If you love music, but hate how greedy record companies are -buy CDs at concerts. This guarantees that the proceeds go directly to the band.
A few weeks ago, Jason and I saw Rasputina play. We picked up their new album Oh Perilous World at the concert, we got the deluxe 2 disc edition. The second disc includes, previously unreleased songs, a nice instrumental version of “The Infidel is Me”, and a different version of “The Pruning”.
I’ve been listening to this album everyday for the last few weeks. I think it’s absolutely brilliant. The songs mix history, bizarre current events, and dark humor. “Champion” is mostly the translation of an Osama Bin-Laden speech and “Child Soldier” references the phenomenon of African children’s armies. I really like how everyone sings on “Old Yellow Cake”, even the drummer.
“Yellow Cake”
Please, buy merchandise at concerts. This is the best way to get your money into the hands of the artists and keep the awful middle man out.
Once again its time for The Iceland Film Festival in Reykjavík. Finally we get something worth seeing in cinema. I haven’t been to the movies for at least 4 months and i think that is actually a record for me. There just hasn’t been anything to tempt me to go the movies. But now i’m a happy little elf!
I went to see Paris, je t’aime which is a film done by 20 different directors: Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, Emmanuel Benbihy, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruon Podalydés, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer and Gus Van Sant.
Each director gets 5 min to tell his story in his own way which leads you to see the diversity in 18 different district of Paris. I thought the film was absolutely amazing! Loved it even more then i love Paris… well no not really but still i really liked it. Each short story just took my breath away… i wasn’t bored for one second not even a split of second. To me it was simply a masterpiece!
While i was in Denmark last weekend i saw Massive Attack for the first time. That’s experience i’ll never forget. They did all their great old hits and put on really great show. The only thing that bothered me was that the music wasn’t loud enough and that the crowd wasn’t tough enough. Or maybe its just that i’m spoiled by small intimate venues and a hardcore music fans in Iceland.
Anyway what i wanted to tell you about is my new discovery of a danish band called Under Byen. They were one of the bands that supported Massive Attack last friday at Forum in Copenhagen. I have to admit that i’m not too familiar with the danish music scene and that I’d never heard of them before so i had no idea of what to expect. But they really blew my ears away! That amazing voice of Henriette Sennenvaldt, so smooth, jazzy, old school, mumbling and whispering words that i couldn’t understand but it just made it more mysterious. It took me awhile to actually spot her on the stage cause she was way in the back next to the bass player Sara Saxild. Sometimes her voice reminded me of Björk, Stina Nordenstam and Hope Sandoval. Under Byen sounded very scandinavian to me and their violins reminded me of Sigur Rós. Dramatic, sincere and so powerful. My only question is why didn’t i know of them before? Shame on me! If you haven’t heard of them i dare you to check them out.
I’d wanted to see Joyeux Noël since it came out last year, but never had the chance and waited until it was released on DVD.
During December 1914 in France the German, Scottish, and French forces were fighting each other in trenches less than 50 metres from each other. The soldiers on all sides had grown weary and cold, so their Lieutenants decided to call a ‘cease fire’ for Christmas Eve. I suppose nobody really felt like fighting on Christmas, so the men started to meet one another and they even held a mass.
I thought is was so interesting and awkward how these soldiers and their officers started to speak and develop relationships with each other, despite coming from different backgrounds and languages. They knew some of the same songs and showed each other pictures of their wives and families.
It’s written and directed by Christian Carion and is meant to be based on many true stories of soldiers on the frontlines on Christmas Eve 1914. It stars Daniel Brühl of ‘The Edukators’ and Diane Kruger who played Helen in ‘Troy’.
I really enjoyed this movie and how it skipped languages from German, to English, to French. And Anna and I think the girl in it has pretty much the coolest hair style ever.
Last saturday I got to see one of my childhood hero’s, the South African singer Miriam Makeba. I never thought I’d someday have the opportunity to see her perform live let alone in Iceland of all places. I discovered her when I was around six years old while exploring my dad’s old records. I remember instantly falling in love her amazing voice begging my dad to explain for me the english translation of the lyrics.
I didn’t really think she’d still be preforming being 74 years old and all. But she was amazing and her voice was as powerful as ever. I haven’t really listen to any of her new cd’s, I’m more of a fan of the music she recorded around 1950-1970. And she preformed a lot of her old hits like Pata Pata and Malaika which my sister and my 2 cousins sung so beautifully for me at my graduation. Anyway I had a great time and felt very privileged to have the chance to see her. What an amazing woman!
The Icelandic band called Stórsveit Nix Noltes started with a bang on saturday night at the Reykjavík Rite of Spring festival. I saw them for the first time at the Iceland Airwaves festival last year and just went wild at the dance floor dancing with the crowd. They have recently been touring in Europe with Animal Collective and playing at the SXSW festival. There are 9 musicians in the band all with different background but they all share interest and passion playing folk music from Bulgaria and the Balkan regions and their own version of it. They have recently released the album Orkideur Hawai on the 12 Tónar label and Bubblecore Records in the US. You should definitely check it out if your into this type of music. As for me i absolutely love them and they were great last night.
The band that I had been most exited about of all the bands at the festival was KAL. Being a fan of gypsies and just overall traditional east European music scene i was curious to see if the band that’s been called the hottest gypsy band would live up to its rumors. For the minute they walked on stage i just was in love! And the crowd loved them as well. Everyone just went wild dancing and enjoying the music. I think even KAL was surprised to see the response they got from the land of ice. I just couldn’t resist buying their album entitled KAL but i have to say it was a bit different from how they perform. The sound of the album is a bit more mixture of traditional and urban but i still like it. Their music made me go on a trip to Estern Europe in my mind and made me more desperate than ever to go there on a holiday. There is someting magical about this kind of music that makes you crave for getting to know its culture and traditiones.
