2006-01-23T22:28:00.000+01:00

HS has a new journal.
That's where you need to go.

2006-01-19T02:07:00.000+01:00

This site has changed my name to Hello Say Five. I kind of like it.

Other variations that have occured:
* Hello Spaceride
* Hello Selfride
* Hello Sulfide
* Hello Suicide

and of course, my favorite:

* Hello Misfit

Personally, I think all of the incorrect names beats the proper one.

/Say Five
- Five!

2006-01-16T22:36:00.000+01:00

A promise is a promise.

2006-01-16T11:52:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, we performed San Francisco at Rockbjörnen. We were nearly 30 people on stage: me, Andreas, Fredrik, Maia, Jens and special guests I'm From Barcelona. They came all the way from Jönköping to help us with some outstanding singing, handclaps, and good clothes. The Barcas were somewhat reluctant to the idea of them walking down a stair in true Rat Pack style during verse two, but of course they pulled it off like they'd never done anything else.
I'm pretty sure you'll be able to see our performance here pretty soon.

I would also post some pictures from yesterday here, if I could only find the cord to the digital camera. In the words of this man: coming up, coming up

2006-01-05T16:23:00.000+01:00

My favorite song from Introducing... is probably Long lost penpal. When I was abut 15, I had about 50 penpals from all around the world. Yes, I was a nerd.

Some of my own long lost penpals:

1. Sanna from Finland. Perhaps one of the world's funniest people. She stopped writing to me when she got a boyfriend. I always hated him.

2. Tanja from Germany. Incredibly boring. (Penpal procedure: in order to dump a penpal, you need to find a replacement penpal for the dumpee.) My friend Fia gave Tanja to me. I gave her to my sister. My sister desperately tried to find someone else to give her away to.

3. Kätre from Estonia. She was really nice but I never quite understood what she wrote. I once went to visit her in Estonia. She gave me an apple. It had a worm in it, but I ate it anyway to prevent bad feelings between Sweden and the Baltic states.

4. Naloshinee from South Africa. She used to send me clippings from South African newspapers, all of whom featured jokes. I ruthlessly used her to get good grades on my essays about South Africa.

5. Michelle from the US. She was as Christian as they get. She would always wish me God's blessings. I found that rather comforting. I stopped writing to her when she sent me a picture of herself.

2005-12-30T12:50:00.000+01:00

Home in sweet, sweet Jämtland. On Wednesday, Vapnet, Jens and I played together at Juldisco #9. (For 4667354 pictures of the event, please check this site)

This year's New Years resolutions:

1. Gain arm muscles.
2. Stop complaining about self and lack of self's arm muscles.
3. Catch up on all missed episodes of Lost.
4. Learn to play the accordion.
5. Remove knowledge in brain concerning celebrities and the clothes they wear. Replace with knowledge concerning metallic elements.

2005-12-26T17:40:00.000+01:00

Five favorite albums of 2005

Sufjan Stevens
Come on feel the Illinoise

Galactic Heroes
Every Sidewalk (ok, I know it's really from 2004 but I didn't hear it until 2005. And if I say it counts, it counts.)

Architecture In Helsinki
In Case We Die

Tenniscoats
The ending theme

Hal
Hal 2005

Five favorite Swedish albums of 2005

Billie The Vision & The Dancers
The world according to Pablo

Sibiria
Norrlands inland

Jenny Wilson
Love and youth

Laakso
My gods

Christian Kjellvander
Faya

Eight favorite (legal!) downloads of 2005

Devon Sproule - Plea for a good night's rest

I'm from Barcelona - We're from Barcelona

All Of My Brother's Girlfriends - Give him a great big kiss

Taxi, Taxi - Old big trees

Agent Simple - Make a right at Jordfallsmotet

Sophie Rimheden ft Annika Holmberg - Can you save me?

El Perro Del Mar - God knows

All Girl Summer Fun Band - Jason Lee

Oh, and I've probably forgot about 36354365 songs but these are the ones that comes to mind.

Also:
Feist. Indiekören. The Pipettes. Vapnet. The Sprites. Saturday Looks Good To Me. Lady Sovereign. Kepz. Camera Obscura.

Best song of 2005, all categories:
Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens.

2005-12-22T02:10:00.000+01:00

It's been a very good year.

2005-12-21T14:11:00.000+01:00

Today, there was an article about me in Expressen. I wouldn't go as far as saying I was mis-quoted, let's just say there was a lot of information left out.

Dear listeners, I am not broke! It's true that for a while I won't be making much money from making music (I'll be getting some money from radio airplay etc. but it takes a couple of years). However, I work with other things meanwhile and if making money was the prime reason for me to do music, I probably wouldn't be writing indie pop...

It also pisses me off that every female musician gets asked if she'd ever consider taking her clothes off. I would NEVER do that, for a number of reasons, the prime one being that those magazines turn women into objects. And just being asked that question makes me very frustrated.

Merry Christmas, then.

2005-12-13T00:48:00.000+01:00

I got an e-mail from my mother and all of a sudden I miss home so much.

2005-12-07T15:25:00.000+01:00

Today, my hero Tom Waits turns 55. I remember it so well: my friend Mia L played me the first song from The heart of Satuday night, telling me she was sorry, but listening to this would make me broke, because I would have to buy every record he'd ever made.
And she was right.

If you ask me, Tom Waits is the best lyricist I have ever read, better than Dylan, better than anyone. He writes the best melodies (still does - only, they're hidden beneath about 3673456 layers of singing clowns and squeaking accordions these days) and he's got the finest voice around. The first twenty times I heard Ruby's arms I wept like a child.

To celebrate His birthday, here are the lyrics to - what else - Old 55.

Well my time went so quickly, I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy, God knows, I was feeling alive.

Now the sun's coming up, I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you that the feeling's getting stronger.

And it's six in the morning, gave me no warning; I had to be on my way.
Well there's trucks all a-passing me, and the lights are all flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.

And now the sun's coming up, I'm riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you that the feeling's getting stronger.

And my time went so quickly, I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
As I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, God knows, I was feeling alive.

2005-12-05T13:38:00.000+01:00

And we also went to Gävle, and the whole thing was just so amazingly well-organized and pleasant we never wanted to leave. Someone burned down Julbocken while we were playing, and I cut myself on a bottle, but other than that, it was all good, down to playing with a sound so good it made me nervous, meeting a lot of nice people, wandering around Gävle in the morning, listening to Christian Kjellvander and Danny George Wilson, and having an after party that never ended.

They said this was the first show ever held at Folkteatern and an attempt to find a concert hall for Gävle. You need to keep coming to the gigs, people of Gävle, because you've got such a good thing going on there.

2005-12-05T13:10:00.000+01:00

Another excellent weekend on the road! This time featuring myself, Maia Hirasawa, my guitar Söltrut and Maias fläkt organ Fläktis.

SCENE 1.
HS is standing on a stair in the back of the room listening to Le Sport, when she suddenly realises someone is grabbing her crotch! Hand belongs to extremely drunk blonde guy sitting next to her.
HS. - You are so mentally ill I have never seen anything like it, I'll sue you until you bleed, etc. etc. (Breathes heavily in rage not seen from HS since 1985)
Drunk guy. - Schorry... I schwear I schought you were a mannequin.
HS (turns to drunk guy's friend) - Are you his friend? Is it possible that he is so drunk he thought I was a mannequin?
Friend (extremely embarrassed). - Yes, he really is.

The mere thought of a young man being so drunk and alone that he has to go out and grab mannequins in the crotch made me feel so sad I kind of lost my anger.

PS. Thank you so much Fredrik and John for having us, we had a good time (especially when Maia finally got to sing Chesney Hawkes' The one and only on your karaoke machine. We've been looking for that opportunity the whole autumn.)

2005-12-01T19:10:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow, Maia and me are heading to play in Trollhättan, and Gävle! These shows will be a bit more low-key, just her and me, a guitar, a tambourine and a fläkt organ.

