365 Songs in 365 Days

DJ Save the Animals feat. Justine Electra

2011-08-10T01:06:00.000+02:00

Yo Landy
If you are around on Friday, and happen to enjoy Nippon Darkness amongst other of my techno-leaning tracks, then well aren't you in for a treat :-) The first ever DJ Save the Animals (Live) featuring Justine Electra concert ever will be revealed at Sternchen in Mitte.
Here is the flyer:

Live Show

2011-07-06T23:09:00.000+02:00

I'm playing at Flittchen bar in Berlin tomorrow night if you would like to pop by. I for one would like to see you!
Here are the details:

"Hello You,
You told me "Let me know next time you're playing!!!" so here it goes:
On Thursday, Donnerstag, Tomorrow, I'm playing 3 songs at Flittchen bar. With band. I will be on really really early though (22uhr) so Come Early Please and Let's Hang Out and Drink a Beer!
And on Friday I'm DJing for Natalie and Jens' Birthday Party at Magnet Bar. That will most probably be total chaos, so come to that too, if you can :-)
Yay Summer!!!!!

Hier der flyer:
Flittchenbar am 7.Juli -letzte Flittchenbar vor der Sommerpause

Am 7.Juli lädt die Flittchenbar ein zur Girl Monster Gala (GMG)

Julie Miess, Bassistin von der Band Britta und auch bei der Jens
Friebe Band hat zusammen mit Christiane Rösinger diesen
Monsterabend "kuratiert".
Dr. horr Julie Miess befasst sich nicht nur wissenschaftlich mit
dem Thema Horror und Gender sondern hat auch mit der Gruppe Half
Girl ihre wissenschaftlichen Thesen musikalisch verarbeitet.

Ausserdem spielen die unheimlichen Maiden Monsters aus Kreuzberg
ihren stark beunruhigenden Monsterrock
und Killalady Justine Elektra, die in Berlin gestrandete Sirene
aus Australien, bringt ihre betörenden Weisen mit den Mitteln
neuester Elektronik zu Gehör.

Am Dj turm:
Christina Monsterandmore ( satt.org/ Frankfurt)

und Jenny Zylka (Berlin )

Außerdem wieder mit mit ein, zwei Gruselsongs dabei
Andreas Spechtl und Christiane Rösinger

und das allseits beliebte monströse Quiz "Erkennen Sie die Melodie?"

Sommeröffnungszeiten, Einlass 21 Uhr, Beginn ca 22.Uhr."

Artist Future - Weasel's Fist

2011-06-08T02:10:00.005+02:00

Jan Hendrik Meyer. What a wonderful man-child. I had the good fortune to "live" or more likely "philosophise" with Jan for 2 years back at the turn of the century, and am all the more rich for it. He has a beautiful gentle way about him. He is huge and has a sweet gangliness about him which he over-emphasizes with intimate compliments and sweet self-deprecation. He is a blonde viking, and it offsets his drawing prowess beautifully. He knows EVERYTHING about film, art, music and Tocotronic. He taught me alot. Alot! I'm still searching for films he told me about, or showed me back then when we enjoyed our communal existence. And his personal charisma is unequalled. He takes grown men and women and turns them into putty in his hands with no more than 5 words and a head-cock to the side. You should have seen the flatmate interviews! We had to rent a room out once and did that notice-in-the-paper "Shallow Grave" type thing, where the potential tenants turn up all washed and sprightly and you and your other flatmates pose test questions like: "If you got into the shower and noticed the drain was full of pubes would you a) scream b) cover them with the soap or c) put on rubber gloves and remove them? or d) all of the above. The potential flatmates always fell in love with Jan in about 5 seconds flat and then would just shake trying to think up answers just so's they'd get to live with that hot gentle giant:

Now he lives in the idyllic countryside and composes songs with a passion. He has 29 uploads already! Here's one of them:

for heaven's sake let's dance by weasel's fist

Day 66 Song 66 - Fall By My Side

2011-05-22T21:27:00.005+02:00

Good day to you Sir/Madame! If you are reading this, then welcome to my blog. If you scroll down you will find literally LOADS of my songs, all embedded in soundcloud players, ready to be listened to, with their accompanying anecdotes written above each track. If you follow this link to my Soundcloud Radio Station, you can listen to all my songs so far, one after the other, and simply enjoy the audio experience. Obviously you may skip around as well, according to your emotional needs ;-)
It's true, my song writing knows no end. That's not a boast, it's just the way it is. Some people are good at tax returns, some people are good at giving speeches, some people are good at running an office, or any combination of those - I on the other hand can write songs. My production ethic is pretty much speed-oriented. I like to capture inspiration and just go for it, and get a song recorded within 24 hours. If I don't record it, then I notate it and put it in a folder along with millions of other scraps of lyrics, melodies and chords, to wait until the necessary project or time frame to dig it out.
As well as that I have a whole swag of unfinished demos, and that's pretty much what this blog is all about. I just got sad one day that all of these sweet songs of mine were gathering dust on my harddrive and never getting heard. So I decided to be brave and let all my not-yet-grown-up-babies be put on aural display in the hope that one day some-one will discover them and find a place for them in their heart.
Maybe that some-one is You!
At the moment I'm on holiday from this blog, looking after my little boy everyday until he starts at the kindergarten in September, but from then on I'll have a bit more time for music and associated projects, and hopefully you will have listened faithfully to the 60 songs already uploaded, and be ready for the next daily deliveries.
I will also have my new album out hopefully, and have a tour booked (yet to secure a label, but that will come very soon I hope!) and then I can come and visit you personally :-)
Enjoy my music, and you can leave a comment without registering, so please feel free to write me.
See you soon!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T14:45:00.009+01:00

I just had to write that at the top of this post. Please don't be mad at me.
And I know I've been super lazy with this blog, but hey, you try juggling a baby, a household, a burgeoning musical career (always burgeoning) and No Maid! Maybe my Chomsky leanings are to blame, or the fact that I myself did so many shit jobs in my life, but I just can't bring myself to "get help". Not withstanding the fact that I probably couldn't afford it anyway... although I am not averse to a babysitter every now and then...
I was really saddened by the "Biblical Floods" in the state of Queensland over the last week. I dug out a song I once wrote about the subject - I wrote it because I read in the newspaper that flooding was one of the side-effects of global warming, and I always like to be prepared. It went like this:
"We're under water. We're under water now. We're under water. We're under water now."
and:
"The rains came, the water rose, I saw the priest in a boat, the windows blew, the dogs flew away, there won't be no drinking today..." etc. etc. If I get some time to record it, you will see it here on this blog.

