George K Band

Artist: George K Band

LP: Let's Move Together

Song: "Lonely Queen"
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Song: "Little Lady"
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My quest for an undiscovered Norwegian version of ABBA finally paid off when I found this 1977 George K Band LP at Samleren, the second and final record store I went to in Bergen (not counting this hipster bar I stepped into long enough to find out they sell new vinyl only). 

A project assembled by lead vocalists George Keller and Anita Skorgan, George K Band creates disco melodies that are nicely set to strings provided by the Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester of Oslo. It's a terrific album—and let's face it, "Lonely Queen" is basically my theme song from the past ten or eleven years.

[ Samleren — Bergen, Norway ]

Rolf Berntzen og Johannes Kleppevik

Artist: Rolf Berntzen og Johannes Kleppevik

LP: 7" single

Song: "Torgsangen"
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I hadn't added Rocade Musikk to my list of Bergen record stores, since I'd read that they specialize in country and bluegrass music, and I was looking primarily for Norwegian pop. It was my sister who spotted the store and pointed it out to me as we were ambling down a quaint cobblestone street a few blocks from our hotel. 

When I returned to Rocade to browse the next day, the friendly proprietor asked what kind of music I liked. I was surrounded by bins of country music and it was country that was playing on the store's music system too. I didn't dare say "Boney M" or "Devo" or anything like that. I began by feebly whimpering, "ABBA," then quickly followed up with, "But I like old country music too...like Hank Snow!"...selecting an old country favorite at random.

Little did I know that I had hit the jackpot. The gentleman excitedly pointed out the Hank Snow posters that adorned every wall and then played me a track by a Norwegian country singer (I think it was Bjøro Håland) who had gone to Nashville and recorded in the style of Hank Snow! (Novelty factor = 8; Musical factor = 4.) 

Though I felt kinda bad that I didn't buy any of his country records, I did find some singles I wanted. The amenable clerk repeatedly tried pushing this Rolf Berntzen and Johannes Kleppevik single on me as a souvenir; he had known both men when they were living and the song was recorded in honor of the famous Bergen Fish Market. There were about 35 copies available. I could have bought one for everybody I know! The single ultimately wasn't among my final selections, but he threw in a copy for me anyways for free.

[ Johannes Kleppevik: October 10, 1947 — February 3, 2001 ] 

[ Rolf Berntzen: June 4, 1918 — September 22, 2005 ] 

[ Rocade Musikk — Bergen, Norway ]

Alex

Artist: Alex

LP: Alex

Song: "Flying High (You & I)"
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The Garden is the second and final Oslo record store I was able to make it to—three times—during my visit. The guy working there is super friendly and told me that the used records were in the basement. Down the stairs I went, where I found eight long bins crammed with hundreds of used 7" singles. The trouble is, I was only barely able to slip my visits in at the end of a full day of tourism, and the store closes at 6pm. I simply had to get through all those singles! I found lots of amazing stuff in bin #1, which is all I managed to rummage through on my first visit. I went back the next evening to pick up where I'd left off, but only made it through bins 2-4 before the shop closed. When my sis and I returned to Oslo a week later, I popped in again and managed to flip through bins #5-8 with ten extra minutes to spare! 

Fortunately, ten minutes was plenty of time to unearth a trio of albums by Alex, Norway's reigning queen of '70s disco-rock. This self-titled LP is her 1977 debut—it literally had my name written all over it. 

The sad reality is that there wasn't nearly as much disco-pop being produced in Norway in the 1970s as there had been according to my fantasies. I'd figured that each Scandinavian country probably had their own private version of ABBA, and about two-dozen fairly decent ABBA knock-off bands as well. But actually, Norwegians seem to have been more often listening to music like this and this while ABBA was setting disco balls a-spinning all over the world. 

But then, thank god, there's Alex. Born in Lithuania in 1949 to Polish parents, Alexandra Naumik began singing in Poland, then moved to Norway after marrying film director Haakon Sandøy when she was 21 years old. Seven years later Alex released her first LP, and the rest, as they say, is historical. You can read all this and more on Wikipedia in English or Norwegian. 

Alex was reportedly so popular in Norway that "Alex hair" became a thing—although when I see her hair it automatically brings to mind untrustworthy rope. Her band certainly is a nifty and incredibly Scandinavian-looking bunch. Bjørn Christiansen already has me working on my own "Bjørn hair"; Svein Gundersen has one of the sexiest moustache/unibrow combos I've ever seen, and Brynjulf Blix not only has one of the greatest names in show business, but he looks like he'd be a fun guy to grab a beer with too. Sadly, drummer Per Ivar Johansen died in a tour bus crash three years after the release of this LP.

[ Alex: August 12, 1949 — September 17, 2013 ]

[ The Garden — Oslo, Norway ]

a-ha

Artist: a-ha

LP: 7" single

Song: "Take On Me"
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So I'm heading off to Norway, where I hope to meet up with a-ha. I've done some research so I'll be sure to have things to talk about when we're together...but I think the hardest part will be getting connected with them in the first place.

