Friday 29 February 2008

JDrama: The season wrap up (winter '08)

Bara no nai Hanaya
A very heartwarming story about the owner of a flower shop who lost his wife when she gave birth to his daughter. The father of the mother seems to hold a grudge against the man and sets up two of his underlings to destroy the quiet but happy life of the florist.
Katori Shingo of SMAP has his funny moments in this one every now and then but all in all his performance is very solid and humble. As for Takeuchi Yuko she as beautiful as she always is. Her smile is one of the prettiest ones in Japanese television. The whole cast is very good, by the way. I really like how they managed to intertwine two basic storylines without getting tangeled up as they follow the quest of the mother's father to bring down the florist and at the same time the story takes time to look into the life of an abused child and the rescue of the child from its parents. This is great stuff with a wonderful soundtrack. (7,5/10)

Hachimitsu to Clover
I already watched the anime version of this story and what I especially liked was the fact that nothing really happened there. Basically this is just following the lives of college students at an arts university and what they do all year long. Sure, there are funny moments, sad moments, happy moments and stuff like that, but you never get the impression that the pace gets out of hand. It always had the feeling of being a story that could easily happen to yourself. Just life, eh?
The cast is brilliant with Narumi Riko leading it off as the shy and quiet Hagu. The trio of male actors inclued Narimiya Hiroki who I always liked for his silly roles in school boy dorama, but here he plays a highly talented slacker with lots of crazy ideas, still he's someone who helps out his friends when in need. As much as I liked the anime I also like this one. (7/10)

Ashita no Kita Yoshio
This is this season's stand out dorama. What a great start to the story. A man decides that he wants to end his life in 11 days. And during the time he has left he has a list of things he wants to do. One of those being a meeting with his ex-wife who divorced him 11 years ago. When coming to Tokyo he meets a lot of different people and experiences a lot of different things.
Might sound a bit boring but in fact this is really great stuff. The cast is excellent with lead actor Kuhinata Fumiyo stealing the show from everyone. But even the supporting roles are high class. The deeper you get into this, the more unexpected twists and turns come up and you will never know which direction this series will take with the next episode. Definetely a must see! (8,5/10)


Koshonin
Another one of those action police doramas, this time the main character being a female officer who is with a special negotiation squad. She's always by looked down upon by her superiors and while she is trying to prove that she has what it takes to fulfil the job she constantly gets herself in trouble.
This is kind of predictable since the episodes all deal with some sort of hostage taking or some madman setting up bombs all over Tokyo and the police are trying to track down his or her whereabouts. And the acting is a little tense. Don't get fooled by the banner, it's not as if Yonekura Ryoko is running around in a catsuit the whole time, the story a little bit more serious. Still this is just average stuff I would watch when there's nothing else on at the moment. (6/10)

Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi
I really liked Tamaki Hiroshi as Chiaki-senpai in "Nodame Cantabile" and here he is again playing a frustrated scientist who is transferred to an all girls school in the city of Nara where his life takes an unexpected turn. Turns out he's the only person who can save the planet. And you thought you had stress in your life, right?
This is a brilliant mistery story which at some points seems to get out of hand but then after a few minutes it gets back on track again smoothly and keeps you stuck in front of the screen. I haven't watched all of the episodes and I still have no clue in what direction this thing is going. All I can say is I really like it when deers talk to humans. Ayase Haruka plays the female lead and the rest of the cast is very good as well. (8/10)

Edison no Haha
Another school dorama and this time we're in elementary school. Ito Misaki plays a teacher who just got dumped by her fiancé and now she has to cope with a wiseguy student at school who is aking questions all the time. And what's even worse, that kid gets the rest of his class to follow his strange experiments.
A nice story about a child prodigy with an everlasting thirst for wisdom and knowledge. The bottom line of this series is that it is okay to ask question and that you shouldn't take no for an answer. Although at some points this gets a little too thick it still is a very good story and I have to admit that I like that kind of messages. Well, most of them. Again, this cast is pretty good and the story has enough lighthearted moments to make you laugh every now and then. (7/10)

1 Pound no Fukuin
Another manga adaption, this one telling the story of a good for nothing boxer who only has food on his mind as is in constant trouble of going to a weigh-in overweight. He meets a nun (a nun in Japan, oh well....) and falls for her, never realizing what it means to stay at a convent.
Another episode-based dorama where the story repeats itself every week. This is kind of funny, but it can be pretty lengthy at times as well. It's always about food - which is nice - and the problems the main character (played by Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN) has with his very strong appetite. Kuroki Meisa plays the nun and soemtimes she is acting a bit too holy, I think. Still because this is all a bit over the top you can easily recognize that this story was written in a manga. So it's okay, but not great.
On a funny side note, this dorama sees Kobayashi Satomi and Motai Masako team up again. Both were brilliant in the movie "Kamome Shokudo". (6/10)

Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai
Another lawyer dorama. Or wait, is it a divorce comedy? Well, it has got a bit of both. Koyuki and Inagaki Goro of SMAP play the Ritsuko and Norimichi Sasaki who are not only married but manage their own law firm. But their ways of living their lives couldn't be more different. Ritsuko is sloppy and lazy while Norimichi is correct and disciplined. This leads to various quarrels and they are always on the brink of breaking up. It is only thanks to their friends and co-workers that they always find the way back to each other.
This series is episode based as well meaning that there is one story in each episode, usually a case the law firm takes on. But the quarrels and rants of the couple make this worthwhile. Every now and then I like those simpler things. (6,5/10)

* Fall 2007 Wrap Up
* Summer 2007 Wrap Up
* Spring 2007 Wrap Up

Sunday 24 February 2008

Bundesliga - Day 21: Action and Reaction.

