Stina Nordenstam on politics, being an outsider and being more alien than woman.
Originally in magazine ETC (Feb. 04), interviewed by Martin Halldin
Translated by Mirean
http://www.desireavenue.com/spec/singing/
The Singing Anarchist (interview)
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sound world
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Spookrijder
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Very interesting interview indeed. But each time I read Stina's way of thinking I have some difficulties to understand why she's making such melodic, sweet and finally quite easy listening music. With the exception of "Dynamite" and "People are strange", which are still songs records anyway, her four other records doesn't show us such a radical personality who is "not going for the average commercial approach." Sure, the promotional part of her job is near totally ignored, but we can't say her music, if personal, is radical in any way. Artists like Joanna Newsom, Mirah, Bj?rk even, to stay with songs oriented artists, are making to me music which can be qualified as slightly more "alien" than what Stina is making. And without mentioning real aliens like Niobe, Maja Ratkje, Diamanda Galas, Tujiko Noriko and most certainly Nico.
Stina looks indeed very intelligent and she's nevertheless a brilliant musician, but she sure makes me laugh when underlining so strongly how different she is from others. She's different, yes, but compared to who? And what I find ridiculously laughable is when she says she "partly feels like an anarchist". Fortunately she's intelligent enough to add "partly" in her sentence. But there's nothing, not even partly, anarchistic in her music. Everything is very composed, arranged and thought beforehand. But that's my little "battle horse", like I had some difficulties to understand my very leftist ex-colleagues who were listening to, then buying the most commercial crap on the radio, that's so contradictory, it's like compromising/collaborating with the enemy in a sense. At least, Stina doesn't collaborate that much.
But again, I love reading Stina's interviews, there are unfortunately so few, because there's always food for thoughts and it looks like she's managing her huge inner paradoxes with much conscience.
Stina looks indeed very intelligent and she's nevertheless a brilliant musician, but she sure makes me laugh when underlining so strongly how different she is from others. She's different, yes, but compared to who? And what I find ridiculously laughable is when she says she "partly feels like an anarchist". Fortunately she's intelligent enough to add "partly" in her sentence. But there's nothing, not even partly, anarchistic in her music. Everything is very composed, arranged and thought beforehand. But that's my little "battle horse", like I had some difficulties to understand my very leftist ex-colleagues who were listening to, then buying the most commercial crap on the radio, that's so contradictory, it's like compromising/collaborating with the enemy in a sense. At least, Stina doesn't collaborate that much.
But again, I love reading Stina's interviews, there are unfortunately so few, because there's always food for thoughts and it looks like she's managing her huge inner paradoxes with much conscience.
"We're keeping busy, yeah we're bleeding stones
With our machinations and palindromes
Anything but hear the voice that says we're basically alone"
With our machinations and palindromes
Anything but hear the voice that says we're basically alone"
thanks mirean, who translated this!
this:
When that happened, the first time I checked
into a place for people with first-time-psychosis, although I never
had one but rather moved closer to the border, then I got a very
important explanation from a doctor that I'm still in touch with.
Because I've lived with it so long, I have a strong defense. While a
lot of the patients there were having drug or alcohol induced
psychosis, or had a sudden change in life which you're totally
unprepared for, and just pushes you over the edge. But I was prepared.
that explains.
stina, if you're reading this, you can read my 'psychotic episode' too..
you're not all that alien or abnormal in this aspect.
this:
When that happened, the first time I checked
into a place for people with first-time-psychosis, although I never
had one but rather moved closer to the border, then I got a very
important explanation from a doctor that I'm still in touch with.
Because I've lived with it so long, I have a strong defense. While a
lot of the patients there were having drug or alcohol induced
psychosis, or had a sudden change in life which you're totally
unprepared for, and just pushes you over the edge. But I was prepared.
that explains.
stina, if you're reading this, you can read my 'psychotic episode' too..
you're not all that alien or abnormal in this aspect.
you're welcome!
spook: good point. maybe this sense of... isolation that makes her uncomfortable with conformity is sort of making her less keen on admitting to like a good pop song. i can relate! i guess it's more of a really strong feeling that causes her to want to stress the 'weird' aspects of her work, more than trying to come across as very original and thus, superior... ;)
whatis: thanks for sharing that! it's fascinating to get a glimpse of strange things that can happen in the mind... once i sort of got pushed over the edge and couldn't think a single rational thought for many hours, but it was very intense... it was a lot like the state stina describes in the lokko interview: 'Because it's like everything is turned on, but nothing is functioning. You can't focus on anything. Everything's just standing there, buzzing.' when it was over, i felt like my brain was, um... 'fried'. but i guess it was some kind of temporary psychosis induced by anxiety, building up inside... was it like increasing angst that caused your 'blank', or some other sentiment? you don't have to reply if you don't want to, it's just that i'm curious about stuff like that... i always want to understand how other people function and... and what is this 'si'?
oh dear, i should shut up now.
