Retro Saturday: Monaco

So while I was on the subject of New Order (RIP), and given that Bernard Sumner's new band Bad Lieutenant have an album out, my mind wandered to my favourite NO member Peter Hook and his past musical adventures.

Back in the 90s there were various NO side-projects - Barney had Electronic, Steven and Gillian had The Other Two, and Hooky had Monaco, who, let's face it, filled the gap very nicely in the absence of New Order. I bought their "Music For Pleasure" album the week it came out - it featured "What Do You Want From Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwk5oKU4Dr4 and "Sweet Lips" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAjEmCmtu7I which were both deservedly top 20 hits.

(While we're on the subject of that album I also liked the Oasis/Charlatans hybrid of "Buzz Gum" too)

Retro Saturday: Fad Gadget

If you're over 40 years old this might jog your memory...!

Real name Frank Tovey, I'm not familiar with any of his other songs but I always liked the controversial "Saturday Night Special" which was a fixture on the John Peel show on Radio 1 in 1982. Here's a clip of Mr Gadget doing the song live....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7fMcNTB75A

...I found this live performance of the song on the TV show "Riverside" - Mondays on BBC2 wasn't it? - which I used to watch back then. I remember (my favourite band of all time) New Order playing "Temptation" and "Chosen Time" on that show. I also remember the presenters were Mike Andrews and Steve Blacknell if I remember rightly. Wonder what happened to them?

Sorry but I've completely gone into nostalgia mode now :))))

Retro Saturday: Nick Kamen

Back in the days before X Factor and Idol and reality TV, there was another way to get your 15 minutes of fame - through advertising. Back in the 80s, Nick Kamen took his jeans off in a launderette in a Levi's ad, and appeared in a Madonna video. Before we knew it, he was a pop star.

His biggest hit in the UK was his debut "Each Time You Break My Heart" although probably my favourite song of his is "I Promised Myself" from 1990. Despite failing to break the UK top 40, it did become a big hit in Europe and even today it's still a regular feature on oldies playlists on European radio stations.

If you're not familiar with this song, find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiC5BdIVfm8

The other day I discovered that none other than Basshunter has done a cover version which will be the follow-up single to current hit "Every Morning", which is inevitably be in the style of "Now You're Gone" - and (IMHO) vastly inferior to the original.

This weekend...

I won't be around much so I can't promise too many posts, but I'll try and review this week's "Idol", also hoping to catch up with "Korslaget" - even though I knew it was starting last week I managed to miss it.

I'm glued to "Strictly Come Dancing" so might write something about that too. Standard is a lot higher this year, although there's always Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Groves to give us a laugh.

I don't watch "X Factor": that ship sailed for me a long time ago when the musical talent took a back seat to the sob stories - cue "Chasing Cars", enough said, no thanks. Although faced with the possibility of all my workmates discussing who's best I may take the easy way out and cut out the tears and just watch the clips of the contestants (singing) on YouTube, so that I stay in the loop.

I also recently discovered "Doobidoo" which is yet another of those Swedish TV celebrity music quizzes, quite good fun, so might watch that too this weekend.

This week's "Idol" songs

This week's theme is "Club Idol" - whatever that means???? Will it be musical murder on the dancefloor?

In his article in Aftonbladet about this week's song choices, Martin Söderström memorably describes the combination of Camilla Håkansson and Lionel Richie's ”All Night Long” 'as attractive as mumps' !! He is a bit more inspired by Tove singing Katy Perry and Mariette tackling the Eurythmics though.

It's a pretty diverse selection this week and hard to predict, although Reza should maybe start worrying because of the "curse of Superstar" - I remember watching other reality talent shows over the years and anyone who sings that song isn't in the competition for very long.

And I really don't know how I should feel about Eddie singing "Release Me".....I only hope he gives a much better vocal performance than last week.

Here's what they're all singing this week:

Nicklas Hocker – ”Get the party started” (Pink).
Rabih Jaber – ”When love takes over” (David Guetta).
Karolina Brånsgård – ”Just dance” (Lady GaGa).
Erika Selin – ”About you now” (Sugababes).
Calle Kristiansson - ”Destiny calling” (Melody Club).
Reza Ningtyas Lindh – ”Superstar” (Jamelia).
Erik Grönwall – ”Leave a light on” (Belinda Carlisle).
Camilla Håkansson – ”All night long” (Lionel Ritchie).
Eddie Razaz – ”Release me” (Agnes).
Mariette Hansson – ”When tomorrow comes” (Eurythmics).
Tove Styrke Östman – ”Hot 'n' cold” (Katy Perry).

(list reproduced from Aftonbladet)

P3 Guld 2010

A date for your diaries if you're a fan of Swedish pop/rock with a more alternative flavour. The annual P3 radio Guldgalan will take place on Tuesday 19th January 2010 in the Scandinavium in Gothenburg. Tickets go on sale on 26th October.

No info yet re: nominations but keep checking www.sr.se/p3 for info in the coming weeks...

The EuropeCrazy Holiday Hit List: Turkey 2009

Finally I'm getting round to Turkish things on the blog - sorry for the delay folks :) anyway what follows is a list of songs which will always remind me of my recent holiday in Icmeler. Some are current, and some aren't - whilst out enjoying the nightlife I felt as if I'd gone into a Europop timewarp, which was great fun :)))))

I took my radio with me and played it constantly in the hotel room, where we had a brilliant soundtrack of lots of radio stations playing uptempo Turkish pop tunes - Power Turk was probably my favourite station and thanks to the good old internet, the experience continues at www.powerturk.com. There was also Metro FM (http://www.metrofm.com.tr/) which played more international chart pop.

So here's my summer holiday soundtrack for 2009!!

Hotel Room Service/I Know You Want Me - Pitbull (Hotel Room is probably the song for us from this holiday - great party fun)

I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas (soundtrack to party time in Dream Boys)

Sexy B**** (not the "Chick" version!!) - David Guetta & Akon (ditto)

Poker Face - Lady GaGa (she's the new Rihanna - every holiday we go, she's everywhere)

Alice, Who The **** is Alice - Gompie (it never fails, does it? Even after all these years)

Country Roads/I Will Survive - Hermes House Band (tonight we're gonna party like it's 1998)

Turn Me On - Kevin Little (For very personal and hilarious reasons. All I'll say is, it involves a very hot waiter...!!!!)

Angels - Robbie Williams (you know it's after midnight when they play this :( )

Kalinka (this turns up in every waiter-show in town)

Ayo Technology - Katerine (IMHO not a patch on Milow's version, but heard it a few times)

I've Had The Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (another song from Dream Boys' big Dirty Dancing finale)

Cha Cha Slide - DJ Casper (I should feel very ashamed that I know all the words???!!!)

Bu Böyle - Sertab Erener (yes the one and only 2003 ESC winner. Classy pop song)

Evlenmeliyiz - Hadise (can't be bothered with Dum Tek Tek, but this is very catchy)

Oh and we even heard Alexander Rybak's "Fairytale" at a stop-off on our last night on the way to the airport!

The return of Kent

Is this the most complete year of Swedish music ever? (well, almost - all we need is the return of Vincent Pontare and then I will be 100% happy!)

Anyway approximately two years after the release of Kent's last album "Tillbaka Till Samtiden" comes their brand new single "Töntarna" which was released digitally today. On first listen it's not as instant as, say, "Ingenting" and has a dark electro vibe to it. I always find that you need to listen to Kent songs a few times as they don't really grab you instantly but when they do, they don't let go. I wonder if this will have the same effect on me. For those who don't know, Kent is Sweden's biggest rock band and their music has an often dark, bleak tone....trying to find a comparison here, and for some reason I thought of Depeche Mode when I heard "Töntarna" for the first time.

New album "Röd" will follow in November, just in nice time for them to win their usual Grammis/P3 Guld/Rockbjörnen at the beginning of next year, I presume...!

"Sounds of Europe" back tomorrow!

A quick plug for a great little radio show called "Sounds of Europe" which is presented by two of my best blogging pals Rachel and Keira. The show is broadcast on GU2 Radio, the radio station run by students from the University of Surrey. The station also broadcasts online at www.gu2.co.uk

Anyway, it's a new term, a new series and a new timeslot for the show: it'll be broadcast live from 9.00 - 11.00 pm (UK time) on Monday nights, starting tomorrow. If you can't listen live, the show will be available to listen back on the website.

Swedish Idol 2009: now let battle commence

12 contestants, but only 11 places up for grabs. Two contestants had automatically reached Friday's qualifying-final from each of their four heats, with the other four places being made up by wildcard contestants.

1. "Beat It" - Erik Grönwall
Young rocker Erik, who famously turned Yohanna’s "Is It True" into a rock ballad earlier in the competition, was putting his rock stamp on Jacko’s "Beat It". Of the rockers this year I probably prefer Calle to Erik, who sounded a bit strained here, but I think he’ll go far and could be this year's Johan Palm!

2. "Son of a Preacher Man" - Reza Ningtyas Lindh
Rough, gritty, croaky. I really can’t stand this song and it should be banned from all idol-type competitions. She gave it all she had though, I suppose.

3. "Show Me Heaven" - Erika Selin
Another song which I’d be happy to see the back of, I don’t really have a problem with her although she probably over-sang this one.

4 - "Here I Go Again" - Calle Kristiansson
If they want a rock-Idol in the style of, say, Chris Daughtry or Bo Bice then here’s your man. You’d never get anyone like him in X Factor, more’s the pity. I like him.

5. "Pretty Woman" - Nicklas Hocker
Another rocker. I’m glad he got through as a wild card and hopefully he’ll be given the chance to develop as the weeks go on.

6. "Life On Mars" - Tove Östman Styrke
OK so this is one of my all-time favourite songs and should not be messed with! She messed this up a little, but in a strange way she could be worth watching and could potentially be this year’s Amanda Jenssen?

7. "Don’t Look Back In Anger" - Jon Sindenius
What happens when you’re the year’s favourite based on outstanding auditions, Lars Eriksson-style? Well....you fall at the final pre-contest hurdle. Although Jon did himself no favours on "Don’t Look Back In Anger" which really wasn’t a suitable song for him, he should have been given a few more weeks before outliving his usefulness?

8. "Hurtful" - Eddie Razaz.
Massive swooning outbreak at EuropeCrazy HQ. Eddie Razaz is, for me, the hottest looking guy in Idol since Sebastian Karlsson. Yes, that hot. With the volume down though, as his vocal ability doesn’t match his looks and he didn’t make a good job of one of the best songs of 2009. Must do better. But I hope he lasts a few weeks, for completely shallow reasons.

9. "Fever" - Karolina Brånsgård
Unfortunately this was at odds with the backing track throughout and was in the wrong key. This did not float my boat at all. She should have been sent home.

10. "Stand by Me" - Rabih Jaber
Rabih, bless him, is another boy in search of a boy band. He’s like all the worst kind of talent show singers all rolled into one, but I probably fear the worst that he’ll go further than he deserves to.

11. "Sweet Child O’ Mine" - Mariette Hansson
Confident, assured, she already looks and sounds like a star. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have a winner here?

12. "Hallelujah" - Camilla Håkansson
In one of those great D’oh! moments, Camilla is the Idol-contestant who mistakenly thought she heard her name called as a finalist. She did get a wild card though, and freakily turned the dreaded "Hallelujah" into an all-or-nothing rock-out, a gamble which bizarrely paid off.

So Jon goes home earlier than any of us expected, and the rest (pictured above, picture courtesy of TV4) march on to the first weekly live show which takes place on Friday 9th October. This year, there's a Melodifestivalen-style aspect as the final three shows go out of the TV4 studio and go on tour - 27.11.09 in Malmo Arena; 04.12.09 in Gothenburg Scandinavium; and the final, as always, will take place in Stockholm's Globen Arena on 11.12.09.

Bisbal's back!

Where would we be without the wonderful Poster Girl to keep us all up to date with the hottest new Europop tunes?

So... all I can say is thanks once again for bringing new material by David Bisbal to my attention. I also got the "Silencio"-vibe from "Esclavo de Sus Besos" which I liked on first listen (and I usually don't like many songs on first listen) - it's a very nice and catchy uptempo Spanish guitar-pop tune and further proof that he's moving away musically from the Latino sound which made him famous. The new album "Sin Mirar Atrás" will be released worldwide on 20.10.2009.

Oh, and on a completely shallow note....one of the most divine heads of curly hair in the pop universe is back :))))

Check out the new tune and the matching visuals at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRyjUJbhg6Y

(Picture above courtesy of David's official site http://www.davidbisbal.com/)

Songs of the decade countdowns....

...expect a few of these on various websites towards the end of the year. One of these is starting early: http://nollnolltalet.se/ (in Swedish) is doing a very detailed rundown and I recommend it (thanks to It's A Trap for the link).

I haven't really thought about doing a "songs of the decade" rundown but I'm kicking around a few ideas at the moment so I'll probably do something towards the end of the year, in addition to the 2009-50, which is rapidly filling up!

Mwah!

OK it may be 10 years old, but on any night in any bar in any Turkish holiday resort I guarantee that this will get played, with an accompanying dance routine by some rather lovely waiters no doubt :))))

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the lovely Tarkan with "Şımarık" (a.k.a. the original version of "Kiss Kiss"):



By the way I bought Tarkan's latest album "Metamorfoz" whilst on holiday and will eventually get around to reviewing it on here. :)

Idol 2009: gå vidare

According to Aftonbladet (I haven't managed to catch up yet) here are the finalists in this year's Swedish Idol:

Andreas Johansson
Carl Chapal
Camilla Håkansson
Clara Hagman
Eddie Razaz
Erik Grönwall
Erika Selin
Jon Sindenius
Karolina Brånsgård
Mariette Hansson
Moa Carlebecker-Forssell
Nicklas Hocker
Nicolle Walles
Patrik Öhlund
Rabih Jaber
Rasmus Ingdahl
Reza Ningtyas Lindh
Sabina Täck
Tove Östman-Styrke

Competing for a final place:
Piotr Pospiech
Calle Kristiansson

Retro Saturday: Tracey Thorn

I didn't always have such contempt for female singers..back in 1982/83/84 for example, there were female/female-fronted acts with so much to offer musically. Notably Tracey Thorn, who was my absolute favourite female singer from those years. Nowadays her career seems to have been summarised to EBTG's "Missing" and Massive Attack's "Protection" but her first solo mini-album "A Distant Shore" is probably my favourite of all her recorded output. There's nothing fancy - it's just one wonderful voice and acoustic guitar, but it was very special for me at the time, particularly "Seascape" and "Plain Sailing": the latter was featured on "Pillows and Prayers" and can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2GLsoxOJE

Retro Saturday: Joe Crow

Another track from "Pillows and Prayers", this time "Compulsion" by Joe Crow which has a nice little home-made lo-fi feeling about it. I don't know anything about the man who made it, but I just like this song, anyway....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kifY99v6BTM

Retro Saturday: Thomas Leer

It's not the first time I've featured Mr Leer on Retro Saturday - he's been here before as one half of the sublime late 80s duo Act - but I often find inspiration for this feature when my mind takes a little wander through the past, and so it was again this week. I remember receiving Cherry Red's excellent "Pillows and Prayers" album as part of my 1982 Christmas present bonanza - extremely good value for 99p, back in the day, and featuring a wide variety of acts signed to that label. If they all appealed to you, then congratulations on your ear for musical diversity! - anyway I enjoyed a fair amount of them and I thought I'd feature some of the tracks tonight. "All About You" by Thomas Leer is a very wonderful (and overlooked) electro-ballad which still sounds as fresh, and as touching, today.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLZ4ObI8-d4

Two people become one?

I don’t know, but a week can be a long time in the world of music. As if the continuing Sugababes game of line-up musical chairs (Jade "It’s My Time" Ewen in, last remaining original member Keisha Buchanan out) and the earth-shattering news of the Chas and Dave split wasn’t enough, now here is a strange one.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of Aussie duo Empire of the Sun, so I’m somewhat perplexed by the news that one half of the band, Nick Littlemore, has allegedly been "missing in action" for five months and will not take part in the band’s forthcoming debut live shows in Australia. Singer Luke Steele told an Australian newspaper that he has been left "holding the baby" and that he will be backed by a group called The Swiss for the live shows starting this weekend.

There is more about what can be expected from the weird, wonderful, conceptual live EOTS experience and the myths that surround the ‘band’ at http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/stranger-than-fiction/2009/09/24/1253385071568.html

Where all this leaves the future of Empire of the Sun, nobody knows. It would be a shame if Luke Steele didn’t continue with this magical musical adventure though.

Back from Turkey!!

Hello again...I'm back from one of the best holidays I've ever had, in the lovely Turkish resort of Icmeler. Got back on Tuesday morning after a bit of a marathon final day/airport delays/night flight, but caught up with some sleep in the afternoon and should be back on track tomorrow.

Anyway we had a fantastic and relaxing time. Weather was 33 to 35 degrees most days but we managed to cope. The initial culture shock of shopping Turkish-style took some getting used to but by the end of the trip we were expert hagglers - great fun :))

Went on some very good trips/activities, ate brilliant food all week, and enjoyed the warm Turkish hospitality which truly deserves its good reputation. And let's just say I fell in love with many of those lovely Turkish men...!

As usual I'll be publishing my holiday diaries/holiday hit list on here over the next few days as I'll have a bit more time - yes I have almost another week off before going back to work next Tuesday, so expect some regular posts between now and then.

Blog break time once again

This blog is now taking a break - the reason being that I'm off to Turkey tomorrow for my summer holiday (with faithful travelling companion of course)!

I'll be back on here on the evening of Tuesday 22nd September - in the meantime if you wish to leave any comments on any of my posts I'll respond to these when I get back.

See you all soon :))))

Retro Saturday: Nick Lowe

I seem to be stuck in the late 70s at the moment....so while we are on some classic hits from that era let's feature the mighty "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass" which made the UK top 40 during that new wave of post-punk: audio version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn0cuAYC5jk&feature=fvw although there are also some live versions at YouTube too.

Nick Lowe also had a UK hit with "Cruel to be Kind": audio at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqWjyvgLYfI

Retro Saturday: John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett

Remember this? "Really Free" by John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett no less. "Cor baby, that's really free!" From 1977, and one more reason why we miss Top of the Pops so much.

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

Retro Saturday: OMC

Starting off tonight with a genuine 90s international one-hit wonder from New Zealand band OMC - "How Bizarre" was a (now forgotten) hit back in 1996 and it still sounds refreshing today. It pops into my head from time to time and tonight I thought it would be a good candidate for Retro Saturday. When was the last time you heard this on the radio?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfJe8hQ8ha0

Hallelujah! Swedish Idol is back.

The freaks, the geeks, the deluded and the just plain daft....yes it can only mean one thing, the audition stage of Idol 2009 (TV4) kicking off its sixth season.

Yes of course there may be some genuine talent but let's forget about that and focus on the undisputed greatness of Philip Damberg, whose version of "Ring of Fire" had me almost collapsing with a fit of the giggles for about half an hour...and will probably have Johnny Cash spinning in his grave.



Also worth a mention: Sami Piipanen's, um, enthusiastic "Boten Anna", and Sebastian Rönnberg's, um, less than enthusiastic "To Be With You".

You know how certain songs should be banned from Idol auditions? Well can we ban "Hallelujah" now? (Having said that, I thought Joseph Assaly's version was rather nice).

Jon (who sang his own composition) seemed to be a big hit with the jury. I was trying to think who he visually reminded me of....and then it just came to me - Stefan Raab on ESC singing "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da"!!!

I guess this will be my new Tuesday night obsession now that my summer singalong-shows have ended :)

The increasingly blurred worlds of....

...Swedish reality/talent television and Melodifestivalen hasn't escaped my notice. Further proof is the line-up for the forthcoming series of the hugely successful TV4 series "Korslaget" which is back to brighten up our autumn weekends from 3rd October. Auditions for the hometown-teams are currently taking place in Sweden: more at www.tv4.se/korslaget.

All except one of this year's choir leaders have been in Melodifestivalen - Caroline af Ugglas, Roger Pontare, Ola Svensson, Andreas Lundstedt, Amy Diamond, Rodrigo "Rigo" Pencheff - only Stefan Nykvist from Larz-Kristerz hasn't (yet) but his band of course won another reality-talent show "Dansbandskampen".

Talking of which, there will be a new series beginning on 24th October on SVT -expect the Swedish tabloids to get excited about another Saturday night ratings battle between SVT and TV4. Thanks to the internet, we'll be able to watch both shows.

And then there's the new series of "Idol" which starts this coming Tuesday on TV4. Who will succeed last year's winner Kevin Borg? (Kevin hasn't done too badly for an Idol-winner, landing the lead role in the Swedish stage version of High School Musical.)

Retro Saturday: Brecker Brothers

Can't believe I haven't featured this on here during the last 2½ years that I've been doing this blog - it's one of my most favourite songs ever and I'm probably the only person I know who has heard of it. Keeping with tonight's theme, it's from 1978 of course.

I refer to "East River" by the Brecker Brothers, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgig-GNx4c, a fabulous jazzy, funky, exciting concoction which sounds as good today as it always did :)

Retro Saturday: Patrick Juvet

One more European star who briefly broke through in 1978 thanks to the disco boom was Patrick Juvet, who had hits here in the UK with "I Love America" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8UjLTAfbI0 and "Got A Feeling" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNXwyQKiKig&feature=related

People "of a certain age" who grew up in the 1970s will remember a mega-cheesy dance group called The Young Generation, (one of their members was none other than Popstars/Pop Idol/So You Think You Can Dance guru Nigel Lythgoe!) and that's what the "Got A Feeling" video makes me think of when I watch it :)

Retro Saturday: Voyage

Even back in 1978 I was cheered up by the thought of a non British/American act in the top 40 charts - Voyage were French if I remember rightly :)

Here is a little disco classic - "From East To West" and I guarantee you will be tapping your feet in no time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es3Ark-As38

Then there was "Scots Machine" - everything was set to a disco beat back in those days, and just when you thought no-one would dare to do bagpipe-disco then Voyage came along to prove us all wrong!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNDxxVguDwE

Retro Saturday: The Cars

Mention The Cars to anyone, at least in this country and they will think of "Drive" which took on a whole, new, chilling meaning after Live Aid in 1985. But long before that, back in 1978, they arrived on the scene with "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Just What I Needed", the latter was a particular favourite of mine. Here's a clip from their performance on "The Midnight Special" an American TV show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPWpYaM1Xio

Retro Saturday: A Taste of Honey

So in a completely random way I've made a spontaneous decision that tonight is 1978 night on Retro Saturday!!

Next up is the irresistibly dancey "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey, which was another one of those disco one hit wonders I think. What was notable about this band was that it was fronted by two women, Hazel Payne and Janice Johnson, who didn't just stand at the front, dance around and look good, but they also played their own instruments too - which was a bit of a rarity back in those days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvIydHPhb98

Retro Saturday: Eye to Eye

Today I was thinking about one very obscure oldie "Am I Normal" originally recorded by Eye to Eye and then covered by (Virginia) David. Here is a link to the Eye to Eye version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkRsgp5ZUGA

Unfortunately I can't find the David version anywhere on YouTube or elsewhere on the internet for that matter, so I'm not able to post a link. IMHO I preferred the David version to the original, but having said that, the original's pretty good too :))

One of the members of Eye to Eye was Julian Marshall who was half of the duo Marshall Hain - they had a UK hit with "Dancing in the City" in 1978: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lmfpnv_eLY - hard to believe this was 31 years ago!!

Rewind: Swedish summer telly

There are some traditions that I eagerly await every year, one of them being the Swedish summer TV show "Allsång på Skansen". Even if it's raining outside, I hear the opening bars of "Stockholm i mitt hjärta" and that officially tells me that summer is here.

2009 was just that little bit different. We didn't just have Allsång on SVT, but also Lotta Engberg's show, Monday nights on TV4. Both shows have now ended their summer runs.

Allsång, the established favourite with its usual pick & mix format brought the usual highs and lows. The best show of the series was the first one, on 23.06.09, which featured Tomas Ledin and Måns Zelmerlöw, the latter being instantly acclaimed as a possible successor to the under-fire Anders Lundin, who was consistently a target for the Swedish press from day one. As I don't live in Sweden I'm not sure what the reason is for all this criticism, as I think he's ok for that sort of thing, although (IMHO) he's no singer, which is ironic as he's the host of a singalong show!

Other guests I enjoyed during this series: Magnus Uggla, John ME, Magnus Carlsson and Wille Crafoord (a very nice duet of the Swedish 1973 Eurovision entry), H.E.A.T. and Bjorn Skifs.

The mythical backdrop of Skansen and the Stockholm skyline makes watching Allsång a very special experience, even if the line-up of guests isn't always your cup of tea. That's what probably edged it in front of TV4's rival "Lotta på Liseberg", which was televised weekly for the first time this year. Still, I thought she had some very good guests - Ola Svensson, Brolle, Scotts, Agnes (an excellent "Release Me"), the new-look (and very glam) Linda Bengtzing, and for me the icing on the cake on the final show....Salem Al Fakir. Now you all know by now that Salem is my favourite singer, but he also has such a lively and infectious personality that you could imagine him hosting Allsång one day in the future as he relates so well to his audience and had so much fun here. The same could not be said for fellow guest, Paul Potts who sat squirming on the sofa whilst being interviewed by Lotta Engberg, and was then subjected to an "English Allsång" - "The Laughing Policeman". The irony was not lost on me, given Mr Potts' consistently sour-faced expression during the show!

But I digress. The other big hitter on Swedish summer TV is TV4's "Sommarkrysset" from Grona Lund in Stockholm, which I have also enjoyed greatly this summer, although I need to catch up with the latest editions. Again the highlights this summer for me were (goes without saying) Salem again, also Moneybrother, Brolle (again), Erik Hassle, Darin, Star Pilots.

"Sommarkrysset" finishes its current run this coming Saturday with a cracking line-up of guests including Fibes, Oh Fibes! and Kim Wilde, Europe, and Ola. Don't miss it.

Rewind: Eurovision Song Contest 2009, four months on...

So, with the benefit of hindsight, what will we remember about the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest? Play that violin...

If Norway's Alexander Rybak's win was "predetermined" like many recent pre-contest favourites, no-one could have predicted the landslide victory which followed. Juries and televoters, from every part of the continent, awarded maximum scores to "Fairytale" (apart from the foregone conclusion of the Bosnia-Croatia, Greece-Cyprus, Azerbaijan-Turkey, Moldova-Romania 12 point love-ins, to name the most significant). It wasn't just the "Nordic bloc voting" much derided by Terry Wogan over the years....it takes much, much more than that to win Eurovision these days.

