Great interviews & Great live: Arctic Monkeys at KCRW

On YouTube you can find this amazing series of clips from Arctic Monkey's performances live on air with KCRW from 2005 and 2007. In 2007 they look really cute and young and are just starting out and in 2007 you can see that they are a bit world experienced but still quite cute and they do it so so good live. I love how they communicate and have fun while they play :) I have to see them live some time in the near future. The easiest way to find these clips is probably to search for Arctic Monkeys KCRW at YouTube. There are so many clips at different persons that I haven't got the time to organize them and paste them all here now. But here is A Certain Romance from 2005.



Interview from 2005



And the first part of the 2007 session:

Musical Memories: Marie Fredriksson - Sparvöga

When I was about nine there was a Swedish TV-series about a girl that they called Sparvöga (Sparrow's eye) on TV. I do not remember at all what the series was about but it made a big impression on me then and even more so the theme song. For about 20 years now I have been walking around humming this tune from time to time. I had totally forgotten to search for it at YouTube and of course it was there. It's in Swedish, but even if you don't understand the lyrics, the whole melody of the song and the feel of it is so amazing that I am sure you will enjoy it.

These are a few of my favorite Christmas-things II

About 5 minutes ago I finally felt the Christmas spirit. I have been waiting for this a bit and I always knew that Nat King Cole's - The Christmas Song would put my in a Christmas mood, but I was quite surprised of the impact the song had on me. I literary felt the the Christmas spirit float into me and actually ran over to my mother's chest of ornaments and put up a few more. Finally I feel ready for some Christmas. Great :)

So here is the song that makes me feel like Christmas :)

These are a few of my favorite Christmas-things

This is a series of my favorite Christmas-things, since it's Christmas :) This is a commercial for NSB (Norwegian train company) and it has a lot of details that are connected to Norwegian Christmas traditions, songs etc. It's kind of hard to explain to foreigners I suspect, but at least you will see Bambi on the ice, the girl with the cell phone that symbolize that crazy bird that Donald Duck tries to take a photograph of and Chip and Dale in a tree. Clips from Christmas classics are always shown on Norwegian TV on the 24th of December. Also you will probably see Cinderella in there. This is also another TV tradition. Every year Norwegian TV shows a Czech version of Cinderella that has for some strange reason become a tradition: Cinderella and the three nuts. And also.. It really captures that feeling of siting on the train and going home to Christmas that I love. I wish we could have some snow, so I really could get that Christmas feeling :) Enjoy!

Musical Memories & Great Musicians: Last Christmas (Wham) - Graham Choo

As Christmas is fast approaching, I think one of the most classic Christmas songs of my childhood is "Last Christmas" by Wham. (Yes, kids. That used to be the band of George Michael and some guy that everyone forgot-)

I was looking for an alternate cover of the song and I found tons of them. One of the greatest was this one by Graham Choo . He does a classic guitar version of it. Really well done and makes me think that I have to practice guitar more like that too ;)

Enjoy :)

Musical memories: The Snowman - I am walking in the air

Since Christmas is soon approaching I give you one of my fondest Christmas memories. I love this song and this animation film when I was a child. For a few years they didn't show it on NRK (Norwegian National TV station) on Christmas eve and I thought it was really sad. I had such amazing memories from seeing it as a child. And then a few years ago I saw it again and it's truly amazing. I am sorry that the movie is in such bad quality but it was the only one I found with the original song. Do you remember this? Was it popular around the world? The movie is called "The Snowman", and this is just a part of the whole movie.

Great band & musical memories: Toadies

In the late 90's I used to date an American. That left it's mark on my music taste (in a good way). I started to listen to Tool and Pixies and also the less known band Toadies. Today to my great surprise and joy I realized that Toadies are back and playing and making music again! I loved the one album I've got of them. So much great melodies and the way the lines in the guitars, bass and vocals cross each other and change is just beautiful. They do some amazing rhythm changes too in the middle of their song. It's lovely and funkey and rocky and great. I also really like their lyrics that often er quite wild and almost like crime stories sometimes like in Tyler. Some think that song is about a rapist. I think it's about sneaking in to see your girl in the middle of the night, but it might just be me that are too romantic ;) Anyways, here is one of the new songs "No deliverance" And this is their MySpace page.

No Deliverance "Road" video


And here are two true classics.. Possum Kingdom and Tyler: (Sad that they are only live, but it's impossible to find the album version. The live versions are great too, but the album versions are amazing and has that final touch to it.

