Watch and listen
tirsdag 4. desember 2012
Eels - Peach Blossom
Here's the brand new Eels single, lifted from the upcoming album Wonderful, Glorious that is to be released in February. Mark Oliver Everett, or simply 'E' as he calls himself, is back after a short break following the release of three brilliant albums released in short succession in 2009 and 2010, and will follow his new album with a short tour. Below you'll find both the music video for the fuzzy "Peach Blossom" as well as a listing of the tour dates.
Watch and listen
Watch and listen
The Killers with annual Christmas single - listen to "I Feel It In My Bones" here
For the seventh year running The Killers have recorded a Christmas single for the (RED) benefit organization. "I Feel It In My Bones" is a killer track (excuse the pun) and a sequel to 2007's "Don't Shoot Me Santa", once again featuring Ryan Pardey on guest vocals. Super catchy song, and the video is fantastic, with Pardey as a really, REALLY bad eggnog-swigging, candy kane machete-wielding, motorcycle-riding revenge-seeking Santa from Hell.
Watch and listen
Watch and listen
Erik's musical Advent calendar - December 4
My all-time favourite Christmas album is a 2002 collection called Christmas With The Rat Pack, filled with festive songs by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. It's as christmassy a record as you can possibly find, steeped in Hollywood schmaltz Disney-style, evoking Christmasses of your childhood like you wouldn't believe. "The Christmas Waltz" that Sinatra released as a single in 1954, is one of the lesser-known songs here, as the title suggests a waltz, and as beautiful as any, sung by one of the greatest voices ever to grace popular music. It was written by Jule Styne with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and if this does not get you in the proper Christmas mood, nothing will. You can also find the song as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Sinatra's 1954 Christmas album A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.
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mandag 3. desember 2012
Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Ice Machine
A few days ago I posted the new Röyksopp/Susanne Sundfør collaboration "Running To The Sea" that premiered on Norwegian TV show Lydverket's last ever program. They also did another track, a great version of Depeche Mode's "Ice Machine" which was the B-side of their first ever single, 1981's "Dreaming Of Me".
Watch and listen
Watch and listen
FIRST LISTEN! New Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds song - "We No Who U R"
Push The Sky Away, the new album from Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, their first since 2008's Dig Lazarus, Dig!!! will be released in February. Today, however, we're able to enjoy the eerie first single off it, "We No Who U R", a beautiful and haunting ballad that bodes very well for the album. I love it!
Erik's musical Advent calendar - December 3
This is such a great song, released only last year, and still as good as when I first heard it. Or maybe even a little better... Anyway, here's what I wrote about it about a year ago:
Smith & Burrows (that's Tom Smith, lead singer of The Editors, and Andy Burrows, ex-drummer of Razorlight and present-day member of We Are Scientists) have written the wonderful "When The Thames Froze" for their recently released Christmas album Funny Looking Angels. The title "When The Thames Froze" is of course a metaphor for the hard times that seem to have befallen the UK in recent years, but although the song's got lines like "God damn this government, will they ever tell me where the money went?", it ends on a positive note. It's a fantastic song and should be a future Christmas classic. It's not very likely to pop up on any compilations featuring Boney M's version of "Mary's Boy Child" or Mel & Kim's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" anytime soon, but I will definitely be playing it in the Christmases to come.
Watch and listen
søndag 2. desember 2012
Erik's musical Advent calendar - December 2
Sufjan Stevens - "Star Of Wonder" Sufjan Stevens is a connoisseur of the Christmas song, having just released his second collection of five CD's of Christmas music, both traditional songs, and self-composed ones. "Star Of Wonder" fits the latter category, and was featured on the fifth CD that was included in the 2006 box set Songs For Christmas, aptly subtitled Peace. It's seven minutes of reflective beauty, an atmospheric song with a dreamlike arrangement, featuring a female choir and horns aplenty that makes it a very uplifting or even a religious experience. It's a stately performance made with back straight, a clear focus and eyes fixed on the prize. Sufjan at his best.
