REUTERS: PACIFIST COUNTRY INVADES IMPERIALIST USA!

So we've all heard the buzz about so-called swedish bands and their new rock antics, meandering across the atlantic with their hooks, and their sass, and their rock guitars. One might listen, stop, and wonder...is that english they are singing in? Yes it is. Cultural imperialism is a two timing tramp (non gendered of course) and thus, english is needed for the propagation of sweet tunes from the worlds second largest music exporter (Sweden) to the worlds first largest (USA)... From the (international) Noise Conspiracy to Ceasar's (Palace) and now, The Sounds
... but their accents are cute, and so are their clothes, so we can call them our own, right? Hmm... and their politics speak to that rebel in all of us, which happens to be commonplace over there...

But as we stare at the MTV screen, we miss something... 

I had the pleasure of appearing in a music video (... go to "olikheter" and then find the link for the video called "kvar på film"... then you figure it out). My time across the pond, in the land of blonde has served me well, but a bit of my time has been in front of a tele, where one in scandinavia can engange in swedish television culture, and a little music/pop culture channel called ZTV. On this channel one might encounter some pop music videos, and since this is a scandinavian channel, most of these videos will have bands that sing in swedish. You see, Sweden is a self conscious country, and as much as they hate to see their Socialist Democracy get crapped on by American Capitalism, they hate to see their sweet indie pop get crapped on by American language, english. So they saved it from themselves, but I am going to let you in. SO PAY ATTENTION!

There is a little revolution happening. Something thats not too exciting, but it makes me happy like a boy in a field. Sarcasism is rampant in this well-to-do middle class society the size of California with the population of LA, and the bands in Sweden share this characteristic with the rest of their land. So a band called Raymond&Maria put out a record and wrote a ditty called "Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja." YES their name is a Belle and Sebastian parody, and Yes the title of the song is translated to mean "Noone wants to know where you bought your jumper." (a jumper is a sweater-like shirt, kind of like a woman's cartigan)... their mean little song berrates a poor girl to the tune of two tall blonde pixie-voices in harmony and the 16 strings of their three equally attractive male counterparts. The song is so cheery that one that speaks swedish can hardly believe that the chorus of the song reads: "Noone will mourn when you die, noone will miss that what you do, noone wants to know where you bought that jumper..."

The stylish and sassy little girls of Raymond&Maria rival the style and sass of Sahara Hot Nights, but in some expressionless whimsy of flourishing acoustic guitars with orchestral embellishments, rather than the 4/4 boom boom of the 5 piece drum kit, and the howl of Gibson SGs and distortion pedals. So while your TV is tuned into the american-rip-off swedish showcase of the same bands born and reborn but with akwardly tall new band members, me, and some other on-the-in folks will sit back and listen to the noo-indiepop invasion thanks to high speed modems and swedish-origin website movie clips... I hear its huge in Sweden, but then again, so is Socialism.

* Mike Lewinski

INTERVIEW : Schneider TM aka Dirk Dresselhaus

At last, my first excellent interview! The interview was arranged via some funny email exchanges. However, I think that Mr. Dirk is quite a cool fellow, and I was really impressed that he actually wrote back. I was also suprised by the pretty old school methods with which his music is produced. No laptops here.

N: so here are some important questions:
Where were your born:
S: i was born in bielefeld, west germany.

N: How old are you:
S: 34

N: WHere do you live now:
S: in berlin.


N: and can you remember what color your duvet cover is?
S: sorry, what is duvet?

N: When dealing with electronic music live, what do you use, analog
equipment or just a laptop?
S: we are 3 persons playing live, michael beckett aka kptmichigan, christian obermaier aka mek obaam & me. we play different kinds of samplers/sequencers, drummachines, effects, midi-drums, guitars, rattles, harmonicas and so on...it looks a bit like on a fleamarket. no laptops.


N: Who directed the reality check video?
S: the director's name is uwe flade & the special effects were done by 2 guys called industriesauger.

N: Why is it so cool?
S: probably because of the humor and the spirit.


N: how do you attempt to construct/present yourself as a character, and what purpose does that serve in your music?
S: i don't construct myself as a character, at least not more than everybody else does...it's just me making music and being there.i just try to take myself not too serious to keep flexible and at the same time being honest....i don't like bullshit.


N: Why did you choose to cover the Morissey song?
S: it's a the smiths – song that meant a lot to kptmichigan & me when we were teenagers...feeling lost and living through hard family-situations...teenage-angst kinda style. we thought it would be good & funny to cover that song in this certain kind of way, cause the electronic music-scene back then was not so open minded like it is today. we wanted to take a piss of the fundamental electronic-world on one side, and the ‘overromanced' indie-pop-scene on the other.

N: Has he heard your cover?
S: i don't know, but johnny marr really likes it from what i heard.


N: What kind of shoes are you wearing?
S: different kind of shoes...summershoes and wintershoes.


N: What is your astrological sign?
S: virgo


N: How do you make that little computer voice featured in many of your hit songs?
S: it is my own voice sent through different effects like voice-transformer and stuff...on my next album there will be more unprocessed vocals.


N: What name does your mother call you?
S: dirk


N: Any pets?
S: i used to live with a cat called misi. we were best friends. she was hunting chickens, fish, rats, rabbits, birds, flys, her tail....


N: What are your influences, musically?
S: oh, there are too many to get a point, but my favourite rock band still is the velvet underground....i learned so much by listening to them. now i'm a lot into dub and old african stuff like from ghana or pygmies music....and, yes, my friends from pan sonic !
sun ra......


N: what goes through your head when you pick out outfits for a show?
S: it has to be functional & good looking. the outfit for our last tour-period was white lapcoats, nurse-or scientists-style. very compfortable to wear and useful as an extension of the vodeo-screen behind us...


N: what was the first cassette tape you bought?
S: trio, live im frühjahr 1982.


N: What is your favorite musical mode, Ionian, Locrian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, or Mixolydian?
S: sorry, i've no idea about those kind of things. what does it mean ?


N: Do you have a girlfriend?
S: maybe...


N: Is there anything inspirational you can share with your fans?
S: the most inspiring thing is to play in front of people who want to see and hear a good live-show.
as a musician you feel very much how the spirit of an audience is and if it's inspiring us, we can give it back even more and that again might be even more inspiring for the audience....in short: communication is the most inspirational thing to share. but it doesn't necessarily have to be words...the vibrations make it clear anyway.


N: Thanks for your time!
S: thank you & good luck,
s.

another moment of found art

Schneider TM

I want to be electronic.
I want to live in an electronic universe with little sparking trees made of polymers and lights.
Birds with vocoded voices and fish swimming seas of 0's and 1's.

I am going to take a Reality Check on this world and move into the alternate universe of electric landscapes.
What can I say about this music? I feel like it's strange mosaic completion speaks for itself. Listen to the song above, and it should (if all your receptors are functional) transport you to another universe, another green world.

I first fell for this strange german because of a rought trade compilation
Rough Trade Shops: Electronic 01. I heard a cover of Morissey's song "there is a light that never goes out." but this version was, well it was better than the original! Morissey should have thought to use a strange electronic voice, instead of his own when he wrote the song... But since he didn't this man did, and I am glad. so glad.

Important Questions By Max Newman

why am I my father?
Why can't i sleep?
Why don't I like my body?
Why am I not in love?
why am I still a virgin?
Why can't I be happy?
Why can't I relax my jaw?
Why do I feel so lonely?
Why do i play songs over and over?
Why do I want to be famous?
Why can't I figure out who I am?
Why does my neck hurt?
Why don't I have any confidence?
Why don't I have summer plans?
Why do I think so much?
Why am I obsessed with tall buildings?
Wh did I choose boston?
Why am I unhappy?
Why can't I get a car?
Why do i always mess up auditions?
why does nobody treat me right?
Why am i afraid of certain people?
Why cant I go to Japan?
Why not?
why didn't things go well with ani?
why does nobody keep gifs I give?
why don't I care about school?
Why am I learning disabled?
why is Heart so good?
why can't I do everything I want to?
why does everyone else get to decide?
why han't anyone emailed me?
why can't I sleep?
Why do I always love the wrong people?
Why do i appologize so much?
Why didn't pamela teach me to spell?
why do i keep forgetting things?
Why do I never feel original?
why cant my dream girl find me?
why am I afraid?
Why cant I stay within the lines?
why can't I ride a bike everywhere?
why haven't I shown this to anyone?
Why can't we make art?
Why can't Boston get fresh fruit?
why wont it get warmer?
Why are unicorns as important as they are?

The Unicorns

I thought is was just about time to give credit to the only known Unicorn titled band in indie music, the Canadian pop group, The Unicorns. This band has a penchant for dark lyrics and up beat melodies. This is foreshadowed by the title of their recent album, "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone." This little collection features some superbly gothic lyrics:
"I want to die today, and make love with you in your grave."
frankly I believe that this band really understands the darker side of magic and the value of impermanence. These are not the usual pink, glittery, smiling, Lisa-Frank Unicorns. The Unicorns I have been listening to are going to eat us all. My favorite track, Les Os Is a marvelous example of the strange mix of quirky lyrics and organized noise, reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. Although the NMH is a bit more somber and emotional, I feel like the combinations of spacey sounds and earthy textures links the two bands. Also NMH has lyrics which enfold you like strange memories of flying fish..
"And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder
And your dad would throw the garbage all across the floor
As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for"
Both enact images of love and violence. I like that, because, well I do.