The 2011-50: No.46 - Save it for someone who likes it like that

"Not A Love Song" - Wonderland.

On paper, this girl band formed by Westlife's Kian Egan and Louis "you made that song your own" Walsh should have zoomed up the charts, helped along by a behind the scenes ITV2 series. But if there was proof that you can lead a horse to water, then Wonderland is the perfect example. "Not A Love Song" was their debut single, a nice piece of country-flavoured pop which would probably appeal to Taylor Swift fans for example. But it all went horribly wrong, and their lack of commercial success led to the band being dropped by their record label and ultimately led to a split. They were talented as well as pretty, but their attempt to swim against the current musical tide was their downfall. Right band, wrong time.

The 2011-50: No.47 - Jag är "Lucy in the sky", jag är högt över molnen

Jag Kommer - Veronica Maggio.

Veronica made her long-awaited comeback this year to both critical and popular acclaim. This catchy pop song was the first single released off "Satan i Gatan", and was co-written with another one of my fave Swedish artists, Christian Walz. By the way, look out for an appearance from Mr Walz later in my top 50 ....

Veronica always manages to combine the worlds of commercial pop and credibility, and no doubt she will do very well when award season comes round.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZwz3yxS9I

The 2011-50: No.48: Your love pours down on me, surrounds me like a waterfall

"Feel So Close" - Calvin Harris.

Did someone mention Calvin Harris????

'Disappointment' was one of the most appropriate words to sum up 2011, as many of my favourite artists failed to deliver. Disappointment followed disappointment, and unfortunately one of these was one of my favourite dance artists of recent years, the one and only Calvin Harris. Nothing he released this year approached the greatness of his "Ready For The Weekend"-era releases. "Bounce" was OK, but that's all. Even Calvin had to resort to a Rihanna-collaboration, which totally pushed me over the edge, as I've had enough of this over-exposed (in every way) songstress. (Faithful travelling companion will disagree, I'm sure). So I'm going for this one, which doesn't rely on any collaborations, and which is as close to the euphoric house sound which has served him well over recent years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGghkjpNCQ8&ob=av2e

The 2011-50: No: 49 - But now I want off this ride cause you're scaring me

"Changed The Way You Kiss Me" - Example.

Apologies to the man here, but I'd always viewed Elliot Gleave - a.k.a Example - as a low-budget version of Calvin Harris. Despite that, he achieved massive success with his catchy electro-pop-rap tunes this year, and this was the most successful one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLXt3yh2g0s

The 2011-50: No.50: I mean honestly, you lied to me like I'm not there

"Yeah Right" - Dionne Bromfield.

15 year old Londoner Dionne Bromfield is probably best known for being the god-daughter of the late great Amy Winehouse, who sadly passed away in July this year; and significantly, Amy's final live performance on stage was with Dionne, three days before her death.

The Winehouse connection may have opened the door to the music business for Dionne; however the young singer has enough talent of her own to guarantee a potentially successful career to come. For the moment though, "Yeah Right" shows immense promise; she's a young soul singer with a voice beyond her years, and thankfully this timeless soul song managed to avoid all the obvious cliches of 2011, with no David Guetta, Flo Rida or Pitbull in sight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiXCpP-B7bU&ob=av2e

The 2011-50: introduction - and EuropeCrazy's 2000th post!

Firstly, this is my 2000th post on EuropeCrazy, so it's highly appropriate that it should be devoted to introducing what has become an annual feature on this blog - my annual countdown.

Unfortunately, 2011 has personally been a bad year in so many ways, with very little in the way of redeeming features. This also extends to music, as I found so little to excite me. A lot of this had to do with spending much of the year not actually listening to new music, but rediscovering lots of old forgotten favourites in the course of filling my iPod. One more thing...2010 had been such a busy year for me, particularly with regard to my other blog, that by the time 2011 arrived, I needed some time out to read books, watch TV, de-clutter EuropeCrazy HQ....everything but listen to new music.

So I'm surprised that I actually managed to gather 50 songs together for my top 50 songs of the year. Usually I have over 100 songs to short-list down to the final 50: this year I only had 55. That said it all really. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy my "final countdown" to say farewell to a year which, in the words of the great philosophers Steps, is "better best forgotten".



Above: EuropeCrazy HQ's resident Swedish moose contingent, Salem (left) and Måns (right) help me choose the playlist :)))

Eurovision 2012: something old, something new

Today Serbia and Belgium announced the names of the singers who will represent their countries at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

Due to financial constraints, there will be no Serbian national final in 2012, but instead they have decided to internally shortlist some songs and the singer will choose which one he wants to sing.

Serbia will be represented by a very familiar name to ESC fans: Željko Joksimović, who represented Serbia & Montenegro in 2004 with the big fan favourite Lane Moje. I know I'm probably going to be shot down in flames for even suggesting this, but I always thought this song was overrated and boring. He came back two years later, as writer of the Bosnia & Herzegovina song, Lejla. There's a pattern developing here: another fan favourite, and (IMHO) another overrated and boring song. He wrote the 2008 entry Jutro (ditto fan fave/boring song) when Belgrade hosted the contest, and this was a particularly annoying outcome as there was a perfectly wonderful poptastic song that year which would have made a great Serbian entry - "Beli Jablan" by Aleksa Jelić & Ana Štajdohar.

So in this blogger's opinion there is a very strong case against Mr J. However I have not completely written him off and would hope that he might try something a bit different this time - I'm not expecting him to go all Ovo Je Balkan on us, but something more uptempo would be nice.

Over to Belgium now. It's Flemish-speaking VRT's turn to choose the Belgian entry, which in recent years would mean one of my favourite national finals - Eurosong. However two years ago, VRT went with an internal selection which resulted in a very successful result for Tom Dice's "Me and My Guitar". So they probably thought, why change a winning formula? I had hoped for a big Flemish star name this year (I was hoping for a return for Kate Ryan) but it was a rather surprising choice - Iris, a.k.a. Laura van den Bruel. Of course all of us Lauras have to stick together, so I guess I'll have to support her!

16 year old Iris' musical style is a little reminiscent of Taylor Swift if her hit single "Wonderful" is anything to go by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QGIT9kklEY and her song will be chosen from a list of songs submitted by a number of top songwriters.

Over in Slovakia, they also revealed their singer two days ago. Or did they? Their choice for 2012 was supposed to be big-haired rock singer Miro Šmajda, but now his participation is seemingly in doubt, due to an alleged 'misunderstanding'. Either way, it's sad news for faithful travelling companion as the TWiiNS won't be making a return visit....

Musikförläggarnas Pris 2011

The annual Swedish Music Publishers awards took place on Friday 11th November at Berns in Stockholm, honouring the country's most successful songwriters and composers covering the period 1st July 2010-30th June 2011. The ceremony was hosted by Niklas Strömstedt.

The big winner was Veronica Maggio, who took home the awards for best composer, best lyricist and song of the year for "Jag Kommer".

The honorary prize went to Mikael Wiehe, who's been making music for the past 40 years and is currently starring in season 2 of Så mycket bättre.

Songwriting duo Max Martin and Shellback were awarded for another year of international success.

Big congratulations to two of this blog's favourite artists: Daniel Adams-Ray voted best breakthrough artist, and the year's most played song was "Från Och Med Du" by Oskar Linnros.

