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IBM and the nazis

Thomas J. Watson and Adolf HitlerBy watching this video, you’ll see a little on how IBM helped the nazis by leasing them punch-card systems, in order to count the number of jews that were lodged at the concentration camps. From the great documentary titelled “The Corporation“, here’s word from Edwin Black, the author of “IBM and the Holocaust“.

Each application had to be custom-designed for the nazis, by IBM technicians. Do note that I wrote that IBM leased the computers to the nazis, i.e. IBM made more money that way, than they had by just selling the systems to the nazis. The punch-cards were made by the millions, exclusively by IBM, who collected the money from this operation just after the war.

It’s discerning to see the VP of IBM say that IBM only sold the machines and couldn’t know how they were being used. This bit from the above video shows how IBM in fact serviced said systems on-site once per month, since 1941; this is before the nazis started using mass-extermination techniques, i.e. gassing in concentration camps.

The picture of Thomas J. Watson (founding CEO, IBM) sitting at a table with Adolf Hitler reminds me a lot of the classic picture of Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein; ah, sweet friends – until too many people got to know the truth.

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Movies I've watched recently:

  • Cube (1997) 3/10

    2009-06-09 21:35
    * * *

    The idea is great: collate a bunch of people and let them wake up together in a cube. From thereon, see what they do. The start was mighty interesting, paving way for conspiracy theories, mind-games and power-struggles from the start! Sadly, the script isn't very well-writ, direction is so-so and the acting over the top. Still, it could have fared well. Bonus knowledge: the guy who plays Quentin also played Sgt. Luther Robinson in "Hedwig And The Angry Inch", woo!

    0.3
  • Cloverfield (2008) 2/10

    2009-05-23 17:23
    * *

    Having failed to see this film at an Odeon theatre in London (my girlfriend became violently sea-sick), I thought the promising beginning of it could be a precursor to how the film would end up. A cool monster-flick, yeay! I was wrong. All in all, the film is almost worse than Spielberg's take on "War Of The World". A group of people form in New York, USA, to say good-bye to a friend who's going away to work in Tokyo, Japan. Everything that is seen is filmed by a participant of the party, who is quite uninteresting as a person, hence in my eyes numbing the film a little. Anyway, as a few of the characters squander to intrigue over who's hooking up with who, something detonates. People find something otherworldly is tearing up NY. Woo! Sadly, this was the promising bit. Hereafter all is running - with no suspense á la "Alien" whatsoever - or trying to avoid dying, which is boring. I felt little or no sympathy for the characters, and the script felt very thin. All in all, nice special effects but a very dumb film which feels bad, as I think it could have become good with a bit more thought and intelligence.

    0.3
  • Boy A (2007) 6/10

    2009-05-02 18:33
    * * * * * *

    A young man is released from prison following ten years of incarceration for his involvement in killing a ten-year-old girl. A supervisor aids him in surviving in the outside world, of which he knows surprisingly little, yet this doesn't help much as media condemns him as a monster (the favourite term English tabloids use when describing children who kill) and desperately tries to find him. Even though I think this film is needed, I also think it is more evidently than eloquently written, not allowing what I think would be letting the viewer think for her-or-himself using more subtle methods, thus letting in more breadth and humanity. To its strength, the film is very well-played, has excellent Kubrick-esque cinematography (just see the courtroom imagery and I think you'll see what I mean) and is singular in more ways than one. It is interesting to see that while adults who kill children are often - in the USA, according to report from the documentary "When Kids Get Life", viewable for free - children are often utterly condemned, as is the famous case with Mary Bell.

    0.3
  • Juno (2007) 5/10

    2009-04-25 20:03
    * * * * *

    "Alternative. Alternative. I've gotta be alternative and still appeal to people who don't know who Dario Argento is. Do like 'Garden State' crossed with 'Rosemary's Baby' except for the horror being switched for quick comedy. I can't believe I just thought of Polanski and not Troma or something just as alternative and/or cool!" I guess those were the words of the scriptwriter. This film is fair, brings a couple of laughs and is quite coherent, and apart from the odd good music there's not that much laudable in this box; I can't get over the feeling that the film-makers have tried too hard to make this film feel all fresh, so much that they kind of overlooked the factor that made Ricky Fitts the great character he was in "American Beauty". Watch "L'Avventura" again, I say.

    0.3
  • Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) 1/10

    2009-04-25 19:39
    *

    Bill Hicks airs this best: "Bill's review: piece of shit." Straight up! This film is a clown-school reject, a copy of "Sex And The City" mixed with "The Devil Wears Prada", albeit with no allure whatsoever. Plot: an airhead who shops too much without being funny at all is the star of this "comedy" where she constantly evades getting caught up in her lies regarding her spending, while spewing jokes that aren't really jokes, e.g. "You speak Prada?" and being shit. Oh yeah, while finding love through an Englishman who's her boss. How exotic and feministic. See "Shooting Fish" and forget this never happened.

    0.3

Elton John – “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore

This might be one of the most underrated videos ever. So, in a sneaky way to make it more well-known, here it is. I’m a sucker for videos in slow-motion and this is a good ‘un, delving through emotions as felt by the main artist and his motions. The video’s really good-looking to boot; must be because David LaChapelle directed it.

