The Facebook experiment...part four...

The whining last week helped...a little. 14 new likes, so at a pace of 2 new likes a day, it will take approx. 500 million days before every Facebook user like the HITC page. Now there's an ambition...

Still waiting for my first page to get to a 100 reaches. This one has 98, so aaalmost there!

Some Facebook highlights:

New lovely single from the Swedish/Australian twins in Say Lou Lou.


There's a new Kent single out. Sadly La Belle Epoque has to be one of their weaker efforts, apparently focusing way too hard on the political content...

Here's one of the finds from the mailbox that makes the hours of work going through thousands of emails worthwhile. US duo Roladex sounds like a female fronted version of Kraftwerk and does that sounding not bad at all!


Speaking of emails. Starting all over again, so yesterday I decided to delete every single email in my HITC inbox. Time has come to start unsubscribing, updating the spam filter etc.

Check out this new/updated demo from the talented Bjørn Alexander (a.k.a. Flag White). The lyrics are in Danish, but the music is gorgeously dreamy with a delicious twist of shoegaze.


Finally - I urge you all to give the new single Mit Venstre Hjerte from Jonas Villumsen a thorough listen. The track has picked up airplay on various radio stations and deservedly so, as it arguably is his best and most catchy song to date. But he's not selling out completely, as he hasn't abandoned his trademark and tongue twisting lyrics .

Tilbage på pinden...

Havde altså ret, da jeg spåede, at dette ville blive 2012's sidste indlæg. Den mellemliggende periode har jeg i stedet brugt på at løbe et marathon, socialisere med venner og familie i den virkelige verden samt bare generelt drukket og spist alt, alt for meget. Nu er jeg så tilbage på pinden og sådan nogenlunde klar til at tage hul på 2013. Som altid kommer der ingen nytårsfortsæt fra undertegnede; altså lige bortset fra den sædvanlige trussel om, at bloggen (forhåbentlig) vil fortsætte yderligere et år og fortsat bestå af en ikke forudsigelig blanding af bagateller og obskuriteter (her bliver jeg godt nok i tvivl - eksisterer det ord overhovedet på dansk?).

Verden har ikke ligge helt i dvale de seneste to uger og der er da sket en enkelt ting eller to (nærmere præcist tre), som er værd at nævne, så vi kan komme godt i gang med 2013:

Ny single/sang fra Kent, hvor alle indtægter tilfalder ROKS. Uden at går totalt i selvsving synes jeg at bandet på Ingen Kunde Röra Oss lyder bedre end længe og omsider igen har skrevet en tekst, som rammer!

Nyt nummer fra The Boombox Hearts, der som altid er "sad as fuck". Der er stadig planer om et album (tingene skrider vist ikke helt så hurtigt frem, som man kunne ønske), hvor der dog ikke vil blive plads til Elinore. Selv om nummeret selvfølgelig er super smukt, kunne jeg jo rigtig godt tænke mig ved lejlighed at høre live versionen, der eftersigende skulle indeholde en guitar, som skulle få én til at tænke på Eye of the Tiger!!!!!

Nyt nummer fra UK duoen New Arcades. Som forventet (allerede efter få singler er forventningerne store) er Into The Skyline et super iørefaldende nummer med en tydelig, men samtidig forfriskende 80'er synthpop inspiration.

A year without summer...

Kent gives away the track Ett År Utan Sommer that didn't make the cut for the new album...sounds like the electronic flirt is definitely over!

Kent - Ett År Utan Sommar (bonus)

999...

Enjoy the live in studio version of new Kent single 999. The band is definitely (and finally!) back in form and hopefully the forthcoming album Jag är inte rädd för mörkret will be just as brilliant!?!?

Lightning...

Check this radio stream of new single Lightning by former A-ha frontman Morten Harket. As it was co-written with Joakim and Martin of Kent I sort of expected it to be fab...not really convinced that it is...

On the radio this morning...

No words needed, really! Still the best band in the world...by far...

 
Every morning when the girls and I are having breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

Lazy Friday evening...

