The Cardigans live on beeb

Charlotte Fletcher asks: "Someone told me that your new album is named after the Playstation game and that the track My Favourite Game is about being rubbish at it. Is this true?"

Nina: "No, it's not true. The term existed long before that...it means great travelling and we thought the title was beautiful. Had we known it would be connected to the Playstation game, we wouldn't have used it. We saw the name on it but didn't think how big the game was."

Jen Pearson asks: "How come you chose Jonas Akerlund for the My Favourite Game video - and what was your opinion of his vid for Smack My Bitch Up?"

Lars-Olaf: "The reason we chose him was we liked his previous work...also he has done a lot of commercials. The main reason was he came up with a good idea and he's Swedish of course."

John Peters asks: "Were you surprised that you were forced to change the ending to the My Favourite Game video so that it could be shown on TV?"

Nina: "I think we were surprised...all along we realised a lot of different TV stations would find it offensive...but we would never make it intentionally offensive and the original cut is still the best. We had to do it and it's also the original video of the track."

Mikael Borjesson asks: "You guys seem inspired by Black Sabbath and other "hardrock" bands but still have a soft pop sound, is the new album harder?"

Peter: "It is a bit harder but not very much because of bands like Black Sabbath...For some of us it's our roots."

Peter Higgins asks: "Hi Gang. Have you any collaborations planned in the future and will any of your album be remixed. (Love the new album)?"

Nina: "We don't really have any plans..."

Peter: "There are some artists doing remixes of our songs but not like a full album, in the end it's probably going to be the whole album."

Nina: "It's hard to appreciate hardcore stuff as that's not really what we're about, when it's a cover and they come up with something new to the song, which is interesting, rather than just adding a dance beat."

DRI asks: "Will there be any new material soon, B-sides maybe?"

Lars-Olaf: "Not that we know of...we are in the middle of touring so it's difficult to be creative...as soon as we get time."

Elliott asks: "Are you going to be touring in the UK soon?"

Nina: "Yes, maybe April."

Bengt: "A lot of shows...check out the website, it should be on there, but definitely April. We have a day off in Wolverhampton!"

Peter: "Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London."

Bengt: "As well as The Royal Albert Hall."

Peter: "We have just finished North America which was great, completely sold out."

Lulabelle asks: "Nina, have you heard the Divine Comedy song called Sweden which mentions your name?"

Nina: "I haven't but I have heard of it and heard the lyrics but I am curious and very flattered. We hope Sweden is mentioned in a good way! Divine Comedy isn't really known in Sweden, maybe a bit."

Damon A. asks: "How do you feel about Lovefool being associated in people's minds with Leonardo Di Caprio?"

Nina: "I hope that's not all it's known for. That song will forever be the one associated with him and you can never really complain about having such a big hit. We were able to take some time off and made a new album with fresh material. We still play that song at live shows."

babe4ever asks: "How do you find the British press?"

Lars-Olaf: "We don't really get to read it too much, we leave for different countries so we don't get time, but when we do, it's hard to understand it."

Nina: "It has a language of its own, and it's quite powerful."

Lars-Olaf: "When I read something, it never comes out the way it should, in Sweden it's the same."

Smackrat asks: "When u play in Sweden, do you sing in Swedish?"

Nina: "No, we never do. Right from the start we wrote English lyrics. People are surprised when you form a band and sing in Swedish."

Peter: "When we tour, someone from the audience always yells "sing a song in Swedish"."

bambam asks: "Will you release Higher or Hanging Around as singles?"

Lars-Olaf: "Hopefully both...the next single should be Hanging Around but we don't know yet, although I would like to release Higher as a single. They would never release something we are not happy with."

clara asks: "When do you come to Holland?"

Nina: "1st April in Amsterdam, but again we are not too sure of the schedule."

bubblegum asks: "When do you come home to Sweden?"

Bengt: "Tomorrow. We have five days off and then it's off to Japan. We flew in from Los Angeles today."

erica asks: "What do u think about the Japanese music scene?"

Peter: "Don't know much about it. It's difficult to understand, it's like their musical language is different as well. The structure of the song and the way they sing is totally different. I have seen a few videos on MTV and it's cool, like weird rockabilly bands with big quiffs."

Hayden Beresford asks: "What is the symbolism of the "felix" being thrown out of the car and being run over?"

Nina: "There is no symbolism at all."

Lars-Olaf: "And if there is, you have to ask the director."

weezle asks: "Who do you define as your target market?"

Nina: "I think we are a lucky band in the sense that our age range is global...mostly students between 15-30 but that's not the majority, and we have hardcore heavy metal fans, through to classical music fans."

Roy Shtoyer asks: "How come you've never been to Israel?"

Nina: "I don't know - write a letter to Polygram in Israel."

Peter: "The market for our music in that country is not really big enough and a tour costs so much money, so when we finally get through, it could be a wasted effort."

mendonca asks: "Have you any plans for 2000?"

Nina: "The plans we know of are touring...we are the kind of people who don't plan, but after 1999 it will be a year of relaxation and maybe record a new album...we don't know yet."

Lars-Olaf: "We will try to write a really good song on New Years Eve."

Jimbob asks: "Ever thought about writing a musical?"

Lars-Olaf: "Actually yes, but it was a couple of years ago I thought about it...I wrote one on the tour bus on the spur of the moment about our T-shirt guy who is called Bill and the musical was called Mr Bill."

babe4ever asks: "Who designs your clothes?"

Nina: "We don't have any certain designer, we just put on what we fancy. We have no stylist. I have a friend who makes stuff so I would probably wear that."

Lars-Olaf: "We are our own stylists."

Tom Chandler asks: "What do you think of the English music scene?"

Nina: "Some good stuff, some bad stuff. Radiohead is outstanding, Manic Street Preachers, Paul Weller, Massive Attack are all good. The Smiths and Morrissey are good too."

Lars-Olaf: "Motorhead are good."

Rory James asks: "Are there any other heavy metal tunes that you're itching to cover?"

Nina: "At the moment, no, we are doing our own music but should we ever want to do a cover we have loads of ideas although it won't happen for the forseeable future..."

Peter Higgins asks: "Do you think the soul of The Cardigans is 'pop' and the 'indie' edge is just being smart?"

Nina: "I think that the soul of The Cardigans can just be whatever people want it to be...if people listen because they like indie rock, we're happy, if they listen because they like pop music then we're happy. Good music can be found anywhere."

Sinead asks: "Did you see the Abba medley at this year's Brit Awards? If so, would you turn up to a Cardigans medley by the newest teen popsters, in 20 years time?"

Lars-Olaf: "We didn't see it...but it would be nice."

Chris Wade asks: "You named yourselves after knitwear, but can any of you actually knit?"

Nina: "When I was younger I was an excellent knitter...I knitted a sweater although I haven't done it for years now."

Lars-Olaf: "We tried to do it at school but I was the worst in the class."

bubblegum asks: "Why did you hate your homeplace in Sweden-Jonkoping?"

Nina: "We didn't hate it...just like any young person, we wanted to leave there and try new things but it wasn't because we hated it. We were doing music and it's not the best town for the music scene."

megan asks: "What would you like to see change in the world of music in the new millennium?"

Peter: "We don't really care about the Millennium, nothing will change."

Nina: "The one thing which should change is that people shouldn't be surprised when they see a talented woman in the music business. It's great Lauryn Hill is doing so well to win lots of Grammys."

beeb: "Now some final words from the band before they go..."

Peter: "Thank you for your patience..."

Nina: "...and thank you for wanting to talk to us

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