a-ha: ranking highs and lows

“What are we gonna do? I don’t know, create it

”Dear a-ha friends,It’s hard to conceive it… but sometimes we feel like doing something other than ranking. And so we did this time! We’ve stepped into our very own time machine and set it to late summer 1996.

In this imaginary world, a-ha are getting ready to create and record their sixth album, the follow-up to 1993’s Memorial Beach. To help the guys along, Jesper and JP have chosen the 12 songs to go on the album. But not only that: Peter the Producer has made sure the songs on the album are sequenced in the best way possible to create the optimal album flow. Is it a good album? You bet!

The specific criteria for the selection of songs are explained in the podcast, and as per usual it’s quite simple, but JP manages to make it sound very complex. Meanwhile, Jesper is getting a musical deep tissue massage from a song, Peter is waiting for a movie version of JP’s new book, and JP tries to find a link to Joan Osborne. And there’s also a song that is a prune…

We also learn that Jesper cannot count to two, and JP doesn’t know what an octave is. And none of us know what the thing you use to mute the sound of a trumpet is called. There are also stories of scaring an IT guy away from attending a Savoy concert, and Jesper shares his unfiltered feelings about collaborations in music. And perhaps Peter has some interesting chart news from 1997, while JP aaaaalmost doesn’t talk about his book (which you can order here: www.linktr.ee/lessonone).

So, as always, there’s a lot going on when we get together. Actually, this time, so much that we perhaps got overly enthusiastic and maxed out the volume, which has caused some of the sound to become slightly muffled. But what can you expect after 25 episodes? Next time we’ll see if we can hire Alan Tarney.

If you enjoy the podcast, please help us spread the word:👉 Subscribe wherever you listen (and rate the podcast)
👉 Like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram
👉 Share the episode with other a-ha fans
It all helps us get the show out to other fans who might not have discovered it yet.Thank you for all the interaction, the downloads, the encouragement, and just being awesome also in 2026. We’ll be back with more next year in some shape or form!

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

“New albums belong to the past / Only a fool would expect them to last”

New book "LESSON ONE - What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life" available now!

In this short special, JP tells you all you need to know about his new book. The book is available worldwide on Amazon, and you can also find the direct links by visiting the book's linktree page: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

About the book:
"Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life" is not a traditional band biography.
Instead, it is a personal, reflective journey through the songs, lyrics, and long career of a-ha — and what they can tell us about friendship, doubt, love, time, fear, decisions, and belonging.
Each chapter takes its starting point in a line from an a-ha song and unfolds into a life lesson, blending close listening, cultural context, humour, nostalgia, and deeply personal reflection. The result is a book about growing up, growing older, and learning to listen — not just to music, but to people around you and life itself — with your favourite band to guide you.
On the journey, we encounter UFOs, questionable fashion choices, trips to concerts, piles of letters, hundreds of a-ha posters and records, a demo tape, and teen music magazines.
Written by a lifelong fan, Lesson One explores what it means to stay connected to a band across decades, and how pop songs can become quiet companions through change, loss, and renewal.
This book is for readers who love a-ha, but also for anyone who has ever found meaning, comfort, or clarity in a song.

As always, please also visit our podcast on Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/rankingaha
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‘I’m ranking hard to make you jealous / Ranking harder to make you stay’

Dear a-ha friends,
We thought it would take longer, but JP’s been editing all night, so why wait: here is episode 25 of a-ha: ranking highs and lows, where we – a little bit late – celebrate forty years with a-ha’s marvellous debut album, the legendary Hunting High and Low.

And when we say “we couldn’t have done it without you”, we really mean it. It’s you — our listeners — who have voted for your favourite songs and shared your comments. That’s all we needed to put together another two hours of a-ha-themed entertainment to get you through Christmas 🎄

In this episode, we ask the question that has baffled philosophers for ages: which is faster at self-identifying – a vegan, a triathlete, or an a-ha fan? We also get a strange vote and comment from a Danish guy by the name of Peter, recommend against public singing, and struggle with complex comments from very smart fans. And did Chris Martin actually vote and leave a comment? (Hint: no, he didn’t.)