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lørdag 1. desember 2012
Janelle Monáe - Faster
It's quite possible that Janelle Monáe is the coolest person on the entire planet. Have a look at this performance of "Faster", recorded on the British TV show Later... with Jools Holland, and then disagree with me. You probably can't. Knowing full well the value of a proper image, with the trademark bowtie, two tone shoes and the hairdo from outer space, her excellent looks is further augmented by musicians that also dress exceedingly cool and really know how to move on stage. The album The ArchAndroid that "Faster" is picked from was released in 2010, and let's hope the follow-up will appear in the new year. I, for one, am hungry for more, and I know I'm not alone in this.
Watch and listen
Watch and listen
Erik's musical Advent calendar - December 1
"Christmas Eve Can Kill You", written by singer/songwriter Dennis Linde and made famous by The Everly Brothers in 1971, is the first entry in Erik's musical Advent calendar this December. The song is a sad reflection on how Christmas Eve can be a cold and lonely affair if you're down on your luck. This new version by Dawn McCarthy (known from the band Faun Fables) and singer/songwriter Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is arranged and performed in a timid and musically naked manner. Their voices blend perfectly, giving the lyrics an even sadder sheen. This is a masterful performance in every way.
Watch and listen
Rune Berg - Hølå
Rune Berg: Hølå (SkiPop Records)
Norwegian singer/songwriter Rune Berg, who basically was more of a musician/songwriter until recently, sort of refused to grow up when his friends grew up around him, or rather, he had no plan B. Writing songs for his two bands The Margarets and Number Seven Deli, the former sadly disbanded, Rune has been one of the most talented songwriters around for years in Norway, but somehow he has never quite "made it", although he enjoyed moderate success with The Margarets. Their debut album What Kept You? reached an impressive number 2 on the national charts in 2002.
Being my favourite (Engligh language) Norwegian band, The Margarets did nothing wrong and produced four fabulous albums, the last of which, Look For Love, was released in 2008. This autumn, three of the band members (Rune Berg, Ronnie MAG Larsen, Alex Rinde) have gathered to release the brilliant vinyl single "Strangers In A New Town"/"Winter Waltz", but bygones apparently ARE bygones. The Margarets are no more, at least for now.
Rune Berg, however, who's also the chief songwriter for Number Seven Deli, another band he plays with that released their third album Toxteth in March, has finally struck out on his own, also - for the first time - as a singer, due to the fact that he seems to have nothing else to opt for in the job department. We, as listeners, are SO lucky.
Hølå, the decidedly Norwegian title that refers to "the hole" that his grandfather chose to build his house in, on the island of Giske where Rune and quite a few of his friends, family members and fellow musicians hail from, is Rune Berg's debut solo album. Taking his cues partly from his songwriting past, and to a larger extent from his many sources of inspiration, he has created one of the most exciting albums of the year. Had I been a musician myself, I would have been sick with envy. As it is, I'm simply thrilled, honey, as Edwyn Collins might have put it.
Opening track "All My Time" is a six minute musical journey, namechecking some of Rune's heroes from the past, covering a lot of ground, from The Beatles and The Byrds to Morrissey and beyond, and on the way picking up semi-obscure Norwegian bands such as Matchstick Sun and Astroburger.. Not only did Saint Etienne release their best album ever this year with their Words And Music By Saint Etienne, but Rune Berg has (most likely unintended) released a similar type of record, referencing sources and inspirations throughout, several of them the same as Saint Etienne's, but with very different results. Whereas Saint Etienne has made what is essentially a dance record, Rune Berg delivers quite the opposite.
Say what you will, but Hølå is not an album that shouts its presence to the world. In most ways it's quiet, opting for the subtle rather than the blunt. The Margarets was a band with its fair share of melancholy songs, but many of these had a summery sheen, sounding quite happy at times. That is not the case with the songs on Hølå. This is more of a winter record. Still, I wouldn't call it dark.
There is elegance present both in arrangements and songwriting, and if The Beatles is a reference point it should be directed more towards the songwriting of George Harrison than towards Lennon or McCartney. Also, Rune Berg is the kind of songwriter who evidently gets his inspiration from other sources than the most obvious ones. My assumption is that being the music lover that he is, he simply delights in channeling whatever he hears into his own songs, and that, at the end of the day, in some way he becomes the kind of songwriter he admires, but never sets out to eclipse. It's probably something that just happens, an ever-evolving process.
