Absolutely true story: when 'Love Fool' was at the top of the charts, an interviewer was talking to Nina and asked about the origin of the band. Her response was something like, 'the record company found us all at a modeling agency and taught us how to play instruments.' Twenty years later, I realize that Nina had a wicked sense of humor!
As a swede, it's weird to hear someone refer to Cardigans as one hit wonders. I realise this is their home country and all, but here they stayed relevant for a decade and had multiple songs in frequent rotation on mainstream radio. Their three last albums charted number one in Sweden. Hell, I've even seen Nina on tv twice this week. Very much loved and not at all forgotten.
@@h8today Hard to be a one-hit-wonder when the entirety of your second album is a tour de force. The Cardigans definitely aren't a popular band in the US, but anyone that was alive in the 90s knows 'First Band On The Moon' as several of the songs from it got a ton of radio playtime.
The Cardigans were definitely not one-hit wonders in the UK: "Carnival", "Love Fool", "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game" all had quite a lot of radio play. Great band.
Yes Erase/Rewind was definitely noticeable by it's absence from this video. I really like For What It's Worth. Unfortunately My Favourite Game has been played to death for me.
"A shiny, happy presentation of something that is actually kinda dark." That describes a fairly good chunk of Scandinavian pop music in-general to be honest (including ABBA).
Yeah that is a tangible thing,that Nordic angst.Even when I was a young brirish kid back in the seventies I detected a definite melancholy undercurrent to a song like Dancing Queen for example,supposedly a happy song right?
One hit wonder is kinda weird to watch as a european, spesifically a scandinavian. All of these british, german and swedish groups are stuff i literally couldn't get away from
It's a big ocean, and not everything survives the trip. I imagine that you guys would consider some bands one hit wonders that I had to hear to the point of disgust.
@@Veliladon New Zealand doesn't get enough coverage for one hit wonders in the US to be possible. You have to be truly good to get week known outside of here
I'm Indonesian and The Cardigans are pretty big and inspiring here. I'm not a big fan, but I can at least name three of their hit songs from the top of my head.
HOLY SHIT. That Sunday Bloody Sunday cover made me realize how much they sound like Japanese indie music. makes total sense that they would be big in japan.don't know if its a coincidence or how many japanese bands theyve influenced.
Oh totally one of the big european bands that would go together with Shibuya Kei. you can still find a bunch of their albums in Disk Union, Japan’s main record/cd store.
Of all things, this song will forever remind me of Daria. Yes, Daria. It was one of the many songs of the time used for scene changes, and of them all, it's the one that most quickly transports me back to that era and my mindspace then.
It's a big reason why if you want to watch Daria these days you have to go to pirate sites and get the tv records not anything on streaming or the dvds which had all the licenced music stripped out. Daria is great. Accepting a bit of visual quality loss for that soundtrack is more than worth it. It makes a big difference to the show and so definitively puts it in that late 90s very early 00s space.
I love the Cardigans. All of their albums are just underrated pop classics. Their Black Sabbath covers are top notch, they truly owned those songs in their special way.
It's so heartbreaking to me that such an incredible band got lost in the mix. Everyone knows this song, but just a step further is a world of wonderfully moving music!
I mean, it's technically not HIS song, he'll even say as much. Does being a featured guest count? Guess it depends on how strict or loose we're being about it
I understood 'human tuber' as in 'he looks like a potato'. as opposed to 'human tuba' 'he's a fucking large farty brass instrument' I guess I'm more visual than audio.
I've heard Todd joke about how Swedish music is either bubblegum pop or death metal in two different videos and I still laugh. Abba or Amon Amarth. Nothing in between.
Don’t underestimate what catnip the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack was to teen girls in that era. Even I a devout punk couldn’t resist and this swapped with The Crow soundtrack for when I needed to lighten up.
"I need some fine wine and you, you need to be nicer" has legitimately become one of my favorite songs of all time since first seeing this episode for the first time.
Acutally, Google Bots: theres 10 seconds of non-talked-over music in this 20 minute video review. That copyright claim is totally legit!!!!!1!!2!!ELF!!
Yep... and of course they say that The Cardigans' album Gran Turismo may have actually been named after the game. I mean, kinda must've been though I can't remember seeing that it was ever actually confirmed. Still, I hated that GT2 had no Feeder wtf :( Gran Turismo just never quite feels like full Gran Turismo without Feeder.
@@goldfishon-steroids4946 The band Gregory and the Hawk really reminds me of them, especially the song Oats We Sow. I really recommend their song For The Best.
In Denmark, their song "erase and rewind" was also really popular. I remember listening to it on the radio pretty often before school when I was younger. :)
I heard it a ton in the US too, partially because it was used in a movie called The Thirteenth Floor that was similar to The Matrix, but using a film noir sci-fi setting (and they were released only a few months apart).
And in Poland. Carnival was the first big hit if I remember well, in 1994. This collabo with Tom Jones was played to death! I never considered The Cardigans as one hit wonder, I remember them existing the whole second half of the 90's.
Todd, I honestly think you could adapt to the more than a one hit wonder case. I love getting the band growth history and cultural significance because those are things that affect the listening of the song, and not being around for the release takes that away! You really fill in a blank that is really nice!
Hey Todd, if you see this: 100% this. I can personally attest that my music taste has expanded dramatically because of your and rap critic's reviews. There have been quite a number of times where you offhandedly mention a song and I go "Yep, that's going on the playlist." Seriously, I love learning about music history from you. I especially love you talking about thing you've only just researched yourself, since it means a whole new list of genres and songs for me to peruse.
I think one of the reasons he picked One Hit Wonders is because 1) he’s really fascinated by them and 2) they’re not as documented as bands with more than one remembered hit. I love his style and totally get why you want more from him specifically. Maybe you could ask him if you can commission something like that from him, maybe get a group together to pool money for it.
