You can't stop the music

Today, ten years ago, I saw I Satellite, Sista Mannen På Jorden, Marlow, Psyche, and Rational Youth at Nalen in Stockholm.

That is also where I got the "Saturdays in Silesia" 12" at the top left and the Cold War Night Life CD (third row, first from left) autographed. (In fact I already had Tracy Howe's autograph on the CWNL CD from when I bought it, at the 1999 Stockholm concert, but this time I got Kevin Komoda's as well.)

Rational Youth, if you haven't noticed, is one of my favourite bands, and I've seen them five times and interviewed them once.

DEPECHE MODE: PERSONAL JESUS (1989; Gore)

Released 30 years ago today!

ANNA ÖBERG: DAGS ATT GRÅTA (featuring Bob Hansson) (2019; Öberg/Hansson)

Anna Öberg’s second album Vafan har jag gjort! is coming out in a week. I’m really looking forward to it, as her debut album Härsknar was one of the highlights of 2017 for me.

Here’s a sample of the title track:

TALK TALK: SUCH A SHAME (1984; Hollis)

The second single from It’s My Life.

TALK TALK: IT’S MY LIFE (1984; Hollis/Friese-Greene)

A couple of years ago, in the first month of this blog, I told the story of how I taped songs from a video show on Swedish TV without taking notes of what the songs were. Another song that I couldn’t identify until many years later was the above, to my ears, slightly spooky number.

I don’t know about you, but I find the video hilarious, with Mark’s complete refusal to lip sync.

TALK TALK: TALK TALK (1982; Hollis/Hollis)

More Talk Talk, because they were damn good.

TALK TALK: TODAY (1982; Hollis/Webb/Brenner/Harris)

Well, I’m back. Sorry about the hiatus, but I’ve either been too busy, too exhausted, or too exhausted because of being too busy through most of February. (It’s also possible that I’ve had, as I said on the 8th, a touch of SAD and/or some kind of low-level infection.)

Earlier this week, Mark Hollis of Talk Talk died at the far too young age of 64, so of course I’ll start off with some Talk Talk videos.

YELLO FT. SHIRLEY BASSEY: THE RHYTHM DIVINE (1987; Blank/Mackenzie)

I listened to this song earlier this weeks, and sure enough it still gives me goosebumps. (Although the version with Billy Mackenzie’s own vocals is even better.)

AND ONE: SECOND VOICE (1991; Naghavi/Ruiz)

Dear me, how young they were at the time. (Not that I can say anything, as I was four years younger than Steve Naghavi. And by a weird coincidence, I still am.)

SHOCK: DYNAMO BEAT (1981; Burgess/Dry)

Great stuff from the early 80s. “New people need new vices, new people need new beat...”

MOSKWA TV: GENERATOR 7/8 (1985; Tomalla/Henrich/Omvik/Veil)

I thought for years that this song was influenced by the Chernobyl disaster, until I realized that it was released the year before.

DEPECHE MODE: CLEAN (1990; Gore)

Another non-single video from Depeche Mode.

DEPECHE MODE: HALO (1990; Gore)

The best single Depeche Mode never released.

KIM WILDE: THE SECOND TIME (1984; Wilde/Wilde)

This is the first Kim Wilde song I remember hearing when it was first released. Great stuff, if you ask me.

KIM WILDE: CAMBODIA (1981; Wilde/Wilde)

One of the great songs of 1981. Admittedly I missed it at the time, as I was seven years old and had other interests, but hearing it now gives me goosebumps. Especially that glorious wordless chorus.

However, if you’re afraid of creepy crawly things, be advised that this video contains a spider and a snake. (My own arachnophobia is improving in that I can handle seeing them in an outdoor setting these days, due to desensitization through gardening, but I’ll never be comfortable around the eight-legged fuckers and I won’t ever hold one.)

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA: TAISO (体操) (1981; Sakamoto/YMO)

Today I’m going back to the office after two weeks off over Christmas and New Year, so maybe it’s time to get back into shape...?

PSYCHE: RIDERS ON THE STORM (INSIDE STORY MIX) (2018; Densmore/Krieger/Manzarek/Morrison)

Psyche covering The Doors.

Sorry about the irregular schedule over the past week, but I’ve had a lot of things to do offline (mostly fun things, don’t worry) and haven’t had a lot of time for blogging. Will try to get back on track now.