It was a magical night, there were only smiling faces that came out from NASA in desperate need for a bath.
The second night of Reykjavík Rite of Spring festival started off with the incredible Bogomil Font (Sigtryggur Baldursson ) former Sugercubes member. This time performing with the band called Flís presenting their brand new calypso project, music from Trinidad and Tobago with horrible Icelandic lyrics. I ‘m a shame to tell that this was my first time seeing Bogomil Font perform though i’ve been fan for some time. Yet I was extremely surprised how great of performer he was. He was just on fire! And those horrible lyrics were hilarious, all of Nasa was just bursting in laughter. Singing about things like lying weather reporters and the icelandic yuppies combined with calypso music somehow made sense. This is definitely not the last show i see with Bogomil Font that’s for sure!
There was definitely excitement in the air when Petter Winnberg the bassist from our beloved icelandic reggae band Hjálmar came on stage with his 11 member band. Petter is now working on his first album entitled Easily Tricked. Despite having all that people there on the stage is just didn’t feel tight enough performance. It really felt like it was their fist concert together and perhaps it was. I liked the songs but it just didn’t come together for them. But i’m still exited about the album cause it might be better.
Then it was time for Soul Jazz Records to bring us their 100% Dynamite club featuring The Soul Jazz Soundsystem from London with set-up of two DJs and MC Ox. It was the mixture of soul, jazz, funk, hip hop and reggae. I had a great time dancing like a crazy to their music. Though it was kind of half empty at Nasa i didn’t really care just more space for me!
Although I respect and really do like the Arcade Fire I don’t get that messiah tingle up everyone’s spine. Maybe it’s just the vocals that rub me the wrong way or the fact that I find the phrase Canadian rock band perplexing. It could even be watching my skin curl off the bones every time I hear a pseudo hipster drop the name like security clearance.
Whatever the reason I feel as though they’re coming up my blind spot and for second I thought maybe my negativity was blinding me. Enter deep thought: Have I truly become so jaded that I can’t even enjoy what “appears” to be an amazing band? Have I actually let the bitter kill my love for music?
Thankfully by what seems to be divine intervention the answer was sent via email newsletter. A way to focus only on the good the Arcade Fire has to offer without having to deal with all the irritating muck (that voice!). They’re called My Latest Novel: a five piece Scottish band who just released their debut LP on the ever amazing Bella Union. I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! IN YOUR FACE!
Listening to MLN’s Wolves Out is staring into a child’s eyes so wide you fall in…the wunderkind love child of Belle & Sebastian and the Arcade Fire to be precise. Although the over-used comparisons to both have some merit they’re also short sighted.
MLN craft shimmering builds in the same manner as the Arcade Fire but temper the explosions with a sense of melody foreign to the latter. They weave pop and folk as effortlessly and beautifully as Belle & Sebastian but are far more adventurous.
My Latest Novel builds the married sound of noise and pop brick by brick where most bands pile. Chanting boy-girl melodies enhanced with violins, xylophone, guitars and an ability to write victory aubades that rival that of birds. It’s an adult fairytale, magic plain and simple.
Last night I went to the Hætta! concert and what an amazing concert that was! Great way to start the new year with fantastic show like that! Before the concert started inside the sports hall Laugardalshöll where this hole event took place you would watch a happening by The Icelandic Love Corporation and then on the big screen you could watch Ruri’s amazing waterfall piece. You could just feel the excitement in the air!
Björk and Zeena were second on stage after a sincere performance by KK. Björk was wearing this amazing green dress which made me realize that she really is the true icelandic álfadrottning (=queen of the elves). Her magical performance gave me goose pimples big times! The show went on with amazing performances by Múm, Sigur rós, Magga Stína, Rass and Dr. Spock, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, Mugison, Hjálmar, Gostigital and Damon Albarn with a new song just written for the concert, the legendary Ham and finally Egó with the king himself, Bubbi Mortens!
For those hundred or well probable thousands of people who would have wanted to see the concert but couldn’t well people I’ve got some good new for you! You should be able to go to damnation.tv sometime this week and watch the hole thing. So get ready to experience a show that’s most definitely going to be on my top 5 list of best concerts of 2006 even though it’s only the second week in january. Enjoy!
I agree with Jill. There probably are enough Top 10 of 2005 lists out there to choke a pig, but I’d rather not do a list of fillers either. I think there were quite a few great records put out, and I spent more money on music this year than I probably have in the past.
But here are three albums that may or may not have come into your radar this year.
Architecture in Helsinki- In Case We Die
The second release from the Melbourne, Australia based band. They’re as clever and charming as they are bright and shiny.
Sleater Kinney- The Woods
Not just another release from the riot grrl trio. This record is mature and far from anything that could’ve kept them cliché or stale. I’m really excited to see them perform songs from this album.
Against Me!- Searching for a Former Clarity
I can’t stop listening to this record. Earlier this year I reviewed this album with a bit of skepticism, but I’ve changed my mind. It’s loud and angry and takes all my attention. Searching for a Former Clarity was a perfect chapter in their library. For as much grief as they’re getting for signing to Sire Records, Against Me! should be really proud of this record. The punk/folk may not be your cup of tea, but you’ll probably hear it in 2006.
