The Walkmen – You and Me [2008]

He was just wandering through the city today. There was nothing he had to do  for anyone, nothing on his mind, his headphones on he went out the door and  started walking towards the bus stop. The same voice he’d heard all month  starts singing to him again. The guy is talking about parties and beaches and  dancing to the tom-toms, it sounds like a waltz. He met a girl there but she  was married, so… Is this year better than the last one? He gets on the first  bus that comes along, pushed by the echoing guitar that tells him it’s OK to  loiter. He finds a free seat by the window and looks at the sky. He hears the  guy singing about the decades flying by.  “I’ve been doing this for awhile”,  he whispers to himself. The sky looks cloudy but it’s better that way. “It’s  gonna be a good year. Out of the darkness and into the fire”

Double Indemnity [1944]

Film noir directed by the great Billy Wilder, starring the also great Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. This was a truly thrilling watch for me.

Barbara Stanwyck waiting for her man

Detektivbyrån – Wermland [2008]

What do you know about Northern Europe? Damn right, it’s cold. Last summer I went to Denmark and had to wear three shirts at once, while the locals walked around in shorts and tees. That’s pretty hardcore, and probably has a lot to do with their Viking heritage (btw, they pronounce “Viking” as “Wiking” – haha that’s hilarious). Those people knew how to live – eat tons of meat, have sex with blonde chicks and kill people. ‘Course, times have changed, and nowadays the North (including Iceland) are better known for their music. Give Scandinavian people musical instruments and they’ll either create some gay crap that you’ve heard a million times before or something truly special, that shines out like the Northern Lights. Also, some of them worship Satan, but may be included in either of the aforementioned categories.