Hello Saferide
Hello Saferide is the stage name of Annika Norlin, a singer-songwriter from Sweden who is turning into quite the sensation. She’s frequented the Swedish charts over the past year, and her critically acclaimed album (‘Introducing…’) and EP (‘Would You Let Me Play This EP Ten Times A Day?’) have both been issued in various countries across the world to a constantly growing fanbase. But who cares about all that?
I could rattle off facts until the cows come home, eat, rest and head back out again, and it still wouldn’t come close to describing why I love these songs. The main appeal in Hello Saferide’s songs is the character that Norlin portrays throughout. I don’t know how much of it is her and how much of it is a character, but it’s a wonderful listen nonetheless. Through all of these songs, with perhaps the exception of ‘San Francisco’, you can hear a progression of the narrator, each one forming a small part in the complete story of her life.
It’s through this that we see that the narrator is such a flawed character. She’s vulnerable, insecure and she’s not adverse to stalking the guy she likes. ‘Highschool Stalker’ is her diary of this, from looking him up on search engines to staking out his parents house to chatting with ex-girlfriends so “I know what I’ve got to expect”. In most cases, this would seem more than a little creepy, but with it’s upbeat, clappy nature and final refrain (“I swear, you nearly said hi / I could have died”) it’s obvious that she doesn’t really mean any harm.
‘The Quiz’ is where the mastery of Hello Saferide fully materalises though. She’s found a guy that she gets on well with and likes (even if he has a bit too much scifi in his shelf of DVDs). She’s vulnerable though so she puts together a quiz for him, with questions that range from the mundane (”Do you talk in the middle of Seinfeld?”) to the insecure (”Do you still keep pictures of old girlfriends? / Are they prettier than me?”) to the all important (”If I’d fall / Would you pick me up?”). Despite all of the neuroses, she still manages to win you over, and she becomes the kind of girl that you’d want to introduce to your parents. Even though she would probably be too scared to do that.
MP3 Hello Saferide – The Quiz (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – Highschool Stalker (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – Valentine’s Day (expired)
MP3 Hello Saferide – San Francisco (expired)
Hello Saferide: Website || Myspace || More mp3s
“The Quiz” is possibly the best thing I’ve listened to recently.
hello. just wanted to say i enjoy your blog very much! i just discovered it today by searching for hello saferide.