the oh so quiet show

The Simple Life

I think Even could sing a cat food jingle and I’d probably love it.

[scratches head]

Whether that’s good or bad, I’m not sure. He has three new tracks from his upcoming album, The Simple Life, up at his myspace page. At first listen I thought, “Mm…okay,” nothing relevatory, but since then I’ve listened to each song a gajillion times, roughly. AHHHHH, WHYYYY OH WHYYY…(um, because I like them)…

I’ll admit I’m pretty tired of his lyrics. I dunno, write a song about waffles, dammit! Okay, waffles don’t sell records, nor are they the most inspiring subject to write a song about.

But even if there are no waffles, I’ll keep listening. I’ve been listening relatively non-stop for 5 or 6 years. That’s a quarter of my life! That’s a…lot.

I keep getting emails from record labels and whatnot and I don’t know why. Do you people even read this site? If you did you’d notice I barely update, that I probably won’t write about what you want me to write about and I DON’T CARE ABOUT SXSW OH JESUS.

Alright, I know you’re just doing your job. Hm. Well, while you’re in Texas, I’ll be in Paris. Not watching any live music, but sidestepping around doggie poo in the streets and gorging on pastries. I WIN, OH YEEAAH!

Okay, I’m already making another post…why?

MAGNET. The artist that I love dearly, that few other people care about…(okay, that’s not true, but his fans aren’t concentrated in the US so being a Magnet fanatic can feel lonely).

I’m not a horrible webmaster; I just don’t get much info. So while randomly looking at website stats, I found some news about his upcoming album. It’s coming out on March 26th (in Norway, at least) and will be called “The Simple Life”…which I don’t know if I can get used to since it just reminds me of the reality TV show. But. Well. [shrugs]

You can listen to one of his new songs, “Lonely No More”, at sonybmg.no. The song is rather upbeat and happy feeling, which is good…right? Even if I absolutely love his depressing stuff? I WANT DEPRESSION! Give to me.

I mean…this is lovely. I’m not used to it yet, but I suppose I will be after I play it a gazillion times. Wee!

Oh, on second thought this song actually is depressing because it reminds me of my loneliness. Sweet! I feel better now.

Damn you, weegies! There are so few films I’m interested in seeing and then you make one that…I’m interested in seeing! But I probably won’t get to see It’a Hard To Be a Rock’n Roller (via it’s a trap), coming out on September 1st in Norway, unless you play it somewhere I can see it and give it English subtitles.

Actually, I’d be willing to see it without the subtitles and just pretend I understand the Norwegian.

It’s not just hard to be a rock ‘n roller. Some of us [points to self] are helpless and could use some inspiration. Here’s the synopsis (from the Norwegian Film Institute):

A documentary about the music group Merkesteinane from Volda in the region of Sunnmøre. The group consists of mentally challenged individuals. The band has ten members – all of them with distinct personalities, abilities and, not least,
with widely differing ambitions. Eight of them are disabled, two are participating leaders; Øivind and Jostein. With generosity, cheerfulness and love of music, the band has survived for 11 years. They have become an odd social and cultural institution in the Volda district.

You can watch the trailer on the official site or with Quicktime (via twitchfilm).

I went to Platekompaniet today in the main square in Bergen and ended up listening to a bagillion CDs. You can listen to any CD in the store since they’re actually all store in drawers behind the counter and only the jewel cases are on display. Morten first recommended this Kim Hiorthøy album to me:

guess what “MELKE” means!

Some years ago I randomly got Hopeness and didn’t really like it. For whatever reason, I liked Melke immediately. If not for the 169 kr pricetag, I would’ve gotten it there. (169 kr is about $27.) His music is a bucket of clicky glitchy electronic-y fun stuff, ye know? Yup.

The nice guy behind the counter was really helpful and kept giving Diana and me more albums to listen to. While most weren’t exactly my cup of tea (”Electric Violence” by Next Life, was probably the strangest one, in that it was…really experimental?), I really liked Pooka by Lars Horntveth.

POOKA!!!

