Smile

If I have to sum up this year in one video and one song, it has to be this one. Smile by Eyedea & Abilities. Throughout the years, quite a few artists I've been listening has passed away. But none of the others have saddened me as much as the death of Micheal "Eyedea" Larsen. There has been written so much about his death and his career this year so I will not even get into that. I will just end 2010 by saying. You'll be missed.

Movies 2010

Time again to end the chapter that is movies I've seen this year. I think it has been a good year and I have seen many good ones. Just as I've done the last 2 years, I put the movies that I liked in bold. What have been the highlight this year then? Well, I think I have to say that the favourite movie this year is R, followed by Van Diemen's Land. Worst one? Easy, that's Grown Ups.

A Film with Me in It  
Alice in Wonderland
American, The
American Hardcore
An Education
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Animal Kingdom
Antichrist
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Apocalypse of the Dead
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Astronaut's Wife, The
A-Team, The
Avatar
Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict
Beneath Still Waters  
Ben X
Big Rig
Bikur Ha-Tizmoret
Billy Elliot
Black Swan
Book of Eli, The
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
Brothers
Capitalism - A Love Story
Catfish
Cemetery Junction
Centurion
Chasing Ghosts - Beyond The Arcade
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The
C'est pas moi, je le jure!
Cold Souls
Cop Out
Crazy Heart
Crumb
Dark Lurking, The
Das Experiment
Date Night
Daybreakers
Defendor
Der Himmel Über Berlin
Despicable Me 
Devil 
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Duplicity
Easy A
Edge - Perspective on Drug Free Culture
El Laberinto del Fauno
Engelen
Epicly Later'd John Cardiel
Exam
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Expendables, The
Experiment, The
Fantastic Mr. Fox, The
Fish Tank
Following Sean
Frag
Fritt Vilt
Gadjo Dilo
Gainsbourg  
GasLand
Get Him to the Greek
Ghost Writer, The
Greenberg
Green Zone
Grown Ups  
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Hated - G.G. Allin and The Murder Junkies
High Score
History Boys, The
Hot Tub Time Machine  
Hurt Locker, The
Hype!
I'm Still Here
I Kina Spiser De Hunde
Il y a Longtemps Que Je t'aime
I Love You Phillip Morris
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The
Inception
Informant, The
Insane
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
International, The
In the Loop
Invictus
Iron Man 2
Jianyu
Jonah Hex
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Kick-Ass
Kids Are All Right, The
Killer Inside Me, The  
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, The
Lakai Fully Flared
Les Triplettes de Belleville
Life During Wartime
L'immortel
Little Children
London River
Lovely Bones, The
Machete
Man Who Souled the World, The
Mary and Max
Men Who Stare at Goats, The
Metropia
Micmacs à tire-larigot
Mr. Nobody
New York, I Love You
No Distance Left to Run
Nowhere Boy
Nude Nuns with Big Guns
Paper Man
Paranormal Activity
Party Monster
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Piranha
Precious
Predators
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Princess and the Frog, The
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
R
Rampage
Red
Repo Men
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Restrepo
Robin Hood
Runaways, The
Salt
Sauna 
Saw 
Saw II
Séraphine
Serenity
Sherlock Holmes
Shutter Island
Skyline
Social Network, The
Solomon Kane
Sommaren med Göran
Sukai Kurora
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Survival of the Dead
Taking Woodstock
Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta
There Will Be Blood
Tideland
Town, The
TRON: Legacy
Uncertainty
Until The Light Takes Us
Up
Up in the Air
Van Diemen's Land
Video Game Invasion - The History of a Global Obsession
Visitor Q
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
What About Bob?
When You're Strange
Where the Wild Things Are
Whip It
Winter's Bone
Wolfman, The
Youth in Revolt
Zombie Diaries, The
Zombies of Mass Destruction
Zombie Wars
Zombie Women of Satan

Murdock Presents John Smith - It's True Because it Rhymes

Once again it's time for some free stuff from the people at Marathon of Dope. This time it's the fourth solo album from John Smith. Its True Because It Rhymes, introduces his listeners to producer Murdock, and a new style and sound. Go here to download.

