The Hives recorded a Christmas duet with American artist Cyndi Lauper. No more details have been revealed yet beyond that, but I'll keep you posted.

It appears that The Hives are in trouble for plagiarism and are accused of ripping off The Roofies' 1997 track "Why you?" for their single "Tick tick boom". Compare and contrast: "Why you? / "Tick tick boom"
Sounds like a stretch of imagination to me. I'm sure The Hives would be the first to admit they're not all that original, but those riffs are not the same.

The Hives new video for the song "Won't be long" is viewable here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=41615959

The Hives will be back to the US in September for a short tour with Eagles of Death Metal:

09/16 - Stubb's, Austin, TX
09/17 - House of Blues, Dallas, TX
09/19 - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
09/20 - Street Scene, San Diego, CA
09/21 - The Grove, Anaheim, CA
09/22 - Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA
09/23 - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
09/24 - The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA
09/25 - The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA

Festival report: Hultsfred 08 (pt. II)

Festival report: Hultsfred 08 (pt. I)

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show (Hultsfred special):

01. Familjen - Huvudet i sanden
02. TALK 1
03. Säkert! - Vi kommer att dö samtidigt
04. Robyn - Cobrastyle
05. Håkan Hellström - Kär i en ängel
06. TALK 2
07. Those Dancing Days - Dischoe
08. Mustasch - I hunt alone
09. Johnossi - Party with my pain
10. The Process - Mot Sverige i tiden
11. TALK 3
12. Raised Fist - Breaking me up
13. Firefox AK - Once I was like you (Markus Guentner remix)
14. Dreamboy - Pay attention
15. TALK 4
16. Miss Li - Miss Li
17. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
18. Timo Räisänen - My valentine
19. TALK 5
20. The Hives - You dress up for Armageddon

Reminder: my show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) is now on Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday.

The Hives will be bringing along legendary Swedish garage-punk madmen Henry Fiats Open Sore on the next leg of their European tour: http://www.myspace.com/henryfiatsopensore

MP3: De Stijl - Date times

Remember De Stijl? They were one of the many Swedish garage-rock bands that got hyped on the coattails of The Hives' success. At least that's the way it appeared to me, though Sweden has a long tradition of great bands in this vein, stretching back to scene godfathers the Nomads. Like many people (I imagine), I first became aware of the stuff through The Hellacopters before discovering the superb "Swedish sins '97" comp which of course led to more and more bands. But that's a post for another time- today we're talking about De Stijl and the single "Date times" off the 2003 record "Yeahvolution!". It's snotty, brash and undeniably catchy, especially with those tuneless frat-rock backups. It's not the kind of thing that'll change your life, but it'll certainly brighten up 90 seconds of your day. So where are these guys now? I know they released a follow-up in 2005, but I haven't heard anything since?

De Stijl - Date times

Delusions of Adequacy reviews The Hives' most recent album: http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewID=8397

New European dates for The Hives:

03/27 - Garage, Saarbrücken (GER)
03/28 - Pier 2, Bremen (GER)
03/29 - WDR Rocknacht, Cologne (GER)
03/30 - Roxy, Prague (CZ)
04/01 - Petofi Csarnok, Budapest (HUN)
04/02 - Gasometer, Vienna (AUS)
04/03 - Tonhalle, Munich (GER)
04/04 - Xtra, Zurich (CH)
04/05 - Rolling Stone, Milan (ITA)
04/07 - Apolo, Barcelona (ESP)
04/08 - La Riviera, Madrid (ESP)
04/09 - Coliseum, Lisboa (ESP)
04/11 - Santana 27, Bilbao (ESP)
04/12 - Le Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)
04/14 - UEA, Norwich (UK)
04/15 - Academy, Newcastle (UK)
04/16 - Rockcity, Nottingham (UK)
04/17 - Academy, Bristol (UK)
04/18 - Brixton Academy, London (UK)
04/19 - Printempes de Bourges, Bourges (FRA)
04/20 - Le Zenith, Paris (FRA)