List of Prizewinners:
Composer of the Year
Veronica Maggio/Christian Walz

Lyricist of the Year
Veronica Maggio

Honorary Prize
Mikael Wiehe

International Success of the Year
Martin "Max Martin" Sandberg/Johan "Shellback" Schuster

Song of The Year
"Jag Kommer" - Veronica Maggio/Christian Walz/Stefan Olsson

Breakthrough of the Year
Daniel Adams-Ray

Most Played Song of the Year
"Från Och Med Du" - Oskar Linnros.

Melodifestivalen season is underway!

Today brought the exciting announcement of the song titles and songwriters for Melodifestivalen 2012. This is the guesswork stage, where we all try to match the songs to the possible performers! One very noticeable thing is that almost half the songs are in Swedish, which is very nice.

Aldrig aldrig (Niclas Lundin, Maria Marcus, Randy Goodrum)
Allting blir bra igen (Michael Sideridis)
Baby Doll (Mårten Eriksson, Lina Eriksson, Susie Päivärinta)
Det går för långsamt (Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Niclas Lundin)
Don't Let Me Down (Lasse Holm, Lars "Dille" Diedricson)
Euphoria (Thomas G:son, Peter Boström)
Förlåt mig (Mattias Andréasson)
Ge aldrig upp (Thomas Di Leva)
Goosebumps (Hanna Lindblad, Linda Sundblad, Tony Nilsson)
I din himmel (Sonja Aldén, Bobby Ljunggren, Peter Boström)
I mina drömmar (Nanna Svensdóttir, Thomas Cars)
I Want To Be Chris Isaak (This Is Just the Beginning) (The Moniker)
Jag reser mig igen (Thomas G:son, Ted Ström)
Just A Little Bit (RedOne Team)
Land Of Broken Dreams (Thomas G:son, Thomas "Plec" Johansson)
Lovelight (Andreas Johnson, Peter Kvint)
Mirakel (Fredrik Andersson, Björn Ranelid)
Mystery (Pontus Hjelm)
Porslin (Björn Olsson, Martin Elisson)
På väg (Abalone Dots, Viktor Källgren)
Salt & Pepper (Lina Eriksson, Mårten Eriksson, Figge Boström)
Sanningen (Michael Clauss, Martin Bjelke)
Sean Den Förste Banan (Sean Banan, Joakim Larsson, Hans Blomberg, Mårten Andersson)
Soldiers (Ulrik Munther, Johan Åberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, David Jackson)
Stormande hav (Kristian Lagerström, Johan Fjellström, Stina Engelbrecht, Jens Engelbrecht)
The Boy Can Dance (Figge Boström, Catrine Loqvist, Johan Lindman)
The Girl (Fredrik Kempe, Alexander Johnsson)
To the Sky (Fernando Fuentes, Tony Nilsson, Danny Saucedo, Peter Boström, Figge Boström)
Kyss mig (Axel Algmark, Mattias Frändå, Jonathan Magnussen)
Why Am I Crying (Molly Sandén, Aleena Gibson, Windy Wagner)
Why Start A Fire (Lisa Miskovsky, Aleksander With, Bernt Rune Stray, Berent Philip Moe)
Youngblood (Fredrik Kempe, David Krüger)

First thoughts: I can't wait to hear "To The Sky" and "Förlåt mig" of course. Hope the other Peter Boström songs might be big dancey tunes too! The Lisa Miskovsky song also sounds interesting, with its Norwegian writing team. Also looking forward to "Goosebumps". Of course there are some very familiar names in there - schlager royalty G:son, Holm and the ever-present Kempe, to satisfy the schlager fans. Is it too much to ask for the return of Jenny Silver? I'd prefer her to Charlotte, to be honest. And much as I've liked Johnson/Kvint's contributions in the past, the thought of Andreas competing again would probably be a step too far....and I'm completely underwhelmed by Thomas Di Leva.

I wouldn't mind seeing another Andreas (Mr Lundstedt) back at MF though! And I wonder if the mighty Magnus Carlsson is in there, as previously rumoured? H.E.A.T. have also been mentioned - it would be nice to see them back, hopefully with a song as great as "1000 Miles".

There are also some very familiar song titles in there as well...."Youngblood" just makes me think of E.M.D., and I wonder if RedOne's entrant will be channelling Gina G???

Finally, run for cover - The Moniker is back! And who let Sean Banan in????

Time for another break....

The backlog of blog posts are all written and posted, and my work here is done.

Yes, I'm going to take another blog-break until mid-November, during which time I'll sit down, get my thoughts together and try to come up with the 2011-50 as well as some other end of year stuff.

I'll still be hanging around Twitter though :)

Melodifestivalen 2012 rumours...

...yes it's that time again to start reading the Swedish tabloids and guessing how many of the rumours are true.

Today Aftonbladet posted a list of some of the artists said to be competing in next year's MF - http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/melodifestivalen2011/article13827444.ab

I froze in terror at the news of Charlotte Perrelli returning with a Fredrik Kempe song - no offence Charlotte or Fredrik, but isn't it about time someone else was given a chance??

Danny Saucedo will also be back as a solo artist, but his E.M.D. bandmates Mattias Andréasson and Erik Segerstedt have also submitted their own songs in different musical styles. I'm quite surprised about this as I'd hoped/expected E.M.D. to return to MF next year.

Molly Sandén will also return, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her boyfriend Eric Saade and be chosen as Sweden's representative. I wonder if she'll get a big ballad or an uptempo song?

There is also someone called Thorsten Flinck, allegedly with a G:son song?! This could either go straight to the final or totally bomb.

Finally where would Melodifestivalen be without a dansband? This time it's Top Cats, although I thought Elisa's might have been a more obvious choice?

Of course it's all a mix of rumours and leaks at this stage so anything is possible! As usual the most interesting entrants at MF can be the ones you didn't really expect anything from - like Loreen or Swingfly from this year's contest for example.

Verves of Europe!

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of how much I loved "Sounds of Europe" which was a weekly radio show on student radio station GU2. The show, presented by superstar DJs and blogging legends Rachel and Keira, ran from 2008 until 2010 and was essential listening every week. The show introduced me to a lot of European singers and songs which I hadn't heard before.

Yesterday Rachel introduced me to "Verves of Europe" a weekly radio show hosted by James and Fey who are students at London Metropolitan University. I had a listen last night and was hooked. This show resurrects the spirit of "Sounds of Europe" and if you loved that show, you will love this too.

If you go to http://vervemedia.org.uk you can hear the show online by selecting it on the radio player. It is broadcast weekly for an hour and a half. More info at http://vervemedia.org.uk/radio/verves-of-europe

Album Review: "Colourblind Stereo" - Bressie

I previously blogged about London-based Irish singer Bressie (Niall Breslin) back in September, http://europecrazy.blogspot.com/2011/09/introducingbressie.html and decided to buy his just-released debut CD "Colourblind Stereo" during our recent trip to Dublin.

Bressie was previously the frontman of a very popular Irish rock band The Blizzards, however he is now getting in touch with his pop side on a very good debut. The album kicks off with "Can't Stay Young (Forever)" which was his debut single as a solo artist.

The radio-friendly "Breaking My Fall" (not sure if this is going to be a future single) and "She Ticks All The Boxes" keep the momentum going.

Fans of The Script may enjoy Bressie's mix of big anthemic pop-rock songs, although Bressie avoids that over-wrought trap which The Script fall into at times. The mood is consistently upbeat and positive.

I particularly want to highlight "Android Heart" as one of the album's highlights - the robot metaphor lyrics may be a bit too cheesy, but it's a very pretty song. Bressie is a clever lyricist, although some of his lyrics can be a little on the cheesy/corny side at times. Nevertheless he knows how to craft a good pop song.

