The Useless Critic 2.0

In case you missed Eurovision this past weekend - and if you're an American, you likely did - there were some truly talented acts among those competing for this year's prestigious title. There were some pretty boring acts, and there were only a few of truly strange contestants this time around (bummer).  Sweden's act Tusse was pretty talented; his joyful and uplifting track "Voices" was actually one of the few that seemed rather memorable to me. Turns out he's releasing it in French - which makes sense, as Tusse is Kongo-Kinshasa born. Tusse is enormously popular in Sweden from what I can tell, having won both Melodifestivalen (Sweden's precursor to Eurovision) and Swedish Idol. He's a talented guy, and I'm sure we're just seeing the start of what is bound to be a long and prolific career.   (you might not be able to watch this outside of Sweden so, see below) The French version of "Voices" is available for streaming here .  Also, whi...

The wait is finally over, my friends. Enigmatic and totally awesome Swedish electronic music duo The Knife (siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer) announced this week that their next album, titled Shaking the Habitual , will be released on April 8, 2013. It's been six years since the critically lauded and highly influential Silent Shout , and almost four years since Karin's equally haunting solo album under the pseudonym Fever Ray. Sure, they collabored with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock (aka the poor man's Fever Ray) to release the Darwin-inspired electro-opera Tomorrow, In a Year in 2010, but it's far from a proper follow-up. Additionally, the duo will tour Europe next year on yet-to-be-announced dates. Earlier this week, the duo posted a typically mysterious teaser trailer for the album, which contains the following description: "Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us." I loved dem sho...

Sally Shapiro is a delightful electronic act from Europe I have loved from the getgo. Their music just transports me to another world. A better world! It's some of the dreamiest, most beautiful synthpop I've ever heard. Seriously:  listen to her. You will not be disappointed, whatsoever. Currently, Sally and her cohort, Johan, are working on their follow-up to the impeccable Disco Romance . While recording it, in Lund in Sweden (!!!), Johan relayed to her a few of my questions regarding the process, their reputation and whether or not she's REALLY done with the whole live gig thing. Read on to see what that's all about: UC:  How's the work on the new album coming? Sally:   We've been working on it the latest year here in Lund and most of it should be done. We look forward to the moment when we finally have an album. However until then we can't promise anything. UC:  How would you describe the sound of the new album and what inspired it? Sally:   ...

Nause is a Swedish electronic group that just made themselves known to me. But you know, I can get behind things that are both Swedish and electronic (combining two of my great loves in this life). Check out a preview of their new track, "Hungry Heart", HERE. that's right! we have a preview of a song before several other sources. hot damn! NEED MORE PROOF? SEE HERE: anyway, check it out! and keep an eye on these Swedish boys in the future!

Part of a five-part series that will begin and end today SUP EVERYONE. Did you know  Sweden is a musical mecca? yeah I thought so! After all, they did bring us the world's best pop group ever.... okay, so I love ABBA. just like everyone else that breathes oxygen. but did you know what OTHER great bands/performers have hailed from Heaven/Sverige??? NO, NOT JUST THE A-TEENS OR ACE OF BASE. Although "Beautiful Life" is catchy shit: my sister loved Ace of Base when we were kids. so I grew up listening to a lot of Ace of Base. it became my standard thing, whenever "The Sign" was played, to imagine the elaborate music video I would direct for it, if ever given the chance. this video would include the following: - my stuffed animals dressed as Indians. - Zuck Park (google it) - some kind of gigantic gong? anyway, this music video has ever yet to see the light of day. and you know, I just remembered this whole thing like six months ago. weird, wei...

This is an old video I made with photos of Sweden. I made it a long time ago, but I finally uploaded it today. It takes a little while for the resolution to settle and the picture to clear. I made this video using the same song from a post called "Mila Kunis: All in Blue." I actually made this one first, but after I decided not to upload it, I felt the song was fair game. I also used some of the photos back when I attempted to make a "UC Metal Rolodex." So many great memories. QATFYG: What really happens if you see the red sky in the morning?

You know I love my Swedes. This is who I am unmistakably am. And it's intrinsic to my nature as being bald is to Dr. Phil and having a big ass is to Kim Kardashian. So when I heard of the artist known as "I'm  Kingfisher," I just had to give him a chance. What is there to say about Kingfisher aka Thomas Denver Jonsson? Well, he's both indie pop and anti-folk. His FOURTH solo album,  Arctic , has just been released. There is a trilogy going forward (exciting) and he lives in Lund, Sweden most of the time. And there is more to this man than that obviously. READ ON:  How would you describe your music to someone unfamiliar with it? Thomas:  I currently describe it as a mix between indie pop and anti-folk. When I started about a decade ago I labelled my music as lofi country, then proceeded through the descriptions alt.country, americana and indie/folk. I know I might not do too extreme steps here, but my very long time plan is to  go seaml...

I'm going to skip ahead a lotttttttt to when I was at the airport with Al. And Al was standing in front of me and it was the first time I'd seen him in days/weeks/months. now, we were flying away on 9/11 and the airport was DEAD. vacant. like a zombie movie. seriously- there was no one around .  I wonder why! "Hi," I said to Al, ready to embark on the next 11 days in his company. "Yo." From there, Al had some random problem with his carryon I forget. then we went to like some overglitzed airport version of an Applebee's and had a beer together before flying. I tried to get internet and failed. c'est la vie. how did I function? on the actual flight to New York City, we flew basically in a tissue box that had somehow taken wings to flight. it was such a broke ass Erie-like flight they didn't offer us even newspapers on it. and it was very hot and bright, but we were in JFK in like an hour or so. once at JFK, the crowds were s...

