De Press - Bo Jo Cie Kochom

Yesterday Polish/Norwegian post punk legends De Press, fronted by the mildly eccentric Andrej Nebb, performed their classic debut album Block To Block (1981) in its entirety at Steinkjerfestivalen. Tonight they will repeat the performance at a small Oslo club called The Crossroad Club for a very limited audience. I'm lucky enough to have a ticket and yes, I really look forward to it. Below is a clip of the band's most famous song "Bo Jo Cie Kochom" from last night's show, and it looks great. Andrej Nebb appears to be in top form, but it's hard to tell which musicians he's brought with him. Unfortunately I don't think guitarist Jørn Christensen and drummer Ola Snortheim is present, but because of the poor quality of the clip it's hard to say for sure. In any event I'm sure tonight will be a night to remember.

Watch and listen

Gratulerer med 50-årsdagen, Lars Lillo!

(English speaking readers will have to excuse me. Today the Norwegian singer/songwriter Lars Lillo-Stenberg is 50, and I'll continue in Norwegian.)

Gratulerer så mye med dagen til Lars Lillo-Stenberg. Som frontfigur og hovedlåtskriver i deLillos gjennom snart 30 år har han bidratt enormt til norsk populærmusikk, både som tekstforfatter, melodisnekker og artist. Med sin helt særegne stemme og sitt imponerende gitarspill har han siden platedebuten med singlen "Johnny Fredrik"/"Fugl i bur" i 1985 skilt seg kraftig fra mengden - og det gjør han da stadig.

deLillos er for tiden i studio for å fullføre sitt fjortende album som kommer til høsten, og den første smakebiten som er singlen "Lykkelig fyr"/"Tapetser meg i gangen før du går" vitner om en låtskriver som viser en imponerende stayerevne. De to sangene er sågar helt i tetsjiktet av hva han har skrevet tidligere også. Her er det ingen tegn til stagnasjon, og det skal legges til at pappa Per Lillo-Stenberg (84) har skrevet teksten til "Lykkelig fyr". Her er det gode gener i sving.



Jeg finner ikke alle de sangene jeg ville hatt med på en topp 10 deLillos-liste ute på nettet, så her har jeg enkelt og greit samlet ti fabelaktige sanger som alle sier noe om Lars Lillo-Stenberg som låtskriver. Takk for alt det fine du gjør, Lars. Håper dagen din blir fin!

"Hjernen er alene" (live i Operaen)

"Forelsket"

"Min beibi dro avsted"

"Johnny Fredrik"

"Neste sommer"

"Trist å være glad"

"S'il vous plaiit"

"Flink" (duett med Ida Maria)

"Kokken Tor"

"Nei, ikke gjør det"



Og helt til slutt en liten bonus i form av Maria Menas enestående tolkning av "Suser avgårde". Den er fra konserten i fjor høst da en rekke store norske artister stilte sammen med deLillos for å gjøre sine helt særegne versjoner av sangene fra debutalbumet av samme navn. Det var en stor kveld, og Menas opptreden var et av de klare høydepunktene. Det er muligens også Lars' aller, ALLER fineste sang. "Jeg er ganske full og jeg går midt i Bygdøy allé"? Been there, done that!

Maria Mena: "Suser avgårde"

Best Coast - Rhiannon

Just Tell Me That You Want It: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac is the title of a new covers album to be released in August. Surf pop band Best Coast has recorded an excellent and quite different version of the Stevie Nicks song "Rhiannon" from Fleetwood Mac's self-titled 1975 album. Among the other artists performing Fleetwood Mac songs on the album are Marianne Faithfull, members of ZZ Top, The New Pornographers, MGMT, Washed Out and Lykke Li.

By following the link below you can listen to Best Coast's take on "Rhiannon" and read an interview with singer Bethany Cosentino.

Listen

HIT ALERT! Admiral P - Kallenavn

Last year Norwegian hip hop/dancehall artist Admiral P (born Philip Boardman in Zambia) had a huge hit with his song "Snakke litt" (Talk a little), and today he's back with his new single "Kallenavn" (Nickname), sure to be another smash. It's a perfect slice of summer reggae, feelgood-y and catchy as they come. Follow the link below to listen to the song and if you like it you should buy it. I just did.

