HEL - BLN

Cool news from Germany: HEL Looks exhibition in Berlin! Coming soon!

(Part of the Helsinki-in-Berlin-weeks.)

the great conspiracy

Recently shown OMA design.

so Marie, you don't have to wait no more, though i have quite few new year pictures. actually i don't know what happened to some pictures i thought i have taken :D anyway, berlin trip photo log follows, anyone who saw the pictures so far was amazed, and me too. thanks for the wonderful days and next time i really don't want to travel so far to see you ;)

ps.: i made this little trick to have some nice music for these photos, i hope you like it. if not, just 'mute'. and if you'd like to keep this habit, i can make it possible to post music as well... tell me how you feel about this.

A Travelling Song

I'm using the few minutes of internet connection (thanks to some unprotected wifi around... won't have a proper internet connection until the end of Feburary, buhuu) to tell you something you probably already know:

Most of you have heard about the crazy Europe trip of Brice and his crew, some of us have taken part in one or the other city...
Now the movie is finished and you can admire them here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Merci Brice!

And once again, feel free to add your year's end list...
And we're waiting for the New Year's photos! :]

Hugs to everyone from my great new flat in my great city, photos will follow!

spr*mry

Top 5 - It's all about the music 2007

Year's end is coming, what does this mean for us? Yeah right! Time for top-5-lists!
I'll make a start, feel free to edit and complete it (once again the reminder: sign in by using the address: becauseiamguest@gmail.com, password: becauseweare).
Actually, I am not too sure about a lot myself...

[Edit: oh this was hard. I guess I'll modify everything again soon.... haha]

Here we go!

Top 5 bands:

marie (spr):

1. The Arcade Fire
2. Pulp
3. Two Gallants
4. The New Pornographers
5. Malajube

michau (usual):

1. Architecture in Helsinki
2. The Knife
3. Tunng
4. Klaxons, Cansei de Ser Sexy, New Young Pony Club, Justice, MSTRKRFT, Outlines
5. Stateless
6. Xploding plastiX
7. Kashmir
8. Hermigervill
9. True Live
10. Boards of Canada

sorry, couldn't not mention any on these bands.

peter (rude):

1. The National
2. Arcade Fire
3. Elbow
4. Great Lake Swimmers
5. Kashmir

max:

1. The Mothers of Invention
2. Odean Pope Trio
3. Sublime
4. Diamanda Galas
5. The Organ

Top 5 solo:

marie (spr):

1. M. Ward
2. Bob Dylan
3. Feist
4. The Divine Comedy
5. Frida Hyvönen

michau (usual):

1. Jens Lekman, Roísín Murphy
2. Iain Archer
3. Rufus Wainwright
4. Ben Westbeech
5. Michael Ward, Patrick Watson

peter (rude):

1. Jens Friebe
2. Rufus Wainwright
3. Jens Lekman
4. Maximilian Hecker
5. Pelle Carlberg

Top 5 posthumous:

marie (spr):

1. The Beatles
2. Elliott Smith
3. Frédéric Chopin
4. Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht (Dreigroschenoper)
5. Georges Brassens

Top 5 albums:

marie (spr):

1. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
2. Two Gallants - The Scenery of Farewell (ok, this was an ep)
3. Justice - †
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
5. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

noncompetitive: Evil Kangaroo - Agent Hello In Goodbye's Sober Day :]

michau (usual):

1. Architecture in Helsinki - Fingers Crossed
2. The Knife - Silent Shout
3. Justice - †
4. Tunng - Good Arrows
5. Stateless - Stateless

peter (rude):

1. Radiohead - In the Rainbows
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. The National - The Boxer
4. Broken Social Scene presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If
5. Seabear - The Ghost that Carried Us Away

jani:

1. (shared) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
1. (shared) Panda Bear - Person Pitch
3. The National - Boxer
4. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
5. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Top 5 songs:

marie (spr):

