Why 21? The answer will become clear at the end of this list.
1: Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own
In 2010 no album had a stronger opening track than Go On. No song was more beautiful than The Shore, or more enchanting than Heart Of My Own. No melody soared like Gold Rush's and nothing broke my heart quite like Once More, For The Dollhouse. Simply put, Basia's strong but quivering vocals, her autoharp and violins, the feel of Canadian wilderness and old folk music knocked me over and despite being released last winter, nothing else have come close to taking its spot on this list.
2: The School - Loveless Unbeliever
Splendid joyful indiepop/ 60s girlband revival. Like the best Pipettes songs, but without the kitsch packaging.
3: Masshysteri - Masshysteri
Too punk to be indie, too indie to be punk. Absolutely superb powerpoppunk with deadly melodies and lyrics. Might also have the best cover-art of the year.
4: Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Laura continues being the worlds oldest 20 year old. And ups the folk side of her singer/songwriter.
5: Ghost - Opus Eponymous
Equal parts 70s metal and occult doom atmospheres baptised in unholy pop. Huge melodies.
6: Marina & The Diamonds - Family Jewels
Not a robot, a woman filled with opinions and thoughts that she eagerly shares. Even the rare moment when she falls on her face becomes interesting.
7: kent - En Plats I Solen
kent steps out, sees the sun and goes lighter, brighter, more personal again.
8: Säkert! - Facit
A step down from the debut, but no one writes Swedish lyrics like Säkert!
9: My Chemical Romance - Danger Days
Sparkles like Bowie in the morning sun.
10: Hurts - Happiness
Epic synthpop of epic epicness.
11: Robyn - Body Talk
Song for song Pt. 2 is the best, but the compilation collects most of the highlights.
12: Tove Styrke - Tove Styrke
Like Robyn's poppier little sister.
13: Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Till Paradise
A tad too 70s laidback but some of the sharpest lyrics Håkan's written.
14: Johnossi - Mavericks
Drum&guitar duo that out-U2's (in a good way!) most full bands.
15: Steget - Förändrar Allting
Naive and simple but very honest, Steget is like reading someone diary.
16: Familjen - Mänskligheten
Scania 4-ever.
17: Ga-In - Step 2/4
Tango-pop with more than a hint of heat.
18: Anna von Hauswolff - Singing From The Grave
Finds the connection between quiet piano and later-day Neubautenish noise.
19: Scissor Sisters - Night Work
Uneven, but the good parts soars.
20: Zombiekrig - Undantagstillstånd
Thrash metal in Swedish, melodic without being weak.
21: 2NE1 - To Anyone
2NE1 should rule the world. Fact.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Day 6: The wonders of Mishindie
Many years ago I got to know an Australian named Misha. We connected over love for music, old movies and quirky stuff. Since then we've been in contact, sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot, but we really reconnected during the spring this year. And part of that was sending tonnes of music back and forth. Misha, being an indie queen, sent me all sorts of indiepop and I sent her more electronic things. And while it is a tad unnerving how much better than me she knows Swedish indiepopbands, I've found myself loving a lot of her recommendations.
My favourite Mishindie comes in three distinct flavours. There is the updated 60s girlpop, there's the fuzzy shoegaze/noisepop and then there's the 80s flavoured variety. My Favourite (who obviously formed pre-Google) goes for all out 80s love. New Order and The Smiths meet under the burning mushroom cloud of Hiroshima. Insanely strong song, amazing lyrics and there are at least 4-5 other My Favourite tunes of this calibre.
The School (whose Loveless Unbeliever will rank very high on my Best Albums of ´10 list) go for updated 60s girlband. And do is splendidly. I Want You Back might have my favourite chorus of the year.
So logically the third song would come from the noisepop. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart aren't that noisy though, despite loads of layers, feedback they're more like a John Huges movie than anything else. Dreamy recollections of teenage joy and life.
The Blanche Hudson Weekend is both proper noisepop *and* 60s girlband revival! One of the better mutations of the "Be My Baby" beat and the simple line "I could have been your baby, but now I want you dead" would make this a perfect soundtrack to some 60s exploitation flick. Preferably in black and white.
