Movits! - Fel del av gården

Lately I've been listening a lot to the Swedish hip hop /jazz group Movits!. I discovered them a couple of months ago but now they have become really popular.

Right now, Movits! album Äppelknyckarjazz is the most popular album on the Amazon.com Top MP3 Albums in Rap & Hip-Hop, before artists like Eminem, Jay-Z and Mos Def, how about that!

Movits! combines rap/hip hop with gypsy jazz and balkan rhythms. In the video clip with the song "Fel del av gården" (The Wrong Part of the Yard) you can also see dancing by the Swedish swing dance troupe The Harlem Hot Shots.

Movits! got a lot of attention when they were interviewed on the tv program The Colbert Report last week where they performed the song "Fel del av gården". In the interview they say that they were inspired to add a swing touch to their music when they heard the swing song "Sing, Sing Sing".

Do you like the music but don't know what the heck Movits! are rapping about? Here is the lyrics for Movits! song "Fel del av gården".

From a swing music point of view I like that one of the songs on the album, "Stick iväg Jack, del II" tells story about what happend after "Hit The Road, Jack".

Regarding the the name of Movits! album, Äppelknyckarjazz; "Äppelknyckare" refers to a certain kind of pants that were popular in the 1930's and 1940's. I would translate "Äppelknyckare" as "apple nickers".

The name comes from the fact that the legs of the trousers ended just below the knee and the legs could be tightened, so if you were a young rascal nicking apples from the neighbour's garden you could put all the apples inside the pants and you could run away with ease if you were discovered. Here is a photo of äppelknyckare.

In Sweden 'äppelknyckare' is very much associated with the swing era.

What do you think of Movits! and the music video for "Fel sida av gården"? Please comment.

Chita Riviera dances while Sid Ceasar wonders "What is jazz?"

What is jazz? Certainly, there are many ansvers to that question. I think Sid Ceasar's explaination in the introduction of this video clip is awesome. *laugh*

"Jazz is beautiful woman whose older brother is a policeman..."

Take a look at Chita Riviera and a group of dancers dancing to a swingin' tune. The tv show seems to be called "Tip Toe Thru TV".

Jazz can also be thought of as a conversation.

What do you think of Chita Riviera and Sid Ceasar? What is your answer to "What is jazz?". Please comment.

Firehouse Five Plus Two plays Jingle Bells

Firehouse Five Plus Two plays a great dixieland jazz version of Jingle Bells in this video clip from the Disney tv show: One Hour in Wonderland from 1950.



"One Hour in Wonderland" is said to be the first tv program that the Disney studios produced.

The band Firehouse Five Plus Two consisted of animators from the studio: Danny Alguire, cornet, Harper Goff, banjo, Ward Kimball, trombone, Clarke Mallery, clarinet, Monte Mountjoy, drums, Ed Penner, tuba and Frank Thomas, piano.

(Yeah, I know, I broke an unwritten dj rule, that is, not to play the same song twice in a row, but sometimes you got to break the rules, especially when it's such a happy and joyful version.)

What do think of Firehouse Five Plus Two playing Jingle Bells? Tell me.

Buddy Rich plays Well Git It at the Tonight Show

Well, Git It is one of the most infectious swing songs I know. Here is a video clip from the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson from Oct. 2, 1985 featuring drummer Buddy Rich playing Well, Git It.



If that doesn't get you snapping your fingers, nothing will.

I have to find out more about the individual musicians in this video: Doc Severinsen, Tommy Newsom, Snooky Young and also Buddy Rich himself. Do you have any tips on what I should hear or see?

What do you think about the video clip with Buddy Rich playing Well Git It? Tell me.

Nagasaki - Jeeves & Wooster

Here's a scene from the British tv comedy series "Jeeves & Wooster" where Bertie sings the jazz song Nagasaki written in 1928 by Harry Warren and Mort Dixon.


The clip is from episode 5 called "Hot Off the Press" from season 3.

What do you think about Hugh Laurie singing Nagasaki from Jeeves & Wooster? Is it extremely invigorating as Jeeves puts it? Tell me.

Lindy hop World Championship on TV tonight

Wow, I can't belive it, but it's true: Swedish Television will send live from the Lindy hop World Championships in Halmstad on prime time. Tune in to SVT2 at 19 o'clock tonight! Expert commentators are Marie Nahnfeldt och Ulrika Larsdotter Ericsson.