spook: good point. maybe this sense of... isolation that makes her uncomfortable with conformity is sort of making her less keen on admitting to like a good pop song. i can relate! i guess it's more of a really strong feeling that causes her to want to stress the 'weird' aspects of her work, more than trying to come across as very original and thus, superior... ;)
whatis: thanks for sharing that! it's fascinating to get a glimpse of strange things that can happen in the mind... once i sort of got pushed over the edge and couldn't think a single rational thought for many hours, but it was very intense... it was a lot like the state stina describes in the lokko interview: 'Because it's like everything is turned on, but nothing is functioning. You can't focus on anything. Everything's just standing there, buzzing.' when it was over, i felt like my brain was, um... 'fried'. but i guess it was some kind of temporary psychosis induced by anxiety, building up inside... was it like increasing angst that caused your 'blank', or some other sentiment? you don't have to reply if you don't want to, it's just that i'm curious about stuff like that... i always want to understand how other people function and... and what is this 'si'?
oh dear, i should shut up now.
hi mirean, thanks for the interesting questions...
my username is what is. my website is called what is, is.
you can explore my website a little further if you're interested...i hope it doesn't confuse anybody...
actually i called it 'psychosis' but it really isn't. i don't really like the word because of its negative implications. maybe more like a trance, but it's a bit more involved than that, very scary for the mind, so the Western medical world calls it psychosis, 'insanity'.
the mind, to operate in the everyday manner doesn't function non-linearly, but when it does, all sorts of things start to happen. where do emotions come from, for example? where do thoughts come from?
i didn't study psychotherapy but i knew this person Dave Mason, who did. so i questioned him alot using email, and this blog was the result. i think his own website helps more.
i've always wanted the answers to my childhood, a big blank. i wanted to know where are the big emotions from and when they go, where do i go....i had noone to depend on and then i found meditation during young adulthood. still, it didn't answer so i started looking for a real teacher. i didn't want obscure and mystical answers, or western medical psychotherapy, so my website seems to be somewhere in between.
yes, it was angst, but it wasn't angst, it was downright fury and sadness. the kind of fear you may see in abused children...
my arguments with Bluesy in the other board (now all gone) are all such unconvincing statements. it was tiring because there isn't really an answer where we use the same logic. after 'psychosis', the world doesn't look the same way, and after 'psychosis' in childhood unexplainable things start to happen.
my username is what is. my website is called what is, is.
you can explore my website a little further if you're interested...i hope it doesn't confuse anybody...
actually i called it 'psychosis' but it really isn't. i don't really like the word because of its negative implications. maybe more like a trance, but it's a bit more involved than that, very scary for the mind, so the Western medical world calls it psychosis, 'insanity'.
the mind, to operate in the everyday manner doesn't function non-linearly, but when it does, all sorts of things start to happen. where do emotions come from, for example? where do thoughts come from?
i didn't study psychotherapy but i knew this person Dave Mason, who did. so i questioned him alot using email, and this blog was the result. i think his own website helps more.
i've always wanted the answers to my childhood, a big blank. i wanted to know where are the big emotions from and when they go, where do i go....i had noone to depend on and then i found meditation during young adulthood. still, it didn't answer so i started looking for a real teacher. i didn't want obscure and mystical answers, or western medical psychotherapy, so my website seems to be somewhere in between.
yes, it was angst, but it wasn't angst, it was downright fury and sadness. the kind of fear you may see in abused children...
my arguments with Bluesy in the other board (now all gone) are all such unconvincing statements. it was tiring because there isn't really an answer where we use the same logic. after 'psychosis', the world doesn't look the same way, and after 'psychosis' in childhood unexplainable things start to happen.
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Elforel
- Living room
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Oh! What is is Coral!
Thank you so much Mirean for the GREAT job you did and Kuhn for putting it up!
I am so confused with the usernames who changed their nick... [help]
About Stina's interview, i must say that many things appear to show her as a person I would probably not fancy much. Strange how I can feel so close to her through her music and yet completely disagree on some other issues...
I am so confused with the usernames who changed their nick... [help]
About Stina's interview, i must say that many things appear to show her as a person I would probably not fancy much. Strange how I can feel so close to her through her music and yet completely disagree on some other issues...
Website:http://www.foukography.com
Blog:blog.foukography.com
"Mieux vaudrait apprendre a faire l'amour correctement plut?t que s'abrutir sur un livre d'histoire." B.Vian
Blog:blog.foukography.com
"Mieux vaudrait apprendre a faire l'amour correctement plut?t que s'abrutir sur un livre d'histoire." B.Vian
If you read Swedish, you can view the original article at ETC - and there are even some photos.
http://www.etc.se/radikala/templates/te ... mber=45228
http://www.etc.se/radikala/templates/te ... mber=45228
[tup] 
According to Martin Halldin, the journalist who interview Stina, the photos were provided my Stina, hence they probably belong together with the other woods shots (three promo photos that were listed on V2's site).wirbel wrote:These pictures are once again great! what a wonderful gallery we could have if we had them all on an official websitebut it's nice to keep discovering new stuff like this!