An actual bargain?

I have been to IKEA lots of times and every time I am there I sneak in to the bargain area. It is usually located just before the checkouts and I never find anything. But that does not stop me, next time I am back I go there again thinking this time…

Yesterday we actually found something worth buying! We got this set called Sommar with six nice hand made glasses and one pitcher for just 39 Swedish Kr.

How about the photograph? I put them in our bathtub and pretended I was a professional photographer.

Yes. Yes. Yes. No! What movie is this from?

Air - Pocket Symphony

Air - Pocket Symphony

I have listened a little to Air before and really like the EP Premiers Symptomes. When I saw this album I remembered that Jim on the podcast Sound Opinions liked it and thought the albums the combination of ambient and pop was just perfect. Since I have been enjoying the music of Röyksopp lately I thought this might be a nice albums to listen to. Yesterday I transfered it to my iPod and it sounded really good, very clear and nice production.

Click here to read track by track song descriptions of Pocket Symphony by the guys in Air.

Evergrey - Torn previews

I have been a fan of the band Evergrey since I first heard the 2001 album In Search of Truth. The music on that album is a really great mix of heavy guitars, powerful and technical drumming and brilliant vocals. They also managed to write really interesting songs with some great instrumental passages and balances nicely between the guitars and keyboards in the arrangements.

I have seen them in concert a couple of times and have to say they are an excellent live band. Their musicianship is first class and Tom S Englund’s vocals are amazing live, he sounds as good live as on record.

In September Evergrey will release their new album “Torn” on the label Steamhammer/SPV. At the moment there are some really nice “trailers” on the official Evergrey website. Evergrey mastermind Tom S. Englund describes the new album as “modern mix of In Search Of Truth and Recreation Day“. Which to me sounds very promising and from what I have heard so far it will be an incredible album, a defintine pre-order.

Song clips from the upcoming album Torn »

Which 1001 Albums Must I hear?

 

I got inspired to start my 1001 Albums thread when I first heard about the book “1001″ Movies You…” by Steven Jay Schneider.

Now there are of course a couple of books out dedicated to albums you must hear. After writing a couple of entries I got the idea of making a fake book cover for my version.

The original book cover on the left is what sparked my imagination. This morning I got the idea of putting some headphones on the teddy bear and after taking four different photos and some retouching this is how it turned out. I am pretty pleased with the result.

For more information on the real book go to www.amazon.com

Check out my entries so far at 1001 Albums.

Kung Fu Design

Today I took some time to sort out all my daughter’s DVDs and put them on some new shelves. It turned out pretty nice and freed up some space in our living room.

The way that the Benno CD Towers from IKEA which we have are designed, I ended up with some shelves that were way too small to put DVDs into. So I got the idea of putting some nice figures from movies in them. Now I got some use for all the toys you get from McDonalds and Burger King.

My daughter got this really nice looking Kung Fu Panda figure yesterday and he fitted perfectly.

The Classic Albums Podcast

“Vinyl and Dust” Photograph by T1ger

I like to listen to music… I like to make music… I like to look at music…  concerts… documentaries… I like to read about music…

I even like to listen to people talking about music. If you also enjoy that, I suggest you visit The Classic Albums Podcast by Gary and Stephen. In preparation for each episode they listen to two albums and then talk about them, gives you all kinds of nice trivia, memories and of course their own opinions.

Sometimes I do not agree in that the albums they choose to discuss on the podcast are classics. But the discussions and their personal relationship to these albums makes it very interesting and entertaining to listen to. What is most important is that the albums are classics to them and after listening to an episode it might be yours too?

Some of the classic albums they have talked about are Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake and of course The Stone Roses debut album.

They open each podcast with a little inventory on what they have listened to in the last couple of weeks and it is always a nice segment in my opinion. Sometimes they also have ultimate “geek moments” (respect) when they put together different top five lists with various topics spanning from food to gatefold album covers.

Gary and Stephen obviously knows what the are talking about, are well prepared and their love for music shines through all the time. The fact that the two of them don’t always like the same music only adds to the debate. So check them out at The Classic Albums Podcast and discover a lot of new artists and albums that you did not know you needed to hear…

Double Your Pleasure

 

I know it is sometimes good to have one of those double neck guitars when you are on stage. Just move your hands up or down quickly and you have a totally new sound or different tuning at your disposal. Here the great band Rush is taking it to another level, even the bass player is using a double neck. It is actually not a double necked bass guitar but a bass and guitar built together.

With a couple of drums pedals on the floor Geddy Lee could sack both the drummer and guitarist…

I have to say it looks kind of funny when they rock out and move around on stage with these “monster” guitars. The images above is taken from the Rush DVD R30, during the 1977 performance of Xanadu at the Seneca College Theatre.

The Beauty Among Us…

Sometimes you need to stop up and take a look the beauty in the things that surrounds us. You may find beauty in the simplest things, like in a blue balloon?

This blue balloon was lying just in front of me the other day… and it reminded me of something. When I took this picture it reminded me even more of something. I did some research on the Internet and found out what is was.

iPod Touch - Ridiculously nice!

Today I bought an iPod Touch16 GB. I made a real bargain buying it used, in excellent condition, for less than half the price of a new one. I noticed lately that a lot of people wanted to sell their iPod Touch ( What is the plural? ). I guess the biggest reason is that many people want to get the new iPhone which has recently been released here in Sweden. Good for me.

I have now tried both the PSP Slim and the Ipod Touch and for my needs I felt the iPod worked much better. The wireless Internet connection seemed to be faster on the iPod and it was a lot easier to navigate and use compared to the PSP. My iPod also has four times the storage space compared to the memory card in the PSP which means I can fill it with more episodes of I’m Alan Partridge and other really necessary things…

When it comes to playing games the PSP is obviously much better suited for it but since I am not a big gamer it did not feel vital to me. I also found it a little hard to play and control the games on the PSP. When I get the urge to play some Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Dexter I can always use the kids’ Playstation 2.

 I am now a very happy owner of an iPod Touch.

Part Mystery - Part Thriller - Parts Missing

If you have not seen the movie Lake Placid starring Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda from 1999 I suggest you give it a try.

From the first look on the cover it looks like a cheap Jaws rip-off but what you get is a very funny, sometimes scary and highly entertaining 82 minutes. The interplay between the main characters is what makes this movie stand out among other horror movies with big creatures. 

The fact that they are dealing with a giant crocodile in a quiet and remote lake is really quite silly but once again very entertaining.

I find it very amusing watching the small town sheriff, superbly played by Brendan Gleeson, getting all tangled up in the crocodile traps when you least expect it.

Apparently a sequel, simply called Lake Placid 2, was released earlier this year straight to DVD.