Work to live or live to work?

 Hej!

Jag har de senaste åren läst kurser och kompletterat min norska utbildning. Nu har jag skrivit en B-uppsats i historia som jag vill dela, ifall någon är intresserad. Den handlar om hur arbete och synen på arbete framställs i Hilma Angered-Strandbergs roman från 1899: Den nya världen. 

Jag lärde mig mycket och hade nöje av att skriva den. Vad arbete betyder i våra liv är ett lika aktuellt tema nu som då, och Angered-Strandbergs författarskap var som en skattkista att dyka ned i för den som vill ha förstahandsreportage om emigrant-Amerika. Man följer inte minst det inre livet hos en medveten och observant kvinna som gör ett så stort äventyr. Angered-Strandberg är den enda kvinnliga författaren som har beskrivit detta med förstahandsinformation. Att synen på arbete skiljer sig mellan USA och Sverige är också något som framgår i romanen.

Här kan du läsa uppgiften: Work to live or live to work. 

Ett läsarinlägg

Här är ett läsarinlägg jag skrev i viss frustration, som jag gärna delar här också: (från GP 22 september):

Det våras

Nu kom jag äntligen åt bloggen igen! Det var ett problem länge, men från en vanlig PC funkar det! Har börjat repa så smått med Diana, och vi hade en spelning på Tuve bibliotek där vi spelade sju nya låtar. Det var kul, båda att öva med Diana igen, och få dela dem med en lyssnande och fin publik. Sen har vi repat lite med Thomas Fridner, som Diana också spelar med i projektet "The new string theory", och här är en bild av oss på vår kära vän States50års-kalasshow på Marieholm i helgen. Där framförte vi låten "Mushroom kingdom". Vi skall spela in den hemma hos Thomas snart, så kanske den blir att lyssna på nånstans.

Det känns som det våras lite kreativt nu, och motto för året är "In omni paratus". Vill kunna hoppa på spännande saker ifall det dyker upp. I helgen skall jag på Popkollo Vuxen i Göteborg. Vill träffa fler musicerande kvinnor och ha kul med musiken, förutsättningslöst. På den lilla tiden jag har extra, alltså. Är lärare på åttio procent, mamma och student. Fast avslutar pluggande nu. Försöker grava fram littegrann mer av tid till det här som ger så mycket.

It has been a while

It has been a while since my last last update, at least musically related. I have been spending time with my family, working, reading and thinking a lot, but I have also been writing songs. So last friday, I got to play some new songs with Diana, at the cosy club #aktersalongen at the boat Marieholm. Here is a video of one of the songs: This is.

Diversity that confirms the norm

I just started watching ”Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2”. Then I stopped to write this.

This is just such a perfect example a typical Hollywood "children movie", who´s ambition
when casting the characters seems to be to make it diverse and reflect a range of different people, but the way they do it actually confirms the norm:
Look at the picture:




One, the main character is white, young male.  Then you got:
One ”old”
One black
One latino
One fat
One amimal
One woman (The Girlfriend)

They all differ in one, and only one, aspect from the male, young, white norm.

So the woman is not black. Or old.
The monkey is not a she.
This is also why you dont have four different female characters and one male.
Because that would not fit the genre. That would be a ”girls movie”. Now it´s a "children movie". But it is not neutral, it is very strongly based in old patriarchal and colonial norms.

The same patterns we find in other stories
Winnie the Pooh
Donald Duck
Peter Pan
most ot the Adam Sandler movies.
The lego movie
The Harry Potter movies (in general)
And a bunch of other films

 It´s really annoying.

I would like to have a labeling or classification on films on Netflix and Apple TV, to help me pick out better films for my children. It could be based on a count on female caracters, or use the Bechdel Test to analyze the gender balance in the movie. That is just a start, until the movie industry changes for the better in more aspects.

Check out and like the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media page for more updates on changing the male dominated movie industry.

Dimentions.

I am re-reading Eckhart Tolles "A new Earth".  I highly recommend you to read it if you have missed it. It is an amazing work of spiritual philosophy (not a new philosophy perhaps, but new metaphors made for a modern world)... a bit heavy at first, but worth the struggle. It works for religious people as well as spiritually interested non-religious people. Above all it shows you another dimension in life that we so much forget in our society. The dimension of space, silence and divinity, to be accurate ;)

Speaking about dimensions, I have removed one from my life lately, and that is social media. No Facebook or Instagram for more than a month now.  I have been active on social media at least five years; with some updates every week, and daily interactions. I am still checking in sometimes to see whats happening with my friends, like a digital ghost, reading but not interacting and no sharing. It was hard at first to ignore (and be ignored). I felt first like a very unfriendly, non-caring person, letting people down.  And later invisible, almost dead. And after that: Relief.

