Today's Song You Should Know: Lolita Pop - 'Bang Your Head'

In theory, the 1980's should have been a great time for a Swedish pop-rock to break big in the U.S. market. After all, Sweden's Roxette managed to crank out a string of American hits, including four #1 singles. And yet for whatever reason, the hook-filled music of Lolita Pop never managed to crack the international music scene.

The band formed in 1979 and in the early months apparently performed mostly joke-filled Swedish cover versions of songs by the likes of Television, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music and Lou Reed. But they quickly began writing originals and recorded three modestly successful Swedish albums before deciding to record an English language release for the international markets. Virgin released the album "Bang Your Head" in 1987 and the closest the band got to a hit in the U.S. was having the title track included on the soundtrack for the movie "Hiding Out." Despite the ear candy sound of the tune, it didn't break in the U.S. and after releasing two more albums that were hits in Sweden, the band folded for good in 1992.

I've included both the studio and live versions of "Bang Your Head." The live version certainly shows that at its peak, the band was pretty damn entertaining.