Tuesday Top Ten: 2000s Swedish Garage Rock Songs

Since the days of ABBA, the Swedes have been a force in music, particularly pop music.  But they can rock just as much as they can write a catchy tune.  In the early '00s, there was a fantastic movement of Swedish garage rock bands.  I became familiar with many of them during the infancy of internet radio, when I would listen to garage rock stations on Yahoo and Launchcast.  Bands like The Hives, The Hellacopters, Sahara Hotnights, Division of Laura Lee, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and Mando Diao helped usher along the garage rock revival in the early '00s along with the many great Detroit-based garage rock bands.  That's not to say there wasn't more to Swedish rock in the '00s than just garage rock.  There was plenty of indie rock, power pop, punk, hard rock, and metal as well, but when I think of Swedish rock from the aughts -- and rest assured, I do -- garage rock is what comes to mind first.

"But GMYH, what's garage rock?"  I'm glad you asked, fair reader.  Garage rock originated in the '60s, and it's characterized by relatively straightforward rock and roll, usually pretty fast-paced, without too may frills.  It's the kind of rock and roll you would expect from bands who are practicing in a garage and just rocking out.  How's that for a vague answer?

Here are ten garage rock songs from some of my favorite Swedish garage bands from the 2000s.  I kept it to one song from each band, so that it's not dominated by The Hives.  I just went in alphabetical order by band name.

1.  "It's Not the Fall That Hurts" by Caesars (2005)

Initially known as Caesar's Palace and known in Scandinavia as Twelve Caesars (even though there have always been four guys in the band), Caesars rose to worldwide fame with their 2002 song "Jerk It Out," which was featured in various films, video games, and commercials (most notably an iPod Shuffle commercial).  While that's a great song, I like "It's Not The Fall That Hurts" from 2005 slightly more.

2.  "We've Been Planning This For Years" by Division of Laura Lee (2002)

Vänersborg's Division of Laura Lee put out their debut album, Black City, in 2002.  "We've Been Planning This For Years" is a howling garage rock song, and I like the idea that somehow Swedish kids had been planning a garage rock revival for years.

3.  "I Got a War" by Gluecifer (2000)

I'm admittedly cheating on this one because Gluecifer is Norwegian, not Swedish, but they were still a big part of the garage rock revival in the early '00s, and Norway and Sweden share a very long border, so that's close enough for me.  The band had released a couple albums prior to 2000, and then a few more after 2000, before breaking up in 2005.  They straddled the line between hard rock and garage rock, and that's a line I quite enjoy.  "I Got a War" is the first track off their 2000 album Tender Is The Savage, and it's a hard rocking garage rock tune.

4.  "Bring It On Home" by The Hellacopters (2005)

The Hellacopters were right up there with The Hives as progenitors of Sweden's garage rock revival movement.  Like Gluecifer, they had put out a few albums in the '90s, and they rocked plenty hard.  "Bring It On Home" is a frenetically paced garage rock gem from the band's 2005 album Rock & Roll Is Dead, a categorically false album title.

5.  "Main Offender" by The Hives (2000)

The Hives are the kings of Swedish garage rock, and they are one of the best live bands in the world.  Seriously, if they come to your town, go see them.  You won't be disappointed.  They busted onto the international scene in 2000 with their Veni Vidi Vicious album, which featured the hit "Hate To Say I Told You So," which is a great song, but I wanted to go with something you maybe haven't heard.  "Main Offender" is from the same album, and it's pure garage rock, from Howlin' Pelle Almqvist's fuzzy vocals to the crashing drums and cymbals to the simple but effective guitars.

6.  "Capitalism Stole My Virginity by The (International) Noise Conspiracy (2001)

Umeå's T(I)NC was another band at the forefront of the Swedish garage rock revival, and their music had more of a social and political bend to it than others in the genre.  "Capitalism Stole My Virginity" is not only a great song title, but also a nice little garage rock song.

7.  "Motown Blood" by Mando Diao (2002)

Borlänge's Mando Diao has a pretty funny name origin story, as the band renamed themselves that (they had previously been called Butler) after lead singer and guitarist Björn Dixgård had a dream where man came up to him and shouted "Mando Diao!"  They have been making great rock and roll for twenty years, and while they have swam in multiple genres, when they started, they were definitely a garage rock band. Their 2002 debut album Bring 'Em In is a great collection of garage rock songs, exemplified by "Motown Blood," a two-minute fuzzy hand clapper that could very well have been on a '60s British mod album.

8.  "Alright Alright (Here's My Fist Where's The Fight" by Sahara Hotnights (2001)

Hailing from Robertsfors, the all-female Sahara Hotnights were right up there at the forefront of the Swedish garage rock scene.  Their 2001 album Jennie Bomb is one of the signature albums of the genre, and "Alright Alright (Here's My Fist Where's The Fight)" is one of my favorite songs from the early '00s.  It's a ball-busting garage rock anthem.

9.  "100 Degrees" by Shout Out Louds (2003)

While I wouldn't necessarily classify Shout Out Louds as a garage rock band, that doesn't mean they didn't dabble in the genre.  And frankly, sometimes it's difficult do discern between the amorphous "indie rock" genre and other genres.  Their 2003 debut album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff is a great mix of indie rock, garage rock, and punk rock.  I'd certainly classify "100 Degrees" as a garage rock song.

10.  "Sister Surround" by The Soundtrack of Our Lives (2001)

This is another band that isn't necessarily considered a garage rock band, but their 2001 song "Sister Surround" is one that I think falls within the genre.