An ode to the neighbours!

Ok, contrary to popular belief not all Norwegians hate Sweden. I, for one, think that Sweden has a number of fantastic attributes - great prices, they invented the snus (as far as I know?), snowboarding, meatballs, Ikea (thanks for the meatballs!), Astrid Lindgren, they're ridiculously beautiful AND they produce fucking fantastic music. Again and again and again. I'll make a small list below of some of the Swedish music acts I find fucking fantastic:

* Thåström
* The Cardigans
* The Knife
* Robyn
* José Gonzalez
* The Hives
* Håkan Hellström

There´s probably way more that I just can´t think of right now! Anyways, I´m really into the Knife and Robyn at the moment. The fun thing about Robyn is she just keeps getting better and better! I think her last two albums, Body Talk Pt. 1 & 2, are her best ones, easy! Oh my God, Sweden is fantastic. Guys, check Sweden out - how awesome is Sweden??? SUPER fucking awesome, that´s how awesome. Ok, I´ll post some awesome videos below for your viewing and listening pleasure. And a waffle to the one who can guess this post´s operative word.

















ENJOY!!!

The fall of awesome gigs

And by fall I am referring to the season rather than the demise, as it could appear in my heading. This fall, or autumn if you wish, is going to be so blooming amazing gig-wise. Actually - can we call it fall already? It is in Edinburgh anyway, feels like friggin November just now, so I'll go ahead and call it fall already - I've just been to see Modest Mouse at the Picture House this Sunday, and it was fantastic!!! Just like I knew it would be. I saw them at the Quart Festival in Norway 2004 - this festival holds a special place in my heart as it was the first one I ever went to, was only 17 years old, saw the likes of Modest Mouse, Morrissey, Keane, Bigbang, Alicia Keys... All for the first time! - and I thought the Modest Mouse gig was the most awesome things I'd ever experienced, from that moment on I was a hard-core fan. But this gig was even better, if you can believe it. Might be because of their 2007 album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, which is such a great album. If you want to get like an introduction to Modest Mouse; Modest Mouse for dummies if you will; check out Good News for People Who Love Bad News And the aforementioned We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Anyway, I'll post some tunes under here for you to get down to - read, listen and weep!









Next weekend, the 10th of September, I am actually going with Kristin to see Muse at Wembley. Yes, I've seen them like thrice before, but this is Wembley. This is huge. I'm not crazy about their last album, but there's a couple (litterally) of amazing tracks on there. See below.





The next gig I'm going to is Grinderman - can anyone imagine how excited I am about that? I mean, I saw Nick Cave with a Bad Seed at the Picture House last year after he released the Death of Bunny Munro (hilarious book, I recommend it) and it might very well be the most breathtaking experience of my life... He was just reading from his book, talking to the audience, we were in like the second row and he was SO close - and when he sat down with his piano and sang Into My Arms, I wept like a child - it's the most beautiful song I know in the whole world, and I hadn't dared hope he'd sing it. But he did. And it was magical. Oh my god. So obviously this won't be as awsome as that, but I have a sneaky feeling it might be pretty close. I'm not as familiar with Grinderman as I am with the Bad Seeds, so am gonna spend some time getting into them before the date, which is the 28th of September if my memory serves me right. I'll post the one I know and love:




After Grinderman I am actually going to see the brilliant Sivert Høyem in Glasgow with my mum. That should be something - he's such a fantastic singer, obviously best known from Madrugada, one of my favourite Norwegian bands which unfortunately no longer exists. I'll be honest, I've not paid a lot of attention to his solo career, but I know what his voice is like and what it can do to my heart and soul, and that's enough. Also, he's like one of the sexiest men on earth, which doesn't hurt.