@@MalloonTarka Music history lol. I'm curious as to your age, 'cause I heard this music in my childhood. I'm not making fun, it's just interesting to hear what a different generation thinks of music I grew up listening to (I was 7 when this came out). 😊
@@heathermiller6046 Heh, I was just about conceived at that time, but I wasn't just referring to this song. I was also referring to the stuff Todd has covered from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. "Fire", "Eve of Destruction" etc.
I was thinking exactly the same. I'm pretty sure it charted several places in Europe and was in Grand Turismo and the soundtrack for The 13th Floor. It also seemed to play at every uni party I attended at the time and played in the student clubs ad bars in town.
The Tom Jones collaboration was part of a covers album that Tom Jones did. So every track was with somebody who was a big name in the British charts at the time. It’s delightfully strange. Tom and the Stereophonics cover Eric Burdon, Tom and the Divine Comedy cover Portishead, Tom and the Pretenders cover Iggy Pop, TOM AND PORTISHEAD COVER A NEGRO SPIRITUAL. This album went quadruple platinum in the UK and got a 4 1/2 star rating from allmusic. You cannot tell me, Mr In The Shadows, that this doesn’t intrigue you just a little.
I hear "Lovefool" and think of those plastic 'lunchbox' purses, tiny backpacks, metallic lipsticks, dudes in bowling team shirts, gals in shiny clothing, and roll-on perfume that smelled like a flower barfed up a bunch of sweettarts. These are not fond memories for me, but I was wearing lime green jeans with patent leather boots at the time, so who the fuck am I to be judging anyone. Good tune, though.
“I Need Some Fine Wine (etc)” is awesome. “You’re foul in clear conditions, but you’re handsome in the fog” is a great line. “For What It’s Worth” is also beautiful, even if the video is darrrrrk.
that was how i discovered the cardigans, imo the best version of the song outside the original. i really wish Marvel would have made use of it in the iron man films
Yeah, after viewing this (a second time, now) I wanna go through all their discography just to see what good stuff they have besides "Lovefool" and "Losing My Favourite Game"
I adored the Cardigans before this episode and I loved how Todd didn't just mock the song's use in Romeo Plus Juliet but instead celebrated the band, even down to their edgier-but-poppy stuff like "Been It" and all of Gran Turismo Cardigans are amazing
This is my first time watching the episode, and I have to say, I'm going to check them out now. I had no idea the band that made "Lovefool" was the same band behind "Favorite Game"... and I had always kind of liked "Favorite Game" when I heard it on alt rock radio, but I was never inspired enough to check out the rest of their work. I will correct that now. edit: oooh, and they also did "Erase and Rewind"... another local alt rock station classic that I like, but never actually bothered to research.
The Cardigans is from my hometown and my mom's friend saw them live at a university thing when they where just starting and apparently pretty much everyone in the room thought that Nina had a bad singing voice. So she was very surprised when they found success(This is all according to her).
can't believe you never once mentioned erase/rewind. such an awesome song and was definitely a lot both on tv and radio, at least in Europe. to me, it's what late 90s sound like
You are remiss to have not mentioned "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough", the duet that Nina did with the Manic Street Preachers. It peaked at number 2 in the UK, number 1 in Scotland , and was in the top 10 in Ireland and Norway.
The Manics were a non-entity in the States. None of their songs charted, not even on the alternative charts. Their albums were released in the US, but they didn't chart, either. And because they were so ideological, I don't think they ever did ads, soundtracks, etc. The only people here who heard them heard them was through word of mouth, which sometimes meant just buying their albums and hoping their British pop translated to U.S. ears. I must admit that, for me, they did not; after 4 of their first 5 albums, all I remember of them is "A Design for Life" and "If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next." I never heard "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough." But I loved Gran Turismo.
My big memory of their second hit is the opening to Gran Turismo 2. That song came out of the speakers and I was stunned to hear the Cardigans jamming at that level.
Lovefool is the sheer pop-song perfection. Disco beat, love, love and more desperate unrequited love, hooks, sounds like it was sung over the phone response, the snare before launching into the chorus, and so much more. It is the greatest pop-song EVAH!
I literally never thought of this as a happy song. The very indie vocal delivery combined with the minor seventh chord stabs always made the irony of the song apparent. I can imagine the Magnetic Fields putting it on 69 Love Songs.
I looked through as many comments here as I could to see if anyone appreciated your Katamari Damacy reference and didn’t see any. One of the best games ever.
...I think it's for the best we do forget it. I hate that song as much as I hate the fucking Macarena but, weirdly enough, I've kinda dug Aqua's work outside of that song.
I think it's because it's that clash of bright colors and sugary poppiness with the sadness of the meaning of the song. The 90s was a mixture of some very dark and light stuff coming together.
Nina Pearson looks vaguely like "Veronica Mars"-era Kristen Bell. Maybe I believe that because I've been recently watching that show and it's the only thing I can think about currently.
No, it's not vague, she's the spitting image of Veronica Mars in this music video. I had to pull up images of the two of them side by side and I can barely tell them apart, the resemblance is uncanny.
Thanks for doing the band justice-they're such an autonomous, unique, and talented band who really did deserve better. Even the sugary goodness that is "Lovefool" has some subversive lyrics for its sound, and they have entire albums' worth of good content.
The Cardigans have been one of my favorite bands since high school when I came across the First Band on the Moon CD in my dad's collection. They really mean a lot to me. I doubt you're reading comments on a video from 18 months ago by now, but I just want to say thank you for this video.
Funny how Sweden's musical exports are either saccharine throwaway pop or some variant of extreme metal... And for some crossover, the Cardigans did record a cover of "Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath."
The Cardigans will always and forever be the band that deserved better. The fact that such an incredible band got lost on so many people is heartbreaking to me, it'd be like if everyone knew about naps but didn't know you could sleep for 8 hours at night! Long Gone Before Daylight will forever be in my Top 10, if you haven't heard it, go lay down in a dark room and put it on.