I had been interested in the album every since it came out a few years ago, but I never got around to actually buying it. Giving the whole thing a quick listen-through helped…although I could’ve done that earlier on Bleep (which also has Melke) if I so desired. OOPS. Oh well, you can do it now:

Lastly, here’s where I was the other day:

down the moutain we go

Insane, I tell ya.

lumpy

This isn’t a music post. Oops.

I’m in Bergen, Norway right now. See that photo? It looks like that. It’s. Very. Lovely. Pretty to the gazillionth power.

Like whoa.

I have not come across any famous musicians, not that I plan to. There was a pre-teen boy in the main square busking with an electric guitar though. He was freakishly good. Damn! What’s up with that?

I might see some live music thing during my trip. Maayyybeee.

cheese

I like this brown cheese stuff that you can find pretty much…everywhere. Mmm mmmm.

Time to go back on vacation.

I shoved this recent Magnet related article at Askøyværingen into a translator and came up with info about his upcoming album that says it will either be all acoustic and not electronic…OR THE OPPOSITE. I figure it has to be one or the other.

…I’m leaning towards the first. If it’s “Quiet & Still”-esque, I will be all over it.

And I have no freakin’ clue what the rest of it says, but there ye go.

And tickets to Norway increased muchly since I checked last week. Dammit. I’m getting on it!

Lost Weekend is going to take place in Askoy, Norway from August 3-5.

Magnet’s playing! Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band is too! And I’d like to see the Owens. (See the full program.)

Oh well, I’m so not going. But it sounds fun.

DAMN NORWEGIANS.

I mean, I love em. Professor Pez is quite lovable. Happy poppy tunes that go perfect with the sunny weather we’ve been having in NYC lately. I don’t know if the weather is like that in Norway or if making this happy poppy stuff makes it easier to cope with gloomy weather, but…whatever, it’s nice. So here’s what they have going for them:

# They’re Norwegian, from BERGEN, of course
# They’re music is cute, kinda B&S-ish, except I’m not a huge B&S fan for some reason…but I mention them for comparison’s sake
# They have an amusing biography
# They’re ninja friendly

You can download a bunch of things from their official page or listen to stuff on myspace. “Stuff” and “things”…yes, my vocabulary is growing larger every day.

I found out about this band through Echo, which has about a gazillion other things you should listen to. Really. I dunno the last time I spent so long listening to everything on one blog.

[There are other random bits and bobs I want to talk about, but I’m pretty damn lazy. If you sent me an email saying I should listen to something, I did listen to it. I don’t get to write about everything I want to. Mrah.]

…so I have almost no idea what this Magnet interview at ba.no says. MAYBE YOU KNOW NORWEGIAN.

If I could learn any other language, it’d be Norwegian.

…Actually, it’d be Japanese, but those Asian languages stump me.

Random: Even sings on “Christine Sandtorv’s”:http://www.christinesandtorv.com/ (of female pop trio, “Ephemera”:http://www.ephemera.no) new album, “First Last Dance”:http://www.dagsavisen.no/nyetakter/anmeldelser/article2007675.ece, on the first track, “Ten Out Of Ten”. Yes, that sentence was too long. Anyhoo, you can listen to a clip at “music from norway”:http://www.musicfromnorway.com/default.aspx?norwegian=album&music=30780. I’m not sure how much I like this particular song, but I love both of their voices in general.

From “Panorama.no”:http://www.panorama.no/vis.php?kat=3&did=4876, the list of “Spellemannprisen”:http://www.spellemann.no/ (Norwegian music award) winners:

* Music Video: *Robert Post* - Got None
* Hip hop / R’n’B: *Paperboys* - When Worlds Collide
* Country: *The Respatexans* - Shine On
* Dance Orchestra: *Ole Ivars* - Vi Tar Det Til Manda’n
* Classical: *Leif Ove Andsnes* - Rachmaninov Piano Concertos 1 & 2
* Jazz: *Hans Mathisen* - Quiet Songs
* Electronic: *Alog* - Miniatures
* Open Class (stupid question: what does that category mean?): *Nils Petter Molvær* - ER
* Blues: *Kåre Virud Band* - Ild Og Vann
* Contemporary: *Nils Henrik Asheim* - 19. March 2004
* Child record: *Geirr Lystrup* - Sangen Om Yebo
* Metal: *Audrey Horne* - No Hay Banda
* Male artist: *Robert Post* - Robert Post
* Pop: *Röyksopp* - The Understanding
* Folk music / traditional dance music: *Moldestad / Mjølsnes / Høgemo* - GamaltNymalt
* Female artist: *Ane Brun* - A Temporary Dive
* Rock: *Madrugada* - The Deep End
* Folk: *Vamp* - Siste Stikk
* New artist: *Marthe Valle* - It’s A Bag Of Candy