I noticed during this autumn that after playing, half of the audience always tells me: "Oh, I love the fast songs, but you shouldn't have played as many slow songs", and the other half says: "The slow songs were good, but you shouldn't have played as many fast songs". Well, if you prefer your Hello Saferide melancholic and bittersweet, come see us play on Club Feber and on Folkteatern.

And to everyone who only wants danceable pop tunes from me - it'll never happen. If you listen to Introducing..., you'll know half of my songs and more are tear jerkers. If I don't write this song, someone I love will die is probably the most up-beat number this miss Saferide will ever write. And that song, really, has the saddest lyrics.

2005-11-29T00:02:00.000+01:00

Making The Video: Long Lost Penpal, with Hello Saferide featuring Firefox AK

HS and AK, or as you from now on will know us: Cagney & Lacey

So, we thought it might be a fun idea to force the Allstars to pose with instruments they usually don't play. It wasn't nearly as much fun when I realised Maia actually could play the flute, Jens wasn't half bad on double bass and Andreas sounded like a million bucks fiddling away on the cello

Andrea's writing a letter

Videomakers Danne and Fredrik discussing: "Hm, maybe if we put a bucket over HS's head she won't be able to ruin the shooting as much"

HS: "Well, I think it's safe to say I impressed everyone with my acting skills"

The other Fredrik, and Julle: "The worst part was when she tried acting"

Maia and Jens: "We tried to stop her from doing it. You're not Liv Ullmann, we said"

Our cool makeup artist Sofie: made HS, Firefox AK and the Allstars pretty

Andrea, Andreas, and Peder reading Cosmopolitan: "So exactly what shampoo does Kate Hudson use on a day-to-day basis"

2005-11-25T13:01:00.000+01:00

Tonight, Micke and me are playing records at Debaser. You should be there - not only because we'll be playing a million good songs and then some, but also because two of my favorite bands in the world will be performing: The Pipettes and Billie the vision & the dancers.

And thank you Sonic for letting me sing a couple of songs at your 5 year anniversary yesterday. It was a lot of fun. Too fun. Today, I'm unable to form sentences longer than... well, that sentence was too long already.

2005-11-23T00:56:00.000+01:00

More Norwegians who likes us! Bergens Tidende gives the record 5/6: (the review says 4/6, but they told us they printed the wrong number)

Ikke at det er noe nytt ved jenter som bruker tiden på å spille gitar og synge lengselsfullt om leve et lykkeligere liv. Men Hello Saferide er altså en som skiller seg ut. Hvorfor? Først og fremst stemmen, med en fint snev av ruhet og en god, romslig klang i seg. Dernest melodiene, glade popsanger (stort sett) et sted mellom Jonathan Richman og Lisa Ekdahl. Tekstene hever nivået enda et hakk, med titler som «If I don't write this song, someone I love will die» og «I thought you said summer is going to take the pain away» og linjer som «Oh my God, you're wearing your Lorenzo Lamas again». Og når alt dette slås sammen frambringes et bilde av en sterk og sårbar sanger (som egentlig heter Annika Norlin), med verden i sin gitar og pulsen i sin stemme. Med en liten hitsang som «My best friend», med refrenget «Damn! I wish I was a lesbian», skal en ikke se bort fra at oppmerksomheten kan bli så stor at det tar litt av.

ANMELDT AV HELGE OLSEN

Med verden i sin gitar og pulsen i sin stemme! Also, I'm not really sure but I think Helge feels that I am the missing link between Lisa Ekdahl and Jonathan Richman.

Other people I have been told I sound just like:
Mary Lou Lord
Evan Dando
Juliana Hatfield
Jonathan Richman
Jens Lekman
Marit Bergman
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
Jill Sobule
Suzanne Vega
Bangles
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Ekdahl
Sophie Zelmani
Anna Ternheim
Frida Hyvönen
Britta Persson
Rebecka Törnqvist

It's kind of like having someone come up to you and saying: "You are just like my uncle Pedro." And you can't see any resemblence whatsoever, but you're still kind of happy because Pedro is a nice guy.
Or even more like: "You're exactly like everyone I've ever met who's a Swedish girl about your age."

2005-11-21T14:11:00.000+01:00

Ah, Östergötland. Sweet Swedish cities with names ending with - köping. We went to Linköping and Norrköping to play on Thursday and Friday.

THE HELLO SAFERIDE ÖSTERGÖTLAND AWARDS FOR BEST...

...QUOTE:
Man in Linköping who recommended we'd go to a place called Palace in Norrköping. Why? (sorry, impossible to translate) "Det är en köttmarknad. Det är garanti på patt."

...BEFORE PLAYING-ACTIVITY
Bowling in Norrköping. All restaurants should have an alley with disco bowling. We were supposed to have a Bowling Battle of the Bands with Tiger Lou but they were so good we chickened out.

...SKIN ENCHANTER
We spent almost two hours in a sauna in Norrköping. Came out with rosy cheeks, we did. (Why is Yoda writing this all of a sudden?)

...AUDIENCE
Thank you, Linköping, you were incredibly awesome. A lot of weird things happened to us on stage (you couldn't hear several of the instruments, I played a song in the wrong key so the rest of the band had to improvise and follow me, my stommac having some kind of an emotional breakdown) but you were just so nice and cheerful it still felt like one of the best gigs we've done.

...EARS
Pretty drunk guy who thanked us for our stunning rendition of I don't sleep well in Linköping. Only problem is, we never played I don't sleep well

...LOUDEST PEE-ERS
We stayed at a hotel in Linköping with walls as thick as a stamp. Maia and me had the room next to the bathroom. All the business men in the corridor felt like taking a whizz every 20 seconds, or so. To paraphrase myself: I didn't sleep well

...ARRANGERS
Thank you so much, Herrgårn in Linköping as well as Hugos in Norrköping, we had such a good time

PS. To everyone who's asked: here are the lyrics to Last Bitter Song. Not sure if I'll ever record it, though.

now, this
will be the last bitter song
will be my last, real bitter song
about you

from now on, I'll write about flowers and butterflies
chickens and kittens... and shit,
from now on, I'll try to look myself straight in the face,
from now on, I'll try to find someone who knows I exist

so I don't have to feel like I do
when I write my bitter songs
this is my last real bitter song
about you

I won't have to mention she was blonde and thin,
with a peanut for brain,
and volleyballs for chest
I won't have to mention that's always what happens:
when you leave him your key
he ends up having sex in your apartment with miss non-bitterness

so this
will be the last bitter song
I'm feeling cheerful already
I'd like to break his neck (if I may, if I may)
but most,
I'd like to cut off that head
and cut off that hair
and cut off those volleyballs
and I hope she gets her heart broken
and I hope she turns bitter,
really really bitter,
like me.

2005-11-19T13:01:00.000+01:00

Just read this guestbook entry: "Hae du valt ditt band efter utseendet? Inte för att de inte spelade bra, jag blev bara misstännksam eftersom de var så snygga allihopa! :) ha de" from Matti. Matti, I know! They're in HS based on them being awesome musicians and nice people, but obviously I should have thought it through one more time before asking them to play with me.

The Allstar Band being beautiful is becoming an increasingly large problem. People have started coming up to me after shows, saying "Wow, great show. Eh, really." And then proceeding: "But what I was really wondering was if you could introduce me to your drummer/guitarist/fläktorgan player/bass player?" This probably happened about TEN TIMES in the last TWO DAYS. I'm a SONGWRITER people, not a dating agency. (Yet)

I'm considering having secret auditions for new, ugly musicians. Doesn't matter if they can play or not, as long as they are, eh, estetically challenged. Any freaks out there, feel free to contact me and perhaps you can learn how to play an instrument.

PS. I'll soon add reviews from our shows in Linköping and Norrköping, I just had to get this off my chest first.

2005-11-14T15:41:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, Neil Young celebrated 60 years of excellent music, cocaine nostrils, and environmental awareness. Because we are nerds, my friends and I held a Neil Young-esque dinner. (Menu: Hey hey, soup, soup with Crosby's healthy harvest bread.) We later went to Springfield to continue celebrating His Grumpyness.

