It happens again and again that material from long-faded artists or bands suddenly finds its way to the light of day – or to the listeners’ ears – with a long delay. At the moment, a song by Udo Jürgens is causing a stir, which didn’t make it onto an album at the time, but only ended up in the archive. Now the song with the wistful title “When I left” has been rearranged. It will be published on Udo Jürgens’ 90th birthday, which was on September 30th. Because Jürgens “left this world” in 2014, he will no longer be able to experience how the song is received by the audience.

Last fall, the Beatles – or what’s left of them – released the song “Now and then.” 50 years after the band broke up. It sounds nostalgic and melancholic and is based on the singing that John Lennon recorded on tape in 1979. Beatles survivor Paul McCartney said upon release that it was the last song on which all the Mushroomheads played together.

Autumn is the time for memories, which can certainly be melancholic or nostalgic. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they need a newly recorded song to evoke the really important memories or an archive discovery that is then rigged up on the computer. It’s a good thing that your mother’s singing, which you still remember even as an old person, doesn’t need an ear. Because you hear it with your heart. (nyf)