Closer and closer

The signs are all around us. The day is close at hand, my Acer friends.

Photo shoots, promo videos, a new website launch. All this can only mean one thing.

The album is coming.

In some Stockholm office, PR people are sitting around a meeting table drinking their Ramlösa and hashing out the best advertising plan. Calls are going out to the media. Graphics designers are InDesigning logos and promo posters. Printing orders are being rechecked and reconfirmed. The CD presses are warming up.

And we are the proud recipients of their effort. It's nearly the end of the wait as we know it.

Welcome to the future

They weren't kidding when they said welcome to the future of Ace of Base! A world tour, a new website, a myspace page, new albums, fan input, newsletters and more. We're getting everything we ever asked for as fans. It's a beautiful thing.

As for me, I have no steady internet access at this point. Bad timing for me. I have so much I want to write about here, but haven't had the access nor the time to write. I'm hoping that will change in the next few weeks because there is so much happening at the moment.

Who would have thought after all those quiet years that we'd be bombarded with all these goodies? Not me! It's a good time to be an Acer!

OOOOH YEEEEAAAH!

Several years ago, Swan and I spoke about creating a database of all the words ever used in AOB songs, but we never got around to it. Well, during the past month or so, I've been taking a minute here and there to collect the data for that. It's not finished yet, but it's getting there.

I've been bored out of my mind because it's tedious work. Yet, I eventually found some humor in it. One phrase in particular kept popping up in several songs and somewhere around 2 a.m. on a sleepless night, I figured out what to do with that two word phrase I couldn't get out of my head.

I present to you, "Oh Yeah"

Happy Nation as a mirror of war and a call for peace

The shocking picture display shown in the live version of HN assaults our senses. Bombings, shootings, pollution, greed. We don't expect to see this type of footage at a pop concert. The images on the projection screen also run contrary to our ideas about the song. We expect positive images but do not find them. Instead, the band uses the footage to mirror what a nation at war looks like and it is anything but positive.

With this in mind, the second interpretation of HN must be that a happy nation is a nation of peace, not war. A warring nation tricks itself into thinking it is happy but in reality it is not. War brings sorrow to a nation, not happiness. Peace is desired and war should be avoided. This interpretation is the most widespread in Acerdom. Many fans subscribe to this idea as the reason for the intense images shown at the concert.

The HN presentation can be interpreted as having several objectives. One objective is to produce a sense of irony. A man named Siegfried Sassoon was a romantic poet. He wrote about flowers and sweet ideals. Then he was sent to war. His poems changed from romantic to nightmarish overnight. One poem called "Glory of Women" depicts women discussing the dashing and romantic deeds of men at war abroad. The women herald the duty and honor of soldiers fighting, while in the next line we hear of soldiers fleeing from battle. A soldier steps on the body of a dead enemy, burying the corpse deeper in the mud. As his boots trample the dead man, the soldier thinks about the dead man's mother sitting by a fire knitting socks for her son. The romantic and patriotic ideals that the women hold contradict the brutal experiences of the soldiers. HN live creates the same effect as Sassoon's poem. The romantic lyrics contradict the brutal live projections. This discord between sight and sound forces the audience to contemplate and reject the notion that war is honorable and romantic.

The visuals are also a way to show the absurdity of ideas present in fascism and other extreme belief systems, such as the idea of a "perfect man". Extreme ideas lead to extreme problems such as guns, bombs, war, and pollution. In a nation with extreme ideas, the voices that dissent are the ones who say "we've gone too far" The dissenters cry out, letting others know that the ideal way to live is through the pursuit of peace. They are the ones who lead the masses into realizing that a happy nation is not made through war, but instead is created through a road of peace.

One also wonders if the band is intentionally placing a political message in all of this. Could the oil derricks and nuclear plants plastered one after the other on the projection screen suggest the building feud between the United States and Iran? Is the band protesting the willful desire of many nations to wage war today? The footage of past conflicts mixed with a flying dove suggests this is a possibility.

Whether the derricks and nuclear plants are a political message or simply symbols of all-consuming greed and environmental destruction, the overlying theme still points to a need for peace. Each nation should strive for peace and it is only in peace that a nation can truly be happy.

Happy Nation as a Spiritual Nation

My interpretation of "Happy Nation", which I have held for thirteen years, was thrown into a tailspin as I listened to the concert version in Copenhagen. I always felt the band was singing about different countries on Earth that were peaceful. After watching the live version, I did not know what to make of the presentation, lyrics, and projections. Curiously, the live version left me with three different interpretations of the song. I plan to write about all three interpretations here. Each view is somehow linked to the next one but each one stands on its own in a way.

My first interpretation: I believe that the "Happy Nation" that the band sings about is not physical in nature but is spiritual in nature.

November 23, 2007. Valby Hallen. Copenhagen, Denmark. The concert hall is dark, ominous. Suddenly, lights flicker and sounds blast from the speakers. Sirens, gunshots, bombs. And a wailing that is reminiscent of a funeral dirge reaches the audience. A lamentation at the highest level.

The opening conveys a sense of foreboding, fear, and uneasiness. Grainy projections flicker on the screen in a seemingly random pattern and we are reminded by a voice in the distance that man is in no position to rule alone. The projections become clearer. They show us what happens when man rules the world alone. We see helicopters attacking, troops marching, planes dropping bombs, fires, atomic explosions.

Complete destruction. Hell on Earth.


