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Hey kids--there's another new mp3 blog in town: swedesplease, dedicated entirely to Swedish artists and run by one Mr. Craig Bonnell, also of the much-lauded songs:illinois. How this man finds time to post on both sites every single day (!) is far beyond my comprehension, but my world is a better place for it. So kudos, Craig.

After reading his Sunday post, "I Know...I Know...Where's The Bear Quartet songs?!", I was inspired to share the wealth of perhaps Sweden's finest pop act, The Bear Quartet. Thanks largely to the efforts of Parasol Records, quite a few Swedish acts which would have previously been limited to regional Scandinavian acclaim have been making the scene in the States over the last few years. From The Soundtrack of Our Lives to Jens Lekman, these artists have become household names here (at least in my household).


Since their 1992 debut, the Bear Quartet has issued, by my count, some 13 albums and 16 EPs, a brilliant, eclectic body of work, constantly shape-shifting, yet grounded in pop ambition; a prolificacy of Pollard-esque proportions, yet markedly more consistently great. I have managed to pick up seven of their full-lengths and two other EPs along the way, so I have a pretty good feel for their catalog. Basically, it's all well worth owning, but it wasn't until 1997's Moby Dick that the band really came into its own.

Have a sample:

"Before the Trenches" from 1997's Moby Dick

"Lights Out, Sound Off" from 1998's Personality Crisis

"Old Friends" from 2000's My War

"Fuck Your Slow Songs" from 2001's Gay Icon

For more info (and mp3s), check out their main fansite here, or, if you are not privy to the intricacies of the Swedish language, you can read up on the band here. And you can pick up just about their entire catalog at Parasol, of course!

N/P The Modern Lovers - Precise Modern Lovers Order (Live in Berkeley and Boston)