MUSIC REVIEWVälkommen till RäfvbygdenRäfven2009Räfven is an eight man orchestra who started out playing in the streets as a protest against the Iraq war in spring 2003. Since then they’ve played festivals, public places, private parties and anywhere else all over Scandinavia and half of Europe. They describe their genre as “gypsy punk, bastard balkan & crash klezmer”. Whatever you call it, it makes me very happy. It makes me want to run away to a far away land and dance all night. Or at least, maybe this album is just what you need to not go crazy and do a radical thing like that.Välkommen till Räfvbygden is their first “real studio” album, which is now to my great delight available on Spotify. This and older albums can also be listened to at the official burrow, just click “music & video”.Don’t be scared off by the Swedish titles! A few songs include vocals in Swedish but most of them are instrumental and can therefore be just as appreciated no matter what language you speak. Some of my favourites are the opening track Båsmarsch, the seductive Hermelindansen and the beautiful, romantic Stellas Sång.

MUSIC REVIEW
Välkommen till Räfvbygden
Räfven
2009

Räfven is an eight man orchestra who started out playing in the streets as a protest against the Iraq war in spring 2003. Since then they’ve played festivals, public places, private parties and anywhere else all over Scandinavia and half of Europe.

They describe their genre as “gypsy punk, bastard balkan & crash klezmer”. Whatever you call it, it makes me very happy. It makes me want to run away to a far away land and dance all night. Or at least, maybe this album is just what you need to not go crazy and do a radical thing like that.

Välkommen till Räfvbygden is their first “real studio” album, which is now to my great delight available on Spotify. This and older albums can also be listened to at the official burrow, just click “music & video”.

Don’t be scared off by the Swedish titles! A few songs include vocals in Swedish but most of them are instrumental and can therefore be just as appreciated no matter what language you speak. Some of my favourites are the opening track Båsmarsch, the seductive Hermelindansen and the beautiful, romantic Stellas Sång.

MUSIC REVIEWOff The WallMichael JacksonEpic Records (1979)Sure, it’s not exactly a recent release, but one can’t disagree that Michael Jackson’s music is a current topic. And as much as Thriller is the best selling album in all of music in all of time, and as much as I love the later number one singles, lately I’ve really enjoyed his earlier album Off The Wall.You know you’ve got a really good album when you just don’t have the heart to turn the music off - and on every single track too. If it’s time to go to bed I’ve gotta hurry to press stop before the next song starts, cause if I hear just a few seconds I’ve gotta hear all of it. The opening track Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough has always been one of my favourite MJ songs.This is music that makes even me want to dance, and I never dance. It’s simply perfect, it’s rhythmic, varied and just makes it impossible to feel sad until we’re up to the beautiful She’s Out Of My Life. I love the truthfulness of keeping the emotion in this song, Michael did take after take but could never finish it without crying, and in the end they decided to just keep it on the finished record. It’s a wonderfully beautiful thing.There’s a lot to praise about the King of Pop and I’m not even close to be able to make him justice. This is just some simple appreciation of a great album published between his early work with the Jackson 5 and his later hit solo albums.

MUSIC REVIEW
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
Epic Records (1979)

Sure, it’s not exactly a recent release, but one can’t disagree that Michael Jackson’s music is a current topic. And as much as Thriller is the best selling album in all of music in all of time, and as much as I love the later number one singles, lately I’ve really enjoyed his earlier album Off The Wall.

You know you’ve got a really good album when you just don’t have the heart to turn the music off - and on every single track too. If it’s time to go to bed I’ve gotta hurry to press stop before the next song starts, cause if I hear just a few seconds I’ve gotta hear all of it. The opening track Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough has always been one of my favourite MJ songs.

This is music that makes even me want to dance, and I never dance. It’s simply perfect, it’s rhythmic, varied and just makes it impossible to feel sad until we’re up to the beautiful She’s Out Of My Life. I love the truthfulness of keeping the emotion in this song, Michael did take after take but could never finish it without crying, and in the end they decided to just keep it on the finished record. It’s a wonderfully beautiful thing.