"Good Intentions" was of course the song which brought Bressie to my attention, and it's the one which still stands out on this album. It's the kind of song which would sound great on British radio, if they removed the endless urban rubbish and "the new boring" and go back to a time of good quality pop music which didn't need to resort to lyrics about being on the floor, in the club, 'featuring' all the usual suspects. This album is refreshingly free of any of that.

Amongst the pop-rock there are some electronic touches, and "Wall of Sound" particularly evokes some old-school dance memories. It just proves Bressie's talent and versatility that he can turn his hand to different musical styles. He has co-written all of the songs on this album and his compositions may soon be turning up on other artists' albums too, as he's currently part of the 19 Entertainment stable and is involved in songwriting and production there. Bressie cites Dr Luke and Max Martin amongst his production heroes so there's no doubt that there's a very strong pop heart beating inside this rock star.

To date, "Colourblind Stereo" has only been released in Ireland however I wouldn't bet against an international release at some point - especially when the tide eventually turns away from the dross which has passed for "pop music" over the past couple of years. Hopefully we will hear a lot more from this very talented guy in future.

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: October 2011

If the rumours are to be believed, this could be the last series of "HARRY HILL'S TV BURP" (ITV1, Saturday). I suppose all good things should really come to an end, so maybe it would be the right time. So far, this series isn't really vintage Burp, but it's not a disaster either - maybe somewhere in the middle, on automatic pilot.



One of Harry's recent targets was "SHOWBOATERS" (Sky 1, Sundays) which was a must-see for me as over the past year I've developed an obsession with going on a cruise. Basically this is X Factor at sea, with a group of hopefuls are all fighting for one place in the Thomson Dream's show team. They missed a trick though, as the eliminations should have befitted the theme, i.e. man overboard/walk the plank :) Anyway it's pretty unmissable, if only for the reason that none of them were particularly good...the series is nearing its end so hopefully they'll make the right choice.

Whilst on the subject of cruises, I enjoyed the first part of "PAUL MERTON'S ADVENTURES" (Channel 5, Wednesdays) which saw him take to the Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas. It was a pleasant travelogue and pretty favourable about the ship itself. I'm looking forward to his forthcoming adventures.

I would never have called myself a Steps fan, although will admit to particularly liking a couple of their songs ("You'll Be Sorry" and "Deeper Shade Of Blue" to be specific). Anyway, body language/psychology experts would have had a field day if they watched "STEPS REUNION" (Sky Living, Wednesdays) an addictive fly on the wall documentary series,where the five members of the band were reunited, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The tension was cranked up as the five members of the group confronted the issues which led to their split. Acrimonious didn't even begin to describe it. As we all know, H and Claire famously quit the group on the last night of their tour and the band announced their split on Boxing Day 10 years ago. Now they're back together, their new greatest hits compilation went straight to no.1 and their reunion tour is selling out. Although on the evidence of this TV show I wouldn't be too confident buying a ticket, as it couldn't be more obvious that Claire Richards doesn't want to be there. Or is this maybe fodder for a follow-up series - Steps Split II?

A few months ago I wrote about STV's decision to axe "THE HOUR" from its daily teatime slot. In September, the show relaunched in its new 8.00 pm Tuesday slot - which was a disastrous scheduling decision to begin with, since it clashed with the long-running Scottish soap River City on BBC1. Then they teamed up existing presenter Michelle McManus with sharp-witted radio presenter/journalist Tam Cowan, and the format completely changed from the easy-going teatime magazine with a lot of different features, to a bog standard low-budget chat show. 4 weeks into its run, STV axed the show for good.



After the axe fell, Tam Cowan let rip in his Daily Record column:
http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/tamcowan/2011/10/darkest-hour-tv-bosses-barely.html

STV have no-one but themselves to blame. It wasn't perfect, but if the format had remained the same, and broadcast in a different slot, the show might have survived, instead of being consigned to the telly dustbin of history.

Ironically, STV's other Tuesday night programme has been must-see TV over recent weeks. "SCOTLAND'S GREATEST ALBUM" has featured a different decade each week, starting with the 70s, and the basic premise of the show is for the viewers to choose three tracks each week from the list of 12 pur forward by a panel of experts. It's been a pretty enjoyable and surprisingly credible journey so far.



OK we couldn't have a review at this time of year without mentioning "STRICTLY COME DANCING" (BBC1, Saturdays). As usual I start off every year with no favourites, but events conspire to make me change my mind, as in most cases I end up resenting the "chosen ones" (except last year, when Kara Tointon and Matt Baker totally deserved the praise). This year's recipients would appear to be adopted-national-treasure Jason Donovan, and the charisma-free zone that is Holly Valance. Here at EuropeCrazy HQ we are throwing our support behind the underrated Chelsee Healey and her professional partner, Stictly newbie Pasha Kovalev. The couple have been consistently good since the beginning, and Chelsee is a bubbly little firecracker who seems to be genuinely enjoying the experience. And of course it goes without saying that we're also supporting the always-wonderful Flavia Cacace, who's been teamed up with none other than the legend that is Russell Grant :)))

Russell was expected to be this year's John Sergeant/Anne Widdecombe, but the ultimate car-crash this year is Nancy Dell'Olio, whose fame is solely based on dating that Sven bloke. I never thought I'd ever say this, but poor Anton. Although I'm enjoying the show as usual, I'm getting a bit concerned about the number of 'theme weeks' being introduced, with all the accompanying silly props and costumes. As a result it feels like the show is moving away from the basic dances towards show-dances, and that's not a good thing.

Finding music on TV is so rare these days (apart from the dull and repetitive music channels) and finding intelligent discussion about it is even more rare. So three cheers for "THE JO WHILEY MUSIC SHOW" (Sky Arts). I enjoyed the first one, maybe a bit too much chat about Nirvana though. Anyway, thanks to this show, my mum has now become a Maverick Sabre fan!

Good old BBC Four never lets us down with its theme nights, and recently we had an evening devoted to Creation Records, the label founded by Alan McGee. "UPSIDE DOWN" was an absorbing feature-length documentary about the label's history and the bands signed to it. The most depressing thing about it was seeing my beloved Mark Gardener from Ride, who had wonderful floppy hair back in the day. Now he's hardly got any. :(

The Dublin Diaries: Day 3 - Wednesday 21st September 2011

On the second day of our holiday, poor faithful travelling companion was floored by a very nasty stomach bug which made him very ill, he couldn't eat or drink but thankfully was well enough to get out and do some exploring.

Today it was time to go north of the river, for a walk up O'Connell Street, as far as Parnell Square...

On the way back down we came across an amusing art installation which invited the public to write what they're afraid of. "I'm afraid of Jedward" particularly raised a chuckle!

Needless to say we wandered into Carrolls Gift Store yet again and purchases were made. Of course you can't resist the looped soundtrack of Irish classics, although I doubt whether the shop assistants would share our enthusiasm for "Seven Drunken Nights" if they have to listen to it about 3 times per hour every day of their working lives :)

If you go to Dublin you'll inevitably find your way back to Temple Bar. Here is a picture of one of its mega-pubs, the Oliver St John Gogarty. However we didn't have a drink in there this time, so that's on the to-do list for next time, as is Gallagher's Boxty House!



