OK fellas,
I guess I'm done here.
http://groovie86.tumblr.com/
-> that's my new Blog.
Why? Well, because I realized that I don't really want to write about my personal life. I enjoy telling people about new music I like or sharing some other stuff. And tumblr makes that stuff perfectly easy. That's why I probably won't write here anymore.
m.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Better late than never
Funny. It all started with a movie - no, not Inception. I watched the italian comedy "Mine Vaganti" ("Loose Cannons" in english/ embarrassingly "Männer al Dente" in German). First of all, the movie is really good - funny and tragic and the Soundtrack is SO italian! Not "Eros-Ramazotti-vacation-in-Rimini-Italian...more like i-drink-wine-like-water-in-tuscany italian. Hope you know what I mean.
Anyway, I was looking for similar songs, since I will go to Tuscany in a few weeks and I thought that a mix-tape would be a good thing to have. So, obviously I checked my music library first and I found the "Everything is illuminated" soundtrack. If you don't know this movie - watch it, it's brilliant (so is the book, by the way). And the soundtrack consists of Leningrad, Gogol Bordello, Csokolom...not italian at all, but a very nice kind of music, perfect for traveling. I remember listening to it when I flew to Ireland - it added a very nice and somehow surreal feeling to the whole trip.
However, thanks to last.fm I found out that this kind of music is often tagged as "gypsy", same goes for some of the songs on the Mine Vaganti Soundtrack. Clicking on the Gypsy-Tag lead me to more artists - and one name caught my eye - BEIRUT. I've heard of them before, I even have some of their songs in my library, but somehow I never really cared much about them. I'm sure most of you know that - either you're not really interested, or you don't have the time, or you just forget about it.... In the back of my head I knew that Owen Pallett, one of my favourite musicians, had some kind of connection to BEIRUT and covered one of their song.
So, I checked the band out - and I loved it! I loved it so much, that I went to the record store to buy their debut album.
Check out ELEPHANT GUN
btw - bought this book today:
http://www.amazon.de/Wreck-This-Journal-Keri-Smith/dp/039953346X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books-intl-de&qid=1281291626&sr=8-1
m.
Anyway, I was looking for similar songs, since I will go to Tuscany in a few weeks and I thought that a mix-tape would be a good thing to have. So, obviously I checked my music library first and I found the "Everything is illuminated" soundtrack. If you don't know this movie - watch it, it's brilliant (so is the book, by the way). And the soundtrack consists of Leningrad, Gogol Bordello, Csokolom...not italian at all, but a very nice kind of music, perfect for traveling. I remember listening to it when I flew to Ireland - it added a very nice and somehow surreal feeling to the whole trip.
However, thanks to last.fm I found out that this kind of music is often tagged as "gypsy", same goes for some of the songs on the Mine Vaganti Soundtrack. Clicking on the Gypsy-Tag lead me to more artists - and one name caught my eye - BEIRUT. I've heard of them before, I even have some of their songs in my library, but somehow I never really cared much about them. I'm sure most of you know that - either you're not really interested, or you don't have the time, or you just forget about it.... In the back of my head I knew that Owen Pallett, one of my favourite musicians, had some kind of connection to BEIRUT and covered one of their song.
So, I checked the band out - and I loved it! I loved it so much, that I went to the record store to buy their debut album.
Check out ELEPHANT GUN
btw - bought this book today:
http://www.amazon.de/Wreck-This-Journal-Keri-Smith/dp/039953346X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books-intl-de&qid=1281291626&sr=8-1
m.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Hidden Cameras @ Poolbar, Feldkirch
Sooo, first of all, let me say: I'm a HUGE Hidden Cameras fan. I've been following their career since the beginning. I downloaded "Smells like happiness" many many years ago because I've read the lyrics on some random message board. The lyrics grabbed my attention (I was around 16 at that time...a confused, gay teenager) so I downloaded the song...and really liked it. I tried to buy the album, couldn't find it anywhere (and remember, that was before everybody was ordering stuff from amazon...). So, lucky enough, I went to England shortly after I discovered them - and there I bought the album (I even remember where*lol*) and I was instantly hocked. It was a new kind of music for me. And the shameless lyrics really inspired me and actually helped me to be more open about who I am.
I was so obsessed, I even wrote them (well, Joel Gibb) an e-mail telling him about how great they are and so on...and he even wrote back.
Anyway, I grew older, they released more and more albums...and I loved every single one. It became easier to get the albums and they toured through Germany and Austria quite regularly. But I never managed to see them live...either it was too far away or I was too busy/not around at that time.
So, a few years ago, in 2007, I finally managed to see them live (also at the Poolbar Festival in Feldkirch) and it was an amazing concert...so I was really excited to see them again, 3 years later, in the same location.
Well, to put it into one sentence: It was f*cking amazing!
The last time, I went there alone - none of my friends were interested in the music. This time, I bought 2 tickets - one for me and one for my best friend. I told him, that I'd invite him to the concert. Since he came along, his girlfriend also joined us...and 2 other friends.
The support act (A Thousand Fuegos) was quite good. An electro band from vienna and, as it turned out, one of the guys was also part of the support act in 2007.
The Cameras had a great setlist - they played mostly fast songs that were great to dance to. It had at least 40 degrees in the hall and pretty soon everybody was very sweaty...some band members opened their shirts, Joel was just wearing short trousers, Jamie took off his pants...and the people in the audience followed. More and more guys took off their shirts...I didn't mind at all :P but my best (straight) friend seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable...though I must add that not all of the shirtless guys were gay ;)
Anyway, it was a great gig...lots of fun and lots of dancing. My shirt was soaking wet after the gig...and you don't want to know how smelly my jeans were the next day. I woke up in my bed, thinking "what's that disgusting smell?...Oh...that's me...".
What I liked the most about the gig - EVERYBODY seemed to have a great time. Dancing, feeling good, feeling sexy, having fun, being sweaty, dancing with strangers, singing along, screaming, clapping...the heat made it even more special, in my opinion.
I'm so glad I had the chance to be there. And I hope they will come back soon. :)
m.
BTW: I updated the picture list on the right (finally). Still haven't had the time (and motivation) to change the layout...but hopefully soon.
I was so obsessed, I even wrote them (well, Joel Gibb) an e-mail telling him about how great they are and so on...and he even wrote back.
Anyway, I grew older, they released more and more albums...and I loved every single one. It became easier to get the albums and they toured through Germany and Austria quite regularly. But I never managed to see them live...either it was too far away or I was too busy/not around at that time.
So, a few years ago, in 2007, I finally managed to see them live (also at the Poolbar Festival in Feldkirch) and it was an amazing concert...so I was really excited to see them again, 3 years later, in the same location.
Well, to put it into one sentence: It was f*cking amazing!
The last time, I went there alone - none of my friends were interested in the music. This time, I bought 2 tickets - one for me and one for my best friend. I told him, that I'd invite him to the concert. Since he came along, his girlfriend also joined us...and 2 other friends.
The support act (A Thousand Fuegos) was quite good. An electro band from vienna and, as it turned out, one of the guys was also part of the support act in 2007.
The Cameras had a great setlist - they played mostly fast songs that were great to dance to. It had at least 40 degrees in the hall and pretty soon everybody was very sweaty...some band members opened their shirts, Joel was just wearing short trousers, Jamie took off his pants...and the people in the audience followed. More and more guys took off their shirts...I didn't mind at all :P but my best (straight) friend seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable...though I must add that not all of the shirtless guys were gay ;)
Anyway, it was a great gig...lots of fun and lots of dancing. My shirt was soaking wet after the gig...and you don't want to know how smelly my jeans were the next day. I woke up in my bed, thinking "what's that disgusting smell?...Oh...that's me...".
What I liked the most about the gig - EVERYBODY seemed to have a great time. Dancing, feeling good, feeling sexy, having fun, being sweaty, dancing with strangers, singing along, screaming, clapping...the heat made it even more special, in my opinion.
I'm so glad I had the chance to be there. And I hope they will come back soon. :)
m.
BTW: I updated the picture list on the right (finally). Still haven't had the time (and motivation) to change the layout...but hopefully soon.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
New Directions
I've been thinking a lot lately.
Thinking about the use of a blog.
