Language of Flowers - Will We Ever End Up Together?

i dreamt of you last night
but you're never there
when i turn on the light
i hope you're alright
it's been nearly two months
since you left my life

and i wonder will we ever
end up together?
i wonder about you

i'm starting to miss you
it's been a long time
i'm longing to kiss you
have i left it too late?
boy that i dream of
you're so worth the wait

and i wonder will we ever
end up together?
i wonder about you

i dreamt of you last night
but you're never there
when i turn on the light
i hope you're alright
it's been nearly three months
since you wrecked my life

My 2006

Concerts
The Au Revoir Simone show on November 17 will be a nice ending to an absolutely amazing year of concerts. In total, I spent 22 nights at concerts this year. It is pretty much given that I did not attend any real festival this summer. You find my concert stories in the right column labelled as Concerts.

01 Language of Flowers - May 27 at Mejeriet, Lund
02 Hello Saferide - March 11 at Mejeriet, Lund
03 Like Honey - September 3 at Mejeriet, Lund
04 Belle and Sebastian - May 13 at Kulturbolaget, Malmö
05 Camera Obscura - October 7 at Kulturbolaget, Malmö


Songs
01 Laurel Music - Winter Slow
L A U R E L M U S I C.
Pop hearts never die! I have heard the future and it sounds wonderful. Laurel Music is worth waiting for.

02 Sambassadeur - Marie
I was convinced that Marie was the song of the year when I wrote my half year list. Marie was actually more than a song to me. Things have changed since then and Marie thus only gets an honorable second place on this list. 

03 Language of Flowers - You're The One
My beloved Language of Flowers do not seem in a hurry with the sequel to Songs About You. They have a lot to live up to. With You're The One Language of Flowers show that they can still deliver spellbinding "girl meets boy"-stories. And I listen to every word.

04 Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy
I heard Lips Are Unhappy in early June and thought it was a good pop song, but it would take another month before I really fell in love. Five months later, I am a little sad that there were no promoters in southern Sweden who wanted to set up a show with Ali Howard's band but you can not have everything you want. SHAKE SHIMMY SHIMMY SHAKE SHIMMY.

05 Katie Goes to Tokyo - Alone
Katie has meant more to me than anyone else this year. She was there when I slides and she was still there when my life collapsed. I try to rebuild it, piece by piece. I no longer know what I want but I know that Katie makes it a little easier to wake up in the morning.

06 Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
07 Hello Saferide - 2006
08 Katie Goes to Tokyo - The Girl Who Ruined Your World
09 Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted
10 Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
11 Anna Ternheim - Tribute to Linn
12 Mates of State - Beautiful Dreamer
13 The Magic Numbers - Take a Chance 
14 Firefox AK - City to City
15 The Charade - My Song to You
16 Vapnet - Färjemansleden
17 Headlights - TV
18 Morrissey - You Have Killed Me
19 The Pipettes- Because It's Not Love (But It's Still a Feeling)
20 Those Transatlantics - Whiskey and Tea
21 Acid House King - Keep Your Love by The Loveninjas
22 The Essex Green - Penny and Jack
23 Like Honey - New York
24 The Positions - Back to Me
25 The Tidy Ups - Lack of Nourishment


Albums
There seem to be unspoken rules which determine that a year list shall contain 25 albums. That are just too many albums for me. It is rather pointless to list more records than you will remember when you look back on the year later. I present a top10 this year. I could have done a top15 instead, but no more records than that.

01 Katie Goes to Tokyo - Katie Goes to Tokyo
02 The Positions - Bliss!
03 Those Transatlantics - Knocked Out
04 Mates of State - Bring It Back
05 The Charade - A Real Life Drama
06 My Latest Novel - Wolves
07 Anna Ternheim - Separation Road
08 The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea
09 Marit Larsen - Under the Surface
10 The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes

Also good: The Besties - Singer, The High Violets - To Where You Are, Math and Physics Club - Math and Physics Club, Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like, The Weepies - Say I Am You, Firefox AK - Madame Madame, Tilly and the Wall - Bottom of the Barrels.
Not evaluated: The Snow Fairies - Voila!, Friday Bridge, Tralala - Is That The Tralala.


EPs
01 Sambassadeur - Coastal Affairs
02 The Tidy Ups - Dizzy Heights
03 Hello Saferide - Would You Let Me Play This EP Ten Times A Day?
04 Gentle Touch - Gentle Touch
05 The Postal Blue - Road to Happiness

Not evaluated: Lucky Soul.


2007
Next year's best album will most likely be the the sequel to This Night and The Nex. I can not see how any other band would compete with Laurel Music. There is a good chance that all bands on the top3 album list will be sorted under the letter "L". Lucky Soul, Like Honey, and Looker all release debut albums. And although I doubt it there is a possibility that even Language of Flowers are recording a new album. Architecture in Helsinki and Sambassadeur are working on new albums. Shelflife Records returns with new releases.

There is a basis for 2007 to become the best record year of the 2000s.

A week for concerts

The Swedish pop music club Svenska Musikklubben does not only book good bands, but also makes great flyers as well.

Next week will be a good week for concerts, especially if you live in Stockholm. Amy Linton of The Aislers Set is standing on a scene in Stockholm already tonight as the support act for The Ladybug Transistor. Sufjan Stevens comes to the venue Berns on Wednesday, but his concert clashes with Pipas' show. I do not live in Stockholm, but I would had chosen Pipas if I did.

Pipas will come to Malmö next week, but I will most likely miss out on that show because I rather want to see Au Revoir Simone at Blekingska. I want to see both bands, but it would be fun to bring a nice last memory from Blekingska before I leave this town.

Laura Watling - My Fondest Wish

Does the voice sound familiar? Laura Watling also played in The Autocollants. I looked at Shelflife's website yesterday. There, I was greeted by the following message:

GOOD NEWS. WE'RE COMING BACK. NEW RELEASES IN 2007. STAY TUNED.

 2007 will be a fantastic pop year.

S Is for SongMeanings

I discovered SongMeanings when a kind soul gave me a link to the lyrics of The Late Great Cassiopia. Since then I always go to SongMeanings in the first place when I search for song lyrics. It is amazing that you can find lyrics of The Field Mice, Heavenly, and Red Sleeping Beauty at the same place. The SongMeanings crew shows it is possible to run a lyric site without turning it into a tasteless space for adverts that flash like a Christmas tree.

I recently created an account at SongMeanings. A friend of mine helped me transcribe the lyrics of Language of Flowers - If It's Not You (mp3) last Saturday. The submitted lyrics were published on SongMeanings a few days later.

I have now added lyrics of all songs on Laurel Music's debut album This Night and the Next. The lyrics should be up on SongMeanings next week.

2005 in retrospect

It is soon December, the month when lists are published everywhere. I will post my year lists of 2006 in a few days, but first I would like to look back on last year. Each year is actually a good record year and you will always find something you like as long as you make a real effort to search for it. 2005 offered many fine records and I did not hear or listen to everything properly in time for my summary of the year. The Consultants did call it quits to form a new band before I discovered their Work from Home and The Charade's debut album was a perfect example of a record that became better with time. I placed The Best Is Yet to Come as number 20 on my album list of 2005. Now I can hardly understand that it was left out of the top10, but these things happen when you lack perspective. Almost a year has passed since my original year list of 2005 and I think it is about time to fix it. Here comes the real and revised list with my favourite records of 2005.

01 Hello Saferide - Introducing ...
02 Tralala - Tralala
03 The Consultants - Work from Home
04 Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die
05 The Charade - The Best Is Yet to Come
06 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
07 M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
08 Electrelane - Axes
09 Au Revoir Simone - Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation
10 Sambassadeur - Sambassadeur
11 The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
12 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
13 Frida Hyvönen - Until Death Comes
14 Acid House Kings - Sing Along With The Acid House Kings
15 Strip Squad - The Adventures of Strip Squad

Tralala

I really loved Tralala's debut album. There was never a doubt that it would become my favourite record of 2005. I got to know all the songs inside out before I bought the record.

During my Christmas holiday I found a stream of a Tralala radio gig with Christmas theme. I recorded the stream. The sound quality became horrible but I listened anyway. Many times. Holiday Hearts on Fire is a wonderful Christmas song. Tralala also performed a few new songs. We're Coming Out ​​is a straightforward upbeat pop hit.

Tralala will release their second album on November 14. My expectations are not as high as one would expect. Is That The Tralala does not play in the same league as the debut album if the opening song represents the whole record. After all, the catchy We're Coming Out is nothing compared to All Fired Up. I hope that I am wrong, that would be fantastic.

New cds!

My order from Fraction Discs arrived yesterday. Two beautiful and sealed cds in a small package.

Aberdeen - What Do I Wish for Now? (Singles + Extras 1994-2004) and
The Consultants - Work from Home.

Au Revoir Simone vs Pipas

Friday, November 17, 2006
Au Revoir Simone at Blekingska, Lund
Pipas at You Can't Hide Your Love Forever, Malmö

Sigh. A year has passed since the last time Blekingska set up a show with a really interesting foreign band. Blekingska now delivers with Au Revoir Simone. It will be a great concert, but I want to go to Pipas' show in Malmö as well. The pop club You Can't Hide Your Love Forever has only hosted two live bands before, but now decides to set up a show with Pipas on the same night that Au Revoir Simone plays at Blekingska. I do not like to choose between hearing The Disco Song and Mental live.

I will nevertheless choose Blekingska and Au Revoir Simone.

The Aislers Set - The Red Door

I sometimes wish that I could really love The Aislers Set. Tonight's song The Red Door is taken from The Aislers Set's second album The Last Match. The opening tracks The Way to the Market Station, Hit the Snow, and Chicago New York are enough to warrant further listening of curiosity for what lies ahead. The eleventh track The Red Door is a lovely upbeat indie pop hit which makes you want to dance.

The Aislers Set - The Red Door

The Aislers Set are talented and I should love their entire discography, but their music does not stay long in my memory. The Red Door is the brilliant exception.

No starlet in your eyes

I forgot to tell you a funny thing about the Friday night. A girl in the closet queue started to talk to me. It lead to the following dialogue:

- Which title do you have?
- I am with the band booking committee.
- The bandy committee?!?

She wanted to know if I was active at the student nation in some way, and formulated both the question and the answer in a way that few others would do. She was actually very sweet in her drunkenness. I also mishear things occasionally. My interpretations of songs by the The Cardigans are finer than the real lyrics. Sometimes naivism is a beautiful thing.


no starlet in your eyes

Put on something pretty
Go back to the city
In town the sky's just space
No star light in your face
(The Cardigans - Good Morning Joan)


you're handsome in the thought

Well it's been a long slow collision,
I'm a pitbull, you're a dog,
Baby you're foul in clear conditions
But you're handsome in the fog
(The Cardigans - I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need to Be Nicer)
 

Anna Ternheim - Malmö October 28

In some strange way, I had confused the service fee of 20.00 SEK with the time 20.00. I arrived at the concert house in Malmö at 19:50 and the disaster was a fact. I showed my ticket and was then lead to the right door by a young boy in stylish clothes who told me to wait outside until the applause. I entered the concert hall and temporarily sat down at the very far end of the first row. The support act consisted of a bald man. I did not care about his music but I had not come to see him anyway.

I had seen Anna Ternheim play live once before. It was a January might and I sat centrally on the second row in the City Hall in Lund. I had fallen for her debut album but only scratched the surface. Wedding Song opened the show and set the tune for the entire evening. Ternheim sang I won't let you down this time, and she lived up to it. Ternheim did absolutely everything right until she sat at a piano and finished To Be Gone in Fench. It was one of my two fondest concert memories of last year.

Yesterday, I made a single mistake, but was severly punished. The bald man finally stopped playing his songs and I was thinking good, now I can go to my real seat. I did not even get up from the chair before the evening was ruined. Instead of the natural pause between the support act and the main act, Anna Ternheim was introduced immediately. The hall got dark to the Girl Laying Down intro. Within seconds, I disappointedly walked upstairs and watched my seat on row eleven turn into a blank ticket on row twenty-something. Sure, I could have asked 30 people to stand up to make way for me, but that is not my style. Anna Ternheim's show had already started and you have to show a little respect when others also have paid much for the tickets. After all, it was not their fault that I could not read a damn ticket yesterday.

I knew in advance that Girl Laying Down would open yesterday's concert. Anything else would had been very strange. Wedding Song is in every way a better song, but this tour is built on Separation Road. I was concerned before the show and my worry would later turn out to be justified. I like Ternheim the most when she is alone on stage. Yesterday, she was the center of attention, but her band still impaired the experience. Several times. And that was Ternheim's own fault. An overly ambitious arrangement with drums smashed the finest parts of Tribute to Linn. Such things can make anyone lose hope and interest. For long times I had the thoughts elsewhere and for a while it was just the dazzling light that brought my eyes back to the scene. It was as if Ternheim and her band went at half speed and compensated with a flashy framework.

I still remember the end of Anna Ternheim's concert in the city hall in Lund in January 2005. The audience stood up and applauded after the last song. She looked genuinely surprised and she deserved all the appreciation that evening.
Yesterday's audience had a collective stroke. As expected, Halfway to Five Points concluded the regular set. Then something very strange happened. Ternheim and her band went off the stage to the audience's applause. When they were gone the crowd stood up and continued to applaud. I thought that a standing ovation was a way to show appreciation while the band and the audience still had eye contact with each other. But apparently that is not how they do it in Malmö. Idiots.

Prior to the encore, only A French Love was amazing. The setlist was very impressive on paper but it did not help much when the songs could had been performed so much better. After the slaughter of Tribute to Linn, Calling Love remained my hope but unfortunately also came to be wasted. I do not remember what went wrong but it just did not feel magical. Ternheim then sat down at the piano and I wondered what she would play. I thought she had played all of her piano songs, and she had indeed done that. Instead, she played Shoreline. Brother Daniel's Shoreline. Completely meaningless in Ternheim's version. I did not believe a word of what she was singing and she might as well had humming through the whole song. The audience had probably not noticed the difference anyway.

An applause later, Ternheim finally did something different. She came in alone on stage and said she would sing A Voice to Calm You Down. Someone on the front row shouted a song request. Ternheim was annoyed but still managed to joke it away in a charming way. Then she got serious and took a step to the side, away from the microphone and sang for us. No instruments, just a voice. Between verses just the fans were heard. Naked Version Deluxe. Finally I heard my favourite song from the first album. I have called A Tribute to Linn Anna Ternheim's best song, but last night I realised I was wrong. A Tribute to Linn is so fragile that it could break. My Secret in contrast resists everything. Significant enough for the show, it was hacked apart by too many instruments at the end but you can not fail with My Secret. The audience stood up and applauded. This time, even I applauded sincerely.


I want to clarify a few things. Do not believe by any means that I begrudge Anna Ternheim success. I once called her our future and although it may not be true anymore I want her no harm. I am however annoyed when people get undeserved appreciation. Ternheim was incredibly much better in the city hall in Lund one and a half year ago, and she can perform much better than last night. Everyone can have a bad day but I paid 320 SEK, and I am thus entitled to make demands. As of this writing I have read in Ternheim's guestbook and people over there speak of an "unreal night." It might be cruel to deprive people their experiences but Ternheim has been better than this. This was probably the last time I went to a concert with numbered seats. I can not be at a show where I hate the audience.


Seven out of Ten

Setlist (or at least something that will remind you of one, I do not remember everything but I will edit it if I find a real list)

Girl Laying Down
Today Is a Good Day
You Better Be
I Follow You Tonight
Feels Like Sand
Words of Love
A French Love
Such a Lonely Soul
To Be Gone
Bring Down Like I
One to Blame
Tribute to Linn
Halfway to Five Points

First encore
Calling Love
Nights in Goodville
Shoreline

Second encore
A Voice to Calm You Down
Lovers Dream
My Secret

Acid House Kings - Sunday Morning

So nice to get to sleep properly. Everyone wakes up so early!

Acid House Kings - Sunday Morning

Laurel Music - Dreams and Lies

It took an extra day, but it was understandable. I killed a dream with one click on send. I hope that she does not hate me. She does not have a reason to do that, but sometimes I get so emotional and overreact. I have not done anything wrong, but I still feel guilty. It is neither about love nor about money, if anyone wonders.

Laurel Music - Dreams and Lies

Dreams and lies. It sounds like my life. When all else is lost only Laurel Music remains. It is October 2006 and Laurel Music helps me to get through my life's most difficult challenge.

Laurel Music - No One Wants Forever #1

Laurel Music - No One Wants Forever #1

The autumn leaves now have the same colours as on the cover of Laurel Music's debut album!

Unfortunately, this fall will not get any more beautiful to me. I have taken decisions which will affect my life. I do not know if I am completely happy with the decisions, but I can not go on pretending that everything is fine when I five days a week feel sad when I wake up just because it is a new day.

There are still a few pleasures left which no one can take away from me. I have ordered a couple of records from Fraction Discs and I will see Anna Ternheim live for the second time on Saturday. The records may arrive on Friday, but that feels far away. First I have to do some important things. Tonight I will write an email which could had decided my life if it was written a few weeks earlier. Now it is just an end of a time that was. We make our choices and we have to live with them. I do not care as much as I should, and it is frightening that things you dreamed of no longer means anything. Tomorrow I will terminate my rental agreement.

Saint Etienne - He's on the Phone

There are days when life surprises me. My Saturday was such a day. I woke up very lately, and felt sick and worn in the evening. I should had stayed at home. I was, however, invited to a pre party and went there against my better judgement. I arrived lately with no real expectations on the night out. I did not know what would happen more than that we would stay in Lund.

We came to the night club at Småland's nation shortly after midnight. I had only been there twice before and both times felt lost, despite being in good company. This night would change that.
Once inside, we found a room with the video game Supar Mario Bros. projected on one of the walls. Super Mario Bros. was one of the favourite games of my childhood and I had not played it in ages. In my first attempt, I died on course 1-2 and said that something was wrong with the controller. That is a common excuse, but I would prove with my second attempt that this was true. I changed controller and managed to get to course 8-4, despite playing after I had drunken a couple of beers and another couple of drinks. A nice acquaintance of mine sat on my right side together with his friend. They were likeable and cheered me on. On my left, a short blonde girl sat and criticized everything I did. She insinuated that I was sober when I went through the difficult sections. That was not really true, but I let her get away with it. She said she had drunken a drink in every room in her student corridor at the pre party and I believed her. I should had hated her digs at me because I got nervous when I advanced to the more difficult courses, but she was rather cute as she lisped while pretending to be cool and arrogant. An audience had gathered inside the room towards the end. To their joy, I managed to finally put Bowser in the lava on the last level with only two lives left. I celebrated a triumph I had not experienced since I was a kid.

After that, we wanted to celebrate and moved to the dance floor where we were welcomed by He's on the Phone. The female DJs were actually quite bad, but to put on that particular song at exactly that time was a hit.

What an intro. Sylvie is probably even better, but I never understood the music video of that song. I do not really understand why I am posting a Saint Etienne song on a Monday night which has become Tuesday, but I suppose I just need to. Like some kind of therapy. I want to be reminded of what life is like when I am happy.

Right now, my student corridor is extremely boring. Some nice people live here, but it is sad that the fruit flies are most living things on weekends. One more month and then I will be spared this shit.

Aerospace - Tenderness Is the Plight of the Weakerthen

Sometimes when I am out on Friday nights, I get to hear wonderful songs that I never heard before. I then go to the DJ booth and ask what the band is called. If there are a lot of people in the way, I come to the DJ booth a little later and ask about the name of the band that made the song played ten minutes ago. The DJ then looks strangely at me. You mean this? No? Okay, how about this one?

I felt that I wanted to go to the DJ booth and ask about the artists and song titles many times when Fraction Discs were DJs at Blekingska a couple of weeks ago. Fraction Discs' truly wonderful pop may have been difficult to dance to, but the songs were still very good. I was told that one of the bands was named Aerospace.

Aerospace - Tenderness Is the Plight of the Weakerthen

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

Friday is finally here!

I pick a song that always reminds me of the wonderful life and see what happens tonight. I will, however, not go to Blekingska. We will soon find out if I can get through this Friday without booze as well, but I do not think so. To drop the two things I appreciate the most with a Friday night would be too much. Cheers, everyone!

My record collection and wishlist

I had waited far too many days and become equally disappointed every time. My physical mailbox had not gotten any lettered food for a long time and was just as empty as my life. Well aware it was the time of the month when bills soon would drop in, I thought about putting up a note to the postman with the text "Fragile, Don't Crush" but decided not to do that as he never would understand anyway. Another useless day had passed. I was tired of people who pretended, those who acted as puppets in the drama of life. On the way home I realised summer was over and my body was too thinly dressed. I should had been used to it, but I was still not prepared for the cold. I missed something warm and genuine. The most concrete thing I found was lying on my desk - a phone bill for calls I did not remember I had called.

I miss the time when a new record could save my life. To check the mail and discover that the CDs I dreamt of had finally reached their new home. Material happiness which for a moment was the most important thing in life. Although it was bought with money. Although it lasted only a few seconds. It was only a few years ago, but that time feels infinitely far away.

To explain an extreme interest in music to an outsider is difficult. I have never really tried. I discussed pop music in general with a fellow pop nerd on the way home from the Camera Obscura concert. I think we both, not entirely unexpectedly, valued our respective record collection as our most prized material possession. I find it hard to imagine life without my records. They are part of my identity.
Collecting is a two-edged sword. It is fun and engaging, but you are never really satisfied. For every record I buy, I discover three new ones which remind me of gaps in my collection. There was a time when I was not aware of Shelflife, Labrador, Matinée or Sarah. It was probably not a better time but a simpler existence. My collecting is complicated. I clearly have a different relationship to records today compared to five years ago. My computer in combination with broadband have made me lazy. Many of my recently purchased records are lying untouched in the bookshelf while they have spun countless imaginary revolutions on the computer. I almost never play my CDs at home any longer. They mostly collect dust, but they still mean a lot and I could never imagine to get rid of them.

The feeling of something genuine may explain why I still buy records. Of course I want to do the right thing and support my favourite bands and record labels economically by purchasing their records, but that is only true for artists signed to small indie record labels I respect. I let the mainstream artist Anna Ternheim serve as an example. I buy her records because I want to own the CDs, but I have no sympathy for her record label which mainly spreads trash culture.
It is possible to explain collecting by comparing records with trophies, but I have never felt a persistent desire to show my collection to others. It feels, however, important to show the collection to myself. I recognise the spines of some favourite records while being several meters away. That is exactly why it is boring to sort folders on the computer whereas it is nice to move around phyiscal covers in the real CD collection. The folders remain as just only folders. They contain the music but nothing more. As I am writing this I am taking out Pulp's album Different Class to see how I react. It is clear that I have emotional bonds to the physical disc and the jewelcase cover, despite the ugly, round, purple sticker which says that the disc contains the singles Common People, Mis-Shapes and Disco 2000. I open the cover and take out the booklet. The feeling is as genuine (though of course not as magical) as the first time I came home with the CD.

My own record collection obviously means the most to me, but I also love to have a look at other people's collections. If I discover a band I adore, I further go through the collection encouraged by the possibility of finding another favourite record which I do not have in my own collection. I look at the fronts and backs, but do not take out the booklets, not in other people's collections. That only happens in exceptional cases. I get fascinated by record collections and easily disappear into my own world. I remember an afterparty where I could not help but look through the LP collection. The girl who lived there said she knew I would check the collection sooner or later. It is fun to guess what records a collection contains after I have seen parts of it. Each collection is personal and that is probably why it is so interesting to investigate plastic pieces and paper covers.

Take a record like Belle and Sebastian's The Boy With the Arab Strap as an example. It is printed in (at least) tens of thousands copies. It is thus in no way exclusive. The sound is almost as good on mp3. It is one of my favourite records, but it is also a very good proof that exclusivity is not the main factor in my collecting process. Memories are much more important, and that proably explain why I do not like used copies. Except for some Belle and Sebastian bootlegs, I think I only own one used record - The Primitives' Lovely. I want records that I have scratched and worn myself, but not records that already are destroyed and consumed by others. I am sick, I know. I should, however, have made an exception and purchased The Boy With the Arab Strap promo at the same time I bought the Tigermilk promo. Occasionally, used in near mint condition can be alright.

Records help me remember my life and songs often serve as chronological reference points. This became very clear the other day when a girl, with a more normal interest in music, by chance heard the song Lemon Tree by Fools Garden. After thinking for a while, she suddenly said "Paris 1996, just after I graduated [from high school]". That was a nice memory for her. For some, nostalgia is the main reason to collect, but I do not want to have that many old (old as in released a long time ago) records. It is boring to buy old records when you know in advance exactly how they sound.

The influence of file sharing on my record purchases is a subject I would rather not discuss in this text, but file sharing has inevitably affected my record purchases so I will try to briefly explain my views in the next paragraph and be done with that. It is fun to take a chance with a new album by a band I have not heard before, but I can not afford to buy records in that way anymore (someone who wants a Happy Mondays record?). Moreover, you sooner or later get to a stage where it is difficult to pick up recommendations from others. My taste in music had stagnated. Internet came as a saviour and revolutionized my music listening. With file sharing programs like Direct Connect, there is a chance to listen to records, to assess them solely by your own impressions and then decide if you want to purchase them. I order for about as much money per year as before. I am much more satisfied with my purchases nowadays, but seldomly surprised. I mainly buy CDs from bands signed to minor labels, and I have a special interest in EPs. I often buy records released by bands I would not know about if it were not for the internet. I would not buy anything I do not like, but records that are difficult to get hold of become more valuable because they are exclusive. I am thinking about buying The Snow Fairies' Get Married thanks to the wonderful front cover, but exclusivity or cover layout have never driven my collecting. In the end the musical quality of the record comes first.

To get back to the record collecting topic again, I note that much was different in the past. In the old days, I found it natural to listen to one album for several months. Things are changing for good and bad, and some memories change over time. I forgot why I bought many of my records. When I doubt my choices in life, I try to select the memories of why I made the choices I did. Sometimes the reasons I once had do not feel relevant or valid anymore, but they are important to make me understand. It is the same way with CDs. I sometimes become a little surprised to find No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom in my bookshelf, but I do not need to hear many seconds of Don't Speak to understand why I bought the album. Don't Speak may represent all the special songs I fell in love with at some point in life. Those songs alone made it worth to buy the albums (except for a few cases where I only should had bought the single). Don't Speak was released in 1995 and I was then 13 years old.

Today I am 23 years. I live another life with new bands and new favourite songs. The love of pop music is the only thing that lasts. If I ever in the future will remember this great blog, then it is not thanks to the band which wrote the song the blog is named after. I really wanted to name my blog after a song by Langauge of Flowers instead. Songsaboutyou was unfortunately already taken on blogger and I am still sorry about that.

I sometimes take my record collecting too seriously. I have given away the occasional singles because I thought they did not fit into the collection. Is there anyone who wants a record by Happy Mondays (yes, I hate Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and that was the last time I listened to hype and established "truths" about what album you will like, that is quite a few years ago now) or Starsailor? It is just as if those records are dragging down the overall impression. I therefore need to get rid of them to get consistency in my collection.

Sometimes I miss opportunities to find bargains (the Shelflife sale, anyone?), but I have given up the idea of the perfect record collection. The records listed below would make me come close. I will not buy everything though and some of the records will get out of stock. That leaves me with Ebay only.

It feels just as good to tell you, because one of these records may become your The Boy With the Arab Strap or Songs About You. At the same time, I know it would feel very empty the day, I against all odds, would have obtained all these records. That would be the time to get a new hobby and start over again.

Songs About You is the only signed disc in my record collection, and it is also my all-time favourite album. If I have to choose another favourite in my collection, it would be the white promo single Is It Wicked Not to Care? with the green cardboard sleeve.
Finally, you will not get a link to my record collection. Pop music is not a competition. I prefer to call it love instead.