VfL Wolfsburg - Hertha BSC Berlin 0:0
Arminia Bielefeld - MSV Duisburg 0:2
Bayer Leverkusen - FC Schalke 04 1:0
Borussia Dortmund - FC Hansa Rostock 1:0
Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder Bremen 1:0
VfB Stuttgart - Karlsruher SC 3:1
FC Bayern Bayern - Hamburger SV -:-
1.FC Nürnberg - FC Energie Cottbus -:-
VfL Bochum - Hannover 96 2:1

The underlying theme for this weekend's round of Bundesliga action seemed to have been foul play. In a reanactment of the 2006 World Cup final Bremen's Diego (as Zinedine Zidane) and Frankfurt's Kyrigiakos (as Marco Matterazzi) tried to stage one of the best remakes in football history. Diego seemed to have been the target of numerous fair and unfair attacks by the Frankfurt defense, when he was downed by the Greek defender who then told the Brazilian midfielder "fuck you and stand up". This caused Diego to snap and the himself mowed down Kyrigiakos with a fine body check. Without a doubt this was a red card and with only 10 men on the pitch Bremen lost the match 1-0.
So much for the story, what happened the next day was that most of the media were trying to find excuses for Diego's foul play which I find highly astonishing. Here is a player who commits a foul on an opponent and is sent off. A completely normal occurence on a football pitch. But because this was one by a player who is considered to be the best player in the German Bundesliga (and I totally agree with that) everyone is trying to defend him no matter what.
I wonder what they would have said to Mario Gomez who was constantly harrassed by his "shadow" Maik Franz in the southern derby between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. While the fans were trying to burn down the building before and during the match Gomez and Franz were going at each other with all they had in their repertoire. Gomez went ahead and scored the lead for Stuttgart in a game which Stuttgart went on to win 3-1. But it was only after the game when he told reporters what he thought of his opposition in Karlsruhe's defense. "I respect all of my opponents, but not this asshole. He's just an unfair sportsman".

Still all this can be dismissed as rather trivial when you read and maybe see (I won't post any pictures or youtube movies since this is just too much) what happened to Eduardo, Arsenal's Brazilian-Croatian striker. In a match against Birmingham City he was mowed down after only two minutes by Martin Taylor who with his lunge tackle might have broken everything into peices what was once in Eduardo's foot. This was one of the most brutal fouls I have ever seen and the pictures in the British tabloid papers look simply disgusting. One can only hope that Eduardo will be able to play football again in the future. This had nothing to do with sports and is rather an assault case for a law court.

Rugby Overkill: Six Nations and Super 14

Well, well, well, this was a packed weekend with lots of rugby and I took the chance and watched a little bit of the action. Interestingly enough I was able to compare southern and northern hemisphere rugby with the Super 14 championship applying some of the new set of rules, the so called ELV (Experimental Law Variations). No I don't really understand all of those new rules, but it seems that combined with the speed and creativity of southern hemisphere rugby this looks simply amazing. While I was watching Bulls vs Crusaders (19-54) or Lions vs Blues (10-55) I was thrilled to see wonderful passing and running. And it was also great to watch all those players I had only seen on their respective national teams before. The Crusaders victory was brilliant with All Blacks fly half Daniel Carter setting the pace and executing a wonderful kicking game. In the end he also scored a try and completely fooled some Bulls forwards when he was clearing the ball with a kick in his own end zone.
This was completely different from what the European national sides were showing at the Six Nations. I know there always is a difference between club sides and national teams, but while I was watching Ireland vs Scotland (34-13) - although this was intense and exciting - this match didn't have the dynamics and the flow that the Super 14 matches had. I have no idea if this is due to the use of the ELV or if it's just the difference in approaching the game.
The top match was somewhat of a surprise though with England beating France in Paris 13-24. France were looking very good in their first two matches although they were struggling in their game against Ireland in the closing minutes. They were playing with a very young pair on the half positions, François Trinh-Duc at fly half and an extraordinary performance of 19-year-old Morgan Parra at scrum half. It had the same feeling was the semifinal in last year's World Cup but this time England were playing with a lot more offensive effort than back in October, I thought. This was exciting to watch, although a lot of running plays were cut short by a formidable defense on both sides. Still England has to look for a better player at full back. After being hammered for his performance against Wales full back Balshaw didn't look very convincing to me.
With the results of this weekend only Wales (who beat Italy with a convincing 47-8) is still undefeated. Trailing are England, France and Ireland with records of two wins and one loss. This is promising to be a very eciting final to this year's competition.

