perfect stranger

darren hayes - secret codes and battleships (5/10)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:22:00 +0100

darren is back. well, actually he was never really gone, people just stopped caring after he released a non-commercial album in 2004, consequently got dropped by his record label and last blessed the world with a self-released and self-indulgent double album in 2007. for his ‘comeback’ darren went back to his easy listening romantic pop (savage garden) roots and tries very hard to recreate the magic. the result is surprisingly solid (though rather generic) songwriting, but the dull and sometimes downright ridiculous lyrics and a production that is mediocre at best ensure that this album will not be a worldwide chart-topper and his days signed to his new record label are most likely numbered.
stand out tracks: ‘black out the sun’, ‘taken by the sea’, ‘nearly love’, ‘the sirens call’
stand out lyrics: ‘you hit me like a subway train’, ‘coz i am an island, you are the ocean’, ‘every time we kiss is like god walking into the room’, ‘i was better lost before i was found, ive got a history of misery, so baby listen to me, put me back on the shelf, and give this pain to somebody else, yeah…’

rising sun diaries, day 10

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 12:52:00 +0100

i finally make it to the lovely ‘jal’ lounge where the showers wont be operational until 6am, so i feel a bit sorry for the people who will be sitting around me on the plane.
especially since these people must have spent quite a lot of money on their tickets as i get upgraded to premium economy class for free (again!) at the gate!
all’s well that ends well. time for some well deserved sleep…

rising sun diaries, day 9

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:10:00 +0100

this time i really have to wake up early as my flight will be leaving at 6.35am tomorrow morning and i have to check in 24 hours before departure to once again secure an emergency row seat. unfortunately the japanese beat me to it and i end up with a really bad seat and an offer from british airways to buy an upgrade to premium economy for ‘only’ 921.50 pounds. no thanks.
after a few more hours of sleep i check out of the hotel and start my last day in tokyo. and what better way to end this trip than with another rollercoaster ride and another visit to a japanese spa? interestingly enough you are not allowed to enter the spa if you have any (!) tattoos. once inside i’m just in time to grab a ticket (!) to their ‘finnish style’ sauna where at 68 degrees (!) i’m the only one left after little more than 10 minutes.
a few more hours of relaxation and then its time to head to the airport where my original plan was to check in my luggage and then spend the rest of the night relaxing in the lounge. however check-in is closed until 4am and the lounge doesn’t open until 4.30am so i spend my last night in japan in the least glamourous way possible with a few cans of beers and stale sandwiches from the convenient store trying and failing to get some sleep on a bench in front of the check-in hall…

rising sun diaries, day 8

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:53:00 +0100

after planning and failing to wake up really early to have a sushi breakfast at the ‘tsukiji’ fish market for almost a week i finally manage to get there. at 2pm. its not quite the same but at least i arrive just in time for the lunch-special.
after exploring the posh ‘ropongi’ neighbourhood and the mori arts center (with its rather intriguing contemporary art exhibition ‘french window’) i also buy myself a ticket to the sky aquarium and discover what my lunch used to look like.
dinner is another japanese-style ripoff disguised as a bargain as most dishes and drinks are only 270 yen, however there is a hidden seating charge and a mandatory starter charge and of course all of these exclude taxes. gotta love their creativity.

rising sun diaries, day 7

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:42:00 +0100

its pretty cloudy and the day starts with a visit to the enormous ‘meiji’ shrine in harajuku and a bit of obligatory shopping and visiting some of the well known tourist traps including the oriental market. at 6pm its time to get excited at tokyo disneyland which is pretty much deserted due to the impending typhoon which is supposed to hit the coast tonight. half the rides are closed but there are hardly any queues and all the warning signs of ‘what not to do’ in the park and on the rides are in japanese so i suppose they don’t concern me.

