2004-9: The same thing happens out of...
Sweden?
If you've been paying attention lately, you will have noticed that the Swedes have now invaded, bearing gifts of rock and pop.
Since the artists don't tend towards heavy accents or drastically different attitudes from American music, the Swedish artists aren't automatically recognized as such. But the Swedish sound is something Americans are eating up right now, and with good reason.
Dance pop group The Knife starts off with their original "Heartbeats," which was subsequently covered more famously by José Gonzales. I personally prefer Gonzales' acoustic version, as The Knife's can be grating in certain moods, but I also think it is nifty to listen to them side-by-side.
"This Boy" comes from I'm From Barcelona (they aren't from Barcelona.) The repetitive chorus and light composition (complete with whistling!) is something you can notice in a lot of the music coming out of Sweden at this point, so I think it is pretty indicative of Swedish Indie in particular.
The intro of "Young Folks" always inspires a cheesy dance breakdown in my friends and I when it comes up on the plethora of our mix CDs it is featured on. This track should sound familiar; it is used to advertise pretty much everything: Xbox 360 soccer and karaoke games, Gossip Girl episodes, etc.
"Walk Idiot Walk" is a much older track, but The Hives are a totally awesome band (and, according to Spin, the best live band ever.) Only recently did I discover their Swedishness, and I think it makes this band even cooler. Almost as cool as the band's stage names: Howlin' Pete Almqist, Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction, and Chris Dangerous.
(Honorable Mention: Boten Anna by Basshunter.)
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