MY RECORD COLLECTION WISHLIST
Acid House Kings - Say Yes If You Love Me EP (2002, Labrador), 7.83 USD Tweekitten
Annemarie - The Living Model EP (CD-R, 2005, Music Is My Girlfriend), 30 SEK Fractiondiscs
Architecture in Helsinki - Fingers Crossed (2004, Bar None Records), 13.65 USD Cduniverse
The Arrogants - Your Simple Beauty EP (2000, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
The Arrogants - Nobody's Cool EP (2002, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
The Autocollants - Why Couldn't Things Just Stay the Same (1999, Shelflife), impossible to find
Backfish - It's Emily (1997), 145 SEK Dgr
Belle and Sebastian - Wrapped Up In Books EP (2004)
Marit Bergman - From Now On EP (2003)
The Besties - Singer (2006, Skipping Stones), 120 SEK Fractiondsics
Brittle Stars - Brittle Stars (2000, Shelflife), impossible to find
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken (2006)
The Cardigans - For What It's Worth (2003)
The Consultants - Work From Home (2005, Shelflife), 13.85 USD Cduniverse
Dear Nora - Dreaming Out ​​Loud (2001)
Douglas Heart -Douglas Heart (2003, Labrador), 149 SEK Dgr
Fibi Frap - How Fast Is Your Heart Beating EP (2004)
The Field Mice - Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way (1997, Shinkansen), totally fucking impossible to get this in mint condition without paying over the odds but I want it.
Free Loan Investments - Ever Been to Mexico EP (2002, Shelflife), 10.55 USD Cduniverse
The Gentle Waves - Green Fields of Foreverland (1999, Jeepster), 159 SEK Dgr
The Gentle Waves - Falling From Grace EP (2001)
Go Sailor - Go Sailor (1996, Lookout), 12.15 USD Cduniverse
Happy Birthdays - Happy Birthdays (CD-R, 2004), 35 SEK Dgr
Heavenly - vs Satan (1990), 12.89 USD Cduniverse
Hello Saferide - Would You Let Me Play This EP 10 Times a Day (2006, Razzia), 39 SEK Dgr
Looker - Looker EP (2006)
Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy (2006), 2.50 GBP Rough Trade
Mates of State - All Day EP (2004, Polyvinyl), 6.19 USD Cduniverse
Mates of State - Bring It Back (2006 Barsuk), 11.59 USD Cduniverse
The Maybellines - Chatfield Holiday (2002, Best Friends), 10 USD Tweekitten
My Favorite - Kids Are All Wrong EP (2003, Double Agent) 8.95 USD Cduniverse
Popsicle - Popsicle (1995)
The Positions - Bliss! (2006), 14.15 USD Cduniverse
Postal Blue - Road to Hapiness (2006, Humblebee), 55 SEK Fractiondiscs
The Primitives - Pure (1989)
Razorcuts - R Is for Razorcuts (2002, Matinée), 125 SEK Fractiondiscs
Razorcuts - A Is for Alphabet (2003, Matinée), 49 SEK Dgr
Red Sleeping Beauty - Singles (2000, Siesta), ahhhhhh how I want this.
Red Sleeping Beauty - Bedroom (1995)
Red Sleeping Beauty - Smile 7" (1995)
Rough Bunnies - Rough Bunnies Goes Pirate (2002)
Saint Etienne - Sylvie (1998), you find it on Ebay. I want the green one!
Saint Etienne - Good Humor (1998)
Shelflife Records - You're Still Young at Heart (2003), perhaps the best-ever collection. It includes Free Loan Investments - Rush Hour by The Shermans!
Shelflife Records - You Make Me Smile
Shelflife Records - One (2001)
The Shermans - Happiness Is Toy Shaped (2001, Shelflife), 12.50 USD Tweekitten
The Shermans - Falling Out ​​of Love EP (2001, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
Skypark - Summer Days Are Forever EP (1998)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993), 9.75 USD Cduniverse
The Snow Fairies - Feel You Up (2003, Red Square), it is impossible to get hold of if unless you order directly from Red Square.
The Snow Fairies - Get Married (2005, Red Square), 110 SEK Fractiondiscs. Worth buying just for the cover.
The Snow Fairies - Voila! (2006), directly from the band in that case.
The Softies - It's Love (1995), 14.97 USD Cduniverse
Stars - Ageless Beauty (2004), I once found it at Swedish mailorder Cdon and should had bought it then.
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (2004), I want the US edition (it is not worth to buy the European version because of the ugly front cover)
Strip Squad - Just Obey! EP (2005), also impossible to get hold of now.
The Tidy Ups - Dizzy Heights EP (2006, Music Is My Girlfriend), 45 SEK Fractiondiscs
The Wilson Hospital - Call Me A.S.A.P. (2003)

All records except for Red Sleeping Beauty - Smile are CDs. Buy them from Fraction Discs, Delicious Goldfish Records (Dgr), Cduniverse, Tweekitten and Rough Trade.

Emma's House is empty

I can no longer remember how I came across this song. I was happy every time I heard it, I knew that the band was named Field Mice, and that was all that mattered. I had never heard of Sarah Records and many years would pass until I understood how things cohered. The universe, life, and pop music.

Ask me to put together a mix CD to a sympathetic person who likes pop music without knowing its history. Emma's House would be one of the first songs to be written down. I actually use to ask the DJ to play Field Mice when I go out. Sometimes people ask me what song I wished. When they find out, most just laugh. I take no offense, but Field Mice is a serious band for me. Occasionally people understand me, as on a night out in early September this year. I danced with a girl and we talked about what songs the DJ should play next. "Canada", I said. "Emma's House", she said. "Canada is better", I continued. "More people recognize Emma's House so it works better on the dance floor", she replied. "How about Canada after two when people have become drunk then?", I asked, smiling. She nodded and laughed. I do not remember if the DJ played any Field Mice for us but that was a nice night. It was in fact one of the best nights this fall (but not only because of that).

The world's best concert club is called Emma's House and lives in Mejeriet's facilities. That is of course no coincidence. Emma's House was the first song to be played after Language of Flowers' wonderful concert at Mejeriet last spring. The DJ Popscene-Daniel seems to have brought the tradition along as the same song was played immediately after Camera Obscura's show at Kulturbolaget. Unfortunately, Josef's concert club Emma's House is taking a break right now.

While we still speak about The Field Mice, I can take this opportunity to tell you that I really want the 2CD compilation Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way. Too bad that it is virtually impossible to find in mint condition without paying over the odds. Well, it is time to round off today's post. This is just nostalgic waffle for those of you who already are familiar with The Field Mice. The rest of you should check out Emma's House as it is an excellent introduction to a very important band.

Five to six that's what the time is
The cold cuts through my shirt of cotton made
Five to six that's what the time is
Where you are
Where you now are
You have nothing to live up to
You have nothing to live down
Emma's house is empty
So why do I call it Emma's house?

Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy (again!)

I very rarely listen to music when I am out walking, but today I just did. I carried my portable CD player (which lacks shock-proof memory) and a CD-R with Lucky Soul, Mates of State, and Tilly and the Wall. The sun dazzled me when I walked past the hospital to the tune of Give Me Love and I forgot that the reason for my walk actually was that I had to clean up a backstage room. I was band host at last Friday's concert at Blekingska. It went really well and I hope that the other people think so too. I should had cleaned up among the bottles to the tune of The Tidy Ups though.

I have already posted the video of Lips Are Unhappy, but you can not write too much about Lucky Soul. Here is a legal mp3 link with my favourite Lucky Soul song. Their gig at Debaser is by the way rescheduled. They now play on December 15 instead. Also a damn date. Lucky Soul deserve better. 2007 anyone?

Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy

Aberdeen!

The last few days I have been incredibly tired and slept more than what is normal. I am probably going to get sick. I feel very worn out and right now life feels like a treadmill (though perhaps not as sweet as in this video).

I am not going to get more personal this time, because I have more important things to tell. Yesterday I discovered an old band that was new to me. I am leaving in an hour and have to eat, take a shower, and things like that so I will be very brief.

Homesick and Happy to Be Here is the record to look for and you can download the cosy song Sink or Float at Aberdeen's myspace.

Au Revoir Simone to Sweden!

Au Revoir Simone were supposed to visit Lund last spring. Mejeriet had printed flyers announcing that Vasthi Bunyan, Tralala, and Au Revoir Simone would be playing the same night. I called it the booking of the decade, I was lyrical, and it felt too big to be true. That was, indeed, the case. The mini-festival was cancelled.
Now it looks like Au Revoir Simone, after all, will come here in November instead. Their website show a European tour schedule which includes three gigs in Sweden.

Wednesday, November 15 - Uppåt Framåt in Gothenburg
Thursday, November 16 - Spy Bar in Stockholm
Friday, November 17 - Blekingska nationen in Lund

It is nice that Lund concludes the tour, but what the hell was the booking agency Monstera thinking when they set up a gig at Spy Bar? A 23-year old limit is not ideal for a pop concert.
Au Revoir Simone are from Brooklyn, just as so many other great bands. They have long way to travel, and I do not trust that they will come here until they actually stand on a scene in London.

Au Revoir Simone - Through the Backyard of Our Neighbours
Au Revoir Simone - Hurricane

Speaking of Au Revoir Simone, I also wonder who got the idea that Europe is equal to bad taste. Sure, their debut album Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation was cheap on cdon (a Swedish mailorder), but I should had imported it instead. Anyone with the cover to the left who wants to change it for the cover on the right? No, I did not think so...

Friday Bridge - The Lady Julie

Please give us a date for the album. We are impatient!

I came here to see The Lady Julie. (I'm a week or so too late but bringing tulips.) Now, is it true what they told me happened to you, baby Julie? "Well", you say, "snow fell over me, then rain fell over me, then snow fell over me, then rain fell over me, then snow over again."

