Röyksopp’s Remind Me (playing now) is Geico’s caveman commercial background music. Click the  button anytime to hear DJ Ürban Cöbbb’s favorite track, Someone Like Me.
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That started a tradition in umlaut-rich Scandinavia, in which pop bands would Americanize their names to appeal to an audience that doesn’t know a fjord from a fig tree. What followed were bands such as A-Ha, Roxette and (ughh) Ace of Base.
In 1993, in a defiant act of vowel-equality, Björk left the Sugarcubes to pursue what turned out to be enormous international success. Although many a Scandinavian act has tried to capitalize on Björk’s umlaut, none has done as well as Norwegian duo Röyksopp.
Röyksopp practically defines the downtempo movement. Their 2001 release Melody A.M. is an instant classic of the genre. Although some of the album can be characterized as pure electronica and some dance, the signature cuts are more like traditional Norwegian folk music with a cool groove.
So widely popular are these songs that they are heard in the soundtracks for videogames and TV commercials. Indeed, Melody A.M. has enjoyed a recent resurgence as Remind Me is the background music on a Geico commercial in which a caveman is reminded of the prejudice and injustice that all cavemen must endure.
I appreciate a band whose sophomore effort is more than a reinvention of their earlier success. Röyksopp does not disappoint on this count. The 2005 release of The Understanding is courageous, inventive and completely unexpected. Electronica cuts such as Circuit Breaker are very bold, while downtempo cut 49 Percent is quite eerie. The song that prompts me to hit the repeat button most often is Someone Like Me – a subtle tribute to self deprecation.
The message here is simple: Embrace the umlaut! So committed am I to solidarity with my brothers and sisters of Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Demark that I insist, for this week’s installment, to be referred to as Ürban Cöbbb.
