Random Gothenburg Photos

A variety of photos from Gothenburg:



Day and night in Gothenburg.
Left: A side street with construction tarps on a few of the buildings.
Right: A night view of Nordstan, the biggest shopping center in Scandinavia.



Götaplatsen at the end of the Avenue.
Left: The iconic Poseidon sculpture many people connect to Gothenburg.
Right: The view down the Avenue.



Two opposite views.
Left: The Scandinavium where many events and concerts are held in the city.
Right: A tiny house just around the corner from the arena.




Pictures of Liseberg, the busiest amusement park in Scandinavia.
Left: The entrance to the amusement park.
Right: The view from the highway beside Liseberg.




Two pictures from Haga.
Left: A cosy café in the trendy district.
Right: A uniquely Haga shop with its messy, but artistic flair.




Evening dawns on Gothenburg.
Left: Domkyrkan at nightfall.
Right: A speedy tram next to a bike lane.



The playful side of Schillerska.
Left: An ad announcing the school championship in solving a Rubik's cube.
Right: Someone left a not so discreet message on the hand dryer in the bathroom.

Nature

I've never been a big nature person, but in Sweden you can't help it. The country is gorgeous. It's easy to understand why so many Swedes enjoy being out in the countryside. It's calm and majestic.



It somehow seems different than nature in Texas. It's serene. Texas is home to several species that sting and bite and harass. In Sweden, nature seems more friendly (if it's possible for a country to have friendly nature). It just doesn't seem as aggressive. It won't intentionally come after you. Normally.


Of course, I might change my mind if I got caught in a swarm of mosquitoes or met an angry bear in the forests of Sweden. But that hasn't happened yet. So, in my mind, Swedish nature is more tame.



Me admitting that I like nature would come as a surprise to people who know me, as I sometimes say, "There's too much nature around here". And by that, I mean the aggressive kind, like fire ants or brown recluse spiders or killer bees or rattlesnakes.



Butterflies and birds and rabbits are fine by me. Flying cockroaches the size of my hand are not. And this is why I like Swedish nature. It's simple. Less complicated. And a tad less scary.



I know. I am being too hard on Texas nature. It has incredible sights too: rich sunsets, expansive skies, wildflowers blooming everywhere, scenic beaches, and more. I just can't fully enjoy those things when something is trying to pick me up and carry me off into the night, like the bats that circle my house every night trying to pick off the dragonflies.

But back to Sweden. I was never in awe of anything having to do with nature until I went to Sweden. My family and I went fishing and camping and all that jazz when I was younger. It all seemed boring to me as a kid. I was not impressed. But I finally understood it when I visited Sweden for the first time. Here was a nature with vibrant sights, and sounds, and colors. Here was a more harmonious nature. A cleaner, less messy nature. I almost thought I had landed in Eden instead of Sweden.



There is no way to describe the beauty of this country. It is stunning. You must simply go there to appreciate it. It cannot be captured in words or pictures.


Maybe it's not nature itself that's so different, but the mindset toward nature. In Sweden, nature is blended into the cultural fabric, whereas American culture tends to want to contain it. And maybe a nature that's less contained makes for a happier, less aggressive sort.

Or maybe I just haven't met an angry moose.

Go to Sweden. See the country for yourself. And be left breathless.

Cultural Bumps

When you visit another country, you're bound to have some cultural bumps. It will happen. Those things you might not understand or might contrast with your own culture somehow. They may annoy you or make you laugh. They may even teach you a little something. I've had my share in Sweden and have heard from others about their cultural bumps too. I'll share a few with you from this trip.

My personal cultural bump on this trip has to be clapping at concerts. That may sound odd, but I've pretty much worked through all the big cultural bumps and have now moved onto more silly ones. Like the way an audience doesn't clap at the beginning of a concert unless someone else starts clapping first.

I'll take you back to Lindome. We were listening to Jenny sing and, as an American, I fully expect the room to clap immediately after the last note, or even a few seconds into the last note. But this isn't usually the case in Sweden. No one moves until that one brave soul begins to clap.

Everyone else joins in only after the first person breaks the silence. If no one starts the clap, it won't happen. Complete silence. Complete awkward silence.

I almost think Bach could walk into a room in Sweden, play an entire cantata, and no one would clap if that first person didn't start it off for the rest of them.

