the less i know the better

I fucking ADORE this song and I hope this illustration/ animation does my feelings justice.

Ein von some scallywag (@somescallywag) gepostetes Video am 22. Jun 2016 um 9:50 Uhr

moon sounds

libertines/ blogger sucks/an idea that I think is pretty cool/(lots of blaa)

hellooo brethrens,

blogger has been a massive let-down the other day- I actually got a few bits done for the new design (header & background) but this dumb platform won't let me upload the background? And the hmtl thingy doesn't have the codes I apparently need to find to insert it?? HALP if anyone's got a suggestion, I'm all up for it, tell me!

In related news, I've been busy as hell because uni started again and I've got a student job with the WDR's ARD now (1st TV channel, for the inhabitants of non-germany) which takes up a pretty damn decent amount of time (AND OF MY SLEEP ldfjskdj) which is why I have not yet posted about

SEEING THE LIBERTINES ! ! ! !!1111

Yes, I've seen Pete (again!) and Carl and John and Gary, and it was superb even tho I had to go alone because the one friend who wanted to see them too was broke and none of my other so- called friends were even remotely interested. So, I was in the second row and it was even more intense/painful/life-threatening than Babyshambles back in January, but I finally heard Music When the Lights Go Out live, the song that changed SO bloody much that I won't even get started on that. Here's two polaroids I managed to sneak of the Libs and Circa Waves who supported them before things got too dangerous for the camera:

& some more shots:

The next thing is that I was kind of thinking of making a zine (a real, non-digital, printed zine) that'd be like a booklet with drawings and some comments on my inspiration and how I see/experience the process of art/illustration making and stuff... do you think anyone would be interested in getting their hands on such a thing? Je ne sais pas. 

I should use my ideas catcher more often, there's a shit ton of stuff getting lost, I feel.

Hang in there, people xx

shambles

I was gonna think of a cool introduction but my brain is not on the highest level of its performance abilities at the moment, so- I saw Babyshambles play on Monday. My infatuation with Peter Doherty dates back to a time when I didn't quite know what to do with myself and life in general, and the music of the Libertines and Babyshambles as well as Pete's solo work was the understanding friend, the fellow sufferer and the slight hope for the better to me. After having listened to him for ages it was kind of surreal to see him on stage, as the actual person he is and I won't lie, I shed a tear at "Delivery". I'm not very tall and not very massive so I had my doubts if I was gonna survive the front row, it certainly did give me a "mufasa and the gnus" kind of feeling- you're thrown about mercilessly by the crowd, but at some point you don't even care, because you're one with the sound, one with the people around you, and- alas- one with the mix of beer, sweat and dirt on the floor.

The gig was class, but (obviously, I should add) I wanted to meet the man himself, so together with a little crowd of 30 per cent normal people and 70 per cent ferociously annyoing groupies a friend and I were hanging around at the barrier in front of the backstage exit where the tour bus was waiting. That barrier, about 2 metres high and all covered up with some advertisement banner, was somewhat impossible to get around, but the gap on one side of it was perfectly cool for someone my size to look through, and I took the opportunity. This is how I saw Pete approach the bus, and I just called him. And HE CAME. He immediately started to explain that the band is tired and all that, but I said it's all cool and I don't want anything, I just want to give him something, and pulled out an envelope with these two drawings inside:

IN THE MEANWHILE HE TOOK MY HAND. Blame this lyricism of mine on the fact that I'm a literature student or on the fact that I'm embarrassingly deeply in love with this guy, but it was an event detached from time and space for me. It felt like, metaphorically speaking, the hand that has been holding mine for a long while, actually physically held it- for some glorious moments. (crying break for everyone, hehe.) Then other people noticed that I was talking to Pete in the corner, and started screaming, and he fled into the bus. I told him to open the envelope later, I hope he didn't forget to. I also kind of hope that he at least gets a slight idea of what I wanted to tell him. I'll probably never find out what actually happened after he let go and walked away, but I guess that, if anyone ever asks me where the originals are, it's cooler to answer "I don't know, Pete Doherty has them" than "Uh, at home". I also didn't sign the pictures with my name, nor did I write a note to Pete, let alone a letter- I am this much of an idiot. I mean, an envelope screams for that sort of thing, doesn't it? Well, I was deaf to that. If I had written something, I'd have probably said the following:

Dear Bilo, please take this as a "thank you" and a token of support and love- I'm behind ya, mate. K xx

Or, perhaps, not.

PS: These are my post-babyshambles shoes... yikes

PPS: I had my oral bachelor exam in english literature yesterday and I got a 1,0 (the best possible result, for the foreign readers), which I'm pretty psyched about!

sad sad sad sad instant crush sad sad sad sad

sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad 

sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad

 sad sad sad sad watch this fantastic video you won't regret it sad sad sad sad 

sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad

the darker days

the mind and some noise for ya.

flowers, kittens and sun

seeing the virgins

BOOM. So I've seen the Virgins last Saturday and it was the coolest thing ever. I just love this band! I really dig both of their albums and the show, well, let me put it this way- they ROCKED. But what ROCKED even more is that after the show, me and one of my two friends who I went with went over to Donald (the coooooolest guy ever!) who signed our tickets, and I told him that I got to write a review about the new album, and he was like, oh really, what did you write, and I told him, and after a while we ended up smoking outside and talking. The bands manager Ben (the guy in the denim jacket) and John, the drummer (the guy in the tartan shirt), joined, and as they wondered what else to do for the rest of the night, Donald said: "Let's just stay here, there's gonna be an 80s party later." Let's stay, to the guys and me and my friend. Can you believe it? This is how I spent Saturday night hanging with one of my favourite bands, having a few beers backstage and feeling pretty surreal. What I learned that evening: Ben is friends with Ryan Gentles (the Strokes manager, but also the Virgins are on Cult Records, the label that belongs to Julian Casablancas, so they quite obviously all know each other, but HOW FUCKING EXCITING IS THIS!?), Casio watches are difficult to get in New York and Warren Fu works with interns. A chance for me? Haha.

What shall I say, ever since Saturday I find my own life quite boring. Worst post-gig depression ever..!

And, hey, guys- is this the first picture ever of me on this blog..? I look fantastically horrible but I am just so excited about having met someone of those people I adore and I simply had to show off, haha.

xx

cm

noise #1

music tips.

one last fangirling attack in public, then I'm done

EDIT: Haha, I can't believe it! Albert liked this on instagram and said he loved it! My day is made. I love this band.
EDITTTT SLDJKSKLDJ ALBERT DID NOT ONLY LIKE IT, APPARENTLY HE LIKED IT THAT MUCH HE DECIDED TO POST IT TO HIS INSTAGRAM AND HIS TWITTER AND I'M SO SDLJFDLFJ NOW BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY  A LITTLE DOODLE AND I DIDN'T EVEN EXPECT HIM TO SEE IT AND SEND HEEEELLPPPPP OH GOD I'M JUST GLAD I COULD PAY THE BOYS BACK SOMETHING FOR THEIR MUSIC *DIES*

never come down, machines

So, looks like it took me a while since Friday when I actually got the record, to come down (pun alert) and to put into words what this red square means to me now. Comedown Machine. I am not going to put into words what you will find on the CD inside this red square, but I can tell you that this record turned out to be exactly what I needed.

It's not really about me fangirling over good looking guys making brilliant music- which they certainly are- but about the fact that, if this album was a person, it would be someone who's state of mind is in a metamorphose, someone who is in transition from one point in his life to another, someone very similar to myself. Bittersweet memories of what was, dreams of what should've been, a certain raging stubbornness put against a wave of acceptance of the way how it's going to be from now on... it's almost unbelievable, how well it fits me.

