Saturday, April 30, 2011

The fine art of Heavy Metal pt 1

This is is the first of many posts that will be devoted to the fine art of Heavy Metal. Fine art, you ask? I say absolutely. Some of the most advanced musicians in the world, both from a theoretical and a technical perspective, play Heavy Metal. This is a fact. The execution of this musical knowledge might not be to everybodys liking, which is absolutely ok. I mean, I am not a big fan of three-chord pop songs about broken hearts. The big difference is that people tend to look down on Metal. It is not really accepted. If someone doesn't like jazz for instance, this person might still respect the artform. As I personally respect the songwriters of three-chord pop songs. God knows it is not easy to write a hit song. So why is it that people not only dislikes metal, but rather looks down on metal as if it is something that the cat dragged in?

Working with brand management I consider this a true (and very tricky) branding issue. When most  people think about Heavy Metal, they think of long hair, tattoos, beer, and fairly odd people. Take me as an example, people are really surprised when they find out I am passionate about metal. Why? Because I do not fit the stereotype. I have even heard the comment; "He loves heavy metal? But he seems like such a nice guy".

This makes me really upset at times as if there is something wrong with me. As if my mother accidentally dropped me on my head when I was a baby, or that I have a childhood full of sadness, or being bullied or whatever. (Maybe I should ask her if she dropped me...)

At the same time I am not so sure that the current perception that people have of Heavy Metal is a bad thing. I actually believe that the stereotypical metal heads want to have a part of society that is their own, a place where everybody is accepted and money never counts as an entrance ticket to this group. It is not a place for shallow and superficial people, believe me.

So, what I'm thinking is that even though I want to be accepted for loving metal, I am not sure that Heavy Metal as a Brand would benefit by reaching a wider audience as this would probably mean that the very core of this society would move on to something else. They would not accept being mainsteam. This would in turn lead to more commercialization of this artform and I believe it would lose it's edge, and its passion and many of the awesome musicians that since they were 10 spent 5 hours per day practicing their instrument, playing along to The Four Horsemen or Seek & Destroy, thinking about what would have happened if Dave wasn't kicked out of the band. (anybody even remotely into hetal knows exactly what and who I am talking about)

I can agree that Heavy Metal is not accessible for all, and I can understand why people might feel intimidated and a bit scared, therefore downgrading it as a natural defense mechanism. And to be honest, I kind of like it. Why? Simple, it makes me special and unique. I have this connection to something people really do no understand, and that sets me apart. True branding at it's best actually. Let's hope that the brand stays true for a long time.

For you metal lovers, check out this jam session with Divine Heresy. True art by true artists.



There will be plenty of not so heavy thoughts on metal in this blog within the near future. Stay tuned and check back soon.

For all you readers, please use the comment field to list your personal top 5 metal albums of all times.

Speak to you soon!

Patrik

Monday, April 25, 2011

A good day gone bad...

Interesting day today. Started out really well with Grandpa picking up my oldest daughter quite early to go to the zoo. Great, a full day of just being able to do other stuff. Do some grocery shopping, buying a big sun screen for the porch, some plants for the back yard and so on. Then we were planning to come home and have lunch in the sun and do some fixing in the garden during the afternoon before the barbecue gets fired up and some nice red wine being opened.

First thing that happens after we park at our first stop is that a crazy woman decides to park next to me and just rams my open door with the front of her car. Great, had to drive the shortest way home with the door not being able to close. Won't be able to use it again until that is fixed. During this not so happy drive home it became evident that I had misplaced my wallet. Must be at home I thought, but it was nowhere to be found. Then it hits me, I put it on the roof of the car when helping my youngest daughter into the car. I said a lot of bad words right then...

But suddenly, out of the blue, an old acquaintance whom I know from a long time ago came riding on his bike with my wallet in his hand. He found it a several hundred meters down the road. How lucky is that? And you know what, I have good insurance for the car and nobody was hurt. Could have been much worse. Also, we are soon approaching drink time in the evening sun. Life is pretty good after all.