Speaking of movies, Linda Linda Linda is the kind of film that makes me believe in life, music, happiness and Ramones-inspired punkpop! It might, in fact, be my favourite music movie. Some of that comes how deftly it avoids the cliches but also from the 4 actresses actually playing the songs themselves, and doing a pretty decent job of it. Like this Ramonesy popsong.
And finally Wild Nothing's dreamy dreamy "Live In Dreams". For some reason I keep thinking of a kent song every time I hear this. Odd, as kent could never be this light and breezy. So that'd be my six favorite Mishindie songs. Even though Trailer Trash Tracys deserve an honorary mention.
My favourite Mishindie comes in three distinct flavours. There is the updated 60s girlpop, there's the fuzzy shoegaze/noisepop and then there's the 80s flavoured variety. My Favourite (who obviously formed pre-Google) goes for all out 80s love. New Order and The Smiths meet under the burning mushroom cloud of Hiroshima. Insanely strong song, amazing lyrics and there are at least 4-5 other My Favourite tunes of this calibre.
The School (whose Loveless Unbeliever will rank very high on my Best Albums of ´10 list) go for updated 60s girlband. And do is splendidly. I Want You Back might have my favourite chorus of the year.
So logically the third song would come from the noisepop. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart aren't that noisy though, despite loads of layers, feedback they're more like a John Huges movie than anything else. Dreamy recollections of teenage joy and life.
The Blanche Hudson Weekend is both proper noisepop *and* 60s girlband revival! One of the better mutations of the "Be My Baby" beat and the simple line "I could have been your baby, but now I want you dead" would make this a perfect soundtrack to some 60s exploitation flick. Preferably in black and white.
Speaking of movies, Linda Linda Linda is the kind of film that makes me believe in life, music, happiness and Ramones-inspired punkpop! It might, in fact, be my favourite music movie. Some of that comes how deftly it avoids the cliches but also from the 4 actresses actually playing the songs themselves, and doing a pretty decent job of it. Like this Ramonesy popsong.
And finally Wild Nothing's dreamy dreamy "Live In Dreams". For some reason I keep thinking of a kent song every time I hear this. Odd, as kent could never be this light and breezy. So that'd be my six favorite Mishindie songs. Even though Trailer Trash Tracys deserve an honorary mention.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Strawberries and the endless reverb.
I got a new 7" single today! It's a smelly thing, and it's red! It's by one of my "instant purchase" groups, New York shoegazers Asobi Seksu. They specialize in making my heart flutter and my ears shiver (and occasionally blow out). In the best ways possible. The song is called Strawberries so logically the sleeve is strawberry scented. Makes *perfect* sense!
I quite like the artwork Asobi Seksu had during the Citrus era. It was messy with loads of colours and symbols but had a dreamlike quality that suited the sound. And what's not to like in a giant eye on the label, for a slight Illuminati feeling?
Ps: Asobi Seksu's Thursday is the best song of the 00s. That is not an opinion, that's a fact.
I quite like the artwork Asobi Seksu had during the Citrus era. It was messy with loads of colours and symbols but had a dreamlike quality that suited the sound. And what's not to like in a giant eye on the label, for a slight Illuminati feeling?
Ps: Asobi Seksu's Thursday is the best song of the 00s. That is not an opinion, that's a fact.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Day 5: 2NE1 and the glittery design
Something I appreciate with K-pop (and a lot of Asian music in general) is the attention put on packaging. A standard jewel case might fit in a CD-shelf, but lets face it, it is a boring way to package music. This is 2010 and who cares about a plastic case with a thin dull booklet in it?
Korean pop goes for value with their packaging. Like when girl group 2NE1 released their first full length album, To Anyone. The standard edition comes DVD-case sized. The cover is reflective silver with pink and purple tints, depending on the angle and light hitting in. The lettering sparkles in all the colours of the rainbow.
2NE1 is one of the biggest K-pop acts, they recently won Korean "Grammy's" for Artist of the Year, Female Group of the Year, Video of the Year and Album of the Year (To Anyone). Their team also won several "lesser" awards like Best Choreographer, Best Stylist (it helps being good friends with Jeremy Scott) and Best Video Director. And when you open up the case, we find the CD, and a 50 pages thick book with lyrics, thanks you's, postcards, photos and all that jazz.
