the open road

Alibi

2009-07-21T19:20:00.001+02:00

There's no good video or audio for this song but here's a solo live version:

Mountain Goats appreciation month #12

2009-07-20T19:13:00.002+02:00

It's been officially more than a month that I started my "Mountain Goats appreciation month" but I'll continue for a little while longer anyway since I just feel like it.
Today's song it called Alibi and is from the Babylon Springs EP. The meaning is obvious, although if you listen closely you can notice the doubting undertones (but maybe that's just me).

Alibi

I got off work just past 11
Laid one finger to the breeze
You can almost taste the action
On nights like these

Trees were bending in the wind
And you were 40 miles away
And I was headed your direction
I'd been waiting all day, I'd been waiting all day

Moon over West Covina
Was huge and white
And I was like a patient on a table
Headed toward the light
Leaned toward the center divider
Feel the wind in my hair
Keep a light up in your window
I'm gonna be right there, I'm gonna be right there
With a gleam in my eye
and an almost airtight alibi

Down by the Chemistry building
I found a quiet place to park
And I made my way down the street toward your place
Stepping lightly in the dark
Climbed the steps up to your doorway
Like a man prepared to jump beneath a train
It's real warm outside tonight
Maybe tomorrow it rains, maybe tomorrow it rains

Inside your room we shut the window
And we turned on a fan
And we lay there together in the darkness
I can keep a secret if you can
Finishing one another's sentences
Like a pair of identical twins
Your boyfriend's out of town until Tuesday
And nobody saw me come in, nobody saw me come in

With a gleam in my eye and an almost airtight alibi

Michael Myers Resplendent

2009-07-11T16:09:00.000+02:00

audio only (demo version)

Mountain Goats appreciation month #11

2009-07-10T10:01:00.002+02:00

This is one of John Darnielle's newer songs from the 2008 album "Heretic Pride". I like it for its sound and the chorus lyrics (you should really listen to it). If you take the story it tells then it's about the death of Michael Myers in "Halloween II" and/or the actor playing it. (John has this fascination among other things with horror movies and monsters.)
JB says the song is arguably "about a negative epiphany arrived at through the glory of progressive trance." I like that.

Michael Myers Resplendent

I am ready for my close up today
Too long I've let my self-respect stand in my way
Well the prom queen's caught in the high beams
And the strings keen it's a big scene

But when the house goes up in flames
No one emerges triumphantly from it
When the scum begins to circle the drain
Everybody loves a winner

I spent eight hours in my make-up chair
Waxed my chest and shaved off all my hair
Well the fire's bright and the frame's tight
Try to get right while we've still got light

But when the house goes up in flames
No one emerges triumphantly from it
When the scum begins to circle the drain
Everybody loves a winner

So Desperate

2009-07-09T21:17:00.002+02:00

audio only

Mountain Goats appreciation month #10

2009-07-08T21:13:00.000+02:00

JD wrote that is "a love song about people who're involved with each other when they probably shouldn't be."

So Desperate

We were parked in your car
In our neutral meeting place
The Episcopalian church yard
I had things I had been meaning to say
But in the dazzling winter sunlight
I could feel them melt away
And through the warm radio static
I couldn’t hear my stage directions
And the fog on the windshield obscured our sad reflections

I felt so desperate
In your arms
I felt so desperate
In your arms

We were parked near some trees
And the moonlight soaked the branches in ever deepening degrees
Had my hand in your hair
Trying to keep my cool
Til it became to much to bear
When we cracked the windows open
Well the air was just so sweet
We could hear the cars ten feet away
Out there on the street

I felt so desperate
In your arms
I felt so desperate
In your arms

Mountain Goats appreciation month #9

2009-07-01T19:35:00.003+02:00

After talking about a Mountain Goats song that's actually an Extra Glenns song I'm going to take it one step further now and talk about a cover song next.
It's an acoustic cover/mashup of "The boys are back in town"(Thin Lizzy) and "Ignition [Remix]" (R.Kelly).
As it's not a Mountain Goats song it's not about fucked up people in fucked up situations! Great, huh!

Listen to it here:

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

or here:
the Mountain Goats - The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy)

I'm posting the lyrics anyway:

Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys who had been away
Hadn't changed, hadn't much to say
I still think those guys are great

They were asking if you'd been around
How you was, where you could be found
Told 'em you were living downtown
Driving all the old men crazy

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
The boys are back in town
(the boys are back in town)

You remember that chick who used to dance a lot?
Every night she'd be on the floor, shaking what she'd got
Man, when I tell you was cool, she was red hot
I mean, she was steaming

And that time over at Johnny's place
Well this chick she got up and she slapped Johnny's face
Man, we just fell about the place
If that chick don't wanna know, then forget her

G
The boys are back in town
(the boys are back in town)
the boys are back in town
(the boys are back in town)

Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town
Spread the word around

Friday night they'll be dressed to kill
Down at Dino's bar and grill
Drink will flow and blood will spill
And if the boys wanna fight, you better let 'em

That jukebox in the corner blasting out my favorite song
The nights are getting warmer, it won't be long
Won't be long till summer comes
Now that the boys are here again

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
I said the boys are back in town

The boys are back in town
(the boys are back, the boys are back, the boys are back)
The boys are back in town, yeah

It's the remix to ignition

Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin' that body
Got every man in here wishin'
Sippin' on Coke and rum
I'm like so what I'm drunk
It's the freakin' weekend baby
I'm about to have me some fun

Crystal poppin in the stretch navigator
We got food everywhere
as if this party was catered
Fellas on my left
And honeys to my right
You put em both together
And we'll party all night, yeah.

Mountain Goats appreciation month #8

2009-06-29T18:52:00.000+02:00

I have to explain a few things about this song: First of all, "officially" it's not a Mountain Goats song but rather by the "Extra Glenns" - a side project of John Darnielle. Nevertheless, John sometimes sings this one at Mountain Goats concerts as well.
Secondly, it's part of the "Going to ..." series of songs. The "Going to" series basically deals with the notion that people think going to other places will change anything, e.g. improve an relationship, when it does not. There are roughly about 45 "Going to" songs so far that John wrote.
Let's turn to the song. It actually seems very similar to "No Children" to me, maybe not as extreme (or some time before in the chronology of things). Still the idea is that it's about a dysfunctional relationship. Though in this case one where there's still some feeling that just doesn't go away.
I especially love the line "our love is like Jesus, but worse, though you seal the cave up where you've lain its body, it rises." Pure genius!
By the way: I formed the theory that all Mountain Goats songs are about fucked up people in fucked up situations! I think that summons it up quite nicely. You agree?

Going to Marrakesh

The fog is lifting from the water
the bells are sounding on the boats
and our love is a monster plain and simple
though you weigh it down with stones to try to drown it
it floats
it floats.

The day of reckoning is coming
faster than anyone here realizes
and our love is like Jesus, but worse
though you seal the cave up where you've lain its body
it rises
it rises.

