Music – Clogs and Sneakers

November 27, 2022November 27, 2022

Electric Six – Tilburg 013

Electric Six performing at the 013 in Tilburg

I’ve been into this band since their release of ‘Danger High Voltage’ in 2002. The wacky videoclip together with sexy lyrics just catched my attention. They are can be categorised into glam metal, funk rock, disco, basically blurring the genres.

When I lived in Belfast, I chanced upon a concert of theirs. Mind you I wasn’t really a concertgoer when I was younger, me and crowds don’t mix well. The Limelight is a small venue and Northern Irish are good craic, perfect combo. And I saw them there 3 years in a row until I moved back home. Going to an Electric Six concert is like meeting up with friends.

Danger High Voltage

Back home I continued my Electric Six yearly gig now together with my hubby.
This year’s concert was a postponed from 2021 due to Covid so I was really looking forward to seeing them live again. They have been going strong for 21 years and have their 19th album coming out next year.

This tour was the Electric Five as Tait Nucleus?, they synthesizer player, was absent because he and his wife became parents. CONGRATULATIONS! My significant other was sad because his part in the song: “Down at McDonnelzzz” is the best and though they weren’t going to play it but they still did it as it is one of the most popular songs of the band.

We chose to stand on the balcony as it was less crowded and we still had a good view from there. And a mosh pit is not my thing haha. 013 got rid of glassware and introduced these plastic resuable cups for which you pay €0,50 deposit. You either get it back at the end of the concert or donate to the UN World Food Programme, which means a child will get one free school meal per donation.

The cloakroom is no longer there, they have changed to a locker system that you pay €2,50 for use, but these are teeny tiny lockers. I had a hard time getting my wintercoat in and a good thing I didn’t bring my handbag. It really doesn’t fit. But it was easy to use and you could open/close your locker with your phone.

The support act was Industrial and this was not my cup of tea. Maybe it was the sound but there was low annoying hum throughout all the songs, which was very distracting.

Down at McDonnelzzz

They always play Gay Bar which ended up becoming a mosh pit near the stage, but they surprised me with a few more songs from they debut album: Fire like “She is White”, “Naked Pictures (of Your Mother)”, “Nuclear War (on the Dance Floor)”, “Dance Commander” and “Synthesizer”. So it was back to the basics for me.

My favourite Electric Six song is “Hello! I see you!” from the album Heartbeats and Brainwaves, but I’ve never heard it live :(. Hopefully in the future it will pass haha. But I want to share it with you. The lyrics are just *chef’s kiss* perfect.

It’s the end of times and of the conversation
And everybody clinging to their soul salvation
I find all their pleas for mercy so annoying
Hello, destructor I’m yours for the destroying

Hello! I see you!

Time just flew by and it was over after 23 songs *sad face*. The 013 is a very nice venue, my first time being there. And it’s really close by home, just 20 mins away by train. This means we can go back home without rushing towards the station. If I need to travel an hour or more, I am booking an hotel. I’ve once tried to travel home from Amsterdam in a packed train. Not fun at all.

I hope to see them back in the Netherlands for 2023, going to be good craic once more. I’ll deal with my Electric Six withdrawal with their upcoming album.

Next gig for me will be Röyksopp in Febuary 2023.

October 19, 2021October 19, 2021

Santé by Stromae

I scarcely listen to the radio so Spotify is my saviour whenever my favourite artists bring out something new.

After six years of radio silence Stromae released an new single called Santé and it blew me away. It is an ode to diversity and the important people in our society whose hard work isn’t always noticed. The new single came out of nowhere and I hope this time he won’t lose himself in his succes. Mental health is important for everyone and artists often push themselves towards exhaustion or even end their lives like poor Tim Bergling (Avicii).

The rhythmic beat reminds me of the caribbean, while the use of the synthesizer feels very familiar to his previous album Racine Carrée. It is a very catchy song and like always the subject is very close to the heart of many of us. Celebrate diversity and keep mind of the efforts of others we take for granted.

Santé – Stromae

Seeing the people dancing en enjoying themselves is very contageous. While I am writing this bit and listening to the song I can’t help myself moving to the beat. You can do the dance by following the steps below.