Johnny and the Bomb

Just watched the mini series Johnny and the Bomb, based on Terry Pratchett's novel by the same name. I'm a big fan of Terry's Discworld, but this is not part of it. It's still a bit charming though.

Nude Nuns with Big Guns

Nude Nuns with Big Guns

Review: Looking for a movie with a lot of nudity, guns and violence, that has no real plot and that makes fun of the Catholic church? Then look no further than to Nude Nuns with Big Guns, the latest flick from the people behind Run! Bitch Run! If you like the explotation movies from Robert Rodriquez such as Machete and Planet Terror, you know what kind of movie this is. Nude Nuns with Big Guns however lack good actors, a decent storyline and originality. This is a pure low budget copy of a movie. It is entertaining however. Far from a great movie, but enough entertainment for me on a lazy Monday evening.

Teachers

I just watched the final episode of the British television series Teachers. My friend Jessika suggested it to me and I'm glad she did. A great show. The final fourth season however was much weaker than the earlier ones so perhaps it's for the best that there never came any more seasons.

Soundtrack of Week 51

Isha - Call it a Lullaby

It's always tricky to write about records made by close friends. You don't want to hurt their feelings, but at the same time you don't want to kiss their asses either. Isha and I go back since our teens and have been good friends ever since. He's been making music in different groups and projects for many years. Now comes the time for his solo debut and I sat down with big interest. I put on my headphones, followed the lyrics and listened. I might start out at once to say that quite a few of the productions is not really in my taste. A bit too much eurodisco feel sometimes. But I also know that the choice of music and production has a point. It's Isha letting go of his need of control and move his own personal boundaries to new territories. And I accept and understand that. When it comes to the lyrics however I'm hooked. They are incredibly personal and honest. And knowing him lets me recognize a lot of what he's talking about even on my own personal level. We all have our own personal demons to fight, and even though the demons are different sometimes the struggle is alike. He never pretends he's something he's not in his lyrics and that is something I admire greatly. Call it a Lullaby is the first installement in a triology about life, Lullibies for Adults Who Never Heard 'Em as Kids. This is the childhood part. Personal favourites on the album is A Place to Call Home, Call it a Lullaby and My Friend Just Got Married. Could have done without Stay Alive though. But hey, people gotta dance to something I suppose. I don't think that Call it a Lullaby is in everyones taste musically. But I really hope that people give it a chance, because I believe that it is a beautiful project in personal expression and strife to improve one self. Hey, I guess I both dissed and kissed ass after all.

The Dark Lurking

The Dark Lurking

Review: Imagine a C-version of Aliens. Then throw in a whole lot of zombie-like beings. What do you got? The movie The Dark Lurking, also known as Alien vs. Zombies. My brother Åke was the one that told me about this movie, and once I heard about it I just knew I had to see it. Was it worth seeing then? Well, both yes and no. The acting was horrific, the storyline lame and the effects so-so. I don't really recommend it to anyone, but I still enjoyed it in some weird way. Perhaps as a counterweight to all Holiday jolliness

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Review: Time again for that Christmas tradition to go to the cinema on the morning of Christmas Eve together with my brother and my nieces. And this year it was the latest installement in The Chronicles of Narnia. Well, what can I say about it? It's a typical fantasy movie made for a quite much younger demografic than me. But I enjoyed it. It was well made and entertaining. And it's always wonderful to watch movies with loved ones. 

Merry X-Mas!

Selfhelp - Broken Shadows (b-sides)

Usually a collection of b-sides and leftover material is mostly for the diehard fans, but not much not more. That is fortunatly not the case with Selfhelps Broken Shadows (b-sides). Even though this a collection of songs that were cut from his great 2009 album Old Friends as well as various other recordings from his past, this album stands as strong as any album out there. With help from people like Thesis Sahib, mattr., Fresh Kils and Factor, Broken Shadows is a real treat to listen to. I love his vocal style and he has the right combination of beats and melodies to flow to here. My only concern might be that 20 songs are a bit too much, but still I'm impressed by the high quality throughout the album. Personal favourite? I just love Mooncat & the Girls! If you like this album, please check out his other material. Selfhelp is being slept on.

