November's album of the month selection is a no-brainer: of course I'm going to pick the soon-to-be-released Hello Saferide LP that I'm putting out. The vinyl is due to arrive on Friday, so order now and you might even get it by Monday. How awesome would that be? Also, be sure to note that I'm also taking preorders for the super awesome Razzia Christmas comp "Oh no... it's Christmas!". Featuring brand new songs from the likes of Hello Saferide and Firefox AK with Tiger Lou as well as old holiday chestnuts from The Soundtrack of Our Lives and more! You know you need it! That's not all either - I've also got the new retrospective CD from Danish post-punk act De Må Være Belgiere as well as that new-fangled "Svenskt" compilation. What are you waiting for? Get shopping!

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 tracks of the week:

01. The Killers – When You Were Young
02. The Shins – Sleeping Lessons
03. Loveninjas – I Wanna Be Like Johnny C
04. The Shins – Australia
05. The Shins – Phantom Limb
06. Nikola Sarcevic – Love Is Trouble
07. The Shins – Pam Berry
08. The Shins – Red Rabbits
09. The Killers – Sam's Town
10. I'm from Barcelona – We're From Barcelona

And the top 10 albums of the week:

01. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
02. The Arcade Fire – Funeral
03. The Knife – Deep Cuts
04. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
05. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time
06. The Strokes – Is This It
07. The Knife – Silent Shout
08. The Radio Dept. – Pet Grief
09. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
10. Hello Saferide – Introducing...

Want to make your own playlist count? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

The tracklist for Razzia's "Oh no, it's Christmas" compilation has been finalized:

01. Konie - "Oh yeah, it's Christmas"
02. Hello Saferide - "iPod X-mas"
03. Kristofer Åström - "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus"
04. Laakso - "Merry Christmas"
05. The Thousand Dollar Playboys - "A very sepcial Christmas"
06. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Jingle Hell (stuck in the chimney)"
07. Dreamboy - "Christmas kisses"
08. South Ambulance - "Hangin' in a tie"
09. Firefox AK & Tiger Lou - "Christmas eve"
10. Friska Viljor - "Oh no, this is what I feared all along"
11. Maia Hirasawa - "You were all there"
12. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "Jullåten 2004"
13. The Tiny - "No money (for X-mas)"
14. Grande Roses - "To bring back Christmas this year"
15. The Perishers - "Blue Christmas"
16. They Live By Night - "Lucia (I deserve some candles in my hair)"
17. Dogday - "Santa will never get here"
18. The Consequences - "Some kind of magic"
19. Indiekören - "Last Christmas"

See this? You know what it is? It's the test presses for the Hello Saferide LP I'm putting out. Yes, Hello Saferide and yes, on LP as in vinyl. Want to learn more about the release? Go here.

Y'know that upcoming Christmas comp that Razzia is putting together? I've got a preview of the tracklist:

Firefox AK & Tiger Lou - Christmas Eve
Friska Viljor - Oh no! This is what I feared all along
Hello Saferide - iPod X-mas
South Ambulance - Hangin' in a tie
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Jullåten 2004
Laakso - Merry Christmas
The Tiny - No money (for X-mas)
Maia Hirasawa - You were all there
The Perishers - Blue Christmas
The Soundtrack of our lives - Jingle Hell (stuck in the chimney)
Consequences - Some kind of magic
Grande Roses - To bring X-mas back this year
Konie - Oh, yeah...it's christmas!
Dogday - Santa will never get there
Indiekören - Last Christmas
They Live By Night - Lucia (I deserve candles in my hair)
Dreamboy - Christmas kisses
Kristofer Åström - I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus

As you can see, some of these tracks are old and previously released (TSOOL for instance), but most are new and exclusive to this release. The exact order is still TBD and a few more tracks are due for submission, but I'll definitely be carrying it in the webstore when it's released on November 15.

The video for "2006" by Hello Saferide is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eUsmyu22BU
The clip was made by Sandra Löv and that's her in the video, not Annika.

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 albums of the week:

01. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
02. The Knife - Silent Shout
03. Camera Obscura - Let's Get out of This Country
04. The Knife - Deep Cuts
05. The Postal Service - Give Up
06. Tiger Lou - The Loyal
07. The Killers - Hot Fuss
08. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
09. Mew - Frengers
10. Hello Saferide - Introducing...

