the good, the bad & the random

i’m sorry for my readers who don’t understand luxembourgish, but this is going to be an electoral rant and i chose to do write this in my mother-tongue. why do i write my local music rants in english and my local political rants in luxembourgish, you ask? well, first, because luxembourgish communal elections are a topic i rarely discuss with non-natives unlike local music. that is why i wouldn’t feel at ease using a vocab i hardly know and run the risk of misunderstandings. 

the second reason is, that i think that there aren’t that many people who don’t understand luxembourgish who are really into local council politics. if any of my readers are interested in what i have to say on this topic and can’t understand, i invite them to leave a comment and i will gladly try to get my point across in either german, english or french.

sou, lo hun mër gewiëlt. hu mër daat gudd gemaach? keng ahnung, daat as nët u mär zë jugéiëren.

ech perséinlëch sin relativ zëfridden mat eisëm vote. den ustieg vun “dër gauche” as bemiërkenswäert an ët gesäit een dass d’léit ës ë bëssen saat hun an probéiëren “ë wiëssel” zë stäerken. ech muss dozou soën dass ech nët ëmmer iwwerzeegt sin vun der bezeechnung “gauche” well dën äusdrock nämlëch am volléksmond 4 grondvërschidden pareteien beinhalt: déi lénk (no ménger interpretatioun vun hiërem programm déi wiërklech sozialistësch partei), d’lsap (eng partei déi vill méi wäit am zentrum steet wéi sie selwer mengt), déi gréng (eng partei déi am fong gréisstëndeels just an saachen nohaltëgkeet wiërklech lénk as) an d’kp (fiër mech en gruselkabinett vun “ewig gestrigen”, déi d’faillite vun enger ideologie nach ëmmer nët verdaut hun).

bon, ech wëll mech och elo nët iwwert mäin perséinlëchen gusto äusloossen an ech sin generell méi frou wann déi stëmmen un eng vun dësen parteien geet wéi un d’dp, d’csv oder dën adr (sorry méng léif adrlër, mee ech hun mech mat dër neier weiblëchkeet vun ärem kommitee nach nët ooffonnt). sou sin ech och zimmlëch frou dass all dës parteien generell ë puer stëmmen verluër hun.

déi partei déi fir mëch awer ërem dë bock geschoos huet as d’dp. 

fir d’éischt erziëlt eis den pim knaff um radio, de wiëler hätt sëch geiërt an daat wär nët deen richtëgen wee fir esch. déi tour huët ën sëch villäicht vun séngen preisëschen kolleegen oofgekuckt, déi reegëlméissëg dëm wiëler nosoën, heen wär zë domm fir daat richtëgt ze wiëlen. 

dono kënnt dann dën bettelgate, dën worst case scenario deen d’dp hätt kënnen treffën, dën clash tëschent dem amtéiërenden senior an dëm iwwerambitionnéiërten junior. dë junior raaft ë puër stëmmen méi op wéi de senior an schon läit d’kand am pëtz. 

ët woar viräuszegesin dass dësen horror-szenario kéint realitéit gin an ech fannën der dp hiër decisioun, soit d’decisioun vun deenen zwee protagonisten minabel. dën krisenmanagement schéngt nach eppës zë sin wou d’dp nohëllëfstonnen bei der fdp kritt.

wéi gesoot, d’situatioun woar probabel an ët hätt een sëch kënnen op deen fall vierbereeden. ech kann mër wiërklëch nët viërstellen dass d’dp deen fall virun dën wahlen duerchgespillt hätt an zur conclusioun komm wiër, dass wann deen ën géif antriëden, ët eng gudd idee wiër wann dën här helminger vun all séngen ämter géif zerécktriëden. 

do trëtt also en buërgermeeschtër un fiër säin amt zë verdeedegen, an dee moment wou ë séng kroun oofgeholl kritt (wëll een vun sénger eegenër partei 514 méi stëmmen kritt wéi heen) dann motzt ën a geet  einfach sénger wee. wann nët buergermeeschter, dann guer näischt. heen as jo mol nët vun wiëler oofgestrooft gin (do kéint een sou eng reaktioun jo villäicht nach erwoarden), mee heen as bestätëgt gin, äusser dass den junior eben ë puer gräpp stëmmen méi kruut. gekränkten stolz.

ma do fiërt mär dach d’fiëder äus dëm bic.

waat as mat all deenen leit déi heen perséinlëch gewiëlt hun, sin déi op eemol guer näischt méi wäert? heen as zweetgewiëltenen vun allen staater parteien mat 13.414 stëmmen. wann mër lo mol déi 4.447 lëschtenstëmmen oofziëlen, déi heen jo nët direkt gewiëlt hun, dann bleiwen nach ëmmer tëschent 4.484 an 8967 leit déi deem mann hiërt direkt vertrauen geschenkt hun an him eng oder zwou stëmmen gin hun. daat heescht tëschent 18,4 an 36,8 prozent vun allen leit déi ën gültëgen wahlziëdel oofgin hun op d’mannst een kräiz niëwt säin numm gemaach hun, ouni déi 18,3 prozent déi d’dp lëscht geschwäerzt hun. ma schummt deen mann sëch dann nët?

ech zweifëlen ganz serieux um demokratieverständnis vun eisën politiker. nët nëmmen um här helminger séngem, mee och un deem vum rescht vun sénger partei. wéi kënnen 27 leit déi sëch demokratësch politiker nennen zu enger conclusioun wéi deër do kommen ouni sëch op d’mannst d’konsequenzen op d’vertrauën vum wiëler äuszemolen. an wann eng komplett equipe vun enger dp sëch déi froën nët stellt, froën ech mëch wéivill politiker an aanëren parteien sëch bei deër selwechter aktioun och kenger schold bewosst wiëren.