Finally, there's the band I retardedly missed in BODØ of all places last year - the Manic Street Preachers. They were playing in my home town in Norway, and I was just soooo drunk I went home with my friends and drank some more. Obviously the first thing I did when I got back to Edinburgh was keep a keen eye out for an MSP-gig so that I could make up for this ridiculous mistake. And finally the long awaited e-mail update from Gigsinscotland popped up in my inbox - they were playing Glasgow AND Edinburgh! However, just to flaunt my undying dedication to, well, the music, I bought tickets for the SECC in Glasgow as the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh is the SHITTEST concert venue ever. I can NOT wait, I just hope I can find someone to go with me! I bought two tickets obviously. But hey, if I have to go alone, I will:)









Ok, that's all folks... I don't blame you for feeling slightly jealous :)

Morten Abel & the September When

This is just a quick one, it's mainly for Annika cause I think you'll enjoy it! This guy is no longer a big deal in Norway, but his band the September When was big in the 90s and then he had a quite successful solo carreer after that :) I love these songs, hope you will too!

Seasick Steve

Fourth time I saw Seasick Steve live was this Sunday in Perth, and he just gets better and better! It's fucking ridonculous, the man is in his mid sixties, but he has the energy of a 20-year old and we plays the 'guitar' like some sweet combination of Hendrix and Jack White! (The reason why I put guitar in quotation marks is obviously because his instruments barely pass for guitars... There's the cellotaped 6-string, the famous 3-string and the INFAMOUS 1-stringes diddley bo) A lot of this songs are about his life and how he's always been on the road, living hand to mouth and was abused as a child, but unlike Eminem it doesn't sound moaning and self-pitying! You can actually tell from his songs how strong this has made him, and because of this he is SO humble and grateful, and it's just moving to watch him on stage.

Now. I'm gonna post some pretty awesome videos here, most will probably be from live shows cause that's when he's at his best. Oh, and one more thing - after Sunday's show him and his drummer Dan did a signing, and I queued for a bit, bought a vinyl, got a hug and some very touching words in Norwegian! 'Jeg elsker deg, Marti" :D
Ok, so he misspelt my name, but I think I can forgive him that - I didn't breathe for 5 minutes after that :) I love this man with my entire heart!

Coucou (",)

It is no secret that the Cuckoo's Nest is the best bar in Edinburgh, with the best music! So here are a few Cuckoo's Nest anthems to sing along to! Gotta love 'em!

Just when I was afraid the whole world had gone mainstream...

...along comes Mario: http://cruzado.bandcamp.com/ :-)

Old school rules the Sundays:)

Favourites at the moment

Right, first there was Snow Patrol in Bellahouston Park with Tiina, and they were fine, but the highlight was Band of Horses! I've loved them for so long, and finally I got to see them live... And they did NOT disappoint! Ben Bridwell is so hot, and his voice is unbelievable! They did an intimate live show at Amoeba Records in LA which I absolutely adore, check it out here: http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/videos/band-of-horses.html
Favourite tunes include (and are actually all from their 2nd album Cease to Begin, most beautiful album in the history of time)No one's gonna love you, the general specific, ode to LRC, and so many more.




Furthermore, after finally watching When You're Strange after months and months of anticipation (and yes, it not only lived up to but exceeded my expectations), my love for Jim Morrisson, Robby Krieger, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek has grown even more...I actually bought a wee bok of poetry by Jim in a charity shop today:) Anyway, here's the trailer, GO SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY narrated by Johnny Depp:



We rediscovered a song in the taxi today, by 'our very own' Edwyn Collins - Girl like you! It's a good song, listen to it:



And as a wee treat at the end here, I'm gonna share some 'golden oldies' from the 90's from my 'nostalgia trip' playlist... Enjoy;)











I actually love these tunes...hihihi;)

Hurricane Festival 2010 - Camp Scandinavia!

Apologies for now writing for aaaages, I'm such a terrible blogger. But my new found friend Malin gave me the inspiration! And now that I have something this AWESOME to blog about, there's no reason not to!?

So. Friday the 18th of June I flew to Bremen, got a tram and a train and ended up in the charming (?) town of Sciessen, which hosts the annual Hurricane Festival. Usually I'd go to Roskilde, but let's be perfectly honest: The line-up wasn't that great this year, and another major flaw - Sunniva wasn't going there! That's right, Sunniva is the one I went to Hurricane with, she was there with her two AWESOME Swedish friends, Malin and Henke :) Hence Camp Scandinavia! Sunnis and I had a tiny pink tent with a huge Norwegian flag duckt taped on it, and the Swedes - you guessed it, had a huge Swedish flag on their tent. Sadly the tarpaulin (?) we had to protect us from the heavy rain that never really came, covered up most of their flag. So really, it should have just been Camp Norway!? But the ever so hospitable Swedes let us sit in their chairs, drink their cider and eat their viltost, so we'll let it slide! Man, what fantastic people the Swedes are. Let's say like Henke's aunt - get the union back together!!

