Good song

This song has an energy unlike any other......

Deadmau5 next week at Oslo Spektrum

I was swapping through TV channels last night, and settled on MTV Live, which just happened to be showing some choice live sessions from Roskilde 2011. Exactly at the time I watched, Deadmau5 was performing. I have to say that I’ve never seen anything quite like it, but to be truthful, I haven’t been following a lot of the new music for some years now. It got to be too difficult, with all of the 'one popular song' groups that came and went. I haven't heard of Deadmau5 before, but he has been around since 2005. Anyway, this was just out and out wild! Really caught my attention, especially because the main performer--Joel Thomas Zimmerman—wears on his head what he calls a ‘mau5head’, which is some kind of computer-controlled mouse head with large ears. This mouse head appears in many different colors and designs, and the expressions on the face shift and change shape and swirl. A sinister (Mickey) mouse staring out at the audience from the darkness, into the darkness, from some chaotic fractal hell. The visuals were fantastic, and for me at least, it was a rare glimpse into the future, how electronic music will be (probably a hundred times more sophisticated by that time—let’s say forty years from now) in terms of the digital effects, computer-controlled light show, use of strobe lights and anything else that musicians use these days to heighten the effect of their music. These are just a few of the instruments he uses (and that I’ve NEVER heard of—info from Wikipedia): Nord Lead 2x, Moog Little Phatty, Voyager RME, Ableton, Fruity Loops, Allen & Heath Xone 3D, Allen & Heath Xone 4D, Lemur Input Device, Ableton Live, Monome 256, Reaktor, Cubase, Kaossilator, Nuendo, Native Instruments Maschine, Smithson Martin Emulator, and Dave Smith Instruments Prophet '08. And in a case of synchronicity, while I was online reading about him, I saw that he is playing at Oslo Spektrum next Wednesday, May 30^th. So I got tickets. I’m looking forward to seeing him live. I’ll let you know how it was next week.

A great song by Steely Dan

I heard this song this morning, one of my all-time favorites--Deacon Blues--a phenomenal song by Steely Dan. The lyrics are pure poetry. As someone who writes poetry, I take my hat off and acknowledge ‘best in class’. “I crawl like a viper through these suburban streets; Make love to these women, languid and bittersweet.” And the end of the song—“I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long; This brother is free, I'll be what I want to be”. And finally, "I want a name when I lose". You can just imagine them writing and living the song—taking their experiences and weaving them into a song that perfectly captures what they’ve experienced. Wonderfully inspired and nothing I could write here could do these lyrics justice—they’re perfect (at least to me), as is the rest of the song. It’s interesting to read about the different sources of inspiration for Steely Dan on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon_Blues).

I grew up listening to Steely Dan’s music, but never got a chance to see them in concert before the year 2000, when they played at the Oslo Spektrum concert arena. And what a terrific concert that was. Their music has aged well, considering that the song Deacon Blues is from the 1977 album Aja. Listening to their music was not just a trip down memory lane. Their music and lyrics are as relevant now as they were when they first appeared. You can find the song on YouTube, as always. Here is one link to the song:

Deacon Blues

This is the day
Of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers
Wild gamblers
That's all in the past

You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line

CHORUS:
I'll learn to work the saxophone
I'll play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whisky all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I'll rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home

CHORUS

This is the night
Of the expanding the man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be

CHORUS

Some really good Norwegian bands and musicians (and some Swedish too)

These are some of the rock/pop Norwegian bands and musicians that I have listened to during the past twenty years and really like. Junipher Greene and Ruphus are from the 1960-70s, but I have heard some of their music and really like it. It reminds me of Mountain and some of the heavier American rock bands from around the same time. a-ha are internationally-known. I remember watching the MTV video for ‘Take on me’ in the 1980s when I was still living in New Jersey. The DumDum Boys and the RagaRockers are the first rock bands that my husband introduced me to—he bought me their LPs as gifts when he first came to visit me in NJ. I spent hours trying to translate some of their songs, and didn’t do such a bad job as I remember. Briskeby was an amazing band—with a terrific female lead singer, Lise Karlsnes. It’s too bad the band is no longer recording. Royksopp is into electronic music and they have done some really terrific songs. You will find most of the groups on YouTube—well-worth checking out and listening to. I’ve seen a-ha, Dance with a Stranger, DeLillos, and Hellbillies in concert in Oslo.

·         a-ha

·         Briskeby

·         Bjørn Eidsvåg

·         Dance with a Stranger

·         DeLillos

·         DumDum Boys

·         Hellbillies

·         Junipher Greene

·         Kurt Nilsen

·         Madcon

·         Madrugada

·         Morten Abel

·         Paperboys

·         Raga Rockers

·         Royksopp

·         Ruphus

·         Sivert Høyem

As far as Swedish musicians go, ABBA is known to just about everyone on the planet, especially after the movie Mama Mia. We grew up in New York listening to ABBA songs. Bo Kaspers Orkester is a jazz-pop band that sings in Swedish; I wish they sang in English—their lyrics are just so good, like poetry. The Swedish list is a short one, but nevertheless worth checking out. I saw The Cardigans in concert in 1999 at the Quart Festival in Kristiansand, Norway. That was a great festival—with The Cardigans, Garbage, Skunk Anansie, Everlast, and Marilyn Manson. I think it’s pretty amazing that they got all those great bands to perform at one festival.