I keep waiting for our love to die
the machines by its bed dim and flicker, but it won't stay dead
and it perks up when the nurses bring its medication by.

I wish our love could go the way of all flesh
but it's not right, and its not nice
to try and kill the same thing twice
would you pack your things?
We are going to Marrakesh!

Love Love Love

2009-06-28T19:44:00.000+02:00

audio only

audio only (live)

Mountain Goats appreciation month #7

2009-06-27T19:34:00.000+02:00

Another complicated love song by the Mountain Goats. I'm not going to explain all the references (google is your friend!). In fact, I'm not going to explain this song at all! Try to listen to it and find your own meaning.
However, I found this Nietzsche quote in reference to this song and found it quite fitting:
"That which is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil." ("Was aus Liebe getan wird, geschieht immer jenseits von Gut und Böse.")

Love Love Love

King Saul fell on his sword
When it all went wrong
And Joseph's brother sold him down the river
For a song
And Sonny Liston rubbed some tiger balm in his glove
some things you do for money
and some you do for love love love

Raskalnikov felt sick
But he couldn't say why
When he saw his face reflected
In his victim's twinkling eye
Some things you do for money
And some you'll do for fun
But the things you do for love
Are gonna come back to you one by one

Love love is gonna lead you by the hand
Into a white and soundless place
Now we see this
As in a mirror dimly
Then we shall see each other
Face to face

And way out in Seattle
Young Kurt Cobain
Snuck out to the garden
Put a bullet in his brain
Snakes in the grass beneath our feet
Rain in the clouds above
Some moments last forever
And some flare out with love love love

Palmcorder Yajna

2009-06-26T15:46:00.002+02:00

audio only (album version)

Mountain Goats appreciation month #6

2009-06-25T19:05:00.001+02:00

"Palmcorder Yajna" was one of the first Mountain Goats songs I heard and I initially liked it a lot for its frantic mood (almost angry) and obscure lyrics. Only later did I understand the dark undertones and real meaning of the words.
The song is from the "We Shall All Be Healed" album, as is "Your Belgian Things", and also deals with the same group of meth addicts. And while "Your Belgian Things" is about the aftermath of the mess, this one is about the climax.
A bunch of people are holed up in a motel room, maybe set up a meth lab there. Everybody is getting real nervous: "Every couple minutes someone says he can't stand it anymore."
One of the symbols used here is fire. "If anybody comes in to our room while we're asleep / I hope they incinerate everybody in it." The Sanskrit/Hindu term "Yajna" from the title is a ritual sacrifice, usually by fire. The narrator is wishing for a cleansing to resolve this whole fucked up situation.
In his dreams the narrator moves from paranoia to wishful thinking of dream fulfilment to death.
"And I dreamt of a factory,
Where they manufactured what I needed,
Using shiny new machines,
And the headstones climbed up the hills"

The recurring last line of the chorus about the "headstones climbing up the hills" is a premonition of death. The headstones could be the living dead or the as good as dead still alive, the boundary between live and death blurred.

Palmcorder Yajna

Holt Boulevard
Between Gary and White
Hooked up with some friends at the Travelodge
Set ourselves up for the night

Carpenter ants in the dresser
Flies in the screen
It will be too late by the time we learn
What these cryptic symbols mean

And I dreamt of a house
Haunted by all you tweakers with your hands out
And the headstones climbed up the hills
And the headstones climbed up the hills

Send somebody out for soda
Comb through the carpet for clues
Reflective tape on our sweatpants
Big holes in our shoes
Every couple minutes someone says he can't stand it any more
Laugh lines on our faces
Scale maps of the ocean floor

And I dreamt of a camera
Pointing out from inside the televsion
And the aperture yawning and blinking
And the headstones climbed up the hills

If anybody comes to see me
Tell 'em they just missed me by a minute
If anybody comes in to our room while we're asleep
I hope they incinerate everybody in it

And I dreamt of a factory
Where they manufactured what I needed
Using shiny new machines
And the headstones climbed up the hills

International Small Arms Traffic Blues

2009-06-24T12:40:00.001+02:00

Audio only (live)

Mountain Goats appreciation month #5

2009-06-23T10:40:00.006+02:00

"International Small Arms Traffic Blues" is another "alpha cycle" song from the "Tallahassee" album dealing with the dysfunctional couple that is also featured in "No Children". It's a short sonnet-like love poem that starts darkly, ominously with bad things about to happen.
The format and style reminds me of Shakespeare. Compare the following to the song's lyrics below:
"My love is as a fever, longing still,
For that which longer nurseth the disease,
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
The uncertain sickly appetite to please."

As it's made clear in the lyrics, the relationship is in a delicate state and things are about to get much worse. The funny metaphors are, as always, deadly serious and bittersweet. Nevertheless, the songs ends with the line "The way I feel about you baby can't explain it, You got the best of my love". Go figure. As Imogen Heap sings: "there’s beauty in breakdown".

International Small Arms Traffic Blues

My love is like a powder keg
My love is like a powder keg in the corner of an empty warehouse
Somewhere just outside of town
About to burn down

My love is like a Cuban plane
My love is like a Cuban plane flying from Havana
Up the Florida coast to the 'Glades
Soviet made

Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania
Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania
Trucks loaded down with weapons
Crossing over every night
Moon yellow and bright
There is a shortage in the blood supply
But there is no shortage of blood
The way I feel about you baby can't explain it
You got the best of my love

This Year

2009-06-22T18:47:00.000+02:00

Mountain Goats appreciation month #4

2009-06-21T18:00:00.000+02:00

"This year" is one of the more upbeat songs by the Mountain Goats although you can easily detect the issues, namely John's abusive father who shows up in several songs. It's about breaking free from the restrains put on a kid by school and family and holding out until that actually happens. For a while you lose yourself to the road and Cathy (herself damaged goods as well - "twin high maintenance machines") but in the end you have to return home and face the "bad things to come".
What remains is elusive hope for the "feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year" - a line borrowed from the Jewish holiday of Passover that celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt and the return to the promised land.