I'm a fan of the Cardigans (well, I've got two of their albums, at least), and one thing you need to know about them is that founding members Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson were very much into heavy metal. In other words, their Black Sabbath covers aren't meant to be a joke, although they obviously appreciate a spot of irony as "Lovefool" clearly demonstrated. One song from their album "Life" that I really dig (more than the others, anyway) is "Daddy's Car," and I'd recommend that everyone who hasn't heard it take the time to check it out immediately. I would gladly listen to anything that comes out of Nina Persson's mouth. She could probably make projectile vomiting sound winsome and sweet!
Whoever donated in patreon for this episode: thank you. The Cardigans are have been my favorite band for the last year and a half bc of this video specifically. Also thanks to Todd in ye shadows of course!
MY old indie/punk band covered this back in the early 2010's. It somehow fit our music and style perfectly played almost entirely straight. It's a legitimately great little chameleon of a song.
I never really knew much about The Cardigans except for My Favourite Game (fitting because that's how I describe Gran Turismo 2, which is where I heard it). I'll have to check out some more of their discography.
Dude do it, they're HIGHLY underrated and I'm shaken that no one here in the threads is standing up and saying anything about it. Listen to their first album Emmerdale
I remember the tv commercial for "Grand Turismo" it showed footage of "Lovefool" and asked if you remembered the Cardigans then played footage of "My Favourite Game".
I was looking for this comment, thank you. It's weird, cus Lovefool barely registered on my radar as a hit but Favourite Game and Erase & Rewind were my jaaaam.
There is, in fact, a reason: The Cardigans and other groups from the "lounge revival" genre are pretty similar to the japanese "Shibuya-kei" genre. Look for "Pizzicato Five" on CZcams, they were one of the biggest musical acts in Japan. I'm pretty sure you will understand with just one video.
@@TheBurpMan Very late reply, but that's not the reason. Many different Swedish bands and musicians have had success in Japan. Jazz singer Monica Zetterlund is quite big there. That goes back half a century. But the 1990s was probably the "Swedish decade" in Japan, with Cardigans, Pandora, and Meja having their largest market there.
I grew up listening to Kiss as a child. As I got older Faith No More/Mr. Bungle became my guiding light along with other creative, heavier bands. But before Lovefool came out they had a single called Carnival that I really liked. Enough to buy the LP it was on.
I love this episode. I loved the R&J soundtrack, and the rock hit from the band. It is always fun remembering and learning more about these musicians. I have a road trip planned in February and will be listening to all your one hit wonderland episodes on the trip.
@@metetural9140 hey, that decade had almost every genre hit the charts or get a bigger fan base. It was one of the most diverse and experimental decade.
@@metetural9140 As a fellow metalhead I disagree wholeheartedly. It was late 90s metal that got me into metal... no... got me into music, period. Yes, nu metal. Korn, Limp Bizkit. Still two of my favourite bands to this day. And Machine Head. Then In Flames were my fave band for a while, Colony through to Reroute are amazing. They're not so good any more though. But from there I got into loads of melodic death. And just death in general. Technical death metal especially. But yeah, getting back to the late 90's... Fear Factory? Nevermore? Testament!?
Okay I know all those bands started before the late 90s... Fear Factory, okay they were going downhill in the late 90s but were still awesome. But Nevermore were going uphill in my opinion and Testament released my personal favourite, The Gathering, in 99. It's the perfect blend of groove and death and thrash. It's just metal as fuck.
As someone who fell in love with this group and went on to explore as much of their music as possible, Super Extra Gravity (the album "I Need Some Fine Wine" is on) is easily my favorite of their albums. It's kind of incredible.
I took it upon myself to listen to their greatest hits and I ended up loving lots of their early stuff. It's bubbly and saccharin and I can't get enough (Carnival for the win)
Recently Miley Cyrus released a cover of “communication” which I think was a cut off of long gone before daylight. It’s not as good as the original but still pretty solid. It’s cool that she knew that song though
Paraphrasing my post from the copyright-struck video: Another great example of that "lilting, slightly melancholy pop songs" style: Cocteau Twins. The song "Bluebeard" comes to mind.
Except Cocteau Twins never really got close to a hit, did they? Unless you count Teardrop by Massive Attack? They certainly were a wonder though. Takes me back to my Goth friends in the late 80s.
Thank you so much for this one Todd, after this video The Cardigans have become one of my favorite bands of all time. They have such a unique vibe and sound that hits me just right.
Absolutely true story: when 'Love Fool' was at the top of the charts, an interviewer was talking to Nina and asked about the origin of the band.
Her response was something like, 'the record company found us all at a modeling agency and taught us how to play instruments.'
Twenty years later, I realize that Nina had a wicked sense of humor!
That's just life in Sweden.
Especially since music education is huuuge in Sweden, every kid learns an instrument.
@thenoosehangsfromheaven S U P P O S E D L Y I like to imagine they all have melodic death metal side projects
@@browncoat697 ...that cover a lot of Burt Bacharach. :D
@Pino Petit - Amateur in Spirit Black Metal is Norway. Sweden has Power Metal.
“They Picked That Title So Fall Out Boy Couldn’t Get To It First” is my favorite Panic at the Disco song
I cant tell the difference between fall out boy and panic at the shitsco.
@@babscabs1987 the vocalists are completely different
Nah that’s actually a Cobra Starship song 😂
"They Picked That Title So Fall Out Boy Couldn't Get To It First Is My Favorite Panic At The Disco Song", by My Chemical Romance.
TRUTH!
now I'm imagining how it would be if black sabbath covered lovefool
Definitely a Dio era song.
I like their cover of Iron Man a lot better than the original.
I think it would make for a great country cover.
