Selvbiografiske essays
Med min podcast Monocular fik jeg produceret 12 afsnit, som alle består af selvbiografiske essays – under overskriften “a one-eyed look at the distant and not-so-distant past”.
Min egen indlæsning er krydret med original musik, som jeg også selv har komponeret og produceret.
Monocular blev primært produceret i det herrens år 2020, mens jeg boede i North Carolina, og alle essays er på engelsk.
Før det overhovedet faldt mig ind at lave en sådan podcast, skrev jeg det essay, der blev til The Teaching Prowess of That First Circle, som handler om at lære at svømme som 37-årig.
Historien var oprindelig skrevet til en veninde, der opfordrede mig til at nedfælde mine oplevelser og refleksioner. Jeg vurderede, at resultatet både kunne være interessant for andre mennesker og egnede sig godt til podcastformatet – og så gik arbejdet med Monocular i gang.
Omdrejningspunkterne for de forskellige essays spænder vidt og handler om alt fra at være teenagesatanist til at vinde andenholdets fighterpokal i Brabrand I.F. som 11-årig. Om at arbejde for et stort forsikringsselskab som eneste humanist blandt alle handelshøjskoleeleverne. Om Beach Boys’ gennemsyring af mit liv. Om den mest kommenterede koncertanmeldelse i GAFFA’s historie. Om at konfrontere en mobbende folkeskolelærer.
Podcastens website, som nævnes i afsnittene, findes ikke længere – men det gør alle 12 afsnit.
God lyttelyst.
- Varighed: 14:27
The Fighter’s Trophy
A tale about the value of acknowledging someone who’s not particularly great at what they’re trying to do – but who’s nevertheless trying their very best. In this case, what I was trying my best at, at least for a season or so, was soccer.
- Varighed: 24:55
The Teaching Prowess of That First Circle
What kind of adventures and struggles do you face when you’re learning how to swim as a 37-year-old? That’s what you’re going to find out in this story. It will take you on a journey that spans three decades and transports you all the way from the wild west coast of Jutland, Denmark, to the hot November sun over Sarasota, Florida.
- Varighed: 6:45
“Starbucks Is Satan”
Wander the streets of New York with a cup of Starbucks in your hand – and you just might encounter someone trying to convince you to get your coffee from a different company. That is, a company that does not embrace the devil. PS: This story is so short that this episode actually contains a bonus story.
- Varighed: 17:46
4th of July, 2011
It’s the 4th of July, and you’re going to a party. Snacks are out, decorations are up, spirits are high. What should y’all be talking about? Well, at this particular party the topic of choice was everyone’s various sexual fetishes – from domination and submission to the joy of getting peed on. But, above all alse: Puppy play. So tune in, take part in this peculiar party – and you just might learn a thing or two along the way.
- Varighed: 20:00
Dark Sarcasm in the Classroom
It’s one thing to be bullied by the other kids in school. But it’s quite something when your teacher decides to join in. This story serves as an account of my relationship with a teacher that I endured for nine years of public school. It’s not just a tale of woe, however, as it also covers how I finally confronted him many years later.
- Varighed: 29:31
Sunny Down Snuff, I’m Alright (Part 1)
This is a story about the Beach Boys. But it’s also a story of how identities are formed. About how music is not simply the soundtrack to your life, but also something that influences it and offers many new and inspiring perspectives on it. It’s also a story about friendships and, not least, love. Part one of a two-part episode.
- Varighed: 26:53
Sunny Down Snuff, I’m Alright (Part 2)
How do you discover a band that you thought you already knew and had maybe even written off as an uncool oldies band? That’s one of the main questions I ponder in the second part of this marathon episode about the Beach Boys. The episode contains an exclusive performance by Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle.
- Varighed: 17:36
Yes, Today, Satan (Part 1)
Satanism can be surprisingly appealing to a white, middle-class teenage boy in Denmark, if he’s sufficiently ripe for taking a stand against the hypocrisy of Christianity. Part one of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.
- Varighed: 20:20
Yes, Today, Satan (Part 2)
A newly minted 16-year-old satanist goes to highschool. His teacher, who will be forced to read all of his devilish essays, is an older woman, who also happens to be a former priest. Now, there’s a match made in heaven – or is it hell? This is part two of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.
- Varighed: 21:15
Yes, Today, Satan (Part 3)
When you’re 17 years old and have just left satanism behind, what comes next on the long road of intellectual self-discovery? Regular old atheism? Nihilism? Or something else entirely? This is part three of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.
- Varighed: 30:00
Checking In at the Tokio Hotel
Angry Danish teenagers clash with older music fans who try to lecture them on why they will eventually grow out of their obsession with a certain German emo band. A story about the concert review that generated more discussion than any other in the history of Denmark’s biggest music magazine.
- Varighed: 29:20
Corporate Sellout
A liberal arts student suddenly finds himself working for the quintessential kind of massive corporation: An insurance company. This is a classic fish-out-of-water story about colliding attitudes and the impossibility of adapting to this otherworldly universe. The liberal arts student in question was obviously me, and I was 25 years old at the time. I learned a lot from holding this job, and my views of what big corporations are all about were forever shaped by the experience.