And quite a lazy one it is. The wife is out, the kids are watching some useless TV-show and I’m here by the computer having one of my favorite beers. So I guess you can say that everyone’s enjoying themselves. And that’s a nice way to end what has (in many ways) been a rather good day.

First of all I was out running 25 minutes this afternoon. Those few of you who are regulars will know that my back’s been bothering me for the past 3 weeks. Simply put, I’ve been “grounded”, as I was told that running was close to the stupidest thing I could do as long as the back was aching. But yesterday my chiropractor (finally) told me it was ok to start running again and though I’m obviously light-years away from marathon shape, I’m still confident that this was the first small step toward better days.

And even earlier today I bought a ticket for the Divine Comedy concert at Lille Vega on October 23. At first when the concert date was announced I was rather frustrated, because I expected that I'd be away on holiday at that time. But plans have been changed, so time has come for my first Divine Comedy live experience! Heard it should be great!?

Finally I bought two CD’s today, which I believe are the first in perhaps six months. I hate to admit it, but I’ve completely changed my old music purchasing habits this year and no longer invest my cash in them golden discs. But today I just had to! The first one was the new album by Kent. I still think it’s a somewhat disappointing release, but since I'm calling myself a Kent fan it simply doesn’t make sense not buying the bands releases. The second album was The Suburbs and the reason for this purchase is really very simple, as it's by far the best release of the year and I need to be able to hear it everywhere (car, stereo etc.).

Yesterday Ginger Ninja guitarist Rasmus shared a video on Facebook of a Dutch band covering Sunshine. This rather alternative version generated several rather amusing comments of which my favorite was “ninjazz”. Funny!

Shorties...

The holiday season is upon us, so perhaps ”shorts” would have been a more fitting title for today’s post? Going to Jutland on Monday for 5 days, so don’t check for any updates next week; consider this a service message for the three of you, who occasionally drop by to see if anything is happening!

What a pathetic effort by the Danish side against Japan yesterday. Everyone (in Denmark at least) were excited 8 months ago when Denmark qualified for the World Cup, and then this was all we got! Come on guys! Heroes die with their boots on and not with their pants down bending over.

I’ve listened to the new Kent album En Plats I Solen more than a half-dozen times, and yet I’m still not sure what to make of it. As much as I want to like the album, I just can’t help feeling somewhat indifferent when listening to it.

When you name your band Girls on Film your influences should be crystal clear to everyone who grew up during the eighties. And nice first single Highschool Dance by this new Danish trio is indeed a rather new romantic inspired piece, reminding me quite a lot of Superheroes.
+ Highschool Dance

My Name Is Legion shares their remix of the Sleep Party People track I’m Not Human At All. As always I like the original a lot better than the remix.
+ I’m Not Human At All (My Name Is Legion remix)
+ I’m Not Human At All

Kent...

This news came right out of the blue (or perhaps I haven’t paid enough attention in class?), but seems like Kent will be releasing a new album on June 30 (when I’m away on holiday – perfect timing – NOT!). To be named En Plats i Solen and double a-side single Gamla Ullevi/Skisser För Sommaren is out today. Unlike the previous two albums En Plats i Solen will not be produced by Joshua, but if you weren’t all that crazy about Tillbaka Till Samtiden and Röd this isn't necessarily the same as brilliant news, as the two new tracks indicate that the band’s fascination for the electronic (though not as dark as on the predecessors) and disco inspired sound continues.

Tjeklisten...

Tjeklisten is a weekly (and quite popular) radio chart voted for by listeners of Danish Radio P3 and every Sunday afternoon the new list is published. Normally this is the playground for artists like Britney, Robbie, Madonna and (shudder) Lady GaGa (check the list of the 100 most popular artists in the history of the list and you’ll be hard pressed to find 10 decent ones), but every once in a while I do check the list to see if any interesting acts have entered or are being tested (see my post from last Monday). At home it’s (believe it or not) my wife, who decides what’s played on the stereo, so yesterday it was all radio, meaning that I for once had the chance to (or was forced to) listen to Tjeklisten in its entirety. As usual 95% of the content was pure garbage, but at least 4 things were worth noticing, thus justifying this post.

