Johannes Schult

Check out the third round of Masters of Song Fu #5 over at QuickStopEntertainment.com! Manticess contributed a song called “After I Have Gone”. Other artists made songs with different titles. Go check it all out! Also: vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! (Read: you have five votes – use them wisely!)

On Wednesday evening I came up with the little melody that opens “After I Have Gone”. I wrote some lyrics on Thursday, but accidently left the paper with them at work. So when it came to record a demo for Susanne, I had to improvise a bit, because I couldn’t remember all the words. (More than 90% turned out to be ‘correct’, though.) She recorded vocals and some flutes on Friday in a bit of a hurry, because she was going to be away over the weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the flutes as they were the wrong key. They would have added quite some Christmas sparkle! Something like a string quartet had been on our mind for some time now. So I used the opportunity to arrange two violins, one viola, one cello, plus a flute. Digital copies of the original instruments had to suffice. A big thank you goes out to fellow song fuer Caleb Hines, who used his arsenal of virtual instruments and provided us with a wonderful orchestra track. I spent several hours mixing the five tracks (voice, guitar, stereo strings, keyboard bells), which is somewhat ridiculous. Still, I really enjoyed what I heard and I’m extremely content with the result.

The lyrics of the song were inspired by Richard Shindell‘s beautiful ballad “Before You Go”, which is basically God’s last words to his son before sending him to earth. I took up the narrative from Jesus’ point of view, both after he left the Heavens and after he fulfilled his mission. I’m still unhappy with the line “my memory has gone”. I had wanted to describe the way becoming human transforms his memories from heaven. But I also wanted everything to rhyme, so sacrifices were made. Also, the time constraint is at times a blessing, because it teaches you to not get lost in details.

In other news, Manticess will be playing a little gig with JODA this Friday at the university of Konstanz, IBZ II (K5 beneath the Mensa) around 19.30! Be there! We’ll be giving away free cds!

• Was macht er in Detroit? (Die Nackte Kanone 2 1/2)
• Wie war das im Mittelteil? (Ein Fisch namens Wanda)
• Ich kann nicht nach Alderaan; ich muss nach Hause. (Star Wars)
• Negativ. Wir haben ein Reaktorleck. (Star Wars)
• Keine Belohnung ist das hier wert. (Star Wars)
• Whatever. (D.E.B.S.)
• A good, solid 7.5. (Beautiful Girls)
• Setz dich. Nimm dir einen Keks. Fühl dich wie zu Hause… (Das Leben des Brian)
• Das nächste Mal schreibst du einen Aktenvermerk. (Jagd auf Roter Oktober)
• Das ist nicht Snowflake! (Ace Ventura)
• Hello, my life sucks. (She’s the Man)
• Oh boy. (She’s the Man)
• Man kann davon leben… (Crocodile Dundee)
• Na dann ist ja gut. (Ronja Räubertochter)
• Das ist mein Tanzbereich und das ist dein Tanzbereich. (Dirty Dancing)

Geschafft, aber glücklich nach einigen Stunden Tanzerei brauche ich heute zum Glück keinen langen Eintrag mehr schreiben. Ich will nur kurz auf diesen enorm lesenswerten Text vom Mann mit dem Saxophon verweisen. Da kann ich jedes Wort unterstreichen.

Wer altmodischen Progressive Rock mit schönen Melodien mag, dürfte Gefallen an “The Old Road” von Martin Orford (Vampster-Review) finden.

• Beautiful Girls
• Clerks
• D.E.B.S.
• Happy Campers
• Imagine Me & You
• Josie and the Pussycats
• Das Leben des Brian*
• Die nackte Kanone*
• Robin Hood – König der Diebe*
• Ronja Räubertochter*
• She’s the Man
• Star Wars*

*at least the German audio track

PS: “Fit to Die (Part 1)” by Future Is Tomorrow is a rather good Power Metal album.

Yesterday, I watched The Longest Day. I was surprised to find the whole movie shot in the respective native languages. It added a lot to the authenticity and – given the serious topic of the film – didn’t diminish the experience of watching it at all. In Germany, foreign films are usually dubbed in German. The art of replacing the dialogue has declined enormously over the last three decades. Fortunately, DVDs usually feature the original audio track along with the German one. The only other international films I can think of that have not been somewhat de-babelized are Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, both excellent examples of superb film-making.

Today’s music review is about “Force of Gravity” by Sylvan, a German progressive rock band that delivers flawless music with a bit of sound track atmosphere in the more quiet parts. The album is pretty good and includes stand-out tracks like “Embedded”.

Sunshine and morning mist

Originally uploaded by neilmademedoit

Many years ago I discovered the music of Anvil Chorus. The band had been active in the early 80s. There were no proper releases except for one single (“Blondes in Black” b/w “Once Again”). But if one looked hard, one could get copies of old demos and live tapes. Those n-th generation copies sounded aweful, but the music itself not only stood the test of time, but even had a timeless quality only few metal bands can offer. The band reunited from time to time, but an album release seemed as unlikely as a show in Europe.

This year finally saw the release of the first CD by Anvil Chorus, “The Killing Sun”. I wrote a review in German over at Vampster.com. I thin it sounds rather tame, but songs like “Phase to Phase” and “Once Again” still sparkle. The lead guitars are amazing and the music, well, still timeless. And as if that weren’t enough, the band is scheduled to play in Germany at the Headbangers Open Air 2010!

PS: The picture above has nothing to do with Anvil Chorus. I took it on my way to university and thought, why not share it with the world.

