This will change! Tonight, Social D play Berlin, again supported by the Backyard Babies.

We sold the kids to the grandparents and plan to have a great night. I dearly hope that this time history repeats itself -- hopefully neither as tragedy nor farce.

Apparently, Lookout hasn't been paying Green Day for ages. Given the fact that the early Green Day records were Lookout's cash cows, this is incredibly stupid. Of all artists on Lookout's rooster, Green Day should have been the ones who always receive payments on time. But they did not. After years of not being paid, it seems that Green Day felt they had to do something about it.

This is not about money. In an interview with Green Day, I read that their major label debut Dookie  sold more than 30 million units. These guys are multi millionaires, they don't need the money.  In fact, according to MTV, Green Day did not file legal actions against Lookout to recoup the payments. They only took control of the CD masters.

One can only wonder what the management of Lookout was thinking. You can't run a business by not paying artists and using the money for funding the operation and new releases that nobody buys. The label published an open letter, but it still leaves me with questions.

What really makes me mad is this: Lookout is the home of MTX, one of my favorite bands. I guess the plans to release a new CD together with a greatest hits record in 2006  just got scrapped. Damn.

All joking aside, the Creative Zen Touch is a great unit. It looks good, sounds good and is easy to use. As with every portable audio player the enclosed headphones aren't much good. I own a pair of AKG's K26P which are much better. Together with the Zen Touch they make a killer combination.

What's not to like: the accompanying  windows software is awful. Not only is it ugly, it's also hard to use . Without consulting the help file you don't have a chance. The MP3 encoder is a joke. On top of that, the autosync component crashes sometimes. It's not that the software is completely unusable, it's just no joy to use. I think about getting Notmad. I'm not interested in the MP3 encoder as I've been completely satisfied with Audiograbber.

The big question is: Why didn't I get an iPod? First, I don't want to be part of a movement. You know, as a punk by heart I like to do things differently. Second, I don't want to pay Apple's premium prices. The 20GB Zen Touch simply is cheaper. Third, I've neither used iTunes nor the iTunes Music Store. In fact, I don't care for music downloads. I'm one of those old fashioned I-need-the-real-thing-guys. CDs are sort of a compromise.

So anyway, I like the Zen Touch and recommend it. But don't listen only to me. Frank, the GadgetGuy, has a nice series of articles about the Creative Zen Micro. Don't forget to read the last article where he explains why he returned the Micro and bought an iPod.

I just finished watching the "RAMONES - We're outta here"-DVD. Damn did this band kick ass. 4 guys, 3 chords, 30 songs in 1 hour --  that's all you need to have FUN.

Here's my list:

1. Riverboat Gamblers - Catch Your Eye
2. Cellophane Suckers - Terrorize Your Friends
3. The Briefs - Where Did He Go
4. The Marked Men - Set You Right
5. Chefdenker - Der Spruch auf Deinem Anrufbeantworter ist Scheisse (*)  
6. Peawees - 'Cause You Don't Know Me
7. The Roolettes - Gimme Some Fun
8. The Apers - Here Comes The Summer
9. The Methadones - You Don't Know Me Anymore
10. Beatnik Termites - Beach Girl

(*) The slogan on your answering machine sucks ass.

Summary: Nothing embarrassing. This is no surprise -- I only listen to good music, of course ;-).

Via Erik.

Today, after 8 years, Social Distortion released their new record Sex, Love and Rock 'n Roll. Granted, they've always taken their time, but 8 years is excessive. In the past, it took them only 4 years to put out a record. But, boy, am I glad that I can listen to it -- it fucking rules.

The funny thing is, I wasn't expecting it today. I went to the record store planning to get the American Idiot, Greenday's new album. By chance, I passed the "S" shelf and noticed the new Social D. Damn, was I thrilled. The 10 minutes ride to work seemed like an hour. I felt like a little boy who caught a glimpse at his Christmas present and knows he can't play with it for another day.

Anyway, the wait is over. Sex, Love and Rock 'n Roll is full of great songs. Punk meets Rock 'n Roll meets Blues meets Americana. I like, how Mike Ness reveals a more optimistic side on this record. The record has been spinning all day and am still extremely excited.

Go buy it!

I just returned from the Wild At Heart, where Portland's Epoxies played an energetic show. For those, who haven't heard of them and I suspect that's mostly everyone, the Epoxies play catchy, new-wavy punk. Think of Kim Wilde on speed.

The show was supposed to start at 22:00. When I arrived at 21:30 I was the first (!) who showed up. I like to catch the support band, so I prefer to be a bit early. Nevertheless, I' ve never been the first attendee. Anyway, by the time Payback opened up, the place was crowded. The band wasn't bad; a couple of heads bounced. Nothing earth-shattering, though.

About midnight, the Epoxies entered the stage and blew everyone away. They played every song from their record and, for good measure, mixed them with new ones. Those guys know how to entertain! It always amazes me, how perfectly reasonable people can completely go berserk on stage. And they look incredible: duct-tape pants, glasses like that blind guy wears in Star Trek and silly instruments (such as a shoulder-hanging keyboard and an Ace Frehley signature guitar). Fucking great.

There was one thing that bothered me, though: They are frighteningly young. It's gotten to the point that I'm much older than the bands that I like.

Anyway, go see them play.

Sicher, niemand will "nur noch den 'Rahm' abschöpfen", die "Musik zu einer Ware verkommen lassen" und "auf die Rolle des Goldesels reduziert werden", der die eigene und "die Infrastruktur anderer finanziert". Aber ohne geht es dann doch nicht. Also gibt es vorher noch Single, Album und Tournee. Daß der Albumtitel alles andere als originell¹ ist, stört nicht. Schließlich ist es die Musik der Onkelz auch nicht.

¹Die Ramones haben sich schon 1996 mit "Adios Amigos" verabschiedet.