The Daily Roxette

Update: The release date of the soundtrack of "Small Apartments" is here! It will be released digitally March 18, CD March 27 and vinyl "asap." Per has shared the record sleeve with us, along with the tracklisting. Picky readers may notice this list is not identical to the one listed in the movie.

Small Apartments – Soundtrack

1.   Franklin’s Intro (0.56)
2.   I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) -Instrumental- (2.03)
3.   Drizzle #1 (2.02)
4.   Shopping With Mother (2.36)
5.   Franklin’s Theme #1 (1.39)
6.   He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (4.18)
7.   Burned Out Heart –Instrumental- (3.37)
8.   Are You An Old Hippie, Sir? –Instrumental- (1.49)
9.   Making Love Or Expecting Rain #1 –Instrumental- (2.46)
10. Waltz For Woody (1.03)
11. Drizzle #2 (2.02)
12. C'mon (2.59)
13. Warm. Again. (4.27)
14. Drizzle #3 (2.02)
15. Drizzle #4 (0.56)
16. Week With Four Thursdays (1.54)
17. Dixy -Instrumental- (3.06)
18. Making Love Or Expecting Rain #2 –Instrumental- (4.03)
19. Double-Headed Elvis -Instrumental- (1.31)
20. Franklin’s Main Theme (6.43)
21. I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) (2.09)

The Daily Roxette has reached Per, who is busy in the studio and isn't really on par regarding his new wines. "I'm mastering the album and things are a bit diffuse at the moment... but yes The Per Gessle Selection musters up its courage again!" What he can tell us is that there will be two new selections released in April May. There will be a new summery white wine as well as a rose wine, aptly named Sommartider vitt and Sommartider rosé. "Both wines are quality wines from François Lurton in PG-designed 3 liter Bag-in-boxes." As far as Per recollects the bottles will only be available at restaurants, and possibly even only Hotel Tylösand's restaurant. The b-i-b will be available in Sweden's governmental liquor stores Systembolaget.

Update: Bottled Sommartider will be available for restaurants from March 25 while bag-in-boxed Sommartider will be in Sweden a week later and will go on sale April 2, in the beställningssortiment, i.e. you need to order it to the store. And to add to the general party feeling, the chords and lyrics of "Sommartider" are included on the box!

A man is surrounded by strange events and odd neighbors in this adaptation of Chris Millis' novel. The movie stars Billy Crystal, James Caan, Peter Stormare and Matt Lucas, to mention but a few. Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund's indie movie about Franklin Franklin - "Small Apartments" - will be released on DVD February 19, while the blu-ray has been postponed about two months, according to Small Apartments' Facebook page.

In addition to it being released on DVD in the US, the movie moves over to Europe March 22 when it will appear in theaters in the UK. Sony will discuss other territories "within 10 days."

Of course you know that Per has written the music for the movie and here's the soundtrack listed:

Franklin's Intro
I Have a Party in My Head (I Hope it Never Ends)
Drizzle
Franklin's Theme
Shopping with Mother
Burned Out Heart
Are You an Old Hippie, Sir?
Making Love or Expecting Rain
Waltz for Woody
C’mon
Week with Four Thursdays
Something in the System
Warm. Again.
Speedboat to Cuba
Late, Later on
Something Happened Today
Double-headed Elvis
Dixi
He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother

The soundtrack will be available on Elevator Entertainment vinyl, CD and digital download "soon." While "Kurt, the Fastest Plumber in the West" is featured in some trailers, it's not in the actual movie, neither is "Dixi." We'll see what ends up on the soundtrack and not. The only three songs featured in the movie with actual words are "I Have a Party in My Head" (over the end credits), "He Ain't Heavy" (on the radio) and "C'mon" (girls stripping) - if you strain your ears! "He Ain't Heavy" is obviously a cover of the song made famous by The Hollies.

STOCKHOLM - It’s more winter than ever and snow is piling high when The Daily Roxette sits down with Per for our traditional Xmas interview. It’s Thomas who is addressed, but the questions come from Kai-Uwe and Justyna as well. I am freezing in the bitter cold. It’s -21 C (-6 F)... TDR is very happy that Per has taken some time for us in his busy (?) Xmas schedule.

How are you doing in the snow and cold, Per?

Hi Thomas, I'm doing swell. Hate the winter though. It's so hard to dress up!!

Yeah I know, I can’t stand winter, who cares about fashion when the wind blows? 2012 has been a very busy year for you and Roxette, with the tour and new album and all. And it's not over yet, is there anything else happening the last few weeks of the year? The Roxette live/docu DVD and Small Apartments soundtrack have been postponed? How does 2013 look, Rox-wise, Gessle-wise, Marie-wise, anything else-wise?

