Three-part series about the history of punk. Punk had shown what it was
against- now what was it for? In the wake of the Pistols' demise a new
generation of musicians would re-imagine the world. Freed up by punk's
DIY ethos, a kaleidoscope of musical influences broke three chord
conformity. Public Image Limited allowed Johnny Rotten to become John
Lydon the artist, Magazine would be first to record in the wake of the
Pistols' split, Mark E Smith made street poetry while Ian Curtis turned
punk's rage into an existential drama. In a time beset by dread and
tension perhaps the biggest paranoia was Mutually Assured Destruction
essayed perfectly by Young Marble Giants' Final Day. Released in the
height of Thatcherism, Ghost Town by The Specials marked a parting of
the post-punk waves. Some would remain avowedly uncommercial whilst
others would explore pop as a new avenue in the new decade. The song
that perhaps summed up post-punk's journey was Orange Juice's Rip It Up
and Start Again.
A little known fact is that after Damo Suzuki left Can, there were a number of other vocalists who rehearsed and played live with them before they added Rosko Gee and Reebop to the core line up of Irmin Schmidt, Michael Karoli, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit. These included Michael Cousins AKA Magic Michael, Thaiaga Raj Raja Ratnam from Malaysia (or Indonesia) and the Japanese vocalist Phew.
Tim Hardin was another singer who joined their ranks for a while at the tail end of 1975.
A couple of recordings survive from their time together. There is a rehearsal (the exact date of which is unknown) and a live improvised track from a gig at the Hatfield Polytechnic on the 21st of November 1975.
It may seem a strange combination but it sort of works...though I cannot imagine Can playing 'If I Were A Carpenter' as an encore!
Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian, Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod.
Taken from "HOLOCAUST - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz". For the first time since its liberation, permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz and a number of leading musicians were brought there to perform music for the film.
The nine-minute second movement, Lento e largo—Tranquillissimo, contains a libretto formed from the prayer to the Virgin Mary which was inscribed by Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna on the wall of her prison cell in the basement of the Gestapo’s headquarters in Zakopane, Poland. The prayer, translated into English, is this:
No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
“Zdrowas Mario.”
“Zdrowas Mario” (Ave Maria) is the opening in Polish of the prayer to the Holy Mother of God. (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death, amen.”) Beneath it is Blazusiakówna‘s signature, with the words “18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944.”