I had no idea how many people have got it in for Swedish furniture store IKEA. Ok, maybe they are responsible for creating a whole lot of cheap, crappy, disposable furniture. But it’s more than just the environmental degradation. For many there seems to be something emotionally degrading about going to IKEA, buying from IKEA, and attempting to assemble IKEA. Now, on the upside, that means a whole lotta musical inspiration.

Reaching way back to 1997 everyone’s fave dour melodic grungers Pavement kick things off with a “Date With IKEA.” And why not? Cheap meatballs, plenty of places to sit. Three years later Svensk Pop offer up a more Merseybeat-ish guitar pop treatment on “IKEA,” in Swedish naturally. American comic popster Jonathan Coulton just slays every cheap furniture store stereotype on his tribute to those using the store from 2003, again simply entitled “IKEA.” Spain’s Los Autócratas add a little grit to their melodic rumination on our theme called – you guessed it – “IKEA.” It’s seems song titles about IKEA have to be as generic as the featured furniture. From Canada, Hamilton’s B.A. Johnston gives us a bit more product labelling, demystifying the food and the IKEA’s impact on masculinity with “IKEA Hotdog” and “IKEA, I Used To Be A Man.” And last up, a whole EP dedicated to our Swedish furniture behemoth and it too is called IKEA. But the band name is pretty cool and on point: Monster Furniture.

You don’t have to hate IKEA to love this music. But it might help. At least there’s no assembly required.

Artwork courtesy Honest Slogans.