helium

how come no one, until now, bothered telling me about the band helium?

judging from what little i've found to listen to it has most of what i love about 90s music; the shoegazing aspect, feedback noice, lovely vocals. (oh, and it says on wikipedia that juliana hatfield's brother jason was in an early line-up of the band, before they changed their name to helium. cool, right?)

they released two albums and a few eps on matador before they split up in 1998, but singer mary timony continued to make music solo and in other constellations. this is one road i'm going to explore.

have a listen:

helium - xxx (1994)



helium - superball (1995)



helium - pat's trick (1995)



helium - honeycomb (1995)



helium - leon's space song (1997)

when i grow up

i hope you've seen i put a save bitch banner up to the left, but in case you use a feeder and never actually see my pretty little display of fun info and links, here's one more, just for you! (it almost fits too!)



i read bitch magazine as often as i can get my hands on it, which is not always cos they don't sell it in too many places here (pressbyrån centralen!) and i'm not as organized as i may seem (ahem), but i do love it. so i support it! cos the thing is, they have problems with funding and we all know what it's like in the world of publication; small, narrow magazines get put out of business while big, "broad" magazines thrive. this is why all magazines are the same.

don't tell me you haven't noticed.

so i'm putting my 5 cents in. buy the magazine, or give them a few bucks, ok? thanks!

now.

for something equally important. you know what i got in the mail today? this!



juliana hatfield's brand new memoir! it's called when i grow up and it's pretty! here, see for your self! [här på adlibris.se] now, i'm off to read it. see you when i'm done! (look! it's in the ny times.)

arachnophobia

i have a spider problem. it seems a spider has moved in to our bathroom. it has made itself a home underneath the door frame on the left, and for every passing day its net sort of advances into the room. not by much, but enough to make me a bit jumpy. see, even though i'm very much afraid of spiders, i don't mind them in my home, as long as they mind their own business and i don't have to see them very often. this fellow, however, i see every time i go into the bathroom, so we have a problem.

i won't kill it. i condemn killing spiders unless there's a really good reason to. and i'd say really good reasons for killing spiders is if they're in my bed, or if they attack me. simply being there in plain view is not a good reason. so my only option really is either to get over it, or to remove it. but that would mean i have to get within two feet of it and somehow grab it, or get over my phobia, and i can't do that. clearly.

i wonder if this particular spider is accident-prone..

testing testing

You Are 78% Indie

You're a very indie person, and admit it, you look down a little on people who strive to be normal. You'll indulge in a little mainstream pop culture every now and then. But for you, anything not indie is a guilty pleasure!

How Indie Are You?

subing

it would seem my luck has turned. today i got two calls about jobs, temporary as sub, but jobs nonetheless! now yours truly has part time sub jobs for the next four weeks and for about a week after i return from the states. yay!

the trip to slc is coming closer and it still seems quite unreal but oh so exciting. this must be a dream. pinch me!

so far so good

so, it's september now. (what?!) what better time is there to review the year so far. (stay with me here.)

so far this year i've read 23 books. i keep this information not in my brain but in my reading diary i started using in may of last year, because, obviously, who really remembers what they've read. had i not had the diary i'd never remembered what i read a month ago, let alone 6 months, or a year ago. so, yay for reading diaries! it's not a very elaborate thing, i only record title, author, date and a few key words or notes about it, so no pressure.

so in order of appearance, this is it.

1. our band could be your life by michael azerrad. this lovely little book of 500 pages is subtitled "scenes from the american indie underground 1981-1991" and covers a whole line of important bands and indie labels, starting with the d.c. hardcore scene (and sst) and moving west to olympia with k records and sub pop. some of the bands covered is black flag, minutemen, hüsker dü, sonic youth, dinosaur jr, the replacements, fugazi, beat happening and mudhoney. it's a very nerdy and really interesting book, especially if you, like me, have an insatiable need for all things music-related.
   
   
   
2. the virgin suicides by jeffrey eugencides. actually i started reading this last year when i was in glasgow, but put it down cos i found it boring. i really loved the movie so i was greatly disappointed with the book, i actually had to force myself to finish it, even if it's not very long. my tip is, watch the movie instead.
   
   
   
3. the bell jar by sylvia plath. finally i got what the title actually means! at first a bit confusing but in the end things kind of fall into place.
   
   
4. jenny by jonas gardell. i liked it before i even read it since it has my name on it, but really it didn't need that circumstance to lean on, it stands very well on its own. it's a beautifully written story. jonas is one of my favourite swedish authors in that he writes poetic and doesn't duck heavy and tragic content, such as violence, bullying, rape, abuse and the like.
   
   
5. living my life by emma goldman. what a woman! this is emma's abridged autobiography, and it's still on over 550 pages! she's truly a fascinating woman. there's a lot of late 1800-early 1900 history in here, both on russia and on the u.s. i'm no history expert of any kind but there were things in here that i've never ever heard of and that clearly has been written out of history by the people who "won". it's a personal inside account on what went on in the american workers movement during this time and on the revolution in russia and its aftermaths. it's very dense and took some time to read but it was worth it.
   
   
6. black girl/white girl by joyce carol oates. my first novel by her. has lots of contrast; white - black, rich - poor, religion - atheism, prejudice - open-mindedness, shielding - non-shielding. my strongest memory is that it was haunting.
   
   
7. bitch - in praise of difficult women by elizabeth wurtzel. at times it was a bit ranting, but mostly it's smart and interesting. it's typical wurtzel in style and with lots of pop culture. according to herself in her second memoir (more, now, again, 2001) she was high a lot of the time when writing this, but i can't really say that you can tell, except maybe for it being very long.
   
   
8. america the beautiful by moon unit zappa. i liked it! i had similarities to what francesca lia block writes and not only the setting. lots of art and music.
   
   
9. prime by poppy z brite. sequel to liquor and as everything poppy, really good.
   
   
10. soul kitchen by poppy z brite. sequel to prime and also great. poppy is one of my absolute favorite writers.
    
    
11. the gum thief by douglas coupland. oh, man. as much as i love my favorite canadian's style and books, this one was a bit of a disappointment. it's hard to describe it as strange, cos most of his stories are a bit strange, but this was stranger. it was still good, but it wasn't great, which i always expect and almost always receive from coupland.
    
    
12. special topics in calamity physics by marisha pessl. i became very infatuated with this novel. i still am! its form doesn't fit its contents, but because of that i really does; it's really a coming-of-age kind of story but in an academic form and a kind of dense but also poetic and beautiful language. there's a lot of contrasts here. also there's mystery! i don't know if the countless references to music, literature, poetry, theatre and movies (mostly old ones) are real of phony, but it doesn't really matter cos it's credible enough to work perfectly in the story.
    
    
13. the amethyst child by sarah singleton. an ok book for teenagers with everything it should have; friendship, summer holiday, parents who just don't get it, falling in love, identification.. and a cult!
    
    
14. the devil you know by poppy z brite. a collection of short stories. some good, some better.
    
    
15. this book will save your life by a.m. homes. i believe i wrote about this, yeah? i want donuts!
    
    
16. garnethill by denise mina. i rarely read crime, but i would never hesitate to pick up a novel by denise mina. i wrote about this as well, see the link above.
    
    
17. the mistress's daughter by a.m. homes. a very very honest and raw autobiography mostly revolving around her adoption and when as an adult she came in contact with her biological parents. disturbing and interesting.
    
    
18. all families are psychotic by douglas coupland. a bit crazier than usually but very sweet.
    
    
19. exile by denise mina. book no 2 in the garnethill trilogy. maureen o'donnell's crazy life continues with a new suspicious murder. well written and very thrilling.
    
    
20. resolution by denise mina. book no 3 in the garnethill trilogy. great as before.
    
    
21. moral disorder by margaret atwood. my first book by atwood. i still can't really tell what this story is actually about but i liked reading it. it's a bit fragmented and it seems like it's made up of shorter stories that wasn't really meant to go together from the beginning, maybe. there were odd things about it, like the voice of the narrator changed between first person and second person over the chapters for no apparent reason. but all in all i enjoyed it. i plan to read her more known novels (the handmaid's tale and oryx and crake) in a not so far future.
    
    
22. the brooklyn follies by paul auster. a truly awesome novel! very inspiring and extremely well written. i now have a huge crush on paul auster!
    
    
23. låt den rätte komma in by john ajvide lindqvist. an impressive vampire/horror story set in a working-class suburb to stockholm in 1981. i'm so impressed by this that i scarcely know what to say about it. it's well written, totally believable, thrilling and sweet! (available as english translation)

this is normally about what i read in a year so that must mean i get 4 months extra this year. i have a pile of book to read next (more paul auster and john ajvide lindqvist to start with) but if you should have read something really great lately, please tell me! and as for you; now you have lots to pick from. if you don't know what to read next, don't blame it on me.

still august

now i'm on season 5. or at least i should be, could i find it. so make that season 6. i'm also about to start reading paul auster's the brooklyn follies, so soon i'll know nyc from within without even having been there. comforting thought.

i'm out of words. i'm sorry.

august

if you need me, i'll probably be on my couch, dressed in what was closest to my bed, watching season 2 episodes of law & order and maybe answering the phone if it rings.

also, i think my right ear might be infected. it sucks.

being a tourist

it seems i COULD be happier! thanks to my dear dear friend dave i'm going to go to the u.s. in october! for the first time! i've been wanting this for so long!