I broke free on a Saturday morning
I put the pedal to the floor
headed north on mills avenue
and listened to the engine roar

My broken house behind me
and good things ahead
a girl named Cathy
wants a little of my time
six cylinders underneath the hood
crashing and kicking
aha!
listen to the engine whine

I am going to make it through this year
if it kills me
I am going to make it though this year
if it kills me

I played video games in a drunken haze
I was seventeen years young
hurt my knuckles punching the machines
the taste of scotch rich on my tongue

And then Cathy showed up
and we hung out
trading swigs from a bottle
all bitter and clean
locking eyes
holding hands
twin high maintenance machines

I am going to make it through this year
if it kills me
I am going to make it though this year
if it kills me

I drove home in the California dusk
I could feel the alcohol inside of me hum
pictured the look on my stepfather's face
ready for the bad things to come
I down shifted
as I pulled into the driveway
the motor screaming out
stuck in second gear
the scene ends badly
as you might imagine
in a cavalcade of anger and fear

There will be feasting and dancing
in Jerusalem next year

I am going to make it through this year
if it kills me
I am going to make it though this year
if it kills me

Your Belgian Things

2009-06-20T17:46:00.003+02:00

album version from "We Shall All Be Healed"

Mountain Goats appreciation month #3

2009-06-19T17:13:00.001+02:00

This is one of the quieter songs by the Mountain Goats similar to a lot of the newer material. Less aggressive than the 2 songs posted so far "Your Belgian Things" deals with loss and things coming to an end. While I always thought this song deals with the end of a relationship it's actually about the seizure of a drug lab.
The album "We Shall All Be Healed" deals with a group of meth heads and their mess of a life and "Your Belgian Things" details the removal of a friend's belongings from their house. It's not clear if the person died (there are indications that the lab might have blown up) or was jailed. But it's clear that this is the end: "I wish you had a number where you are / It's hard with no one here to help me through it". The sense of loss and displacement is apparent in every line and is exaggerated by the strange spectacle of the men in biohazard suits cleaning up the place. At the end of the song the narrator's account breaks down, overcome with emotion, with the poignant line "I guess, I guess but Jesus what a mess".
Musically the album version of the song stands out for it's use of a piano, it's sound hovering in the background. Overall the sound is quote solemn, paced - fitting for the occasion I would say.

Your Belgian Things

The men were here to get your Belgian things
They'll store them for you in an airplane hangar
There's guys in biohazard suits
Mud kicking on their rubber boots
They've come to keep your pretty things from danger

The men were here to get your Belgian things
They'll spend the whole day hauling them downstairs
I shot a roll of thirty-two exposures
My camera groans beneath the weight it bears

I can see you in my sleep
Playing the points for all you're worth
Walking gingerly across the bruised earth

The men were here to get your Belgian things
They waltzed right through the door and went flourescent
Their boots were black and shiny and your treasures gleamed like stars
Bones from deep down in the fertile crescent

The arteries are clogging in the mainframe
There's too much information in the pipes
I saw the mess you left up in the east bedroom
A tiger's never gonna change its stripes
I guess
I guess but Jesus what a mess
One way in and no way out

The men were here to get your Belgian things
And only I was here to see them do it
I wish you had a number where you are
It's hard with no one here to help me through it

I can see you in my sleep
Playing the points for all you're worth
Walking gingerly across the bruised earth

No Children

2009-06-18T12:23:00.001+02:00

Mountain Goats appreciation month #2

2009-06-17T12:58:00.001+02:00

This is another crowd pleaser, not only because it allows you to scream "I hope you die, I hope we both die" at the top of your voice. People know this song by heart and sing along enthusiastically. The best example of this is this one live recording of a concert where John list his voice and the whole audience sang for him.
"No children" is a song that is truly unapologetically, unflinchingly nihilistic. It records the climax of a dysfunctional relationship, from the "Tallahasse" concept album that deals with a couple moving to Florida. John often calls it a "hateful little song" and tells the audience that "there will come a day when you mean it". It's the realization that along with the rest of the Mountain Goats songs this is not a joke but a heartfelt record of a relationship train wreck and that spelling it out in such detail is a catharsis "emotional cleansing" rather than a mental breakdown and crude accusation.

No Children

I hope that our few remaining friends
Give up on trying to save us
I hope we come up with a failsafe plot
To piss off the dumb few that forgave us
I hope the fences we mended
Fall down beneath their own weight
And I hope we hang on past the last exit
I hope it's already too late
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town
Again in my life
I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die

I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can't find one good thing to say
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die

The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton

2009-06-16T12:00:00.009+02:00

For those of you you actually wondered how the song sounds:

The video quality is not very good on this one but the audio is.

Just audio (as recorded on the album "All Hail West Texas").

Mountain Goats appreciation month

2009-06-15T14:02:00.005+02:00

I hereby declare this to be the Mountain Goats appreciation month!
The Mountain Goats have been my favorite Band for quite a few years now and John Darnielle is pure genius in my eyes (forget Morrissey). I managed to see them live 5 times so far and treasure those moments dearly. This month I want to present to you, my dear reader, some of the awesome, heartfelt, downright crazy lyrics of John Darnielle.
It's extremely hard for me to come up with a top 10 list of tMG songs, but among the top contenders, after weeks of debate, is always, and has always been "The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton."
It's a simple, short song that might struck some people as cheesy, over the top, maybe too comical. But the truth is that it's truly heartfelt! Much like "Summer of 69" it's a story about youth and a getting together a band. But it's also a story about crushed dreams and sticking true to what you believe in. It's a song about believing in yourself and not give a fuck about what anybody else tries to tell you you can't do. That's why it's one of the strongest, best-loved songs of tMG. John usually reserves this for the end of the concert (if he plays it at all) and when he does everybody is singing along down to the frenetic "Hail Satan!" chorus. It's a true experience to stand in a crowd at that moment.

The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton

The best ever death metal band out of Denton
were a couple of guys, who'd been friends since grade school.
One was named Cyrus, and the other was Jeff.
and they practiced twice a week in Jeff's bedroom.

The best ever death metal band out of Denton
never settled on a name.
But the top three contenders, after weeks of debate,
were Satan's Fingers, and the Killers, and the Hospital Bombers.

Jeff and Cyrus believed in their hearts they were headed
for stage lights and Learjets, and fortune and fame.
so in script that made prominent use of a pentagram,
they stenciled their drumheads and guitars with their names.

This was how Cyrus got sent to the school
where they told him he'd never be famous.
And this was why Jeff,
in the letters he'd write to his friend,
helped develop a plan to get even.
When you punish a person for dreaming his dream,
don't expect him to thank or forgive you.

The best ever death metal band out of Denton
will in time both outpace and outlive you.
Hail Satan!
Hail Satan tonight!
Hail Satan!
Hail Hail!

Immergut

2009-06-02T18:49:00.003+02:00

It's always hard to write something is retrospect when you've already started thinking about other things... But here we go:
Immergut was great! Better than last year. Almost as good as 3 years ago when I came for the first time. This year I went there with Susanne, Susanna and some other people. Vroni was sadly missed as she went to Hay on Wye this year.
The lineup looked good but not great. (I would have preferred more international bands.) But in the end the bands that I heard were excellent and I had a great time with them. The weather was good as well (although it was freezing cold at night).
It would be much too hard to recall every band I saw every day but here are some of my favorite moments:
- Ollie Schulz with his amazing "Detektiv Ärmchen" blow-up octopus.
- The Whitest Boy Alive (although they didn't quite rock)
- oldie-but-goldie Die Sterne - great to see the crowd explode to "Was hat dich bloß so ruiniert"
- Friska Viljor: out of the left field Scandinavian party machine
- Kettcar!
- The Soundtrack of Our Lives: OMG!!! The Seventies are alive and kicking. Psychedelic, out of this world, one of the great concert moments of my life!