Unfortunatly I'll not be home to see it *grmbl*, can someone tape it for me?

Herräng Dance Camp on TV: Godmorgon Sverige

As I mentioned on Saturday, the Herräng Dance Camp has started and will go on for five weeks this summer. Today the dance camp got some media attention when Åsa Palm and Daniel Heedman from the Harlem Hot Shots visited the morning tv show "Godmorgon Sverige".

Åsa and Daniel are intervjued (in Swedish) and they also show some medium tempo lindy hop (4:10 into the video clip). They talk about the name lindy hop ("Lindy hops the Atlantic") and that there are still things to learn even though one has been dancing 14 years (as Åsa has been doing). They also describe what it's like on Herräng Dance Camp, dancing 24/7.

Take a look at the video clip with Palm and Daniel Heedman from "Godmorgon Sverige".

What do you think of the interview? What was the song they danced to? Tell me.

Harlem Hots Shots in Talang 2007 Final

The Harlem Hot Shots didn't win the final of the talent show Talang 2007 on TV4. Too bad. But then again, performing three times on prime time tv is great exposure both for the dance company itself and for lindy hop in general. Here is the Harlem Hot Shots performance in the final of Talang 2007.



In the introduction of the video clip you can see them dancing and showing of some of their costumes at their dance studio "Chicago" in Stockholm. There was a live band playing Bugle Call Rag, does someone know who was in the band?

If you want english translations of what is said, check out these discussion threads at Yehoodi and White Heat.

Watch their previous performances in the auditions and in the semi final.

What do you think of Harlem Hot Shots performance in the final of Talang 2007? Tell me.

Harlem Hot Shots dances in TV4 Talang final

Tonight, the swing dance show group The Harlem Hot Shots will perform in the final of the talent show Talang 2007 on TV4. The competition is fierce so be sure to vote for them, so that they can win the first prize of one million swedish crowns.

In the final they will add some extras and one lindy hopper from Uppsala might be seen in the background. I'm also told that there will also be a live band performing the song they will dance to.

Watch Talang 2007 at 20 o'clock tonight on TV4. Vote for lindy hop!

Video clips with Harlem Hotshots: semi final and audition round.

Have you followed Talang 2007 on TV4? What do you think of Harlem Hot Shots chances of winning? Tell me.

Harlem Hot Shots won the semi final in Talang 2007 on TV4

Harlem Hot Shots won the jury's vote in semi final in the talent show Talang 2007 on TV4 last friday. Here is a video clip from the semi final with Harlem Hot Shots number, done to the song Bill's Bounce by Bill Elliott.



This Friday, there will be the last semi final, where the last contestants in the final will choosen. Be sure to tune in next Friday to vote for Harlem Hot Shots. I've heard from my sources that they will add some extra flavor.

Also, check out their lindy hop number in the preliminary round.

What do you think of Harlem Hot Shots number in the semi final in Talang 2007 on TV4? Tell me.

TV4 Talang: Harlem Hot Shots dances Lindy Hop

Tonight it's the semi final in TV4's talent show Talang 2007. One of the contestants are the famous swing dance show group The Harlem Hot Shots.

Watch their performance in the preliminary round in the competition where The Harlem Hot Shots performed a dance number to Bugle Call Rag. You can see Hanna Zetterman, Mattias Lundmark, Åsa Palm, Daniel Heedman, Sakarias Larsson and of course Frida Segerdahl.



Vote for them so that they go on to the final, so we get more exposure of lindy hop in Sweden. Hopefully they'll win the first prize of one million kronor. Watch them tonight in Talang 2007 at TV4 20:00.

[Update: They won the jury's vote and will be going the the final in two weeks! Be sure to vote for them then.]

If you were inspired by them to learn lindy hop, you can take classes by The Harlem Hot Shots at their own dance studio in Stockholm: Chicago. If you live in Uppsala, get in touch with Swingkatten.

What do you think of The Harlem Hot Shots performance in the video clip? Do you know what version of Bugle Call Rag they are using? Tell me.

Swing dj Svante Grundberg at Dekadans

Don't miss swing dj Svante Grundberg at Dekadans tonight. Svante Grundberg lives in Stockholm where he djs a lot. Svante is also an actor who has appeared in Swedish cult movies such as "Göta Kanal" and "Sällskapsresan".

Together with Björn Wallde he had a tv program called "Nattsudd" where they played music clips from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Have you heard Svante Grundberg dj swing before? What do you think? Tell me.