And yes, that’s Justin Timberlake as Elton.

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Spotify mixtape #5: blizzdow

This mixtape shizzle is found here, and you’ll always find all of my Spotify playlists right here.


We meet again!

It’s time for another round of Spotify shakedown. Don’t worry by the way, mixtape #4 isn’t gone. It’s here. I just didn’t have the time to do anything about it.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead continues to rule with this odd track that’s off what’s probably my fave album of theirs, “Worlds Apart“, which is available at a ridiculously low price everywhere. This is a little prejudiced view of Russian music, but it’s so pretty and neat.

Contrasting this – which has always been a fave thing of mine when compiling mixtapes, DJing and everything like that – is Fattaru, a Swedish rap-outfit from the south part of Stockholm city. This song propelled them to stardom in Sweden, and they’re virtually unknown outside this city. Marcus “Mackan” Price is, however, getting known internationally through his other outfit that’s known as Basutbudet.

Jonathan Richman has been around for ages. He influenced everybody from Ramones to Blondie and I-don’t-know. I remember seeing the extremely important, old documentary-series titelled “Dancing In The Streets” by the jolly old BBC, where Richman sat talking about a girl he saw at Boston University, but wait, a few years later, when I started listening to The Modern Lovers, I realised that he was actually reciting what he experienced when young through a lyric from one of their albums! It freaked me! And their first album is great. The Sex Pistols covered this track, “Roadrunner“, which is added to the cash-in record label album “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle“.

Speaking of influencing, Vaselines really made Kurt Cobain go bonkers, even covering this track – “Son Of A Gun” – for their live gigs and so forth. I like the simplicity that this duo brings. And I remember seeing Belle & Sebastian live in Circus in Stockholm, where one of the opening acts was a guy with sunglasses and a guitar, saying he was in The Vaselines. I freaking cried out loud while it seemed people were just taking it easy. Sick! He was still doing it. Even though the Sub Pop compilation “The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History” is a great way to start, followers might enjoy “Enter the Vaselines“, released this year; it unveils a lot of demos for those inclined to worship at the altar of all music complete.

Hence, the next logical step ought to be that of Nirvana, who really destroyed every shred of disbelief from people who used to think they were opportunists by releasing the Steve Albini-produced “In Utero“, where “tourette’s” is both a tour-de-force and incomprehensible. I love this.

Public Enemy rips up a lot of years of culture through the voice of Chuck D, not to mention the high level of funkiness that Terminator X and Flavor Flav brought through the music, the hype and politics. Their stamina and strength cannot be measured at times and hell, this is such a time. The album “Power to the People and the Beats” is a really good start for those who haven’t gotten into them.

Okkervil River, a personal favourite band, created a deeply profound, and at the same time melodic and gently poetic, violent and protruding album through “Black Sheep Boy” – this is sublime yet strong, standing on its own fours.

Crush With Eyeliner” is drowsy, like a slow summer’s day where you feel stale sweat on your every part and you just want to sever yourself from reality and float upstream without any effort. Thurston Moore’s guitar-solo rocks.

Watching Explosions In The Sky live is a rare thing. Their brand of melodic, ethereal and light-yet-hard guitar-based pluckings to reverb-laden sound is a real treat. Builds, builds, builds.

Liars is a band I’ve yet to discover. I saw thirty seconds of the video for this song yesterday, while flipping through channels. This reminded me of Queens Of The Stone Age, but it’s not at all the same thing; just listen to their “Horseclouds” from the same album to note the difference. What makes me like this track is the whiny voice, and I don’t know why.

ZZ Top is a band that my beloved friend Jesper often used to listen to. Somehow, they combined rock ‘n’ roll with e-bowed guitars and classic cars in a way that enticed him beyond repair. Besides, this song is great.

Atari Teenage Riot is a band I’ve often written about. Nearly their entire back-catalogue is available through Spotify, so check it out. I recommend “Delete Yourself!” to begin with. Revolution action.

After all the hardness that some of the prior tracks bring, listening to Fatboy Slim’s “Soul Surfing” is just positively irritating piña colada. Yes, I could probably be more vague.

To finish off is a track that ends in the middle and then re-builds, something which is discussed lovingly by Tiga in the brilliant documentary titelled “Part Of The Weekend Never Dies“. Justice as re-worked by Soulwax is weird, yet fitting. The End.

Go on, get. It’s summer time out there (here in Stockholm, at least), so what are you doing pissing about a computer?

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Fatboy Slim – “Michael Jackson

People set records searching the web for the death of…The King of Beer?

Following the recent demise of Michael Jackson, his Wikipedia page jumped 81 times in popularity compared with the day before. On the other hand, beer aficionado Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia page jumped 321 times in popularity.

Here’s Fatboy Slim’s unbridled “Michael Jackson“, off his album “Better Living Through Chemistry“.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The audio’s here for a week, and will then be gone.

