The Facebook experiment...

48 hours in...how are things going over there at Facebook? 57 "likes" isn't exactly blowing anyone away, but calling it a decent start is pretty fair, I guess! More "likes" would of course be welcomed, so if you happen to be bored or just feel for it, head over to the page and give HITC a "thumbs up"!

Trying my best to convince you to actually do it; here are some of the songs you've missed out on...






And a few videos...





Plus the recent additions to the Copenhagen Popfest 2014 line-up...

Plus some other stuff as well!

Bom bom...

Tjaaaah. Ikke fordi jeg har så meget på hjerte i disse dage. Det er pivkoldt, fingrene er som istapper, næse og ører har åbenbart en konkurrence om at optræde i flest mulige nuancer af rød, hjernen er lagt på køl osv. osv. Men som det fremgår, er lageret af dårlige undskyldninger glødende og helt ajourført. Men når man nu har en blog så skal man vel skrive et eller andet i ny og næ. Og det er så det jeg er i fuld gang med…uden formål, retning, mening eller på anden måde belemret med indhold. Men et indlæg skal det jo nok ende med at blive, da vi lykkeligvis ikke opererer med et begreb som kvalitetskontrol i disse omgivelser…så bom bom…hvad kan vi ellers finde på af krumspring, som ligesom kan gøre det hele en anelse mere legitimt?

Vi kan jo altid kaste os over den gode gamle kæphest…mails! Hvis det var dråben, så smutter du bare videre. Hej, hej…vi ses…måske…hvis du gider!

Modtager stadig en lind strøm af søde, venlige, sympatiske, optimistiske og på alle måder velmenende mails fra håbefulde (og nogen gange – det sker faktisk fra tid til anden - også talentfulde) bands/artister, som jo rigtig gerne vil have, at jeg giver deres musik et lyt og et par ord med på vejen. Og min respekt for det arbejde de udfører og det initiativ de udviser, er skam kæmpestor…faktisk så stor, at jeg i mange tilfælde har deres mails liggende i både 12 og 18 måneder før jeg sletter dem…ulæst…latterliggørelse til side, så vil jeg jo rigtig, rigtig gerne, men at tjekke det hele ville gøre det her til et fuldtidsarbejde (og medføre natarbejde, hvis de også skulle besvares). Og med 3 en halv besøgende om dagen ser min kone ikke optimistisk på mine muligheder for at tjene penge på bloggen, så med armen på ryggen er jeg ca. 220 dage om året nødt til at henslæbe timerne fra 8 til 16 på arbejde. Så skæg for sig og snot for sig...og helt i tråd med denne kolde tid, er der beklageligvis mest tale om snot…

Hvis jeg så ellers for et kort øjeblik kan lægge det sardoniske fra mig, så er der forfriskende nok op til flere spændende ting i mailboksen i dag! Fx et link til stream af det nye Stoffer & Maskinen album Astronaut, link til High Highs debut albummet Open Season og et nyt pumpende dancepop nummer fra Lilly Wolf. Alt sammen noget, som jeg vil gøre en seriøs indsats for at vende tilbage til inden alt, alt for længe…

I en drøm...

Uden at overdrive voldsomt meget kan man vist roligt sige, at New York duoen High Highs har været pænt hypet og efter debut EP'en i 2011 (som indeholdt den helt fænomenale Open Season) er et debut album endelig ved at være på trapperne. Har ikke været i stand til at finde så voldsomt megen info om albummet, andet end at det udkommer den 25. januar og vil hedde Open Season, men nyeste udspil fra bandet, den melodiøse, tilbagelænede, stemningsfulde, smukt drømmende (fyld selv på - der er frit valg) In A Dream tyder jo på at albummet godt kunne gå hen og blive udmærket...ganske så udmærket!

Once around...

I love High Highs. I really do, so finding info on a new track and forthcoming debut album from the Brooklyn trio (yes - I do realize that there is only two of them on the picture) in the mailbox is obviously excellent news. And newbie Once Around the House sure doesn't disappoint as it's a real pretty harmony-laden folk-pop tune, which reminds some of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear. Only bad thing to say (I'm a nitpicker, I know) is that they haven't succeeded topping or even matching the wonderful Open Season (which I'm certain will go down as one of my all-time favorite tracks a few years from now and thus being the standard upon which they are measured), though I'm confident they will some day!

Flowers bloom...

Watch the new video from High Highs for their track Flowers Bloom...both video and song are dreamy and beautiful...or as I wrote some (10!) months ago: "Imagine lying comfortably on your back on a carpet of soft green grass gazing at the clouds drifting by while listening to this"...


