Here’s the concept: a one-girl electro pop band stages a video with inflatable, crayon-colored balls and sings about youth in the US.

Name the Pet’s “American Boys” could very well be an inverted Swedish version of From’s “American Girl,” but I’m too close to the subject to judge.  Hanna Brandén is a much more accessible singer than I am, and our aesthetics are quite different as well.  I love high end fashion, innit.  So yeah, this song has been popular on the Swedish radio station I stream.  RMX below.  It’s my Valentine’s present to Annie and Robyn fans.  Observing holidays is a popular blog past time.  The other track is for Prexy Day and reminds me of Hot Chip’s “Ready for the Floor.”

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“Hollywood Hills” comes from former Laakso singer Markus Krunegård.  His latest album, Prinsen av Peking, was produced by Mauro Scocco, and his collaborations with fellow Swedes include projects with Johnossi, Sâkert!, and Kleerup.

The video opens with a proud Universal Music ID – adorable.  Check out more old school logo spots here.

Markus Krunegård – “Hollywood Hills”

Get Prinsen av Peking from 7digital or CDON

Visit Markus Krunegård on MySpace

Le Sport is back!  The band has been releasing songs on a simple site featuring videos + MP3 downloads.  It’s all you need, really.

“Dreaming” is darker and harder-hitting than the upbeat dance pop of previous releases.  Well, there’s a long way to go toward anything truly goth from the Pet Shop Boys sound of early Le Sport, and other recent tracks “16 December” and “Love in Stereo” are more in line with that sunny mood.  Though not as party-infused as “Tell No One About Tonight.”

Le Sport – “Dreaming”

Le Sport – “Love in Stereo”

Next song comes out Feb. 6 on lesportmusic2.tk.

No, “Afrika” isn’t a European answer to the Afro beat trend amongst some American indie bands. Thankfully.  “Afrika” is a track from the forthcoming debut by Swedish band Ikons, and it sounds like a mod foray into psychedelia with its neat yet repetitive groove.  It’s fitting that Ikons opened for Spiritualized during their Scandinavian tour this past summer.

The six musicians and one video artist that make up Ikons are based in Göteborg, and their self-recorded album was mixed by Alex Palmestål of Pistol Disco and Dan Lissvik of Studio.  They’ll announce UK & European tour dates this spring – go if you’re there!

Ikons – “Afrika”

The album IKONS will be released on February 15, 2010 on CD and 180g vinyl.  Stream it now at their excellent label Service.

A cinematic, mostly black and white video just came out for Avner’s “Besatt” (possessed in Swedish).  “Besatt” comes from the album Lyssna, released by Sincerely Yours.  The label is also home to the Tough Alliance and JJ.  Avner talk-sings over an orchestrated instrumental, all with a rich reverb and clever arrangements.  I like the lush simplicity.  Then there are a couple of points that I don’t get.  He paints yellow stripes on his cheeks, and we’re past the MGMT tribal heyday.  And I’m a little weirded out by Swedish artists taking on Jewish names (wtf Sally Shapiro?), but maybe Avner means something else to him besides King Samuel’s commander-in-chief and a common first name in Israel.

Avner – “Besatt”

Get Lyssna on iTunes or Clicktrack

Visit Avner at MySpace or get more info at his label’s site, Sincerely Yours

Brother and sister Sarah Parthemore Snavely and Jacob Donald Snavely are Dag för Dag, a duo that’s Swedish and American with a history spanning Greece, Spain, Wisconsin, Honolulu, and Stockholm.  They remind me of Throwing Muses.  Is there gonna be a grunge retro moment, or can we leave it at this nice song?

Dag för Dag – “Hands and Knees”

Visit Dag för Dag on their site, iTunes, MySpace, or Facebook

I’m writing this as a friend who would write something to help you out.  Your iPod might hate you.  Let’s figure this out.  The situation may suck right now, but it’s super easy to remedy.

Some might say that inanimate objects like MP3 players can’t hate because they don’t experience feelings.  Fair enough, but hate may not be a feeling.  We leave it up to a court of law to determine whether or not offensive acts are hate crimes.  No lawyer would debate whether a crime is provably sad or happy.  Those are feelings for sure.  We keep them out of the legal system.  Hate?  A feeling?  Who can really tell.  I’m not here to discuss that.

It would be more constructive just to find out if your iPod hates you.  Let’s go.  How to tell if your iPod hates you: a flow chart I made.

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MTV’s alt/indie music show 120 Minutes visited Stockholm in 1990 and 1992.  They set the interviews for both segments in Pet Sounds, an institution of a record store down in Södermalm.

Early in the 1990 video, the host talks to the owner of Pet Sounds about the locals’ preference for CDs over vinyl, implying that’s the right, progressive choice.  They visibly glow when talking about grunge’s demise.  A band called Whipped Cream talks about how it’s very hard and unusual to have a female singer since rock is a man’s world.  The band also talks about how Swedish bands have a hard time being heard outside their home country because Sweden is so unknown, music-wise.  Popsicle is also interviewed, and I feel dumb for not knowing that the band released music back in 1990.  I love them.

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LA producer Belief just released the first in his upcoming series of Aaliyah remixes.  His take on “Try Again” updates the song with deeper beats and reverb but thankfully retains a lot of the original’s seemingly simple directness.  I can’t call the track minimal because it’s too layered, but at the same time, the production and performance came across to me as a honed down and pure.  Loved it when it came out, love the remix now.

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We were super lucky to have Jacob Safari remix our French Beastie Boys cover.  He’s remixed bands like Mates of State, Major Lazer, and Crooked Fingers, and he himself is in Signals and was in Mae Shi.  OMG.

From – “Fight for Your Right (Jacob Safari Remix)”

Jacob found a way to make a bunch of stuff sound new – the Beasties, our cover, “I Feel Love.”  So yeah the remix is amazing.  I love it.  Hope you’re now someplace where you can play this loud.

Visit Jacob Safari at his site, Twitter, or MySpace.  Or in person!  He’s DJing at Dragonfly in Santa Monica on November 16th.  Three one oh, yo.