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When the sunlight is retreating and the days are getting shorter and shorter, I tend to turn to music to help me enjoy this gloomy season, instead of getting depressed over it. When it rains the best thing you can do is to stay indoors with a cup of coffee, and just enjoy the tapping of the rain on the window. When it is cold and wintery outside, the best thing I know is to throw on an album that puts me in that certain mood of confidence in the future, mixed with a healthy doze of melancholy. Then I just wander around my house for an entire day. It’s like therapy for me :-)

One of the albums of 2008 that I use for this particular habit is Sascha Funke’s “Mango”. Freed from any dogmas and rules about music, Sascha Funke has created an astonoshing album that is not quite right for the peak-hour dance-floor and nor for radio’s “3:20″ way of thinking. It is somewhere in between all of these constrains that modern music is forced into, but without leaving the land of techno behind. Have a listen yourself.

Sascha Funke – We Are Facing The Sun

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Get “Mango” on iTunes now
Get “Mango” on Amazon now

Another album I have used when I wander around my house is the soundtrack for german movie “Berlin Calling”. Paul Kalkbrenner, who plays the lead-role of a DJ in distress when he is faced with sudden stardom, have also created a nice piece of cinematic soundscapes for the movie. The movie is not yet available for purchase anywhere, but you can stay tuned on their website if you want to know when and where to get it. Untill then, enjoy the soundtrack.

Paul Kalkbrenner – Altes Kamuffel (Special Berlin Calling Edit)

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Get “Berlin Calling – Soundtrack” on iTunes now
Get “Berlin Calling – Soundtrack” on Amazon now

Maybe you have some suggestions as to what albums myself and others should listen to, while we all wander around the house? I am actually going away for week on my own to write new material and I could use the inspiration. So shoot: What albums get you through stormy weather?

My brother was so kind as to turn my attention to the new Bon Iver album. Bon Iver is the name of american musician Justin Vernons threepiece band, and acording to wikipedia his “most notabel project to date”. I don’t know of anything else he has done, so I wouldn’t know, but I know this: “For Emma, Forever Ago” is the soundtrack to my winter. I absolutely adore this album.

The vocal production and performance bears resemblance to an act like TV On The Radio, and the music is your standard indie-country-midwestern-guitar-bass-drums-by-the-fire-by-the-lake-feeling.

These are good songs performed with moving feeling and intensity. Go buy “For Emma, Forever Ago” on iTunes or physcial at Amazon now.

Download Bon Iver – Skinny Love

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We, the residing Danish government has figured a way out of all of our social woes. Behold, there is a solution to kids skipping school, becoming criminals and/or doing drugs! There is a golden path of enlightenment that can turn the most bewildered young soul, into a good and productive citizen. Yes, there is a stern but fair way to force kids to act as we, the society, demands it. “What is it, oh oracle politician?” you ask. Well, my dear sheep, straying confused on the green meadow of hope and naivety, the answer is simple: Economic sanctions towards their parents, of course!

As part of the new state budget negotiations, the talking monkeys in parliament, have decided to give the socially challenged a good old kick in the balls. The local authorities, are now obligated by law, to sanction the parents of kids who are skipping school, getting involved in crime or otherwise act up. Peter Skaarup of DF (Danish Peoples Party – a real charmer that one) argued to danish newspaper Politiken: “If you want people to change their behavior, you have to hit them where it hurts: their wallet. It is crucial that the parents feel there is a consequence, when their kids are not behaving”.

First of all, Peter “Cro-Magnon man” Skaarup, if you want people to change their behavior, don’t start by fining them or punishing them harder than you did the last time. Things like prevention campaigns, social work and more money for our stagnating school system might work. Mixed with a little bit of trust in the good in people and you just might see a positive result in a few years time. But I guess that is to long for a politician like yourself. Solutions, and solutions fast, seems to be the mantra nowadays.

Second of all, I think that most people with kids involved in crime or other dubious behavior, are suffering the consequences already. There is no need to kick a helpless parent while down, is there? How about a helping hand from the social authorities to try and sort out their problems and maybe getting to the root of the problem, instead of sanction upon sanction. An educated man like Skaarup must be able to look beneath the surface, and see that the real problem could be anything from alcoholism, depression, abuse or just simple lack of parenting skills. No fine or punishment, no matter how big, will make the problem go away. Quite the contrary.

The last eight years of politics in Denmark has been saturated with this kind of thinking, and it is not helping anybody. Please vote wisely the next time you vote.

Gorillaz – Kids With Guns (Hot Chip Remix)

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My Mockin’ Bird album is now available through itunes for purchase, so for those of you who didn’t get it from here in time, rest assured. The album is iTunes Plus which means no DRM or restrictions on the files. Thank you for supporting me.

For those of you who are not exactly sure what this is all about read this and this.

I am a big fan of The Daily Show and John Stewart. In a corrupted media like television, it’s refreshing to have someone do political satire with so much insight.

In the episode from yesterday, november 5th, it seems that the thrill of Barack Obama just being elected, has taken over completely for John Stewart. I have never seen him so keen and fast in his snappy comebacks, as in this episode. The fact that his guest for the night is Chris Wallace, Fox News anchorman is just fuel to the fire.

The episode, and others can be watched for free here.

Now what I don’t get is that there are no political satire on danish television. We don’t have any John Stewarts or Stephen Colberts to be the hillarious watchdogs of danish politics. It think the closest we’ve come is maybe Mikael Bertelsen’s “De Uaktuelle Nyheder“, but that was still very vague political satire compared to the stuff that Stewart and Colbert does, though he sometimes hit the nail on the head (see video below).

More of this in danish television please! Maybe our beloved pubic-service-obligated network DR could pay for it by using just a few percent of what they spend on mind-numbing shows like “Talent” and “X-factor”. Just a thought.

I couldn’t keep my eyes open to watch the american election coverage on danish television through to the end, so I was pleased to wake up to the news that Barack Obama had won the race for certain. A lot of polls were indicating this, but as you should know, you can’t be sure of anything in american politics.

I sure hope that this means some change we can believe in to America and thus to us, as we are so closely tied to the big country ‘cross the Atlantic, in almost every sense; political, economical and cultural.

I am only on song three – “Wippsteert” – of the new Extrawelt album, simply entitlted “Schöne Neue Extrawelt”, and I can already strongly recommend it. If you like minimal, techno and just bouncy, subtle basslines this album is for you.

Ever since I heard the singles “Last Past” and “Soopertrack” I have been in absolute awe over this Hamburg duo, and now with their debut album, following a long line of excellent singles, they only leave me more stoked than before. Magnificent aesthetics, enticing arrangements and a seducing atmosphere, is all a part of the Extrawelt spell.

Listen to these tracks from “Schöne Neue Extrawelt”, judge for yourself and then go buy the digital album through beatport.com or a physical one through Amazon.

Must Attack

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Wippsteert

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