One could think that this is lavish because of 2NE1 status, as one of the bigger groups on one of the 3 major talent agencies. But in fact this is a rather ordinary k-pop packaging. All other releases I got are more extravagant. In an effort to stand out smaller agencies usually go further in their designs and packaging, which I'll show later.
What I like with 2NE1 is the attitude. Their leader, blonde CL, is pretty much one of the coolest women in pop right now. Just see how she owns the second verse of Can't Nobody. The group dynamic is good, CL being the OTT leader, Minzy the maknae (youngest member) is like a firecracker that occasionally explodes. Bom Park doing lead vocals and Dara.... well. She's the salt of the group. Not really standing out, but essential to the flavour. Here is her "Thanks" page in the book, of course designed by Dara herself.
The fact that the booklet is filled with the members handwriting is a nice touch. The music is decent enough, some really really good pop hits, some filler, but everything with strong urban touch and attitude. They don't fall into the saccharine "cute" concepts Korean girlgroups often have, instead project a strong, determined femininity, and being four girls with distinct images and opinions. The big downside is the overuse of autotune. The girls get few chances to prove just how well they can sing and that saddens me. Of all k-pop acts who wants an English career, 2NE1 might be the ones with the biggest chance to success. Their sound is much more westernised, they are distinctive (remember the "all Asians look like" clichë ?) and they have connections in the US fashion world. And they sing nonsensical but awesome things like "Fiancé? Beyonce! I'm walkin' out of destiny" and "We're Asian, we rise with the sun."
Go Away deserves a mention. It's the one track where the autotune really grates, but has a superb "arms waving in the air, chanting along" break and the video goes to some surprisingly dark places. Abuse, vengeance, death, CL giving a look that could shatter ice and watch carefully what actually happens in the end. No happy ending here. On the more humorous side, the video also includes some really unconvincing "we're rocking out as a band" segments that are good for a few laughs. Can Minzy be kept at 2 meters distance from all drumsticks in the future, please?
Korean pop goes for value with their packaging. Like when girl group 2NE1 released their first full length album, To Anyone. The standard edition comes DVD-case sized. The cover is reflective silver with pink and purple tints, depending on the angle and light hitting in. The lettering sparkles in all the colours of the rainbow.
What I like with 2NE1 is the attitude. Their leader, blonde CL, is pretty much one of the coolest women in pop right now. Just see how she owns the second verse of Can't Nobody. The group dynamic is good, CL being the OTT leader, Minzy the maknae (youngest member) is like a firecracker that occasionally explodes. Bom Park doing lead vocals and Dara.... well. She's the salt of the group. Not really standing out, but essential to the flavour. Here is her "Thanks" page in the book, of course designed by Dara herself.
The fact that the booklet is filled with the members handwriting is a nice touch. The music is decent enough, some really really good pop hits, some filler, but everything with strong urban touch and attitude. They don't fall into the saccharine "cute" concepts Korean girlgroups often have, instead project a strong, determined femininity, and being four girls with distinct images and opinions. The big downside is the overuse of autotune. The girls get few chances to prove just how well they can sing and that saddens me. Of all k-pop acts who wants an English career, 2NE1 might be the ones with the biggest chance to success. Their sound is much more westernised, they are distinctive (remember the "all Asians look like" clichë ?) and they have connections in the US fashion world. And they sing nonsensical but awesome things like "Fiancé? Beyonce! I'm walkin' out of destiny" and "We're Asian, we rise with the sun."
Go Away deserves a mention. It's the one track where the autotune really grates, but has a superb "arms waving in the air, chanting along" break and the video goes to some surprisingly dark places. Abuse, vengeance, death, CL giving a look that could shatter ice and watch carefully what actually happens in the end. No happy ending here. On the more humorous side, the video also includes some really unconvincing "we're rocking out as a band" segments that are good for a few laughs. Can Minzy be kept at 2 meters distance from all drumsticks in the future, please?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Day 4: My Chemical Romance or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Colours.
Originally titled "10 reasons I dig the new My Chemical Romance album" and posted at my private Livejournal. But well worthy of being a part of my "Highlights from 2010" advent calendar thing. I do like this album quite a lot.
