2007 in retrospect...

Finally it's time to take a look at (primarily) the good stuff that happened in 2007.

Top 10 albums:
My list was published nearly a week ago over at Frekvens.dk, so this is probably old news to some of you. But I thought I should add a few (and few they are) words to each album.

1. Michael Møller - Every Streetcar’s Got A Name - An Album about sex and desire
I've written about this excellent album a few times before and I really cannot think of anything new to add.
+ Tennessee

2. Entakt - Træerne Vokser Ind I Himlen
Ambitious, pretentious and nothing but fantastic. And I'm absolutely thrilled that I've finally received permission to post a track from the album!
+ Kunsten At Slippe Taget

3. The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
A quite noisy but more than worthy follow-up to Pretty In Black.
+ Dead Sound

4. Ether Aura - Before We Could Sing
Released at the beginning of the year and should have given this shoegaze band a much deserved breakthrough. However the band remains sadly overlooked.
+ Tell Me I'm Nothing

5. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Of the many hyped releases this year, this was the one that was actually worth it.
+ Australia

6. Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
The new album wasn't the next Hagnesta Hill as some of was hoping for. But neither did it change that Kent remains the best band in the world.

7. Blue Foundation - Life Of A Ghost
If you didn't know better, you could almost be fooled to believe that this was Frengers II. A few weak moments prevents it from making the top 5.

8. The Floor Is Made Of Lava - All Juice No Fruit
Party album of the year. And any band sending out a promo mail sharing 5 album tracks will always be a favorite of this blog!
+ Ikea Did A Job On You

9. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
At first I couldn't help being a bit disappointed, but a few listens quickly turned this into a worthy follow-up to Everything All The Time.
+ Is There A Ghost

10. Richard Hawley - Lady’s Bridge
This lovely album just keeps on growing. Now we just need to find a way to make him come to Copenhagen.

Honorable mentions: Velour - Undress Your Alibis, Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills, Panda Riot - She Dares All Things, Celestial - Dream On, Interpol - Our Love To Admire.

Top 5 songs:
No lengthy list this year!

1. The National - Fake Empire
Only one word describes this song....PERFECT!

2. Northern Portrait - Crazy
Discovering a track and a band like this makes blogging worthwhile.

3. Entakt - Kunsten At Slippe Taget
Kent meets Muse (well almost).

4. The Shins - Phantom Limb
Does this song have a chorus?

5. Ether Aura - Twist
The first time I listened to this one "a bomb went off in my head".

Honorable mentions: The Mary Onettes - Explosions, Arcade Fire - Intervention, Kent - Ingenting, Spion - Tynd Is, Yoav - Club Thing, Us With Millions - Rosebud.

Hype:
Very obvious I guess. The bloggerworld went completely berserk when Radiohead released In Rainbows and I've never seem so many blog posts dedicated just one album. And no - I'm still not convinced that the album itself deserved it (though the way they released it certainly did)!

Hype (part II):
I probably haven't listened to it as much as I should have, but to me Neon Bible was a major disappointment. One/two great track(s) was all and in my opinion the album owes all its attention to the debut album.

Favorite blogs:
Call them "the desert island blogs" if you like!?!?
* Music Of The Moment
* Coast Is Clear
* It's A Trap
* Chromewaves
* Indie MP3

Video:


Top 5 artists (big brother's watching you):
Mosted listened to artists in 2007 (according to Last.fm)!
1. Entakt (417 listens)
2. Kent (394 listens)
3. Pete White (250 listens)
4. Ether Aura (241 listens)
5. Velour (198 listens)

On heavy rotation (big brother's watching you - part II) :
Mosted listened to songs in 2007 (according to Last.fm)!
1. Northern Portrait - Crazy (98 listens)
2. Dorsia - Unprovoked (76 listens)
3. The Mary Onettes - Explosions (75 listens)
4. Kent - Ingenting (73 listens)
5. Spion - Tynd Is (65 listens)

Concert:
Not all that many to choose from, but the Shout Out Louds/Days double in Helsingborg was really great!

Visitors:
This blog will never be a force to reckon with, but nonetheless it was nice to see that the average number of daily visitors rose from 330 in January to 591 in November.

Happy Christmas!!!!

I guess the title says it all :)

Frankie says...Watch this video and remember the true spirit of Christmas!



One final Christmas song this season; courtesy of J.A.
+ Summer Cats - Plastic Christmas Trees

Oh well - there's time for one more from the lovely Ether Aura.
+ I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

No news...