FINISHED WITH MY WOMAN CAUSE SHE COULDN’T HELP ME WITH MY MIND!
I can totally see Ozzy Osborne singing Lovefool!
As a swede, it's weird to hear someone refer to Cardigans as one hit wonders. I realise this is their home country and all, but here they stayed relevant for a decade and had multiple songs in frequent rotation on mainstream radio. Their three last albums charted number one in Sweden. Hell, I've even seen Nina on tv twice this week. Very much loved and not at all forgotten.
I don't think most Americans would consider them 1 hit wonders. They had at least 4 songs that got regular air-play.
I would LOVE to see more of Nina on my tv.
@@h8today Hard to be a one-hit-wonder when the entirety of your second album is a tour de force. The Cardigans definitely aren't a popular band in the US, but anyone that was alive in the 90s knows 'First Band On The Moon' as several of the songs from it got a ton of radio playtime.
They're still well remembered and loved in indie pop/twee pop circles, so that's something.
To be fair, Todd also didn’t think they were, but a request is a request
The Cardigans were definitely not one-hit wonders in the UK: "Carnival", "Love Fool", "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game" all had quite a lot of radio play. Great band.
My favorite game was on the gran turismo 2 game.
@@pizzatitty69 is that your favourite game?
Yes Erase/Rewind was definitely noticeable by it's absence from this video.
I really like For What It's Worth. Unfortunately My Favourite Game has been played to death for me.
They were definitely not a one-hit wonder in the whole Europe .. their singles charted in Top10 in many countries around the Europe
my thoughts exactly
"A shiny, happy presentation of something that is actually kinda dark."
That describes a fairly good chunk of Scandinavian pop music in-general to be honest (including ABBA).
With ABBA's The Visitors as the ultimate example. Although The Day Before You Came is just straight up heart wrenching.
Yeah that is a tangible thing,that Nordic angst.Even when I was a young brirish kid back in the seventies I detected a definite melancholy undercurrent to a song like Dancing Queen for example,supposedly a happy song right?
Ingmar Bergman.. melancholy is in the blood..
Nords
@@darganx "Melancholy is in the blood..." that right there's a fucking album name.
One hit wonder is kinda weird to watch as a european, spesifically a scandinavian. All of these british, german and swedish groups are stuff i literally couldn't get away from
Im from Germany and I feel exactly the same.
lol
It's a big ocean, and not everything survives the trip. I imagine that you guys would consider some bands one hit wonders that I had to hear to the point of disgust.
Australian here. All these one hit wonders in the US and it's like, "they had two #1 albums and half a dozen singles in Australia?"
@@Veliladon New Zealand doesn't get enough coverage for one hit wonders in the US to be possible. You have to be truly good to get week known outside of here
I'm Indonesian and The Cardigans are pretty big and inspiring here. I'm not a big fan, but I can at least name three of their hit songs from the top of my head.
HOLY SHIT. That Sunday Bloody Sunday cover made me realize how much they sound like Japanese indie music. makes total sense that they would be big in japan.don't know if its a coincidence or how many japanese bands theyve influenced.
Yeah their stuff reminds me of Lamp. Very Shibuya Kei.
people do seem to generally agree with you on that actually
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
Oh totally one of the big european bands that would go together with Shibuya Kei. you can still find a bunch of their albums in Disk Union, Japan’s main record/cd store.
They actually got a bit of Pizzicato Five in them, Maki Nomiya is essentially Japanese Nina Persson
The Cardigans were indie pop before "indie pop" became a genre in the late 00's/2010's.
Indie pop is several decades older than that, child...
Indie Pop has been around since at least the '80s, but yeah this definitely sounds like 2010's Bedroom Pop stuff
Of all things, this song will forever remind me of Daria. Yes, Daria. It was one of the many songs of the time used for scene changes, and of them all, it's the one that most quickly transports me back to that era and my mindspace then.
It's a big reason why if you want to watch Daria these days you have to go to pirate sites and get the tv records not anything on streaming or the dvds which had all the licenced music stripped out.
Daria is great. Accepting a bit of visual quality loss for that soundtrack is more than worth it. It makes a big difference to the show and so definitively puts it in that late 90s very early 00s space.
@@mytimetravellingdog absolutely, my awful quality rips of original Daria i torrented a decade ago are some of my most prized possessions haha
@@melm4251may I suggest the fan made version of daria, basically people took the dvd version and re added the og soundtrack using cd audio
I love the Cardigans. All of their albums are just underrated pop classics. Their Black Sabbath covers are top notch, they truly owned those songs in their special way.
It's so heartbreaking to me that such an incredible band got lost in the mix. Everyone knows this song, but just a step further is a world of wonderfully moving music!
@@BeniRoseMusic It also doesn't help that Todd is a fucking moron who doesn't actually know anything about music..
I feel like the Cardigans playing Black Sabbath is almost like Weird Al doing polka versions of everything imaginable.
@@thexalon So you are saying that they are just pure genius. I agree.
@@mantisbog I need some fine wine. And you? You need to be nicer.
"If Billy Ray Cyrus is a one-hit wonder, then so are The Cardigans."
Well this sure is hilarious in hindsight.
Oh god, now the Cardigans are gonna collaborate with a Souncloud rapper and go to #1
rewatching this episode now and i was just about to comment the same thing!
@@freakfoxvevo7915 i'd love to see that ngl
"Does that make this video utterly hilarious in hindsight? OH YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!"
I mean, it's technically not HIS song, he'll even say as much. Does being a featured guest count? Guess it depends on how strict or loose we're being about it
"human tuba, tom jones" - first proper belly laugh in I don't remember how long
More like Trombone.
It's not unusual.
I understood 'human tuber' as in 'he looks like a potato'. as opposed to 'human tuba' 'he's a fucking large farty brass instrument' I guess I'm more visual than audio.