Last time we were in Dublin, we had coffee at Insomnia Coffee, which is like an Irish version of Costas/Caffe Nero, but one definite 'must-do' for this holiday was a trip to Bewley's Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street. It's big, but there's lots of different rooms/areas and we managed to get a seat and enjoy a cappuccino.



Tonight was the last night of our holiday, we decided to keep it very low-key. It was also a very cold night, yet that didn't deter some very hardy people from alfresco dining in Temple Bar.

Despite my poor man getting sick, we did have an enjoyable time and the hotel was fab. We resolve to return to Dublin next summer, all things being well, when the nights are lighter and the weather is warmer, and hopefully in happier and healthier times.

Exciting times ahead...

We are only 7 days away from the launch of the 2nd series of one of the most exciting reality TV formats ever!

http://www.tv4.se/1.2137245/2011/05/14/har_ar_artisterna_i_sa_mycket_battre_2011

Jason "Timbuktu" Diakité
Laleh Pourkarim
Martin "E-type" Eriksson
Tomas Ledin
Mikael Wiehe
Eva Dahlgren
Lena Philipsson

Go Tomas & Lena!

The Dublin Diaries: Day 2 - Tuesday 20th September 2011

Lots of good intentions to get up very early failed to materialise. (Oh, and talking of 'good intentions': my plan for today was to hit the record shops in search of the Bressie CD. More about that later).

Until this morning I hadn't tried the much-hyped soda bread. My verdict: disappointingly stodgy, and my view is prejudiced due to the fact that I'm no fan of brown bread. Disappointment aside, we have some exploring to do and head out past the very busy Trinity College area. Nope, still haven't seen the Book of Kells and won't be doing it this time either. Maybe some day when we decide to do all the tourist haunts. Ditto the Guinness Storehouse.

Anyway you won't be surprised to hear that the main thing on my agenda was shopping! And there are lots, and lots, and lots of shops and shopping malls in the Irish capital, with something for everyone.

When in Dublin, you are possessed by this irrational urge to make repeated trips to Carrolls Irish Gift Stores, of which there are many, many branches in the city. Walk through the door and your ears are assaulted by the rolling soundtrack of Seven Drunken Nights, and Molly Malone, and Whiskey in the Jar, Lord of the Dance etc etc. All day, every day. There is this subliminal voice inside your head telling you to buy daft leprechaun hats/Guinness souvenirs - everything from Y-fronts to Guinness flavoured HP sauce, and the ubiquitous, colourful, Wacky Woollies multicoloured sheep which you'll already know about if you saw this post http://europecrazysrandomramblings.blogspot.com/2011/10/wacky-woollies.html

Anyway, whilst Carrolls perpetuates the Irish myth of leprechauns, fiddly music, sheep and Guinness, modern-day Dublin is a different place altogether. The service industries seem almost exclusively staffed by young Eastern European males and females and so far we've hardly heard an Irish voice! The mix of tourists and migrant workers makes for a very cosmopolitan city which is refreshingly different enough from the UK, even though we're only an hour's flight away. The same goes for the radio stations which I tuned into - sure there's the top 40 fodder but there is also a refreshing variety of music, including lots of rock music which you never seem to hear on mainstream British radio.

We explore the area around Trinity College and Merrion Square and check out the parliament buildings, which have some neat topiary going on...


There's a good selection of eating options on and around South William Street, so we have lunch there.

Visitors to Dublin will encounter some well-known statues of the likes of James Joyce and Molly Malone, but I wasn't aware that there was a statue of a more contemporary icon - Phil Lynott - which you can find in Harry Street (off Grafton Street, outside the Bruxelles bar)




After lunch we head back down Grafton Street and inevitably end up at HMV, where I finally purchase Bressie's "Colourblind Stereo" CD. I also buy "Domino Effect", a CD by The Blizzards which is the band he was previously in. Yes, I'm suffering from Bressiemania. I notice that dreary acoustic guy Ed Sheeran will be making an appearance at the store the next day, but I decide to pass on that one.


Eventually we return to St Stephen's Green, where we watch the ducks, and the seagulls pretending to be ducks, and hilariously go in search of a non-existent waterfall. It's a lovely park though and a great place to escape from the city buzz.

St Stephen's Green also boasts a big, fab shopping mall called the St Stephen's Green Centre.

Lots of walking today meant very sore leg muscles by the end of the afternoon, so back to the hotel for a rest before going out for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst, as poor faithful travelling companion was about to be floored by a nasty stomach bug/food poisoning-type-thing....

This week's "Idol" songs

Courtesy of Aftonbladet, here's what the contestants will be singing this week...you'll have guessed that the theme is Swedish-language hits.

ANDRÉ: Lilla Lady - Daniel Adams-Ray
MOLLY: Satan I Gatan - Veronica Maggio
ROBIN: Alla Vill Till Himmelen Men Ingen Vill Dö - Timbuktu
AMANDA P: Utan Dina Andetag - Kent
MOA: Vem Ska Jag Tro På – Tomas DiLeva
AMANDA F: Det Hon Vill Ha – Plura
EMIL: Jag Är En Vampyr – Markus Krunegård
OLLE: 17år - Veronica Maggio
LINNI: Om Sanningen Ska Fram - Eric Amarillo
DENISE: Från Och Med Du - Oskar Linnros

I'm still not too excited by this year's line-up of contestants, but it's early days and that might change. Or maybe not. They are all extremely young - especially this year's favourite Molly Pettersson Hammar, who is only 15 years old!! When did this become Junior Idol???

If you force-feed it, they will come

Lots of thoughts going round in my head today which I thought I'd pull together into some kind of blog post.

Been thinking about my annual top 50 rundown (the 2011-50), which is due to start in precisely five weeks' time. Usually at this time of year I would be filled with excitement at having to narrow about 100 songs down to a shortlist of 50. This year, however, things are very different indeed. The main reason being that I haven't listened to as much new music as usual, having spent the year rediscovering a lot of old, forgotten favourites, and feeling a general sense of disappointment at the new music which has been on offer. At the moment I'm sitting with approximately 38 songs so will need to find another 12 in the coming weeks; it also has to be said that if some of the contenders had been around 3 or 4 years ago they'd have struggled to get anywhere near my top 50.

It's nothing to do with getting older, but I've never felt so disillusioned/disenfranchised with the music scene as I am now. I'm tired of radio and TV stations force-feeding us the same style of music, the same 'artists' day in, day out. And it's not just a British problem either - go to any European singles chart, for example, and you'll see the same names time and time again, the international superstars who dominate the airwaves leaving no opportunities for decent new local artists to break through, with the only outlets being the now very stale format of talent shows. The problem with force-feeding is that eventually you will surrender and that's what's happened, worldwide. But I'm not waving the white flag just yet.

Having suffered through the 'urban' music explosion of the past couple of years, this has now mutated into a repetitive parade of songs about being in the club/on the floor/put your drinks in the air/party all day/party all night (delete as appropriate) mainly orchestrated by the three-headed monster that is Pitbull, David Guetta and Flo Rida. I'm particularly disappointed by David Guetta's lowest-common-denominator output at present, as I used to be a fan of his music, but now he's right up there with Rihanna in the ubiquity stakes. I have always loved dance music, but this current variation has nothing new to offer, and will be forgotten in a few years' time when the DJs are still playing 'old school' and 'rave classics'.