TRON: Legacy

TRON: Legacy

Review: I remember TRON from the early 80's. Back then it was really high tech and cool. But on the other hand, I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old. Loved the comic books too. So out of nostalgia I watched the new movie tonight. Bit of a waste of time though. The movie just simple bored me. A silly movie quite frankly.

Black Swan

Black Swan

Review: I'm not usually in the mood to look at dance movies, and ballet is quite far from my interests. But I decided to see Black Swan for two reasons. First off, Natalie Portman is always a delight to watch. She is one of my absolute favourite actresses. But the main reason that I sat down to watch was the director Darren Aronofsky. After the amazing work he did with Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, I was really curious to see what he would do here. And he has made a really good movie. It's dark, sometimes horrific but always beautiful. Even if it's easy perhaps to compare Black Swan and The Wrestler is certain ways, I think that they are two completely different movies. Darren Aronofsky is really a brilliant director and Natalie Portman is doing her best performance in years. A must see. And for you that still thinks that the movie sounds boring. You might want to check it out to see if there is any truth about the rumours of a girl on girl scene between Natalie and Mila Kunis. And Mila by the way is doing her best performance so far in this movie.

Wild Xmas With Bomarr

As reliable as Santa himself, Bomarr from Restiform Bodies delivers his fifth installment in Wild Xmas with Bomarr-series. And since Christmas is just around the corner I will spread the word about it. Just go to http://wildxmas.bomarr.net/ to get it, together with the earlier installments.

V8 & Shortrock - All Terrain Bathroom Tile

My man V8 & Shortrocks album All Terrain Bathroom Tile: Theories on Procreation, Chemical Science and The Draconian Law is not your everyday hip hop record. If you like soulful, smooth productions with instant hooks, this is not the record for you. If you however like your hip hop grimy, twisted and with a lot of conspiracy theories and David Icke influences, this is the record for you. Lucky for me, that is the kind of hip hop I like. It's futuristic, it's music for the next generation and it's good plain and simple. Do you like Company Flow? Then it's a big chance you like V8 & Shortrock.

Runner-Ups

I know I just posted this years top 10, but I'm not quite finished yet. I would just like to mention a couple of albums that was really close to making it into the top 10 this year.

The Glitch Mob - Drink the Sea
Invasionen - Hela Världen Brinner
Les Swashbuckling Napoleons - FUCK!
Sage Francis - Li(f)e

Insane

Insane

Review: Some movies are bad but still watchable. Others are too bad and more of a pain to watch. Unfortunatly Insane is of the later kind. First off, what is up with Swedish horror flicks? How come they mostly made in English? I mean, the actors are bad enough in the own language. To hear them act badly in English makes it even worse. And this movie as a whole is nothing more than a bad copy of the last Psycho movies. With a killer sounding like Darth Vader. A waste of time.

#1 Little Eskimo Jesus - Never Trust the People

Ira Lee and mattr. Collectively known as Little Eskimo Jesus literally blew my mind this year with their debut album Never Trust the People. This was exactly the kind of album that I'd been waiting for the last few years. The true combination of amazing, strong and human lyrics combined with the best production in a long while. Ira Lee really rips his heart and soul out on this album and talks about family, human weaknesses at the same time as he can kick the most absurd and entertaining lyrics on other tracks. It's great to see a guy who is the complete antithesis of a braindead emcee with nothing but boring macho braggadocio to show off. And mattr.s production is simply amazing. He is one of those guys who can invoke all kinds of emotions with just a few notes, and on this album he's doing it over and over again. He is without a doubt my absolute favourite producer of 2010. The follow up to Never Trust the People comes out in the beginning of 2011, and if it's anywhere half as good you'll be reading about it in my countdown at the end of next year.

