As befits artists whose chosen mode of expression is more or less a comment on somebody else's mode of expression, Swedish pop groups definitely have the best names. The Trampolines play bouncy, never-less-than-fun British pop while the Wannadies mine the rich vein of teenage angst in straightforward American pop.
Even the country's hard rock groups pay unapologetic tribute to their Anglo forbears. The Hellacopters' air of damaged delinquent bravado, reminiscent of Detroit bands like the MC5, is perfectly rendered in their dumb name, which sounds exactly like something a 14-year-old glue sniffer might find cool and clever. The question is, does the band also think it's cool and clever?
And what about Hardcore Superstar, a relatively new hard-rock quartet from Gothenburg? One might assume that the group plays hard core -- thrash metal, speed metal, what have you -- but actually they're a self-described "glam-sleaze" band, modeled after mid-'80s adherents to rock 'n' roll hedonism like Motley Crue, Faster Pussycat and L.A. Guns. Which means they are a hard core "superstar" band, only that they aren't really superstars. True superstars would play something larger than Astro Hall, the new rock venue in Harajuku that holds about a hundred or so people comfortably. (Great P.A.! Even better climate control!) If they're superstars, then they're superstars in spirit only.