By Nate Mook

  Mashboxx, a legal peer-to-peer (P2P) system founded by former Grokster CEO Wayne Rosso, announced Friday it had signed an agreement with music label EMI to license its digital library, including songs from Roxette. Mashboxx is preparing to launch in beta, and has previously signed deals with Sony BMG and Universal.

• Mashboxx

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STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - Roxette’s forthcoming single is titled “One Wish” and is described by Per as an uptempo song… and a duet. “It’s short, thank God!” The single is slated to be released September 20 in Sweden and September 22 in Germany, as previously reported. Per also confirms that the B-side is indeed “The Rox Medley.” The single has the catalog number 0946-3718902.

  Per is probably the only one who thinks it’s great that the song is short…

  Update: Per’s let us know that since people seem to be concerned with the length of the new song, “…it’s 2:59 or 3:01 – depending on the mood!”

The first new Roxette single in more than three years is now for sale on iTunes Music Store. The single contains one song which is a medley of the biggest Roxette hits remixed with a dance beat.

  Earlier it was announced that the song would only be released as a radio promo and later as a b-side of a new single.

  Update July 26: The medley reached #1 on iTunes Sweden yesterday beating the ever-so-popular “Boten Anna” by Basshunter, who also is from Halmstad by the way.

• Buy the single on iTunes Music Store

STOCKHOLM - From Marie’s latest album “Min bäste vän” a new 1-track promo single for radio only has been released. This time around it’s the song “Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine,” or as it’s called in Swedish: “Ingen kommer undan politiken.”

  The song was originally recorded in Swedish by Marie Bergman and the Swedish lyrics are written by Ola Magnell. “I owned the record by Kate and Anna McGarrigle and I was blown away by the way they sang it” Marie says.

According to different online sources, Roxette’s new album and The Rox-Box will be released on October 18.


  The single will hit the stores in Sweden approximately a month earlier, on September 20. The release date in Germany, Switzerland and Austria is September 22. Dates for other countries are still unknown. Nothing has been confirmed by either EMI or d&d yet.

  The sleeve is taken from an EMI promo folder and may or may not be the real sleeve.

STOCKHOLM - Three wallpapers of Marie Fredriksson are now available on Maryjane.se. The wallpapers, designed by webmaster Pelle Piano, feature some of the pictures from the website’s gallery and are available in 1280x1024 format.


  Follow the links below to download the wallpapers. Enjoy!


  Big thanks to Micke Bolyos and Pelle Piano.

• Wallpaper 1 - Cloudscape
• Wallpaper 2 - In the eye of the stage I
• Wallpaper 3 - In the eye of the stage II

HALMSTAD - Per Gessle says in Hallandsposten today that he’s honored to have been asked to play at Halmstad’s 700 year anniversary next year, but Gyllene Tider has now officially turned the offer down. “Hi Elenor, thanks for your note regarding the 700-year anniversary. I have totally different musical plans for next year so another GT-performance will unfortunately not be happening. Sorry to disappoint you and so many others. I hope your summer will be super anyway. All the best, P,” Per writes to Halmstad 700 AB’s CEO, Elenor Nilsson. Elenor sent a request to all of Gyllene Tider’s members last week that “so many people would like to see nothing but Gyllene Tider at the anniversary next year.”

  Halmstad turns 700 on May 31 next year.

• Halmstad 700 (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - Sweden, July 8 1986. “Neverending Love,” a new single was released by a group called “Roxette.” No one in Sweden knew at that point what Roxette was, or who, except for the precious few Gyllene Tider fans that knew of the US version of “Heartland.”

  “Neverending Love” was an English version of the song “Svarta glas” that Per had composed for Swedish artist Pernilla Wahlgren. She turned it down, and gave it to her brother Niklas Wahlgren who recorded it and was about to release it when EMI called his record company and told them to remove the song from the album; Per Gessle needed it himself, but in English, and together with hot rock artist Marie Fredriksson. Enuff said.

  When the single was released Per, 27 and Marie, 28, didn’t want their picture on the sleeve, therefore a ’50s style drawing was used. The song went straight into the Sommartoppen chart, I don’t remember how high the first week, and as a matter of fact, I was in the USA so how could I?

  I arrived back in Sweden on July 16th after 11 months in the US as an exchange student. I met up with my friend who immediately told me that Roxette had a new song out. That’s not possible, I said. Roxette broke up last year. So he gave me the 7” single. I was blown away. In June 1985 Gyllene Tider called it a day, and here was a new Per Gessle project! Amazing! There was a God after all. So I turned the record on… and was disappointed… I felt Per had sold himself to Eurodisco. Nevertheless, I started listening to the one song, hoping for more, and needless to say, it grew on me.

  Now it’s 20 years later, I’m 20 years older (what happened?) and Roxette is still with me. And Roxette has sold over 70 million records so far. Quite a feat for two timid “hillbillies” from the south of Sweden, don’t you think?

