Swedish sightseeing

I’ve only been to Sweden once and even then, I didn’t get very far into Sweden. Still, the little bit of Sweden that I did get into was very nice and it made me think that if I ever got the opportunity to get into a bit more of Sweden, then that would be something I would like to do.

Thus, since that opportunity has yet to arise, I have been exploring the country online. The best way to do this is to get a local guide to take through some of the best urban and countryside areas. And here, in the video for her song Out of Mind, Swedish songstress Tove Lo (you may remember her from such hits as Stay High) demonstrates several of the wonderful sights you can expect to enjoy when visiting her country.

True, for the first minute or so, you don’t get to see much of Sweden, because it’s mainly shot in a grey studio with her wearing a loosely fitting crop top and some underwear, but don’t let that put you off, because after that, she ventures outside onto a bridge in… maybe Stockholm or some other city. Whatevs.
I’m guessing by her continued skimpy attire that it’s during summer, which is probably when I would choose to visit, so it’s really helpful stuff.
Also, I have to find out where the shot at 1:27 is taken from too, because just look at that view. LOOK AT IT!

tovelo

And then we head out into the local woodland, where Tove demonstrates the opportunities for trail running in her Scandinavian homeland. What a great place to run.
And while the light filtering through the silver birches (yes, I know they’re pine trees, but poetic licence, ok?) is fairly spectacular and will surely be a distraction, I’d suggest that it’s hugely important not to take your eyes off the undulating mounds while you’re there.
Lest you should… fall. Or something.

And on that safety first approach, I’d suggest wearing some appropriate training shoes for added grip as well. And maybe some shorts, in case of… upper thigh sunburn. But it’s really up to you, as our hostess demonstrates.

Sweden, hey? It looks just great.

Your profile is 67% complete

Apparently, Facebook wants to know more about me. I haven’t told it where I work, what books I’ve read, what films I’ve watched and – amazingly – what music I have listened to.

music

 Wot no PanPipe Classics?

Here’s the startlingly comprehensive “first three” choice I was given to click on to update that last one. And while I’m aware that the potential pool of musical acts to choose from is near limitless, I’d dearly love to know how Mark Zuckerberg’s algorithms came up with this particular selection for me.

Lumineers, described

This is a great cartoon from Wrong Hands, the Indie example being my favourite in that it basically sums up the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons, in one handy timeline.

anatomy-of-songs

I don’t listen to Country, Blues, Pop or Classic Rock enough to comment on those particular examples, but given the unerring accuracy of the Indie one, I can only assume that they are absolutely spot on.

I await the Tall Accountant’s comment on the bottom one with eager anticipation.

Vintage Muse

Perhaps because they announced that they will have a new album out this time next year, or perhaps just because Steve Jobs’ spinny touchy wheel thing on my iPod looks really nice but doesn’t actually work every time, I ended up doing an Artists – Muse – All Songs – Random on my way into work this morning.

“I’m going to blog some vintage Muse this morning,” I thought. “People need some vintage Muse today.”
But which song to choose from the 106 that I have on my device?

Muse in Cape Town, 2008

At first, it seemed easy: Unintended was on, and as the orange sun rose over the mountains, that seemed perfect. But then there was suddenly New Born and that was great too. And then Map Of The Problematique, arguably my favourite Muse song, but quite dangerous in an overly-energetic way.

Basically, each song seemed better than the last, which is no bad way for things to be going, but which wasn’t helping with any sort of decision making. So I made a plan: whichever song was playing when I arrived at work would be the one I would share. And that was Falling Away With You.

Sadly, the only version I could find of Falling Away With You was this rather dodgy live piano cover. Complete with a lot of coughing and other audience noise. Ugh.

You deserve better. And so you get this one, with its salutary-message-shock-twist-in-the-tail ending:

According to that link at the top, Matt Bellamy has said that the new album:

…should be something that really does strip away the additional things that we’ve experimented with on the last two albums, which is electronics, symphonics and orchestral work and all that kind of stuff.

That disappoints me a little. Not because I don’t enjoy a bit of vintage Muse (see this post, for example), but because I thought that the last couple of albums were ground-breaking in the way that they dragged in all sorts of drama and showmanship on top of their rocky foundation. It was all so new, so adventurous, so different.

Not everyone liked it. But not everyone likes One Direction and they seem to do ok!!!!

I will, of course, get the new album when it comes out. It will, of course, be brilliant. But it won’t be unique. And that seems like a bit of a step backwards for me.