I am dedicating this post to my new friend and fan "Anna" who wrote me the loveliest ever pre-xmas fanmail. I will take the liberty to publish it, as Anna doesn't divulge her surname:

dear justine

in the last few days i've been listening a lot to your soundcloud. one night i fell in love again with soft rock (killalady especially) and looked around to find new stuff of yours...
i am very happy with the blog/ radio - there is a lot new stuff.
i think these days my very favorite one is boozy shoes, dance to it in my kitchen when i'm alone. but i also like the sad ones.
what about your cover if wo die nordseewellen? i heard this song many many years ago, actually when i heard you the first time, in volksbühne, playing with le tigre.
if you have a recording of that i would love to hear it!

anyways, i just wanted to say hi and how happy it makes me to have found all these songs to listen to.
hope you keep on with the project.
with all the best mid-winter-wishes,
anna
Nordseewellen is a fabulous song which I always wanted to get down. I found the lyrics online in a Schleswig-Holstein traditional song website, which I was perusing for signs of a song which apparently my Oma insisted on singing at my Uncle's funeral, called "Der Schleswig-Holsteiner". The lyrics of Nordseewellen moved me SO MUCH however, I was forced immediately to bring them into a modern song form. The results have only been broadcasted live so far. The song also contains a bootleg of the bassline from "Come Together" by the Beatles, which maybe makes me a little annoyed in advance of having the royalties of the song stolen from me by rich musical oligarchs (not referring to the Beatles of course, but the crazy bunch of lawyers who are probably living off Apple Recordings nowadays). Anyway, what's a kooky blog without a bit of ranty-raving these days!?

Artist Future - Daniel Hundermark

2010-10-16T17:08:00.002+02:00

We (the child and I) went to the babyclub meeting last Wednesday and I met this lovely guy called Daniel Hundertmark. Apart from being the only man I ever met at a babyclub, he also had this really massive professional looking camera (wink) with which he took some of the most awesome pictures I have ever personally been involved with. Here's his website. And here is a photo he took of me with the babies:

Meezi, Jay Jay and me

Jay Jay in a more classical portrait pose

And here are a few of my favourite photos from Daniel's web collection:

Online Returns

2010-10-14T01:31:00.001+02:00

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen
During my time offline, I got quite a lot of feedback about my blog. Some like it just the way it is, some think it should be more nitty gritty autobiographical, and one thinks it cut close to being back-stabby, but whatever the opinion at least it has created a little bitty world wide splash ;-) The vodafone persona is coming around tomorrow (apparently) to put me on 16mb for once and for all, and after that I hope to back on your screens launching my music toward you, and getting feedback and input in return (!). Since moving to the West side of Berlin, I've gotten this huge gust of inspiration and actually feel really inspired to share my experiences with you dear reader, and hope we can have regular fun in the next few months :-))
But I request lightly - please comment! Even if it's just a couple of words, or if you're shy, a little sentence in an email, let me know that someone's out there watching and listening in cyber space, otherwise it's just way too lonely!
The person who leaves the most feedback by the end of the year (you know who you are Martin B) will receive a personally knitted baby-scarf, to give to the baby of your choice as a christmas present. I AM SERIOUS!!!
So till tomorrow (new song!)
xxx
J

The note Steffen found on our car this evening ;-)

Blog Explosion!

2010-08-12T04:31:00.000+02:00

Hi Bloggees! Been away on sabbatical, but I'm back from Bavaria now and packing my entire apartment into boxes. Yes folks, Justine is moving to a bigger place! Main reason being that the doctor prescribed a lower number of stairs thanks to the massive baby, but a change is as good as a holiday!
As for the blog - sorry to my regular readers/listeners but I'm gearing up to go pro! My good friend Bea Jugert and I are concocting a wonderful photo shoot, we're organising a press kit, and my buddies at Filmlounge are planning music videos to promote this blog on a broader scale. I'm also going to try and get some funding from Initiative Musik, and maybe go on tour with an Israeli band (yay!). But my song archive is still a huge priority - just give me a minute to get my cookies together. I'd say a week or two.
And till then, stay tuned for photos of the new flat!

Day 63 Song 63 - Mom and Dad and Me and Mom

2010-07-27T01:18:00.001+02:00

Yo Landy. A song for people with irresponsible parents...

BTW the blog is going on holiday! Just till the start of August, so come back soon and we can swap sunburn photos!

Day 62 Song 62 - Kalimba Song

2010-07-23T22:06:00.001+02:00

Originally "Calimba Song", I changed the name to "Kalimba" after I played it to some German friends of mine here in Berlin. Calimba isn't the easiest instrument in the world, but like most things, it gets easier with practice.

Day 61 Song 61 - Killalady

2010-07-22T18:51:00.002+02:00

So 1/6th of the songs are up! Hmm... hope I can keep going! 365 songs is a lot more than I bargained for... anyway, here's a classic from 2006 - City Slang promoted it admirably on the radio and as widgets and on samplers all around the globe. And it is most certainly a favourite of mine. Question for a free mp3: who is this song inspired by?
Btw did I mention Schneider TM wrote and played the catchy guitar riff? It was originally played on the one - but it was my brilliant idea to place it on the off-beat ;-)

Day 60 Song 60 - Evil Dead Disco

2010-07-21T00:21:00.000+02:00

Juli Holz and I made this track in August last year, and we just resumed working on it last week... we want to release it as an EP - yes, on VINYL!
Question: who else has bass as dirty as this?

Artist Future - Blu

2010-07-18T14:46:00.002+02:00

Have a look at this stop-trick animation. Pushing the boundaries!