Wednesday 20 February 2008

Champions League - Last 16 (Leg 1)

Arsenal London - AC Milan 0:0
Celtic Glasgow - FC Barcelona 2:3
Fenerbahce Istanbul - FC Sevilla 3:2
Olympique Lyonnais - Manchester United 1:1
FC Schalke 04 - FC Porto 1:0
Liverpool FC - Internazionale 2:0
AS Roma - Real Madrid 2:1
Olympiakos Piraeus - Chelsea FC 0:0

The knock out stages in the European Champions League started this week and while Tuesday's matches were rather boring Wednesday saw somthing completely different. Arsenal vs Milan was labeled as the clash between the young and the old. The high speed one-touch machine of Arsenal with their exciting youngsters against the routine and the experience of Milan. Perhaps the embodiment of Milan, Paolo Maldini, played his 1.000th professional match for Milan last weekend and he again showed all his class in this one. It was a draw, yes, but the 2nd half was very exciting with an everflowing stream of Arsenal attacks and a very firm Milan defense.
Elsewhere Celtic lost to Barcelona after leading twice, both goals scored wonderfully. But Barca is a great team and one was able to see this when they scored. Messi did it twice and his 2nd one was brilliant. That match was also very intensive and exciting although Barcelona was in control most of the time. Still Celtic was fighting back with all they had. And their goalkeeper Artur Boruc made some great saves. If I remember it correctly he was in the goal for Poland when they played Germany in the group stages of the 2006 World Cup. In that match he was extraordinary as well.
That said I think the only team which will go through safely will be Barcelona. All the other ties are way too close.

Sunday 17 February 2008

Akiakane @ Sonic Ballroom, Cologne

I have been looking forward to this show ever since I found out about it on punkstelle.de at the end of last year. It's very rare for us to get to see Japanese bands play live in local clubs, so I gave the music of Akiakane a try via their myspace site and I instantly liked it. Very nice melodic punkrock with enough energy and aggressiveness.
Arriving at the "Sonic Ballroom" at around 2115h the place was decently filled but definetely not sold out. First up were a band from Cologne called The Bloody Valentines, a name today often associated with whiny emo bands, but those guys were more into the punkrock kind of things. Well, there were somewhere in the middle between classic 77 styled punkrock and German fun punk gods Die Ärzte, although only on the musical side of things. This was too much cliché. Interestingly though their bassist seemed to be blind, still he was making all the announcements and it seemed that he was writing a lot of the songs. So,w ell, yeah, they played for around 45 minutes which a quarter of an hour too much if you ask me.
When the samurai girls of Akiakane entered the stage the expectations were very high it seemed. There was some kind of strange atmosphere in the room. Noone knew what to expect now. Introduced by what seemed to be their tour driver from England they then went on to absolutely tear down the club. Fast, high energy and aggressive punkrock tunes, not very much talking on stage (maybe due to the lack of English knowledge - which wasn't true as I found out after the show when I talked to singer Moe for a few minutes), that's the way it should be. People seemed to enjoy the show and were dancing around, getting them back on stage for one encore after around 40 minutes. It's a pity the Ballroom wasn't more packed than the ~40 people who turned up on this Sunday night. But I really enjoyed myself and hope that they will return in the future. If not I might go and check them out in Japan. That's what their merchandise girl Nao told me to do. よろしく。

Bundesliga - Day 20: How to decide on a goalkeeper for the national team

Hannover 96 - FC Bayern München 0:3
Hamburger SV - VfL Bochum 3:0
MSV Duisburg - VfB Stuttgart 2:3
Karlsruher SC - Bayer Leverkusen 2:2
Werder Bremen - 1.FC Nürnberg 2:0
FC Energie Cottbus - Borussia Dortmund 0:2
Hertha BSC Berlin - Arminia Bielefeld 1:0
FC Hansa Rostock - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:0
FC Schalke 04 - VfL Wolfsburg (Fr.) 1:2

Whereas last weekend saw some surprises this one was flat out boring. Sure, the games were exciting, but the results didn't provide anything near to an upset. The top 3 teams all won, the three at the bottom all lost.
What gets more interesting is how the German press sets its sights on the position of the goalkeeper in the German national team. Ever since Jens Lehmann made a few mistakes against Austria he's been the No.1 target. Now Germany is the very comfortable spot to have a lot of good, very good and world class goalkeepers compared to countries like, well, let's say, for instance ... England (yeah, I know, cheap joke, duh, hehe). There are at least 7 names which are always brought up when it comes to nominating goalkeepers for this year's Euro championship. Lehmann's back up is supposed to be Timo Hildebrand who is playing at FC Valencia this season. Although he seemed to have some problems at the beginning he's now playing on a regular basis. At east when I last looked up his name, things change fast, you know.
Then there is the youth movement in the Bundesliga which brought up players like René Adler (Bayer Leverkusen) and Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04). Both were pushed to the front last year and played outstanding seasons. But while neuer seems to struggle a little bit recently Adler is getting better and better. Just this weekend he secured the point for Leverkusen at Karlsruhe. Those two are only at the beginning of their 20s mind you so they have the future all for themselves.
The guys waiting for a shot at the national team right now are Robert Enke (Hannover 96), Frank Rost (HSV), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund) and Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen). Rost is out of the equation if you ask me. He simply is too old (34) and doesn't seem to fit into the teamplaying role that the national team requires. Although he is playing very well for Hamburg at the moment. Weiderfeller is out as well because he's injured. That leaves Enke and Wiese. Enke had an outstanding season last year but seems to be back to the ground this year. Still I would consider him to be the best choice because of his character. Wiese on the other hand had an outstanding match in the UEFA Cup this week in which he saved towo penalties but he is just too inconsistent. Plus he speaks out too often which doesn't leave a good impression with the press and the coaches.

