Hello From Munich

We are sending this issue from Munich, Germany, where we visit family. Elke and I lived in Munich together for all the 90s, and trips there become more nostalgic with every year.

Do I miss the 90s and my 20s? In some ways, yes, in other ways, no. Life always moves on, and every phase has its ups and downs. But so far, I think the general direction was up.

But what about the music? In the 90s, CDs ruled. CDs, more precisely, their “jewel cases,” were the most unsexy packaging in music history. They felt cheap and scratched or broke in no time. You had to fumble liner notes from underneath little notches, which often tore the paper. And storage solutions for CDs were bulky and ugly.

Before MP3 was invented and CD writers became affordable late in the 90s, you had to carry a busy mobile CD player and discs around for music on the go. That meant that you listened likely to the same records over and over because it was the only one you had with you.

Music discovery happened exclusively on the radio, which in the 90s had adopted “formats” and played the same limited selection of songs all day long. The only way to find alternative music was to go to one of the better record stores. We had WOM (World of Music) in Munich, which featured dozens of CD-listening stations. But overall, Elke and I strayed not too far from the mainstream.

This type of limitation was also reflected in the live shows we attended. And how did you get the tickets? You stood in line at one of the few presale offices in the city, sometimes for hours. At least there were no scalper bots and on-demand pricing yet.

Munich did not have much of an indie music scene in the 90s, which may or may not have changed. We went almost exclusively to international touring bands in larger venues, including stadiums. The only exception I remember was the Feierwerk, a youth cultural center that sometimes featured local bands. Their highlight was a week-long art festival with a few live concerts.

That is why from a musical perspective, I would definitely choose New York City in the 2020s over Munich in the 90s.

Thanks for reading glamglare! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

Song Picks of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube and Spotify for the 50 latest Song Picks of the Day.

This week our playlist starts with London indie rock trio Slaney Bay. With their new single “Move On,” singer Cait Whitley wants to escape a rut. “I was still upset about the same person, situation, and mistakes as I was a year ago,” she explains. Next up, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Wila Frank with the excellent song “Tonight.” Check out the other songs she has released so far, and you will count the days until her debut record Black Cloud is out on May 12.

We have been fans of the UK/Iceland punk trio Dream Wife since 2016. “Orbit” is the new single of their upcoming third full-length Social Lubrication. Singer Rakel says the song is about “how each day you never know what’s in store for you or how a stranger can become someone close to you – for a day, a heartbeat, a phase, or a lifetime.”

After that, we have “Sweet Nirvana,” an atmospheric love song by 18-year-old Bristol musician Immy. We love the track for its summer party vibes. Next is some grungy synth pop by LA-based singer/songwriter Alaska Reid. Her new song is called “She Wonders” and is about touring experiences, in particular as the only woman in a band. “I wanted the song to be like a play in which the chorus quotes the internal monologue of a character,” she says.

Vanessa Richardson, aka Dawn Cadence is always surprising. Listen to her new track, “Speaking in Tongues,” a few times and experience how she builds an experimental pop song.

The closer for this week comes from New York singer, songwriter, and producer The Poster Child. He says about his new song “Garden”: “Over that time, it kinda became its little universe, almost like I put a whole EP’s worth of things to say into one, short song.”

Visiting Friends & Family in Germany in Nine Photos