Music to listen to on headphones: Schiller-Atemlos

Schiller has returned with another double album, Atemlos, after the great Sehnsucht, that most of his fans consider a masterpiece, that had to live up to another classic Schiller-Tag und Nacht, a double album again.And Sehnsucht played its part.

I had first come across Schiller's music around 2003 when he's released the Leben...I feel you single off of Leben. The track was rather bouncy( much more than the album counterpart), yet I loved it, but I couldn't accept it as electronic music, cause its sound was too house-ish/techno-ish( at that time my electronic music was made of Vangelis, Jarre, the Tangs, Kitaro, Kraftwerk and probably had heard of KS but not yet listened to his music.The Berlin School or Retro scene was unknown to me).And while the genre was automatically refused to be heard by my ear, I still liked the track.

Then 2008 arrived and KS' site was showing this 33 minutes track in his discography section he had made with Schiller for his new album Sehnsucht. That left me intrigued. Evidently KS has made some errors in choosing who to make music with across the decades he's been in the business, but I hoped this was one of the lucky cases.
Thus, I searched and found Schiller's site where, at the time, snippets of songs from his new album were played. And the track with KS had left me impressed, I was wondering how grand it had to be in its entirety, upon hearing just a few seconds of it. I dl-ed the album and liked it, loved it, got hooked on it. And I've been a fan ever since. And I sure as hell don't mind it!

Now, let's get to Atemlos.

No matter if you've got a super high quality expensive most of us can't afford stereo system with a Bang&Olufsen logo on it( I'm not up to date anymore with which products from which brands are considered the ''shit'' nowadays, when it comes to music devices. Come to think about it, 've never been.:)) or a 5+1 system that has a cool technical name ,this album needs and has to be heard and enjoyed on the good ol' headphones.
It's not that stereos are not doing their job, on the contrary. Although I'm a decent listener sometimes I still like revving the engine up and turning the volume up higher and hearing the music's power caress the walls, if anything else. There's nothing better than annoying the neighbours with high-volumed music you enjoy, especially when it's clear they don't share your tastes. But let me get to the point.
No matter how advanced the systems are, there's no way they can play emotions inside the music as much as some mere mp3 players. There's something about headphones, good ones that is, they can make you hear subtle harmonies inside the tracks that'd be left undetected otherwise. Plus, it feels a lot closer to your music need. It's always nice to hear this album, in perfect silence, in the dark and soak up all the sounds and let the music breathe through you.

The album is very crips-sounding, just like any other Schiller album, very well produced, you can clearly hear his passion for notes, for ambience, for music, for felt and lived music. Some fans have said it's too mellow and ambient, very much different to the more up-tempo Sehnsucht. And while they might be right, in parts, I'd still want to disagree.
Let's not forget that Schiller's work has been chill out since the beginning, yet considering the album's name is Atemlos-Breathless one should expect a calmer and more downtempo approach to each track and overall sound. That doesn't mean Atemlos is beat-free, there is plenty of rhythm, plenty of danceable tracks, plenty atmosphere and plenty Schiller style. Most likely the singles will be remixed and become huge dancefloor anthems, this summer , at least.

A thing that sets Atemlos apart from its predecessors are the vocal guests. Long gone are the days of Heppner or Jette von Roth. Kim Sanders only ''donates'' her beautiful voice on one song and the rest of the vocals are left in the hands of unknown acts, to me, of course. Well, except Nadia Ali and Anggun. The tracks are still very much thought-out and the fact that we don't hear any recognisable voices from any previous Schiller albums doesn't detract one bit from the quality of the songs or the voices of the singers. The songs work great and it's clear Christopher wants to keep things fresh at all times by getting new talent to work with.

Overall, Atemlos is yet another gem from Schiller, an album that I'm sure lots of fans will give the ''masterpiece'' stamp. I'm one of those.
I'm gonna go as far as saying Atemlos is one of the albums I'd take with me on a deserted island in case of shipwreck. Go buy it!!!It's well worth the money!

T.


P.S. Maybe now Christopher could persuade Harald Bluechel( Cosmic baby) to get his arse in the studio and make another Mare Stellaris.....

Valentine's day my arse....