When I was in Sweden, blogging had a sense - I blogged to share stories & pictures with friends at home and people I got to know in Sweden. And I had something to write about - almost every day had a new surprise or a new experience to offer.
Now, that I work & live in Germany I don't really have to tell that much. Actually I don't want to tell that much about my life. First of all, it's not very exciting, and second of all, I doubt that anybody's interested :P
But lately I felt like blogging. I thought I should change my blog to something else. There are fashion blogs, sex blogs, video blogs, music blogs, football blogs, film blogs,... I visit a lot of blogs on a regular basis, mostly music blogs but also some fashion/fashion photography blogs.
I won't do an exclusive music or photography or art...blog. But I think I will try to blog something once or twice (or even more often) a week. Things that I like - music, pictures, films, videos... And maybe somebody's interested in that or finds inspiration.
I will keep the name of the blog but I will try to change the design...
m.
Thinking about the use of a blog.
When I was in Sweden, blogging had a sense - I blogged to share stories & pictures with friends at home and people I got to know in Sweden. And I had something to write about - almost every day had a new surprise or a new experience to offer.
Now, that I work & live in Germany I don't really have to tell that much. Actually I don't want to tell that much about my life. First of all, it's not very exciting, and second of all, I doubt that anybody's interested :P
But lately I felt like blogging. I thought I should change my blog to something else. There are fashion blogs, sex blogs, video blogs, music blogs, football blogs, film blogs,... I visit a lot of blogs on a regular basis, mostly music blogs but also some fashion/fashion photography blogs.
I won't do an exclusive music or photography or art...blog. But I think I will try to blog something once or twice (or even more often) a week. Things that I like - music, pictures, films, videos... And maybe somebody's interested in that or finds inspiration.
I will keep the name of the blog but I will try to change the design...
m.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
2009...
Well, the year 2009 is ending soon - and I hardly posted ANYTHING on this blog. I'm sorry...I guess. The thing is, I really didn't feel like posting something at all.
When I was in Sweden I had a reason to write something - living abroad was a new situation for me and everyday something exciting/interesting happened. Now, living in munich isn't really that exciting.
I did some really great and interesting things this year - seeing various concerts, travelling for work (Vienna, Mauritius, Madrid, Berlin,...), travelling with my boyfriend (Vienna, Zermatt, Italy, Berlin...), meeting new people,...but still, I didn't feel the urge to tell everyone about it, especially about the bad things that happened (and they did happen...).
And - I also didn't really have the time to write regularly. And whenever I had the time, I didn't want to spend it in front of blogger ;)
So, anyway, I hope I will make more posts in 2010...
For now, I give you a short list of the best albums in 2009:
10 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Seriously, on of the nicest Indie-Albums of the year...Saw them live in November and they were really good...though the audience was quite bad and annoying.
09 - Frankmusik - Frankmusik
I was sooooo looking forward to this record. I loved all the demo songs that were floating around in 2008...and actual album was good, but it lacked some interesting twists. All in all it was a nice record that got a bit boring after a few listens...
08 - Florence and the machine - Lungs
When I was in London in august, every record store had huge posters of the album...I was curious and bought the album and didn't regret it - nice voice, interesting structures and some catchy songs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpLXQorSQe8
07 - Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin
Sorry Tori, you didn't make it in the top 5...the album was good, but some of the songs were quite bad...and as always lately, the album was far too long. Anyway, she made up for it with 2 great concerts...
06 - Archive - Controlling Crowds
It's dark and haunting...and sometimes that's all you need.
05 - Gossip - Music for Men
I guess there's nobody who didn't hear the name "Beth Ditto" in 2009...the new album was catchier and more radio-friendly than "standing in the way of control"...but it is a fun record that was a great soundtrack for the summer 2009
04 - God help the girl - God help the girl
I fell in love with this album the second I heard the first few chords of "Act of the apostle"...sure, it's cheesy and over the top...but it's a nice album that makes me feel warm and at home...
03 - Imogen Heap - Ellipse
One of the few albums I downloaded on iTunes (the rest I bought in an old-fashioned record store ;) ). It's weird, whenever I listen to Imogen I feel like letting go of something that's worrying me. Her songs are so well produced and interesting, that I forget everything that's going on around me.
02 - Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I've always been a fan of "The Knive" and when I heard that Karin Dreijer Andersson (of the Knife) will release a solo record I was sceptical...the first time I heard the album I was surprised - it didn't really sound THAT different than the last the Knife album...but it was different in some parts. Accompanied by some interesting and well-produced videos the songs grew on me. I listened to the album in spring when it was released, forgot about it and started listening to it again in late-summer and autumn - that's when I found the true beauty of the album...
01 - Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor
Mr. Wolf didn't disappoint me. For me, The Bachelor is the record of the year. He went independent and produced an interesting and personal album full of great songs. Some of them are slightly overproduced with too many instruments, others are reduced to only a few instruments...and others are wild creatures with techno-sounds. I'm already looking forward to the sequel "The Conqueror" in 2010 :)
When I was in Sweden I had a reason to write something - living abroad was a new situation for me and everyday something exciting/interesting happened. Now, living in munich isn't really that exciting.
I did some really great and interesting things this year - seeing various concerts, travelling for work (Vienna, Mauritius, Madrid, Berlin,...), travelling with my boyfriend (Vienna, Zermatt, Italy, Berlin...), meeting new people,...but still, I didn't feel the urge to tell everyone about it, especially about the bad things that happened (and they did happen...).
And - I also didn't really have the time to write regularly. And whenever I had the time, I didn't want to spend it in front of blogger ;)
So, anyway, I hope I will make more posts in 2010...
For now, I give you a short list of the best albums in 2009:
10 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Seriously, on of the nicest Indie-Albums of the year...Saw them live in November and they were really good...though the audience was quite bad and annoying.
09 - Frankmusik - Frankmusik
I was sooooo looking forward to this record. I loved all the demo songs that were floating around in 2008...and actual album was good, but it lacked some interesting twists. All in all it was a nice record that got a bit boring after a few listens...
08 - Florence and the machine - Lungs
When I was in London in august, every record store had huge posters of the album...I was curious and bought the album and didn't regret it - nice voice, interesting structures and some catchy songs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpLXQorSQe8
07 - Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin
Sorry Tori, you didn't make it in the top 5...the album was good, but some of the songs were quite bad...and as always lately, the album was far too long. Anyway, she made up for it with 2 great concerts...
06 - Archive - Controlling Crowds
It's dark and haunting...and sometimes that's all you need.
05 - Gossip - Music for Men
I guess there's nobody who didn't hear the name "Beth Ditto" in 2009...the new album was catchier and more radio-friendly than "standing in the way of control"...but it is a fun record that was a great soundtrack for the summer 2009
04 - God help the girl - God help the girl
I fell in love with this album the second I heard the first few chords of "Act of the apostle"...sure, it's cheesy and over the top...but it's a nice album that makes me feel warm and at home...
03 - Imogen Heap - Ellipse
One of the few albums I downloaded on iTunes (the rest I bought in an old-fashioned record store ;) ). It's weird, whenever I listen to Imogen I feel like letting go of something that's worrying me. Her songs are so well produced and interesting, that I forget everything that's going on around me.
02 - Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I've always been a fan of "The Knive" and when I heard that Karin Dreijer Andersson (of the Knife) will release a solo record I was sceptical...the first time I heard the album I was surprised - it didn't really sound THAT different than the last the Knife album...but it was different in some parts. Accompanied by some interesting and well-produced videos the songs grew on me. I listened to the album in spring when it was released, forgot about it and started listening to it again in late-summer and autumn - that's when I found the true beauty of the album...
01 - Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor
Mr. Wolf didn't disappoint me. For me, The Bachelor is the record of the year. He went independent and produced an interesting and personal album full of great songs. Some of them are slightly overproduced with too many instruments, others are reduced to only a few instruments...and others are wild creatures with techno-sounds. I'm already looking forward to the sequel "The Conqueror" in 2010 :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Update on my life
Oh well, I guess I should stop saying "sorry for the late update", since it won't change anything. The truth is, I've been really busy and not motivated at all to write something. Busy with life and work..mostly work, I'm afraid. Anyway, I have some days off this week, so I could order my life and get started with my thesis. I'm already starting lists like "Things I want to do after I've finished my thesis", but instead I should research, work and study for my thesis. But at least I'm motivated now, compared to january, where I was so lazy and not motivated at all to do anything for my thesis. And my dad keeps bugging me because he wants to know what I'll do after my studies...the truth is, I really don't know. Yes, I'd like to work, but I'd also like to take some months off (at least for the summer) to enjoy life and do things I couldn't do if I were working (travelling, spontaneous trips,...). But well, for now my plan is to finish my thesis in time and as soon as I can see a light on the horizon/as soon as I feel that my thesis is going to be finished on time, I will start worrying about the future.