I made a quiz in his honour. Each answer is a number. Add them together. The winner is the one whose final number comes closest to the correct answer. Give me your suggestions! And 'member: Googling is cheating.

1. VH1 once made a list over the world's 100 greatest rock musicians. In what spot could we find NY?

2. NY is also a director, calling himself Bernard Shakey. How many movies has he made?

3. Buffalo Springfield split up because NY and Stephen Stills couldn't stop bitching. What year was that? (only looking for the last two digits)

4. NY had a son, Zeke, by actress Carrie Snodgrass. What year was Zeke born? (still just the two last digits)

5. During what decennium did NY freak out and supported the Republican candidate? (once again, last two digitssssss)

6. In 2000, NY released an album. Its title contained of elements. How many?

7. NY's song, Let's roll, is a tribute to the survivors of a certain date in history. What date? (the day, not the month)

8. In 1996, Mojo Magazine made a list of the world's 100 best guitar players. Where could we find NY?

9. How many middle names does NY have?

10. The police arrested NY in the Sunset Strip riots in 1967. How many teeth did he lose in the fight?

11. NY says his van is a lot more enviromentally friendly than most vans. By how many percent? (weird question, I know)

12. How many of Hello Saferide's parents are the same age as NY? (even more weird)

2005-11-10T18:09:00.000+01:00

Thank you for all name suggestions. Some are good, others are bad. The "bad" sector includes:

* Bouncy
* Phoney
* Snazzy

However, one smart fella suggested Ruby. As you know, all the best songs in history (Ruby's arms, Ruby (don't take your love to town)) includes that name, so Ruby it is. There are men called Ruby as well you know. With this name, I'll never fail.

PS. Yesterday, we played at Access All Areas. Probably quite a small stage, we thought. Probably a small, cosy room, we thought. Yikes! We've never played on a bigger stage (and the sound has never been better - we could actually hear ourselves singing! Not common.) Fredrik our drummer was sadly missed (he was being unfaithful, playing with Johan Wahlgren. On the other hand, when he plays with us, he's unfaithful to Dreamboy. Quite a player, that one).

2005-11-08T15:16:00.000+01:00

I was so impressed by the way everyone helped me find a name for my guitar (however, she's, unfortunately, still named Söltrut), I look for your advice once again. I'm currently writing a song that's going to be kick ass, awesome, jolly good, etc. For the lyrics, I need a male name to repeat. The name should be in two syllables and preferably ending with the letter Y.

Possible suggestions:
Marty (stupid name, but it makes me think about Marty McFly)
Johnny (even more stupid, but it makes me think about a certain dance teacher)
Dolly (I've considered being in love with a woman for this song, just to pay my tribute to Dolly Parton)

Don't even suggest these:
Willy (no comment)
Danny (never my favorite NKOTB)
Ronny (uh-no, this song will not be about someone with a puberty mustasche)

THe song is rather slow and has sort of a country-ish feeling to it.

2005-11-08T15:05:00.000+01:00

Good start on day: Norway likes Hello Saferide! I love you, Norway. (Not saying that just because you've got a lot of oil money and winners of skiing championships.) Just look at what Dagsavisen had to say:

Ett tidigere TV-tryne! They must have me mixed up with Miss Piggy. Happens every now and again.

2005-11-06T13:14:00.000+01:00

We took the Saferider (eh, rented Toyota bus) to Göteborg to play at Pusterviksbaren. Thank you Patrik at Slippery People for having us and Kristian Anttila for letting us play at your release party (also, thank you for the raisins.) Best part: people making out while we were playing, worst part: Jens saying I resemble Art Garfunkel. A nice man came up to me and told me what his favorite songs from the record were (Loneliness is better and Long lost penpal.) Please let me know which songs you like best and we'll try to play them at the gigs.

Maia and me performed a duo-extravaganza yesterday at the Ladyfest in Stockholm and had so much fun the whole evening we sometimes just looked at eachother and laughed. The Gossip, food, so many talented women it made you want to caress the world. Dancing all night, karaoke, Northern State, meeting Mary Lou Lord, Cecilia Nordlund playing a dildo flute, a lot of balloons and basically just 12 hours of nonstop fun. The Gossip. Oh, and did I mention The Gossip?

2005-11-02T17:25:00.000+01:00

A new friend!

After ten or so gigs where the technicians almost started weeping because of the strong-willed sound of my guitar, Rupert (named after Rupert Campbell-Black in my favorite trash book, Rivals by Jilly Cooper), I decided it was time to get myself a new one. I bought her today. She's brown and beautiful. She's the prettiest thing I've ever seen. It's a Tanglewood ("poor man's Martin", but I figured, if Jill Sobule plays them, they must be good.)

All that is left is to name her. Janson and I agreed maybe she could be called Söltrut after the Dr Snuggles character. Any other name suggestions are, however, welcome.

2005-10-29T19:40:00.000+02:00

Review:
Hello Saferide live
Pangmusik, Uppsala, October 28 2005
Audience: HHHHH

So. Much. Fun.
Thank you.

PS. Laakso performed perhaps the best concert I've seen all year.

PPS 2. I've put my "Write a song for every city we visit" idea on hold. Not because I don't enjoy writing the songs but because I have such a hard time remembering them on stage when I wrote them the night before. Instead, I think I'll write a song about every night we've played and try to post them on the website. I think I'll name the Pangmusik song I fucking love Kalmar. DS.

PPS 3. Thank you, I'm from Barcelona, for the pins and the record. I am now proudly prancing around with a Treehouse pin.

2005-10-28T13:25:00.000+02:00

Such a nice night yesterday at Lights are changing. (Lights are changing is an email-list for female musicians, started by Marit Bergman, and later on, some of the girls on the list started a club here in Stockholm.) (And yes, it's also a song by Mary Lou Lord.)

It's an amazing feeling to walk into a club where the musicians are mostly female, the sound technician is female, the dj is female and the club is run by ladies. Just because it's almost always the other way around. I performed Roger Miller's King of the road with Lights are changing's amazing band The Shining, and I also got the chance to sing Drug Buddy and Divan with Sweden's Evan Dando - Christian Kjellvander.

Ah. Such a nice night.

2005-10-28T13:07:00.000+02:00

Review:
Hello Saferide live
Tivoli, Helsingborg October 25, 2005
Hello Saferide: HHH
Audience: HHHHH

Tivoli's Vinylbaren is decorated like an American diner and Hello Saferide enjoyed herself a lot. Tove Möller, who also played, was awesome. Appearantly, you could hear the concert next door almost as much as HS but ah, who cares. HS never performed her song Helsingborg because, well, frankly, it was rubbish. (I might post the lyrics some day though.- HS)
Best moment of the evening, though: After the gig, HS found herself all alone in a computer room at a nearby hotel. All of a sudden, the fire alarm went off and HS rushed out in the hall only to be accompanied by a distinguished business man in his late fifties, wearing only underwear. HS and Business Man fearlessly ran across the halls trying to find an emergency exit. (Business Man obviosly did not know he was led by the worst sense of location in Scandinavia.) They found an exit and Business Man had to run barefoot in puddles created by the Helsingborg rain. It turned out to be a false alarm and everyone in the lobby laughed ruthlessly on Business Man's behalf. HS watched an episode of Frasier and fell asleep. - Annika Norlin

2005-10-26T17:37:00.000+02:00

Today I got my second bad review! Everyone have been kind for so long; I've been waiting for this, patiently, knowing my time to be slaughtered eventually would come.

To make this easy, I have summed it up in 7 basic steps. (Sorry, I haven't got them on PowerPoint. Yet.)

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF BANDS AND ARTISTS

Step 1. New artist comes along. Is new and exciting. Gets critical acclaim.
Step 2. Artist gets media attention.
Step 3. People start judging record based on hype instead of based on record. (Not strange. It's like when you go see a movie you've never heard of before, and it's pretty good - you'll likely leave the cinema happy. But if your best friends all told you it's the best movie they've ever seen, and the movie's pretty good - you'll probably leave the cinema very disappointed.)
Step 4. People start saying artist isn't that good after all, because they like to say something unexpected.
Step 5. Time passes.
Step 6. People start saying artist is awesome, because they like to say something unexpected.
Step 7. Artist is forever hailed as being "genius" and "groundbreaking".