First of all I'd like to say that Valentine's day is pathethic. In my opinion, of course. Any day that gets ''created'' for lovers throughout the world to show their feelings to one another is, yes you guessed it, a bloody joke.
I hate Valentine's day...And I'm most likely sure that the vast majority of men out there share my ''ridiculous'' emotion too. If we could ever get it right, we'd turn off the tv, the radio just so that our girlfriends, wives, lovers and whatnot don't know about it. Of course the big ''surprise'' is spoiled once you'd venture out in the city and you'd find yourselves immersed in tons of expensive, yet of low quality, cheesy products that are supposed to be bought....no, scratch that...that should be bought so that the bond between you and your partner be felt. See, this is what I don't get: you love your companion but you need a day picked out randomly by who-knows-who to show off....??? Explain me the cards , the flowers, those bloody heart-shaped awful balloons...What's that all about?
You see, I've never understood why folks need a day to tell them to show their love to whomever they reckon they're worth it. Why not do it a day before, a day after, any day of the year? No, it has to be this day, named after a saint that has got nothing to do with it, but it had to be called somewhat and, well, he's got a cute-sounding name...like a metrosexual ..:)) What happens inside our brains on this day could be equalized to going to battle : ''Oh, shit! It's Valentine's day! Honey, I'm going out to buy some bread, milk, eggs and flowers... But you've never bought me flowers!...Yeah, but today the calendar tells me otherwise!''.
Do you see where I'm getting at?
I'd call it robot-acting/thinking. We enjoy being human and having our own opinions, yet sometime we're just too dumb to be ourselves and just follow the flock of remote controlled trendies.
It's Valentine's day, thus you got to love your wife! Any other day you can kick the shit out of her, cause hey!, there are no hearts in every goddamn store that read ''be my valentine'' or some other shit.
Same stuff happens with Christmas. You know what they say, when holiday season's coming we're expected to be more humble, to help each other out more, to be better persons. What happened to the rest of the year? Oh, I get it, we're just taking a break from poking our eyes out or strangling each other. Picture this : it's 3 minutes before midnight on December 24th and you're trying to slit someone's throat; the knife goes under the skin but then bang! it's Christmas and you, as a good person and christian that you've become on this holly day , patch the cut with some scotch tape and resume watching tv, while asking the victim ''so, did you get me any present?''. Nice, innit? Wrong.
You know, they had a day in September in Rome called La Notte Bianca ( The White Night)( it doesn't happen anymore due to the recession, or so I've heard) when lots of restaurants and pubs would remain open all night long and folks would flood the streets and get wasted big time. But they would do it just on that night! Any other past-midnight was clear and quiet like a government session when asked about salaries and pensions. My question: couldn't they, the participants, do that more often?
And my final point is we need some sort of approval before we do and think things. If everybody else does it, then it's safe to get out your bunker and give your lovely chocolate bonbons. Your neighbour does it too.....



P.S. Yes, I know you're thinking I'm bitter cause I'm single...Truth is, I hated this bloody day even more when I had a girlfriend...At least I don't have to buy flowers and shit..What a pathethic world we're living in....

Welcome back, folks...

Yep, I'm back! Thought you had it with me, hadn't you? Well, the devil is hard to kill...
And now I'm back with a vengeance....No, wait, don't run, I ain't having a gun on me...:))
As some of you might know, this blog( well, actually, the ex version of it) was getting to be a big pain in the arse for some others.. Not that I'm not like that in real life, but at least strangers would expect less bullshitting from me than people that know me. I used to post links to music albums that I did not own the copyright for....you could guess what happened from that point on.
Thus, this new improved ( it's just a nice word, it doesn't mean anything) version of this blog comes back with no music links, no albums to be downloaded and no copyright infringements, just me, some rants, some music or film reviews and some of the stuff I'm writing, have written or will write. Ok, throw the rotten eggs at me already...!!!
That being said, I welcome everyone back( I'm not sure there were any , in the first place...:))) and let's get this going.

Tuemckey


P.S. Anyone out there with a slight humour can be part of the writing team and that means you'd have to bring your own rants and ideas to the table....

How to invent new tourism 2 ( Haiti edition)

1. Going there by plane , cause the land is shaking

The capital Port-au-Prince is buzzing with injured people, foreigners, military and most important journalists. There are more journalists than so-called water and food aid supplies. For evey person taken out Death's grip there are 3 reporters. Hell, even MTV sent its reporters. MTV, for God's sake. MTV is a so-called music television. Why the hell would they send their people there. The Haitians need help, food, shelter, not fucking music. That's why they kicked Wyclef out.

Moving on....