I know nothing about the meaning of the lyrics but it is so beautiful anyway.

Anna Ternheim - Girl Laying Down live at Musikjournalen

Watch this recording before the record company or P3 (the third channel of the Swedish national radio) remove it from youtube.

Goodbye Snow Fairies

When we wake up tomorrow The Snow Fairies are no longer. Their final concert is held tonight at eight o'clock at Popfest in New England. And I can not even say goodbye in a sensible way. I am tongue-tied.

thinking back to yesterday
a busride home, the starry sky
wishing I'd said everything
or drawn a picture of days gone by
 
I hope you don't think that I have nothing to say
I'm just tongue-tied
distracted by the pink of your cheeks
as you're walking away

feels like only yesterday
a bikeride home in summertime
you know what's inside my head
and that's just fine, cause now you're mine
 
I know you don't think that I have nothing to say
I'm still tongue-tied
enchanted by the pink of your cheeks and your smile
as you're walking my way

Camera Obscura and The Essex Green - Malmö October 7

We sat on the bus and suddenly the lights in all windows extinguished simultaneously. An explosion in an electric switchboard temporarily blacked out the electricity in Malmö, and that was the most unexpected thing that happened yesterday.

When I arrived at the venue Kulturbolaget I was told that the concerts would start later because of football. I did not even know that it was a Euro qualifier night. Lagerbäck's football philosophy is very boring and I do not care about our national team. I much rather watch Arsenal, or go to Malmö to attend concerts with Camera Obscura and The Essex Green. I had not seen any of the bands before.
I ran into an acquaintance of mine. He asked me which band I looked forward too the most. I said that I wanted to see both bands although I was a bit afraid that Camera Obscura would be boring. He answered that The Essex Green is the very definition of boring. I did not believe him then.

Camera Obscura entered the scene at 9:45 pm. Kulturbolaget is probably the world's worst place for concerts. Everything is very Brandon Walsh-like at that place. I thought that Camera Obscura would be the same but I was wrong. Very wrong.
Tracy Anne was handsome, beautiful, and very charming. A guy in the audience shouted I love you and I understood him. I myself was in love with Teenager, Lloyd, and wonderful Eighties Fan. Camera Obscura left their setlist on the stage after the show. I was a bit tempted to jump up and grab it, but I noticed that another boy who was a Camera Obscura fan had the same idea so I let him get it. The DJ played The Field Mice - Emma's House at that moment and the boy who was happy to get the setlist lived up as if it was the last song of life. Ever. I actually felt the same. I did not know it then, but Emma's House proved to be the best thing of yesterday.

The Essex Green started playing exactly at 11 pm. There is a clock on one of the poles on the stage at Kulturbolaget. It is probably placed there by the club manager who counts the seconds so that no band play longer than they should. Only at Kulturbolaget. After all, I have attended pop concerts at many venues, but I have not found a clock on the stage visible to the audience at any other concert venue.
The Essex Green opened their live set with the we're not breaking any records yet-song. It started well but the rest of their show really went downhill. A guy behind me constantly shouted Great Late. Damn tiring. Penny and Jack was fine, but The Essex Green disappointed me with their other songs. The Essex Green played their super hit in the end of the show, but it felt very lifeless. I do not understand how a super song like The Late Great Cassiopia could sound so boring live. How can you throw away such a song? Mrs. Bean was beautiful though and probably the best song in the live set. Otherwise, it mostly felt that singer Sasha Bell wanted to go home and she looked more at the setlist than the audience. I was not expecting The Essex Green to be boring, but they were in fact extremely boring. A long time has passed since a band let me down that much at a concert. Yet it somehow felt that The Essex Green were very happy to play at Kulturbolaget in particular and the people at Kulturbolaget were very happy to arrange a concert with The Essex Green.
The audience clapped the band half-heartedly for the encore. People clapped, but the pace of applause never increased. The Essex Green came back on the stage and played Julia, but I felt that I wanted to go home. Kulturbolaget should had changed the order of the bands since Camera Obscura was the only band which deserved encore this evening.


Camera Obscura: Eight out of Ten
The Essex Green: Six out of Ten

The Wilson Hospital - Call Me A.S.A.P.

Katie, Katie, Katie. Every time I try to write a few lines that capture her music I end up pressing delete, delete, delete. So far I have only managed to write one text (it is found at the label records if you want to read). So this time, I have only two things to say. Firstly, I forgot Alone among the favourite songs. Perhaps the finest song on the album. Secondly, I have not mentioned that Katie played with Morten Tromm in The Wilson Hospital before she started her solo career as Katie Goes to Tokyo. Prior to that, she played in Backfish. Forget about Katie for a moment and I will tell you a little about yesterday instead.

Strange enough, I was actually late last night. I came to Blekingska when only one hour of the day remained. I did not even have time to order at the bar before the first band went on stage. I was very confused yesterday. For once I did not know much about the bands and thus mixed them up. The first band Ultrasport played too fast for me to distinguish the bands. The second band Cats on Fire played Draw in the Reins as their last song. Draw in the Reins was in fact the only song I had heard by any of the bands prior to the show. Other people had fun, but I rated the two gigs as "good" only and certainly nothing to die for. At least it was better than being at home.

After the gigs, Fraction Discs started the music from the DJ booth. I had always thought that two boys ran the record store Fraction Discs. To my surprise a boy and a girl, who turned out to be a couple, stood and turned the discs. I liked their music and several times I thought "damn, what a great song", but it was impossible to dance to the music. I am not too sure about the regrowth among the pop kids either as no one was happy when The Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine was played, and the dance floor emptied almost entirely to the tunes of Shop Assistants - Safety Net. The night's best moment was when Tara Mascara faded into The Happiest Days of My Life. I picked up a few band recommendations by Jörgen but I was not so happy with his and Renée's efforts as DJs. Anyway, they were very nice (I wish that all DJs could be that nice) and it is hard to get mad at them when their record store is so good.

It did not get more exciting than this yesterday.

You may wonder what all this has to do with Katie. Honestly, I have no idea. What I do know is that there is another concert tonight, and that I am late again. I must eat, take a shower, and get ready. But first, a perfect song that sets the mood for the evening:

The Wilson Hospital - Call Me A.S.A.P.

Looker - Hope and Anchor

Just one more song.

So I said twenty minutes ago. I feel like I am always in a hurry on Fridays. The queue will probably be long tonigt and I hate waiting outside the club in the line. I hope that I am not too late.

I drink up, put on a short-sleeved shirt and tie my shoes. Put away the hof, take my denim jacket in one hand and the keys in the other. Look in the mirror one last time and then lock the door. The music stops and it is Friday night. Again.

What do you listen to before you go out?
Looker - Hope and Anchor


I am probably not late tonight. Friday is the best day of the week and I like to spend it at Blekingska.

The Essex Green - The Late Great Cassiopia

...and The Essex Green will play live after Camera Obscura. It was a wise decision to not pay 425 SEK to hear The Late Great Cassiopia at the Accelerator festival. All conditions are better this time.

What will they say?
What's the world, gonna do anyway, anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay?

The lyrics of The Late Great Cassiopia are posted here. What do I really want to hear at the concert? Penny and Jack? Mrs. Bean? They can play whatever they want as long as they play our song.

This weekend is going to be really good. This is a decent "schedule" to follow:
Friday: Cats on Fire + Ultrasport at Blekingska in Lund.
Saturday: Camera Obscura + The Essex Green at Kulturbolaget in Malmö.

Tracy Anne, I'm ready to be heartbroken

For a long time I thought that Camera Obscura were incredibly boring. Underachievers Please Try Harder made me sleepy and I never understood the reason behind the Scottish band's popularity.

