Found my countryside dream

Well the hunt is over. Found my place in the countryside a couple of weeks ago after years of property hunting and things are in motion as we speak (it will take a couple of weeks to clear the paperwork). The property is located in a nice little village called Stugun (population ca 650), near great fishing waters and with a mountain rising closeby (this shot shows the back of the house). It was built in the 1960s and I like that era a lot. My holiday kicks in next wednesday and then the big move is in the cards. I will have no problem finding things to do this summer and beyond, this is going to be one hell of a project. Just glad the hunt is over.

A friend of mine (hello Staffan!) actually gave me a housewarming present yesterday, a Technics Vinyl Player no less. So lucky to have such wonderful friends and I appreciate this so much. I feel pretty good about finally having a chance to be able to set up a proper music room (also called living room…). Soon I will be able to revisit the old (and not so old) Vinyl collection. This alone excites me so much that I will celebrate all this with some excellent Swedish cake tonight.

Good times.

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Happy Birthday Yuimetal

Yui Mizuni (aka Yuimetal) turns 19 today, and that is worth a mention. Whatever it is that has caused her to stand down lately in Babymetal, I hope that she is OK.

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Babymetal is a Theatrical Experience

Most people that discover Babymetal go “What the Hell is this!?”. That is just a fact. Then you are drawn in and before you know it you are lost in this magical world that only exists in their creation. It is not a band (it is a construction of parts), it is not a J-Pop outfit or a Heavy Metal thing. They called themselves Kawaii Metal (Cute Metal) in the early days, which fitted them well then. But since then they have added so much theater, created so many exceptional stages, inserted so much from the world of Classical music (intense drama and Score like moments of supreme beauty and power) that they are now occupying a world on the music scene that is theirs alone. It can simply not be duplicated. They are certainly insanely entertaining and they will blow your head off with diamond sharp riffs and rhythms that leave most Metal acts in the dust. But inserted in all this madness is that happiness, that unique thing that is a remnant from the Kawaii Metal days and that will probably be part of what they are right to the very end. A Babymetal show is nothing short of a theatrical experience. The bigger the stage, the better they are as they can take it to another level. They were always good and they will be entertaining even in clubs, but give them a big stage and you will get that extra fire and brimstone. They will probably never be a heavy touring act, it will be more exclusive and I think they will move into the big arenas pretty much everywhere given time.

I have struggled with what to say when you try to introduce them to a novice, and I do not think that I am alone in this. How on earth do you explain this in a few words? Well I think I will actually go with the term Theatrical Experience from now on. It takes hours to understand how beautiful all this is. How precious it is. I do know that old rockers like me can love this. I know that Pop fans can like it (hardly noticing that they are slipping into Metal territory here). It is a beast that has a positive message, a positive vibe. People of all ages can be drawn in. It could not have happened 40 years ago. It was a case of having a vision at the right moment (talking about the creator Kobametal now), as these very individuals was right there (both the girls and the musicians). Then they went for broke against impossible odds and they made it! 2018 has not been an easy year for them, but they are fighting on. In their own way.

We will never experience anything like this again.

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Checking out property (again)

Made another trip to check out a nice little house in Jämtland (County) today, strangely not too far from the place that I visited a couple of weeks ago. This one has maybe 300 meters to the water but you have a mountain rising at the back so it is pretty good in that regard. Very quiet neighborhood. I kind of like this place.

Interesting.

Visions of Whitesnake arrives

Got the “Visions of Whitesnake” (Wymer, 2018) book in the mail today. Neil Murray takes us through the 1978-1982 period of Whitesnake and Alan Perry and other photographers gives us plenty of eyecandy from the good old days. I do enjoy these little souveneirs, especially since I have good memories myself from those days. 130 pages of lovely nostalgia.

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Babymetal + Download = Party

As expected Babymetal got a big thumbs up by the UK crowd at the Download Festival yesterday. Again, they did not perform at the main stage, but they drew a huge audience. Imagine Babymetal being able to put on a headline show at one of these festivals in Europe. I think it will happen, it is just a matter of time. People know where the fun is.

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20 years ago

Deep Purple released “Abandon” 20 years ago this week, the second album to feature new guitarist Steve Morse and the last for keyboard maestro Jon Lord. It was a period of hard work but this lineup did what they had to do and they managed to remain at a decent level in most markets. They certainly reconquered a lot of hearts and minds and apart from Lord (RIP) they are still at it. Purple could have failed after the exit of Ritchie Blackmore in 1993 but they did not. Too much talent around for that to happen.

Respect.

(Seen here is Japanese ad for “Abandon” and album cover)

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Checking out property

Checked out a small house near water today. I enjoy these little trips. Some day I will be the happy owner of a nice place in the countryside. Note the small tree that is managing to kling on to a rock.

(Thank you Kalle)

Germany goes bonkers for Babymetal (2)

It was not the main stage of the Rock Im Park Festival, but when Babymetal took to their stage yesterday they drew a bigger crowd than to what was going on elsewhere on the festival. Clearly, at this point every major promoter in Europe must understand that this a band that everybody wants to see. Takes Babymetal about four songs to conquer any crowd and that means something. There is a buzz out there now and a buildup to 2019. I predict big things next year.

The Zeppelinfield in Nuremberg is historic ground. This is the general area where the Nazis staged their massive rallies in the 1930s. Later it has been in use for sports and music events. Deep Purple played here in 1985 on their massive reunion tour. It is good to see that the old Zeppelinfield transforms on a regular basis to a much happier place. The Rock Im Park events certainly help.

Babymetal just added their brand of happiness here in 2018.

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Germany goes bonkers for Babymetal

Well Babymetal just played a phenomenal concert a few hours ago at the Rock Am Ring Festival in Germany and the crowd loved every second of it. This is by far the best reaction that Babymetal has ever had in Germany, something is clearly happening here and you can bet your ass that the days of playing in 3,000 seaters in this country are over. Babymetal has conquered Germany. Today they will perform at the sister festival, Rock Im Park. There was a change in the line-up from the US Tour in that guitarist Leda has been replaced by Takayoshi, this sort of thing happens now and then in Babymetal in order for it to work. These guys have things to do elsewhere every now and then, but Kobametal has it all running like clockwork.

Right now, Babymetal is the best band in the world.

(Official image)

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