One of my favorite passages from Old Norse Literature

This is one of my favorite passages from Old Norse. This passage comes from the Edda of Snorri Sturluson Loki and Svaðilfari.

Here is some background on the passage. The Norse gods made a deal with a smith who happened to be a Giant. The deal that they made was that if he could build a fortress for the gods in the span of three seasons (á þrim misserum) he would receive as a reward the goddess Freyja as well as the sun and the moon. When the gods realized that this task was very close to being completed they told Loki to fix this mess, since he was the one who convinced them to make this deal with the Smith in the first place. Loki, one night, disguised as a mare went down to the Smith and his horse, causing the Smith's horse to run away and copulate with (the mare) Loki; siring Odin's horse Sleipnir. The Smith realized he was tricked and angrily turned his attention towards the Gods. This is where we pick up. My favorite part of this section is highlighted in bold.

Loki and Svaðilfari lines 43-50.

En er Æsir sá þat til víss, at þar var bergrisi kominn, þá varð eigi þyrmt eiðunum, ok kǫlluðu þeir á Þór, ok jafnskjótt kom hann, ok því næst fór á lopt hamarrinn Mjǫllnir. Galt hann þá smíðarkaupit, ok eigi sól eða tungl; heldr synjaði hann honum at byggva í Jǫtunheimum ok laust þat it fyrsta hǫgg, er haussinn brotnaði í smán mola, ok sendi hann niðr undir Niflheim.


Here is what it means:

And when the Æsir saw that for certain, that there was a hill giant coming, then was no respect shown for the oaths, and they called to Thor, and he came at once, and there upon the hammer Mjǫllnir went aloft. He paid then the reward of the smith, and not the sun and the moon, rather he denied to him to dwell in the land of the giants and struck the first blow, so that the skull broke into little pieces, and (he) sent him (the Giant) down into Hell.

Tusen takk og ha det bra

Himmel Så Trind - Falconer

This is one of my new favorite songs. It happens to be in Swedish but a good song nonetheless.

Himmel Så Trind
By Falconer

Hör vindar som vill fly
Se korpen i himmel av bly
Det är frosten som nalkas
Var björk och lind är nu kal
I skogsråets grånande sal
Det är frosten som nalkas

Mot hårda tider det bär
Trollen de huttrar och svär
Det är frosten som nalkas
Se tranan som nu flyr
Mot varmare sydliger sky
Det är frosten som nalkas

Över land och hav sveper vinterns kalla vind
Snö is och en bister kyla från en himmel så trind
Över land och hav sveper vinterns kalla vind
Snö is och en bister kyla från en himmel så trind

Se Näckens fingrar så blå
Hans polska nu långsamt gå
Det är frosten som nalkas
Kälen nu stormsteg tar
Tur att man fjärrvärme har
Det är frosten som nalkas

Över land och hav sveper vinterns kalla vind
Snö is och en bister kyla från en himmel så trind
Över land och hav sveper vinterns kalla vind
Snö is och en bister kyla från en himmel så trind

I have been trying to find a translation for this song and found this:

Fat sky

Listen to the fleeing winds
see the raven in the sky of lead
it's frost approaching

Every birch and linden is bare now
in the greying halls of the Lady-of-the-woods
it's frost approaching

Hard times are a-coming
the trolls are shivering and swearing
it's frost approaching

See the crane fleeing
towards a warmer, southern sky
it's frost approaching

Over land and sea
the cold wind of winter sweeps in
Snow, ice and bitter cold
from a fat sky
it's frost approaching

See the blue fingers of Näcken [an evil water spirit]
His reel goes slower
it's frost approaching

The frost in the ground is coming fast
We're lucky to have central heating
it's frost approaching

If anybody reading this knows Swedish feel free to correct any part of this translation. This translation doesn't seem very good so any other translations would be wonderful.