Immergut pictures

2009-06-01T13:29:00.000+02:00

back in Berlin

2009-05-31T15:31:00.001+02:00

I'm back in Berlin after a great weekend at the Immergut Festival. Stay tuned for details band reviews and load of pictures. Right now I need some sleep...

LOHRO blog

2009-05-31T14:06:00.001+02:00

You can see some of my Immergut pictures on the LOHRO blog.

I'm off to Immergut...

2009-05-29T09:05:00.000+02:00

Duncker

2009-05-24T21:49:00.006+02:00

I didn't plan to do much yesterday and just wanted to rest after the 2 nights of partying before. I met up with some people at Treptower Park for a barbecue in the afternoon and I guess one thing let to another. We went to see this band playing for free in a small bar in Prenzlberg in the evening and when that finished we went over to Friedrichshain to join some other people in a small pub crawl. And they somehow convinced me to join them to go to the Duncker club again...and suddenly it was 4am again. Well, it was great fun, but man, am I exhausted today.

decorating

2009-05-23T14:58:00.021+02:00

I did some decorating today after finally getting the frames I wanted from Ikea. I framed my Bright Eyes and Arcade Fire gig posters that I bought in Boston ages ago. I also framed my Monkey Island 2 poster that I printed myself. (Get your own here.) I gave a similar Day of the Tentacle poster to Nils recently when he moved into his new flat. And last but not least I framed my gorgeous Shepard Fairey Nasa poster that I got for free at London's Rough Trade East. My new book shelf needed to be assembled as well so I was busy all afternoon. As much as I like all my prints, my room feels sort of crowed now...

Immergut Party @ Magnet

2009-05-23T14:54:00.003+02:00

Basti, Thoni, Markus and I went our again last night (sans Sambo) to go to the Immergut party at the Magnet club. Next weekend I'm going to the Immergut Festival again and this was sort of a pre-party with some of the acts from last year. The music was nice, the place full and we all had fun until it was suddenly 4am again...

Duncker

2009-05-22T14:52:00.003+02:00

Sambo, Basti, Markus, Thoni and I went to the Duncker club last night for the first time. It was free and my kind of music so no reason to complain. The club was kind of small though. Anyway, we all had great fun and stayed way longer than anticipated.

Eurovision

2009-05-17T23:20:00.003+02:00

My friend Julian from Seattle was in town for a few days and stayed with me for 2 nights. In addition to that my mother was in Berlin for the day as well yesterday and we went to have breakfast together. We took Julian along and then spent the day walking through the city. In the evening there was a Eurovision party as well that Julian and I went to. It was quite fun and we ended up staying much longer than anticipated. Julien had to leave quite early on Sunday morning to catch his flight and didn't sleep at all in the end. I really needed Sunday to relay afterwards.

Leben ohne Chris

2009-05-14T23:58:00.002+02:00

I went to the Oper Neukölln this evening with Katrin to see the musical "Leben ohne Chris" and we both enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't be big Broaday style musical but rather a small production. But that was the beauty of it. I'd recommend it but we caught one of the last stagings...

awesome London weekend

2009-05-11T20:15:00.002+02:00

I'm back from an awesome weekend in London. But right no I'm way too tired to write about everything. I haven't slept in 36 hours and there is so much to write about. I went to a Beirut concert with Finn, went to a party at the Italian's place near King's Cross, saw my old colleagues at work...

Bang Bang Club

2009-05-03T19:55:00.003+02:00

I met up with some new people this afternoon for a barbecue at Treptower Park. The weather was great and we had fun eating and drinking. Later on a few of us went to the Bang Bang Club as well. It was Carrera Club that night which meant indie rock and britpop. I didn't really plan to go out again since I alredy went out the last 2 night and was quite tired. But somehow I went anyway and had a blast. I met some great new people and had fun dancing the night away.

MyFest Kreuzberg

2009-05-02T11:56:00.002+02:00

My flatmate Uli and I went to the MyFest in Kreuzberg yesterday and had a blast. First of all there were tons of people. And they had a million stages with different music. And you could buy cheap food and drinks every second meter. So you went from one stage to the next, listened to music and had one drink after the other. Naturally we ended up almost drunk. We didn't really see any of the riots. The was one protest march that went by but apparently they didn't start throwing stones until later.

moving help

2009-04-30T19:34:00.000+02:00

My friend Nils had to move this week and needed some help with it. So yesterday and the day before I helped him move all his stuff and carried tons of boxes up and down some stairs. On the side I had to watch his daughter (3.5 years) as well and cook dinner... His new place is quite nice though and I'm looking forward to the flatwarming party.

Bearpit Karaoke

2009-04-26T19:54:00.002+02:00

So I met up with some random guys from this studivz group today and we went to the flea market at Mauerpark and afterwards sat down at the bearpit karaoke. It's the shit! We must have spent several hours there watching random people come up and sing.
If you ever want to have a great relaxing Sunday afternoon in Berlin go and see bearpit karaoke!

The Kooks

2009-04-26T11:43:00.004+02:00

I went to see the Kooks play live at the Arena yesterday courtesy of a large softdrink manufacturer. I was hoping to find some other people to come as well but nobody had time or they already made other plans it seemed - so I had to go out alone again. As it was free I went there early to beat the crowd. There were already quite a few people when I got there but it was no problem getting in when they opened the gates about half an hour later. But you couldn't get into the venue just yet so I had to wait another hour or so in front of the venue. (The weather was great so I didn't mind.) So, after hours of waiting the show started finally at some point. But they were showcasing 6 newcomer bands and afterwards last year's winner played as well so it was half past 10 when the Kooks finally started playing.
The concert was great! Everyone was psyched and people were dancing a lot. They played all the hits (not a big deal if you only have 2 albums) and an encore as well. Altogether a great evening.

Quittz

2009-04-23T23:55:00.002+02:00

It was time for the monthly "quittz" again and the third time I went. This time it was Susi, Francesco, Franzi and I. For some reason it wasn't as crowded as usual and some of the big teams seemed to be missing members as well. The first round went quite well but it was all downhill from there. In the end we weren't last but not that good either. Better luck next time!

Jonathan Franzen

2009-04-22T23:36:00.002+02:00

After work I went to a reading of famous American author Jonathan Franzen today. He talked (in German) about the German language and read from his latest book. He was quite nervous and apologized at length for the mistakes he made in German. He seemed really nice though and it was fun listening to him.

table tennis

2009-04-21T21:34:00.002+02:00

So I bought this table tennis set last week because I also went by all those table tennis tables and felt the urge to play some. It's been a few years since I played the first time but I always liked it. Yesterday I went to this one spot and looked for any games to join but nobody was playing "Chinese" (that's what we used to call the game with several people where you all run around the table in a circle).
Today I stopped by there again after my weekly trip to the swimming pool and tried to join a game. But instead of finding a game of table tennis to join some guys asked me to join their game of boule. I don't think I have ever played before so it took me a while to get used to it. I find it a bit slow but it was still fun. (It can't touch Kubb though.)

