A summary of 2012
Well, let's start from the beginning.
I had actually planned 2012 to be
some kind of hiatus-type of year.
Some demo-writing maybe, but nothing bigger.
Well, that hiatus lasted for the oh-so-long period of five days.
Wrote some sort of good throw away-type of track
and kickstarted a project all of a sudden.
One thing lead to another and boom,
the whole year was occupied with different things.
I set the goals pretty early, though.
The stakes would definitely be higher
and I would be more critical (a.k.a. hard on myself)
when it came to sorting out and throwing things
into the outtakes-folder.
Also set a writing schedule for a minimum of four weeks,
which in my turbo-tempo-style of writing is a lot.
January
That first one already was pretty much
a new chapter when it comes to me.
Combining those cheesy lyrics I've always mastered,
with a healthy dose of "modern", plastic,
uptempo-kind of pop.
Still, I'm pretty satisfied with that one.
Even lengthened the writing schedule, because I wanted to do more.
Don't have the total amount of tracks in my head
but 15 went through the final cutting stages.
"Asuncion", that first thing I wrote,
also got the honour of becoming the title track.
February
During that month I actually took that small hiatus from the lyrics.
Mainly because I was busy with putting together some sort of summary
of the 20th anniversary of my first written lyrics (officially, at least)
and trying to make it into a book.
The summary already did exist, since I ran it as a Christmas calendar-ish
thing on this blog during December 2011.
Was a blast doing the handwriting,
though pretty painful at times ;)
but it really came out so great
I decided to make one copy to give away to a friend (Jossan!).
The lyrics thing came back quickly the following month, though..
March
..was made up by a project that in its turn was made up by a track
I wrote at the end of 2011. Called "Winter In The North", it was actually
just that. Nothing special direction-wise. Just a try to write
about the everyday life of an ordinary guy in a really small village
in the forest. Or something similar.
Kinda hard to describe, but still had a blast.
April
In April, my laptop crashed. End of story.
Nah, but went home over easter, planned to transfer some stuff
from one external hard drive to another, tripped the laptop over and cracked the screen.
Didn't really affect me too much, except that the phone really got put to the test.
And that I started to fill up notebooks and emptying ink pens on a rolling basis.
And yeah, as long as you're surfing the web and writing lyrics,
a smartphone can replace a computer. Even a basic one.
Speaking of writing, project of the month was a semi-acoustic one called
"Underneath The Streetlight". Simply made up by those thoughts that come along
when you stand outside on the front porch, looking up towards the sky
and dreaming yourself away.
May
Well, since I thought I would be finishing school and go home
for the very last time at the end of that month
(which didn't happen, I got some extra time
due to unfinished practical exams), I simply
began sitting down and looking back on my time in that village.
You know, all the memories, things that had happen both inside
and outside the school and dorm room walls, crazy weekends,
all that can fit within two years in a different town.
Nevertheless, I'm really pleased with the result.
Even if it got out a bit earlier than it would have been.
Bad luck and worse timing I guess.
Oh, the title was "The Last Scream From The Wilderness".
That might explain some.
June
June was that 50/50-month when you are unsure of what to do,
where to go and whether to write in English or in Swedish.
At least in my case. Started off that month by celebrating
the 21st birthday of my pet, or as I refer to as
"a brother, kid and a lifelong fan", the last one coming out of
all the times I've been trying out stuff on the keyboard
with him sleeping in my lap.
But anyway, let's move on.
The main thing was a project called "Sirius" (a twist on "serious").
All in all, a simple attempt to try and update myself, as well as
taking on another fight with what always have been
a kind of evil ghost of mine.
Simply that oh-so-hard thing called "modern pop".
Never really got it worked out this time either,
but maybe that's just me.
The other half was another ghost of mine,
which never really have worked out really well either.
Writing lyrics in Swedish. It has always been sounding
kind of...I don't know, it's always been a big "bleh" in my book.
So I guess, after all, this month will not really belong
to those I will look back on voluntarily in the future.
This is an exception, though.
And yeah, I left school and dorm and village and everything
for summer holidays at the end of that month.
July
...or more precisely the week after midsummer.
Anyway, it took off with a bang.
Wrote a thing called "Tillylicious" way back in 2010
and almost wanted to write much more things dedicated
to that girl already when it was finished.
Now was the time to really kick it into gear, though.
Wrote some tracks for my own high pleasure,
but also sketched together a few that I thought would fit her.
Might sound nuts, but it really felt right at the time
and so far I haven't been regretting it.
Also dug out a few demos from 2008 for that one.
Truly had a blast and named said blast "Tillylicious 2".
August
Vacation went by without any surprises (give or take),
school started at the very beginning of August
and I kicked another 50/50-month into gear.
This time it simply was due to overproductiveness.
First half was made up by writing a tribute to a friend
I had long ago (we're talking mid-2000's here), but lost contact with.
Her name was Daniela, nicknamed Danni and that naturally
became the title of the project.
The other one, which got extended for a bit into September,
was also dedicated to a girl, but a totally different one.
As I remember writing in the liner notes for that one
she probably got more in the tabloids for her secondary
(doubtful) profession, than her primary.
The title of that project was "AquaMarineYellow",
shorted "Amy", and the last name of the person it was
dedicated to was Winehouse. Enough said? I think so.
September
That month was taken up by one of those projects
that ever since 2008 and the very first Songs For Jess-thing
has been labeled as "Jess-ish". Another period of me going back
Memory Lane and finding those sweet things that may have become dusty,
but never really fade. Will try not to get too hooked up on that though,
cause it always gets me teary, but the whole thing was entitled
"Memories We Made"Soft, acoustic stuff at its best.
Think of it as meeting someone, bonding right from the start,
loose him/her in a car crash and only having the memories left to hold on to.
It kinda felt like that for me. Even after four and a half years.
October
..was another hiatus-ish month. Finished school (definitely this time)
and moved home on a full-time basis at the end of September,
so spent a good part of the month simply getting used to
being on home ground again.
Also started to plan a project in Swedish again,
but never really got around to any results.
Wrote a few demos that probably hides in the very deepest parts
of the archives. That's about that, I guess.
November
First part was relatively easy-going, but then something really happened,
like a switch had finally been turned on.
Or a bomb set off for all that I know.
No matter what, it felt absolutely unreal.
The lyrics came out just as good as I wanted them to be,
finding the right balance between nonsensical
and actually making sense.
"Natt I En Småstad" was the title, and it sure is one of the
most memorable Swedish projects throughout the years.
At least for me.
December
That one took off in the same crazy way that November had ended.
1st to mid-month was really a crazy ride.
Wrote a thing dedicated to a friend I had got to know through the web
already in the end of August. Simple and sweet, country-ish thing
that was named "S".
Otherwise, too much didn't really happen that month.
Started to plan a little for 2013.
Maybe to slow down on the writing and catch up with the past years.
Simply trying to index all the stuff I had been doing.
Or maybe even more simple, doing all the stuff
I was meant to have done during 2012.
Still I'm very happy that hiatus went out the window, though.
So, that's that, I guess.
A look back on a 2012 that didn't really turned into
what I had planned for.
Still happy, though.
See you around!