Great songs: Stoppa Mig Juni (Lilla Ego) - Kent

This is one of the saddest songs ever. This is what you feel when all hope is lost in your love life and you are just so so sad. And I really love this song, melancholic as I am.. hehe.. It's somehow so so so straight from the heart and you can really feel the pain. Jocke Berg must have been so so sad when he wrote the songs for Hagnesta Hill, the album it's from. The whole melody is so haunting and the lyrics made me cry the first time I sat down and listened to it. At the same time it feels really good.. It's something about the fact when all hope is lost that makes one feel free because it can't get any worse and that's quite liberating in a way. Here is the video. Below you find the lyrics. I have also found the lyrics in English though it is 100 times better in Swedish.. You loose some of the details in the English translation.



Someone has said that I'm a coward
Little Ego be ashamed
That I always stood there behind and agreed
You can feel the truth
I've followed you secretly in the cold
For a whole day
To return
the excuse
that I stole

Take the two and sit alone in the back
Little Ego sit still
I've walked in your footsteps all day
To Hagnesta Hill
The first snow has fallen, everything is slippery
And I left my scarf
at a bus stop
outside town

I gather all my courage there at the alley
Little Ego has escaped
I screamed with breaking voice "I hate you"
As a child I was cruel
This feeling I have
is not mine
It stayed behind, is it yours?
It tastes like you

It is tears
Can one cry like a man?
Please forgive me
I forgot who I was
Please stop listening
Forget everything I said
I'm fine
You have to leave me alone

It is tears
Can one cry like a man?
Please forgive me
I forgot who I was
Please stop listening
Forget everything I said
I'm fine
You have to leave me alone

I don't need any help
If you want to help, help yourself
I don't need any help
So leave me alone
Leave me alone

Någon hade sagt att jag var feg
Lilla Ego fy skäms
Att Jag alltid stod där bakom och höll med
Sanningen känns
Jag har skuggat dig i kylan
en hel dag
för att lämna tillbaks
den undanflykt
som Jag stal

Tar 2:an sitter ensam längst bak
Lilla Ego sitt still
Jag har gått i dina fotspår hela dan
till Hagnesta Hill
Den första snön har fallit allt är halt
och min halsduk blev kvar
på en hållplats
utanför stan...

Jag samlar allt mitt mod där vid allén
Lilla Ego har rymt
Jag skrek med målbrottsröst jag hatar er
som barn var jag grym
Den här känslan som Jag har
är inte min
Den blev kvar, är den din?
Den smakar som Du...

Det är tårar
Kan man gråta som en karl?
Snälla Du förlåt mig
Jag glömde vem Jag var
snälla sluta lyssna
Glöm allt Jag sa
Jag mår bra
Du måste lämna mig i fred

Det är tårar
Kan man gråta som en karl?
Snälla Du förlåt mig
Jag glömde vem Jag var
snälla sluta lyssna
Glöm allt Jag sa
Jag mår bra
Du måste lämna mig i fred

Jag behöver ingen hjälp
Vill Du hjälpa hjälp dig själv
Jag behöver ingen hjälp
så lämna mig i fred
Lämna mig i fred

Great songs: If we want it, it's right - Thomas Dybdahl

Sometimes artists really can surprise you... One of those when it comes to me is Thomas Dybdahl. I started out thinking he was really fake and not real at all.. I just couldn't feel what he was telling me I was supposed to feel. When I saw him as the lead singer for "The National Bank", a Norwegian super group at Øyafestialen in Oslo, all that changed. It was such a night to remember with long light nights and Oslo's skyline in the background. But that is another story..

I started to listen to more of his solo work and found this amazing song... It's just really beautiful and has a feel to it that is really emotional and close and atmospheric.. It has to move you, I think. On top of it all he has got the amazing Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss to include some of his thoughts as a sound clip. And those words he say was almost an awakening to me. It just felt so so true and perfect and made me think about life different :) I have tried to translate them in the lyrics below. Hope I did ok :) Hard stuff to translate.

When it comes to the music, I love how he buildes it up and then has that beautiful pause just at the right place, that makes the whole thing... Also love the melody and voice in this one.

Hope you can feel it too... Enjoy!




come
let's slip away from this damn masquerade
just take my hand and let me lead the way

Nזæss- “hvorledes kan min, hva vi kaller for livskvalitet, beholdes eller bli høyere? Og livskvalitet går overhodet ikke på hva man har, men hvordan man føler man er og hvorledes det er; hva er det som gleder oss?”

How can my so-called quality of life be kept or be heightened? And life quality is not about what you have, but how you feel you are and how that is, what makes us happy?

(gone are the voices that inspire fools
to look for love where no love ever moves)

so
let's settle in and do what lovers do
a wave of peacefullness that shoots right through

if we want it, it's right
if we want it, it's right

seems
every now and then a dream comes true
the skies turns everything from black to blue

now
maybe everything we do is wrong
a simple story turns into a song

f we want it, it`s right
if we want it, it`s right

Tv: Two and a Half Men

As I spend my day today translating to episodes of Two and a Half Men I give you the intro to the show. I really like this series and the intro always cracks me up. Good day at work ;)

Great songs & great lyrics: God - John Lennon

As most other people in the world, I am also a fan of The Beatles, but I have always liked John Lennon more than Paul for some reason. I always like his songs more. I have been listening a lot to different LastFm radio stations lately and suddenly this song came quite randomly that made me really listen to the lyrics. I rarely do that, so it was quite exceptional. It turned out that it was "God" by John Lennon. I love how intense his voice is in this one and how he screams the lyrics from his soul. They are so raw and straight forward and for the most part I agree with him. I love how they describe the state of mind he was in and how there was really no sense in most things.. Hearing him: "I don't believe in The Beatles" and how the dream is over is quite overpowering... :) I also love "I was the walrus, but now I am John".

More about the song on Wikipedia.

Apperantly this is an alternate version, but this is the one I first heard, so it's my favorite.



This the official version with some quite sad but good footage connected to the death of John Lennon:

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I'll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that's reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.

Film & Music: Marie Antoinette

I think Sofia Coppola has made some genius choices when it comes to music for her film about Marie Antoinette. When I first saw the movie and heard the first few songs, I was a bit shocked and not at all sure if I liked it at all, somewhere during the movie I started to love it more and more. Sofia has chosen a lot of modern music for a film that is all the rest when it comes to costumes and setting and all in the 16-1700's. This could have had a really tragic, fake, strange and bad effect but actually it just makes it amazing. Marie Anotionette's feelings in the film are underlined by the feelings also felt by the artists that made the songs almost 400 years later. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, there might be some spoilers, so be careful. I especially love that she uses modern music like The Strokes "Whatever happened" to give a portrait of Marie Antoinette for the Swedish military officer Count Fersen (?):



I also love how Ceremony by New Order is in the background of her birthdayparty.



And last but not least "I want candy". The perfect song for this queen famed for her spendings...



(Look for the Converse.. hehe)

Great interviews: Travis about safety on stage, injuries, Ode to J Smith etc.

I am in a bit of a Travis-craze still, so here is another great interview. Just a really really great interview because it's especially because it's made in Glasgow. Feels very real in a way a lot of good stories really. They are so good at telling stories.

Music: WOOOOOOOOOHOOO

Read this and scream of joy! I did and am going even if I have to go alone. I never though I would live to see the day. (Ehm.. anyone wanna come?)

Moving

About one third of my stuff.. I am getting there:)

Live: Travis at Rockefeller, Oslo

Photos by stormy at http://www.travisonline.com

So, here we go again, me and Travis. Just as I walked out from Rockefeller last night I realized that I now have seen Travis 7 times in 6 different venues. It must be only in Norway and in UK that you can have done that. As I am sure all of you have realized by now, the story of Helene and Travis go back quite far. I am not sure if they know that I exist and to be quite honest, I kind of like that. Well, I always tend to be out of the heap of people that jump around and instead jump around at the side like a freak among people standing still, so maybe... hehe.. During Turn last night I did a quite psycho "bend-back-and-the-throw-my-arms-forward" and I am quite mr Dunlup cought that one..

Anyways,.. I got to Rockefeller around 8.30 and my friend was passing outside and said they just passed her. For me and her it was just so great to be back at Rockefeller together and to see a band that we also have such good memories of seeing together. The highlight was when it started raining during "Why does it always rain on me". That was an amazing moment for anyone I think. But Rockefeller is Rockefeller. It's a quite small venue and quite intimate, so the concerts there are NEVER bad. I just love the place. So great memories and such a great atmosphere.

To our slight surprise, the place was not full. We knew that the concert wasn't sold out and we spent some time there thinking "why, people must be crazy to don't see this". We took our places at the right side, the Andy-side. This time it was quite randomly, but as a guitarist I love to see what he does and also there is a chance that great things might happen during "All I wanna do is rock", like stage diving, climbing and whatever he feels like.

The concert started up with lots of new songs from the new album and they were just amazing live... And as I listen to them now, they of course sound even better having seen them live. I haven't seen the boys so filled with energy for years... Everything was just flowing and there were extrem amounts of jumping, running, hugging during songs and smiling up there. I ended up at about the 5th row so really really close and me and my friend kept laughing about Dougie. He just stands there beaming at the audience and it kind of feels like he sees you everytime... hehe.

During "Love will come through" it really started to get crazy. Fran ordered everyone to be a metronome with swinging their hands back and forth, before he song and we kept it going. I think he was a bit surpised, because in the middle of the song he said something like it must be hurting our arms and said we could just move from side to side instead. So we did, but of course raised our hands again a little later. We can take that pain for such a great band.

Around this time Fran told a very cute story about his son Clay. Last time in Norway he had brought back a bottle of Norwegian bottled water. Clay was somehow totally crazy for this water and called it Norway water. So when his father had asked him earlier that day what he wanted from Norway, the answer was "NORWAY WATER". It turned out that the backstage had a whole fridge of Imsdal Norwegian Water, so you can imagine Clays reaction to a whole fridge of Norway water. Apparently he almost lost his marbles.. hehe

"Sing" and "Side" was great as always and "Side" even had an extra long and rocky solo amazing. Then came "Falling Down" and Fran jumped into the audience and song the whole song from there. That basically meant that he was gone in the middle of the crowd duing the whole song as there is no way he can be taller than Norwegians. But a beautiful stunt and gave the whole song a lot of extra feeling. (see photo above, thanks to "stormy" on the Travis homepage, he was clooser than me.:)

Then there was time for the legendary U16 girls, and I jumped around like a crazy person and you could see who had been Travis fans for a long time and not.

At the end of the set it was time for "All I wanna do is rock" and it was amazing as always. Andy did the climb this time and I can not understand how he don't break bones or fall down. Great showmanship... hehehe. "Before you where young" was amazing.. It was something really passionate about it that really got to me.. And Turn (one of my favorites, and maybe the lyrics that has ment to much to me) I was basically going totally crazy.

After that it was time for a little break. I was getting tiered and I can only imagine how the boys felt. Exspecially Dougie in a very very cool-looking, but must be very hot coat.
Fran and Andy emerged back on stage and did the dumbfoundingly good cover of Kate Perrys, "I kissed a girl" where they even shared a mic just to make fun of the lyrics. That guitarriff makes the song so so much better. I have to sit down and learn that. I have done great success with Hit me baby for a few years now ;)

The concert ended in familiar fashion. All the boys linded up with the arms around each other at the front of the stage and did "Flowers in the window" and it's always quite cute. I realized that Neil had really big problems hiting the tambourine at the right places.. hmm.. ;)

The whole thing ended, not surprisingly with "Why does it always rain on me?". And we even did the jump to the whole last courus thing with Fran ordering everyone to stand up... Very good, as I can't belive how people can sit on a concert like that.

I went home beaming, bought a bottle of Norway water on the way and was really happy with a heart filled with THANK YOU.

It's hard to descirbe.. I can write words as amazing, good feeling, very electric performance, but it's one of thoose events that your really had to be there, so make sure you are next time won't you. To me, it seams that they are just getting better and better.. They seam more and more sure of themselves, and as for me, I hope for more rock albums and that they keep going a lot longer.

And oh, I have from a reliable source that Neils timing was due to severe drunkeness and that he wasn't the only one.. hehe... Well, that kind of just makes it better in a way.. I mean.. All I wanna do is rock ;)

Great music videos: Travis - Tied to the 90's

This video is nothing less than amazing. All Travis videos are great and I love all the details in this one and how they have duplicated the band so many times. A great song for all of us that love the 90's :) All you can say is really "Hey!"... Amazing live also... I love this one. You have to be happy when you hear it :)

I love how they look so young and cute and fresh. Neil still has long hair, Fran has all his hair and rosy cheeks and Andy has glasses. Dougie on the other hand looks exactly the same and just as cool today.

HEY!