I unironically and unapologetically love that Talking Heads cover they did with Tom Jones. It slaps. Fight me.
im here to support, from the present, that 2 year old comment
I've heard Todd joke about how Swedish music is either bubblegum pop or death metal in two different videos and I still laugh.
Abba or Amon Amarth. Nothing in between.
Though he did quickly flash The Hives, who are way underrated, and in-between.
Isn't Ghost basically just a combination of those two? :P
@@NightmareLyra lol
HM 2 fueled Gothenburg and Stockholm Death Metal are bops
Swedes write hit songs. Look at ABBA and Max Martin.
Don’t underestimate what catnip the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack was to teen girls in that era. Even I a devout punk couldn’t resist and this swapped with The Crow soundtrack for when I needed to lighten up.
And the Dangerous Minds soundtrack when your feeling like a gangster
Both great soundtracks honestly
As a male I had both soundtracks in constant rotation for that year.
It had that excellent Radiohead song...
@@weebunny Yes! Talk Show Host! Great song
"I need some fine wine and you, you need to be nicer" has legitimately become one of my favorite songs of all time since first seeing this episode for the first time.
I suspect that the Song is relatable to a Ton of Dissatisfied Housewives .
It’s such a good song
Should be a double A-side with You Only Say You Love Me When You´re Drunk by Pet Shop Boys.
CZcams copyright bots: Fool me! Fool me!
Go on and fool meeeeee!
Acutally, Google Bots: theres 10 seconds of non-talked-over music in this 20 minute video review. That copyright claim is totally legit!!!!!1!!2!!ELF!!
heheheheh.....
Their song "Erase/Rewind" was also featured in the prom scene from Never Been Kissed in 1999, also really melancholy but I dug it!
"Erase and Rewind" is the kind of hidden gem from them.
"Certainly compared to our current hellscape dystopia, the 90's seems like living 24/7 in candy land" hahahaha not if you're from the Balkans.
Panda Or Rwanda.
@@emilialeonetti9079 Panda or Rwanda sounds like the easiest game of all time
I thought about Kosovo 1999, too. I followed every day of that conflict via BBC World Service.
Ditto South Africa in the early 90s, when we didn't know if we were going to have a democracy or a civil war.
That comment took a wicked left turn lol
"My favorite game" begins my favorite Playstation 2 game - Gran Turismo 2. And I still get chills watching that opening.
This 100%. Had never heard of the cardigans until GT2.
Electric Devil the gt version is so different from the original. I wish the GT version was on streaming
Playstation 1 friend :)
Yep... and of course they say that The Cardigans' album Gran Turismo may have actually been named after the game. I mean, kinda must've been though I can't remember seeing that it was ever actually confirmed. Still, I hated that GT2 had no Feeder wtf :(
Gran Turismo just never quite feels like full Gran Turismo without Feeder.
seanseanston myself and everyone I know. Wouldn’t be feeder fans if it weren’t for gran turismo
I love how Todd just doesn't give a shit and straight up says he doesn't want to do these Requests.
Todd used to come off as so conceited to me say, five years ago. Now I too am older, more cynical, more depressed, I empathise with him completely.
@@thrownstair y'all's loss not mine lol
@thrownstair i still think hes conceited, but like i get it. Im down
Lovefool is THE pop song of the 90's. That sunny, indie sound they had with their first 3 albums - no other act has sounded like that up until today.
Not even today, I’ve listened to indie music recently haven’t found anything that reminds me of their songs. Then again that’s just my opinion
@@goldfishon-steroids4946 Check out Les Ailes for a fun rabbit hole of cardigan-esque music
@@goldfishon-steroids4946 The band Gregory and the Hawk really reminds me of them, especially the song Oats We Sow. I really recommend their song For The Best.
Undoubtedly this song reached it's fullest potential when used in Hot Fuzz.
Collab with the Killers?? Awesome!
I sat through two hours of so-called acting and their kiss was the only convincing part.
Ha ha
In Denmark, their song "erase and rewind" was also really popular.
I remember listening to it on the radio pretty often before school when I was younger. :)
And New Zealand
and the UK!
I heard it a ton in the US too, partially because it was used in a movie called The Thirteenth Floor that was similar to The Matrix, but using a film noir sci-fi setting (and they were released only a few months apart).
And in Finland.
And in Poland. Carnival was the first big hit if I remember well, in 1994. This collabo with Tom Jones was played to death! I never considered The Cardigans as one hit wonder, I remember them existing the whole second half of the 90's.
Todd, I honestly think you could adapt to the more than a one hit wonder case. I love getting the band growth history and cultural significance because those are things that affect the listening of the song, and not being around for the release takes that away! You really fill in a blank that is really nice!
Michael Oppmann he kind of expands on something like that in his S Club 7 review
Hey Todd, if you see this: 100% this. I can personally attest that my music taste has expanded dramatically because of your and rap critic's reviews. There have been quite a number of times where you offhandedly mention a song and I go "Yep, that's going on the playlist." Seriously, I love learning about music history from you. I especially love you talking about thing you've only just researched yourself, since it means a whole new list of genres and songs for me to peruse.
I think one of the reasons he picked One Hit Wonders is because 1) he’s really fascinated by them and 2) they’re not as documented as bands with more than one remembered hit.
I love his style and totally get why you want more from him specifically. Maybe you could ask him if you can commission something like that from him, maybe get a group together to pool money for it.
@@MalloonTarka Music history lol. I'm curious as to your age, 'cause I heard this music in my childhood. I'm not making fun, it's just interesting to hear what a different generation thinks of music I grew up listening to (I was 7 when this came out). 😊
@@heathermiller6046 Heh, I was just about conceived at that time, but I wasn't just referring to this song. I was also referring to the stuff Todd has covered from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. "Fire", "Eve of Destruction" etc.
Erase rewind. That was released after my favourite game. It’s brill. How can you forget that one??
