Weekend music

Following the previous post about the upcoming Zappa-music tour you might wonder who Mats and Morgan are. There's not that much info around on the Internet, especially if you'd like to get a chance to hear what they sound like.

Some background info can be found here. And over at Morgan Ågren's homepage is his notes on meeting Zappa as well as the possibility to hear short previews of a few songs from his albums.

Wish there would be some place where you could sample a whole song, but I haven't tracked anyone down so far. If I do I'll update this post. In the meantime you can hear Mats and Morgan on RadioDupree. That's a hint! ;)

Zappa sons play Zappa!

Frank Zappa's sons Dweezil and Ahmet will do a tour in Europe playing their father's songs.

They visited Stockholm, Sweden in late May to do promotion for the tour. Their mother Gail was with them and she told TT Spectra that they have been talking about this for a long time:

- We felt that it's about time that we do an official tour as a family. My sons have reached a point in life when Frank's music is very important to them.

One thing about the tour is that they will ask friends/local musicians to join in. Swedish keyboard player and Zappa virtuoso Mats Öberg and his drummer pal Morgan Ågren have been asked to join the band for the Stockholm show on November 15.

Mats tells RadioDupree that Dweezil told him the music will span from Freak Out! to the Yellow Shark. Joe Travers (the Zappa vaultmeister) will play the drums.

Scandinavian tour dates are Copenhagen (Falkonerteatret) Nov. 13th, Oslo Nov. 14th, Stockholm (Johanneshov's ice stadium) Nov. 15th.

Monday Evening Chart Show

So... what's hot and what's not? Let's see...
Listeners to RadioDupree have found the following currently spinning songs a notch above the rest:

1. Peter Gabriel - Not One Of Us
Peter Gabriel (3)

2. The Bee Gees - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
All This And World War II

3. Weird Al Yankovic - Genius In France
Poodle Hat

4. Steely Dan - Third World Man
Gaucho

5. Frank Zappa - Dinah-Moe Humm
Baby Snakes

6. Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Son Of Suzy Creamcheese
Absolutely Free

7. King Crimson - Sartori In Tangier (edit)
Beat

8. David Bowie - Scream Like A Baby
Scary Monsters

9. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat

10. The Bee Gees - Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight
All This And World War II

11. Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
The Nightfly

12. Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair
West Coast Rock

Weekend music

A repeat of last weekend's music suggestion but expanded. Jordan Zevon's homepage is up and running and you can listen to all of the five tracks from his soon-to-be releases EP.

The address to visit is jordanzevon.com

Mel Tormé on a budget

A couple of weekends ago I visited a local record shop looking for finds in the bins of vinyl. Maybe something to play on RadioDupree.
Siggy had better luck than me and found a couple of LPs he bought, while I was flipping my way through countless albums, singles and EPs.

Just to have bought something I finished up paying 2 Swedish kronor (about 30 cents) for an EP titled Mel Tormé sjunger = Mel Tormé sings. Four tracks in a plastic cover with Swedish text and on the Swedish label Bonniers Folkbibliotek.
One Morning In May, Don't Worry About Me, Something To Live For and I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me. Those are the tracks. But I haven't listened to the EP yet. I just bought it because it had a nice look to it. Looking very 60's.

Been looking to see if it's worth the 2 Skr I paid for it and did find one seller in Finland who wanted 8 Euros for the title. That's 40 times what I paid for my copy. Don't know how rare it is but if you're a Tormé-fan please feel free to make me an offer! :)

But who's Mel Tormé? Click the title to get to the allmusic.com biography of The Velvet Fog. Nice nickname and a perfect description of how his voice sounds.

1/3 filed taxes NOT using the traditional paper forms

A follow-up to the posting 12 days ago. The Swedish Skatteverket had hoped that it'd get 1.5 out of Swedens 2 million citizens to file their tax returns using the Internet, SMS or phone services.

The final tally showed that 2 million used these new ways of getting the figures to the proper authorities. Much of it thanks to a promise to get money owned back to the person in question in time for summer instead of XMas.

I live in the north of Sweden and up here statistics show that 30% used the new ways of filing.

Monica Zetterlund

The news media in Sweden has been full of Monica this Friday. She died Thursday evening in a fire in her flat in Stockholm. Everything points to the fire starting as a result of smoking in bed.
She called for help, but the fire brigade arrived to find her dead in her bed.

