Something old that was on the myspace blog back in the olden days

So this is what, a reblog? Found this on my computer, from january 2008:

"Italia III:

Back again from the third trip to bella Italia. This is what happened:

The evening of the 3rd of January we (that’s me, Anders and Nicko) took the plane from Bergen to London Stanstead. Here we spent the evening (and most part of the night), rating potato chips, reading rocky (me) and talking a little bit with a man from Sardegna (me again). 6-ish the next day we flew to Italy. There was fog and generally crappy weather, and also some technical failure, so we were circling over Bergamo for quite some time. This freaked me out quite a bit.

The first gig was on the 4^th. After some sleeping and eating (this is by the way two of my all time favourite things to do) we went to Morya, a bar just outside of Brescia. We played there last year also (in February), but then I was near dead from the flu, so it was nice to play there as a “real person” also. Nice gig and nice people I think.

The next day we went to Carpi, a town just outside of Modena. Really cool place called Mattatoio (this means Slaughterhouse). Some videos from this evenings gig are on youtube. Among these one where Anders is telling me how one of the songs start… I know it probably is a very bad habit to forget one’s own songs. At this gig there was quite a lot of people I’ve met before, and also some new faces: A really pretty boy on my right hand side, and a girl who knew the lyrics to the fall! This made me happy. There was also a dude there who yelled something about it being “brutto”, I think. (And just in case I’m right about this: Fuck off! I know not all can like my music, and that I in general have gotten very little bad words about it (which I think is a bit weird actually, it should be hateable enough), but when I’m doing concerts I’m actually happy, and although this old fart didn’t destroy the experience for me – not at all, he could have (for me or someone else)…And how cool is it standing safe in a crowd telling me, relatively exposed, that I suck? Does it cost you anything to just be polite? Write shit about me in your blog instead, asshole.) After the gig Enzo was DJ-ing. Tu sei perfetto!

This night we slept in a nice hotel. Nice nice nice.

The 5^th we went back to Brescia – or more precisely Nave, where we were going to do some recording with Ale. Very nice studio in quite rural surroundings. Mountains, fields and foggy, foggy days. I borrowed drums from Simone (drummer in LMALL). Grazie mille! We used 3 days on 9 songs. Mostly old ones that I think deserved a better recording (and some of you probably agree with me on this, right?). These are the songs: The Catcher, You Can’t Stop Me, Are Philosophers Lonely?, Pirate Love, Too Late For Us, You are Not Invited to my Wedding, Dogwalkin’ Summer, Give Yourself a Break, and New Dancing Shoes. Probably due for release sometime this fall. During these studio days we slept in the local priest’s apartment (no kidding!), as he was out of town. A really big flat above the church bar (!). The priest seemed like a cool guy, and he had lots of religious artefacts. I should get me some mo’ of that stuff. While in the studio Anders lost a lot of money to Nicko playing “North and South” (Yes, the NES-game)! I myself managed to beat my old record in Tetris. In the evenings Anna made fabulous food for us, even if she was quite sick. She is a great cook! All this great food means that I’m still a bit chubby… (more to love?)

As we finished all 9 songs in only 3 days, we had one extra day off, and went for a little road trip to the Garda lake. Also we went to a mall, and I bought some silver adidas superstars shoes, a ski hat and a pair of fat pants. And Coffee, and Nutella, of course.

The two last gigs was in Chieti and Rome. Further south than we’ve ever been before. Paolo (Spelo) was the driver, as Ale had to work. Long drive, and lots of nice things to see from the car. Really many tiny-tiny villages on top of little hills (“på små kullar ligger några lustiga hus”). In Chieti (or a little outside of this city) we played in a bar called Relé. Classy place! The owner, Manuela, was very nice, and we got great food and wine. I managed to knock over my glass and made a mess, of course. Both southern gigs was with an Italian band called The Calorifer is very Hot! This night they played before us, and then in Rome the opposite way around. They are only 2 people on stage, but it works like hell! And they are good on CD too (they also recorded with Ale). Not many people for this gig, and I found it a bit hard to know if people liked it, but we had finished they wanted more songs (some of them did, anyway), so I guess it was ok! Talked with some nice people afterwards also. For some reason many Italians ask me for my age. Do you get disappointed when I say I’m 25? I hope not. One thing that is really cool about Italians is that they almost never ask what else you do in life, or talks a lot about jobs. In Norway that’s always question nr. 2 (after the name maybe?), and I don’t like being rated based on this. Also I doubt people are really that interested in what I’m “really” doing. So: copy the Italians, people!