And now I see what I needed a break from: The ego on the Internet (in Tolles terms).  Like self designed avatars of our real selves we interact with each other, through our egos. (Probably you have to read Tolle to get this). And then there is the like-algoritm;  everything is always measured in one way of the other, it triggers our most basic needs for love and confirmation, and easily creates an addiction, and just like money, it is countable, concrete, worthless when it really matters... and you never get enough. And then there is the the filtering system on Facebook that gives you news and ads based on what you already "like" and thereby just confirm your world perspective.  I once hoped Facebook was a good place for sharing thoughts, but I think its are getting worse and worse..  And at last: The over-connection: You just can't keep up that many relationships  so communication gets superficial, included with people you have a much deeper connection with.

Some day I guess I will go back, because I miss sharing good stuff. But i don't know when, it´s quite nice to be here on the outside.

(Hey! Don't believe that all this has anything to do with the fact that I live a totally uninteresting life, and that I can't hide my age at photos anymore.  Nothing at all.. )

Recordnings

At Saturday we will record two new songs in Cezarys studio, "Pyramide" and "Love Binear". These are quite new songs, we played them at our last gig. We have been rehearsing for a while now, trying out different arrangments. Excited to see how it works!

Autumn thoughts

Some photos from our last gig, at the mini festival called "Last days of the summer" (Sommarens sista dagar):

You can see more photos from this event here. A very pleasant evening, with friends and local people filling up the restaurant and streets. Last days of summer indeed, a bit cold, and now summer is definitely over.

I´m also glad to discover we were featured in Justin Wayne Show recently (ca 17 minutes into the show) with the song "Waiting for the Rain". Over all, I am very grateful for people listening to, and spreading alternative music: Bloggers and podcasters who work nonprofit open our ears and our hearts to new music. And also people taking their time to comment when they hear something they like; like getting a mail from a lady writing after the last gig where she gave me thanks for the lovely music outside her window; it means a lot.

Because it is a struggle. Now we´re at that stage that we have tired out our Facebookfriends with band updates... and the people who actually like our page (on Facebook), cant see our updates because of the algorithms. It´s too much information out there, and I guess it´s too much music as well. It´s a jungle both for the bands and the audience. So, how and where to find "our" listeners? How do we know that what we make matters? And I´m not talking about money, we still mostly "pay to play". Well, it´s a hard, but as Elisabeth Gilbert said, on thoughts on writing: " It´s not the worlds fault that you wanted to be an artist. (.. ) so get back to work".  Quite harsh, but true. It´s a commitment. There´s nothing to do with the lousy conditions for musicians either, now in the middle of the digitalization paradigme shift. I guess it´s just to accept things as they are right now, and "get back to work".  But to be honest, it´s also a priviledge, because of what I mentioned above. To have the resources to have this expensive hobby, and to be able to take the time. And it´s a priority. (We for instance, still live in a flat one size too small.)

Swedish elections are coming up and the atmosphere is very political. For those who wonder am I supporting the Feminist Party in Sweden, because I really think it is a perspective that has been undervalued too long.

Last but not least: Here is a rehearsal studio recordning (at Cezarys studio) of a new song me and Diana performed at last gig. One take, no editing. It´s called Eagle, working title "Flying dream". Speaking about struggles and new ways to look at things, and wanting to escape from earthly problems... can´t we just do that?  The lyrics are written together with Sara Lindalen.



Or click on this Soundcloud link. 

Programmet till Sommarens Sista Dagar

Här kan du se alla sköna akter som kommer. Jag ser fram till detta, för att det är ett skönt arrangemang, och det blir spännande att framföra hela tre nya låtar för första gång. Hoppas vi ses!




English: We are playin at this event the 21st of August. I think it is a very nice arrangment and I especially look forward to playing three totally new songs in this concert!

Sommarens sista dagar

Den 21 augusti klockan 20.30 spelar vi på Enoteca Maglia
Det är en del av arrangemanget Sommarens sista dagar av Kultur 414. . Kom! Vi jobbar nu med nya låtar som vi skall testa där, jag och Diana har börjat göra viola/sångarret, och på söndag skall hela bandet repa. Ser fram emot det! Länge sedan vi har jobbat på nytt nu, så det känns spännande!

Annars har det varit en skön sommar, skönt väder, och vi har slappat av i Göteborg med mycket släkt och vänner på besök. Förra helg fick jag äran av att spela "Quest" i ett bröllop till en god väninna från Norge. Det var en riktig fin upplevelse.

Radioshow

Yesterday, we were guests at a swedish radio show called Morgon P4 Göteborg. Here you can listen to our live performances from the show:

Radioshow: En stund med Simone Says i P4

Radiogiget: Här kan ni lyssna på radioinslaget med oss! Jag är glad och tacksam för att vi fick denna chansen och erfarenheten, och en anledning att samla bandet, det var roligt att repa igen, fast jag känner att nu är det nya låtar som gäller framöver. Jag är tacksam för alla som har lyssnat och hejat på oss på Facebook mm. Här kan ni lyssna på intervjun och livelåtarna:

Radiogig!