News report #1
News report #2

She was born in 1937 and had a singing career that started in the late 50s. She retired from performing in 2000. A beloved singer in Sweden where she also was known as an actress in movies and on stage. But internationally she's mainly known to fans of jazz music through her album "Waltz For Debby" recorded with piano player Bill Evans in 1964. It was also her own favourite recording of all the records she made.

Clicking the title/headline will give you the short allmusic.com biography. If you know of a better one online in English please tell me.

Sufficent to say that Monica has won the collective Swedish heart. Respected and loved she has also inspired the current generation of Swedish jazz vocalists like Rigmor Gustafsson. The Friday evening news on TV ended with Rigmor singing as a tribute to Monica.

A short guide to Monica's essential recordings

RadioDupree has played Monica in the past and we're currently playing a couple of tracks from her album with Bill Evans as well as from the CD "The Lost Recordings @ Bell South Studios NYC" that she recorded in 1960 with people like Thad Jones and Zoot Sims during her first trip to The Big Apple. Lost for 36 years they finally surfaced on record in 1996.
Oh! There's a serious connection to RadioDupree constant Frank Zappa: You can hear her sing "Zäpovalsen" which in fact is Frank's "Toads Of The Short Forest" with Swedish lyrics!

"From the opener "Come Rain or Come Shine" through the Swedish ballad "A Beautiful Rose" and the achingly gorgeous delivery of "Once Upon a Summertime," it's as if Zetterlund were destined to sing with Evans for a career instead of an album."

From allmusic.com review of "Waltz For Debby"

Weekend music

Jordan & Warren Zevon

Being a fan of Warren Zevon I think it's great that his son Jordan is getting ready to release his debut EP any week now.
If you like the sound of singer-songwriters of the 70s/80s with a bit of beatles-like influences and modern pop as well I think you'll like his music. As it is you can go to the messageboard over at warrenzevon.com and listen to two of Jordan's songs. The thread is called Jordan Z EP and you'll get there clicking the title/headline above or here.
Look for the songs "Too Late To Be Saved" and "This Girl". And enjoy the weekend!

R.I.P. PIERRE MOERLEN 1952-2005

Pierre was one of the members of the group Gong, but also a fan of Zappa.
He covered "Black Page" and "Little House I Used To Live In".

Monday Evening Chart Show

Hey! Top twenty favourites right now:

Artist - Title - Album
1. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat - White Light/White Heat
2. Weird Al Yankovic - Genius In France - Poodle Hat
3. Steely Dan - Third World Man - Gaucho
4. Pink Floyd - Time - Dark Side Of The Moon
5. Peter Gabriel - Not One Of Us - Peter Gabriel (3)
6. Genesis - The Return OfThe Giant Hogweed - Live
7. Frank Zappa - Dinah-Moe Humm - Baby Snakes
8. Ruben And The Jets - Dedicated To The One I Love - For Real (produced by F Zappa)
9. Roky Erickson & The Aliens - White Faces - The Evil One
10. Frank Zappa - Oh No - Make A Jazz Noise Here
11. Electric Light Orchestra - Mama - ELO II
12. Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood - Live Bursting Out
13. Frank Zappa - Lil' Clanton Shuffle - The Lost Episodes
14. Blood, Sweat & Tears - Morning Glory - Child Is Father To The Man
15. Frank Zappa - Conehead - Halloween (audio DVD)
16. Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures - Does Humor Belong In Music?
17. Jeff Beck - You Shook Me - Truth
18. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland - Electric Ladyland
19. Mahavishnu Orchestra - Faith - Visions Of The Emerald Beyond
20. The Venus In Furs - Ladytron - Velvet Goldmine soundtrack

Weekend music

This time around I give you the chance to go back to 1959 - a great year, by the way - and enjoy some John Coltrane. But with a surprising and satisfying twist. Keep your flash player updated and ready to go!

Just click the title headline or here and take a step...

Exclusive! The Dupreepod!

A brand new way to carry your favourite music around! Get on over to the RadioDupree Super Store and read more about this exclusive new gadget.

RadioDupree homepage updated

Hear it on RadioDupree this month!

The monthly overhaul of our station's homepage has once again resulted in som new information.
Check out our new Album of The Month (cover above) and get to know us a little bit better.

Monday Evening Chart Show

Listener's favorites from the currently playing tracks:

This week (last week) Artist - Track - Album

1. (1) Roky Erickson & The Aliens - White Faces - The Evil One
2. (3) Genesis - The Return OfThe Giant Hogweed - Live
3. (*) Electric Light Orchestra - Mama - ELO II
4. (5) Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood - Live Bursting Out
5. (*) Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Fifty-Fifty - Over-Nite Sensation
6. (8) Ruben And The Jets - Dedicated To The One I Love - For Real (produced by F Zappa)
7. (16) Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Kaiser Rolls - FZ:OZ
8. (*) Frank Zappa - Lil' Clanton Shuffle - The Lost Episodes
9. (4) Blood, Sweat & Tears - Morning Glory - Child Is Father To The Man
10. (*) Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures - Does Humor Belong In Music?
11. (7) Elvis Costello - Monkey To Man - The Delivery Man
12. (*) Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland - Electric Ladyland
13. (11) Jeff Beck - You Shook Me - Truth
14. (*) Gentle Giant - Prologue - Three Friends
15. (*) Mahavishnu Orchestra - Faith - Visions Of The Emerald Beyond
16. (*) Frank Zappa - Dead Girls Of London - You Can't Do That On Stage...5
17. (14) The Venus In Furs - Ladytron - Velvet Goldmine soundtrack
18. (20) Elton John - Bitter Fingers - Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy
19. (*) Ane Brun & Ron Sexsmith - Song No. 6 - A Temporary Dive
20. (15) Roxy Music - Mother of Pearl - Stranded

Recently added goodies:
Jordan Zevon - Too Late To Be Saved - From forthcoming EP, Little Feat - Spanish Moon - Feats Don't Fail Me Now, Trettioåriga Kriget - En Dag Om Natten - Hej På Er, Peter Gabriel - Not One Of Us - Peter Gabriel (3), Tori Amos - Hoochie Woman - The Beekeeper, Gershon Kingsley - Popcorn (Original) - Music To Moog By, Gentle Giant - Spooky Boogie - Giant For A Day, Jethro Tull - Beggar´s Farm - This Was, Frank Zappa - Dinah-Moe Humm - Baby Snakes, Talking Heads - Totally Nude - Naked, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Brother Of Mine -The Big Dream - Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Sharon Jones - Your Thing Is a Drag - Naturally.

Meanwhile over at RadioDupree homepage things are getting close to the monthly update that involves the unveiling of a new Album Of The Month. Meant to happen today it will have to wait until Tuesday.
So what can you expect? An album that never made it to CD release after its original vinyl appearance back in 1976 featuring a handful of the most popular stars of the time and some classic songs. Read all about it tomorrow and hear selected tracks from the double album in May on RadioDupree!

It's official! No winner!

We tried. By posting it on the RadioDupree homepage. And more than once over here on the blog.
We filled the airways of RadioDupree with reminders of what and how you could win.

But no. Not one single person showed any interest in getting - for free - three fine albums that we were ready to give aways as part of our two year jubilee as a station.

The CDs can't be blamed. Not the music. But maybe the actual plastic, the "sound carriers". Could it be that the 200 or so people who surfed on in to our homepage or blog would've entered the giveaway if the prize had been the same music but as free mp3:s? What do I know?

I know that the three albums will stay in the caring comfort that is the RadioDupre record vault. And maybe we'll offer them up as mp3:s sometime in the future.

RadioDupree rolls on into our third year. Look out for new music and additional adventures during the year ahead. Coming up May 6: A RadioDupree Exclusive! Right here on the blog and on our homepage. Do not forget to check it out.

Taxes filed ... over the Internet

Paid in full...

OK. So I've once again been a law-abiding citizen and filed my taxes. Not that much of a chore really, as I live a fairly uncomplicated life as far as money goes. Which means I don't have to fil out a bunch of extra documents and papers, but can pretty much stick with the pre-printed version I've recieved for the past couple of years.

In order to get Swedes to do their taxes over the Internet, we've been promised to get whatever money they owe us before mid-June instead of the "old ways" of getting it early December.
As I found myself on the recieving end once again, I hurried to fix whatever I had to do in the way of IDs and accounts and managed to file my taxes in 10 minutes this Sunday evening.

Now I can sit back and wait for my money to arrive!

The deadline for this years taxes are midnight May 2. The Swedish Skatteverket hope that 1.5 million tax returns will be sent in using the Internet or SMS. As far as I've been able to decipher the facts 1.1 million were filed last year. The Swedish population is about 9 million.

(More on Sweden and taxes by clicking the headline above.)