I rarely evaluate music in terms of sound and details, like "yes, very precise riffs on this one, I like that, but the drums seem to be kind of out of timing" or something like that, but I try to feel the music. If I listen to something and it makes me see pictures, fall into a different mood than the one I was in before listening, music that has a proper own character, then this is the music I choose. I didn't even have to choose Comedown Machine, it just ran me over. I needed a whole hour on Saturday to bring myself to push the stop button and watch the film I'm writing a term paper on. Is this normal..?

The evening before getting it, I was washing dishes and kind of started inventing a song, a real song, with lyrics and music. A song about how it feels to grow up, because it looks like growing up and facing adult-ish responsibilities is one of my major tasks and my major struggles in life. And then, just imagine, the very next day it seems like the universe made an answer to my humble attempts, and gave me the music I needed. 

Comedown Machine- the setting is somewhere around New York, the mood is memories, the direction is hope, the sweet pitfall is nostalgia. People roaming the streets whilst realising they're different from the people they were ten years ago, and that it's different streets now, too. People walking towards the light. People saying "nah, fuck this shit, I'll just go out and make it", people shying away from their decisions, people in stagnation. People who's souls are on a trip to the past and to a parallel universe where everything used to be ok in the past and will be wonderful in the future, while they are lying in their beds, eyes closed... that's what I imagine when I listen to it.

As a special treat, I tried to look for pictures that are similar to the ones I saw inside my head when I listened to the record, so here they are. Song titles on each; even if you are not as much of a massive Strokes fan- listen, you won't regret it. It's an album that went beyong the usual Strokes style, beyond everyone's expectations, actually, and awakened feelings that, as I think, everyone can subscribe to because somewhen in their lives, everyone changed. Some photos are a bit cheesy, I admit, but also just very explicit, however. We're kind of simple and sometimes cheesy beings, as well. xx

ps: I hope you all got Spotify, because all the videos on YouTube are blocked. 

pps: I also hope you enjoyed this little visual 'review'.

ppps: I was very worried about rumours and signs that this might actually be the Strokes' Goodbye, but if I understood Albert on Twitter correctly, the only one they say Goodbye to is RCA, their label. LONG LIVE/PLAY ZE STROKES. 

pppps: I expect flowers and chocolate in jail, where I am certainly going to end because I have ignored the sources of the pictures. Again. (Gonna add Elvis Presleys 'Jailhouse Rock' to my playlist.)

untitled #10

Hello ze Strokes, or better say, ze new song of ze Strokes! Pretty much mindblowing, can't explain why so many people hate it. I've had it on replay tonight and I still have; there's something about it that makes it feel like a feather bed for the soul... or maybe I'm just getting emotional in my old days, but yeah, as I like to say, this tune plays my inner guitar. Ze Strokes are such a bromance, they just kill it every time. I'm ridiculously excited about the album now! What do you think?

Here are 4 pictures illustrating my life at the moment- hanging around at the campus from time to time trying to get my stuff done, being skint (and still ordering tons of topshop shit and paying a fortune for the shipping dkjfhsd), drawing pictures about my miserable existence and getting lost at the uni library, in search of books such as "Identity Between Deconstruction and (Re-)Construction in the Contemporary British Novel", "The Making of Modern Tourism" and "Conversations with Julian Barnes". F.U.N. 

For more trivialities and my breakfast/lunch/tea/supper/snacks stalk my Instagram.

somebody come and save the music, please

Why? I mean, just- WHY? I don't get it. I simply don't get it. I don't get what people are doing to their ears nowadays. Perhaps some of you have come across this post on Hipster Runoff where I read this (and obviously, darling Carles was ranting):

"The Lumineers are the first independent label artist to have a debut single reach #1 at three separate formats--Triple A, Alternative & Hot AC. "Ho Hey" spent eight weeks at #1 at Triple A radio and two weeks at #1 at Alternative Radio. The song is currently #1 on Billboard's Rock Chart and #4 on the Hot 100. The debut album and "Ho Hey" were both #1 at Spotify for some time in December, and are currently sitting at #2 on the music streaming service."

