#simon brenner

Simon Brenner's preface to "The Spirit of Talk Talk" new edition, 2019.

After reading his insight, I can definitely say that Simon Brenner got the Alan Wilder treatment, before Alan Wilder himself. The difference between them is the question of self-confidence. Both had extraordinary talent, but only one of them believed in himself despite the lack of bandmate support- Alan. Alan KNEW that he was skilled, he KNEW he had what it took to create great music; from 1982 through 1995 he repeatedly was put in his place as backup while Martin (phenomenal songwriter as he was) took charge of the band. Alan used all of his time with Depeche to build his confidence, to inprove skillfully, and to always do better than the last album. And as a consequence of Depeche Mode's unfair ignorance of his efforts, Alan did the right thing and separated to pursue his best interests.

Simon, on the other hand, was young. Talk Talk formed in 1982, and (aside from Lee and Paul) these guys were far from lifelong friends, their formation a mere accident. Simon messed up his keys while performing live in America, so what?! He and his bandmates should have expected mistakes with such a quick band formation-- they weren't the '94 Guns'n'Roses, with experience under their belt for crying out loud! They were kids, and kids are not perfectly clean on their first tour in a foreign country. Why would they make him feel bad for that? I really believe it was a confidence issue. He just didn't believe in himself. And his bandmates failed him in their lack of support. He left after only one year, in 1983.

His chemistry with Mark soured, because Mark was quiete frankly "the leader." When a band doesn't give each member equal dues and equal creative imput, as we've seen in Depeche Mode, and a plethora of other bands, then this creates tension. They really got along at first, but Mark had a different vision for the band than Simon, and Simon didn't feel like he could meet Mark's standards. That breaks my heart. Because they were supposed to be friends above all else; but I suppose not? Bernard Sumner said that when talking about Joy Division and early New Order: friendship is what matters most- not the music. And Barney was freaking right. Because if you have to be miserable, or if you have to make others miserable in order to get a good "sound" then screw that sound, I don't want it. The fact that Lee Harris had to get therapy after recording one of Talk Talk's later albums gives me reason to suspect Mark pushed them all to the edge, and that's quiete unfair. I love Mark! He's my favorite member of the band. But there's not a doubt in my mind that he could be difficult to work with, because he was a bloody perfectionist.

I'll always live my life thinking about what kind of amazing synth sounds Simon could have added to Talk Talks 84-onwards discography. His presence in "The Party's Over" is heavy and commanding, though he may not say so- but that album's synths are on another level, seriously. Not the fresh sloppiness like New Order's beautiful early albums, and yet not the darkly illuminating production like Depeche Mode's mid-late 80s masterpieces. It's so-- mellow and wonderfully sad. The low tones, the sparkles, the long chords of self-reflection, I mean-- it's unlike any 80s album I've ever listened to. It blew me away this month when I listened to it for the first time, absolutely blew me away.

‘And in the End’, (season fifteen, episode twenty-two)

Day 3: Your favorite series

The Inspector Brenner novels by Wolf Haas

Cheating a little bit here, I don’t read that many series and it probably would be a deadlock between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings if I was honest, but they’re super famous and we all know them already, so let’s have something a bit more exotic instead! 

Especially since I’ve just learned that they’re available in English too now. Not sure if they work in the translation though, because what makes this series of six (SIX! We ignore the money-grab additions in this house) stand-out from other crime novels is the very dark, very specific brand of humour and the peculiar writing style. 

It’s all very Austrian, big parts of the books are in dialect and written like thoughts, half-sentences, derailed trains of thought and fillers included. They’re grimy, filled with people who aren’t likeable but interesting af and are just a perfect illustrations of Austrian mentality. I swear, even the more grotesque characters, you know them and have met them if you live here. It’s SO good.