Great songs & great live: U16 girls - Travis

On Monday I am going off to see one of my favorite bands Travis again. This time I am so lucky as to see them on a really small stage (but very legendary) stage in Oslo: Rockefeller. It should be an unforgetable experience as it's very intimate and they are amazing live. To celebrate this joyful event and to bring out more Travis fans, since there are still tickets left, I give you the legendary "U16 girls" from a live show in 2001 where Travis played live in their hometown Glasgow. Must be the peak of the career so far. I love the how direct the lyrics are, though they have been joking the last years that they think it's a bit weird to sing about that underage girls now that their are so much older... hehe.. It's that kind of song that makes you jump up and down and sing along... A great rock song and I am glad they are back to a bit more rock songs at their last album and back to their roots somehow and the days when they warmed up for Oasis. Here you go.

I met a girl in l a
The million dollar kind
She was all for all or nothing
She was open all the time
But when I called her number
Her mothers on the line sayin
Youve no business
As gods my witness
With a child as young as mine
So make sure that shes old enough
Before you blow your mind
She may look like she knows enough
But look in her eye
And if so
Let her go
Youll let her down in style
I met a girl in paris
She talked like vera lynn
And her eyes were full of dew drop
The moment I walked in
She was awfully nice
The kind that likes to win
But if Id been wiser
A whole lot wiser
Then I might have thought again
Chorus
Chorus

Friday Fun: Final Countdown - One Man Band

Just watch and enjoy :)

Great songs: Når hele himmelen faller ned - Anne Grete Preus

Snow in March by ~Helenert on deviantART
Photo from a showstorm in Oslo in March last year. The show really made this crowded part of Oslo really quiet.


My favorite song for days like today when it's snowing a lot is the Norwegian singer and songwriter Anne Grete Preus's "Når himmelen faller ned" - (when the heaven falls down). I don't really like her other songs, but this song is amazing. I haven't found anywhere online where you can hear it. It's exactly how Oslo feels when it's first starting to snow. I still love the lyrics, so I decided to translate them for you:

(spotify link to the song) (updated 7.12.2011)

It's snowing
Heavens correcting fluid over a misspelled summer
And listen
The noise of the city disappears under falling floods
We have learned that no snowflakes are identical
and wonders like that is something to think about for a while
I lean my head all the way back
and get a icekiss on my mouth
and get a icekiss

It's snowing
mute star sisters from invisible mouths
And dizzy from the attack of swarming soundless seconds
Today the earth is conquered by a heavenly army
and with out weapons the city is forced to it's knees
Everything moves a little slower on earth
when the heaven is falling down
when the heaven is falling down

Thanks for all the useless snow
troubles and voes
Today the earth is conquered by a heavenly army
without bombs and grenades
The city is forced to it's knees
Everything moves a little slower on earth
when the heaven is falling down
when the heaven is falling down

Great live clips and great lyrics: Elton John -Rocket Man

For years and years I have kind of hated Elton John, but since this song was on that before mentioned commercial I have really fallen in love with it. This is a great live version of Elton in 1976 sans wig or hat. But with big glasses and lovely pianoplaying.



I also have fallen totally in love with the lyrics:
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...

Great collaborations: Do They Know it's Christmas? - Band Aid

Ladies and gents, it's time for some 80's Christmas-spirit. And also for another great collaboration... I mean, this must really be THE collaboration, right? Outside my windows the snow are falling so I just suddenly had a little christmassy feeling, even though I really thing it's a bit to early. I have felt other years that I have to be careful not to use up all my Christmas feeling long before Christmas so I try to wait until there is just a week or two left.

Do They Know it's Christmas? is a milestone in musical history. It was the first song like that where artists teamed up to support a charity together. This time it was a famine in Africa. I think it's a lovely song and actually almost gets a few tears in my eyes by listening to it.

The video of course has a lot of great 80's heroes in it.. Can you spot them? I know almost all of them, but I'll give you the chance to guess. Leave your guesses in the comment field under this blogpost. (Link if you are reading this in facebook). Here is the song and the amazing video ;)



And for you crazy kids, like me, that want even more about this event in musical history, you can find the documentary on this link :D Search for Band Aid at the right.

Guitar: Turtorials for songs by Radiohead

Have you ever wanted to play some Radiohead songs on guitar and only found strange, wrong, uncomplete versions on the Internett? Well, here is your savior. Warrenmusic on YouTube has a lot of great tutorials. Everything is well explained and totally right (I haven't seen all, but looks very good so far). He explains very well what to do, and also tell you all the tabs / chords. I can wait till I get strings on my acoustic guitar again. I am gonna dive right in :) Thank you so much!!