We saw some fantastic bands as well - I'd not seen Moneybrother and Kashmir before, so that was the peak of my weekend! Then we saw Florence + the Machine, Phoenix, the Strokes and White Lies who I'd seen before and who were still just as AWESOME, and then we had some really nice surprises in the form of Vampire Weekend, Faithless and Stone Temple Pilots. Good times!

A trip down memory lane...

Every now and then, I think about my dad (...) and how grateful I am that he introduced me to such fantastic music in such an early age. Really, the crap music I didn't hear until I was old enough to choose for myself. Fair enough, I listened to Norwegian quality children's music like Alf Prøysen, Maybritt Andersen and Knutsen & Ludvigsen, but here's some of the seriously awesome shit I started listening to at the fragile age of 10 years old (mostly cause my dad forced me and, granted, I only partially appreciated it at the time):



I always ALWAYS cried when me dad played this song... Actually, I think I might have been younger than 10 when I first heard this, it was one of the summers when we drove through Germany, I might have been 8 or 9... Anyway, I used to ask my dad to play it, and he'd be like "are you sure, I mean, you only get sad..." And I was like, "no, no I love it, play iiiiit" - and sure enough, it ended in tears. But come on - it's such a SAD song...!! And so beautiful...sigh.



I was a bit older when my dad started forcing Hendrix on me, maybe 11-12... And boy, did I hate it. But it didn't take long before...you guessed it, I loved it. I wrote a paper on Jimi Hendrix for music class in teh 10th grade I think it was, so I'd been listening to him for a good 3-4 years...And today I think it's still the paper I am most proud of throughout my entire education:) Such a fantastic song this, one of many, but this is the one I remember from the car, my dad explaining the lyrics to me...Not that I remember today what he said, but still.. Ah, the memories...
Also, another thing about Hendix... What style, what grace! Any guy should be willing to give his wiener for that wardrobe. Pure class.



Now this one - this is when I became religious. My mum says the same, she saw it with her friend when it came out in 73, and she said that's the day she became religious...! I remember my dad showing me the musical, and I was absolutely gobsmacked... A soundtrack like this hasn't been written either before or after I dare say! This musical is by far the best one I've ever seen, both thanks to the music and the actors (especially Judas, he owns the whole thing!) Also, I remember my dad having the record, such a beautiful record... (Obviously it's no longer in my possession as my hopeless sister charitably gave all of the vinyl our dad left when he moved out, to a friend...) Anywho, I will go to great lengths to get a copy of this record again! (Probably won't have to go any further than Ebay or even Amazong...but still...)



This one's a random one! But it's a cd my dad had called "Cohen in Norwegian" - basically it's Leonard Cohen's best tunes - in Norwegian! How fantastic is that?? This particular song, if you can't hear it, is a beautiful version of Everybody Knows, and I actually prefer this version! (Can I say that?) It's a woman called Kari Bremnes from Lofoten just outside Bodoe (for all you ignorants - where I'm from!) so she sings in my dialect, which makes it that much more beautiful... :)
I think my sister still plays til cd... I need to get my hands on a copy:)



Now this. This was from the first time I heard it, and still is today, the most beautiful song I know. I love Nick Cave with all my heart, and this might be the most fantastic lyrics ever written... I just go all weak in the knees every time I hear it! For many, many years this was the only song I liked, or knew even, by Nick Cave, but thankfully that changed drastically about 8 years ago...and since then I've just loved him more and more:) I went to see him with my flatmate Jakub here in Edinburgh after reading his book The Death of Bunny Munro (hilarious), it was like a reading/concert, so it was very intimate. We sat on the 2nd row, he was SO close, that was a religious experience... And when he played this song, which I hadn't dared to hpåe he would, I nearly started crying:) Cause that's how much I love it:)
Might be the best live experience I've ever had, just cause of the intimacy of the whole thing... :)