1. The Arcade Fire - My body is a cage
2. Polarkreis 18 - Crystal Lake
3. Get Well Soon - If this hat is missing I have gone hunting
4. Kukka - Chabom (no idea when it's from, let's say from 2007...)
5. Duke Special - Our love goes deeper than that

michau (usual):

1. Jens Lekman - The Cold Swedish Winter
2. The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Heart
3. Stateless - Bloodstream
4. Klaxons - The Bouncer
5. The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home f. Patrick Watson
5. Tunng - Soup
5. Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Wirlwind (Hot Chip remix)

jani:

1. Spoon - The Underdog
2. Panda Bear - Bros
3. The National - Fake Empire
4. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
5. Cosmobile - On My Way

Top 5 loved songs:

marie (spr):

1. Justice vs. Simian - Because We Are Your Friends
2. M. Ward - Right in the head
3. Pulp - Like a friend
4. Two Gallants - Steady Rollin'
5. New Order - 1963

michau (usual):

1. Justice vs. Simian - Because We Are Your Friends
2. Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Wirlwind (Hot Chip remix)
3. Jens Lekman - The Cold Swedish Winter
4. Kashmir - Kalifornia
5. Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone

Top 5 live concerts:

marie (spr):

1. Two Gallants, Dec 15, Postbahnhof (Berlin)
2. The Decemberists, Sept 30, Postbahnhof (Berlin)
3. Risto, May 9, Vanhan Kirjastotalon Puisto (Tampere)- yeah really this was such a nice atmosphere!
4. Jan Delay, July 14, Melt! Festival (Ferropolis)
5. Art Brut, June 25, Maison de Radio France (Paris)

noncompetitive: Immergut Festival, June 1/2, Neustrelitz

michau (usual):

1. Architecture in Helsinki, 18th August, Mysłowice, Off-festival.
2. Genesis, 21st June, Katowice.
3. Klaxons, 11 November, Postbahnhof, Berlin.
4. Dick4Dick, 18th August, Mysłowice, Off-festival.
5. Leszek Możdżer, November, Łodź.

jani:

1. The Hold Steady, June 30 @ Accelerator The Big One, Stockholm
2. Dan Deacon, 22 August @ Klubi, Tampere
3. The Arcade Fire, 23 March @ Cirkus, Stockholm
4. Deerhoof (w/ Cosmobile), 10 July @ Redrum, Helsinki
5. The Flaming Lips, 6 July @ Ruisrock, Turku

noncompetitive: Immergut Festival, June 1/2, Neustrelitz

Top 5 why-on-earth-haven't-i-been-to-the-concert-concerts:

marie (spr):

1. The New Pornographers, Oct 2, Mudd Club (Berlin)
2. Rufus Wainwright, Oct 5, Volksbühne (Berlin)
3. Daft Punk, June 30, Velodrom (Berlin)
4. Simian Mobile Disco, July 14, Melt! Festival (Ferropolis)
5. Wiidakko, Oct 17, Klubi (Tampere) :)

jani:

1. Feist, 2 October @ Cirkus, Stockholm
2. Daft Punk, sometime @ somewhere

Top 5 concert venues:

marie (spr):

1. Immergut Festival, Neustrelitz
2. Postbahnhof, Berlin (have hardly been anywhere else in Berlin this year although I would have liked to see Lido)
3. Yo-Talo, Tampere
4. Maison de Radio France, Paris
5. Vanhan Kirjastotalon Puisto, Tampere (yes I really liked this ONE concert I've seen there)

jani:

1. Immergut Festival, Neustrelitz
2. Accelerator Festival, Stockholms Universitet
3. Fabryka Trzciny, Warszawa ("where's the vip-room!")
4. Cirkus, Stockholm

Top festival:

marie (spr):

Immergut Festival! but the Melt! festival is almost keeping up with it.