Concert Sunday

2009-04-19T21:26:00.004+02:00

My Sunday was packed today with 2 concerts in a row! In my search for decent concerts I noticed 2 gigs today that sounded interesting and decided to go to both of them. (I found them on last.fm by the way.)
The first concert of the day was singer/songwriter Lasse Matthiessen who was playing at the Völkerfreundschaft (where I usually have a few drinks with colleagues once in a while). (I'm a sucker for singer/songwriters.) It was sort of a free afternoon entertainment, so I lounged in the sun waiting for the music to start. Half an hour after he was supposed to start I was still the only one there. Instead of calling it a day Lasse asked me if I would mind being the sole audience - and I didn't mind. So I came to enjoy my most intimate concert ever. Lasse played for a hour or so and we chatted in between songs. He sounds a bit like Nick Drake if you have to compare him to anybody. I like his music but also noticed that most of his songs feel a bit like autumn in a melancholy way. With the sun shining outside it felt a bit out of place. Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed the concert. Towards the end 2 Danish friends of Lasse showed up as well, so it wasn't just the two of us anymore. When I was about to leave after the show Lasse gave me his album as well and I got him to sign it for me - he wrote "for the lonely rider".
The second concert of the evening was Bishop Allen playing at the Dot in Kreuzberg. I had this idea that the doors were supposed to open at 7pm so I went there straight away after the first concert. I arrived early and took a stroll along the streets towards the lock. I had a shawarma as well for dinner, grabbed a beer and waited in front of the club for the doors to open - for an hour. I wasn't the only one waiting there for over an hour until suddenly the doors opens and we were allowed to get in. (I guess I must have gotten the time wrong.) Anyway, I got my ticket and started to wait for some more until the opener started. I grabbed another beer and managed to spill half of it all over my jeans. So I stopped drinking and instead moved over to the stage where the opener, The Electric Owls, started. Apparently it was one guy with a guitar and a notebook (or all of his bandmates were on holiday - either way). He was alright though. After more waiting Bishop Allen started. They were really fun and seemed to radiate this energy that grabbed everyone but stopped short of rampant dancing. I didn't listen to any of their albums before so unfortunately didn't know any of the songs. But some of my favourites (for you to try and find and listen and enjoy) are "flight 180" (it's better live!), "shanghaied" and "the ancient commonsense of things". So I really had fun that evening. I even had to spent some money and the merch table afterwards and bought another t-shirt that's slightly too small but looks great. That's rock'n'roll.

Vorspannkino

2009-04-18T22:30:00.003+02:00

Katrin and I went to see the exhibition Vorspannkino at the KW institute for contemporary art today. It consist entirely of opening credits from all kinds of movies. Apart from the obvious Hitchcock and Bond movies there were some really interesting and quirky titles in the mix. I especially enjoyed "Barbarella" and "Attack of the killer tomatoes". Unfortunately we didn't make it all the way through before the exhibition closed.

2009-04-17T22:17:00.001+02:00

If you read this give me a call and let's go for a beer

2009-04-16T21:15:00.000+02:00

Since I'm single again I suddenly got loads of time. I've been trying almost every day to do something that is not sitting at home. But apart from my usual trips to the swimming pool there's not much I like to do by myself. So I've called everyone I know in this city probably too often by now in order to try and do something, anything. It's not like I'm desperately in search of company every day but a stretch of 3-4 days sitting at home is way too depressing. I'm up for movies, games, food, drinks, concerts - you name it. So give me a call.

Kubb

2009-04-15T21:05:00.002+02:00

I finally played my first game of Kubb of the season! It's been way too long since I enjoyed a game (unfortunately there's no indoor Kubb during winter) and really had fun playing with Susi, Francesco and Katrin. I hope we manage to do this often.

Easter in Rostock

2009-04-13T20:53:00.002+02:00

I went home for Easter and to enjoy the great weather in Rostock. Apart from the usual food and presents I went to a barbecue party at Vroni's place in Diedrichshagen. I stayed overnight as well and got sunburned the next day relaxing in the garden. Every time I'm in Rostock I have to try and go to the beach, so I walked all the way from Diedrichshagen to Warnemünde along the beach and dipped my feet in the freezing water as well. Sunday evening a few people went to the MAU as well and I joined them there after a few warm-up beers. It was nice to be there but for some reason the atmosphere wasn't that great and we hardly danced at all - too bad.
The next morning I had to get up early anyway to have dinner with my family at the Kurhaus in Warnemünde.
In the afternoon I took a ride share back to Berlin to be ready for the next day's work.

Easter

2009-04-06T19:23:00.003+02:00

Susi blogged it first: we had an arts & crafts Sunday trying to create some Sorbian Ester eggs. It took me a bit to get the hang of it but then it was quite fun. Afterwards to proceeded to eat all that egg...

2009-04-04T14:10:00.001+02:00

it's been a while

2009-03-21T11:23:00.002+01:00

For some reason I can't find the time to write anything anymore. I think it's mainly because of 2 reasons: (a) work, (b) girlfriend. Lot's of things have been happening lately and not all of it needs to be published here. Having said that: I'm fine and enjoying Berlin.
Spring is finally here and we're going to go to Potsdam today. Next week I'm going to see Jonathan Richman in concert, and then we're going to the planetarium for a radio play.

Goffredo

2009-03-08T19:26:00.000+01:00

Goffredo, one of my Italian ex-colleagues from London, is in town for a few days with his girlfriend and we met up yesterday for a few drinks. We actually wanted to go out dancing at "White Trash" but ended up just drinking the night away. Starting at "August Fengler" we drank our way all the way to Potsdamer Platz and ended up drinking beer at McDonald's in the end. It was really fun to catch up.

kaputt

2009-02-23T20:57:00.003+01:00

I'm quite exhausted today after a really busy day at work. My colleague Uta is on vacation and I'm taking over all her clients for the first time. And of cause they all had countless new projects, questions and problems today. I hardly had any time at all to eat lunch. But I managed to get everything done without any major blunders.

Secret Machines

2009-02-21T22:57:00.002+01:00

I went to see the Secret Machines play at the Kulturbrauerei tonight. I didn't plan for it but as I didn't have any other plans for the evening I checked if they had any tickets left and then went. The gig was nice, although I didn't know the band too well (and knowing a band well usually makes a gig better for me). But at least I recognized one song.

white trash

2009-02-21T17:46:00.002+01:00

I went out dancing tonight (my first time in Berlin) with Katrin and another friend of hers. First we went to the "Steinhaus" which turned out to be frequented entirely by 18 year olds. So we stayed for a drink a danced to a few songs and then left for another club. We ended up go to White Trash, an über-cool venue around the corner. The place used to be an old Chinese restaurant and most of the décor is still there, plus a few crazy additions. They have several lounges with different music and serve food as well. The writing in the menu is hilarious and reading it almost entirely justified going there. In the dance floor area in the basement they played some sort of electro and after a bit of getting used to it we danced for quite a while. But at 3am or so all energy left us and we decided to call it a night.