This is when I fail to understand…words:

* Årets Hederspris: *Terje Rypdal*
* Årets Bransjepris: *Jan Paulsen og Sæmund Fiskvik*
* Årets Spellemann: *Madrugada*

“Sjekk de nominerte til Spellemannsprisen”:http://www.ba.no/puls/article1889259.ece

I feel like after staring at things written in Norwegian for the past few years, I should have at least picked up some Norwegian. But. No. And how hard could it be? At least it uses the same alphabet, roughly. The letters may have different pronounciations but if I’m just reading it, it doesn’t matter.

So I don’t know what the title means exactly, but the link goes to an article about the “Spellmann”:http://www.spellemann.no/main.html awards (I suppose “prise” has to do with awards?…did I learn something?), Norway’s Grammy Awards equivalent. Because of that, there are about a gazillion articles about it, and…oh, there’s actually one in English, courtesy of “MIC Norway”:http://www.ballade.no/mic.nsf/home/forsiden?opendocument&url=http://www.ballade.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2006010313064618980086. Here are the nominees:

*Male artist*
Alejandro Fuentes - Diamonds or Pearls
Robert Post - Robert Post
Magnet - The Tourniquet
Sofian - This is Sofian

*Female artist*
Ane Brun - A Temporary Dive
Lene Marlin - Lost in a Moment
Marthe Valle - It’s A Bag of Candy
Maria Mena - Apparently Unaffected

*Pop act*
Jim Stärk - Jim Stärk
Ravi & DJ Løv - Den nye Arbæidsdagn
Röyksopp - The understanding

*Elektronica*
Alog - Miniatures
Datarock - Datarock Datarock
Toy - Toy

*Contemporary*
Cikada String Quartet - Saariaho Cage Maderna
Nils Henrik Asheim - 19 March 2004, Oslo Cathedral
Sigyn Fossnes/Steinar Henning Smedbye - Tightrope Walker

*Rock*
Big Bang - Poetic Terrorism
JR Ewing - Maelstrom
Madrugada - The Deep End
My Midnight Creeps - My Midnight Creeps
Serena-Maneesh - Serena-Maneesh

*Blues*
Kåre Virud Band - Ild og vann
Ronnie Jacobsen - Soulfield
Vidar Busk - Starfish

*Country*
Elisabeth Andreassen - Short Stories
Sergeant Petter - Monkey Tonk Matters
The Respatexans - Shine On

*Metal*
Audrey Horne - No Hay Banda
El Caco - The Search
Extol - Blueprint

*Hip hop/R’ n B*
Cast - Problembarn
Paperboys - When Worlds Collide
Tommy - Tommy tycker om mej

*Folk music / traditional dance music*
Nordafjells - General
Sigrid Moldestad/Einar Mjølsnes/Håkon Høgemo - Gamaltnymalt
Tom Willy Rustad - Fiolsteinen

*Dance orchestra*
Anne Nørdsti - Bonderomantikk
Lasse Johansens Orkester - Hematt att
Ole Ivars - Vi tar det tel manda”;n

*Jazz*
Hans Mathisen - Quiet Songs
Jimmy Rosenberg/Stian Carstensen - Rose Room
Karin Krog/Bergen Big Band - Seagull
Sigurd Køhn kvartett - This Place
Solveig Slettahjell - Pixiedust

*Classical*
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud - Edvard Griegs Peer Gynt
Einar Steen-Nøkleberg/Terje Mikkelsen/Trondheim symfoniorkester - Thomas Tellefsen Complete
Piano Concertos
Håkon Austbø - Debussy, Complete Works for Piano Solo, Vol II
Leif Ove Andsnes - Rachmaninov, Piano Concertos 1 & 2