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Day 59 Song 59 - My Boyfriend

2010-07-18T11:19:00.001+02:00

This song got 3rd place on a Pale Music Compilation Sampler, so I'm pretty proud of that. Steve Morell came over to my place while Mohini and I were recording the vocals and just went crazy for it. He was like "Finish that song and I'll put it on the next sampler!". Mo does the French stuff, obviously. She was in Sex in Dallas for a while. Nils Esdar aka Sline came around with a very sexy casio digital guitar and made up the main guitar riff. I love it!

Day 58 Song 58 - Crazy Synth Song

2010-07-17T10:11:00.000+02:00

Back in the early noughties i did one of my first ever tours. I went all the way to Hamburg! A friend of mine, Nicole, booked me a gig in "Astro Bar" and promoted it all herself. My good buddy Jan Hendrik Meyer drove me there, and invited his friend Arne Zank to come and watch. If I remember rightly I hoped that Arne would recognise my talent and take me to Toco-Stardom, but instead him and Jan ended up getting ratfaced. But they did stay till the end, to their credit.
I have a question for you: what is this song about? The right answer wins it as an mp3! Be sure to provide your email :-)

Day 57 Song 57 - I Can Fuck the Music

2010-07-16T12:36:00.000+02:00

I have no idea where the idea for this song came from. Maybe Madonna? Sometimes I get in a mood and I'm like - "Goddammit. I'm going to write a HIT!" Then I get out my drum samples and attempt to come up with a "Catchy Groove". Sometimes it works, but usually my inner rebel takes over and forces me to make an "anti-hit", with a weird sexual by-line in it. This is one of them.

Day 56 Song 56 - Bluesman

2010-07-12T13:22:00.002+02:00

This song appeared on the B side of my Blues & Reds vinyl 7 inch. It's probably still possible to buy it somewhere, but I only have one copy so sorry not from me!

Day 55 Song 55 - Though I Like You

2010-07-09T00:04:00.002+02:00

Good morning Starshine! If you, as did Caro and Martin, managed to stay awake through my last post, then you will be ready to for this.
It's called "Though I Like You" and is, like most of my songs, a somewhat witchy advertisement for a better life for myself. There are some interesting samples on there of boys I recorded on the street on one of my weird visits to an English-speaking land. Which reminds me: has anyone ever heard of "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places"? I seem to remember reading a hardcover version a long time ago...

Day 54 Song 54 - Mountain Climbing Baby

2010-07-07T14:22:00.003+02:00

Three days of bronchitis! Yuk! But I dealt with it in record time... My approach to illness has become "holistic" over the years, partly because of learning from my own medical history. Since I was three I had an annual tonsilitis problem, which would have been practically fatal if my parents hadn't given me antibiotics for it, but as you may know "antibiotics are often overrated". They caused some long-term side effects with my physical well-being, one being a constantly weak immune system. Around 6 years ago I got sick with tonsilitis on a weekend and didn't have health coverage anyway, so I went to see my friend's most amazing homeopath, Georg Kindler. He lives in P-berg, Berlin, and at first I thought it was all bullshit, but I had to go along with it cos I was dying like a dog. He gave me some crazy snake bite essence, and bee sting whatever and I swear - within 12 hours I was back on my feet! Literally! Then I went back to him for other long-term complaints of mine, but there was alas no quick cure. I had to teach my body to be strong again, and to heal itself.
So over the years I gradually changed my diet to be less sugary and more grainy and vegetably (pretty much according to Georg's guidelines), and I only eat meat from the wholefoods supermarket (bio laden)... And also I REALLY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF TEA! That's actually Georg's main rap. He's big into concocting special teas for your ailments... But anyway, it's been 6 years since I took my last antibiotics! I had some kind of an internal infection a few months ago (diagnosed by the hospital post-partum), and went straight to him - he gave me a bottle of mixed homeopathic liquids, some homeopathic balls and of course - a lot of tea! Since my body had been trained to look after itself instead of relying on antibiotics all the time, it took immediately to the treatment. I was tested a week later and the infection was gone! So thank you Georg!
One thing I also learned through the experience was this: an infection isn't necessarily something completely foreign and evil marching through your body. It is often just "higher levels" of this and "lower levels" of that. I found that out from the hospital lab ladies. So in the end all you have to do really is to stay calm and try and get your levels balanced. I hope that doesn't sound naive!
I am however a true believer in giving yourself a chance to take control of your own body's chemistry and health. It's not only the doctors who can cure you.
But also, if you don't succeed with natural healing the first time you get hit with a disease, then leave it till the next time. The second time around you will start noticing the symptoms a lot earlier, and know what's coming. Then use natural medicine to nip it in the bud. And if you beat it naturally once, then the chances are high that your body will build its own healthy immunity to the problem!
If you know any mountain climbing babies then you will like this little scratch track from this morning - and Jay Romeo loves singing along!

Day 53 Song 53 - Rubberband

2010-07-06T15:20:00.003+02:00

I must apologise to my regular readers for the space between songs, but me and magnet man have been battling with babysitting vs timeshare vs household responsibilities issues. As you can imagine, if you have or know anyone with a kid. It can be intense sometimes, and add to it a bout of bronchitis and a spontaneous getaway to the parents-in-law, and you have a "blog? what blog?" situation. At the moment any spare time I have is dedicated to bathing or watching Nurse Jackie.
Good news is that Magnet Man got his elterngeld erlaubnis this morning, so looks like he can take time off work soon to help look after the little tacker, and then this blog will really take off!!! I'm already organising a photo shoot with Bea Jugert, my amazing artist friend, and Juri a great photographer friend of a friend, and my Dad has agreed to help out with the "e-marketing". Some may say "nuts and bolts ain't sexy", but I know you, dear reader, care about that kind of stuff and find it interesting.
Enjoy this track! Play it on repeat!