traurëg as daat…

as twet by disasteradio

please check out this short 2 part piece on the inner workings of goldman sachs by pbs newshour.

part one:

part two:

some weeks ago, i posted an email exchange between the frontman of a well-known local band and an event managing company from end april 2011. they were concluding a deal for a slot in the schedule at terres rouges festival in esch-sur-alzette. here it is, to refresh your memory:

after this done deal, beginning of august, the band sends out this email to their fans and followers explaining that they are cancelling the gig:

so one month prior to the event they cancel their participation on the grounds of how the luxembourgish bands were treated by the festival organization. oddly enough, we didn’t hear the two other bands complain. you might argue that los duenos del ska weren’t in a position to fight as they “won” their entry to the festival through the fête de la musique. but de läb has a different weight in the music scene. during their extensive touring through bars, concert venues and festivals, they’ve played in every spot there is in luxembourg, they’ve even opened for fanta 4 at this year’s rock-a-field on the main stage and did a great job. no complaints from their side… i believe that they were happy to play another big festival and have the chance to present their skills to a wide audience.

so i guess that there are a few questions to be raised on the legitimacy of cancelling this gig:

don’t be mislead by itunes chart positions or facebook likes, for that matter. as long as facebook keeps changing everything but the one thing the user desires the most - a “dislike” button - facebook cheers always need to be taken with a grain of salt. some artists in luxembourg claim to have a higher standing than some international artists because at some point they’ve outranked them on the luxembourgish itunes charts. let me get this straight: people who listen to rihanna or the kaiser chiefs are not the people buying their music on itunes, in fact they’re not buying their music at all. so let’s not get cocky when we’re outselling the stars on our local itunes… believe me that most of the people at any festival in luxembourg would prefer if the kaiser chiefs or sunrise avenue were headlining the show. on the other hand i think that they would have liked to see the local band’s show - in the afternoon, as agreed.

they’ve agreed to play at a festival which obviously underlies certain commercial realities: the local heroes are usually hired to get the public to the festival ground as early as possible and get the party going, they warm up the crowd for the guests who don’t know the public as well. this is common practice for every concert and festival schedule worldwide, ever.

festival scheduling also takes the characteristics of the shows into account. you would tend to program the wilder shows towards the end and the mellow ones towards the beginning.

finally, the 2010 fête de la musique analogy is a stretch. is he honestly comparing their show to eternal tango’s? does he really think that the kaiser chiefs and paul carrack are playing in the same league? are they even playing the same sport? don’t get me wrong, i know that carrack is a gifted guitarist and singer and has played in roxy music at some point, but come on, you get my point.

by the way, have a look at the 2011 schedule for the same stage. there’s only one luxembourgish band, the birdbones, playing first and i believe the 2010 and 2011 editions were programmed by the same person.

for me, the band’s statements are either a sign of loss of reality or plain manipulation.

they decided for airtime over the commitment to the people who paid to see them (and the other bands.) they preferred to play games instead of staying true to themselves. they’ve actually robbed the public, not the event manager. when pr-stunts are staged at the customer’s dispense only to get media attention, maybe luxembourg’s music scene is further ahead in a business way than i thought. that’s a politician’s game, the same game they are criticizing in their songs. i kindly ask them to please take a second and think about this.

i’m disappointed. don’t get me wrong, this is not a rant against this band or their music. i really loved their first album and i’m all for the current push of the luxembourgish language in the music scene. this is a rant against the way they disrespect their audience and seem to feel justified in doing it, against the way they’re trying to create precedents and seemingly speak for the whole luxembourgish music scene.

this is an appeal to common sense. acting professionally in the music business is a question of hard work to improve your qualities, not playing the media game.

this is my favorite episode of rap news, somewhat up-to-date again. please check out the other episodes as well. hugo farrant and giordano nanni are not only funny and clever but also very talented. rap news, the bacon’s news channel of choice ;-)

from thejuicemedia.com

thejuicemedia rap news – the news source for the discerning viewer, delivering a bulletin to restore your faith in the fourth estate, make you nod your head to the beat even as you shake it in disbelief. an off-beat musical, current-affairs programme, ‘rap news’ is responsible for turning bollocks-news into socio-poetic/comedic analyses which everyone can relate to and understand. join your host, robert foster, for the latest broadcast of rap news.

~thejuicemedia: rap news is written and created by hugo farrant and giordano nanniin a home-studio/suburban backyard in melbourne, australia.

hugo farrant fills the role of the amiable rap news anchorman, robert foster – as well as all the guests who appear on the show. hailing from branksome in the uk, hugo is a prolific rhymer and orator, mc and spoken-word poet who regularly graces the stages and festivals of melbourne. having spent seven years rhyming and rapping, he now co-rhymes/writes ~thejuicemedia: rap news.

giordano nanni is rap news’s writer, director and editor, whose rants and ruminations on history, politics and current affairs are channeled into rhyme by robert foster. hailing from italy and south africa, giordano is a historian and author, and the instigator of a number of original projects spanning theatre, print and the internets – including ~thejuicemedia, which he established in 2008.

robert foster - rap new’s affable anchorman, whose retro outfits and biting critiques of current affairs have earned him respect in the whisical world of news satire. specialising in the ancient art of independent-broadcasting with rhyme-and-reason, robert is the personified embodiment of the collaborative duo, hugo and giordano. (although he would never admit it if questioned directly).