There’s a lot to praise about the King of Pop and I’m not even close to be able to make him justice. This is just some simple appreciation of a great album published between his early work with the Jackson 5 and his later hit solo albums.

MUSIC REVIEW21st Century BreakdownGreen DayReprise RecordsHow long is it we’ve waited? Green Day’s latest album American Idiot came out in 2004, that makes it five years now. The hype has died out and the temporary fans have lost interest, but a few of us are still here to pick up the new album 21st Century Breakdown. And lucky for us that we did!I must say I didn’t dare get my expectations up for this album, because honestly, how could anything top American Idiot? Turns out Green Day have spent their five years wisely, and 21st is filled to the rim with eightteen top-quality tracks. It kind of reminds me of the old days and albums like Nimrod and Warning. Some songs actually bear a striking resemblance (see the chords and melody of the new song American Eulogy and compare it to Deadbeat Holiday from 2000, for example). But it doesn’t matter, in fact I enjoy seeing these little hints of the band we used to know pre-Idiot.One good thing about the post-Idiot era is the perfectionism of the recordings. You can definitely tell the band has moved forward musically since the old times, so really we’ve got the best from two worlds. I’ve heard some people complaining about the recycling of the rock opera concept album, but really, it doesn’t bother me. I like songs feeling like they belong together and refering to each other, making listening through the whole album a full performance rather than just a bunch of songs following randomly upon each other. I’m especially impressed with the music videos we’ve seen so far. Know Your Enemy was the first single and the video for 21 Guns was released the other day. Sure, I can see the similarities with the Idiot-videos, but the difference is these are, well, better.21 Guns felt genuine, emotional and avoided that cheesy feeling that can completely ruin a good song. (Remember Wake Me Up When September Ends? Yuck.)Let’s wrap this up before I get too carried away cause I could go on all day. Excellent album, really impressive to still be living up to the expectations following the success of American Idiot. Buy it. Listen to it. Enjoy it. Do it now.

MUSIC REVIEW
21st Century Breakdown
Green Day
Reprise Records

How long is it we’ve waited? Green Day’s latest album American Idiot came out in 2004, that makes it five years now. The hype has died out and the temporary fans have lost interest, but a few of us are still here to pick up the new album 21st Century Breakdown. And lucky for us that we did!

I must say I didn’t dare get my expectations up for this album, because honestly, how could anything top American Idiot? Turns out Green Day have spent their five years wisely, and 21st is filled to the rim with eightteen top-quality tracks. It kind of reminds me of the old days and albums like Nimrod and Warning. Some songs actually bear a striking resemblance (see the chords and melody of the new song American Eulogy and compare it to Deadbeat Holiday from 2000, for example). But it doesn’t matter, in fact I enjoy seeing these little hints of the band we used to know pre-Idiot.

One good thing about the post-Idiot era is the perfectionism of the recordings. You can definitely tell the band has moved forward musically since the old times, so really we’ve got the best from two worlds. I’ve heard some people complaining about the recycling of the rock opera concept album, but really, it doesn’t bother me. I like songs feeling like they belong together and refering to each other, making listening through the whole album a full performance rather than just a bunch of songs following randomly upon each other.

I’m especially impressed with the music videos we’ve seen so far. Know Your Enemy was the first single and the video for 21 Guns was released the other day. Sure, I can see the similarities with the Idiot-videos, but the difference is these are, well, better.
21 Guns felt genuine, emotional and avoided that cheesy feeling that can completely ruin a good song. (Remember Wake Me Up When September Ends? Yuck.)

Let’s wrap this up before I get too carried away cause I could go on all day. Excellent album, really impressive to still be living up to the expectations following the success of American Idiot. Buy it. Listen to it. Enjoy it. Do it now.

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Themed by: Hunson