SONGS OF JUNE

HAMBURG

  • 🎵 NEW MUSIC FRIDAY

    Release Day always feels a bit like the NBA Draft to me.

    Depending on scouting reports and previous games, the teams pick someone at #1, and that‘s usually the best player in the draft. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama. But every now and then the best player in the draft is chosen later like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Luka Doncic. In some cases the best player in the draft gets chosen very late or even during a commercial break – think Nikola Jokic. Sometimes undrafted players end up being picked up later and in one case even end up in the hall of fame: Ben Wallace stands alone.

    New Music Friday feels similar. Every week the respective editorial team picks someone to be on the cover of their playlist, the number one new release of the week. It’s usually the big stars, with a big budget, big campaign and a proven track-record that gives them a high „draft-stock“ and a better chance to succeed. But what even is a „best song“ then? The one that’s on the cover? The one that performs best in the first week? Or maybe rather the one that has the best „career“? I personally love to look for the „steal of the draft“.

    A great song is like a great player. Just that – first and foremost. Some never win if not surrounded by the right team. Others just win because they‘re a part of one. But if they‘re truly great they excite us beyond any team or affiliation – to keep us talking about them for years to come.

    Happy Release Day to all of us.

  • 🛠️ On Work

  • 🚅 Trains

    I do believe that it can be okay for trains to be unreliable. They can be late for hours, mistakes can happen, we‘re only human. It’s also ok for trains to be crowded. We all want to get somewhere and we all want to do something. Ideally make the most of the journey – so we talk, we listen to music, we make noise. That can also be okay. I also believe that it is totally ok to not always have a perfect internet connection when you‘re traveling for many hours through the middle of nowhere. We should be a lot less on our phones anyway.

    But all of it, all the time?

    That‘s. Just. Mean.

    And it speaks volumes about your organization and its priorities.

  • 🚩 Red Flags: LinkedIn Bios

    It‘s been a long time since I‘ve posted here and I hoped that this one would be some kind of return to form or potentially explain a direction for this website. That will have to wait.

    For now, here‘s is a collection of red flags in professional bios on LinkedIn:

    🚩 „Entrepreneur”

    🚩 „Kindness”

    🚩 Academic Titles

    This is not a complete list.

  • 👑 God Save The Kings

    In light of new releases by Loyle Carner and Stormzy, I still believe there should be a full-length collab album by the two and it should be called God Save The Kings.

  • 💎💰❤️ The Great Escape!

    Life lately has been Everything. Everywhere. All At Once.

  • ♟️ On Chess

    I do believe that chess could become one of the coolest urban sports events if done right. I know, I know but hear me out: Underground venue, ideally with a second level and a balcony, like the Mojo Club in Hamburg. Spotlight on the board. Dim lighting, a stage for player intros – present them like superstars. DJ, MC doing play-by-play and a big screen showing the board. Bring on Hennessy, Tom Ford and DraftKings as sponsors – not really want to advertise or promote drinking or gambling here, but let‘s be real – they would be a natural fit for this. Chess and Battle Rap are distant relatives, I‘m sure the Wu-Tang Clan would agree. It‘s one on one, competition, strategy, remaining cool and confident. You can‘t tell me that it‘s not weirdly hip hop?

    I haven‘t figured out how you would get people to go. I know Magnus Carlsen, I know Garry Kasparov, I watched The Queen’s Gambit and I think, I once played against an old Russian self-proclaimed grandmaster on Times Square in New York City. That‘s probably all I know about chess. But I also know that I‘m not aware of a single person that actually „hates“ chess. And it stands the test of time. So maybe it would have to be local heroes creating a buzz for the events? Maybe high quality video production around the matches and brilliant presentation on social media? Either way, I personally know that I would absolutely love the atmosphere.

    I could keep rambling on about this. How the individual pieces could make for merch, how certain plays could turn into trademarks, how player’s mannerisms can become catchphrases… Poker had its moment with Phil Ivey, Darts managed to perfectly blend all cultural elements to build its very own weird and entertaining world. But the fact that FC St. Pauli and Magnus Carlsen joined forces has me convinced that I‘m far from the only one that believes that there is another life for chess.

  • 🌹 Chicago Red

    I love absolutely everything about this. Derrick Rose opening up a flower shop in his hometown of Chicago and the city is showing love. So much of this just makes sense for someone so beloved being active in their community and the city is there. I have never been to Chicago but this type of support is something that I love in certain cities around the world. It‘s a shame this is just a one-day pop-up. In another universe this is just the place to go for roses in the world. Also just always good to see Derrick Rose.

  • 🎵 Loose Talk – 2024

    At the end of every year, I meet an old friend and we listen to the 100 songs that had the most meaning for us over the course of the past twelve months. The songs do not necessarily have to be released in that year, sometimes it can be a very old song that has been a huge part of the story. Here below is my selection of fifty songs that provided a soundtrack to me in 2024.

  • 🎄 The Day Before Christmas

    Going to the shops on December 23rd feels like something between civil war and romantic comedy. Also Love Actually and Die Hard are both Christmas movies.