Skip to main content

Väsen - Björkbergspolskan

The deep freeze of winter has settled in. This morning, I poured a cup of coffee and took in the sight of the sun's lazy ascent through the surrounding woods. The temperature outside read -4º Fahrenheit. Bone chilling and stunningly gorgeous. I sat in silence. Eventually I began to brainstorm music to accompany the scene. As we venture into late December, the sounds of Celtic and Nordic folk music tend to make their way into my daily mix. Wintry landscapes go especially well with Sweden's Väsen, a folk trio that prominently features the nyckelharpa. This song, Björkbergspolskan, highlights the instrument's power. Like a cross between the hurdy gurdy and a fiddle, it creates an ancestral tone that stirs the Viking in my blood. This one's for you Great, Great, Great Grandmother Wiklund.

Nyckelharpa

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen

I've always loved glam rock -- Bowie , The New York Dolls , Mott The Hoople ,  Queen , T. Rex . The flamboyant and gender-bending style. The attitude, sparkly and swagger. The first time I heard Sweet was Fox On The Run . It was my favorite song on the Dazed and Confused Soundtrack. I think it was the swirling, bubbling synthesizer that drew me in. At the time I had no idea that Sweet was a part of the 1970s glam world. Later, I found out that they sang Ballroom Blitz . That's the same band? Then, in college, I bought Action and fell in love with tunes like Lady Starlight and the title track . As I pieced together their discography (in a pre-Internet age), I noticed that the band's sound inexplicably wavered between hard rock, glam and bubble-gum pop. I could never put my finger on what Sweet was all about. I just loved a lot of their songs. This week, I picked up a copy of their 1977 album, Level Headed . The album is anything but steady (as the title would have yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Patti Smith - My Generation (Live)

It's National Women's History Month. If Suzi Quatro was the queen of rock & roll, then Patti Smith was the leader of the female punk insurgency that redefined the genre. The 30th anniversary addition of Horses includes a bonus disc of the album recorded live in 2005 with Tom Verlaine (Television) on guitar and Flea on bass and trumpet. Tucked at the end of the disc is a sublime, nearly seven minute rendition of The Who's "My Generation." Whereas Roger Daltrey's version looked towards the possibilities of the future, Smith's looks back, exuding regret and anger. "My generation. We had dreams... We had dreams, man! And we fucking created George Bush! New generations! Rise up! Rise up! Take to the streets! Make change! The world is yours! Change it! Change it!" Black Lives Matter. Women's March. #MeToo. #Enough. #NeverAgain. This one's for the people in the streets! Change will come.
Post a Comment
Read more