Now I'm gonna tell my anecdote. When I first heard about Mumford& Sons, I listened to them, and I really liked Little Lion Man; there is something untypical about this song. But the rest of the songs on Sigh No More were given about 30 seconds of attention each, and didn't make it onto my iPod. Because every song sounded the same to me- quite lame, to be frank- and I didn't even try Babel. Nevertheless, I don't blame people who like them, because their music, although it's folk, carries a bit of excitement.

Now, as I might have mentioned before, I review music for ROTE RAUPE, and I got the Lumineers album shortly before it came out. The label leaflet mentioned the platinum single, I was full of expectations and started listening. And almost fell asleep as I was halfway through the album. And thought, well aren't we the Mumford. Later on, the sad story of the bands origin filled half my review because, sorry- there was not much to say about the music itself.

I mean, I really tried to get into folk, or folk rock, but I just can't- yet, the slow-mo-shabby-back-to-the-roots- wave is rising high, and people seem to enjoy it; I don't have any other plausible explanation why the Lumineers made it, or why even Mumford& Sons came that far. Why NME is melting away because of Haim, who bored the shit out of me, and so on. I guess it only needs a cowboy hat and suspenders nowadays to be a music icon. Did you even know that Lana del Rey tried to become famous several times using several names and changing styles, and she only succeeded in the depressed-diva-girl-mode, because that's what's hip now. What's behind, doesn't matter, apparently.

WHY? WHERE? Where is it gone, the enthusiasm, the buzz, the revolution? Even Palma Violets, who were called "the most exciting band in the world at the moment" (NME) failed convince me...they don't quite have the Melody, they don't have the Spirit. They don't have the Music- to my mind, at least. I know that taste in music varies, but sometimes I can understand why people might like something, and sometimes I-just-don't. At all.

How about you? I myself am waiting for the new Virgins' album, the new Strokes', the new Arctic Monkeys', Peteysweet Doherty's new album and some more that are said to be released this year. Of 2012's new bands that got attention, I only liked Tame Impala, I think, because they've got those really intriguing harmonies and create wonderful atmospheres- you can't really predict their music, if you know what I mean. Of the bands that didn't get much attention, I absolutely adore and recommend Devin, a guy from New York plus his band- their music is pure rock&roll, it's edgy, it's melodious, it's simply great- and they got ignored by the masses and the media; don't ask me why, I don't get it.

Ok, and this ranting of mine was about the more or less alternative scene which is, by definition, supposed to be better than the mainstream shit which I'm not going to address here because it's not worth any attention at all. What happened to music? Where are we going? Who will come and change the world as the Smiths did in 1982, or the Strokes in 2001?

neon life rascalities

I try so hard to figure out
what the point of all this is
and when I try to find the problem
I find myself not wanting anything

there's vacuum in my ideas
just bits and pieces building themes
too bad you'll sink and drown in daydreams
they're nothing you can swim in

everything goes right and wrong,
left and right straight into foolery

you watch them moving forward
effortlessly they're winning all 
of all those things you worship
when you're on your own

that acid washed denim
and brightly coloured trainers
they only mean the universe to you
they're but a wrapping of your sad souls twin

that studded leather, nights and lights
guitars in airports, jokes
that's all you want, I know
that radiant freedom as you go

and not a single chance that you will ever
admit this youthful feeling of perfection
is hard works harvest and a moments' bliss
the jacket saves raw diamonds from detection

at heart, you are the lightest-minded, rascal urchin
to whom this planets rules and expectations seem a maze
you are the real easy- going good-for-nothing
to dreamy nowhere you want the easy way.

stay behind bulletproof glass

I don't believe it, I won't believe it
I'm not sad, I understand that's how it goes
Take it easy, there's no time to be mad
That's their job, blood on their teeth, death on their mind
Pretty baby, please just get out of the way, where it's safe
Eyes will follow you, weapons can't break through
Tears will swallow you, they all can see right through...

Bulletproof glass.
Bulletproof glass.
Bulletproof... you're in trouble now.
But who knows?
But who knows?