This being the situation at the moment every move and game of Lehmann is taken into consideration right now. Although - from what I've read - he wasn't to blame for Arsenal's defeat against ManU this weekend the German media (especially the tabloids) went on a rampage again. Heck, it's one game. If they really want to get him out of the team then go against his age. Personally I simply think he's too old and because of this you should use a younger guy. If Lehmann had stepped down after the 2006 World Cup he would have been a hero for everyone.

What will happen until June is that the tabloids will try to get him out of the team and instead have one of the aforementioned guys go to the Euro. And - believe me - the name of that guy will change every week. Whoever plays good will be mentioned. This will be fun, yeah..........

On other news, soon-to-be-promoted Fortuna Köln will play their first game this year in two weeks against Wegberg-Beeck at the Südstadion (Feb 29th). I am really looking forward to this one!! Yet another evening game. The last two were both won with a goal difference of 9-4.

Thursday 14 February 2008

Quote of the day

"I believe in freedom of speech and I think it's very important but you don't do it in foreign countries and you certainly don't do it in public"

(Some redneck in the movie "Shut Up And Sing" giving a statement why he now hates the Dixie Chicks. God bless America.)

Rocky Votolato @ Rex Cinema, Cologne

Sometimes evenings turn out just the opposite of what you had expected them to be like. Well, this wasn't realy the case for last Tuesday's evening since it wasn't supposed to be bad or anything like it, but in the end I had a lot of fun which I didn't expect when I left the house.
I originally planned to meet up with my sister and two friends before Rocky Votolato was supposed to play in a movie theatre in Cologne. The venue itself was a very special pick because I don't remember that they set up shows there before. So the biggest room in the Cinema was used for a very low key and quiet acoustic show of Mr Votolato. 350 people were lining up before the doors opened leaving the other people who were just passing by with some sort of astonishement on their faces. "Rex Cinema" is usually known as the "One Dollar House" which basically means that they show movies at a very cheap price. They manage to do so because they show old movies. Old in this sense meaning that those movies are already 3-6 months old or even older. So actually it is something like a re-screening. That's a nice idea because the prices for movie thetres went through the roof in the past few years.
Alright, so while we were standing in front of the "Rex" some friends passed by and we were just talking. I was getting ready to leave because I didn't have a ticket and I heard that the show was sold out anyway. So just as I was about to return home I met a former colleague who happened to have a "+1" spot on the guestlist, and the "+1" wasn't able to come around. Lucky me.
The stage was set up very simple, just a few lamps and other stuff, nothing special. But first they were showing trailers for upcoming movies they are showing at "Rex" in the future. This was kind of fun because it was totally like people were going to watch a movie. They were even showing the ice cream comercial which usually ends the commercial part before the movie. Still the choice of the trailers was interesting as well. There is this movie about the Dixie Chicks and their problems with their rather ignorant and conservative fan base ("Shut Up & Sing" - German site. Strangely enough the American one seems to be offline).
So after this Mr Votolato enters the stage and the completely captures the audience. Interestingly enough, as one friend standing at the entrance put it - "the authority of the room" was working very well. People were behaving like they were watching a movie. Which means they weren't talking very loud, they were just listening to the music. It felt kind of relaxing to see that. This must have been one hell of a show but I didn't see that much of it since I preferred to talk to some friends in front of the cinema. But it seems that he played a lot of songs and had a good choice from his repertoire.
When the show was over I was waiting for my sister and she had a surprise for me. I got a Red Sox cap from a friend who went to the States and on this particular evening he gave me the cap before we went to the show. While standing in the movie theatre I put the cap on my sister's head and then she disappeared to the front of the room. So when she came out of the cinema she had this look on her face that she did something bad and the first thing she asks me is "Will you get mad?". So then she presents me with the cap and there's an autograph of Rocky Votolato on it. I couldn't care less about something like this so I was really laughing. Nice way to end the evening.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