The winners of the Swedish Grammis have been announced:

Best Album: Kent – Tillbaka till samtiden
Best Dance/Hip-Hop/Soul: Adam Tensta – It's a Tensta thing
Best Folk/Visa: Sofia Karlsson – Visor från vinden
Best Group: Kent – Tillbaka till samtiden
Best Hard-rock: Mustasch – Latest version of the truth
Best Jazz: Rigmor Gustafsson – Alone with you
Best Songwriter: Salem Al Fakir – This is who I am
Best Female Artist: Säkert! – Säkert!
Best Male Artist: Salem Al Fakir – This is who I am
Best Live Act: The Hives
Best Song: Lars Winnerbäck w/Miss Li – Om du lämnade mig nu
Best Lyrics: Annika Norlin – Säkert!
Best Newcomer: Salem Al Fakir – This is who I am
Best Producer: Salem Al Fakir – This is who I am
MTV-Prize for Best Video: Johan Söderberg (Familjen – Det snurrar I min skalle)
Export Prize: Bloodshy & Avant

Read more: http://www.grammis.se/?page=105

The final list of this year's Swedish Grammi nominees have been confirmed:

Best Album
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Dance/Hip-Hop/Soul
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
Ken - Äntligen Hemma
Mange Schmidt - Känslan Kommer Tillbaks
Petter - God Damn It

Best Folk/Country
Abalone Dots - From A Safe Distance
Ale Möller - Band Djef Djel
Lars Demian - Välkommen Hit
Sofia Karlsson - Visor Från Vinden
Sven-Bertil Taube - Alderville Road - Ord & Toner Av Evert Taube

Best Group
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Mando Diao - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend
The Hives - The Black And White Album

Best Hard-rock/Metal
Entombed - Serpent Saints
Hardcore Superstar - Dreamin' In A Casket
Lillasyster - Hjärndöd Musik För En Hjärndöd Generation
Mustasch - Latest Version Of The Truth
Takida - Bury The Lies

Best Jazz
Alice Babs Med Jan Johansson & Georg Riedels - Orkester Illusion
Bitter Funeral Beer Band W Don Cherry & K. Sridhar - Live In Frankfurt 82
E.S.T. - Live In Hamburg
Nils Landgren - Funk Unit Licence To Funk
Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone With You

Best Songwriter
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Joakim Berg & Martin Sköld - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Ola Salo - Prayer For The Weekend
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Best Female Artist
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Laleh - Prinsessor
Miss Li - God Put A Rainbow In The Sky
Sonja Aldén - Till Dig
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Live Act
Lars Winnerbäck
Lena PH & Orup
Takida
The Hives
Timbuktu

Best Song
Lars Winnerbäck & Miss Li - Om Du Lämnade Mig Nu
Mange Schmidt Feat. Petter - Giftig
Sahara Hotnights - Cheek To Cheek
Salem Al Fakir - Good Song
The Ark - The Worrying Kind

Best Male Artist
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand By For…
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande

Best Newcomer
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!

Best Producer
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Björn Olsson - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Björn Yttling - Writer's Block & What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Jon Joshua Schuman & Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

Best Lyrics
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Eva Dahlgren - Petroleum Och Tång
Jason Diakité - Oberoendeframkallande
Joakim Berg - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am

MTV-Prize for Best Video
Adam Tensta - My Cool (Dir: Marcus Lundin)
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle (Dir: Johan Söderberg)
Kent - Ingenting (Dir: Mattias Montero/Adam Berg)
Slagsmålsklubben - Malmö Beach Night Party (Dir: Andreas Nilsson)
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend (Dir: Magnus Renfors / Kindpeople)

Read more: http://www.grammis.se/?page=96

Top 10s for 2007: Absolut Noise

The Hives are having a contest to let a fan design the cover of their next single: http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/news.php?article=92