This night we slept in an apartment that was Manuelas grandmothers. It’s one of the nicest places I’ve ever slept! Also she has five (!) cats, and I got to say hi to a couple! For me this is perfect.

Then it was time for Rome. I think Rome has too many cars, and I can’t see how people living there can manage to drive there every day, at least without some sort of benzodiazepines… Me and Anders did some acoustic songs at some sort of Fair-trade-food conference (yes?), and Spelo talked about the label My honey, and honey. His dad’s got lots of bees, and makes honey (Spelo’s dad is really cool, by the way). It was weird (not bad weird, just weird).

The evenings gig was at a very dirty place called traffic. Quite a lot of people, and some seemed to quite like it. A pretty girl danced in front of the stage. I had a little bit of a cold, so after the show my voice was very “sexy”… This night we slept at the most shitty place ever.

Back in Brescia on the next evening we got lots of great food, and a really nice cake from Ale and Anna. Some of their friends were also there. Kind people all of them, and it was sad to say goodbye. Spelo gave us some honey! Yeah!

The worst with these trips is always having to say goodbye to Ale. This summer it was easier, ‘cause I knew I’d see him again in Copenhagen. Now it was harder…

The flight home was boring, and there were stupid people all around us. I feel that no matter where I’m going, or what kind of public transportation I’m on, I’m always stuck with some sort of people that are either annoying or stupid or evil (or a combination of these). On the train home there were two guys that, at best, would work as living adverts for contraception. 

I can’t wait to go back!

Forresten: ble omtalt i urørt-panelet den 9. jan. Om noen skulle være interessert i å høre hva en litt muggen dame og en kul fyr syntes om ”I wanna be your cat”. Egentlig ble jeg i litt dårlig humør av det (ikke pga den kule duden), men så fant jeg ut at nevnte fyr var med i reprise, og da steg hans vurdering så jævla mye sånn verdimessig (for meg) at nevnte dame kan hate på meg så mye hun vil, og mer til! Haha!" 

Through the Night

So, after last years hiatus Soda Fountain Rag has in fact recorded a song for christmas this year. Made it this morning in bed, and recorded the rest of the day.



Lyrics:

Through the night you’re sitting in your window sill

Staring, your eyes end up dry and red

True, the night might reveal some secrets, but

All in all, all that you knew is dead

And you’ve been lonely for days now

Do you still recall how the snow

Melts when it lands on your nose and on your cheeks and

The cold wind blows you home

Through the night staring into darkness

The mountains behind you are strangers now

Seven seas lie around your cottage

They’re hidden beneath 100 tons of snow

And you’ve been lonely for weeks now

Do you see how this year will end?

The snow is the lock on your door now

In the spring you might open it again

But you’ve already moved 

a 1000 meters towards the

Heaven you never could see

a 1000 meters towards the

end.  And through the night you are dreaming

Of evenings long gone, you can see them now

Close your eyes can you smell the way

That it used to be endlessly long from now

And you’ve been lonely for years now

But the darkness is closing in

Still you are closer to heaven

To the ones that you never thought would win.

Work

This is a new old song. New for you, old for me. It's in...hmmm... 7/8, that's a bit weird, and probably something I'll do only once. It was thought as a sort of sequel to "Army of Silent Kids" and a prequel to "Revenge". Needless to say, I was not a happy camper whilst writing this song - probably dreaming of the job I actually have now, thinking it would never happen. So, basically, I'm living the dream now.

All jobs mentioned are things I wanted to be when I grew up, at one time or another.


It goes a little smthg like this:

Work 

Dreams, where did you go?

Work, what did I know?

All I wanted was to live OK

Dreams, where did you go?

Work, who could have known?

