Today, exactly 16 years ago, American Industrial Metal band Ministry released their eighth studio album Animositisomina (18.02.2003). It was the last Ministry album to feature Al Jourgensen’s longtime partner in crime and bass-player / composer / producer Paul Barker, ending the Luxa/Pan production era.
Later, Jourgensen would reveal in an interview that this is one of his least-favourite Ministry albums saying “it was no fun to make” as he was forced to quit his heroin habits during the recording sessions.

Animositisomina Tracklist:
Animosity
Unsung
Piss
Lockbox
Broken
The Light Pours Out Of Me
Shove
Impossible
Stolen
Leper

On February 17, 2014, Bob Casale died at the age of 61, in Los Angeles, California, due to heart failure. As with most musicians their legacy is both the influence and the music they leave behind, in the case of Casale what he accomplished with Devo is astounding.

The debut full-length album by Devo-“Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” broke into the UK charts reaching a high of number-twelve, that set the chain reaction of legend.
Although released to mixed reviews, since then Rolling Stone has listed in amongst the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die-for a reason. It is the punk-electronic crossover, somewhere balancing between all-out rage and novelty recording. Produced by Brian Eno and David Bowie on the back of their experimental Berlin-trilogy, Devo became the perfect project.

“This is the band of the future”-David Bowie on Devo.

The strangest album-title comes from the lead single, released this month in 1978-“Jocko Homo" introduced the call-and-response "Are we not men?-We are Devo!". Indeed that single charted in the UK’s top-100.
“Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” broke down barriers as it reflected perfectly the state of rock-music. The death of glam, the cliches which were already falling into the punk movement and the heavyweight stadium acts who played for the money and not the audience is meshed into every inch of the album. It flung back the pretentious notions of the old-guard with a cover of The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”, became spokespeople for the hippy-drug generation with “Too Much Paranoias”. In time Devo could be perceived as journalists, highlighting their perception of what the music business had become.

Bob Casale was intricate in the Devo sound, providing back vocals, keyboards and that sixties-based rhythm guitar sound. Though his later years was spent in the field of soundtracks to movies such as - Four Rooms, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, the past would always reach for him in the form of reunion shows from 1996 until 2007.
Along with bands like Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, and Pere Ubu, Devo hailed a new era of electronic based compositions that set the trajectory for much of modern music. Looking deep with the modern framework of music points directly in the sound of LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, even in Arcade Fire, you frequently find strong traces of Devo.

Kevin Burke Jan 2019

This month it’s been 23 years since American industrial metal band Ministry released their cover version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Lay Lady Lay’ (February 1996). The song was performed earlier during a charity concert in October 1994, with Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam performing the backing vocals. Later the studio version of the song was recorded and released as a 4 track CD single from Ministry’s sixth studio album, Filth Pig. The song also appears on the 2008 Ministry cover album, Cover Up. In the Rolling Stone magazine’s review of Filth Pig, critic Jon Wiederhorn wrote that the cover "amalgamates a deep distorted bass line, clicking electronic percussion, jangling acoustic guitars, ominous curls of feedback and Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen's trademark howls”.

Lay Lady Lay (CD) Tracklist

Lyrics

Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay lady stay
Stay while the night is still ahead
Stay lady stay
Heaven's fills our head
Whatever colors that you have in your mind
I show them on to you and you see them shine

Stay lady stay
Stay with your man a while
Till the break of day
Then you're gonna see him smile
His clothes are dirty but his hands are clean
And you're the best thing, he's ever seen
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love
When he's standing over you?

Lay lady lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay lady stay
We're gonna build the whole night ahead
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you all night

Lay lady lay
Lay lady lay
Lay lady lay
Lay lady lay
Lay lady lay

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

DISCOGS

"The Telephone Call / Der Telefon-Anruf" by the German band Kraftwerk was released in February 1987 as the second single from their ninth studio album, Electric Café (1986). The single became Kraftwerk’s second number-one on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and stayed two weeks at the number-one spot.
Although the somehow unsettling black-and-white video of this song suggests Wolfgang Flür is singing the lyrics, it’s actually Karl Bartos' vocals that can be heard.

The remixes on the singles were done by François Kevorkian.

The Telephone Call / Der Telefon-Anruf" (7")

A. The Telephone Call (Remix) 3:49
B. Der Telefon-Anruf 3:49

The Telephone Call / Der Telefon-Anruf" (12")

A1. The Telephone Call (Remix) 3:49
A2. Der Telefon-Anruf 3:49

B1. House Phone 4:54
B2. Der Telefon-Anruf" (Remix)

The Telephone Call - Lyrics

[EN]
I give you my affection and I give you my time
Trying to get a connection on the telephone line
You're so close but far away
I call you up all night and day
I give you my affection and I give you my time
Trying to get a connection on the telephone line
You're so close but far away
I call you up all night and day
You're so close but far away
I call you up all night and day
I give you my affection and I give you my time
Trying to get a connection on the telephone line
I call you up from time to time
To hear your voice on the telephone line
I call you up from time to time
To hear your voice on the telephone line
[DE]

Ich geb' dir meine Zuneigung und meine Zeit
Ich muß dich wiedersehen, wann ist es soweit?
Du bist mir nah und doch so fern
Ich ruf' dich an, ich hör' dich gern

Songwriters: Florian Schneider Esleben / Karl Bartos / Ralf Huetter
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

On this day just one year ago we received some very sad news that blew us away … our dear friend Ward De Prins, co-founder and one of the main driving forces behind our Peek-a-Boo Magazine, curator of the Black-Easter Festival, and so much more … had unexpectly left us for good.

His love for music and especially the more darkish alternative and out of the ordinary music was so intense, he dedicated most, if not all, of his free time to Peek-a-Boo Magazine. He was always ready to give his full support to bands, promoters, editors and writers who shared the same musical passion!

Ward's music preferences were quite eclectic, he loved Einstürzende Neubauten, Goethes Erben, Pink Floyd and Coil, to name a few … but he was also very fond of many vocal artists, classical music and opera…

But his real and all-time hero … was without doubt … David Bowie who also left this planet only 2 years before!
Only a couple of weeks before Ward passed away, he shared with us he was still unable to open and listen to his still sealed copy of Bowie's last album Black Star. Now his sorrow is over and he is reunited with his hero.

Ward passed away on 14th February at his home in Antwerp, he was only 48.

Rest In Peace our dear friend! Things are not the same anymore... WE MISS YOU!

20.04 + 21.04 Black Easter 2019 - In memory of Ward De Prins
Just one week before his death, Ward also told his friends he was again full of energy and ready for another edition of Black Easter in 2019... sadly he would never live to tell... But some of Ward's closest friends decided to still make his last dream come true! Based on found a personal band wishlist and with the full support of Ward's family these friends have now succeeded in putting together a worthy Black Easter edition for 2019.