What else is there to say...not much, actually. Right now, my life is not very exciting. I moved to another apartment in munich - life's so much better here! I finally feel comfortable and have a nice roommate who doesn't hide in his bedroom like my former roommates (but you can't be angry with them, since the last apartment didn't really offer any room for socialising).
I even started to get "into munich". When I came here last july, I didn't really like this city but now I started to notice that even munich has some really nice spots and I can't wait to check them out in spring/summer.
Valentine's Day was nothing special, except that my lovely boyfriend was here to visit me and he gave me flowers (sounds so kitschy, but it was really nice of him, because it was the first time that somebody gave me flowers :))) ). We went to the BMW museum together, and as most people who know me can imagine, it wasn't my idea to go to a car-museum. Anyway, I took some pictures, but not of the cars....
Soooo before I go on babbling about random stuff nobody's interested in, I better stop now.
M.
PS: One of my favourite songs right now
Emprie of the Sun - We are the people
Yes, they sound a lot like MGMT whose funked-up, crazy and hyperactive "electric feel" album made 2008 quite special...but Empire of the Sun are a bit more relaxed and chilled..I love it :)
What else is there to say...not much, actually. Right now, my life is not very exciting. I moved to another apartment in munich - life's so much better here! I finally feel comfortable and have a nice roommate who doesn't hide in his bedroom like my former roommates (but you can't be angry with them, since the last apartment didn't really offer any room for socialising).
I even started to get "into munich". When I came here last july, I didn't really like this city but now I started to notice that even munich has some really nice spots and I can't wait to check them out in spring/summer.
Valentine's Day was nothing special, except that my lovely boyfriend was here to visit me and he gave me flowers (sounds so kitschy, but it was really nice of him, because it was the first time that somebody gave me flowers :))) ). We went to the BMW museum together, and as most people who know me can imagine, it wasn't my idea to go to a car-museum. Anyway, I took some pictures, but not of the cars....
Soooo before I go on babbling about random stuff nobody's interested in, I better stop now.
M.
PS: One of my favourite songs right now
Emprie of the Sun - We are the people
Yes, they sound a lot like MGMT whose funked-up, crazy and hyperactive "electric feel" album made 2008 quite special...but Empire of the Sun are a bit more relaxed and chilled..I love it :)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Music...
It's quite late...and I'm sitting in front of my laptop - quite tired, but I don't feel like going to bed. Instead I'm listening to some new music and I realized one thing - it seems 2009 will be the year of Electro-Disco-Pop. Mark my words and remember those names: Frankmusik. Little Boots. La Roux. Lady Gaga. Well, Lady Gaga (gosh, that name is bad, especially if you're from a country were "gaga" is a childish expression for poop) is quite successful already, but my favourites are Frankmusik and Little Boots. Both of them are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Frankmusik's "Three Little Words" blew me away the first time I heard it in august (a demo version). Stuart Price (of Zoot Woman; he produced Madonna and, lately, The Killers) produced Frankmusik's debut album, so I'm quite sure that it will me massive... And a guy who dances on a giant piano in his video has to be good ;) And his other songs are great too... I'm in love with his music right now (When you're around, Made her smile, In Step,...great!!)
Little Boots is a cool girl from England and she was involved in the Dead Disco project and made some homemade youtube videos (mostly cover versions of various songs). So far I've heard three of her own songs - Meddle , Every little earthquake and Stuck on Repeat, all of them are absolutely brilliant! Stuck on repeat sounds like Kylie Minogue, Róisín Murphy and Björk mixed together in an amazing shiny disco-ball dance track. Probably the first single of her album will be "Every little earthquake" which doesn't sound like Stuck on repeat at all...still, it's a very good song :)
Well, and La Roux seems interesting, I haven't heard a lot of her stuff, but I like what I've heard so far (check out Quicksand, her first single).
And Lady Gaga (goooosh, that name!) is quite popular with "Just Dance" or "Poker Face"...I'm still not sure whether to like her or not... Some of her songs are really catchy and good, other's are a bit boring... But she's fierce and has a great attitude, as you can see in this video.
Anyway, I'm sure there are a lot of other great bands/artists having their break-through in 2009, but I just think that 2009 really seems to be full of electronic dance pop music...but probably that's just because I like this kind of music...
Other than that 2009 promises to be a very exciting year in music - apart from those Newcomers Patrick Wolf, Tori Amos...and hopefully the Scissor Sisters will release an album...and some other artists I like will release a new album too (and I really hope that the Hidden Cameras will release a new album...)
Sooo, that's just random babbling...sorry about the lack of private details, I promise that I will write more interesting stuff the next time....
I'm going to bed now, otherwise I will write more dumb and boring stuff...good night,
m.
to say good night - Meddle from Little Boots
Frankmusik's "Three Little Words" blew me away the first time I heard it in august (a demo version). Stuart Price (of Zoot Woman; he produced Madonna and, lately, The Killers) produced Frankmusik's debut album, so I'm quite sure that it will me massive... And a guy who dances on a giant piano in his video has to be good ;) And his other songs are great too... I'm in love with his music right now (When you're around, Made her smile, In Step,...great!!)
Little Boots is a cool girl from England and she was involved in the Dead Disco project and made some homemade youtube videos (mostly cover versions of various songs). So far I've heard three of her own songs - Meddle , Every little earthquake and Stuck on Repeat, all of them are absolutely brilliant! Stuck on repeat sounds like Kylie Minogue, Róisín Murphy and Björk mixed together in an amazing shiny disco-ball dance track. Probably the first single of her album will be "Every little earthquake" which doesn't sound like Stuck on repeat at all...still, it's a very good song :)
Well, and La Roux seems interesting, I haven't heard a lot of her stuff, but I like what I've heard so far (check out Quicksand, her first single).
And Lady Gaga (goooosh, that name!) is quite popular with "Just Dance" or "Poker Face"...I'm still not sure whether to like her or not... Some of her songs are really catchy and good, other's are a bit boring... But she's fierce and has a great attitude, as you can see in this video.
Anyway, I'm sure there are a lot of other great bands/artists having their break-through in 2009, but I just think that 2009 really seems to be full of electronic dance pop music...but probably that's just because I like this kind of music...
Other than that 2009 promises to be a very exciting year in music - apart from those Newcomers Patrick Wolf, Tori Amos...and hopefully the Scissor Sisters will release an album...and some other artists I like will release a new album too (and I really hope that the Hidden Cameras will release a new album...)
Sooo, that's just random babbling...sorry about the lack of private details, I promise that I will write more interesting stuff the next time....
I'm going to bed now, otherwise I will write more dumb and boring stuff...good night,
m.
to say good night - Meddle from Little Boots
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2008
Hey everybody!
It's been a long time since my last post - sorry for that. Quite a lot of stuff has happened, but somehow I didn't feel like writing anything about it. I guess it was because I had so much to do at work that I was rather glad when I had some time for myself.
Anyway, 2008 is coming to an end...and what a year it was! Some pretty exciting stuff has happened - Sweden, 2 amazing Rufus Wainwright concerts in Stockholm, I broke my arm, Hong came to Austria, I found an internship, moved to munich, started working, went to the Oktoberfest...and much much more has happened.
I think it's really nice to think about 2008 and all the things that have happened in my life and the life of dear friends...
And, I also enjoy thinking about all the great music that was released in 2008. A friend of mine said that 2008 was a pretty bad year in music, since only a few really good CDs were released. I don't think so - Portishead, Alanis Morissette, Hot Chip...all of them released new albums and a lot of new bands appeared on the music scene and quite a lot of them had very strong and good debut albums.
So, I know it's not very original, since everybody who has blog seems to write about their top 10 of 2008 :P Anyway, here are my favourite tracks/bands of 2008 - no special order:
Hot Chip - Ready for the floor
Such a fun song! The whole CD is great, definitely on of my favourite bands of 2008!