Oh, I wish there were more hours in a day! I've been busy writing new songs, both for myself and Rox and for other extremely secret projects...

Extremely secret projects...?

According to Aftonbladet Per has booked studio time and will start recording a new solo album shortly. When asked about the Gyllene Tider tour rumors he says it's still 50/50 because it's so much to figure out and it's "out of his hands." Roxette will be back 2014, is the plan. "I have to take it slow, I'm not 50 anymore" Per says.

VERONA/STOCKHOLM - Allegrini, located just north of Verona, Italy, is the leading producer in the Valpolicella Classico area and one of the most highly acclaimed wineries in Italy and throughout the world. The family’s roots in Valpolicella date back to the 16th century. Today the winery consists of more than 100 hectares (247 acres) set amongst the rolling hills of the “Classico” appellation. All wines made under the Allegrini label are produced exclusively from these estate vineyards. Through research and experimentation over the years, Allegrini has introduced radical innovations in the vineyards, in the grape drying process and in the cellar, with the objective of enhancing the intrinsic quality of Valpolicella.

Marilisa Allegrini is an old friend of the Gessle family and she and her company have been chosen to produce the first two wines in the The Per Gessle Selection. The wines were primarily made for Hotel Tylösand but turned out so sensational that Per felt it would be a shame if they were not made available commercially. The two wines,  the limited edition "Kurt & Lisa" (named after Per's parents) and "Furet" (named after the neighborhood where Per was born) will be presented to the Swedish media tomorrow, October 1. Official release date will be November 1.The wines can be bought in Sweden at Systembolaget.

For more info regarding Allegrini Wines.

UPDATED: Per Gessle is "releasing" two wines later this fall; Kurt & Lisa (named after his parents) and Furet (named after the neighborhood he grew up in.)

"The wines started out as being made exclusively for Hotel Tylösand but they turned out so amazing I wanted to have a go on the commercial market as well," says Per to The Daily Roxette. "They are yummy!" A comment from an experienced connoisseur indeed! There will be more wines added to The Per Gessle Selection every year Per lets us know.

Kurt & Lisa will cost 249 SEK (€29) at Systembolaget while Furet will set you back a measly 149 SEK (€17). Per adds that the wines are damned great and that K&L should cost the double. "At least!" The wines will not be part of the standard selection, but have to be ordered. Kurt & Lisa is also a limited edition of 1,000 bottles.

The wines may be ordered at Systembolaget from November 1.

HALMSTAD - Bassflow (Peter Boström; the guy who wrote + produced Loreen's "Euphoria") has done a wonderful remake of "The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" (2 versions, one long, one longer...). It was supposed to be included on the Travelling-album but didn't make it in time. Maybe we should release it on its own? Always loved that song...

CAPE TOWN - Roxette, back in South Africa for a second time in almost exactly a year. This time around they only had 3 concerts, but the arenas were bigger (Coca Cola Dome 15,000, ICC 9,000 and Grand Arena 6,500) and the crowds were louder!

I had a quick sitdown with Per Gessle in his dressing room just before the curtain raised at the final show in Cape Town. Making small talk he informed me that he was out shopping in Cape Town for a party back in Sweden. "I bought 20 party glasses!" he said very impressed with himself. He seemed more nervous than I was, yet so friendly and accommodating that I almost forgot I was interviewing Pop Royalty... This is what followed:

TDR: You guys are back in South Africa for a second time in just over a year, which goes to show how big this world tour really is. That's quite amazing...

PG: It is! It's the longest tour we've ever done. It's great to come back. It's actually surprising because normally you don't. I mean we played four Sun City and three Cape Town shows last year, so you tend to wait 3 years before you come back. So when they said to us "How about coming back to South Africa?" we said "What?!", but... why not? Johannesburg we didn't play before and Durban we didn't play. And those were really fantastic concerts... Johannesburg was really big... and it's always a pleasure to be in Cape Town.

TDR: Social media has become a big part of this tour. Do you enjoy the interaction? You have been doing it since the "Have A Nice Day" site's "Ask Per" section.

PG: I  do, especially when we're on the road as there is always an hour in the lounge at the airport and there is always so much time to do it so you might as well check out what people think. I think it's really interesting to have this communication with people and they appreciate it. For me as a fan and I go to the Tom Petty site (laughs) which isn't very active, but then they publish something and it's "Wow! Check out that guitar!" So when you get some details like hanging out in the dressing rooms or pictures of... yesterday we went to this vineyard... I just think from the fans point of view it's really cool.

TDR: It makes it more personal...

PG: It does! It's the same when people ask questions I'll spend 10 minutes answering them. Well I think it's nice.

Head over to roxette.se and take a gander at the brand new playlist Per has made. Rick Springfield is a given of course!