The Soundtrack of Our Lives are currently back at Svenska Grammofon in Göteborg working on their next record.

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
02. TALK 1
03. Dreamboy - What have I done
04. Echo Is Your Love - Three ropes
05. The Raveonettes - Dead sound
06. TALK 2
07. Connny Nimmersjö - Dum i huvudet
08. Holiday Fun Club - Hamburg in the night
09. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
10. TALK 3
11. Christian Kjellvander - Two souls
12. Heroes & Zeros - The foolproof
13. Gåte - Sjå attende
14. TALK 4
15. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
16. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Instant Repeater '99
17. Petter - Logiskt (ft. Säkert)
18. TALK 5
19. Dieter Schöön - Warm hearts
20. Springfactory - Stingy Friday afternoon
21. Sivert Høyem - Don't pass me by
22. TALK 6
23. Sweatmaster - Song with no words
24. Enslaved - Enemy I
25. The Concretes - Kids
26. TALK 7
27. Broder Daniel - Cruel town
28. September - Cry for you
29. Britta Persson - Cliffhanger
30. TALK 8
31. TLS - A song left for you
32. The End Will Be Kicks - Ass of a friend
33. Immanu El - Kosmonaut
34. TALK 9
35. Fare You Well - Deceiving eyes
36. Weeping Willows - So it's over
37. Firefox AK - Winter rose (ft. Tiger Lou)
38. TALK 10
39. Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be

MP3: Britta Persson - Hajar'u de då Jack?

I don't know much about Cornelis Vreeswijk beyond what can be gleaned from his bio at wikipedia, but I am definitely aware of his reputation and eminent stature which is why I was immediately interested in the new all-star recreation of "Poem, ballader och lite blues" curated by Göran Petersson and Nina Ramsby. Wordy music such as this doesn't always maintain its appeal for listeners who won't immediately understand the lyrics, but I find that the melodies are strong enough to carry it. The strong lineup helps too- Martin Hederos and Fredrik Sandsten from The Soundtrack of Our Lives play on almost every track along with respected jazz musicians such as Jonas Kullhammar and Johan Berthling. And that's just scratching the surface. As for the track I've decided to feature today, what's not to like about Britta Persson? I love the waltz-like lilt of the tune and Britta's delivery is fantastic, especially with the way she practically spits out some of the more aggressive lines. Great stuff.

Britta Persson - Hajar'u de då Jack?

MP3: Bröderna Lindgren - En hund som jag

I make no secret of my appreciation for children's music. "Bamses dunder hits!" still gets regular airplay in my house and no, I have no children of my own and my dogs hate singing and dancing so it's definitely not for their benefit. Naturally, when I heard about the new Bröderna Lindren record "Vuxen barnmusik!" ("Children's music for adults!"), I knew I needed to have it. Factor in the all-star cast of guest vocalists (Kristofer Åström, Ebbot Lundberg and Asha Ali, to name a few) and a backing band featuring drummer Fredrik Sandsten from The Soundtrack of Our Lives and I. If you're of a certain age (an adult?), you'll probably feel the same as it harkens back to the kind of songs I/we grew up on on Sesame Street, Schoolhouse Rock, The Muppet Show and so on: classic rock/pop that's happy and easygoing with plenty of opportunities for singalongs. Now, as for the track I've selected today, it features Mattias Alkberg from The Bear Quartet/MABD and is one of the more balladesque numbers. Not only is it one of the best vocal performances I've heard from him in awhile, it's also about dogs (more or less), so I'm all about it. Enjoy!

Bröderna Lindgren - En hund som jag (ft. Mattias Alkberg)

Mattias Bärjed
Upp till kamp!
Razzia Records

If you've seen the TV miniseries, this soundtrack is the perfect companion piece. If not, your appreciation depends on how much you can get down with retro rock that aims to recreate the sounds of the late 60s/early 70s. As to any complaints that the music here seems all too familiar, especially the full-band material, that's because it's supposed to. Creating something fresh and original is besides the point - this is a retro piece, plain and simple. The music is composed to fit the era and it is remarkably successful at doing just that. However, what's even better are the interstitial/instrumental pieces. Again, the sound is engineered to fit the setting/time period of the film, but the music is allowed more room to breath. These are the tracks that make the record shine, as they are far more evocative and atmospheric, as opposed to purely being set pieces, written solely to move the plot forward.

