Muse go theremin.

Muse have released yet another song from their forthcoming album The Resistance, called 'Uprising'. This is the first single (as 'United States of Eurasia' was a teaser, not a single), off of the Devon trio's fifth effort. Very much more conventional than USOE, this will probably garner better reactions throughout the band's traditional fanbase. It is much in lieu of stuff from Absolution and Origin Of Symmetry, albeit somewhat slower, and it features the band applying the theremin. I don't know if this tune really catches me, but it's definitely nice to se that The Resistance won't be all mental.

'Uprising' is here.

I also just want to mention that I bought a few albums last week. One of them was Passion Pit's deubt album Manners, which really has some great parts, although the vocals become slightly annoying. Try listening to this.

I'm moving out of my apartment in a few days, which really excites me. These last weeks have just been a waste of time. I'm looking forward to getting my housing situation straight, going back to more interesting work than ice-cream trucking (which is really dull), and ultimately getting off this hemisphere in now only a month and a bit!

When baboons grow up.

Arctic Monkeys just transmitted a teaser of their forthcoming album Humbug at NME.com, and here's what I made of it:

The band, fronted by an uncharacteristically long haired Alex Turner, whose face throughout the transmission is rarely seen, appears in a large room as if were they on stage, lighted by stage-lights, but apparently not surrounded by anything but guitar-racks. They kick off with the first song which the lyrics reveal to be 'Pretty Visitors' (tracklist off of here, I reckon it's credible). A very sombre, gloomy, almost schizophrenic tune, with a haunted but nonetheless gloating feel to it. Next up comes 'Crying Lightning', which has already been played on BBC Radio 1 and leaked here and there (Youtube). A slightly more recognizable Monkeys tune, yet still slower than the pace one connects with most of their songs. The predominant tempo on Humbug seems to be more akin to that of 'Fake Tales of San Francisco' and the like, and both tracks we've heard so far include pretty big shifts in mood within the songs themselves.

Next up is what's later revealed as 'Potion Approaching', which is a real gloomy song again. You really sense that this band, and Turner especially, has grown from the teenish stories of hookers in Sheffield and blockheaded girls that they'd still take home and screw anyway. This one here is very tough-molded with an edgy, heavy guitar-riff carrying it through. It ends abruptly with Turner exclaiming: "would you like me to build us a go-kart?" followed by Helders throwing his stick leading the song to a halt.

Then comes the cover of 'Red Right Hand', which is originally a song by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, that A.M. have played regularly throughout the last year or so, and which will be one of the inevitable bonus tracks on the Japanese edition of Humbug. There's a lot of organ, not only in this one, but in many of the tracks, which bears resemblance mostly to '505' off Favourite Worst Nightmare, which back then was remarkable exactly because of its unusual instrumentation. It appears now that the organ is gonna be a regular Monkeys fixture, and as they rarely do playbacks and samples, it seems they're gonna have to either rearrange some of the songs live, or bring along a fifth man to do the organ bits, as Turner was show without a guitar throughout Red Right Hand, while both organ, bass and guitar were present.

Close-ups of cymbals and pedals indicate a ballad now, but the calm intro gives way to a more energetic albeit much less dark song, that is later through the lyrics revealed to be 'Secret Door'. The organ is still there, as well as the backdrop of a girl's eyes that has been recurring throughout the transmission. A very pretty track this one, definitely my favourite so far, much akin to the likes of 'A Certain Romance' and 'Only Ones Who Know' of the first and second album respectively. Turner keeps singing about "fools on parade" in a very recognizable fashion. The song ends, and frets are played to indicate a new one's coming up, but nothing happens, and that's it.

Put short, it seems the Monkeys have really matured, and you really feel that almost 2½ years have passed since Favourite Worst Nightmare. And that's a lot when you're only 23, already releasing your third album and heralded as the frontmen of indie-garage-revival. Looks like the baboon pups have become real grown-up monkeys, huh?

A year in albums, 4 of 4.

Alright, so here it is. My four most important new musical acquaintances of the last year.

4. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (The Gloaming)
A black spot in my Radiohead-chronology merely a year ago, Hail To The Thief, which for the records is the sixth full-lengther of the Oxford quintet, now assumes its place among my favourites. More organic than its predecessors Kid A and Amnesiac, yet still more cynical than the following In Rainbows, HTTT in many ways draws the most direct lines back to much heralded masterpiece OK Computer of 1997 in terms of mood, tempo and diversity. A behemoth, 14-track fountain of everything from sizzling loops and noises to simple percussions and trumpets, it has its natural highs and lows, but as everything else graced by Jonny Greenwood's musical mastermind and Thom Yorke's excentricism and awe-inspiring, fulgurous voice, it is altogether a brilliant musical production. In many ways it ties the vastly genre-spanning discography of Radiohead together, most profoundly exemplifyed by opening jewel '2+2=5' which climbs from stinging sub-bridge guitar noises and electronic drums, mulling below Yorke's heavenly voice, through syncopated guitar-tension into a full-blown rock and roll crescendo. Other high points include 'Sit Down. Stand Up.' (yeah, all track-titles contain full stops) with its tension-building drums and wildly relinquishing xylophone-arpeggi, and beautifully Beatle'esque closing ballad 'A Wolf At The Door.'

The top three songs on my last.fm are:
- '2+2=5'
- 'Sit Down. Stand Up.'
- 'Backdrifts.'

3. Spleen United - Neanderthal
It has been tough determining the order of the two next ones, since one of them is most definitely of a higher musical standard, while the other has perhaps been the most musically inspiring album for me this year. I have been a late starter on Danish electrorock outfit Spleen United, surprisingly, as I am a synthesizist, and only this last year have I embraced this outfit from Århus. Sophomore effort Neanderthal was my first exposure, and still dwarfs their debut effort Godspeed Into The Mainstream in my books. While it does have its weak spots, songs such as hit single 'Suburbia', the instrumental 'Dominator', epic 'My Jungle Heart' and the magnificent '66', which rolls along with a heavy yet upbeat pace and uniquely kitsch drum machine sounds, make it all worth while. Above all, I as a synthesizist am very much inspired by Spleen United's choice of timbres and their rhythmic preferences as well. A great live act, as I have discovered this year too, while not as multi-faceted, they have outdone rivals VETO in plays the last six months, and have definitely been an enrichment.

These three have had the most impact:
- '66'
- 'Suburbia'
- 'My Tribe'

2. Foals - Antidotes
Culminating in getting airtime on my request on P3 yesterday (just had to mention it), through the last half year, Foals have rocketed to the upper echelon of bands in my musical universe. Being statistically my most heavily listened album the last six months, Antidotes has proved to be a longevous one. And deservedly so. The songs do not culminate all at once, in fact, Antidotes is a great example of tracks coming along at their own pace. At first, it was ones like Cassius and The French Open that were most exciting, later on it was Two Steps, Twice and Dearth, while now, Olympic Airways, Balloons and Tron are making their presence felt. Two Steps, Twice however is still one of my favourites, and it is very representative of Foals' unique style. Tapping, poly-rhythmic guitars create a wonderland of harmonies almost as were it a choir. Winding in and out through each other, the instruments create a wall of sound from remarkably stripped timbres. Synthesizers are often very unintegral - instead, somewhat gimmicky saxophones and trumpets enter the sound picture, which is topped by an extraordinarily skilled drummer with a refreshing, 'less is more'-approach.

The last.fm top three is:
- 'Two Steps, Twice'
- 'Olympic Airways'
- 'Dearth'

1. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
All hail cowbells! Atop my list, as the most intriguing, important and influential new record in my twentieth year (being as the next is actually my twentyfirst even though I'll be 20, go figure), sits St. Albans' Friendly Fires, and their eponymous debut album from September 2008. An extrovert, uptempo synthpop-indie-dance effort produced by the band itself in their garage, from beginning to end, Friendly Fires is a joyride through samba-inspired vivacous percussion bits, sing-along choruses, innovative guitar-effects and yes, cowbells. You cannot anything but smile, dance and hum along to this elysian debut effort from a band which shows no signs of rookie slips. Critics may point out that Friendly Fires is slightly one-sided, but even when Ed McFarlane comes closest to wrenching out his feelings in Strobe, he and the band do so impressively, omitting this as a potential weak spot. While Friendly Fires may have not created an overly deep and pensive piece of art, they sure have made an admirably positive album without resorting to musical idiotism. Quite the opposite actually, as Friendly Fires have managed to create a record which is thoroughly their own, and which is remarkably secure whilst not compromising the youthful wit and energy that makes this the best party album in a long, long time, a deserved Mercury Prize nominee, and my most important album of the last twelve months!

And the top three is:
- 'Jump In The Pool'
- 'Ex-Lover'
- 'Lovesick'

A year in albums, 3 of 4.

... Only eight to go now.

8. Skream - Watch The Ride
So, I decided I'm gonna go on and stick an album at the 8th spot that I actually don't even own (yet, but I'm gonna go buy it soon). And how's that now? Well, Watch The Ride in itself may or may not be worthy of this position, but the fact itself that I have opened my ears to dubstep deserves a mention, because it's probably my most groundbreaking new leap into a genre since I started listening to Kashmir and Jamiroquai in stead of mainstream stuff of the early 00's. I have always admired musicians who try to take their stuff further than anyone else (as long as it satisfies my ears too, that is), and that's exactly what's fascinating about dubstep, whether it be Skream, Benga or lesser known names. Dubstep as a phenomenon is still fairly new and fairly underground, and I think it will continue to be. I don't think it can exist outside of the vividness of the World's absolute cultural metropolises - London, Berlin, New York City. Watch The Ride is all bass, all dub, and some of the most mind-blowing, heavy-throbbing, beats on this planet.

7. Bloc Party - Intimacy
Ofcourse, I can't snub Bloc Party, who quite surprisingly and on a short notice released their third full-length last August. Although I don't believe in such things as a 'favourite band', Bloc Party comes pretty damn close. I think one of Bloc Party's great traits is their ability to be diverse. These days, very often bands find a sound and stick to it. That's perfectly alright, and often makes great records (such as the #1 on my list, wait and see...), but I really do admire bands who are able to do both ballads, great rockouts and more alternative stuff while still being distinctively themselves. Bloc Party have a distinctive sound, which, even though it has changed through their three albums, is visible all throughout Intimacy as well. So with all this praise, why are they stuck at number 7? Well, to be honest, I'd put Intimacy as the least impressive Bloc album. Ofcourse it's hard to follow up their #2, which is probably one of my favourite albums across the boards, but still I feel many of the tracks on this one do not have the same longevity as the two former albums. Still however there are moments of brilliancy, such as the big beat-hinting two opening tracks 'Ares' and 'Mercury', the beautiful yet perhaps slightly cheap 'Signs', Bloc classic 'Talons' and, probably what's turned out to be my favourite track on this album, the gracefully intensifying 'Ion Square', which is really an exquisite tune, constantly building up through layers of synth'ey noises and pads, constant hi-hat motion and elegant lyrics on coming to terms with romantic mishap.

By the way, my last.fm top three is actually:
- 'Better Than Heaven'
- 'Ares'
- 'Mercury'

6. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
The ridiculously titled (come on, everyone must've known people would call it simply 'Viva La Vida' anyway...) fourth effort from perhaps one of the worlds biggest bands right now, Coldplay, is ofcourse also sure-fire on this list. It was actually the first album I got this year, I bought it from a street vendor on Nanjing Rd. in Shanghai (but it looks like an original!). Put straight, it's the bravest album they've ever done, but honestly that says more about Coldplay than it does about VLV. But in my ears, it lacks the epic ballads that Coldplay do best, and that have graced both A Rush of Blood to The Head and X&Y. It is still a strong album though, and it seems to be one of those on which the songs do not blossom at the same time. At first, easily accessible ones like 'Viva La Vida' and 'Cemeteries Of London' stood out, then it was '42' and 'Death and All His Friends', and now I find songs like 'Lost!' and 'Strawberry Swing' the most appealing. A genuinely good album, but a bit flat at times.

The top three has been:
- 'Viva La Vida'
- 'Cemeteries Of London'
- 'Life In Technicolor'

5. The Knife - Silent Shout
I still vaguely remember the first time I put on Silent Shout and listened to it. Without the freakazoid that made Deep Cuts a bit undigestible at times (albeit legendary too), SS is just a musical masterpiece, and I immediately knew what all the fuss was about. Heralded throughout the World, Silent Shout is a benchmark album for electronic music. The tracks fly by as a cynical, apocalyptic yet vivid rollercoaster - up through tracks like the massive club-like anthem 'Like A Pen', 'We Share Our Mothers Health' and the eponymous opener, and down through 'Marble House' and the trembling and staggeringly beautiful 'The Captain'. If anyone said electronic music can't be beautiful and pensive, 'The Captain' prooves otherwise.

Most listened are:
- 'Like A Pen'
- 'The Captain'
- 'Silent Shout'

Only four more to go then, and they'll be up in a few days!

A year in albums, 2 of 4.

Continuing my feature on the most important albums I've added throughout the last year. This one includes numbers 13 through 9.

13. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
So, the inscrutable queen of obscurity Mrs. Karin Dreijer might be a wee bit overexposed in this feature, but that just owes to her incredible creativity, doesn't it? Her debut solo effort, released under her alias 'Fever Ray', is one of the murkiest, gloomiest record I've ever encountered. Even though only a few of the tracks really stand out from one another, and none of them may be smash hits, this isn't what Fever Ray is all about. It's about expressing a specific mood and a certain sentiment through a high level of musicality. It's just incredibly opaque and really well produced with curious samples, composite soundbits and the occasional distortion on Dreijers hair-raising vocals combining to paint a picture of a panically longing soul.

My top three most listened according to Last.fm are:
- 'If I Had A Heart'
- 'Keep The Streets Empty For Me'
- 'When I Grow Up'

12. Hadouken! - Music For An Accelerated Culture
Speaking of leaps in musical genres, expressions and emotions, leaping from oblique Scandianvian virtuoseness to Kitsuné's grindie-dancepunking, glowstick-raving, ironically Hoxton-bashing Hadouken! is quite gargantuan. Combining pseudo grime vocals, vintage and sawtooth'y synths and a seemingly unending urge to rave about how immensely the five self-appointed indie-limey's supposedly party, Music For An Accelerated Culture perhaps isn't exactly an example of fine musical composition, but it sure is an example of how a young and fairly unknown bunch of Leodesians are able to rev it up, with lyrics surprisingly accurately describing the wasted youth/future of society. Trailing Klaxons in fame and in terms of being at the right place at the right time (MFAAC was released in May 2008), Hadouken! might actually pose a properer definition of the much disputed term nu-rave, being some sort of a crossbreed between indie snobbery and the rabble's simplicity.

