A brave man tells the truth.

Part 3 of 7 Songs to get you through the week.Röyksopp - Norwegian electronic duo.

I'm late this week! Friday was a clusterfuck, I was strangely busy and this minor tradtition competely escaped me.

In fact, the website has been neglected all week, and that's a shame... but I've got a few entries stewing that I'll post up later this week.

FOR NOW: Seven songs to get you through the week.

This time, I'm going a little more laid-back. Some softer music, because, frankly, it get's tiring being so hyped up on beats all the time. Stressful, almost.

Anyhow, we're going to start off with a band called Röyksopp. They're out of Norway, and for the most part, their music tends to have a calming effect on me. The first time I heard them was almost exactly this time last year. I remember plugging in my iPod as I hopped on my bike at 5:25 in the morning.

It was my 20th birthday. For me, as well as many others, birthday's tend to be a great time for reflection. On this particular day, as I rode through the dark, key in pocket, prepared to open the store at which I was paid to spend time at, this song slid into my ear. It has never left.

1. Röyksopp - Remind Me - This song is peaceful. Uplifting. And strangley (or apropriately) nostalgic. It reminds me of beautiful moments in the cold.

2. Röyksopp (featuring Karin Dreijer) - What Else is There (Ministry of Sound Remix) - Here's another by Röyksopp. Karin Dreijer is a peculiar singer. I find it makes me uncomfortable, somewhat. I hear her performances are quite the spectacle, so if you ever catch a poster plugging her band The Knife, check them out!

3. The Bloody Beetroots - Mother - I played a heavier track from the Bloody Beetroots last week, and mentioned that their stuff is ecclectic in feel. Here's the proof. This track almost reminds me of...

 4. Lemon Jelly - Spacewalk - There are better songs by Lemon Jelly, a british "trip-hop" duo, but I felt that this one really captured the feeling of the rest of the set list - calm, beautiful optimism. And so here you are.

5. Fingathing - You Fly Me - Someone once said that death is boring. What he meant, I believe, is that when someone disappears from your life, there may not be some great final quote. Meaningful gesture. Perfect "goodbye" moment. Sometimes they're just gone. That's that. The coldness we feel, to me, reflects how much we expect from those around us, and how in death, few ever deliver. That's the real tragedy of it. If that means anything to you, you might like this song.

6. Ratatat - Cherry (In Digital Form Remix) - Now I hold firm to the belief that you cannot remix Ratatat. They are golden. Untouchable. Perfect. But every rule has an exception, and if that's the case then this is it. Cherry is a beautiful song that reminds me of, well, happiness. The feeling of being in love. If that is what they were going for, then this remix is it's sequel - showing us what it's like to go out into the world, strengthened by that feeling.

 7. Ratatat - Shiller - Ratatat hasn't done much super-recently, the last record was called LP3 and it came out in 2008, somehow passing completely under my radar until last month. I can leave you with no song more perfect.

It's the first track off LP3. It starts like a harpsichord version of a Final Fantasy 7 dungeon jingle, and then explodes halfway through into a melody of pure promise. Like the opening scene of an oscar winning film, it assures you that what lies ahead will be meaningful. It will be poignant. And most of all, you'll have never come across anything like it before.

It would be ridiculous to assume the only songs you hear in a week are the ones I post on this blog. Fact is, you'll probably listen to about half of them, if that... and then move on to things more to your taste. Heck- you may not have even made it to this sentence. And that's cool. But once you've heard any of it, you can't unhear it. And so my mark is made.

What I'm suggesting is that, hopefully, this playlist will guide you towards something this week you've never experienced before. Get up at 5:25 in the morning. Feel the strength of being in love. Look at something from your past through mature eyes. Find what else there is. Take a walk in space :)

-K

P.S. For more tracks, follow me on twitter.