MoMM (66)

A-HA: Scoundrel Days (1986)

• Once upon a time, I used to have this on cassette tape
• Unpopular opinion - This one is more enjoyable than its predecessor, Hunting High & Low (1985)
• This one resonates with me more because it contains more melancholic, disguised depressive tunes. My favourite track - Soft Rains of April. Together with Silent Lucidity (Queensryche) & Sister of Night (Depeche Mode), this one's a go-to on my down days

Ulver: Nattens Madrigal (1997)

• This one was referred to by a friend
• I had a very high standard in musicianship when it comes to black metal because majority of them sounded like over-glorified trash. It took me a long while to understand that it was meant to be that way, nothing less.
• Burzum's Filosofem (1996) & this one were wasting my time back then. Today, I prefer listening to these compared to the cut-&-paste tunes on the radio. Just tune in to 98.7FM to know what I'm talking about

Skyline cover

If you grow up listening to 80s pop music, A-HA would be a familiar name. Take on Me is easily one of those memorable MTV moments. Manhattan Skyline here is their less catchy take on pop fodder with a generous serving of melancholy. 

Fast forward 2020, some 30+ years later, Manhattan Skyline re-surfaces as a cover by, of all people, Ihsahn. It might be an attempt to keep the Norwegian flag flying. It's an interesting metal/ prog slant but the guitar tones here are not my thing; lacking bottom end.