We also hear about phrases that make Jesper feel intelligent, JP argues Love Is Reason is a small stroke of genius, and one of our listeners introduces the word “badass” among the descriptors of a-ha’s songs. And can paper cups of coffee make you feel smart?

In other words: this is the REAL celebration of a-ha’s first album, because the ranking and commenting is done by the fans for the fans. 

As always, if you enjoy this podcast, please help us spread the word by:
👉 Subscribing wherever you listen (and rating the podcast)
👉 Liking and following us on Facebook and Instagram (see below)
👉 Sharing the episode with other a-ha fans
It all helps us get the show out to other fans who might not have discovered it yet.

Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rankingaha
Our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/rankingaha/

Thank you for all the interaction, the downloads, the encouragement, and just being awesome in 2025. We’ll be back with more next year in some shape or form!

All the best,
JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

‘What can it mean? I’m ranking pictures of the sea’

‘And what am I supposed to rank now?’

Dear a-ha friends,At a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows we are extremely proud to present another episode of the podcast that celebrates the wonderful music of a-ha, where our guest this time is none other than Pål Waaktaar-Savoy!

Pål was kind enough to join us for a couple of hours to rank – in a semi-structured kind of way – his most memorable experiences from the making of Hunting High and Low. Get ready for an exclusive behind-the-scenes view as we talk to Pål about the songs, the people, the fans, and the ups and downs.

Among other things, you will hear about the effect of 500 black-and-white posters, a balcony that threatened to collapse, a later hit song that borrowed chords from Driftwood, the curse of free clothes, the best position from which to listen to the album, how modesty cost Pål a quality guitar, the maximum amount of hissing that can be accepted in a studio, a producer with bat ears, and how to programme a Linn Drum in the time it takes to play a ping-pong match.

We couldn’t be happier to share this conversation with you, and we hope that you will enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it.

They say: “Never meet your heroes.” We say: “Then you need to get yourself some better heroes.”

As always: if you enjoy this podcast, please make sure to subscribe to it wherever you listen, like our Facebook and Instagram pages, share the episode with other fans, and, if you feel like it, give us a rating and a comment. It all helps us to get the show out to other fans who might not have discovered it yet.

Enjoy Pål’s stories about the making of Hunting High and Low.

All the best,

‘Love is ranking enough’

‘You said that you were weak and I was strong / But I wasn’t strong enough / To let you rank’

Dear a-ha friends,

We wanted to celebrate Morten and his amazing voice, we asked for your help, and you delivered!

So here they are: Morten Harket’s 30 best vocal performances as voted for by you, the listeners of a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows - all nicely packaged in almost 3 hours of Morten (and a-ha) madness!

Apart from featuring the top 30 incredible performances by Morten, this episode also asks (and partially answers) the following questions:
Is it annoying if someone sings the menu at a restaurant?
Are Danes generally just smarter?
What’s easier to create: A poll or a Pål?
Does JP really never get any phone calls?
Did we break the record for most frequent use of the word “goosebumps” in a single podcast episode?
How many pushups can Jesper do in one set (according to himself)?
Are we more a Miranda or a Samantha?
Does ChatGPT do Peter’s homework?
Is there an interlude?
How many foreign names did we mispronounce?
Can anyone hold a single note for 6 minutes?
And much, much more...
It’s been an absolute pleasure and a lot of fun making this episode, reading all your thoughtful comments, and now sharing the results with you. We owe you all a big thank you for taking part in the voting and/or listening to the episode. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

Remember to like and share the podcast if you think it could be interesting for other fans. And let’s continue to make this 40-year anniversary of Hunting High and Low a special one and keep celebrating the wonderful music of a-ha.

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

‘I'm coming home / No more ranking’