Vanessa Paradis,
Her Brussels concert review

A mid-1960’s imagining of what technology would be like in the year 1999. It shows online bill paying and PC desktops with flat screen monitors, including a multi-screen display.
The video is an excerpt from a 1967 Philco-Ford production entitled ”Year 1999 A.D.”.

View here.

First hip-hop song released on a major:
Kurtis Blow – Christmas Rappin’ (1979, US)

Read about it and download @ Wiel’s Blog.

Don’t expect the lovely filles at the compilation ‘Filles Fragiles’ to sing you the perfect song. They’re not here for that. The filles on this cd are here to Whisper & Seduce, Attract & Retain, Arouse & Possess, but above all that to sigh their way through the mind of the innocent listener, leaving him behind in a sort of euphoric despair.
The often specific way of singing and whispering, sometimes slightly off tone: don’t blame the filles, they can’t help it. Filles like these can’t be made by sleazy A&R Managers, they’re born to sigh themselves through life, whether they like it or not. It’s their fate, their destiny. And thank God for that!
Continue reading ‘It’s Not About Perfection’

(Re-post)
As comrade *–* already said, it appears last week that Lemmy and Vanessa Paradis are the two most searched terms at Ochblog. Pretty odd, but true. (While writing this, it suddenly occurs to me that those two should be an even more exciting duo as Vanessa and Iggy Pop already were at ‘Nightclubbin‘ -copy/paste url in new browserwindow-).
To celebrate Lemmy’s search top-ranking, I’d like to repost his cover-album with Slim Jim and Danny B. In fact this was my w00t! first post a few years ago at Ochblog 0.1, but that ain’t online anymore. So to those who missed it back then: here’s your second chance.
(Oh, and Vanessa will be getting her attention next week)

Continue reading ‘Monday Morning Quickie with Lemmy & Co’

You probably won’t have to pay $200.000 to see ‘em play live, but – instead of those highly overrated Led Zeps – you definitely háve to see these guys play live. Their gigs were pretty sensational in the eighties and since their announcement last week to finally release their long expected new album and to go touring again, you have the chance!
Officialy Claw Boys Claw never split up, but it’s over ten years ago that they released their last album (Will-O-The-Wisp, 1997), which wasn’t very successful, neither in an artistic, nor in a commercial way. It seemed as if the magic, the spirit and the fun was gone. CBC wasn’t hot anymore, Will-O-The-Wisp was ‘just another album’ and it sadly became the introduction to the almost endless sabbatical that followed.

But before that – almost 25 years ago – CBC shocked the Dutch underground music-scene with a very rudimentary debut-album called ‘Shocking Shades Of Claw Boys Claw’. The beautiful and dramatic dark voice of Peter Te Bos (who is an extreme stutterer while not singing) combined with the plain and dirty, elementary garagerocksongs was something the scene apparently was waiting for and within a matter of time there was an explosion of energetic young bands such as L’attentat, The Plastic Dolls, Fatal Flowers and Blue Murder, who had at least one thing in common: the guitar in a main role. (And having their residence in Amsterdam, that’s why some journalists liked to call this movement ‘The Amsterdam School’).

(Meanwhile this topic is updated with two five six more downloads, provided by commenters. Thank you guys!)

Continue reading ‘Claw Boys Claw’

That Rob the gardener there eens quickly what on d00t!

WTF?!!
(Watch the full programme on the Discovery Channel at 9pm on Nov 15)

A few days ago the city of Arnhem was enriched with a stunningly beautiful and interesting store at the crossroads of art, fashion and design, called ‘Coming Soon: Arnhem’. The store’s goal is to offer young and talented Dutch designers a place to show their clothes (or others) among designers like for instance Orson + Bodil, Francisco van Benthum, Viktor & Rolf and Spijkers en Spijkers who already more or less made it in the world of design and fashion.

There’s also a large collection of Dutch hand-picked designproducts such as porcelain, accessories, gadgets, shoes, bags and rare magazines and books also designed and made by Dutch designers who are currently still bubbling under, but do have the capacity to become ‘huge’ in the very near future.
‘Coming Soon’ is initiated by the Arts Academy Arnhem, ArtEZ.