I probably won't post any new stuff today, as I'll be busy writing two posts for Frekvens.dk. The first one will be a Christmas edition of "Støj På Frekvensen", which I'll publish as soon as I'm done writing (I'm working on it right now - multi-tasking you know?)! The second one will include my Top 10 favorite albums of 2007, as I've finally pulled my act together and created the list. Whether or not it will be published today I don't know, but make it I will.
UPDATE: The list has been published.

You gotta be kidding...

not another Christmas post? Well sort of I guess. My lengthy Christmas post has become just that – too long, so I’ve decided that future stuff concerning Christmas will be featured in new posts. But since we are only a few days away from Christmas trees, presents in the stockings, carols and belly aches, I have a suspicion that this will be one of the last ones (if not the last) you’ll see in the blog this year!

J.A. once again joins in and recommends a short and lovely indie/twee popish kind of Christmas tune by UK multi-person band The School.
+ Kiss You In The Snow

Venice Is Sinking has mailed a copy of their Christmas tune The Grey Line. Originally released on the Kindercore Christmas Compilation, but apparently the band members have decided to play Santa Clauses and joyfully share it with everyone. To prevent the post from being completely Christmassy, I thought it would be a good idea to add the band’s live version of Jolene.
+ The Grey Line
+ Jolene

Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten lists their 20 favorite Christmas tunes. I personally am missing Do They Know It’s Christmas? on the list!

I doubt that you'll hear a more beautiful song this year than Valentine by Richard Hawley. To be released on January 28 it will be the next single from Lady's Bridge.



It does seem like J.A. isn't quite ready for the Christmas "truce", so here's another Christmas track recommended by my Spanish "connection". This time it's a lovely one called A Silent Night (no - it's not a cover of THAT classic) by Swedish trio Lowe.
+ A Silent Night

Until December 25 Glasgow band The Martial Arts will be giving away their album Your Sinclair as a free download. I believe this must be a reaction (out of frustration) to the fact that the band remains unsigned in the UK, despite being signed by Groover Recordings in Sweden and getting some really nice reviews. My first impression of the album is quite positive, so why not head over to Myspace and grab it for free?
+ Finale

Sleepwalking...

The illness I suffered from during the weekend is still refusing to leave my body, so frustratingly I continue being extremely tired. A working day of 8 hours is certainly more than I can handle right now, as staying focused/concentrated/interested is pretty difficult (virtually impossible). But soon Christmas is upon us and hopefully the days off will provide me with some much needed rest.

Despite being somewhat disappointed with their recent concert, I have nonetheless bought tickets for the next Kent concert in Copenhagen (February 23 next year). Speaking of the Swedish quartet. Here's the video for the second single from Tillbaka Till Samtiden called Columbus, which captures my current state pretty well (thanks Chris)!



No matter how strange this may sound, the Gothenburg music scene isn’t all about indie pop. Male/female Italian inspired disco pop duo Sleepwalk has just published a pretty nice new track called In Secrecy (nice? - well that's if you’re into this type of music)! I’ve added the older track Disco From Italy to the mix, as the title of that one says it all – don’t you think?
+ In Secrecy
+ Disco From Italy

Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet is running a poll in an attempt to determine “who is the worst songwriter in Denmark?”. Who you should vote for is really a no-brainer and my prick has received 40% of all votes so far!

US quartet Benzos is giving away their first independent release Coupe d'état. It will immediately be added to my current favorites.
+ Coupe d'état

No clue...

I guess it’s about time to take down the banner promoting The Schallgrenzen Festival, as it took place this weekend. Judging from the reports and photos I guess it was quite a successful event. Originally I planned to participated, but I simply couldn’t make it fit in the already hectic schedule for December (Peter; I told you November would have been better!). With the weekend in hindsight I’m certainly glad I made that decision, as I’ve been feeling really awful since Friday morning and also had to leave work early yesterday to go home and get some rest. So a 5 hour drive to Germany would have been a killer!

As reported last week Oliver North Boy Choir has recorded a cover version of Bette Davis Eyes and now the band has made a video for the song as well. As a parent I especially find the short part amusing where Camilla and Mikkel’s child (that part is black and white, so I cannot spot whether it's a boy or a girl) decides to share the stage/spotlight with mommy.



David & the Citizens (this basically means David Fridlund) are giving away a new four track EP titled I Saw My Reflection And I Didn't Recognize Myself.
+ With Every New Day
+ The EP (Zip file)

Italian shoegaze duo Magpie is giving away a new and very beautiful instrumental track.
+ Nightly Rain

The excellent Beautiful Lie by Yoav is single of the week on iTunes UK (which means it's a free download).

