cover of the week

Sometime around ever weekend, I upload a new song to my myspace page. I wish I could say it was an original song every week, but it's not. Actually, I haven't uploaded any original songs since I created that page. But I do record a cover every week. It's usually hard to decide. I have too many ideas of what to record, and too little time to actually do it.

So far I've had a waltz version of Basket Case by Green Day and Once by Sophie Zelmani. This week I did my best to cover the EELS version of Kathy McCarty's arrangement of Daniel Johnston's Living Life (was that too complicated?). It's one of my favourite songs.



Feel free to make requests here or on myspace, just in case there's some special song out there you'd like me to butcher!

goldie barton

Don't they look a bit alike all of a sudden?

dark image

During the spring and all through summer, I've often felt like I should paint something again. It just hasn't happened. And then, these last few says, I've had this image in my mind. I felt like I had to get it out somehow. As I'm a notoriously impatient painter, and out of practise too, it didn't come out quite the way I wanted it too. But I think you get the general idea. It may be my first ever attempt to express something from inside with my painting. That would make this "art". Haha!

I find it a bit disturbing, but it's nothing compared to the one in my mind. I hope it'll go away soon.

blog link fail

It's time to admit a guilty pleasure of mine. I generally think I'm above the very lowest forms of entertainment. I don't watch any Springer-type shows, laugh at disabled people or watch sports. But I confess, I do like Failblog. It's basically an orgy in the misfortunes of others, caught on film or photo. Still, as a middleist (I still can't say I'm an elitist - that would be going too far) I have to say my favourite entries aren't the ones where people hurt themselves or others, but rather the subtle stupidities we all see now and then in society. Here's an example:



Oh, and I'm a little too embarrassed to put a permanent link from this blog to failblog, but don't let that stop you from checking it out from time to time. It IS fun.

i finally bought it

There are a few TV-shows out there that really rise above the others. Many are from HBO. My absolute favourite is among them. Until yesterday, I didn't own The Wire. I have since corrected my mistake. I wish that package a speedy and safe journey.

Until it arrives, I can just watch a few clips on Youtube. Here's one showing the coolest men ever on TV.

a... um... "unique" sense of rhythm

I was walking through Gamla stan when I heard this busker slaughtering Wonderwall. Now, that's been done plenty of times before. What's new is this guys complete disregard for when he's supposed to sing. The most obvious example is that you should start singing on the first beat of the verse. He doesn't. Check it out! -Wait for the verse to kick in after the double chorus...


ps. i should add that i was too embarrassed to film him openly, hence the shaky "hidden camera" work.

first visit to indian garden

Yesterday was the day when Polly was first introduced to her daddy's favourite restaurant, Indian Garden. She was there with her parents and her mother's parents and the food was extraordinary as usual. Polly slept through the entire visit. Not to worry - there'll be other dinners there.

work style home wear

Anyone who ever met me knows I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy. I wear that at home and I wear that at work. When I was in a band, I wore jeans and t-shirts on stage. I pretty much wear jeans and t-shirt all the time. It's comfortable and almost always goes with the situations I find myself in.

The only problem with this style is that I never get to have that moment when you get home from a long day at work, step inside your home and just throw on something comfortable. I know I shouldn't complain, since I'm comfortable all the time, but still. I have felt like something was missing.

The answer didn't come to me until we were at the hospital and Polly was about to be born. Towards the end of a long and painful (mostly for Marta) labour, the midwife realised that things weren't going forward and the doctor present recommended a Ceasarean section. We went for it and I was suddenly given a pair of green scrubs to wear in the OR. That night, I got a daughter AND the sollution to my problem.

When we were back home again after a few days, I went online and bought a pair of scrubs. Marta thinks I'm a freak, but she thought that before too, and I believe that very few women approve of their men's home wear anyway. Plus, these scrubs are incredibly comfortable!

video killed the still photo blogger

parking for everyone

Parking near our home can be a bit tricky for visitors. Unless you're disabled, of course. Then you can easily fit your stretch limo.

brighten up your day

Ever notice how boring it is to pee? Ever find yourself looking something like this when you have to go?