The blonde reporter with an MTV badge is followed by a slightly over-weight cameraman drooling at the sight of her slim, tanned legs. She's wearing high heels, a very slimpy skirt and a red top, putting her twin ''intelligence'' in evidence. She looks good, but she'd look better in a brothel. At least she's clothed as if she'd just came out of one. They are in a part of Port-au-Prince that hasn't yet been flooded by middle-aged Americans flshing their 1500 dollars cameras taking photos of orphan kids butt-naked. Aquila was fun, but Haiti is now the paradise of disaster-tourism.

All the shacks around them are broken, shattered, on the ground. Suddenly the bimbo-reporter sees a woman burried under all the wood and concrete, only her head visible, grunting and trying to ask for help.

-Quick, this is my chance, Louie. Start the camera and pass me the lipstick, I've got to look sharp.

The Godzilla-sized cameraman starts shooting.

-This is Cheryl, reporting live from Port-au-Prince, where a devastating earthquake has devastated Port-au-Prince.

She puts the mic aside for a second.

-How am I doing, Louie?

The bulky, gum-chewing cameraman nods.

-Fine, Cheryl, we're from MTV!!!

The blonde cheers and puts the mic back closer to her mouth. She knows how to handle things close to her mouth.

-Behind us there's people trapped under the carnage, trying to escape, shouting for help....

-Help, help, save us! voices are heard from behind

-Unfortunately the military and UN forces have not yet arrived at this scene and folks are struggling for their lives.

-Help us, help us!

-The moments when survivors are found under the torn buildings are tensionate.

-Help us, help us! the voices grow louder

The young reporter turns her head towards the screaming victim.

-Listen lady, I'm trying to do a broadcast here, keep your yelps low!! Godammit!

The full-o'-burgers cameraman puts the cam recorder aside for a second and speaks.

-I think she wants help, Cheryl.That's why she's calling for it. And we should give her aid. Let's get her out.

The blonde puts a finger forward.

-Hold it right there. We ain't helping anyone. We're here to do a ''reportage'' bout these poor losers, not help them. Gee, Louie, what's gotten into you, the heat? We're from MTV , not WWF members.

-Those deal with animals, Cheryl.

The mic-handler babe adjusts her skirt and top and looks at her fingers.

-Besides, I've my nails done and polished. I ain't dirtying myself for no one. Keep the camera rolling...

Louie starts recording and says in a hush voice.

-It wouldn't be the first time you'd get dirty, that's for sure...

-What did you say?

-In one-two-three...

The bimbo restarts her intelligent remarks on the situation.

-Right behind us there's a woman severely hurt, trapped under the rests of what was her house, asking for help, feeling desperate about how her life seems to be slipping away.

-Help me, help me!

-Too bad there's nobody here to give her aid..

The victim's voice gets louder.

-Put a sock in it, bitch, I'm trying to work here!

And she rushes to her, smacking the woman in the face.

-I can't work like this! Louie, c'mon, I need a drink.

The MTV crew leaves the scene. Minutes later, two more buildings collapse. The new-arrived Eurosport reporters think they might get a Pulitzer out of it.

2. If you can't show suffering, allow your money to do it for you

The interior of the Romanian's president office. Lots of posters of naked gals hanging on the walls and a few framed mottos in Romanian lay on top of his desk. Roughly translated they would mean ''I shall not be a politician if I won't steal for myself'', ''Whatever's expected of you, do it on the contrary, only that way you'll be a prosperous politician'' and ''The voters don't expect of you anything else than promises, make sure they get their share''.

The President's bald head shines in the lit office. He's trying to change his profile picture on Facebook, but is not too expert at it.

Somebody knocks at the door, the President allows the person to enter his office. The closest of his counsellors, carrying a briefcase enters the room, salutes the President and takes a seat before him.

The briefcase is now open and files are taken out. The men look at each other.

-What is it, Horia? the President asks.

The counsellor looks a bit deranged.

-Mr President, the EU has asked us to make a donation for the Haiti Fund.

There is silence for a few seconds.

-Again with this EU! Give this, make that, allow this, cut that! Too many requests, all they do is ask! We've given them our gypsies, beggars, rapists and so on. What have they given us, Horia? What?

-Actually, they've given us back all the criminals we've left free to wander across Europe.

-Yes, you're right.But do we have to?