The major change this year was the introduction of jury-televoting split, to save a contest which was losing the last little bit of credibility it had, thanks to the neighbour voting which had dominated/ruined the show (delete as appropriate) in recent years.

I think it worked.

It all started with 2008 winner Dima Bilan walking in the air, catching his jacket along the way (oops) and -points deducted here - miming to "Believe" whilst auditioning for "Hole In The Wall". All together now...."Bring on the wall!!" Nice chap though.

I grew to like those postcards featuring the Russian 'Miss World', she was very pretty wasn't she?

So on with the show....

• Lithuania: Sasha Son sang this very well, but he was a good singer in need of a better song.
• Israel: It was a little contrived but a nice idea nonetheless, and I didn't hate it.
• France: Patricia Kaas did what she did best, stood on a stage and was mesmerising for 3 minutes, although my mum didn't like this. Faithful travelling companion, a self-confessed Eurovision-phobe, broke the habit of a lifetime and watched the contest this year because Ms Kaas was there. Of course he voted for her. Quelle surprise!!
• Sweden next. For some reason it still left me cold, and the wonky vocals before the big finish didn't help, although there was that big note at the end. Mum: "there's something unsettling about her, isn't there?"
• Croatia: We both hated this. And probably still do. Mum: "Baloney. Chronic".
• Portugal: this on the other hand was just lovely, she was lovely, the very colourful flowery staging was memorable, and the song was very nice and cheerful.
• Iceland: A simple song, sung in a simple style, with virtually no gimmicks. The kind of thing which used to be enough to win Eurovision, from the days before the dance routines and the drumbeats took over. This wasn't my favourite Icelandic entry of all time, but credit to Yohanna for a nice performance anyway....and a fabulous result.
• Greece, and the understated performer that is Sakis Rouvas. Mum: "Is he miming?" This also still left me cold, and by the end of it I wished he'd got swallowed up by that giant stapler.
• Armenia: They would appear to be another one of those winners-in-waiting countries, although the visual impact of this - two girls looking like something from Camelot - outweighed the song in my opinion.
• Russia: in the "defending champions trying our best not to win again" trend (Sweden 1992, Ireland 1995 for example) here was a woman dressed in a towel, wailing a load of old rubbish.

A word at this point for the BBC's Graham Norton. Terry Wogan in his prime would have been a hard act to follow, but he had gone stale and past his sell-by date in recent years, and sounded as if he didn't want to be there. Norton did well in his first year: subtle, agreeable, funny - but respectful too. Eurovision fans would have found much to like here. Back to the songs....

• Azerbaijan: this had the Swedish "Boro Boro" guy on it so post-contest top 10 success and maximum radio airplay was assured. One more thing: faithful travelling companion was very impressed by AySel. Mum: "it's beauty and the beast!"
• Bosnia-Herzegovina: I thought this had top 5 finish written all over it, although 9th is still a pretty decent position. Passionate and emotional, but not in that forced, manipulative way which had maybe characterised Balkan entries in the past. I still love this and it's one of the very few songs from this year's contest which I still play.
• Moldova: I missed most of this as I was putting my potato wedges in the oven at the time. Her visual similarity to Shirley Clamp had escaped me first time round, but it was extremely obvious here. A novelty song which did better than I expected.
• Malta: Chiara yet again. Graham Norton: "She never met a Malteser she didn't like!!" A good singer, yes, but a duff song. She needs to be give something decent to sing.
• Estonia: We like!! Understated and extremely hypnotic, and well deserving of its 6th place. Glad to see them doing well again after a few off-years.
• Denmark: Tonight, Matthew, Brinck is going to be Ronan Keating! Although we liked this, we maybe had played it too much before the contest and had got a bit bored with it. Vocally he wasn't at his best, "a bit pitchy, dawg" as Randy Jackson might have said.
• Germany. Oh the shame of it. As I transferred my potato wedges (McCain Salt and Black Pepper wedges, the undisputed world champions of the potato wedge IMHO) from oven to plate, I thankfully missed most of it. A low point from beginning to end, and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse..."ladies and gentlemen, Miss Dita Von Teese".
• Turkey: to use an over-used word, dare I say "meh"? This was like Turkish-Eurovision-by-Numbers, and not in a good way. "For Real" it definitely wasn't, but a top 5 placing was guaranteed. Could do better.
• Albania: She was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, and we found it so interesting that we spoke all the way through it.
• Norge! Victory for Norway! He did enough, although those dancers continued to annoy me. I liked the stage set for this one though.
• Ukraine: I never thought we'd get anything cheaper than Deutschland tonight but here you have it. Me: "She's had 'work'". Mum: "And it's not made much difference". Top entertainment though if nothing else, and you'll remember the centurions.
• Romania: Yuk. This was one of our most hated qualifiers. Cheap, tacky rubbish. Possibly the worst song of the night, on a night with a lot of contenders for that title.
• Royaume-Uniiiiiiiiiiiii!!! Wow! Now you know I famously described "It's My Time" on here as a pile of mince, but on the night it was an excellently performed pile of mince and you could hear it being cheered throughout. Yes they milked the Lloyd-Webber factor for all it was worth, but 5th place wasn't bad going for the UK (a.k.a. "no one likes us") and may just have saved this country's Eurovision future.
• Finland: I'm glad they made it to the final, but for some strange reason this lost its impact for me on the night although it was still one of my favourites. Mum: "they could have done without the flame-throwers".
• Spain: After all the bother they go to with their elaborate qualifying process, this was the best they could do? They shouldn't have bothered, and I can't really see them hanging around Eurovision for too much longer.

So then there were recaps, and Dimitry (yum!) in the green room, and an interval act called "Fuerza Bruta" which was all water and art and swimming pools and was unusual and quite breathtaking. There was an interview with ALW who was very proud of Jade Ewen's performance, while Jade herself was also very euphoric. Sir Andrew commented before the voting that "it's a close run thing and not a shoo-in for us at all".

Despite what felt like 17000 countries casting votes, the voting skipped along smoothly and I had lots of fun identifying the jury spokespersons. Sadly no Bjorn Gustafsson for Sweden this year, but look! it's Sarah Dawn Finer! Duncan James gave the votes for the UK, DMGP host Felix read the votes for Denmark and finally....that sweet little package of Norwegian cuteness, Stian Barsnes Simonsen, delivered the Norwegian jury vote. How much would I love it if he hosted the semi-finals and/or the finals next year!!

Norway were runaway winners and earned the right to host next year's contest which will take place at the end of May in the Telenor Arena in Oslo. What we know is that Georgia will be back (I liked their Putin-bashing song and it was a sad loss to the contest when it was disqualified); whilst the Czech Republic have quit due to lack of interest.

The political nature of the ESC is well documented but recently took an even more sinister turn in Azerbaijan, as recent press reports stated that Azeri citizens who voted for arch-rivals Armenia were being taken in for questioning for being unpatriotic. Hey, it's only a song contest remember????

Whether you love or hate "Fairytale" you can't deny that it was a deserved winner, and its high placings in the charts across Europe - shock horror, it even made the UK chart - proved that it was also a very popular one. Thanks to the participation of established international acts (Patricia Kaas) and songwriters (Andrew Lloyd Webber) the contest's profile has never been higher, and I can only hope that this is reflected in better quality entries next year. It'll be no time till it's "on-season" once again....

Rewind weekend: Tour de France 2009

Finally posting my review of this :)

The 2009 Tour de France was unusual this year for quite a few reasons. Firstly there was the route, completely missing out the north and east, no Brittany or Normandy cobbled-stone stages this year. The race began in Monaco, and controversially the final mountain stage, the epic climb up Mont Ventoux, took place the day before the final stage in Paris. Cruel or what??? In recent years Le Tour hasn't just confined itself to France and this year it visited Monaco, Barcelona, Andorra and Verbier...and the 2010 Tour will start in Rotterdam!

Then there was the comeback of one Lance Armstrong. If you watched ITV4's otherwise excellent coverage, the one criticism I have of Liggett and Sherwen is their one-rider obsession - in previous years they have been obsessed with Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain and most recently Cadel Evans, and this year, for them it was all about the "Tour de Lance".

That was of course until the British interest kicked in. Firstly there was Mark Cavendish, the unofficial king of the sprints this year as he won no less than six stages, but a points deduction for allegedly riding too close to rival Thor Hushovd meant that he couldn't make up sufficient points to win the green jersey competition: that was won by Hushovd. However it was some consolation for Cavendish that he got the "big one" - he won the final stage on the Champs-Elysees.

And then there was Bradley Wiggins, British Olympic gold-winning track cyclist who may have lost weight for the 2009 Tour, but he became a road race heavyweight in this year's race and at one point was a serious contender for a spot on the podium. He ended the race in fourth place, which was an incredible achievement, I thought.

What about the yellow jersey? Earlier in the race it was worn by Fabian Cancellara and Rinaldo Nocentini (the latter a new name to me) before it was taken over by Alberto Contador in the Alps and he kept it all the way to the finish. Lance Armstrong meanwhile was determined to prove that he was a serious challenger once again. Both Contador and Armstrong were on the revamped Astana all-star team which included some ex-Discovery riders and management. Contador was the official leader, but the media made a lot of the conflict between the team's real leader Contador, and Armstrong, whom they described as the team's unofficial leader.