Should have kept the dream of

Becoming a

Carpenter, dancer,

A professor of astronomy,

Writer, Egyptologist

Carpenter, dancer

A professor of astronomy,

Writer, archaeologist

Home, where did you go?

Peace, how could I know?

All I wanted was to live OK

How fast can I run far?

There’s no more fun

Time erased the dream of

Becoming a

Carpenter, dancer,

A professor of astronomy,

Writer, Egyptologist

Carpenter, dancer,

A professor of astronomy,

Writer, archaeologist

Teachers please read my lips

‘Cause you thought me NOTHING!

Always an empty stare

Always overlooking

Torture for little kids

A playground

A minefield

Gave your silent support

To some vulgar Darwinism

Dreams, where did you go?

Work, what did I know?

All I wanted was to live OK

Dreams, where did you go?

Work, who could have known?

Should have kept the dream of

Becoming someone

Mitt fjell

Det er litt som at jeg har gjenoppdaget fjellet mitt denne sommeren. Har aldri gått så mye og så langt og så lenge som nå. Det er fint å gå alene, for hvis jeg plutselig blir veldig glad kan jeg bare løpe nedover fjellsidene uten å måtte vente på noen, og jeg kan stoppe for å twitre noe veldig viktig uten at noen må vente på meg av den grunn. Disse to bildene er fra toppen av Nevelfjellet, hvor jeg var for første gang i dag. Det er 1089 meter høyt, og jeg tror det er den fineste plassen jeg har vært i løpet av disse dagene. Eller altså, selve toppen av fjellet var jo rimelig standard forblåst gress og steiner og denslags, men utsikten var kanskje noe av det fineste jeg har sett. Det er så stort der! Alt er stort.
Det var vel på vei ned fra fjellet i retning Pellestova at jeg begynte å tenke på disse kjempene på Ettinsmoor. Jeg var enormt opphengt i Narnia som barn ser dere. En ting som er gøy er i den gamle serien som ble laget av Sølvstolen så er det likesom de brukte opp alle pengene i budsjettet før de kom på at de trengte en diger slange til slutten. Det ser litt ut som de har sydd den på samsen. Og resten av den serien er jo ikke sååå ille, synes å huske at Father Time var ganske fin. Men han er jo bare en diger dude som sover i fjellet. Anyway...
Jeg tenkte så mye på Narnia at jeg begynte å se Prince Caspian da jeg kom hjem. Nå er jeg halvveis, og tenker jeg ser den ferdig etterpå.

Det er litt stilig at den hytten er rimelig godt skjult når man kommer ned fra det siste fjellet. Jeg sto og kopte lenge på toppen av Sjusjøfjell i dag for å se om jeg kunne se den, men den ligger vel for nærme basen av fjellet, eller hva man nu skal kalle det, og dessuten er den grønn, og jeg er nærsynt - i.e. det var rimelig stødig hybris å tro at jeg skulle kunne se noe.

Men på den andre siden er det sånn:

Vi har mormors gamle fotoalbum her oppe som jeg alltid pleier å se i. Fant et trivelig bilde av meg og pappa på toppen av Sjusjøfjellet en høstferie. Jeg gjetter på at det er i 1988 eller 1989. Mulig 89 for jeg får en sånn skuffa-over-skolen-feeling når jeg ser bildet, og jeg begynte på skolen da. Jeg er stilig antrukket i lue med navnet på avisen som pappa var redaktør i. Skulle ønske jeg hadde kapret den boblejakken før den forsvant, men jeg har i alle fall mammas blå (den med BD-merket). Shit, den har jeg tråkket rundt i i mange år nå. 

En slags fun fact er det at på det tidspunktet bildet ble tatt likte jeg ikke blåbær. Jeg likte ingen bær faktisk, til min mormors store sorg. For henne var sommeren jordbær. Derfor tenker jeg alltid på henne når jeg spiser jordbær nå, og jeg skulle ønske himmelen fantes og at hun kunne se det.

Også fant jeg dette bildet, som jeg syntes var så fint, for det er likesom den følelsen der jeg har hatt litt når jeg har vært her nå. Pappa lagde den dammen til meg og den var fin og vasse i og å seile med båter i og lage små brygger og sånt. Jeg har vel de båtene ennå, jeg kaster jo ingenting som betyr noe.