That was their best song
czcams.com/video/6WOYnv59Bi8/video.html
Yes! thank you
I was thinking exactly the same. I'm pretty sure it charted several places in Europe and was in Grand Turismo and the soundtrack for The 13th Floor. It also seemed to play at every uni party I attended at the time and played in the student clubs ad bars in town.
He also didn't talk about carnival.
Also on the soundtrack to the great cheese ball movie "Never Been Kissed."
As an instrument nerd, they had absolutely amazing taste in instruments, a rickenbacker 360 and thunderbird are both amazing instruments
"Long Gone Before Daylight" is a fantastic album
This band is underrated as hell.
It also came out of nowhere. I remember it making album of the month in a German magazine and everyone being caught completely off guard.
Especially “for what’s it’s worth” I wanna drive in the desert on a may/June afternoon to this song
Ridiculously underrated. “Gran Turismo “changed me. “Long Gone Before Daylight” is as good as they come
The Tom Jones collaboration was part of a covers album that Tom Jones did. So every track was with somebody who was a big name in the British charts at the time. It’s delightfully strange. Tom and the Stereophonics cover Eric Burdon, Tom and the Divine Comedy cover Portishead, Tom and the Pretenders cover Iggy Pop, TOM AND PORTISHEAD COVER A NEGRO SPIRITUAL.
This album went quadruple platinum in the UK and got a 4 1/2 star rating from allmusic. You cannot tell me, Mr In The Shadows, that this doesn’t intrigue you just a little.
That sounds pretty fucking awesome actually. Partly because I really enjoy Tom Jones
The stereophonics duet was fun
I bought that cd and enjoyed it a lot. Stil do from to time.
@@_tardigrade it's very much of its time, which somehow makes it more charming.
@@michaelfarrow5817 💯
Also of note: "My Favourite Game" was used in the intro to PS1 mega-seller Gran Turismo 2, and the name of the album was...Gran Turismo.
Rumor has it that the first Gran Turismo was indeed their favorite game, and they would play it a lot while they were on tour.
Dunno how he missed that, having that song in the game exposed the song to millions of people
@@deanchur I think he doing it on purpose. I mean it's not one hit wonders if they have two.
I hear "Lovefool" and think of those plastic 'lunchbox' purses, tiny backpacks, metallic lipsticks, dudes in bowling team shirts, gals in shiny clothing, and roll-on perfume that smelled like a flower barfed up a bunch of sweettarts.
These are not fond memories for me, but I was wearing lime green jeans with patent leather boots at the time, so who the fuck am I to be judging anyone.
Good tune, though.
So much this. I do have vivid memories of wearing a lot of huge jnco shorts, big johnson and no-fear t shirts in this era. Dark times they were...
These are all the best things ever.
I almost want to ask for a photo of you in those jeans. They sound awesome/terrible.
Also butterflies clips that you decorate your hair with.... And ultimately get stepped on and brake into pieces. Smh!
You are describing 6th grade to me.
"But, love is inherently humiliating, isn't it...?"
Indeed, sir. Indeed.
“I Need Some Fine Wine (etc)” is awesome. “You’re foul in clear conditions, but you’re handsome in the fog” is a great line.
“For What It’s Worth” is also beautiful, even if the video is darrrrrk.
The video is like if Donnie Darko was a Rom Com
Am i the only one who thinks that "Iron man" es f*cking brilliant?
The Cardigans version of Ironman is freaking amazing!
Nope love that cover
that was how i discovered the cardigans, imo the best version of the song outside the original. i really wish Marvel would have made use of it in the iron man films
Hey, this is the episode that got me into The Cardigans. Love you Todd, God level content
Same, I adore their first three albums now
Yeah, after viewing this (a second time, now) I wanna go through all their discography just to see what good stuff they have besides "Lovefool" and "Losing My Favourite Game"
Todd can be good for finding artists
I adored the Cardigans before this episode and I loved how Todd didn't just mock the song's use in Romeo Plus Juliet but instead celebrated the band, even down to their edgier-but-poppy stuff like "Been It" and all of Gran Turismo
Cardigans are amazing
This is my first time watching the episode, and I have to say, I'm going to check them out now. I had no idea the band that made "Lovefool" was the same band behind "Favorite Game"... and I had always kind of liked "Favorite Game" when I heard it on alt rock radio, but I was never inspired enough to check out the rest of their work. I will correct that now.
edit: oooh, and they also did "Erase and Rewind"... another local alt rock station classic that I like, but never actually bothered to research.
For some reason, they were big in Mexico. I hated Lovefool, but adored almost everything that came after it.
The Cardigans is from my hometown and my mom's friend saw them live at a university thing when they where just starting and apparently pretty much everyone in the room thought that Nina had a bad singing voice. So she was very surprised when they found success(This is all according to her).
can't believe you never once mentioned erase/rewind. such an awesome song and was definitely a lot both on tv and radio, at least in Europe. to me, it's what late 90s sound like
You are remiss to have not mentioned "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough", the duet that Nina did with the Manic Street Preachers. It peaked at number 2 in the UK, number 1 in Scotland , and was in the top 10 in Ireland and Norway.
As a fan of the Manics I agree.
And is one of the best songs the Manics ever wrote.
Hells yeah
The Manics were brilliant,I love their cover of suicide is painless.
The Manics were a non-entity in the States. None of their songs charted, not even on the alternative charts. Their albums were released in the US, but they didn't chart, either. And because they were so ideological, I don't think they ever did ads, soundtracks, etc. The only people here who heard them heard them was through word of mouth, which sometimes meant just buying their albums and hoping their British pop translated to U.S. ears. I must admit that, for me, they did not; after 4 of their first 5 albums, all I remember of them is "A Design for Life" and "If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next." I never heard "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough." But I loved Gran Turismo.