For the third week in a row the list was topped by The Balcony (video) by The Rumour Said Fire. Apparently the song wasn’t even close to being dethroned, so a 4 week reign (at least) seems very likely. I remain seriously puzzled by this, which made me utter the following to my wife. “This is stuff I like and not something that is supposed to be mainstream”. Not exactly an everyday occurrence that a band becomes this popular (not in Denmark at least), when their only release is a 6 track EP! Much deserved though!

Entering the chart at no. 20 is Bone Will Break Metal (video) by Ginger Ninja. Another band I’d hate to see go all mainstream, but since you cannot ignore the financial side of things a long stay in this chart can mean the world to an upcoming band. So please vote for these guys and help them move up the chart.

First song tested was the grand SDP by The Kissaway Trail. It became an immediate favorite, when I heard it the first time back in December, so definitely another track that deserves making the chart.

Finally the new single Hjärta by Kent was among the songs tested, but since this is the most popular band in Scandinavia, cracking the chart isn’t of the same importance as it is for the three aforementioned bands. Kent, at you all probably know, is my favorite band, but they do pick odd tracks as singles, as Hjärta has to be among the weakest tracks on Röd. I really don’t see this as a track that will make people stop and listen if the song is aired on radio, which I’ve always thought was the main purpose of a single? But now having watched the video for the song, it has become quite evident that the band picked Hjärta as their next single with a complete different purpose in mind!

It’s all red...

Wanted to write a blogpost yesterday, but spent the entire day listening to Röd (that’s the new album by Kent, in case you’ve somehow managed to miss that) and never got around writing anything. I’ve said a number of times before that I’m no fan of Kent experimenting (I’m still hoping it’s just an experiment) with an electronic sound, as I prefer thinking of them as a rock band rather than a synth pop ditto. But, as the band (understandably) doesn’t care about my thoughts, feelings, whatever on this topic and as indicated by first single Tönterna, they stuck to the formula used when they recorded Tillbaka Till Samtiden and ended up exploring the electronic world even further on the new album. Consequently my expectations where pretty modest, when I downloaded the album (from the official webpage of course and not some illegal copy), as a kind of precaution to prevent major disappointment. However I could have saved myself from all that, because this album would have no problems meeting any expectations I might have had, as songwriting and production melts beautifully together to create a rather overwhelming whole. And this despite I have yet to listen to it at home in quiet surroundings while checking out the lyrics, which makes me confident that the album will continue to grow on me. So perhaps time has come for me to finally accept that Kent is a rock band turned electro, though I seriously doubt that the journey is going to end here? Synth pop, disco, rock or whatever path they’ll choose to follow, something definitely has to go terribly wrong before they’ll be dethroned as best band on the planet.

Oh well – other bands do exist!

The albums by Danish Daycare and Digits are on my ever growing pending list. They have left good first impressions and I really ought to give both some serious listens!
+ Danish Daycare – A Story of Hurt
+ Digits - Monster

New single Days by Sambassadeur is spreading real fast in the blogosphere. No wonder really, as this, exactly as expected, is a short, sweet, uptempo and infectiously catchy pop tune. A yet untitled (?) album will be out in January...on Labrador of course!
+ Days

Danish band Mushi has announced that a new album will be released in late spring next year. A much more welcomed piece of news than the “Mushi has come to an end” announcement published six months ago!

Music, music, music...

Tonight’s agenda is pretty simple. Read some mails. Download some music and listen to it. Post whatever is worth our (that’s you and me) time. No words. Just music!

Some seriously bad stuff so far...

+ PJ Bond - You, Too

Not at all loyal to my own formula. Peter just mailed a link for this video of Kent performing new track Svarta Linjer. New album Röd will be out November 6.



Back on track...

