Roskilde in my <3

Ahh, the summer is approaching. Yes, I am an eternal optimist. Ok, some of my life-long friends might beg to differ? Well, lately I feel very optimistic! And it's more fun than being pessimistic, or worst of all, realistic. So - summer. I am so ready for the festival banter!! Didn't go to Roskilde in 2008, and I swear, I've never regretted anything more. Honestly! I mean, Seasick Steve, Kings of Leon and Neil Young were there...What the heck was I thinking!?

2006 was the best summer of my life, I think - the first time I went. It was just me and Kristin, my best friend of almost 10 years. We arrived sometime around noon of opening day, and started looking for a spot for our tiny, orange tent that, as we would later discover, JUST housed two people. I think we walked for 3 hours - no luck! Granted, we only looked on the west side of camping, but to be honest, I don't think we were aware of the fact that there was an equally enormous east side across the bridge - but we couldn't find a single patch of grass anywhere. Then, like an oasis in the desert - we saw Rob and Kasper. Two angels, sent from God, disguised as, well...Freaks. Was that harsh? I mean freaks in the most positive sense of the word. They let us start setting up on the wee corner of their camp, just next to the pathway, with the showers and toilets as the closest neighbours. So we started setting up our tent. But the soil was, like, really hard...And we couldn't for the life of us get the plugs to stick to the ground. We tried sooo hard for like probably an hour, before Rob (short for Robert Geoffrey Knight, how british can you get?? Bless him) finally offered to help. What a gentleman. So when we were finally settled in (or...out - hihi) we got some beers (8 quid for 24 bottles, hellooooo), some tiny camping chairs, and sat down with our new found friends. They'd brought a gazebo as well as two other tents for their two friends who were coming later on (they all had one tent each) and so we had a real sweet camp going on there. As soon as the other guys, Bjørn and Alex, arrived, the camp became known as Camp International - and a shit load of other words as well - I can remember flute, banjo, (we were a musical group of people) not good with balls - and probably some other random bollocks we came up with while Kasper was humping his inflatable swan. Good times.

Well, maybe time to get around to the essence of the experience - the music. The lineup was just amazing that year, I can't believe the bands we saw for, how much is it,160 quid? I'm talking Bob Dylan, Roger Waters performing Dark side of the moon (religious), Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes, Morrissey, Guns'n'Roses (well...Axl Rose with a completely new band, which was quite frankly shite, and they had to play for 3 hours...), Kaizers Orchestra, Phoenix, Kanye West (well, at least i saw 3 songs!), Scissor Sisters...Good times.
Now for the bands I missed because I hadn't opened my eyes to them yet (I know,embarassing), or I was just too shitfaced and/or pantsless to get off my ass... Bullet for my valentine, Clap your hands say yeah, Death cab for cutie, Deftones, Kaiser chiefs, Kashmir (most amazing Danish band ever, I swear), Lady Sovereign, Placebo, Primal scream, the Raconteurs, Sigur Rós, the Streets, Rufus and Martha Wainwright and Wolfmother.

Wow...Did I miss more bands than I saw? Looking at this lineup again I want to cry cause I missed to much amazing shit - but then again, the bands we saw were just so amazing. And the weather - everyday was 30 degrees, we were walking around practically naked (some of us anyway), we had lasagne and chocolate milk every morning (some more than others...), we met some fantastic people (Kasper, Rob, Bjørn and Alex, you guys are fecking awesome) and we almost bough a ukulele. Man, another thing I regret! 2009 I'm getting a friggin ukulele!

Ok, that's it for the nostalgia. I could write the same amount of words, if not more, about Roskilde 2007, but to be honest - I can't be bothered right now. Promise I will soon, though! Posting a picture of the most awesome camp at Roskilde 06, CAMP INTERNATIONAL <3

Appologies

Quick correction in order here - Annika doesn't really like James Blunt and Apocalyptica. She just said so a couple of times, but it is aparently not the case. So let me rephrase - it's not that Annika listens to bad music, it's more the fact that she is completely clueless about the essential basics! I'm talking about anything from before the 90s. Anywho, Annika I love you, and you appreciate David Gray, so all is well! <3

Party tunes

I felt this was an appropriate first category to my blog. I was at the gym today, and various cheesy dance tunes kept popping up on my ipod. Now, I only have a shuffle, so I don't really have any control over what goes on there. Ok that's not completely true. I soberly and intentionally put Cascada with "Everytime we touch" on there. But oh, do I regret it today. Must remember to remove.
The reason my post is called party tunes, is because the songs you listen to when you are under the influence, usually are quite different to the ones you would listen to while, say, cleaning your room. This is at least the case with me. The music I play when I'm drinking, is so horrifyingly bad that most of you would reconsider all previous perceptions you had of me. I'm talking Bonnie Tyler ("Bitter Blue"), Backstreet Boys (all of it), Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, Twenty 4 Seven and, worst of all, Lady Gaga. These songs are so BAD, but oh, sooo GOOD when you want to get your drink on. I'm not gonna play Hendrix or Doors or Chili peppers at a party, is creates a completely different mood (the two first ones, brilliant stoner mood)

I guess I am writing this to make myself feel better - because on some level, I do feel guilt when singing along to Beyoncé and Bon Jovi when I'm drunk. Music is my religion, and I shouldn't let these half-arsed, no-talent-whatsoever, half-naked, slightly retarded people contaminate my system. Byt - when you're drunk, it's ok. It is actually ok. Because, if nothing else, you are hopefully not alone at this party, and you will have to compromize. And odds are two or more of your friends are gonna beg for Britney's "Womanizer" - and you don't wanna be a party pooper.

Now for those of you who listen to this music while sober - I have nothing to say to you.

Introduction

Dear all,

how truly delighted I am that someone took the time to offer this humble blog of mine a short glimpse. I am creating this blog for two reasons, 1) my own entertainment, and 2) for those of my poor friends who are not as enlightened as myself when it comes to music, and who might appreciate a few tips from a (still humble) expert. Now, let me just say one thing - I don't appreciate and therefore don't listen to rap, hip hop or r'n'b. So these genres will not be included in my music education blog. Let's not forget the first and most important reason I am writing this - my own entertainment.

Now, I feel like dividing this blog into different chapters, if you will - Norwegian music, 60's, 70's, 90's (screw the 80's), artists, concerts...Whatever I feel like :)
So if anyone finds that this blog is funny, interesting, educational or just stupid, and therefore that this blog is worthy of their time, feel free to keep up :) I'd feel honoured.

As a conclusion of this introduction - I would encourage anyone who reads this to correct me if or when I am mistaken on any point, I am in fact not the flawless genius I appear to be. I am only human, and can make mistakes like anyone else. Sorry to disappoint all of you who have this glorified image of me, but I will try not to let you down. Also, I would mainly like to dedicate this blog to my dear flatmate Annika, who classifies James C**t (sorry) and Apocalyptica as...music... You need salvation, and I am here for you:) (
Don't get me wrong, Annika listens to some good music as well, but she needs to get the basic principles right)

So - that's it :)