My big memory of their second hit is the opening to Gran Turismo 2. That song came out of the speakers and I was stunned to hear the Cardigans jamming at that level.
Lovefool is the sheer pop-song perfection. Disco beat, love, love and more desperate unrequited love, hooks, sounds like it was sung over the phone response, the snare before launching into the chorus, and so much more. It is the greatest pop-song EVAH!
I literally never thought of this as a happy song. The very indie vocal delivery combined with the minor seventh chord stabs always made the irony of the song apparent. I can imagine the Magnetic Fields putting it on 69 Love Songs.
I looked through as many comments here as I could to see if anyone appreciated your Katamari Damacy reference and didn’t see any. One of the best games ever.
Ok, so no one else gonna say it?
That woman has the prettiest blue eyes...
Eh, They're Not Green, Or Gold, For Blue They're Pretty Decent.
She has the prettiest everything!
🇸🇪 Ya sure, Ya betcha! 🇸🇪
Oh, she's from Sweden, they all look like that.
You don't think that there is a better representation of the Bubblegum 90's than THIS song?
Have we completely forgotten about Aqua and Barbie Girl?
RDMacQ i think he meant GOOD, not SUCCESSFUL
@Michael Persico I'd love to watch that
Yeah this isn't bubblegum at all. It's just a sweet sounding song.
...I think it's for the best we do forget it. I hate that song as much as I hate the fucking Macarena but, weirdly enough, I've kinda dug Aqua's work outside of that song.
I think it's because it's that clash of bright colors and sugary poppiness with the sadness of the meaning of the song. The 90s was a mixture of some very dark and light stuff coming together.
"My Favorite Game" is one of the greatest opening tracks for a video game.
gt2 right? lol
It's one of the greatest SONGS ever recorded. Full stop.
Outside of Just A Day by Feeder.
Cardigans were huge in the UK/Ireland back in the mid/late 90's, such nostalgia when I hear them!
The Cardigans was one of the best bands out there. I was surprised how deep there discography goes.
Early cardigans albums are really good. And I always felt Gran Turismo was killer. I remember a bunch of bands doing that sound in the 90s
@Luke I felt like the later records didn’t have the same bite as the early stuff but it’s hard to compete with emerdale.
Nina Pearson looks vaguely like "Veronica Mars"-era Kristen Bell.
Maybe I believe that because I've been recently watching that show and it's the only thing I can think about currently.
No, it's not vague, she's the spitting image of Veronica Mars in this music video. I had to pull up images of the two of them side by side and I can barely tell them apart, the resemblance is uncanny.
Not crossed eyed enough
Thanks for doing the band justice-they're such an autonomous, unique, and talented band who really did deserve better.
Even the sugary goodness that is "Lovefool" has some subversive lyrics for its sound, and they have entire albums' worth of good content.
"It's like if Lou Begas second song was about his heroin addiction" best Todd line ever
The Cardigans have been one of my favorite bands since high school when I came across the First Band on the Moon CD in my dad's collection. They really mean a lot to me. I doubt you're reading comments on a video from 18 months ago by now, but I just want to say thank you for this video.
i discovered that album in my dad's collection too!! this video made me feel so happy and nostalgic
Funny how Sweden's musical exports are either saccharine throwaway pop or some variant of extreme metal...
And for some crossover, the Cardigans did record a cover of "Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath."
Man, I didnt realize copyright would be so harsh on a bunch of sweaters
The Cardigans will always and forever be the band that deserved better. The fact that such an incredible band got lost on so many people is heartbreaking to me, it'd be like if everyone knew about naps but didn't know you could sleep for 8 hours at night! Long Gone Before Daylight will forever be in my Top 10, if you haven't heard it, go lay down in a dark room and put it on.
I'm a fan of the Cardigans (well, I've got two of their albums, at least), and one thing you need to know about them is that founding members Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson were very much into heavy metal. In other words, their Black Sabbath covers aren't meant to be a joke, although they obviously appreciate a spot of irony as "Lovefool" clearly demonstrated. One song from their album "Life" that I really dig (more than the others, anyway) is "Daddy's Car," and I'd recommend that everyone who hasn't heard it take the time to check it out immediately. I would gladly listen to anything that comes out of Nina Persson's mouth. She could probably make projectile vomiting sound winsome and sweet!
I'm two years late but THIS COMMENT RIGHT HERE!!
Whoever donated in patreon for this episode: thank you. The Cardigans are have been my favorite band for the last year and a half bc of this video specifically. Also thanks to Todd in ye shadows of course!
MY old indie/punk band covered this back in the early 2010's. It somehow fit our music and style perfectly played almost entirely straight. It's a legitimately great little chameleon of a song.
I never really knew much about The Cardigans except for My Favourite Game (fitting because that's how I describe Gran Turismo 2, which is where I heard it). I'll have to check out some more of their discography.
Dude do it, they're HIGHLY underrated and I'm shaken that no one here in the threads is standing up and saying anything about it. Listen to their first album Emmerdale
The Cardigans is soooo greattt, I just love all of the songs!!
Hey!! I love sick&tired, too!!!!
This really makes me want to check them out. They sound like great songwriters
This is one of my favorite songs of all time and favorite groups!
I remember the tv commercial for "Grand Turismo" it showed footage of "Lovefool" and asked if you remembered the Cardigans then played footage of "My Favourite Game".
Todd in the Shadows: Resurrection
*Resurrect Erection
Emmerdale, First Band on the Moon, and Gran Turismo are 3 of the greatest albums of the 90s, and nobody can convince me otherwise
Still one of my favorite bands, such unquie and creative choices in all of their songs.
I remember listening to 'Life' on repeat in the mid 90's. I'm in the UK so that probably explains it.
How did he forget Erase / Rewind?
I was coming to comment about Erase/Rewind as well!
I was looking for this comment, thank you. It's weird, cus Lovefool barely registered on my radar as a hit but Favourite Game and Erase & Rewind were my jaaaam.