In this scale, I'm currently in step 2, the Strokes are currently in step 4, and Oasis have started to sneak into step 6. The Cardigans are approaching step 7. ABBA have built themselves a nest on step 7 after spending lots of time in the Eighties on step 4.

Please be gentle with me in step 3.

2005-10-24T23:01:00.000+02:00

Review:
Hello Saferide live
Mejeriet, Lund October 23, 2005
Hello Saferide: HHHH
Audience: HHHHH

Mejeriet was crowded. Hello Saferide Allstar Band played their second gig together and performed a couple of new songs, including Long lost penpal featuring Maia Hirasawa and Nothing like you (when you're gone). Hello Saferide was in shock over how supportive the Lund audience was. Some of them even wanted pins without HS having to force them upon people. Andreas knew 95 % of the people in the house, Maia and Jens knew the other 5 %, Fredrik and HS knew nobody.
After the gig, Hello Saferide and the Allstar Band went out for beers with Great Lake Swimmers, who turned out to be just as nice and smart as they are talented.

Oh, and Hello Saferide's idea about writing a new song for each city she visits on the autumn tour went down well. She forgot a few sentences, but ah, who cares. Below are the lyrics to Lund. /Annika Norlin

Lund

Two brothers from the south of Sweden came to stay with me
One of them could have taken my virginity
But he didn't know that back then, did he, no he didn't know that back then

He went a bit harsh on my poetry:
said there's no chance in hell this will ever grow to be
anything
He said: I mostly like Ulf Lundell
I said well...
Then he said something I didn't understand
Cause he was from the south of Sweden,
he sounded like a Dane
Lalala

You should have seen these brothers, freckles all over their pale bodies
And when they spoke it made you feel like sun had broken out though it was fall
They made it obvious I was too young, not interesting at all

I always wanted to go to their hometown and knock at their door
And say something clever and revolting they had never heard before
To make them change their minds
after all this time
Look, there was some cool in me you know
They probably still won't think so
Lalalala

And I'm in Lund again and nothing's fixed that was broken
And I'm in Lund again and I still don't understand everything right
Maybe they are here right now and maybe they have changed
Maybe they are here, because there is a ray of sun in the hall tonight

2005-10-17T13:04:00.000+02:00

Today: the flute.

Lately, I have met about five or six amazing girls who all have one thing in common. They would like to play in a band but they reckon they can't. The reason: the only instrument they know is a school orchestra favorite called the flute.

How long, oh girls of great lung capacity, are you going to let that lie lead you further? A flute is as good a pop instrument as any old guitar.

Thesis: "The flute is the new trumpet"
Evidence 1: Anna from Vapnet.
Evidence 2: Sasha Bell.
Evidence 3: Hanna Fahl, head flutist in Kissing Mirrors.
Retro evidence: The Mamas & the Papas.

I'm thinking about getting all of my flute friends together and having them perform my songs in a whole concert. They could wear band uniforms and I could wear a hat. We could call it: "Introducing - in D minor."

2005-10-12T14:56:00.000+02:00

Oi! Here you can hear us play on Nyhetsmorgon, and you can also read an interview with me (including a tv test, which I, of course, aced). Jens felt the need to buy a Trisslott and scrape it just because he was on TV4. Jens won 50 kr, some other guy won 200 000. Oh well. Thank you TV4 for excellent breakfast.

2005-10-11T14:23:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow morning, I'll get up at 3.30. Bird watching, you ask? Feasting in the joy of morning glory, you ask? Neither. We're going on Nyhetsmorgon to perform a couple of songs.
Do not worry, dear listeners, I won't let you down! As you can see from the list below, I'm pretty used to being on TV.

The 4 Times I've Been On TV

1. At the tender age of 13, I phoned Superchannels live call-in tv-show On the air. They had a segment called "Talent day" where viewers from all over Europe could call in to sing a song. All the other kids (*childish*) sang hits from Milli Vanilli, or Whitney Houston. I, on the other hand (*more mature*) sang a beautiful rendition of Paul Ankas Diana.
Best moment: host Clive Pearse asking me the journalistically challenged question:
- Where do you practise your singing?
And me answering:
- In the living room.

2. At the tender age of 14, I decided it was once again time for me to call On the air. This time, it was "Penpal Day". I got almost 30 letters from presumptive penpals, none of which I have contact with today.
Best moment: Clive Pearse asking me what personality traits I needed in a future penpal and me answering:
- They must be into the Osmond Boys.

3. At 16, me and my friends Malin and Linnea decided it was time we played our songs on local TV station TV4 Jämtland. Knowing there was an audience of at least 3 people out there, you can bet we were nervous.
Best moment: Beforehand, we had decided to make funny faces when we played the last note of smash hit Everyone ought to fancy me. However, both me and Linnea were so nervous we forgot. Left was Malin, scrunching her face up like a used bag. Alone.

4. At 20, I was studying to become a journalist in the north of Sweden. One week, we were practising TV journalism and were assigned to put a tv show together. Me and camera lady Astrid went home to unknown, 17 year old student Brolle Wallmark who'd recently won a talent show. Too bad half of the interview couldn't be aired because Astrid and me were so smitten with Brolle and his 17-year old Elvis voice. We giggled with excitement after everything he said, so loud the quotes could not be used. Years after, he went on to be a star and have a a big fringe.
Best moment: 13-year old local girls calling him throughout the interview and asking him to break up with his girlfriend.

2005-10-07T14:11:00.000+02:00

Review: Hello Saferide live
Storan, Göteborg
Wednesday, October 5
Hello Saferide: HHH
Audience: HHHHH

Playing solo after having enjoyed the pleasures of playing with the Allstar Band took its toll on Hello Saferide who got a bit nervous and squeaky-voiced. The audience was however extremely amazing and goodlooking (especially Jonna, Lars, Hanna, Sanna, Elin, Mia, Maja, Anna, Ellen, and Hans with girlfriend). Storan's beautiful setting made Hello Saferide feel like she was performing at the Peach Pit After Dark. Nat was not around. Some might say the gig was too short - Hello Saferide herself claimed she will never perform a long gig in her life. Her favorite alltime concert memory is the Detroit Cobras live in London (20 minutes + encore), her worst alltime concert memory is Ryan Adams live in Stockholm (a painful four, beerless hours).

After the show, Hello Saferide forced her pins on people who looked like they didn't want them and talked to some extremely friendly people. HS would like to thank everyone who came as well as Jenny, Jesper and the others for taking extremely good care of her. Oh and next time HS, remember that "I can't believe it's not love" isn't a ten hour long-ballad. - Annika Norlin

2005-10-02T23:05:00.000+02:00

Review:
Hello Saferide live
Debaser, Stockholm September 30, 2005
Hello Saferide: HHH
Audience: HHHHH

Hello Saferide (for the evening dressed in a sassy black dress with red flowers on, as seen on the cover of Introducing: HS) was having a lot of fun on stage as she for the first time was accompanied by some amazing musicians, featuring "dangerous" bass player Jens Lagergren, "feisty" back-upsinger Maia Hirasawa (also quite the tambourine player), "restless" guitar player / keyboardist / singer Andreas Söderlund and "Animal" drummer Fredrik Hultgren. They performed excellent, especially on indie gospel anthem San Francisco and slow swooner song I thought you said summer is going to take the pain away. Hello Saferide herself did not hear what she was singing, and as a result of this, she sang out of tune about 35635436 times, but she did pull some one-liners and managed to win a few hearts along the way. The audience was a great support for Hello Saferide and her band although sometimes, the club was too loud for her sensitive, extremely brilliant lyrics.
PS. Next time HS, please do not wear boots that weigh 300 pounds, so you'll be able to move around a bit more.
- Annika Norlin

Next gig: Göteborg, October 5

2005-09-30T12:32:00.000+02:00

Tonight, we'll celebrate the birth of Introducing: Hello Saferide at Debaser here in Stockholm. Reasons to be there:

* I'll be performing with a band for the first time. The result is about 4783637 squadrillions better than I ever dreamed it would be.
* And even if you're weird and think we suck, you'll still get to listen to Elias & The Wizzkids.
* You'll be able to buy new, amazing Hello Saferide pins!
* And, eh, it'll be fun.