Then I heard Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken this spring. I had never dreamed that Camera Obscura could sound like this. My resistance to the band was broken down and I admitted that I had been wrong about them all along. Now I am going to see Camera Obscura live on Saturday. The picture on their website with the band sitting in the grass is wonderful and I am hoping for a similar atmosphere on Saturday even though summer is over. I want them to play Eighties Fan which is really lovely.

Seems fine

Seems fine though it ain't no no no no
Seems fine though it aint' no no

I lie awake at night. I think of the future and know I have to make important decisions. There is much to say but I can not tell you this here. Not any more. The internet is not as anonymous as one might think, and I do not want to learn it the hard way.

When I woke up on Saturday I wrote an uninspired and uninteresting text about The Tough Alliance' "gig" at Blekingska last Friday. A meaningless text on a meaningless show. My sitemeter unfortunately showed that this is what people want to read about. How ironic.

The Tough Alliance - Lund September 29

How the hell could I stand in a queue an hour for two posers who leave the stage after four songs? I knew what to expect but was still mad at the band. The Tough Alliance were at the peak of their career and provoked us. Koka Kola Veins was a hit, the rest was shit.

A year later, The Tough Alliance visited Blekingska for the third time. I did not get to hear anyone in the queue saying "the world's worst live band" this time. I soon came to realise that more things had chanced. The DJ booth contained two boys who were doing their best to kill the evening with terrible music, but they did not succeed. The club was full of people, and I was full of alcohol when it stroke me around midnight that it would be a good idea to move to a better position before the show started. There were hoards of people and I pushed my way forward to an empty space one meter in front of the scene. In some strange way, I stood at the front of the crowd when the gig began. I looker around and noticed that many people in the audience had never been at a pop club before.

The atmosphere was full of expectations when The Tough Alliance played at Blekingska one year ago. Yesterday was strange. The audience was not particularly interested in music and The Tough Alliance themselves seemed moderately interested. A bunch of brat girls stepped up on the stage during the first song. They would not had noticed the difference between a casting for Idol, and Eric and Henning in The Tough Alliance anyway. Unfortunately, they refused to leave the scene. The gig was thus terminated after two and a half songs due to safety reasons. I do not remember which songs they played. The arrangers at Blekingska could certainly had done a lot of things differently, but they were right to stop the show. It would be idiocy to continue when they no longer could gurantee the safety of the audience. The "gig" could be summed up as a tragicomedy in one very short act.

The DJ boys started to play their music again. A girl soon asked me if Tough Alliance would go on stage again. She looked like a kind person so I did not say that they had gone out smoking only to play another hour, followed by a gig with Embassy and after party in Malmö. Instead, I said the only sensible thing there was to say - The Tough Alliance are not coming back.

And so it is. TTA is an internal joke which has grown too big. Koka Kola Veins meant a lot once but that time is long gone now. One hit wonders. Goodbye TTA, I will not miss you.

The Autocollants - Four and a Half

Four and a Half is only 48 seconds but still the best track on The Autocollants' collection Why Could Not Things Just Stay the Same.

Shelflife are generous and offer a free download of this record at their website.

Overtaken!

The number of concerts in the Lund/Malmö region is more than enough for a pop music overdose, but you could always get more. I asked myself a couple of weeks ago whether Lund was on the verge of being sidelined as a concert scene. I have now seen Debaser's autumn program, which is a key that can not be argued against. Lund and Malmö can not match the concert scene in Stockholm any longer when it comes to the more well-known bands. We get to see many bands, but Stockholm always seems to be the first priority.

Langauge of Flowers' first concert in Sweden was at Debaser in Stockholm (on January 13, 2006).
Lucky Soul's first concert in Sweden will be arranged at Debaser in Stockholm (on December 1, 2006).

I really want to defend the promoters at Mejeriet and Blekingska in Lund, but the short version is that no one is interested in setting up a show with Lucky Soul. That is the bitter truth.
Furthermore, Mates of State (spring 2005) and Sufjan Stevens (spring 2004) have both already played played in Lund, so I can understand that they are not the highest priority for the promoters. I must learn to discover bands in time.

In the end, it is still quite unncessary to whine about the concert scene in Lund. I do not believe that Lucky Soul, Mates of State or Sufjan Stevens even at their best shows ever would be near Language of Flowers' wonderful concert at Mejeriet in Lund on May 27 this year. Please come back, I miss you!

I still miss you
sometimes I do
sometimes I do

The Sunny Era - Saturn Blue Smoke

The Sunny Era have posted four songs from their debut album Lost Connection on their website. Their best song is not found there though. Saturn Blue Smoke is something as unusual as a male vocals song on this blog. The revolution continues tomorrow with house mixes.

Lucky Soul will play in Stockholm on December 1

Lucky Soul to Sweden!

I am especially happy for Psymon who told me about Ali Howard's wonderful band. I will not afford to go to our capital city and it really breaks my heart because I was more than happy to trade away all shows this autumn for this concert and you probably think that it is pathetic to build a future on a single concert and you are free to feel so but then you have not understood anything at all because there are bands which are worth taking a bullet for and Lucky Soul are a band to die for and this show would change everything. Everything.

I have learned that boys do not cry so I will try to get myself together, but it is so hard. Please someone, give me a dream to build a life on. Just give me love.

Your covers blown

I came to think about cover songs I never get tired of. Some of my favourite covers are listed below, but I do not rank the songs this time. Covers should be fun. Pretensions are saved for future posts.

Eva Cassidy - Over the Rainbow
Introducing this list with anyone else than Eva Cassidy would be like forgetting Dennis Bergkamp while you are talking about great football players. First, you buy the compilation Songbird. Then you play the tenth track Over the Rainbow. 3:19 into the song is heartbreaking. I could fill this entire list with Eva Cassidy, and not a single song would be a filler. After you have dried your tears you may as well continue with Fields of Gold (by Sting) and cry some more. Then Kathy's Song (by Simon and Garfunkel). Eva Cassidy is for us who believe that music can be larger than The Embassy and their laptops that froze just in time for the encore at their so called "concert".

The Maybellines - This and That by Acid House Kings
Say Yes If You Love Me is fantastic, but any band can make one hit. It is therefore ironic that a cover song made me understand the greatness of Acid House Kings. After further listening, I realised I had discovered two good bands at once.

Sambassadeur - La Chanson de Prévert by Serge Gainsbourg
The soundtrack of spring 2005 is still played with pleasure, with "skip track" on the remote within reach. Sambassadeur made half a record to love forever.

Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind
If I made ​​you feel second best, I'm so sorry, I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
 
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied
Satisfied

I do not know the whole story behind Always on My Mind, but I know it was recorded by Elvis and that he never did justice to the song. When I think of Pet Shop Boys I think of two songs, It's a Sin and Always on My Mind. The DJs at the discotheques should play Pet Shop Boys more often.

Saint Etienne - Kiss and Make Up by The Field Mice
Some people have made up their mind in advance and already decided to hate. There is no point in trying to reason with people who call Saint Etienne "worthless, braindead euro which only worked because the girl was hot". It is their loss. Saint Etienne is the only British band from the mid-nineties I still listen to a lot today and that is hardly a coincidence. Kiss and Make Up is a brilliant cover of the sleepy original by The Field Mice.

The Arrogants - Shellshock by New Order
It is unusal that good covers do not sound more or less just like the original. Shellshock in this version sounds so much The Arrogants that not even the most hardcore New Order fans would recognize it. That is good for me as I adore The Arrogants while I rate New Order as a good band only.

Kathryn Williams - Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
You don't really care for music, do you?