Vampire money, a New York Dolled-up glampunk blast that gives the finger to the whole Twilight phenomena in a most hilarious way. "Gimme gimme some of that vampire money c'mon!". It was apparently written as a reply to Summit wanting them to do a tune for a Twilight soundtrack. It rocks, name-checks Bowie *and* Bolan, got a incendiary guitarsolo, intro stolen from Ballroom Blitz, the opening lines "3, 2, 1, we came to fuck" and ends with the band apologizing for playing too loud. The chorus drives the point home, but best line is "Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun".
Hair back, collar up, jet black, so cool!
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you (c'mon!)
So you wanna be a movie star (c'mon! )
Play the game and take the band real far (c'mon! )
Play it right and drive a Volvo car (c'mon! )
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you (c'mon!)
So you wanna be a movie star (c'mon! )
Play the game and take the band real far (c'mon! )
Play it right and drive a Volvo car (c'mon! )
It's just one of the most joyfully punk one-fingered salutes I've heard in ages.
Bulletproof Heart sounds like their attempt to rewrite Born To Run for the 21st century. There can only be one Born To Run and of course they fail, but Bulletproof Heart mines the same territory of escape, finding something better, living your life on your terms and dreams to great effect. As the second track it brings home one important point: My Chemical Romance have left The Black Parade far behind, both musically and in worldview. The whole album is really uplifting, without coming across as cheesy. A very tough trick to pull off.
Na Na Na, the most invigorating rock'n'roll in years. It's the kind of songs that starts at 100% and just revs up.
The Kids Of Yesterday is apparently the bands favourite track. It sounds very much like The Smashing Pumpkins on a serious 1979 trip. With added cowbell! How can that be wrong? It can't. There is a lot of nostalgia sparkled around this album, at the same time as it's about the band growing up. It's the band daring to do whatever they want, however they want it, without sacrificing what made them into who they're now.
"Cause you wanna live forever in the lights you make
When we were young we used to say
That you only hear the music when your heart begins to break
Now we are the kids from yesterday,
today"
When we were young we used to say
That you only hear the music when your heart begins to break
Now we are the kids from yesterday,
today"
Summertime on the other hand could've one of The Cure's poppier numbers and no one would've noticed. Well, if Robert sang it, obviously. It's also a lovely lovesong, which I always have a soft spot for.
Dystopian optimism. The album is very uplifting and quite optimistic. It's all about fulfilling your dreams, and that you can do what you want. At the same time it is "set" in a dystopian totalitarian future, and each video released this far has ended up with the band defeated/shot down. That dichotomy exists throughout the album and adds tension to the songs.
Planetary (GO) rushes ahead at breakneck speed, with moroderseque synths in the background. It sounds like My Chemical Romance doing a dance song but actually good, if that explanation makes sense. There is so much energy in the song. Actually there is electronics sparkled all over the album. Synths squeal, sequencers bubble and samples flare. But it's still a rock'n'roll album at heart.
S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is at heart a stadium anthem where people wave lighters, sing along and sway from side to side. So the band drapes the guitars in a psychedelic haze, puts weird effects on low-mixed vocals but keeps the stadium drums loud and clear. The end result is hypnotizing enough to make me forgive the title.
Save Yourself (I'll Hold Them Back) would deserve a mention even if the line "We can live forever if you've got the time" was the only good thing with the song. But it also ties in with the dystopian optimism thing I mentioned earlier. It's the hardest, most aggressive cut on the record, but doesn't forget about those great melodies that always been My Chemical Romance's hidden weapon.
Salvation. The Black Parade was such a statement. I consider if one of the best rock albums of the last decade, and it still holds up when I play it. But the band couldn't go any darker, couldn't move any further down that line. And media took the blackness/emo thing and ran with it. The Black Parade must've been like a prison, because Danger Days sounds like the band throwing a live grenade at the perception of what My Chemical Romance is supposed to be. And then they dance in colourful outfits and lasers beams while The Black Parade blows up. Will Danger Days last like The Black Parade? I'm not sure, but it sets the band on a new path, musically and visually. And does so without losing the energy, the comic book flair that is integral to the band's heart. It feels like they're free to go any which way now, and I hope they'll do just that.