2005-09-22T17:52:00.000+02:00

Today I rehearsed for the second time with the Hello Saferide Allstar Band who'll be meeting you on tour this autumn. We're like Grymlings, or Travelling Wilburys for that matter, but about 500 years younger. Oh, and we also don't own mansions.

The band:

* Andreas Söderlund from Niccokick - He plays guitars, keyboards and sings backup. He's also got the somewhat doubtful pleasure of being the person I ask everything. Like:
- Andreas, what exactly does a tour manager do?
- Andreas, what are we supposed to play here?
- Andreas, what is an aardvark?

* Jens Lagergren from Thunder Express - He's a great bass player, but really, the best thing about him is that he comes from Östersund too, so when I tell my not-very-exciting anecdotes from home he's actually interested.

* Fredrik Hultgren from Dreamboy - Plays the drums. I've borrowed so much from Dreamboy (their singer, their drummer, a place to rehearse).Tomas Fridholm wrote in Musikindustrin that I perform a song called Dreamboy with Ludwig Bell (really, I sing I thought you said summer is going to take the pain away with Ludde FROM Dreamboy). Now, I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to actually write a song called Dreamboy. It could be my celebration to them for being so good to me.

* Maia Hirasawa, Maia's Case - She'll be with us on some gigs, helping us out with backup singing and handclaps. The only bad thing about Maia is that she sings so well that everytime she opens her mouth, everyone will wonder why the heck I'm the one singing lead.

2005-09-18T15:20:00.000+02:00

Thanks to the always lovely Mats Strandberg for writing about me in Aftonbladet today. Mats says he does not only like my songs, he also thinks I've got another ace up my sleeve: I bear a striking resemblance to Anya the revenge demon from Buffy - the vampire slayer.
Ok. There must be something about my face. It's like Proust and the Madeleine cakes. Except for me being the Madeleine cake. I remind people of... well, other people. Apparently, every human has got an aunt, a neighbour or an old class mate that looks "just like" me. When I was blond I got Kylie Minogue about 4635423456 times. Which would have been nice if I hadn't been smart enough to realise that makes me the fatter, uglier version of Kylie. I would rather be the better looking Meatloaf, hell, the healthier Shane MacGowan for all I care.

Other people that looks "just like me":
Emma Thompson, actress
Kina Wileke, Swedish news anchor
Ally Walker, actress
Jim Carrey, actor
Hemlige Arne, secret
Sheryl Crow, singer
Allyce Beasley, plays annoying assistant in 80's series Moonlighting
Elisabet Höglund (at least my hair and the way it looks in the morning)

2005-09-16T14:18:00.000+02:00

Craig Bonnell and all other fans of amazing pop music out there - check out my new favorite band, Billie The Vision & The Dancers. I saw them play at Emmabodas efterfest and thought they were really good. After downloading all their songs I'm completely blown away. I've been listening to Summer Cat for a week and now I'm getting ready to approach Nobel Square.

/Hello jealous - Meet us there, by the Nobel Square, if you want to change the world with us

2005-09-14T14:52:00.000+02:00

People seem to like our little record. It's not even released yet, and already magazines, music sites and various nice people have wrote very pleasant things about it. I'll be sure to post some reviews later (as well as pictures of me gloating while reading them).

Suddenly, I have realised that people seem to think all the songs I've written are about myself. Nothing could be more wrong, dear listeners. They are made up and sometimes based on slices of reality - a quote, a situation, a feeling - but they are never about my life. You should be glad they're not. If they were, every song would be about TV, possibly with an occasional song about sourcream&onion crisps. My boyfriend does not cheat on me (hopefully), he has never hit me and he does not - I repeat NOT - listen to symphony rock. I have never had a knife in my top drawer and I have never been driven home in state-owned cars. So there.

PS. Jill liked it. (See blog entry from August 30)

2005-09-05T09:43:00.000+02:00

My friend Sandra, woman of great astrological knowledge, would probably say that some planet was in retrograde this weekend (or something). I went to Emmabodas efterfest and it was a weird, weird trip that seemed to be cursed by misfortune cookies everywhere. Know before reading this that I am a control freak who never, NEVER! have had any issues with trains before.
Five "favorite" moments:

1. Getting on the wrong train to Emmaboda and instead ending up on the train to Göteborg.
2. About 400000 mosquitos feasting on my pale body on stage as I tried to sound sensitive while singing Loneliness is better when you're not alone. I've never seen more mosquitos, and I'm from Jämtland
3. Boys in the audience mocking me while I was singing, sibling stylee: I would sing a stanza, they would repeat it back at me with silly voices, while laughing extremely hard
4. Getting tricked by another "nice" Emmaboda local who showed me the wrong way to the train station in the morning, me missing my train and having to pay extreme amounts of money for a new ticket. I don't know your name, local boy, but when you burn in hell, you'll know who sent you
5. While waiting for new train, eating pizza at a place that shortly after I got my Vegetariana was invaded by hungry skinheads (not good people into reggae, but bad people into hate)

Oh, and did I tell you about the man who suddenly passed out in the morning, so the ambulance had to come and get him?

However, in some way, it turned out to be a great trip after all, thanks to the nice people who work at Emmabodafestivalen, to the great food they gave us, thanks to the other bands for playing excellent, cheap popcorn and some really nice people in the audience. Fellow östersundians Vapnet took pity of my lonesome soul and let me hang out with them. I got to crash in their cabin. I closed my eyes and pretended I was in a band too.

2005-09-01T11:22:00.000+02:00

This was going to be a long and sad post about confusion and nightmares, but instead I googled my way to unknown pop sensation I'm From Barcelona. Check them out! And thank you, I'm From Barcelona, for making my day.

/Annika - I wish I was from Barcelona, too

2005-08-30T10:30:00.000+02:00

A letter from The Shivvers!*

Hi, Annika, my name is Scott Krueger. Played in the Shivvers. Jill and I
Would like to get a copy of Safe Ride's Teenline.

If I'm Safe Ride to the Shivvers, I'm Safe Ride to everyone. Anyway, the mere knowledge of Jill Kossoris listening to the way I'm messing up her song gives me, well, shivvers. To be continued.

* Eighties band who recorded some of the best songs I've ever heard, including the triumphant Teenline, a song which I did a very low-budget version of for Jeans & Cover.

2005-08-25T18:30:00.000+02:00

New dates! And for some reason, the link funktion isn't working on Blogspot today! I'll be sure to give you the proper web sites later.

* Emmabodas efterfest (www.rassle.org), Saturday, September 3, Emmaboda.

* Tria (www.tria.se) will be taking me with them on a few dates on their coming
university tour. I’ll be visiting Stockholm, Uppsala, and Linköping.
Basically, anything could happen. Hopefully we’ll find a place for me
to play a couple of songs on campus around lunch time. Hopefully a few people will stop
and listen.
Stockholms universitet, September 6, Stockholm
Uppsala universitet, September 7, Uppsala
Linköping universitet, September 8, Linköping

(While in Uppsala, I’ll stop by Pangmusik! (www.pangmusik.se) at night and play records.
It'll be a fine evening with Mattias Alkberg BD and Mixtapes and
Cellmates on stage.)

These gigs will all be performed with me on singing and guitar and you
on handclaps. I’m currently working on getting a kick-ass band together, and
hopefully, they should be joining me for the following gigs:

Pusterviksbaren, Göteborg, October 7
Klubb Mogwai, Hugos, Norrköping, November 18

2005-08-21T16:33:00.000+02:00

So, I went to Norrköping this weekend to play at Knickedick on Stadsmuseets innergård. I forced Mikklos to come along and we were both in awe.