Pretty sure that I can't recall half of this trip because my body doesn't know what to make of European alcohol. it's like oh, THIS IS NOT MILLER LITE? let's black out. then I wake up with some Belgian girl's bra and panties set. which isn't as spectacular or scandalous as it would sound:  I simply grabbed them in a drunken stupor. I gained a reputation at that ACCO hostel.... so let me put myself in the mindset of a year ago as Hurricane Irene embraces my adopted city. Step 1:  get to Baltimore, because Al wanted to fly out of Baltimore In Al's defense, the Baltimore airport is one of the best major airports in America to fly out from. it's very affordable. My sister flies from there all the time. The thing about the Baltimore airport is that it is BORING and all the way in Baltimore. Thus, on September 9th, I began my voyage from Erie, PA to the home of both Beach House and The Wire.  So how to get there? Greyhound was expensive as all shit...

Sweden is that golden cross across the blue sky that you always see at IKEA. For me, Ikea was about the most Swedish I had ever experienced, other than those constant pokes sitcoms take at stereotypes such as “tall lanky blondes,” “opera singers with braids,” and of course “ Alexander Skarsgard .” It’s approaching nearly a full solar revolution since I got to experience the Sverige with my good friend, Brittany Kemp. For me, other than conducting an interview and embarrassing myself in front of the ambassador of Somaliland, this was an eye-opening experience of personal discovery. Lesson Learned: You should know a woman before you try and feel her! But believe it or not, one night while Brittany Kemp was off pretending to Belarusian for some reason, I asked a strange Thai woman. “Can I kiss you?” And for some reason nodded yes, so as soon as I tried to force feed her my face she freaked. It turned out that Spring Roll didn’t speak a word of English. However, that is a...

I'd like to say (at first) that the Scandinavian House newsletter got their information wrong! Ms. Larsson, a lovely and rare breed of singer-songwriter, is a New Yorker now as opposed to...someone that lives in Helsinki. She will be performing a concert tomorrow night at New York's Scandinavian House at 7 p.m. as part of their "Nordic Summer Jam." Tickets are $8 for members and $10 for all other plebeians.  Ms. Larsson's road to success has been an interesting one, surely. As a Scandinavian, she is described as having a strong interest in "form and aesthetics." Musically, what does that translate to? While her influences are global, her own sound is solely unique. She's originally from the university town of Uppsala in Sweden (I think this is about an hour or so from Stockholm) and studied classical musical in the Czech Republic for a bit. During this time, by performing at night clubs, she discovered a love of jazz. In 2003 though, she made ...

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2011 there's an intense interview with her in Fader magazine, which I never read until right now. but yeah, she's touring the US and Canada and I think she's just finishing up with Europe? but her new album sounds AWESOME. apparently she's been holed up in Stockholm with a broken heart working on the record. and she's like "I've been itching to get out!" bitch it's Stockholm NO ONE WANTS TO LEAVE. anyway, yeah, it's called Wounded Rhymes . and when I come back to Sweden in May SHE WILL BE GONE. now I have to go see someone do a show and go back to work! bbl

hey everybody, a little HI from Sweden land. which has been great thus far. except I am stupid and drank a little too much, so right now I am currently trying to fight off the overwhelming urge to vomit all over the lobby of my hostel. anyone that provides entertainment for me will be greatly rewarded in paradise with 3 virgins. p.s. Al is asleep, pretty sure I am the only one awake in this hostel.

VS. So I am in Sweden, and I was wondering....what is the opposite of Swedish music and culture, and all I can think of is...... LSG so here is ¤My Body¤ from the band LSG. My body all over your body, babe (It's your, yeah) Your body all over my body, babe (Said, it's your body) My body all over your body It's your body, babe (It's yours body, babe) All over my body, babe (My body) My body all over your body, babe (Said, it feels so good) Your body all over my body, babe (Said, it feels so nice, so nice) My body all over your body (It's your body, babe) Oh, it's your body, baby If I beg, please, play on My, my, my body, yeah Keep on playin' on QATFYG: To You! What is the opposite of Sweden?

So, as some know, I am a big fan of the show "True Blood," and that is partly to Alexander Skarsgard. His name name is supposed to have a little circle above one of the letters, but he needs to drop that now that his in America. Skarsgard really adds a lot to the show, and after all he is SWEDISH. Now, enjoy this stamp of Swedish Ants. QATFYG: How many ants do you really think there are in Sweden? I will tell you next Wed.

watch SOME VELVET MORNING, which is pretty trippy . and as is the video. Before there was Zooey and Matt or Dean and Britta or any of those other cute male-female duos that occupy important spaces in mainstream music (I guess it's arguable about that last pair), there was Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood . I feel it's criminal I overlooked them until my 20 th year of existence, when I listened to one of their albums on a whim after getting a job at my local zoo. It was a rainy May; I was stuck in the basement; the album was totally streamable on last. fm . (not so anymore!) This is a pair that's as American as baseball or apple pies. Kids should listen to their catalog in elementary school, along with the music of Woody Guthrie, Ke $ha and the Gershwins . If my parents had been more into music, I wish they would have made me listen to them as a small child. I think I would have loved Nancy and Lee as a toddler, as a kid, as an adolescent. Their music conjures up thoughts ...