2009-02-18T00:11:00.001+01:00

The Uncler w/ Uncle Sam and Alyssa Milano from Alyssa Milano

drinks with colleagues

2009-02-14T13:52:00.002+01:00

I went out for drinks with my new colleagues yesterday after work and we ended up drinking and playing foosball until 3am (at that point and said goodbye and left the last 3 people standing). It was quite nice to finally meet them in a more casual environment and get to know them a bit better. The bar we went to ("Völkerfreundschaft") is quite nice as well and very close to our office.

busy weekend

2009-02-08T23:47:00.002+01:00

I had quite a busy weekend, going out and meeting friends. On Friday I went to a very, very small gig of a friend of mine (Martin Rosenplänter) who played a very intimate show in Pankow. I basically knew everyone in the audience. It's a shame not more people showed up but then again it was a great atmosphere.
On Saturday I met up with Vroni and Antje in Kreuzberg and we went out for drinks. Susanna showed up as well. Vroni and I thought about going to check out some clubs later but in the end we just kept on drinking in this great little bar we found.
On Sunday I arranged for a games night with some very old friends on mine, some of them who I hadn't seen in years. We used to do those games nights more often back in the days and it was great to see everyone again and play some Settlers. We all said we want to do this more often now and I hope it's going to happen.

2009-02-03T00:54:00.001+01:00

first day at new job

2009-02-02T19:56:00.000+01:00

I had my first day at my new job today. It was great. end of story

flatwarming party

2009-02-01T18:26:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I did my flatwarming party and it was quite nice. In the evening I rented a van again and got a free couch from a friend of Steffi's. My room is finally almost complete now. Most people same a bit late but once everybody was here the room was packed and we had fun. I had cooked some soup before for everyone to eat and bought some beers (for some reason I only drank wine later on). Some friends of Ulli's came as well and we all talked and drank until 1 or 2am I think.

wardrobe and quiz night

2009-01-29T21:00:00.002+01:00

My new room is slowly turning into a real place to live. I got curtains now and a new wardrobe as well. (I got that one today used through craigslist.) I stasted to put posters up as well.
In the evening I met Susanne and Francesco and a few other friends of them at a bar for a monthly quiz night. It went for 3 rounds of 20 questions. We tried our best but didn't win (the competition was fierce). We might go again next month anyway.

trip to Rostock

2009-01-29T14:57:00.002+01:00

I just came back from a little trip to Rostock where I collected some things that I left there and needed here in Berlin (like posters and a duvet). I didn't do much else in Rostock but it was nice to be there again.

Schmidteinander

2009-01-25T14:19:00.002+01:00

While eating breakfast yesterday my new flatmate Ulli asked me if I wanted to join him going to the Ku'damm to shop around and see the city for a bit. As I didn't have any plans yet I said yes and we had a look at the KaDeWe and some other shops together. Ulli also had tickets to see Harald Schmidt (famous German late night talker, actor and comedian for those of you who are not that familiar with the German scene) and asked me if I wanted to come along as well. So I changed my plans for the evening and we went to the Berliner Ensemble in the evening to see Schmidt's show "Elvis lebt - und Schmidt kann es beweisen." In an extremely eclectic mix of songs, comedy and reminiscences he covered Elvis, Baader-Meinhof and his time at drama school. Not everything worked for me but occasionally he was brilliant and always entertaining.
After the show we went back to Prenzlberg and had a few beers at a nice bar we discovered.

Ikea expedition

2009-01-22T22:55:00.002+01:00

I just finished putting together all my new furniture that we got at Ikea yesterday. My flatmate Dirk offered to drive and I rented a van for the day. Nils needed some items as well so we met him as well. It took me until now to assemble everything and now my room finally looks halfway decent. I'm still waiting for a couch, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers that I will get soon. But at least I can sleep in own bed and can put some of my stuff somewhere.

little boxes

2009-01-20T13:38:00.002+01:00

The boxes with all my London stuff finally arrived today. Yesterday UPS didn't manage to find the house, d'oh. Now I just need some furniture to put all of it away, but we'll sort that out tomorrow when we go to IKEA.

back in Berlin

2009-01-18T15:32:00.002+01:00

I'm back in Berlin in my new place. It's still big and empty but I hope to change that soon. My boxes from London should get here soon and I want to go to Ikea as soon as possible to get some furniture. There are a lot of other details to take care of as well but I hope to be settled soon.

last drinks

2009-01-17T12:02:00.002+01:00

It was my last night in London and I met up with Ilja for a bite before going to the hotel bar next to the office for some last drinks with my colleagues. We moved over to JB's after a bit because the hotel was too crowded. It was nice to see everybody one last time and we had quite a few drinks. People continued to buy drinks for me and I couldn't refuse them of course. After a lot of sentimental goodbyes I went home to get some sleep before flying to Berlin the next day.

boat dinner

2009-01-16T01:25:00.002+01:00

Finn and I went over to John's ~~house boat~~ narrow boat for a lovely dinner tonight. He had invited us and prepared a great 3 course meal. It was nice to be on the boat and on the water again (we didn't go anywhere today though). We talked about a great many thinks and all parted happy and full.

last day

2009-01-15T00:22:00.000+01:00

Today was my last day at SEGA. I have to say it wasn't that different from any other day apart from saying goodbye to many people. I'm going to miss the daily routine and I'm going to miss the people. But at least I'm going to see them again one more time on Friday for drinks at the hotel bar next door to the office.

iphone

2009-01-12T23:28:00.002+01:00

I got myself an iphone today - hurray! After jealously watching all the other people I know with theirs I gave myself a belated Christmas present to myself and finally got one. So far it's been great but I still have to try so many things.

last days in London

2009-01-07T14:35:00.002+01:00

I'm going back to London tomorrow for my last few days at work. As I moved our of my place already I will stay with Finn. On the 17th I'm flying back to Berlin for good and will start my new life in Germany.

my new place in Berlin

2009-01-04T18:48:00.002+01:00

After only 2 days of flathunting I found my new place today and will move in tomorrow!
I'm going to move to Prenzlauer Berg, just around the corner from Schönhauser Allee.

This is my new address:
Gleimstrasse 42
10437 Berlin

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:50:00.002+01:00

A happy new year to all of you!
This year will see a lot of changes for me: I'm moving back to Germany, will start a new job, etc. This means I will see some of you more often and some of you less, unfortunately. Of course you are all welcome to visit me in Berlin!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

2008-12-25T14:07:00.002+01:00

I'm finally back at home and can relax for a while. I got here just in time for the Christmas service after travelling for 12 hours and no sleep at all.
I had to pack all my belongings in London and will only get them back next year. Officially I don't have my own place there anymore. I hope to find a new one in Berlin in January.

dinner with friends

2008-12-21T00:18:00.003+01:00

I helped Finn move today as he was finally moving out of his hostel and into a flat near Bethnal Green. Afterwards we went over to Oxford street as I needed one final present. Ilja had the idea of cooking dinner at his place so we went over to his place at Caledonian road and had a really nice dinner. We were all really full in the end. I've never been to Ilja's place before so it was nice to finally see it. Ilja is going home for Christmas tomorrow and I probably won't see Finn again this year as well.

Christmas party

2008-12-20T00:24:00.003+01:00

Today was the official company Christmas party for senior staff (there's going to be another one for the QA department next Monday). We could all leave earlier and went over to this place near Westminster where they had rented the penthouse function room. It had a spectacular view of London, with Big Ben and the London Eye close by. We had a band who you could sing karaoke with and there were some good and some rather bad singers (especially after some people had a few more drinks). The CEO opened with a special Christmas song with custom lyrics and our QA manager did a pretty good song later. There was also a Sonic ice stature that doubled as an ice luge, meaning you could drink vodka from his boot that ran through a canal in the statue. (I was forced to do it as well.) I didn't know most of the people but I was glad for a few familiar faces so that the evening was actually rather nice. I left in time for the last tube home and was almost marooned in West Brompton as I took the wrong branch. Luckily I made it until Acton Town and then had to walk from there.

a new beginning

2008-12-15T23:56:00.002+01:00

It's done. I quit my job today.
I will leave the company very soon (TBC) and will move to Berlin to start a new job as translation project manager (details later). This has been quite a while in the making and it wasn't easy to hand in my resignation today. It's been 16 month now since I came to London and at times it felt quite good here. I will definitely miss my friends and colleagues here - we've been through a lot.
But I'm also looking forward to start my new life in Berlin. For 3.5 years I haven't lived in Germany now and going back really feels odd. (I had hopes I could 'skip' the current government for example.) I'm glad I already know so many people in Berlin though and settling in should not be too hard I hope.

boating

2008-12-07T22:53:00.003+01:00

I got up real early today to meet Finn and go to Little Venice together. A family friend of his has a small house boat there and we took the boat up to Camden Lock. We picked up Lola and another friend and drove around a bit. It was a beautiful and awfully cold day and it was great to drive around the canals. I even got to steers the boar myself for a bit. We then had lunch on the boat and had some really good conversations. In the afternoon we went to the Wallace Collection, a nice small museum that has some Rembrandts and Rubens. On the whole it was an amazing day and it was great to see a different side on London.

Matt's farewell

2008-12-01T00:20:00.002+01:00

Matt had his farewell party this weekend as he is going back to New Zealand for a while. We met up at his hostel and then went to the Hoxten Pony. I didn't really know anybody else apart from Matt but got to know them quickly. Lots of Matt's colleagues from the Apple store were there. We stayed at the Pony until they closed the place and then moved over to the flat of one of the girls who was there. We continued to party there all night, dancing to a strange mix of our favourite music. Only at 7am did we all went to sleep there. We got up only a 3 hours later with ideas about breakfast. But instead we all squeezed into one of the beds together (6 people!) and stayed there for an hour. :) I was pretty hung-over and it took me a while to get rid of that. Nevertheless, I had a blast. We finally went to Brick Lane for beigels and coffee. I said goodbye to Matt with hopes to see him again next year.

back in London

2008-11-18T16:14:00.000+01:00

I'm back in London now after my weekend trip back home.

Berlin

2008-11-17T23:12:00.000+01:00

I went to Berlin today before going back to London tomorrow. I'm staying with Nils again and it's great to have some time together.

Rostock

2008-11-16T20:07:00.002+01:00

I missed my flight from Stansted on Friday because the bus didn't show up. :/ Apparently there was a problem with the booking system and although I paid and the money was deducted from my account the information somehow didn't get through and the bus never arrived... I tried to get another flight on Friday but everything was way to expensive, so I ended up booking a very early flight for Saturday morning.
On Saturday everything worked and I arrived in Rostock in the early afternoon. I didn't do much in Rostock apart from going shipping in the city. I got myself a new notebook and new shoes. :)

going home

2008-11-13T14:16:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow morning I'm going to fly to Germany to go to Rostock for the weekend. It's been quite a while since I've been there and I'm looking forward to it. On Monday I will go to Berlin as well for a day and then fly back to London on Tuesday morning.

sightseeing

2008-11-10T00:13:00.002+01:00

I spent this weekend showing Vroni and Christoph around London. We went to the market in Notting Hill on Saturday and later went to the city for a few beers. On Sunday I took them to Brick Lane and we met up with some friends of theirs. Afterwards we went to the Tate Modern as well. We were all quite exhausted in the end and called it a day early, especially since they had to catch an early flight.

visitors

2008-11-06T11:46:00.001+01:00

Vroni and her boyfriend are in town for a few days and are staying with me. I hope to have some time this weekend to show them around.

Yes we can!

2008-11-05T13:42:00.001+01:00

election day

2008-11-05T00:05:00.001+01:00

Go Obama!

Neil Gaiman Halloween

2008-11-01T00:58:00.006+01:00

I took the day off today so I could go and see Neil Gaiman tonight. He did a reading and signing that Finn had told me about and that seemed a perfectly good reason to take a day off work. But today was also the day that Fallout 3 came out in the UK and I had to get it on the first day! So the first thing I did this morning was to go and buy both the Collector's edition (comes in a metal lunch box with a vault boy bobble head figurine and a bonus DVD) AND the Special edition that comes with a Brotherhood of Steel figure. :) Since the London Games Festival is going on right now I then went to the city, met up with Finn and had a look around at the various tents and stalls. We played some Guitar Hero 4 on Leicester Square together and wanted to try Rock Band 2 as well but they didn't have it. :/
At 5 we went over to Forbidden Planet for a signing of Dave McKean (who does a lot of art for Neil Gaiman). I bought a copy of the first Sandman book and Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" (to be later signed be Neil as well). Waiting in line (for an hour) we met a really nice girl and got talking all the way. She wanted to go to Neil Gaiman as well but couldn't get tickets anymore. We ended up walking over to the other venue together and she wanted to try to get something signed anyway (don't know if she succeeded).
Neil Gaiman was great! He read a whole chapter from "The Graveyard Book" and then answered questions from the audience. Finn's question came up as well and Neil congratulated him on his nice handwriting! :) Afterwards we had to wait in line for 2 hours (!) to get our books signed (but it was worth it).
When we left it was already 10 and we need to eat something. As it was Halloween people in crazy costumes were running around everywhere, going to some party or club. It would have been nice to go somewhere as well but we weren't prepared and Finn had to get up early anywhere to catch a train in the morning. So we ended up taking the tube home and I played Fallout 3 all night long...

it's snowing!

