It's official: Laakso will support Peter Bjorn and John in the UK this December. Maybe they'll play Tack! Tack! Tack! as well! It could happen.

MP3: Laakso - Long Beach

Besides my own "Reader's companion" CDs there really isn't a better soundtrack to this site than the new "Svensk indie" compilation just released from NONS. Compiled by journalist/promoter/indie guru Terry Ericsson with assistance from Per Helin and Emelie Bååth, this collection is a monstrous 42-tracks plus copious liner notes (på Svensk, naturally). If you don't already have a good majority of these songs in your collection, this is probably the easiest way to get yourself educated. My interview with Terry is still in the works, but I did catch up with both Emelie and Per to ask them about their favorite selections:

Emelie: My favourite song on the compilation is "Hey princess" by Popsicle. It's one of the songs in my life that always makes me glad and it's also a brilliant and perfect floor filler! I actually first heard it on a dance floor, I don't remember which pop club in Sthlm it was, but it could have been Flowered Up or Too Cool for School sometime around -98. I guess I was too young to discover the song when it first was released. To me, back then, Popsicle was all about "Not forever" and "American poet" but the song "Hey princess" simply had a great revival around that time, the dj:s were playing it on clubs and the younger crowd (with me included) discovered the song and I remember that I fell in love with the song at once.

Per: Suredo - "Average cell". That was one of the first Swedish indie tunes that really caught my attention. When I first heard it I remember thinking; what interesting new English band is this (this was at the time when British still was a positive thing musically wise).

But what about all the great songs that were left out? Their picks...

Emelie: I really tried to get Laakso and their song "Long Beach" on the compilation since Laakso is one of my favourite Swedish bands and "Long Beach" one of their greatest songs, but there simply was no room. Unfortunately.

Per: Wow, that¹s many... For me it would probably be any song by Komeda.

Since I figure that trying to decide upon the 'best' Komeda song would be next to impossible, I'm offering up Laakso's "Long Beach" as today's mp3. Why not? Also, if you're in Stockholm, don't forget to check out the release party at Debaser Medis tomorrow October 14. I have no idea who the secret band will be, but I'm sure it'll be good.

Laakso - Long Beach

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.

Peter Bjorn and John will return to the UK once again in December and rumor has it they will be bringing Laakso along for the ride:

12/05 - Liquid Room, Edinburgh
12/06 - Club Academy, Manchester
12/07 - Audio, Brighton
12/08 - ULU, London
12/09 - Zodiac, Oxford

Lars Skoglund (Laakso, Existensminimum) will replace John Eriksson on Peter Bjorn and John's upcoming UK jaunt. Peter Bjorn and Lars? Doesn't sound nearly as charming.

The Swedish student radio chart is back and here's the first top 10 of the season:

01. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
02. Supersci w/Chords – On the grind
03. Laakso – Never satisfied
04. Arctic Monkeys – When the sun goes down
05. Dub Sweden – We´re so loud
06. SLS - Get Back
07. Franz Ferdinand - The fallen
08. Morrissey - You have killed me
09. Hard-Fi – Cash machine
10. Mystery Jets – The boy who ran away

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

01. The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
02. The Knife - Silent Shout
03. The Knife - Deep Cuts
04. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
05. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites
06. The Postal Service - Give Up
07. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
08. Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
09. Tiger Lou - The Loyal
10. Hot Chip - The Warning

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. The Rapture – Pieces Of The People We Love
02. Irene – Little Things (That Tear Us Apart)
03. Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks
04. Marit Bergman – No Party
05. The Plan – Walk for gold
06. Laakso – High Drama
07. Mando Diao – Killer Kaczynski
08. The Knife – Silent shout
09. The Radio Dept. – It's Personal
10. Isis – Dulcinea

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

Video mix: Moneybrother, Laakso, Eskobar, Mattias Alkberg BD, Madrugada, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, more...

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

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group most-played album chart:

01. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
02. Camera Obscura - Let's Get out of This Country
03. Tiger Lou - The Loyal
04. The Knife - Deep Cuts
05. Hello Saferide - Introducing...
06. The Knife - Silent Shout
07. Hot Chip - The Warning
08. The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
09. Radiohead - OK Computer
10. Interpol - Antics

Top 10 tracks for the week:

01. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
02. Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks
03. Tiger Lou – The Loyal
04. Laakso – High Drama
05. Tiger Lou – Nixon
06. Camera Obscura – Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken
07. Thom Yorke – Skip divided
08. José González – Heartbeats
09. Hello Saferide – Long Lost Penpal
10. Tiger Lou – Ten Minutes To Take Off

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

Laakso spent their summer recording a new album entirely in Finnish. No foolin'. It's called "Mämmilä Rock" and will only be released in Finland to begin with, but the band plans to offer up a few copies for sale via their own webstore too. Check out the first single "Hurrin hurjaa elämää" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/laaksofi

UK label Nude Records will be releasing a 7" from Laakso featuring the song "Kiss me" b/w "Someone somewhere". The a-side was originally released as a b-side on 2005's "High drama" EP and the b-side comes from the band's excellent, most recent album "My gods". The band will make their UK live debut at Audio tonight in Brighton.

This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) The Pipettes - "Your kisses are wasted on me"
02. (02) Arctic Monkeys - "The view from the afternoon"
03. (NY) Dub Sweden - "On your telly"
04. (09) Primal Scream - "Country girl"
05. (06) Supersci ft. Chords - "On the grind"
06. (08) Christian Falk w/Robyn and Ola Salo - "Dream on"
07. (04) The Sounds - "Tony the beat"
08. (12) Justice vs. Simian - "We are your friends"
09. (03) SLS - "Get back"
10. (NY) Archie Bronson Outfit - "Dead funny"
11. (NY) SwingFly - "Save the trees"
12. (05) The Raconteurs - "Steady as she goes"
13. (07) Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
14. (14) Tiger Lou - "Nixon"
15. (NY) David & The Citizens - "Are you in my blood"
16. (NY) Hot Chip - "Boy from school"
17. (11) I'm From Barcelona - "Collection of stamps"
18. (13) Laakso - "Never satisfied"
19. (17) Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California"

Leaving the chart: Dirty Pretty Things - "Bang bang you´re dead", Lil’ Kim - "Whoa", Up Hygh ft. Little Brother - "Keep on", Johnossi - "Execution song", The Fine Arts Showcase - "The shoplifter's union" and Sture Alléns Dansorkester - "Lita på mig".

In addition to playing the Great Escape Festival in London on May 18, Laakso says they will also play the White Light club at the Tatty Bogles the following evening. But it's not true - the venue is apparently closed for remodeling, so a substitute venue is being sought. More details to come?

Hets
Live @ Debaser, Stockholm, 04/22/06

Hets are something of a Swedish indie "supergroup", with members from Laakso, Doktor Kosmos, Fireside and Moneybrother. With those bands in mind, you don't really expect Hets to play Swedish punk sung in Swedish, but that's exactly what they do. Everyone seems to mention Mattias Alkberg BD when they talk about Hets and I can see why, since Hets do sound like MABD (although I don't think MABD should be the only people allowed to make punk music sung in their native language). Living in London, it's not every day I get to witness a concert like this, so perhaps I'm overreacting slightly, but I really enjoyed this show and I think I will now look into getting my hands on Hets' album (I assume and hope that the punk ethos is reflected in the price of their CD).
- Simon Tagestam