(I just can't concentrate on this bloody shit termpaper.)

the very inside, very honest

where is the respect at least?

So, this is part of a discussion on Facebook after Green Day told NME that their new album trilogy will be something between the early Beatles and AC/DC.

And now I wonder: why? Why do people have to be so narrow-minded, so stupid, so respectless? And I don't say that because a band I like has been offended, but because I see it everywhere on the web: people going on about how much they love bands x, y and z and how much they hate bands a, b and c. Is this necessary? No one forces you to listen to what you don't like. And in this case, the passionate haters of Green Day obviously didn't even read the headline properly because it didn't say: we are like the Beatles and like AC/DC. They talked about a similiar sound, similar riffs, rhythms, whatever- and those wanna-be music lovers act as if this was blasphemy, oh good lord, just imagine, they said 'Beatles' and 'new album' in one sentence! They must be punished! ...Seriously, it's so ridiculous it actually hurts. All those comments are just written to show everyone who's interested (and who's not) that the authors are great, independent individuals who know their way round music history and therefore know no band greater than the Beatles (which is, of course, obligatory for such picture postcard alternative music fans, it's like bankers who need to wear a suit or else they must die), who have a marvellous taste in music and who despise any band that is too well known because famous bands are automatically shit bands- what rubbish! And how disgustingly pretentious that is! I do like the Beatles and listen to them, they were a fantastic band that made brilliant music- but that was almost 50 years ago. They were revolutionary 50 years ago. But we move on, don't we? Music moves on. And bands nowadays should be allowed to say that their new records sound like the Beatles without being lynched for it, because it's not an achievement, it's just a characteristic.
And besides, I don't really see why people are being so unfair. Looks like it's become a trend to hate on Green Day, but why? Personally, I think you can't simply deny the beauty of songs like Give Me Novacaine or the breath-taking beginning of Before The Lobotomy. They simply made it in this world and, what is more, it seems like they are just good people, so I'm happily looking forward to their new records.
And by the way: there are a lot of artists I don't like, yet I accept the fact that they exist and that they make music and that some people actually think it's great stuff. I'm alright with that, I don't need to get on everybody's nerves with my opinion and decorate it with a lot of cussing. There's only one band I hate with a passion, that's Rammstein and I don't think I need to explain why.

And what do you think about this issue? Please say you agree, that would make me happy, and then we'll meet up to beat up those ignorant morons... yeah, ok, we won't.

we could just quietly have a cuppa.

Would you like some music tips from time to time? Because you know I'm quite into this.
Here's a few, enjoy.

keep faith in the promise that change is still possible

Among the last few CD's I got to review there was the latest album by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. I didn't know who that was before, it turned out to be a band project by some guy called Sam Duckworth. Who is Sam Duckworth? I got interested in him after rather enjoying the songs and noticing his overall positive attitude and the immense hope for the better that his songs transport. So I read a few articles and interviews; there he was, this boy who started making music on his own; the first successes- and people started calling him naive for thinking he could change the world. In an interview Sam said that he didn't mind people not liking him or his music, but he wouldn't stand people saying that hoping for something good is naive. What I found rather impressive is that he's not only going on about change, but in fact, he's doing something, catalysing things around him, being an important part in different protest movements, helping people to deal with the last August's riots in London, things like that.
His songs make you aware of how a single person can live their life, looking forward, starting everything all over again after failing but never giving up.

All this together just touched me. I admire this attitude and the fact that he himself actually is what he talks about, how he tries to encourage people to live and to have faith. It is something I lack a lot these days, so I was sort of an easy target for this type of personality, but I'm quite thankful for Sam's message because I have been reminded to stay aware of occasions to make your own world a better place and definitely not to ignore those things that show you- not everything's a complete catastrophe. Have a look at his music and his words. Just noticed this text is not so easy to read, it's late, I'm tired like hell, but I really wanted to share this  discovery with you.

"...Keep faith in the promise that change is still possible, nothing's impossible."