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
They are cool but somehow nerdy and make great music...it was the perfect album to chill in the summer sun.
Alanis Morissette - Versions of Violence
I was so looking forward to her new album, but I was a bit disappointed in the end. But there are some really good songs on it and this is one of my favourites.
Sigur Rós - Ara bâtur
I fell in love with them in 2008. Nothing more to say.
The Ting Tings - That's not my name
Another song/band that's so much fun! I don't know how many times I screamed and danced to this song in 2008.
MGMT - Kids
Psychodelic music.
Portishead - The Rip
Although their new CD is quite different from anything they did before, I really like it. Let's hope that we don't have to wait another 10 years for a new album.
Frankmusik - 3 Little Words
I love this song! And I'm really looking forward to his album in 2009 :)
Amanda Palmer - Leeds United
This woman is a genius! Her lyrics are amazing, her videos are great and she's just a very amazing person.
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Genius! To mix Housebeats with Antony's (from Antony & the Johnsons) vocals works great! Definitely one of the most interesting albums of 2008.
Sam Sparro - Black & Gold
One of my personal "heros" of 2008. I like his CD, though there are some weak songs on it..but all in all it's a really good debut. And he has a great voice (and well, he's quite good looking :P )
Jay Brannan - At first sight
I've been following his "career" on youtube every since I watched "Shortbus" for the first time. In 2008 he released his first CD..finally :)
The Sound of Arrows - Danger
Another song that was so much fun in 2008! This swedish band will release their new album in 2009...
Swedish for Beginners - Magical Machines
I downloaded this song a while ago (it was a legal download) and I fell in love with it :)
BWO - Lay your love on me
Well, sticky pop...but I remember good times whenever I hear this song...all I say is Stockholm...and a long Disconight at Club G :P
Other than that - Jason Mraz, The Killers, Kent, Fleet Foxes, The Sound of Arrows and lately Santogold rocked 2008 for me :)
So, I'm sure that I forgot something... what are your top songs of 2008?
2009 will bring some great new song/albums too, I'm sure. Obviously I'm really looking forward to the new album of the one and only amazing SCISSOR SISTERS!! YAY!!!! But also Patrick Wolf, Antony & the Johnsons, Tori Amos and Imogen Heap will release new CDs...definitely something to look forward to :)
Have a good start into 2009!
Manuel
It's been a long time since my last post - sorry for that. Quite a lot of stuff has happened, but somehow I didn't feel like writing anything about it. I guess it was because I had so much to do at work that I was rather glad when I had some time for myself.
Anyway, 2008 is coming to an end...and what a year it was! Some pretty exciting stuff has happened - Sweden, 2 amazing Rufus Wainwright concerts in Stockholm, I broke my arm, Hong came to Austria, I found an internship, moved to munich, started working, went to the Oktoberfest...and much much more has happened.
I think it's really nice to think about 2008 and all the things that have happened in my life and the life of dear friends...
And, I also enjoy thinking about all the great music that was released in 2008. A friend of mine said that 2008 was a pretty bad year in music, since only a few really good CDs were released. I don't think so - Portishead, Alanis Morissette, Hot Chip...all of them released new albums and a lot of new bands appeared on the music scene and quite a lot of them had very strong and good debut albums.
So, I know it's not very original, since everybody who has blog seems to write about their top 10 of 2008 :P Anyway, here are my favourite tracks/bands of 2008 - no special order:
Hot Chip - Ready for the floor
Such a fun song! The whole CD is great, definitely on of my favourite bands of 2008!
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
They are cool but somehow nerdy and make great music...it was the perfect album to chill in the summer sun.
Alanis Morissette - Versions of Violence
I was so looking forward to her new album, but I was a bit disappointed in the end. But there are some really good songs on it and this is one of my favourites.
Sigur Rós - Ara bâtur
I fell in love with them in 2008. Nothing more to say.
The Ting Tings - That's not my name
Another song/band that's so much fun! I don't know how many times I screamed and danced to this song in 2008.
MGMT - Kids
Psychodelic music.
Portishead - The Rip
Although their new CD is quite different from anything they did before, I really like it. Let's hope that we don't have to wait another 10 years for a new album.
Frankmusik - 3 Little Words
I love this song! And I'm really looking forward to his album in 2009 :)
Amanda Palmer - Leeds United
This woman is a genius! Her lyrics are amazing, her videos are great and she's just a very amazing person.
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Genius! To mix Housebeats with Antony's (from Antony & the Johnsons) vocals works great! Definitely one of the most interesting albums of 2008.
Sam Sparro - Black & Gold
One of my personal "heros" of 2008. I like his CD, though there are some weak songs on it..but all in all it's a really good debut. And he has a great voice (and well, he's quite good looking :P )
Jay Brannan - At first sight
I've been following his "career" on youtube every since I watched "Shortbus" for the first time. In 2008 he released his first CD..finally :)
The Sound of Arrows - Danger
Another song that was so much fun in 2008! This swedish band will release their new album in 2009...
Swedish for Beginners - Magical Machines
I downloaded this song a while ago (it was a legal download) and I fell in love with it :)
BWO - Lay your love on me
Well, sticky pop...but I remember good times whenever I hear this song...all I say is Stockholm...and a long Disconight at Club G :P
Other than that - Jason Mraz, The Killers, Kent, Fleet Foxes, The Sound of Arrows and lately Santogold rocked 2008 for me :)
So, I'm sure that I forgot something... what are your top songs of 2008?
2009 will bring some great new song/albums too, I'm sure. Obviously I'm really looking forward to the new album of the one and only amazing SCISSOR SISTERS!! YAY!!!! But also Patrick Wolf, Antony & the Johnsons, Tori Amos and Imogen Heap will release new CDs...definitely something to look forward to :)
Have a good start into 2009!
Manuel
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Identitiy Crisis?
Hej everybody!
Sorry for the lack of posts...Actually I started writing a loooong post about current affairs (the death of a famous politician [Haider] in my homecountry and other stuff like that) but somehow I never finished it...
Anyway, here's a fresh new post...Actually I can't write much, because there's not much to tell.
I feel a bit weird at the moment...I got up quite early today to get started with my master thesis. My goal for today was to find the topic I want to write about and after some thinking and researching I found the topic I really want to do. Now I have to write an Exposé to give to the professor...I started writing it, but I need to do some more research, especially about literature. And I have some more questions about all the stuff, so I need to contact the university this week... Anyway, I also did a timetable with deadlines...I want to be finished with all the annoying bureaucracy in late november, which means that I could start working on my thesis in december..if everything goes well.
Sounds fine, doesn't it? But it's also scary, because I really don't know what I want to do with my life. Until now I always had a "plan" for some years. Back at school I wanted to succeed at the A-Levels and go studying...After I had achieved that, I wanted to be a good student and go abroad for 1 or 2 semesters. Well, as most of you know, I did that. After coming back from Sweden my planning started to get a bit "dizzy". Of course the goal for the next few months is writing my master thesis, but afterwards? I have no idea.
Right now I'm doing an internship, which means I work a lot and I have my daily routines. But when I think of doing that/living like that for the rest of my live I get scared. I'm 22, in my mid-late-early 20s, which means I have (hopefully) many many maaaany years to look forward to. But do I really want to sit in the office from 10-6 for the rest of my life? This is what makes me scared. On the one hand I'm the kind of person who feels better if everything's planned and secured. I want a job, I don't want to live day by day and see what's going to happen. On the other hand, the thought of doing what I do now for the rest of my life, makes me scared. By saying "doing what I'm doing now" I certainly know that I will change work. I won't stay in the company I'm doing my internship - but who knows what will happen next. Maybe I will write my master thesis in munich, working part time for the company...but I really don't know what I should do afterwards.
So, you see, I'm missing a plan. :P
Other than that and the master thesis, my life is OK right now. Munich is OK, I got used to it and the bavarians, but I still don't enjoy it that much. Munich is really not my favourite place to be, but maybe this will change some day. I don't have enough time to really hang out with people and I guess that's an important reason for feeling uncomfortable in munich.
Anyway, that's it for now...
bye
m.
Sorry for the lack of posts...Actually I started writing a loooong post about current affairs (the death of a famous politician [Haider] in my homecountry and other stuff like that) but somehow I never finished it...
