I hope you will go into this weekend dancing to this song. Fun dance worthy beats, peppy guitar. It’s worthy of a happy Friday post. So raise a glass and dance!

Using this Throwback Thursday as a dedication to one of my favorite bands. I first heard Kent on a compilation album I won’t at the Los Angeles County Fair when one of the KROQ DJ’s challenged me to remove my shoelaces in 30 secs. I tend to attach music to memories, so this is the memory I will cherish that brought Kent into my life. So 15 year old me goes home and puts on the CD. The first song was Blur’s Beetlebum and then some other crap music and this Kent song…

I eventually went out and bought their full record, Isola. This record has so many memories wrapped around it of late teens and early 20s. And I can’t think of many albums that I can listen to from start to finish. But I do have my favorites. This was a very tough choice but I’ve narrowed it down to two.

Velvet:

One of the most lyrically beautiful songs I have heard, 747 (We Ran Out of Time)

Another little known fact, unless you have followed from the beginning.  Before I thought of the name Swedes are Sweet, the blog was called Things She Said.  After this song:

So those of you who are familiar with Kent, know that they release two albums in both Swedish and English. The memory attached to their album Hagnesta Hill will be hearing it for the first time in Swedish. I didn’t do this intentionally, but my awesome brother had worked for a record distributor so I had him order me a bunch of CDs. One being Hagnesta Hill, well when it arrived it was the Swedish version. I didn’t care, I put that on and day dreamed that I knew what the songs were about. In those days, YouTube did not exist and music wasn’t as readily available as it is now. You had to search for it. I remember the day I walked into Rhino Records in Claremont, walked over to Kent and found Hagnesta Hill in English. I probably squealed as any music lover would finding a treasure they’ve been looking for. Once I heard the album in English, it quickly moved it’s way into my top albums of all time. Below are my favorites from it. The lyrics are amazing, beautiful and heartfelt.

Stay With Me:

Rollercoaster:

And lastly, one of my “theme songs” Stop Me June:

My main thing with this blog is to feature Swedish bands who write English songs, so I will stop featuring their music here. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give their Swedish stuff a try. I am sure the lyrics are as beautiful and the songs are as touching as these two albums. Please Kent translate more songs, or maybe I need to actually use that Swedish Rosetta Stone copy I have. Good luck with that! 😉

This blog is dedicated to Marie Lieko Yonezawa Solberg

I was telling my friend Erica how I wanted to start looking for things that were not electro pop. It has become a little frustrating. So I went on a hunt. I found Tross. I was intrigued, so I clicked and I have to say I really enjoyed this. Not sure exactly how to classify it. Interesting, psychedelic, surfy rock!

 

With their latest album being released yesterday, The Forest and The Trees are giving me happy fuzzy warm feelings. Missions is the only song available in the United States on Spotify at the moment but I am excited to hunt down the rest of the album. Missions is a a great start and I have probably listened to it ten times already. This dreamy pop fest is completed with beautiful lyrics and sweet vocals. Enjoy!

Members of Swedish indie pop bands have come together to create something lovely. Amason consists of Amanda Hollingby Matsson, Pontus Winnberg, Petter Winnberg from Little Majorette , Gustav Ejstes from Dungen and Nils Tornqvist. They were also nominated in the Swedish 2014 Grammys for best newcomer. I absolutely love it!

 

Another one recommended by Andrew, perfect weekend music! Her album comes out this coming Monday.(hopefully) It’s available in Sweden now. Guess I need to do some insider trading with my friend who lives in Jönköping.

I don’t know why the beginning of this song makes me think I should be riding on the back of Falkor flying through the skies of Fantasia.(To give you a visual, I’ve included a bad or awesome photoshop job of me riding Falkor. You decide if it’s bad or awesome) When I saw the name Join the Riot, I thought this was going to definitely be something that I didn’t like. Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover. The EP is made up of dancey and smooth grooves that make you want to lounge or dance. I chose this song just because of my NeverEnding Story vision also when I read the lyrics it touch a soft spot. I know, I’m strange. Visual First:

Now the song:

Put on my radar by my awesome Twitter pal Andrew Leigh, Tussilago is a perfect treat for a sleepy Saturday or a rainy day.  As a lover of shoe gaze, I instantly enjoyed their songs. Also, I have to comment that they are strikingly attractive and that their drummer is Lykke Li’s brother. Thanks Andrew!

I can give credit to a few people for me liking this band. There is only so much Swedish pop music you guys can take before you get bored. I also want to show how eclectic my taste really is.  So here is something different. Here’s a playlist for your listening pleasure. You can thank me later.

oh here’s another that I love!

Took me a few listens but I am really digging this. Makes me want to dance, and as we know I love dancing. There has to be something in the water in Sweden to where they generate so much awesome electro pop.