Day 3! K-Pop
Musically 2010 has had two main trends for me. On one side, noisy/sweet indiepop harkening back to 60s girlbands, New Order and distortion. I call it Mishindie for reasons to be explained later. The other trend has been k-pop. Korean Pop. K-pop is commercial pop music as viewed through a Korean lens, sung by boys and girls who've trained under talent agencies for many years in hope to one day become a part of a group. They usually get scouted during their early teens, the agency pays for their education while giving them singing lessons, dance lessons, acting lessons, language lessons and look for other girls/boys to build a group where each member can stand out and attract a certain segment of the population. The members must be as believable selling stuff in commercials as they are acting in the TV-dramas and appearing on reality shows with other idols, making sure the fans always can get a good dose of "their" favourite star. That is, of course, outside of the singing, recording and when promoting appearing weekly on the 3 competing chart programs as well as other shows. If possible with different outfits and looks for each appearance to ensure variation and added value for the fans.
The world of k-pop is a weird world. And I haven't even gotten into their very ambivalent views on sexuality, the way the agencies control the lives of the stars, censorship and exploitation of young boys and girls, the homogenised Korean culture and its strict traditions or the scandals that always simmer beneath the surface. It's the kind of place where a group has to live together to make sure the members bond, and that the agencies have full control of their lives.
Why do I like this? Simple. There is no other pop-scene in the world that is as exciting as the Korean. UK is wandering in the dark, Sweden is stuck up on Idol and Melodifestivalen, while US is drinking the David Guetta kool-aid. Korea is bursting with songs, groups, agencies and top-notch producers. It's a boiling pot of talent, with the potential to go either global or implode upon itself. Considering that the latest 2NE1 video got over a million youtube hits in just one day, and that Billboard recently covered Girls' Generation, I might be leaning towards the former. Korean as a language is much more rhythmic than Japanese, way more harmonic than Mandarin and Cantonese. It lends itself well to upbeat electronic pop/r'n'b. With each producer wanting to stand out in a crowded market there are some insane productions released. Some crash and burn, whereas others soar high (Lucifer, while being a bit of a hot mess, might have my favourite production of the year).
This frequently leads to superb pop singles followed by uneven albums. Just like groups are handpicked to suit as many demographics as possible, few albums presents a cohesive theme but instead puts down some r'n'b, some electropop, some ballads, some soul, some lite-rock. Something for everyone. Exceptions to this rule exists, but k-pop is mainly a singles game. The only artist who truly broke the mould and made a musical statement 2010 was Ga-In who delivered a great tango-pop mini album.
What got me started on this, then? Back in spring I was reading a music forum and a thread named "Perfect pop songs" caught my eye. There were the usual suspects, Girls Aloud, early Sugababes, Max Martin productions, Annie, Robyn. Then there was the indiepop segment with New Order, The Smiths and all the other songs I've heard a million times. But there was also a song called "Gee" by a group named "Girls' Generation". So I gave it a listen. Then another one. Then once more. It is now the, by far, most played song in my iTunes library at 164 plays (64 more plays than #2 on that list). Add in youtube hits and it would be like I've listened to this song once a day since April. And I'm not the only one. When I found it, the video had 18 millions views. Now it's over 30.
What is it with Gee that makes it so irresistible?
At first it was how the drums falls away for a few beats just as the chorus starts. That was my initial hook.
Then it was their "leg-scissor dance", brilliant in its simplicity.
After that I got stuck on the rhythmicness of Korean, the sung language occasionally becomes its own percussion track. At one point I realized how much Taeyeon adlibs near the end added to the song.
And then I found that each time I listened to Gee I couldn't help myself smiling, it was such a joyful cheery song. No matter how down I am, Gee cheers me up. Yes, it's sweet, sugary and very far from some western idea of authenticity. And there is absolutely no musical reason for them to have nine members! But I don't care. It's simply put one of the most perfect pop songs I've heard and I keep finding new things that draw me back in to it. Currently my obsession is the way they sing "geol/gul/girl" at the end of some verses.
This was meant to be a short post about Korean album design and artwork, and how much more time and effort they put into those things. How varied it is. But instead it turned into some sort of introduction to k-pop. I'll get back to the design later though, it's too good not to be shown.
