Sheebaba – ambulanz
Similar artists: Placebo, Das Kinn, Streichelt, NILS KEPPEL, Edwin Rosen
Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock
There’s a worrying global trend, and it involves rich kids who’ve only heard about Jamaica from Bob Marley t-shirts and would place the country on a map somewhere around Southern Africa, getting dreads. No, it’s not the cultural appropriation that’s bothering me, although that ain’t pleasant. It’s just that one day, they might actually be challenged to a dance-off to reggae music, and I fear for their chances of making it out alive.
Yeah, yeah, we all search for a bit of excitement in our lives. Those fortunate to be have been born in big cities, breathing in concrete for most our lives are particularly attracted by all forms of exoticism. But don’t sell the family cow just yet and strat trading for plane tickets to Rio. Think of what you’re good at and try to exploit it first.
When it comes to tense, robotic post-punk, it is the Germans who capture the gold, silver and third-place medals too. Sheebaba’s “ambulanz” is a quirky, destabilizing piece of retro robot-pop. It sounds about as tight as the tracksuit on the body of a marathon runner gearing up for the final stretch. It’s a great-sounding track. And there might even be a hint of humour to it. But, since this is German-produced, we will never know now, will we?
Friktion – Grocery Store Bob Dylan
Similar artists: Pixies, The Gun Club, English Teacher
Genre: Punk, Post-Punk, Garage Rock
Rockstars, too, put on their pants one leg at a time, eh? That’s a horrifying image to have floating in your brain. Do you really want to imagine Keith Richard slipping on milk bottles while looking for his eyeglasses around the kitchen? The whole deal of allowing people to be rockstars involved them never disappointing us with being ordinary. We can’t stand it, and frankly, we shouldn’t be made to.
After all, that’s something to strive for. I don’t mean the songwriting or the playing. Those are overrated. I’m talking about the things that get regular folks to one day look upon one of their own as entirely special. Maybe if you wear the right leather trousers, they’ll call you Lizard King too, tell you your poetry’s marvellous and bury you in Pere Lachaise if you croak on your own myth and on dirt-cheap brown.
Friktion’s “Grocery Store Bob Dylan” is road trip punk-rock music for a grand ol’ initiation journey that, eventually, ends in disappointment and defeat. Musically, this is punchy and quirky. Sounds like The Dead Milkmen. Thankfully, Friktion are only marginally more musically competent. But it’s the lyrics that are the highlight. The tight pants and dark sunglasses ain’t hiding anything. “You still get sad and horny like the rest of us!”
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