The Legends, Niccokick, Deportees, Strip Music and Moonbabies are the first bookings confirmed for the Pop Dakar Festival in Stockholm on May 22.

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Phoenix "Everything Is Everything"
02. (02) Marit Bergman Feat. Cecilia Nordlund "Adios Amigos"
03. (03) Tiger Lou "Oh Horatio"
04. (04) Promoe "These Walls Don't Lie"
05. (05) Laakso "Aussie Girl"
06. (06) The Von Bondies "C'mon C'mon"
07. (15) Teddybears Sthlm Feat. Mad Cobra "Cobrastyle"
08. (07) Damien Rice "Volcano"
09. (20) Graham Coxon "Freakin' Out"
10. (11) Swan Lee "I Don't Mind"
11. (10) Jens Lekman "Rocky Dennis In Heaven EP"
12. (12) The Legends "Call It Ours"
13. (13) Bring Me The Fucking Riot...Man "In Love With The Riot"
14. (NY) Syd Matters "Black & White Eyes"
15. (NY) Spring In Paris "Can I Stay"
16. (09) Josh Rouse "Come Back (Light Therapy)"
17. (14) N.E.R.D. "She Wants To Move"
18. (NY) Atmosphere "Trying To Find A Balance"
19. (NY) Mattias Hellberg "Walking Restless"
20. (17) Starsailor "Four To The Floor"

Leaving the chart:
08. John Frusciante "Song To Sing When I'm Lonely"
16. Peaches Ft. Iggy Pop "Kick It"
18. Last Days Of April "It's On Everything"
19. Organism 12 "Sångfågel"

Petter's new album "Ronin" has been confirmed for an April 28 release date.

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Phoenix "Everything Is Everything"
02. (02) Marit Bergman Feat. Cecilia Nordlund "Adios Amigo"
03. (05) Tiger Lou "Oh Horatio"
04. (03) Promoe "These Walls Don't Lie"
05. (11) Laakso "Aussie Girl"
06. (07) The Von Bondies "C'mon C'mon"
07. (06) Damien Rice "Volcano"
08. (09) John Frusciante "Song To Sing When I'm Lonely"
09. (04) Josh Rouse "Come Back (Light Therapy)"
10. (10) Jens Lekman "Rocky Dennis In Heaven EP"
11. (15) Swan Lee "I Don't Mind"
12. (08) The Legends "Call It Ours"
13. (NY) Bring Me The Fucking Riot...Man "In Love With The Riot"
14. (14) N.E.R.D. She Wants To Move
15. (NY) Teddybears Sthlm Feat. (Mad Cobra "Cobrastyle"
16. (11) Peaches Ft. Iggy Pop "Kick It"
17. (NY) Starsailor "Four To The Floor"
18. (NY) Last Days Of April "It's On Everything"
19. (18) Organism 12 "Sångfågel"
20. (NY) Graham Coxon "Freakin' Out"

Leaving the chart:
13. Paris "Hey Sailor!"
16. David & The Citizens "Graycoated Morning"
17. Belle & Sebastian "I'm A Cuckoo"
19. Dave Clarke Feat. Chicks On Speed "What Was Her Name?"
20. Missy Elliott "I'm Really Hot"

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's Swedish student radio chart:

01. (13) Phoenix "Everything Is Everything"
02. (NY) Marit Bergman feat. Cecilia Nordlund "Adios Amigo"
03. (NY) Promoe "These Walls Don't Lie"
04. (NY) Josh Rouse "Come Back (Light Therapy)"
05. (02) Tiger Lou "Oh Horatio"
06. (19) Damien Rice "Volcano"
07. (01) The Von Bondies "C'mon C'mon"
08. (07) The Legends "Call It Ours"
09. (12) John Frusciante "Song To Sing When I'm Lonely"
10. (05) Jens Lekman "Rocky Dennis In Heaven EP"
11. (NY) Laakso "Aussie Girl"
12. (06) Peaches feat. Iggy Pop "Kick It"
13. (17) Paris "Hey Sailor!"
14. (16) N.E.R.D. "She Wants To Move"
15. (NY) Swan Lee "I Don't Mind"
16. (04) David & The Citizens "Graycoated Morning"
17. (03) Belle & Sebastian "I'm A Cuckoo"
18. (11) Organism 12 "Sångfågel"
19. (NY) Dave Clarke Feat. (Chicks On Speed "What Was Her Name?"
20. (NY) Missy Elliott "I'm Really Hot"

Leaving the chart:
08. Broder Daniel "Shoreline"
09. Björns Vänner "Alexander Lukas"
10. Shout Out Louds "Please Please Please"
14. Timbaland & Magoo "Indian Flute"
15. Grandaddy "I'm On Standby"
18. The Thrills "Don't Steal Our Sun"
20. Nicolai Dunger "Here's My Song You Can Have It (Album Sampler)"

New at Musique One Stop: pics of Moneybrother, The Legends and Hip Whips.