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. Marit Bergman – No Party
02. Britta Persson – You Are Not My Boyfriend
03. Marit Bergman – Sun Goes Down
04. Marit Bergman – Mama, I Remember You Now
05. The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
06. I'm from Barcelona – We're From Barcelona
07. The Knife – Heartbeats
08. The Knife – Neverland
09. Britta Persson – Winter Tour
10. Yo La Tengo – Beanbag Chair

Want to make your own playlist count? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Hello Saferide in the UK:

11/12 - Blue Old Last w/Au Revoir Simone
11/13 - The Monto @ Water Rats
11/14 - Dublin Castle

Hello Saferide will come to London in November for a few shows. We would have loved to have her play at Tack! Tack! Tack!, but alas - it was not meant to be. Bummer. Exact dates and details to come.

Hello Saferide
Would you let me play this EP ten times a day?
Razzia Records

Yes, Annika, I would. But you knew I was going to write that, didn't you? What can I say - I'm a sucker for hand claps. And smart, wry lyrics. And sparkling melodies. Which all feature in abundance on Hello Saferide's latest stellar effort. The opening track sees Annika quizzing a new beau, asking such important questions as 'Do you talk in the middle of Seinfeld? Have you slept with any people I work with?' In "Last bitter song", she promises, 'From now on, I'll write about flowers and butterflies/Chickens and kittens and shit' – before going on a brilliantly bitter tirade about some pretty boy and his new buxom bitch. 2006 delivers more of the straightforward pop we've come to expect from the Razzia Records darling, and track three, "The best night of your life", is a fantastically fun song about a crazy fancy dress party that makes me want to salsa meringue my way across the room in a penguin costume. The big surprise, however, comes with the final track, "Leaving you behind", for which the lovely girl-next-door is transformed into a sultry soulful crooner, singing a sad song about moving on. Oh Annika, I didn't know you had it in ya! Let it all out, sista! Again and again, ten times over.
- Stacey Shackford

Export Music Sweden, Rikskonserter and the Swedish Institute are promoting a week of shows in Tokyo, Japan:

10/03 - Shibuya Tower Records in-store feat: Ane Brun, Hello Saferide, Wendy McNeill
10/04 - Sweden Sounds reception @ the Swedish Embassy feat: Ane Brun, Hello Saferide, Wendy McNeill
10/05 - Astro Hall live showcase feat: Ane Brun, Wendy McNeill, Hello Saferide
10/06 - KDDI live showcase feat: Ane Brun, Wendy McNeill, Hello Saferide
10/07 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition
10/08 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition (Minimalistic Sweden) feat: Andreas Tilliander, Lisa Nordström (MidairCondo), Hans Appelqvist
10/09 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition.

Hello Saferide will be travelling to Japan for some dates in early October. Details soon.

Look for new CDs from Élodie, Tar... Feathers and Knife and Ape in the webstore now! Also note that all Hello Saferide CDs and back in-stock and ready to ship.

Video mix: Acid House Kings, Hello Saferide, The Hives, Meshuggah, Randy, Rough Bunnies, more...

Tack! Tack! Tack! checks in after returning home from Emmaboda:

T!T!T! at Emmaboda had a strong red threat of Sweden through the line-up. From Brighton (home of Sweden Made Me) came Bobby McGees. The UK-Sweden link was further bolstered by Monster Bobby's membership in 2/7 Swedish band The Pipettes.
Nevertheless, this was T!T!T! at Emmaboda with IAT jocks.
Festival faves The Bobby McGees gave up seven songs to 150 people crowded in the D&tC tent with Monster Bobby following on with a further six songs, increasing the crowd to 250 - this in competition against Hello Saferide performing on the main stage. Not too shabby we say.
Bands to catch the eye of T!T!T! included Familjen, Hemstad, I'm From Barcelona, Vapnet, SMK, Hello Saferide and D&tC, to name just a few. We missed them, but The Tiny were said to be immense. Old timers like Billie the Vision and the Dancers gave a memorable show, and trumpetplayer Lisa promised to marry T!T!T! Even more lovely was when The Pipettes dedicated "Pull shapes" to T!T!T!
T!T!T! dedicated it to all the other would-be proponents of music on the scene for Scandi music. From Spain, Italy, Scotland, England, Ireland, USA and elsewhere; everyone was there. You know who, Tack!