So...Hello Saferide used to do the English songs and Säkert! used to do a similar-but-a-bit-darker thing in Swedish. But now, after getting inundated with emails and requests for translations, Annika Norlin gives us Säkert! på engelska (simply, Säkert in English). This is most excellent news if you don't speak Swedish.
The official website comes with a sweet warning - If you're Swedish and are reading - don't do it! You should be listening to the Swedish record.
And it's not like I would be missing out. I will have heard all these songs before. You see, all the songs on På Engelska are straight translations of songs from the two Säkert records, the self-titled one and its follow-up Facit.
But as much as I would like to listen to reasson, I just can't do it. I want to hear these versions. I'll just treat them like new songs. Of course it's not going to be the same. But, just like Bergman Rock is never going to be like Bob Hund and Kent in English is never going to be like the real Kent, it doesn't stop me from enjoying the music. And the song below is beautiful, wheteher you hear it in Swedish or in English.
Aww...a new Let's Whisper video. And it's just as lovely as the song.
The band are coming to the UK soon. For us Londoners they will be playing with Standard Fare at Zigfrid von Underbelly on Sunday 2nd October. It's a lovely venue and should be a great evening. See you there!
Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991) Directed by Mark L. Lester Starring Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee and Tia Carrere
"That's perfect... I'm partnered with a homicidal maniac on a personal vendetta of family vengeance"
I know one of the worst clichés when writing about old movies is to say "they don't make them like this anymore", but in the case of Showdown In Little Tokyo, they seriously don't make them like this anymore. This movie, for lack of a better description, kicks fucking ass.
Dolph Lundgren plays Chris Kenner, a giant of a man, who has grown up with an intense respect for and interest in samourai tradition (as a result of his parents getting murdered by a Japanese gangster when he was a kid).
Now a grown man, he's a Los Angeles police officer with some rather unorthodox working methods and only one thing on his mind: track down and destroy Yoshida, the evil snuff-movie making, drug dealing Yakuza overlord who killed his parents.
This guys is seriously EVIL!
By Dolph's side is the equally kick-ass, if not quite as awe-inspiring, Brandon Lee as Johnny Murata.
Together they rack up a seriously impressive body count, in what is another underrated classic from director Mark L. Lester.
Lundgren is obviously the star, but Lee gets most of the one-liners and there are a lot of classics here.
From the amazing…
"Listen you Zen warrior, fucking samurai asshole! I wanna know what's up!"
"You have the right to an Attorney. You have the right to be dead!"
And
"Listen, will you do this right? Clean? Like a cop in the 20th century, not some samurai warrior? We're gonna nail this guy. And when we get done... we're gonna go eat fish off those naked chicks!"
…to some rather bizarre dialogue exchanges
Murata: Kenner, just in case we get killed, I wanted to tell you, you have the biggest dick I've ever seen on a man. Kenner: Thanks. I don't know what to say. Murata: How about "Don't get killed"? Kenner: Don't get killed. Murata: You too.
This is just so much fun, exactly the way action movies are supposed to be, but rarely are these days. Lundgren and Lee are a seriously great combo – Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have nothing on these guys. And then there's Tia Carrere, who is gorgeous as ever and falls for Dolph after he saves her from committing ritual suicide.
Three thumbs up! 12 out of 10! Totally fucking awesome!
For some reason (which I'm sure is not completely legal), the entire movie is available for streaming on youtube. I strongly suggest you check it out.
Today I found out that COLOR ME OBSESSED, a new documentary about The Replacements will be showing at the Raindance Film Festival in London in just a few weeks. This is VERY EXCITING! To celebrate I have two classic (and rarely seen) videos of the band playing on Saturday Night Live in 1986, a performance that would see them banned from the show. I'm not quite sure why, but it's an incredible performance. The songs played are Bastards Of Young and Kiss Me On The Bus.
If you haven't been to the Vostok 5 exhibition yet, you now only have three days left. Wednesday is the last day and they're open until 8pm every day until then. Address is The Outside World Gallery, 44 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP.
On Saturday they put on a little gig in the gallery, with artists/musicians Duncan Barrett, Robert Rotifer and Darren Hayman playing a few space-related songs each before White Tiger took over, playing "spacey-sounding" sounds using a variety of electronic gadgets.
I'm Nik, a Swede in the wonderful mess that is London. I watch a lot of films and I listen to a lot of music.
I mainly seem to write about films these days, but occasionally I do post about music. If you want me to remove a song, send me an email (recordsmakegreatpets@gmail.com) and I will remove it immediately. If you like what you hear, please support the bands by buying their albums and going to their shows.