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My tweets this week

  • En route to Rålambshovsparken. Again! Lovely. Sun's blazing. #
  • http://twitpic.com/8lkqp – Watching the bad "Angels & Demons" with Mia and the kitties. They're asleep, all three. #
  • RT: Islamic Rep. Embassy's Staff in Stockholm attacked Protesters! http://twitpic.com/8l3ux #iranelection #
  • Requesting an invite for Tweetboard Alpha (http://tweetboard.com) by @140ware, for my site: http://niklasblog.com #
  • http://twitpic.com/8kq0a – At Rålambshovsparken with Mia, Kuba and Pernilla. And Atle, of course! #
  • http://twitpic.com/8i367 – Sieg Frank! Stop it, nazi kitteh! #
  • http://twitpic.com/8hkf9 – Hanging with The Pirate Cats and Mia. Frank is the cool cat! #
  • http://twitpic.com/8gen6 – I'd like to go to a Swedish music festival. If I'd attend one, it's their poster in the middle. #
  • Michael Jackson is dead! #
  • Chatting, learning I'm in a pic from the gig yesterday (http://is.gd/1dton), making an egg sandwich and watching Swedish "Big Brother"; hah! #
  • http://twitpic.com/8dxao – Walking past protests against #iranelection at Medborgarplatsen. #
  • I just posted something on Morrissey's gig at Hovet yesterday, with pics and videos: http://niklasblog.com/?p=2919 #
  • I believe re-reading the chapter named "Voices of Death" in Mike Newton's "Century of Slaughter" just woke me up more than coffee did. #
  • Still reeling from the gig last night, even though I should say it wasn't more than good. Feels strange saying that. Also: head-aching. #
  • http://twitpic.com/8bf32 – At Mosebacke, tasting the Morrissey after-party with Mia, Björn and Zak. #
  • 2009.06.24 Picture: http://bkite.com/08RyB #
  • http://twitpic.com/8asdk – Morrissey live, playing "How Soon Is Now?" #
  • http://twitpic.com/8ant5 – Doll and the Kicks are tiresome Siouxsie and The Banshees wannabes. Drat! #
  • http://twitpic.com/8a85p – Having a beer with Bear and Mia. #
  • Freaking out thinking about the pending Morrissey gig in Stockholm tonight. Blogged about "Imperfect List": http://niklasblog.com/?p=2905 #
  • Just finished collating my fourth collaborative Spotify playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/pivic/playlist/2xNkhRhOjMU6OTQ5ECqnJU #
  • Vicariously thinking about Morrissey playing in Stockholm tonight: meeting friends, dancing, attending gig, freaking out. #
  • Uncool. @msofficeus is using Word to render emails in Outlook, killing standards support. See http://fixoutlook.org and RT #
  • Thinking Laurence Rees' "Auschwitz" can be the most important historical book I've ever read; it's written very well, recommendable to all. #
  • http://twitpic.com/87c4p – Watching Morrissey live through "Who Put The 'M' In Manchester?". #
  • I'm the doll what pisses itself after reading an extremely funny article in The Guardian about a new music genre: crabcore. #
  • http://twitpic.com/86lz8 – Leaving Midsommarkransen, where business is pun-prone and the users are very nice; they gave me cake! #
  • Sitting opposite somebody on the subway who's listening to Morrissey loudly. LOUDER, please! #
  • Meeting up with Greven for lunch. Wearing a jacket outdoors is a mistake, the weather is hot! #
  • I want the weather in Stockholm to be like this forever. 10 day-prognosis: http://is.gd/19XcW #
  • Dreaming of a way to mix and play Guns 'n' Roses' "My Michelle" and Klaxons' "It's Not Over Yet" live. #
  • RT @morrisseysolo: Gothenburg – Scandinavium (June 22, 2009) post-show http://tinyurl.com/mtakoh #
  • Watching Veronica Mars S01E01, feeling good. #
  • Riding on the subway, head filled with wonders and endless scenarios regarding future job possibilities. #
  • Just registered at http://www.tweetmondo.com to search for Twitter users close to me! #
  • Somehow thinking about how Guernsey (UK) officials helped the nazis deport jews during WW2 but really struggled to save the freemasons. #
  • http://twitpic.com/833dl – Älskar Örnsberg för namnet på deras lokala alkishak, Pub Diset. #
  • http://twitpic.com/82ykn – Leaving a foggy Bagarmossen for work, listening to Voxtrot. #
  • Finding myself slightly, recurrently obsessed with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3: http://bit.ly/Ns1Bk #
  • Going home after chilly, boring drone-work. I'm so hungry I'm shaking. Pasta with cheese sauce asap! #
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Holy Fuck as interviewed by Joe Walker

Holy Fuck at ATP 2009

Alright. Holy Fuck’s interviewed by Joe Walker. This is about as great as it gets. The interview, the value-for-money (…) and sheer music is what makes this great. I love Holy Fuck, and evidently, I love Joe Walker as well.

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Morrissey live at Hovet, 2009

Yesterday I saw Morrissey live at Hovet. Attendance: 5623 people (72% sold tickets). The support, Doll and the Kicks, sounded like a mix of Blondie and Siouxsie And The Banshees – in a bad way; disco bass and a yelling female voice, in about every song. On paper it might sound interesting but it wasn’t. Get off the stage.