MLB: Prime time TV drama on drugs

This is simply hilarious. A few minutes ago, the hearing of Roger Clemens on the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs before a committee of the House Of Representatives in Washington (reports on New York Times, Boston Globe) finished and I am still amazed about how this whole thing went on.
Let's get this straight, baseball seems to have a drug problem, at least if you believe in what's written in the so called Mitchell Report. For some years a lot of players seemed to have used performance-enhancing drugs and the organization of MLB looked away. In the past few years they seem to have put some serious thought into doping and drug abuse and introduced tests (which seem to be pretty limited though) and seem to go against drug abuse with a little bit more strength.
Okay, here's how things work in Europe. People are very concious about what's happening in sports and although the attendence for the Tour de France is still very large the general interest seems very much impressed with the drug abuse in cycling. When a lot of German cyclists admitted they used doping in their career there was a huge outburst of anger. They weren't expecting any punishment since most of the cases were out of date by then, but they admitted it. In the end they admitted it.
What we have here in the USA is prime time television drama at its best. Those lunatics sit down ina congressional hearing and talk about some soap opera influenced crap instead of what doping does to sports. It's cheating, damnit. Yeah, sure, you hurt your own body with it, but those are growm up men. But they cheat. Results become void because one side had an illegal advantage over their opponents. Whole seasons might be invalid because some athletes decided to inject themselves with drugs. Still that issue is not addressed anywhere.
Now I don't have any proof but there must be drug abuse in football as well. Although some people dismiss the sport as not suited for the abuse of performance-enhacing drugs (now Greece national team coach Otto Rehagel once said that someone who doesn't have any talent won't be a better football player by abusing drugs) I have the suspicion that especially in rehabilitation certain things will be used. And if this bomb blows up one day there will be a lot of trouble for the players involved. And if it does blow up there will be no parliamental hearings but the sports federations and associations will deal with that. That's the way it should be.
Still this story is always good for a laugh... worthwhile to pass the time until the season starts again.

Saturday 9 February 2008

Bundesliga - Day 19: Derby Time

Eintracht Frankfurt - Arminia Bielefeld 2:1
Bayer Leverkusen - Hamburger SV 1:1
VfB Stuttgart - Hertha BSC Berlin 1:3
VfL Bochum - FC Energie Cottbus 3:3
VfL Wolfsburg - MSV Duisburg 2:1
1.FC Nürnberg - FC Hansa Rostock 1:1
Hannover 96 - Karlsruher SC 2:2
Bayern München - Werder Bremen 1:1
Borussia Dortmund - FC Schalke 04 2:3

It was time for the big matches this weekend. Unusually early this season but nonetheless always a day to look forward to. Two of the most important derbies were played this weekend in Germany. The so called "Revier Derby" Dortmund vs Schalke and the "North-South-Derby" Munich vs Bremen. While Schalke used this opportunity - not only to make up for their spectacular loss at the end of last season to their local rivals which ended their dreams of the first championship in almost 50 years - to move closer to the top, Bayern and Bremen remained at a deadlock on the first to places.
Elsewehere this was a rather strange match day. I was convinced that struggleing Berlin was leaving the points in Stuttgart but instead they won. Who would have believed that? Frankfurt continue their winning run by beating a disorganzied Bielefeld side who looked like they are begging for relegation. Nürnberg wasn't able to win again and if they don't make it against such a bad side as Rostock who knows how they want to get the points to get back on track and stay in the first division. Bochum wasn't able to hold on to a 3-1 lead against Cottbus and Hannover managed to hold Karlsruhe to a draw. Somehow this round left me with a feeling of disappointment.

Approach To Concrete: Great records and strange merchandise

Approach To Concrete were one of the first bands coming from Germany I was listening to when I was younger. Back in the days it was all about New York Hardcore and Bands like Sick Of It All, Sheer Terror, Madball, Agnostic Front or Biohazard were coming to Germany on a regular basis, but as a teenager you somehow don't look sideways and search for bands coming from your area. At least I didn't at first. That changed with the time and at some point I got my hands on a copy of a fanzine called "New Direction" (yeah, well, it's all about the clichés, right?). The issue featured an interview with ATC and lead singer Jörg was confronted with a lot of strange questions, one of them dealing with the "milky way CBGC's", if I remember it correctly. The zine came along with a tape compilation and that one had three demo tracks of Approach To Concrete on it. That stuff got me hooked instantly. And because they were coming from Cologne me and my friends supported them at every show they played around here.
Their records weren't bringing in anything new to hardcore, but what I liked was their punkrock approach. "Drown" is a great 7" and the follow up mini CD "...failures" continued in that way. They didn't care about any rules and they weren't very concenred with the image they portrayed. Some people saw them as a straight edge band completely ignoring the fact that both guitarist Thommy and bassist Seppl were drinking a lot of alcohol and singer Jörg and drummer Jochen were the only straight edge guys in the band. But that didn't matter to anyone because they were just a great band. Filling in at a show in Dilsen, Belgium, when the Swedish straight edge girls of Doughnuts were stuck on the road was a highlight. They also toured Europe with Battery and played a great gig at Cologne's "BüZe Ehrenfeld". Their last two shows were memorable as well. A weekend doubleheader which started at Burscheid's "Megaphon" club, I think they played with Point One from Leverkusen. The club itself was more like a village discotheque and not at all like a squat or a hardcore venue. The turnout was very low and when Approach To Concrete entered the stage there were only three people in the audience. Me, a friend of mine and the guitarist's girlfriend. Their last one was a blast though. The "JKC" was packed and they played one hell of a show. A good way to end it.
I can't quite remember it but I think at that show they were selling or giving away those strange plastic hammers. This again shows their rather funny approach to dealing with the so called hardcore scene. I mean, writing "the face" on one side is just hilarious. I wonder why I still keep this thing. Perhaps it's because I still like to remember those times when hardcore was a great thing in Cologne. Me and bassist Seppl were always meeting up at shows at the "Between" club and when those shows ended we always went to the "Lotta" bar to drink a few more beers until the place closed at 1 am.
Since then the "scene" changed a lot over the years. Bands came and went and it seems to be getting back on track over the past couple of years. What I especially like is that the boundaries which were built up over the years between the different parts of the "scene" seem to be breaking down little by little. Back then it wasn't anything special that punk bands played with hardcore acts. It seems to be getting back to that now. "One finger in the air hardcore", as one shirt print of Approach To Concrete used to read.

Thursday 7 February 2008

Unexpected promotional packages: Blacktop Records

Someone who once in his or her life put out a fanzine will know this situation. You get promotional copies of records by labels you never heard of before. In my case it's even more strange since we at Dear You Zine always pouint out that we don't want and don't need any promotional stuff because we rather tend to buy the records. Yes, we review what we like and we buy what we like. Believe it or not. But so much effort that those promo guys put into their work should not be in vain so I decided to review the stuff here. So whoever wants to read this, feel free. The labels name is Blacktop Records, it's from some small town north of Cologne in the middle of nowhere and the bands are all at least hardcore-ish. Here we go:

AnchorsXUp - s/t CD
It's 2008 and bands still need to put x's in their names. Think you know what this band sounds like? I think you're right. For me this stuff comes at least 10 years too late. Don't get me wrong, this isn't crap at all. It's just that I've already heard enough of this sound over the past years. If I'd see this band live I might even like it. But on record this just hasn't anything to keep me interested. It always depends on who you send such a record to. If this was in the hands of a 20 year old hardcore kid who's totally into old school youth crew stuff then the rating would probably blow the roof. But for me this is just another copy of what was cool around 15 years ago. It's nice to know that there are bands who still play such music, but it's just not my cup of tea anymore. (4/10)

Seed Of Pain - Power, Corruption & Lies CD (actual release is a one-sided 12")
Interesting 90s hardcore touch that these guys from Switzerland have in their music. Although it's only a slight one it's enough to make them stand out of these four Cds I got in this package. Still it is rather sad that they feature the American blend of that period when there were so many great bands in Europe during that time span. What I like is the lack of melodies. Or let's put it this way, the melodies are rather unorthodox. At some point this even reminds me of Kreator's "Renewal" record, although there is no metal in here. Rather interesting. If they play live around here I might go and check them out. (6/10)

Storm & Stress - s/t EP CD
Gee, does anyone really need another band that sounds like all that crap that's played in big room discos where the alternative looking youth is shaking their hips to the newest and coolest sounds to get rid off their school stress? I'm definetely too old for this kind of stuff. Too much metal, too much despair and teenage angst and way too little punkrock. And, well, can we agree on the fact that this kind of music needs a rather bombastic production. Where other bands provide the listener with a tornado (with a little help from the funds of major companies) this is a slight wind. Once again, this might be better in the hands of someone who really digs this kind of sound, but to me it's just mainstream chart music. (3/10)

Black Friday '29 - The Pursuit Of Happiness CD
These guys have been around forever and I don't feel like they've changed a lot over the years. Still their typical hardcore blend with some mosh parts. The whole package sounds very international and will stand the test against their overseas counterparts. But yet again this won't be a record I will listen to in the time I have to spare. It's good and I really like their energetic live shows, but on record it's just not my thing anymore. The times I've seen them on stage they completely ripped through the audience and created a lot of mayhem. Wonderful old tyme hardcore. And I think if they play around the corner for small money I'd be coming along to take a look once again. But there are way too many bands who play this style nowadays, it's all becoming so similar. In my eyes, that is. Glad to see that there's still bands holding up the flag and promoting the spirit, whatever spirit they think it is. But for me that time has passed and I think it's time to move on to soemthing new, something different.
So out of sentimental reasons I'd still rate this one higher than the rest. Duh. (7/10)

Premier League goes abroad

It is common practice for the North American professional sports leagues to hold exhibition matches and even league games in foreign countires to promote their business overseas. The NFL played their opening match in London, the MLB will play two matches in Tokyo and the NHL is considering to send some teams to Europe for promotional purposes. So it comes as no surprise when the English Premier League announced that they are thinking about having regular season matches played in foreign countries to expand their fanbase. What will be pleasant news to the millions in foreign countries seems to be a rather bad idea since it has to be kept in mind that long travels are not very good for the form and fitness of a team. One can always hear the Champions League winner complaining about their late autumn trip to Asia to represent Europe in the FIFA World Club competition. So personally I don't think that the game will actually benefit from matches played abroad. In Baseball the officials went so far as to set the date of the season opener between World Series winners Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics so early that both teams will go back to the states to continue their spring training and allow the to acustom themselves to home soil once again.
Sure, the promotional value will be immense and once the League is able to reap the benefits of such trips other European leagues will follow that example and will try to set up their own overseas matches. But the fans back home won't be as pleased as the ones in Asia, I think. You want to support your team and season ticket holders pay a lot of money to be able to watch their club play. Are those people supposed to follow the team wherever the league sends them? And what about local derbies? A match like Schalke vs Dortmund, Milan vs Inter or Arsenal vs Tottenham makes no sense if it is played thousands of miles across the globe.

