Don't let my surname fool you: I come from a strong line of Scandinavians. To confuse things more, my mother is almost entirely of Scandinavian descent and yet she is an Irish citizen, while my father, who is of mostly Irish heritage, will never be able to achieve this status. If my mother moved to Ireland, my father would have to get a J1 visa to work at her B&B.
But ANYWAY... I'm partial to Scandinavians, particularly Swedes, particularly Swedes who make indie rock music.
There's a fun blog called Swedes Please that keeps track of the latest Swedes to arrive on the rock scene. I particularly like their IKEA-inspired t-shirt:
Most of my favorite CDs of the year have come from Sweden. I've been tracking this at PasteMagazine.com in Part One and Part Two of "The Year of the Swedes vs Year of the De(e/a)rs" debate. Here's the short list:
Loney, Dear: Loney Noir
Download: "I Am John" (my favorite song of the year) courtesy of BrooklynVegan
Shout Out Louds: Our Ill Wills (out 9/11/07)
Download: "Tonight I Have to Leave It" courtesy of Spinner.com
Peter, Bjorn & John: Writer's Block
Download: "Young Folks" courtesy of Yellow Stereo
Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature (out 9/26/07)
Download: "Down the Line" courtesy of The Glorious Hum
Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala (out 10/09/07)
Download "Friday Night at the Drive In Bingo" courtesy of Stereogum
Tobias Froberg: Somewhere In the City
(Can't find a sample for you)
I'm From Barcelona: Let Me Introduce You to My Friends
Thank you to You Ain't No Picasso for turning me onto this band back in late 2005, well before they even had a MySpace page. And thank you to the band for sending me an I'm From Barcelona kazoo. Here's the terrific video for the catchy single... and that's how big the band is, btw...
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