Favorite songs FM4 with Naima Bock

Songs that last a lifetime are called FM4 favourites. This week was chosen by Naima Bok.

Written by Lisa Schneider

The first question asked by Naima Bock was whether she had actually experienced Christmas in Vienna, as she unwrapped the scarf from her shoulders and started laughing in the most beautiful, heart-warming way. She doesn’t know exactly, but she can definitely confirm: it’s very beautiful here.

Where it is also very beautiful: amidst all the glitz, glamor and Christmas craziness, namely in Vienna’s 1st district, and more precisely, in the red-clad backstage of the Porgy & Bess jazz club. The end of November is the time of the Blue Bird Festival, which, along with the Chocolate Advent Calendar, is the best tradition as people no longer have to follow religions. And what we’ve seen live here in the last few years: Aldous Harding, before she was a star, Patrick Wolfe, on the way there, Owen Pallett, Amanda Palmer, and Adam Green. No dancing with Emily this year, but with Porridge Radio, Lambchop, Magnetic Fields, Naima Bock and more.

Naima currently lives in London, in a kind of “mass housing project”, and when she says the words she has to laugh again. In reality, a few people live together and don’t care about the rest, which is exactly what you’d imagine in a mid-to-late 20s shared apartment. Naima Bock played in the psychedelic-tinged band Goat Girl until it was time to switch (from band to solo and from hard-hitting to slightly soft-hitting).

Naima Bock released her first album last year, and has been traveling a lot in the past few months. At the Bluebird Festival, they can only be seen with guitar accompaniment, which is great because if you carry light luggage, you can quickly throw it into your hotel room after the performance and then find that cool bar. After all, it is her last evening in Vienna.

So after we discussed and clarified the important questions about going out in the middle of the night and the brands associated with lung damage, we of course talked about music. Naima asks how long her answers should be, and her eyes are large and alternate between bright green and blue. She considers herself quite a geek when it comes to being a fan, and first we have to talk about Gorillaz (her youngest, six years old). Green Day mentioned it for the sake of completeness, but they have not yet fully grasped the principle of this program (we are not ashamed of anything!) and therefore prefer not to hear “American Idiot”. Better Mount Eerie (“The best band project in the world right now”) or Joanna Newsom (“Just Write One Song Like You Do”).

We talk about why covers can be tame if you don’t put your heart and mind into them (Naima released her version of Leonard Cohen’s “So long, Marianne” in September) and we talk about the best compliments you can get for, whatever you do and call music, you can get with this method. “A woman listened to my album while giving birth to her baby” is currently the weirdest, but it still tops the category.

FM4 favorite songs

Musicians talk about the songs that changed their lives. Every Sunday from 4pm to 5pm on FM4. Here is the current broadcast: