Top 10 Records of 2007 – Number 3

Jens
Every year it seems we find at least one new musical force that stays with us for years. One year it’s Josh Rouse, another year its Ben Kweller. This year it was Jens Lekman. I put a Jens track, The Opposite Of Hallelujah, on the post that kicked off this top 10 series and someone commented that it "just might be the gayest song I’ve ever heard in my life :)" Well that’s the thing with Jens, it’s an acquired taste. Like scotch, hip hop, uni, and other great things in life that I hated at first.

Jens Lekman is a crooner, but one who adds all kinds of cool samples, and the best quirky lyrics since Jonathan Richman. In fact, I think you might need to go through a Jonathan phase to truly appreciate Jens.

My friend Steve Greenberg turned me onto all sorts of great music when I met him in grad school. Steve went on to be one of the best new talent guys in the music business with his label, S-Curve Records. Steve’s got great taste in music. So when I was sitting in the subway one day with my headphones on laughing out loud to Jens’ Postcard To Nina, I just had to send it to Steve. He told me at our christmas party that it was his favorite single of the year. I knew Steve would love Jens as much as I do.

Jens is most compared to Jonathan Richman, Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, and Morrisey. Great company if you ask me. And this record, called Night Falls Over Kortedala, is the best thing he’s done so far. Although his prior record, Oh You’re So Silent Jens, is pretty great as well.

If you want to hear something new and old at the same time, that’s a bit cheesy and also a bit out there, get both records. You’ll either thing it’s the gayest thing ever or one of the best records of the year. And either one is cool with me.

#My Music#top 10 records 2007

Comments (Archived):

  1. modestmerlin

    Postcard to Nina is a brilliant track. Jens is a fantastic songwriter though I found his latest effort to be a bit too sentimental and mushy (even for him!).

  2. Hiren Patel

    I don’t know. I love a compilation cd someone made a while ago of his work. It has the two 3 songs I love from him: Pocket full of money, Julie (Remix) , and Black Cab. Though his new album is interesting, I like “Oh, You’re So Silent, Jens” a lot better.

  3. iain

    Excellent Choice!I like the “jr phase” comment. My brother thought that “Postcard to Nina” was a new JR song. ( and that I had relapsed into yet-another-JR-phase. ) Hey … these guys just make me feel good :-)who cares if it often sounds a bit much … ’tis great.

  4. cotter

    i gotta ask – whats Uni?

    1. fredwilson

      Sea urchin. Uni is what they call it in japan. Its wonderful. Probably my all time favorite food. That or oystersFred

  5. aizheng

    肺癌 胃癌 肝癌