Listen and/or buy

Finally new music from Iris DeMent - first listen here!

Eight years since her last album, and 16 years after her last album of originals, Iris DeMent returns this October with a brand new collection of songs called Sing The Delta. By following the link below you can listen to the extraordinary title track which is one of 12 songs altogether. It bodes very well indeed for the album which will be DeMent's fifth.

Listen and read more about the album

First listen! George Michael - White Light

Finally, here's a slice of brand new music from George Michael who has not made an album since 2004's album Patience. "White Light" is the first single from his new album to be released in the autumn and is a catchy slice of danceable synth pop that according to Michael is a "thank you to everybody who has been a part of (his) success", adding: "I mean everybody, including the press!" Having been seriously ill, he asks "Was it music?/Was it science that saved me?/Or the way that you prayed for me/Guess either way I thank you I'm alive". As expected from a new George Michael single, it's a fabulous song, but certain vocal parts strangely sounds as if Michael has switched vocal chords with Morten Harket of a-ha. Maybe the result of having undergone a tracheotomy during his dramatic and apparently quite sudden illness last year or merely coincidence? Nevertheless, it sounds pretty cool, and it's very good to have George Michael back!

Watch and listen

HIT ALERT! Alicia Keys - New Day

Woohoo! Here's a brand new single called "New Day" from Alicia Keys' forthcoming fifth album. Driven by heavy drumbeats and Keys' fantastic voice it's a celebratory and jubilant track sure to become a big hit. Mighty stuff!

Listen

The Cowsills - The Rain, The Park And Other Things

The perfect summer song, "The Rain, The Park And Other Things" by family singing group The Cowsills, was a massive hit recorded and released in the autumn of 1967, in the aftermath of "the summer of love". The light step of the song and the siblings' extraordinary harmonies make this song a true classic, alongside other songs and artists from the era, such as The Lovin' Spoonful, The Mamas And The Papas and The Beach Boys. "The Rain, The Park And Other Things" certainly weren't there only hit either ("Hair" was equally big chartwise), but it was their best. Puts a big smile on my face every time I hear it.

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Roy Orbison - You Got It

Roy Orbison must still be the world's reigning champion in dying at a bad time. After something like two decades in the shade, he was about to get the attention he deserved after the legendary A Night In Black And White show at Cocoanut Grove Ballroom with friends and admirers like Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt all giving tribute, membership in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and a comeback album of his own, he died of a heart attack at 52. It was extremely sad, especially considering the tragedies he'd encountered in his life and this second shot he got at stardom. The star-studded Mystery Girl album was posthumously released in 1989 and was preceded by the single "You Got It". Orbison's only performance of the song was at an award show in Belgium only a few days before his death and the footage from this was later included in the music video. "You Got It" was written by Orbison with fellow Wilburys Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, the latter of which also produced. It's a great song that fits very well into the Roy Orbison canon.

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That Petrol Emotion - Natural Kind Of Joy

That Petrol Emotion was a Northern Irish, London-based band with an American singer, based on the ashes of The Undertones and some lesser known groups. They released five albums in the second part of the 1980's and the first part of the '90's, and of all their output there's one song I find outshining the rest. "Natural Kind Of Joy" is a curious little pop song from their 1986 debut Manic Pop Thrill that was also released as a single. Beautiful and feelgood-y stuff.

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Weezer feat. Hayley Williams - The Rainbow Connection

Last year a number of contemporary rock acts participated in the making of Muppets: The Green Album, covering 12 songs from the world's funniest puppets. Kermit the Frog's evergreen (sorry) "The Rainbow Connection" is always a delight, with all its wondering about the eternal questions concerning the world around us. Here it is beautifully covered by power pop outfit Weezer and Hayley Williams from the band Paramore. At exactly 2:07 the line "We know that it's probably magic" and an insistent drum count leads up to the grand finale of the song and what is beyond any doubt the finest moment on a funny, but uneven album.

Listen

Lana Del Rey - National Anthem

Lana Del Rey and rapper A$AP Rocky go all Jackie O and JFK in Del Rey's new, almost eight minute long video to her excellent "National Anthem" off the recent Born To Die album. They're recreating scenes from the couple's lives together, ending with the assassination of Kennedy in Dallas. It's a fantastic video as well as a great song.

Watch and listen