Anyway, here's a fresh new post...Actually I can't write much, because there's not much to tell.
I feel a bit weird at the moment...I got up quite early today to get started with my master thesis. My goal for today was to find the topic I want to write about and after some thinking and researching I found the topic I really want to do. Now I have to write an Exposé to give to the professor...I started writing it, but I need to do some more research, especially about literature. And I have some more questions about all the stuff, so I need to contact the university this week... Anyway, I also did a timetable with deadlines...I want to be finished with all the annoying bureaucracy in late november, which means that I could start working on my thesis in december..if everything goes well.
Sounds fine, doesn't it? But it's also scary, because I really don't know what I want to do with my life. Until now I always had a "plan" for some years. Back at school I wanted to succeed at the A-Levels and go studying...After I had achieved that, I wanted to be a good student and go abroad for 1 or 2 semesters. Well, as most of you know, I did that. After coming back from Sweden my planning started to get a bit "dizzy". Of course the goal for the next few months is writing my master thesis, but afterwards? I have no idea.
Right now I'm doing an internship, which means I work a lot and I have my daily routines. But when I think of doing that/living like that for the rest of my live I get scared. I'm 22, in my mid-late-early 20s, which means I have (hopefully) many many maaaany years to look forward to. But do I really want to sit in the office from 10-6 for the rest of my life? This is what makes me scared. On the one hand I'm the kind of person who feels better if everything's planned and secured. I want a job, I don't want to live day by day and see what's going to happen. On the other hand, the thought of doing what I do now for the rest of my life, makes me scared. By saying "doing what I'm doing now" I certainly know that I will change work. I won't stay in the company I'm doing my internship - but who knows what will happen next. Maybe I will write my master thesis in munich, working part time for the company...but I really don't know what I should do afterwards.
So, you see, I'm missing a plan. :P
Other than that and the master thesis, my life is OK right now. Munich is OK, I got used to it and the bavarians, but I still don't enjoy it that much. Munich is really not my favourite place to be, but maybe this will change some day. I don't have enough time to really hang out with people and I guess that's an important reason for feeling uncomfortable in munich.
Anyway, that's it for now...
bye
m.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Springtime for ....
Hello everybody!
Just came back from a wonderful weekend in Vienna... I went to the zoo, went to see "The Producers" and to some museums...It was a really nice weekend, I enjoyed it a lot. My personal Highlight was the Musical "The Producers" - it's so damn funny! The songs are OK, there's no real hook-line, but the lyrics are really funny, the actors were great, the set was amazing and the choreography was great too!
As I said, it's really funny...and it makes fun of nearly everbody - gays, men, women,... Some of the jokes were a bit tough (a gay hitler in a musical called "springtime for hitler"...) and I guess not everybody feels like laughing about it...but me and my boyfriend, we had a blast in the theater :)
The zoo was nice too...I've uploaded some pictures of cute animals ;)
Anyway...tomorrow I will go to the Amanda Palmer concert in munich - I'm so looking forward to that! She's amazing and I've heard that she's an amazing live artist, I can't wait to see her..and probably meet her, because apparently she likes to take pictures with fans...who knows ;) However, I hope there's some nice Merchandising stuff to buy ;)
Bye,
m.
a cool Amanda Palmer song:
Just came back from a wonderful weekend in Vienna... I went to the zoo, went to see "The Producers" and to some museums...It was a really nice weekend, I enjoyed it a lot. My personal Highlight was the Musical "The Producers" - it's so damn funny! The songs are OK, there's no real hook-line, but the lyrics are really funny, the actors were great, the set was amazing and the choreography was great too!
As I said, it's really funny...and it makes fun of nearly everbody - gays, men, women,... Some of the jokes were a bit tough (a gay hitler in a musical called "springtime for hitler"...) and I guess not everybody feels like laughing about it...but me and my boyfriend, we had a blast in the theater :)
The zoo was nice too...I've uploaded some pictures of cute animals ;)
Anyway...tomorrow I will go to the Amanda Palmer concert in munich - I'm so looking forward to that! She's amazing and I've heard that she's an amazing live artist, I can't wait to see her..and probably meet her, because apparently she likes to take pictures with fans...who knows ;) However, I hope there's some nice Merchandising stuff to buy ;)
Bye,
m.
a cool Amanda Palmer song:
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Music :)
I thought it's time for some new songs...
Let's start with Frankmusik, an english producer. He made a lot of Remixes (most recently for Radiohead...) and he will release an album in november. "3 Little Words" is the first single (produced by Stuart Price) - and it's so much fun! So is the video too - I want to dance on a piano-thing like that too!!
Frankmusik - 3 Little words
next, let's listen to a band whose album will be among my Top5 albums of the year - TV on the Radio. Very groovy, very nice production...perfect :)
TV on the Radio - Golden Age
(the audio quality isn't that good :-/ )
one of my favourite US-Indie Bands are going to release their new album soon...and that's their first single, enjoy :)
of Montreal - Id Engager
Let's get a bit calmer...with this beautiful piece of music. I discovered Ólafur Arnalds last year, when I was in Sweden. I think I read about him somewhere... Anyway, I ordered his CD and fell in love with his beautiful arrangements. And the video to this song is very beautiful...
Òlafur Arnalds - 3055
Last but not least, some german music. Rosenstolz, one of my guilty pleasures ;) It's from their new album...the album is a bit boring, in my opinion, but that's one of my favourite songs of it.
Rosenstolz - Wie weit ist vorbei
Let's start with Frankmusik, an english producer. He made a lot of Remixes (most recently for Radiohead...) and he will release an album in november. "3 Little Words" is the first single (produced by Stuart Price) - and it's so much fun! So is the video too - I want to dance on a piano-thing like that too!!
Frankmusik - 3 Little words
next, let's listen to a band whose album will be among my Top5 albums of the year - TV on the Radio. Very groovy, very nice production...perfect :)
TV on the Radio - Golden Age
(the audio quality isn't that good :-/ )
one of my favourite US-Indie Bands are going to release their new album soon...and that's their first single, enjoy :)
of Montreal - Id Engager
Let's get a bit calmer...with this beautiful piece of music. I discovered Ólafur Arnalds last year, when I was in Sweden. I think I read about him somewhere... Anyway, I ordered his CD and fell in love with his beautiful arrangements. And the video to this song is very beautiful...
Òlafur Arnalds - 3055
Last but not least, some german music. Rosenstolz, one of my guilty pleasures ;) It's from their new album...the album is a bit boring, in my opinion, but that's one of my favourite songs of it.
Rosenstolz - Wie weit ist vorbei
Monday, October 6, 2008
Hej :)
Hello everybody!
A lot has happened since my last entry...so it's time for an update.
Last weekend many people from Karlstad/former exchange students came to Munich for our "reunion". In Karlstad we planned that we will meet again at the Oktoberfest and somehow we decided to meet on the last weekend of it.
Hong and Sina arrived on Thursday evening, we had dinner together and had a really nice evening in our kitchen. It was almost like it used to be. It was weird, because I realised that I haven't had such a nice evening since I'm back from Sweden. Of course I had nice/funny evenings with my friends back home, but it's different.
We don't cook together, we don't sit on a table and just talk - we go out, have a blast...which is nice, of course, but different. Anyway, on friday we strolled around Munich, met Lena and picked up Elisabeth from the station. It was sooooo nice to see her again!
We went back to my place, had a small pre-party and went back to the city center to meet the rest of the group. It was so cool, Lucia booked a table in an Irish Pub and we were around 20 people...it was so great to see them again! We had a funny evening at the Pub...but we didn't stay for too long, since we had to get up early for the Oktoberfest.
So on Saturday morning, 8.15, we were at the Oktoberfest, in front of the Schützenfestzelt. It was crazy how the people tried to get into the tent. They were pushing and yelling, it was worse than on a Robbie Williams concert. Anyway, we managed to get in and got a table.
Honestly, the mood inside the tent was really good. I don't drink beer, so I drank "Spezi" but I had a good time anyway. People were standing on the benches, singing to stupid german songs and just having a good time, it was really nice. The fun ended when the securities came to throw us out of the tent - our table was booked at 1 o'clock and at 12.15 they started to throw us out. They didn't give us a chance to get to another table, they just pushed us to the exit. Very harsh and very unfriendly. Most of us still had their glasses in their hands - including me.
