MP3: Ebba Grön - We're only in it for the drugs No. 1
It's Midsummer weekend so that means half of Scandinavia is probably out in the country getting sloshed right now, if they aren't already. Not me - I'm stuck in front of the computer at work as usual. At least we're promised a weekend of scorching hot summer weather up here in the Pacific Northwest. I know I'll probably be sick of it by tomorrow afternoon, but what can ya do? Anyhow, I've got a guest post today from frequent contributor Simon Tagestam on Swedish punks Ebba Grön:
Believe it or not, but just like The Ramones were ripping up New York, and The Sex Pistols were spitting on their English fans, there was a thriving Swedish punk scene around the late 70s and late 80s (admittedly a bit after the Americans, but almost at the same time as the UK). Most of these bands reacted, just like their worldwide counter parts, against the hippie community and their naïve ideas of peace, love, and understanding. The most prominent of these bands were Ebba Grön, and even though their last album came out in 1982, they're still selling lots in Sweden (a box set came out in 1998, and another compilation was released as late as last year). This is not down to clever marketing, but three angry and frustrated teenagers meeting up at a house party in a suburb of Stockholm in 1977, who decided to form a band (initially calling themselves The Haters). Ebba Grön unfortunately only released three albums (all of them classics, in my opinion). "We're only in it for the drugs No. 1" is the first song from their first album ("We're only in it for the drugs", released in 1979). Don't let the title fool you though! Even if it's in English, Ebba Grön, just like all other Swedish punk bands from this era, sang almost solely in Swedish. The title of this track is deeply ironic and the lyrics are about how it's no wonder that teenagers start taking drugs and being up to no good when their government doesn't provide anything for them to do and that when the kids take matters into their own hands and start arranging gigs, etc., they're forcibly shut down. Ebba Grön's lyric are all very political and it's hard not to pay attention to lead singer Thåström's furious delivery. Thåström did go on to became very successful after Ebba Grön's demise, first as a member of Imperiet, then as a solo performer (his last album from last year was surprisingly good, and dealt lyrically a lot with his years in Ebba Grön), but nothing he's ever done can be compared to those three Ebba Grön albums.
Ebba Grön - We're only in it for the drugs No. 1