Fem lande

I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately -- just not on here. Suffice it to say I haven’t had much I’ve wanted to say about music lately. Well, there is this, though:

Recently I was sent Sopa Deliciosa, a huge (44 songs) compilation. The musical representation is very diverse and, I thought, quite enjoyable. One of the things I found most intriguing about it was that, while the album was released in Denmark and the majority of the artists are Danish, of those from the US, two songs came from Portland. Where I live. Nice.

I played a few songs from the comp last night, and will probably play a few more in the future. Speaking of which, here is last night’s playlist:

1. Mom & Dad – the Bear Quartet (SV)
2. Grey Days – the Concretes (SV)
3. Mind Blindness – Dirty on Purpose
4. This Time – Bertine Zetlitz (NW)
5. Shoreline – Broder Daniel (SV)
6. A Year Before the Future – Typhoon
7. Stay (Just a Little Bit More) – the Dø (FL)
8. Dogs – Emily Frembgen
9. When Lights Go Out – Club 8 (SV)
10. Bachelor Kisses – the Radio Dept. (SV)
11. The Devil Behind Me – My Twin (DK)
12. Everything’s Gone – Bang Gang (IS)
13. My Best Friend – Hello Saferide (SV)
14. A Postcard to Nina – Jens Lekman (SV)
15. Hip – Marybell Katastrophy (DK)

I know -- a lot from Sweden, and last week was a lot from Denmark. I will try to be more even next time. On the other hand, I did manage to hit all five of the official Nordic countries on this show, something I don’t think I’ve ever done before.

I’ll have a song to download from the show Friday. For tracks from this show, try the podcast.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (30. januar 2008)

Hurtig, foran går jeg til klasse

Som jeg gør altid, jeg planlægde ikke nok sange for en time. I fredags, jeg spillede fire ekstra sange. Det var o.k.

Spillelisten er her:

1. You are a Knife – VETO (DK)
2. John, Let Me Go – Sondre Lerche (NW)
3. Ghosts for Laundry – the Bear Quartet (SV)
4. Dögun – Sigur Rós (IS)
5. Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir – Super Furry Animals
6. Crackdown – Kaspar Hauser
7. Hammering the Cramps – Sparklehorse
8. At Last At Least – Shooting Spires
9. Stars – Port Friendly (DK)
10. Holy Cow – Harmony Boys (DK)
11. Revolution – Grandaddy
12. Adventure – Be Your Own Pet
13. From German Streets – Herman Düne
14. A Little Bit, Sometimes – Múm (IS)
15. Bad Light – Built to Spill
16. To the East – Electrelane

Jeg spiller Múm hver uge, nu. De er godt, men det er ikke med vilje.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (25. januar 2008)

Jeg glemte

Modern Age tomorrow -- 25. january. Five bands: Shitfit, A Ghost Face Two Inches from Your Own Face, The Blast Majesty, The Black Black Black, and Here Comes a Big Black Cloud.

I've only heard one of these bands before, but I think they're all pretty... loud. If that's your thing, you should come. We're starting at 7 o'clock, cover's $3-5, and, well, you get to see five bands (for as little as 60 cents each). That's a lot. Cool.

Første på AM

So tonight I had my first city-wide show (broadcasting on KPSU’s 1450 AM). Other than announcing completely the wrong album name for my Mew song and the probable butchering of Johan Agebjörn’s last name, I think the show went pretty well. Of course, it wasn’t perfect -- but there were no major blunders.

If you missed tuning in -- or are outside of the coverage area -- you can also listen to the podcast. It will download as being called ‘Songs the Lord Taught Us’ with host Miss Meghan -- however, rest assured, it is me. The show is still called Ashtrays, and I am still called Sara. Those are just the previous DJ’s IDs, which have not been adjusted yet. Hopefully that will be done by next week. And keep in mind that I will still be doing the Friday show, too -- at least for a while.

I was especially proud of the playlist -- all Scandinavian. I’d like to keep this evening edition of the show more Scan-oriented… which will mean that, in the coming weeks, I’m going to need a lot more music. If you’re a Danish, Swedish, Norwegian band/musician -- just, if you’re from any of the Nordic countries, or even if you’re not, but make music that sounds good -- and you’d like to have it played on the show, feel free to send me your stuff (if you want a physical address for mail, email me and I’ll let you know what it is) or at least alert me to what you’re doing. I like hearing new music. Always.

Nu, spillelisten:
1. Mica – Mew (DK)
2. The Air We Breathe – Figurines (DK)
3. Soundwaves – Attention Now! (NW)
4. Palads – Under Byen (DK)
5. Chans – Kent (SV)
6. Enola Gay – Oliver North Boy Choir/Pierre (DK)
7. You Don’t Dance – Lupus (DK)
8. Take Me Home (Johan Agebjörn remix featuring Sally Shapiro) – Don Juan Dracula (SV, SV, NW)
9. That Town – Sambassadeur (SV)
10. Aly, Walk With Me – the Raveonettes (DK)
11. Sweet End – Death Valley Sleepers (DK)
12. Bosphorus Bridge – Tiger Baby (DK)
13. Chinese Fairytale – Tiger Baby (DK)
14. Tonight the Walls are Closing – David & the Citizens (SV)

The individual song to download today is Enola Gay, which I think I’ve had up before. If you so desire, you can find other tracks for download both here and on other nice sites around the web.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (23. januar 2008)
Enola Gay (Oliver North Boy Choir/Pierre)

Radioprogrammet

Hello, all you Portlanders -- just thought you should know... I have another radio show. It will be in the same style as the previously existing Ashtrays (and will bear the same name). Tune in Wednesday nights (it starts tonight -- I just found out) at 9 pm Pacific on KPSU's AM signal, 1450. It should reach all of Portland and some of Vancouver, WA as well. The podcast will be up soon as well.

Okay bye.

Raves... og mere...

The internet is being incredibly slow, but I’ve been wanting to post this since Sunday… So… Apparently they have a version of the Grammis (The Danish Music Awards) in Denmark, too. Sune Wagner of the Raveonettes has been nominated for five of them -- practically the full number he’s eligible for -- and I must say he deserves it. Alright, there is a girl in the Raveonettes too (and I like her, also) but whatever.

Speaking of the Raveonettes, about a week ago, Hits in the Car mentioned the Copenhagen act Death Valley Sleepers, calling them/him “Raveonettes clones.” I consider this high praise (remember, the Raveonettes were the first Danish band I ever liked) and after a few listens -- my god, this guy does sound exactly like the Raveonettes. I mean exactly.

It's fairly regularly that I encounter some new band and shortly fall into love, only to shortly fall out again. Music is one of the only things about which I often speak too quickly. But in the case of Death Valley Sleepers, I feel that I can quite happily continue listening, with the same lovely effect, long past the so-called honeymoon phase. Drawing on some pretty exemplary influences -- from the aforementioned Raves to the rawer pre-pop of the Jesus and Mary Chain -- this is just what a band called Death Valley Sleepers should sound like. And what makes it even more remarkable is that this lushness -- the jangly guitars and the echo-y harmonies -- are all the work of just one person.

It's hard to pick a favorite track, but try She's In Control -- or listen to (and download) four other tracks at last.fm. Unfortunately, this seems to be the only current channel of distribution -- he doesn’t appear to have ever released anything officially; just demos. Hopefully that will change. Soon.

--DL--
She's In Control (Death Valley Sleepers)

Uorden og rod

I apologize for the lack of cohesion and coherence yesterday's show. Things happens sometimes, I guess.

If you have heard the program already, you know that I had an apprentice with me, which may have (but probably didn’t really that much) make me nervous and contributed a bit to the disorder plaguing me and the show -- which is unfortunate, as I would have liked to do a particularly good job when I was supposed to be training somebody. Oh, well. So it goes.

