Farvel

It’s been two years.

Honey, he says, don’t kill that last cigarette…

But it’s time to go.

From time to time, I’m sure I’ll miss this blog, but there’s no real motivation. I don’t do radio any more (nor, in fact, do many of the people I first did radio with). I graduated from college seven months ago, and have been taking Danish since then only because I had nothing better to do; my last class is Monday. Josh has long since given up smoking. Even Oliver North Boy Choir, the first band I wrote about here, decided to call it quits last month.

So… I guess I might as well. I've got things to do. You can keep in touch with me via email (as long as you don’t mind how slow I am in response), or keep an eye on what I’m listening to on last.fm -- although it should be borne in mind that, especially lately, I find myself listening to vinyl (and sometimes streaming audio) far more frequently than mp3s, and even when I do listen to music on the computer, I’m prone to turning off scrobbling for large swaths of time. Take everything there with a grain of salt.

Finally, and most reliably, you can find me also at my other (better?) blog, RQEBIR, where I write about books and short stories and, occasionally, how badly I want to work at Powell’s. I’m very fond of this blog right now. I hope it lasts. And I hope that things get better too.

Thanks everybody for reading.

--DL--
Twilight (the Raveonettes)

Hvad er død må have lov til at dø

Much as it pains me to say this, I fear I will not be able to carry this blog on much longer. I still love and listen to new music, though not with such… excitement, perhaps, as before. Things have changed, and, well, things have changed.

Who knows -- maybe a week from now I’ll change my mind and begin blogging twice a day. There’s always the chance that I’ll continue to pop in here from time to time, and I’ll still read It’s A Trap! daily and other music and mp3 blogs regularly. I’ll try to keep somewhat abreast of music news, and if anyone wants to keep in touch with me via email, keep in mind that I’m not the most reliable or punctual of email correspondents, but I’ll do my best. As for the blog, though -- this has been a long time coming, and I think it’s best not to drag it out any longer. So I’m going to let the blog die now, while there are still a few readers around to mourn its death.

(On the bright side, though, after nearly a year's absence, Emodreng & Indiepige is back! Go read their stuff instead.)


Before I go, a few music tidbits (but no downloads, sorry) to end with:

For those lucky enough to live in or near Denmark, Psyched up Janis, Sune Rose Wagner’s first band (I think? He can’t have had that many before it; it was 20 years ago) is planning a brief reunion tour. They sound, by and large, completely different from the Raveonettes and Sune’s recent solo stuff, but you can also hear hints of the same influence. I like to think of Psyched Up Janis as sort of a grunge band. On the other hand, they covered the Ronettes’ Be My Baby, in a decidedly non-grunge way, so… you never know. Their big song, I Died in My Teens, won me over nearly three years ago, back when I still was one.

El Perro del Mar’s new single, Change of Heart, is still great. Another one undoubtedly worthy of vinyl. Can’t wait for 1 April, when the EP, Love is Not Pop, comes out.

I’ve also been listening to Jonathan Johansson’s fairly new album, En Hand i Himlen. It’s all Swedish. It reminds me of the few songs I know by fellow Swede Nordpolen -- but it’s also a lot more diverse. The entire album (which includes a cover whose name, even in English, you will not recognize, but which you will know as soon as you hear) can be streamed on his website. My favorite track is the fifth one, Aldrig Ensam. Means never alone.

Oliver North Boy Choir released their final songs before calling it quits last week. Once again, I like the B-side (Crash) better than the single (Blackmail). Stream them all -- those two and more -- here.

Efterklang, who I saw in an absolutely insane show at last year’s Roskilde Festival, are playing Portland tomorrow night, supported by Peter Broderick, who is actually from Portland. I’d like to see them, even if just for the contrast, but unfortunately, I am expected at work (and even if I didn’t have to work, I’d have to be on the guest list to go, because impecunious is the word of the day week month year probably decade). Provided the venue doesn’t get as crowded as that stifling Roskilde tent (and it won’t; they’d get shut down for fire code), I can’t think of a more pleasant way to spend Saturday night. Well, yes, I can, but you know what I mean.

Outside of Scandinavia:

Is it just me, or is the new myspace music player really overdone and ugly? God. Let’s kill that, too.

I’ve been listening a lot lately to the new Black Lips album, 20 Million Thousand. (Stream at last.fm.) Very... diverse? I never thought I’d say this, but I guess it might be the rap song that I like best. Actually, no, but it’s very good. Long live whatever this is.


And finally. I will write one more post after this, on 13 March, which would be the blog’s two-year anniversary. Aside from that, this is goodbye.