Roxette

I stumbled across some old Roxette videos on YouTube... holy hell they were good! They prove that all awesome pop-rock music comes from Sweden. I am totally in love with these guys again.

Their wikipedia has some interesting facts about them- for example, they tried for a good five years to break into the US market, to no avail. How did they get in? An American exchange student from MINNEAPOLIS brought their single for "The Look" from Sweden to KDWB (that shitty pop station we have here). KDWB started playing it, people started calling in saying "What was that???" And they passed the tape on to other radio stations. This was all before "The Look" had even been released in the US. So yay for the strong Minnesota-Scandinavia ties.

Here are their four number one hits:

"The Look"

"Joyride"

"Listen to Your Heart"

"It Must Have Been Love"

Roxette - New Music - More Music Videos

Shirin :: Jens Lekman

This song is by my boyfriend, Jens Lekman. He is the most lovely Swedish man, so romantic, with his little stories. He comes home after working all day, and sets his anecdotes to music so that I can enjoy them more fully. I love him. He is also a good cuddler, so bonus points for him.

Anyway, I don't actually know Jens Lekman, but I feel like I do after listening to his songs. This song is a story about an Iraqi refugee, Shirin, who runs an illegal hair salon out of her apartment in Stockholm. She has a magical touch and knows how to make her clients feel safe and calm (much like my stylist, Matthew...)

Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin
Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin

When Shirin cuts my hair
it’s like a love affair
Let those locks fall to the ground
or let them stay there

I show her my passport
what I look like
But she just smiles and lets me know
it’s gonna be all right

Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin
Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin

When Shirin cuts my hair
her mama's sitting in the rocking chair
She tells me stories from the war
in Iraq cause they were there

Shirin pulls my head to the side
but in the mirror I can see
a tear in her eye

Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin
Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin

Your hands are soft
your hands are soft just like silk
You're a drop of blood
You're a drop of blood in my glass of milk

Your hands are soft
your hands are soft just like silk
You're a drop of blood
You're a drop of blood in my glass of milk

When Shirin does her magic
to my frizzy straws
Immigration and tax represantatives
stumbled upon the lot
But what if it reaches the government
that you have a beauty salon
in your own apartment

I won’t tell anyone!
Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin
I won’t tell anyone!
Shirin Shirin Shirin Shirin
I won’t tell anyone!

Neverland :: The Knife

This is my second post on the Swedish brother-sister duo The Knife, but I feel that they are good enough to merit a second posting.

"I'm dancing for dollars... for a fancy man."

Eyes are sober, this is the plan
I'm sitting in a car heading Neverland
A fancy man, a fancy man
He's pointing with the fingers that are left on his hand

Eyes are hazel, but far too cold
Looking out for love
But none of us can
Where's the monkey that I've been told of
I'm staring at the money that burns in my hand
I'm dancing for dollars
And for a fancy man

Come right over, I'll knock on your shoulder
This is a story and this is what I've planned
An angry man, an angry man
Nothing is more fatal than an angry man

Vulnerable heights
Feed the hand that bites me
Following the steam into another room
Standing in the corner
Is this my home
Showing us love that none of us can
I'm singing for money
That burns in my hand

Tell me
Will I make it home tonight

I'm doing it for dollars and for a fancy man
I've got a lot of money that burns in my hand

Det löser sig :: Timbuktu

This Monday I'll give you some SWEDISH HIP-HOP. This is Timbuktu. I do not speak Swedish (nor do I even speak a passable Norwegian). My friends said that this song is sort of about... people wanting to live, but not wanting to die? Anyway. It's Swedish rap. Timbuktu.

I'm flying home tonight! See you soon.

Heartbeats :: The Knife

Hei hei! I'm writing to you from Oslo, Norway, home to the world's tallest, most attractive people (holy hell, they are an attractive people. But this is a music blog, I digress).

So everybody here is super into The Knife. They're all over- on the radio, in stores, in bars, everywhere. And I like it! Another cool Swedish act for our blog (Lykke Li, Peter, Bjorn & John, anyone else?)

Ha det bra! Enjoy.

One night to be confused
One night to speed up truth
We had a promise made
Four hands and then away
Both under influence
We had divine sense
To know what to say
Mind is a razorblade

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

One night of magic rush
The start: a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colours red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, oh

And you
You knew the hand of a devil
And you
Kept us awake with wolves teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, oh

Little Bit :: Lykke Li

I love Scandinavians. And Lykke Li is no exception - her voice is like sugar, her sound is like soda pop. With a kick. Like really bitey ginger ale.

Her songs are simple, but contain little surprise elements that make them intriguing. The lyrics are coy, and I really enjoy the mix of unusual sounds and strong percussive quality of the bass lines layered with her childlike voice. For lack of a more intellectual analysis, it just sounds cool. As a side note, I also love her overall look - her style, her album art, her webpage design - simple but with attention to little twists and details. Very much in line with her sound.

I'm featuring "Little Bit", from her recent release Youth Novels. This won out over "Breaking it Up" because it had sweet videos, and I felt like offering a multi-media experience of Lykke Li. So look up "Breaking it Up" and listen to it!

Here's the "Little Bit" video for your viewing pleasure:


Bonus! "Little Bit" on the streets of Stockholm. Wonderful.