Now, this clap thing didn't happen in Kungälv where the audience age was younger. The audience in Lindome had a higher median age, so this might be both a cultural thing and an age thing. I kept thinking to myself, "If you like it, just clap! Why sit there and wait to see if others do it too?" Then I remembered I was in Sweden - where it's common to watch others to see what is "normal".

There were a few times where I started the clap first. I would be holding the camera with one hand while clapping with the other hand on the back of the church bench. Once it got started, things were good to go and the rest of the audience would join in. But if I, or someone else, never started it, I sometimes wondered if the entire audience would have sat there in silence. This "heistant-clap" phenomenon happened at other concerts too, like the concert with Maria Gustin Bergström at Smyrna.

There's also the "sitting still" thing at concerts. I want to be a little more, ah, shall I say, American about the whole affair. I want to clap, sing, and dance along with the music. I want a little more flair. Instead, I'm surrounded by people who won't clap without the approval of another, even if the music is the best they've ever heard, which brings me to another bump.

Emotions. What a contrast between Americans and Swedes. I once heard that if you told a Swede the world was about to end, they might respond by saying, "Oh. That's a shame.", while an American would be yelling loudly, "ABOUT TO END?!!!? NO WAY!!!" Both are exaggerations, of course. Let's just say this bump goes both ways. We annoy each other. Many Americans think Swedes are not emotional enough, while many Swedes think Americans are too emotional. I can see both sides of this one.

I do enjoy some cultural differences, such as not having to smile at every person on the street. It's expected you do so in the US, at least in the Southern States. If you do it in Sweden, people think you're a bit crazy. It's nice to have a little break from it. It's also nice to be able to sit in a bus and enjoy the silence. No need to feel forced to carry on a lengthy conversation with your seatmate. And if you do try, it usually works about as well as smiling at a stranger on the street.

Then, there's the personal space thing when you're walking down a crowded street. Your shoulder might miss the other person's shoulder by just a hair's breadth and no one blinks. Your shoulder might even hit the shoulder of the person beside you. And no one reacts with surprise. If that happened in the US and you didn't excuse yourself immediately, you might get reprimanded by the other person. Funny thing is, if it happens in Sweden and no one says anything, I don't react. If it happens in the US, and no one says anything, it bothers me.

The cost of food is also one of those cultural surprises. "How much for a salad?? Excuse me while I take out a loan."

Food prices in Sweden are typically twice that of the US (candy not included). Then again, food prices in the US are quite low when compared to other places. I do wonder how difficult it is to make a budget with the average salary. Food must be a very large part of that monthly budget.

Also, I picked up two cultural bumps from a few of the other hostel guests.

I spoke with a guy from London named John during one of the first evenings. He was looking for a few live band venues in the city and we spent a little time chatting about his thoughts on Sweden. He had rented a car during his stay and regretted it. I asked him why, and he said he had been there only a few days and had already gotten two parking ticket fines. This surprised him because he expected Sweden to be "open-minded and easy-going". If only he had known about the concept of "ordning och reda", he would have been prepared for this. If you break the rules in Sweden, legally or culturally, you're going to hear about it. Swedes like order and tidiness. You don't stand on the wrong side of the escalator. You stay on the proper side of the walkway. And whatever you do, you must take a queue ticket. My British friend found out the hard way that Swedes may be open-minded, but a rule is a rule, and rules are made to be followed.


Sure signs of ordning och reda. Parking sign indicating when, where, and how long you can park. A walkway in Gothenburg. Walk on the left, bike on the right. And a queue machine. You'll find them in many buildings such as banks, information centers, train depots, and supermarkets. Take one and wait for your number to be called.

A second bump comes courtesy of a lively group of young students who were planning a late night in town. I fixed myself some dinner and got into a conversation with the group. They had just arrived and found out the only beer sold in stores had very little alcohol. They were looking to find some stronger stuff and I clued them into the way it works in Sweden regarding alcohol. It's controlled by a national monopoly and prohibitively expensive. And the only store that sells it, Systembolaget, was already closed. They were also surprised to find out many other places were closed down for the night too. I suppose they expected to find a city open all hours of the evening, when in reality, you'll only find a handful of shops open after nightfall.

If you go to Sweden, you'll surely find a few of your own bumps. And they will be based on your original culture. No matter what bump you find, each bump gives us the chance to think about the way our culture works in relation to another culture. You always end up learning a little bit about both countries in the process. And maybe a tiny bit about yourself too.

Time is running out

The report on Karlstad has been posted at The Jenny Source, which means I've started working on the next report from Kungälv. That report should be finished in the next few days.

