Today, it’s been a week since the terror attacks in Norway. A very close friend of mine was killed at Utøya, and a handful of my friends were among the survivors. I wasn’t on the island myself, but I am a member of the youth organization that was attacked, and I have been to the summer camp there six before, between 2001 and 2007. On Monday, I tried to formulate my thoughts over at Chris Baxter’s blog. I still feel the same way (more…)
Archive | July, 2011
My 25 Favorite Bruce Springsteen Songs
21 JulThe death last month of Clarence Clemons, the iconic sax player of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, has affected me even more than I appreciated at the time. To sit down and listen intensely to Springsteen records wasn’t that much of a change from what I usually do – I usually play some Springsteen record on my Ipod every other day, anway – but still, it felt different now. Like I tried to articulate in my obituary, Clemons in many ways personified the energy and attitude of Bruce Springsteen’s entire act, and letting myself get immersed in those classic records to an even greater extent than usual, I was suddenly struck by a sense of loss that extended beyond that of losing an iconic sax player. It felt like I was bidding audieu to the very idea that Springsteen could ever again strive for the greatness that he captured with the E Street Band. (more…)
My Favorite Pop Culture Podcasts
8 JulLast year, I named my favorite political pundits, both as a matter of transparency (so that you would know a little bit about who shapes my opinions on American politics), and as a way to endorse their work. Now, I feel like the time has come to do the same for the pop cultural sphere. I listen to a number of culture podcasts every week, and ideas, provocations, news and views from them inform much of what I write on this blog, and often more than I remember to give them credit for. Maybe this list of five absolutely brilliant podcasts could be a start a first down-payment on my debt of gratitude. Neither of the podcasts mentioned are obscure, and you should be able to enjoy them thoroughly without prior knowledge of their dynamics, but in each case I certainly encourage you to check out their archives. They’re all golden. (more…)
Gaga, Eurovisionary
3 JulWriting about it six weeks after its release, I feel way late to the party on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. Not just because six weeks is like an eternity in a world where news cycles are measured in minutes, but because the immediate hype that surrounded it seemed to die down pretty quickly, at least here in Norway. Of course, here the album was pretty widely dismissed, with a tone closer to anger than disappointment, as something of a second-rate Madonna album, while my impression is that its reception was more tempered, and more positive, in the US. In an American context, a defense of Born This Way may seem like a needless exercise, but bear with me. (more…)
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