Rockster Sverige

I'm on a quest. I figure that if so many good bands come from Scandinavia, then it should follow that there would be some great Scandinavian radio stations. I'm thinking that the most progressive of these stations would be on the internet.

So far, I've found that there isn't shit for internet radio out of Finland or Denmark. If you open up their streams, all you'll hear is traditional music (kinda goofy) or pop hits from everywhere but Scandinavia. Norway has the same thing going on with even less choices than the other two. Sweden was my big hope.

I love Gluecifer, Turgonegro, and the Kings of Convenience (all from Norway), the Flaming Sideburns (Finland) fucking rock, Pan Sonic put me in a good weird mood (also Finland), but most of the Scandinavian love comes from Sweden. I'm thinking 'bout bands/acts like: The Hellacopters, Cato Salsa Experience, Hardcore Superstar, The Refused (are fucking dead), The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Cardigans, The Diamond Dogs, The A Teens, Kent, Entombed, No Fun At All, The Hives, The Turpentines, The Nomads (wait, are they Norwegian?), Koop, not to mention all the weirdo electronic acts, and the traditional jazz. Those are the bands I was trying to find on the radio. Or at least I was hoping to find the kind of radio stations that they may be listening to and getting their kicks from.

For a long time, there was no luck. I searched on all kinds of different internet radio lists, and couldn't find anything decent. I found one that sounded cool, but it ended up just being bad American metal like Staind, and crap like that. Then, today, after searching on and off for about a month, I found P3 Rockster. Go to that link and check it out. I know, it's all in Swedish. First, try to read it out loud and talk like the Swedish Chef. Next, click on that button that looks like a 'play' button right in the middle of an orange rectangle, next to a photo of a bearded weirdo wearing headphones. It says "lysnna pa Rockster." That's it, that's the right one. It should play on just about any broadband connection. If you have dial-up, go tell your dad that it's worth it to pay that extra $45 a month for cable internet.

The playlist is really interesting. In the past three hours, I've heard (more or less in this order) these artists:

Turbonegro, Yngwie Malmsteen, Bad Religion, Laundrettes, Opeth, Kiss, Pusjkins, U2, Nocturnal Rites, Foo Fighters, Meshuggah, Crashdiet, Hoodoo Gurus, Helloween, Witchcraft, Loosegoats, Nine Inch Nails, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, Rammstein, Sex Pistols, System of a Down, Gluecifer, Electric 6 (covering Queen!), Scum, Ruts, Hardcore Superstar, The Distillers (from back when Casper was in the band), HIM (Finland, not Chicago), and Bruce Dickinson.

Yes, I could do without the Meshuggah and System of a Down, but overall, I'm pretty happy with it. Plus the little radio player window tells you what song is coming up next. If you're able to listen to internet radio on your computer, I suggest checking this out. While you're at it, also check out WOXY . That one's American, but it's really good for stuff that's a little more indie rock.