I wanted to write something about how the 'alternatives' to the current club-obsessed sound have also failed to excite us. However, I'll just point you in the direction of none other than Popjustice legend Peter Robinson. Whilst on my break at work today I was browsing the Guardian's website and discovered this post which he had written and which I would encourage you all to read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/08/adele-new-boring-ed-sheeran?commentpage=3#start-of-comments

Admittedly, there was that 'wow' moment during the Brits, when Adele's performance came as a welcome contrast to all the urban nonsense which dominated that ceremony. Here was a "proper singer" who didn't need to cavort around with minimal clothing and maximum dance routines. However, all these months down the line and we are still under assault from "Someone Like You" at every turn. A song which, to quote its own lyrics, turned up out of the blue uninvited and couldn't stay away. It has taken over from "Chasing Cars", (which I previously declared on this blog in 2007 to be the national anthem of Dreary-Pop) soundtracking every mournful, tearful moment on every reality show.

Adele's massive worldwide success could initially be viewed as a reaction to all those empty international pop superstars - yet ironically she has now become part of the problem rather than the solution. Her music has been promoted as aggressively as, say, Rihanna or Katy Perry, but is tapping into the "adult" music market, "music for couples" as I used to call it - the kind of people who don't really like music but buy those stupid 'acoustic'/'feelgood' compilations. Which presumably include the likes of Ed Sheeran a.k.a. the new James Blunt with added collaboration-credibility bells on. Most of the current crop of tedious artists are only popular because we have been force-fed them. It's time for a change!

Scandipop comes to British TV!

One of my favourite blogs is Scandipop. Now the blog is about to become a TV show from tomorrow.

Dance Nation TV (channel 376 on Sky) will broadcast an hour of the finest Scandinavian pop and dance music on the following days/times:

Fridays at 10.00 am
Saturdays at 4.00 pm
Mondays at midnight.

I never thought I'd see the day when we'd ever see a Linda Bengtzing video on British TV, but one of the videos this week will be none other than her duet with Velvet - ‘Victorious’!

Must remember to set my HDD recorder tomorrow morning :)

The Dublin Diaries: Day 1 - Monday 19th September 2011

Three years on from a chilly November weekend, we returned to the Irish capital for a brief late summer break. It may be a long way from the boiling temperatures of Turkey, but it didn't matter as we were just lucky and thankful to be there at all.

Weather? Well, the previous week, Ireland and Scotland had been hit by the tail end of a hurricane, and judging by the high winds on our arrival it was taking its time to blow itself out!

One of the best things about a short break in Dublin is that it's a short flight - it takes longer to get to the airport than it does to fly over - and you only need hand luggage, thus avoiding the inconvenience of checking in baggage and all the rip-off of the extra charges involved.

After checking into our hotel, it wasn't long before we headed out into a dry (but still very windy) Monday evening from our base in Dublin 2. If you haven't been to Dublin before, I'd recommend that you are based south of the river, which is within walking distance of all the nightlife, restaurants and shops. Of course there's plenty of these north of the river, where accommodation may also come cheaper, but let's just say it's a bit more "gritty" up there.

South of the river, the main nightlife is centred around the Temple Bar area which is packed with pubs and restaurants from beginning to end. At the weekends this is stag party city and is absolutely jumping....but what's it like on a Monday night? Empty? Deserted? No way! Even on a Monday night in September, it's jumping. And there was a particular buzz in the city that Monday night, after the city's Gaelic football team 'The Dubs' won the national cup final at the weekend. Thousands of fans gathered in Merrion Square to salute their heroes, and we spotted a few of these jubilant fans on the way.

Above: one of the city's most photographed pubs, Temple Bar's very own....Temple Bar.

One of our unfulfilled Dublin ambitions was to get a table in the famous Gallagher's Boxty House, but tonight it was no can do. Nothing changes around here :)

Ireland has been particularly hammered in the current financial recession, and the restaurants in Dublin have had to offer meal deals to get the customers in. 'Early Bird' menus (pre-theatre as we know them) are now commonplace in what is still a massively expensive city. However, there are limited choices on most of these menus so if you're a chicken-eating almost-veggie like myself you end up resorting to the a la carte. But when meals are as good as this one, the money doesn't matter.


One of the best restaurants in Temple Bar is the Quays Restaurant, upstairs from the bustling Quays Bar, and serving some good quality fare to an appreciative clientele of mostly tourists. We were certainly appreciative of our meal and left with our stomachs filled to capacity!

But Dublin being Dublin, you have to try out some of its legendary bars. We managed to fit in a couple before bedtime - one of these being the famous Arlington Hotel near O'Connell Bridge, which puts on a nightly show of Irish music and dancing. The best seats are saved for those who have paid for dinner, but you can still see and hear the show from a more restricted view even if you've just popped in for a Guinness (faithful travelling companion) or a Bulmers Irish cider (me). By the way, why is it Bulmers Irish Cider in Ireland yet it's Magners over here? Just wondered. Anyway we took in some Irish folk music and a bit of Riverdance/Lord of the Dance. Yes it's a tourist trap but so what? It's Dublin after all, soak it up.

Talking of soaking, the rain had come on by this time so we headed to another bar before ending our first day in Dublin. It's good to be back.

Part 2 to follow over the weekend...

Book Review: "Mylène Farmer: The Single File" by Steve Cabus

In the "old days" when I had much more time to blog than I do now (although I really don't know why I don't have as much time anymore!) I wouldn't have taken my eye off the ball when it came to celebrating the 50th birthday of my most favourite French female singer of all time. But unfortunately that's what happened this year and I've only recently remembered that she reached this big birthday milestone on 12th September. So a belated happy birthday Mylène!

However, as I was searching the web for Mylène-related stuff last week I came across the first-ever book to be published in English about the notoriously reclusive superstar. Needless to say I bought it! I have only just started reading the book so can't really call this a proper review, but I wanted to tell you all about it in case you didn't know about the book's existence.

"Mylène Farmer: The Single File" by Steve Cabus avoids the traditional biography format and instead takes an intensive look at the singer's career from the beginning in 1984 right up to the present day, single by single. Steve Cabus is a native French speaker but in his introduction he tells us that he has been speaking English exclusively for the past 23 years. Therefore he is perfectly qualified to convey all the aspects of what it's like to be a Mylène fan in the English-speaking world. Don't expect a big professional presentation - there are no pictures of Mylène, for example, just front and back cover art illustrations, and the title font in good old Comic Sans MS. But the old saying goes "don't judge a book by its cover" as it's what's inside which really counts.

The author is without doubt a superfan who is very knowledgeable about his subject. He spends a lot of time in each chapter listing the various formats/remixes etc available for each single, and vividly describes the making of each video and what it's about. Of course if you're a Mylène fan you will know that her music and videos are loaded with controversy, dark themes and "after-the-watershed" content - this is an excellent reference book about each song/video and will definitely be a "go-to" book whenever I'm listening to a Mylène song or watching one of her videos.

You can buy the paperback book (priced £12.99) on Amazon in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Myl%C3%A8ne-Farmer-Single-Steve-Cabus/dp/190810578X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317570241&sr=8-1
there is also a Kindle edition available if you're that way inclined - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Myl%C3%A8ne-Farmer-Single-File-ebook/dp/B005EQ86K6/ref=kinw_dp_ke?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM

Also if you Google the book's title and author you should be able to find other online bookstores which stock this book in your country.

Retro Saturday: Riverdance

In keeping with the Irish theme which has dominated recent weeks, I thought it would be very fitting to feature the ultimate Irish music/dance phenomenon which was premiered at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin 17 years ago. Music by Bill Whelan, and fantastic dancing by Jean Butler and Michael Flatley.

