Hertzlichen Glükwunsch

Helge Schneider, the German version of M.A. Numminen. His comic techniques include parody, use of the local Ruhr area dialect, surprising use of infantile language and other unexpected changes in style, slapstick/physical humour, Dada like absurdities, sudden and unexpected use of crude/sexual humour, references to national and international highbrow and lowbrow culture, and phonetic and declamatory playfulness and exaggeration. Most of his material is heavily language dependent and therefore does not translate well into other languages.
The excellent blog; Rakete Rinnzekete, provides the album in the corner. The blog also features other great German stuff, such as Andreas Ammer & FM Einheit, Spliff etc... Well worth a visit

And If you're a fan of 30's and 40's UFA hits you will not be disappointed after a visit to Not Rock On - 4 CD with som classic Berlinerschlägers

Swedish Desserts part 1

Strange Norwegian Metal Band

There is a band with the strangely familiar name Dimmu Borgir. They play some sort of traditional Saami Joik. Quite catchy, and ok to move your feet to! This video (youtube) from an outdoor concert somewhere, shows clearly that Lappish music has great appeal to young people. Being an indigenous saami band, Dimmu Borgir (now, where have I seen that name?) has managed to gain international success. Good going Dimmu Borgir! (maybe they will be at the saami festival Riddu Riddu in 2007?) Dimmu Dimmu... (Hmmm, that name - it rings some bells, but I can't put my finger on it...)

The Cowboy Outlaw

Gather 'round my children, and I'll tell a tale of woe
About a famous cowboy outlaw who lived a hundred years ago.
Today his soul at last is resting peacefully in hell
Though many years have passed away since through the gallows-trap he fell.
He was sitting propped up in a chair just after he was hanged
And they photographed his body as a distant churchbell rang.
A circus man was waiting with fifty dollars in his coat
And he bought the cowboy outlaw so he could have him in his show.
And very soon he was embalmed and toured from town to town
People paid to see the outlaw that they'd heard so much about
He stood before them with a pistol against a painted scene
The greatest cowboy outlaw that the world had ever seen
But in time he was forgotten and no one knew his name
And when he began to fall apart they took his booth away
They painted him with varnish and put a crown upon his head
Come and see the king of Egypt said the sign out front instead
And then one year the circus closed, the tents were packed away
And he was sold to an amusement park on Massachusetts Bay
He was sold for next to nothing and they packed him in the van
They thought they'd bought a dummy but they'd really bought a man.
He was sprayed a special color to help him look a fright
And they hung him from a gallows 'neath an ultra-violet light
He hung there in a spookhouse for many, many years
As youthful faces passed him by in tiny railroad cars
Until one fine and fateful day in 1976
He fell down from the gallows when the hangman's noose unhitched
His arm broke at the shoulder as he clattered to the floor
And the man who went to fix him was stunned by what he saw
And the teenage boys did holler, and the teenage girls did faint
When they saw the bone protruding from the varnish and the paint
A coroner came to serve him and ran a slew of tests
they found out who he was, in time, and laid his soul to rest
A hundred years have come and gone since he spoke his final words
I'm not afraid to die and leave behind this rotten world
So go and pull the lever hangman, now my race on Earth is run
And he thought his life was ended but it had only just begun

By Brian Dewan - From "Tells the Story", The Cowboy Outlaw (mp3, from a stream...)

Gorgon the Janitor's rap

Gorgon the Janitor, known from his obsessive compulsive disorder, has gone forth and made this little ditty (mp3). Courtesy of Semiotisk Front, enjoy!

The far right young gentleman to the left seems to like it.

