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July 25, 2007
Retrohump Day: the Cardigans
In a slight retro rut, and in need of a change up pitch, I looked to some lighter fare. Not that I've completely exhausted my roster of jittery early eighties bands or nineties slacker heroes, but perhaps it is you dear viewer who has grown fatigued. So, we settle on one of the the mid nineties more appealing one hit wonders, Sweden's unthreateningly named Cardigans.
the Cardigans - "Lovefool"
(Live in London)
Hey fellow feelin' olders out there, did you know this song is 11 years old? Yikes. I'd argue however, that its popularity wasn't allowed by any sort of specifically 1996 cultural moment. This song could have been a hit any time in the last thirty years, really. Words these simple, sung by a girl that pretty, with a decent beat will always be popular. In fact, "Lovefool" almost seems to be more of our time then its actual chronological blip. Swedish pop is bigger and more widespread than ever, and "Lovefool" would slip neatly next to "Young Folks" on a mix tape or in a blog post (and probably has somewhere). The unapologetic disco guitars predict Franz, and the Blondie-aping everywhere else will never go out of style. Those who filed this track away due to ubiquity bred annoyance, it may be time to break your fast.
the Cardigans - My Favourite Game"
Though the Cardigans are still touring and recording as an active band, it was this single and video that effectively ended their brief tenure as a mainstream pop phenomenon in the U.S. As far as the isolated song goes, this was an injustice. Sure, it may not have been the sunny delight that "Lovefool" was, but it seems that only tin eared radio play list makers could have listened intently and still decided that this was no hit. And the decision makers at commercial radio in 1998 couldn't have had questionable taste, could they? So it's a mystery, that may never be solved.
I can understand how the video might have been a bit off putting to fans made solely through "Lovefool," though it's also pretty unimpeachably cool. Director Jonas Ackerlund was, at the time, pretty hot shit (this was back when the names of music video directors could still be fairly well known). He had just made heavy rotation clips for Madonna, and his "too hot for prime time" vid for Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up." * Jonas used his creative control to cast Ms. Persson in a less than wholesome light. With a giant shoulder tattoo and eyes bleary from multiple crying jags, the Nina of "My Favourite Game" is trouble. Hot, nihilistic trouble. She recklessly drives her convertible through desert back roads, sending more than one (admittedly pretty easily spooked) driver to an early end. This uncut version features a jarring conclusion, as a head on collision sends her lithe form careening over the top of an RV to the pavement below. She sits up, blood streaming from nostril, cool as ever, and then they ruin it all with a cartoon goof ending (grrr). So maybe vehicular manslaughter and graphic car crashes weren't the finest ways to cement a pop star in the American consciousness, but it won my heart at least.
the Cardigans - "My Favourite Game"
* The image of Kurt Loder reporting on the controversy, seriously intoning, "Smack My Bitch Up," which is one of my very fondest MTV memories, has sadly not yet found it's way to You Tube.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at July 25, 2007 10:45 AM
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Comments
Holy crap, that top 100 is atrocious.
Posted by: Randall Monty at July 25, 2007 12:45 PM
I remember the Loder reporting that you speak of. Didn't MTV lead with that warning whenever they aired the clip? If it wasn't Loder, it was someone else...but a warning was definitely issued each time.
Posted by: Sebastian at July 25, 2007 03:57 PM