Coming Soon: Arnhem | Article in Dutch about Coming Soon

Rooie flikkers, tejatermakers, krakers, soosjalisten, revolutionairen, marxisten, aktivisten, feministen, anarchisten en antiautoritaire krejatievelingen opgelet!
In Het Valkhof in Nijmegen hebben ze een ekspositie ingericht over onze roerige jaren zeventig. Wij als linksekstremisties, langharig werkschuw tuig hebben dan ruim dertig jaar na dato toch nog loon naar werken (hahaha, ik zei ‘werken’) gekregen! Aksie! Aksie! Aksie!
Ze hebben het ‘Tien Krejatieve Aksiejaren’ genoemd en het is een tof overzicht geworden. Dus willen we naar Het Valkhof, dan gaan we naar Het Valkhof! En omdat je als praktizerend uitkeringstrekker verder toch niets te doen hebt, drink je nu eerst rustig je bakkie kruidenthee op, trek je je Doc Martens, bivakmuts en lange zwarte leren jas aan en stap je daarna op de prinsiepiële bakfiets richting Het Valkhof in Nijmegen om op de ekspo te genieten van de revolutie die er nooit kwam.
Aksie! Aksie! Aksie!

(Maar doe vooral rustig aan, de expositie duurt nog tot 6 januari 2008)

Museum Het Valkhof
VPRO geschiedschrijving (met audio en video fragmenten)

[exstatic scream mode] ”What have I done to deserve this? Not again a topic about Herman Brood at Och! The last one was published only one and a half month ago! What the hell’s going on here?!” [/exstatic scream mode]

Now wait a minute, I do understand your mixed feelings, but you can’t deny that Herman Brood was a phenomenon, lived his life as a piece of art in itself, was extremely mediagenic and a highly talented painter as well. But do we therefor really have to take notice of all the music he recorded, every fart he let go, every shot he shoot? Of course not. In fact most of his records weren’t that good and simply didn’t have that special impact as some want to make you believe all the time. To have a good view on Herman Brood’s musical career, one can easily do with a few records like for instance ‘Cha Cha’, ‘Shpritsz’ and ‘Go Nutz’ and leave all the rest, especially those busloads of bootlegs from concerts and TV-appearances that are most of the time not worth listening to.
But – and you’ve probably already guessed it – it’s completely different with these recordings. This is a very energetic live-set by Brood, recorded for VPRO radio back in 1995 together with the legendary Dutch avantgarde anarcho- and impropunk band The Ex.

Continue reading ‘Herman Brood & The Ex’

Kylie. Je t’aime. Breathtaking. As always.

Last summer I was so lucky to see a stunning concert (pity they didn’t bring their female singer too though) of the phenomenon Tinariwen. These amazing Tuareg musicians from Mali gladfully performed at the Lowlands Festival as a replacement of Lily Allen.
Afterwards I realized that their performance (an intriguing mix of traditional African music with American and European blues/rock) had renewed my consciousness of all the great music that is being made right now all over the world, and that it’s not only rock and roll and I like it…

Continue reading ‘Orgastic Clash Of Styles’

Today French authorities announced that Bertrand Cantat will already be released from prison tommorrow, after four years sentence due to the manslaughter he committed onto his girlfriend and famous French actress Marie Trintignant back in 2003. Trintignant was in Vilnius, Lithuania at that time, because she had to shoot a movie over there. Unfortunately boyfriend Cantat came to visit her (after he had used lots of alcohol and other drugs) and they got in a terrible fight together at their hotel-room which finally led to the violent death of Marie Trintignant.

Bertrand Cantat was – or maybe he still is because the other bandmembers never officially stated that the band quit during his sentence – the very talented leadsinger of Noir Désir, a leading French rock group.
To those who aren’t familiar with the music Cantat made with his band before that fatal night in July 2003 (don’t know whether Cantat took his homicide really serious and committed his crime on a R.I.P. Friday as he should): check ‘Noir Désir – En Route Pour La Joie‘ from 2000.
This 3 CD Box contains live-takes, demos, covers, B-sides and remixes. Convince yourself that truely, authentic rock-music can be made in la douce France.