So there we were, standing in front of the tent, in the rain..freezing and wet. After some hours of looking around and discussing we ended up in a Bar in the city center, where we had something to eat and drink. And in the evening we went back to the Oktoberfest were we sat in a beer-garden :)
So that's a summary of the Oktoberfest... on Sunday morning we took Elisabeth to the station and in the afternoon Hong met a chinese friend - and I went to the Premier of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3. It's quite complicated to explain, but an editor from BUNTE offered me to go there. So I went there, saw all the screaming teenagers standing next to the red carpet and thought that I should turn around and go back home... Instead, I tried to call the editor, but she didn't answer the phone. Helpless I wandered around and thought about what to do. I didn't have my ticket, because she told me that I should call her. I wasn't standing on the guestlist either...so I went to the press-counter and asked them if my name is on the list. Nope. So I explained them that the Bunte-editor is waiting for me but that I can't get in touch with her - and they gave me a press-card so I could get into the press-area next to the red carpet. I was standing there with my small digital camera, next to all the journalists with the huge cameras..and took some pictures of the celebrities that walked past us. Kai Pflaume, someone from Topmodels, and the actors of HSM 3 of course.
Afterwards I tried to call her again, no luck again...so when the people went into the cinema I left - because I didn't have a ticket (just the press-card, which wasn't valid as a ticket). It was a weird afternoon...I felt a bit like a cheater because I managed to get into the press-corner without actually doing something press-related :P
Soooo, that was my exciting weekend. Exciting, but not very relaxing, that's why I'm quite tired today...
good night ;)
M.
PICTURES OF THE OKTOBERFEST
A lot has happened since my last entry...so it's time for an update.
Last weekend many people from Karlstad/former exchange students came to Munich for our "reunion". In Karlstad we planned that we will meet again at the Oktoberfest and somehow we decided to meet on the last weekend of it.
Hong and Sina arrived on Thursday evening, we had dinner together and had a really nice evening in our kitchen. It was almost like it used to be. It was weird, because I realised that I haven't had such a nice evening since I'm back from Sweden. Of course I had nice/funny evenings with my friends back home, but it's different.
We don't cook together, we don't sit on a table and just talk - we go out, have a blast...which is nice, of course, but different. Anyway, on friday we strolled around Munich, met Lena and picked up Elisabeth from the station. It was sooooo nice to see her again!We went back to my place, had a small pre-party and went back to the city center to meet the rest of the group. It was so cool, Lucia booked a table in an Irish Pub and we were around 20 people...it was so great to see them again! We had a funny evening at the Pub...but we didn't stay for too long, since we had to get up early for the Oktoberfest.
So on Saturday morning, 8.15, we were at the Oktoberfest, in front of the Schützenfestzelt. It was crazy how the people tried to get into the tent. They were pushing and yelling, it was worse than on a Robbie Williams concert. Anyway, we managed to get in and got a table.
Honestly, the mood inside the tent was really good. I don't drink beer, so I drank "Spezi" but I had a good time anyway. People were standing on the benches, singing to stupid german songs and just having a good time, it was really nice. The fun ended when the securities came to throw us out of the tent - our table was booked at 1 o'clock and at 12.15 they started to throw us out. They didn't give us a chance to get to another table, they just pushed us to the exit. Very harsh and very unfriendly. Most of us still had their glasses in their hands - including me.
So there we were, standing in front of the tent, in the rain..freezing and wet. After some hours of looking around and discussing we ended up in a Bar in the city center, where we had something to eat and drink. And in the evening we went back to the Oktoberfest were we sat in a beer-garden :)
So that's a summary of the Oktoberfest... on Sunday morning we took Elisabeth to the station and in the afternoon Hong met a chinese friend - and I went to the Premier of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3. It's quite complicated to explain, but an editor from BUNTE offered me to go there. So I went there, saw all the screaming teenagers standing next to the red carpet and thought that I should turn around and go back home... Instead, I tried to call the editor, but she didn't answer the phone. Helpless I wandered around and thought about what to do. I didn't have my ticket, because she told me that I should call her. I wasn't standing on the guestlist either...so I went to the press-counter and asked them if my name is on the list. Nope. So I explained them that the Bunte-editor is waiting for me but that I can't get in touch with her - and they gave me a press-card so I could get into the press-area next to the red carpet. I was standing there with my small digital camera, next to all the journalists with the huge cameras..and took some pictures of the celebrities that walked past us. Kai Pflaume, someone from Topmodels, and the actors of HSM 3 of course.
Afterwards I tried to call her again, no luck again...so when the people went into the cinema I left - because I didn't have a ticket (just the press-card, which wasn't valid as a ticket). It was a weird afternoon...I felt a bit like a cheater because I managed to get into the press-corner without actually doing something press-related :P
Soooo, that was my exciting weekend. Exciting, but not very relaxing, that's why I'm quite tired today...
good night ;)
M.
PICTURES OF THE OKTOBERFEST
Saturday, September 27, 2008
:)
Just a very quick update... I drove home for the weekend, to meet some friends and...get away from munich *lol* (no, it's not that bad ;) ).
Anyway, tonight we will watch some movies on DVD, eat an unhealthy amount of crisps and popcorn, drink coke, lemonade and juice until we get a sugar rush and watch kitschy german chick flicks and bland american comedies...I'm looking forward to it - I haven't done anything like that since I'm back from Sweden. Oh how I miss the cosy evenings (or Sundays) with Sofia, TV and popcorn..and Melodifestivalen or a DVD.
However...what else is there to say...not much, to be honest. I work...a lot.
Next weekend we have our "Karlstad-Reunion" which will be nice, hopefully. I'm really looking forward to see everyone again..especially Elisabeth, Hong, Sofia, Eva, Sina...and maybe even Jonathan! :)
So, I will write more on monday...If my fingers aren't too fat and greasy after the crisps-overdose tonight ;)
manuel
Anyway, tonight we will watch some movies on DVD, eat an unhealthy amount of crisps and popcorn, drink coke, lemonade and juice until we get a sugar rush and watch kitschy german chick flicks and bland american comedies...I'm looking forward to it - I haven't done anything like that since I'm back from Sweden. Oh how I miss the cosy evenings (or Sundays) with Sofia, TV and popcorn..and Melodifestivalen or a DVD.
However...what else is there to say...not much, to be honest. I work...a lot.
Next weekend we have our "Karlstad-Reunion" which will be nice, hopefully. I'm really looking forward to see everyone again..especially Elisabeth, Hong, Sofia, Eva, Sina...and maybe even Jonathan! :)
So, I will write more on monday...If my fingers aren't too fat and greasy after the crisps-overdose tonight ;)
manuel
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Take my shoes off...
Ok, the following text will be about an artist. Some of you may know the artist, and some of you won't. It's Kate Bush.
Why?
Well, on friday evening I took the train home to
Austria..it was dark, raining and cold. The raindrops hit the train window and it was a quite scary and strange feeling, sitting there in the moving train rushing through the dark night. As always I was listening to my iPod and for some reason I turned on Kate Bush' CD "Hounds of Love" from 1985. I bought it some years ago when I finally decided to check out Kate's music, but I haven't listened to the cd for ages. Actually I just wanted to listen to track 1, "Running up that hill", but I kept on listening. I was in awe. I was amazed. For the first time, I really seemed to understand that whole album. Do you know that feeling?
For your information, "Hounds of Love" is considered to be Kate's best work. It includes "Running up the hill" which was voted to be one of the best pop songs of all time (the lyrics, the beat [for that time],...amazing!) and many bands covered the song (Placebo, Within Temptation,...).
It's a concept album, which means that she tells a story on the album; It's divided into two parts - the first 5 songs belong to the "Hounds of love" part, the other 7 songs belong to the "The Ninth Wave" chapter and this chapter is about a woman who is drowning.. Sounds scary, eh? And oh yes, it is... I really had goosebumps during some songs (I hope the guy next to me didn't realize it :P )
Anyway, as I said, for the first time I really understood the album and its full beauty. Before that I listened to it, liked some songs (especially the first half of the album) and never really thought about the story. Which is a shame, because that's a big part of the album. Maybe it was because I was still in awe of Kate Bush' "The Dreaming" when I bought Hounds of Love (The Dreaming is still my favourite cd...even if most people think it's too weird..I just love how she used samples and backward vocals -> check out "leave it open" for a good example..the last minute is just...wow). However, this time it was different and I could focus on the lyrics, the great production (she really used all the technologies that were available at that time...and her way of working with the panning is really cool - in this song, for example - but the youtube audio conversion destroys it :( ).