Spillelisten her:
1. Jorge Regula – the Moldy Peaches
2. Raphael – CocoRosie
3. Tropical Ice-Land – the Fiery Furnaces
4. Love and Nostalgia – Friday Bridge (SV)
5. Electric Cave – Slumber Party
6. Soundwaves – Attention Now! (NW)
7. Am I Right? – Oh No Ono (DK)
8. Travel Song – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
9. Start to Melt – Peter Bjorn and John (SV)
10. Arena Song – Sugarboom
11. The Disco Song – Au Revoir Simone (gorgeous new website)
12. Schoolhouse Misfortune – Múm (IS)
13. La Banlieu – Beirut
14. Djuna – Frida Hyvönen (SV)
15. The Marabou Shuffle – the Flaming Stars

I think that is the order they were played. It is not, by the way, the order in which they were meant to be played. Lost some good segues.

Also, if you are interested, we played Mew’s 156 on the Hour Long Hour (6-7pm), where you can hear me talking a little bit.

Unfortunately I do not have a song download for this week; however, you can watch the video for Attention Now!’s song Soundwaves, which is lovely -- and the music is even better. It starts out soft and slow, then builds to a climax, an instrumental assault of both pain and a twisted kind of happiness. Really well done; really gripping. I liked it, anyway.

Next week’s show will be loads better. Also -- they’re (and I’m) thinking of switching me to Wednesday nights at nine. This would be a city-wide slot -- it’s the reason for the change. (Read this post for more -- and still mostly relevant -- information. I don’t work on Wednesdays, though.)

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? I value your opinion, especially since -- in matters directly concerning myself -- I very rarely have one.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (18. januar 2008)

Vi gør det, hvad kan vi gør

I’ve just sent off an email to Taken by Trees (the solo project of Victoria Bergsman, ex-Concretes), asking them to please attempt to find time in their schedule to add a Portland show to their upcoming west coast tour. In my view, a three-day gap between shows in San Francisco and Seattle provides sufficient time to play a short little set here in PDX on the way through.

Of course, the dates have already been announced; the clubs have already been booked -- but I suppose it’s always worth a try.

Right now, my prospects for this spring are:

7. March – the Raveonettes at the Doug Fir (21+)
24. March – Jens Lekman at Berbati’s (21+)

In case you are new to this game, I guess I should point out that I have yet to turn 21. Ah, yes, my chronic complaint...

After several hours of searching, I have been unable to find any other likely shows. Everyone else (of whom there are not very many) seems to be skipping Portland this season. If only I lived in… Denmark... Sweden... anywhere.

No, actually I love Portland.

Fredag igen

Radioprogram spillelisten:

1. If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle & Sebastian
2. Final Say – Sambassadeur (SV)
3. A Way of Life – the Concretes (SV)
4. Anything – David & the Citizens (SV)
5. I’ll Be Here – Pétur Ben (IS)
6. 2 Birds – Mugison (IS)
7. Annie, Let’s Not Wait – Guillemots
8. Lisa Could Die for Elvis – Yellowish (DK)
9. Your Charms – Cinerama
10. Blue Corolla – Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
11. Doing all the Things that Wouldn't Make Your Parents Proud – the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
12. Here Comes that Feeling – El Perro del Mar (SV)

Jeg skal prøve at have et sang fra min spilleliste hver uge, at du kan download alene. I dag, det med lang titelen, med The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

The Modern Age var også god, igen. Og jeg fik en gratis album. Det måtte jeg lytte til ny.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (11. januar 2008)
Doing All the Things that Wouldn't Make Your Parents Proud (the Pains of Being Pure at Heart)

Säkert! + Grammis

I gårs, Säkert! fik to (svensk) grammis priser -- bedst kvinde musiker, og bedst lyrik. Meget godt. Jeg er meget fornøjet. Her er en af hendes demo sange, Faller isär. (Det er også på myspace, men du måtte log ind, hvis det vil du gerne have.)

Jeg ville gerne at skrive dette på svensk, men jeg bestemmete nej -- min svensk er forfærdelig. Det er trist, fordi jag älskar Sverige. Men Santa Barbara verka också godt, precis nu -- jag älsker inte regnväder.

--DL--
Faller isär (Säkert!)