Seated in the very front of the room were approximately 100 people who had invariably been queuing since early morning. Our party – the ever lovely Mia, myself, Björn and Lina – walked up to one of the small queues when the doors opened, and saw this once inside the venue.

Hovet, 2009-06-24, 18:30

In other words, not worth queuing that early for me! Following the support act, Morrissey displayed a bunch of compiled videos that played onto a big screen. E.g. New York Dolls live at “Musik Laden”, Sparks’ video for “Lighten Up, Morrissey” and Shirley Bassey singing on RAI TV.

Then my mental sky fell with the quite physical backdrop, which consisted of a great picture of a man that seems to be Walter Chiari, according to some speculations at Morrissey Solo, was revealed.1 People yelled, of course. People screamed, of course, when Morrissey entered and the band launched “This Charming Man“. Bonkers.

Morrissey, people and - seemingly - Walter Chiari

That song set the stage for a lot of ham-fisted moments. Few Johnny Marr-ish guitar pluckings were called for as distorted chords set the scene, for good and bad; I think it’s nice of the band to re-work “This Charming Man” but it really isn’t gentle and kind anymore, although “How Soon Is Now?” really surprised me with its electrifying effect and strobe; ham-fisted was good, and Morrissey’s today really in control of his voice – which is not to say he can’t make it break and bob like he was very prone to doing in the days of yore. There was the strength of a fused band playing together, even though three of the players are temporary temps.

Here’s the entire video I filmed of “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby” including Morrissey introducing the band at the end:

He seemed a bit tired at times during the show. Reverting to fandom, somebody wrote that it felt as if Morrissey was “just going through the motions” during his performance. I’ve been telling people all day now, that Morrissey at his faintest is still stronger than many a musician, but still, yesterday’s performance makes me understand his frank (as always) words on retiring in this very recent interview with Cameron Bird for Filter Magazine.

Also from the gig, Morrissey saying hello to YouTube:

Life Is A Pigsty” was truly great, and as Mia points out, he changed some lyrics2 for a different turn.

After the show, which he regrettably ended by means of the ever-too-popular “First Of The Gang To Die“, we – including a colleague of Jenny’s that we basically met by being crammed together with in the subway after the show – went to the after-party at Kägelbanan where we hooked up with Zak, sweet! We hung around for a while, drank a few Jelen Pivo – Serbian beer that translates to “deer beer” – and talked quite a lot. It was really nice meeting Björn and Zak again. It’s been bleeding ages! Hold on to your friends.

Queue to Kägelbanan.
Queuing to Kägelbanan.

Mia and her Serbian heritage!
Some fool shouted “Serbian heritage!” and Mia whipped out the biz!

Ice-cream sky.
The sky outside Mosebacke was ice-cream.

BTW, the setlist, courtesy of Morrissey Solo:

This Charming Man / Billy Budd / Black Cloud / How Soon Is Now? / When Last I Spoke To Carol / Ask / I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris / How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? / You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby / Irish Blood, English Heart / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores / I Keep Mine Hidden / Let Me Kiss You / Girlfriend In A Coma / Life Is A Pigsty / Sorry Doesn’t Help / The Loop / I’m OK By Myself // First Of The Gang To Die

  1. And I must say this backdrop is absolutely wonderful.[back]
  2. Like that’s something unusual.[back]
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Big Hard Excellent Fish – “Imperfect List

This is a try on transcribing Big Hard Excellent Fish’s “Imperfect List“, a.k.a. the song that Morrissey often prefers to play before he hits the stage.

From Wikipedia, on Pete Wylie:

In 1990 a single called “Imperfect List” was released under the project name of “Big Hard Excellent Fish”. The spoken-word track is a list of 64 least favourite people and things read by Wylie’s then girlfriend and collaborator Josie Jones. The list was written by Wylie and the track was recorded by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, although Wylie is not credited on the record. The list ranges from ‘Adolf Hitler’ to ‘lost keys’. In 2004, “Imperfect List” was used by Morrissey at shows prior to his appearance on stage. The track appears on Morrissey’s video of live performance “Who put the M in Manchester?”.

Some words are missing/inaudible to me, but please do comment and I’ll fix things asap! The song is available through Spotify. Here I go:

Adolf Hitler. [Mike gassing]. Terry and June. Fuckin’ bastard Thatcher. Insincere social climber of mixed origin. Overdose. Scouse impersonators. Macho dickhead. Bonnie Langford. Poll tax. Neighbours. Bus queues. Lost keys. Family friend. The royal family. Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Heartbreaking, lying friend. Smiling Judas. Myra Hindley. Acid rain. Stinking, rich female in furs. Disloyal lover. Wife and child beater. Drunken abuser. Racist bully. The Sun newspaper. AIDS inventor. Leon Brittan. All noncers1. Massive, massive oil slick. Loneliness. Cancer. Hard, cold fish. Hunger. Greed. Imperfect list. Gut-wrenching disappointment. Evil, gossiping fashion bastard. Radio One. Tasteless A&R wanker. Tory invention of the working class. Cold tea. Mister Jesse Helms. Hillsborough. Weird racist judges. Depression. Apartheid. John Lennon’s murder. Russia. Anyone’s murder. Vietnam. The breakdown of the NHS. The bomb. Heysel stadium. Police harassment. The death of the rain forest. The troubles. Rednecks. The clamp. Rape. Imprisonment of innocents. The all-American way. Red sock in the white washing. Nancy’s turn. Tienanmen Square. Ronnie’s turn. Sexual harassment. Jimmy Tarbuck. Mile-long check-out queue. Sick baby. Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment. Miscarriage. Where were you?