+ Pants Yell! - Cold Hands
+ Ravens & Chimes - Hearts of Palm

Things are improving dramatically now! Nice!

+ White Rabbits - Percussion Gun
+ ArpLine - Fold Up Like a Piece of Paper

Must have deleted a hundred emails (at least) by now! And that will probably be all for tonight!

Oh well - that was one big lie. Here's one final one...

+ Lullwater - One More Time

The everlasting...

I cannot say that I’ve cared much about my once favorite band Manic Street Preachers the past decade, and though I stubbornly continued buying their albums, I never gave any release more than perhaps a few spins. This year’s release Journal for Plague Lovers I brutally ignored as I decided that it was time to store the band in the box “dinosaurs of the past”. You know; that archived box you only open, when melancholy smacks you in the face and you simply need to get verified that “everything was so much better back then”. Thus filed and (almost) forgotten, but suddenly this weekend Frank started sharing his excitement about the band’s recent concert in Toronto and once I glanced through the setlist, I got the most irritating nostalgic itch. Annoying to such an extent that I began wondering if my decision of “parting ways” with The Manics had been a tad premature! So as much as I hate admitting “I was wrong”, I have a strong feeling that time has come to re-open the files and have another go with the band! Attic! Here I fucking come!

Since I’m already in the “confessing I was wrong” mood, I might as well add that the new single by Kent is a whole lot better than I gave it credit for. I will continue my silent prayers for a return to Hagnesta Hill form and never stop rooting for them to trash their love for electronic pop, but Töntarna is still a pretty good song in its own right!

The assembly line has stopped running...no point in checking back later...

Shorties...

Despite my initial disappointment with the new Kent single, I’m still planning to buy tickets for the band’s concert on March 13 next year at Copenhagen’s new venue Tap1. Tickets go on sale on Monday.

Four new tracks by The Electric Pop Group are now streaming at Myspace. Seems like the band’s second album Seconds will be out come November, but as usual the Matinée Recordings webpage hasn’t been updated for a while.

The soon to be released Whatsinsidewhatsoutside album by Danish indie-popsters Bodebrixen can be streamed in its entirety at Bandbase.dk.
+ Keychain

Now that the Turboweekend album Ghost of a Chance is being released abroad, the promo mails suddenly start arriving. I hate the way music is promoted in Denmark, because why didn’t I hear anything in March, when the album was released here?
+ After Hours
+ Something or Nothing

7" single How To Look Imploring by Horowitz will be out some time late November on Cloudberry Records.
+ How To Look Imploring

From the Labrador Records twitter account: "Sambassadeur just finished their upcoming single "Days". It definitely different from their previous work, but I'm sure you'll love it.". This is awesome news!

The jerks...

New single Töntarna by my favorite band Kent is released digitally today (visit the homepage to find a link for purchasing the track) and though it’s not bad at all (of course it isn't), it’s not exactly overwhelming either. Especially since it gives you the impression that the band hasn’t moved an inch (musically) since their (fine, but easily forgotten) previous album Tillbaka Till Samtiden, which perhaps has something to do with Joshua once again being the producer? I know I'm spoiled and I know I shouldn't be disappointed, but unfortunately I cannot help being just that, as I was (once again) hoping that they’d return to the sound of their masterpiece Hagnesta Hill. Tönterna is the first single off forthcoming album Röd, which will be out November 6.

On the radio this morning

Inspired by yesterday's post I think it's high time to revive those "On the radio this morning" posts. A surprisingly number of good ones on this morning, but how can you possibly ignore "the best band in the world?



Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are my humble attempt to make your start a good one as well!

Shorties (Happy Christmas version)...

Since this is the last post this side of Christmas, I guess it’s fitting to wish you all a merry, merry Christmas. Have a great time with your loved ones. Don't eat and drink too much, and of course remember to listen to some great music!

Champagne Riot is giving away a Christmas single as well as an old demo from 2004. December Slopes was originally recorded for the Cloudberry Records release Last Train To Christmas.
+ December Slopes

My favorite band Kent has published/released a brand new track named På Drift? and it's free to download from the band’s website.