·         ABBA

·         Bo Kaspers Orkester

·         Kent

·         The Cardigans

"Sometimes Your Voice is not Enough"--from the song Silver Rider by Low (version by Robert Plant and the Band of Joy)

As those of you who know me know, I enjoy writing and reading poetry and am always on the lookout for poems and song lyrics that touch my soul. This song Silver Rider, by the band Low, is one such instance, and the version of the song by Robert Plant and his Band of Joy (2010) is simply one of those songs you have to listen to. I want to know who or what Low wrote it about. Who is the Silver Rider? The song is almost like an elegy. And yes, 'sometimes your voice is not enough' in life--it rings true to me. The song will stay with you long after you hear it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxPrwol5lJE). 

Silver Rider  (by Low)


At times I see you, you silver rider
Sometimes your voice is not enough
Your face in windows, outside forever
Nobody dreamed you'd save the world
Nobody dreamed you'd save the world

Your march is over, the great destroyer
She passes through you like a knife
Oh take me with you, you silver rider
Sometimes your voice is not enough
Sometimes your voice is not enough

Lyrics to a classic song by Pink Floyd---'Breathe'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qsxpXqq1pA 


Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don't be afraid to care.
Leave but don't leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one.

For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave. 

-----------------------


I never tire of hearing this song, or of listening to the album 'Dark Side of the Moon'. It made such an impression on me when I was a teenager. I don't think there is another album that even comes close to it. 'Breathe' is such a good song and one that got me interested in listening to song lyrics because in this song they really are pure poetry. My father did not like the lyrics--he found them depressing and he meant we should spend our time listening to happier music. But even if he was right, it never stopped us from listening to this song and the album from which it came. There is something about the combination of the music and lyrics that made Dark Side of the Moon a perfect album. 

A song by Sivert Høyem--Moon Landing

This is a fantastic song, for all those people who are making changes in their lives and who need to feel like 'their universe is expanding'. He certainly has captured in the lyrics and the music how it feels to be getting ready for the next change in life. You can find the song on YouTube--here's the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6zug2U__TE

Moon Landing 

Hold on my enemy!
If you got it in for me
It's just fog and fantasy
We'll come to some understanding

(CHORUS))
I'm going to make this my own moon landing
I'm going to give this the best that I've got
You see right from the start we've been drifting apart
It's our actual standing
I'm going to make this my own ..

I don't need no enemy
to keep me awake at night
No one 's gonna go for free
We'll travel very light

For now I've had enough from you
I'm done and so are you
go see what you can do
The universe is expanding

(CHORUS)

I'm going to make this my own moon landing
I'm going to give this the best that I've got
You see right from the start we've been drifting apart
It's our actual standing
I'm going to make this my own ..


I don't need no enemy
to keep me awake at night
No one 's gonna go for free
We'll travel very light

For now I've had enough from you
I'm done and so are you
Go see what you can do
The universe is expanding
The silence is commanding ..

I'm going to make this my own moon landing
I'm going to give this the best that I've got
You see right from the start we've been drifting apart
It's our actual standing
I'm going to make this my own ..

A song by Everlast--Today (Watch Me Shine)

(I really like this song--here are the lyrics)

Yesterday is just a dream I don't remember
Tomorrow, still a hope I've yet to endure
I'm out of time
I'm out of rhyme
I'm out of reason
Seasons change and leave me out in the cold
The story's old
The tale been told by many a scholar
Got a fistful of dollar
And pocketful of love
God above if you hear me cryin'
I've tried to sell my soul
But no one's buyin'
Lord, strike me down now if I'm lyin'
[Bronx Style Bob:] Lord strike me down
[x3]
It's gettin' cold
It's time for dyin'

[CHORUS]
Come on and watch me shine
Like the world is mine (check it out) today
Come on and watch me shine (check it out)
Like the world is mine today
Watch me shine (check it out)

Then the man was free from sin
[Bronx Style Bob:] free from sin
Cast the first stone then began the violence
[Bronx Style Bob:] began the violence
Let the man whose words ring true
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 
Speak on up till his voice breaks through the silence
[Bronx Style Bob:] through the silence
Let the ones who lose their way
Live to see just one more day in the sunshine
[Bronx Style Bob:] La-la-la-la-la-la-laaa
Let the ones who choose to stray
Recognize the price they'll pay
In their lifetime
[Bronx Style Bob:] in their lifetime
[x2]

[CHORUS]

Sit in the way and wait for my roads to cross
You nail me down and you watch me bleed
[Bronx Style Bob:] watch me bleed
So lay my head against the earth
Plant my body like a seed
[Bronx Style Bob:] plant my body like a seed
You can't always get the things you want, love (check it out)
[Bronx Style Bob:] tell me what you want
You get what you deserve
Or maybe what you need
[Bronx Style Bob:] tell me what you need
So fill my hole with precious dirt, love
Till the soil and part the weed

[CHORUS]