My Pal Jens (Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Jens)

Oh, You're So Dreamy Jens

In the past year, I have fallen deeply and madly in love with my pal Jens. Oh Jens, who has been there for me when I have needed him most. Jens, who has held me in my weaker times and cheered me on in my better times. I am writing of course about the delightful Swedish singer, Jens Lekman.

At first, our relationship was tumultuous. He sang to me about not being able to love enough. I recoiled, as I had been burned before. He portrayed himself as flighty and impetuous. He couldn't promise love. He couldn't help himself. And I can't help myself when it comes to the sensitive emotional types. Sure he sang about Julie. And Lisa. And Nina...and Kirsten, Jennifer, Erica, and even Immanuel. Jens has a complicated past, but we can move past that.

Jens brings more than just heartache and indecision, his ballads bring adventure. He takes the dangerous black cabs in Sweden. He's politically active. Jens spends time with his little sister, even if it is to teach her about unstoppable sorrow. He knows how to turn a girl down and move on.  He writes me postcards every week. If I ever have a moral quandary, all I have to do is ask What Would Jens Do?  And if I ever need a stranger to sing at my wedding, Jens will have to pull double duty as stranger and groom. Basically, Jens is the complete package with a heart full of fire.

I must confess a slight ruse here. My passionate confession of my love for Jens is not entirely pure and honest. My feelings are of course, I mean who wouldn't feel this way about him? But I tell you these thoughts not just to get them off my chest but to persuade you. Jens is a native of Gothenberg. Sweden, and most of his performances take place in his home country, or elsewhere in Europe. Every few years he makes it over to America to share his gift with the New World. What I ask of you is to give him a little encouragement to visit stateside. Buy his cd's, his lp's, his ep's, and even his 7''. Buy a copy of  I Don't Know What Love Is or Night Falls Over Kortedala, or be riskier with his early material When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog or the Maple Leaves EP.  Luckily enough for you we have a wide selection here at Von's Records, and a staff that has mostly accepted his love. So come on down to Von's and return the favor to the Swedish dreamboat you surely now have a burning desire for.

Bonus Footage of Jens Actually Singing at a Wedding