…and here’s the song as included in the introduction to Morrissey’s live concert video, “Who Put The ‘M’ In Manchester?”:

  1. This might be “All nonsense”, but I think it’s more likely to be a creative version of the adjective “nonce”.[back]
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The best way to rehearse

…and to start a Monday.

Mike D’s break-pose at 03:28 is always #1!

Beastie Boys -
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My tweets this week

  • RT @Britopian: from @techcrunch Images From The #iranelection http://bit.ly/4r0kN #
  • Working on Sundays always feels weird, cuz tomorrow it's back to work… A.G.A.I.N.! #
  • Thinking: don't let the damaged memory part of your brain convince you to see "Single White Female" again. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7×48u – "Waking up" next to Mia and Blixa, the latter disguised as Supercat. #
  • Just had a very nice walk in #bagarmossen, am now getting ready to meet family from Flen, where it's raining. Stockholm's bathing in sun! #
  • Having the best midsummer's eve in ages, am now giving Mia a massage. #
  • Started the day by reading Paul Auster, am now getting an espresso and then a shower. Merry midsummer! #
  • Getting ready to see "Deliver Us From Evil", a documentary about how christians dosh out billions of USD to cover up int'l child abuse. #
  • Heading towards the local market to fetch groceries in order to make the swankiest midsummer's dinner tomorrow. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7pl9s – Loving the makeshift veggie shack in Fatbursparken, Stockholm! #
  • Queuing. 10 people ahead of me at #systembolaget #
  • Reviewing Far: I liked it! =) http://blippr.com/b/e0d0 #
  • http://twitpic.com/7or0s – Thinking about Lester Bangs, one of the best (if not THE best) music writers ever. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7ma9i – Once again I'm northside in Stockholm, this time attending a seminar on Windows 7. #
  • Being collected by my former boss to go eat cake at the Swedish government's expense. #
  • Feeling bad for Blixa. Her love isn't focused on the cone around her neck, I'll tell you: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pivic/3633596908 #
  • http://twitpic.com/7jmup – On the subway en route home. Blixa's in a cone! #
  • Liking Opera Unite, an upgrade that turns the web browser into a web server with an array of tools. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7iy39 – En route to a clinic to get Blixa spayed. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7h370 – this makes me wish I'd seen Flavor Flav live at Bonnaroo. Plus Okkervil River, of course. #
  • Feeling like kicking the unprofessionals inaccuracies that should have installed fiber in my apt but even peed on my floor. #
  • Suddenly thinking I'd like to see Sam Raimi's "Drag Me To Hell". Good or bad? No spoilers, plz! #
  • Leaving home as two Spanish-speaking men install fiber in my apt. and laugh at the cats. Gah! #
  • PLEASE RT Functioning Iran proxies 218.128.112.18:8080 218.206.94.132:808 218.253.65.99:808 219.50.16.70:8080 #iranelection (via @twazzup) #
  • Experiencing another power outage in Bagarmossen in a short time: a great way to get to know one's neighbours. #
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Embed Friday

Music Super Circus feat. Birgit Bidder – “A world to be found

This track’s culled from this TV-commercial. There’s nothing more released of the audio, damn it!

Hollywood’s 9 Greatest Sudden Bus Accidents

Fever Ray – “Triangle Walks

Me explaining the toolbar at the bottom of my blog

Au Revoir Simone – “Anywhere You Looked” on Seattle’s KEXP

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Spotify mixtape #3: remove them

I’ve just created a site for my Spotify playlists. You’ll find it here together with the rest of them. Yes, I’ve quickly created a semi-ugly site for collecting all of my Spotify playlists, so that spotify.pivic.com is the only address you’ll ever have to remember.

Here’s the low-down on the playlist for this week:


…and here’s the breakdown.

Ever since I first heard MC Hammer (or somebody like him) I was intrigued by hip-hop. Thankfully, I found better ways out, and since the real demise of Cypress Hill1 started, I’ve liked artists that remind me of them and still manage to do individual stuff, like Delinquent Habits. This track just makes me want to hop into a hooptie ride and pimp-smack some pink shirts down at Stureplan.

Speaking of which, Soul Position is really worth checking out; it’s RJD2 and Blueprint! No genre does intros like hip-hop, both in a great and horrible way; this showcases the former. Nuff said!

Break ‘em off some. Indeed. LCD Soundsystem manages to use instruments that make me think of my days as a 9-year-old holding an instrument in music class for the first time, and still make stuff funky; just listen to the break – shock! – at 01:32 in “Time To Get Away“. Minimal arrangement, nasal singing and typical DFA production merges and powerhouses me into loving this.

