The long-awaited Licking Fingers Swedish music comp "Thank You For The Music" will finally be out on May 28 and the label will celebrate with a party that evening at Pet Sounds Bar in Stockholm. Here's the tracklist, as best I can tell:

01. Anna Järvinen - Svensktalande Bättre Folk
02. Jens Lekman - The Opposite Of Hallelujah
03. Lykke Li - Everbody But Me
04. Those Dancing Days - Dischoe
05. Friska Viljor - Old Man
06. Shout Out Louds - South America
07. The Concretes - The Sentence
08. First Floor Power - The Jacket
09. Pacific! - Runaway To Elswhere
10. Kleerup/Lisa Milberg - Music For Girl
11. The Radio Dept. - Freddy And The Trojan Horse
12. Studio - No Company
13. Peter Morén - Social Competence
14. Loney, Dear - Your Time Will Come
15. Wildbirds And Peacedrums - Liar Lion
16. El Perro Del Mar - Glory To The World
17. The Tiny - Too Heavy A Burden
18. Frida Hyvönen - See How I Come Into Town
19. Speedmarket Avenue - Sirens
20. Idiot Kid - Wide Awake
21. Nicolai Dunger - God's Waitingroom

Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Death Cab for Cutie
02. Radiohead
03. Håkan Hellström
04. Lykke Li
05. The Radio Dept.
06. Nine Inch Nails
07. Kent
08. Belle and Sebastian
09. Shout Out Louds
10. Feist

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Radiohead
02. Håkan Hellström
03. Jens Lekman
04. Portishead
05. Lykke Li
05. M83
07. Feist
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Hot Chip
10. José González

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Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Håkan Hellström
02. Radiohead
03. Belle and Sebastian
04. Jens Lekman
05. Death Cab for Cutie
06. The Knife
07. Shout Out Louds
08. Lykke Li
09. R.E.M.
10. Bob Dylan

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Check out a Studio 360 segment on Swedish pop featuring interviews with José González and members from Shout Out Louds and Peter Bjorn and John: http://studio360.org/episodes/2008/04/04/segments/96110

Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Death Cab for Cutie
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Kent
06. The Knife
07. Lykke Li
08. Belle and Sebastian
09. Shout Out Louds
10. Elliott Smith

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

New European dates for Shout Out Louds: http://www.shoutoutlouds.com/shows.aspx

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

01. Hot Chip – Ready for the floor
02. Gentle Touch – Once you used to
03. Caesars – Boo boo goo goo
04. Familjen – Det snurrar i min skalle
05. Markus Krunegård – Jag är en vampyr
06. Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
07. Caesars – Strawberry weed
08. Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
09. Lykke Li – I'm good, I'm gone
10. Shout Out Louds – Tonight I have to leave it

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Håkan Hellström
04. Lykke Li
05. Band of Horses
06. The Cure
07. Hot Chip
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Caesars
10. Kent

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

01. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
02. Feist – The Reminder
03. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills
04. Radiohead – In Rainbows
05. Familjen – Det snurrar i min skalle
06. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
07. Hot Chip – Made In The Dark
08. M.I.A. – Kala
09. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
10. Kate Nash – Made of Bricks

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The video for the new Robert Svensson (Mixtapes & Cellmates) solo single "1987" (ft. guest vocals from Shout Out Louds frontman Adam Olenius) is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12g3qBTuTQ
The clip was directed by Victor Claesson of the band Aerial.

MP3: The Second Band - The urgency of now

The Second Band of 2008 is a bit different than the one you might remember from 2006's "Your dark side is on the phone". Less members, a bit rougher around the edges. Less straight-up pop, less optimistic, more yearning, more weary. Seems appropriate to me as the world is not as nice a place as it was two years ago. On the other hand, this also means they're sounding less unique. Do we need another Arcade Fire or Shout Out Louds? When they sound more like the former as on today's mp3 pick, I say yes. The song has drive and, as the title suggests, an urgency. Also, as with yesterday's mp3 selection, they throw in the odd off-notes to add atmosphere and tension. It's a clever ploy and without it, the song wouldn't be nearly as interesting despite that lovely drifting melody line during the verses. However, as self-assured as such tactics may be, I still get the impression that the band is having a bit of an identity crisis as the rest of their new album "The definite form" is anything but. They seem torn between embracing modern indierock and exploring their quiet, jazzier side which, come to think of it, kinda reminds me of The Book of Daniel the more I listen. I like this song a lot, but am not so sure it's the direction they ought to embrace.

The Second Band - The urgency of now

This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Jens Lekman
02. Lykke Li
03. Hot Chip
04. Radiohead
05. Shout Out Louds
06. Feist
07. The National
08. Band of Horses
09. The Cure
10. Sigur Rós

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Feist
04. Lykke Li
05. Hot Chip
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. Cat Power
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Modest Mouse
10. Kent

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

This week's It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. Hot Chip
02. Radiohead
03. Feist
04. Jens Lekman
05. Belle and Sebastian
06. Shout Out Louds
07. The Shins
08. Lykke Li
09. Band of Horses
10. Vampire Weekend

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