Levi’s Bloaaaahg

Forgetting. To be forgotten. I’m probably more afraid of being forgotten than of dying. I know, it’s egocentric, but cut me some slack. I actually kind of like myself. And so does he.

“Take me out tonight, because I want to see people and I want to see light.”

Here’s Sunday 29 June for you. Very quickly. Train to Amsterdam. Tram to house. Meet up with Rob, Lisa and Lois. Go to Vondelpark. Drink Wine. Meet up with Hanneke and friends. Enjoy Hit Me TV. Drink more wine. Enjoy Voicst. Drink even more wine. And more. Enjoy sun. Drink beer. And wine. Go out for pizza. Wait for pizza. Arrange two tickets to Ben Folds. Get back and eat pizza. Go to Paradiso. Miss the support act. Drink beer. Help Rob score a chick. Doesn’t work. Drink more beer. Wait, is there still beer left? Drink that as well. Enjoy Ben Folds. Drink even more beer. Help Rob stand straight. One song encore. Sing “Ben Folds is gay, ole ole!” on the way out. See two Irish guys. Convince us to go for a beer with them. Drink beer. Drink a shot. Drink another beer. Go home. Talk in a hyperactive, hysterical tone to Lois about Ben Folds. Still rambling on. I need to go to sleep.

Fricking awesome day that was.

I was a fan of his writing. His last column, called deadline, was very straightforward. I didn’t even know he was ill.
A band called A Balladeer based their first single on his son, Sam. The basic inspiration for this was a novel called ‘Held van beroep‘ (Hero by occupation).

so if someone wants to know
and asks you where I am
you say you saw me go
for a swim with Sam

Rest in peace, Mr. ‘Jacky’.

Some people have a talent, a gift. And they know how to use it. One of these people is Conor Oberst, singer and frontman of Bright Eyes. Conor wrote his first song at age 12. At age 25, he already released 10 albums. That’s a number most bands can only dream of.
In January 2005 he released two completely different albums at the same time: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, which has an acoustic, folk style and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, which has a predominantly indie vibe. After releasing Cassadaga in 2007, there are no more doubts left about the capabilities of Oberst: he is an absolute wonder-child. The press state him as the new Dylan. When confronted with this, Oberst turns red, looks down and then mumbles a quiet thank you. Although he sounds aggressive in his music, in real-life he is nowhere near that. He pretends to be just another shy, depressed emo kid.
I met him once. It was the summer of 2007. He looked happy and joyful in his white suit, making jokes along the way. Between pauses there was lots of room for smiles. He took them. I can still remember the words he spoke to me. Like I’ve recorded it on my brain’s hard disk.

When panic grips your body and your heart is a hummingbird
Raven thoughts blacken your mind until you’re breathing in reverse
All your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse
Every reassurance just magnifies the doubt
Better find yourself a place to level out

In a way, we’ve all met Conor that night. Me and the 1,000 other people that witnessed his concert at the Melkweg.

Last week, Rob and I went to see Vampire Weekend at the Melkweg. Rob is the ska, punk type of guy. His favorite bands include Less Than Jake, Boysetsfire, Strike Anywhere, Undeclinable and the Ataris. I am a postpunk, indie type of guy. My favorite bands include Death Cab for Cutie, Belle and Sebastian, Joy Division, Arcade Fire and Editors. There are some parallels in our taste of music. I can appreciate Less Than Jake and vice versa goes for Rob with Death Cab.
That been said, after the VW concert, I became a wild enthusiast and Rob a mild enthusiast. This is completely in line with our views on music, which makes it even more obvious. People are too predictable.

But still. If you like something, you really want to convince other people around you to like it as well. Because little things like this give you an even bigger connection. So here’s the catch: A central theme in Vampire Weekend songs is Massachusetts and Boston in particular. But in the song ‘Walcott‘, a different state is mentioned: New Jersey, the Garden State.

Walcott
All the way to
New Jersey
All the way to
The Garden State
Out of Cape Cod tonight

And that leads us to the movie Garden State, which is a movie that I’m totally in love with. And Rob hinted this one to me.

See, if you just dig deep enough you’ll end up finding something that connects you.

What more needs to be said about Ian Curtis? Yes, he was brilliant. Yes, he was a possesive bastard. And yes, he died too young.