*Folk*
16 artister hedrer Erik Bye - En hildringstime
Kari Bremnes - Over en by
Vamp - Siste stikk
Øystein Sunde - Sånn er”;e bare

*Newcomer of the Year*
Marthe Valle
Animal Alpha
Draumir
Audrey Horne
Sofian

*Hit of the year*
Alejandro Fuentes - Stars
Kurt Nilsen - Never Easy
Madrugada and Ane Brun - Lift Me
Maria Mena - Miss You Love
Ravi & DJ Løv - Tsjeriåu me de Månråus

*Music video*
Maria Mena - Miss You Love
Animal Alpha - Bundy
Ravi & DJ Løv - E-Ore
Robert Post - Got None
Röyksopp - What Else Is There

*Open class*
Arild Andersen Group - Electra
Beady Belle - Closer
Jaga Jazzist - What We Must
Nils Petter Molvær - ER
Shining - In The Kingdom Of Kitch You Will Be A Monster

*Child record of the year*
Diverse artister - Elias den lille redningsskøyta
Geirr Lystrup - Sangen om Yebo
Jannike Kruse & Forsvarets musikkorps Trøndelag - Kjente, kjære og noen glemte barnesanger

I think I’ve listened to most of the more popular artists at some time or another, but I honestly haven’t liked many of them. Although some people think I’m obsessed with Norwegian music, there actually isn’t a whole lot that I like. It just may be that I like more Norwegian artists compared to most people. Or that I like “Magnet”:http://www.homeofmagnet.com a whole lot, which is one reason I posted the nominees list. I don’t know if he’d win, but I’m thinking no because he won it last year for “On Your Side”. I’ll take a listen to more of these artists. If I were less lazy, I’d link to their homepages, but google is your friend. Use it.

I came across a review for “Magnet’s”:http://www.homeofmagnet.com “Fall At Your Feet” single and was surprised to find a crapload of reviews for this _one_ song. The single has a b-side, which no one really mentions and I haven’t heard yet. I didn’t like the music video for this song, which I think…just messed up the song for me. I LIKE THE SONG. _BY ITSELF._ Here’s a round up of reviews because I have no problem posting bad reviews in addition to the good ones.

Good! Or kinda good!

“Beat Surrender”:http://www.thebeatsurrender.co.uk/daily/recordbox/fall-at-your-feet-magnet/
“New Noise”:http://www.new-noise.net/us_240.html
“Music OHM”:http://www.musicomh.com/singles6/magnet-3_1205.htm
“Angry Age”:http://www.angryape.com/reviews/2005/11/magnet-fall-at-your-feet
“Music Emissions”:http://www.musicemissions.com/display_review.php?id=2
“Manchester Music”:http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/release.asp?item=2662
“Room Thirteen”:http://www.roomthirteen.com/cgi-bin/cd_view.cgi?CDID=2796
“Outline Online”:http://www.outlineonline.co.uk/page.asp?pageid=50

Not so good!

“Channel 4″:http://www.channel4.com/music/outandabout/index.jsp?id=18
“Rock City”:http://www.rock-city.co.uk/content/EEFuZuFZAFhLoOdmmy.shtml
“Drowned in Sound”:http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/6911
“The Communion”:http://www.thecommunion.co.uk/release_reviews.php?id=729

Something that bothers me, even though it doesn’t make much of a difference: Magnet is just Even Johansen and not the whole band. One dude!

Even left a message in “his guestbook”:http://interactives.alxnet.com/cgi-bin/slither/Driver.py/WebTools//Guestbook/Guestbook.render?guestbook_id=39227. He’s playing two shows this week, but they’re in Norway so you’re probably not going! Hopefully he’ll be in the US for SXSW (and then make his way to other parts of the country), although he’s not listed on “their page”:http://2006.sxsw.com/ yet.