I det siste har det vært rumpetroll i dammen, men ikke i år. Et år kunne vi følge med på hele greien, når de får bein og sånt. Vi pleide å hente inn rumpetroll i barnehagen, det er sikkert derfor jeg liker dem så godt. Jeg har lyst til å bo et sted med rumpetrolldam.

Masse kjærleik,
Soda

Minner fra 1916

Det er mye rart her oppe. I dag ble jeg sittende og lese i min gammeltante Maries minnebok fra 1916. Det følgende er altså betraktninger fra folk som var rundt 16-18 år da. 

Første minne er en smule dystert kanskje, og jeg håper nesten at jeg tolker håndskriften feil her:

Pas vel paa din ungdom imens du har den,

ti ungdommen kommer ei mere igjen.

Naar æren (?) er borte du har den ei mer,

Da maa du dig skamme for hvem som dig ser.

Og deretter ønskes man Ljos Framtid…

Oppfordringene om å bli godt gift er mange, denne er vel den vanligste:

Marie nu og Marie altid

Hogstad nu, men ikke altid.

Men det kan jo sies på andre måter også: Fem ord vil jeg dig sige; du maa ei peppermø blive. 

Nu er du snart atten aar,

Jeg haaper og spaar,

At inden du naar

Dit 25de aar, en mand og

En flok unger ved siden av dig gaar.

Atter andre oppfordrer til å giftes "fort og braat":

Elsk din mand og stop hans hoser saa skal du vandre på røde roser. Enkelt råd. Lett å gjennomføre òg.

Blant alle disse, kommer minnet fra Anna som et friskt pust nærmest:

Tante Marie forble ugift, hun arbeidet på meieriet på Lillehammer.

Ellers er det mye som kretser rundt tematikken «Nyt ungdommen mens du har den, det kommer til å bli helt jævlig senere»:

To unger kommer også med noen visdomsord. Jeg har på følelsen at de freestyler litt: 

Ellers er det mye relativt emoe greier, av typen "det eneste sikre i livet er vuggen og graven" - det er som jeg skulle skrevet det selv. 

Avslutter med min absolutte favoritt: 

Fikk lyst til å hilse på Halvor.

Push Undo

Hello people!

I made/recorded a song this tuesday. This is it:

Sleepwalking, late evening

Cars rest, the sun is going down

Walking backwards to see where I was before

How can I run away if I see you every day?

It reminds me how I failed, oooh

Dogs bark

The night’s dark

I search for something I forgot

And now I’m lost and alone

And I’m probably drunk

Did you see where I went when I left?

Was I angry?

Was I sad?

Did you see?

Could you see?

Can you

Force me along take me home

Keep me safe and dry and warm

Tell me tales to FORGET

Where I WAS BEFORE

Distract me from the sights

Then pretend we didn’t fight

Then pretend it is ok… 

I had a vague idea that I'd mix it some more and such, but let's be honest: I don't know how to do that. 

A good thing tho': I had a lot of fun making it. Maybe I will remember this and make some more. 

Have a good evening!

Soda

Sandbay, baby.

Just thought I could post the songs from soundcloud that I didn't care to post here when I uploaded them.

Other News: I moved from Osterøy to Bergen again - currently living in my favourite neighbourhood Sandviken. The house is like a home for the elderly transformed to apartments. It fits me perfectly. I am an old lady. I do crossword puzzles. Trying to study math and physics but it's hard as I'm sick all the time. Don't know if I'll have a job in the fall. Don't know what I'm going to do this summer. Don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. The former life fell apart, just as Soda Fountain Rag did. I thought I could keep the band together, but other forces thought otherwise. So that didn't happen.

But: I will be playing in Sweden this summer - hopefully with a dude on guitar - we haven't practiced yet. I assume it will be lo-fi-er, but I also assume it will be nice. I miss music and gigs. It made sense.

Hopefully I will start making songs again.
Maybe even write a bit here every now and then. As non-norwegians miss out on a Lot Of Whining on Twitter.
Hopefully life will start making sense again.

Haha, as if it ever made sense!
But you know...more than now.

Love you all - yes, you too!

Rag