Speaking of which, the drum-beat in that track has always reminded me of The Clash’s “Train In Vain”, so here that goes. I was going to add something off “Sandinista“, but I’d rather a swangin’ track.

But hell with that in the next word! Bhangra! If I could crush on a singing voice, it’d probably be that of Natacha Atlas. Ever since her days in Transglobal Underground I’ve followed her career with glee, even though I’ve always adored her more western-poppy efforts than her Arabic ones; the former’s just more my cup of tea, but the sound of her mother tongue is enchanting. And don’t dare miss her singing on David Arnold’s famed cover of the James Bond theme titelled “From Russia With Love“.

The Pipettes are fairly defunct right now, especially as Rose Elinor Dougall – one third of the females fronting the band – has embarked on a solo tip. Her first single, “Another Version Of Pop Song“, is to me more alluring than her latest, “Start/Stop/Synchro2 Simple pop with slight allure, reminiscent of Charlotte Hatherley in quirkiness, but far from it.

Manics’ first single, “Motown Junk”, was one I really didn’t like at first, but it grew on me over the years, and seeing them perform it live for the promo video is really cool – apart from James’ hairdo.

As Alexander recently made me think of Harry Nilsson, I reckoned it was time to check out his epic album “Nilsson Schmilsson” again. I then remembered that this track, “Jump Into The Fire“, has been covered by Elliott Smith. 70s rawk.

Sibiria is a Swedish band that sings in Swedish, and while their music is fairly harmless and melodic, the lyrics often reek of hatred, which is something I really like.3 This song is about how Swedish athlete Christian Olsson neglected his friends after he started winning and becoming famous; I’ve no idea whether that was the case or not, but the song is hilarious. Learn Swedish and agree.

When I first heard “Painted From Memory“, the collaboration LP that Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello made together, I felt the tears-a-comin’. The songs were all centered around heart-break or middle-aged crisis and felt original. Contrasting the emotion felt through “Christian Olsson“, these are matured, yet raw emotions that run through the song.

Another break. Orbital is two brothers who make the best cerebral dance music; it’s highly clinical, as in every sound sounds very crisp and cleansed by scientists. Still, this is funky in a way that few can do it. These guys could make a museum rock in a way that Parliament or Kraftwerk couldn’t. This track is off the harrowing “Snivilisation“, a strong contender as one of the best electronic albums of the 90s. Also noteworthy is that Goldfrapp started her career in mainstream music by singing to some of their tracks.

Mama Told Me Not To Come” is a typical soundtrack song, available to all from Tarantino to Wes Anderson, to American sports films and documentaries. The sound is compressed and organ-laden. Sweeeetness. The kind of music I think I could have been a teenager in the USA during the 70s, if I’d been prone to smoking heroin, shooting dope. Yeah, right. Or I’d be a stiffie jock cheerleader with pom-poms, listening to Rick Springfield. Nah. ‘cuz I was Jesse’s giiiiiiiirl.

Then pair that with the air-shock that is Missy Elliott/Timbaland’s “Pass That Dutch“. Any song that references a serial-killer is always hot with me:

Shove my beat up, attack like my name was Saddam
I am the bomb from New York to Milan
And I can write a song sicker than Jeffrey Dahm’

That’s quite sick, even though I find Dahmer healthier than most people in the US congress. Hollaaaaa!

In a parallel world, I can imagine Missy sitting at home in her styled house, in the middle of her dining-room where all is white, listening to “First Light” by Harold Budd and Brian Eno, leaving her gangsta image way behind her, floating into a distant universe. A wholly different thing is to be said about the most dead Eazy-E and his gangsta image. This track is from before he started hating Dr. Dre, so there’s more “fun” gangsta life here than deadly serious stuff.

Similarly, but vice versa, Phil Lynott’s Thin Lizzy made “Live and Dangerous“, where a hard-rocking Irishman turned fuzzy guitars swangy, as if somebody handed soul to Eric Clapton (and cut down on the f-ing fiddling).

I like the fact that Dirty Pretty Things altered duties when singing, not far from Barât’s regular routine with Pete Doherty in The Libertines. Their trashy sound sounds really tight in comparison with Babyshambles’ debut album. “The enemy, as I know it/is right inside my head“.

Sena Jurinac is one of my favourite singers where opera is concerned. This album is a compilation that I praise Spotify for unearthing; it’s really worth repetitive listens. Her singing Richard Strauss’ “September” is sheer beauty. If you’ve always hated opera, this might a blissful beginning to discover something really beautiful.4

Ending this virtual mixtape is The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, today known just as Blues Explosion. “Bellbottoms” is an epic track, showcasing not only how this band churns out tracks as a whole, but how they do it individually; Judah Bauer’s guitar is free-wheelin’, sheer rock ‘n’ roll down-gritted into blues, the swamp, turning men into dinosaurs! Hellfire! At the same time, Russell Simins’ drumming is hip-hop, rock ‘n’ roll and then to top it off, echoing through Jon Spencer’s voice is hauled desire and simpleness expressed because it has to come it, not to be explained but to bring forth like a minister of a non-godworthy church!

