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May 02, 2007
Retrohump Night: Malaria!'s only one
I was otherwise engaged all day, and my cohorts have their own preoccupations, so the Retro today is really the Retro tonight. But look at the timestamp. Let it never be said that Retrohump devotees were made to go without. This particular entry proves that any band, any nation, any obscurity will eventually submit to the Tube. There are too many people out there.
Solo Eno shows, Modern Lovers gigs, grainy Television Personalities footage, take note. You cannot hide from me forever. For now, Malaria!
That exclamation point is built in, but there's a chance I would have added one anyway.
Malaria! - "Your Turn to Run"
I've posted this song in varying forms twice before, but its allure is hard to overstate. In short: the blurry synth, the stuttering new wave beat, the oddly tuned guitar flourishes, those detached yet aggressive Teutonic vocals. If you're a fan of Germany, lady menace, or the years 1980 to 1982 in general, then you're sorted.
Further investigation into the Malaria! back catalog has unearthed nothing of comparable quality. Sometimes though, the completely out of nowhere stand alone song from a forgotten group is a more satisfying discovery for it's fluky nature. It's proof that artistic gold can come from anywhere. You might have to be a terminal record geek to relate.
The video is purportedly cobbled together from Super 8 leftovers from the Berlin group's earlier video 's for "Geld", and it looks it. Basically the girls (and they are all girls, right? That's what the All Music entry says, but it's uh, got some holes in it) hang around a bombed out theater prop station wagon, give their creepily be-crutched friend a lift, and end up in a fiery wreckage? Several views in and still I'm not really sure. Also, posing.
It could use some intensity to match the song's high bar, but it exists and I found it.
Also:
Malaria! - "Geld (Money)"
As to the video who's excess spawned our beloved "Your Turn to Run" clip, well, if you look reeeeal close you can see the formation of those East German stereotypes that sort of mystified me during "Sprockets" sketches in my youth. Being in Berlin's booming early 80's art and music scene was probably a real hoot, but the levels of hyper serious pretension here could power a U-Boat.
Dear God! Obtuse art powered U-Boats! We're doomed...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at May 2, 2007 11:27 PM
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Comments
You are a one-man Malaria epidemic--thank you sir; you're doing the Lord's work.
Posted by: david at May 3, 2007 07:04 AM
