Don’t Get Sentimental

Our next Swede is another “Swedish Grammy” winner, and this just in: they’re not just called Swedish Grammies, but Grammis. Without Wikipedia, nobody would even know that their grammis are just like ours.

But I digress.  Hello Saferide is a Swedish act led by the above pictured Annika Norlin, and since Wikipedia doesn’t mention any of the other musicians on their English page, I don’t know who they are.  Because I don’t read Swedish.  And because this blog is now a Wikipedia blog with the occasional splash of music.

Hello Saferide is classified as twee pop, which means it’s more happy music, but (do not despair) it is not as happy as I’m From Barcelona.  Listen:

Hello Saferide - Anna

Also, several years before the artistic bankruptcy that is Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Norlin released this gem with the chorus:

“Damn! I wish I was a lesbian
Damn! I wish I was a lesbian
Damn! I wish I was, and that you were, too
So I could fall in love with you”

Enjoy!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I can’t have Marcelo making me look bad, so I too am posting this weekend.  We oughta find a Swedish song that uses a sample so we can streamline these two features, and I can stay in bed all day Sunday.

Alas, I am awake and this weeks Swede is Lykke Li.  She’s a 22 year old solo artist with one album, Youth Novels, which came out earlier this year.  Her music relies heavily on her voice, with minimalist backing percussion and the occasional horn/synth vamping.  Her voice moves over the beat to make the perfect soundtrack for a lazy Sunday, where it’s playing in the background and every now and then a song will jump out and grab your attention.

Anyway, she’s awesome, listen to some music:

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance

Lykke Li - Little Bit

——————————————

On an unrelated note: I added google AdSense to the site way back when as kind of a pipe dream.  In the 3 and a half months it’s been active, this site has generated an impressive 4 (four) cents profit.  Keeping the dream alive!  Now, this is not surprising in and of itself; we have, after all, a very small niche market here.

But as I was reading Marcelo’s latest Saturday Morning Sample, I noticed that two of the three ads were targeted at suffers of ovarian cancer.  Now, I can see the wisdom in not getting overly sentimental about your ovarian cancer, but for the life of me I cannot fathom what it is about Ghostface that inspired this.

/confusion.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to last Sunday’s Swedes, I’m From Barcelona (sample comment: “cancel this feature IMMEDIATELY”), I have no choice but to continue the feature.  Now, understandably, I’m From Barcelona can be a bit over-the-top, so perhaps I should’ve started off with something a bit more…palatable.

Jose González is, in fact, a Swede.  His hispanic name comes from his Argentinian heritage, but he was born and raised in Sweden.  And, like so many Swedish artists I’ll be writing about, he sings in English.  English: the international language of business and weird indie music.

González’s music is in some ways more of the same: it’s just a dude with a guitar, with some minimalist percussion.  González updates the formula with a rich sound that sounds, for lack of a better word, analog.  Nothing about this music sounds like it was run through GarageBand; his notes drip with a warmth and soulfulness that evokes a warm fire on a winter’s day.

Anyway, check out Jose González.  And for those of you who have liked neither Swedish Sunday, I can at least promise that each week will feature an artist that varies greatly from the previous week’s.  After all, we went from a 29-member group last week to just one man this week.  Stay tuned.

Jose Gonzalez - Lovestain

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Every now and then you find a new artist that gets into your playlist and immediately supplants everything else, if only for a short period.  Several months ago, I discovered the music of Laura Marling, and for nearly two weeks, she was the only thing I listened to.  Obsessive?  Perhaps.  Warranted?  Absolutely.

The first time I heard Laura Marling’s name was in a Stereogum article about her collaboration with the Mystery Jets on “Young Love,” a pleasantly catchy little pop song.  Her part in the song is good, but I must admit that what really caught my eye was this New Yorker article billing Marling as the “Feist of 2008.”  True or not, I knew I’d be spending money soon.

At the time I could only find her EP, My Manic and I, but I instantly fell in love with those four songs, and several weeks later I found her full-length, Alas I Cannot Swim.

From the beginning, the most impressive thing about Laura is her voice.  It’s incredibly mature, especially considering that the LP came out only 3 days after she turned 18.  In the crowded field of “young girls with guitars” (or female singer-songwriter alt.country, if you want to get all snooty about it), she rises easily above the competition.  Her voice is full and powerful compared to the many breathy, vapory voices out there.

Having a rollicking good time

Adding to that maturity is her lyrical content.  In the age of Katy Perry’s and Pussycat Dolls, it’s refreshing to hear a young talented woman with a keen insight into life, and one who doesn’t rely on slutty lyrics or clothing to cover up a lack of talent.  I had to double check when I started listening because she sounds like she’s been at this for decades.

Laura is currently on tour in the UK, then heading to Australia.  Tell your friends and maybe we can convince her to come to the States.

Laura Marling - Ghosts

Laura Marling - You’re No God

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Summertime, and the music’s easy.  I hate to say I like Adron because her music floats along breezily in the background, because that’s selling her short.  It’s also true, but that’s only part of the story.

Adron (real name: Adrienne McCann) is a twenty two (?) year-old singer-songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia, with a distinctly Brazilian sound.  On her self-titled debut, Adron plays all the instruments herself, everything from guitar to harpsichord to bird-noises.  There is minimal percussion on most songs, usually not more than some maracas or egg-shakers.

The real magic comes from the way her voice intertwines with the bossa nova plucking of her guitar, and the effect is like the warm sun on your back as you step out of the ocean.  To me, Adron is a great album for a relaxing day at the beach, but even better for a rum and coke later that night.

Lousy analogies aside, Adron has a beautiful sound form-fit for the last month or so of summer, so check her out.  Also, as of the writing of this post, she only has 971 plays over at Last.fm, so go grab her album and give her some love.

Adron - Stringsong

Adron on Myspace

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!