So I hope you liked it. Instead of a poll – because everybody seems to hate polls anyway – do leave a comment if you care.

  1. Don’t diss the members on their own! B-Real, DJ Muggs and Sen Dog have all quite recently released albums that top the two or three latest albums they did together as Cypress Hill.[back]
  2. Titelled after a button in the studio, there you go.[back]
  3. For more on that, check out Super Furry Animals’ “No Sympathy“.[back]
  4. Or another thing to strengthen your faith in opera as being utter shite…if this is the case, I’m sorry.[back]
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Blixa kastrerad: recension av processen på DjurAkuten

Blixa: coned out

Sorry, English readers! As this is a post on how our little Blixa was castrated in Stockholm, I feel it’s much better being written in Swedish.

I går lät Mia och jag kastrera Blixa, vår nyblivna 6-månaders Sphynx. Efter att ha undersökt vilka kliniker i Stockholmsområdet som blivit rekommenderade i den här tråden på kattforum.se, sammanställde jag resultaten i detta dokument.

Eftersom DjurAkuten lät väldigt bra och var 20% billigare än närbelägna Regiondjursjukhuset Bagarmossen valde vi dem.

Här kommer en kort recension av hela processen hos DjurAkuten, som jag postade den på kattforum.se:

I måndags ringde jag till DjurAkuten på Kungstensgatan 58 i Stockholm, och samtalade snabbt med en trevlig och effektiv person, som sade att de hade tid redan dagen efter. Inlämning skulle ske 08:00-09:00, och vi kunde hämta henne efter 16:00; “Vi har ju öppet till 22″, sade personen i telefon. Super!

Sagt och gjort åkte min flickvän och jag till dem i går, satt i deras väntrum (som öppnade redan innan 08:00, vilket var skönt eftersom vi var där litet tidigt och vår Sphynxkisse – Blixa – frös) i tio minuter, fick under tiden väga vår katt i och strax därefter träffa en person som tog vår katt och bekräftade att vi kunde hämta henne under eftermiddagen, enligt min önskan.

Vi kom dit cirka 16:30, blev bemötta av en snäll receptionist som sade att vi kunde sitta ned och vänta. Efter ett par minuter kom en person som ledde oss till Blixa, som verkade må ganska bra. Vi fick litet papper på vad som var att vänta under kvällen och dagen efter, och fick ett specialfoder (Hill’s) som veterinären sköterskan förklarade skall vara bra för att se till att Blixa inte skall gå upp i vikt efter operationen.

Allt som allt – förutom ett underligt svar om att ultraljudsscanning på vår andra katt, som har HCM, inte duger till annat än att upptäcka huruvida en katt har HCM eller inte – var det hela en mycket trevlig upplevelse! Det kostade 975:- (som de tidigare lämnat uppgift till mig om) och vår lilla Blixa håller på att hämta sig.

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Dreaming of Lotta

Lotta, frown-modeI slept really light last night, but I dreamt heavily. Here’s what went down.

I dreamt I left my bed and had to go to the computer; a force literally, slowly dragged me towards it. Lotta was sitting there, with MS Word open on the screen. She turned her head and gave me her usual look, saying “I loathe you” or “I’m indifferent to you”1, but quickly whisked her head to the screen and put her two front paws onto the keyboard.

Thinking back to that, I realise her front paws would have to be really long to be able to reach the keyboard, but this is a dream; it’s like thinking Spencer Pratt is sane – impossible without being brainwashed like his wife heavy drugs. Back to the script.

She reached the keys and typed “Feed me” in Swedish. I went numb. I felt my jaw drop, for real, and I told her “You…can communicate.” She meowed. I felt like an idiot. “Feed me chicken, real chicken, beef”, she wrote. Turned her head to me, and meowed.

“What do you want?” I said. “I mean, you can have anything now. You can be a movie-star, or…well, anything. What do you want?” Yet again, head towards the monitor, typing.

“What I DON’T want is this:” and she started writing the foods she didn’t want. “And I like to be picked up.”

What? She’s never liked anybody to lift her, no matter what. I said this in disbelief, and of course she typed away.

“It depends on how you lift. First, I stand on my hind legs. Then, you have to put one hand forward, place it between my front and hind quarters and hold the fingers of your hand together. Then I place my front paws in your hand. Then, you hold your other hand in front of my hind legs. I hop on to you. This is how I want to be lifted.”

She actually typed quickly. I didn’t know what to do. She turned her head towards me and I said “OK, I will, I promise” and I woke up.

