Sven Lindström and Per Gessle are back on Nordic Rox with a new countdown. In the June episode, the guys share their top noughties (from the years between 2000 and 2009) songs from No. 30 to No. 26.

Before they get down to it, they go back to 1975 and Benny Andersson, alive and kicking in the studio. Intermezzo No. 1 is the only instrumental track ABBA ever released. It’s from the great album called ABBA. Per is wondering how No. 2 sounded. It’s an outtake, Sven says. Per still thinks it’s a great track. You could hear the musical ambitions of Benny Andersson in that one. Wonderful, sort of classic influences and power pop all melting together. And you got all the fine session players from Stockholm of the ’70s era. The guys say, if Benny hears this, they are in the studio in Halmstad waiting for Intermezzo No. 2. Haha.

Effortless by Sabina Ddumba is next, then comes Old Man Chicago by Alberta Cross. A great track according to PG. Sven says it’s a Swedish guy on the vocal, but they are based in England. They used to be a duo, they had different setups in the band or lineups, but Petter Ericson Stakee is the founding member and singer, and the only original one left.

Push Play by Miriam Bryant is played as the next song. Then comes the amazing sound of the Viagra Boys from Stockholm and the song Waterboy. It’s a cool band formed in 2015 and quite successful.

No. 30 on the top noughties list is from Gothenburg on the West Coast, Sweden’s number two city. It’s Midnight Prayer by an indie band called the Bad Cash Quartet. Per thinks they were a very good band. This song is taken from their third album and the final one as well.

The guys are moving up to 29. The song is It’s Been Hurting All The Way With You, Joanna by a great artist called Moneybrother. It’s taken from his Blood Panic album 2003. It’s a great track according to Per. Sven remembers seeing him in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest festival. He was great on stage as well. He remembers they played there and then they jumped into a tour bus, and went up quite a long while for the next gig immediately. It’s hard being on the road, Per says. Sven says, that’s why he never broke through as a pop star. Haha. Moneybrother was later changing language to Swedish and he is quite successful in Sweden as well.

Position No. 28 belongs to The Ark, a sizable international hit group. It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane is a great song. The Ark broke up, but they got back together and they are still touring once in a while with a spectacular singer, Ola Salo, as a frontman. He’s been doing a lot of musicals as well. Sven remembers they had a summer house in a little city or rather a locality in Småland, where the band came from. It’s in the middle of nowhere by a lake. There, in an empty house, which you thought were empty, you could hear drums pounding, and it was The Ark rehearsing.

Sven and Per go back to the second biggest city of Sweden. Gothenburg is No. 1 in many ways though. Here comes another indie band from the early noughties, The Plan. There are so many fantastic artists coming out of Gothenburg. Starting when Per was a kid in the ’60s, they had Tages, one of the biggest bands in the ’60s in Sweden, coming from Gothenburg. The guys are playing Tages quite a lot, every time they get a chance. So The Plan is following their footsteps in a way. The song picked is Mon Amour from 2001. High energy, power pop. PG thinks the organ in the beginning is pretty cool, he loves it. Sven thinks it sounds a little bit like Per’s power pop band Gyllene Tider. Mr. G says, they all use these Italian organs. Haha.

For No. 26, the final song from the best of the noughties list so far, the guys go to Helsingborg. They picked Painted By Numbers by The Sounds. They had quite a big song in the States, Living In America. Painted By Numbers is taken from their second album, 2006. They have done some really amazing stuff over the years, PG thinks.

The Morning Show by Metro Jets, Big Big World by Emilia and Don’t Hate On Me by Vincent are played.

Sven and Per thank the listeners for joining them and they say goodbye. The show ends with Cigarettes by Anita Lindblom, as usual.

Still is from the Bag Of Trix talks recorded by Anders Roos.

Thanks for your support, Sven!