Ira Lee:

"My top musical event of the year: The squat we played in Paris had a red carpet. It is the 'first show in Paris' experience every young musician dreams of.
Album of the year: The Die Antwoord and Jónsi albums. Really great stuff.
Favorite song: anything by Canadian rapper Drake. Pure comedy.
Favorite video: the Big Booty Bitches YouTube video by the two middle aged black guys. Link"

 

The Tallest Two - Let's Pretend

I just keep being amazed when it comes to the level of talent some of my friends have. This time it's my friend Erik Östholm who has made this video together with Thomas Kjellberg. Pure visual pleasure combined with a very beautiful song from The Tallest Two. Been listening to it on repeat since I first heard it.

The Tallest Two - Let's Pretend from Thomas Kjellberg on Vimeo.

Isha - Porcelain Eyes

The second video from my friend Isha's upcoming album Call it a Lullaby. Damn I'm proud of him! And what a beautiful video he has directed. Big up Salte. I want the record ASAP!

Christmas Songs from Me to You

That time a year again to post my Christmas compilation Hyvää Joulua. I've been doing that these last couple of years to combat all the regular Christmas songs. Download it here for free if you want some alternative music to listen to during the holidays.


Right click and save as: Download

Misfits Season Finale

I just watched the season finale of Misfits and I just have to say one thing. I fuckin love that show!

Fake Four Fest 2011

If I was 100% sure that I would come to heaven when I die, I would top myself right away. Then I would be able to go to Fake Four Fest 2011. Because that must be heaven right?

#2 The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

This is probably one of the records that I've listened to the most this year. Ever since I discovered The Tallest Man on Earth last year, he's been part of my daily soundtrack. I loved his debut Shallow Graves and didn't really think he could top that one. But with The Wild Hunt, this years follow up he did. And in a big way. I know all about the likeness to Bob Dylan and others, but I don't really care. You know why? Because The Tallest Man on Earth is unique in so many ways and makes amazing music whenever he picks up the guitar. He's released 2 albums and 2 EPs now under this moniker, and he has yet to release one single bad song. How many artists can say that? This Dalecarlian is someone I know I will keep following throughout my life.

What About Bob?

What About Bob?

Review: I love my friend Kristian. He is awesome in so many ways and we really share the same musical interest and the same kind of music. What is apparent though is that we don't really share the same taste in movies. He recommended this movie to me, and since I trust him I watched it. I wish I hadn't. This is the kind of movie I really, really, really don't like. Simple, hysterical comedy on a very low level. To me there exists two kinds of Bill Murray. The one before The Royal Tenenbaums, and the one after. Up until The Royal Tenenbaums I really couldn't stand him. But from that movie and onwards I really like him. I knew that before I watched this movie. So I really can't blame Kristian. I can only blame myself.

Legion

Legion

Review: A movie about angels and the apocalypse always gets my attention. Too bad the movie was not worth my attention.

Soundtrack of Week 50

Saw II

Saw II

Review: Yeah, I know I said that I probably wouldn't watch any sequels to Saw. But my friend Kristian said that Saw II would be worth watching. So, I watched it. And he was right. It was good. Not quite as good as the first one, mostly due to worse actors but still. Not disappointed.

#3 Ceschi - The One Man Band Broke Up

Here is one album that in some ways easily could have been number one on the list. And most years it probably would have been. But 2010 has been an amazing year when it comes to albums so unfortunately for Ceschi, he ended on on number 3. But that doesn't take anything away from either him or the album The One Man Band Broke Up. It is one of those albums that you listen to from beginning to end every single time and every song is a masterpiece in itself. Of course I have some personal favourites such as Half Mast, Hang Man and Bad Jokes, but like I said, every single song on this album holds its own. I won't get tired of either hearing Ceschi or The One Man Band Broke Up for a long long time.

Ceschi:

"My top musical event of this year would have to be the Guided By Voices reunion with Tobin Sprout. I feel privileged, never thought I'd see all of those classic songs from Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes performed live."

