I’ve been in Gothenburg the past week or so and am developing a new appreciation for Jens Lekman, whom I’ve liked a long time, but now I have a better sense of the geography and cultural touchpoints in his songs. He had a few years of relative critical interest and acclaim and then apparently his commercial prospects faded and he was reportedly living in Australia and leaving music. But I loved “Black Cab,” with its Left Banke sample, and a lot of his other songs. I just found out that Kortedala, referenced in one of his albums, is the end of the No. 6 tram line that goes near my hotel but in a far less pleasant neighborhood.

zwirnm Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
> apparently his commercial prospects faded and he
> was reportedly living in Australia and leaving
> music.

Damn shame. One of the wittiest, most clever songwriters in recent years.

(Er, guess I should specify: I don’t mean it’s a damn shame about living in Australia.)