Day 52 Song 52 - Like A Magnet

2010-06-30T00:35:00.000+02:00

It's hard to talk about a song when it relates to the person you're with at the moment. If you are really curious, then ask me about it sometime in person :-)

Day 51 Song 51 - Your Eyes Very Good

2010-06-29T10:09:00.000+02:00

There's a lovely guy called Michael Henk who lives in Neukoelln. He has an amazing 2 room apartment which is just filled to the brim with fancy equipment. He's the kind of guy who can solder his own anything. He got a whole lot of eqs from the old Hansa Studio (David Bowie anyone?) and soldered them together to make a mega-mixdesk which nobody can deny. He's also a multi-instrumentalist - plays bass guitar, normal guitar, e-guitar, keys and sings real sexy too.
We got very high on champagne one night and made this little diamond:

Day 50 Song 50 - Into the Sunset

2010-06-24T22:47:00.001+02:00

If you're an avid Schneider TM fan then you will agree with me that he is an excellent harmonica player. I wrote this song while I was going out with him (there's a bit of ancient history for you!) and he went for a tour around the U.S. I knew that he could have called me if he'd made more of an effort, but "he was touring and he didn't have time.." and you know how girlfriends get when you don't call them except when you're drunk like twice..

Greatest Music Video Ever

2010-06-22T23:04:00.001+02:00

Sorry!

2010-06-22T22:43:00.000+02:00

My mac is back in the shop again..! Due to too much crashing and banging me and the mac doctors (imagine in guertel strasse - highly recommended!) decided to get me a new harddrive and update to 10.5.6. So if you are regularly reading me (Martin Busse in particular :-)) then I hope you'll accept my apologies and tune in tomorrow to hear three (3!) new musical updates.
Good night!

Day 49 Song 49 - Omnichordd Lullaby

2010-06-20T23:24:00.002+02:00

Do you know what an Omnichord is? If you are inspired by music but can't really play an instrument (like me, no jokes) then I seriously recommend you buy one of these on ebay. They are around 50€ but well worth it. Just touch a key, any key, and you are in Heaven playing a sonnet to an Angel. Really! Did you ever see/hear a musician called Cortney Tidwell? She played in the Schokoladen in Berlin-Mitte one night and her song with the Omnichord and the Drumkit just blew me right away. So I borrowed one for a few months and made a small series of songs with it. This is one! And a little video of my boy Jay Romeo reading a book, with the bizarre bilingual parental units mumbling in the background. Enjoy!

Day 48 Song 48 - Tourmaline

2010-06-20T22:30:00.009+02:00

When I was eleven my mother decided to take my brother and I on a trip to Alice Springs, the red centre of Australia. On the Saturday before we departed I went to the barber and said "Give me a haircut like his" and pointed at my brother, who was sporting a small crew cut. After pleading with me and calling my parents, the barber, who was an Italian who'd known me from birth, agreed to do it. I just didn't want the burden of conditioner and combing agony all the way through the red dust. My mother, who likes her drink, brought a girlfriend, who likes her drink, and her son, who although just turned eighteen, also liked his drink. Need I say more. The trip was a ramshackle affair involving many 3 day stops in towns so that everyone could get over their hangovers. My mother needed to drink to get over her fear of driving long distances (she didn't drink and drive - she was always very careful about that) which had come about through a horrible car accident we'd had when I was six and my brother was three. It makes sense when you think about it from a therapist's point of view, although on paper here it seems bizarre.
Anyway, among other things (getting molested by the eighteen year old among them) I played cards and waited around at the campsite while my mother spent 3 days in the Todd River drinking with the Aborigines. This was frowned upon in Alice Springs as they have (I don't know how it is now, but back then it was pretty serious) a strict segregation tradition of whites and blacks. So she got thrown in the slammer (a story I once relayed in a Vice interview about my first brush with the police). I was pretty traumatised when she finally re-appeared after going missing for 3 days, as she was covered in cuts and bruises and looking really shook up.
Growing up in Australia, the reality of the desert is never far away from your consciousness. "Wake in Fright" is an example of this, and "Tourmaline" by Randolph Stow, a story of a bankrupt ghost town is another.
The girlfriend who liked her drink ended up being incarcerated in Dubai a few years later after being found drinking alcohol, and her son committed suicide. So all in all the trip to Alice Springs remains as a tragic, beautiful, wild, freaky, fucked-up memory for me, remaining pure only in the fact that my brother and I were so young, and everyone else so damaged.

Day 47 Song 47 - Jeannie in the Rushes

2010-06-18T08:57:00.011+02:00

London London London! What a Lovely town! Max Cole - if you're out there, this is for you!
Max and I met on the fateful Red Bull Music Academy Capetown in 2004 or some such ancient time. We got drunk a LOT and drank a LOT of Red Bull. We also swam in the pool, the ocean and DJed and danced for 2 weeks straight. If you're considering entering the Red Bull thing, then DO IT, it's maybe kind of drinks propoganda and not much academy really, but it's AWESOME.
Anyway, one time in London Max and I recorded this song on his brand new M-box.
Big arps.

Day 46 Song 46 - S-Bahn

2010-06-18T08:39:00.008+02:00

Have you ever been to Berlin? If so then you know what an S-Bahn is. If not, an S-Bahn is the city train. It's great. I could wax endlessly about the beauties of the Berlin public transport system, but I don't have time. Just believe me - It's Ace!

Technical Difficulties

2010-06-16T03:33:00.002+02:00

I must apologise, faithful reader, but my computer is totally fucked and won't allow me to upload any songs at the moment. I'm taking it to the shop today to get everything taken off and put back on again in the hope that it fixes the problem. Hopefully I'll be back blogging by Friday night. So till then rummage through my archives and leave me sympathetic comments. Thank you!

Day 45 Song 45 - Defiant & Proud

2010-06-14T13:42:00.000+02:00

Day 44 Song 44 - The More You Give

2010-06-14T13:40:00.000+02:00

Day 43 Song 43 - Gypsy (Say Say)

2010-06-12T14:34:00.002+02:00

If you are familiar with the latest releases of Brian Cares, colourful and talented resident Bar 25 DJ (Berlin, Berlin) then you will be more than aware of this song. It's called "Gypsy" but I call it "Say Say". We made it together a couple of years ago when we spent a couple of weeks joined at the hip (metaphorically speaking) and enjoyed many hours sharing musical inspiration together in various kneippe between Treptow and Grell Strasse. When I asked him to say some words about DJing tekno he said "It's easy! Just like playing Lego!" God love you Bri.

Day 42 Song 42 - Inxs

2010-06-12T14:28:00.000+02:00

This is the notorious Inxs cover song.
I still love it!
I hope you do too.
Today's post is dedicated to my regular, yet hidden, listener Herr Dirk Holzberger. Gute besserung wunsch ich Dir, und komm gut nach hause!