The world of k-pop is a weird world. And I haven't even gotten into their very ambivalent views on sexuality, the way the agencies control the lives of the stars, censorship and exploitation of young boys and girls, the homogenised Korean culture and its strict traditions or the scandals that always simmer beneath the surface. It's the kind of place where a group has to live together to make sure the members bond, and that the agencies have full control of their lives.
Why do I like this? Simple. There is no other pop-scene in the world that is as exciting as the Korean. UK is wandering in the dark, Sweden is stuck up on Idol and Melodifestivalen, while US is drinking the David Guetta kool-aid. Korea is bursting with songs, groups, agencies and top-notch producers. It's a boiling pot of talent, with the potential to go either global or implode upon itself. Considering that the latest 2NE1 video got over a million youtube hits in just one day, and that Billboard recently covered Girls' Generation, I might be leaning towards the former. Korean as a language is much more rhythmic than Japanese, way more harmonic than Mandarin and Cantonese. It lends itself well to upbeat electronic pop/r'n'b. With each producer wanting to stand out in a crowded market there are some insane productions released. Some crash and burn, whereas others soar high (Lucifer, while being a bit of a hot mess, might have my favourite production of the year).
This frequently leads to superb pop singles followed by uneven albums. Just like groups are handpicked to suit as many demographics as possible, few albums presents a cohesive theme but instead puts down some r'n'b, some electropop, some ballads, some soul, some lite-rock. Something for everyone. Exceptions to this rule exists, but k-pop is mainly a singles game. The only artist who truly broke the mould and made a musical statement 2010 was Ga-In who delivered a great tango-pop mini album.
What got me started on this, then? Back in spring I was reading a music forum and a thread named "Perfect pop songs" caught my eye. There were the usual suspects, Girls Aloud, early Sugababes, Max Martin productions, Annie, Robyn. Then there was the indiepop segment with New Order, The Smiths and all the other songs I've heard a million times. But there was also a song called "Gee" by a group named "Girls' Generation". So I gave it a listen. Then another one. Then once more. It is now the, by far, most played song in my iTunes library at 164 plays (64 more plays than #2 on that list). Add in youtube hits and it would be like I've listened to this song once a day since April. And I'm not the only one. When I found it, the video had 18 millions views. Now it's over 30.
What is it with Gee that makes it so irresistible?
At first it was how the drums falls away for a few beats just as the chorus starts. That was my initial hook.
Then it was their "leg-scissor dance", brilliant in its simplicity.
After that I got stuck on the rhythmicness of Korean, the sung language occasionally becomes its own percussion track. At one point I realized how much Taeyeon adlibs near the end added to the song.
And then I found that each time I listened to Gee I couldn't help myself smiling, it was such a joyful cheery song. No matter how down I am, Gee cheers me up. Yes, it's sweet, sugary and very far from some western idea of authenticity. And there is absolutely no musical reason for them to have nine members! But I don't care. It's simply put one of the most perfect pop songs I've heard and I keep finding new things that draw me back in to it. Currently my obsession is the way they sing "geol/gul/girl" at the end of some verses.
This was meant to be a short post about Korean album design and artwork, and how much more time and effort they put into those things. How varied it is. But instead it turned into some sort of introduction to k-pop. I'll get back to the design later though, it's too good not to be shown.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Day 2: "I tried to be a girl who likes to be used, I'm too good for that, there's a mind under this hat"
Laura Marling just released a 7" on Jack White's Third Man Records. She covers Neil Young's The Needle and The Damage Done and Jackson C. Frank's Blues Run The Game (perhaps more well known covered by Nick Drake or Simon & Garfunkel). Like everything else she does it is striking, haunting and mature well beyond her young years.
Her sophomore album "I Speak Because I Can" is a tour de force of folky singer/songwriter. With Mumford & Sons as her backing band she steps away from the indie-pop feel of the debut towards more traditional folk, putting lyrics and vocals front and center. It's an album for winter, an album for solitude. The songs ebb and flows, the band knows when to play up and when to drop out of the song, leaving the sole light on Laura. It's not an album for instant gratification but one that grows with every note played, every word sung, like Cohen, Dylan and Mitchell. Listen with your headphones on, shut off the world and peek into Laura's.
