Notes from Germany
I am an American expat living in Germany. It's a far away land on the other side of the ocean. It's interesting and often weird here. If you read this and want to comment then email me at nate(the at symbol)chillmost.com. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, you can keep them.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
I just got back from seeing Kante at Vamos here in Lüneburg. Kante is one of my favorite German bands. The members are all very talented, the tracks are produced well and the lyrics are understandable and thought provoking. Tonight's show was the first on their national tour. I could tell they were still a little soft and still needed to get their "tour feet" wet. The best song was of course "Die Summe der einzelnen Teile". It rocked. They also had a few songs with some Spiritualized/Velvet Underground -like noisy freak outs. Not the best concert because I didn't get rocked like I wanted, but still good.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Often when I meet a new German acquaintance I am often asked what I don't like about Germany. Now there are things that bother me but the problem is that I can almost never remember what they are when asked. It is kind of like how you might keep a mental list of CDs you want to buy and then the next time you are in a music store you can't remember what it was you wanted to buy. But there are 2 things I can remember right now so I'll let you all know what they are.
1. Bureaucracy: Germany has it down to a science, an art form even. Every piece of paper has to be stamped, signed in triplicate, photocopied and filed away. Any foreigner that has ever tried to get a driver's license here knows what I'm talking about. If all stamps and ink pads in Germany were to disappear over night the country would flip the fuck out. Absolute standstill.
2. Street signs or the lack thereof: They do exist but they always seem to be sporadic especially when you are lost or in a hurry to get somewhere. They also have problems deciding on what to name a street. A road could be a kilometer long and have 5 different names. Forget Mapquest. That will just confuse you even more. Just swallow your pride and ask at the gas station. You'll get there quicker.
I'm sure there are other things that really bother me about Germany but they are not so bad that I constantly bitch about them. All in all I can't complain. I got a job and roof over my head and food to eat. I'm lucky.
Oh I almost forgot, the weather sucks. Often.
Hmm, thousands are dying in Iraq for bullshit reasons, the Anti-Christ is close to being re-elected and Britney Spears is taking time off to 'chill'.
Sounds about normal to me.
This past Friday I had a private drum lesson with Angelo Kelly. It cost 50? but it was for a good cause. It went to support some sort of Childrens Music Program (anything for the children). He is a really good drummer and I learned a couple interesting things pertaining to jazz drumming technique. It's all about the French style of holding the sticks.
On Saturday the Rhythmus-Total percussion festival was where it was at. It was very interesting but I don't want to hear another drum for a long time.