 

Saw

Saw

Review: Yeah, I know. Sometimes I'm embarrassingly slow and lazy. Like seeing Saw 6 years after it's release. Well, better late than never I guess. And now that I've seen it I can understand why it became such a success. It was really good. I totally liked it. Will probably not see the sequels though.

Skyline

Skyline

Review: Nice special effects. Interesting idea. Poor story. Bad movie.

#4 Kristoff Krane - Hunting For Father

Without taking away too much from the artists in places 5-10 this year, but I must start off by saying that the top 4 this year was by far the best albums if you ask me. I wrote about this album back in June when he released it simultaneously with the album Picking Flowers Next to Roadkill. And while the later is a good record also, Hunting for Father have continuously kept growing and growing throughout the year and I keep loving it more and more. This record is not your typical hip hop album, and it's all the more beautiful for it. It doesn't matter if Kristoff Krane flows fluently to great beats or if he picks up the guitar and sing for us. The result is still very good and I don't seem to get the least bit tired of it. He could easily have made both a very good indie pop album and a smashing hip hop album. Instead he combined them two to one amazing one. Even though he's been around for a while, it feels like he's just keep getting better and better, and I love to follow his on that journey.

When asked about his own musical highlights of the years, he says:

"My top musical event of the year was being part of the benefit for Micheal "eyedea" Larsen at
1st Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
My top album of the year is Eccee Beast by Kill The Vultures.
Favorite video of the year, Smile by Eyedea & Abilities."

Exam

Exam

Review: Exam is a psychological thriller taking place in one single room the whole movie. It's about a group of candidates that have to go through a test in order to get a job at at powerful, mysterious company. It's a just about decent British thriller. The idea of the movie is however better than the end result. Mostly because of quite crappy actors and a bit of a weak script if you ask me.

Prosperous - Fiction Overdrive

 

It's always a treat to hear new stuff from my friend Prosperous. Believe it or not, but Fiction Overdrive is his 10th solo album. This boy is productive! The thing though that sets him aside from most artists is that he keeps holding a very high standard. Here he comes with 8 songs and it's funky all the way through. And with help from producers such as Porter, SMEA and dynamo414 he can't really go wrong. Too bad though that Prosperous don't get the support that he deserves. I feel that his crew/label BriEfcAse Rockers LTD. is not doing anything for him at all. What he needs is a label that is willing to put at least a bit of effort behind him. Personally I would love to see him doing stuff with people like Milled Pavement or Mush Records. I love this record and is already looking forward to solo album number 11.

#5 cars & trains - The Roots, The Leaves

cars & trains album The Roots, The Leaves was probably the first album this year that I felt at once was going to end up as one of the best this year. There was something about it that really struck a chord with me the first time I listened to it, and it still has the same effect on me every time I listen to it. Tom Filepp, the man behind the name, makes beautiful frail music that really gets into your bones and has kind of the same effect as drugs. On me at least. And when I say drugs, I mean that I always want to listen to this album, even when I listen to others. The music is quirky, far from polished and I love it. cars & trains are the only artist coming remotely close to WHY? without sounding like a rip off. I can't think of a greater compliment to give to an artist.

Das Experiment/The Experiment

Das Experiment
The Experiment

Review:  I just spent the evening watching a movie and the remake of that same movie consecutively. I started off with the German movie Das Experiment from 2001 and ended with the American remake The Experiment from 2010. The movies are based on Mario Giordano's novel Black Box which is inspired by the events of the Stanford prison experiment that took place in 1971. The premise is that a group of men are chosen to be part of an experiment. They will take roles as guard and prisoners at a makeshift prison for 2 weeks. They will then by observed 24 hours a day in this psychological study. As you might guess, it all quickly spirals out of control. So, how were they? Well, both had it's points. Das Experiment was overall a better movie. We got more of the psychological breakdown there and it was way more heartfelt. The Experiment on the other hand skipped a lot of the deadweight that the German movie had. In both movies I felt they could have been better if they didn't have that uninteresting and unnecessary sidestory about the loveaffair. The interesting difference is that in Das Experiment you get a real lack of compassion for the main character Tarek. Highly selfish and self-absorbed. That doesn't happen in the American version. There on the other hand you get Forest Whitaker over-acting to the extreme. Not a pretty sight. If you're only going to watch one of the movies, watch Das Experiment.