Santé (translated lyrics)

[Intro]
To those who don’t have one
To those who don’t have one

[Verse 1]
Rosa, Rosa, when we make a mess, you clean it up
And you, Albert, when we toast, you collect the glasses
Céline (Céline), ‘bate (‘bate), you, you take the jackets to the coat check
Arlette, stop that, you, party time, you spend it in the toilets

[Chorus]
So how ’bout we celebrate to those who don’t celebrate
For once, I’d like to raisе my glass to those who don’t have one
To thosе who don’t have one

[Verse 2]
What about manners? Why would I pretend?
Anyway, she gets paid for it, do you think you’re my mother?
In an hour, I’ll be back, better be clean, so we can eat on the floor, I’ve been waiting for three hours
Honestly, do they make it themselves or what? Luckily it’s just two glasses
Get me your manager and hurry up, it could end just like this, your career

[Chorus]
Yes, let’s celebrate to those who don’t celebrate
Once again, I’d like to raise my glass to those who don’t have one
To those who don’t have one
To those who don’t have one

[Bridge]
Rub it, rub it, better not to rub against it, rub if you don’t know me
Brush it, brush it, you can always brush it off, brush it if you don’t respect me

[Chorus]
Yes, let’s celebrate to those who don’t celebrate
Once again, I’d like to raise my glass to those who don’t have one
To those who don’t have one

[Outro]
Airline pilot or nurse, truck driver or flight attendant
Baker or fisherman, a drink to the champions of the worst schedules
To young parents rocked by tears, to professional insomniacs
And all those who suffer from heartache, who don’t feel like celebrating
Who don’t feel like celebrating

My rating:

Stromae has announced he will be performing again in 2022 in Belgium and France. Can’t wait to see what else he created. I wished I could share this with my father as he was also a big fan of Stormae and gifted me all his records. Sadly I lost him to cancer in 2017, Stromae’s song Quand C’est really fits the description of this disease.

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020

Cheese – Stromae

Slowly but surely I am getting back in my flow again, I even found joy again listening to my records. I had been neglecting them for a few months now after I got seriously ill.

Looking at my Discogs account I have 110 records in my collection, which is compared to other people, a very small collection ;). But I’m still damned proud of this collection.

Today I felt listening to Stromae, a Belgian musician, rapper, singer and songwriter. He quickly rose to popularity after releasing ‘Alors on danse’, released two albums, preformed all over the world and then dissapeared from the music scene.
Later on I read he was suffering from anxiety and chose to avoid public appearances and I get this. Not long ago I had a panic attack and the aftermath gave me days of anxiousness. An experience I’d rather live without. It might be the current state of affairs that added to my anxiety for it to act out. But I’ve been reading good things about Paul (Stromae), that he is settling for some projects and even if he doesn’t come back to music we will still have what he had produced before.

I never got Cheese at release but a few years later. I was a CD person until I bought my first record player in 2014/2015. And I actually recieved Cheese as a birthday gift after I ran out of ideas and my father suggested this as a gift. He was actually a big Stromae fan and would tell me with much enthusiasm how he interprets his songs. Yea, so I tend to play Stromae’s music more when I am missing my father. He used to tell me to keep my chin up and not let people drag me down.

My fav songs of the album are Rail de musique, Summertime and House’llelujah. I have to agree with what critic Molloy Woodcraft said: “He combines 90s electro synths and beats with a laidback delivery to the mesmeric effect” His music is very laid back, normally I cannot listen to electronic or house music when I am in a stressed mood but Stromae just gives of the mellow vibes of house.
With House’llelujah I imagine a priest giving a sermon at a house party. Blessed be the Church of EDM lol.

May 1, 2019April 29, 2019

Record Store Day 2019

It been a few weeks since Record Store Day took place, an event which I have been looking forward to for ages. But one part left a bitter impression on me, hence why I took a while longer to write this blog.

For RSD it is always good to be there before the store opens. Some releases have a limited print run and if it is of a popular band, you might have to compete to nab it first. Promised to meet up with a friend and arrived just in time to see the doors being opened. There was a line before the store, but once inside everybody just pressed on, swarming the releases. I had been to the same store the year before but now it seemed more chaotic. And maybe it was just my anxiety acting up again. I don’t do well in crowds.

Sadly the record I really wanted, Orbital limited print 1500 worldwide, was nabbed before my nose. Fair play to the guy beating me to it. Still I didn’t leave the store empty handed. The 20th anniversary record of Right Here Right Now by Fatboy Slim was a welcome addition to my collection. I ended up purchasing 10 records that day. A big haul compared to the year before. I was even lucky to find the 2016 RSD release of Hooverphonic that I missed.