'Koncert' fredag

Don't worry, it's a real show. I've put the title in quotes only because I hate the word concert. Probably because it reminds me of back when I used to play the cello in my middle school orchestra. Not that that was a particularly terrible time, but you get what I mean...

Anyway, the first Modern Age show of the new year, Friday 11. January, at 8pm in FFT at PSU. More info/directions here. I'm not quite sure on the order they'll be playing in, but it'll be Church, Suplex, Ohioan & Native Kin, and Alan Singley there. Should be fun.

I would write more now, but I'm off to class -- because class started today. I get to learn how to teach small children about music. That should be fun, too.

Sen igen

As I seem always to do with her, I have once again forgotten/neglected to post a bit of now-ancient news about Säkert!, the Swedish-language project of Annika Norlin, the woman behind Hello Saferide. Anyway, Säkert! has been nominated for a whole passel of Swedish Grammy awards, including album of the year and female artist of the year… And as Grammisgalan is nearly upon us (you’ll be able to check the results Wednesday) this seemed like the appropriate time to mention this.

My Swedish is just barely good enough that I mostly understand the Säkert! song titles, but even going on sound alone, I think it is fair to say that she quite deserves the recognition. Listen to four songs, yourself, on myspace.

In other (old) news, if you've not yet seen, via Música de Bolso there’s a live video of Hello Saferide singing an as-yet-unreleased song, I Wonder Who Is Like This One. It’s in an elevator, which makes things interesting, and it was recorded this fall when she visited Brazil. Instead of Oregon. There’s also one of her doing the Säkert! song Vi Kommer Att Dö Samtidigt (We’re Going to Die at the Same Time), and -- if you can read Portuguese -- a little write-up.

Well, that’s interesting. I appear to be able to (albeit stumblingly) read Portuguese. This is starting to be alarming.

Skal ikke igen talte ikke

Friday, I regret to inform you, I did a horrid job of hosting. I decided not to talk at all during the show (although I did wind up doing so twice -- maybe thrice). However, the lack of my blathering on means that I, as usual, ran out of music early, so there are a few nice extra never-before-heard (by me) songs tossed on there toward the end, including a pretty one by the semi-creepy-sounding Icelandic band Múm. Actually, everything I’ve heard by Múm has been settling well with me -- I may just have to find myself a copy of their (newest) album. Perhaps more.

Anyway, here is the rather long playlist:
1. New Years – Asobi Seksu
2. Mockingbird – the Libertines
3. All You Need is Love – the Beatles
4. Empire State Human – Marsheaux
5. Everything Goes – Club 8 (SV)
6. The Young Ones – Munich (DK)
7. We Might As Well Have Stayed Young – the Enright House
8. Icecold Kisses – Ostrich (SV)
9. Mount Wroclai (Idle Days) – Beirut
10. Hearts on Fire – Rumskib (SV)
11. Winter (What We Never Were After All) – Múm (IS)
12. The Nest – José González (SV)
13. I Will Kill Again – Jarvis Cocker
14. The Remote Part/Scottish Fiction – Idlewild
15. For Once in Your Life Try to Fight for Something You
Believe In – moi Caprice (DK)

Even though most of you probably hate it when I talk, I promise I will never again attempt to go a whole show without talking. Unless I get laryngitis, which I had better not do.

The idiot internet has been acting poorly the past few days (this was meant to be posted yesterday), so we’ll see what I’m able to post in the upcoming. Hopefully, though, hopefully I will be able to manage a bit.

--DL--
Ashtrays Podcast (4. januar 2008)

Gladeligt nyt år

I would write more, but I’ve cut myself, and I’m a bleeder, so I’ve got an enormous wad of toilet paper wrapped around my finger, making it rather difficult to type. But Happy New Year anyway, and here’s an unreleased home-recorded version of my second-favorite New Year’s song, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s New Year’s Kiss.

My New Year’s resolution is to respond to emails within two (probably three) days of receiving them. Unless they’re exceptions. But try me.

--DL--
New Year’s Kiss (Casiotone for the Painfully Alone)