From young adolescence on he mentioned to his friends that he wasn’t planning on growing older than twentyfive. Just as his role models, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. He also told them he would be the biggest name in rock and roll music. Funnily enough, he never took the discipline to learn to play an instrument. He sold him self to bands as a singer / songwriter.
Aged 16, he started a band with his youth friend, Tony Nuttal. This didn’t stand long, since both of them really couldn’t play instruments and his friend didn’t share Ian’s vision on the musical industry.
At age 18 he married Deborah. Also, at that age, he told Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morriss that if they were looking for a singer for their band, he was interested. And so, Warsaw, was a fact.
After a couple of gigs they had to change the name, because there already was a London based band called Warsaw Pakt. Curtis always had an interest in European warfare, and especially World War II. So they took up the name Joy Division. Joy Division was a reference to the brothels used by German soldiers, where only Arien women were on display. Their first EP, ‘An Ideal For Living’, depicted a German like soldier with a drum on the sleeve. They immediatley were accused of having racists thoughts and being neo-nazi’s. But given the era, the late punk period, names such as Joy Division were more rule than exception.
After being shown on Granada TV, a local music television show which supported the likes of the Buzzcocks, the Clash, Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols, the band was pretty satisfied. Well, everyone except for Curtis. He was pissed that Tony Wilson, the host, didn’t play their music, but instead just showed the EP. A couple of weeks later, the band was in a pub when Wilson entered. Curtis wrote something on a napkin and handed it over to Wilson.
“Your’e a twat. A bastard, you are!” he told Wilson, who later reveiled the napkin. It wrote:

Joy Division, you cunt!

After seeing them perform, Wilson was convinced. The guys could go and play their song ‘Shadowplay’ live on Granada TV in April 1978. He even tried to convince Rob Gretton, the manager, that Joy Division ought to sign to Factory Records: a Mancunian based record label which provided bands the ultimate freedom. He even told them he would write the contract with his own blood. And so he did.
Joy Division were getting a lot more exposure from then on. This had a serious effect on Curtis. On their way home after a gig in London, Curtis had his first fit. He was now suffering from epilepsy. In order to find out which medication would suit him, the MD prescribed him various ones. The drugs didn’t had the effect they wished they had. Curtis began having fits while performing. His tedious way of dancing might have had something to with that as well.
On a more personal note, his daughter Nathalie was born. Eventhough this family expansion, Curtis still had doubts about his marriage to Deborah. He was always very protective and possesive about her, but it didn’t stop him from having an affair with Belgian reporter Annik Honoré. He also didn’t dare to pick up his own daughter due to his condition.
In May 1980 the great breakthrough came: Joy Division was about to embark upon a tour in the U.S. Everyone was happy. Everyone but Curtis. His relation with Debbie was on the verge of a divorce. In a final attempt to save it, he went home to talk with her. They ended up having a big fight. He told her to go away. “Come back in the morning. I’ll be gone by then.”
He stayed up listening to Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’ and drank a lot of alcohol. He ended up on the floor, after having another fit. In the morning he woke up, suppossedly crying an completeley oblivious. He wrote a note and left it next to the pick-up.

“At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can’t cope anymore.”

It was 18 May, 1980. Aged 23, he hung himself in the kitchen for his wife Debbie to find out.

To this day, many speculations have been going on, on why Curtis chose that exact place and timing. Many say, that from his lyrics it was obvious that he was going to kill himself, but that is just plain ridicule. I guess there are a lot of factors, but it’s nothing more than a guess. Four years of Joy Division apparently was enough to change the way rock music sounded in the late seventies. To this day, many bands such as the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Editors, Bloc Party and Interpol are still influenced. The distinctive sound of Joy Division classics, such as ‘Transmission’, ‘She’s Lost Control’ and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ nowadays still sound ageless. Thank you, Ian.

One of our first works as Marcus&HeinZ, is next Monday, 28 April, to be shown on Dutch prime time television in the program ‘De Wereld Draait Door‘. It’s the new music video from the band Zuco103. The song is called ‘Nunca Mais’ and it can be listened to on their MySpace.

Oh, and did I mention that we’ve only just started, like a month ago. And already on prime time television. Yes, I’m proud. Now I want to go and celebrate. Luckily, Dex has to perform tonight and we already decided to go to West Pacific. I have a sense that Oh What A Night Part II is about to be born.

How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me.  It’s like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can’t read - just yet.

I have got to hand it to them: it has been a while, but it was worth the wait. Ever since they released their first album on a major record label, back in 2005, it has been awfully quiet around them. Was it worth the wait? Yes. Oh yes. And will they possess my heart? They already do.