22 Aug 2003

Mazarinerna is the band (VI): Per Gessle’s pop favorites

In this month’s Premiär magazine (a free magazine) Per gives us the recipe for a perfect pop CD. Many of these songs were featured on the pre-show CDs that were played before the “Sommar-Mazarin” concerts. As you may know it’s usually Per who compiles Roxette’s, Gyllene Tider’s and now his own pre-show CDs. Per does this “…with a few bottles of wine and a stack of CDs…”, according to himself.

  • 1. Balloon Farm - A Question of Temperature
  • 2. Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York
  • 3. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - American Girl
  • 4. Brainpool - Bandstarter
  • 5. REM - The One I Love
  • 6. The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love…
  • 7. The Who - Dogs
  • 8. Lindsay Buckingham - Trouble
  • 9. The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry
  • 10. The Troggs - Love is All Around
  • 11. Bernt Staf - Familjelycka
  • 12. Docent Död - Solglasögon
  • 13. Blondie - Hanging on the Telephone
  • 14. Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker
  • 15. T.Rex - Metal Guru
  • 16. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World
  • 17. Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
  • 18. Joni Mitchell - Rainy Night House
  • 19. ABBA - S.O.S.
  • 20. Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man
  • 21. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
Many classics and some new songs. Per also spoke at Finnish TV2 on 4th August about music. Read it below.


I don't have any gold records or MTV awards at home. I don't want to get stuck with the past. I want to look forward. It's hard to make good songs, but it helps to love your work. Marie and I love Roxette and the music we make. But it doesn't come easy: I write maybe one good song and fifty bad ones a month. It's hard for me to listen to Top 40 music, the same music I write myself. Start to think about it too technically, like 'this singing is too anemic', 'this echo is strange'. At home I often listen to jazz. John Coltrane, Norah Jones. And I love Alison Krauss' country music. I would love to make film music. There's an almost instrumental song on the new album that would make good film score. People have asked me to write a musical, but I won't. I hate musicals!
Per Gessle

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