Her sophomore album "I Speak Because I Can" is a tour de force of folky singer/songwriter. With Mumford & Sons as her backing band she steps away from the indie-pop feel of the debut towards more traditional folk, putting lyrics and vocals front and center. It's an album for winter, an album for solitude. The songs ebb and flows, the band knows when to play up and when to drop out of the song, leaving the sole light on Laura. It's not an album for instant gratification but one that grows with every note played, every word sung, like Cohen, Dylan and Mitchell. Listen with your headphones on, shut off the world and peek into Laura's.
Some sort of Advent Calendar! Day 1.
I am, once again, stealing a concept from the inspiration of this entire blog, Vinyl Richard, a blog in Swedish by a friend of mine. He's having an advent calendar where each day he lists one of his favourite albums of the year. My calendar will be slightly different. 2010 hasn't been an album year for me, sure there's been some superb albums that will get their due praise, but it's been a year when I've listened to more tracks and singles than anything else.
I shall start with one of my absolute favourite tracks of this year. From an artist who've yet to officially release anything, but I suspect she might have signed to Universal.
Lana Del Rey - Diet Mtn Dew
I love how she combines a dark noir atmosphere with a slight urban twist in the percussion. Her voice, strong and firm, yet thin as it slides over the music. The casual Lolita reference in the lyrics. Dark cinematic and the kind of tune I can play again and again without losing interest. Like someone took The Big Sleep and put it in a 2010 suit.
Outside of the random leaked track on youtube and a completely out-of-nowhere appearance on Mando Diao's unplugged album (hence my signed to Universal suspicions) I've yet to hear anything about when Lana will drop an actual album. I hope it will be soon, have after all been waiting since May.
I also made a woefully spotty Spotify list, which can be found here. As the list lacks all and any k-pop (among others) it's not really representative, but it'll do as a good complement to the songs I bring up on this blog.
I shall start with one of my absolute favourite tracks of this year. From an artist who've yet to officially release anything, but I suspect she might have signed to Universal.
Lana Del Rey - Diet Mtn Dew
I love how she combines a dark noir atmosphere with a slight urban twist in the percussion. Her voice, strong and firm, yet thin as it slides over the music. The casual Lolita reference in the lyrics. Dark cinematic and the kind of tune I can play again and again without losing interest. Like someone took The Big Sleep and put it in a 2010 suit.
Outside of the random leaked track on youtube and a completely out-of-nowhere appearance on Mando Diao's unplugged album (hence my signed to Universal suspicions) I've yet to hear anything about when Lana will drop an actual album. I hope it will be soon, have after all been waiting since May.
I also made a woefully spotty Spotify list, which can be found here. As the list lacks all and any k-pop (among others) it's not really representative, but it'll do as a good complement to the songs I bring up on this blog.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A black quickie!
I saw this box in my local record store. "The price for best box design goes to..."
Yes, that is a DVD standing next to it. Yes, this is enormous. Yes, it cost ridiculously much. It's (yet another) box with the Ozzy years compiled. It's metal history and if I had the money, I would have purchased it.
In the upcoming days there will be several posts with Korean pop. After having seen the lavish details and designs they put on their standard releases I feel even less inclined to ever buy an ordinary jewel-case CD again.
In the upcoming days there will be several posts with Korean pop. After having seen the lavish details and designs they put on their standard releases I feel even less inclined to ever buy an ordinary jewel-case CD again.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Lykke Li and the correct pronunciation of Paris
Of all the stuff released during my time at EMI Lykke Li's debut, Youth Novels, was the most exciting. There was something unique to her, her mixture of vulnerability, femininity and toughness stood out. It was clear she was a future star in the making. And she played superb liveshows where her confidence and control grew stronger and stronger for each time I saw her. Something that reflects on her latest single, in a glorious (but not exactly photofriendly) reflecting silver sleeve.
Thanks to being a "randomly" chosen winner of a Facebook contest the very first mail that arrived to my new address was a brand new, shiny 7". There are worse ways to inaugurate a new mail box, no? The single is great because it works as a single, revealing two very different sides of Lykke Li. The two tracks complements each other, each would be lesser on its own. Get Some, the A-side, is a take-no-prisoners declaration of sexual control, driven by heavy percussion and broken surf guitars. But the B-side Paris Blues is a sublime track filled with heartache and showcases just how much Lykke Li's voice developed in the last years. And she pronounces Paris in the French way (I got a francophile streak), making me wish for a version sung in French.
