Die Neue Deutsche Welle

   I decided to celebrate Memorial Day in my own special way today.   That is, by scouring the cheap bins of local flea markets for some new records.    My only purchase today was this gem:

 

   "Die Neue Deutsche Welle Is Da Da Da" (The New German Wave is Da Da Da) caught my eye with its beautiful German flag sleeve.   I recognized a few artists listed, such as Yello of "Oh Yeah!" and Ferris Bueller's Day Off fame.   First listen revealed some great tracks such as "Scherbenlilli" by Claudia Robot and "Taxi" by Jawoll.   The internet has surprising little information about most of these groups.   I'm curious to learn more about Claudia Robot, although from I can it seems she(?) only released one single.    There is some really excellent material here for the lovers of quirky new-wave that brings to mind equals parts Flying Lizards and Lene Lovich.   

Breaking The Law

  I am not a Judas Priest fan, but I love this song.
I love it even more after watching the video yesterday morning, and then feeling the need to jump into storefronts and yell "breakin' the law, breakin' the law" for the rest of the day.





  More importantly, whenever I even think about this song, I flashback to this great moment in television history.

You Know I'm No Good (Volume 1)

  There has been a great deal of lazy writing about the career and life of Amy Winehouse since her death in July of last year.   These articles generally took one of two easy ways out; highlighting either her troubled personal life, or her sure-to-be-legendary status as a musician following her demise.   I'm not here to do either of those things.   Amy Winehouse was and is not in the discussing for greatest vocalists of all time.   What she did accomplish, however, is to create one fantastic record (2006's "Back to Black"), a throwback to sounds of the past when the music industry was dominated by dancefloor electronic pop, while managing to fuse in just enough of those modern touches to appeal to the younger set and top the charts in the United Kingdom and hit #2 here in the states.

   The "You Know I'm No Good" will hopefully become a running series.   After all, there is certainly no shortage of musical icons who led troubled lives.   The focus is intended to be on the music and the high points of the featured artists.   Enough has been already about the low points.