This Vision EP...

Two days ago Swedish synthpop trio This Vision announced that their new 4 track EP had been released. Apparently technology had been playing the boys a few tricks, so obviously they seemed quite relieved that they finally had been able to finish the EP. If you're into catchy and danceable pop songs dominated by synths and drum machines (definitely some PSB inspiration here), you can order the EP by mailing the band or take the easy route and simply decide to download all four tracks for free at Myspace.
+ Wherever I Run
+ Young Hearts

Every Streetcar's Got A Name...

Some of you may recall this post, where I wrote a few words on the stunning debut solo album Every Streetcar’s Got A Name by moi Caprice frontman Michael Møller? In the same post I wrote how I had asked for permission to post a track, but in the same breathe that I wasn't too optimistic about getting a go-ahead. Well lo and behold. The other day I received a message from Mr. Møller himself telling me that I was more than welcome to post a couple of tracks and that he’d only be delighted if I did! Now this wasn’t exactly the message I expected and out of the blue a completely new problem arose; what songs to choose? The album will probably (most likely – almost guaranteed) be my album of the year, so picking just 2 tracks of this wonderful album is quite a task. Despite its many beautiful songs, the album is probably not one of those that will make you see life in new and brighter perspective, as most of these sincere and heartfelt lyrics are about love, sex, desire, betrayal, infidelity, needs, painful memories and a little more sex.
I've made my decision and chosen these two tracks (but could easily have picked any of the 14 remaining ones), and as you've probably guessed by now, I can only recommend that you give them listen!
+ Tennessee
+ All The Girls I Lost In The Fires

Today I’m at home…

...with my daughter, who’s not feeling well at all. On days like these you silently praise the inventor of the television and suddenly realize the importance of Playhouse Disney. Have to confess than whenever an episode of Little Einsteins is on, I cannot help watching a little bit myself. I find it difficult saying anything bad about a program teaching your kids about (wonderful) classical music. I think we have recorded at least 25 episodes and the kids just love them.

Chromewaves has been writing some really nice stuff on Richard Hawley recently, and the more I listen to Lady's Bridge (and the older albums as well), the more I'm hoping that he’ll soon be adding a concert date in Denmark. Perhaps it’s time to start a campaign?
+ Coles Corner

Quiet around these parts...

It’s unusual quiet today. Not even a single Christmas track has hit my mailbox making it possible to update the Christmas post! Perhaps everyone’s out Christmas shopping and remain stuck in one of those lengthy queues at the toy stores? Whatever happens to be the real explanation it is still far too quiet for my liking. So what should I do then? Hmmm. Guess I could always check out one of the mails from J.A. to see if he has something interesting up his sleeves (he normally has)? Scroll, scroll, scroll…yep there is one!

Dear X from Spain being compared to Budapest! Yes - this track sounds really great! The band mentions Radiohead, Supertramp etc. as influences, though this sounds more like Coldplay/Keane inspired stuff to me! What do you think?
+ Must I Play This Game?

Oh - a couple of new tracks by Anything Box are available and he recommends the remixes of Living in Oblivion. OK I'll try those as I quite like this band! Hmm...not too bad either!
+ Living in Oblivion - Chicago haus edit
+ Living in Oblivion - Elektrode Mix

I know he (still talking about J.A.) is impatiently awaiting the Gentle Touch debut album. Hopefully this solo track by lead singer Michael makes the waiting just a little more bearable?
+ 1

A whole lot of This and That's...

I don't do reviews, so I won't try to write one of the Kent concert Saturday evening. But consensus among reviewers seems to be 4 out of 6 stars and in general I fully agree. Unfortunately some glaring omissions from the setlist makes it impossible to rate it much higher that. My personal highlight of the evening was that I finally got to meet Peter (Coast is Clear), who had driven to Copenhagen with a few friends to see the concert! (thanks to Peter for letting me use the photo!).

Jonas has posted his favorite 10 albums of 2007. No. 3 on his list is Release The Stars by Rufus Wainwright, which I bought a long time ago, but have never listened to. Tonight's the night!

Parades by Efterklang is the best Danish album of 2007 according to Gaffa. This weekend I finally bought the album and after one listen I'm not afraid to admit that I just don't get it. Perhaps a few more spins will make me see the light, but at this state I'm bewildered more than anything.
+ Cutting Ice To Snow

Something weird is happening; In Rainbows suddenly is beginning to make sense. Not that it will make my top 10 of the year, but I'm no longer one big question mark when listening to it!