Day 41 Song 41 - Great Skate Date

2010-06-12T14:25:00.000+02:00

The weather is getting hotter! I hope you're digging out your sunscreen and unpacking your fan :-)
And now my damn mac is going down...
Sorry for the sporadic posts - after 3 days of struggling I am facing the fact that I have to take my computer to the doctor...
BTW if you want to stream my music, just go here to my soundcloud site, and press "play" on the first song on the page!

Day 40 Song 40 - Sarah Ellen

2010-06-09T22:55:00.003+02:00

I don't know exactly who this song is for. It's seems to me a sort of cathartic projection of my own neuroses about belonging and division. "I have my cell phone" reminds me of Meredith Monk's Gotham City where the lady squeals "I have my money, I have my phone - "hello? hello?" - and i still have my allergies!" ;-)
Does it seem bitchy? Yeh, well I suppose it is that.. ;-)

Day 39 Song 39 - I'm a Bitch

2010-06-09T22:45:00.000+02:00

We all thought this song was written by Alanis Morisette, but actually it's by a lady called Meredith Brooks! I really love this song, and couldn't help but cover it one dark night in San Francisco.

Day 38 Song 38 - The Gulf of Shit Part ii

2010-06-07T23:53:00.000+02:00

So I've been working on the Gulf Oil song... just in case any of you trainspotters are interested in the creative process, i thought i'd post the developments...

Day 37 Song 37 - Save the Best till Last

2010-06-06T21:39:00.003+02:00

Day 36 Song 36 - The Gulf of Shit

2010-06-05T02:13:00.002+02:00

This is the chorus to my new song "Blow that oil away". I found these lyrics in a comment on a discussion forum about the BP oil disaster and put them to guitar. I'll finish it on Sunday I promise!
n.b. make that next Sunday - it's getting to be a big project!

Day 35 Song 35 - and all my life

2010-06-04T23:18:00.000+02:00

Hello children of the zodiac! Have listened to the Portishead album Third inside and out and have concluded that it's very good, but I still prefer Jenny Wilson. Ok ok, I'm not an amateur - I loved their Dummy debut in 1995 with the best of them but I really think Jenny Wilson and her producer are fucking awesome. To be honest, I don't know whether they're geniuses... but in music I often find I don't personally need genius. I will expand on this tomorrow, so don't fall asleep yet - there's a new song to be heard!

Day 34 Song 34 - Afro

2010-06-03T09:31:00.000+02:00

A bizarre song to say the least - I wrote it about 4 years ago around the time of promo for Soft Rock. It was an exciting time, yet very busy, and summer was in full roar. I started to imagine what it would be like to be a single mother... and was experimenting with a recording of my old boyfriend Hans Narva made on Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), where we played that I was my Dad, and he was calling me up to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage.
By the way, I changed the music players since this one is less graphic intensive, I thought maybe it will be quicker to load..?

Day 33 Song 33 - Errare Machinale Est

2010-06-03T09:22:00.001+02:00

Hey hey hey! Sorry I've been out for a couple of days - to be honest I was so busy that I completely forgot I had a blog!! Some friends of mine have been in town - shouts to Joni and Norbert and congratulations on your wedding :-) - and I've been doing sound for a theater piece for a friend of mine, Beatrice Jugert. If anyone has time on Saturday night (5th June) our piece starts at 8pm at HBC in the theater room, and it will probably be very magical :-)) It's also been kind of stressful carting the baby around everywhere, but to be fair he has behaved himself splendidly, and laid uncomplaining on the floor of the theater every day :-)
This song was originally made by Jori Hulkkonen, and I added the vocal arrangements to it. I love Jori - actually I borrowed his "Fancy Robots" name idea for my previous track! Thanks for the feedback mh, martin and the new guy. Much appreciated!!!

Day 32 Song 32 - Fancy Robots

2010-06-01T23:21:00.001+02:00

Day 31 Song 31 - Petting Zoo

2010-05-31T23:15:00.000+02:00

A little something I wrote at my brother's place in China. He lives in Shanghai in a skyscraper, and it was very peaceful in his apartment for about 2 hours every morning :-) I recorded with my buddy Florian in Lothar's studio in the RAW temple in Friedrichshain. Lothar is really nuts about acoustics and the walls and ceiling of each isolation room are covered in foam daggers and bumps. It was magical to record there, as Lothar is a true Sound Scientist.
Petting Zoo by Justine_Electra

Day 30 Song 30 - Berlin Rocks

2010-05-31T23:11:00.000+02:00

And now a little dirty dance remix I made for my pals Sex in Dallas... Adrian was very passionate about this remix and came into my room every half an hour to espouse compliments on its developments. I really enjoyed making it, and I think you can hear that in the track :-)
Berlin Rocks by Justine_Electra

Day 29 Song 29 - Virgin

2010-05-29T06:04:00.002+02:00

Yet another of my southern whore fantasy songs :-)
Virgin - She'll Let You In by Justine_Electra

Day 28 Song 28 - Bagpipes

2010-05-29T05:58:00.000+02:00

If you live in Germany and have ever wondered about the literal difference between "kalt" and "warm miete", then you may find this piece of information valuable.

Grundsätzlich gilt lt. BGH WuM 2006, 518: „Die Vereinbarung einer Warmmiete ist nicht erlaubt“. Mancher glaubt, dass eine sog. Warmmiete sämtliche Kosten abdeckt, die im Rahmen des Mietverhältnisses anfallen. Doch im Mietrecht gibt es diesen Begriff nicht. Richtig ist „BRUTTOMIETE“. Diese beinhaltet einerseits die Nettomiete und andererseits die Heiz- und Nebenkosten (zusammengefasst als Betriebskosten bezeichnet). Als Betriebskosten dürfen nur die Kosten umgelegt werden, die in der Betriebskostenverordnung ausgewiesen sind und dementsprechend tatsächlich mietvertraglich auch vereinbart sind. Dabei ist zu beachten, dass auch eine Heizkostenpauschale, bei der alle Kosten mit einer monatlichen Zahlung endgültig abgegolten sind unzulässig ist (OLG Hamm RE WuM 85, 267; OLG Schleswig RE WuM 86, 330). Ausnahme ist dabei nur ein Gebäude mit zwei Wohnungen, von denen eine vom Vermieter bewohnt wird, hier braucht nicht nach Verbrauch abgerechnet werden, wenn das vereinbart ist.
Die Miete ist am dritten Werktag des Monats fällig (Bruttomiete). Über die monatlichen Vorauszahlungen der Heiz- und Nebenkosten ist nach Ende des gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen 12monatigen Abrechnungszeitraumes innerhalb 12 Monaten abzurechnen.