Commenting on the State of the Music Industry

I just read a few clips of an interview with Gene Simmons of KISS fame in which he claims that the recording industry is dead because of online file sharing and illegal downloading. He also claims in the article that young up and coming bands will not get any big breaks nor will they get the chance to become another BEATLES or KISS. Gene is not entirely wrong with this assessment. However, he does not mention some of the pros of this lack of industry "infrastructure." One big pro in my eyes is the greater creative control afforded to the artists. With the lack of industry interference more and more groups will be able to take their music in the direction that they want. They will also be able to see more profits from there album sales than they would if they were still under the yoke of the "industry infrastructure." Gene also fails to see the benefits of the p2p file sharing technologies. This technology allows bands to gain fans in cities, states, and even nations which they have never travelled to. The concept behind p2p programs is the same as that behind demo/album tape exchange which was ever present in the 1980's metal scene; in fact this is how a metal band from the San Francisco Bay area got a record contract from a small label in NY. What band is this you ask, well it is Metallica. Metallica had never played the east coast but managed to get a record deal on the east coast because their demo exchanged hands so much that it made it the 3000 or so miles across the country to the hands of the Zazulas (the people who signed them to their first recording contract). I am not saying that this will be the course for the good undiscovered bands of the digital age. I am saying rather that they will be able to gain more fans out side of their locale with out leaving.

Gene also fails to realize the importance of the internet to younger musicians. Younger musicians have a resource that their elders never had. This resource is the obsession of young people with networking websites like facebook and myspace. These websites allow bands to essentially get free publicity and in essence a street team. These websites also act as a conduit for selling music and as an entry point into the world of the band, group, or person. One of my neighbors (Siaz) makes industrial music in the vain of Trent Reznor's NIN, he has a myspace page unto which he uploads his songs he also has links to his own personal website (theglassviolin.com). On myspace alone he has many fan pages, he has even been asked to do music for some websites. He has sold some songs as well, granted he is not selling anything on the level the Gene is but keep in mind that he is doing this as a side project and with no formally "industry infrastructure." This is just an example of the possibility of what the "modern" musician can do with out the "industry infrastructure." That's right Gene I not only called you old but I called you obsolete and behind the times. I would also like to point out that I have found and become a fan of a number of bands that I never would have heard of without myspace. These bands are very good, talented bands that seem to be gaining momentum and fans day by day. The power of the internet in the digital age is in the choices that are afforded to the consumer and the seller.

Gene brings up some very good points however I think he actually misses the mark on this. What is killing the music industry is not the illegal downloading or file sharing of college age kids the death blows are being struck by the exorbitant prices of the rubbish, dribble, crap, shit, and whatever other adjectives you can come up with for the music that is being put out right now especially in the rock genres. Why should a college student have to shell out their hard earned money for a substandard product? If there is only one song on the album worth listening to why should the consumer have to spend upwards of $20 just for that one song? Another part of the problem is the fact that once a new band is successful the record companies try to capitalize on that success by finding more bands that are in the same mold. This happened in the 1980's with the Glam Metal Hair Bands, in the 1990's with Grunge (early-mid) and Gangsta Rap (mid-late), and in the current decade with the pop-punk and dance-ish type stuff. There is nothing wrong with trying to make money on image alone and if that is the business model that the record industry wants to follow that is fine, but then don't start crying when people start turning elsewhere for their entertainment needs. If you, the record industry, are setting price that are nigh cost-prohibited then do not be so naïve to think that that consumer base will always be there especially if substandard artists like Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne are being forced down the collective throat of consumers. Another thing that Gene fails to discuss in the clips that I read is the fact that most money that bands make comes from touring not record sales. If this is the case then up and coming bands should be happy to have their music downloaded and shared because as I have mentioned earlier these actions can create a fan-base in a city in which the hypothetical band has never played nor been to. This is free publicity just like some of the networking websites.

Tusen takk.

This is the link to the clip of the interview upon which this entry focuses on.
http://eddietrunk.com/article.php?news_id=3301