| The Soundtrack of Our Lives | |
|---|---|
Singer Ebbot Lundberg (right) in the crowd with two fans at the Meredith Music Festival December 2006 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Göteborg, Sweden |
| Genres | Alternative rock Psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Telegram Records (Europe) Universal Music (USA) In-Fidelity Recordings (Aus) |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Fredrik Sandsten (Drums) Martin Hederos (Keyboards) Ebbot Lundberg (Vocals) Mattias Bärjed (Guitar, vocals) Åke Karl Kalle Gustafsson (Bass, violin, vocals) Ian Person (Guitar, percussion, vocals) |
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| Past members | |
| Björn Olsson | |
The Soundtrack of Our Lives, often abbreviated T.S.O.O.L., is a Swedish rock band that was formed in Gothenburg in 1995. All lyrics are sung in English. The band's style draws heavily on sixties and seventies punk and rock, such as Rolling Stones and Iggy and the Stooges. Psychedelic rock forms another strong influence, and psychedelic and mystical references are also prominent in the band's lyrics and aesthethics. The abbreviation 'OEOC', which is featured on all their albums, is believed to refer to "As above, As below" from Hermeticism.
Contents |
The Soundtrack of Our Lives was originally formed by Torbjörn "Ebbot" Lundberg, Björn Olsson, Ian Person, Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm, Fredrik Sandsten and Martin Hederos. Several members, including vocalist Ebbot Lundberg, had previously played in the punk rock band Union Carbide Productions. Olsson, who as guitar player had helped craft the band's sound, left T.S.O.O.L. after its first release, Welcome to the Infant Freebase - which found wide acclaim in Sweden - to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Mattias Bärjed, who, like other members, has also engaged in solo and spinoff projects.
The band found critical success in the United States in 2002, with their third album Behind the Music, released the previous year in Sweden. It was nominated for the Best Alternative Album award at the 2003 Grammy Awards. They toured the US in 2002 with Oasis in support of their album Behind the Music.
Their latest album Communion was released in November 2008. After a tour of the US the band announced that they were working on their next record Origin Vol. 2. In October 2010, the band announced it would be releasing their first 'Best Of' compilation entitled Golden Greats no. 1. According to a statement on the their website: "The band has spent much of the summer of 2010 in Svenska Grammofonstrudion [sic] where they remastred the original recordings and in part picked up nuances that somehow went missing. With the carefully restored and remastred versions we are invited to TSOOL classics in a way we never heard them before."
The track "Sister Surround" was included on the "jukebox" of EA Sports MVP Baseball 2003 while "Karmageddon" is featured on EA Sports' NHL 2005 video game.[1]
Their track "Bigtime" featured as the theme of WrestleMania 21 and on the soundtrack of the PAL version of Gran Turismo 4. Their track "Mother One Track Mind", was also featured on the Gran Turismo 4 soundtrack. T.S.O.O.L. songs "Sister Surround" and "Ten Years Ahead" both appear on the In Good Company soundtrack as well. Their song "Second Life Replay" was also featured during an episode of the fourth season of Californication.
| Year | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [2] |
FIN [3] |
UK [4] |
US [5] |
|||
| 1996 | Welcome to the Infant Freebase
|
7 | — | — | — | |
| 1998 | Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of Western Civilization
|
16 | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | Behind the Music
|
3 | — | 95 | — |
|
| 2004 | Origin Vol. 1
|
1 | 20 | 136 | 179 |
|
| 2008 | Communion
|
1 | — | — | — | |
| 2012 | Origin Vol. 2
|
— | — | — | ||
| Year | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [2] |
FIN [3] |
UK [4] |
US [5] |
|||
| 2005 | A Present from the Past
|
34 | — | — | — | |
| 2010 | Golden Greats no. 1
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Homo Habilis Blues |
| 2000 | Gimme Five!
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| 2010 | The Immaculate Convergence
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Live At Lime
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| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [8] |
UK [4] |
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| 1996 | "Instant Repeater '99" | — | — | Welcome to the Infant Freebase |
| 1997 | "Blow My Cool" | — | — | |
| 1998 | "Mantra Slider" | — | — | |
| "Black Star" | — | — | Extended Revelation... | |
| "Firmanent Vacation" | — | 119 | Welcome to the Infant Freebase | |
| "Instant Repeater '99" (remix) | — | 156 | ||
| 1999 | "Avenger Hill Street Blues" | — | — | |
| 2001 | "Still Aging" | — | — | Behind the Music |
| "Nevermore" | — | — | ||
| "Sister Surround" | 60 | 80 | ||
| "21st Century Rip Off" | — | 114 | ||
| 2004 | "Big Time" | 1 | 78 | Origin Vol. 1 |
| "Believe I've Found" | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Heading for a Breakdown" | — | 70 | |
| 2008 | "Thrill Me" | — | — | Communion |
| 2009 | "RA 88" | — | — | |
| "Flipside" | — | — | ||
| "Babel On (radio edit)" | — | — | ||
| "The Ego Delusion" | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Demophon" | — | — | non-album download only single |
| "Earthmover" | — | — | non-album download only single | |
| "You Better Run" | — | — | non-album download only single | |
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