I'm not holding my breath for a date with Mags, since he likes The Beatles and The Doors, loves junk food, goes wind-surfing and doesn't have a favorite author. He's obviously straight. But a date with Pål or Morten is not out of the question. Pål's favorite music is Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow," which is code, you know. And Morten enjoys growing orchids and still adores his mother's cooking! So basically, I'm going to pontificate loudly in several popular Oslo cafes about my fascination with writer Knut Hamsun, expounding as well on my love of goat cheese and the early music of Judy Garland. I'll also be asking around to see if anyone knows where I could pick up some fresh, locally-grown orchids. This will surely result in an introduction to the fellows in a-ha, since there just aren't that many people in Norway to begin with!

I'm bringing my promo-only 7" single of a-ha's international smash hit "Take On Me" with me to Norway so I can get it autographed. The video for the song was way ahead of its time in offering a warning about becoming too absorbed in comic book fantasies, about choosing to live vicariously through romantic and agreeable made-up drawings instead of facing the real world that's filled with real people who can sometimes be difficult and who have emotional baggage and all that. It's been a while since I've actually seen the video, but here's a play-by-play, as best I can remember, using the inserts that accompany my promo single as a guide:

A moderately-attractive young blonde woman from the '80s is habitually engrossed in the comic-book adventures of her favorite dashing young hero, who is a little on the reckless side and looks a lot like the lead singer of a-ha.

Suddenly her charcoal-drawing heartthrob reaches out from the pages before her and beckons her to join him in his next thrilling adventure! Could she be dreaming? True, she had just taken three Tylenol-pm capsules followed by a large glass of Merlot, but she had nothing planned for that afternoon anyway, so why not accept the invitation? What has she got to lose?

First, she cheers her hero on at an exciting motorcycle race, with contestants hitting speeds at least 30km/hr over what is generally considered a safe speed of travel on the roadway. He won! They celebrate with champagne.

Swept up in the thrill of victory, our hero and his new heroine embrace, their faces close and warm. They don't pull away. What are these feelings? Could it be love? The post-race awards banquet begins; the melodies of the popular local Norwegian party band sweep over them.

But there's something standing between them. "We're from different worlds!" they agonize together in unison. "It's just not possible that..." Their attention turns to the harshly-drawn character, still in racing gear, who approaches them. It's the guy who came in next to last! He's none to pleased with the way the race's handsome victor is carrying on!

They are in danger! They are pursued. They flee! "Look out, he's got a wrench!"

Just as they are about to meet an untimely demise, our heroine tumbles through a portal that leads back to the real world from which she came. But where is her fantasy lover!? I don't remember how, but somehow she drags him through the portal too. He beats himself against a wall a few times which turns him into a real boy—albeit one with little-to-no experience with the real world or how it operates. That's just the way she likes them! They live happily ever after—or at least they share an apartment for several years before things turn sour and he runs off to Paris to pursue a music career, while she stays behind with her collection of comic books and a bottle of gin.

[ a-ha ]

Lillebjørn Nilsen

Artist: Lillebjørn Nilsen

LP: Lillebjørn Nilsen's Beste

Song: "Barn av Regnbuen"
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Song: "Regnet er en Venn"
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Everything's been coming up Norway lately. I've been trying to learn Norwegian using the Duolingo app (en skilpadde spiser mot; han leser avisen), then I found this 1978 Norwegian folk LP at Jive Time when I stopped in to look for Christmas music. And now I've begun taking Norwegian language classes at the Nordic Heritage Museum on Thursday evenings, thanks to my dear friend Carrie. 

Then today on the bus I read six pages in my Lonely Planet guidebook that covered the entire history of Norway—from the conquest of the Vikings to discovery of Oil—on my way to see "Demning," a Norwegian film that was screened as part of the Nordic Lights Film Festival. 

 [ "Demning" (2015) — Dir. Paul Tunge ]

Set during the course of a hike in the rugged, mist-covered mountains that loom over Bergen, the film condenses the entire arc of a typical (in my experience) relationship into the span of a few days—from meeting cute, enjoying warm caresses, and hopes of everlasting kjærlighet—to pettiness, unease, disconnection, and then finally the inevitable physical attacks with sharp objects, wanting to shove gravel down each others' throats, and so on. It's a lovely film.

Lillebjørn Nilsen was born in December of 1950 and is considered by some to be "the voice of Olso" since he's written so many songs about the city. Right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011 and has never been considered the voice of anywhere, supposedly hates Nilsen's 1973 hit "Barn av Regnbuen (Children of the Rainbow)," co-written by legendary folksinger Pete Seeger, because of its call for acceptance of people from around the globe, who are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. On April 26, 2012, over 40,000 Norwegians gathered in the streets to sing "Barn av Regnbuen" outside Breivik's trial.

[ Lillebjørn Nilsen ]

Erik Bye

Artist: Erik Bye

LP: Einar Skjæraasen

Song: "Sommertrall"

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Maybe you've never heard of singer-journalist-author-artist-film actor and TV personality Erik Bye, but in 2005 he was named the 3rd greatest Norwegian of the 20th century! I feel bad that I'd not heard of him before laying eyes, hands, money, and ears (in that order) on this 1966 record of his, dedicated to Norwegian poet Einar Skjæraasen—especially since I'm of Norwegian stock (and not Norwegian livestock, as some have suggested). Bye was actually born in Brooklyn, NY, but when he was six years old his family moved home to Norway, where they took over a bed and breakfast and where Erik joined the Norwegian Nazi resistance movement when he was in his teens. You can read more about the fascinating life and career of Erik Bye here and see some neat photos from the back of the LP that I've included below.

[ Erik Bye: March 1, 1926 — October 13, 2004 ]