The band steps out of the darkness, solemn and serious. Dancers walk the length of the stage with marching steps, giving military salutes as they parade around. Jenny walks up to the microphone and begins singing, "Laudate omnes gentes laudate. Magnificat in secula. Et anima, mea laudate. Magnificat in secula."

And a slight change occurs. It is easy to miss if you are not watching closely.

The projections. They change.

They become holy.

A dove soars through a brightly shining light. A stone angel sits praying under a window. A hand holds a flower. A child walks through a field of wheat. A dove sits atop a barbed wire fence.

As the Latin choir concludes, the terrifying images of destruction and war return. Fear, pain, agony, and utter despair is presented to the audience frame by frame. Over and over again.

What are we to make of these images of terrifying pain and suffering as the band sings such positive words? Aren't they supposed to be singing about nations that are happy? How can these places ever be considered happy nations?

They can't.

No nation is happy and can never be happy because we hurt, injure, maim and kill. We cannot be perfect and cannot rule without trouble. We die but our negative ideas live on. The situation is dire and extremely fragile. Our human situation, our human condition, leads to death. But within the lyrics, we find that the situation we are in leads somewhere. It leads to "sweet salvation."

This idea of salvation that comes out of a difficult situation brings me to the conclusion that the happy nation they sing about is not a physical nation run by man. But a happy nation is a spiritual one built upon God's love for us.

As Jenny stands with her arms stretched out in a cross position, with the black and white projections flickering behind her, she nears the end of the song, "situation leads to sweet salvation. For the people, for the good, for mankind, brotherhood."

Finishing the performance, she repeats the Latin choir, "Laudate omnes gentes laudate. Magnificat in secula. Et anima, mea laudate. Magnificat in secula."

"Praise, all people praise. The most magnificent of all time. One spirit, I praise. The most magnificent of all time."

"Don't Turn Around" Transformed

For me, "Don't Turn Around" has always been a sappy song about a woman who is stopped by her pride as she breaks up with her boyfriend. While her love leaves, she acts like it doesn't phase her, but in reality the listener knows that this isn't the case. The woman secretly cries about the end of the relationship but publicly acts as if nothing is wrong. Her pride keeps her from admitting that the relationship meant something to her.

But the new live version of "Don't Turn Around" provides a fresh perspective. "Don't Turn Around" is no longer a sappy reggae ballad between former lovers. The song is transformed into an "until we meet again" monologue from a daughter to her dying father. The mood shifts from sulky and moping to tender and quiet.

Listeners journey alongside the daughter, experiencing the same personal grief. The music begins quietly, builds up to an emotional farewell verse, drops down again, and finally finishes with solemn, contemplative tones, mimicking the grief process. The lyrics are raw, open, and honest. We listen in as she says goodbye to her father, 'I love you. I will miss you. But I'll be alright Pappa. You can go...and when you think about me, know that everything will be all right.'

She reassures both him and herself that everything will be fine. She tries to be strong for the sake of her father, but deep inside, she is falling apart. Emotions swirl under the surface but she refuses to let her father see how difficult the process is for her. Unlike the lover who does not show her emotions due to pride, the daughter does not show her emotions because she has abiding love for her father. She does not want him to be burdened by the weight of her despair.

The last few musical movements hint that the daughter will truly be ok. It will merely take some time. Her despair will diminish, but her longing, and her love, for her father will remain.

My respect for the song has grown fourfold.

Thanks for reading!

I want to thank Lars who told me that I should write more in my blog. I have been wondering if anyone reads it and Lars confirmed in Copenhagen that people do read it and and enjoy it.

Ace of Base rediscovered the joy of playing live when they played NOTP in 2005 and now, after spending time with Acers in Copenhagen, I have rediscovered the joy of writing about topics that interest our fan community. So, "tak!" to Lars and all those people who enjoy reading these entries.

Believe, believe, believe... I get it already!

Every AOB album since TB contains at least one phrase repeated in two different songs.

TB - "Like a prisoner of hope"
F - "like a catcher in the rye"
SOTN - "easy come, easy go"

The latest album, DC, continues the tradition. DC's repeated phrase is "believe in" (or if you prefer, "believe me").

BM - Believe me...
RTW - You got to believe me...

WDU - I believe in...
SD - I believe

HD - You better believe in... (also "believe me when" )
TJ - Always believe in...

Of the fourteen songs released, six contain the word "believe". That's nearly 45% of all the songs from one album.

What are we to make of the repeated use of the word? It could be used to connect the album together. It could be used to create a certain atmosphere for the record. It could even be an unconscious attempt by the writer to convince themselves and others of their words.

Whatever the reason for its frequent appearance, it's clear that idea of belief is an underlying theme within the work.

Jonas uses the phrases in three ways.

1. A way to express optimism in the face of negativity
BM - know that bad times will come but they will pass
RTW - you have to think positive, even if things are difficult

2. A desire to escape from the world and its stresses
WDU - I believe in escaping to a fantasy world (hard to interpret this one!)
SD - whatever you say, I'll go with it

3. A vehicle for giving advice
HD - believe what I say, because I've experienced it and I know it's true
TJ - always believe that the youth will succeed

When you break it down, one can believe in three different ways.

One can believe by having faith in someone or something.
One can believe by thinking something is true.
One can believe something by having an opinion.

We see all three of these definitions in the DC album.

Faith that things will get better is a part of BM and RTW.
The idea that something is true is a part of WDU and SD.
Opinions are expressed in HD and TJ.

I don't recall which demos were supposed to be on DC, but you better believe that many of those songs contain the word too!