About the song 2 | BEN LORENTZEN

How do you dismantle an atomic Bomb?

by Ben Lorentzen | Jan 12, 2022 | About the song 2

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by Ben Lorentzen

Today I want to talk about my release “How do you dismantle an atomic bomb”

Yes, “U2” has an album and punk rockers in “Useless ID” has a song with a

similar title. I wanted to record and release this song for mainly two reasons. First

one is the obvious. How do you dismantle an atomic bomb? Should we? Most will

say yes, but are the consequences of a nuclear war so overwhelming that people

just block it out?

Areg Danagoulian, an assistant professor of

nuclear science and engineering at MIT says to

“MIT News” that:

“The concept of nuclear war is so big that it

doesn’t [normally] fit in the human brain – it’s so

terrifying, so horrible, that people shut it down.”

Out of sight – out of mind. And can we be blamed? Haven’t we enough on our

minds right now? Haven’t we got enough to worry about? Rising viruses and

fading democracies, changing climate and sticky conspiracy theories…

something has to give, right?

The U.S. and Russia possess about 11,800 nuclear weapons between them.Total warheads in the world if we add nuclear warheads in United Kingdom, North Korea, China, India, Pakistan,Israel and France is 13,500. These are rough estimates as the exact number of nuclear weapons in each country’s possession are closely held national secrets.

13,500 warheads and the numbers rising again… this remains one of thebiggest threats in this world.

It is more than enough demonic power to kill half of the worlds population and

disrupt infrastructure at a level that would be catastrophic for most peoples lives.

This cannot be forgotten, and this is my number one reason for bringing forth this

topic. I understand what Danagoulian is saying, but I simply think we cannot

afford to leave this topic dangling.

Second reason for releasing this song is this: In historical context, the number of nuclear weapons in the world has declined significantly since the Cold War: down from a peak of approximately 70,300 in 1986 to an estimated 13,500 in mid-2021.Government officials often portray that accomplishment as a result of currentorrecent arms control agreements, but the overwhelming portion of the reduction happened in the 1990s.

This explains to us in numbers the importance of the work that was

initiated by Soviet Unions (Russia) president Mikael Gorbachev and Unites

States president Ronald Reagan at the end of the 80’s.

The two presidents came out of a culture of enmity between the two countries but

managed almost miraculously to first meet and later make arms reduction

treaties that made a significant impact.

Growing up in Norway during the 70’s and the 80’s I will never forget the sense of

fear and speculation that we felt being a small country smack in the middle of

these two super powers.

What if one of them pushed the big button and started a full scale nuclear war?

What would happen to us? How could we foresee a future of peace?

A year or so back I had the chance to meet Gorbachev together with my wife and

we thanked him personally for his contribution to make this world a safer place.

Meeting a political hero up close and learn about his “ordinariness” got me

thinking about the power of one individual. It got me thinking that with a clear

mind and a beating passionate heart, it IS possible to make a change for better in this

world. This meeting of ours became a call to action for me.

This songis a small contribution.

My wife and I also invited him to continue do whatever he could to further peace

talks between North and South Korea, a new hot spot for potential conflict

between the east and the west. Gorbachev expressed deep concerns about the

situation and even though he is now very old he promised to do what he could.

We have many challenges, and I do believe we can tackle them one by one.

Gorbachev did what he did together with his fellow men.

Now it is our turn!

3 Crows on the wire

by Ben Lorentzen | Apr 9, 2021 | About the song 2

No matter how good your relationships are with people around you, you will eventually hit some rough waters. When that moment arise, often when least expected, you will battle your own feelings, your memories, your own intellectual analytical powers and finally your own will, and you will have to face the question: “should I stay or should I go.”

The complex nuances of the mundane and the celebrations, the joy’s and the sorrows, the pleasures and the pains in this life are all mixed up, and what outweighs the other is sometimes hard to tell. This is the internal conversation that happens when you realize you are deep in a moment of uncertainty. Somehow I think for many it happens in the car…at least it does for me.

“CROWS ON THE WIRE” is off my album “Pains & Pleasures of Intimacy”. This album is dark and roots oriented, where the rock, blues and country influences are audible. This song was released as a single and was paired with “Dead man in the Closet”, a song that creates the other side of the coin, flipped in the air under the moonlight somewhere deep in US suburbia.

