu - Super MP3

La Düsseldorf - Geld MP3

Guru Guru - Next Time See You At The Dalai Lhama MP3

Cluster - Caramel MP3

Harmonia - Watussi MP3

Kraftwerk - The Model MP3