Luxembourg's Andy Schleck took second place on the podium: he is an impressive young cyclist with a bright future ahead of him in the sport.

What pleased me most about this year's Le Tour was that the cycling spoke for itself and thankfully the race wasn't overshadowed by the drugs scandals which had blighted the race in recent years. I thought it was a very enjoyable Tour, even if it wasn't the most competitive or unpredictable one I've ever seen, but there were enough little rewarding episodes throughout the three weeks to make it well worth watching.

Some Swedish music news: Melodifestivalen, Agnes, Fibes

Some news about Melodifestivalen 2010: this week the names of the cities hosting next year's weekly extravaganza were revealed. The four semi-finals will take place as follows:

06.02.10 - Örnsköldsvik
13.02.10 - Sandviken
20.02.10 - Gothenburg
27.02.10 - Malmö

Andra Chansen:
06.03.10 - Örebro

Final:
13.03.10 - Stockholm


Aftonbladet reports today that Agnes has signed a $1 million deal with Interscope/Geffen Records in the USA and she will be launched there with "Release Me" the song that has been a big hit in the UK and Europe this summer.

I'm getting very excited because the new Fibes, Oh Fibes! album "1987" will be released next week and received a 4 star review in Aftonbladet today, which is saying something as they're not always too generous with their review marking.

Ready to check into the Tokio Hotel again?

Good news for fans of the band and also the eyeliner industry, as the German pop/rock phenomenon that is Tokio Hotel is on the way back.

Their latest album "Humanoid" will be released in October, with its first single "Automatic" - described as an 'epic' - set for release in September.

There's something missing this autumn....

The end of August in France has meant only one thing to me since 2002: the annual return of my all-time favourite reality pop-talent show. At this time every year (apart from the year that the Rugby World Cup was in France), the new series of Star Academy would launch with an all-new set of contestants all hoping to win the contest almost four months later. But that's not going to happen in 2009: there will be no Star Academy this year, leaving a void in this blogger's life and an overwhelming desire to take a look back...........

It all started back in 2001. Jenifer Bartoli was the first Star Academy winner and is arguably the most successful of all the Star Ac winners over the years, but I didn’t get into the show till 2002 (during my holiday in Biarritz) and that for me is still the best ever series. Star Academy 2 was of course won by Nolwenn Leroy, despite every effort made by the programme and the French media for her rival Emma Daumas to win the show. (Nolwenn & Emma pictured above, picture courtesy of http://www.tele7.fr/)

It was inevitable that series 3 in 2003 would be an anti-climax: despite Michal and Sofia being the best contestants, it was Elodie who triumphed. Where series 2 had appeared natural and genuine, series 3 was planting the seeds of viewer manipulation and effective editing, the tools which have become commonplace in reality/talent shows. Therefore Elodie was shown to be fragile, almost bullied by the ‘profs’ whilst her rival Sofia was continually shown in a bad light despite being the most talented of that year’s contestants.

The result of Star Academy 4 (2004) could be predicted before a note was sung: when a young man with cystic fibrosis entered the chateau it seemed inevitable that this would sway the sympathy vote. And then Gregory Lemarchal began to sing, and there was no question that he would be the winner, based purely on his considerable singing talent and nothing else. Female singers had dominated Star Academy so a male winner was long overdue. If the win was a foregone conclusion, then there was one other significant thing about Star Academy 4 for me: Mathieu Johann (pictured above). Enough said.

Star Academy 5 (2005) was probably my least favourite of all the series. There was a new theme tune - the excellent "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclar replaced Bustafunk's "Run Baby Run". The series was blighted by manipulation from start to finish: despite some very talented singers - Alexia, Ely and Jean-Luc were my favourites - it was Magalie Vae (pictured top left) who won, in an "overweight girl wins against the odds" kind of way. The problem was that her ‘story’ didn’t translate into a musical career of any longevity. This was probably the crucial turning point when winning Star Ac wouldn’t guarantee success any more....

Year 6 - 2006 - finally brought the first black winner of the show: Cyril Cinelu, who originated from Martinique. Since the contest began, there had been much debate in France that there had never been a non-white/mixed race winner of Star Academy, or any other reality-talent show for that matter, despite the rich racial mix within the country. He beat my favourite Dominique Fidanza, (pictured above, with Cyril) former Italian 'Popstars' winner in the final. Earlier in the series it looked as if the 'chosen ones' were Cynthia and Marina, the latter being a singer-songwriter who was favoured by the "prod" from the beginning and who was allowed to sing her own compositions on the "Prime".

In 2007, Star Academy 7 brought yet another foregone-conclusion winner. You couldn't imagine anyone but Swiss-born Haute-Savoie native Quentin Mosimann (pictured above) winning the competition that year: he beat off the vastly inferior Claire-Marie in the final, and we will always have fond memories of his classic "Love is Gone" with David Guetta and Peter Cincotti. Meanwhile, Quentin's much-nominated fellow finalist Mathieu Edward eventually found chart success as a credible r'n'b star, Maureen (a French Amy Winehouse?) memorably walked out and Alexia - a particular favourite of this blog - didn't do as well as expected.

Finally, to 2008. Star Academy 8 had a revamp - new theme tune ("Superstar" by the Merrymakers) and no more Dammarie-Les-Lys as the show relocated to the Marais in Paris. Once more I was on holiday in Nice (as in 2003/2005) so was able to watch the show whilst on holiday. From the beginning it looked as if the strongest contestants were Joanna, Harold and Mickels....whilst the "Prod" focused its attentions on Gautier and Alice. Inevitably these two (inferior IMHO) contestants would go far in the competition, but it was Mickels (pictured right, second row from bottom) who finally beat off Alice in the final to become the last Star Academy champion.

Rumours from France suggest that the show will return in 2010, although I can't really see that happening. In the meantime if you're having withdrawal symptoms, I'm sure YouTube and DailyMotion will deliver....!

Album Review: "Hassle" - Erik Hassle

I mentioned in my previous post about Neil McCormick’s article on the rise and fall of the next big things, and how that fate may or may not befall Erik Hassle. Big in blog-land this year, and tipped for Robbie-sized success (Guardian’s new band of the day), Erik Hassle had a lot to live up to before his debut album was released.

On the evidence of "Hassle" recently released in Sweden - the British version, with a different title ("Pieces") and album cover, is out later this year - he needn’t worry, because he delivers.

I initially didn’t understand why "Hurtful" wasn’t the first single in the UK, but thought some more about it and realised that maybe that was quite a smart decision, as releasing "Don’t Bring Flowers" has got him some publicity and some press coverage, so maybe by the time "Hurtful" is out, the recognition will already be there and - hopefully - the charts will be there for the taking.

"Bump in the Road" is a powerful opener. "Hurtful" is still the standout track on the album. "The Thanks I Get" is also impressive: it’s a teary-eyed lovelorn ballad. Now you know I don’t like ballads but I find this one genuinely touching.

"Wanna Be Loved" comes on like a cross between EMD’s "Baby Goodbye" (the whistling hookline) and The Beatles’ "Eleanor Rigby" (the "all the lonely people" lyric) yet is an uptempo pop-rock track which succeeds on its own merits. The lyrics on "First Time" recall teenage memories and will feel very relevant to anyone in that age group, whilst the more mature "Bitter End" is reminiscent of Coldplay and Keane’s big sweeping soaring anthems.

There’s another pretty acoustic ballad, "All I Wanted Was You" - what particularly struck me about this track (and the album in general) is that young Mr Hassle isn’t following the crowd and is just making the music he wants to make, whilst having the potential mass appeal of an act like The Script for example. My worry is that in the cureent UK musical climate, there doesn’t seem to be any room for quality pop music, and I return to the "next big things" debate.

In Sweden, Erik Hassle will be allowed to develop as an artist: that isn’t such a certainty in this country. A young man with big hair and big talent, Erik Hassle deserves massive success. I only hope that he will be allowed to have it.

Rating: 7½ out of 10.

Big in Japan / Next big things

A couple of interesting articles which I found this week:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/27/big-in-japan-daniel-merriweather which interestingly examines why home-country popularity can totally pass an act by, yet they can become huge abroad. "Big In Japan" syndrome in other words. They completely hit the nail on the head about Charlie Winston: yet further proof that the movers and shakers who dictate British musical tastes continue to have an aversion to artist development in favour of the next big thing.

Which brings me on to an article in the Telegraph. Now you wouldn't catch me reading that newspaper in a million years, but I found this whilst searching for articles about Erik Hassle:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100002668/why-pop-music-is-a-cruel-business/

Mr McCormick makes some very relevant points indeed: and I fear the worst for Erik's career in the UK if he's going to be bracketed alongside pop's next big things, rather than being allowed to develop as the talented artist which he undoubtedly is. Album review to follow....