Some of the acts confirmed for the upcoming City Sound Festival in Göteborg on April 1-3: José Gonzàlez, Jens Lekman, The Mo, Mattias Hellberg, C.Aarmé and The Legends. The event is modelled after SXSW and will feature seminars and discussions as well as live music.

Upcoming releases for Swedish twee indie label Labrador Records:

January:
Corduroy Utd - "Daddy's Boy" 7" single

February:
Laurel Music - "Dreams and Lies" ep
Tribeca - "Solitude" ep

March:
Corduroy Utd - "Oh Eira"
Laurel Music - "This Night and the Next"

April:
Tribeca - "Dragon Down"
Various Artists - "Kingsize"

They've also posted some new tourdates for The Legends and Laurel Music and you can check those out here: http://www.labrador.se/tours.php3

Lake of Tears will enter the studio on February 13 to begin work on their new album, tentatively titled "Black Brick Road". An August release on Noise Records is expected.

German radio show "45 minutes", broadcast every second sunday at 7.30 pm on Radio Blau Leipzig, recently published their best-of-the-year lists and they contain a ton of Nordic acts. Here's some highlights:

Top 100 LPs 2003
01. The Bear Quartet "angry brigade" (A West Side Fabrication)
03. David & The Citizens "until the sadness is gone" (Adrian)
05. The Legends "up against the legends" (Labrador)
06. The Radio Dept. "lesser matters" (Labrador)
08. The Embassy "futile crimes" (Service)
10. Wan Light "let's wake up somewhere else" (Labrador)
12. Mew "frengers" (Sony)
13. Monastir "the modern sound for a loser generation" (A West Side Fabrication)
16. Peter Bjorn And John "s/t" (Beat That!)
17. The Crystal Committee "forever overhead" (Chalksound)
18. Dub Sweden "welcome to our world" (Silence)
21. Franke "optimismens hån" (Service)
22. Club 8 "strangely beautiful" (Labrador)
23. Komeda "kokomemedada" (Sonet)
32. The Concretes "s/t" (Licking Fingers)
42. Broder Daniel "cruel town" (Dolores)
50. The Cardigans "long gone before daylight" (Stockholm)
57. Laakso "miss you, i'm pregnant" (Adrian)
58. The Raveonettes "chain gang of love" (Dragnet)
73. Paola "stockcity girl" (Dolores)
83. Burek V "s/t" (A West Side Fabrication)
85. Carpet People "more bad weather coming out of the rain" (Chalksound)
88. Isolation Years "it's golden" (Stickman)
89. Douglas Heart "douglas heart" (Labrador)
93. Mando Diao "bring 'em in" (Majesty)
94. The Knife "deep cuts" (Rabid)
97. Ariel Kill Him "in the pyramid" (Kasual)
99. Edson "every day, ervery second" (Labrador)

For the rest of the list, as well as their singles chart, go here: http://www.pop-on-paper.de/

Here's this week's top 10 Nordic video chart from YLE/Morjen:

01. Glitz - Away from you (FIN)
02. Technicolour - Fireflies (FIN)
03. Nina Rochelle - Taxi 43 (SWE)
04. The Rasmus - The first day of my life (FIN)
05. Garbo - Won't be in your way (DK)
06. Xantom - Miss you (DK)
07. Johnny Deluxe - Elskovspony (DK)
08. Zen Café - Piha ilman sadettajaa (FIN)
09. User - To feel (SWE)
10. Jonna - Kaikki talossa (FIN)

Challengers:
01. The Latin Kings - Cashen dom tas (SWE)
02. Klovner i kamp - Konger i kamp (NOR)
03. Fintelligens - Vaan sil on väliä (FIN)