The top three is:
- 'Get Smashed Gate Crash'
- 'That Boy That Girl'
- 'Liquid Lives'

11. The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
I have a tough time sorting these ones at the middle of the chart, and The Cure barely misses out on the top ten. They are however quite hard to compare to any of the other albums in this feature. The sheer age of it, being released in 1980 as an American re-release of their debut effort Three Imaginary Boys, from 1979, makes it an entirely different case than Hadouken! or Fever Ray or anything else. I've always had somewhat of a reluctancy towards older albums or artists, this mostly being a product of me being a synthesizist rather than a guitarist or a drummer, which means old guys doing five-minute soli doesn't exactly float my boat. With The Cure, however, I feel like I've struck gold. Or rather, I've sensed it, because knowing the debut album of a 30-year, 13-album catalogue seems like only encountering the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'm gonna discover more of this particular iceberg though, since it really benchmarks my indie history. So many bands I listen to on a regular basis - from Bloc Party, through Interpol, Phoenix and many others - draw influences from The Cure. It's a hell of a lot of work getting to know a band with a vast catalogue, but I think I've got started on The Cure in a good way. Definitely one of the most ground-breaking new acquaintances for me this year.

I've mostly listened to:
- 'Boys Don't Cry'
- 'Grinding Halt'
- 'Jumping Someone Else's Train'

10. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
It might be just a bit too early to put this one as high as this, but I'm doing it anyway. While still a relative newcomer, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is just an instantly likeable piece of extrovert indiepop. It's real major-music (major in this case being the harmonic expression opposed to minor), and it's really well produced as well. Just a pure joy listening to it in proper earphones, and I think it will prove much more longevous than its predecessor. Phoenix prove that music doesn't necessarily need to be super-inventive to have a justified existence, but at the same time, with WAP, they've really gone into the details of the sound picture, making it a treat for the thorough enthusiast as well.

So far, I've mostly listened to:
- 'Lisztomania'
- 'Lasso'
- Love Is Like A Sunset, part 1'

9. Mockin' Bird - Mockin' Bird
Mockin' Bird is yet another alias of the now supposedly alias-less electro-wizard Troels Abrahamsen. He has released two more musing and thoughtful electronic albums, I Know That You Know and WHT, with the latter having been released in the past year as well. But while that one didn't make my shortlist, Mockin' Bird did. And that's even though Abrahamsen released this one more or less just for the sake of it. Here, he throws all precautions and filters overboard and delivers a round of hard house, even omitting his very expressive voice. And it works. More or less all of the ten tracks cater to the electro-loving palate with simple sounds and efficient, head-moving beats. With this in mind, I'm all too excited that BLCK, which will be released this fall, is supposedly quite a bit housier than WHT was. Bring it on!

Top three has been:
- 'Fake Drums'
- 'Exhaust'
- 'Ricochetting'

A side note - new tune from Muse!

I've got to interrupt my albums-feature, 'cause I found something really exciting just a few minutes ago! As some might know, Muse have released bits of a song from their forthcoming release The Resistance, as fans have found USB-sticks in selected locations around the world. On their website, it's still only available to what they call 'registered Humint Resources', whatever that means, but there's bound to be someone posting it on YouTube.

And here it is! - 'United States of Eurasia', from The Resistance. It comes with a hidden track called 'Collateral Damage', which is apparently Chopin's 'Nocturne' accompanied by jet sounds.

Very exciting and a very dramatic track. Definite hints of Queen in there. This album might really be massive.

(I'll continue my running albums-feature later today, by the way...)

A year in albums, 1 of 4.

I'm turning twenty soon, and I thought I'd reflect a bit on what's been going on musically through the last year, by listing the most important new discoveries I've made. In other words, not necessarily what has been released since July 2008, but what I've added to my musical library. I had originally intended on twelve albums, but because of trouble leaving stuff out, the list has ended up containing seventeen (sorry for my perpetual lack of conciseness). I'll post them in foursomes (more or less), reversely ordered, just for the hell of it (and to make posts more digestible).

17. Apparat - Things To Be Frickled
I haven't really wholly gotten into this one yet, which is why it is at the bottom of the list. It could become a very longevous part of my collection for all I know. Apparat is a German electronica, ambient and remix artist, and Things To Be Frickled (released in 2008) is a very pleasant collection of remixes and his own songs remixed by others. One might think of this as 'background music', and while it sure may do well in chique city-cafés, I definitely think it's worth a listen. Have only had it about a month though, so there isn't really much to be said, yet.

16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
This was my first Yeah Yeah Yeahs album (and still is my only one), and I got a hold of it after their being announced for Roskilde, sometime around early April. F0r the record, it's their third full-length, and it was released in March this year. Beneath the slightly corny title and the avant-garde cover-artwork is what's been described as a more electronically orientated and ballad'y effort than the two previous (as stated above, I can't really tell if this is true, as I've only heard a few tracks from their early career). Even though I quickly lost some of my interest in this album (blame that on P3 over-playing the lead single 'Zero'), it definitely has its place as one of the years important new musical acquaintances, and I think songs like 'Skeletons' and 'Hysteric' will be on my playlist for a long time.

Top three most heard tracks (from last.fm)
- 'Hysteric'
- 'Runaway'
- 'Skeletons'

15. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
British electroklash-dancepunkers Late of the Pier were among my most heavily hyped outfits through late 2008 with their debut effort Fantasy Black Channel, released in the summer of 2008. While it is not an overly homogenous record, it is a heavy slap in the face of "indie-schmindies who find a sound and stick to it", as the band put it themselves, and with songs like 'Broken' and 'Space And The Woods', the four-piece really break down some taboos and defy eighties-kitschness. Those two tracks are among the most instantly festive I've ever heard, but the album in its entirety doesn't fully accompany these two party-wobblers (I don't think one could cope with such a breakneck pace through kitsch albeit wonderful sounds anyway!). An important album in regards to breaking down borders between genres nonetheless.

Most heard were:
- 'Broken'
- 'Space And The Woods'
- 'The Bears Are Coming'

14. The Knife - Deep Cuts
It's hard to believe that only through the last year have I discovered the magic of The Knife! Heavily recommended by quite a few friends, I actually got a hold of subsequent 'Silent Shout' before this one (hint, the former might appear further up the list...). Deep Cuts is just a magnificiently brilliant effort. It should perhaps be further up the list, but as this is effectively the list of the "most important" new discoveries, not necessarily "the best", it goes down here. And, while not so extravagantly creative, Silent Shout has enjoyed more plays. This is perhaps due to the nature of Deep Cuts, being somewhat of an unhomogenous and slightly immature record, ingeniously jutting out in many creative directions (I feel an urge to use my porcupine-metaphor, but it doesn't really translate well into English...), soothing of exuberance. There are really many strange tracks on this one that deserve a mention, like the purposedly exaggerated 'Listen Now' and the sarcastically chauvinist 'Hangin' Out', however if one should mention one track from this album it really should be The Knife's only real hit ever, which is ofcourse 'Heartbeats', the perhaps unrepresentative but still brilliant opener.

The three most listened are:
- Heartbeats
- You Make Me Like Charity
- One For You

This post should have contained five albums, but it's getting late, I'm getting tired, and when I do, my English sucks dick.

Get in line for the sunshine, baby.

It's long overdue for me to hype some tunes I dig at the moment, and they've really accumulated these last days, so I figured I'd better vent out a few.

Getting in line for the sunshine is exactly what many young bands are constantly doing, and a band that's really approaching the Promised Land, albeit still fluctuating slightly below the radar are Ginger Ninja. They're really a promising and cool bunch, and they just released their first single from their forthcoming album (due in early 2010). The single is 'Sunshine', and its available at their myspace! - it's just a really feelgoody tune, which worked extremely well live at Roskilde too. Go check it out!

While we're at Danish acts, Spleen United and The William Blakes did a collaboration on the music show Backstage, which aired on DR2 through the spring. It's Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' which they did a really inspiring version of. I've heard it now and then on P3, and I finally got a hold of a download link, which is right here! - be sure to give it a run by, it's really good.

Heading elsewhere, I've given this one a mention on Facebook not too long ago. It's grime's finest Dizzee Rascal and American DJ Armand van Helden teaming up and going 'Bonkers'. It's really a massive club track, and I really wish it's gonna be a hit, 'cause it's completely rave-out, slightly akin to Calvin Harris' beautiful 'I'm Not Alone'. However, I'm sadly not sure Danish mainstream is ready for something as hefty as this. If you like it, hype it!

I got a hold of Phoenix' new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix a few days before Roskilde, and it's really grown on me. It's slightly lo-fi'er than predecessing It's Never Been Like That, and that really suits them well. More than anything, it's very superbly produced (by Philippe Zdar of Cassius). The effects, layers and pan balance is really world class. If you get a hold of it, try listening to it in some proper earbuds, you'll be surprised. I'm especially into 'Lasso', 'Lisztomania', 'Love Is Like A Sunset I' and 'Armistice'. But overall, it's a much more indefatigable record than the previous one. Too bad I'm downunder for their gig in Copenhagen later this year.

I've got to give a mention to two of my staple outfits releasing new singles. That's Arctic Monkeys with 'Crying Lightning', preceding their soon-to-be-released third effort Humbug, and Bloc Party with 'One More Chance', which is an in-between'er, akin to 'Flux'. Neither of the two impress me much. The Monkeys' much anticipated snippet of new material is a wee bit too downtempo in my book. I prefer A.M. when they're just rocking out, although they have done good ballads too in the past. This one is a bit two heavy-duty for me though, and I hope it's not too representative of the album. Bloc Party disappoint me even more, however it was kind of an unexpected release, so I didn't expect much. It doesn't bring anything new to the table though, and leave out that piano, guys! I like Matt Tong's parts of the music video though, they're quite hilarious.

Finally, I've been constantly confronting YouTube in search of proper clips from Trentemøller's concert at Roskilde, 'cause I'm really postdepressive on that one. All I managed to find that was slightly satisfactory was this, this and this. Fuck, I really hope he will indeed make a live-DVD out of that massive show.

But get in line for that sunshine, there's only so much of it.

Reviewing Roskilde '09.

So, Roskilde came to a close a few days ago, and it was a great festival. I had a lot of gratifying and memorable concert moments. I definitely think this has been the most musically inspiring of my three Roskildes. I've been spanning more genres than ever before, and I've experienced new ways of attending concerts. Laying down outside and just enjoying audibly for example. I've had my first full concert experience at the Cosmopol stage as well, and for the first time ever, I haven't entered the pits at neither Orange nor Arena for a single gig.

So, let me do a run-through of my concerts this year:

THE WARM UP DAYS didn't offer much I bothered to check out, although I did manage two whole concerts and two halves. I gave retro-disco'ers Vinnie Who a chance Monday, recommended by my friend Johan. They were very conventional, and after a few songs i really had heard enough of them. They definitely knew their trade, but it just wasn't really intriguing live.

Ginger Ninja had my expectations up, so much that I made my way to the stage at 13.30 (what a time of day put on the only proper dance-punk outfit at PJ!). They were more guitar'ey than I had remembered from my previous concert with them, but still a very inspiring and appreciative young outfit. They made me remember how it's just great to watch musicians doing their thing and loving it too, and had it not been for a somewhat imbalanced set, which clearly showcased a band still on the rise, they'd have garnered better reviews than they did.

I caught Norwegians The Megaphonic Thrift on a short notice Wednesday afternoon, based on an tempting booklet review and a fit of boredom. They were really unimpressive and dull, and I left about half way through.

Critically acclaimed Danish balkan-klezmer outfit Tako Lako closed down Pavilion Junior Wednesday night, and I decided to give them a chance, based on them being compared to Analogik, who put on a memorably fresh and danceable show at the same stage two years ago. The comparison to Analogik was pretty accurate, just leave out the traces of sailor and add some extra pace. Tako Lako really made Pavilion Junior jump around, and there was quite an impressive attendance. One also got the impression that this was a band who clearly improved by having an astir and dynamic audience. Critics point out that it was more of a jumping party than a musical tour de force, and that might be true, however no one can deny that Tako Lako finished off the warm-up days on a high note.

THURSDAY brought basically two and a half shows, spanning very diverse genres. I went with a few guys to check out Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans. They were, of course, very authentic, but although they were very inspiring, 20 minutes really had me having enough. They brought on the biggest tuba I've ever seen, though!

Thursday night was dedicated to Orange stage, with me and my posse leaving early for Kanye West, mostly to get a decent spot for Trentemøller. Even though hiphop is probably one of the genres furthest from my musical radar, I really had anticipated Kanye's performance, as he got rather rave reviews when he last visited the Animal Showgrounds in 2006. I actually anticipated it to the point that I was slightly disappointed by his rather dull performance. The first half of the concert was really uninspiring, and low in volume too, but after a dreadfully long, boring and very melodramatically American Jacko tribute song, which was really more of a speech, the dark rose over Roskilde and Kanye brought on the hits that everyone had waited for. That turned the entire experience slightly upwards, but in my opinion, Kanye was way too dependent on his hits to make the crowd go crazy. A real good live artist doesn't need hits to do magic. It seemed as if the audience were exactly that - in audience with king Kanye.

We succeeded however in getting prime spots for Trentemøller, right behind the pits, with a clear view of the stage, the lights and the screens. This was one of my most highly anticipated shows of the year, and I think this was true for a major part of the audience. Even so, I think Trentemøller exceeded everyone's expectations. By far. By light-years to be frank. I have never seen such an impressive and astonishing show anywhere before, even exceeding The Chemical Brothers' dazzling show last year. Everything was trembling and in awe of Trentemøller, who from his purposedly erected podium inbetween the front pits put on a show of intergalactical standards. From moments of pure rave-outs, through pure beauty, teasing mix-in's of artists as diverse as Britney Spears, Bjørn Svin and Battles, and flashbacks to The Last Resort, Trentemøller put on a show that will be remembered for many, many years. I found my self incontrollably screaming from joy throughout the concert, and I was dancing, jumping and shouting all the way back to camp. Defining the essence of indescribability, Trentemøller made my festival. If having to put a finger on the concert, it would be on the fact that I had expected some slightly more remarkable special guests than Trentemøller brought with him. But for what reason? This was perhaps my best concert experience ever!

FRIDAY was to be a long and busy day, with four whole concerts and a snippet of a fifth. I started up in the afternoon with Japanese post-rockers Mono at the Pavilion stage. I had acquainted them on a friend's iPod the day before, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Frankly, I find post-rock one of the sillier definitions of music, as I don't believe a genre can draw constant influences and trends from a vibrant and active genre, and in turn being considered its successor. People told me I was off when comparing Mono to Sigur Rós, but I don't really think so. At least, it was the same tranquility that settled upon the Pavilion area, broken up by escapades of noise, outlets of energy. It was really pleasurable watching the passersby and having a blunder in the sun, with Mono putting everything in a slightly pensiver and more decelerate gear.

The early evening brought Friendly Fires, and another of my most highly anticipated concerts of the year. We had left for Odeon early to get prime spots, and we got the most exquisite spots, right at the front and in the middle. I don't think it'd have mattered much though, because from what I heard, Friendly Fires really set Odeon on, well, fire, with their vigorous show. I am not a big fan of playback, which was used quite frequently, and the band could really use a live keyboardist, but that was pretty much the only low of this concert. They didn't suffer from the one-album syndrome of not having enough quality stuff to fill out their set (as MGMT were troubled by last year). The other way around, I think all of their tracks, even weaker ones like 'Strobe' and 'Photobooth', transferred well from recording to live performance, and the band did a good job of making their live experience unique and different to their recorded tracks. Both live intros, outros and interludes were used, giving the show a twist of unpredictability even to those already familiar with the music. I definitely think the young Brits obtained at least a few new fans that dusty evening.

After a much needed break that made room for a bit of beer consumption, I and my posse headed for Cosmopol stage for Cosmopol stage for 2ManyDJs. Anticipation had built amongst us for the Belgian DJs, and there was an intense atmosphere within the rapidly filling tent, with the crowd chanting 'FUCK OASIS', as a reference to the britpop giants, on whose expense the audience had chosen to spend a few hours with the Belgians. And what a wise choice! I have never been so sweaty in my entire life, and for the first time since Klaxons in 2007, at moments I really felt uncomfortable in the crowd. I don't think one can expect much more from a mash-up DJ-set - a diverse selection of remixes accompanied by anticipatory visuals made the crowd go non-stop crazy, crazy, crazy for almost two hours.

On top of that, highly anticipated Röyksopp were presented with a mission impossible in attempting to triumph me and my feet's sheer fatigue. As a jade horse, I defied my weariness and made my way to Arena for one of my most anticipated concerts, however I was just too tired to get the most out of it. The Norwegians did a good show, nothing unexpected or brilliant, but I couldn't put a finger on just where they could have improved. Perhaps the shortness of their set, giving that they have now released three albums, however most of their masterpiece Melody A.M. doesn't really fit their newer stuff style-wise, thus they kept it to the three inevitables from then - 'Remind Me', 'Eple' and ofcourse 'Poor Leno' to finish off the show. A perfectly decent show, however 2ManyDJs had bittersweetly worn me out. Although not too much to check out a chunk of Analogik's late-nighter at Astoria, however I only stayed for three songs while consuming my köttbullar. I love Analogik, but my tent was yearning for me.

SATURDAY had me jumping around catching a lot of half shows, something I don't really enjoy. The best of the day came already in the early afternoon, with Tim Christensen taking Arena for a swing. It was really a well-played concert, and a great set, encompassing both his newer gems, such as the beautiful 'Wonder of Wonders' and the schizophrenic 'Whispering At The Top Of My Lungs', and a few songs from his Dizzy Mizz Lizzy-days, including 'Silverflame', which was a definite highlight. I caught most of the concert from outside the tent, lying down in the mid-day sun, which was very enjoyable, although I regret not being in the pits. Actually this was my first concert with Christensen ever, and I must say he's 34 and still going strong. Very impressive, even if it got unfairly dull reviews.

I chose to skip Håkan Hellström and head straight to Odeon to watch Oh No Ono. This was my fouth time seeing them, and it was really an interesting experience. They have matured in many ways, and put on a brave and confident show. They didn't pander to the crowd by any means, omitting hits like 'Practical Money Skills For Life' and 'The Shock Of The Real' from the set list, in stead focusing on their recently released sophomore effort, with only 'Keeping Warm In Cold Country', 'Am I Right?' and the beautiful 'Sunshine And Rain At Once' carried over from the first album. Furthermore, the band did a very courageous cover of Radiohead's 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi'. All in all, it was a gritty and precocious performance by a very professional bunch of gifted musicians, and even though some of their stuff doesn't really intrigue me, it was enjoyable watching talent at work.

Quite drunk, a few hours later I went to watch Cut Off Your Hands. They turned out to be slightly drab, however they do have a talent for writing accessible pop songs, and that might come to their advantage in the future. This time around, they were however visibly still a young and insecure outfit.

I watched the most part of Fever Ray, which was sadly hampered by bad sound. It was an artistically brave show, owing to the opaque character of Karin Dreijer, but it wasn't as powerful as it could have been.

Having to deal with a tough choice, I opted for Pet Shop Boys at the expense of Black Dice and Deadmau5, and I was pleasantly surprised. Their music is slightly flat for my taste, and there were remarkably few people present at the Orange stage, but they put on a pleasant and earnest show, which rewarded the few who had defied Malk de Koijn's reunion at Arena, which took place almost simultaneously. I went to catch a glimpse of Malk afterwards, mostly to have a taste of the immense crowd the three rappers had gathered. There was a sense of uniqueness to the show, and I'm happy I catched a bit of it, even though I couldn't see a thing.

SUNDAY I had only three shows on my agenda. I started off with White Lies at Odeon, which was pretty unimpressive. They were remarkably boring on stage, and even though one must consider the fact that they are only 21 years old, the concert did grow quite irksome. They definitely have a lot of potential, but I don't think they won a lot of new fans with their performance this time around. More energy next time please!

Next up, I caught about 20 minutes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Arena, which was really, really good. It was a pity I had to leave, because Karen O. was really on fire, and I think it could have been a top five concert. However, I chose to leave prematurely, in order to get decent spots for Coldplay's closing of Orange stage. Expectations were high for this one, and Coldplay lived up to them, giving a perfect example on how to entertain and interact with 65000 people simultaneously. Starting off with a number of hit songs like 'Violet Hill', 'In My Place' and 'Yellow', the band were on an ever-upwards curve of spectacular gimmicks. Starting with an electronic remix of 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face' and 'Talk', the band suddenly disappeared from stage, ascending in the middle of the crowd to play an acoustic threesome including a cover of 'Billie Jean', fittingly honoring Michael Jackson, without exaggerating it (you listening, Kanye?). Doing the magic involve-the-audience move, Chris Martin made everyone do a mexican wave with their cellphones back and forth through the audience. A helicopter flew across Orange stage too, and while that might not have been on purpose, it sure was a moment to remember. Coldplay did the full monty with crowd-pleasing antics combined with a hit-packed and well compound set, and while I could have wished for a few more of their beautiful ballads like 'Amsterdam' or 'Swallowed in the Sea', closing my eyes and sensing 65000 people singing along to 'The Scientist' was just beautiful. A very impressive effort by one of the world's most original and courageous live bands, who might be mainstream, but they are so with style.

Overall, my top five would be:

1) Trentemøller
2) Coldplay
3) 2ManyDJs
4) Friendly Fires
5) Tim Christensen

That was it for Roskilde '09. Roll on '10!

A girl with a hat.

The last week, I saw a girl donning a white graduation hat outside of a supermarket. That really got me thinking. Not only about the indeniable fact that it has been one year since we were the wanton beautiful flowers of the youth. I kinda saw that coming. More so, i really came to think of how different and instructive a year this has been. Topping all I've learnt through high school, I think i have learnt more about myself through this past year, even thought I really haven't done much but working, drinking and playing music. Suddenly having ones identity thrust out of the comfortable box that is being a high school student, I and everyone else have had to find our identities in the inevitable vacuum that is gap-yearing. I think I've come a long way in coming to terms with what's really important to me, and I have seen friends come, go or just tug along. It's a strange ordeal, because even some of ones best and closest friends you might only see a few times a month. Friendships have turned from being part of a daily routine drinking coffee and hanging around, into being the sense of knowing who you've got where, who you can count on, and who you can immediately trust. A much more valuable relationship, I feel.

I have spent most of the year hanging around with people who are either considerably older or younger than myself. Being a subbie teacher has placed me in a constant vacuum of age. Surprisingly I think I've fared quite well through this vacuum, and I've had lots of enjoyable moments to the point where I actually feel a bit privileged. Children are a very life-confirming bunch to be around, and having been such a consistent fixture at a place full of them has been really interesting. I've known many of these kids now for almost a year, and some of them I've really seen come a long way. One class in particular, one of the second grades, which I initially dreaded, have now become one of my favourites. They've seen me so much now that we know eachothers' routines, and especially the girls are really witty and bright. I hope at least a few of them will retain their spark and charm when they grow up, sadly though the harsh realities of teen life will probably disornament many of them. The teens and 'tweens have been enjoyable too, and especially the two sixth grades that i had the privilege of teaching on a regular basis for a month have really been interesting to follow. When I met them at first, they were still by many means little kids with little kid-interests and a little-kid point of view. Through this year, many of them have become real teenagers, for better or worse.

When I started off, I was clearly biased towards preferring the older students. They require less pedagogical skill, and their age and sense of irony enables me to act towards them as i would act towards my peers, more or less, and I've put an emphasis on treating them as the youth they want to be treated as. I've especially had some memorable moments in teaching social science to the nithgraders, a subject where I actually feel competent enough to ascend to a high level, and I've somehow managed to have them listening to me and engaging in often even slightly academic and philosophical discussions. However, I have truly learnt to embrace the joys of teaching the little kids, to the extent that i now mostly prefer them. There's this certain sense of spontaneity and uncomplicatedness with young kids, and some of them really attach themselves to you. My week in one of the zeroeth grades really put me up to dealing with the little ones, because many joys surface by following their energetic lives.

All of that came out from the girl with the hat. Many more girls and boys with hats will bask in the nights of June this coming week, and even though one can't help being slightly envious, this is their time, and their piece of the cake.

... and now with schedule considerations!

Roskilde released their band schedule today, surprisingly enough. It looks alright, although there are a few clashes. Nothing major though. The website apparently has crashed due to heavy pressure, but someone has uploaded pictures of the four main days. I'll link to them at the bottom of this post. Now let's walk through my initial considerations and plans:

THURSDAY is by far the weakest of the four, with nothing really happening in the late afternoon. The last two years I have been busy with Arcade Fire ('07) and MGMT ('08) early on, but this year it looks like I'll have plenty of time to get hammered. I might check out Zizek Club (Cosmopol, 20:30) or Århus E (Lounge, 20:00), depending on my state of drunkenness (the former requires a heftier alcohol consumption). Either way, I'm probably gonna check up on Kanye West (Orange, 22.15), and watch part of his show, before heading over towards Arena and watching a bit of Mew (Arena, 23.00). I should be able to catch up to an hour of their show, before going back to Orange for Thursdays big bash, Trentemøller (Orange, 00.30).

FRIDAY is the day I'm looking forward to the most, because three of my most anticipated acts are on here. Once again, I'm off to a slightly late start, as my first appointment will be with Friendly Fires (Odeon, 18.00). I might be there in good time though, to get a real good spot (although that's not too difficult on Odeon). After that, I've got a bit of a break before 2ManyDJs (Cosmopol, 22.30), but there's a good chance I'll go to Cosmopol early to catch Little Boots (Cosmopol, 21.00). After 2ManyDJs, I'm a bit divided as to whether I'll swing by Nine Inch Nails (Orange, 01.00) and catch a little bit of their show, or whether I'll give priority to getting a good spot and a few more beers before Röyksopp (Arena, 02.00), which is going to be awesome. There's a slight chance i might catch a bit of Analogik (Astoria, 03.00), although I wouldn't count on it, as might not even make it, depending on how long a set Röyksopp will play.

SATURDAY is clash-day in my programme, and I'll probably not decide until on the day itself, which route I'm going to take. It's gonna depend on who's going to the different concerts as well. Starting off, it's going to be either Håkan Hellström (Orange, 16.00) or Oh No Ono (Odeon, 16.30), probably depending on my mood and the weather. If it's beautifully sunny i'll go for Hellström, although I'm not crazy about him playing at Orange. I'm not doubting he's gonna draw a sufficient crowd, but I'd have liked it more at Arena. And i know that both Tim Christensen, Balstyrko and Kasai Allstars are playing earlier on, but I never go to concerts before 15.00, unless it's something really really important. I might check out Den Sorte Skole (Cosmopol, 18.00), or I might just be in for a chill in the camp before a busy busy evening and night. Starting it off, I'm gonna have to choose between Cut Off Your Hands (Pavillion, 21.00) or Lily Allen (Arena, 21.30). Right now I'm leaning towards the former, although I'm very much in doubt. I know more of Allen's stuff, but COYH might be this years real surprise gig like Polarkreis 18 was last year. Tough pick. It gets worse though, later on. I'm definitely gonna see Fever Ray (Arena, 00.00), and if I stay for her entire show, that'll have me missing the start of Black Dice (Pavillion, 01.00). That's a bit of a pity, but I think that's what I'll do nonetheless, unless Fever Ray is disappointing. Lastly there's a real dilemma between Deadmau5 (Cosmopol, 02.00) and Malk de Koijn (Arena, 02.00). I think I'm gonna catch up on Deadmau5 after Black Dice, and skip Malk de Koijn, mostly because it would be silly to leave Arena for such a short period. It's gonna depend very much on who I'm hanging with though. A very tough choice, with Fever Ray being the only show set in stone.

Finally, SUNDAY is gonna be much more relaxed, but anyhow busier than the last years where I've basically only gone to one gig (Muse '07, Hot Chip '08). I'm gonna start off with White Lies (Odeon, 17.00), before probably going to pack up my stuff. Then I'll head over to watch Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Arena, 20.45), and then I'll probably hop onto Coldplay (Orange, 22.00) fifteen minutes late, but that doesn't really matter, as I'm seeing them later this year anyway. If YYYs suck (I doubt it), I'll leave them prematurely. I'd like to catch Pharfar late Sunday at Arena, but I won't, as I'll head home after Coldplay.

So that's it, with the only real tough choices to be made late saturday, I'm honestly pretty satisfied with the programme. Roll on Roskilde!!