Well, you can do something about it! Just add some accessories and a hint of imagination and you'll find that going to the bathroom can be an adventure!

then kleofas cautiously took an interest

polly's first walk

these days

It's been a few days since Polly came to live with us and I've started to get a feel for what the days are going to look like for a while. There are things that seemed new and scary at first but they have already become routine. I guess we're starting to find a rhythm.

One thing that is very clear already is that a lot more time will be spent at home. It used to be so much easier to just take off for a while. Not now, though. I have started to find my way back to the every other day running/biking schedule I'd worked out. Today is running and I think it'll work fine.

Also, while Polly is sleeping, it's perfectly possible to record stuff, even though the sessions might get a bit shorter.

I have to wrap up this entry now, because we're about to take Polly on her first ever walk. I'll take some pictures and I'll post them later.

more pictures of polly

if you're in denver tonight

I love Sonic Negroes, but if I was in Denver tonight, I'd go see Andrew Bird. What a night for Colorado music lovers.

events

lost in the haze

Last night, as Marta and Polly went to bed and my sister took over my computer, I went out on the balcony to contemplate life and such. It was a relatively warm night, and pretty. The odd thing was this haze, that made Stockholm seem like the city was in a much warmer country. It almost looked like... smog, I guess. Silly, I thought. Then I tried to go to sleep (with the window open, as usual). Soon, I could smell something burning. The scent crept up slowly, and at first I just thought somebody was having a barbecue outside. Then I added the two phonemena together and once more turned on my computer. The news reported a big fire at some paper plant south of Stockholm. There you go. How beautiful...

finally home

Today was the big day when Polly finally got to leave the hospital. My dear sister came home to Stockholm to visit us (and mostly Polly) for two days and she drove us home.

It's amazing to think we have a baby now. I'm a father. I'm Polly's father.





ps. i promise i won't only talk about polly from now on. but gimme a break here, it's big and new.

welcome, polly!

water or no water

This morning I was alone in bed when I woke up. Marta was already up. There were signs that the water had broke (but it's not like on TV, most women giving birth for the first time are well into labor when the water breaks). Our midwife told us that since our baby is positioned the way she is, there wouldn't be a waterfall, but more like a trickle. And there was a bit of a trickle.

We called the hospital and were told to come in for an exam. We did, and it turned out that the water had not in fact broken. It was the mucus plug. We were sent home.

I have to say that we're a bit disheartened by now. The waiting game is a bit frustrating. The doctor had said it could be about another week. So we went home and relaxed for a bit. Then we decided to go to Coop Forum and do some shopping. We were hungry. But as Marta went to the toilet before going, she noticed that the water had now, if not before, indeed broken. So we're going in again. And I think perhaps this time it's "it". I might be disappointed again, though. I'll let you know.

rain and no baby

Not much has happened today. I woke up. Marta and I saw the midwife for the last time before the birth (which still hasn't happened, by the way). We bought some strawberries.

I recorded part of a song, though I'm not too pleased with the results. I particularly dislike my bass playing on this one. I watched an episode of 21 Jump Street. I'm now on the third season and I realize that I still hate Richard Grieco, over 20 years later.

I'm rereading A Cartoon History of the Modern World by Larry Gonick. Seriously, if you haven't read anything by him, do.

I'm also sitting here trying to decide whether or not I'm tired enough to try to sleep. I suppose I'll give it a shot.

there are no nice animals

A thirteen-year-old goes to the zoo. She's looking at the new South America exhibition. There's monkeys and water with turtles and a caiman. The girl holds her hand out over the water. The caiman bites her finger. The girl is shocked. He brother tells the shitty tabloid:

"We thought they only had nice animals there."

Here's the deal, big brother: There are no nice animals. There are no evil animals. There are dangerous animals and non-dangerous animals, but the difference between those groups really only boils down to perspective. Who are you? If you're a fly, a little spider can be dangerous. If you're a fish or a finger, a caiman is bad news. If you're a person of any intelligence whatsoever, the animals in their exhibits in a zoo pose no threat.

starting to look like something

With no daughter yet, and with Marta still asleep,I found some time to edit my blog a little.

* I've added some links, there will be more to come.

* I've replaced Bruno with Bruno 2, this time choosing a guinea pig instead of a hamster. You'll find that Bruno 2 likes to be fed and to be brushed. He's not a big fan of just being clicked on.