The last day for this blog project is fast approaching, and yet, there are still many bits and pieces left that I would like to write about. I have a lot of "breadcrumb memories" left, memories and stories which don't fit neatly into any one topic. I'll share some of those over the weekend, along with some general observational posts about Sweden too.

For now, my focus is on finishing those last two reports as soon as possible. Once those are done, I can really focus all my energy on wrapping up this blog. So, with that, I'll say goodbye for tonight. The Kungälv files await my listening ears.

Fame

The crew from a well-known TV show came to film at my place of work today. When the star of the show appeared alongside the five cameramen, three sound techs, and a bunch of interns, I had a little flashback. But my sudden flashback had nothing to do with the celebrity or the cameras. It had everything to do with the faces of the people watching.

I was working at the front desk when it happened, so I was able to see many different reactions to the sudden appearance of a celebrity. There was the ever popular "stop and stare", which almost everyone did at one point. I also recognized several "realization and jaw drop" moments. Then there's the always cute but slightly annoying "whisper and giggle" technique. This one was popular with the teens.

I saw the "neck crane" technique, where the person cranes their neck around as far as it will go, then snaps it back into place when the celebrity turns in their direction. I also recognized the "slow walk", where a person goes into slo-mo mode once they notice the famous person in their midst. Of course, there's the typical "magnet draw" too. It seemed as if every person in the building slowly moved toward the center of the action, creeping ever closer - like a magnet being drawn to a metal surface.

I also fielded several "question and gawk" inquiries at the desk. A person would walk up, ask me what was going on, and gawk after I explained the circumstances surrounding the famous person and the film crew in the library. And, of course, there were many "big eyes" today.

Watching it all unfold was like visiting the Expressen newspaper offices and the Förkväll TV studio. The entire process was fascinating and oddly alluring.

As you can imagine, fame was a big topic during the lectures in October. I spent a lot of time hearing about it, observing it, reacting to it myself, watching others react to it, and contemplating it.

And yet, even with all that information and observation, I was still fascinated by it when it materialized again today. I'm fascinated by its hold on people. By its strange attraction. By its ability to change the atmosphere in a room.

Fame somehow engulfs everything in its path. It's almost as if people freeze, time stops, and the air is sucked out of the room when a recognizable face appears. All the attention falls on one person. Can you imagine what life would be like if you were met with such a reaction when you entered a room? It's easy to understand why people who are famous look for places they can just be themselves. Places that are immune to this atmospheric drop. I bet those places are hard to find.

When Jessi, Anja, Jenny and I walked out of the press office, we were standing on a normal street corner in Stockholm. And just like today, I was able to observe the reactions of people walking by as they caught a glimpse of a well-known person. I watched as people moved into slow-motion, instinctively moved closer, craned their necks, and dropped their jaws.

And I recognized myself in their faces. Like I said, utterly fascinating.

Thoughts on "My Story"

It's been more than a month since Jenny Berggren's album, "My Story", was released and I haven't been able to properly write down my thoughts on the album - until now.

I've been playing the album in my car and in my stereo for more than thirty days and it's not lost any of its charm. It seems like I hear something new with every listen, even after a month. Actually, I'm listening to it now and the music still feels just as fresh as the first listen.

I think this album will be one of the few albums I own that I can revisit again and again without the sound wearing thin or getting old. It's easily on track to become a foundation album in my collection.

Click here for previews of the songs on Jenny Berggren's website.

Here's my take on the individual songs:

Intro: The opening doesn't give many clues as to what this album will hold for the listener. Will it be dance? Or rock? Or pop? Or? It doesn't give away much. The intro is a little foreboding and a little mysterious. Yet, the words point to, and harbor, a sense of quiet safety. The specifics of the future are unknown, yet there persists an underlying sense of guidance.

Free Me: This song breaks out of nowhere. First, you're in the intro wondering what to expect, then you get thrown into this track. This album version is more melodic than its original version. The lyrics are clearer than the original. The guitar hooks are clever and get their due by being lifted closer to the front of the track on this version. The song is still fresh and crisp after ten months of listening. It still packs a powerful draw.

Living in a Circus: If anyone is still trying to classify the album into one category at this point in their listening journey, they've probably all but given up with this curious intro. The colorful circus sounds add a bit of playfulness to the sound, but also add a touch of seriousness to the lyrics. The song doesn't contain much downtime in terms of sound. It moves steadily along, giving the listener a sense of of constant travel with no let up.