(Oh, and the links for the schedule)

Thursday: http://imgur.com/bHtRy.png
Friday: http://imgur.com/YLyFJ.png
Saturday: http://imgur.com/2VC4H.png
Sunday http://imgur.com/cg0VO.png

The big Roskilde overview.

I am very much into this years Roskilde-lineup, and I've tried to get a hold of which acts I want to catch. I had originally planned to wait doing all this 'till the band schedule has been released, however rumour has it that isn't going to happen until perhaps a few days before warm-up. Treat this as a guide, or as a hype machine, or whatever floats. But these are my Roskilde-priorities 2009:

Kicking it off, there are only a few acts this year that I more or less must see. Chiefly, those are Röyksopp, Friendly Fires and Trentemøller. The latter does not need much introduction, and being as he's going to be playing Thursday night at Orange, when there's supposedly nothing else going on, I doubt that there'll be many missing out on it. I missed his concert two years ago, and really regretted it, but this time around should be even better. Röyksopp is probably known to most people too, and that's really gonna be a blast. Be sure to check out UK indiepoppers Friendly Fires though, their album is really cool, and i thing it's going to be a hell of a party. Preferably at Odeon.

Two big DJ'ing names make it to the top of my list as well. Canadian house producer Deadmau5 (pronounced 'deadmouse') will probably fill up Arena late one night, and really make people dance like crazy. I hope to catch him. Likewise, Belgian late-additions 2ManyDJs surely will rev it up with remixes and mashup-stuff. In the more melancholic direction there's Fever Ray, perhaps better known as the female half of Swedish electroklash-minimalists The Knife, will surely be a intense and opaque experience.

Then there's Coldplay, further presentation unnecessary. I am a bit divided as to whether i'm going to see them at Roskilde or not, considering that i rather foolishly bought a ticket for their show in Herning in August, before they were announced for Roskilde. I should have seen that coming. However, they are a brilliant bunch, and it's probably gonna take something big to keep me from hearing them.

This brings me around to commenting on some of the, as far as I'm concerned pretty weak, headliners at this years festival. Besides Coldplay and Trentemøller, I'm probably gonna disregard the big ones this year. Oasis have never really floated my boat, and they never play my favourite tune of theirs (Stop Crying Your Heart Out) live anyway, so chances are slim that i'm gonna catch them. I generally don't like being at Orange unless i'm watching an act i really know, but if nothing else is going on, I'd like to catch at least part of Pet Shop Boys' and/or Nine Inch Nails' concerts. Neither are particularly high on my agenda though. Same goes for Kanye West. He supposedly did a great show in 2006, and I might catch him, might not.

Let's go now to my 'home court', the indie/rock/pop acts. There are five acts here that i particularly hope to catch, but everything depends on them not clashing with eachother or something more important. Swedish pop-darling Håkan Hellström guarantees a fresh and happy show, probably at Arena, and if the weather's good it could be a nice gig to catch in the afternoon sun. Same goes for Lily Allen, whom I think will bring out quite a large crowd, despite critics pointing out that she's not exactly a typical Roskilde-name. I think Roskilde fathoms every genre, and ms. Allen has really made a lot of nice pop tunes (plus I'm a sucker for cockney, that might be why I like her), and she's definitely high on my list.

Two indie bands have really shot up my priority-list through the last few weeks, and they're now both around my top 10. Newzealanders Cut Off Your Hands are really cool. Slightly reminiscent of more acclaimed powerpoppers Phoenix, they are really promising. White Lies are supposedly a great live act, and their single Farewell To The Fairgrounds is getting massive airplay on Danish benchmark radio P3 these days, and while some of their stuff reminds me slightly of this years hate-object Glasvegas, I think it'll be good. I just ordered their album, and by Roskilde, I'll either have disregarded them as being mediocre, og I'll like them enough to be on a sing-along level. The fifth important act in this category is Yeah Yeah Yeahs, however, to my surprise, I've run tired of them quite rapidly. There's still a good chance I'll check them out though, as they're pretty unique, and frontwoman Karen O. is supposedly quite kicking live.

On a side note, there are a few acts in this category I might check out if i have the time, however they're not important to me. That goes for Little Boots, although i don't think it's real dappy live. The Whitest Boy Alive, however critically acclaimed, have never really entered my listening habits, however there must be something to the hype.

I'm always very ambivalent as to whether i should take time out to catch Danish acts (excluding Trentemøller), being as they're easily catchable throughout the year at other venues. This year however, there are a few very noticeable names that I'd really like to catch, if they do not clash with any of the international names high on my agenda. Of course Malk de Koijn has to be considered this year. There's a chance it might be a concert that goes down in history, and Malk de Koijns sublime lyrical universe unites Danes from indie-rockers to hiphoppers and house-clubbers. For me however, it's gonna depend a lot on what else is playing at the same time.

Analogik put on a great show at Pavillion Junior two years ago, but this time they're playing at the festival proper, which makes it likely that they will clash with something else. They're still high on my list though. Mew will play a lot of their new stuff, probably at Arena, but there's a slight chance they will be given Orange. I don't think so though, as it is of the utmost importance that they are playing during night-time, as they do a lot of visual stuff. I might catch them, because even though i haven't been listening a lot to them lately, their new stuff might be interesting, and some of their old stuff rocks live. Oh No Ono are generally a terrific live act, and part of their new album is really cool, however they are from Aalborg, and play there at least once a year, so they're not musts. Same goes for Balstyrko, although a very exciting act, I really doubt that i'll get around to catching them.

Benchmark Danish turntablists Den Sorte Skole are definitely worth a listen, however in my opinion, they're only as good as the crowd and their alcohol consumption make them, and i saw them with RJD2 this February. I might still catch them though, if I'm sufficiently drunk. I've actually never seen Tim Christensen live, but he's playing Grøn Koncert this year alongside Kashmir, so I'm pretty sure I'll skip him at Roskilde.

I haven't really done a lot of research on this years Pavillion Junior-names, however there's one act I'm most definitely checking out. That's Ginger Ninja, and they're the only real dance-punk act making it big in Denmark right now. I find them one of the most promising upcoming names i Denmark right now, and we had the pleasure of playing alongside them at Studenterhuset this February. Check them out!

Finally, Pharfar's Rub'a'Dub Sunday is probably going to be a blast, and i'd really like to check it out. However it just might be late Sunday night/Monday morning, at a time when i might have left Roskilde.

I always have an ambition for checking out some experimental and international acts at Roskilde, as it's really the only place in Denmark where these acts play. Most of these acts however suffer from the fact that they're outshined by bigger acts, and that I'm rarely able to find someone willing to join me for this stuff. Top of my list in this category is Black Dice, which is a really cool experimental/IDM outfit from New York. I really hope i'm gonna be able to check them out. Amadou & Mariam are supposedly really something special, however my prime world-music inducer Peter is skipping Roskilde this year, which might mean I won't be pressured enough to check out A&M anyway. 2562 is the only real dubstep act this year, but he doesn't really float my boat, so I'm probably leaving him out of consideration. He deserves mention here though. Same goes for Deichkind, an early riser on my list, but they're really been dwarfed by the sheer width of this years lineup, and they're probably out of consideration too. I do have a tough time coping with people singing in German anyway.

