The Teddybears hail from Stockholm, Sweden, and originally formed in 1991. They started out as a hardcore punk band (as Teddybears STHLM) but over the years have incorporated electronica, hip-hop, rock, and reggae into their music (and are now just the plain old Teddybears). Over the course of their career they have released 7 albums, 5 EPs, and 18 singles--which must have done quite well in their native Sweden but have done fuck-all here in the States for all the information I could find on their chart success. Since 2006 the band members have begun donning bear masks for all of their tours and album artwork...I suppose because they can.
Fun Fact: Because so many Norwegian and Swedish hardcore metal bands (don't know why but it seems a bit odd that such bands hail from Scandinavia, too) have dark and macabre sounding names, the Teddybears went for something soft and cuddly...just to be a wee bit different.
"Punkrocker" was originally released in 2000 on the album Rock 'n' Roll Highschool (no relation to the Ramones soundtrack of the same name, near as I can tell). It was re-released in 2006, this time with vocals featuring Iggy Pop on their album Soft Machine, which is the version we're celebrating this week. The Wikipedia entry for "Punkrocker" said it was a minor hit here in America, but I could find no proof of it ever charting so no shout out for Billboard magazine this week. The song did have a run as the background music for a Cadillac commercial...because the first thing I think of when I think of Cadillac is punk rock....
For those who sit around and wonder, like me, just how important vocals are in rock and roll, one only has to compare the original version of "Punkrocker" to know the answer. I gave it a listen and it's a nice little pop tune that had I heard back when it was first released, I probably would have liked. But I tell you what, give the lead vocals to Iggy Pop, and the song soars from nice little pop tune into the realms of great pop singles. There's a desperation to his vocals that ties in perfectly with the mood of the song, and it takes quite a vocalist to make nihilism sound cool, but Iggy pull that off, too. The Teddybears liven it up with some scrumptious drumming that really drives the song and some subtle guitar and even a bit of synthesizer that carries it to Catchy As All Hell Heaven. I defy you to listen to the chorus and not have it swimming in your head happily for the next week. In a testament to its high quality, it's the kind of song that will almost make you forgive Sweden for ABBA....
Lyric Sheet: "See me die on Bleecker Street/I'm bored with being good/See me sneering in my car/I'm driving to my star...
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump.
emaycee
No comments:
Post a Comment