Hello Saferide's List To All The Good Things About Norrköping

1. First things first. The coffeeshop we went to had pieces of blueberry pie the size of heaven. They were served in a huge bowl with about 2 square miles of vanilla sauce on top.
2. The weather was awesome and they had a special garden with only cactuses in it. Cactuses are the best.
3. The audience was extremely supportive and cheerful.
4. Everyone we met were incredibly nice and friendly.
5. The dj's at Knickedick played Saturday Looks Good To Me, Townes Van Zandt and Modest Mouse. When we moved on to Gudskelov, they played As with Stevie Wonder.

Thank you Norrköping.

2005-08-16T20:15:00.000+02:00

Release date for Introducing: Hello Saferide is September 28. Over this, I am tres excited. In a couple of weeks you'll be able to hear my next single though. It's called If I don't write this song, someone I love will die and hopefully, it will make you think about the Lemonheads It's a shame about Ray album. The song is about OCD and if you listen to the lyrics careful enough, it's actually a rather sad song. So there.

2005-08-09T17:08:00.000+02:00

If you’re in Stockholm this weekend and feeling like getting saferided, there’ll be two fine opportunities: me and Erika are playing records at Debaser on August 12. The club is called Min skivsamling. If you are an idiot like myself and love the Pipettes and Saturday Looks Good To Me, but you’re still not going to Emmabodafestivalen, there’s sure to be some songs by them - and then some. (Erika will probably play All along the watchtower by Bob Dylan about 500 times, so if you don’t like that song, you should probably go somewhere else.)

I’ll also be playing live, just me and my guitar, at Trädgården on August 13, with a fine band called Convoj.

PS. Tonight at 8 pm, you can listen to Anna Swantessons interview with yours truly on Musikjournalen.

2005-08-05T10:40:00.000+02:00

My friend Mia is going to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Therefore, I need a new friend to fill her place until mid December. Applicants need to be smart, beautiful and laugh when I make jokes. When I accidentally stick my toe into their strawberry drinks, they need to look upon it with a sense of humour. Driver’s license a plus but not required. You probably won’t be able to make me as good food as Mia does, but you will have to go for coffee with me every Friday. You should be over-bendy and graceful as I imagine this will make me look more graceful too. It’s a good thing if you play soccer so I can go and cheer on you. You will have to be funny and make queer paintings so I can feel proud. You should also not mope when I complain over the fact that you’re not as good as Mia.
Applications with CV to be posted under ”Comments” underneath.

2005-08-01T17:30:00.000+02:00

I had fun at Storsjöyran. Picture by Carolina Eriksson.

2005-07-25T21:45:00.000+02:00

A letter! For me!

Dear Sir,
I know that this proposal letter might be a surprise to you, but do consider it as an emergency.In a nutshell,I am Yason William,from the republic of Sierra-Leone in west Africa,now seeking political asylum in Dakar Senegal under the (UNHCR).I got your contact from a reliable chamber of commerce.

My (late )father (Dr.Ngene William) was the managing director of Rainbow Gold Diamond Mining company in (KEN EMA) Sierra- Leone.But was killed during the longing civil war and all his properties was totally destroyed.However, we managed to escape with some of my father's precious Diamonds which is presently deposited safely in a security and finance company here in Dakar.

Now we are saddled with the problem of securing a trust worthy foreign personality to help us transfer the diamonds over to his country pending my arrival to meet with him.Furthermore,we only want this done this way because your country is politically stable for any profitable investment and if you accept our proposal,you will serve as the beneficiary of the diamonds.

I am giving you the offers as mentioned with every confidence on your acceptance to assist us,we have decided to give you 10% out of the total money generated from the sales of the diamonds.Secondly,we shall mapped out 2% for any miscellaneous expenses that you may incur during the transferring of the diamonds over to your country. Finally,the diamond weight in question is 42.550 Carats.Conclusively,i wish you send me a reply immediately as soon as you receive this proposal, so that we shall arrange on how to lift this consignment out of Dakar Senegal to your country.

On commencement,this transaction will take (7) working days to be accomplished.A certificate of ownership, and the Lab-test result certificate of the diamonds would be fax to you immediately i receive your urgent and positive reply.
yason77william@yahoo.co.in
Regards,
Yason William

Dear Yason Williams.
I have exactly 112 kronor.

/Sir Hello Saferide

2005-07-23T22:42:00.000+02:00

Joo-hoo! The album is nearly finished. I’m extremely happy and proud. ”It’s for real - and it’s spectacular”, to paraphrase Seinfeld (which I like to do far too often).
To sum it up, there’ll be some extremely up-beat numbers, there’ll be some extremely sad songs, and there’ll be a few in between. Andreas did such a good job producing the songs, it reminds me of the make-over scene in high school films: the nerdy girl takes off her glasses and brushes her hair, and everyone’s in awe. In this case, my songs have taken off their glasses and brushed their hair (this sentence is getting weirder and weirder). I hope someone will be in awe. I hope it will be the nerds.

PS. Sean from Said the Gramophone asked me to write something about an mp3 favorite. So I did.

2005-07-16T19:33:00.000+02:00

All the best ideas are simple. Yesterday, Debaser held a night with allsång. (Allsång, foreign friends, is a Swedish phenomenon where everyone in the audience is invited to sing along to the songs performed on stage. You get the lyrics on paper and the performers walks around in the crowd and let different people sing in the microphone.) Only, this time it was indie allsång. We had the best time ever. We sang along to Love will tear us apart. We danced to Hanging on the telephone. The sweat! The love! The voices of three hundred weak Swedish youngsters!

I'm considering starting up what I'd like to call indie aerobics. Specially constructed for all of us music lovers who never get to work out. We all meet up in a park. We drink a hundred beers. We exercise (crunches, sit-ups, the works) to up-beat songs by The Sprites, The Pipettes, and Heavenly. We soak in our own sweat and drink another hundred beers. The End. Who's in?

2005-07-14T17:09:00.000+02:00

When I was about 16, me and my friends Malin and Linnea had a band. We would meet up every Sunday to write songs, sing in harmonies and play guitars. Only thing was, we never really thought of ourselves as a band. We didn't have any drummer, we could never play the intro to Smoke on the water and we never hung out at Tinghuset (classic hangout for all of Östersund's rockers). But most of all, we were never boys. So I guess we just kind of surrendered.

I still can't play the intro to Smoke on the water, but Malin and Linnea have agreed to sing a couple of songs with me on Storsjöyran. I'm really excited about this. Finally, some proper hand-clapping can be done.

PS. In other news, ZTV have added "My best friend" to their playlist.

2005-07-06T22:55:00.000+02:00

Good evening. These are the Hello Saferide news.

* From now on, the nice people at Luger will be booking my gigs. This does not change a thing. I still demand exactly 2000 pearly white grapes at each show (with seeds removed, of course).

* Pretty soon, you'll be able to download the video to My best friend from Musicbrigade. Yes, it's also coming up on this site within the near future but as you might have learned by now, in my case, "a near future" might as well mean "Before Easter, 2008".
(Most common phrase said by people who have seen the video:
- You look exactly like you always do.
Which is a so-so grade for my dashingly good looks as the plan for the video was to look like I have a hangover.)

* Samantha writes at Said the Gramophone: Highschool stalker inspired me and my friend started a band because of highschool stalker, we wanna be just like hello saferide, except australian. That nearly made me cry out of sheer joy.

Those were the Wednesday news. I'm Hello Saferide and you're not.

2005-07-02T18:34:00.000+02:00

What a lovely day, wasn't thinking about what was wrong but what was right. (Except it's night in Hal's song so it rhymes a bit better.) In the park all day with Mia. She requested I'd write her a song so now I'm thinking about alternative titles. Perhaps: She's so bendy. (We once took a yoga class together.)