Brazilians The Name have recorded a cover version of Eleanor Rigby. Now, what do we think of that one?
+ Eleanor Rigby

Speaking of cover versions. Oliver North Boy Choir covers 80's classic Bette Davis Eyes (stream only).

Indurain - The Moment...

Earlier this year Swedish indie pop duo Indurain released a 3 track CD-r on Cloudberry Records, but now the boys try a different strategy and have approached a string of bloggers offering their new track The Moment for free. So far the strategy seems to be a success, as such prominent blogs as Indie MP3, Nothing But Green Lights and Eardrums Music have already mentioned the track. With the above information in mind (Cloudberry vs. Sweden), you really need no further description of the song - do you?
+ The Moment

Bark Bark...

Danish electronica label VUFrecords is giving away another free compilation of electronica tracks featuring a wide range of interesting Scandinavian artists. I'm really no expert on this genre (or any other genre for that matter), but after a few listens it does sound like this could be a really cool compilation of tracks. The label's first compilation of freebies was downloaded more than 700 times and obviously they'd love to do even better this time. So give them a helping hand a go here to download it and the first one as well, which is still available.
+ DAMPFBAHN! - All Is Swell (Zvook Mescalin Remix)

Finnish electro pop trio Regina is giving away their Christmas single called Näinä mustina iltoina (wonder what that means?). The limited edition CDR (only 200 copies made) also includes a remix of the track done by Finnish DJ Sami Suova/Schmami.
+ Näinä mustina iltoina
+ Näinä mustina iltoina (Schmamix)

Mixed Monday...

The trip to Prague was short, nice but very hard, so this is one tired blogger. Therefore words will be rationed today!!

The job interview went very well and they called me Friday (just before going to the airport) and offered me the job, so I expect to sign the contract tomorrow. I'll soon post more about this and the expected consequences for the blog.

Manic Street Preachers are giving away their Christmas single Ghost of Christmas (though it's named Christmas Ghost when you download it). Download it for free right here.
+ Ghost of Christmas

The lovely people in Oliver North Boy Choir are giving away four previously unreleased tracks. This backwards version of Baby Cool is a bit odd, but also surprisingly catchy.
+ Baby Cool

Us With Millions (another favorite band) has recorded yet another brilliant track and is once again giving it away for free. Consider this a small Christmas gift from the three lads!
+ Now, That's Common

Speaking of Christmas. Below links for two very nice seasonal songs from the inbox. Look forward to a lengthy compilation post of Christmas tunes very soon.
+ Robbers On High Street - Seasons Greetings
+ The Swimmers - The Christmas Sound

Numbers and figures…

First of all; lots of thanks to all of you who has wished me good luck with the interview today. It’s much appreciated! As some of you might now already I work as a financial controller, so obviously I have a fascination for stats, trends etc., so here are a few numbers for you!

YAY! As the chart shows, November will be the most successful month in the history of the blog. The average number of visitors in November so far is 589/day compared to 485/day in October. That's an increase of 21%!

My Google Ads experiment continues being a disaster. So far I’ve earned US$ 3.40, and since I’m not allowed to encourage people to click the ads (or click them myself), it will probably take more than a year before I’ll see any money (have to reach US$ 100).

BOXSTr has improved its service significantly. First of all the bandwidth has been extended to 1.0 GB/day and your account isn't reset until you reach the limit. This means that if you only used 0.8 GB yesterday you can use 1.2 GB today. They also have started to count the number of views/downloads and I have to admit that I'm surprised to see how many times some songs have been downloaded. I've always thought that a 100 downloads of a song would be a success. However this new stat shows a completely different picture, as most of the songs have been downloaded at least 200 times! This is the top 5 of the most downloaded tracks (number of downloads in brackets).
1. The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (424)
2. The Raveonettes - Aly, Walk With Me (317)
3. Sia - Electric Bird (302)
4. Andrew Boland - Bird On The Wire (282)
5. Moving Units - Pink Thoughts (266)

Last night I posted a Myspace bulletin recommending two of the bands I wrote about yesterday. If I’m lucky 5 people has read it and actually visited the blog to check them out, which just proves how superficial Myspace really is. Calling it “friends” is a joke.

The Christmas songs have started to find their way to the inbox and I plan to post a longer list of freebies sometime next week. But here are two new ones received today.
+ The Ten Thousand Dollar Tattoo – My First Santa
"it's an indie-folk xmas song, dealing with the theme of losing the person who taught me about the spirit of giving...."
+ Mink – Little Drummer Boy (Girl)
"Sounds like: Santa Claus meets The Sex Pistols"

Sorry, but cannot resist posting three of my favorite Christmas tunes. All of them will show up next week in the Christmas post mentioned above.
+ Tiger Baby - This Christmas
+ Celestial - saving up her wishes (for another christmas)
+ Liam and Me - Winter Paradise (I Miss You This Christmas)

Colours of Fantasy...