What else but...Riverdance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWyhH5z92ps

(Oh and by the way, I haven't forgotten about the Dublin Diaries: they will be published on here at some point this week.)

Tomas Ledin - it's "Showtime"!

On 22nd September, Tomas Ledin began his 55-night residency at Rondo in Liseberg, Gothenburg. The 1 hour 50 minute show mixes live performance of Tomas' hits from 1969 to the present day, clips from Tomas' lifestory, and anecdotes from the man himself. The Swedish press have been reviewing the show as follows:
Svenska Dagbladet - http://www.svd.se/kultur/scen/projektioner-ger-lyft-at-ledins-scenshow_6495948.svd#after-ad

Aftonbladet: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/rockbjornen2011/article13669326.ab

Expressen: http://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/1.2569390/tomas-ledin-klar-i-sin-mogna-rock

Göteborgs-Posten - http://www.gp.se/kulturnoje/musik/1.730237-tomas-ledin-rondo here is the setlist which is also courtesy of Göteborgs-Posten.

Vi är på gång
500 dagar om året
Helt galen i dig
Medley 1969-1980 (Too many days, Då ska jag spela, Knivhuggarrock, Festen har börjat, Minns du Hollywood, Vi ska gömma oss i varandra, Never again, Just nu, m.fl)
Genom ett regnigt Europa
Atlantkustens kyliga smekning
En dag på stranden
Blå blå känslor
Äl u oäten
Sommaren är kort
Hon gör allt för att göra mig lycklig
Det ligger i luften
Du kan lita på mig
Encore:
En del av mitt hjärta
Sensuella Isabella
Knivhuggarrock
På vingar av stål
Snart tystnar musiken
I natt är jag din

(picture courtesy of Svenska Dagbladet http://www.svd.se/)

Swedish Charts Update

It's been a while since the last one so what's been happening in the Sverige Topplistan charts?

In the album chart, Melissa Horn is at no.1 with her latest album "Innan Jag Kände Dig". Her style of intense acoustic/folk music doesn't really appeal to me, but she is very popular so it's no surprise that her album has outsold all others in its first week of release.

Then there is the ubiquitous Adele at no.2 with "21". Is there now anyone in the world (apart from me and faithful travelling companion) who does not own a copy of this album??? Swedish acts still have a healthy presence in the album charts though - Eric Saade, Benny Anderssons Orkester, Veronica Maggio, Ulrik Munther, September, Takida and The Ark, who played their final gig earlier this month at Gröna Lund in Stockholm.

What I love about European countries is that they have a much broader musical taste and sometimes very surprising names will crop up in the album charts. I was very surprised to see Nick Lowe entering at no. 9 with "The Old Magic" which I checked out some snippets of on iTunes. It's a collection of almost country-flavoured ballads which might appeal to a certain section of the record buying market I guess. Intelligent singer-songwriter fare by a man who is growing old very gracefully indeed.

Nils Landgren meanwhile is a jazz singer and trombonist whose latest album "The Moon, The Stars and You" is dedicated to the late great Esbjorn Svensson. Nils has been around for years but I hadn't heard of him till now. He is not just a talented trombonist but he also has a very lovely singing voice. The album includes some interesting covers of "Moonshadow", "Moon River" and "Till There Was You", and if you need some laid-back jazzy mood music then this could be the perfect album for you. www.nilslandgren.com

Just as I never really understood the success of "Om Sanningen Ska Fram" then in a similar vein “Vart Jag Mig I Världen Vänder" by Den Svenska Björnstammen also made it to no.1 in the Sverige Topplistan singles list. I prefer their next dancey anthem "Allting Kommer Bli Bra" - check it out at http://www.densvenskabjornstammen.se/ Their no.1 song was deposed by "Moves Like Jagger", but Oleg is not too far behind with "Elektropop" which sounds like a Melodifestivalen entry! One other notable Swedish act in the top 10 is Avicii with his original version of the song "Fade Into Darkness" which was of course sampled by Leona Lewis on her current hit "Collide". I have to say I prefer Avicii's song to Leona's, but they both share a good backing track :)

I've been out of the loop of Swedish music for most of the summer so am just catching up with some of it now. Kapten Röd is a new name to me, who has brought some welcome reggae sounds into the chart.

One song which has probably been around for ever is "Fest Hos Mange" by Mange Makers, which I still have a completely unhealthy obsession with. The off-key singing and the "Mange kom igen nu!" may probably be too much for some people, but I am not ashamed to say I still love it. Mange mange!

Newkid is another new name to me. He is a new entry further down the chart with "Jag Gråter Bara i Regnet" which reminded me a little of Daniel Adams-Ray/Oskar Linnros so if you're a fan of their recent stuff you might like this as well, even if it's a bit too much autotuned for my liking.

Over the past year or so there has been a welcome increase in Swedish-language pop/rock/rap/dance music. Long may it continue!

La Tasca - the party's over?

Any posts about food and drink would usually be found over at Random Ramblings, but in this instance I felt that it would be more appropriate over here, as it fits in very nicely with this blog’s obsession with all things European.

Our 10 year love affair with La Tasca began in 2001, when we began visiting La Tasca in Glasgow. Coincidentally, that was also the year we visited Spain for the first time (Barcelona) so it was a good introduction to tapas, a type of food which we were previously unfamiliar with.

Although it was a chain restaurant, La Tasca had a unique personality and ‘buzz’ about it. Every trip to La Tasca was an assault on the senses, every space on the bright orange walls was filled with bullfight and flamenco posters, paintings of bulls, and all kinds of Spanish-related artefacts, coloured plates and ornaments; wrought-iron chandeliers, dark brown wood panelled walls with bright orange/yellow Spanish tiles, and dark wooden chairs and tables. Then there was the music - a non-stop party soundtrack of the Gipsy Kings’ greatest hits, as well as Ricky Martin, Alejandro Sanz, Juanes and the Spanish pop hits of the day. You’d also hear Brazilian or Cuban music too; it all just added to the atmosphere. A visit to La Tasca was a sun-soaked escape from a cold, rainy day, a little piece of Spain in the middle of the city.

Back in those early days we also had our favourite waiting staff....La Tasca was a ‘hot’ destination in more ways than one :)

But what about the food? OK so it may not have been "gourmet" but who needs that? You were always guaranteed some tasty tapas, and for an almost-veggie like myself there was a good choice of vegetarian options in addition to the red meat/chicken/seafood tapas on offer. A good selection of Spanish wines and beers were also available, and of course the all-important sangria to bring back the memories of a Spanish holiday. Maybe that’s why La Tasca was so popular in Glasgow and elsewhere - you could uniquely recapture the summer holiday feeling.

Maybe it was this need to recreate that holiday experience, or just the unique buzzing party atmosphere, but whatever it was kept the crowds coming back, time after time. We were proud to call ourselves "regulars" who visited over and over again. The prices increased over time which drove some customers away, but then the various deals were introduced and they came back. There were some changes over the years - a slight decluttering of the walls, a change of menu, the departure of our favourite waiters/waitresses....yet it was still ‘our’ La Tasca. You knew what you were getting every time you walked through those doors, yet familiarity never bred contempt. We even tried other branches, at the Silverburn Shopping Centre and also in Edinburgh. Those were also very good, and I have some particularly fond memories of the waiters too ;)

We hadn’t been to La Tasca recently so it was inevitably time for a return visit. But then on Friday I discovered this article which brought the dreaded news that the powers that be think La Tasca is a ‘tired’ brand and it’s time for a rebranding and makeover. Oh really? Well they say ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. La Tasca ain’t broke, not in our book. There was lots of life left in the old-style La Tasca, which has influenced many other tapas bars which have sprung up in recent years. We’ve tried some of them, they are good but they just didn’t have the magical atmosphere of La Tasca.