International Friendlies: Rivalries are a fine thing

There is a long history in football matches between Germany and Austria dating back to the time in between the World Wars when Austria had a great team which by 1938 had to be integrated into the new German "Reichself" after the annexation of Austria. This team failed miserably in the 1938 World Cup and ever since have games between those two nations been very explosive and exciting. When Austria beat Germany in the 1978 World Cup (3-2) it meant the end of the German World Cup campaign. Austria still thrives on those memories mainly becase they haven't won anything since then. In 1982 a horrible stalemate ("The Shame Of Gijon") produced a 1-0 win for Germany securing their advance to the next stage at the expense of the Algerians. I think I remember a brutal beating in 1986, the first match in which Lothar Matthäus was captain of the German team, when Germany lost 1-4 in Vienna. At the same stadium in 2004 the "2006 project" of Jürgen Klinsmann took its first step with a convincing 3-0 win over Austria.
So both teams met in Vienna again yesterday and right from the national anthems - when the German anthem was drowned in a whisteling from the Austrian supporters - you knew there was something on again. Austria was the better team in the first half in which the German side was totally disappointing. One could see that goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was out of form, the midfield was not existent and it was only because the defense was holding on that Austria didn't score. After the break Germany got back in control and scored three times to bring down the Euro hosts.

Elsewhere Italy crushed Portugal (3-1), England beat Euro co-hosts Switzerland (2-1) and Spain once again stettled into their favourite role as the dark horse with a win over France (1-0)

Monday 4 February 2008

Eating Onigiri for the first time

I always wanted to try お握り (onigiri, japanese rice balls), but i never had the chance. My cooking skills are rather bad and somehow I never found the time to give it a shot. But fortunately a friend of mine had some visitors from Japan and they were kind enough to make some. We also had miso soup with the onigiri and that was all very tasty stuff. What I found very interesting is that I was stuffed after eating only two of those rather small rice balls. I still have some with me at home so I might end up eating them tonight while watching TV.
It's always interesting to try out something different and because I watch so many television series from Japan I became interested in the japanese cuisine. It's fascinating that they show people eating in almost every series and in almost every episode. That's something completely different from German television series. In germany one might see someone eat something occasionally, but then it's not specified what that person is eating. In Japan they always talk about food. Interesting difference in local culture, I think. I wonder what I should try out next...?

Africa Cup Of Nations: The quarterfinals

The teams which emerged from the group stages were those most of the experts expected to end up there. With two surpises. Guinea (0-5 against the Ivory Coast)and Angola (1-2 against Egypt) upset the continent in their group matches and although both of them crashed out of the tournament in their respective quarterfinal matches they left a wonderful impression with me. It's good to see that the hosts went through though. Ghana (2-1 against Nigeria) have always been my favourite team in Africa, especially because of their players who played in Germany. And when they show the crowd and you can see Anthony Baffoe sitting there it just feels good.
It's a shame they have to cope with such conditions though. The pitch doesn't seem to be in best shape on all grounds. Nonetheless the games have been very exciting so far. Where in European football most of the matches on an international level seem to be frozen in tactics in Africe it's just do or die. The players make the game very fast and there is a constant change in direction. Adding up to that are wonderful goals, especially from long distance shots. The equalizer in the Egypt vs Angola match was a stunner.

Right now it's Cameroon vs Tunesia and the untamable lions are up 1-0 (Eto'o, who else).

NFL: Super Bowl. Too much hype every year

Yeah, I know, I always keep rumbleing about how boring American Football is. And, yes, I know it's boring to always use the same reason which is why a game can be named "Football" when there are only two situations in this game where the ball is actually played with a foot. But those Americans like their game and it's getting broadcasting service in Germany as well, so there must be something about it. Which is why I tuned it to the coverage last night. The match was shown on German state television and the commentators were at least a litle better than the ones they usually use for football matches.
The match itself was something I'd consider to be a stalemate. They score was locked at New England 7 New York 3 and there wasn't really much happening on the field. Which is why I turned off the TV after the beginning of the second half and that is why I missed out on what seems to have been a thrilling last two quarters.

But still, this just ain't my game. For example there was one situation when the referee was reviewing an incident on a screen to make sure what really happened and there wasn't anything happening on the pitch. Now there are a lot of discussions on bringing in a TV check into football but, honetsly, if it turns out to be like this the whole game will be changed. It's okay in Ice Hockey and Rugby, but in football it's completely out of place. Plus it would take those wonderful discussions from us about whether the ball crossed the line or not.

