Germany calling...

Playlist
Various - Jukebox on shuffleplay
Gentle Giant - The Power and the Glory
Fehlfarben - 26 1/2 (4 track promo)
Rick Altizer - Neon Fixation
Magic Pie - Motions of Desire
Rush - Rush in Rio
Gentle Giant - Free Hand

Fate conspired to flood me with new CDs today (well not fate really, my own CD buying stupidity)...

No sooner had I been to FOPP and shelled out on two Gentle Giant remasters of albums I already have...

...along with a 3CD set of "Rush In Rio" (the DVD of which I already have), but, upon returning to Crispycat Towers, three more CDs awaited me from e-bay...

Firstly, a radio promo single culled from Fehlfarben (probably my favourite German band)'s new album "26 1/2" which celebrates their history since 1979 (hence the title) and features various big name (erm that's if you're German) stars...

Fehlfarben were probably the most important band of what was known as the Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) back in the period 1979-81 - I know this as I lived there during that time....

Happy days...

Also behind the door is a CD by Norwegian Proggers, Magic Pie - totally unknown to anyone outside prog rock circles but held in high esteem within them...

And, finally, a nice little power pop CD by Rick Altizer (which features King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew). Notwithstanding the overt (and that's putting it mildly) Christian message of a couple of the songs, this is a good entertaining album - I have another by him on its way...

In the evening, due to loud headphones, I miss a call from German chum Jorg. He leaves a message however, and I call him back....

It turns out, he has just experienced a quite serious, seven week long, illness involving fainting, deafness and ringing in the ears, fever, loss of appetite, liver problems, sweating, fear of people, claustrophobia and, I suppose not surprisingly, depression...

Glad to say he is now almost fully recovered (although, in true German fashion, he will "take a cure" at the end of the year) and, after the initial illness discussion, we get on to the subect of music, comparing notes on recent acquisitions and things we're looking out for, gigs we're going to etc etc...

Jorg is the only person I know with more recorded music in his house than me (although Dr Prog runs us close)...

In the course of our conversation, he reminds me that, when he was visiting last October, he left me a list of CDs to burn for him...

After a good long chat (during which I demonstrate a distinct rustiness re my German), and promising to visit next year for Documenta, I bid him goodnight and immediately start burning the first three CDs - Eno/Manzanera's "801 Live", "Mainstream" by Quiet Sun and a disc by ex Bowie guitarist and mainman, Reeves Gabrels with David Tronzo...

The rest of the evening is spent listening to CDs, burning CDs, scanning covers and generally musicking around without actually making any music...

All topped off with the third episode of "Spooks" shown last night and which I totally forgot about but which Anne taped while I was out - where would I be without my Executive Producer?

And, finally, "Whistleblower" with an expose of the grubby, grimy world of court bailiffs in England...

To bed listening to Gentle Giant...

Highlight of the Day : A phone call to Germany