I’m not sure how much I’ve got to say about Berlin. For one thing, I’ve never been and now it may be too late. I mean, it’s not going anywhere but then again neither am I.
What comes to mind when I think of Berlin?
I remember being very confused about how the Berlin Wall worked. If Berlin was on the East-West border, why weren’t there walls in all the other cities on the border? I’m pretty sure there weren’t.
Why was there a Berlin Wall in the first place – there and only there? I’ve read about it since and I’m not sure I totally get it. When you build a wall it usually has to go on and on and on. Like the Great Wall of China or Hadrian’s Wall. Why didn’t people just go round the side? In fact the Germans ought to be aware of this precedent, as that’s exactly how they dealt with the Maginot Line.
The thing I love best about Berlin is in fact not the clubs, although we’ve got two great club tracks – Peggy Gou’s ‘It Makes You Forget’ and Thieves Like us’ ‘Drugs In My Body’. I really love these tracks, although the thought of being an anonymous member dancing in a massive Berlin night club does somewhat fill me with dread. Maybe if I could cycle home, it wouldn’t be so bad. I always get anxious about how to get home.
No, the thing I love best is The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carre. My days, that’s one of my favourite books and no argument. So well written, so cleverly constructed, with embittered, morally compromised characters for whom there are only least bad options. I couldn’t recommend it more strongly if I tried.
This episode is notable for almost (but not quite all) new artists. How long can I keep this up? I don’t know really. For a while yet, anyway. It’s hugely enjoyable, and thanks once more to my amazing Friends of Sombrero Fallout community for keeping my spirits up. Or until I get taken down, like an unsuspecting eland at a waterhole.
Tracklist:
Berlin, Lou Reed
17 Berlin, My Favorite
I’m leaving Berlin, Teenage Waitress
Prenzlauerberg, Beirut
Berlin, Stanley Brinks and the Wave Pictures
Berlin got blurry, Parquet Courts
Berlin, Adult Mom
It makes you forget, Peggy Gou
Drugs in my body, Thieves Like Us
Berlin Hi-Fi, Botanica
Berlin without return …, Voxtrot
Road movie to Berlin, They Might Be Giants
Rock music, Pixies
SOSOS, Ling Tosite Sigure
Train, Paul Kalkbrenner
Burning, The Whitest Boy Alive