Ah, well...I guess you get my point *lol* If you're not afraid of some music from the 80s that, obviously, sounds like 80s music, go and check out Kate Bush ;)
I will end this post with the video to "Cloudbusting", another great song of that album...notice how the beat gets faster
Sorry if this posting bored you, the next one will be more exciting, I hope/promise ;)
m.
Why?
Well, on friday evening I took the train home to
Austria..it was dark, raining and cold. The raindrops hit the train window and it was a quite scary and strange feeling, sitting there in the moving train rushing through the dark night. As always I was listening to my iPod and for some reason I turned on Kate Bush' CD "Hounds of Love" from 1985. I bought it some years ago when I finally decided to check out Kate's music, but I haven't listened to the cd for ages. Actually I just wanted to listen to track 1, "Running up that hill", but I kept on listening. I was in awe. I was amazed. For the first time, I really seemed to understand that whole album. Do you know that feeling?For your information, "Hounds of Love" is considered to be Kate's best work. It includes "Running up the hill" which was voted to be one of the best pop songs of all time (the lyrics, the beat [for that time],...amazing!) and many bands covered the song (Placebo, Within Temptation,...).
It's a concept album, which means that she tells a story on the album; It's divided into two parts - the first 5 songs belong to the "Hounds of love" part, the other 7 songs belong to the "The Ninth Wave" chapter and this chapter is about a woman who is drowning.. Sounds scary, eh? And oh yes, it is... I really had goosebumps during some songs (I hope the guy next to me didn't realize it :P )
Anyway, as I said, for the first time I really understood the album and its full beauty. Before that I listened to it, liked some songs (especially the first half of the album) and never really thought about the story. Which is a shame, because that's a big part of the album. Maybe it was because I was still in awe of Kate Bush' "The Dreaming" when I bought Hounds of Love (The Dreaming is still my favourite cd...even if most people think it's too weird..I just love how she used samples and backward vocals -> check out "leave it open" for a good example..the last minute is just...wow). However, this time it was different and I could focus on the lyrics, the great production (she really used all the technologies that were available at that time...and her way of working with the panning is really cool - in this song, for example - but the youtube audio conversion destroys it :( ).
Ah, well...I guess you get my point *lol* If you're not afraid of some music from the 80s that, obviously, sounds like 80s music, go and check out Kate Bush ;)
I will end this post with the video to "Cloudbusting", another great song of that album...notice how the beat gets faster
Sorry if this posting bored you, the next one will be more exciting, I hope/promise ;)
m.
Monday, September 8, 2008
back to (blogging)life
Hej!!
Quite a while has passed since my last post...sorry for that. But I was too exhausted/uncreative/sluggish for writing a new entry...Finally, here it is ;)
Sooo, where to begin...
Work is fun, but it has been quite busy for the last few weeks, but I won't bore you with that. What's more important - some quite important decisions concerning my future have to be made in the next few weeks. It's not fun at all, since I hade making decisions ;) I don't want to write too much about it, since everything is just developing and nothing has been settled yet.
Anyway, last weekend I (finally) drove to Frankfurt to visit a good friend from my university. It was a really cool weekend and it was soooo good to see him again :)
And Frankfurt is a really nice city. Smaller than Munich, but so much cooler, imo. I don't know why, but I felt much better there than in Munich. The thing with munich is, that the city itself is quite nice. The buildings are old and nice, the streets are old and nice, the traditions are old and...well, nice...but the people are old (or young) and not so nice. And the whole atmosphere in munich is a bit weird. It's really hard to find the right words for it, but every city has a special atmosphere for me. Salzburg, for example, had a nice atmosphere, I was very comfortable there. London or Vienna, two totally different cities, have a good atmosphere too (at least for me). Ancona (Italy) was the first city I visited where I thought "oh, I want to get out of here". I don't know why, because the city is really nice and sunny...but I had such a strange feeling the whole time I was staying there. It's similar with Munich. I don't hate the city, it's just that I don't feel too comfortable here.
2 weeks ago I went downtown after work to meet a friend. I was too early (as always) so I strolled around the meeting point and that was the point when I realized that I don't want to spend the rest of my life in munich (not that I was considering it anyway, but you know...it was just one of those enlightening moments). The people that passed me, small things like the silly newspaper headlines on the newspaper stands, the terrible supermarkets, the chaotic street system, unfriendly people who shouted at passing cars...everything happened around me, and I felt like screaming. That was the point where I made the decision - I don't want to stay in Munich longer than necessary. It's just not my town.
But who knows, maybe I will change my mind. Of course, munich has some really lovely places. The "Gärtnerplatz" or the area around the Sendlinger Tor are really nice parts of Munich...but it's still Munich, even if it tries to look like some italian city.
Another thing I was thinking about on my way home today - all the people who I met in life so far. Especially old school mates. It's shocking how I lost touch with most of them. Even some really close friends from elementary school, which I considered to be my "childhood friends" - no contact at all. It's sad, but that's how life goes, I guess. There are just a few people from my school time that I'm still in touch with, but they are really good and close friends...which is good, I guess.
However, it's getting quite late and before I bore you to death with more of my "thoughts"...I better go to bed now ;)
Here are some pictures from Frankfurt/Mainhattan :)
m.
Quite a while has passed since my last post...sorry for that. But I was too exhausted/uncreative/sluggish for writing a new entry...Finally, here it is ;)
Sooo, where to begin...
Work is fun, but it has been quite busy for the last few weeks, but I won't bore you with that. What's more important - some quite important decisions concerning my future have to be made in the next few weeks. It's not fun at all, since I hade making decisions ;) I don't want to write too much about it, since everything is just developing and nothing has been settled yet.
Anyway, last weekend I (finally) drove to Frankfurt to visit a good friend from my university. It was a really cool weekend and it was soooo good to see him again :)
And Frankfurt is a really nice city. Smaller than Munich, but so much cooler, imo. I don't know why, but I felt much better there than in Munich. The thing with munich is, that the city itself is quite nice. The buildings are old and nice, the streets are old and nice, the traditions are old and...well, nice...but the people are old (or young) and not so nice. And the whole atmosphere in munich is a bit weird. It's really hard to find the right words for it, but every city has a special atmosphere for me. Salzburg, for example, had a nice atmosphere, I was very comfortable there. London or Vienna, two totally different cities, have a good atmosphere too (at least for me). Ancona (Italy) was the first city I visited where I thought "oh, I want to get out of here". I don't know why, because the city is really nice and sunny...but I had such a strange feeling the whole time I was staying there. It's similar with Munich. I don't hate the city, it's just that I don't feel too comfortable here.
2 weeks ago I went downtown after work to meet a friend. I was too early (as always) so I strolled around the meeting point and that was the point when I realized that I don't want to spend the rest of my life in munich (not that I was considering it anyway, but you know...it was just one of those enlightening moments). The people that passed me, small things like the silly newspaper headlines on the newspaper stands, the terrible supermarkets, the chaotic street system, unfriendly people who shouted at passing cars...everything happened around me, and I felt like screaming. That was the point where I made the decision - I don't want to stay in Munich longer than necessary. It's just not my town.
But who knows, maybe I will change my mind. Of course, munich has some really lovely places. The "Gärtnerplatz" or the area around the Sendlinger Tor are really nice parts of Munich...but it's still Munich, even if it tries to look like some italian city.
Another thing I was thinking about on my way home today - all the people who I met in life so far. Especially old school mates. It's shocking how I lost touch with most of them. Even some really close friends from elementary school, which I considered to be my "childhood friends" - no contact at all. It's sad, but that's how life goes, I guess. There are just a few people from my school time that I'm still in touch with, but they are really good and close friends...which is good, I guess.
However, it's getting quite late and before I bore you to death with more of my "thoughts"...I better go to bed now ;)
Here are some pictures from Frankfurt/Mainhattan :)
m.
Monday, August 18, 2008
I HAVE MY ARM BACK!!!
YAYYYY!!!!