This week's playlist: And I feel like taking off

Supernova - Mr Hudson featuring Kanye West: despite my hatred of vocoder-hell pop, this is a notable exception, and I look forward to hearing what else he can do.

Warning Sign - Nick Heyward: obscure maybe, but I've been listening to this a lot lately. Catchy and underrated track from his post-Haircut One Hundred solo repertoire.

Kylie Said To Jason - The KLF: Hard to believe that this is 20 years old, but still sounds so fresh. I previously gave this a mention on Retro Saturday (which is back with a vengeance next week!) Nonsensical lyrics + an irresistible chorus = excellence.

Lala Song - Bob Sinclar featuring Sugarhill Gang: I still don't understand why UK chart success passed this one by this summer, when it's just got such a sunny, happy vibe about it. Great stuff for anyone who likes old-school rap music.

Say It - Booty Luv: Very very nice to have them back. They make rather fab commercial-dance music, and this is a pretty good comeback.

The Rain/Ready For The Weekend/Stars Come Out/Flashback - Calvin Harris: did I ever mention that "Ready For The Weekend" is my most-played CD of recent weeks? Top dance music which has soundtracked everything from bathtime to housework.

Trippin' On You - Cahill featuring Nikki Belle: this was played a few times on Galaxy Radio (which is otherwise the home of vocoder-hell) and I realised how much I still liked it after all this time.

Sweet Dreams - Beyonce: Now you know that I can't really stand Beyonce ("Halo" is currently my undisputed most-hated-song of 2009) but for some strange reason I like this.

Don't Bring Flowers/Hurtful/Wanna Be Loved/Bitter End - Erik Hassle: Swedish pop's latest brightest new talent releases a very impressive album indeed. Here are four songs from it.

Release Me - Agnes: yes I know it's old news by now, but I still like it. 2009-50 place guaranteed by now. I don't know how her UK chart career will go now, but this is a pretty good start.

Been to the movies today....

Faithful travelling companion suggested going to see the latest Quentin Tarantino epic, the title of which I won't mention here in case it messes with my blog-filter at work....although I didn't know anything about it and hadn't read any reviews beforehand, so I didn't know what to expect.

"IB" turned out to be a very good movie indeed, set in World War II with the usual parallel-storytelling that you would expect from Tarantino by now, and a fine international cast.

The film begins with a German colonel Landa, known as "the Jew Hunter", who kills off a Jewish family being hidden in a dairy farmer's home. The daughter of the family escapes, takes on a new identity and is subsequently seen running a cinema which is chosen to host the premiere of a film made by Goebbels about a German war hero - played by an old favourite of this blog, Daniel Brühl of "Goodbye Lenin" fame - and this gives her the opportunity for revenge against the Nazi hierarchy attending the premiere, as she plans to burn down the cinema during the film.

None other than Brad Pitt, as Aldo Raine leads the "B******s", a fearless group of Jewish-American scalp-hunters who will stop at nothing to get revenge on the Nazis, carving a swastika into the forehead of the Germans whom they do save. Although I've never quite understood Mr Pitt's popularity, I have to admit that he sparkled in this role.

Despite the serious subject matter, it wouldn't be a Tarantino film if it didn't have some very black comedy: the scene when Raine's fellow fighters reinvent themselves as Italians only for the multi-lingual Landa to rumble them is a particular treat.

The ending of the film sees Tarantino taking liberties with history as only he can; and of course, it being a Tarantino movie means there's lots of look-away-from-the-screen-now violence.

The fact that I sat and watched a 2½ hour movie without dozing off says a lot for my attention-span: it's a relentless and compelling war movie reinvented as spaghetti western, and it's well worth seeing.

Rewinding and starting with a clean slate

It's "rewind" weekend at EuropeCrazy: I thought I'd take the opportunity to "rewind back to summertime" as the great philosopher Måns Zelmerlöw would say, and finally post all those reviews and ramblings which I never got around to during this summer.

Anyway I want to start my autumn/winter season on this blog with a clean slate, so between now and midnight on Monday 31st expect a bit of a blogging extravaganza. I always think that the end of August signals the end of summer, as the days get shorter and the nights get longer, so this is a bit of a "goodbye to summer" weekend on EuropeCrazy. Once I get these posts out of the way it will also free up some time for me to devote to September's pre-holiday preparations (16 days to go!!!!!) and then from the end of September it'll be full speed ahead for this little blog once more.

I never did get around to posting that Eurovision review either so I may just post that too, with a little benefit-of-hindsight twist. :)

Onwards!

Message for Mick (Tracklister)

Any chance of an invite?

Cheers
Laura (EuropeCrazy)

New BWO video.

Thanks to Expressen http://www.expressen.se/ here is the video for BWO's new single, the excellent "Rise to the Occasion" which is the latest track to be released from their fab "Big Science" album.

http://www.expressen.tv/noje/1.1676706/bwo-rise-to-the-occasion

Album Review: "Ready For The Weekend" - Calvin Harris

It’s that age-old dilemma once again: can dance acts make good albums? In many cases the answer is a definite ‘no’. But Calvin Harris is not just any old dance act. Regular readers of this blog will be well aware that I’ve liked his music a lot since his debut - "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" were never off my stereo at the time, and with "Dance Wiv Me" (also featured here) he managed to do the impossible and get me to like a Dizzee Rascal record. The first time I heard "I’m Not Alone" (which is officially the most searched-for song on this blog, ever!) I absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to hear this album.

At the moment, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve been time-transported back to, say, 1982: we’re deep in recession, three million on the dole, the record companies are falling over themselves to sign one electro-pop act after another, and the British charts are full of rubbish.
But here is Mr Harris to cheer us all up with a dose of euphoric dance-pop which, even if most of it sounds "acceptable in the 90s" then what’s wrong with that? (I happen to think that the 90s was an underrated musical decade which will someday get the positive re-evaluation it deserves).

The album starts off with an absolute cracker - "The Rain" had me hooked immediately. Despite its title it’s a dance anthem filled with positivity and sets the tone for the rest of the album. The title track (and follow-up single to "I’m Not Alone") is a hands-in-the-air dance anthem with a great chorus.

"Stars Come Out" is like two songs in one: to these ears it’s got more of an 80s electro-house vibe than a 90s feel, and I love the way it changes about halfway through. "You Used To Hold Me" doesn’t float my boat so much, purely because its repetitive chorus really annoys me, but this is one for the electro-dance crowd.

"Blue" shows off a more reflective side to Calvin, and is probably as near as he gets to a ballad, well an electro-one anyway (!) I do like his vocals, even if a lot of the time he chooses to feed them through a vocoder/autotune thingy, but he even does this in a more positive way.

Next is "I’m Not Alone" which is my favourite single by a British artist in 2009 so far. Euphoric, commercial dance at its very best, which recalls Faithless at the top of their game, and that unforgettable chorus - "If I see a light flashing, could this mean that I’m coming home?"

I read somewhere that "Flashback" is to be the next single: it's perhaps more trancey than its predecessors and probably won't do so well as a result, although artistically it's a triumph I guess.

"Worst Day" reminds me, for no particular reason, of N.E R.D.'s "Maybe" and is a diversion from the stadium dance concept of this album. Like many other albums of late, "Ready For The Weekend" loses its focus a little in the latter tracks but is still very much worth a listen. Despite its title, "Burns Night" isn’t an electro-bagpipe piece of haggis-house but is a reflective instrumental; "Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La" won't ever win any prizes for lyrical genius but reminds me of Bob Sinclar, for some reason.

The ‘rich kids’ in the media who dictate and force-feed us with musical trends may not like this album and prefer to push on with hyping this year’s thing, but Twitter-rant aside, I doubt if Calvin Harris should really be too bothered about their criticism, as he's made a commercial dance album to be very proud of indeed, and has brought some long overdue musical sunshine into these dark, rainy days.

Hello again....

...I thought it was about time I came back here. I’m about ready to resume normal service on this blog. There are a couple of out-of-date posts about Eurovision and the Tour de France, which will be posted on here over the next few days, if only to get them out of my system!

Still addicted to Flight of the Conchords: so much to love but we're still obsessed with "If You're Into It" because it's daft, silly, funny and Jemaine is just on top form, "doing stuff with the food" :) I promise you will love this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY8jaGs7xJ0

Another blog-break week (or two)

I'm trying to remember what it was like in the early days of this blog when I had lots of time to do about 17 posts a day (only kidding) anyway for the last few months I've been struggling to do justice to this blog so rather than take a few months out, I find it helps to take the odd week out and I've decided I need another one this week, if only because I'm still not really at full fitness physically, mentally or emotionally, and because I've got lots to do at home and very little time to do the research which this blog demands.

I'll be back when I'm ready - hopefully a few early nights should sort me out!! I'm not giving a return date but I think two weeks off should be enough.

(Of course Planet Salem will continue in the meantime, as I find that blog so much easier to update!)

Dutch Charts Update

Have we ever done a Dutch update before? Can't remember, but I should really do them more often.