“Kings of Convenience”:http://kingsofconvenience.com/ headlined a free Clear Channel protest concert on Wednesday at Kamelon in Bergen, Norway because Clear Channel wants to buy the rights to commercial places in Bergen…which isn’t cool. Other artists at the show were “William Hut”:http://www.williamhut.com/, “Karin Park”:http://www.karinpark.com/, Mao, “The Owens”:http://www.theowens.no, and “Orbo and the Longshots”:http://217.13.29.236/orbomusic/index.jsp. [via kings of convenience yahoo group]

Damn, I would’ve liked to go to that. I like at least…50% of the musicians! And of course, Clear Channel is kind of sucky.

bq. You fuckers heard of Magnet? Enormous; terrible.

Oh, Nick, that really wasn’t the right thing to say in your Big Outside of Norway article (link via Øyvind). [sigh] Yes, some of us HAVE heard of “Magnet”:http://www.homeofmagnet.com and dare I object to Pitchfork and say that he’s not terrible.

Ah…well, whatever floats your boat. Or sinks it. Mwahaha.

On that note, here’s some Magnet touring news that probably won’t apply to anyone who reads this.

—

Magnet will tour the UK with Athlete and Gemma Hayes later this month in UK.

October

* 25th – Manchester Apollo
* 26th – Manchester Apollo
* 27th – Newcastle Academy
* 28th – Glasgow Academy
* 29th – Edinburgh Corn Exchange
* 31st – Brighton Centre

November

* 1st – London Hammersmith Apollo

The Norwegian dates that were due to run at the same time will be rescheduled for early next year. More news on that to come. We apologise for any disappointment with these shows moving and look forward to seeing lots of you on the Athlete dates.

—

I hope “rescheduled for early next year” is AFTER he comes to the US, like he ought to because…um. Because. It’s a country I’m sitting in right now. When he comes over, I’m forcing everyone who reads this blog to see him perform. Or rather, I will give you the choice between seeing Magnet or me doing things to your brain in a way I haven’t figured out yet. Actually, no one has to be coerced into seeing him but I can’t have any of that vague “Um, sure, maybe I’ll go” stuff.

Also, this is random: French radio station playing a live Magnet thing but I can’t figure out the time difference. 1PM for me? Perhaps? Hm.

Reading this list of recommended songs by Norwegian artists made me realize that although at one level I seem to be in love with whatever comes out of Norway, I just don’t talk about the stuff I don’t like. That’d be kinda…pointless. So I won’t.

I haven’t listened to everything on the list because I’m too lazy, so…I ended up picking out an artist not on that list to listen to. You can hear craploads of “Smalltown Supersound”:http://www.smalltownsupersound.com/ songs on Bleep. So far I quite like Sir Dupermann and I don’t know why. Just. Because.

Of course, what I’d really love is some Plone, but they broke up in 2001 (link via Tim). Holy CRAP, I’m slow. By FOUR YEARS. When I read that, I felt something die in my stomach, hopefully a parasite or something that I don’t need. Finding out that one of your favorite bands split up four years after the fact (hey, it’s not like they have a website) is pretty bad. I guess it would’ve been worse if I found out later though. “What, they split up TEN YEARS AGO?!”

As long as I’m semi-talking about electronic stuff, Styrofoam is playing at Knitting Factory on November 22nd, so I shall go.

I thought I had something else to say but I can’t remember. Um. I just ate an apple. I think that means I’m digesting an apple right now.

This is probably one of those things only I’d be interested in, but Kenneth Ishak (songs at purevolume), a member of Norwegian band Beezewax, is playing at Lit Lounge (anyone know if it has an age limit?) on October 18th. [via it’s a trap] He just happens to be in the area to attend a wedding so this isn’t something that would happen very often. Unless a lot of people get married.

Hmm…I’d like to go. Perhaps.

I was planning to see Franz Ferdinand on October 16th, which I would’ve sworn was a listed date, but I don’t see it anymore. If I see them on the 17th instead, I don’t think I’ll want to go to another show the next day (I guess my not being caffeine-enhanced makes me unable to see things two days in a row; yeah, I’m pathetic). I’ll keep it in mind though. But what happened to the other FF show? I’d much rather go on a Sunday! MRAAH! FRAANNNZZ!!! MOOO!

For some reason, during the few days up until last night’s Royksopp concert I was thinking, “Uhh Royksopp concert…again? Man.” Not that I saw them yesterday, but it was just a few months ago that I saw Royksopp with CJ. And we went. AGAAAIN.