Heute Abend spielen Roxette in Stuttgart und ich bin nicht da. Doof. Immerhin spare ich mir eine Menge Fahrt- und Eintrittsgeld. Nach dem tollen Konzert von Sänger Per Gessle im April war ich einfach nicht in der Stimmung, jetzt weniger Stücke mit mehr Orchester zu hören. Zum Glück ist inzwischen das Live-Album “Gessle over Europe” erschienen, so dass ich hin und wieder ein bisschen in Erinnerungen schwelgen kann. Und Mr. Gessle ist ja ungebrochen aktiv in Sachen Twitter-Updates und YouTube-Heimvideos.

Wer professionell produzierten, aber ansonsten uninspirierten Melodic Metal hören will, kann sich gerne mit “Japanese Hospitality” von Warmen (Vampster-Review) beschäftigen. Auf der Japan-Version gibt es hier übrigends eine wenig originelle Cover-Version des Roxette-Hits “Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)”.

Some time ago I made a song/video about me not having the novel “Paper Towns”. It actually won me a copy of the book signed by its author John Green. That made me very happy! I started reading it last week. That was a mistake, because only a few pages into the story I was hooked. But I had to work. And to eat. And to sleep. Still, I finished it before the weekend and wanted to write couple of things about it ever since.

1. The book is good! John Green writes for young adults, so technically I’m not a member of the target group. And I must say that his first two books (“Looking for Alaska” and “An Abundance of Katherines”) were very enjoyable, but not, like, a must-buy for each and everyone. But this time around, well, “Paper Towns” is still not a must-buy; but I totally recommend it to anyone looking for, well, a young adult novel that is original in its conception, excellent in its execution, and very enjoyable in its language. Here’s just a couple of (not necessarily representative) quotes to give you an idea:
   • Nothing is as boring as other people’s dreams. (p. 86)
   • Peeing is like a good book in that it is very, very hard to stop once you start. (p. 183)
   • As much as life can suck, it always beats the alternative. (p. 287)

   Anyway, let me reiterate: it’s a good book. Buy it. Read it.

2. This part contains major spoilers, so read on at our own risk. I enjoyed reading the book and was sad to see it end. The last few pages managed to give the plot a satisfying conclusion. Almost. I was left wondering, how it actually ended. Do they get together? Or is the last scene more of an afterthought that’s to vanish as soon as the sun comes up again? Ultimately, I can live with this ambiguity. I can live with it, because I figured that I can’t relate to Q. I mean, he’s the narrator and I like him more than some other of the other characters. Still, when he finally finds Margo, he comes up with his idea about the vessel and about the future. And I find it not very convincing. Sure, a big lesson at the end wouldn’t have the suited the story. Neither would have an overly romantic happy ending. I just wanted to remark that I preferred the little chunks of wisdom throughout the book. The ending was quite charming, but it didn’t add anything to what I got out of the story. But then again, I’m not the target audience and I still recommend you read “Paper Towns”.

Today’s music recommendation goes out to everybody who enjoys the mainstream kind of melodic punk rock. “The Days that Follow…” by Multiball (Vampster-Review) is a strong album that could totally be in the charts. The vocals are rather clean and melodic, the music itself rather powerful than catchy. It’s not the most original album; yet it sound rather fresh compared to many successful pop punk albums out there.

Für die nächsten 24 Tage werde ich diese Seite in einen Adventskalender verwandeln. Es wird täglich Einträge geben, jeweils mit einem Link zu Vampster, wo ich parallel täglich schreibe (i.d.R. CD-Kritiken). Wer noch musikalische Geschenkideen sucht, wird hier vielleicht fündig, da ich noch eine sehr bunte Mischung hier zum Besprechen herumliegen habe (Prog, Punk, Weihnachtliches und eben Heavy Metal).

Aktuell gibt es eine neue Runde im Song Fu-Songwriting-Wettbewerb. Manticess (also Susanne und ich) sind wieder mit dabei, auch wenn die Deadline – und damit die Aufnahme – direkt in die Erkältungszeit fiel. Immerhin hat das Lied (1998) nun einen Charme, wie man ihn von Manticess bislang noch nicht kannte. Ach, was fasele ich: Anhören! (Ja, am besten alle!) Abstimmen! Bitte. Danke.

Wer lieber professionellen Progressive Rock mit schönem Gesang und  einer wirren Konzeptstory mag, sei auf das Album “Realm of Shadows” von Knights Realm (Vampster-Review) hingewiesen.

As I wrote earlier, I attended the Jonathan Coulton-concert in Dublin on 6th November. He brought along Paul and Storm as opening band. I had grown a bit tired of their podcast rambling. But their performance in Dublin reminded me of their awesomeness. More than that: it convinced me that they’re actually incredibly talented entertainers. Add to this their amazing singing voices and you get 50 minutes of pure musical humour. Although they relied mostly on their battle-tested material – it was their first gig in Ireland, after all – everything sounded fresh, including the three (!) Song Fu entries they played.

Much to my liking they started with their Theme Song, before launching into their signature song Opening Band. They had won over the audience by the time the first panties were thrown half-way through the song. Still, Paul kept being intimidated by the audience. Unlike most of their gigs, this was a standing audience and whenever possible everybody sang along loudly. Each song was a highlight, so just look at the setlist below to figure out which songs to check out in case you’re not familiar with the duo.

The true fascination comes from the combination of flawless vocals and witty (if not dirty) lyrics. This combination also showed in between songs, when Paul and Storm have their own way to communicate with the audience and each other. In short, they were genuinely enjoying themselves (despite jet-lag and work-permit trouble) and you just had to smile at their stories and antics.

1. Paul and Storm – Theme Song
2. Opening Band
3. Mother’s Day Song
4. Nugget Man
5. Frogger! The Frogger Musical
6. Nun Fight
7. Live
8. If James Taylor Were on Fire
9. If Bob Dylan Were Hiding at the Bottom of a Well
10. The Captain’s Wife’s Lament