Plugged Records is putting together a boyband and openly soliciting for members. Swedish teens between the ages of 15-20 are encouraged to apply: https://www.plugged.se/

Crunchy Frog has signed Epo-555 sideproject Oliver North Boy Choir. Read more at Gaffa: https://gaffa.dk/nyheder/view.php/news_id=17412 (in Danish)

pHinnWeb compiles an unofficial collection of Nuggets-style rock'n'roll from Finland: m/2007/02/finnish-nuggets-original-artyfacts-from.html" target=_blank>https://phinnweb.blogspot.com/2007/02/finnish-nuggets-original-artyfacts-from.html

Video footage from the Labrador 100 party is now available on YouTube: m/watch?v=TKy_EGQqUZ4" target=_blank>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKy_EGQqUZ4

Hell On Wheels have a nice selection of various covers they've done posted for your pleasure at myspace: myspace.com/hellonwheelss" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/hellonwheelss

Swedish art-rock ensemble Baron Bane will release their new single "Solace" as a free download this Friday via m/" target=_blank>their website. The track is the first taste of their forthcoming "Orchids" EP, due out march 23 via Stupid Dream Records. Upcoming live dates:

03/23 - Gävle teater, Gävle (SWE)
03/27 - Hoxton Bar & Grill, London (UK)
04/20 - Pipeline, Sundsvall (SWE)
04/27 - Arenan, Falun (SWE)

Automaton Industries reviews Asha Ali: mtn.com/2007/02/17/asha-ali-st/" target=_blank>https://atmtn.com/2007/02/17/asha-ali-st/

Swedish indierockers Rusty Flores have two new songs on myspace: myspace.com/rustyflores" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/rustyflores

Grammy-nominated remix artist Bill Hammell has posted his version of Asleep's track "I lost you" on myspace: myspace.com/billhamel" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/billhamel

This week's m/group/itsatrap" target=_blank>It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 artists of the week:

01. The Arcade Fire
02. Bloc Party
03. The Shins
04. Sufjan Stevens
05. modest mouse
06. Of montreal
07. The Knife
08. Peter Bjorn and John
09. The Radio Dept.
10. Jens Lekman

Album charts are still not working and the top 10 tracks are all from the same 2-3 records, so I'm not going to bother. If you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod, please join us! The more people that join, the more interesting our chart will be, the more interesting new music you'll discover. Go here to learn more: m/help/" target=_blank>https://www.last.fm/help/

Swedish indie blues-rockers Deltahead will tour Italy in march:

03/09 - Vidia Club, Cesena (FC)
03/10 - Sky Lab, Terni
03/11 - Cantina mediterrane, Frosinone
03/12 - Clandestino, Faenza (FC)
03/14 - Circolo magnolia, Segrate (mI)
03/15 - C.R.C., Abano Terme (PD)
03/16 - Bachelor, Pesaro
03/17 - Interzona, Verona
03/18 - mono, Pescara
03/19 - Garage Records, Avellino
03/20 - Bohemien, Bari
03/21 - B-Side, Cosenza
03/22 - La Chiave, Catania
03/23 - Dude, Carpi (mO)
03/24 - Spazio 211, Torino

Dharma, the Norwegian band founded by ex-Euroboys member Ole Øvstedal, has a new song on myspace: myspace.com/lyxpop" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/lyxpop

Franky Lee has posted "Shatterproof", the Japanese bonus track from their record "Cutting edge", on myspace: myspace.com/frankylee" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/frankylee

MP3: Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be

my recurring complaint about post-rock: it's almost never heavy enough. You'd think that wouldn't be a problem for a genre whose entire raison d'etre is based upon epic build-ups, but it's the sad ugly truth. I've heard way too many pieces that fall just short of awesomeness and it drives me crazy. Just when you think they'll kick it up that extra notch, they wimp out. So anticlimatic! Thankfully Scraps of Tape, young upstarts that they are, are not afraid of wielding such power. This is the opening track from "This is a copy is this a copy" (due out tomorrow and available in m/store/product.php?productid=417">the webstore) and there's no mistaking that they mean business from the get-go. There's plenty of introspective parts with beautiful melodies elsewhere on the record, but I'm all about the loud bludgeoning parts today. The end, when they take it up to an even higher notch that you didn't think was possible, totally gives me a Beevis & Butthead "Yes!" moment every time I hear it. I may not be a teenage metalhead anymore, but I can't disregard my past.

Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be

MP3: The Bear Quartet - Fuck your slow songs

I hate irony in music. Hate it with passion. That's one of the reasons that Scandinavian music is appealing to me - it's so refreshingly irony-free. Bands like The Hellacopters play ridiculous, over-the-top arena rock, but there's no "ha-ha, we're only joking" wink-wink/nudge-nudge to it. They play it like that's what they were meant to do and they do it well. There's nothing half-ass about it and that's why it's awesome.
So why does The Bear Quartet's "Fuck your slow songs" appeal to me? It's approach is so blatant, but that too, is the point. The lyrics:

"Your criticism has been noticed
and we plead guilty to a major part
but nothing's easier or more fun
than annoying young punks
so we slowed it down
and added strings and a steel guitar
we wrote song words
about how misunderstood we are"

It's entrapment! If you're annoyed, it means they've won. It's true - nothing is easier than annoying young punks and I know that first-hand. The song itself isn't exceptional, but it serves as a fine anthem for the band's dissatisfaction with the musical norms of the day and proves to be prognostic with regards to their future path. That's more than enough to make it Important with a capital i.
2001's "Gay icon" was the first BQ album I bought. Despite my horror at the gatefold image, I found it to be a great introduction to the band as I immediately set off to devour their vast back catalogue. The music tends to be a bit too typical slacker/indierock for my tastes, but that's okay - there's plenty of highlights to make up for it.

The Bear Quartet - Fuck your slow songs