* I've tried added a search this blog feature, but so far it hasn't found anything I've searched for on my blog. It does find stuff that people I've linked to have written, though. Small mercies.

*I've probably added something else too, but right now I really need to pee and I haven't had breakfast, so I'll go do those things. See the changes for yourself, why don't you?

a little music

I have decided to "put my music out there", so I deleted my old myspace account and started a new one for musicians. Now I am Linus Wallin - The Band. I wanted to post my new songs somewhere. I'm new at this, but I think it's possible to download them from there. I haven't tried. Maybe I should do some research before I write posts like this one? I don't care. This ol' blog looks so shabby now during the renovation that I hardly think any decline in journalistic quality will be noticed by anyone.

Anyway, I also want to say that I don't make all music by myself. Here's a song I wrote with Matilda Mattsvåg, famous from Youtube.

under contruction

I don't know whether you remember this or if I just made it up or whatever, but didn't a lot of websites use to have this "under construction" sign up a lot in the early days of the internet? Sometimes it was animated, giving it that slightly over-the-top annoying edge.

Well, it's true now. I wrecklessly decided to change the design of my blog and just did, without saving the old stuff. That old stuff included Bruno, my cyber hamster and the hit counter (I added that a few years ago and I think I had about 12,000 hits by now). They were written in html code by me, so they weren't saved or transmitted to the new blogger design. Stupid, stupid. But then I've been known to do some stupid things on the spur of the moment. Sometimes these things have consequenses. I should know better.

longing on the wind

The balcony door is open and the breeze that flows into our living room carries more than just cool air. I can hear the sounds of an Anna Ternheim concert somewhere in Stockholm. I've seen her live before, I know, but I still really wish I could be there. There's something about her live performance that makes the songs seem larger.

That made me think of other times you feel like you should be somewhere else. There have been other concerts I have missed. Dire Straits at Stockholm Stadium back in 1992 was once I elected not to go to and that feeling of regret didn't kick in until later. More recently, I forgot about a gig with The Soundtrack of Our Lives and only remembered at bedtime. If I dig deeper, I also find memories of parties I went to when I was still in school. I remember leaving some party early and then wishing I had stayed. Then there were parties I didn't go to and I wish I had.

It's a feeling of missing out and the feeling that what is happening at that moment will never happen again. Anna Ternheim started this train of thought, but it sort of ends with the Sonic Negroes summer tour of the U.S. I can't lie now and say that there isn't a moment every now and then when I wish I was there. They're playing in New York tonight, for example. But I have to say, and maybe I'm a tiny bit surprised myself at this, but there isn't much of that longing in me about that. I'm really happy I'm here in Stockholm tonight, close to Marta and our still unborn daughter (name to be revealed as soon as she's out -which should be soon, dammit!). I wouldn't trade it for the world, or for a U.S. tour. I could still be with my two girls AND Ternheim, though...




PS. I wish my friends in the band the very best of luck (check their progress as they update their blog at MySpace), of course. Good luck with tour vans being towed by Hells Angels guys and bad airline food. Good luck with Hellman's voice and the wickedly cruel tour schedule. Good luck playing those great songs. Have a blast!

owl invasion of the daughter's room

summer views

Our apartment allows us to view Stockholm in different lights all the time. You'd think it would get old, but it doesn't really.


Here's our city at 4.30 am after my nighttime trip to the bathroom.



Here's our city one blue night.

ollie ollie oxen free

-Ok, Kiddo! Game over! It was fun, hide and seek usually is. But let's face it - we know where you're hiding. You can come out now. We're waiting...

Yesterday, Marta and I went to the midwife for another check-up. All was fine, of course. The midwife is Danish (she speaks Swedish flawlessly, though, so there are no creepy Riget vibes). She decided she wanted to help us speed things along, even though the due date isn't really here for another couple of days. She did a procedure kind of thing with her fingers and said it wouldn't take too long now. So we're waiting. So far, not much has happened. I guess it will soon, though. But I was kind of hoping last night would be it. Maybe it'll be today. In any case, I'll be a father soon. Sometimes I think I understand that concept, but most of the time I guess I don't.