But now, out goes the old decor and in comes the dreaded ‘contemporary’ styling. In my book, ‘contemporary’ in restaurant terms equals bland and personality-free. We like the decor of restaurants to reflect the cuisine served there. If we’re in an Indian restaurant we want pictures of elephants and people in traditional Indian dress on the wall. If we’re in a Chinese restaurant, bring on the dragon murals. And if that sounds tacky, so what? Better than the dreaded ‘contemporary’, all laminated floors, cream walls and beech wood tables = blandsville. The article said that Glasgow was going to be one of its first group of restaurants to get the makeover.
One day after discovering the news of the makeover, we headed to La Tasca to grab one final tapas lunch before it became this unrecognisable place. But it was too late. The restaurant was closed to the public and was in the middle of the makeover. White chairs and tables and a giant mural of red chillies on the wall, workmen going in and out. It’s La Tasca, but not as we know it. Even the name has been changed to La Tasca Spanish Tapas Bar & Kitchen...all very ‘contemporary’ indeed.

The main reason for visiting a restaurant is for good food of course, but the La Tasca experience was so much more than that. It was a Latin party and everyone was invited, but now it looks like the party’s over and La Tasca will never be the same again. We can only hope they’ve kept our favourite menu items, and haven’t swapped the likes of "Djobi Djoba" for contemporary restaurant snoozefest music, with Adele on repeat. We will give the new La Tasca a chance, and reserve our judgement until our next visit, but I fear the worst. (Anyone want to reassure me otherwise?)

In the meantime, remember them this way...here are some photos which I took between 2006 and 2010 in La Tasca in Glasgow.


Above: three of my favourites - champinones al ajillo, patatas bravas, patatas a la pobre.

Above: tapas by night, December 2010.

Above: Christmas lights, December 2010.

Above: Pisto manchego.

Above: the iconic patatas bravas.

Above: more champinones al ajillo.

Above: faithful travelling companion's bravas, montado de lomo and calamares andaluz.

Above: February 2006. Wine bottles recycled as candlesticks :)

Above: November 2008.

Dublin tomorrow :)))

So we're off to Dublin for a short break tomorrow. This blog will be back next weekend.

Introducing...Bressie

Whilst researching the Irish iTunes chart to get some inspiration with a view towards possible purchases during my forthcoming Dublin trip, I was initially disappointed as the curse of pop globalisation had struck again. Although I was cheered up by the fact that "Moves Like Jagger", one of my favourite pop songs of 2011, had been at no.1. There are very few Irish artists in the singles/albums chart, and the ones which are there didn’t inspire me (sorry Jedward). Anyway some further digging lower down the singles chart led me to a song called "Good Intentions" by Bressie, a name I hadn’t heard before. I had a listen and was immediately impressed. If you want a musical comparison, he reminded me of Erik Hassle. Yes, that good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZdQcmz5IKw&feature=relmfu

Further investigation revealed that Bressie, or Niall Breslin to give him his full name, was previously the lead singer of a very popular Irish band called The Blizzards. Musical comparison time: think Snow Patrol, only with much more uptempo/cheerier tunes and not a dreary-pop dirge in sight.

Bressie launched his solo career with "Can’t Stay Young (Forever)":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX59pwDWe90&feature=relmfu
　
He also moved to London to write and produce music for himself and other artists and is signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment. I’m not sure if an international launch is on the cards, but I’m guessing it’s highly likely that his music will get a UK release at some point. If the trend will ever swing away from tiresome r’n’b- urban-pop-dance crossover and X Factor contestants towards quality pop music, then I would foolishly predict that Bressie could become a very big star.

Official website: www.bressiemusic.com

His debut album "Colourblind Stereo" will be released today, so voila! CD purchasing problem resolved!

Or if you're one of these modern people who likes this new-fangled downloading off iTunes thing, get it at http://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/colourblind-stereo-bonus-track/id463808142

Big holiday announcement time!!

Drum roll......

We're going to Dublin next week for a few days' break!! Very excited! Needless to say, "The Dublin Diaries", with all the usual gratuitous food photography, will be published on this blog at some point :)

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: August 2011

Two weeks late, but it's here anyway...

BBC Four had a 'foreign pop' themed night, the centrepiece being "Anyone For Demis?" an entertaining enough documentary about foreign/foreign-language songs and artists who broke through into the British consciousness, although it maybe spent a bit too much time on the post-war years and had a very limited focus on the modern pop era. During the programme, someone made a comment that there are no big Europop hits breaking through anymore, "because there's no room for them". Which I found a bit sad really.

The documentary was followed by "Exotic Pop At The BBC" (BBC Four) which featured most of the music from the documentary - and our highlight was "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco!!

The critics may have branded it exploitative, yet I don't feel so guilty about enjoying "Seven Dwarves" (Channel 4) because (a) it lets the seven little actors appearing in Woking's panto speak for themselves; and (b) no-one made them do it. Each weekly programme focuses on a different member of the gang, all of whom have an interesting story to tell.

Back to BBC Four now, which had yet another theme night - this time focusing on one of the best singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Gilbert O'Sullivan, who has been overlooked when the history of pop has been written. In the documentary "Gilbert O'Sullivan - Out on His Own" you got the feeling that he felt a little cheated, that he should have had more success than he did. He still wants success, but seems quietly defiant that this should be on his own terms. The closing scenes of him playing to a packed house suggests that there's still a lot of love out there for his music.

Another legendary singer-songwriter who achieved massive 70s success, Gerry Rafferty, was fondly remembered in the documentary "Right Down The Line" (BBC Scotland). Gerry sadly passed away at the beginning of 2011. Despite enjoying massive success with the classic "Baker Street" (from the brillliant "City to City" album which I still love) Gerry found all aspects of fame uncomfortable, even performing live, and concentrated on being a creative musician right up till the end.

Unfortunately we are into "X Factor" season which is already dominating Saturday nights on ITV. We'll have to wait till the end of September/beginning of October till "Strictly Come Dancing" arrives on our screens. If I can be bothered, I'll do weekly write-ups of SCD then. But only if I can be bothered of course. (Last weekend there was a launch show, which introduced the usual mix of ex soap stars, chat show hosts, ex pop stars and sportsmen to their professional partners).

Anyway back to the entertainment drought which is Saturday nights on ITV. Recently however we broke our boycott to watch "A Night With Will Young" which was basically an hour-long commercial for his new album and a celebration of his (almost) 10 years since winning Pop Idol. Nothing wrong with that: we're not ashamed to say it, we're Will fans here at EuropeCrazy HQ, although he has come a long way since those early days and is probably the best solo artist from this country to come out of any of these talent shows. Although Chico will probably disagree ;)

I didn't see Forbrydelsen, the original Danish-language version of "The Killing" (Channel 4) so can't compare it to the US remake - however it's now being repeated on BBC Four and ends this week. Ive been recording it and will catch up eventually...Anyway back to the American version. Critics may not love it, but I've been well impressed and have consistently watched it week after week, although with two episodes to go I understand that all the unanswered questions won't be answered at the end of the season??? Loving Holder (Joel Kinnaman) though. He should get his own spin-off show.

