Monthly Archives: August 2014

Does there have to be a reason?

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Yesterday evening, I put on Marc Riley’s 6Music show whilst cooking tea for Mrs. 17 Seconds, son 17 Seconds and yours truly whilst cooking tea. The first track to come on, sounded familiar in that ‘I have this on vinyl, somewhere, I just haven’t played it in a while sort of way.

My first thought was that it was something off one of Wire’s first three albums (Pink Flag, Chairs Missing or 154) then of course, when Siouxsie Sioux’s vocals kicked in of course I realised! Metal Postcard, from their 1978 debut LP The Scream (and yup, I do have it on vinyl). The version above comes from a 1978 appearance on the Old Grey Whistle Test.

Wikipedia states: “Mittageisen” is a single by the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Originally appearing on the band’s 1978 debut album The Scream as “Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)”, the track was re-recorded in 1979, this time with the lyrics sung in German.

The title “Mittageisen” is a word play based on the German words “Mittagessen” (literally: “noon meal”, i.e. lunch) and Eisen (“iron”). The title was inspired by John Heartfield’s photocollage Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle![1] (“Hurray, the Butter is Finished!”), which was also used as the single’s cover art.

John Heartfield’s photocollage was initially used on the frontpage of the “Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung / Workers Illustrated Journal”, published on December 19th, 1935. Heartfield (1891–1968) was an early member of Club Dada, which started in 1916 as Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich. The picture with the title ‘Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle! / Hurray, the butter is finished!’ shows a family who eats various pieces of metal. The trigger for it was the following quote from Hermann Göring: “Iron always made a nation strong, butter and lard only made the people fat.”

“Mittageisen” was composed by Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux, John McKay, Kenny Morris and Steven Severin, the lyrics were translated by Dave Woods. The single is dedicated to John Heartfield.”

You can read more about John Heartfield here.

This is the German version of ‘Mittageisen’ with Heartfield’s images used. Very effective…

Gig Review – Broken Records

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Broken Records, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, August 2.

I have seen Broken Records live so many times I’ve lost count. So yes, I should probably declare at the start that I am a bit of a fan…

The thing is, they have earned that fandom so totally. The reality is that they are a truly original sounding band. Sure there are plenty of bands that mix folk and rock sounds – yet none do it quite like Broken Records do. Tonight’s gig, at the start of the Edinburgh fringe and a whole host of great acts playing this venue alone over the next month (Meursault, Withered Hand, RM Hubbert with Emma Polloc k and to top it off, Richard Thompson) there’s a buzz about the place. Edinburgh is where Broken Records are from, after all, so this is a homecoming gig, and I sense that there’s a number of people here tonight who have watched them evolve and prosper over the course of three fine albums, several singles and many fine gigs.

Yes, the lineup has changed but it’s very much as a band that we see Broken Records. Jamie Sutherland leads his men with style and panache but watching his brother Rory and Ian Turnbull effortlessly swap instruments remains thrilling, not least when you know that something special is on its way yet again. There’s now two drummers, and a gorgeous mix of strings and brass is still something great to encounter. There’s no need to waste time sneering at the dull likes of Mumford & Sons, when Broken Records show how it could be done.

There was a gap of four years til the release of this year’s Weights & Pulleys album, and if I’ve not lived with these songs as long as the previous work, it’s simply down to time. The likes of ‘Toska’ and ‘So Long, So Late’ fit in effortlessly with the back catalogue. And as for finishing their first set with ‘Nearly Home’ (an album opener that’s as majestic as The Cure’s ‘Plainsong’) and then come on to start the encore with early single ‘Slow Parade’ is a reminder of a series of awesome concerts here in their hometown over the last seven years.

Long may they run.