…Which was a good thing because last night was awesome. I couldn’t tell what the concert would be like right away since Royksopp were situated much farther away from the audience than usual: back more on the stage with a barracade to separate us even further (although it didn’t completely work; more on that later).

Royksopp concerts are definitely better in large-ish venues with a crapload of people jumping around. I think the first time I saw them at Irving Plaza was the most fun for reasons I don’t know, but last night was better than the show in July. More energy, more insane people, more smoke and lights. GOOD TIMES.

First off was the opener, Annie, accompanied by a guy playing drums/guitar and a DJ. Even though I like her music, I had heard so many bad things about her that I didn’t have many expectations. I thought her live performance was alright; not necessarily exciting, but not bad. I couldn’t really hear what she was singing but I figured that had something to do with the acoustics of Webster Hall (it was easier to feel the music making your organs explode than to actually hear it). She may not have extruded excitement but she looked happy. CJ basically kept saying, “SHE’S HOT!”, a sentiment that is surely shared by many other people. Norway breeds hotness, by the way (in addition to loads of music talent).

During the time between Annie and Royksopp, a seemingly drugged out/insane tall guy wearing a shirt that said “ENGLAND” with a white backpack came out of nowhere and slowly plowed through the front row where I was standing while proclaming, “Passion, passion” or…god know’s what. I felt really bad for the two women next to me, who looked like they were about to get injured. This guy grabbed onto the edge of the barracade for dear life while swinging around haphazardly, a really bad idea when you’re surrounded by a bunch of people and don’t have any room to swing around, unless you want to piss off a bunch of people. And that’s pretty much what he did, until the security guard took him away.

Before that at the end of Annie’s set, a guy near me had his digital camera’s memory card taken away. (”A guy” being Chris, very recognizable as “the guy front and center dancing his brains out”, pretty awesome. Too bad about the camera thing though. His review for Annie.) I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen to anyone before…erp. Lots of people were taking photos so I’m not sure what was the big deal, but I figured I wouldn’t take many photos after that.

And there wasn’t much point, as they’d all come out crappy anyway from the vibrating floor. There was also the super-mega-vibrating bass that made my organs buzz. You get used to it after a while, for better or worse.

Royksopp came out in completely different outfits compared to the last times I’ve seen them in the form of matching gray slacks, red collared shirts, and black ties; a homage to Kraftwerk? (They were also shoe and sockless.) Sitting at the back of the stage was a ginormous Royksopp cassette tape.

They pretty much played the same way as before, so I think the main difference this time was with the audience. Obviously, it was…larger. Another difference was that there was a female singer for some of the songs. While the concert didn’t get hopping right away, things picked up (for me at least) when they played stuff from Melody AM. “Poor Leno” was the clear winner with the audience. There were other great ones but I can’t remember what they were; even though I wore earplugs, I still feel like some bits of my brain broke off. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! I hope. (pokes brain) I’m pretty sure it was because I actually moved, and it takes a lot to make me move. Really, I don’t listen to other music like Royksopp’s and I’m not very animated unless situated near a bakery, where I can point and shout with glee at the mountains of cookies and bread.

After the first encore, a young woman ran from the left side and was almost able to throw herself onto the stage . She was so close, about halfway there…before the security guard came and lifted her away. The whole thing happened in about five seconds so it was a short, “What the…” moment. WHOA, CRAZY ROYKSOPP FAN!! There was also a very enthusiastic woman standing behind me, belting out the words to the songs (or just “ooh aahs”) not so on-key. The concert ended with Svein knocking down all his keyboard and drum stands, assumedly not on purpose, but it made for a funny way to leave the stage.

That was a good night. I’ll definitely want to see Royksopp when they come back again.

[photos]

I’m not obsessed with Norway (specifically Bergen) or anything, but…

The Owens are quite nice. Listen to some song clips so I don’t have to describe what they sound like. Or what he sounds like, as “The Owens” refers to one guy, named…OWEN! Yes, you saw that coming.

I don’t know why, but I like that the debut album is called “It was near I died”.

Okay, maybe I can attempt to describe the music, or my wonder over why I like it. It sounds like other stuff I’ve heard (a description about as helpful as saying, “This cake tastes like other cake I’ve eaten), except I like it more than the other stuff. It’s very sweet. I wannit.

