Cortex - 5 Seconds (1981)

A very beautiful song by Freddie Wadling of Cortex.
Freddie Wadling is a swedish legend. He lived a tough life, but he endured it. Freddie passed away in 2016.
As I just said, him being a legend. Every artist in Sweden respected the man as an artist as well as the man himself.
This song is criminaly underrated. Enojoy!

[@flippatheshippa]

This song makes me feel really high

[@annikaerf]

One of the best rockbands in the 80's, both in Sweden an of the westworld! This song has a reminiscence of some of the best of The Clash's stuff...

[@dev3n]

R.I.P Freddie Wadling 1951 - 2016

[@IvanLindblad]

R.I.P Janus Witchrider 1988 - 2017

[@ndSpaz]

@@IvanLindblad :(

[@LarzGustafsson]

Absolutely brilliant.

[@bl00dninja]

Best song on the spinal injuries album! Cheers from Norway

[@fistfulgoteborg3142]

so good

[@lumpsucker]

Five seconds away from the razor I'm on the edge, I'm going down Five seconds away from the razor The wave is coming The wave is coming It's radiating and pulsating Radiating 5 seconds away from the razor 20,000 people and their monster are waiting in the night and beyond 20,000 people and their monster The wave is coming The wave is coming

[@chaot0punk]

that is punk... great.

[@LarzGustafsson]

I totally agree! This should have achieved a LOT more attention than it actually did. All the best from Zluggo Pop of Bizex-B (Sweden)

[@sonsofulph]

Eternal music. The best song of the 80s? Yes, no doubt. Try find a song with more soul and heart in it. Or no, dont waste your time. Listen to 5 seconds, 100% heart and honest feelings.

[@dev3n]

You said it!

[@dev3n]

If anyone knows the lyrics, feel free to send them in a message! I'd really appreciate that! :)

[@jesse7328]

Can someone give me some backstory on Cortex and Freddie Wadling? I’m trying to learn more but it’s hard when I only speak english.

[@Melkiors]

Childhood Freddie Wadling was born as the son of Arvid Olsson (1922-1989) and Astrid Wadling (1924-1992). As a child, he took the mother's returned maiden name after her parents' divorce. [1] [2] [4] During the latter part of his life, he remembered very little of his childhood. The fragmentary memories he had often flowed together and were sometimes contradictory. On a return trip to Fräntorp, the area in Gothenburg where he grew up, he said that the place during his childhood "felt like a prison. A big black hole. I am very happy that I came from here". [5] According to Wadling, his father was an unreliable alcoholic. He left both his wife and children early, after which they moved in with Freddie Wadling's grandparents. Wadling described this home as crowded and constantly filled with people. According to Wadling, he was subjected to psychological abuse by his mother during his childhood, at the same time as he had several good memories of his mother. Both his mother and his grandmother were very overprotective and strict. He described this as "they forbade me to live. Everything was an empty being". He remembered his childhood as marked by ever-increasing poverty. However, a cousin and the family's photo album gives a different picture of their finances; among other things, on Christmas Eve he received large amounts of presents and according to his cousin he was spoiled. [5] His musical interest began very early. At the age of two, he had a great interest in LPs and regularly sang children's songs; at the age of three, his mother had begun making recordings of his song. Wadling's interest in design and theater also showed early on. His cousin described him as an exhibitionist, who, however, was very lonely and isolated. [5] He began early to create music using various tools, such as rulers, cigar boxes, bath tubs, broomsticks, strings and more. He preferred to improvise music over learning music theory. [6] At school he was bullied and beaten. After an incident on a busy day, he was also beaten and constantly chased by his teacher. "She could just walk up and slap me. I was not sure for a single minute," Wadling said later in life. [5] From the age of eight to 15, Wadling experienced himself as a mutist. In fact, he responded to appeals from teachers and relatives, but his experience of those years was that for seven years he did not say a word and distanced himself both from his surroundings and from himself. [5] When Freddie Wadling was nine years old, he found his grandfather dead in the bathroom. This experience dramatically aggravated his isolated condition. His grandmother then began to insist that he spend time with her all the time, which eventually led to him starting to hate her. [5] Adolescence At the age of 14, he formed with his cousin Eddie, Ulf Lindström and another boy a band called The Human Beings where Freddie Wadling played bass. The band split quickly but managed to give a concert in Härlanda church. However, Wadling later continued to make music with others. [6] At the age of 14 he became acquainted with alcohol, quickly became a heavy smoker and later in his teens he also started smoking cannabis. [6] Early adulthood Freddie Wadling's mother and grandmother were convinced that he would never be able to fend for himself and that there was something wrong with him. Therefore, he underwent extensive clinical tests and was for a short period admitted to a psychiatric ward at Sahlgrenska Hospital. At the age of 18, he retired. One doctor said he had claustrophobic tendencies, fear of other people and was "slightly stiffened, slightly twisted and closed". Other doctors said he had delusions, social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder. [6] Freddie Wadling painted a lot towards the end of the 60's, with oil paint in a naive style. The motifs included eyeballs, skeletons, black horses, fantasy creatures and more. It is unknown exactly when, but sometime around this time, he studied at the Dômen art school in Gothenburg, where he studied painting, sketching, art history and color and form theory. [6] In the 70's he started using more drugs. He tested amphetamine and LSD, among other things, the latter becoming a recurring drug in Wadling's life. He played in several smaller bands, but with the band Frog 2000 it became more serious. The band held a number of smaller concerts. Wadling initially sang in the band, but later handed over the singing to someone else when the songs were no longer to his liking. [6] He moved to his own apartment in the early 70's, but his mother and grandmother were still very worried about him. [6] Eventually he started taking more amphetamines and cannabis. To curb amphetamine ignition, he used sedatives, cannabis and alcohol. At the age of 23, he had an amphetamine addiction that made his life dysfunctional. [7] The beginning of the musical career Freddie Wadling continued to make music with Frog 2000. In the spring of 1974, they participated in a competition arranged by Göteborgs-tidningen and L

[@Melkiors]

Apparently the statement of an horrible childgood by Wadling is kind of misleading. He lived in a poor but loving family and his trauma probably came from being bullied at school because of his appearance and cheap clothes. This resulted in him not speaking at all for a severe time of his childhood.

[@jesse7328]

Melker Sennelöv wow that’s very interesting, thanks so much! I really love the music that he made with Cortex and Im really grateful that you were able to tell me about his life!

[@Melkiors]

@@jesse7328 Well the article only describes his personal life. The amphetamine addiction is exaggerated I believe because during the same time he formed and starred in multiple Swedish post-punk groups such as Liket Lever, Cortex Fläskkvartetten, Lädernunnan, Blue For Two and several other smaller groups. What's unfortunate for us is that he never stayed or kept any groups together for very long except Blue For Two and partially Cortex resulting in very few known live-performances and the bigger fame his persona and voice deserved. The reason for this is probably his severe drug use but mostly he never felt there was any meaning in becoming famous. He just kept doing his own thing, not being controlled by record companies and such. Maybe this was a positive trait and made him and his music the unique contribution to Swedish culture that it currently is.

[@oED209o]

is it punk?? :D