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Peter LeMarc - Det som håller oss vid liv
02. The Refreshments - Rock 'n' Roll X-mas
03. Markoolio - I skuggan av mig själv
04. Peter Jöback - Jag kommer hem igen till jul
05. Lisa Miskovsky - Fallingwater
06. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
07. Per Gessle - Mazarin
08. Backyard Babies - Stockholm Syndrome
09. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
10. Lars Roos - För de som älskar
11. José González - Veneer
12. Bo Kaspers orkester - Vilka tror vi att vi är
13. Mauro Scocco - La Dolce Vita
14. Carola - Jul i Betlehem
15. Christer Sjögren - För kärlekens skull 14 visklassiker
16. Helen Sjöholm / Anders Widmark - Genom varje andetag
17. Mats Ronander - Bästa
18. Bamse - Bamses dunder-hits
19. Broder Daniel - Cruel town
20. Lisa Ekdahl - En samling sånger

By way of Dagensskiva, here is thist week's Swedish student radio top 20:

Leaving the chart:
06. Paris "Rainy Day In London"
13. Bring Me The Fucking Riot...Man "Lolita Riotta"
14. The Legends "There And Back Again"
16. Guided By Voices "The Best Of Jill Hives"
17. Slow Train Soul "In The Black Of Night"
19. Primal Scream Ft. (Kate Moss "Some Velvet Morning"
20. The Bear Quartet "Ask Me, Don't Axe Me"

As you've probably already heard, the first couple bands for next year's Hultsfred fest have been confirmed: Broder Daniel, C.Aarmé, Rocky Dennis, The Legends, Snook and The Kid. The show isn't until next July, but tickets go on sale at the end of December. Details: www.rockparty.se

By way of Dagensskiva, here is thist week's Swedish student radio top 20:

Leaving the chart:
02. Christian Kjellvander "Portugal"
06. The Latin Kings "Cashen dom tas"
10. The Kid "Baton Rouge"
15. The Strokes "12:51"
16. Björns Vänner "Vad ska jag med ett foto på dig? "
19. José Gonzales "Crosses EP"
20. The Warlocks "Baby Blue"

By way of Dagensskiva, here is thist week's Swedish student radio top 20:

Leaving the chart:
06. Nicolai Dunger "Hunger"
14. Rocky Dennis "Maple Leaves EP"
15. Captain Murphy "I'm A What"
18. Franz Ferdinand "Darts Of Pleasure"
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Fortune Faded"
20. Broder Daniel "When We Were Winning"

Labrador Records has updated their site with some new sound samples from Afraid of Stairs and The Legends.

The Monstera booking agency is presenting a free festival called Summersmithy songs at Radermachersmedjorna in Eskilstuna, Sweden on August 22-23. Bands set to play include The Concretes, Cdoass, José Gonzáles, Le Mans, Tiger Lou, Jettie, The Legends, The Search, Kristina Carlsson, and Ellis the Vacuumchild. More info: etrea.tripod.com/intro.html

Slow news day today. What can ya do?

Turbonegro stormed the Troubadour like Vikings on a siege, selling out two shows in under an hour and proving to one and all that all the hype is for good reason -- these guys really are the best band on the planet right now.

Read KNAC.com's entire review of Turbonegro's recent Hollywood show.

Enslaved has announced they will doing two exclusive live shows in April, one in London on the 24th at The Garage with Thus Defiled and one in Oslo at the Rock In on the 25th. In other news, the band has finally confirmed a May 12 release date for the upcoming album "Below the Lights".

Randy will be appearing on P3 Rock tomorrow, April 17 at 10:10pm.

The Sounds have a feature in the May issue of Paper Magazine talking about their experiences in New York hanging out with Melissa Auf Der Maur from Hole and Smashing Pumpkins.

HIM has launched a new UK-based website at www.himonline.tv.

Labrador Records is releasing two limited edition 7" singles on May 5. First up is Douglas Heart, who the label describes as 'dreamcore' or akin to Sigur Rós, Mazzy Star and Stina Nordenstam. Next is The Legends who are said to play "joyful and catchy C-86-motown-punk-pop."

Samson & Rourke just posted a small profile on buzz-band Radio Dept. that you might find interesting. (in Swedish)

The Confusions have apparently signed deals with record labels in Taiwan, China and Japan. No details yet, but I'll keep you updated.

Evergrey are playing a couple of dates around Europe in support of their new album "Recreation Day":

5/9 - Vosselaar (BE), Biebob
5/10 - Rijssen (NL), Lucky
5/11 - Zaandam (NL), Kade
5/12 - Paris (FR), Ellysse Monmartre
5/14 - Hamburg (TY), Markthalle

Expressen is reporting that Jocke Berg (Kent) is working with singer/songwriter Lisa Miskovsky on songwriting for her next album. At least that's what Ola Håkansson of Stockholm Records has told them. We shall see. This would be the follow-up to Lisa's successful self-titled debut album from 2001.