It might just be because it’s late and I want to go to sleep, but the picture of Even on this page is making me laugh. I don’t know what’s going on due to my lack of Norwegian knowledge, but maybe it’s better that way.

Get ready for…RANDOM-NESS!

Magnet was bitten in the eye by a snake! Kinda. If it were actually his eye, he’d probably be in worse condition/blind, but it didn’t seem to be a big deal. If it were a big deal, I’d find it less funny. Translation courtesy of Erik:

A few days before the “Øyafestivalen”, he was at the Lost Weekend festival outside Bergen. After the festival he tripped an fell face to face with a viper/adder that bit him in the eye. That’s why his face looked a little swollen at the Øyafestivalen.

Quotes:

- I looked like I had been in a fight. And in a way I had. I just lost big time, laughs Even.

- I laughed my ass of because it was so special/weird/strange. I’m actually terrified of snakes. This is one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced.

It’s bad luck to fall on a viper/adder, but at least it was lucky that I didn’t get bitten in the actual eyeball. He got an antidote at the ER.

- I feel like the chosen one. I have never before heard of anyone that has been bitten in the eye by a viper/adder, så I feel really special. More specia lthan the music has ever made me feel.

MusicOHM has a recent Magnet gig review. It’s a little odd, as it’s seems half not-so-favorable/very favorable, but it’s interesting. If you want to hear “the raw, fulsome growl of a weather-beaten mongrel” (whoa, that’s a new description) in Even’s voice, Libido (Even’s previous alt-rock band) would be a better choice. Same pretty voice, but …different. He shouted more. Listen:

Libido - Supersonic Daydream [removed]

These Doves pimp coat photos made me laugh.

Dan Radcliffe is a hipster? …he has a fanclub and sends out newsletters? Wow, I’m behind the times. I’m a moderate Harry Potter fan (by that I mean I’ve read all the books a few times, except for the last one that I’ve read once so far–gimme a break–and I’ve seen all the movies a few times…that’s moderate, right?) but I haven’t followed the lives of any of the actors in the movies. Mm. Well. Yay for music! Should be interesting to see Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway in the new movie, bwahaha.

Everyone loves Levy? …YAY! I don’t think they’re necessarily exciting or original, but a lot of artists I love aren’t exciting or original; I just happen to love them (and I fell in love in Levy after listening to them for about 5 seconds). Maybe I don’t want to be excited. Maybe I just want a fluffy pillow and some ice cream.

I like this song:

Levy - Matthew [removed]

…I like almost every song. Sounds happy. Doesn’t change much throughout. And it’s lovely! I don’t understand the Coldplay comparison, but I guess a lot of things can be compared to Coldplay. They’re like chicken, in the world of meats. (I didn’t mean to compare Coldplay to chicken, but I think I just did.)

I just read a bad review for “The Tourniquet” the other day but I can’t find it anymore. It was interesting because it had truthful points, except for the correlation between “sleepy music” and “bad music”. I don’t think that Magnet will ever make a party album (although it would be more likely than The Innocence Mission making one) unless it’s a…tea party?

“The Tourniquet” has been getting good reviews but reading the bad review made me think about how much I like it. In order of preference, I like “Quiet & Still”, then “On Your Side”, then “The Tourniquet”. I think I’ll always be bothered that seemingly no one has listened to “Quiet & Still”, which you can easily buy at Five One Inc, where it’s been for the past four years. Then again, I can’t really explain why I like it so much. It’s a good thing I don’t review music for a living.

Magnet is doing a crapload of tour dates in Norway.

Okay, I thought about it for a few minutes and every song on “Quiet & Still” just grabs me. Like….RAWR! But not. More like a quiet rawr. A warm fuzzy kitten. Yes, that’s it. Warm fuzzy kitten, lying on your head. OH, wait wait, I found a better visual: hedgehog baby. Listening to “Quiet & Still” is like being a hedgehog baby. God, those things are cute (DON’T TELL ME OTHERWISE).

Wow, brains don’t work well after 4 AM, do they?

Lastly, I love how Thom looks very very small in this photo in the woods.