Earlier today I posted a gorgeous indie pop track by Tellus About The Moon, and tonight it's time to post another one by an equally wonderful indie pop band; Sunny Summer Day. The Indonesian trio is currently giving away a new track called Colours of Fantasy and even though it will only be available as a free download for a limited period of time, the band has given me permission to post it in the blog. Back in September the band released a 3 track EP on Cloudberry Records and hopefully this lovely new recording indicates that more stuff is in the making!
+ Colours of Fantasy

Wwwm...

Brilliant new (and odd titled) track by lovely Swedish indie pop 5-piece Tellus About The Moon. As well as a rather poor quality video of the band performing the track live at On Our Honeymoon.
+ Wwwm

Moving on...the next step...

Tomorrow I’ll be going to the first job interview since I handed in my resignation last month. If I get the job, I seriously doubt that much will change from a working point of view, as the job description is pretty much the same as in my current job. So why do I even consider taking the new one the devil's advocate might ask? Obviously new surroundings, colleagues and a different boss will be much needed breaths of fresh air. And since it is located just around the corner from where we live instead of a 45 minute drive away, the new job certainly has that little something that makes it very attractive! Now I just need to make a good impression!!!! Perhaps I should send a substitute?

That list I mentioned a few times last week still has a few names left on it, so before December comes creeping up on us, I guees it’s about time to get the remaining names wiped off the list! Chris has already mentioned a few of the artists, so if you're a regular to his blog, you probably won't find much of interest in this post.

I received the Panda Riot debut album She Dares All Things (buy) a few weeks back, and have been enjoying it immensely ever since. Great tunes on an insisting platform of noise; and why is it that dreamy female vocals fit the shoegaze genre like hand in glove?
+ She Dares All Things

Swedish synthpop duo Ostrich is giving away a new track named Wonderland. Not sure if this is meant to be a seasonal offering, but in their own words it's a little more danceable than the previous track; the super chilled Icecold Kisses.
+ Wonderland
+ Icecold Kisses

Not so long ago it seemed like every new band was inspired by Joy Division. However it's my impression that this have slightly changed, as more and more bands seem to be embracing The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Vandellas from NY is another fine proof that TJAMC haven't lived in vain.
+ Swell To Heaven

If information is to be trusted, Canadians The Mission District will release their debut album Youth Games sometimes early next year. Judging from the songs I've heard so far this will be something for anyone who's into catchy indie/alternative rock music (think The Bravery, Bloc Party etc.).
+ The Age Of Pretending

In the Shadow of...

Am I the only one who has been pissed about how slow Sitemeter was the past few days? Perhaps I'm just some narcissistic moron who's obsessed with trends and figures, but I do think that it's interesting and quite useful to learn how visitors find this blog.

Jerry, who many, many years ago became my first Internet friend, has sent a mail recommending Florida darkwave act The Crüxshadows. In his message he wrote how he's been a fan for ages and called the music "danceable goth", which certainly sounded quite appealing. And after a few listens I fully agree that this electronic, catchy and dark stuff (despite the horrible band name) is really, really cool. So until yesterday this band was completely unknown to me, but it seems like that they are quite popular in Germany and have had some success on various dance charts (yep - it is indeed danceable!)!
+ Winter Born (This Sacrifice)
+ Windbringer

Better late than never I guess? In June (during my holiday) Swedish indie pop act Ronderlin was giving away an ureleased track called Come With Your Heart And Soul. Why this fine song didn't make it onto The Great Investigation is beyond me!
+ Come With Your Heart And Soul

From Warsaw to Prague…

On Friday my wife and I will go to Prague for the weekend, and I just realized that (Copenhagen aside) it will be the fifth European Capital I visit this year (the previous four being Warsaw, Berlin, London and Bern). This will be my third trip to the Czech Capital and I’m very much looking forward to spending a few days in the city that I visited the first time in the (not-so) good old days of the Iron Curtain.
I know I often complain about how my life has change since I became a father (and of course it has), and how I never travel anywhere anymore. I guess the above lines tell quite a different story and that I really should stop whining?