Rugby Six Nations: France top Scotland

Scotland vs France 6-27
That was an interesting game. I don't know that much about French rugby but I was a bit surprised when a lot of names that were on the team during the World Cup last year disappeared for the Six Nations competition. Players like Michalak, Domenici, Chabal and others were missing. But as the German commentator explained it seems that the Frnech coach is trying to build up a team for 2011 so most of the squad are very young. Still this young Frnech team was all over the Scots during their match at Murrayfield last Sunday. Although they were making some mistakes in their play it always seems they outclassed the Scottish side a little bit. There were hilarious mistakes by the Scottish back players, especially one which gave the French a try. But the match had a lot more intensity than the opening game of Ireland and Italy on Saturday.

What also struck me was that they only played the first verse of "Flower Of Scotland" and then the whole audience at the stadium was singing the second verse on their own. Great stuff.

This looked very convincing for France so I am really looking forward to their match against Ireland next week.

Saturday 2 February 2008

Rugby Six Nations: Ireland and Wales back on track

I think I mentioned before that it is very hard to follow the action in world rugby in germany since there is no tradition whatsoever. And because of that there are no matches shown on TV. But this seems to change a little bit for the better because a German sports station (DSF)is covering the Six Nations this year after they seemed to have some success with their World Cup broadcasts last year. I have to admit that compared to their normal program - especially their football coverage - the rugby matches are very well commentated and the commentator is very well prepared. Andreas Renner is able to give enough explanations for newcomers who are watching their first rugby match, but his knowledge of the game itself is so good that he can also give facts to the team and the players on the pitch which makes it interesting for people who are into rugby as well. There is a colour commentator as well, usually a German national team player or a coach, sometimes the Sevens national coach. I am very happy that the Six Nations get coverage on German TV and I still hope they will do the same when the time comes for the Tri Nations.

Ireland vs Italy 16-11
The first match of this years competition wasn't that much of a thriller, Ireland was pretty much in charge during most of the game. The best phase for Italy came when they were reduced to 14 when one of them got a yellow card only 10 minutes from half time. The scoreline looks closer than the match really was and Ireland secured the win very safely.

England vs Wales 19-26
It was a competely different story for the second game of the day. When I tuned in England were already up 9-3 and they looked very convincing. Especially Toby Flood was everywhere. Wales didn't seem to be able to cope with the fierce English attack and especially the English wingers were very threatening during most of the time. But in the last 20 minutes England somehow lost control of the game and Wales came back with two tries after putting the English backline under a lot of pressure.

Since this is my first Six Nations I'm not really sure what to make of those results. Considering that the Welsh and the Irish performances during the 2007 World Cup were disappointing (if you believe in what the newspapers were writing back then) their victories today must have been a step towards the right direction. England on the other hand came in as the runner-up in the World Cup and lost. So this must be seen as a setback, I suppose. I wasn't expecting too much from Italy although they only missed the World Cup quarterfinals because of a narrow loss against Scotland.

Bundesliga - Day 18: Back to action

Hertha BSC Berlin - Eintracht Frankfurt 0:3
MSV Duisburg - Borussia Dortmund 3:3
Arminia Bielefeld - VfL Wolfsburg 0:1
Hamburger SV - Hannover 96 1:1
Karlsruher SC - 1.FC Nürnberg 2:0
FC Energie Cottbus - Bayer Leverkusen 2:3
FC Schalke 04 - VfB Stuttgart -:-
SV Werder Bremen - VfL Bochum -:-
FC Hansa Rostock - FC Bayern München 1:2

So finally the long wait is over. The Bundesliga is back on track. But when I take into account what the match looked like yesterday evening we're not in for some nice football action for the remaining 16 rounds. This was plainly ugly. Bayern and Rostock were looking like they were still half asleep from their winter break. Very slow reactions and almost no flow in their game. You would expect something like this from a team which is threatened by relegation (Rostock) but the 75 mio. Bayern team should be able to do a lot more than this. Anyway, they won - as they always do: play ugly, win with the very least of effort - and are staying on top of the table.
The matches on Saturday weren't as interesting to me since the Rugby Six Nations started today so I was only listening halfheartedly to the radio coverage. Dortmund vs Duisburg must have been an entertaining match and it seems that Dortmund was celebrating the win against Bremen in the national cup competition on Wednesday a little bit too much. Leverkusen turned the game around against Cottbus after being down 0-1. And it looks very dark for Arminia Bielefeld who lost to Wolfsburg who might have gained a little self-esteem under the week by beating Schalke in the DFB-Pokal. Hertha - as almost always - just doesn't seem to get back on track. Frankfurt on the other hand seems to make the most out of their limited budget. All of their goals seemed to have been scored by a new player, Martin Fenin.
Tomorrow Bremen and Schalke will take action and try to stay close to the top.

In the 2nd division the so called "carnival club" 1.FC Cologne dropped vital points in their match against FC St. Pauli (1-1) which didn't help them to strengthen their grip on a promotion spot.