North

All Places, Infinite Time

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:08:25 +0000

Hi - I have a personal message for North readers at the end of this blog entry. But first read about my latest exploits:

This year at the non-corporate Oslo music festival By;Alarm (which occurs at exactly the same time as the more commercial music festival By:Larm), Dacianos played at Mir, but the band was reduced to... well, just me.

'The rest of the band are in jail,' I announced at the start of the show. I had seen some guy on stage say this years ago, can't remember who, but it's a good way to start.

Premium Bananas Music Hall

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:23:53 +0000

About a year and a half ago, artists Trond Arne Vangen and Frode Fivel completely changed our bar with cardboard and convincingly made it look like an old-fashioned bar with old-style wood furnishings. Now the duo are back with more cardboard, with a concept based on a banana box. I've got some photos here, which should show you (especially readers who have been here) how dramatic a change this is to the normal use of the space.

Wollstonecraft's Letters

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:53:02 +0000

Mary Wollstonecraft, remembered for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and for having died from giving birth to Mary Shelley, also travelled through Scandinavia in the summer of 1795, and wrote of her experiences in Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which I've been reading. Here's some excerpts for you...

Norwegian invention: The Cheese Slicer

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:18:15 +0000

The Norwegian Thor Bjørklund (1889-1975), like Jesus, was a once humble carpenter, until he was gripped by a visionary thought...

The Arm

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:59:41 +0000

'Don't make fun of the Arm!' Tori warned, as I departed from the museum.

But I have no intention of doing so. I'm a great admirer of the Arm, in all its blue, grey and silver majesty.

Norwegian invention? The Paper Clip

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:33:37 +0000

North is back from its unplanned hiatus (I was recording music: a still-unfinished Dacianos innspilling) and I type this as parked cars disappear beneath the white blankets of snow and the air is filled with small white angels falling in heavenly silence. Or something. Anyhow, as the winter bites and the outskirts of the city fall prey to Polar Bear attacks, I fearlessly report to you, my worldwide readership, on one of the most controversial subjects in Norwegian culture: the invention of the paperclip.

Aye, the paperclip. Binders it's called in Norwegian. Why is it so important to Norway? There was a 7-metre paperclip erected as a monument to it in 1989, Norwegian patriots during the Nazi occupation wore paperclips in the 1940s, and I even found a paperclip in the shower the other day. The paperclip lies at the heart of the Norwegian experience - yet there is great uncertainty about it. The Norwegian-ness of the object is shrouded in considerable doubt.

Statistic Time Again

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:13:39 +0000

About once a year, I almost gaze down from my Arctic tower to the (alleged) world below, but then I realize I don't need to do this, because my loyal servants are able to fax me statistics upon which I can pontificate (if, that is, I feel like pontificating). This year, I'll fill you in on gross national income, press freedom and higher education, three subjects you are no doubt fascinated by.

We Celebrated No Music Day

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:29:03 +0000

Yes, No Music Day came around on 21 November (this past weekend) and we put on an event to honour it. The brainchild of KLF/K-Foundation musician/artist Bill Drummond, ours was one of a number of No Music events worldwide, as listed on the17.org and penkilnburn.com, the main event being in Brazil this year.

What's No Music Day?

Stayin' Alive with Masselys in Berlin

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:21:19 +0000

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'!

I was in Berlin for a whirlwind overdrive week in late October with the Norwegian band Masselys. This is the band Bjarne, Jomba and Kjell-Olav formed earlier this year when Salvatore split up. The band also consists of Jonas (from 120 Days) and a singer called P.A. with no previous records. I was with them to play on the album they were recording with German producer Boris Wilsdorf, who famously records and mixes Einstürzende Neubauten. andereBaustelle Tonstudio was a studio with a difference, as you can see from the metal hanging behind the drumkit. During the week I also got to see much more of Berlin, so I've revised my opinion of the city from last time. Come join me on this musical travelogue...

UNiK

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:17:58 +0000

You may remember that back in April and May 2007 I reported on the plight of small businesses in my part of Oslo (Grünerløkka). Since then, over 70 of these businesses - including Sound of Mu (pictured) - have banded together to form an organization called UNiK, which even has a discount card for sale.

The Norwegian Way

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:43:50 +0000

Is there anything about Norway I am reticent to investigate? Certainly not. On North I get ever closer to the heart of the matter, and tonight I reveal something very essential to this depopulated Scandinavian nation.

I don't know whether tonight's subject is a Norwegian invention or a Norwegian cultural practice, but it's something you have to learn if you live here: how to open a beer bottle, the Norwegian way.

Gaze upon the picture above. See the beer bottle? It isn't open. There is beer inside. We need to get the beer out. This is not an Australian-style screw-top bottle, so you can't use the palm of your hand. And don't use your teeth, you reckless idiot! And no no no you cannot resort to using a bottle opener; that might be all well and good inside the E.U. but it is not the Norwegian way.

I'll tell you what you need.

Norwegian invention: The Treadle Pump

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:29:21 +0000

(Photo: Design for the other 90%)

I'm adding 'Norwegian inventions' as a new category in the North blog. There aren't going to be that many inventions to cover, but this must surely be the greatest: the treadle pump, invented by Norwegian Gunnar Bårnes in 1980.

Dacianos in Skien

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:18:41 +0000

(click for closeup)

On 4 October I took my third trip this year to Skien with the Sound of Mu collective... This time it was the "finisage" of the summer-long Tempo Skien art festival. We converted an extremely commercial-looking venue into a more appealing "cabaret" with fake trees. Two of our bands played: Jae and Dacianos.

The Blather North Podcast #3

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:12:46 +0000

Barry Kavanagh interviews the Norwegian artist Trond Arne Vangen.

Mp3 5 min 15 sec.

Recorded by Barry Kavanagh and edited by John Birger Wormdahl.
The editors of Blather.net offer no apologies for the content of this podcast.

Update August 2009: owing to Capricorn entering Leo in the fifth house one too many times, this podcast is no longer available.

The New Dealers

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:20:44 +0000

In this page of the newspaper Østkantavisa you can see my street, and my local grocery store. If you click the image it'll enlarge, and you'll see that above the shop is a banner with the words "Vi bor her. Vis ser deg. Ikke kjøp dopet ditt her!", which means "We live here. We see you. Don't buy your drugs here!"