Might not be able to get to work tomorrow though without the car. Could this be a sign from above based on my previous entry? A full day of drum practicing and a fresh start for my new carreer. Good stuff!

Speak to you soon!

Patrik

Too late to become a rock star?

Easter Monday, last day of rest and relaxation before going back to work after four long nice days in the sun. One would think that it would be easy to go back after some extra rest, but it isn't. Not at all. So, why is this? I actually consider myself a really lucky guy. I have a good job, I work with Brand Management and Marketing Communications for a large international company, something I actually always wanted to do. So what is the problem then?

The problem? I want to be a rock star! No kidding, I am absolutely serious. Yes, I am in the late 30s and I actually want to be a rock star. Ok, age is against me, and I don't even have a band. What is even worse is that I do not even have an instrument in my house. Maybe that's where I should start.

I actually played a lot of bass and drums in different constellations when I was younger, but the urge of really doing something with it is greater today than it was back then. Am I entering a premature 40-year crisis? Don't think so as I am perfectly happy about all other aspects of my life. Strange...

Anyway, I've wanted to buy drums for a few years now. My wife supports it. She is probably hoping that I will stop playing drums on tables, walls or anything that come in my way. (The accoustics in a bathroom is usually really good for playing drums with your hands on your knees...)

But drums? They are big and loud. Where should I keep them and how can I play them without getting a lot of hate mail and threatening letters from neighbours? No basement in the house, and unfortunately no possibility to soundproof a room right now.

The solution: Digital Drums! Yes, but then again No, or? Before this question is answered I need to inform you all that I am very much into heavy metal. Mostly old school like early Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera and Slayer, but also current stuff like In Flames and Killswitch Engage and so on.

So the situation is as follows: I am in my late 30s, I have a good job, a fantastic family and all that goes with it, and I want to be a rock star, preferrably in a metal band. And I am considering buying Digital Drums. Just does not feel right, does it. Imagine signing up for playing drums in a metal band and I show up at rehersal with short clean cut hair, no tattoos and ask the long haired guys in the band to help me with my digital drums. Wouldn't think so.

What to do, what to do? Are there other slightly older metal-musicians out there needing a drummer and don't mind me playing sissy-ass digital drums? Let me know...

Speak to you soon!
Patrik

Sunday, April 24, 2011

And then I had a blog.....

A blog? Why? Don't really know actually. I am on Facebook, and I have a Twitter account, but it just does not do it for me. I think I am too old for Twitter. Just can't seem to create interesting content with very few characters. And Facebook? Of course it is interesting to see what people are up to, but I am not the person who have a need for pushing my thoughts to everybody like that. At least not my slightly deeper thoughts (however, as the title of the blog says, don't expect too much :-) . Putting my thoughts into a blog means that people will actively make a choice to read this stuff. For me it is a big difference. While being able to express my thoughts for the day, I don't push it in peoples faces.

So why would I expect people to actively visit my blog? Am I really that interesting as a person? Probably not. Are my thoughts really that deep? Uhm, let me think, no, wouldn't think so. So why do I do this? Let me explain:

First of all, I like writing, always have. Secondly, I have always been somewhat of a hidden exhibitionist. This is a good way of hiding behind the computer while still sharing my thoughts with the world. Thirdly, it is an experiment of course. How many people will visit? And how many will re-visit? Could the opinion of just a very average 30-something Swedish dude really matter???

And by now you have noticed that I am blogging in English. Simple reason. I have a big enough ego to think that I will get readers from around the world.

This could become a very interesting project, or possibly a very big hit on my ego as I realize that I am just a very average guy with absolutely nothing to say and no followers at all.

And just to be clear on what not to expect from this blog, as I don't want to create any false hope, I will not write about the following: Private family matters, workplace related matters, religious ideas or similar. I will keep this on a fairly non-political level. If you are looking for dirt, this is not the place to be.

Finally, all my posts will end with a question of some sort. Because a blog is not interesting without the dialogue. I urge you all to respond, raise new issues, or suggest topics for me to write about from my perspective as a very ordinary Swedish guy.

Speak to you soon!

Patrik