The weather was nice, we hung out at the bookshop before we had one of the greatest lunches I had for a while. Something different than ramen. 😉
I’ve been not feeling that fantastic lately, which is why I was happy that the day was fun for me. Great company helps too.

The bitter part didn’t start until the day after RSD. I’ve always detested scalpers. People who buy limited releases and sell them at a higher price later. I had this discussion with a coworker before with him saying business is business but I refuse to take part in that crap. So the day after the Orbital record was offered for €30 while you could have bought it for €12.99 on RSD. At least I found out who did this at Discogs making sure I’d never ever buy something from them in the future. Eventually, I managed to get it for £10.99 even if I needed to pay more in shipping than I would have in the Netherlands.

Scalpers ruin the hobby for me at times. If it’s not in the BJD world, it is after RSD when you run into them. But I got it for a decent price after all.

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

Soundboy Rock – Groove Armada

I saw this album pop up on Velvet and was intrigued by the cover art. I love that it was designed by eBoy. But was the music going to be good?

I got to know Groove Armada back in the day when they released ‘My Friend’, which came out in 2001. It was quite a funky sound, but so were a lot of songs at that point in time. I was more into buying radio albums which had dozens of popular songs on them, instead of studio albums by a single artist or group.

But you know what they say, you can’t judge a record by it’s cover. YouTube and Spotify to the rescue for a deeper dive into the songs.

Groove Armada haven’t lost the funk in their music. To my surprise they collaborated with Candi Staton, one of my favourite singers. ‘You Got The Love’ is famous (mostly due to The Source’s remix). When I listen to this album it feels like running in to an old friend. The sound is familiar but you still you find refreshing elements.

All in all I am glad I bought this.

Soundboy Rock - Groove Armada — Soundboy Rock – Groove Armada

March 2, 2019February 28, 2019

Birthday bash: day out with my boyfriend

This week my boyfriend celebrated his birthday and I planned a special day just for the two of us. Last year I was working but I think it’s better for us to spend our birthdays together, away from work doing fun stuff.

I read in the newspaper that the Philips Museum in Eindhoven has a special vinyl expo which made a great combo for our other plan which was to eat ramen at Xu Noodle Bar. YAY!

The day didn’t start out to great with the train broken down on the tracks which meant less trains were going to Eindhoven and we ended having to wait an hour before we could take a less crowded train. The waiting game was played at Star Bucks, where they never fail to misspell my name.

Arriving an hour later than planned we rushed towards Xu Noodle Bar. I just didn’t want to get caught between the lunch break of corporate peeps. Lucky for us it wasn’t crowded so we could have a nice lunch with Classic Pork Ramen (extra meat for the birthday boy) and some tasty snacks.

With our tummies filled up we went to the Philips Museum which is right around the corner. We had quite a different expectation on the vinyl expo. I thought it was showing us how the pressing of the vinyl’s works but nonetheless it was still interesting. Being from Brabant we all know the impact Philips had on the industry of the south. It was awesome to see how the light bulb factory started and through the years the company developed a lot of other electrical products and became important in the medical field.

I would have love to see more about the pressing of vinyl, the display contained a timeline when Philips produced vinyl’s until the development of the first CD. I must say I am happy technology kept developing and making the devices smaller because the first tape recorder and record players were massive.

All in all it was a fun day with my love.

February 27, 2019February 24, 2019

Listening to vinyl; the new way

I was itching to set up my old bedroom as a place where I could relax, read and listen to some good songs. A couple of years ago I bought a ‘Stir it Up’ turntable made by House of Marley. The company uses a production method that’s environmentally sound and made out recyclables. It’s always good to be aware how your stuff is produced and what a company does to help out the world a little.

I needed separate speakers as the turntable has no internal speakers. My boyfriend as a musician has a better ear for sound than I have, so I asked him for advise when I saw an affordable pair. My room is not big or ideal enough for the expensive ones. The 42W Edifier speakers were a great pick for my first set up, more than enough volume and good frequency response on the low and high end of the spectrum.

Finding a suitable cabinet for my vinyl collection and turntable was the hardest part. At the moment I have 79 records and the collection keeps growing, so I need to keep in mind to have room to spare for future purchases. It’s Record Store Day every year 😉

I’ve categorized my vinyl on genre. At the top left you see that my Electronic section is getting full. For now my dollies have a shelf of their own, in the future they might lose it.
And I need better cable management.

It’s set up quite nicely with some sweet sound coming from the speakers. A great place to relax and spin some records.

