Received five German rock CDs from Michael bought in Japan (WWII may be over, but those two countries are still partners in the Axis of Strangeness).
Since I'm becoming increasingly blogged down with music/movie reviews I'm not going to review the Cluster and Harmonia CDs I received, but I will speak excitedly about the wonder I feel at genuinely progressive music (rather than the misnamed 'prog' rock). Those German groups in the 1970s, much like the house/rave/ambient acts of the late 80s and early 90s did feel like the future. I often think how marvellous it would have been if people had given up on soul, and rock, and boring retreads of old soul and rock, and embraced this new music.
Sadly, we're apes, and the best and most innovative of musics will always be the preserve of only those who are smart enough to understand it. I say this not with any sense of snobbery, but indeed with a great deal of sadness.
Another sad thing: whatever happened to the future? The space stations, the robots and all that? Okay, so maybe it was all a bit farfetched. But in 1968 Arthur C. Clarke thought it was plausible that in 2001 Pan Am would be flying to the moon. These days the only crazy aspirations we have is to be carbon neutral in 20 years. How did we get so boring?
In other news, Bill Drummond is at it again. He's turned the idea of No Music Day on its head and come up with The 17, an arbitrarily assembled choir which improvises song with no reference to any particular musical genre. The song is not recorded. Ever. I think this is a more positive response to the Music Problem than No Music Day. In the age of sampling and mashups, the sound of 1920s is just as accessible as the sound of today, so it is really just the experience of music itself that matters rather than the recording and dissemination thereof. By making each performance unique and undisseminable (whoa) The 17 puts music performance and experience back on top as it were.
17 is a prime number.
Also, check out Bill and Jimmy getting roasted on Irish TV for burning a million quid (the easy way!).