I know a few Arno Schmidt fans out there read love german books occasionally, so I wanted to point their way to this fascinating TAZ article by Gerhard Henschel, about 6 newly released CDs of the great writer and translator singing popular songs drunk one New Year's Eve.
Apparently they feature Schmidt's renditions of Blue Suede Shoes, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Der Tag, als Conny Kramer starb, and many more. The writer used the spout of a watering can for added amplification and finished off with the tune to Bonanza on the mouth organ.
Henschel writes:
But how did the recording come about? According to the editorial team, Schmidt's wife Alice found a tape recorder in a skip in the late autumn of 1977, brought it home and repaired it. A handwritten note dates the recording to New Year's Eve 1977/78, which was apparently a rather "jolly" evening. The tapes were subsequently deposited in a kitchen drawer, the key to which was lost at some point, only to turn up this spring.
It's such a shame the piece isn't strictly true.
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