The Cardigans on Bunnyhop magazine

Questions for Nina Persson of

by Noël via fax

Noël: What are your fondest memories of childhood? The worst?

Nina Persson: Hmm. Hmm. Don't know! I'm sorry...

Where did you grow up in Sweden?

In Karlskoga, Vårmland, in the middle south of Sweden.

Who did you admire most as a kid?

Donna Summer and Olof Palme, [Sweden's] former Prime Minister, murdered in 1986.

Are you more like your mother or your father? In what ways?

Mama. In all ways! We have the same moods, we share political ideas, we like crosswords, we look the same, and we stick together. I will die with her.

What motivates you to get up every morning?

Breakfast and checking the mail.

What's the strangest gift anyone's given you?

Hmm...An octoscope [?]. But I love it.

If I gave you $10 million, you would

Buy America and burn it. And swallow the ashes. (Because I love America and want it inside of me. No hard feelings!)

What's the worst thing you've done to an animal?

I killed my neon tetra fishes by pouring them into a sink and sprinkling washing-up liquid all over. I was panicked by the thought of killing them so I lost all my senses.

Is America everything you thought it would be?

Yes, in general. It was a bit better, though.

What glues the Cardigans together? Did it take long adjusting to the stage?

We're good friends and we want to get rich and famous. Adjusting to the stage didn't take too long, but it was not too easy. At the start we considered ourselves a studio project, but now we rock!

What is the most irritating misconception about the Cardigans?

[We are] easy listening.

As a band particularly fond of a retro sound, are you convinced everything has been done already? Do you find comfort in retro?

Only the Cardigans is yet to be done, really. If retro is handled well, it is the ideal, I think.

Does Sweden have a pretty healthy music scene?

Oh yes! There has always been a great music scene going on here, and now it is getting abroad too. About time!

What are your three favorite words?

Yes, no, maybe.

Would you rather see things explode or shatter?

Exploding is probably less painful.

How close have you come to dying? What were the circumstances?

We were going on a shuttle boat from Malmôto Copenhagen. It was the worst storm in Sweden for 70 years, and all the traffic in the south of Sweden was closed, but this boat trip was too early. They didn't know how bad it was so the boat was put out and we all threw up constantly and were ordered to put on life vests. They carried away screaming people, the boat dived under the surface, and we all knew we were dying and planned what our wills would have been if there were time to make one. We made it though, to another harbour than what was planned and much later then the schedule. Horrible! I've never been that scared before or after.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I was immortal.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

In my one-room flat in Môllerangen.