The album is semi-autobiographical, a testament to the helplessness a true music afficionado always feels. On one hand, he or she lives in a world beyond words, a world where everything seems possible and everything seems true. On the other hand it's a prison, a constricted world that never lets you grow up, that never really sets you free.
Buy and/or download Hølå here.
Norwegian singer/songwriter Rune Berg, who basically was more of a musician/songwriter until recently, sort of refused to grow up when his friends grew up around him, or rather, he had no plan B. Writing songs for his two bands The Margarets and Number Seven Deli, the former sadly disbanded, Rune has been one of the most talented songwriters around for years in Norway, but somehow he has never quite "made it", although he enjoyed moderate success with The Margarets. Their debut album What Kept You? reached an impressive number 2 on the national charts in 2002.
Rune Berg, however, who's also the chief songwriter for Number Seven Deli, another band he plays with that released their third album Toxteth in March, has finally struck out on his own, also - for the first time - as a singer, due to the fact that he seems to have nothing else to opt for in the job department. We, as listeners, are SO lucky.
Hølå, the decidedly Norwegian title that refers to "the hole" that his grandfather chose to build his house in, on the island of Giske where Rune and quite a few of his friends, family members and fellow musicians hail from, is Rune Berg's debut solo album. Taking his cues partly from his songwriting past, and to a larger extent from his many sources of inspiration, he has created one of the most exciting albums of the year. Had I been a musician myself, I would have been sick with envy. As it is, I'm simply thrilled, honey, as Edwyn Collins might have put it.
Opening track "All My Time" is a six minute musical journey, namechecking some of Rune's heroes from the past, covering a lot of ground, from The Beatles and The Byrds to Morrissey and beyond, and on the way picking up semi-obscure Norwegian bands such as Matchstick Sun and Astroburger.. Not only did Saint Etienne release their best album ever this year with their Words And Music By Saint Etienne, but Rune Berg has (most likely unintended) released a similar type of record, referencing sources and inspirations throughout, several of them the same as Saint Etienne's, but with very different results. Whereas Saint Etienne has made what is essentially a dance record, Rune Berg delivers quite the opposite.
Say what you will, but Hølå is not an album that shouts its presence to the world. In most ways it's quiet, opting for the subtle rather than the blunt. The Margarets was a band with its fair share of melancholy songs, but many of these had a summery sheen, sounding quite happy at times. That is not the case with the songs on Hølå. This is more of a winter record. Still, I wouldn't call it dark.
There is elegance present both in arrangements and songwriting, and if The Beatles is a reference point it should be directed more towards the songwriting of George Harrison than towards Lennon or McCartney. Also, Rune Berg is the kind of songwriter who evidently gets his inspiration from other sources than the most obvious ones. My assumption is that being the music lover that he is, he simply delights in channeling whatever he hears into his own songs, and that, at the end of the day, in some way he becomes the kind of songwriter he admires, but never sets out to eclipse. It's probably something that just happens, an ever-evolving process.
The album is semi-autobiographical, a testament to the helplessness a true music afficionado always feels. On one hand, he or she lives in a world beyond words, a world where everything seems possible and everything seems true. On the other hand it's a prison, a constricted world that never lets you grow up, that never really sets you free.
In the end though, it all comes down to songwriting brilliance. That's what sets Hølå apart. The album's ten songs are indeed brilliant, but they also have layers upon layers that channel doubt, awkwardness and even clumsiness. Just as with the songs he's written for The Margarets and Number Seven Deli, Rune's solo compositions show a songwriter who's always on the threshold of a world where there are only room for the very best, sometimes stepping over the finishing line, sometimes staying on the brink of it, but also, sometimes not being able to take that final step. Luckily it doesn't matter, because his intents are pure. If he fumbles, in the end he also, somehow, succeeds.
Favourite songs? I don't really feel like naming any. Hølå is an album that should be listened to in its entirety, preferably in your own company. It's not an album for parties. It is however, an album for connoisseurs of music, just like Rune Berg himself is. There are melodies here that will hit you, not with a bang, but quietly, modestly, sincerely... Most probably you will love it if you let it in. I did.
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