A bit of Dutch-language summer-reggae at no. 1 in the Mega Top 50 this week. "Mi Rowsu" by Damaru & Jan Smit is a very pleasant laid-back little tune, which, apparently, is sung in a Volendam accent.

It's not the only Dutch-language song in the top 5, as there is also "Slaap Lekker" by Diggy Dex featuring Eva de Roovere. It's a more contemporary rap/r'n'b song but I think being sung/rapped in its native language makes it so much better. I quite liked this too.

There's also a German artist in the Dutch top 10: Peter Fox's "Haus Am See" has been in the chart for 10 weeks. The great thing about continental Europe is that they have no boundaries to music in another language, unlike here in the UK where not even a song with a couple of German words (Polarkreis 18's "Allein Allein") could get any airplay (Radio 2 excepted) and needless to say, failed to make our singles chart.

A summer dance tune next."La Mezcla" by Michel Cleis is climbing the charts. The Netherlands of course is a significant player in the European dance music scene - as you know, I like commercial dance music but this instrumental is repetitive to the point of deeply annoying.

At no.11, climbing from last week's no.30, is "Mr Light" by Bertolf. I don't know anything about him apart from he's a Dutch solo artist - I must investigate further. A nice mid-paced pop-rock tune, which is very pleasant indeed. Here's a link to the official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqVwpU_YN9c

Krezip is a band which has been going for the last 12 years but now they're going their separate ways. Their appropriately named "Sweet Goodbyes" has been in the charts for the last 26 weeks. It's a sweet little inoffensive acoustic number, quite nice. I've heard of them but never really heard any of their music so I don't have anything to compare it with.

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: July-August 2009

How bad is TV at the moment? I know it's summer and it's supposed to be the silly season, but where has all the good telly gone? This would explain why all sorts of retro-box-sets are appearing at EuropeCrazy HQ these days as we dive into the vaults for something reliable and good to watch.

In these days of poor quality telly we should be all the more grateful for absolute gems like "Man On Wire" which received its premiere on BBC-2 last week. It was the story of the man whose biggest challenge was to walk between New York’s Twin Towers on a high wire. When asked why, he responded "there is no why". This documentary was humorous, moving, profound and inspirational, and Mr Petit’s urge to follow your dream and seize life was infectious. In his own words: "life should be lived on the edge of life".

Good old BBC-4 is still showing a series of the original Swedish-language version of "Wallander" which I find compulsive viewing. I’m not a fan of cop shows but I love the way the little complexities of the plot are unravelled, with the back-story of the relationship between the lead character and his daughter.

One thing I recently got into and now can’t get enough of is "Flight of the Conchords". If you haven’t seen it before, it’s a deliciously dry comedy about a New Zealand folk-parody duo in New York. Their manager Murray is total comedy gold - imagine a hilarious version of (unfunniest man alive, IMHO) Ricky Gervais’ David Brent. After seeing a couple of episodes of season two on BBC-4, I rushed out to buy the season one box set, which I’m working through at the moment. The series is of course now over and it would appear they won't be making any more of it - that should guarantee the show classic comedy status by leaving us all wanting more.

Good comedy on British TV is very very hard to find, but "The Kevin Bishop Show" (Channel 4) is an exception. Its quickfire sketch format pokes fun at the celebrity world which he and his chums already did brilliantly on "Star Stories" and if you get the jokes you’ll find it very funny indeed.

I don’t know why, but season two of "Private Practice" (Living), isn’t really doing it for me and it’s missing something. It doesn’t press the emotional-buttons that "Grey’s Anatomy" does, but sometimes you don’t want that either, yet there’s little character development beyond who’s sleeping with who.

I love "Come Dine With Me" (currently off-air). Watch that format go.....for dinner party read wedding, and voila - you have "Four Weddings" (Living) where four brides attend each other’s weddings and mark them, "Come Dine"-style. On paper, it sounded good but based on the shows I’ve seen so far, it missed the mark. And it doesn’t have the hilarious Dave Lamb doing the voiceovers either.

A couple of programmes about hotels: "The Hotel Inspector" (Five), used to be one of my favourites but is now past it’s sell-by date. I’m not too keen on that new woman Alex either - preferred the old one. The show was previously quite interesting but has now turned into a bit of a "Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares"-meets-makeover format and the end result leaves me cold.

You can have cash coming out of your ears but it doesn’t always mean you’ll get things done: "Rock N’Roll Hotel" (BBC-1) is quite an interesting documentary series about Mark the nightclub owner’s hotel project - and if anyone’s thinking of opening a hotel then you might want to think twice after watching this.

After watching "Hollyoaks" (E-4) for two years, I recently decided to give up watching the show purely for the reason that it’s in terminal decline. The final nail in the coffin was Newt, Lauren and Theresa’s camping trip, a week of my life which I’ll never get back.

"Coronation Street" - recently, controversially wrenched from it’s 7.30 Wednesday night slot on ITV and moved to Thursday nights at 8.30 - isn’t much better these days. When the major storylines revolve around the Platts, you know there may be trouble ahead. Add to that Rosie Webster - possibly the worst non-Platt character in British soap today, and the tiresome Fiz/John Stape/Chesney and you have one very unwatchable half hour.

Just a brief mention about "Strictly Come Dancing" (BBC-1) - there’s controversy already before the first quick-step has been taken, thanks to Arlene Phillips’ dismissal from the show and replacement by former winner Alesha Dixon. Now much as I like Alesha, she is no expert choreographer and it looks as if she’s been brought in purely to provide some Cheryl Cole-style judging panel eye candy. With the show already reeling from accusations of ageism, then came the news that former winner (and one of my favourite professionals) Karen Hardy would not be among the professional dancers in the new series. Ms Hardy is 39 years old. Imagine the drop in viewing figures if the BBC banned everyone over 39 from watching the show? Pity they can’t apply their recruitment criteria to, say, Bruce Forsyth or "Uncle" Len Goodman, who in TV terms are a long way over that hill. How about replacing them with some younger eye candy....? (Talking of which...not that we need an excuse for another picture of Mark Ramprakash, pictured above with Karen Hardy in that unforgettable series 4 win in 2006). Note to BBC: if you really want to make "Strictly" better, then scrap the tedious dance-off and stupid Sunday night results show...

Finally it was good to see Louis Theroux (pictured above) back on BBC-2 tonight, with his latest documentary "The City Addicted to Crystal Meth" focusing on the drug epidemic and its effect on the citizens of Fresno. The best thing about Louis is his refreshing lack of sensationalism, as he easily persuades the interviewees to tell their own story, rather than punctuate the show with drama and "previously on..." recaps. One very sad aspect of British TV in this disposable decade is the decline in quality documentary making, so there's all the more reason to treasure Theroux’s deceptively simple and effective style.

Retro Saturday: Mink De Ville

I just read that Willy De Ville, frontman of this super-cool 70s combo has passed away so as a tribute tonight, I thought it would be appropriate for a bit of "Spanish Stroll".....R.I.P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWHc8ZoVdOk&feature=related

The Round-Up

I’m going to try this and see how it goes: I thought it would be a good idea to occasionally do a little write-up about some current musical goings-on and throw in the odd rant along the way ;)

Recently I’ve been pretty depressed with the state of the music scene in this country, particularly the dominance of over-hyped, under-talented female acts, and the very low profile of male pop stars. So I was genuinely happy to read this week that Robbie Williams is on the way back with a new album to be released in October. The news that Trevor Horn has produced it is a mouthwatering prospect alone. And even if it’s not a return to past glories, then we can always take comfort in the fact that it will be better than "Rudebox". It wouldn’t be hard....

I’m still dealing with the aftermath of the disturbing sight of seeing Mika in his big white underpants in his new video: "We Are Golden" (or should that be "Heaven Is A Place On Earth") didn’t really impress me the first time I heard it, but having heard it again it’s beginning to work its way into my brain. Nice to have him back, if only for the fact that he will be back on the radio which means one less playing of Pink, Rihanna, Beyonce blah blah blah.

The weekly Friday night ritual of watching the music channels with faithful travelling companion at EuropeCrazy HQ has been rather frustrating of late, with the increasingly depressing parade of one dire autotuned r’n’b or tedious electro song after another. Last night wasn’t much better: that Tinchy Stryder/Amelle song is like r’n’b by numbers and might as well have been written by a computer - and as for the Sugababes’ new song....needless to say, faithful travelling companion enjoyed the video, but as for the ‘song’, well it’s unspeakably bad. Time for the Right Said Fred revival?

Last night I leapt up and yelled when I saw Milow’s "Ayo Technology" on The Box, or Chart Show TV or one of these channels....this song has been a big favourite of mine on this blog for the last 4 months although I still think the video’s a bit unsavoury, with a nod to the song’s hip-hop origins. Still, I’m glad it’s being released here, so fingers crossed that it will be a hit. Bizarre fact: Milow bears a startling similarity to someone who works in my office!!

That's where the truth is, that's where the lie is: You may have heard of someone called Peter Andre, I think he’s been involved in some high profile marriage breakup or something? :O
The man at the centre of that breakup has conveniently chosen a good time to relaunch his career. I saw the video of "Behind Closed Doors" which plays it very straight indeed. The video features a Jordan lookalike...a bit of the "Cry Me A River" thing going on eh? I was quite surprised by this on first hearing as it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard, although I still can't help but think that the whole thing is one great big orchestrated publicity stunt.

There's a she wolf in the closet: Shakira - one of the few female pop artists I can actually stand - is back with "She Wolf" which is quite catchy although a change of musical style. Even she has succumbed to the dreaded autotune. Anyone think the melody in the verse sounds like RHCP’s "Californication" though??

It’s too late to apologize, Ryan Tedder: much of the 2008/2009 dreary-pop vintage has been written by the OneRepublic frontman. Don’t get me wrong, I like "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare" but I really can’t stand stuff like "Bleeding Love", "Battlefield" and the song that is my most hated of the year, "Halo" by Beyonce which redefines the meaning of dire. So the news that Tedder gave Kelly Clarkson virtually the same track is not good news at all. Even Kelly herself is, to say the least, a bit miffed as her record company now want to release the song. This blogger is also seriously annoyed, as it means we will now have to suffer "Halo II" every five minutes on the radio. Wake me up when it’s all over, although that will probably be a long long time away.....

Hopefully by that time Erik Hassle will be a big star, although I’m still puzzled by the choice of "Don’t Bring Flowers" as his big UK debut, when "Hurtful" (or "Bump In The Road" for that matter) was a more obvious choice. Don’t get me wrong, I like this song though and I really want it to do well.

The whole September situation is equally baffling, firstly the excellent "Until I Die" was scheduled to be her follow-up single to "Can’t Get Over" then was pulled from release by her record company due to a lack of radio airplay support. Now it would appear that "Cry For You - The Album" will not get a physical release in the UK and will be download-only. I can’t really understand this - is it maybe because her target market is more likely to download songs than buy CDs? Also, as there is no physical CD format it means that the album won’t show up in the album chart. :(

Retro Saturday: Hipsway

One of the many, many great bands which came out of the great Scottish guitar band boom of the 1980s - a period which delivered so much classic music which still sounds good today.

"Tinder" came to the public's attention thanks to its use in a TV commercial for a certain brand of lager, and I always thought this was a great record. Top stuff!! No video but enjoy the audio at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XDatGBIQN8

Retro Saturday: Laban

Big hair and shameless 80s production values, this time from Denmark. Lecia Jönsson and Ivan Pedersen were the lead singers in Laban, and I quite liked their music back in those mid to late 80s days. "Prisoner of the Night" was my favourite song of theirs: no video but hear it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIjrFMC6io - I didn't realise that there was also a Danish-language version of it called "Fange i Natten" - video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWMWjrvLVi4&feature=related

I never realised this was a cover version of a German song called "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" by Heinz Rudolf Kunze until I started investigating YouTube tonight: that site is an education!!

Retro Saturday: Nick Heyward

In case you are new to this blog, Retro Saturday is one of my regular features and hopefully serves two purposes: a) it's a musical memory jogger for those of us who remember these songs first time round, and b) it's a chance to pass on some rarely-heard tunes to my younger readers to give them a chance to discover music they maybe haven't heard before.

After our short summer break it's time to jump into the Saturday night YouTube time machine once more, starting off with a long-forgotten tune by Nick Heyward.

To begin with, I liked "Favourite Shirts" and "Love Plus One" but after that, Haircut One Hundred frankly annoyed me, with their twee image, big guitars and cricket jumpers. Nick Heyward's solo career didn't fare much better in my book, but then along came "Warning Sign" in 1984, a song which I liked a lot. The song and the video are very 80s, but don't let that put you off. Quite an underrated gem, which deserved a better chart position than it got. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRAU97-94x0

This weekend (and beyond)....

I'm finally going to get my act together and get this blog up and running again so you can expect the following:

A review of this summer's Swedish TV singalongs!
Tomas Ledin's new album reviewed!
My (very belated) look back at the Tour de France!
A couple of charts updates!
"Square-Eyed Couch Potato" for July and the beginning of August!
The return of Retro Saturday!
This week's playlist!

All of the above will be appearing on this blog from tomorrow night onwards...

EDIT 09.08.09: OK, OK, I knew it was too ambitious and a bit premature - Swedish summer TV review's been postponed for yet another week as I need to watch some more of them, whilst I had written that Ledin review but then misplaced it so I'll have to do it again :( also I haven't got the playlist together yet. Mañana, mañana....!

Turkey here we come!

Yes the unlikely possibility of your humble blogger and her faithful travelling companion going on a package holiday (OK I exaggerate, we've done it before - the Algarve and Madeira to be precise) is about to become a reality as we have finally booked our summer holiday, a credit crunch-busting non-Euro jaunt to Turkey, six weeks from tomorrow.

Yay!!!!

So let's celebrate with a top Turkish tune shall we? The brilliant "For Real" by Athena from 2004.

Just been checking the new release schedule...

Here are some singles scheduled for UK release in the coming weeks, all of which have been big faves of mine in recent times!

10.08.09
Bob Sinclar featuring Sugarhill Gang "Lala Song"

24.08.09
Erik Hassle "Don't Bring Flowers"

31.08.09
BWO & Velvet "Right Here Right Now"
Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat "Lucky"

07.09.09
Milow "Ayo Technology"

28.09.09
Agnes "On and On"

However, given the dire state of the UK singles chart, I'm not building my hopes up :(

This week's playlist: One, two, three, four, uno, dos, tres...

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) - Pitbull: I only got to know this song about a week ago but I'm already addicted to it. As near as we'll get to a real summer hit this year.
Ready For The Weekend - Calvin Harris: Another slice of dance-pop awesomeness from this very talented DJ. If the album's as good as its first two singles then it will be a monster.
Diamond Rings - Chipmunk: Not usually into this kind of thing but it escapes the dumper and appeals to me purely because of its sampling of "Pipeline" in the vocal hook.
The Only Ones - Melody Club: I've probably said this before, and if I have (or haven't) I'll say it again anyway: they remind me of the Ark. And that's a good thing.
Fire - Kasabian: still sounding fresh after all these weeks. I really will need to get listening to that new album...
You Can't Kill Rock & Roll - Sugarplum Fairy: more retro-tastic melodic rock from another musically fab branch of the Noren gene pool.
Youngblood - E.M.D.: took a while to grow on me but now it's a firm favourite. Nice catchy Swedish pop, nothing more, nothing less.
Joyride - The Killers: I'm well into their music again and this is one of the high spots on their "Day and Age" album.
Lala Song - Bob Sinclar & Sugarhill Gang: catchy singalong summer dance tune. Mr Sinclar continues to make some inspired choices of collaborators.
Right Here Right Now - BWO: They've had a bit of Swedish TV exposure over the last couple of months. But apart from that opportunity to drool at Martin, they also make great pop. Like this.

Album Review: "Now 73" - Various Artists

Approximately three times a year, the "Now" compilations take the temperature of the UK singles chart of recent months. The series may be over 25 years old now, but it arguably remains this country's most popular compilation album. Unfortunately, as it provides a pretty accurate reflection of current/recent hits, it can also mean that when it's bad, it's pretty horrid.

So it goes with the 73rd running of the "Now" handicap, but compared to some previous editions this one struggles to get out of the starting blocks.

CD1 is a radio playlister's dream...yes, much of it is that bad. Cascada, La Roux, Pixie Lott, Pink, Katy Perry, Jordin Sparks, Shontelle. Each and every one of them has been disproportionately overplayed in relation to their actual chart positions. And it doesn't matter what radio station you listen to in this country - each one is as bad as the other.

On the plus side you get Lady GaGa, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, AR Rahman/Pussycat Dolls, The Veronicas, Agnes and Freemasons/Sophie Ellis Bextor, whose songs on this compilation I do like to hear on the radio.

CD2 traditionally offers more different/alternative songs which have made the charts. However, such is the dire state of chart music in this country at the present time, that it's like CD1 all over again, with more overplayed tripe which if you never heard it again it would still be too soon: yes I mean you Beyonce, Keri Hilson, Ciara, Black Eyed Peas, Soulja Boy, Akon, Flo Rida, 3OH!3, Florence and the Machine.

It's not all bad though: Pitbull, Kasabian, Little Boots, Empire of the Sun, Deadmau5 and Kaskade get my vote, although five tracks out of 22 is still a very poor result, and the remaining tracks I can take or leave.

"Now..." is only as good as what's in the charts, and you know how I feel about them by now. Times have also changed and as we are now in the download era, you can pick and choose your tracks which may be a good thing if you want to avoid that landfill r'n'b. But being the traditionalist that I am, I prefer to get a CD and then rip my favourites to the iPod.

If you're feeling nostalgic then check out http://www.nowmusic.com/ which has year-by-year tracklistings of all the albums in the series. When you do this, you'll very quickly realise that no matter the year, there's always good music and bad music on a 'Now' album, but whether you liked it or not, they were always diverse. Current chart music is significantly lacking in diversity, and sadly "Now 73" is a casualty of that.