a-ha: ranking highs and lows

• Episode 19: Ranking the Magne album 'Living With Ourselves'

  “You’re hoping for rankings / Well, just look around / Everyone here is standing in line”Dear a-ha friends,It’s time we made good on our promise to record a new episode of ‘a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows’ - as far as we know the world’s only (and therefore arguably: best) podcast solely dedicated to the wonderful music of a-ha and their related solo projects. And this episode is of course a ranking of the songs from Magne’s new album ‘living with ourselves’ (and in case anyone is wondering: Yes, every cell in our bodies screams for us to begin the words with capital letters, but we can’t argue with artists, can we? Maybe we can).Anyway, it’s not a secret that we are rather fond of ‘living with ourselves’ so if you decided to press Play on this episode hoping to listen to three angry middle-aged men (us, not a-ha), you’ll be unpleasantly surprised. However, you will get to hear about currency exchange rates, Peter the Producer’s sneaky musical adventures as a young boy, a conversation at work that maybe robbed Jesper of a treasured item, and the idea for a band called “a-heatles” and a single called “Gospel from a Beatle”.We also speculate what it takes for a Magne to be a John, if 400.000 NOK is enough to send three people to Southern France to record an album, and how much time a-ha owes us back. We also talk a little about Depeche Mode, Babybird, Sting, and Tom Waits, and we talk a fair bit about a-ha and of course a lot about Magne.We hope you’ll like the episode and that it might even inspire a few of you who haven’t listened to the album yet - or only a few times - to give it some more spins (or streams, probably). And as always: we appreciate all the comments we get from you guys and guysettes so keep ‘em coming. Please also make sure to like, subscribe, share and whatever else it takes to become friends with the algorithm.We’ll surely find something else to rank eventually - this is a year to celebrate after all - so we’ll certainly be back. Until then!All the best,JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer“Your life is a podcast / The rankings are you”

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• Episode 18: Ranking the music videos (part 2 - From 20 to 1)

  In this episode we rank the 20 best music videos from a-ha. We also consider taking up synchronised swimming, we recall a sad day in 1991, and we have lengthy discussions about feet. We also hear about a cool gadget in Jesper’s teenage room, we discuss plot holes, find the optimal role for Morten in Hollywood, and speculate if slow-cooked wolf is a delicacy.We also do some book research, speculate who would get rescued on Noah’s ark today, recount JP’s stellar performance in a remake of a classic video, and use the word “cool” way too much. We also speculate who normally gets the idea to have Morten appear semi-naked in so many videos.There are also more cars, more girls and more animals in this episode, and we try to assess the chances of a-ha getting nominated for an Academy Award, and JP’s pronunciation of the word “tour” sounds increasingly like the German word for “door”. We also argue a bit about the top ranked video (a pointless argument, really), and we discuss if a-ha has done any good to the perception of what it means to be a nurse.Among all that we manage to also rank 20 videos, so there should still be plenty of a-ha related content to keep the listener engaged (we hope). It’s all sprinkled with the usual loving stabs at each other, Peter the Producer’s ability to cut through the discussions, and most of all: Love of a-ha, their music and their videos!We of course also have a Facebook page and an Instagram account where you can leave a comment or stay informed about upcoming episodes.

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• Episode 17: Ranking the music videos (part 1 - From 40 to 21)

  In this episode of "a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows" we revist the MUSIC VIDEOS to see which ones have stood the test of time, and which ones fall flat. Not surprisingly we have a lot to say, so we’ve split the ranking into two parts. The upside of that is that there will be another episode out very soon, and the downside is… well, there ARE no downsides, as far as we can see.In this first episode we’re covering the music videos ranked from 40 to 21 on our list. This means that we’re addressing various half-baked ideas, complain about exaggerated use of the frog perspective, try to summon ZZ Top, and remember some childhood toys that were popular among those of us at Ranking Highs and Lows who didn’t have MTV or cable in their childhood (that’s JP, in case you’re wondering).We’re also talking about clothes, and the lack thereof, and Peter the Producer pushes a video further up the list. Jesper and JP recall copying one of Morten’s most iconic outfits, and we’re speculating about a possible nomination for Pål in Farmer’s Digest. We’re also advising against being the guy who always brings his guitar to a bonfire, and Jesper complains about a video that he thinks was made in 20 minutes of spare time, while JP confesses his love of bad taste.We also complain about wasted opportunities (for a-ha, not for us), speculate about gasoline prices outside of Norway, get a sonic treat in Peter’s new cave, and praise a video so much that it sounds like it should be way higher up the list. We wonder if Magne ever felt like running over Morten with a car, and we’re missing an update to our Flash drive. And we wonder if Morten has a lot of callus on his fingertips.So once again we’ve found something to talk about, and just for your listening pleasure we’ve sprinkled plenty of Danish accents across the whole thing. But there’s also a lot of love, fun, and unwarranted speculation, just how we like it!We of course also have a Facebook page and an Instagram account where you can leave a comment or stay informed about upcoming episodes.

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• Episode 16: Ranking the Savoy album 'Under'

  In this episode of 'a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows' we rank the 10 songs on the album 'Under' by Savoy, the 2nd band by a-ha-guitarist Pål Waaktaar-Savoy.This time you get to hear Jesper and JP being quite offended, Peter the Producer has unwarranted hopes for a shorter podcast, and we mispronounce Frode Unneland in so many ways that it’s almost Guinness Book of Records-worthy.We also tip-toe around well-known music terms, we update you on the story of a clothes brand, and JP recalls the time he wore a skirt, and the times he hurt a fly. Meanwhile Jesper recalls the happy day when he found a Portuguese Eurovision song in a 2nd hand record store.Peter introduces us to the anatomy of a record, and it turns out that The Beatles may be more Savoy than Savoy.Jesper also puts forward some quite weak evidence, JP’s origami joke is received with limited applause, and Peter sneaks in a Bon Jovi reference.We also wonder about Pål’s order of doing things, we stretch the truth (reprehensible!), correctly identify a flute, and we try to listen behind the facade. JP also confesses his love for Little House on the Prairie, and Jesper sets up a rule for how many different styles a song needs to include in order to be epic. And Yngwie Malmsteen pops by as well.We of course also have a Facebook page and an Instagram account where you can leave a comment or stay informed about upcoming episodes.We hope you'll enjoy this deep dive into another wonderful album in the extended a-ha family.

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• Episode 15: Ranking the songs from MTV Unplugged Summer Solstice

  In this episode of "a-ha: ranking highs and lows" we’ve ranked the songs from ‘MTV Unplugged - Summer Solstice’ album, which we hope you’ve all had a chance to listen to. Otherwise maybe this episode can serve as an introduction.This time we go shopping for instruments with Mozart, Jesper invents a new superhero, and JP shares opinions about musical arrangements of which he has no clue. We also encounter a large selection of instruments that we give the wrong names. And how many choruses does Lifelines have now?We try to remove the feeling of hope from several songs, JP abandons computers for note-taking, and Jesper guesses 81 songs in 1 second, while Peter has his eyes on the strings section. And how much is Jesper’s kidney really worth?JP also quotes himself more than once, Jesper shares strong opinions about collaborations in music, and Peter serves a bitter soup. Jesper also grows thoughtful again and JP can’t say he likes it. And where is ‘You Are the One’?And of course we also find the time to rank the 21 songs on the MTV Unplugged album, so all in all we consider this a success as that was the whole point of this episode. Sometimes we forget, but that’s where Peter steps in.If you like what you hear then please recommend the podcast to other fans. We still get more followers with each episode (thank you!!) but we know there are still fans out there who we haven’t reached yet, so feel free to share the info about the podcast in fan forums, Instagram or Facebook groups etc. if you feel that’s appropriate. Thanks!#officialaha #mortenharket #magnefuruholmen #paulwaaktaarsavoy #palwaaktaar #paulwaaktaar #takeonme #mtvunplugged #huntinghighandlow

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