Gang Gang Dance are very critically acclaimed, and might be worth a listen. Zizek Club will probably be wild as fuck, Bomba Estéreo could satisfy my hispanophile tendencies, and this might be the year where i finally catch the obligatory congotronics-act, this year Kasai Allstars, although these acts are very often more congo than tronics.

Phew!

So the list goes down like this!

1) Friendly Fires (UK)
2) Trentemøller (DK)
3) Röyksopp (N)
4) Fever Ray (S)
5) 2ManyDJs (BE)
6) Coldplay (UK)
7) White Lies (UK)
8) Deadmau5 (CAN)
9) Yeah Yeah Yeahs (US)
10) Black Dice (US)
11) Cut Off Your Hands (NZ)
12) Pet Shop Boys (UK)
13) Lily Allen (UK)
14) Oh No Ono (DK)
15) Mew (DK)
16) Malk De Koijn (DK)
17) Analogik (DK)
18) Håkan Hellström (S)
19) Kanye West (US)
20) Ginger Ninja (DK)
21) Little Boots (UK)
22) Nine Inch Nails (US)
23) Tim Christensen (DK)
24) Gang Gang Dance (US)
25) Den Sorte Skole (DK)
26) Deichkind (DE)
27) The Whitest Boy Alive (DE)
28) Bomba Estéreo (COL)
29) Balstyrko (DK)
30) Zizek Club (RA)
31) Amadou & Mariam (MAL)
32) 2562 (NL)
33) Kasai Allstars (CD)

Everything else is rubbish. And if I catch half of these acts, I'm glad.

Bring on the band schedule!

Midway tête-à-têtes and postindustrial cities.

Rounding off election Sunday, I actually found the concluding debate among the party leaders much more interesting than the election itself. Being somewhat of a midway tête-à-tête in between parliamentary elections, the general tone was much more audaciously casual. I found it interesting that when finally getting enough of Pia Kjærsgaards nastyness and slight, Margrethe Vestager aggressively and resolutely quieted her, and was immediately supported by both Villy Søvndal and Helle Thorning-Schmidt. I finally saw the united opposition that we have lacked for so long. Combined with his complete untolerability towards the omnipresent sarcasm, and his inadequately controlled ill-temperedness, I think Lars Løkke Rasmussen will most definitely have his work cut out in an eventual election.

In other notes, i should mention that we played at the new Nordkraft venue Friday. Nordkraft is an old power-plant that has been completely refurbished into a multi-purpose culture centre, although it has been aesthetically kept industrial in appearance. A real figurehead of this city's postindustrial, gentrified harbourfront. We played at a battle of the bands, a kind of event I usually detest, as there's no proper time for soundchecking (and synthesizers often suffer from that), and there's generally too much of a "better-be-grateful-we-let-you-play-here!"-attitude from the hosts. I prefer having enough time to tinker with my setup and sound levels. Anyhow, Friday was a real delight, as the new venue is really impressive. Quite large, and cleverly designed, the acoustics however are what impressed me the most, being very clean and crisp. It's not uncomparable to the costly DR Concert Hall in Copenhagen, and I really hope this new venue is not wasted on the tenants Skråen, who have become slightly mid-age oriented in their selection of acts as of late. There could be real blasts at Nordkraft if they are able to draw some cool acts there!

Finally, I figured I should mention this weeks unavoidable track on P3, which are used-to-be teen-indie-electro-rockers Dúné, and their new single, Victim of the City, from their forthcoming album. After having surged through Danish underground at an early age, they became somewhat of a mainstream choice and thus indie pariah following the release of their debut record in 2007, but there might be potential for them to regain respect among conoisseurs with their sophomore effort. The new single at least is promising, indicating much more matureness and depth.

We'll see, though.

Down the drain!

Tomorrow, Danes (and many other ethnicities of patchwork Europe) go to the ballot box in order to vote in an election that has major ramifications upon daily legislation, but yet still leaves Average Joe quite indifferent. That's the European parliamentary elections - a quinquinnenial event that brings a steep but sadly insufficient surge in interest concerning pan-European politics. That itself ridicules the entire ordeal slightly. As Hanne Dahl of JuniBevægelsen put it a few weeks ago: In order to be meaningful to people and thus garner a large ballot, European topics need to be high on the news agenda constantly, not just surging to the media's attention whenever we suddenly have to send no-names and political retirees to Brussels on our mandate.

Anyhow, I've been much in doubt as to where I'll apply my vote. During these last few weeks, I've realized that no one (at least not in this country) really truly shares my views on the European Union, the direction in which it is going, and the direction in which it should go.

Down the drain!

And now, why is that? Don't we need to speak with a strong, joint, European voice in an increasingly globalized world, in which problems become more and more international and intercontinental, where financial and environmental crises crave for unambiguously multilateral actions? Yes, by all means do we Europeans need to counter the views and voices of America, China and other sprouting economies based one the comparative advantage that is cheap and plentiful labour.

This being said, I think the European Union as it exists today is no longer the correct solution. I believe it has become way too large and multifaceted for it's purposes. A union with as heavy economical and social ramifications as the European Union simply cannot function properly with economies and welfare states as diverse as the Danish, the Romanian, the British and the Italian. I have noticed the European Union having increasing difficulties in actually making things happen, because there will always be some countries tripping it up, like France or Poland. It's all a mess. The monthly extravaganza of racking thousands and thousands of staff and stuff up and transporting it from Brussels to Strasbourg just for the sake of mr. Sarkozy not choking in his Chardonnay (wait, he doesn't drink wine. His Evian then...) is a good example. The absurd agricultural subsidies another. The European Union must dissolve, that's the austere truth. And be replaced by smaller, closer knit alliances between countries that are more similar economically and social policy-wise. Then it would function. I'm tired of foot-dragging conservatives from southern and eastern Europe in the big agricultural organizations' pocket.

So who am I voting for then? Well, as I've mentioned, sadly as everywhere in Danish politics right now, no one really has the wit and the guts to say that the emperor is wearing no clothes. I am principally against abstaining or handing in a blank vote, even if conjectural. I could vote for Folkebevægelsen mod EU (People's Movement Against the EU), but they're against the whole idea of unionizing altogether, and that i cannot support. More than anything i believe it is a good thing to send strong and outspoken politicians, which is why I will probably vote for Hanne Dahl, of JuniBevægelsen.

The vote on the Act of Succession? Who gives a fuck.

What's with those Palace Players, and August 24th?

Just got a bit of stuff here. First up, i'd like to bring the hype machine on. This way cool tune has been played by the terrific Mr. Kjeld Tolstrup these last few weeks on his weekly friday night mass of electronica and Copenhagen underground. It's sweet, don't you think?

The new Mew single (which I mentioned to rather dull reviews in my previous post), Introducing Palace Players, as it's called, has been made Unavoidable of The Week on my preferred radio station, P3. Having become a frequent radio listener, it's gonna be interesting how this tune will grow on me. It's not exactly an easily accessible song to begin with, but that seriously oblique guitar-riff really intrigues me somewhat. I still don't hope this is the best track on the album though, but there might be hope and potential after all.

The also aforementioned quartet of cheeky Sheffielders, the Arctic Monkeys, have just announced that they'll release their still untitled new album on August 24th. Very exciting, neh?

And there's only 26 days 'till the big bazooney of the year - Roskilde Festival. Cheesy.