Spend this Night: The first song on the album that echoes the Ace of Base sound. The absence of the beat at the beginning of the song works hand in hand with the lyrics because it introduces a strong sense of anticipation to the song. Its placement also works to heighten this sense throughout the song. The vocal flourishes add to the sense of desire that threads through the lyrics and music. The sensuality in the song comes from its lyrical restraint. The words are not overly revealing or crude and that's the main reason why the sense of anticipation and desire is so strong and deeply woven throughout the entire track.

Dying to Stay Alive: Another song with an Ace of Base pedigree. The guitars, dark lyrics, and low vocals at the beginning make the listener think this one is going to be a rock track. The song takes a quick turn during the chorus and shifts to dance. The guitars, vocals, and synths twist into a rock/dance hybrid. This song is a strong candidate for a floor filler at the clubs with its driving bass and memorable chorus. The chorus is also infectious and demands that the listener sing along, whether they want to or not.

Numb: The backwards vocals at the beginning sets an ominous, foreboding tone. The sound of the wind creates an atmosphere of unknowing. The beat is reminiscent of a mechanical device, a cold piece of medical equipment. It's the sound a life-support machine. The musical elements serve as a foundation for the lyrics. The lyrics are open, raw, and honest. The vocals are colored with emotion. When the bridge begins, the bass and beat drops down to reveal and highlight the vocals. The dropping out of these elements is powerful, as it evokes a sense of loss and a sense that everything has stopped, including the heart and the breath. The only thing that is left is the person and the pain. The powerful, emotional vocals are almost overwhelming at times and the listener can almost sense the hurt within themselves. The song ends just as it began - with the backward vocals and with no resolution.

Gotta Go: The kick from Numb to Gotta Go is a startling one. The energy revs up several notches with the track change. The beat is no longer slow and sad, but determined and always pushing forward. The song is a fast mover and the energy never lets up. The drum beats hit at just the right moments and do an incredible job emphasizing the urgency of the situation. The lyrics are strong, on target, and honest. The vocals add punch and grit to the lyrics. The emotion in the vocals convey the feelings in the words.

Here I Am: This song always has a celebration feel for me. The beat slowly builds and suddenly breaks into the vocals. Once the chorus hits, it becomes a declaration - a joyous triumph of celebrating who you are in the scheme of life. Songs like these were made for singing at the top of your lungs. It has a great beat, with singable lyrics that everyone can relate to in some way.

Give Me the Faith: The piano opens with a sense of contemplation and a touch of apprehension. The notes then slide into a sort of quiet, gentle solitude. The lyrics reveal deep thoughts and questions. The song is framed as a sincere and hopeful prayer. The vocals are heartfelt, revealing, and open. The vocal layering adds even more emotional punch to the song. The song is extremely effective because it unravels a difficult situation and displays it so understanding and healing can begin.

Beat of My Heart: This one has a little Latin flavor to the beat and the synths. There's also an 80s feel to the synths. The intertwining of the main vocals with the backing vocals is done well and adds a further dimension to the song. The inner-thoughts revealed in the lyrics provide the listener with a different perspective.

Air of Love: This song is the opposite of Numb. Or the answer to it. The beat is not cold or mechanical. It's organic. It's living. It's fresh. The song catches you, carries you along, and energizes you at the same time. The lyrics and vocals are strong and confident. The music is upbeat and happy. And those high notes are incredible. The song radiates security and wonder. It makes me want to dance and sing along. It makes me want to put it on repeat - forever.

Natural Superstar: The whistle stands out from the first listen and it's hard not to whistle along on subsequent listens. The guitar and synths have a little 70s feeling to them. The lyrics pull you in from the first phrase and make you listen closely. The song is a good social commentary on the appearance-fixated world we live in. And it redirects our focus to our natural beauty. It's a fun song, with a great beat and an important message.

Here I Am Remix: I think the beat nicely frames the vocals. The echo is a nice touch and the drums add some playfulness to the remix.

Going Home: The opening is captivating in its simplicity with the violin, the guitar and the vocals. This song has a singer-songwriter feel from start to end. It feels incredibly Southern and I think it could run on "New Country" music stations in the US. The vocals are clean and clear and expressive. The sound is warm and joyful. The song moves along at just the right pace. It feels like you're traveling home and are almost where you want to be. You're just around the bend. The break into the chorus is powerful and unforgettable, while the bridge captures the essence of longing and hope. When I listen to this song, I always shake my head because I can't believe it's so good.