It's not on TV at the moment in this country, but I thought I'd mention Season 1 of "Damages" from a few years back. I borrowed it from from faithful travelling companion and have been watching over recent weeks. As with "The Killing" it's one of those shows which piles on the red herrings, keeps the tension coming and always leaves you wanting more. It's also quite a demanding show thanks to the flashbacks/flash-forwards, which along with the double -crossing are a necessary part of what makes this show so special. I wonder if season 4 will ever be shown in the UK?

Retro Saturday: Wales Special!

In the words of one of the 1980s most hideous hits by Charlene, "I've never been to me". Now what does that have to do with this week's Retro Saturday, I hear you ask. Well it's just a silly link to introduce this week's trip back through musical history. For I have never been to...Wales, (although if a certain person reading this has their way, that won't be the case for too much longer!!!) anyway this week's Retro Saturday is inspired by that conversation last week about Welsh music and how many bands/singers could you name, which immediately jogged my memory...

Of course no Welsh retrospective is complete without Tom Jones, who had his own musical revival at the end of the '90s with the "Reload" album which gave us "Burning Down The House" with the fab Cardigans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYuFIrSLD84 and who could forget his duet with Mousse T - Sex Bomb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkV65jUWYXk

Then there is the legend that is Green Gartside, the main man behind Scritti Politti, = the most beautiful man of the 1980s and underrated musical genius -
"Perfect Way" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7Jy2y-33A
"Absolute" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teHqHmnXnhE&feature=related
"Boom There She Was" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7qCaCcfjXg
(from the brilliant "Provision" album, which, along with the Pet Shop Boys, kept me sane through the college years :)))

Young Marble Giants
No video, but just wallow in the minimalistic....minimalism of it all, and the understated brilliance of Alison Statton.
"Wurlitzer Jukebox" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xob9tLR18s&feature=related
"Include Me Out" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvNhjWZTi_E&feature=related

The Manic Street Preachers are IMHO the best band ever to come out of Wales, and their long career will soon be commemorated with the release of an extensive best-of compilation.
"La Tristesse Durera" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJzwIFyZfck
"Revol" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf91dTrLkgA&ob=av2n
"A Design For Life" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ&ob=av2e

During that late 80s/early 90s period of classic dance music, one Welsh act made their name - K-Klass rose to fame with hits like "Rhythm is a Mystery" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIzU7_Iavk4

Welsh acts reached their peak during the Britpop era, a period of music which will always have fond memories for me. Catatonia had their finest hour with "Mulder and Scully" cashing in on X Files mania.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdPSzVYt_o and then Cerys Matthews teamed up with the (non-Welsh) Space (another fab underrated combo from that time) to pay tribute to the one and only Tom Jones! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9zL9wlMvZE&ob=av2e

Super Furry Animals also enjoyed their finest moments during the glory days of Britpop, my favourites being "Play It Cool" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27jB6MvX4mQ and "Demons" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkosCOhDCYs

Goldie Lookin' Chain provided much hilarity with "Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do" and went on to carve out a career as list-show talking heads and Celeb BB contestants - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ83KXUloP8&feature=fvsr "I seen it on a documentary on BBC2" lol :)))

Finally, one of the obvious answers to "name some Welsh singers" - Charlotte Church, who initially achieved fame as an opera star and then became more famous
She did however make a couple of decent tracks during her short-lived pop career - "Crazy Chick" -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csL5mu05Xy0 and my favourite, the underrated "Moodswings (To Come At Me Like That)" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPnmlfB6jqM

Retro Saturday: The Alarm

You may (or probably may not) ask yourself what makes me choose the songs/singers for Retro Saturday. Sometimes it's just a song which pops into my head, other times it's a "do you remember that song/band?" conversation.

During a conversation with faithful travelling companion earlier today he mentioned The Alarm and I immediately said "that's one for Retro Saturday!"

"68 Guns" from 1983 was their biggest hit in the UK charts, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR20uChph7c&feature=fvsr but they came to my attention before that with "The Stand" which is probably my favourite song of theirs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMXSiL56QR4

And let's not forget "Rain in the Summertime": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D6pPgwafq0&ob=av2e and "Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIX3DLQiH7s&feature=related

By the way, that conversation this morning also gave me an idea for a Retro Saturday special - check back here same time next Saturday night :)

Retro Saturday: Cajsalisa Ejemyr

I first heard "Alla Behöver Nån (Nångång)" by Cajsalisa Ejemyr a few years ago now, but it has stayed fresh and I never get bored with it. Here is a clip of her doing the song on TV4 back in 1999. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYONqrplE8

Cajsalisa also competed in Melodifestivalen 1997 with Du Gör Mig Hel Igen which was written by the one and only Robyn! A bit of a nervous performance and maybe the song might have done better if Robyn herself had performed it? Or maybe not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ZWqK5OR6M&feature=related

Retro Saturday: Anders Glenmark

Almost 4 years ago to the day, I wrote an appreciative post about Gemini, the duo comprised of Swedish brother and sister Anders and Karin Glenmark, who enjoyed success in the 1980s:
http://europecrazy.blogspot.com/2007/08/remember-how-ive-loved-you-all-these.html

In that post I wrote "some day I'll do something on this blog about Anders, as he does indeed merit a blog post of his own." I never did get around to that post, so let's sort that. I've recently got into watching 80s Melodifestivalen clips which fill the gap nicely till 'on-season' starts again....anyway I recently came across "Det är mitt liv - det är jag" which he wrote and sang at Melodifestivalen 1981. The song placed 4th out of the 5 finalists that year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdHYF1I4acg Of course the Melodifestivalen of 30 years ago was a long long way from the MF of today, but I still miss the orchestra and the backing singers etc etc.....

The Anders Glenmark of 1981 didn't have the distinctive vocal style we associate with him - but that was in evidence by 1984 when he returned to MF, this time alongside his sister Karin, and chalked up yet another 4th place with "Kall Som Is". They look like a couple of bank clerks who dropped by the SVT studio on their lunch break, but hey, it's the 80s! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWABTlBqKZk

Ask anyone outside Sweden who Anders Glenmark is, and outwith the Swedish pop lovers/Melodifestivalen fans/Abba fan community it would be fair to say that most people will not have heard of him. But listen to the chorus of that massive 80s hit "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head - that's Anders Glenmark singing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDIZTmH6Qsw

Anders' biggest commercial success came in the late 80s and early 90s with hits like "Hon har blommor i sitt hår" and "Greyhound Bus" and even a further attempt at Melodifestivalen in 1989 with "Upp över mina öron" this time duetting with Orup. They came 2nd with what was in my opinion one of the best MF songs ever, and the duo went on to form a successful musical partnership along with Niklas Strömstedt, as Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt (GES). The trio recorded the 1994 World Cup song for the Swedish football team. As World Cup anthems go, this is one of the best ever - maybe because it's not a boring old traditional football song, but it's a perfect musical snapshot of three Swedish musicians in their prime. Over the years Anders Glenmark had not just become an accomplished singer/songwriter but had also established a very specific production style which carried on through his own work and that of GES. I featured "När Vi Gräver Guld I USA" on the blog before, but it's always nice to revisit an old favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgeCt4bX878

I don't know what Anders is doing musically these days. The last we heard of him was 5 years ago, as co-writer (with Niklas Strömstedt) of Magnus Carlsson's Melodifestivalen entry, the distinctively Glenmark-styled "Lev Livet" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNOG6rpJtMQ I hope that one day, Anders Glenmark will come back and make music again.