rising sun diaries, day 6

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:30:00 +0100

even though many japanese understand english they seem to generally refuse to speak it. this makes daily life as a tourist a bit more tricky and difficult but also quite exciting. its like living in a secret society where most of the time you just have to pretend to know what the hell is going on in order to fit in.
today its finally hotspring time and i even get to wear a traditional ‘yukata’. there is also more young fit japanese guys but this time around they are fully naked. which interestingly enough is a bit better for my ego…

rising sun diaries, day 5

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:17:15 +0100

yesterday was not all bad news as i also finally found a working rollercoaster (directly behind the temple), a karaoke bar and even played a few rounds of some traditional japanese marble game / ancient pinball machine variation.
today i left tokyo to explore the countryside, was inside a giant buddha in ‘kamakura’ and finally found myself a beach. that particular ‘enoshima’ beach turned out to be a local hotspot for young fit japanese which sadly left me feeling neither. however after a quick swim it was also only a short walk to ‘enoshima island’ which was a really interesting fascinating cultural distration.
the day ended in style with yet another rollercoaster ride in downtown tokyo at 10pm surrounded by skyscrapers. breathtaking.

rising sun diaries, day 4

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:26:00 +0100

time for asakusa, one of tokyos most traditional neighborhoods and home of the famous sensoji temple. 100 yen will buy you an ‘omikuji’ (your fortune written on a small piece of paper) which in my case contained a number of rather pessimistic predictions including ‘you will be completely at loss with your empty heart’, ‘your wish will be hard to be realized’ and ‘the person you are waiting for will not come’. how fitting.

rising sun diaries, day 3

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:15:00 +0100

its not until 1pm when i finally wake up in the hotel bed (which is pretty much all that this tiny room consists of). downtown to the impressive tokyo dome (where the roller coaster is sadly out of order, most probably due to the country-wide power shortage), then up the metropolitan government building viewing platform which is free of charge but there is a hidden 500 yen cover charge when you order a drink which pretty much doubles the price. sneaky prices seems to be a japanese speciality as many places also promote prices that exclude taxes. oh well, have to learn to be more careful.
finally time for electronics shopping bliss at akihabara and hours wasted having fun at the local arcade halls.

rising sun diaries, day 2

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:13:47 +0100

a really early start to the day as my flight lands at tokyo haneda airport at 5am. already 26 degrees outside and i somehow manage to find my way to the hotel where i realise that i am more jet-lagged than i thought (or was willing to admit to myself) and my body is aching for a real bed. as the temperature crawls up to 34 degrees a quick trip down the the supermarket confirms that i will indeed love it here in japan as this really seems to be the dream destination for my obsession with exotic and wicked drinks. i’m also not shy to admit that i’ve discovered the pleasure of japanese high tech toilets…

rising sun diaries, day 1

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:36:00 +0100

its not easy to snatch an emergency row exit on a long haul flight as these usually only become available 24 hours before departure. when your flight takes 12 hours and you travel in economy class (which is as far as my budget stretched) you really want to try very hard to be amongst the first who log-in to battle for the best seats and i am happy to report that i succeeded. but it was in vain as i got upgraded to premium economy as soon as i arrived at the airport the next morning. what a great way to begin this adventure!
spending half an eternity on a plane by myself did made me feel a bit lost and lonely though and neither the shy japanese girl sitting next to me (who was asleep most of the time anyway) nor sending prank messages to strangers through the in-flight entertainment system helped much. the complimentary sparkling wine did.

make me, break me (2)

Tue, 24 May 2011 12:19:40 +0100

‘make me break me’ is a delicate uplifting electropop-song and also the debut single by up-and-coming new swedish band ‘vanbot’. their first album has just been released and their sound is basically robyn meets la roux meets ester ideskog (who is the girl behind ‘vanbot’). stream and download the song for free here

make me, break me (1)

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:15:42 +0100

sometimes when life is a downhill slope you’ve just got to lean back and enjoy the ride…

21 things i want in a lover

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:30:23 +0000

surprise me. challenge me. hold my hand and kiss me in public. sing with me in the shower. spend a lazy weekend on the couch with me watching my favourite shows from the last century. be passionate. don’t run from a fight. be spontaneous. be romantic, not cheesy. make me feel safe. introduce me to your parents. wear my ring. force me to use skincare. believe in me. laugh with me and cry with me. get me home when I’m too drunk to walk. let me feel strong and let me be weak. don’t judge and don’t get embarrassed. always be on my side in an argument with anyone else. hug me when i least expect it. be yourself.

valentine's day

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:17:00 +0000

random thoughts for valentine’s day. today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies… to make people feel like crap. i ditched work today. took a train out to montauk. i don’t know why. i’m not an impulsive person. i guess i just woke up in a funk this morning.