Swedish indie pop one-man band (does such a thing as a one-man band exist?) Pet Politics has released a limited edition 7” single on English label The Great Pop Supplement. The single is lo-fi indie pop piece called The Spring and is exactly as lovely and catchy as you’d expect it to be (knowing that it’s from Sweden). Intriguingly the b-side Taken Away by Aliens is even better, but since you probably don’t trust a word I’m writing, I’ve posted both tracks below, as they can both be downloaded for free at Myspace. The man behind it all is called Magnus Larsson and hopefully it isn't a surprise to anyone that he’s from Gothenburg.
+ The Spring
+ Taken away by aliens

The four happy boys in Velour have recorded a video for the track Janey Black and if you know who the black-haired girl in the video is (+ is a Myspace friend), send the lads a message and perhaps you'll win the album Undress Your Alibis.

From around the web...

It's Friday and it's time for another Flashback Friday post!

And time for another Støj På Frekvensen post.

Obscured Sound has a great post on new Danish band Private.

Largehearted Boy has started to collect 2007 Year-End lists.

And Brooklynvegan has (an early) Holiday MP3 Mix.

Mikrofisch are giving away their new album Masters of the Universe for free.
+ The Kids Are All Shite

42...

New Italian label 42 Records has a MP3 compilation out called 42 More Songs, which, if I'm not mistaken, contains 15(!) new recordings entirely by Italian artists. Unfortunately the page is only in Italian, so I might have missed some crucial information, as my Italian is somewhat less than fluent (call it non-existing if you like). But the language of music is universal and since this amazing collection of songs is free to download, I cannot recommend it enough. Especially as a lovely new track by the wonderful trio A Classic Education are among the freebies. And as a Dane I obviously had to check out the band calling itself København Store. Grab it and get a quick and pleasant introduction to some really fine Italian artists.
+ Lovers Barricade
+ We Came Down From The North
+ Magpie - Milk (best track)

No more Anamia...

From a recently posted Myspace bulletin:

"We are sorry to inform you that we - Anamia - hereby, officially stop working together. What lie behind this decision is different ambitions, among the band members, along with lack of motivation from some members. However, all four of us will focus on other musical projects. Mogens continues making music and remixing under the name tWAMi. Thorsten works on a, for the time being, secretly project and Michael and Patrick work with new songs under the band name Brilliantine. This summer we recorded four songs, which will be downloadable, for free, when the songs are mixed and mastered. We will like to thank all the people who have supported us during the years. Especially, the positive manifestations, concerning our live performances and recordings, have warmed our hearts."

Quite a shame, but I cannot say that I'm all that surprised! I wish the boys the best of luck!
+ The Step
+ Butterfly In Paris

Trimming the list...

The post yesterday on my so-called "very long list" didn’t exactly seem to impress anyone. Probably because most bloggers are a whole lot better at organizing and preparing things, than I am. But to me 12 artists on a list are a lot, as I normally have no clue what I am going to write about in today’s post(s) when I wake up in the morning. So you could say that improvisation is the keyword for this blog, which probably explains its crappy quality?

Time to trim down that list...

The list wouldn’t really be completely without some Swedish indie pop act on it – would it? Martin Sörensson, guitarist in bands like Shade Tree, Chesterton and Sidewalk People, has recorded a brand new track called All Right. On vocals he’s assisted by the lovely sounding Cecilia Lundh of whom I know exactly nothing. The track itself has all the usual indie pop trademarks from the lovely melody to the glockenspiel!
+ All Right

Mahogany shares the Ulrich Schnauss remix of their track Supervitesse. It's dreamy and beautiful, but sadly it never really kicks off to become more than just remotely interesting.
+ Supervitesse Expansemix™

One more from the department of remixes. Ghetto Ways by Scissors for Lefty has been remixed and I simply couldn't resist listening to it, when I saw that the name of is was Baron Von Luxxury's Super Thanks For Asking Remix. A potential dancefloor filler!
+ Ghetto Ways (Baron Von Luxxury's Super Thanks For Asking Remix)

Tulsa powerpop/rock trio Admiral Twin is really eager for some attention, so the band has mailed me three (!) times suggesting that I should listen to the band's music. Since the band was so insisting, I gave in and decided to check them out. The band is no newcomer and the recent album The Center of the Universe is the sixth release since the band formed in 1996. Three tracks are up for grabs from Purevolume and though they might not be groundbreaking, they are all straight-forward and really enjoyable indie rock tunes.
+ In My Veins

Wonder why...