2008-10-29T00:02:00.001+01:00

It's snowing in London! And it's not even November. Of course it's melting right away, but still...

party all night long

2008-10-19T23:03:00.002+02:00

I went out last night with Rob and Matt as both of them are going to leave London soon. Finn was there as well but couldn't really join us because he had a flight in the morning. We started off at the hostel where we had a few beers and got ready to leave. At 11:30 we left to go to Old street. It as pretty crowded there and it took us a while to decide which club to go to. We ended up at the Bar Music Hall. Ilja was supposed to join us as well but for some reason we never heard back from him.
The club was alright and we stayed there and danced until it closed at 2am. Unfortunately they stopped serving alcohol at 1. :/ We headed back to the hostel afterwards only to see that Finn was still up and hanging out with some girls that were just getting ready to leave. They convinced Rob and me to join them and so at 5am we went out a second time that night to go to Fabric. They are open until 12am and serve alcohol around the clock. :) We took a cab over there and by the time we were inside it was past 6am. The club is quite cool with 3 different ares in a former meat packing plant. It was really full though and people kept pushing you around all the time. We met some other people there they they knew and we danced to what I was told was Minimal until 8am. By that time the tube was running and I went home feeling like zombie.

weekend again

2008-10-13T01:55:00.002+02:00

I had to work the whole day Saturday and didn't do anything that night but Sunday was a nice day and I wanted to go to the city again. It's been a few weeks since I had some time to actually go anywhere. I did some shopping and then met up with Finn, Rob and Matt. We had a nice pizza together and then headed for their hostel. Finn and I had plans to see a movie later but we ended up staying at the hostel and played Scrabble. It seems that all 3 of them are going to leave London quite soon. We therefore made plans to go and party together next Saturday, as it might be the last time when I can see all of them together.

on the phone

2008-10-06T01:59:00.002+02:00

I didn't do much this weekend. Had to work a bit on Saturday and no plan for Sunday. It was raining all day as well. So I stayed in the house and spent about 4 hours on the phone calling up various friends and family. I was nice to speak to them again although I wish I could just go over and speak to them in person...

achievement unlocked

2008-10-02T02:59:00.002+02:00

A few days ago I managed to reach 10.000 achievement points on my Xbox360 (see the box on the right side). To most people this might mean nothing but to me it means that I played a LOT of games for quite a while. I had my 360 for a year now and wouldn't want to miss it. I acquired a good collection of games (most of them I didn't work on) and I'm playing almost every day. I'm one of those people who's trying to get as many achievements our of a game as possible and it's part of the fun for me. I fondly remember some of the harder ones and I'm quite proud of them. (Achievements like "Groove Technician" on Rock Band where I played the entire solo career on drums on a single day without ever having played the drums before, "Little Rocket Man" on the Orange Box where you have to carry a garden gnome through the entire game to send him into space in the end, or reaching 1000/1000 points in Mass Effect, which took me 4 playthroughs.)
Good time! :)

welcome to the club

2008-09-26T14:03:00.002+02:00

Happy 30th birthday Nils!

End of the Road pictures

2008-09-17T03:25:00.000+02:00

Mountain Goats again

2008-09-16T02:00:00.002+02:00

After coming home from the festival today I had to take a shower and change clothes first. But Steffi is back in town for a few days, so I had to go and meet her. Good thing I had the day off today. We met in Russel Square and sat there by the fountain for a while and talked. Before soon I had to leave though because I had tickets to see the Mountain Goats! After I just saw them yesterday at the festival! Surprise! :)
The show was at the ULU (University of London student's union) and all ages. That's why it started a bit earlier at 7. The crowd was really young. Although they said doors at 7 they actually waited until 7.30 to let people in and then let us wait another hour before the opener, The Young Republic started (they were alright). And they we had to wait for another half hour before the Mountain Goats came on stage.
The show was nice but they placed almost the same songs they played at the festival (including that reggae song about "Prince Far I"). BUT they also played 2 new songs: "Wizard buys a hat" and "Sarcófago live". I found the atmosphere much better yesterday and the band seemed more energetic yesterday as well (maybe they were as tired as me from the weekend). They only played for 1h15min or so, which was not much longer than yesterday. During the encore they played "The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton", which I had only heard once live from them in Seattle so far (they played "No Children" again as well, same as at the festival). Overall it was a good gig but probably the least best one I've seen by them so far. Speaking of which: this was officially the 5th time I've seem the Mountain Goats, who have now overtaken all other bands for the title "Most seen band" with 5 shows!

After the show I had to hurry to Piccadilly Square because I promise to meet up with 2 Austrian girls who will couchsurf with me for the rest of the week.

back from the end of the road

2008-09-15T16:51:00.004+02:00

I'm back from the End of the Road Festival. Stories and pictures to follow soon...

Here's the condensed version:

Fri, 12th
almost missed train to Salisbury
waited 45min for bus
started raining
missed SSLYBY set
met up with SSLYBY
more rain
The Acorn
A hawk and a hacksaw
Micah P. Hinson (!!!)
Dirty Three
American Music Club
Conor Oberst :/
Akron/family (crazy!)

Sat, 13th
Bowerbirds (rule!)
got the shirt to prove it
pwned noobs at Kubb (yeah baby)
Bon Iver (quite good! lovely guy)
British Sea Power (so so)
Low (everybody was shocked when he threw his guitar into the crowd in the end!)
Sun Kil Moon (better on CD)
Mercury Rev (wankers)
Two Gallants
Shearwater (great, but sound was not very good)

Sun, 14th
The Wave Pictures
Pyramids
Kimya Dawson (amazing!)
Jason Molina (best solo artist)
Billy Childish
Richard Hawley (wanker)
Tindersticks (boring)
Mountain Goats (!!! amazing !!!)
Calexico (wish I could have seen the whole set)
aPAtT (strange)
Zombie Zombie

OT + party = weekend

2008-08-31T20:15:00.000+02:00

I had to work this Saturday until 8 and only afterwards saw that a German girl I got to know a few weeks ago told me about some party. So I got on the tube and it took me almost 2 hours to get there. The party was nice and I met some interesting people. As I didn't want to take the night bus home at 4am I slept there and went back home in the morning. Ilja came by in the evening and we had dinner and played some Rock Band (we made the Hall of Fame!).

visitor

2008-08-29T20:19:00.002+02:00

For the last few days I had a visitor from Quebec. Fred(erique), who I met in Australia last year, had been traveling around Europe this summer and came over for a few days to London before going back home to Quebec. I couldn't really show her around town because I has to work but we has some good conversations in the evening. She's going to study in Marseille next year and I hope to visit her there.