You don’t know where the coin is going to land or if you will ever see it again, but with these two songs blaring out through your soundsystem the mood is set: a slow, waltzy churn towards something unsettling.

I call this music Suburban Noir, a kind of confessional country blues. Living in a suburban area in New Jersey at the time of making this record, I felt at home in a space between the beautiful every day life and the ongoing strangeness of just being alive and the relationships we are creating.

In many ways this song can be seen as a murder ballad. But murder of who? Yourself? Your inner life/ spirit? We see the three characters shifting seats in the car throughout the video, as we shift inside ourselves, going through the day, going through our lives, always at the border of giving life, taking life, murder.

Two other things I really enjoy when it comes to how Johan has executed this particular video. The rain drops on the car is filmed so it looks like the branches are reaching out for the car. It’s ever so subtle, but it’s there. It symbols to me all the things that are reaching out for us on this journey. In this particular setting, there is something omenus about it.

The second thing is how the car represents our immidiate space in this universe that we are traveling through. Our body, our house, the village or city we have chosen to live in. At 3:39 in the video, the screen suddently opens up. The feeling is expanded, a wider view and a different perspective is now reached.

Two bodies lie by the roadside, a third drives off. It seems like the evil character won this round and managed to kill the two others, the two seeking love, seeking a relationship, seeking a new life away from what was. However, in their pusrsuit to get away, they were caught up with whatever unsettled demonic forces present from the beginning.

And yet, it’s not the end. And so we move on to the final chapter in this story. Alabaster Jar.

Tell me what you thought about this video. I would very much like to hear it.

All of these four videos are from my previous album “Pains and Pleasures of Intimacy”.

You can listen to it here:

https://iam.benlorentzen.com/pains-and-pleasures-of-intimacy

Or come to spotify and put it on your playlist:

Read about "Lay down in the dark"

Read about "Dead man in the closet"

Read about "Alabaster Jar"

Go back to Video Series

4 Alabaster Jar

by Ben Lorentzen | Apr 8, 2021 | About the song 2

From the very first song I wrote at the age of 11, the theme of dying has been with me.

I am not scared of death. It really is a second birth. Do you believe in life after birth? That is the question.

The end of this life, which is inevitable, creates a beautiful framework and helps us focus on what is really important: our relationships.

This is a “passing of the mantle” song. It’s written to my children – “you can take whatever you need”.

Nothing is more beautiful and also more painful than our relationships. It is the fabric that weaves us together and gives life meaning, that sets us up for what is to come. In this world we breath air. In the next world we breathe love. And you are what you love. This song is a celebration of this fact.

The waltzy 6/8 rythmic feel of the song is meant to provoke a sense of the “big wheel” spinning, the ongoing fact of life, somthingh that ends for all of us and yet keeps on going. We have a measured time here and what we fill this time with matters.

“Make wise choices. Choose love.”

That is my message to my kids, because “you are what you love”.

Johan Flew us out to Los Angeles where we got to work with a crew fresh off of the Avenger movie. The story has continued on and we are now in the next world which of course involves flying.

This was a new and really cool experience, but I tell you: it was hard on the neck! After a minute or so we were brought down to rest, then brought back up again. Over and over, all three of us. Filiming is first and foremost waiting around.

In the opening scene of this video we see my character lie infront of the very church he tried to run away from. He walks inside only to realize he is no longer a part of this world.

In the next scenes we see little pieces from his earthly life flitter about the character now floating himself, floating among his memories, images out of reach, no longer there other than visions of the past. “You are what you love”.

I really think it is powerful how Johan merges the three characters at the end, and how my character turns to the camera. I get a “how about you” sense from it. What will be your choices? Do you know that “you are what you love”?

And so it concludes this journey. The darkness, hopes, loves and losses all entwined and with us forever.

At the end I hope people have a sense of hope, a sense that nothing is in vain, nothing really goes away, and that our lives are valuable, have deep meaning, and will move on after this earthly life. We go on and continue to live on making our selves and our lives better.

I truly belive this!

The darker tones speaks to the seriousness I feel about this life, how serious every step and choice is. How magical it is. How wonderful it is to be aalive!

I hope you have/ will enjoy this video series. I would love to hear your thoughts, so comment under the video or send me a message on Facebook, or Twitter or Instagram.