-Of course, mr President. All the other countries have already contributed to the Fund or will do so. On a global level at this moment only Somalia hasn't sent any help, but they'll dispose half of the 150 thousand dollars next week. Small amount, you know, civil war and all.

Thje President looks troubled.

-Ok, due to the economic crisis Romania wuill lend help of 50 thousand euros.

The counsellor remained in awe.

-Mr President, 200 thousand people have already died, there are more than double that number injured, they lack everything from water to toilet paper. I think this calls for more a substantial donation. This isn't your daughter's birthday. We'll look bad in the press!!!

-I said 50 and 50 it is. We're in the midst of a crisis here, Horia. Only the fireplace in my new viulla will cost roughly between 75 and 80 thousand. I'm decorating it with diamonds...Thus I can't afford...the country doesn't afford more than that. Besides there are lots of famous rich actors, let them pay more.

The counsellor remained in awe once more.

-But we're a country, in Europe, mr President! With all due respect, but this is a humanitary aid , not an actor's charity gala publicity stunt.

-Horia, there's the patio at my new villa that needs funds, you've no idea how much that will cost me! Are they gonna give it back?

-What? asks the counsellor

-The money!

-No, of course not, mr President.

-Well then, 50 it is. Besides they've got Wyclef and he's been stealing their funds ever since...

Horia stands up, puts the files back into the suitcase, files that the President hasn't even looked at, salutes him and leaves the office.

The President is left planning his new villa, while gratefully looking at his framed mottos and says to himself ''Traian, you're one hell of a politician!''.

The Facebook profile photo remains unchanged.

3.Let's all head to the beach, boys

A couple in their late thirties standing in the long boarding line to their flight to Haiti. They wear shorts and bermuda tee's and both carry a couple of hi-tech digital cameras and are head-to-toe clad in jewels. Behind them there's another couple, a bit older and more decently clothed, boarding for Paris.

The younger woman takes a look behind her and observes the kind-looking couple.They start discussing to make the waiting time seem a little less.

-Hi, I'm Marcia, this is my husband Steve. We're going to Haiti! the younger woman says

The men shake hands.

-Haiti? the older man asks

-Yes, we're on holiday. It's gonna be so much fun, you won't believe it! the younger male responds

The older woman and man look at each other, then resume the chatting.

-You might have not seen the latest news, but there has been quite a rough and devastating earthquake in Haiti. The whole country is under Code Red crisis. Don't you folks know that?

-That's the point! We know that! Actually we're so excited to get there, it's our first Code Red yet...Tons of stuff to do..

The older couple looks more relieved.

-Oh, you're working for the UN? Or a aiding fund organisation...

-No, we're tourists! the younger couple answered in a jiffy

-Tourists? But there's nothing to see there, at least not anymore...

-Of course there is : dead people, orphan kids, injured people, homeless people, sad people, crying people, hungry people, filthy people, desperate people. God, only the thought of it builds the excitement. We've taken 4 extra rolls of film for the cameras.

-You take photos of the desperation and devastation. What kind of people are you?

Marcia takes a photo album out of her handbag and starts flipping through it.

-Look, these were made last year in Aquila. The city looked so nice with the cracks in the buildings and torn concrete everywhere. Didn't it, honey?

Steve nods.

-We even met George Clooney! These were made a few years back in Indonesia when the volcano erupted. Top-class experience! We even got a kid killed. We had gave him a candy bar and soon other kids jumped on him and stabbed him to death to get the sweet. I imortalised the moments, but we've framed the photo and put it in our living room. It was one of the best moments spent as a couple, a defining one, for sure.

-I'm so proud of her! said Steve

The older couple kicks the album away with disgust.

-You people are......vultures!!!

They leave the queue, shouting at the younger male and female.

-We're going to donate money for the Haiti fund and to make them aware of scum like you two!

Marcia picks up the photo book.

-What's gotten into them? We were having such a nice talk there...

-Don't hate the player, hate the game. That's all I've got to say , honey.

They smile and kiss.

A few minutes later they pass through the metal detectors and have their passports looked at. The African American airport employee checks the names and looks at them.

-Where you headed, folks?

-Haiti! both Marcia and Steve answer simultaneously

-Haiti?......I hear it's great this time of year. Enjoy your holiday. Bon voyage!

You want more tourists in your country too? Well then, pray to God for a natural disaster at a grand scale and you'll see how digital cameras will flash into your face when you're about to mourn your next of kin. make it happen!!!

All rights reserved 2010 Tuemckey.