GOTHENBURG - Per attended Robbie Williams’ second monster show at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg the other day. Robbie has gotten rave reviews in all Swedish newspapers. Per isn’t as overjoyed though. “To be honest, Robbie’s music means nothing to me, even though ’Feel’ is one of the best songs in the world,” says Per. Per gives the show five out of five, while the music reaches only three.

  After the show there was a VIP party at restaurant Swea Hof which Per attended. “Of course it got late…”

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)

LJUSDAL (SWEDEN) | LLEIDA (SPAIN) - Marie Fredriksson - Min bäste vän, EMI



The Daily Roxette’s two news editors, Thomas Evensson and Judith Seuma, share their comments on Marie Fredriksson’s new album “Min bäste vän,” in this review of an album where Marie covers some of her favorite songs from the late ’60s and early ’70s.


Thomas: These songs are all from the beginning of the ’70s, from before I listened to music. I know a few of them from radio, but mostly this is new material to me. Also the material is from the prog era, an era I’ve never cared for and which is mostly – if not totally – dead these days. I can imagine that Marie’s songs mean more to people older than me. Having said that, here we go!

Judith: Most of the songs are new to me as well, and even though I listened to the original tracks a couple of times before the album was released, that wasn’t enough to keep them in my mind and later be able to compare them. This means the songs don’t mean any era or have any political background to me and I can listen to them in a complete different level. I must add Marie has the gift to make hers any song she sings, listen to “Ännu doftar kärlek” or “Mot okända hav” – she puts so much feeling in them, and she makes such wonderful performances of these songs, that if you didn’t know she hadn’t written them herself, you would blindly think she did. And the same thought comes to my mind when I listen to many of the songs featured in this album. Last but not least, this album has all brightness and happiness “The Change” had of darkness.



Din bäste vän

Thomas: This time around Marie decided that she didn’t want to write her own material, so she picked songs that she loved when she was growing up. John Holm, a now-in-the-US emigrated Swede, was huge in the beginning of the ’70s. Din bäste vän is a nice track, Marie says the original was “much rockier” in the liner notes. Funnily enough the whole song is more or less programmed by Micke B, the only thing that’s “live” is Jokke Pettersson’s guitar. Jokke is Marie’s nephew by the way.

Judith: One of those tracks one could be mislead to think it is written by Marie. A little “Den standiga resan” and “I en tid som var” flair do the trick here.



Sommaräng

Thomas: this is another song written by John Holm, he has three songs on the album. The first (and only) time I heard this was in 1986 when Per Gessle played his favorite songs on a Swedish radio show. Marie’s version is very soft and I have to say, a good summer single. This track is also fully programmed by Micke. I like it.

Judith: The perfect song to listen to when laying by the beach or by the swimmingpool – where I am while writing this review. Just close your eyes, listen to the birds, Marie’s incredible voice, this calm tune, feel the breeze, listen to the water.. and fly.



Om jag vore arbetslös (If I Were a Carpenter), Tim Hardin, Swedish lyrics by Cornelis Vreesvijk.

Thomas: I really don’t like this, very repetitive and definitely not my cuppa tea. This song, by the way, is fully instrumented.

Judith: One of my favourite tracks – couldn’t be anyway else. Those rocky guitars, Marie making one of the fabulous vocal performance this album is full with – for I think I will regard this album as the one featuring Marie playing with her voice the most and excelling at it.



Guldgruva by Pugh (formerly Torbjörn) Rogefeldt.


Thomas: Harmonica played by Mats Ronander. I never could stand Pugh, and this is just as bad. This is a blues track. Terrible, but not the worst on the album.

Judith: Oh, how much I would love to listen to this song live! Marie comments in the booklet she dreams of recording a blues album. Where do I have to sing?



Ingen kommer undan politiken (Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine).

Thomas: I remember this from the radio when I was a kid, the original Swedish version of course. Sung by Marie Bergman, or should I say squeeled by her. I truly hated this and thought that Marie’s version would be as bad. I was wrong. I think this is a good version, and Bengan Jansson, the guy on the accordion is from Ljusdal! Marie claims this is a very political song, I can’t say myself, as I rarely listen to lyrics. (As I’m sure you all know by now!)

Judith: Whatever the lyrics are about, I consider the song playful, summery, bright. I love the instrumental arrangements.



Jag ger dej min morgon (I Give You The Morning).

Thomas: This is an all time classic in Sweden! Sung, written (lyrics) and made famous by late troubadour Fred Åkerström. Sadly I must say that Marie’s version doesn’t touch me.

Judith: Probably the song I like the least in this album, Marie’s performance is not bad, but she can do it better, doesn’t touch me either. The chorus repeats too often for my taste.



Aftonfalken.

Thomas: Another Pugh track. Still the same – weird. Pugh is mostly weird and was definitely in the beginning of the ’70s.

Judith: Another of those tracks I’d believe is Marie-penned. Great melancholic guitars, fantastic voice.



Man måste veta vad man önskar sej by Mikael Wiehe.

Thomas: Not a bad song at all, very summery.

Judith: Not much more to add, another playful bright song.
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