Lyrics:
Hands down
I’m too proud for love
But eyes shut it’s you I’m thinking of
But how we move from A to B
It can’t be up to me
Cause you don’t know
Eye to eye
Thigh to thigh
I let go.

[[Chorus]]
I think i'm a
Little bit
Little bit
A little bit in love with you
But only if you're a
Little bit
Little bit
A little bit in la-la-la-la-love with me, oh oh

Ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh

And for you I keep my legs apart
And forget about my tainted heart
And I will never ever be the first
To say it but still I get over
Ah ah ah

I will do it,
Push button,
Pull trigger,
Climb mountain
Jump off a cliff 'cause you know baby
I love you love you a little bit
I would do it
I would say it
You’d mean it
I could do it
If it was you and I only and I -

[[Chorus x 2]]

Come here
Stay with me
Stroke me by the head
Cause I would give anything
To have you as my man

Come here
Stay with me
Stroke me by the head
Cause I would give anything
To have you as my man

[[Chorus x 3 and to fade]]

Like it? Check it!
http://www.lykkeli.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/lykkeli

XOXO
Kim

Rent-A-Wreck :: Suburban Kids With Biblical Names

Hurray for Swedish pop bands. For example, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. With a name like that, how can you go wrong? Either way, they duo has been making music since 2003, they've put out two EPs entitled #1 and #2 and an album appropriately titled #3. Keeping it simple and concise.

This particular song has been featured in a Prius commercial, which I think is rather funny considering the title.

The song seems to be about touring and living from place to place and not really settling down. It's not a melancholy song even though the topic seems kind of depressing. Though that might be because of the slightly imperfect english phrases or the general indie pop song vibe.

This is the kind of song that makes me feel just generally happy and positive about life's prospects. Even if I end up eating frosties and rice cookies out of my friends' refrigerators and couch surfing for part of my life, it'll be ok. And if I do end up eating food out of your fridge, I promise I'll wash your dishes too. In fact, I'll probably wash your dishes even if I don't eat any of your food.



ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba......

On this rocky mountains
to play five songs and drink some more
and fall asleep
getting taped by locals
don't have the nerve to ask for food and die of thirst
in the backseats of rented wrecks
let's hope this wheels got what it takes to care us home

ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba......

backdrops made of denim
teacher salesman and the followers it brings
single package systems
saw DJ's and you know the riot that that brings
I wanna turn their dancefloors into a burning inferno of Ba-Ba
I play the piano and play the guitar
I've played on clubs and I've played it in bars
I visit your city
and I slept on your floors
I borrowed your swings
and I've heard you're hard core
on the scores of the c to the a and the youth of today
and it's beautiful

still I can't get enough of it
did you see me eating frosties from your fridge
And the rice cookies you never ate
their all gone with the wedding to the kitchen

I Don't Know if She's Worth 900 Kronor :: Jens Lekman

I fell in love over the weekend. With Jens Lekman.

About a month ago, I was told I would love him and should check him out, and the circumstances of this conversation were such that I believed it. So, I had him on my "must check out" list. Then, as it happened, his music found me before I had the chance to find it. During a rollicking Jameson-soaked cribbage extravaganza that crept from Saturday into Sunday, Jens Lekman made himself known. In those early morning hours, Lake Calhoun was foggy, so was I, and I promptly turned over my heart to the songs of a Swedish crooner.

Jens, your music makes my heart ache, my eyes brighten, my spirit sparkle. Sigh.

His songs are pure, sweeping pop; romantic and nostalgic,bouncing from melancholy to joyous and back again. And his voice is like velvet. And he plays the ukelele! Jens is a little elusive; he doesn't have a myspace profile, and despite the fact that he has released mutliple albums and EPs, his music is not all over the internet. His website, however, has some for free download (check it!). While I've only heard a handful of his songs, almost every one I've heard I L-O-V-E. Where have I been? How did I overlook Jens Lekman all these years? WTF?!?!!! There is no going back now.

This song is called "I Don't Know if She's Worth 900 Kronor" and I've listened to it the most obsessively for the last 3 days. I can't find an MP3 to embed, nor is there any YouTube video, so follow this link and stream it: CLICK TO LISTEN!!!!!!!

Oh Jens. I look forward to our polyamorous romance, I know you have a lot of admirers, but that's okay. You have so much music I have yet to submerge myself in...how exciting.

LYRICS:
Well I know that I fall in love too easy,
I just sit back and pluck a little daisy.
Oh loves me, loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

I don't know if she's worth 900 Kronor,
'Cause that's a ticket from Gothenburg to Barcelona.
Oh loves me, loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

But there's a song on the radio
that lets me know that what I feel is a
No, no, no!
But hey let's go.
I'm not afraid to lend my heart out to a stranger:
Barcelona.

Oh please don't remind me of the little time i have known her.
She's probably happy,
In love with someone in Barcelona.
But no matter, if she loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

But there's a song on the radio
that lets me know that what I feel is a
No, no, no!
But hey let's go.
I'm not afraid to lend my heart out to a stranger:
Barcelona.
[I Don't Know If She's Worth 900 Kronor Lyrics on
http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

BONUS! Because I couldn't resist. This is "A Sweet Summer Night On Hammer Hill" and I love this song too.