Get Some got a good hypnotic video too. Hard to imagine it's the same woman who nervously presented her album all those years ago. Then, shy indie girl. Now menacing cult leader on a mission to capture men. Progress?
Thanks to being a "randomly" chosen winner of a Facebook contest the very first mail that arrived to my new address was a brand new, shiny 7". There are worse ways to inaugurate a new mail box, no? The single is great because it works as a single, revealing two very different sides of Lykke Li. The two tracks complements each other, each would be lesser on its own. Get Some, the A-side, is a take-no-prisoners declaration of sexual control, driven by heavy percussion and broken surf guitars. But the B-side Paris Blues is a sublime track filled with heartache and showcases just how much Lykke Li's voice developed in the last years. And she pronounces Paris in the French way (I got a francophile streak), making me wish for a version sung in French.
Get Some got a good hypnotic video too. Hard to imagine it's the same woman who nervously presented her album all those years ago. Then, shy indie girl. Now menacing cult leader on a mission to capture men. Progress?
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Music? Vinyls? Life?
I don't quite know what this blog will be about yet. Music, for sure. But these days my music consumption is 98% digital. Yet I keep buying music, mostly vinyls. I like the feel of the vinyl, the sound too, but mostly it's the feel. A physical connection to the music, being able to see the grooves. The recent trend of vinyl + digital download in a package is heaven sent. I also love a really good cover (or a really bad one, like the one below). So I guess this blog will showcase recent purchases, fun special editions, music memorabilia and that kind of stuff. It will be in English, because most of the few people whom I know will actually read this doesn't speak Swedish.
Lets start with a bang. This is the cover to Art Boys Collection's Stoned Wall. Their one and only album from 1972, recently reissued in white vinyl. It is amazing because everything is wrong about it.
The band name, Art Boys Collection, falls flat. The band mixes Beatles influences with some prog rock, but the name sounds like a C-grade fashion brand.
The album name, Stoned Wall. What does that even mean? A stone wall? A wall that got a lot of stones thrown at it? A wall that smoked weed and is now floating in space?
And don't get me started on the geishas with helium breasts and hairdos bigger than their waists...
Then all of this is wrapped in a pink border?!?!
But put each stupid, horrid decision together and we have an album cover of epic badness. Almost worthy of framing. I love it. Two wrongs doesn't a right make, but around 20 wrongs sure does!
Did I mention the band was Austrian? Because that's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with. Let me quote the booklet: "[Lead vocalist Egger] became one of the pioneers of Austrian Alpine Rock and wrote the 1st Alpine Rock Opera ever". So we know who to blame now, then?
But in the end it's all about the music. So how is it? Pretty decent, actually. All My Life could've been a huge hit if recorded by any chirpy upbeat 60s band. And here's a track that takes the template of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and puts it through a psychedelic filter.
Lets start with a bang. This is the cover to Art Boys Collection's Stoned Wall. Their one and only album from 1972, recently reissued in white vinyl. It is amazing because everything is wrong about it.
The band name, Art Boys Collection, falls flat. The band mixes Beatles influences with some prog rock, but the name sounds like a C-grade fashion brand.
The album name, Stoned Wall. What does that even mean? A stone wall? A wall that got a lot of stones thrown at it? A wall that smoked weed and is now floating in space?
And don't get me started on the geishas with helium breasts and hairdos bigger than their waists...
Then all of this is wrapped in a pink border?!?!
But put each stupid, horrid decision together and we have an album cover of epic badness. Almost worthy of framing. I love it. Two wrongs doesn't a right make, but around 20 wrongs sure does!
Did I mention the band was Austrian? Because that's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with. Let me quote the booklet: "[Lead vocalist Egger] became one of the pioneers of Austrian Alpine Rock and wrote the 1st Alpine Rock Opera ever". So we know who to blame now, then?
But in the end it's all about the music. So how is it? Pretty decent, actually. All My Life could've been a huge hit if recorded by any chirpy upbeat 60s band. And here's a track that takes the template of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and puts it through a psychedelic filter.
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