#6 zoën - One Night Between

I first got aquainted with zoën a couple of years back through his and JamesPHoneys record Volume 3. After that he has kept popping up from time to time. On Noah23s Rock Paper Scissors, on 2nd Class Cititzens One by One EP and on the various installations of Goose Bumps. Early this year came his solo debut zoën. I liked it but it quite soon slipped into the back of my memory. His follow up One Night Between didn't. Here it felt like this French emcee and producer really found his place completely. Even though this is more of a production album, none of the guests take away the feeling of this being zoëns album. soso, Ceschi, Astronautalis and Andromeda Subvert as just a few of those who blessed the album with some real fine work. But it wouldn't be a great album if it wasn't for zoëns productions. Beautiful, sad and inspired melodies all throughout makes this a really high quality musical experience and the ride is not ready to stop yet.

zoën was nice enough to share his personal favourite albums of the year.
 

Ceschi - The One Man Band Broke Up
Dark Time Sunshine - Vessel
Factor - Lawson Graham
The National - High Violet
PNS & Zavala - Canciones Modernas
Iris & Arm - Les Courants Forts
Common Grackle - The Great Depression
Ira Lee - My Favorite Songs by Me

Devil

Devil

Review: Just have to start off my saying that I find one thing interesting. It seems like every now and then when I see a trailer for some horror movie with a slightly bigger budget than the average ones, M. Night Shyamalan seems to be involved with it. What amazes me is why? Except for The Sixth Sense that was released over 10 years ago, he hasn't made one original or even quite good movie since. Here he is behind the story of Devil. So what is it about? Well, a group of people stuck in an elevator and after a while realizing that the devil is one of them. And you guessed it. It's basically all about figuring out which one is the devil before it's too late for everyone. Exciting? No, not really. I guessed quite early who the devil was. But all in all an OK movie for a Wednesday evening. Not too memorable though, just like the majority of M. Night Shyamalans movies.

Séraphine

Séraphine

Review: Sometimes I just have to admit my lack of knowledge when it comes to certain cultural aspects. Before this movie I had never even heard of Séraphine Louis or Séraphine de Senlis as she is more known as. But that didn't stop me from really liking it. Yolande Moreau was brilliant in the lead and was a real treat to watch. A truly enjoyable movie.

#7 otem rellik - Elephant Graveyard

otem rellik is a guy who I've been following a bit for a couple of years now. He has never really impressed me that much though, until this year. And with Elephant Graveyard he did so in a big way. I think I have to thank my friend Kristian for really sitting down and listen to this album, and I haven't stopped listening since then. What I like about otem rellik, or Toby Hendricks as he is known by his loved ones, is that he doesn't just make hip hop for the year 2010. His music transcends those boundaries and make music for all ages with his futuristic, yet earthy sounds. This is genres blending into the kind of music that I want to see more of in the future.

otem rellik:

I think my favorite song this year has to be Safe and Sound by Electric President off their album The Violent Blue. So good.

 

Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)

Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)

Review: This movie about the life of Serge Gainsbourg has it's moments. It has humour, some interesting characters and a good cast. I like the use of his imaginary friend at first but after a while it takes over too much and blurs the line between the real and the surreal a bit too much. After a while I felt that the movie lost it's momentum sadly enough and it didn't quite get up to pace again. Still, a nice movie about a very interesting person.

GasLand

GasLand

Review: I'll just start off by saying what my man Braden Smith said: "If you have ever heard of water, watch GasLand. Please". GasLand is a documentary by Josh Fox. It deals with the natural gas drilling, or more specifically a stimulation method known as hydraulic fracturing, going on in America and the effects that it has on the watersupply in the affected areas. It's a very strong and terrifying documentary dealing with a really serious problem. Once again it shows that cash rules everything around us, even if it costs people their health and their lives. Watch this documentary!