Happy The Man is the title of the new release by Folk rock duo The Guggenheim Grotto and the album is one amazing collection of wonderful pop tunes. It has already been released digitally, but you’ll have to wait until January 27 for the physical release.
+ Fee Da Da Dee

afmusic offers free download of a 23 track Xmas compilation named Howly Night featuring a number of previously unreleased songs.
+ The Search - We Fell Asleep In Eachothers Arms

Hanging in there...

You all know how I felt yesterday, and of course I’m grateful how all of you felt terribly sorry for me (I hope!). Helping me surviving the rough times yesterday was the terrific Self Storage Compilation Volume 1, which has been available for purchase since November 3rd. 16 amazing shoegaze tracks jammed onto one CD and it will be yours for either 14 or 16 dollars (including shipping) depending on your location. And with the current USD rate in mind (though it has vastly improved recently) that is still quite a bargain (me thinks).
+ The Soundscapes – Here’s When

In case you haven’t visited my facebook profile recently, I simply have to draw your attention to the newly released Kent 1991-2008 box set. It includes a total of 133 tracks on 10 CD’s covering the entire history of the band from the very beginning when they were called Jones & Giftet and right up ‘till last year’s Tillbaka Till Samtiden. This box belongs in every serious record collection and the price of 47 Euros is ridiculously low.
+ Vy från ett luftslott (Punks Jump Up Remix)

Needless to say it has been quite an inspiration listening my way through those many songs and just for the fun of it I’ve compiled this list of my 10 favorite Kent tracks. And of course it would be absolutely awesome, if you’d post yours in the comments as well!
1. 747
2. VinterNoll2
3. Utan Dina Andetag
4. Spökstad
5. Beskyddaren
6. Mannen i den Vita Hatten
7. Istället För Ljud
8. Dom Andra
9. Nålens Öga
10. 400 Slag

Monday...

It’s Monday and I’m tired. Plain and simple and I’m absolutely certain you know exactly what Mondays like these are like!

A Classic Ecucation has just released their debut 5 track 12” vinyl EP. Logically it's named First EP and it features everything recorded by the band so far. It's a 300 copies limited edition and it can be ordered from the band’s webpage. Of course you’ll get a free MP3 download link as well. Did I mention that the EP is good? Well I did now!
+ Victories At Night

The new single Song For by Earlimart was added to the current favorites this weekend. A lovely little pop gem that one!
+ Song for

A new Støj på Frekvensen post has been published.

Everyone else is doing it and now the turn has come to Kent. The Punks Jump Up Remix of the new single Vy Från Ett Luftslott is free to download from the band's webpage.

Kent in Copenhagen...

Peter wrote a comment the other day that he was looking forward to reading my report on the Kent concert. As always I refrain from doing a review as other people are much better at doing this. So as usual I’ll stick to posting a few of my thoughts instead.

The concert was a lot better than the one in December thanks to a vastly improved setlist and the band no longer sticking to the “new” 80’s inspired sound from Tillbaka Till Samtiden.

The band’s “playfulness” somewhat surprised me. Hearing Dom Andra and Om Du Var Här in (what you could be tempted to call) disco arrangements was actually quite refreshing. And so was hearing “rock” versions of some of the new tracks like Berlin and Ingenting. And the thundering performance of Romeo Återvänder Ensam was just marvelous.

Following a rather weak start the sound improved throughout the set and was near to perfect towards the end. KB Hallen has a reputation of being a so-so venue, but I found no reason to complain about the sound Saturday evening. And as one of my companions pointed out afterwards; Joakim Berg had a great night and his singing was just excellent.

As always I can think of at least another 10 tracks I wish they had played. Not necessarily instead of the other songs, but had the concert been one hour longer (with the setlist of my dreams), it would have been an almost perfect evening!

Finally I strongly recommend that you ready Peter’s fine review of the concert – if you understand German that is!

Finally, finally - a video - not a live one, but a good one!