Noir Désir – En Route Pour La Joie (2000)

Pretty cool and sometimes rare grooves who are all about superheroes, space, horror, graveyards and other weird stuff at:
Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!!

It happens every now and then. There’s backgroundmusic you know at a movie, but you can’t remember the artist. You hear something on the radio, missed the introduction, but you sure should know who it is. And which band did the track used in that commercial you see every night on the TV? Nothing more annoying than a piece of music of which you’ve forgotten which band it played.
Last two weeks I had this problem with this Volkswagen commercial every time it came by. I immediately recognized the song that came with it and I knew the record had to be somewhere in my collection too. But who the fuck are they? From that moment on you know there’s no turning back: you definitely have to find out who it is and – even more important – you’ll have to find out without help from anyone else or the Googles. As a result of these restrictions the clue may sometimes take quiet a while, but hey, it’s worth the reward.
Yesterday I had my ultimate moment of bliss as it suddenly occurred to me while listening an old Cramps record: it’s the 22-20’s! Was it the connotation with the word ‘devil’ used in the mysterious song and Mr. Lux Interior himself? I’ll probably never know, but thanks to that I can offer you their debut-album from 2004. Enjoy.

22-20’s debut-album | ‘Devil In Me’ live

(Still looking for this song with lyrics in German and with something like ‘Surabaya’ in it, sung by a woman – Diamanda Galas, Nina Hagen stylee – and it was a live-track from Pandoras Music Box I think. Broadcasted somewhere in the mid-eighties at VPRO radio at night. After more than 20 years, any help is permitted : )

Continue reading ‘22-20’s V GTI’

According to London chessmaster David Levy man and machine will not only share their lives in the very near future, but their beds and genitals too!
Read the article (in Dutch).
/IPM

Add N To (X) already knew it back in 1999. (nsfw)

Marianne Thieme can be proud.
Check article and video

The advanced copy of Babyshambles’ latest: Shotter’s Nation (official release date 23 oct).
There might be someone interested.

Inspiring collection of street art photos from all over Europe by a guy named Choufi.

Love is in the air

Cool musical HSOMOOOOS update @ Sunbathing Lizard
w00t!

A few weeks ago Dutch fashionlabel Humanoid opened it’s second shop in the city centre of Arnhem, with – finally – clothes for men too! The store is housed in a beautiful old church and it’s interior is one of great grandeur. Not only for fashionistas. Go there!

@ Flickr

Last month Charles K. Thompson a.k.a. Frank Black a.k.a. Black Francis released his Herman Brood dedicated album ‘Bluefinger’ (inhabitants of Herman Brood’s place of birth Zwolle are called bluefingers) and he instantly made his best solo-recording over the last years.
The former Pixies frontman got intrigued by the person Herman Brood, his life, his art and his music (he discovered him surfing the internet) and thought it was a good idea to honour him with an album inspired by and dedicated to his new found hero. Back then then Francis didn’t even know Herman was a huge Pixies fan, thanks to or despite of his huge speed consumption. Koos van Dijk, Brood’s manager for ages, putted it this way when he met Francis a few weeks ago: ”As Herman got back from a gig somewhere, inspired and filled up with speed, he ran upwards to his atelier to play The Pixies real loud”.
Maybe Herman sent some speed by heavenly creatures straight into Francis’ brain, because he indeed made a very divers and inspired album. Catchy and nasty (Captain Pasty), like his latest Nashville-sounded records (Angels Come To Comfort You, Lolita), straight punkrock and even a pretty edgy and ragged version of Herman Brood’s song You Can’t Break A Heart And Have It with chords Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore would have been proud of. The album finally ends with a superb titletrack which in itself justifies the purchase.

Bluefinger – overall – is the most complete album Francis made ’till now.
Herman can be proud. Put that up your nose!

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Herman Brood & His Wild Romance – Cha Cha Soundtrack

Three tracks from Black Francis’ Bluefinger: Captain Pasty, Lolita, You Can’t Break A Heart And Have It (Herman Brood cover)

Frank Black’s self-titled debut-album is still up here

Continue reading ‘Black Brood’

Congrats @