Finally - this was my sister who introduced me to. I remember it so well - my bedroom at home is on the first floor, and so was my dad's monstrous record player/amplifier/speakers/the whole lot. And after I went to bed, my sister would play this ON REPEAT, and I found it really scary...! I'd lie in bed and be scared shitless, and wish she'd turn it off... I can't have been more than 10-12 years old. Haha:) And I hates when she played it, cause it meant I couldn't sleep, not even after she finally turned it off, cause I was too scared... Anyway, a few years later I loved it, along with every other song the Cranberries ever did:) The live version of this is the best, so that's the one I'll post. What a voice:)



I get shivers when listening to this!! She's one of the very few female singers I actually enjoy listening to. Also, I find her weirdly sexy... :P

Ok, I couldn't help myself... I had to put this in here!! For one of my birthdays, I can NOT remember which one, my sister forgot to get me a present so she told me - hold on - "you can have my entire Bonnie Tyler collection" ... I was euphorical!! Best present I had ever gotten! (You know when you have an older sibling, and you love everything they love, just cause you think it's cool? I also "supported" Tottenham) So, I played Bonnie over and over and over, and this song in particular... And I learned all the lyrics and I'd sing it to my mum...over and over...poor woman... But here it is, just cause memory lane wouldn't be complete without it:)



Enjoy!;)

Cinema

In remembrance of the beautiful pub I worked in for a short while, Cinema, I thought I'd post here some of the songs that were played there most frequently by yours truly:)

1. Rage Against The Machine - Killing in the Name
2. Pearl Jam - Alive
3. Strokes - Reptilia
4. Red hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
5. The Smiths - This Charming Man
6. Bigbang - Fly Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee
7. Franz Ferdinand - Take me Out
8. Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer
9. Primal Scream - Rocks
10. Blur - Song 2

GREAT compilation, I know! I'm gonna put the best ones under here, check it OUT:

Spring and the immense feeling of bliss that comes with it!

People, look at Edinburgh Castle on this beautiful spring day.

It has been ages since I blogged. I mean AGES. I think it might be because the winter months are always so effing depressing, so I've not had anything in particular to blog about. But today! Today is a fantastic day. And I just feel like sharing my euphoria with the world! (Obviously sneaking in some musical influences here and there)

So I started my placement two weeks ago on Monday. It's with a tour operator called JAC Travel, and it's great. I get bookings from our clients abroad (mostly), and put together trips for them, with accommodation, car hire, sightseeing etc. The people in the office are all super, and my team is fantastic. It consists of Eva from Hungary, Aneta from Poland, Natalia from Spain, Mario from Peru, Lisa from Scotland and Sabrina from Switzerland. And the hot topic of the first week and a half has been Cliff Richard. What's your favourite Cliff Richard song? I obviously lost serious kudos when I admitted to not knowing (or remembering, anbyway) and CR songs at all. But I'll strike back - it's only been ten days after all!

Today was the best day at work so far, mainly cause I walked to work in the beautiful weather, and that was such a good start to the day! Furthermore we got proper training today and learnt about the bookings and that, so got to "play" on our own most of the afternoon. I walked back from work as well, took some photos, bought some shoes, and was just in a great mood when I got home, which, let's face it, isn't something that happens every day. Also, on my way home I was listening to Kaizers Orchestra really loudly, which I haven't done in a while, so that was a glorious reunion :)

I dusted off an OLD cd this morning (on spotify, obviously) - Anouk, Together Alone. It's not too bad! I loved it when I was like...13 or something...and although it is a bit emo, it's sort of good! I recommend Sacrifice, Nobody's Wife, Together Alone, Pictures on Your Skin, It's a Shame and Mood Indigo... :)

Now, for a beautiful ending to this beautiful day, Monica is here and we're gonna watch What's Eating Gilbert Grape? with Camille:) Can you believe neither of them have seen it before!? I'm genuinely shocked.

Soundtrack of the month: Familjen - "Det Snurrar i Min Skalle"! Play it LOUDLY!!