Pompel & Pilt

The Norwegian TV-show "Pompel & Pilt" was both loved and hated in its home country due to the surreal, amoral personalities of its characters. After the series was broadcast in 1969, 1973, 1976, 1979 and 1985, the show was banned by NRK (Norwegian National Broadcasting) as it was deemed too dangerous for children. After this a huge cult-following grew, demanding to get "Pompel og Pilt" back on television and today the characters are considered one of the greatest pop-cultural icons in Norwegian television-history. Watch the first episode (YouTube) The dialog is fairly simple. The two main characters are always looking for something that needs mending, as most stuff in their world is either bizarre, or just malfunctioning in a spectacular way. Be also aware of Gorgon, the janitor, a scary guy, that creeps everybody out with his obsessive-compulsive disorder, spouting out words that rhymes with "reparere [to mend/repair]" - such as "to subliminalise", "regressitate" etc ad nauseum.

Moffedille (upper left corner) is a fantasy animal from the show. The moffedille vaguely resembles a porcupine, eats keys, and communicates through howling sounds and cartoon-style balloons.

The series consists of five episodes, of which the moffedille appears in episodes 2 and 3. It is introduced as the protagonists, the repairmen Pompel and Pilt, sit down on it in the belief that it is a tuft of grass, a misconception that is gradually cleared up as the moffedille starts moving. The moffedille then asks for a key (by uttering a talking-bubble containing a drawing of a key). Pilt, who has earlier found a key, shows it to the moffedille, which immediately grabs it and eats it. It then leaves. This concludes the appearance of the moffedille in episode 2. Moffedille excerpt (.mov/4mb)

In episode 3, Pompel and Pilt meet up with the moffedille again. This time, it utters a big SOS inside a talking bubble. By uttering different semi-mysterious talking bubbles, along with rudimentary body language, the moffedille manages to communicate that it has a key inside of it, that it wants Pompel and Pilt to remove. Pompel, intending to do surgery on the moffedille, comes up with a saw. Pilt, however, does not approve of this, and suggests an alternative approach, where they feed the moffedille a length of rope, and make it dance. After the dance, they pull the rope out of the moffedille. It turns out that a large number of keys are now threaded onto the rope. One of them resembles the key that was swallowed by the moffedille in episode 2. Pilt takes this key, and the moffedille swallows all the others again. The moffedille then leads the way to a locked door. Pilt uses the key to unlock the door. The door opens, and a migrant (another type of fantasy creature) comes out. The moffedille eats the key again, and leaves. (from wikipedia) See episode 3 (.mov/35mb)

Favourite excerpts: Hungry Baby (.mov/9mb) Parcel Lady (.mov/10mb) Machine (.mov/9mb)

Pompel & Pilt intro music (MP3) Gorgon Janitor's rambling (MP3)

The TV show was created in 1969 by Arne and Bjørg Mykle (script for the 4 first episodes here - in Norwegian).

Internal organs served while external organ is played

Tabani Kakas is a "must experience" place to visit if you're ever in Budapest. (Attila ut, 27, Budapest 1013 Hungary) Dishes on the menu include Hungarian chicken stew, sholet beans with smoked ribs and goose liver Hungarian style at fairly moderate prices. Guests are also entertained by soft organ music, and vocal extravaganca from the elderly lady after 6 pm. To give you an example of the music try these downloads (rapidshare) "Old Lady Playing Badly, Volume 1" and "Old Lady Playing Bad, Volume 5" (Taken from the wonderful blog of X-Y-Z Cosmonaut (link)

But, really the best restaurant in Budapest is by no doubt Náncsi Néni Vendéglője [Aunt Nancy] - it is a 10 min ride up from the riverside (buda) - where you can frolic in the nice gardens. It is also popular among the locals. A place to take whole parties. Good service. Good food. AND check out their nice homepage (link) Address: Address: Ördögárok u. 80, Budapest, II. district, take a taxi to get there. Tel: (+36 1) 397 2742 - If you leave Budapest without visiting Náncsi Néni you have made a fool of yourself.

So you wanna be a drummer?

Well, take a look at this guy. He is 12 years old, and totally blew my mind. So, if you're planning to be a great drummer, start early...
The videoclip is 9 years old - go here for his homepage.