Laura Watling - Sunday Came and Went by The Castaway Stones
Laura Watling is perhaps the new Amelia Fletcher of the 2000s. This comparison may sound stupid to most people, but to me it is ingenious here and now.

The Shermans - Plastic Bouquet by Tara Emely Needham
I really need to find the original. The Shermans' version sounds like music to grow up to in a nursery. That is of course a compliment.

Belle and Bebastian - Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son by France Gall
Sorry ... Sorry if my French was bad.
Ohh lovely Isobel, you have nothing to apologize for. Unlike France Gall, you can sing this song.

The Lucksmiths - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths
Everyone will sooner or later come to a time in life when one discovers The Smiths. The Smiths have not been and will never become the most important band in my life. In the same way I stopped listen to The Cure, I have also left The Smiths behind me.

The Lucksmiths cover reminds me though about what I saw in The Smiths. No other band can describe a miserable night out better. And this version brings a new meaning to the lyrics. I have always wondered if they were about a very good friend or love.

Honorable mention for their good effect on a dance floor:
Blondie - Hanging on the Telephone by The Nerves
Supergrass - Some Girls Are Bigger than Others by The Smiths

We Are Soldiers We Have Guns - Songs That No One Will Hear

Malin Dahlberg. The name belongs to the carrier of one of the world's most beautiful voices. Malin is perhaps Sweden's most talented pop musician.

Laurel Music is Sweden's best band. I can not write a text about Malin without also mentioning Laurel Music. Listen to Make Believe once and you will understand. It has been very quiet on Laurel Music for a while. Mr Angergård of Labrador Records does not want to say when Laurel Music's new album will be released. Instead, he decorates his record label's website with promotion for his own boring band The Legends. Priorities Labrador, priorities!

Malin is involved in several bands. We Are Soldiers We Have Guns originally started as Malin's own solo project for songs that did not fit Douglas Heart (another band of hers). Based on the band description, it is clear that We Are Soldiers We Have Guns mean a lot to Malin. She plays with Joakim Rosén in a band which has become much more important than being a project for songs that were left over.

We Are Soldiers We Have Guns do not scream for attention. At most, they whisper to us that they exist from a small ad in the indie pop fanzine Ettnollett. Songs That No One Will Hear appears on We Are Soldiers We Have Guns' new mini-album To Meet Is Murder which will be released later this fall. I will wait for it, Malin and Jocke. You do not let go when you find something or someone that lights up your life.

Songs That No One Will Hear

Good morning weathershow

good morning joan
did you wake up alone
did you dream you woke up happy
with a phonebook full of names
just forget about mary
she says everything's scary
she got locked inside her skin
get near her, she'll drag you in
i'd call on you if i could
if you were less like me i would
save you from this if i could
if i were less like you, god knows i would (save you from this)
spare us all this shit
but you're all just like me so i quit!
my name is yours
can i sleep on your floor
see, my heroes changed their minds
and i lost my numbers


Damn it was really bad last night. The Legends were boring, the dj played terrible music, and I did not feel at home at all at Blekingska.

The Feverfew - Goodbye Blue Monday

and you said yourself
that Im falling towards the sun
like I disguise myself
to make you forget I'm the one
like this was just a trap i built
and you are just a game i won
and I dont want to run

About being judged on something real

I have written very little about other things than music on this blog. That is a deliberate choice. There are already too many pointless "a day in the life" blogs. Today I make an exception.

For most people life is all about pretending. Some do not know, but that is how it is. Socialisation begins when a child expectantly goes to the first day of school. Many children understand the rules of the game this early. Others pay for naivism much later in life.

The culture sets limits. People are rarely allowed to grow. It is easier to kick than hold out a hand. The indie pop culture is sometimes nice (like when Friday I'm in Love is played at the pop club on a Friday night as the first song after a concert) but just as often disgusting. I remember when I was new in Lund and visited Club Indigo at Blekingska for the first time. A stranger came up to me and asked me a lot of things. After I said what I studied, he replied "you know, you do not belong here". Few are as socially stupid as this guy, but the idea of excluding people is very widespread among many sub-cultures in society. A genuine music interest does not suffice to be welcomed by the pop culture. You get judged on what bands you listen to, what clothes you wear, which friends you hang out with and God knows if you are not judged on what you drink as well. This may come out as bitterness, but far too many people you meet are idiots, like people who are completely serious when they state that a blond girl can not be really interested in music because of her hair colour. That is one example among many.
Life is not a game, we should have left high school behind and I do not care about where you buy your fucking clothes. Raymond and Maria said it best in their summer hit two years ago. Two Fridays ago, I met one or two people (depending on how you count) who made me believe in humanity again. It is the small things that matter.

This wall of text is a long introduction (it may not be an entirely logical one) to what I really wanted to tell. Tonight, I played football with my amateur hobby team (do not get fooled by the term "hobby team", the football is better than you think although it may not be attractive to watch from the side). We lost 4-1 but I still remember an incident from the match with joy. It will be hard to keep up for those of you who never played football yourself. Well, I was the goalkeeper of my team. Being keeper in football is one of the few things in life I can admit I am very good at, without lying and without having to humble myself. If it were not for the fact that I am only 166 cm, I probably would have been capable to be a keeper at a professional level. Now I can go only reach the bar of the goals for teams with seven players. Luckily we played seven against seven on gravel with goals of appropriate size for me.
Anyway, as seen from my perspective the opposite team plays a high cross from my right side directed to my left side. The ball goes in the air in a perfect line to an unmarked player who is approximately six meters in front of the goal line, positioned as wide as my left goal post. I move from the middle of the goal toward my left post while the ball is in the air. The highest priority is the area of the goal near the first post because the ball is likely to get there in the end, and because that is the corner I have to block. The player in the opposite team meets the ball with perfect timing and instead perfectly heads the ball toward my right corner. It is a given goal. I stand on the wrong foot, and as I said I am moving left. I see the ball fly past me high on my right side and then desperately throw myself after it (do not ask how that movement is possible when I stand on the wrong foot). I get a hand on the ball at the height of the bar in the middle of goal and see the ball go out for a corner kick. A sick and impossible save. You see them very rarely. I get praised by all teammates. Sincer praise and nothing they say just to be kind. Life is perfect for a few seconds. In the second half I hear a frustrated player in the opposite team say "it's impossible" after another good save of mine and he obviously means it is impossible to score. Very flattering.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I wish life were as uncomplicated as a perfect sequence in a football game, or as football in general. We are all equal on the pitch and we get judged on what we are doing. Elitism does not exist as long as everyone are fighting for the same goal. You win together and you lose together. The only thing that matters is what really matters. Not what clothes you wear or what bands you listen to.

I can not find a song which captures the feeling perfectly. The Arrogants - Nobody's Cool will do.

A Tribute to Linn

A month ago I would not had cried if someone stole Anna Ternheim's piano. I actually went so far that I wished she gave it to someone more talented. I had heard a radio stream of Girl Laying Down and I was extremely disappointed.

Today, I can only laugh at those thoughts. As if Anna Ternheim would stop writing great songs just because I felt bitter one evening. The record was already done and I was the only one with doubts. Separation Road has arrived and Anna Ternheim steals my heart. A piano and a voice. It sounds good on record and it will sound even better on stage. Most of all, I have been waiting for Calling Love, a pop song which according to the composer herself "should sound like you have the wind in your hair".

Nevertheless, it is another song which makes the last walls collapse. Something about the way she sings enthralls me. A Tribute to Linn is Anna Ternheim's most beautiful song. So far.

Welcome back to the big stage, Anna. Today is a good day. I have much more to tell about this album but that could wait for another time.