Top 5 Finland:

marie (spr):

1. Justice vs. Simian - Because we are your friends
2. The Fratellis - Whistle for the choir
3. Rauli Badding Somerjoki - Tähdet Tähdet
4. Paavoharju - Musta Katu
5. Scissor Sisters: I don't feel like dancing

Top 5 tops:

marie (spr):

1. Top skill brought to perfection: rushing to the bathroom between two songs during a concert
2. Top alternative festival drink: Jaloviina (beurks)
3. Top amazing additional live instruments: accordion (could hardly decide between accordion and harmonica...)
4. Top toy: last.fm software
5. Top secret favourite song: Mika - Grace Kelly
5. Top secret favourite song: Anita Ward - Ring My Bell

michau (usual):

1. Top skill brought to perfection: organising exhibitions and vernissages
2. Top shirt provider: Threadless.com
3. Top city: Copenhagen
4. Top toy: last.fm software
5. Top secret favourite song: Anita Ward - Ring My Bell

jani:

1. Top toy: Guitar Hero, last.fm software
2. Top dead Swedish guy: Ingmar Bergman
3. Top controversial concert venue: Redrum, Helsinki (perfect sound but no vision unless standing in the first row)
4. Top new indie club in Krakow: B-Side, Pl. Nowy (the competition in this category was very tough. NOT!)
5. Top secret favourite song: Ace Of Base: The Sign

super super super

we are happy land fill

underground rehearsal and strawberry-bloodspill in our favourite Café cellar;
and some midnight noise and dance on the bridges of tha beautifool Paris;

(excuse the foggy pixels, i came back to use this lousy camera you know)

in an abstract parallel, we move towards a blurred horizon in a foggy school system ruled by gangstas (a kind of mob crew who kicks us out of the building every evening), whereas work is falling like rain (some courses appear in one day, very surprising)...
that is why, i finally don't think i'll be able to join this New Year gathering that is so warmly proposed, it'll be for sure a white christmas ;]

hugs to everyone!

Puff, the magic dragon

Sorry... I just HAVE to do this second post for today. I need to share this. I discovered one of the greatest cover songs online. For free! Take this: Bonnie Prince Billy - Puff, The Magic Dragon. And listen to it for the rest of the evening.

abstract.

Adam asked me for the program of 31st. So, here we go - apart from carrying tables and cupboards from Potsdam to Berlin (no! kidding!), what about an exhibition about Finnish architecture in the DAZ (Deutsches Architektur Zentrum, German centre of architecture, who would have guessed)? Depending on when you're coming and how long you're staying that's something we should definitely do I think!

What else... I just rediscovered the Two Gallants. Great! You can listen to them on their website. Do so and then tell me if I should spend my money for the concert on Dec 15th. It's 20 € that I, actually, don't have... But I'd love to see them.
Anyway, November and December seem to be good months concerning concerts in Berlin... I recently saw Arcade Fire, Werle & Stankowski, The Klaxons (those Kunts!) and the Super Furry Animals (great! and I found the sticker that you see on the left there) live and had to resist spending my last money on Okkervil River, Fujiya & Miyagi, Gogol Bordello and there will be plenty in near future I will have to decide one hour before whether I've got time and money or not. (Oh, by the way, Iron & Wine will be playing during the time you're here... :] )

That's all for today... So long!

-spr.mry

We hate surprises!

That's why this year I'm posting the same photo as last year and that's why I'm writing something that you should already know.

Soooo... Looks like (LOOKS LIKE I said. nothing is signed yet... huh) by the end of December, I'll already be living in the best city of the world. What a perfect combination - and the participation list of New Year in Berlin (Flower would prefer Dresden...) is already long:
* Rita + Adam
* Ania + michau
* ptr
* mayyyybe Luc (you still have to persuade him
* me!
The size of my (hopefully hopefully hopefully) new room will be 22 m², so there is space for plenty of you - who feels invited has to join!

And now for those of you who didn't understand the last post: That was Michal L. And yes he's in Brasil. But back by New Year, hehe.

See you sooooon!
-m.