People don't seem to realise you are very welcome to comment this blog underneath each entry, so just to get you started, here are some questions:

* Thursday is better than Friday, because on Friday, the weekend has already started while on Thursday, you're off to a fresh start. Discuss.
* For the government to try and prevent downloading is like having a teenager and shouting in her ear: "Your mother and I have thought about it, and we have decided we are against you growing up." Discuss.
* Futurama is actually better than The Simpsons. Discuss.

As you may see, the topics I've chosen are highly controversial.

2005-06-30T16:35:00.000+02:00

I work 24/7 these days. I don't even get to watch TV. I get crazy when I don't get my weekly TV dose. In the words of Homer Simpson: Let us all bask in television's warm glowing warming glow.

Just a quick word to let you know I’m playing a few songs at Metropolis in Stockholm tomorrow (July 1). This is a great honor as it is the ninth last Metropolis night EVER.

2005-06-24T00:21:00.000+02:00

I got an e-mail from Eko Lennon (George Lucas would DIE for that name! Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Eko Lennon) all the way from Indonesia. Eko writes:

Greetings to the Hello Saferide band

Hi there! My name's Eko. I'm from Indonesia. First time I see your band in site. I can feel your music is cool! great! amazing! whooa! and I hope (and want) I can hear your songs someday... But...I haven’t heard any songs from your release. Coz I couldn’t find it here in Indonesia due to the economic situation of Indonesia. Well,..that’s why I’m writing this mail to you wondering something like...Hmm do you guys have any cd? Or whatever likes free cds or anything? Maybe I could make a small promo about your band (Hello Saferide). I couldn’t always browsing your site since I don’t have internet access. I use internet on cyber cafe...so I must pay it over and over again. Last but not least, I would like to say thanks a lot coz' you've read this email. Peace and Love from Indonesia! Thanks!

I think Eko seems cool! great! Amazing! Whooa! as well. Indonesia is my new favorite country (fear, El Salvadorians).

2005-06-19T17:54:00.000+02:00

Favorite songs right now:

You Get What You Deserve, the Siddeleys
To A Passing Tune, Galactic Heroes
Make A Baby With Me, the Sprites
Right Back, Maxine Nightingale
What a lovely dance, Hal
High Drama, Laakso
Plea For A Good Night's Sleep, Devon Sproule
Song Against Life, Plastic Mastery (a David & The Citizens cover)
Teve Star, Action Biker
Only In The Past, Be Good Tanyas
Hunting High And Low, A-ha
Common Around Here, Jenny Wilson

Oh, and also an amazing one called Girl With A Mind by Sixties group The Click. The lyrics in the chorus go: "Girl, girl with a mind, is so hard to find".

2005-06-17T23:30:00.000+02:00

Life is good when you have friends like Micke, Mia, Gotte, Chroko, Pontus, Ida, Nils, Laura, Nico, Martina, Daniel, Johan, Åsa, Nena, Jenni, Henrik, Sara, Sandra, Anna (och Ella), Ugglan, Dulle, Andreas, Peder, Koni, Maia, Victoria, Tove, Deniz, Ögat, Anna, Bluck, Anders... all of whom showed up to support yours truly at Debaser yesterday. I'm so lucky friends-wise something should be taken away from me in return. (Just not my I-Pod. I'm really getting an unhealthy relationship to that thing. I accidentally slammed my bag into some poor lady at the subway today and the first thought that crossed my mind was "I hope I-Pod's okay.")

(I just realised perhaps I have already paid for this friends thing in advance by being born with absolutely no sense of location.)

In other news, half of the visitors on this website are still from El Salvador. El Salvadorians. If you read this. Please mail me at info[at]hellosaferide[dot]com and explain to me where you heard my music or if "saferide" happens to mean for example "sexual activities with dwarves in trunks" in Spanish. (Plans for "Hello Saferide - the El Salvador tour" is currently in progress. (I understand you work well with coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum, shrimp, beef and dairy products.)

2005-06-15T20:06:00.000+02:00

This day's headlines: Hello Saferide in Janice Dickinson chock, Hultsfredsfestivalen seems to be more boring this year than any year, and some other stuff.

It was reported yesterday that Hello Saferide, on behalf of a persistant hair dresser, dyed her hair dark and now looks like a slightly less annoying version of Top Model judge Janice Dickinson (not Janice Dickinson, 22, but Janice Dickinson, 47).
Hello Saferide says of new hairdye: Hello, scissors.

In music news, Hello Saferide will not visit Hultsfredsfestivalen for the first time in eight years and will not be able to dance all night and eat ostkaka with Erika. Over this, Hello Saferide feels a bit bitter but promises to improve for next year.

In sports - I haven't done anything. How unusual

And finally, weather. Summer has finally arrived to Stockholm. It's all good. It's all good.

2005-06-12T16:44:00.000+02:00

Tinkerbell kind of likes me. So I like Tinkerbell. I'm not that hard to please.

In other news, I have lost my voice. I kind of need it back because I'm recording the album this week and I'm also playing at Debaser on Thursday. If any kind soul goes looking for it, it's small, kind of girly and has some sadness to it.

2005-06-09T18:14:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, I was this close to becoming Sweden's most hated person. Me, Martina and Daniel went for a beer in a hotel lounge when we slowly realised that the whole Swedish men's soccer team were in the room, having some kind of a Swedish men's soccer meeting. Fredrik Ljungberg was there! Oh Freddy, I have seen you in Calvin Kleins on a Times Square wall, it feels like I know you already.

Anyways - yours truly, being the cool cat that I am, obviously sported my "I don't know who you are, and if I did, I wouldn't care"-look and went to the bar in order to get a drink. Sadly, at the same time, the soccer men decided it was time to leave for their weird soccer bus. And I was this close, this close I tell you, to trip and fall on Kim Källström, perhaps damaging him and his soccer legs for all eternal future. (I didn't, luckily.)

Dagens Nyheter had an article about Hello Saferide the other day. The headline stated that I was looking for someone to sing a duet with (which is not quite true - I have already nailed myself a duet partner) so for days my mail box have been full of nice gentlemen offering me their singing services. Some have sent me mp3 samples, and they all sing so good I'm considering starting a men's choir. I could be their indie conductor.

2005-06-07T15:46:00.000+02:00

It was a good weekend spent locked in Studio Cobra with Andreas (producer, played the bass guitar, gets crazy when he drinks coffee) and Christian (owner of studio, plays the drums and piano, makes the coffee). To sum it up: basically I played my fifth grade-chords and they turned it into beautiful music.

On Friday night, I played records at Metropolis with Groover Recordings to celebrate the release of Jeans & Cover. We were supposed to play all cover songs. Parts of my selection:

Hanging on the telephone (Blondie)

Stuck in the middle (Astropuppees)

Too drunk to fuck (Nouvelle Vague)

Relight my fire (Take That featuring Lulu)

En lärling på våran gård (Sylvia Vrethammar)

Mrs Robinson (Lemonheads)

Tainted love (Soft cell)

Melvin (The Forget-me-nots)

As you can see, I don’t care much about my indie reputation, I just want to make the people dance, goddamnit!

2005-05-29T13:49:00.000+02:00

Oh. My. God.
Kaj Kindvall (host of Swedish radio show Tracks, foreign friends) said my name. He said MY name. Had I only known that when I was ten, in my huge pink glasses, with my L-shaped body (I had rather large feet), with my finger on the tape recorder, ready to tape hits like Nu tar vi dom med Hockeylandslaget or Mare mare with Anders Glenmark. The Tracks list was EVERYTHING. And now, MY song could end up on it! Huge.

2005-05-27T21:03:00.000+02:00

Home alone. Friends have gone to great Stockholm festival Popaganda. Started day by going to dentist. Paid 1/4 of month's salary. Have been pissed off ever since. Stopped by Martina & Daniels amazing new office. Got tea. Saw amazing video to My best friend. Had lunch with Mia. Had coffee with sister. Had beer with boyfriend. Read some very nice words in QX about single. Bought new jeans. Noticed sun was shining. Listened to The Pipettes in I-Pod. Still cranky.

