Sweden and Great Music

What is it about Sweden that every single new artist/group I like these days seems to come from here. I will find an artist, think damn this is cool.. look up where they are from and... NO WAY! _________, Sweden. Another One. Either Gothenburg (Göteborg) or Stockholm, Sweden usually.

This place keeps churning out the Artists which matter.

Here is a list of artists off the top of my head which come from Sweden:

- Zeigeist (Gothenburg)
- In Flames (Gothenburg)
- Dark Tranquility (Gothenburg)
- The Similou (Gothenburg)
- Sally Shapiro (Gothenburg)
- Cat5 (Gothenburg)
- The Knife (Stockholm)
- Peter Bjorn and John (Stockholm)
- Shout Out Louds (Stockholm)
- Mando Diao (Borlange)
- Refused (Umea)
- The Hives (Fagersta)

Must be something to this place.



Here are some facts about Sweden, taken from the Wikipedia entry for Sweden:

- Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies.

- Sweden has a high standard of living, comparable to that of other avanced Western European nations.

- University is free of charge, both for Swedes and for foreigners, although there is a discussion in parliament about charging foreign students in the future. Swedish students also receive economic help from the state for studying. Every student is entitled to 12 semesters of allowances (at a level of about 250 euros per month) and loans (of an extra 450 euros per month).

- Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Sweden was perceived as an international leader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality particularly promoted. Some Swedish films reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin". However, Sweden was at that time not as sexually liberal as people believed.

- A majority of Swedes, especially those under 60, are able to understand and speak English thanks to trade links, the popularity of overseas travel, a strong Anglo-American influence and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films.

- In underground circles, Sweden is known for a large number of heavy metal (mostly death metal and melodic death metal), as well as Progressive bands. Prominent metal acts include Opeth, In Flames, Meshuggah, The Haunted, At the Gates, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Evergrey, Pain Of Salvation, Hammerfall, Arch Enemy, Blindside, Jerusalem,Unleashed, Amon Amarth, Vintersorg, and Entombed.

- Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper.

- Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Scandinavian countries (Denmark and Norway), is traditionally simple. Fish, meat and potatoes play prominent roles.

- Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating, much thanks to the heavy government subsidies of sport associations ("föreningsstöd"). The two main spectator sports are football (soccer) and ice hockey.

More

Capital: Stockholm
Largest city: Stockholm
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Population: 2006 est. 9,082,995 (June 2006)
Currency: Swedish krona (SEK)
Calling code: +46

Posted by Nathan Kowald @ 3:45 PM