Bagpipes by Justine_Electra

Day 27 Song 27 - Mon Citroen

2010-05-29T05:54:00.001+02:00

The literal translation is supposed to be "My Citroen remains in disrepair" x 5 then "I love you" then "I would like a beautiful night" and then "I would like condiments of the night (condoms??)" and then right at the end, the only other french phrase i know "Ferme votre busch" which means "shut your fucking mouth".
Mon Citroen by Justine_Electra

Day 26 Song 26 - Delmenhof

2010-05-26T22:57:00.000+02:00

And now something for those of us who like to boogey down on a Thursday morning. It's one of my newest tracks, I made it a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting my parents-in-law in a town in Germany called "Delmenhorst". I made it all in Live 6.0 and it's still under construction - that intro melody is somewhat annoying so I'm going to make a new mix of it on the weekend and re-load it.
Hope you get something out of it :-)
Delmenhof by Justine_Electra

Day 25 Song 25 - Golden Brow

2010-05-25T23:17:00.000+02:00

This is a remake of one of the first songs I ever "produced" on my own. At the time I was living in a town called Lismore, near the northern coast of NSW. My flatmate Damian had a fancy 80s synth keyboard and I remember distinctly being mesmerised by the sounds of my own recorded instruments, and the eery effect of the vocals. It was like sinking into another world, and I stayed there completely concentrated for hours.
But as I mentioned previously, this is a remake. I made it with Bernd from Tarwater and love the crazy alto sax at the end which is off-tune a little bit, but still seems to fit perfectly, as Bernd's music always does.

dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields of light
take me down
take me to that ancient place
Stroke me underneath my golden brow
hold me under
hold me under
as you stroke my golden brow
feel the sweat as it holds my head
in this position
Dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields
as you look that way
as you catch that tear
take me down the road
stroke me underneath my golden
brow
Golden Brow by Justine_Electra

Day 24 Song 24 - Primal Scream

2010-05-24T21:24:00.001+02:00

My Dad was upset that not every song on my blog is "up to scratch". My argument was that everyone's scratch is different, and besides, this is a journal.
Enjoy today's song "Primal Scream". It contains the only known recording of Bernd Jestram's voice.
Primal Scream by Justine_Electra

Day 23 Song 23 - Wild Country Girl

2010-05-23T17:56:00.003+02:00

leaving my wild city life
cos it's getting in my lungs
sick of dance and drink and rugs
thou seek your peace in the leaves
and the sky'll shine all day
and we'll eat and sleep and lay

he was my wild country boy
he had feathers in his hair
he took me riding on his horse everywhere
and we went shooting bows and arrows
and we played wretched games
we gave and lived under the rain

no two-time running man
will save my soul for me
no promises will stop me live my dreams

i was a wild country girl
i had feathers in her hair
and i hitch-hiked everywhere
my best-friend made guitars
and we stayed up all night
and his wife she didn't mind

no two-time etc.
no hard-done tellin boss-man
will get inside my day
i'm gonna have my fun and have my way

this is our wild country life
and we run around all night
and we cry and laugh and fight
these are our wild country babes
and they love it in the dirt
and they smile and play and hurt

no two-time etc.
no hard-done etc.
i'm gonna have my fun
i'm gonna have my life
i'm gonna have my love and have my way
Wild country girl by Justine_Electra

Day 22 Song 22 - Inside Yr Heaven

2010-05-23T14:40:00.002+02:00

At the time when Hanno Leichtmann and I were working together (around 2000) I had a contract with a sub-company of BMG called K&P music, who some of you may know as Krall und Puppe of German "City" band fame. They were both very eager for me to record a hit-song (remember the days of militant record company managers?) and just LOVED Inside your Heaven.

Inside yr Heaven by Justine_Electra

Day 21 Song 21 - Can't Explain

2010-05-23T14:30:00.005+02:00

If you are older than 25 then you probably have at least 1,2 if not 3 relationships that really made a deep impression on you psychically... and that is most likely because you "lost" meaning: you got dumped :-P and if the person/s who dumped you was passionately interested in some aspect of your creativity, then you probably found yourself on a kind of "pavlov's dog" endless cycle of productivity at the end of the relationship. some would call it "musing"... "Can't Explain" is one of a massive series of songs I did over a period of months in 2008... don't listen to it if you're in a good mood :-P although you can hear birds chirping in the background!
Can't Explain by Justine_Electra
i set you free
my little bumblebee
it's not so bad
it's not so bad
when you feel the pain
the pain of heartache
and it feels the same
i let it in
i let it in
it feels warm inside
the feel of heartache

i know what is
and i tell it loud
you cannot lose
when you love the crowd
i never noticed
just how hard it feels
the pain of heartache
when you let it in

it's not so bad
being on your own
the freedom whispers in the telephone
what will i do
with my time today?
i think i'll work it,
work through the pain
it's not so bad
when you work it out
it's not so bad
when you work it out
i let it in
and i tell you straight,
it's not too late

i'll find another
with a golden hand
who takes me swimming
who'll understand
with whom i'll sing
with whom i'll swim

it's not so bad
when you work it out
just who is running
and who's had enough
i build these pictures
inside my brain
and some get scrambled
and some explain

explain to me exactly what you mean
explain to me
come inside with me
i will help you feel
everything
is always strange when you work it out
i can't explain what it's all about
just choose your rides
get on it properly
you can jump off
before the end is near

they gave me a message
yesterday
i have to get up
and i have to pray
i must believe
in the times to come
or incomplete
my mission
to tell you now
to tell you now

