UNDERLINED.’S EDIT. VOL. 13
For the 13th time, I am coming with five things that caught my eye. That means I shared 65 things since September 2022 when the first edit. came out. I do think it is important to share whatever you are enthusiastic about. It has a tendency to become infectious and there is nothing better than spreading curiosity. I see underlined.’s edit. like a library from which you can borrow and contribute in the future, hopefully.
The Guardian article
Pieces of journalism like this make me love my profession. The journalist in me grew up on articles like this brilliant piece in The Guardian. It is "'A road trip like no other': my epic drive on Kraftwerk's Autobahn," by Tim Jonze. He describes an unusual choice for a road trip in Germany. It's the A555 motorway from Bonn to Cologne. Düsseldorf’s quartet wanted to give the soundtrack for driving along these famous roads. The band decided to invite rock press to drive with them while listening to Autobahn to give them an immersive experience. Critics weren’t impressed by Kraftwerk’s work. Kraftwerk released the album in 1974, and someone stated, “[S]omething like that doesn't even deserve to be released.” To put it in the context, it is the same year when chart hit singles were Queen’s “Killer Queen”, “Honey, Honey” by ABBA and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Kraftwerk sounded like nothing on the charts or nothing at all. Even today, they can be divisive, but if you listen closely, they did change music, a transformation that Jonze described in detail in the article.
The Guardian screenshot
Radio Garden
By listening to the radio in some country, you can sense so much. Do hosts talk too much? Are there commercials after every two songs? How often is there time for news, etc.? I found the site Radio Garden last year through Instagram. You can literally listen to any available radio station in the world. In a few swipes, you can go from Jamaica to Iraq. I found a radio station called Babylon FM in Erbil's suburb Ankawa. It plays a mix of current and older hits. I stayed because I heard them playing Gracie Abrams’s “That’s So True.” On top of that, I realized hosts on Israeli radios LOVE to talk, so it’s a bit challenging to listen to their programme. Istanbul has so many stations, and you can spend ages just going through them. Because of it, they can be super specific. I always hunt for new music beyond anglo-american frames. So, Radio Garden is a gift that keeps on giving every time I open it. While I am writing this, I am listening to Ostim Radyo FM 96.0 in Ankara and Nuray Hafiftaş's version of “Leyli Leyli.”
Radio Garden screenshot
Ladaniva "La montagne"
My favourite music discovery of last year is Armenian-French duo Ladaniva. As I wrote, their latest record "Postcards" is all covers. They are from various European countries and one is from Lebanon. My latest rediscovery from it is the song in French “La montagne.” The first thing I immediately loved is the buildup in the studio version of vocals and brass section. It starts as a ballad and becomes a huge magical song. After hearing it, YouTube recommended me this acoustic version. Singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan has such a delicate but powerful voice. She doesn’t try to show off by singing loud or even screaming into the microphone, which is, if you ask me, the worst. Baghdasaryan does quite the opposite, achieving the greatest effect.
The Red Hand Files
Before I went to Nick Cave’s concert last October, I spent an afternoon reading who knows how many The Red Hand Files. Many of them I saved in my files, but I wanted to share this one. This question appears to be universal to me, and Cave’s answer deserves careful consideration. It is not a straightforward heartwarming answer and that’s the best part of it. In case you are not familiar with Cave’s TRHF, it is a website full of questions by fans and answers from Cave. He doesn’t have a team who runs it but he does it by himself since 2018. The Red Hand Files is not a polished PR tool whatsoever. It is clear from the start it comes from a pure place. Cave answers all sorts of questions - about religion, personal matters, and art. Reading all these letters, I found it a joyful, wholesome corner of the Internet. Its vulnerability and transparency, as he described, made it so. Anyone anytime can send a letter. You don’t need to pay anything, there is no paywall.
The Red hand Files screenshot
Ego what?
I aspire to be like this egoless man - zero fucks given.
song i couldn’t stop listening
I have a soft spot for this kind of ballad. It's a piano ballad with a brilliant melody and detailed lyrics. The haunting outro, which sounds like he will never get away from the sound of the woman that loved him. To be fair, I haven’t stopped listening to this Chappell Roan’s song since November. Every time I play “Coffee” it feels brand new to me. In fact, as I am writing these words, I have it on loop. The song has some sort of closure, but it doesn’t feel like it. The couple she describes decided it is better they leave it and give it some time. They most definitely didn’t give it some time. Ballads on Roan’s debut record The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess like this one and “Kaleidoscope” are overlooked. She sings from the soul with a great sensibility.
