Rest My Chemistry

Come New Years Day I'll be resting my chemistry, and I won't be up to any postings. So here comes the top albums of the year.

2007 was a great year for an indie and shoegaze sucker like me, and I don't need to to compile both a Local and a Global list, since Danish and Scandinavian music in my opinion can fully compete internationally.

10. Death By Kite: Death By Kite
It's so indie and I love it. They played Roskilde Jr., but I didn't see them because I didn't have enough holidays to stay for the warm-up. I think they should have been in the main Roskilde Festival programme, but I've been making such points about promising and talented debut acts in the feedback forms to Roskilde every year since they invented the camping stage. I believe that was in 2000 when Nephew played a great gig under abysmally lousy conditions. I know I made a long point about that in that year's feedback form. I'm digressing. Back to Death By Kite. Okay so it's not like they're inventing sliced bread or anything, but I just love the sound, and I love to follow their future progress.

9. LCD Sound System: Sound of Silver
I love the beats. I love this new bold sound. I guess new rave is the term.

8. Brett Anderson: Brett Anderson
Yes, yes, I know, noone else will have this album on their best-of-2007-compilations. They'll think it too kliche, too unoriginal, but I don't agree and I'm not afraid of saying it. I've been hearing this on repeat at home as well as on the go on the ipod. It's great, it's beautiful, it's addictive, it's Brett back in shape.

7. Raveonettes: Lust, Lust, Lust
The sound and the noise guitars here are quite corporeal and dirty. Free of the big labels, the duo seems to dare more, to make more noise than on the last two of albums. The simplicity, the effect of the two intertwining vocals and the heavily distorted guitars makes a wonderful whole.

6. Klaxons: Myths of the Near Future
This year's British album. Anglofile as I am, it's amazing there are so few British acts making an impact on me this year. The best concert at the Roskilde Festival this year was Klaxons. It's audacious, it's catchy, it's makes you wanna dance in the same way Franz Ferdinand does.

5. Decorate. Decorate: Normandie
Dark, sombre and melodic. It's been on repeat on my ipod a lot this autumn and winter. The strength of this debut reminds of the impact that Mew's A Triumph for Man made on me back in 1997. Disconcerting and beautiful. I have yet to see this band live. These guys know how to make an atmosphere like Joy Division and Interpol. I expect a lot from this band!

4. Asobi Seksu: Citrus
When I went to the sold out gig with Editors at Lille Vega in June, I didn't know this band existed, but they made a huge impact on me. After the gig I bought both their albums, and especiallly the latest is great. This reminds me of the shoegaze hey day in the early nineties, and of Lush. Noise guitars, such a tender voice, heavenly melodies. It's the noise rock equivalent of Sigur Rós.

3. Kent: Tilbaka til samtiden
The lyrics of this band are always amazing and spellbinding. Never something you learn by heart when you first hear the songs, but rather level after level reveals itself as the play count in itunes and ipod grows and grows. I like the re-invention of the anglo-scandinavian indie sound with the bold new rave beats. Very cathy. Kent remains one of my absolute favourite bands.

2. Dúné: We Are In There, You Are Out Here
This is without comparison the best debut album for many, many years. I can't help comparing with the debuting of Superheroes because Mattias Kolstrup has a charisma and self belief that reminds me of Thomas Troelsen (whom I admire and respect greatly), but Dúné is a much better band. It's so intense, it's agressive and melancholic. There are also references to Veto.

1. Interpol: Our Love to Admire
So dark. So beautiful. 74 stars was awarded by Jens Unmack (jensunmack.dk) for the June gig at Vega, and I can't but agree. These melancholic sounds find a resonance in my heart.

Rest My Chemistry, Our Love to Admire, Interpol, 2007

On a Train

Som bekendt kan man spille mahjong hvorsomhelst. Også i tog. Nogle tog giver bare større udfordringer end andre. Eurocity-tog og IC3 tog er for eksempel langt at foretrække for de tog der går til Sønderjylland. Men det kan man jo sige sig selv. Som I ser, i de sønderjydske tog er bordene mildest talt underdimensionerede.


På vejen hjem var vi bl.a. med et meget overfyldt tog, hvor vi spærrede for alle de mange mennesker der skulle forbi, da vi var nødsaget til at sidde noget ubekvemt, og vi måtte spille på Isabels kuffert med kort i stedet for brikker. Oversidderen agerede mur og delte korte ud når folk skulle trække en brik. Så havde spillerne bekvemt nok også én at skyde skylden på hvis de ikke fik ordentlige brikker, eller kort, mener jeg. Nå, men hvis sandheden skal frem havde vi en herlig tur til Hannover og hyggede os gevaldigt med hinanden og med vores venner fra hele Europa.


I German Mahjong Open vandt Désirée fortjent den mest attraktive præmie, et krus fra Deutsche Mah-Jongg Liga, for højeste pointscore i en runde. Det var sjovt nok i første runde hvor jeg spillede mod hende. Selv fik jeg heldigvis brokket mig så højlydt at Uwe fandt det bedst for alle parter at give mig et krus også. Désirée vandt også den næstbedste præmie, nemlig førstepræmien i turneringen. Brian Krog, den forsvarende mester måtte lade sig nøje med 2. pladsen. I alt havde vi 4 danskere i top 10, og 6 i top 20. Der var 56 deltagere, heraf 7 danske. Så det kan vi i den grad godt være bekendt. Nu bliver det så spændende hvordan det går til VM i Kina i starten af november.

For øvrige resultater og masser af billeder:
http://hannover.mah-jongg.de/gmo/




"I'm On a Train//It's insane//I'm On a Train
I'm saying //Be a man take a stand//show me what you got in your hand"
On a Train, 'Til We're Dead, Eskobar, 2000

You're Like a Knife You Cut Things Clean

Der er da én god ting statsreligionen har givet os: et herligt væld af forårsfridage. Påskeferien blev indledt med maner til en fantastisk koncert med Veto på Vega onsdag aften. Veto er et helt fantastisk live band, der virkelig formår at nå ud over scenekanten. Her krænges sjælen ud, de store følelser synges med en medrivende indlevelse så nerveenderne blottes og det gyser ned ad ryggen. Troels A.'s optræden er imponerende og overbevisende og bliver aldrig klichefyldt. Det var rart at se så ungt et publikum dyrke dyster kvalitetsrock. En fordel ved det unge publikum er også at gennemsnitshøjden var mindst et hoved kortere end til de fleste andre rockkoncerter så mine 168 cm havde frit udsyn til scenen. Opvarmningen Marvel Hill var en ret positiv overraskelse med en rytmesektion der trak mindelser til The Cure, Joy Division og Interpol. Værd at holde øje med.

Vapour Trail

Flight contrails over the French Alps, March 2007. These were pretty much the only clouds I saw on my skiing holiday this year. Exhaust from aircraft engines create contrails (condensation trails) which can develop into cirrus clouds that have an impact on the radiation balance of the Earth. The details is a complex balance between trapping and reflection of radiation; the net effect is a warming of the Earth's climate.

First you look so strong
then you fade away
you are a vapour trail
in a deep blue sky

Ride, Vapour Trail, Nowhere, 1990