  1. I know: one doesn’t necessarily exclude the other.[back]
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My tweets this week

  • Just woke up, will now listen to P3 Dokumentär on the Skandia affair: http://is.gd/11wDI #
  • head aches. #
  • http://twitpic.com/7b6nv – At Snottys having fun! #
  • Getting ready with S02 of "Paris Hilton's New BFF" and mentally getting ready for some outdoors action. #
  • http://twitpic.com/776ac – I freaking love Windows vs the local transport system in Stockholm. #
  • Leaving work to get home quickly and then leave for Gustavsberg, Criz, Maylin and other nice people! #
  • Thinking Harry Nilsson was a genius. Alex currently plays his stuff at @tvalpalatset. #
  • http://twitpic.com/75bmf – Home following a lovely evening with Alex and Kajsa. Conversations rock! Met this kitteh in Bagis. #
  • Just posted my first and second Spotify collaborative playlists, with complete low-down on my blog: http://niklasblog.com/?p=2839 #
  • Yes! Yes! Yes! Futurama is coming back as a series! http://bit.ly/G4aAV #
  • http://twitpic.com/72rsm – Going to bed, just like our cats. #
  • Drinking Johan & Nyström's "Siddartha", an organic, green flavoured tea. #
  • Nearly wet my pants reading what Mia linked to: http://bit.ly/WXavw #
  • Thinking "Cube" earns 3/10; dodgy acting, fair direction and the script was quite bad. Bonus: the cop acting American GI lover in "Hedwig". #
  • Getting stoked to see "Cube" – http://su.pr/3IfH49 – will it fry my brains through stupidity or brighten my evening? #
  • http://twitpic.com/6z29a – Laughing! There's a nun standing by a subway ad that states GOD PROBABLY DOESN'T EXIST. #
  • http://twitpic.com/6ywlt – At work following a gruesome swim at Eriksdalsbadet. Refreshed, yet tired. #
  • It's good to see Shell getting some comeuppance for killing people in Africa: http://bit.ly/XryZX #
  • Har just postat om gudfinnsnoginte.se: http://niklasblog.com/?p=2807 – jag är antikrist. #
  • RT @moominboy: OMG! Atheist billboards are finally in Stockholm! I just took this pic! http://yfrog.com/59yrbmj #
  • http://twitpic.com/6w8×0 – Walking through a sunny Stockholm, while helping seniors find their way home. #
  • Ha! Thought I recognised Phil Oakey's vocals on Little Boots' "Symmetry". Makes me long for Giorgio Moroder's stuff. #
  • I'm happy about how Piratpartiet seemingly pulled votes from Sverigedemokraterna in this election. #eu09 #sweden #
  • http://twitpic.com/6tyz0 – It's election day for the European Parliament , which means…anarchy on models. #
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Spotify mixtape #2: shell them

So, it’s come to this again? Yep, it has. I’m restarting compilations. These will be pushed out as I feel like it, and…what happened to Spotify mixtape #1? Don’t fret, it’s here and contains the following tracks:

Spotify mixtape #1

Anyway, here’s already on to the next one!

#2 – shell them

Spotify mixtape #2

I’ve often created a lot of weird playlists and mixed compilations that have started out hard and fared even harder, but this one’s a little different, I hope. It’s compiled from scratch, made from random plays, singular trains of thought and just fairytaled-out weird stuff.

It starts easy. Will Sheff has alwyas been prone to experimenting with creating small, weird instrumental tracks that scour over his Okkervil River albums; this one segues from the absolutely brilliant “Last Love Song For Now“. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead follows in the wake of this, to Conrad Keely’s fantastic lyrics.

Still, I can’t help myself to break off from the norm and slash in one of the most melodic bands from the Swedish indie 90s pop-rock scene; this is one of Popsicle’s best tracks, from the album “Lacquer“. Checkitout.

Little Boots is one of the more interesting 80s-sounding artists I’ve heard. Backed by strong tracks she manages to churn out a few good songs on her debut album, which I think is something her biggest “opponent”, La Roux, won’t be able to do; I’m guessing she’s a one-trick pony until she proves me wrong. Still, this is not as good as Lady Gaga’s “The Fame“.

Beck and Fun Lovin’ Criminals are included as they freaking groove and rock. “High 5 (Rock The Catskills)” is a song that I’ve heard Beck play live a number of times and it’s as much Kraftwerk as it is Lightnin’ Hopkins. “Scooby Snacks” culls Tarantino like he culls old cult-films. Following the lounging tip, there’s a track by David Holmes that belongs to an Oceans 13 film, but before that, it’s Jussi Björling stealing the show with his absolutely wonderful performance of an aria from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”.

Suede. Suede, Suede. They’ve since long broken up but there was a time when their b-sides made me think of The Smiths as they equaled their a-sides in strength. “My Insatiable One1 has even been covered live by Morrissey, and can be found here.

A Hawk And A Hacksaw is an American band that plays Balkan music really well, but despite this I opted out when they visited Sweden recently. I saw them at ATP last year though, and it was supreme. Their brand new album is out soon, and this is the first single; it’s a good taster of their style.

Doves is something different. They’re one of my fave English bands but I must say, I don’t like their debut album and I’m not fond of the latest one, but I love “Some Cities” and “The Last Broadcast“. The track “Pounding” is a good example of their ethereal-yet-four-to-the-floor style. Heavenly really was a good label for them.

I remember when “Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1” dropped; it was a nice platform for bringing back the whole native tongues thing, which was definitely good at a time when rap was defined by DMX and his trite likes. This track features