I put up a bunch of the pictures that were taken on the KVLR tour up at Indie Workshop. Kind of a tour diary, more of a photo journal. Anyhow, there's some dece pics worth checking out. Also be sure to check out this site for some great pics from the Flagstaff show. A digital camera just can't really compete with true quality B&W photography.

Umeå Open, the first big fest of the year starts tonight. I'll try to get reports and photos as soon as I can.

Mattias from The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be on 104.3 FM in NYC on March 30 at 9pm. More info and streaming information can be found here.

Word has it that "You're The Storm" will be the next single from The Cardigans. Apparently the band has even re-entered Tambourine Studios to record some brand new b-sides for it to be included along with a few earlier versions of the song.

Arve from Supersilent will be performing solo on 5/10 at Mai Jazz, an international jazz festival in Stavanger, Norway. More info here. In other Supersilent-related news, Helge aka Deathprod has finished mixing and mastering the new album from Shining. The band is a jazz quartet from Norway led by Jørgen Munkeby (ex. Jaga Jazzist) and the record will be out 5/12 on Jazzland.

Sahara Hotnights are going worldwide! They'll be playing in Australia with The Datsuns beginning in late April/early May and also hitting Tokyo, Japan on May 6. The details:

04/24 - Brisbane Australia, The Waterloo
04/26 - Sydney Australia, Metro
04/28 - Melbourne Australia, Hi Fi Bar
05/01 - Adelaide Australia, Enigma Bar
05/02 - Perth Australia, The Globe
05/06 - Tokyo Japan, Astro Hall

Kristofer Åström has hinted that he might be doing another EP this summer and definitely a new album next year. Nothing definite yet, as he says it's mostly up to Startracks, his label.

The Legends will be featured on the May single from Labrador Records. They are described as "C-86 and northern soul influenced punkpop" by the label and they put up a preview mp3 for the track "Make It All Right". Check em out this Friday at Klubb Instant Feelings in Stockholm.

The new single from Carpet People was sent out to Swedish radio today, so be sure to call in and request it. I've got a promo copy of the album and can confirm that it's really, really good. Lots of good stuff coming from Chalksounds in the near future, so pay attention! The album hits stores April 11.

Here's some video footage of Surferosa playing at So What in Oslo. The band will be opening for Turbonegro with JR Ewing on the upcoming big Norweigan tour. I think they sound kinda like the Norweigan version of The Sounds, but whatever.

Monastir is hitting the road in support of their new album "The Modern Sound For A Loser Generation" which comes out Monday. The dates so far:

3/28 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
3/29 - Oslo, Mono
4/10 - Stockholm, Tantogården
4/31 - Göteborg, Sticky Fingers
5/2 - Hässleholm, Perrong 23
5/3 - Lidköping, Nätverket
5/17 - Gävle, Musikhuset
7/19 - Norberg, Rockaway Beach
7/18 - Skellefteå, Trästock

The details for this year's big Kalas tour have been announced. And yes, the rumors are true: scheduled to perform are Håkan Hellström, Lars Winnerbäck, Timbuktu & Damn, Magnus Carlson, Marit Bergman and Her Majesty. One local band gets to open each show, too. Here are the dates:

7/10 - Norrköping, Folkets Park
7/11 - Kalmar, Kalmarsundsparken
7/13 - Visby, P18/Visborgslätten
7/17 - Örebro, Brunnsparken
7/18 - Skövde, P4/Heden
7/19 - Lysekil, Pinneviken/Gullmarsvallen
7/24 - Malmö, Mölleplatsen
7/25 - Varberg, Varbergs Fästning
7/26 - Göteborg, Bananpiren
7/31 - Säter, Skinnbo Udde
8/2 - Stockholm, Universitetet

In Flames, Mando Diao and The Sounds have been confirmed for the Piteå Dansar Och Ler fest which will take place July 23-27. More info here.

The two HIMs of the world have apparently come to an agreement over use of their names. The 'evil' H.I.M. of Finland (which stands for 'His Infernal Majesty') has finally settled with the Chicago band of the same name and will now be able to release records in the US under their acronym. The details of the deal have not been released, but you can read a touch more of the back story here. (from Blabbermouth)