Right Place, Wrong Time.

I promise I'll finish writing about my trip to Austria/Italy at some point in the near future. I have most of it written, actually, I just have to clean it up and post it (the most annoying part to me. details, details. . .)

I thought of something that's absolute crap today. When I was in Austria, Innsbruck to be exact, I got an email from Mando Diao saying that their next tour would kick off from none other than Innsbruck. Cruel world. I haven't had the chance to see them live because they're not in the US often, so it was a kick in the butt to find I was in the right place at the wrong time. I'm always in the wrong place at the right time, but I've never been in the right place at the wrong time.

A little background for those wondering who Mando Diao is:
Swedish band I stumbled upon a few years ago and it was love at first listen. Then, as most of you know, I entered a painting contest they held in order to populate the walls of the new studio they were building. I actually ended up being one of the winners, which was pretty awesome. I'm still somewhat amazed they liked the crap I was peddling - I assume my art to be something only a mother could love. It's hard to get outside of your head and try to see it from another perspective, so the assumption on my part is always that it's like the ugly baby that everyone smiles at while throwing up into their mouth a little bit because nobody has the heart to tell the mother her kid was seriously bludgeoned by the ugly stick. Anything creative falls in that category for me - I never think people will like it. I wonder if songwriters are faced with that?

You know, I thought I was off track there, but that actually brings me to my next point. Because I never think that people will like the things that I like, I'm weary of introducing people to music, too. I had liked Mando Diao for a good while and it was unfortunate that none of my friends were on the same page. I finally realized they'd never be on the same page unless I made it happen because it wasn't like they were going to hear them on the radio! (They don't make the pop music cut here, which is actually a blessing if you ask me.) So, I took a chance and mailed a CD to a friend for her birthday when I was in Alaska. Because I'm insecure about my likes going over well to others, I also included descriptions of songs and why I like them, etc. Yes, I'm really cool. It actually went over well - she Really liked it. With my newfound confidence in my taste, I sent it to two more people, who were both impressed.

Now that I have a sense of validation working for me, I feel comfortable saying: Three out of three agree, listen to Mando Diao! If you don't see the humor in that last line, look harder. If you still don't see it, re-read the last two paragraphs.

Alright now I'll get to the why. Why do I think they're awesome? First off, versatility. They've got so many different kinds of songs so there's something for almost everyone to love. I happen to like most kinds of music, so I love it all. Their library has the ability to cover most musical moods, making it a good choice for a desert island predicament.

Another reason I love them, which is a facet of versatility, is that there are two singers. There's Bjorn, who has the more versatile voice of the two. He has this Steve Marriott thing going where he can sing nicely or scream like a madman and sound great both ways. (sidenote: Speaking of Steve Marriott, the song Itchycoo Park makes me exceptionally happy - it's all too beautiful.) Then there's Gustaf, who doesn't quite have the range Bjorn has, but I'll be damned if I've ever heard anyone use their voice for all it's worth like he does. His style is somewhere between yelling and speaking for the harder songs, it's not very sing-songy. He does, however, do a few slower songs, which are surprising. Slowed down, his voice is heartbreaking - he sounds like he's about to fall apart, and it does wonders for the songs.

Here's the kicker about the singers, though: they know how to play off of eachother! No small feat. They sing songs separately, at the same time, alternating verses, lines, etc. There's a level of competition buried in there somewhere, but it isn't enough to dominate the feel of their interactions. They have a chemistry which isn't often found. Hmm, two lead singer/songwriters with great chemistry. . . I'm reminded of something.

I shy away from Beatles comparisons because it's sort of like hallowed ground, but let's pretend it isn't sacreligious for a moment so I can get down to business here. Their dynamic is somewhat Beatlesish. When asked to describe their music, I once said a variation of this: If the Beatles members were cloned just before they formed as a band and the duplicates were frozen, then later revived in 1999, something like Mando Diao would be the output. Weird description? Yes. But, the point is that if we had Beatle potential/chemistry and then implanted that in a time when musicians had the benefit of post-Beatles influences, like Pearl Jam and Nirvana and all that 90s grunge, I think we'd be looking at Mando Diao. Alright, I'm just going to leave that thought to stew where it is, because I'll kill it if I try to describe it any further. Before I abandon this line of reasoning, though, I'll leave you with this: Beatles influenced by Beatles = Mando Diao? Maybe. Or, maybe some things just defy explanations, logic, and categorization.

In short, I like them lots and I think they deserve a larger following and more recognition here in the US, but not so much that they get influenced by the demented world of pop and fame we have going here (that would be a tragedy)

By the way, if you don't see the humor in the fact that I had to describe why I like them, look harder!

The USPS website is horrible

Today I packaged up my paintings to be sent off to Sweden. I didn't do it in time to make the post office, but they'll go out tomorrow. I stared at them for a while before I packaged them up. Sad to see them go, but happy someone actually wants them, too. I can't wait to see how much it's going to cost to get there.
I asked a woman at the post office what the size limits are before they start charging me an arm and a leg to ship and she just wouldn't give me an answer. She actually told me to package up what I needed to ship and then call the post office to see if the size is OK. Uhh, I sort of want to know what the size limits are BEFORE I go over them, ya know? Whatever, I think I'm within. I looked it up online, but the website is a piece of crap, so who knows. I did the calculate shipping thing they have on there to figure out how much it might cost. I click the international large package option right off the bat, then it asks me all the information so they can calculate. Then it asks me what zip code I'm shipping from and to and it's a REQUIRED field. HELLO! I said INTERNATIONAL in the beginning, not domestic. So I figured I'd just enter the numbers that seemed zip codeish on the address I have - no go, it didn't recognize it. I use the 'lookup zipcode' feature thinking it will have something you can put in there for country codes or something. Nothing. I leave it blank and it still doesn't work. Basically you aren't allowed to calculate international shipping, even if you specifically select that option in the beginning. Websites that are stupid like that piss me off.

I thought about calling until I remembered they have one of those stupid phone systems where you have to speak to a computer. You know, the ones that NEVER understand you and you end up yelling "No." "NO." "I SAID NOOOOOOOOOO, YOU STUPID #*&$@#^$#&." At least that's what happens to me. Pretty much you try really hard to make it understand you, but it never does, so then you have to figure out how to get to a spot in the system where you can use touch tone or speak to an actual person, THEN by the time you get to speak to an actual person, you're fuming so the conversation doesn't usually go well. I feel bad for those people answering the phone.

Help a Sister Out

I've already discussed the painting contest I won, however, I don't think I went into too much detail about it (knowing me, that's probably not true). I need some outside help with this whole deal:

For the competition, if you win, you get to choose anything you want from the band within reason. Who knows what within reason means, right? They figured instead of having a set prize they'd let you pick your own. Anyway, in the contest rules they gave examples, like you could ask for a bunch of band merchandise, or backstage passes, or coffee with the band next time they're in town, etc. I entered four paintings and I wasn't initially sure which one had won when they notified me of the win. Turns out they want ALL of them! I'm more than happy to hand 'em over, but can't figure out what to ask for. They said I can pick more than one thing if I want, since more than one painting won. To be honest, I'm really just happy that they like them enough to want to put them in their studio, which I told them when I entered, but they asked what I wanted in return despite.

Any suggestions? PLEASE, oh please, throw some ideas at me, here. I've had a few ideas, but I'm really at a loss as to what to ask for!