Old music: Baader Meinhof – Mogadishu
What kind of musician decides to write a concept album about terrorism and its consequences? Luke Haines, that's who.
This one's courtesy of Grant Morrison. Earlier this year the Scottish comic book writer was a guest on a US radio station picking some of his favourite songs.
Alongside the likes of the Smiths and the Rutles, Morrison picked this track from Baader Meinhof's eponymous album. The band – named after the 1970s German militant group – was one of many side-projects put together by Luke Haines, best known perhaps for the Auteurs and Black Box Recorder. I remember reading various snippets about Haines but I'd never knowingly heard any of his music until I listened to Morrison's radio choices.
And I found Mogadishu captivating. It's a slowly drifting psychedelic little song, almost charming taken at face value. But it comes from an album dedicated to exploring the idea of terrorism and its consequences, and the title refers to the hijacking of German plane in an attempt to free a number of imprisoned Baader Meinhof members. Let's just say it didn't end well for the hijackers.
So not your everyday pop song, and a pretty dark subject all round. But with lyrics about "the mothership above" it also adds a level of unreality to the hijacking tale and drifts into more esoteric territory. You can see why it appeals to Morrison, whose Invisibles epic starred what he calls occult terrorists and alluded to otherworldly conspiracies controlling events. He even suggests Mogadishu could have been the series' theme song. Listening to it, I can understand what he means.
Alongside the likes of the Smiths and the Rutles, Morrison picked this track from Baader Meinhof's eponymous album. The band – named after the 1970s German militant group – was one of many side-projects put together by Luke Haines, best known perhaps for the Auteurs and Black Box Recorder. I remember reading various snippets about Haines but I'd never knowingly heard any of his music until I listened to Morrison's radio choices.
And I found Mogadishu captivating. It's a slowly drifting psychedelic little song, almost charming taken at face value. But it comes from an album dedicated to exploring the idea of terrorism and its consequences, and the title refers to the hijacking of German plane in an attempt to free a number of imprisoned Baader Meinhof members. Let's just say it didn't end well for the hijackers.
So not your everyday pop song, and a pretty dark subject all round. But with lyrics about "the mothership above" it also adds a level of unreality to the hijacking tale and drifts into more esoteric territory. You can see why it appeals to Morrison, whose Invisibles epic starred what he calls occult terrorists and alluded to otherworldly conspiracies controlling events. He even suggests Mogadishu could have been the series' theme song. Listening to it, I can understand what he means.
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