Erase / Rewind is an incredible song. I can't remember if it was a 'hit' but it is one of their best works
because he erased it and rewinded his memory.
Ditto
Carnival was a bit of a hit. Not a smash hit like Lovefool, but thanks in-part to being on the Austin Powers soundtrack it garnered some attention.
You deserve way more followers. The internet is sleepin.
I love everything about this song. It's pure pop music done right.
Taking roll call for everyone who came here after Last Week Tonight's Trash episode.
I was so happy to see her! oliver is a genius!
Once again THANK YOU for presenting me this awesome band and especially their song Rise and Shine (which became one of my all Time favourites)
A Lot of Nordic bands get real big in Japan, No idea why
There is, in fact, a reason: The Cardigans and other groups from the "lounge revival" genre are pretty similar to the japanese "Shibuya-kei" genre. Look for "Pizzicato Five" on CZcams, they were one of the biggest musical acts in Japan. I'm pretty sure you will understand with just one video.
@@TheBurpMan interesting! The first thing I thought of when I heard Lovefool was the song Calling from the game The World Ends with You.
The reason is because the Japanese have better taste in popular music than America. :P
@@TheBurpMan Very late reply, but that's not the reason. Many different Swedish bands and musicians have had success in Japan. Jazz singer Monica Zetterlund is quite big there. That goes back half a century. But the 1990s was probably the "Swedish decade" in Japan, with Cardigans, Pandora, and Meja having their largest market there.
@@YouCanCallMeXoe Bruh
I'll gladly watch this again. Video that introduced me to this great band and made me a fan.
I grew up listening to Kiss as a child. As I got older Faith No More/Mr. Bungle became my guiding light along with other creative, heavier bands. But before Lovefool came out they had a single called Carnival that I really liked. Enough to buy the LP it was on.
I love this episode. I loved the R&J soundtrack, and the rock hit from the band. It is always fun remembering and learning more about these musicians.
I have a road trip planned in February and will be listening to all your one hit wonderland episodes on the trip.
You have a fanbase that is your age...you're going to get a lot of requests from the 90s. :)
Best decade 👍🏾
@@V4Now as a metal head I can wholeheartedly say fuck no to that.
Well the late 90's atleast. Early 90's were pretty good
@@metetural9140 hey, that decade had almost every genre hit the charts or get a bigger fan base.
It was one of the most diverse and experimental decade.
@@metetural9140 As a fellow metalhead I disagree wholeheartedly. It was late 90s metal that got me into metal... no... got me into music, period. Yes, nu metal. Korn, Limp Bizkit. Still two of my favourite bands to this day. And Machine Head. Then In Flames were my fave band for a while, Colony through to Reroute are amazing. They're not so good any more though. But from there I got into loads of melodic death. And just death in general. Technical death metal especially. But yeah, getting back to the late 90's... Fear Factory? Nevermore? Testament!?
Okay I know all those bands started before the late 90s... Fear Factory, okay they were going downhill in the late 90s but were still awesome. But Nevermore were going uphill in my opinion and Testament released my personal favourite, The Gathering, in 99. It's the perfect blend of groove and death and thrash. It's just metal as fuck.
As someone who fell in love with this group and went on to explore as much of their music as possible, Super Extra Gravity (the album "I Need Some Fine Wine" is on) is easily my favorite of their albums. It's kind of incredible.
"Love Fool" was done somewhat ironically and they hated that it became their one really big success.
Funny since they made it one of the catchiest songs of the 90s.
I took it upon myself to listen to their greatest hits and I ended up loving lots of their early stuff. It's bubbly and saccharin and I can't get enough (Carnival for the win)
As a fan of this band for over ten years now, I’m beyond thrilled to see them recognized by SOMEONE who isn’t me for something that isn’t lovefool
Recently Miley Cyrus released a cover of “communication” which I think was a cut off of long gone before daylight. It’s not as good as the original but still pretty solid. It’s cool that she knew that song though
I remember this song was "played" in Hot Fuzz... after the in-movie Romeo and Juliet play
The pool scene song of Lovefool is in The movie : Cruel intentions 😉
when it's a reupload of one of the best episodes so you watch it anyways
Oh hey RGS, didn't think I'd find you here
and it gets taken down
"Sweden exports only their sugarest cotton-candy pop music."
Sabaton says hello.
thank you for helping me discover this band!! they're so good and you can absolutely tell they love what they do
Paraphrasing my post from the copyright-struck video:
Another great example of that "lilting, slightly melancholy pop songs" style: Cocteau Twins. The song "Bluebeard" comes to mind.
Except Cocteau Twins never really got close to a hit, did they? Unless you count Teardrop by Massive Attack? They certainly were a wonder though. Takes me back to my Goth friends in the late 80s.
Am I only one who also recognizes The Cardigans' "Erase / Rewind" ? Must have been from some european ad
I for way too long thought this was a No Doubt song.
Seriously?!?
This band has so many great songs. While I was aware of Lovefool, I was 12 in 1996, it was hearing Carnival way later in life that made me a fan.
Her voice is hypnotic and thanks for showing me rise and shine I love it.
2:21 "If Billy Ray Cyrus is a one-hit-wonder then so are The Cardigans."
I GOT THE HORSES IN THE BACK
Justin HORSE-STOCK IS ATTACHED
@@tyde4610 HAT IS MATTE BLACK
Gabingston GOT THE BOOTS THATS’S BLACK TO MATCH
Time to watch this again. Gotta get those views back up.
8:19 "Not much of the rest of the 90s sounded like that." Sixpence None the Richer?
Zackly!
Thank you so much for this one Todd, after this video The Cardigans have become one of my favorite bands of all time. They have such a unique vibe and sound that hits me just right.
I didn’t know their other music would be so up my alley. Definitely grabbing their albums