For me, December usually feels like a pleasant and calm period, waiting for Christmas. People around me gets a little happier, my children think that everyday has some extra excitement, nice summaries of the year and thoughts about what has been and what is to come pop up every day in the blog reader, in the newspapers and in other media.

That is, until five or six days before Christmas eve. Then it hits me. Ouch, so little time left, so much to do. Buy things, fix things, cook, plan the holidays and so on. And the New Year-holiday is just around the corner. Well, I have of concluded that it’s all my head of course. I mean, what could really happen? Will they ban me from the stores next year because I don’t shop enough, will the family  say “Yuck!” when they taste the Christmas food or will I be less loved because I didn’t have time to send all the Christmas greetings?  A lot of noise in my head, that places me anywhere but here and now.

The question then is how I stop this endless noise going on? One way is to listen to music. But I need music that really makes me stop and listen, music that catches my attention and makes me come back to reality. For me, Mikael Herrström’s music has this effect.  Mikael has an honest and urgent voice. In an atmosphere that sometimes reminds me of Nick Cave, he presents his thoughts, and the noise disappears. And today, the day before Christmas Eve, this voice is really needed.

For many Mikael Herrström is no stranger. He has produced Thåström, Stefan Sundström, Mattias Hellberg and many others, and he has played with a lot of artists. But that he also is a solo artist, is maybe less known, and that his songs are as strong as he shows in the songs below, I really hope more people discover. The tracks come from his album “The Second Waltz”, an album where he gets help from artists like Martin Hederos, Pelle Ossler and Andreas Söderström.
If you haven’t heard it already, you should also listen to his version of Hanoi Rocks’ “Dead By X-mas”, with Martin Hederos on the piano, which I presented a couple of days ago.

Consumer Citizen
Fate & Destiny
The Second Waltz

Visit Mikael Herrström on Myspace

Joshua Homme, from Queens of the Stoneage, has run a music collective called “Desert Session”, since 1997. Musicians, mostly rock musicians, gather in the desert for a few weeks at Joshua Tree, and make music together. The results are published on a record named “Desert Session”. Among the bands and artists that have participated you’ll find Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Soundgarden and many more! A band that Joshua should invite is Dollface!

The music that Dollface delivers is a well composed rock music, that attracts me using nice Les Paul carpets and guitar melodies that floats on top of it. The vocals are very professional and with a great presence.
Listen to “Bad Boy”, which presents some kind of arranged chaos, and the first time I heard it I thought that they wouldn’t be able to sort it out…but what a great song it is!

I don’t know if it’s the band that’s behind the arrangements or if it’s the producer Henryk Lipp.  Lipp, a producer that, among others, has worked with Thåström, Sator and Håkan Hellström.

Some songs to enjoy and download:
Bad Boy
Anything Goes
Life

Visit the band:

Dollface official site
Dollface on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

(translated by Pär/Blindmen)

This is three chord rock, this is nostalgia, this is punk rock and this is truly great! The memories from my childhood room with the Swedish punk rock band Ebba Grön on loudest volume possible, charges towards me at high speed. However, this is not Ebba Grön with Thåström at the mic but Ebba with Fjodor screaming “profit” on the recording from an apartment from “Ebba the movie”!

That’s what it feels like to listen to Stefan Lundblad & Hyrda Knektar! I just enjoy it Sooo much and I’m Sooo happy that there are still artists out there creating music like this!

I’ll post three songs for download and listening. I’m afraid that the last creation “För nära kanten” (“Too close to the edge”) is of poor quality, but I’ll include it anyway… anyone who’s heard the bootleg “Where were you at -77” of the Sex Pistols will consider the song high quality stuff ;-)

Now. Turn up the volume and rock out!!!
Napalm
Det jag ser
För nära kanten

Visit the band:
The band’s web site
The band on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

(translated by Clint Hell)

Bodies started out as a tribute band for Sex Pistols and made a “copy” of Never Mind the Bollocks! Nowadays they play their own music and with the influences from Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Ramones, Thåström and others, the punk rock still plays an important part for them.
I think you’ll agree with me also that the singer Clint Hell’s sound a bit like Iggy in his voice.

With some almost classical great songs and a whole bunch of new ones on their repertoire, they have now set full speed ahead!
Listen and download three great tracks below, and head on to Bodies’ Myspace page for more downloads:

Bodies on Myspace

Blind Brother
Sweet Pain
Sicken

PUNK ROCK YEAH!!!!! My favourite is Sweet Pain!
Keep cool,
Jeppe

(translated by Pär/Blindmen)