I'M SO EXCITED I'M WRITING IN CAPITALS (and over-using exclamation marks)!

shining on

today's mail included the highly anticipated package from ye olde records containing juliana hatfield's new album plus a poster and a limited edition demos cd. i couldn't be happier!

the album how to walk away, the second to be released on her own label and officially released 19 august, is sweet, much softer than her latest (made in china, that i wrote about here). the songs feel familiar and mature. it sounds like she's shed a lot of the anger she's expressed in earlier recordings. after two listens i've fallen for the opening track the fact remains and the beautiful remember november.

also recently, it was brought to my attention that juliana's putting out a book. her memoir when i grow up is set to be released in september, and, according to amazon.com it

takes readers behind the scenes of rock life as Hatfield recounts her best and worst days, the origins of her songs, the source of her woes, and her quest to find a new purpose in life. Writing with the same talent for lyricism and poetry found in her songs, Hatfield has produced an engaging literary memoir that will resonate with anyone who's lost faith in a dream.

as you can imagine, i can hardly wait.

also, here's the in my room spread she did in spin magazine recently.

following the rules

tried to watch a scanner darkly yesterday. this is a movie that in theory really appeals to me - sci-fi, based on a novel by philip k dick, really interesting theoretical plot, directed by linklater, starring both rory cochrane (the only reason i still don't hate csi miami), woody harrelson and winona ryder - but after nearly an hour i was bored to hell! and still couldn't make out what the fuck this movie was about. and it definitely didn't pass the bechdel rule. no two women were ever even in the same frame.

so instead we watched emmet's mark, which was ok, no more no less. incidentally; it starred khandi alexander, also in csi miami. i wonder if someone's trying to tell me something. (i stopped watching it in its 5th season cos it just got worse and worse and more and more stupid stereotypic and horrible. otherwise i'm a fan of the csi series.) come to think of it, this movie was a lot like a really long episode of a police/crime tv series. anyway, the movie didn't pass the rule either, if not one no-name woman saying "hi, how's it going" to another counts as a conversation. didn't think so.

me and cds

i got emma pollock's album in the mail today. i'm gonna sleep with it tonight.

a.m. notes

i baked. a tried a new recipe. hybrid rye and wheat buns. they turned out great, and delicious! especially with cheese and marmalade. so i had my midnight snack and was supposed to go to bed after that, but, well. here we are.

read about the bechdel rule today, on bitch ph.d. it goes like this;

The rule is that movies should have 1) at least two women, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something other than a man.

sounds like a good useful instrument to make gender stereotyping and the practice to marginalize women clearer. cos you think, hey, of course a lot of movies will pass this rule. yeah, well, try it and you'll see. really, it's ridiculous. we're in the 21st century and it's not a given that two women in a movie actually talk to each other about something other than men.

i did see one film that passes the rule this weekend, the hours. i don't know why i haven't seen it before, i've even had the dvd sitting on my shelf for at least six months, but no. however, it was awesome! i loved it. beautiful, depressing - i mean in a good way, actually taking depression and being suicidal seriously - great characters. i haven't read enough of virginia woolf, i should really do that. also, nicole kidman's acting is awesome, i mean the acting over all in this film is great, but nicole's is just mind-blowing. she's SO good.

i got a package of ordered cds today, from the swedish a west side fabrication label. a great indie label! last week when i got into a nostalgic mood after buying and listening to this compilation from the label, i realized i was in love with backfish and so i ordered what the label had by them. good idea, cos all of it was really good! and i also have a crush on the label's mail-order now cos besides being quick and not expensive they sent me 5 singles extra, for free! all 5 was by other small bands from the same period as what i had ordered, so rather than just sending promotional stuff by their new bands (which i guess some label do) they must have thought "she seems to like the 90s, let's give her more 90s and maybe she'll like it too and order more!". and what do you know, i think it worked. i will definitely order more from them.

give it a listen! here's backfish's video fashion mania, not one of their better songs from what i think. there're also a few listenable pieces here.

now i'm waiting for the other packages to arrive, with even more new music. at least for my ears. i can't wait! i want it now!

i was saved by music

i struck gold! when searching for old swedish indie band suredo, that i remember having a really great song by on an old mixed tape i got from a guy i was acquainted with in high school*, i found this place; i was saved by music. it has a lot of downloads, amongst them suredo's two album and an ep by them, and lots of compilations. all in all, lots of great music! shoegazer, power pop, indie. you really need to check it out.

*this guy, martin, actually made something of himself; he's boy omega and he's not half bad :)

bargains!

what's up with placing bargain bin on the floor? a sale at one of the local record stores (not the same as last time) had me crawling on the floor again, but like the cheap bastard i am, i'm happy to. especially when finding prizes like jason loewenstein, the organ and puffin, and magazine and label compilations with great songs (i especially like this one). all in all 15 cds for 215 kr. that's like a cd and a half regular price. good work.

i hadn't heard jason loewenstein's record before (at sixes and sevens) but as you know i love sebadoh so how bad could it be? it wasn't, it turned out, in fact it's really good! you can totally hear that he's in sebadoh, but i wouldn't say his solo stuff is just like sebadoh, but familiar enough to make you feel at home and cosy.