Day 20 Song 20 - 50 Times

2010-05-20T18:05:00.002+02:00

If there's two things I like, it's phonebooths and library books. I think it's their anonymity. And their condition. You always have to trust that the last person to use them didn't wipe snot on them, and if they did it doesn't matter. Also, when you call someone from a phonebooth, they don't know who's calling you, and if you use a phonebooth in the dark when it's raining, it makes you feel like you're a detective or a fugitive. Even if was pissed in. Another thing I like is 70s era council flats. There's a big acre of them around the corner from my 30s era nazi worker's flat. Walking past them is so depressing that it gives you a good mood just as a contrast. It was on a mid-summer evening walk past those council flats that struck me with the need to record a song. This is what came out! *WARNING* it's RRRUFF!
50 Times by Justine_Electra

Day 19 Song 19 - Tammy Pilot

2010-05-19T20:28:00.000+02:00

I had a very close friend when I was 19. Her name was Tamara Verhagen, and together we wanted to conquer the world. She led me to tree-lined valleys in her Toyota Hiace and eventually to Europe where we got picked up by the Roman Mafia and had all kinds of terrifying adventures. I wrote this song and realised later that it was about her. A kind of imagined dialogue that she could have had with her parents if they could express themselves better.
tammy pilot by Justine_Electra

Day 18 Song 18 - Me & Cherry

2010-05-18T21:21:00.001+02:00

This is the first song I ever did on ProTools. As you may or may not know, it signalled the beginning of a love affair that would never end... :-) And on that note I would like to take the opportunity now to thank you all for your comments and words of encouragement. I'm really enjoying this project already, I'm wondering why I didn't start it earlier (!) and I'm looking forward to dusting off more audio files and loading them up for your perusal/enjoyment :-) If you watched the Louise Hay movie, you'll understand when I say I'm going thru the "green light effect", and am getting some positive opportunities already, directly as a result of this blog! And I have YOU dear reader, to thank for that!
Winners of mp3s so far:
Martin Busse
Amanda Kelly
Gabriel Kinkel
Joni Taylor
Me & Cherry by Justine_Electra

Day 17 Song 17 - This Could Be The Most Beautiful Noise

2010-05-17T20:37:00.002+02:00

Bonjour fellow traveller!
This old song was recorded in downtown San Francisco in 2008. My buddy Joe has a studio in his basement there which he graciously let me use for around 2 months. I met a very cute boy in a pub nearby who plays guitar in The Hospitals, and he played the very crunchy electric which thunders on through the track. Although circumstances denied me more intimate relations with the young Chris Gunn, his guitar solo retains a permanent place in my heart.
This Could Be The Most Beautiful Noise by Justine_Electra

Day 16 Song 16 - Rose of Texas

2010-05-16T18:59:00.004+02:00

My parents-in-law came to visit this weekend. It was very relieving. They love the baby and looked after him so that we could go out and get our groove on.
We all went to the art gallery together on Sunday, and on the way home we got done by the Berlin ticket inspectors. I wrote (well, it remixed itself on the record player and i recorded it) this song for my buddy Dirty Harry Potter a DJ and truck driver when he told me he was travelling through Texas. And I think it applies quite well to those ticket inspectors too.
Rose of Texas by Justine_Electra

Day 15 Song 15 - Sonnet

2010-05-15T13:46:00.001+02:00

I am totally getting into organic african instruments, or indigenous instruments generally.
The call of the wild!!!
Sonnet by Justine_Electra

Day 14 Song 14 - Gazey Pasha

2010-05-15T13:39:00.003+02:00

Made this in Turkey too - I like it but Steffen says the swooshing pan-noises can get you on a bad trip if you concentrate on them too hard. I am considering removing them, but for I haven't yet found a good replacement. This track also branches into a (take cover) minimal direction... which for me is a bit overdone and I'm going to tone it down, next week... and I stole some Jenny Wilson finger snaps which I want to squeeze in there somewhere too... anyway - a good weekend track!
Gazey Pasha by Justine_Electra
The intro is a bit long, but that is because it's the DJ mix :-)
Also - the first person to guess which song it's a remix of wins the high quality mp3 or aiff version.

Day 13 Song 13 - Do Yr Show

2010-05-13T22:43:00.002+02:00

Wow - this song has a massive history. To cut it short, I bought the record with the original sample loop in Sth Africa on the Red Bull DJ Academy, got the basic lyrics ("I was with her for 8 months at the same time as being with this other guy") from my then-flatmate, Sarah (shit forgot her surname! oh well..!) and then my good old buddy Patrick Petzold (Rich n Kool, Nachlader) came along and did this fabulous French rap (french rap is really one of my favourite things ever) at the Masha Qrella Studio, and Muffin did the "mnah mnah"s and Kwesi, infamous 8mm doorman and motorbike fanatic, did the deep black man "build a house next door to you"s. That whole 2nd half (the english lyrics) is ripped off this song called Mona, which Craig McLachlan from Neighbours made totally famous in the early 90s. Oh shit I hope he doesn't google himself and I get in trouble...
Do Yr Show by Justine_Electra

Day 12 Song 12 - The Waves aka B-Lento

2010-05-12T22:19:00.000+02:00

"And the waves fall in, and the waves fall out."
And to celebrate an exhausting day with child, this bossa nova, a la Jestram.
It's funny how the bigger the child gets, the heavier it is to carry. Add to it some rigorous piano playing and you have a pair of very tired armsies.
Good night :-)
The Waves by Justine_Electra

Day 11 Song 11 - The Can Man

2010-05-11T18:47:00.005+02:00

My little man lived in a can
He had a sunhat for a lid
My little boy didn't need no toys
The grass and flowers were his friends

He ran up the street like a bolt of light
When the coppers found out where he lived
He sailed on the sea to the land of the free
Where the monsters
Asked him all to sing

Recorded this one in Turkey last week...

