My other experience however, was far more downbeat, but just as moving. Gustaf Kjellvander (The Fine Arts Showcase) and I shared an afternoon when I was in Malmö discussing the importance of BD (among other things), especially the album "Broder Daniel Forever". It's the perfect soundtrack to the downtrodden and the fuckups/the fucked up -- the mood is far darker, but no less celebratory. It revels in the pain and ugliness of life in a way that no other band can do and Gustaf and I agreed that it's a beautiful thing. If your heart aches, if you've ever felt absolutely crushed by life, this is your soundtrack. It's more than teen angst, it's a struggle that continues every day for those who feel like they can't/don't/won't fit in. In other words, an album for everyone. Now just wait until you hear Gustaf's new record. Gbg's #1 antiheroes bow out one last time at Way Out West in August, but The Fine Arts Showcase carries the torch onward.

This one's for you Gustaf, take care of yourself man. I hope we meet again soon.

Roo, rest in peace little girl. I miss you like hell, but I'm glad you waited for me to come home.

It was not wholly unexpected, but there's only so much preparation you can really do. Back in the fall of 2006, Roo was diagnosed with the brain disease hydrocephalus and the prognosis was not good. By the time we got her MRI'd she had maybe 20% of her greymatter left, so it was amazing she was even alive, let alone a loving, breathing, charming little sweet-natured dog. Her mobility gradually decreased over our time with her, but she never ever lost her sunny disposition until Sunday night when she went into a grand mal seizure and never fully recovered. We said our last goodbyes yesterday afternoon.

I know this is kind of a corny song to post, but she was an angel to me and she far outlived all expectations. I treasure every moment we shared.

This week's mp3 posts will cover a small selection of the various records I picked up on my trip, but no, I won't be posting anything from the new Division of Laura Lee yet. The time for that will come soon enough, so be patient! Instead first up I bring you I Am Droid, one of Razzia Records' most recent signing. Their take on the whole dark, urban rock thing ala Interpol isn't the most original thing in the world, but they do it really well, especially on a few songs such as "Blood & ether". I love the droning tap-tap-tap of the piano that persists throughout the entire track, that old rock'n'roll trick that never gets old. It's about creating a mood, something I realized when I heard it playing in a record store in Malmö -- I thought yes, this sounds good right now.

How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and why do you stick around?

Myself and Markus Tiljander (guitar) have lived here for nearly two years now. Jesper (drums) and Staffan (bass) have lived here their whole lives. Me and Markus wanted to get a fresh start somewhere and we ended up in Gbg. We moved from Karlstad, Värmland to find some new interesting people to make music with. Personally, I found Gbg a quite mellow and easy living city. The summertime is great but the winters sucks, the rain just keeps pouring down. But you got to have black to have white, Yin & Yang etc.

What makes Gbg such an artist-friendly city?

Is it? No but actually Gbg is a cool city with loads of great bands/artists.
I think that since there is a great tradition of good music and fascinating artists, people are always hungry for new good music. It is interesting that the music buisness just goes worse and worse, but still people are making more music than ever and some of it are really good too. But there isn't any "one for all - all for one" feeling here, it becomes what you make of it, but so far most people we've meet have been extreamly friendly.

If you could change 1 thing about Gbg, what would it be?

Nothing really, the weather during wintertime maybe, but that is a hard nut to crack.

Shiloh's sound isn't immediately comparable to Gbg bands of yore - how do you fit in the current local indie scene? Is it hard finding acceptance?

We just want to make music that we like and are satisfied with ourselves. If others like it we become very happy. But we don't seek any acceptance, who will accept us? Promoters, bands, ordinary people? We just want to do our thing and if others like it we get very happy as said before.

Since you moved to Gbg from elsewhere, how would you say the city has influenced or changed you? Is it reflected in your music?

I would say that the city has influenced us for sure. Personally I have met loads of cool people with great taste in music and life that I really wasn't aware of before. It's a great thing to move somewhere, then you leave the shit behind you and open your eyes more.
Of course it has influensed the writing and feeling of the music.

Finally, got a song you want to share? Tell me about it.

