Swede

I spend a lot of time
listening to music. I listen to music on my way to work and on my way home. I listen to music while I clean and cook and even while I sleep. At work I also listen to music, but it's not the music of my choosing.

I was thinking about music just today and it occurred to me that I've got quite a few artists in rotation who hail from Sweden. I can't explain it. I can't even tell you why it popped into my head.

But it did.

And the more I thought about it, the more Swedes I could tick off. Now, some of these are groups that I've got a passing interest in, like The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Caesars, Dungen and The Hives.

But there are others that I really dig.

Like most people The Cardigans popped up on my radar via the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack. But unlike most people I stuck with the band and sought out their previous albums.

For me there are few phrases sweeter in the English language than "new album from The Cardigans." And while I'm less than happy about their hiatus, I'm always optimistic that new stuff will be on the horizon at some point.

Peter, Bjorn & John should have been one hit wonders. And I bet to some people that's just what they are. Young Folks was an incredibly catchy and nearly inescapable song.

But honestly, these guys have some solid albums under their belt. They aren't just catchy pop tunes.

I'm a relatively new convert to the fandom of Robyn. The first time I heard her stuff was last year when I saw her at Ram's Head Live. I was immediately hooked.

Robyn's an incredibly energetic performer and she's got a crazy devoted fanbase, who ad to the energy of her live shows. She makes pop music that's not lacking substance, which is rare today. Hopefully the rumors of a new album this year are true.

Carson Daly loves Lykke Li. He plugs her like crazy and basically planted a bug in my ear so that when I went to The Sound Garden, I had to grab her debut.

Not only is Lykke Li a talented artist, but she's kinda cute. Like, I would totally try to hook up given the chance. She's immensely shagable. Seriously, she's crazy talented and I could listen to her all day, but she's easy on the eyes too.

And there you have four Swedish acts who occupy my musical attention. They're acts I'll probably always want more product from. And they're certainly acts you should check out.

Yeah.