Overall: "My Story" is a diverse and multifaceted album. You can listen and dance. You can listen and contemplate. You can listen, dance, and contemplate. It's both serious and fun at the same time. The album contains a wide blend of music styles from rock and pop to dance and acoustic and more.

I think the tracklisting of the album is a bit jarring. To step from "Here I Am" into "Give Me the Faith" is a type of cold shock. One minute you're dancing and singing along to this sort of anthem, the next minute you're plunged to the depths of your emotion. I suppose I was expecting a storybook instead of a story. Many storybooks have a clear path. They contain an intro, a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution. Storybooks progress through these steps without fail. This album doesn't follow that pattern. Instead, the action rises high and comes crashing down. It climbs back up and stands tall, only to fall again. Very much like life itself.

And it seems this tracklist portrays just that. Life. You can have an incredible day, then be thrown into chaos. You can be humming along during one week and be met with unbelievable circumstances the next week. Life is a little unpredictable and that's how I would classify this tracklisting. It's a little chaotic, a little unpredictable. You're not sure what you'll find next.

And maybe the tracklist is a little echo, a little reverberation of the story that is "My Story". A story that says the future is unknown, but no matter what happens in life, whether it's good or bad, high or low, triumph or tragedy, there's a peace threading its way through everything and a guiding hand showing the way.

Random Gothenburg Videos

Nothing too groundbreaking today. Just a few random videos of Gothenburg.

Jenny in Stockholm Take 1

This clip was recorded just before I filmed the clip of Jenny saying hello from Stockholm. I was expecting to create a short clip, since every second of film I recorded took one minute to upload. Thirty seconds of film literally took thirty minutes to upload. Jessi thought I was going to film an entire interview, but that's not what I was thinking. A little comedy played out within the confusion...

Take one from Stockholm:


Cut! Cut! Take two!



And the link to the actual video:
Jenny says hello from the press office in Stockholm.

Weather Photos

A quick post tonight. I'm finishing up the Karlstad report, so my focus is on that this evening. I thought I'd post a few weather related photos from the trip. We had mostly sunny weather during the stay, but there were a some slight changes to the weather in between.

The sun rising at the train station half an hour before the train to Tranås.

Taken in Tranås the day after the lecture. The wind was picking up the leaves and carrying them in all directions.

A rare gray afternoon during the entire trip. This pic is from Karlstad overlooking the river. There is a sort of irony in this because Karlstad is known as one of the sunniest cities in all of Sweden. The city uses a sun as its symbol and you'll find it on buses, trains, businesses, etc.
Abundant sunshine traveling back to Gothenburg after being in Karlstad.

A foggy start to the day as we traveled to Stockholm.

A mix of cloud, sun and rain on a field somewhere in central Sweden.

Arrival in Stockholm with sunshine and low hanging clouds.


Bright sunshine in Stockholm on day two.

The first and only freeze during the trip happened in Jönköping. The country was blanketed in snow four days after our trip was over.

A warmed up Jönköping after the church concert was finished. Blue skies on a clear day.

Sunshine and leaves on the streets of Gothenburg.

A pedestrian path in entral Gothenburg covered with leaves. Just a few leaves were scattered about on October 2. By October 16, half the leaves were on the ground.

Thick fog in Norway on the way back to Oslo.

The rare sighting of rain on the trip. This pic was snapped at the airport in Munich just minutes before take-off back to the States.

Blue skies on the trip back.

A quick snapshot of a boatyard from the plane in Philadephia. Partly cloudy and sun.

Förkväll - Round 2

I'm not done with Förkväll just yet.

Take a longer look behind the scenes with these extra photos and control room videos:

A peek into the control room. There were about eight people in this tiny room directing the program.
The long, long hallway leading into the studio/bar. The open door leads to the server room, which in turn leads to the studio.

Some bulletin boards with pictures of the staff and interns in their daily lives. There were a lot of photos posted up around the hallways.

If you look closely, you'll see Jessi and Anja sitting down in the hallway on the left. They were chatting with Jenny, who was sitting on the right-hand side of the hallway.

I told you I took pictures of everything. This was in the bathroom. Don't ask me why they had rugs and lamps piled on the floor in there.

The computer server room with all the video and camera feeds being sent here and back out. The room was a little bit warm.

The list showing who needed to have make-up done and at what time. Jenny is listed as an artist and writer.

The dressing room. It's housed in the same room as the make-up room.

The view of Stockholm from the make-up room.

