There is a song that many people no longer really want to hear. Not because it’s bad, but because it has been worn thin by repetition. Played too often, too loudly, and too predictably every December. Driving Home for Christmas has become seasonal background noise for many. Yet, stripped of overuse, it still describes those... Continue Reading →
After Construction Time Again opened the door to Depeche Mode for me in 1983, it felt almost unavoidable to look back. If their third album could already shift something in me, then what had I missed in the years before? Even then, I sensed that to understand the direction this music would take me, I... Continue Reading →
It took me months to finish this article. The emotions of January were still shifting, still settling and I needed clarity in both heart and mind before I could put them into words. The Pacific Northwest, or simply PNW, has held a special place in my heart ever since I fell in love with the... Continue Reading →
In October, I visited Bournemouth again, one of England’s seaside resorts along the Channel coast. The town still bears the scars of Britain’s economic decline and the competition from low-cost flights that send travelers to the Balearic Islands and the Canaries. As tourism decreased, local employment also declined, leaving visible effects. During my first visit... Continue Reading →
Perhaps first a few words about the Sunflower Lanyard. The purpose of the Sunflower Lanyard is to make invisible disabilities visible. Not all limitations people face in society are immediately apparent, like someone in a wheelchair. Initially, the lanyard was designed to help travellers at Gatwick Airport. Airports, with their unique procedures and processes, can... Continue Reading →
Some albums slip quietly into your life. And some albums kick the door wide open. Construction Time Again did the latter. When friends recommended it to me in 1983, I had no idea I was about to step into the world of modern pop music for the first time. Looking back, it wasn’t just a... Continue Reading →
Some journeys take you across coastlines, night trains, and airport terminals.And then some journeys begin inside a record sleeve. Vinyl has been with me for so many years that some albums have turned into quiet landmarks: the music of my teenage room, the covers that shaped my taste, the accidental discoveries in second-hand shops, and... Continue Reading →
Two days after the somewhat bittersweet evening with Adam Ant at the Bournemouth International Centre, I found myself back in the same seaside town. This time in a completely different world. If the Adam Ant concert had left me reflective, Rick Wakeman’s show at the Bournemouth Pavilion was a celebration of pure musical mastery.No support... Continue Reading →
I’m sitting in the British Airways lounge at Terminal 5, waiting for my flight back to Berlin. It’s a familiar place. Too familiar, maybe. Over the years, I’ve been to many lounges: in London, Seattle, Frankfurt, San Francisco, and Houston, on different airlines, in various countries.And yet, somehow, they all feel the same. It’s not... Continue Reading →
Last night, I saw Adam Ant perform at the Bournemouth International Centre. It was the opening night of his long-awaited 2025 UK tour. A tour that had originally been planned for 2024, but was postponed due to illness. The show opens with a darkened stage and a pulsing instrumental track that blends tribal drums, atmospheric... Continue Reading →