All in all, The Soundtrack of Our Lives guitarist Mattias Bärjed must be commended for excelling at doing exactly what was needed to make this work. It does lose something when divorced from its visual counterpart, but it's not a deal-breaker. Now, as to my criticism of the show, well let's just say that this soundtrack is by far one of the best things about it and leave it at that.
- Avi Roig

The MuseBox is offering up a new X-mas track from The Soundtrack of Our Lives for free download: http://www.themusebox.net/featured_artist/images/tsool_christmaspiper.mp3
Look for them to play SXSW in March.

Top 10s for 2007: It's a Trap!

Irya Gmeyner's new 7" "The basement takes from Textilgatan" will be released on October 24 via her own Byker Wall label in cooperation with Universal Music. The 4-song EP was mixed by Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives) and features contributions from other TSOOL members as well as people from Bob Hund, Weeping Willows and more. More details and samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/iryamusic

"Upp till kamp" is a new 4-part Swedish TV drama about four young people living in Göteborg during the period of 1966-76. Why should you care? Well, the soundtrack was composed by Mattias Bärjed of The Soundtrack of Our Lives and features contributions from other illustrious artists such as Jonas Kullhammar, Ralf Gyllenhammar, Amir Chamdin and more. And said music is being released on 2CD set by Razzia Records on September 19. Check out a video of the first single "Coming down cold" featuring Mattias and fellow TSOOL member Ebbot Lundberg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuk-4N-H9PY

MP3: The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore

Back home, safe and sound. I hope to have a full festival report with pics and more in the next couple days, but until then, let me just say a huge thank-you to Björn Kleinhenz and everyone at Norrländska Generalkonsulatet for putting me up (and putting up with me), Chris Magnussen for helping me with phone issues and everyone else I had a chance to meet and hang out with - the list is long, but I'm gonna try and make sure I thank each and every one of you personally. I'm just sorry I didn't have more time! Well, except for Max from Cut City - fuck that guy! Doesn't he realize that my beer consumption and band-watching skills took years of specialized training? People, it's easier said than done - leave it to the pros.
Oh, and here's one last GBG song for you - "Nevermore" by The Soundtrack of Our Lives, probably my favorite TSOOL track. Regular updates to resume... soon? Today is all about clearing out the inbox.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore

The playlist for this week's all-GBG radio show:

01. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
02. TALK 1
03. Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg
04. Division of Laura Lee - We are numbers
05. Håkan Hellström - Kom igen Lena!
06. TALK 2
07. In Flames - Everything counts
08. Pistol Disco - Walking with Jesus
09. Viktor Sjöberg - W/nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
12. The Knife - Listen now
13. Broder Daniel - Dark heart
14. TALK 4
15. Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
16. MPTP - Jim Morrison
17. At the Gates - Cold
18. TALK 5
19. The Book of Daniel - The camels parade
20. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
21. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore
22. TALK 6
23. Nicolai Dunger - What tomorrow
24. The Kid - Portion control (Fatsuit haze/Zlatan wins the World Cup remix)
25. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
26. C.Aarmé - Visions
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Junip - Official
30. Diabolique - Catholic
31. TALK 8
32. Convoj - My timekeeping heart
33. Tsukimono - Dear sister
34. Eric Beyond - Step off
35. TALK 9
36. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
37. Detektivbyrån - E18
38. TALK 10
39. Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die

Ebbott Lundberg from The Soundtrack of Our Lives makes a guest appearance on two songs from the new Trummor & Orgel album "Reflections from a watery world" out today on Cosmos Records. Listen to both at myspace along with two other tracks: http://www.myspace.com/trummorochorgel

Last Days of April play their first-ever North American shows this week at NXNE:

06/07 - The Bovine, Toronto
06/07 - El Mocambo, Toronto w/Brant Bjork
06/09 - Jeff Healey's Roadhouse, Toronto w/The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will play a few gigs at North By Northwest to support the release of "Origins Vol. 2":

06/07 - Healey's Roadhouse, Toronto
06/08 - Silver Dollar, Toronto
06/09 - Healey's Roadhouse, Toronto

New tourdates for The Soundtrack of Our Lives:

05/02 - Stone Boat Cafe (acoustic gig), Beijing (CHI)
05/03 - MIDI Festival, Beijing (CHI)
05/05 - Star Live, Beijing (CHI) w/PK14
05/06 - True Colors, Shenzhen (CHI)
05/15 - Joy Eslava, Madrid (ESP)
05/16 - Apolo, Barcelona (ESP)
05/17 - La Casa del Loco, Zaragosa (ESP)
05/18 - Santana, Bilbao (ESP)
05/19 - Greenspace, Valencia (ESP)