The Can Man by Justine_Electra

and some eye candy to accompany your viewing experience:

Day 10 Song 10 - Baby on the Run

2010-05-10T21:18:00.006+02:00

If you ever had a boyfriend who you loved more than he loved you, then you'll understand this song. It may even be the case that he loved you just as much, it's just his free spirited attitude caused you to feel like you spent more time yearning for him than actually spending quality time with him. F***er.. A song for heartbreak!
There are a couple of versions of this, but this particular version was produced by my good buddy Stephan Ruhl, a true friend who I met through an ad in "Der Zweite Hand" around 12 years ago when he was looking for (translated) "someone who can sing trip-hop". When I played him this song he got all revved up and put a band together specially to record it, with Gabriel Kinkel on bass and Alex Tarnas on drums. Thank you Stephan!
Baby on the Run by Justine_Electra

Day 9 Song 9 - Kinda Feel Comfortable

2010-05-09T14:05:00.002+02:00

The Sunday hangover cure is:
Kind a Feel Comfortable by user1218154
This song has a working title - "Tribute to Tarwater" because it REALLY reminds me of Bernd's slow, sensual, scraping textures. Actually, I believe it really was composed on a Sunday, one of those days when everyone in the flat is hungover and bumping into eachother in the hallway, grinning foolishly. No-one wants to go out because it's really grey, but the coldness sweeps through the flat washing the cigarette smoke and alcohol away. Can you tell I drank 1 too many Jaegermeisters last night? Whatever... enjoy!
Play it LOUD!

Day 8 Song 8 - 40,000 years

2010-05-08T23:39:00.005+02:00

Jor-El makes really great synth electro-pop dancefloor tracks, and I remixed one of them. It's called "40,000 years" and is, like most of the songs on my blog, only available here :-) I DJ it in my tek-house set sometimes, and sing live over the top. It is very fun.
40,000 years by user1218154
btw soundcloud rocks right now!

Day 7 Song 7 - Los Angeles City (EXTREME REMIX)

2010-05-08T23:06:00.002+02:00

Matti Montgomery calls this "The Google Maps Song". It emerged while looking fervently at a Google Map of L..A. I decided to go there to escape certain death (that isimportant sometimes) and ended up recording it in the Valley with some very nice guys whose names I am actually not sure of (met them on shrooms), but I'll look it up and post it next week. My good friend and guide, Moss Seros, annihalated all present with his battle-axe guitar playing shreds.

Los Angeles City (EXTREME REMIX) by user1218154

Day 6 Song 6 - Around & Around

2010-05-06T23:11:00.002+02:00

Ooh.. cutting it close there! I have been effing around for the last 2 hours trying to get some kind of streaming solution together. I know all the mp3s don't work - crap. But this one hopefully does!
Anyhow.
This song poured out of me and Live 6.0 was the nearest thing, so it's the first ever song I made with Live. Have you tried Live before? If you're like me, then you're brain needed about 2 years to understand the, as they say in the tutorial video, "Live Concepts". Yaaawn. So I just kind of made this song the way a homeless person would knit a scarf. Nothing against homeless people. But you know what the scarf looks like. So it's quite surprising that this song came out sounding, in my opinion, quite styling actually. Well, just have a listen and nudge some kudos this way. And as Charlie Brown would say - "Blech! Kudos!"

Around and Around by user1218154

Day 5 Song 5 - Old Miss

2010-05-05T21:06:00.003+02:00

Heylo! Schneider TM says this song reminds him of a band called "Beat Happening". For me it's a mixture between Jon Spencer and Joni Mitchell. Just a supposition, but I must admit, that's a big ticket to put on yourself. If it reminds you of anything else (but please don't tell me if it's "shit") then comment, or contact me privately.

Old Miss by user1218154

Day 4 Song 4 - Boozy Shoes

2010-05-04T22:20:00.006+02:00

This song is a reel toaster! If you're trying to give up alcohol then this is the song for you! The basic lyrics are: "Boozy Shoes, Where are you? Come clean. Come clean." Maybe AA could use it as their anthem at the end of the friendship circle... Anyhow, the black guy singing on there is actually me pitched right down... did you guess?

Boozy Shoes by user1218154

Day 3 Song 3 - Lovesong

2010-05-03T14:13:00.016+02:00

Here is a track i made with Hanno Leichtmann, aka "Static" from City Centre Offices. He used an Akai MPC to do the beats. He's actually a trained drummer, and can play jazz drums surprisingly well (for an electro guy). It's called "Lovesong" and as you will hear, the chorus is stolen. But from who?? The first one to email me who gets a free mp3 of their choice. Just to spice things up a bit..;-]

Lovesong by Justine_Electra

Day 2 Song 2 - Ring a Rosie

2010-05-02T02:15:00.008+02:00

This is called "Ring a Rosie"
The background loop was edited using a good old Atari.
It sums up the feeling in Berlin after a hectic night on the town on May 1st.
It also reminds me of my missing cat Rosie. He's still at Karsten's Cat Farm waiting to get picked up.

Ring a Rosie by user1218154

Easy listening!

Day 1 Song 1 - Nippon Darkness

2010-05-02T01:24:00.013+02:00

Hello! You are probably reading this because you have heard of other music from Justine Electra (me) and I recommended that you come visit my blog. After watching "Julie and Julia" I decided that it's not enough to just write a blog. You have to make a CHALLENGE!

Anyone who knows me probably saw my music archives - it's all stored on DVDs and CDs as ProTools files in an Ikea cabinet in my pretend music studio in my flat in downtown Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. A space-clearer said I should make a best-of my hand-made, hand-produced songs and throw the rest away. She's right - I feel somewhat shackled by my disorganised back-catalogue, and since the baby came i really need to make space.

The songs are going to get uploaded one by one, and your feedback will help me with my "best of". If you want to buy a song for private or commercial use, then just hit the order now button and I will send you the song.

BTW I would be flattered if anyone wanted to do a cover version of any of them - for whatever reason. Let me know if you need chords or lyrics. If you intend to sell the cover version, then email me and we can discuss publishing details.

Also, if you want any tracks for remixing purposes then don't hesitate to ask!

If I get behind then I'll publish a number of mp3s at once, but the maximum allowed behind-ness is 7 days.

Here is the first song. It's called "Nippon Darkness". Actually it's a cover of a Will Oldham song "I See a Darkness", and was made famous by Johnny Cash. Acid Pauli did a version (I DJ it in tek-house sets) but it wasn't until Till Kuenzel made the Tresor documentary "Sub-Berlin" and commissioned me to record a cover version that I considered covering it myself.

Nippon Darkness by user1218154

See you tomorrow!