Swedes make unquestionably the greatest pop music to grace the latter period of the 20th century and continue to do so today. What do they have to apologise for? Making the rest of the planet feel bad for not being as good at them at it?
Da Buzz and the A*Teens are a couple of the most apologetic groups to stem from Sweden. An analysis of their most lyrically regretful tracks follow:
Da Buzz Sorry Baby
This track was passed on to PopGoesCanberrra by the amazing Fop. It starts with a very sorry "ha-ah aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh." Definitely the kind of self-condemantory noise one makes when they are sorry. A truly shamefacedly brilliant into follows with a soft "sorry sorry" becoming a huge wall-of-sound style "SORRY BABY!", setting the theme for the rest of the track.
The lovely blonde from Da Buzz, we learn, is "lying flat out on my bed" as she ponders how very heavyhearted she feels about the whole situation. She's "thinking about the things" she said. Apparently she went "this time too far." It's all about the usual Swedish misunderstandings, trying to rush things, etc, etc. The chorus arrives with a wollomph of a "SORRY BABY!" She's said some things she didn't mean and it seems that this guy's heart is broken. Snapped in two, perhaps! Oh dear.
It all continues like that right up until the very Da Buzz middle 8 where she asks the guy to forgive her, followed by the computerisedy voices of the Dz Buzz boys. When you hear them, you know things are very serious.
It all ends with a big "SORRY BABY!" How much can one really apologise! All this is a bit too direct, one could criticise, and doesn't really explain why she is sorry, where is she coming from. For that reason, Sorry Baby must come a close second to another track....
A-Teens For All That I Am
Pure guilt-ridden brilliance, but with crystal-clear shades of over-wrought "it's going to be OK" happiness. Add in what sounds like a Swedish Christmas Gay Gospel Choir, a key-change, Britney "Stronger"/"Lucky" style middle-8/chorus bit, and you have an amazingly apologetic pop track.
It all starts off with a few casual crisp "sorry, made you feel sorry"s. But then the story telling starts. You picture the evil A-Teens coming home late to the Swedish summer house. The grumptious mother is standing there in her dressing gown, wondering, do my South American pop scene conquering teenagers really love me? Should I really love them she says? Should I only love the money-making booty shaking bits, or the should I love ALL OF THEM? Even the coming home "bugged me" bits? So really, this song is coming from two points of view, not just the A-Teens' aspect, but the parents'!!!!!!
It gets dramatic. It really does. I'm getting shivers just writing this. It has pretty "I know" and "that I love you" chiming in bits....but that's just the start! There are woooshy bits in the middle of the second verse. You can feel the frustration of the miscommunication that takes place in pubescent Sweden!!!! "What I'm trying to say!" She's trying to say it, but is it getting across? That is the question. Then the pretty, regretful, "deep down" bit, then then the "heat comes down" - this is getting serious. What kind of heat do they experience in Sweden? Climate-wise, nothing severe. This is emotional heat. The A-Teens' parents will be there for them. But these kids feel sooo bad about the way they've treated them, that they are willing to say sorry! And to ASK the parents to continue loving them! Isn't that WONDERFUL??? You won't hear that going on in Ricki-Lee's "Hell No." It's all hate. Hate hate hate.
It doesn't stop there. No. More cheesy sad guitar, some "oooooh-oooh--ooooh " and the choir comes in! A nerve-shimmering "Sorry! Made you feel sorry!" and a repeat of the chorus till the end. It's truly inspirational. The kids voices only just make it. This is desperation. And that's the end. We don't KNOW what happens! The kids grow up into well adjusted adults with their New Arrival, etc, so we can assume that their family lives managed to cope with this drama.
Anyway, the point is, these two "Sorry" tracks are great examples of Swedish apologeticness and there really is never too much apologising in this world.
2 comments:
This was BRILLIANT. I really enjoyed it!
I must say, I am pleased you notcied the excellent "Sorry! Made you feel SORRY!" bit at the end of the A Teens song - that is my favourite part of the song! And it's also their "second chorus", which gets beautifully counterposed with the normal chorus in the song's final moments. There was a time, 1999-2000 where SO many songs did this. Mostly ones Max Martin wrote. I miss the double chorus.
Yes, why don't they DO that anymore.
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