2005-05-25T13:25:00.000+02:00

My dad threatened to take back the guitar microphone I borrowed if I did not specify that he, too, is a fan of Hello Saferide. My fan base is really growing rapidly. From three to four fans in just a day.

2005-05-24T20:47:00.000+02:00

Lately:

* Yesterday, I played at a releaseparty for magazine Känguru (also there: two good pop bands called Låtsaskatten and Ironville).
* I also learned that I'll get to play at this year's Storsjöyran. This is huge as all of my three fans (my mother, Erika's mother, and Mia's mother) will be able to come see me play at the same time.
* Most frequent song in my iPod: Coffee and pastries by Galactic Heroes. You can download it off their website. Oh, how I envy those of you who haven't listened yourself sick of it yet.
* A very confusing search shows that 49 % of all the visitors on my website last week hailed from El Salvador.
* My friend Johan informed me that my planned song about love between hockey players has already been written by Doktor Kosmos, a song called Böghockeyns dag. Johan quoted: "1000 och åter 1000 böghockeyspelare / Sluter sig samman till en enda krossande näve".
* We went to see the last/third/whatever Star Wars-film - Revenge of the Sith. I noted that Hayden Christensen sported an extremely bizarre torso and now believe he's got silicone implants. I urge everyone who see this film to look upon this matter and decide for yourself what to make of it. Perhaps that's what keeps Darth from breathing properly.

2005-05-20T10:39:00.000+02:00

Planned gigs so far this summer:
May 23 at Gula Villan, Stockholm (release party for magazine Känguru)
June 16 at Debaser, Stockholm
July 16 at Knickedick Gårdsfest, Stadsmuséets innergård, Norrköping
Juli 28, 29 or 30 (exakt date not decided yet) at Storsjöyran, Östersund

Because I still get somewhat freaked out before playing in front of people, I'm planning to play at subway stations here in Stockholm now and again during the coming couple of weeks. It is my absolute belief that a few days of beeping trains, people not listening, not caring and possibly shouting YOU SUCK! while pouring coffee from 7-Eleven at me will be the best way to toughen myself up a bit.

2005-05-15T23:45:00.000+02:00

One of my favorite singers, Monica Zetterlund, has sadly passed away due to a fire in her apartment. I will remember her not only because of her beautiful, dark voice and her amazing choice of talented friends, like Beppe Wolgers and Tage Danielsson. Most of all I will remember someone who could make you feel what she was singing. And when she sang in English, it was good, but when she sang in Swedish, it would blow your heart away.

Now I'm going to go buy every record she's ever made, like we always do, in our stupid attempts to celebrate the dead while they were living. And by doing so, we'll bring in money to the funds, the relatives and the record companies, money that could have been hers had we bought them when she was still alive.

2005-05-15T23:32:00.000+02:00

My best friend was officially released on Wednesday, and Mikael was going to throw me a surprise night out with all of my friends. It was a splendid evening, although my best friend (I'm starting to question that part now, however) accidentally ruined the surprise!-part. I vowed to pay 20 kronor to everyone who screamed "Surprise!" anyway.

Oh, and we're recording the rest of the album in early June. Producer this time around will be Andreas Söderlund of Niccokick fame (check them out if you haven't already!) We both agreed as long as we can find someone to play the saw on any song for the album, the result will be satisfying for all.

2005-05-08T21:57:00.000+02:00

I'm watching hockey. Sweden - USA. It's not going too well for Sweden. I've already come to think of a good title for a song: I'm trying to score a goal so that you will hug me. It will be about a hockey player secretly in love with a team mate. Perhaps I should ask Claed Åkeson to sing harmonies.

2005-05-07T02:14:00.000+02:00

I was too curious for my own good. I used Babelfish to translate this particular part on a Portugese mp3 blog. This is what I got:

"Olá Safe Boleia Interest that not work as cultural attaché of Sweden. What have-of making but these Swedish (and Swedish) they sing well and they are original. Is not orginal to write a song pop on one (same it)"highschool to stalker"? E is knowing that the young woman, in the Day of Is Valentim, she does not go to drink or to see it to look at it for the back one of one another girl. They say Hello Saferide."

I think it would be safe to say the translation did not make me any wiser.

/They say Hello Saferide

2005-05-07T01:18:00.000+02:00

I'm coming down with a cold. That always happens when I try to slow down. I guess that means I should never slow down again.

All of a sudden - I think it's partially thanks to a guy called Craig Bonnell, who's got this blog called Swedesplease - yours truly is becoming an internet celebrity. I would rank myself below Malik and... well, below anyone else as well, really, but it's a weird feeling when you find websites writing about you in languages you do not understand. Like Portugese. And Finnish. I, being the happy moron that I am, assume it's a good thing, but you never know. They may as well be writing: "Please, whatever you do, do NOT download a song called Highschool Stalker from some Swedish chick called Hello Saferide, it'll destroy your life forever." You never know, do you.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to go see a band called Sibiria play at Lava here in Stockholm. They're the first good band to come out of my home town, Östersund, since country band Intercooler. Intercooler, however, was the first good band to come out of Östersund since... well, always.

2005-05-03T16:43:00.000+02:00

I’ve been doing some interviews lately. I’ve also been answering questions about the world of entertainment two weeks in a row for the Stockholm edition of Metro. My mother and I both agree I look a bit like the Devil on the picture.

If you like, you can listen to me on Musik, ETC in P5 Radio Stockholm. I perform a pretty new song called Re: Always on my mind. The song is an answer to the Elvis Presley/Willie Nelson/Pet Shop Boys/a hundred other artists classic Always on my mind. I have always loved that song, but I always wondered how the girlfriend in the song would have replied when she heard it. I’m thinking about answering to Hot in herre next.

In other news: I watched Garden state on DVD again this weekend. I love that movie.

2005-04-27T15:41:00.000+02:00

1. Sunday was spent making a music video for My best friend. I have a feeling it will be excellent. Just because I once took lessons (this was like ten years ago) I have always been a firm believer of my own acting abilities. The video plot is simple, yet effective:

Scene 1. Hello Saferide grabs milk from the fridge.
Scene 2. Hello Saferide drinks coffee AND eats cornflakes.
Scene 3. Hello Saferide sings in a sofa.

Oh, how I grabbed that milk with style and elegance! And those cornflakes, man, you could never tell I don't like those flat, creepy cereal things! I felt like Lena Endre. Peder Bergstrand and the other guys who made the video applauded generously, obviously realising there was a star in the rise in the studio.

2. I feel that perhaps I should answer a few questions concerning My best friend. It's quite a simple song that started out as a celebration for my best friend Erika when we were like 19 and lived together. I remember falling for one bizarre guy after another and sometimes sighing and wondering why the hell I couldn't fall in love with my best friend instead who already possessed all the qualities I looked for in another person.

(I realised it was a hit song when I sang it for two male exchange students from Kazakstan and they immediately sang along. You have never lived until you have seen clean-cut Kazahstanians gently humming: "Damn, I wish I was a lesbian".)
Later, when I finished it, I used my artistic freedom (hah!) to change the story, so now it's not really about Erika and me but rather about two random teenage girls. I also like happy endings so now I let the ending imply that those girls maybe fell in love after all.

3. Please feel free to download the B-side of My best friend, Valentine's Day, from hellosaferide.com. Valentine's Day is about a girl who lives in a bad relationship. She decides to leave on Valentine's Day in order to reclaim love for herself.

A work collague of mine came to congratulate me on great choice of words in the song's final verse. "All that talk about the fish dicks, it's so funny!" giggled my friend, all excited. I hated having to inform him that the word used is actually "fish STICKS". Now I'm considering changing the words altogether. Please let me know what you think. Perhaps the word fish dick is too visual a word too sing.

Hello blog!

2005-04-27T15:36:00.000+02:00

After weeks of slowly trying to build up a fancy design-blog (me, I'm not too good at using html yet), I estimated that it would be up and running in February 2043. So for now, I decided to use Blogspot instead. Hello Lazyride.