Vi har fått förfrågan om att vara med i P4 morgon! Det lät jättekul, och en chans att nå ut till massa nya människor! Så nu har vi tagit ledig från ledigheten, och samlats och repat några gånger. Skönt att spela ihop igen. På fredag 11 juli klockan 9.30 kommer det att bli en halv timmas intervju och livespelning, det blir spännande, då får ni lyssna! Om ni vill lyssna via Internet, klicka på "Lyssna direkt" på den här länken:

Här en bild från dagens rep:

Överst fv: Diana, Martin. Nederst fv: Stefan, Camilla, Cezary. På Cezarys veranda där vi fikar innan repen.

Annars är det mycket sommarlovsaktivitet nu; familj och släkt, bad och middagar. På Instagram där jag uppdaterar rätt ofta från vardagen, namn: @simonesaying. Där finns också Diana, @didisaying. Följ oss gärna där! :)

Jag försöker få tid till att skriva på nya låtar när det blir en stund över. Det får ta den tid det tar, men kommer att bli av! :)

English: We have a radio gig at the station P4 in Sweden, half an hour interview and live playing. It will be on friday 11th of July at 9.30 (in the morning). You can listen on internet here! (Click: "lyssna direkt). 

What now?

May is soon finished. I have put the music on hold for several months now. Not really rehearsed, not taking or chasing gigs, not done any marketing or updating at soc. media etc.. Probably not smart at all, but I just need(ed) a total break. I have done other things, like; hanging out with family and friends, engaged in politics, turned fourty  .. I adopted a homeless dog from Spain, she will arrive in june, I have grown green things at my balcony, reading very different litterature, listened to different music, brainstorming everything, etc.
I have also been thinking: Was it really worth it? All that time and energy I put into music for several years?
And the music business today... it seems like a mess, it´s not fun and I really can´t relate to it att all.
I dont know, what´s worth or not. But I am still writing songs, very slowly.

Springtime!

Heading home from work today I realized I had missed the most beautiful day so far this year. A day too lovely to spend it properly: An overnatural, smokish, sunlight, so massive you want to touch it, among bare branched threes, filtering everything and everyone beautiful.
 
Perhaps it´s just me, having been stuck inside houses and my brain too long.

We have some daffodils from last spring on our balcony, they just started to bloom, all by themselves.:-D

Here is me and my little <3, at least catching some sunbeams:   

Right now..

Right now are I am happy for a coulpe of things:

*that our CD is for sale at the famous record shop Bengans in Gothenburg:

*that our song Second Call was recently played on this radiostation in Nebraska.
 
*for these nice words from the music blog Meadowmusic.s,




"The band Simone Says, hailing from Göteborg, released their debut album in December: a collection of songs with a smooth jazz-influenced pop, in a style I’m more used to hear from American bands than Swedish. They excel here, though, on a record that grows with each listen, with songs that circle around Camilla Bakke, her piano and her wonderful presence in her vocals, finely varied and coloured with violin and guitars; acoustic as well as electric ones. The seventies feel close and my thoughts go to artists like Carly Simon, Carole King, Billy Joel and to some extent Joni Mitchell. Beautiful melodies and a good variation between the groovy and the delicate on an album that feels as bright as a laidback, sunny sunday morning. Here are a few songs I have an extra soft spot for":









Now I have a week vacation... ! One of the good thing working as a teacher...
Tonight I will meet Diana and Cezary and go listen to Mariam The Believer at the jazzclub Nefertiti. And on Sunday I am going with my kids to visit my brothers family in Bergen. It´s been a long time!

And yes, I am also glad our Facebook page is growing, and the support we get there.. It helps keeping up the spirit!

Evolution

There are some really big questions behind "Evolution" and it has to do with ego and power. What happens when a person loses his/her ideals? When does a leader become a dictator, when do we lose our own grip, go corrupt, and how can we notice, when that happens?

I believe the human ego is what´s ruining the world and our lives the most, and preventing good decisions to be made. But I also believe it gets harder the more power we got. (And that´s why we need systems that distributes power. And money )

This is the first song I wrote for this album. I have been very thorough with the syllables and the rhymes, wanting to get a pounding, heartbeat-like feeling in the verses. This is the first song me and Diana did together, and we still love it, the beautiful viola solo, the atmosphere, the dramatic expression, everything. After Anders started we have put a voices in the chorus, and now there´s a whole choir, which really lifts it. So does Martins tight drums, we worked quit a lot with getting all together while rehearsing and recording. When playing it live we have often prolonged the intro with a Pink Floydish guitar solo and a bas solo, to make a desert like atmosphere. But this is a song that has sounded great with only an ukulele playing along. But here it is, our album version:




Evolution by Simone Says

You live for your mission
you live for your faith
you read all the books
and you learned all the rights
but people they are if a different mind
and you don't understand what goes on in the crowd

Once you where also a curious child
you were chasing the rainbow
your hopes were held high
I wish you'd remember the times you were best
when your happiness lied in a dead seaman´s chest

It´s not black or white
It´s not wrong or right
but you hold on, you hold on, you hold on, you hold on
you hold on far too tight

Let go of this burden
it makes you go wild
there are oceans to cross
there are mountains to climb
you're more than your power
you're scared but let go
you can´t stop the river
the water will flow

It´s not black or white
It´s not wrong or right
but you hold on, you hold on, you hold on, you hold on
you hold on far too tight
They're just asking for evolution my friend
they're just asking for evolution
They're asking for evolution my friend
they're just asking for evolution

Not black or white
Not wrong or right
but you hold on, you hold on, you hold on, you hold on
you hold on far too tight


*What triggered the writing of this song was the demonstrations in Iran in 2009, the beginning of the arabic spring. All these people silently gathering in the streets for freedom. I followed a medical student from Teheran on Twitter @NextRevolution. He was very active fighting and reporting from the field tought it obviously was of great danger for himself. He had a small daughter. Suddenly he disappeared, never to be heard of again. The 12th of September 2009 he wrote his last Tweet: Everythings going to be ok. Bless him and his daughter, I really hope they are all right. And I hope it gets better for the people in Iran.

One song

The lyrics of "Label" is about the situation when somebody close to you is judging and devaluating you, and that you should ignore that.

It seems simple, but it is not. Before you can fight this you have to detect it, and it comes in many forms. And it is often not only about one person, but also norms of a bigger society. And it might also be inside of you.

Now I want to write a lot about prejudism, feminism, normality and Simone de Beauvoir, but I will save that until a later occation.

This is a groovy, blues inspired song, and one of our best live songs. The very beginning of this song was the bas line, and that is still the fundament. In producing this it we have six choir voices, an organ and string synth in the chorus, so the sound gets really big! This is a song musicians tend to like, especially drummers and bassists, who plays so tight here btw! I like the last part of the song, I like the modulation, the guitar solo, and the choir going: It´s your loss, it´s your loss anyway. These words me and Didi have shouted out a lot, and it ALWAYS feels good, try it! :-)



(sorry, no video yet, although I have many ideas)

Label (Simone Says)

I´m kind of stuck with you and we can´t hit it off
there´s noone to turn to there´s nowhere to go
I try to ignore you but it is kind of hard
cause you keep talking all the time and try to push me down

You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
But you haven´t seen anything yet

I´m kind of stuck with you and we can´t hit it off
in the middle of the show of your big ego
I know, you´re no man who can see who I am
you are cool, you are smart, but you are missing one thing

You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
But you haven´t seen nothing yet

You´re jumping to conclusions I am not an open book
you think you know somebody just by taking one first look
I don´t care who you are I have come this far
I don´t care what you say, I move on
it´s your loss anyway
(it´s your loss, it´s your loss anyway)

You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
You put a label on my head
But you haven´t seen anything yet

New year again!

Last year was special because we made the album, it took the whole year more or less. This was all I was hoping and wishing for last new years eve, I remember it clearly. Then we also have been playing several gigs during the year. So it has been an extraordinary productive year. I am so releived we manage to finish the album, but most of all I am happy I still got a family and a job and friends left, really, I have been so focused on the music so much and so long.

I am grateful for people listening, liking, and sharing the music! And for great words, like these written by our friend Alex at his blog:

I personally think it is one of the best albums I have heard for a very long time. And believe me, when it comes to music I am very picky. The songs and lyrics are very catchy and they grow quickly on you. But besides being very well written and composed, they all have a message and a story.
Now, I am not a critic nor journalist, so I am not going deep on my review but I am definitely going to recommend this band/album and their uplifting and refreshing music. The sound is very unique and I can tell that this is only the beginning for Simone Says.

Thank you Alex! <3 It is so great when somebody sees, hears, beleives in you, and expresses this.... Original, intelligent, and "it´s getting better the more you listen", "the lyrics are great" are also things we have heard several times, and then people hear a bit different influences concerning decades, geography. I still kind of hope for something more to happen, but I also get that we have to do more marketing work to make people notice us. We have to find a way to get outsides of our own circles, outside of this city. I realize that it´s not over when the CD is out and that theres still work to do. And we´ll do some: I am so proud of this album, I can stand for every song. We beleive in it, me and significant people around me, and that gives energy to carry on. :)

Fjordenes Tidende

Here is an interview about the release in the norwegian newspaper "Fjordenes Tidende, the 16th of December:



It is about my background since childhood, and about the band now. I will translate if I get time later :)