[eternal sunshine of the spotless mind]

hurts - happiness (8/10)

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:58:00 +0000

hurts is a new british synthpop band who released their debut album ‘happiness’ this september. strangely enough the title track did not make it onto the actual album (which reminds me of omd and their beloved ‘sugar tax’ album) but other than that i am happy to report that this is one of my favourite musical gems of the year. here is my first ever track-by-track review:

1 silver lining : its a great opener with very crisp production and the actual song doesn’t start for more than a minute. (8/10)
2 wonderful life : this was the first single and i probably have heard this one a few times to often. its a good song but sounds a little out of place here. don’t ever listen to the dreadful kylie minogue cover version (7/10)
3 blood tears & gold : its an ok-ish song but halfway through it almost seems as if they were running out of words to sing. (6/10)
4 sunday : an upbeat song with not quite so upbeat lyrics. i really like those. (7/10)
5 stay : a slow song with a cute background choir. interesting production (7/10)
6 illuminated : this one is nice but also a bit boring. one of the weaker tracks of the album (5/10)
7 evelyn : weirdly i love the verses but not really a big fan of the chorus. (6/10)
8 better than love : second single ‘better than love’ delivers and is still as catchy as ever. (8/10)
9 devotion : perfection. (10/10)
10 unspoken : this track may seem a bit boring and generic at first but certainly grows on you over time (6/10)
11 water : my second favourite track of the album with a really haunting vibe to it. (9/10)

letting go

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:15:28 +0000

there are many things i don’t know how to do, but letting go of someone i deeply care for must be pretty high on that list. when your head tells you not to listen to your heart anymore, why is it so damn difficult to follow through? over the years not letting go has gotten me in all sorts of trouble, has significantly complicated my life and all my friends have long grown tired of saying “i told you so” over and over again. yet i refuse to learn my lesson. i’d rather keep holding on to what i truly feel than taking the easy way out. my emotional life has no exit scenario.
consequently i wish i could call recent developments in my life a ‘refreshing change’ but it actually feels like the ultimate defeat to me that i have finally been beaten and have been left with no choice but to let go of the one closest to my heart (family excluded). it saddens me, it frustrates me and i keep drowning in emotions i am no longer allowed to show (have). life lesson learned but also living a new life that will always feel empty.

adventures on the west coast, day 11

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:11:00 +0100

going full circle and driving back to la, this time spending two nights in a lovely hotel in santa monica. the santa monica pier reminds me a lot of brighton pier and i win a precious magnet and a rather unique temporary ed hardy tattoo on a sheet of paper at the arcade hall. fashion debacle in downtown after i invested 2 dollars in a bandanna. was a little too overexcited to try it on and threw away the wrapping. now i have to keep it and cant even pretend that i bought it as a gift for somebody i hate and wanted to ridicule in public. damn…..
time to get on a plane and leave america behind. for now.

adventures on the west coast, day 10

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:05:00 +0100

woke up and feel pretty much as dead as the rental car (which somehow seems to have run out of battery over the last two days).
hours later even the hotel room in the best part of the city (pacific beach) can’t make me fall in love with san diego and i miss vegas. at least all the post-marathon pain in my legs is finally gone and i am looking forward to los angeles and the santa monica pier…..

adventures on the west coast, day 9

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:59:20 +0100

the big hangover arrives and gets treated properly at the huge hotel pool area. more mcdonalds, more gambling and free drinks at the table. of course only after showing them my id which in one case took 20 minutes to resolve as they had never seen an austrian drivers licence before and certainly didn’t have a clue what or where austria even is. still really loving the city though and wish i could stay longer. but tomorrow its time to move on to san diego where i am pretty sure it wont be legal to walk down the street with a beer in my hand. damn…..