This list shows exactly what the crew will be doing and at what time. Studio set-up, preparation, run-through, make-up, technical set-up, food break, actual broadcast time.

The list of guests for the day along with the program hosts for the day.



Video from the control room as the show was being aired live. These people were directing the cameras,setting cues for the graphics, clocking the interview, and wrapping up the different segments.



More video from the control room.

The show was over and we were given the go-ahead to see the studio. I rounded the corner and one of the interns was putting away some props from the show. She happened to be putting away a copy of Jenny's book and CD as I passed by. I had a camera, so I took a picture.

The "stuff room". There were boxes and boxes of stuff piled high, as you can see.

The view of Stockholm from the studio itself. When we arrived around 5:30, it was light outside. By the time the show wrapped at 6:30, it was pitch dark.

The guests mingling after the show. You can see two interns sitting on the right hand side of the photo. The show crew was breaking down the set all around us, while the guests chatted with the hosts of the show.

Jessi with her handy camera filming the action. You can see the mix of the studio and bar in the background. The set hadn't been fully broken down by this point.

A blurry Anja posing for my camera as she takes her own pictures of the studio.

The camera room. I just wanted to press buttons. There were so many. It was tempting, but I didn't touch anything.

Voila. The bar is back. You can still see a few lights up from the show, but the bar was almost back to its old self by this point.

The empty control room after the show had closed down.

Food all gone! The guests and hosts made quick work of the food that was cooked during the program.

I found it utterly stunning that we were allowed to walk around and take pictures of everything. And when I say everything, that's what I mean. As you can see, I went into every possible room. The only door I didn't open was the emergency exit. What access!

The lobby of the hotel. They also have a bar downstairs and the downstairs lobby was crowded. And loud. We decided to go upstairs for some peace and quiet during our chat with Jenny.

This way! To the stairs! We went up the stairs, found a quiet, comfy spot and proceeded to chat about the album.

We spent some time discussing the album upstairs. Here are some highlights from the conversation:

Jenny is working with the PR firm Moore To Be. She was with Randolph promotion, but the PR manager was given an opportunity to work with another company, so she took it and Jenny went with Moore To Be.

The drawing in the back of the booklet is done by a woman named Sofie A and she is eighteen years old. Jenny had given a lecture in Northern Sweden and some of the woman's artwork was on display. Jenny bought the last three drawings that were left and one of those drawings is in the back of the "My Story" booklet. Jenny thought the drawing was brilliant and wanted to give the woman a chance by showcasing it on the album.

The majority of the songs on "My Story" were recorded in 2009 and later. The lyrics to "Living in A Circus" were also re-written. The original title was "Living in A War Zone" to convey the feeling that living in this world is a bit of a struggle, a fight. The re-write to LIAC explained the life she lived with Ace of Base, that the natural laws didn't apply to the group.

She also liked the shift from "Free Me" to "Living in a Circus" on the tracklist because it creates a 'what is this?' moment. It's something different. She said she played "Spend this Night" and "Dying to Stay Alive" for Jonas and Ulf last year. She also told us "Beat of My Heart" is from 2002, but the lyrics were re-written later on. We also found out that "Going Home" was one of the last tracks recorded for the album.

Jenny asked us what we thought about putting the lyrics on the website early and we discussed it. Jenny said she hadn't seen any comments online or on her blog at that point since her phone wasn't working. Jessi told her that people were asking for the lyrics to be put up online again.

She asked us if we had read some of the recent interviews. We told her we had read some interviews online and she asked what they had written about in the interviews. We told her what the journalists had written. We mentioned to her that we were surprised to find out that an interview is so long, yet so little of the actual interview ends up in print.

We also noticed that all the interviewers wanted to focus on the conflict with Ace of Base. Jenny confirmed our observations and said she didn't want it to come across as her trying to get media attention, but it was what all the journalists were asking about and writing about, so she answered their questions. If she said no comment to their inquiries, they would still write about it anyway.

"Beat of My Heart", "Free Me", "Here I Am", and "Give Me the Faith" were made into a small movie montage, but the video quality was unusable after filming, so they didn't finish it because they couldn't really use the footage. Someone suggested they crack the film a bit and use it as a background during different gigs.

Jenny has several songs left over that didn't make it onto the album. Among them are songs called "Knock, Knock" and "Emmanuel". (And ""[...] Serenade, but I can't remember the first word in the title).

Bonus Fact: As we left the hotel, Jenny was walking and singing, as usual. The song we heard that night was Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon".