Small Apartments: Getting there…

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When I’m thinking about how a sleeve of a Per Gessle album would look like, an almost naked Matt Lucas is maybe the last thing I’m visualizing. Well, the album is the soundtrack of Jonas Åkerlund’s movie, Small Apartments, in which the outfit we can see most often is the one you can see on the sleeve. So it’s quite evident to have Mr. Lucas like this on the cover.

 

SA_OST_cover

 

The Daily Roxette listed the tracks on the album:

1.   Franklin’s Intro (0.56)
2.   I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) -Instrumental- (2.03)
3.   Drizzle #1 (2.02)
4.   Shopping With Mother (2.36)
5.   Franklin’s Theme #1 (1.39)
6.   He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (4.18)
7.   Burned Out Heart –Instrumental- (3.37)
8.   Are You An Old Hippie, Sir? –Instrumental- (1.49)
9.   Making Love Or Expecting Rain #1 –Instrumental- (2.46)
10. Waltz For Woody (1.03)
11. Drizzle #2 (2.02)
12. C’mon (2.59)
13. Warm. Again. (4.27)
14. Drizzle #3 (2.02)
15. Drizzle #4 (0.56)
16. Week With Four Thursdays (1.54)
17. Dixy -Instrumental- (3.06)
18. Making Love Or Expecting Rain #2 –Instrumental- (4.03)
19. Double-Headed Elvis -Instrumental- (1.31)
20. Franklin’s Main Theme (6.43)
21. I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) (2.09)

 

As you can see, the list is different vs. the one you can see at the end of the movie. It excludes eg. Something in the System, Speedboat to Cuba, Late, Later on and Something Happened Today or maybe they are called Drizzle #x on the album. The songs in bold were not included in the list that appears at the end of the movie, but Per’s He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother cover can be heard on the radio, when Matt Lucas is driving the car. Unfortunately, Matt is singing along with Per, so the song itself we can enjoy when the soundtrack album is finally out. When? Aha…. ”Soon” seems to be a neverending period of time…

 

 

Two new wines in The Per Gessle Selection?

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Linda Wikström, Hotel Tylösand’s Director posted this picture on her Twitter account this afternoon. According to that – after Kurt & Lisa and Furet – there will be two new wines in The PG Selection. Both of them are called Sommartider, but one is white, the other is rosé. White wine is from – as the label says – Gros Manseng, which is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France and Sauvignon Blanc, which is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. Labels are with Mr. G’s handwriting and flower power drawings.

 

 

Sommartider_wine

Picture was shared on Linda Wikström’s Twitter.

 

According to systembolaget.se (thanks for the info to Roxette Cafe), the wines are available since 1st March, however, “The item is temporarily out of stock at supplier.” is also there as a note. So, maybe it was just an estimated date of launch. Click here for more info regarding Sommartider vitt and Sommartider rosé.

 

Update #1: according to TDR, wines are out in April or May. Per informed them about both wines being released in bag-in-boxes designed by Mr. G. They will be available at Systembolaget. Bottles will most probably be available only at restaurants, maybe only at Hotel Tylösand’s restaurant.

Update #2: Per shared the designs of the boxes. Both of them contain the lyrics of Sommartider with chords and of course with Mr. G’s handwriting.

 

sommartider_white  sommartider_rose

 

 

Interview with Maria Sörgjerd: “It was fascinating that people had travelled so far just to see Roxette”

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We interviewed Maria Sörgjerd, the author of “I en underbar ballong”, the book about Roxette fans. So here you can read the “behind the scenes” of the book.

RXB: Maria, could you tell us about you? how long have you been a Roxette fan?

As a Swedish girl, born in the mid 1970s, I couldn’t avoid Roxette when I was growing up. I have many positive memories connected to Roxette. When I was 16, I went to my first big concert: Roxette in ”Globen” 1991, the Joyride Tour. But I can’t say that I was a devoted Roxette fan back then, even though I liked their music. I became a real fan much later in life. When I was growing up I listed to all sorts of music, Neil Young, The Beatles, Abba, just to mention a few.

In the beginning of the twenty-first century, I rediscovered and upgraded music that I had listened to as a teenager, a time in life which is of great importance for one’s identity. At the same time, Marie fell ill and this affected me strongly on a personal level. I was trying to get pregnant by means of medically assisted reproduction and a test indicated that I might have problems with fertility because of a brain tumour. Fortunately, this was not the case, but I was really scared during a couple of weeks, while waiting for the test results. During this time, I listened more and more to Marie’s music and I felt that I could on some level relate to what she was going through. Small coincidences in life can make you discover new paths… My fertility issues could be solved and I am now mother of two wonderful girls, six and seven years old.

RXB: We understood that you studied (music) psychology, could you explain why and how you got the idea to write the book?

I studied psychology for two years, 1998-2000 and I wrote a major essay on the topic of music psychology. The essay was called “Auditory and visual recognition of emotional expression in performances of music”. I came up with the idea to write the book “I en underbar ballong” two and a half years ago, in the summer of  2010 when I was at a Roxette concert in Halmstad. That was when I got to know many international fans in real life, and not just over the Internet.

From my Swedish perspective, it was fascinating that people had travelled so far, from different corners of the world, from Europe, Argentina, Brazil and Russia, just to see Roxette. I had a great experience in Halmstad and it felt so huge that Roxette was back on stage again. It gave me a real energy boost.

RXB: When did you start writing the book then?

During the fall of 2010, after the concert in Halmstad, the idea to write something about Roxette grew stronger. I found inspiration through talking to my friends. At first, I aimed at writing an essay, but then the project grew bigger. I had made friends with a fan from Argentina (her name is Paula), she told me what it means to be a real Roxer.

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Gyllene Tider’s new single out on March 18, album on April 24

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EMI Sweden announced on a press release that Gyllene Tider’s new single, “Man blir yr”, will be released on March 18. The album “Dags att tänka på refrängen” will be released on April 24th.

Here is the translation of the press release:

Don’t ask us how it happened, but Gyllene Tider seems to have rested themselves into shape again.

Nine years after the comeback album “Finn 5 fel!” we get “Man blir yr”, the first teaser from the .. hm.. comeback album “Dags att tänka på refrängen”, which was recorded while it was the dreariest, darkest and coldest time of year in Christoffer Lundquist’s studio the Aerosol Grey Machine down in Skåne.

– All the songs have been written for Gyllene Tider, so the contenders for the single were razor-sharp. But that’s a good sign, says Per Gessle modestly.

One tends to agree. The rhythm section consisting of Anders Herrlin and Micke Syd is snappier than ever. Göran Fritzon’s Farfisa organ has been serviced and MP’s and Per’s guitars battle it out in stereo.

Besides, dizzieness is as you may know a famous theme in classical pop music. You don’t have to dig very deep to find Tommy Roe’s “Dizzy” and The Beatles’ “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” in every record collection worthy its name.

“Man blir yr” will be digitally released on March 18. But don’t forget to clean your record needle: the song is also going to be released on 7″ red and yellow vinyls. Back to the future!

PS: further good news for all GT fans is that the previously released CD-digipack versions of the albums “Gyllene Tider”, “Moderna Tider” and “Puls” will be also released digitally on March 18. These versions contain a number of bonus tracks that have never been released before on digital format.

GTsinglealbum