Swedish Language Blog

Happy new year, everyone! I hope it has been a good one so far and that at least some of the new year-phrases have come in handy.

I spent most of the day listening to the Swedish radio station P3 and their “10 timmar av 00-tal” (10 hours of the noughties) where a whole decade of music, books, film, TV and people were summarised. And as always, there was a list. A list of the best Swedish song of the decade. Over 15 000 people voted and I can assure you, there was never really any doubt who was going to be number one. Dear blog readers, I hereby present to you a man who is dividing the Swedish nation into many lovers and a few haters. Håkan Hellström [ˈhoːkan ˈhɛlːˌstrøm]. Almost every Swede has an opinion about this man, be sure about that.

You might even have heard Håkan’s music in other parts of the world, because this 35 year old has made it across some oceans. Weirdly enough, because he sings in Swedish, lyrics mostly about walking the streets of Gothenburg, his love for the Gullberg pier and what it is like to be in love with the ugliest girl in the world. When Håkan released his first single ten years ago, “Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg” (Feel no sorrow for me Gothenburg) everyone was amazed, but not only in a good way. He sang out of tune, the lyrics were irritatingly naive and on top of it all, the critics loved him. Who was this boy and why did he get a record deal? But during a ten year period, five albums and tons of hits, Håkan has won most of the Swedes over. Today he is as publically loved (folkkär) as ABBA-Benny and he performs on Saturday night family-TV and national celebrations as well as festivals and clubs.

How did it happen? I’m not sure, I was not convinced from the beginning, but quite quickly I had to surrender to his charm and the mix of happiness, melancholy and pure energy that he presents. In short, Håkan has become pretty irresistible (oemotståndlig). Or, at least I thought so, until I took my British boyfriend to a Håkan gig, a huge one with thousands of screaming and dancing Håkan fans in the audience. He didn’t get it AT ALL, he just looked at me and the crowd with raised eyebrows and mumbled something about “solo-boyband-pop” and “false notes”. And to be fair, when I tried to translate the lyrics, it did not come across as poetry.

“Anna had a friend with a car and we travelled very far. We might even have left Sweden, because this is a new game and I don’t want to be in it”  (A friend with a car)
“Anna hade en vän med en bil och vi åkte långt bort vi kanske till och med lämna sverige, för det e nytt ett spel å jag vill inte va med” (En vän med en bil)

“She was lying on the street while the space ships were sending messages through the atmosphere” (This is how I say it)
“Hon låg på gatan medan rymdskeppen sände meddelanden genom atmosfären” (Det är så jag säger det)

But it doesn’t matter. Håkan is Håkan, today we love him unconditionally despite false notes and naive lyrics. In Sweden this man is considered as a genius and an icon. And this has been voted the best Swedish song of the decade:

Can anyone from anywhere else in the world get this, apart from us in the north?
(Click here if you want to hear some of Håkans more recent stuff)

I don’t know about you, but for me summer means one thing (well, one among several other equally important things) – music festivals. I’m not sure if this is a sign of my immaturity, or nostalgia for the days when I was young and free and didn’t mind (heck, actually enjoyed!) having mud fights at open-air rock concerts.

Sweden is a famously musical country (the recent Malena Eurovision fiasco notwithstanding) and it seems that every little town has its very own summer music festival. Sometimes several. I strongly suspect that Sweden has the most summer music events per person than any other country in Europe.

And it’s not just rock we’re talking about here. There’s a festival for just about any taste, no matter how offbeat, from ukulele (yes, there is such a thing as Ukulelefestivalen in Göteborg, May 29-30) to reggae.

So, how to find a music event that’s right for you? Easy! There’s Festivalinfo.se.
They very helpfully list concerts and festivals, and not only in Sweden, but in other parts of Europe, too (from that site I learned that Jean Michel Jarre is still alive and touring, wow!).

And one of the largest music events in Sweden (though some may debate this claim) is of course the very heavily advertised Rix FM Festival. And get this – it’s free! Which in Sweden is rare indeed.

This year’s Rix FM lineup is, as always, predictably light, dancey and fluffy: Alcazar, Melody Club, BWO and others. So, Swedish Eurobeat at its finest.

For the more discriminating tastes, there is of course Hultsfred (July 8-11) but this one doesn’t come cheap: 790SEK for a day ticket, or 1490SEK for a four day pass.

So, it’s going to be a hot (we can always hope, right?) and very musical (that we know for sure) summer.