(t5!) Heroes Of The Zeroes Singles: #16: The Knife/José González – Heartbeats (2002)

I love Sweden. I love everything Swedish. I love the blue and yellow color combination. Ikea’s in the (t5!) top ten stores ever. I’m a fan of Swedish meatballs, especially drenched in gravy and that Swedish berry jam thing. A sizable part of my clothes is from H&M. I respect the hell out of all the Nobel Prize winners. I’ve enjoyed watching Ibrahimovic, Bjorn Borg, and Anika Sorenstam. Peter Forsberg and Nicklas Lidstrom are probably two of my favorite hockey players who aren’t born in North America.

Also, Swedish music! It has made a noteworthy dent on this side of the world throughout the years. ABBA stormed the charts in the 70’s. Roxette, Ace of Base, The Cardigans, and Robyn all did their part on putting Sweden in the map, pop culture wise. Electronic acts such as Air France, The Field, and Kleerup have blazed dance floors all over the world. In the zeros, two more artists from Sweden, The Knife and José González, have been driving forces on proving that Sweden will always be a hotbed for affecting pop music. And they did it using the same song, “Heartbeats”.

The Knife, the brother and sister duo of Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer was blameworthy for the hit. They, along with other Swedish artists that emerged, have demonstrated that for a country that sees winter 75% of the year, it for sure can churn out sunny pop music. The bouncy synths make it easy to tie any song to the 80’s, but “Heartbeats” unquestionably evokes something out of that decade. Before the Bjork-esque vocals show up to sing the yearning melody, you could’ve sworn this was something David Byrne composed. They eventually find stronger recognition with a follow-up to “Heartbeats’” parent album, Silent Shout (and Karin as a companionless outfit called Fever Ray later on); but their original version of “Heartbeats” didn’t make as big a splash as they desired, and the song didn’t really catch fire until José González’s version soundtracked a bunch of bouncing colorful balls in a Sony Bravia commercial.

While the original The Knife version awkwardly tried its hardest to conceal the sentiment of its lyrics, the José González did everything to expose it. If all you’re going to have on record are a velvet baritone and an outpour of guitar strings, what’s being sung takes on the spotlight. González revealed that the lyrics are every bit as awesome as the synth party and the wide-eyed melody. The acoustic edition highlights the endeavors of two people building a worthwhile relationship from the start and how the dividends of love can even eclipse divine intervention. González sings, “to call for hands from above/To lean on/Wouldn't be good enough for me.” At the very extremes of our subconscious, nothing (not even a higher power) can touch us; this wall of emotions we have created around us is the only thing we listen to and abide by. “Heartbeats” gives clarity, in a way that only music can do, to a set of conflicting and intangible emotions that are generally out of our basic reach.

I assigned two songs to the #16 slot of the (t5!) Heroes of the Zeroes singles list because which version I like more varies in any given day. It depends on my state of my mind, I guess; when I’m feeling lively and energetic, The Knife hits me like a thunderbolt and when I’m feeling contemplative, González tugs on the proper heartstrings. It’s phenomenal that two sensational Swedish artists can drive the same song towards two different directions and both can be sublime.