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Dec 13, 2010 The Mary Onettes By Under the Radar Staff

For Under the Radar’s 8th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2010. Pick up a copy of Under the Radar’s Year End issue for interviews with: The Antlers, Bon Iver, Caribou, Club 8, Delphic, Rose Elinor Dougall, Gayngs, Hot Chip, Lost in the Trees, Love is All, The Love Language, Mogwai, of Montreal, Okkervil River, Yoko Ono, Owen Pallett, Plants and Animals, Mark Ronson, Superchunk, Tame Impala, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Van Etten, and Vivian Girls. Here’s a survey from Philip Ekström of The Mary Onettes.

Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. Beach House: Teen Dream

2. Washed Out: Life of Leisure

3. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti: Before Today

4. Radio Dept.: Clinging to a Scheme

5. Club 8: The People’s Record

6 Wild Nothing: Gemini

7. Television Personalities: A Memory is Better Than Nothing

8. Sambassadeur: European

9. Small Black: New Chain

10. Håkan Hellström: Ett Steg Från Paradise

What was the highlight of 2010 for either you personally or for the band?

Well, the biggest highlight was that I got a little daughter. And another one is that me and my brother were able to finish a side project. And that I made that record incredibly fast. I usually make albums very slow.

What was the low point of 2010 for you?

Low point for the band was that the American tour got cancelled because of the volcano eruption. Kind of took the air out of us a bit. Hopefully we’ll come back later. Personal low point is that I’ve got some problems with my back. Feels like I’m old.

What are your thoughts on President Obama’s job performance in the last year? Has your optimism, if you were an Obama supporter, waned?

Yes I’m optimistic. Such a big step for America and the world with the first Afro-American president. I really think it had a huge positive impact on the rest of the world. I guess he needs more time to bring out the more heavy stuff.

What are your thoughts on the Tea Party movement?

Scary.

With the Internet making every artist’s music potentially available to a wide audience, is it now easier to find listeners or more difficult because you have to compete with so many other musicians?

Still you gotta have a good label that knows how to promote your music. And they do the job you shouldn’t do as a band or musician. Like promoting. And the label maybe makes your music more visible thru the Internet. It’s easier to find a band or an artist. But it’s also easier to dismiss a band and just look for another one. I have a belief that really good music always finds its listeners in one way or another. Even now when the Internet thing is so huge. I can’t really see why it has to be a bad thing that more bands are able to reach out.

What would you rather listen to—a totally original musician whose compositions are groundbreaking but difficult to listen to or a musician whose songs are immediately enjoyable but derivative? Why?

I guess I want to have some kind of mix of the two. Music that is original and groundbreaking, and more inaccessible can be very immediate when you first hear it, because you know that you will love it more and more. And I often feel that when I hear new music that I really like. It’s like when you meet somebody for the first time and you just know that you will like the person more and more. Some kind of synchronization.

Same thing with music for me. Has to be an energy.

In the race to find new bands, are too many unworthy bands being hyped up by music blogs and websites? How are music fans supposed to filter through all these new bands being hyped?

Like I said before. Music that is meant to stay will stay. Bands that do something really meaningful will most likely reach its crowd. People should just learn to trust their instinct, not always the hype. But sometimes the hype is okay.

If your house was on fire, what would you grab as you were running out?

My kids and my hard drives.

If you could relive one day of your life, which would it be?

That day hasn’t come…

What’s the strangest fan encounter you’ve ever had?

A really scary email that was almost like a whole book. The person revealed a little bit too much of her inner thoughts. This is quite a while ago but I know the person today and she is really okay.

If you had a bucket list, what would be the Top 4 things on that list?

1. Maybe get married.

2. Travel in time.

3. Take my kids on a USA road-trip.

4. Record an album with my Dad.

(www.themaryonettes.com)