The name of the song is "The ship". It is a song that we wrote about two years ago, we still like it a lot. It is quite dreamy and saga-like with powerful contrasts.

Everybody always asks me- what is it about Swedish/Scandinavian music that you like so much, that makes it different? Now that's a very complicated question that deserves many hours/coffees/beers worth of discussion or maybe even a full book treatment (someday?), but the short answer is simple. I know what I like and I know it when I hear it. Yes, there is a lot of Scandinavian rock that is derivative of American or UK sounds, but there's also lots of stuff with its own identity. One such scene is Swedish noiserock, a sound I identify with bands like Starmarket and KVLR, bands who took the template of classic US indierock ala Sonic Youth/Hüsker Dü/etc. and added their own touch. The Sound O.E carries on that tradition, especially on songs like the epic album closer "Party at the moontower". You get that angular/syncopated heaviness, but it's tempered by a lovely lyricism and strong melodies. Other tracks on the album tend to be more choppy, more heavy and generally more hardcore and they're fine, but this is the stuff that really grabs me. Some bands did epic indie before Arcade Fire, believe it or not. This draws from that.

First off, the standard question: how long have you lived in Gbg? Where did you move from and what keeps you there?

I have lived in Gothenburg all my life except for short stints as a chef in France and a mod in London. Now I got myself so tangled up in everything it would be impossible for me to move or even take a vacation. At least that's how it feels like.

I play bass with Bonnie & Clyde and The Spurts. I run my own managing company No Good Productions who take care of both my bands as well as the best band in the world; Ram Di Dam. I organise club nights and gigs under the name No Good Club. Now I'm planning on starting a record label as well that would be called No Good Records surprisingly enough.

I tend to keep busy.

How healthy do you think the local Gbg indie scene is nowadays? Good bands? Good venues? Is there enough diversity? How do you think it compares to the scene of 5/10+ years ago?

The Gbg indie scene in is dead! Long live the Gbg indie scene!

It's brilliant right now and it's getting better! There is a new scene on the rise with a couple of bands that I'm pretty sure will make it big. Bands without any ironic touch, silly gimmicks or iPods on stage. Bands that really know how to play and write fantastic music: The Fume, Bye Bye Bicycle, Ram Di Dam and I really hope for B&C and The Spurts as well of course.

There you got it! Gothenburg's soon-to-be legendary new indie scene. Remember where you heard it first!

Speaking of diversity, how much crossover do you see happening between various music scenes? Or does everyone stick to their own niche, more or less?

Well, basically none. It might sound harsh, but right now we are not so interested in what's happening on the other scenes around the city or anywhere else. We are to busy doing our thing. Or inventing it more or less.

What does Gbg have to offer that no other Swedish city can compete with? On the flipside, is there anything it lacks?

My father, who is musician as well, has written a song where the lyrics, translated from Swedish, go: This town is too small to live in but much too big to leave. Thats pretty much how it is and not even Henrik Berggren could have said it better.

We love our city as much as we hate it. It feeds us as much as it feeds on us. It's not always a healthy relationship but we like it that way.

Since you play in both the Spurts and Bonnie & Clyde, this may be difficult, but here's the deal: pick a favorite, give me a song to post and tell me how you came to your decision.

Bonnie & Clyde - I guess there's no one

It's the first track on our brand new EP ("The great tram robbery") and I'm really proud to be a part of it because I think its a great song. We had our release party yesterday (7/6), it was fantastic! Lots of sparkling wine!

Right now I am waiting for the painkiller to kick in so I can go buy some breakfast. I hope I made my point?

Jeff Buckley comparisons are so rarely applied to female vocalists even though they are much more capable of scaling the heights he achieved. Gbg-based act Mist earns the label, not just for the light and airy vocals of frontwoman Martha Brauer, but also because they get the music right as well. A little quirky, a little funky, with a touch of jazz and very pop in the end. It's been done enough now by other Buckley wannabees such as Belgium's Arid, but I think this is the first time I've heard it with a female touch and I have to say that I really enjoy it. It does sometimes push the boundaries of histrionics and they definitely lose me the more they lean on the soul/funk tip (see "My baby blue"), but tracks like "Subjective love song" are nothing but nice. All in all, a very pleasant surprise.