High Highs - Flowers Bloom from Video Marsh on Vimeo.

High Highs - Flowers Bloom by rocketmusic

Ivy...

Check out new track Ivy by the brilliant High Highs. Taken from the band's forthcoming self-titled 10" vinyl EP, out on Small Plates on November 22. Also included on the EP are Open Season, Horses and Flowers Bloom; all tracks previously posted on this blog.

High Highs - Ivy 

High Highs...

This is such a fantastic song...via PSL and thank you Ivan for pointing me in that direction! Hope you had a good night's sleep btw?

Horses...

The incredibly talented (and very generous) High Highs offers brand new track Horses as free download. Great, beautiful, wonderful...go ahead and use whatever superlative you can possibly think of (and you still won't do the song justice). Despite being only a handful of songs old this band (in my opinion of course) has to be one of the most gifted and interesting newcomers in recent memory.
+ Horses

Today I'll...

...drink loads of coffee to help me stay awake.

...do my best to get some work done.

...give The King of Limbs another listen. As tweeted by MP3Hugger yesterday: “Wish Radiohead would drop being interesting in favour of writing decent tunes. They are quickly becoming not worth the effort.” I’ll see the light someday I hope, but after two listens the album is as interesting as (insert whatever boring stuff you can think of).

...listen to the In Soviet Russia, My Heart Breaks You album by Brooklyn indie-pop act Overlord at least twice. The two songs included in the “mixtapes” this past weekend are simply brilliant and of course I cross fingers hoping that the rest of the album is just as good.
+ Oh, My Mechanical Heart!
+ Keep It from the Baby

...listen to the single My Way by new act The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to learn if it as great as some people say it is. Free download here.

...smile a few times knowing that The Boombox Hearts have fallen in love with one of last year’s best songs; Open Season by High Highs.
+ Open Season

...continue to wait for the download link at Burlesque Records to start functioning, so I can download the label’s first release; The Refractory Period EP by The Sexual Outlaws. Yet another band featured in one of those weekend "mixtapes".
+ Xes

...check out brand new Danish band Dead Lovers.

...???...

Various...

A short of apology to all of those mailing me their promo stuff. At 10 a.m. I had exactly 3,971 mails in my inbox, so the chances of me ever reading your mails are…well…slim. And even smaller that you'll ever hear anything (good or bad) back from me! I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time, but that’s how things are and how they will (most likely) remain!

One of my current favorite tracks; Flowers Bloom by High Highs; is doing terribly well on the Hypem popular songs chart. Go heart it!
+ Flowers Bloom

I’ve spent a large part of the past 24 hours thoroughly enjoying the Psychic Powers debut Infinity. One complaint though! Why didn’t they include this terrific RAC remix of Dreamboat? Could have been the perfect bonus track!

 Dreamboat (RAC Remix) by Psychic Powers

Check this wonderful video for Sleep Party People's Notes To You.

Various...

Been real busy the past couple of days as work has been taking its toll. It’s frustrating at times, but just to keep things in perspective I keep telling myself that work pays the bills. Not that it makes me any happier, but I should be old enough by now to understand that, from time to time, one has to do things one does not enjoy doing.

A Classic Education will be supporting British Sea Power on the band’s US tour this spring. The new is accompanied with a free download of new track I Lost Time, which is beautiful, dreamy and has a kind of 60’s feel to it. So a typical A Classic Education track you could say!
+ I Lost Time

More beautiful and dreamy pop music for you on this tired Wednesday morning, as wonderful folk-pop constellation High Highs shares brand new track Flowers Bloom. Imagine lying comfortably on your back on a carpet of soft green grass gazing at the clouds drifting by while listening to this...
+ Flowers Bloom

Leisure Alaska guitarist dondreas has entered this remix in the “remix Ginger Ninja’s Wet Like a Dog” contest at BandBase.
+ Wet Like a Dog (dondreas remix)

Long time Hits In The Car favorite Tower of Foil has released their first ever video. It's for new single Sunday Love and it is quite DIY(ish) and really, really nice! Check the band's homepage for more (several) free downloads.


+ Sunday Love

Open season...

Great video for one of this year's best songs...



+ Open Season

Cleaning...

Been too busy listening to a certain band this week (promised not to mention their name for some time), meaning that I've ignored everything else sent my way. So I'm going to spend the next hour (maybe more, maybe less) cleaning out the mailbox. The good stuff (if any) will end up here.

+ Young Galaxy - Peripheral Visionaries
+ Modern Skirts - Bumper Car
+ Simian Ghost - Transparent Is OK
+ High Highs - Open Season

Over and out...