I’ve often asked myself why I hardly ever receive any mails from local Danish labels trying to promote new Danish releases. All regulars to this blog know about my passion for Danish artists, so I’d be more than happy to post (more or less) anything, if anyone asked! A few times I’ve tried to approach the labels (or artists) myself asking for permission to post a track, but often with little luck. So obviously I’m a bit puzzled (and some might even say frustrated) when I start receiving mails (including free songs to post) from labels promoting releases by Danish artists.
Two recent examples are Lust Lust Lust by The Raveonettes (out in the US on Feb 19, next year) and Mafia by EPO-555 (released in the US in May, this year). Two really fine and highly recommendable albums and obviously I'll do the little I can to help promoting them. But without whining too much, wouldn't I have loved getting those promo mails when the albums were released in Denmark?
+ The Raveonettes - Aly, Walk With Me
+ EPO-555 - Maid in China

A very long list...

Next to my computer there is a post-it with some names on it. 12 names to be a little more exact. The list exists, because I’m getting older (no reason to ignore this fact), which means that my memory often lets me down, so whenever I come across a band I should post about in the blog, I immediately add it to the list. But the past two-three days I’ve been adding and adding without really subtracting any (except Andrew Boland yesterday), leaving me with quite a long list of names. So where do I start? Should I just post the songs and not give a bleeping f*ck about the words? Or should I make detailed posts and hope that no new names will be added the next few days/weeks? Luckily it is lunch time very soon, so hopefully I’ll return rejuvenated and ready to fire away!

Bird On The Wire...

Some of you might recall that I posted a few songs by Irish singer Andrew Boland a long time ago, but since then he's been ever so quite. So I was slowly beginning to fear that he had completely given up on recording. Luckily this all changed yesterday, when I found out that he had uploaded a new track to his Myspace profile. In fact it's not really a new track, but a cover of Leonard Cohen's Bird On The Wire, which in Mr. Boland's own words is "only up to take up space, really". Whether or not this is actually the case, I don't know, but personally I think his fine version is worth a shout-out to the world.
Last night I had the opportunity to listen to a new track he's recorded with what might turn into his new band and it does sound very The Smiths inspired and very promising. So obviously I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they'll work something out.
Finally I've re-posted two of the "oldies", in case you missed them the first time around!
+ Bird On The Wire
+ The Submarine Song (by his former band Shadowplay)
+ Leonard Cohen's Few

Another tired Monday...

I've been listening a lot to the track Sequential by Onetwo posted by A Plague Of Angels. Onetwo is a collaboration between Claudia Brücken (ex-Propaganda) and Paul Humphreys (ex-OMD) and the track has brought back some very sweet memories from the summer of 85, where I listened a lot to A Secret Wish and Crush.

What's the weather like today? This track by Ray says it all!
+ November's Rain

Swedish label Songs I Wish I Had Written is no longer a record label, but a music label:
" We are officially a music label. Records belong to the past and we'll work in a direction that will mean that we eventually stop producing CDs. The world is not ready for the change yet, but we'll take the lead to the exciting musical future ahead. Soon it's the music that will truly rule the world. The love of music."

Is it ok for a band to call itself Creep and then record a track called Radiohead? Cannot find any info on the band, but it doesn't really matter, as the song is absolutely awful!
+ Radiohead

Saturday night’s alright for blogging…

The girls are sleeping and the wife is at some girl’s party, so the computer is all mine, mine, mine….!

I did some extensive music shopping today and spent my weekly pocket money on 5 CD’s. One of them was the debut solo album Every Streetcar’s Got A Name by Michael Møller (the voice of moi Caprice). As the reviews have been very positive, my expectations were pretty high and luckily I wasn’t disappointed as the 16 songs are heartfelt and stunningly beautiful. But also a bit (actually a lot) more minimalistic than you'd expect, so it's certainly not an attempt to continue the sound of moi Caprice in his own name. I’ve asked for permission to post a track of the album, though I’m not all that optimistic that I’ll get it.

Yesterday Exitfare posted two demo tracks by Concerto for Constantine; the new band of Mark Greaney of JJ72. Really hate to say that I'm not impressed as perhaps every JJ72 song was better than any of these. It's as if he's trying to change direction and want his new music to be a bit "tougher"?

Some of you might have noticed that I’ve abandoned my no ads principles and added some Google ads at the bottom of the right column. So far I’ve earned a strikingly US$ 1.55, so no reason to change the household budget just yet! Obviously chances of someone clicking the ads would be better if I posted them at the top of the page, but after all I don’t want this to look like just another blog that only exists for the ads. But on the other hand I wouldn't mind earning a little money. What a dilemma....not really!

