What am I talking about? Of course, I’m referring to audio cassettes (try explaining to a younger person what "rewinding" means in the age of CDs and DVDs…) and the – fortunately – still very popular vinyl records.
I was particularly pleased about the latter when the mail from the band "Mofabande" finally arrived, carrying such a beauty. Another surprise was that it was a split vinyl that also included the band "Bloodstains". It’s like a double treat.
A very nice gesture, thank you very much for that!
But it gets even better: Not only is the record from long-gone days, but the music is too!
I must admit that I did a bit of snooping before the mail arrived and wasn’t initially thrilled. The rather short preview only seemed to predict endlessly repetitive drum rhythms, 3-chord guitar play, and songs that were at most 1:30 long. But now I’m sitting here and am truly surprised.
It’s almost as if a piece of the past has been taken out and packed into the present. The charm and style are embodied in a way that is genuinely credible compared to many other wannabe representatives, and one spontaneously feels the urge to hang out with a few friends, drinking beer, before staggering to the next concert around the corner, still listening to the record, to dance the pain away. Whether it’s the sound, the lyrics, or the length: Here you have punk rock in the old school style and above all, of the finest quality! Everything is simply and quickly brought to the point. What do they say? "Without compromises"!
While the guys from "Bloodstains" are consistently using English – except for the cover version "Punk-HC" (originally Mofabande) – "Mofabande" prefer to sing in German, with the exception of the song "Modern Thoughts" (originally "Bloodstains"). Thus, both bands manage to maintain their own signature scent despite the similar style, while still conveying the same message: Punk rock’s!
Of course, you will never find this kind of music in the German charts, on the radio, or in sheer masses at Saturn, Media Markt, and the like. A million-strong audience and fan base will have to wait. Even the built-in swimming pool in front of one’s own villa will probably have to be acquired through endless saving or clever theft.
But that doesn’t matter: Here, heart and soul like to join in, swinging freely and indulging in old memories, where punk rock sounded just like it does on this record. You may not become a "superstar" or "very famous", but a "local" or "nostalgia hero" existence is definitely possible. And sometimes that is worth more than anything else.