February 6, 2019February 2, 2019

Shopping for vinyl – week 05

I’m blessed with three vinyl shops in my hometown but the one I visit pretty often is Maestro’s Records. With a nice selection of vinyls, new and second hand, together with a coffee corner it is a great place to waste your time on a dreary wet day. And if you are in the mood to hear some live music, they often have DJ’s spinning some tunes there.

Today I obtained Arcade Fire – The Suburbs and Ghost in the Shell – OST.

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs.
I haven’t heard a song yet from the 3rd studio album of Arcade Fire. Win Butler (frontman) intended it to be listened to in one sitting, an ode to life and looking back to the past. After reading a review about it in OOR magazine I believe I can relate to this album as I am also in my thirties and often tend to look back on my youth with a hint of melancholy. You can say that this album was bought on a whim.
I fell in love with Arcade Fire when I heard their song ‘Everything Now’ during my delivery rounds. I would just sit in my van for a couple of minutes with the song blasting from the shitty speakers.

Ghost in the Shell OST
Ghost in the Shell was one of the first anime’s I’ve seen in my life. The BBC would broadcast them on an ungodly hour because they had themes of violence and angst.
The story blew me away with subjects like cyber-terrorism, what is left of the human self when placed in a machine and does an AI have the right to live free when it becomes self-aware.
‘Making of Cyborg’ is the iconic opening of Ghost in the Shell and I have it on vinyl now. My neighbours are going to enjoy this, not!

February 2, 2019January 29, 2019

Music was my first love

Music has always been a part of my life. It relaxes me, picks me up when I am down. But it will also enhance the negative feelings when listening to the wrong type at the wrong time.

Scientists say that you develop your music taste from when you are 14 until you are 24. During your puberty everything you experience is extremely important to you and you form an attachment to it.

I call this half true because if you follow this rule to the letter it means that you cannot love new types of music when you are beyond your puberty. Till this very day I keep accumulating new sounds onto my playlist. But then again they might be a new song following an old formula.

When I was young my dad would watch ‘Tour of Duty’, a heavily romanticized series about the Vietnam war. I know for sure the real war was a 1000 times more horrifying than depicted on TV. Songs like ‘I heard it through the grapevine’, ‘Paint it black’ and ‘Reach out I’ll be there’ bring me back to when I was watching the series with my dad. These songs also were added to my playlist for life.

Around the same time I discovered MTV. I was in awe with the cool music videos made by bands and artists. A few videos stuck with me like ‘Radio Gaga’ by Queen and ‘Jeanny’ by Falco. I discovered then that my taste in music was quite broad. And because I was glued to the TV during the 80’s and 90’s I still amaze my boyfriend when we play ‘Guess the song’ with my large mind catalog of songs. He also claims that I only love cheesy music.

When you go to high school you fall into the trap of boy bands. Even I wasn’t immune for it. My choice of poison at that time was Take That. My poor aunt and mother were dragged to a concert with me. Too bad you could barely hear them over the screaming girls. It was a phase that didn’t stick with me. I can’t enjoy Take That songs anymore while I do enjoy the current repertoire of Robbie Williams. He matured as did I.

Around 1995-1997 I discovered two completely different directions in music that are still with me now. Daft Punk and Rammstein. Electronic versus progressive metal. ‘Around the World’ had a pretty rhythmic video with a robotic voice. Enter my love for robots here. While Rammstein had this awesome video for ‘Du riechst so gut’ with wolves and gothic ballroom dancers. And that one for my love for the occult and supernatural.
I had the honor to see Daft Punk perform live in 2007, while I still need to see Rammstein one day. Let’s hope they don’t split up any time soon.

From that time, way beyond 24, I kept discovering old and new gems that fall in a lot of categories like Röyksopp (electronic music), Electric Six (rock, punk, new wave, garage), Bloody Beetroots (electronic dance music), 5 Seconds of Summer (pop rock), Macklemore (rap), Arcade Fire (indie rock), Nephew (rock), Stromae (hip hop, electronic music), Kraftwerk (electronic music), Major Lazer (electronic dance music), Mumford & Sons (folk rock), Simon and Garfunkel (folk rock), Four Tops (soul, r&b), Hot Chocolate (funk, soul) and many more.

Now that I look at this list I see a lot of the same categories pop up. So while I think it’s different and a broad taste in music, it often is the same genre with a new jacket. Who knew, the scientists did have a point.