Swaying Swedish: The Perishers and "Sway"

Today we have a slow rock tune by The Perishers, a Swedish indie-rock band formed in 1997. The band got a big break in 2005 when they were hand picked by Sarah McLachlan to open for her on her Afterglow tour. They have also been highlighted on soundtracks to American television shows such as The O.C., One Tree Hill, Greek and Veronica Mars. This song, Sway, is from their 2005 EP by the same name.

Leaning Pop: The Perishers and "Sway"

Today's slow rock, randomly chosen tune is brought to you by The Perishers, a Swedish indie-rock band formed in 1997. The band got a big break in 2005 when they were hand picked by Sarah McLachlan to open for her on her Afterglow tour. They have also been highlighted on soundtracks to American television shows such as The O.C., One Tree Hill, Greek and Veronica Mars. This song, Sway, is from their 2005 EP by the same name.

Wide World of Sport: Sportfreunde Stiller and "Ein Kompliment"

Today's random tune is by a German indie band named Sportfreunde Stiller. I was introduced to this band by a young German guy who was staying with Megan and me when a volunteer position that he had taken in El Paso didn't work out for him and he needed a place to crash while he looked for another position. He eventually ended up in New Orleans. We asked him to give us some ideas about German music that we could highlight on our show. Among the groups he suggested was this one.

The song is just what the name implies, a romantic compliment from one person to another. What makes it interesting is the imagery that takes it a little above the usual romantic pap that you find out there. "You are my chill-out area...my sweets department in the supermarket." You don't usually see such vivid imagery in these types of songs, and as a wannabe poet, I like such imagery.

Sportfreunde Stiller was founded in 1996 in Germering, region of Bavaria, Germany. They based their original name, Stiller, on the manager of their local football side. However, they had to change the name because a different band already owned the rights to the name, so they added Sportfreunde (friend in sports) as it is commonly used in names of sports teams in Germany. One of their songs, Independent, was used in the video game FIFA 2003. They are five time nominees for Best German Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. They are also only the sixth German group to perform for the MTV Unplugged series. Ein Kompliment can be found on their 2009 CD Die Gute Seite. This version is from their 2009 MTV Unplugged appearance.

How I Completely Missed Electronica: La Bien Querida and "9.6"

>br /> There's always holes in one's musical experience, and some of us make bigger holes than other. If you are strictly a country music fan, you probably have big, gaping holes in your musical experience. Some of us leave gaping holes because we want to. I know many people who don't like rap/hip hop (though I would venture to bet that many of those who don't like it haven't listened to much of it - I do like some of it but I admit my experience with rap and hip hop is not vast).

One of my big gaping holes is electronica. I have friends, both European and American, who love Kraftwerk. Why Kraftwerk was not a part of my musical landscape is something that I have no explanation for. Perhaps I heard them once and thought that the music was too repetitive and simple. I was more into the huge rock spectacles that progressive rock bands were doing in the 70s. Yet being a latecomer, I have become aware first of just how much artists that broke ground in electronica were revolutionizing modern music. One artist that I really like for instance, Todd Rundgren, was experimenting with electronica long before most of us knew what it was or what he was doing. And Kraftwerk! Well, according to Jude Rogers in The Observer, "no other band since the Beatles has given so much to pop culture." So how did I miss all this?

I wonder, because when I do a first hearing of a group like La Bien Querida and a song like 9.6, I almost have an instinctual reaction to turn if off, and I literally force myself to listen to it. But listen I do, and after I do, I realize that I like it. I realize that I'm drawn to the repetition, the fast, disco-like beat that carries me back to the 70s when, I hate to admit it, I actually liked some disco (and I'll defend a position that despite a lot of bad disco, there was good disco too - and it's coming back through elecctronica...if you listen to Daft Punk you are listening to a lot of disco-inspired music). As I get older, I find myself drawn to more to slower, more melancholy electronica but, my mood can change with just a click of the mouse or the change of a track.

La Bien Querida is a Spanish group that was formed in 2005 and is fronted by painter-turned-musician Ana Fernández-Villaverde and David Rodriguez. They recorded their first album in 2007. Unfortunately, I can't find a lot of information on them that isn't in Spanish. My Spanish isn't that good and Google Translate's translations are about as good as mine. However, they are described as having a sound reminiscent of the most innovative music of the 70s with the techno/electronica of Kraftwerk and the rock and the dance-electronica of New Order thrown in for good measure. This song, 9.6, is from their 2010 album Romancero.