Far too many words already, so here's a recent recommendation by J.A.. Clive from Sweden plays straight forward, rather uncomplicated, but very catchy electronic pop music. And there's really nothing wrong with that - is there?
+ Emotions

Indie MP3 writes a few thoughts on The Matinée Hitparade. After I've listened to this one by Bubblegum Lemonade I really should order that album, which is released to celebrate that the label turns 10 years old.
+ Tyler

Yesterday Absolut Noise did something quite unusual. The excellent French blog normally dedicated to Swedish music posted a track by a Danish artist. Click right here if you want to know who that lucky artist was.

The extremely cool and very Interpol inspired track Fade Away by French alternative rock band Joy Disaster was added to my current favorites yesterday. Originally recommended by J.A. (yep - him again) and posted by Peter ages ago!
+ Fade Away

In case you're curious the other 4 CD's I bought today were:
Iron And Wine - The Shephard's Dog
+ Boy With a Coin

The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
+ Dead Sound

I Am Bones - The Greater Good
+ The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

I Got You On Tape - 2

No milk today...

No post(s) today, but check out Frekvens.dk later this afternoon for another issue of "Støj på frekvensen".

The Dead Sound of an Electric Bird...

These days I'm listening quite a lot to the new album Lust Lust Lust by The Raveonettes. In my contribution to the weekly "Frekvens lytter til…" post, I described it as the perfect mix of catchy 60'ies pop, scathing 80'ies noise and the soundtrack of a spaghetti western directed by Mr. Tarantino. It might not be as good as Pretty In Black, but it still manages to live up to my expectations.
+ Dead Sound

Found the new single Electric Bird by Sia in the mailbox this morning. Perhaps it's a little to quiet and a little too boring for my taste, but I really like that brass featured throughout the song. Taken from the album Some People Have REAL Problems that will be out in January next year.
+ Electric Bird

Did a bit of catching up this morning and checked an old recommendation sent to me by J.A. a long time ago. Actually it was so old that Chris wrote about the band in question; Public Symphony; 5 months ago. But better late than never I guess and since the band has published a new mix of the track Rise & Shine, it's probably ok mentioning them again. The music is described as a mix between Pink Floyd and Coldplay, and the band does indeed manage to sound like an unusual (but still highly enjoyable) mix of complexness and straightforwardness.
+ Rise & Shine (2007 mix)

Stereo Inn...

5-piece Stereo Inn comes from Cologne in Germany, but it only took a few listens before I had to re-check this fact, because a band sounding this gorgeous has to come from Gothenburg or somewhere else in Sweden. As you've probably already guessed by now, Stereo Inn plays irresistible, feel-good and catchy indie pop with glockenspiel, tambourine, jangling guitars etc. that should please all fans of The Housemartins and Belle & Sebastian. The 5 track 2006 untitled demo EP is free to download from the band's webpage, where you can listen to a few snippets from the forthcoming EP as well.
+ Out Of My Room, Into My Life
+ If Only
+ Moving On

Election Day...

Today is Election Day in Denmark and even though this is not a political blog, I really urge everyone to cast their vote. I honestly don't care what party you vote for, as long as you remember to vote and thus show your appreciation for our democratic rights. There are still far too many countries in the world where people are not allowed to vote or where the outcome of the election has already been "fixed". So even if you are tired of politicians and think they are all crashing bores (thank you Morrissey), things could easily be a whole lot worse! So please support our democracy and waste 5 of your precious minutes today, to go to the polling station!

Before you leave I suggest that you download this wonderful cover version of an old The Jesus and Mary Chain track by The Mary Onettes...wait...it's not a cover you say? Are you sure? Oh well! It's still very nice!
+ Explosions

4 quick ones...

The debut EP The Fallen Aristocracy by Northern Portrait will be released on Matinée Recordings at the beginning of the new year. Crazy is one of my favorite songs of 2007 and I'm really looking forward to hearing the new version/mix of the track.
+ Crazy

Peter posted this one earlier today, but I thought I'd show the new track by US shoegaze band Aarktica some blogger love as well. This brilliant track was recommended to us by J.A. and is taken from the album Matchless Years released on Darla Records.
+ Seventy Jane

This tribute to a well-known (and very attractive) young actress by Anglo-French trio The Teenagers is already all over the bloggerworld. If you ignore the annoying opening 20 seconds (especially the way he pronounces "Danish), this is a highly recommendable indietronica track.
+ Starlett Johansson

Another track by another band that is being compared to Joy Division. Moving Units from L.A. released the album Hexes For Exes in October, and if the rest is as cool as Pink Thoughts, it's certainly an album I need to check out!
+ Pink Thoughts