After almost 3 months with cast...here's my arm :) with a cool new scar :P
After almost 3 months with cast...here's my arm :) with a cool new scar :P
Sunday, August 17, 2008
SWEDEN
Hej :)
Exactely 1 year ago I moved to Sweden... On the
17th of August 2007 I took an early flight to Karlstad. I was nervous, scared and excited and I'm so glad that I did it...
It's funny, this whole weekend seemed to be like a big "Sweden-weekend". First I went through all the pictures I took in Sweden, sorted out the best ones and ordered a printed copy of them. It wasn't an easy task because - as you can imagine - I took a lot of pictures in Sweden. I ended up ordering quite a lot of pictures - I won't mention the number, because it's too high ;)
Anyway, today I met Sina in Innsbruck (see picture) - she's a german girl who studied in Karlstad. She was
my neighbour and took the same courses as me, so we were quite good friends. It was great to see her again and talk about the "good old times" in Sweden ;)
Unbelievable that it's been one year since my departure...Though I know that I wrote it many many times, I'll say it once again - I WANT TO GO BACK! And I know I'm going to...someday.
However, I have a not-so-nice souvenir from sweden - my broken arm. :P Tomorrow I will go to the hospital and I HOPE/I beg/I pray that everything will be OK. I know I shouldn't have high hopes, but somehow I hope that they will remove the cast. I have no pain, I can move my fingers (better than the last time), I feel that my arm shrinked to half the size it used to be (which is a good sign, usually ;) )...so it would be great to finally "get my arm back". The first thing I would do - take a loooong bath. I don't want to think of all the bacterias and dirt on the arm, since it's been 3 months since I cleaned it ;) eeeeew ;)
However, as I said - I don't want to put my hopes too high, I guess I will get another cast for 2-3 weeks. Anyway, as long as I don't need another surgery I'm happy...otherwise..I don't know what I will do, probably freak out and destroy the emergency room... :P
Sooo....good night :)
Manuel
Exactely 1 year ago I moved to Sweden... On the
17th of August 2007 I took an early flight to Karlstad. I was nervous, scared and excited and I'm so glad that I did it...It's funny, this whole weekend seemed to be like a big "Sweden-weekend". First I went through all the pictures I took in Sweden, sorted out the best ones and ordered a printed copy of them. It wasn't an easy task because - as you can imagine - I took a lot of pictures in Sweden. I ended up ordering quite a lot of pictures - I won't mention the number, because it's too high ;)
Anyway, today I met Sina in Innsbruck (see picture) - she's a german girl who studied in Karlstad. She was
my neighbour and took the same courses as me, so we were quite good friends. It was great to see her again and talk about the "good old times" in Sweden ;)Unbelievable that it's been one year since my departure...Though I know that I wrote it many many times, I'll say it once again - I WANT TO GO BACK! And I know I'm going to...someday.
However, I have a not-so-nice souvenir from sweden - my broken arm. :P Tomorrow I will go to the hospital and I HOPE/I beg/I pray that everything will be OK. I know I shouldn't have high hopes, but somehow I hope that they will remove the cast. I have no pain, I can move my fingers (better than the last time), I feel that my arm shrinked to half the size it used to be (which is a good sign, usually ;) )...so it would be great to finally "get my arm back". The first thing I would do - take a loooong bath. I don't want to think of all the bacterias and dirt on the arm, since it's been 3 months since I cleaned it ;) eeeeew ;)
However, as I said - I don't want to put my hopes too high, I guess I will get another cast for 2-3 weeks. Anyway, as long as I don't need another surgery I'm happy...otherwise..I don't know what I will do, probably freak out and destroy the emergency room... :P
Sooo....good night :)
Manuel
Monday, August 11, 2008
Love me...kill me...thrill me
Hi everybody :)
I just came back from the cinema...this afternoon my boss asked me if I wanted to go to a preview of a TV station - they will show two episodes of new series that will start in autumn - the series were "Californiacation" (with David Duchovny) and "Dexter". I know and LOVE Dexter since I watched both seasons in Sweden and I've heard a lot of good things about Californiacation...so it didn't take me long to say YES.
And I must say...the dubbing of Dexter SUCKS. First of all, the voices sound so strange, especially if you're used to the original voice...and of course, the translation was a bit strange ("scheiße" just doesn't sound as strong as "F*ck"...). And I *think* they edited some scenes, but I'm not sure... And "Californiacation" seems like a pretty good show, I will definitely watch some more episodes (but I doubt that I will watch it on TV....). I'm shocked - about Madeline Zima's breats. The cute, funny, weird little psycho girl from "The Nanny" (yes, I'm guilty of watching/loving it) plays a maneating bitch in "Californiacation" and well..you see a lot of her ;) Totally wasted on me, instead it destroyed my picture of little "Gracie".
So, if you want to watch some good shows on TV - switch it on on the 29th of september, RTL2. Just the opening credits for Dexter are worth it ;)
Sooo, what else... I have a desk in my room! Finally! His name is "Ingo" and he has 75cm to offer :P (ohh I'm in a silly mood tonight :D )
before I write more silly and nasty things...I'm off to bed...
good night :)
edit - just found this...that made my day/night...Kylie's new video to (imo) one of the best songs on her last album... enjoy :)
I just came back from the cinema...this afternoon my boss asked me if I wanted to go to a preview of a TV station - they will show two episodes of new series that will start in autumn - the series were "Californiacation" (with David Duchovny) and "Dexter". I know and LOVE Dexter since I watched both seasons in Sweden and I've heard a lot of good things about Californiacation...so it didn't take me long to say YES.
And I must say...the dubbing of Dexter SUCKS. First of all, the voices sound so strange, especially if you're used to the original voice...and of course, the translation was a bit strange ("scheiße" just doesn't sound as strong as "F*ck"...). And I *think* they edited some scenes, but I'm not sure... And "Californiacation" seems like a pretty good show, I will definitely watch some more episodes (but I doubt that I will watch it on TV....). I'm shocked - about Madeline Zima's breats. The cute, funny, weird little psycho girl from "The Nanny" (yes, I'm guilty of watching/loving it) plays a maneating bitch in "Californiacation" and well..you see a lot of her ;) Totally wasted on me, instead it destroyed my picture of little "Gracie".
So, if you want to watch some good shows on TV - switch it on on the 29th of september, RTL2. Just the opening credits for Dexter are worth it ;)
Sooo, what else... I have a desk in my room! Finally! His name is "Ingo" and he has 75cm to offer :P (ohh I'm in a silly mood tonight :D )
before I write more silly and nasty things...I'm off to bed...
good night :)
edit - just found this...that made my day/night...Kylie's new video to (imo) one of the best songs on her last album... enjoy :)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
I knew it was big...
...but THAT big?
What I'm talking about? A book...well, not just a
book. A Comic-book. The new, super-delicious Tori Amos comic book "Comic Book Tattoo". Comics inspired by Tori Amos songs. It sounded like a really interesting idea, so I ordered the softcover version (the hardcover or the deluxe version [which is much more beautiful] is too expensive...) and wow...I have no idea how I should bring this to munich.
But well, it looks really nice...
Anyway, to my personal topic of the moment, of the last 3 months, of the year...my arm! I was at the hospital today, they made an x-ray, took the stitches out and gave me a new cast. Apparently everything's ok... I'm going back to munich today, so I can get back to work tomorrow-finally.
And this will be my first weekend in munich - I'm looking forward to going to Ikea (I NEED A TABLE!) and downtown :)
I'll keep you updated...
m.
What I'm talking about? A book...well, not just a
book. A Comic-book. The new, super-delicious Tori Amos comic book "Comic Book Tattoo". Comics inspired by Tori Amos songs. It sounded like a really interesting idea, so I ordered the softcover version (the hardcover or the deluxe version [which is much more beautiful] is too expensive...) and wow...I have no idea how I should bring this to munich.
But well, it looks really nice...
Anyway, to my personal topic of the moment, of the last 3 months, of the year...my arm! I was at the hospital today, they made an x-ray, took the stitches out and gave me a new cast. Apparently everything's ok... I'm going back to munich today, so I can get back to work tomorrow-finally.
And this will be my first weekend in munich - I'm looking forward to going to Ikea (I NEED A TABLE!) and downtown :)
I'll keep you updated...
m.
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