Video mix: A-ha, A Camp, Fidget, Vapnet, The Psyke Project, Timbuktu, more...

Indieworkshop on the Refused DVD: http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=149

Drowned in Sound talks to Kristofer Steen about the legacy of Refused and the new DVD: http://drownedinsound.com/content/view/777156

MP3: Text - Those kids are gone

Happy Friday everyone! This week's flashback post belongs to Matt Giordano:

For my first mp3 posting of an older track I chose "Those kids are gone" by Text. For those who are unaware, Text was a collective featuring most of the Refused members (Dennis being the one absent). Whilst most of the disc is spoken word, this track really sticks out. Not only is it the catchiest song on the record, but also because of its production quality. It's one of the rawest acoustic tracks I have ever heard, and David Sandström's melody is quite beautiful. And since this track was only performed by him, it, at the time, was giving you hints at what to expect from his solo work, as well as David Sandström Overdrive.

The whole album used to be available for free download at the Demonbox site, but the links are broken. However, you can still go there to read more about the band.

Text - Those kids are gone

Live report: Marit Bergman + Firefox AK @ Tack! Tack! Tack!, London UK 05/15/06

Refused
Refused are fucking dead DVD
Burning Heart Records

"The 'Chinese Democracy' of punkrock". The statement in the press release from Burning Heart couldn't be more right. The waiting has been long and the expectations incredibly high. But the comparisons with the Axl Rose-monster stops there. While he seems to be more and more of a shadow of his former self, most Refused-members have great musical careers apart from the old band (Dennis in The (International) Noise Conspiracy, David in David Sandström Overdrive and Jon as Jon F. Kennedy [ed: and don't forget ex-bassist Magnus and Cobolt]). Lots of us grew up with Refused. We went to their gigs, bought every record and sought extrication from other punkbands often lousy records and live shows. When Refused got up on stage or went into the studio we knew magic would come out of it. And that's what makes it so hard to watch this DVD. Sure, the music and photography is brilliant and ex-guitarist Kristofer Steen has made this movie with love, I can tell; but the story about why the band broke up and the feelings evolving around that is never deeply penetrated. My feeling is that they are just scratching the surface. The band broke up during the USA-tour following the masterpiece "The shape of punk to come". All members get interviewed thoroughly and they're giving answers to some things never mentioned before, but when I watch "Refused are fucking dead" I can't help but think "I know this already, I know about the whole scenario. I want to get under their skins and really know how they felt about each other." That makes me wonder one other thing: who is this movie really made for? If you're like me, there's nothing new under the sun in these 38 minutes. And if you're someone who's just interested in what Refused was, the movie can seem a bit too self-centered, as if the filmmakers think it's obvious that people know who this band was. And believe me, as much as I'd like that everyone should know, not all people do know the Refused-story. The extra material is two videos ("New noise" and "Rather be dead") and live clips of every song featured on "The shape of punk to come". Oh, and speaking of liveclips; it's not ok to edit a livegig for a DVD-release. I happen to know for a fact that the samples in "New noise" weren't present during the Popstad-gig in the movie. It's not ok to pretend that everything's alright. At least we can take comfort in that no matter how much I dislike this DVD, "Chinese Democracy" will be even worse. Time will tell.
- Jonas Appelqvist

Many people consider them to be Sweden's most overrated band, but Refused's influence is undeniable. I personally go back and forth on my feelings with regards to their legacy, but I cannot deny that "The shape of punk to come" blew me away when it first came out. I have yet to see the "Refused are fucking dead" DVD, but I'm still quite curious even though almost all of what I've heard about it has been less than positive. As an aside, the title is a reference to a song by Born Against, possibly the greatest hardcore act of the 90s. Or at least one of the most important. I'm not sure about all the backstory, but it involves beef with the dudes from Sick of it All and I'd imagine there's a good summation of events somewhere out there. Anyhow, for today's Friday mp3 post I've dug up an old version of Refused's "New noise from the "Straight edge as fuck III" compilation released back in 1997 by xDesperate Fightx, the label that defined the zeitgeist of the legendary hardcore scene in Umeå in the 90s. Enjoy!

MP3: Refused - New noise

Many people consider them to be Sweden's most overrated band, but Refused's influence is undeniable. I personally go back and forth on my feelings with regards to their legacy, but I cannot deny that "The shape of punk to come" blew me away when it first came out. I have yet to see the "Refused are fucking dead" DVD, but I'm still quite curious even though almost all of what I've heard about it has been less than positive. As an aside, the title is a reference to a song by Born Against, possibly the greatest hardcore act of the 90s. Or at least one of the most important. I'm not sure about all the backstory, but it involves beef with the dudes from Sick of it All and I'd imagine there's a good summation of events somewhere out there. Anyhow, for today's Friday mp3 post I've dug up an old version of Refused's "New noise from the "Straight edge as fuck III" compilation released back in 1997 by xDesperate Fightx, the label that defined the zeitgeist of the legendary hardcore scene in Umeå in the 90s. Enjoy!

Refused - New noise (comp version)

The trailer for the long-awaiting Refused DVD is now online: http://www.myspace.com/refused

Check out the brand new official Refused website for full details on the forthcoming posthumous DVD: http://www.burningheart.com/refused/

Burning Heart has finally confirmed the release dates for the long-awaited Refused DVD "Refused are fucking dead":

04/15 - AUS
04/19 - Scandinavia
04/21 - DE, AT, IT
04/24 - EUR
04/25 - US

Of all the post-Refused bands, I like David Sandström's stuff the best. He made one brilliant Scandinavian folk-inspired album ("Om det inte händer nåt innan i morgon så kommer jag") and then reinvented himself as a singer/songwriter. Quite a distance from his beginnings as Final Exit's frontman, eh? His latest album "Go down" almost made it into my top 10 for the year, but I listened to it too much and burnt myself out. It's still a great record, we just need some time apart y'know? Today's track is David's take on Stina Nordenstam's lead single from her last record "The world is saved". It's interesting to note how well the song works in a rock context - even with all of Stina's pop artifice stripped away, you still have a great song.

MP3: David Sandström Overdrive - Get on with your life

Of all the post-Refused bands, I like David Sandström's stuff the best. He made one brilliant Scandinavian folk-inspired album ("Om det inte händer nåt innan i morgon så kommer jag") and then reinvented himself as a singer/songwriter. Quite a distance from his beginnings as Final Exit's frontman, eh? His latest album "Go down" almost made it into my top 10 for the year, but I listened to it too much and burnt myself out. It's still a great record, we just need some time apart y'know? Today's track is David's take on Stina Nordenstam's lead single from her last record "The world is saved". It's interesting to note how well the song works in a rock context - even with all of Stina's pop artifice stripped away, you still have a great song.

David Sandström Overdrive - Get on with your life

Burning Heart swears that the long-awaited Refused DVD "Refused are fucking dead" will be out in April.

Randy has a new album that just came out, but I'm not going to post a track from it. It's not because it isn't great, because it is (Simon Tagestam reviewed it here), but instead I'm going to reminisce about the record that got me into the band: 2001's "The human atom bombs". Every couple years or so, just about when I'm about to totally give up on punk-rock, along comes a record that breathes new life into the genre. Refused did it to me in the late 90s and Randy did it again with this record. It's not even that they were doing anything all that original - it's that they were doing it with such enthusiasm and vitality that it was impossible not to stand up and take notice. "The human atom bombs" is fun and funny, energetic and entertaining and just all around amazing. So here's a track from that record that'll hopefully help brighten up your Friday.