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.

"Grattis Kronprinsessan" : my review

I'm no royalist, but I continue to be strangely fascinated by the Swedish Royal Family. One of their annual rituals is the annual celebration of Crown Princess Victoria’s birthday on 14th July - Victoriadagen as it is known. The event is also celebrated with an outdoor concert every year, which is also televised by SVT. The Swedish royals would not only appear to be more grounded than our house of Windsor, but they also have a significantly more attractive gene pool. Victoria is reasonably pretty, and natural, and seems likeable enough. And then of course there is Prince Carl Philip...I rest my case.

It was at this concert two years ago that I first discovered my favourite singer, Salem Al Fakir. Mans Zelmerlow was also on the bill that night; so I was very interested to see both of them on the bill for this year's concert.

This year there was an extra seat in the front row, with the added ingredient of Victoria's new fiancé Daniel Westling along for the festivities.

Host Mark Levengood - is he Finnish? he seemed to speak Swedish with a Finnish accent - brought a calm and respectful tone to the proceedings, which includes fundraising appeals for the princess' charity fund which supports disabled children.

What interested me most of course was the music - Lena and Orup got the party started with "Nu När Du Gott". Of course these two have been particular favourites of mine over the last 20 years - and their professionalism remains in no doubt. I still got the feeling though that the parts are greater than the whole, as I didn't get the same enjoyment from their album as a duo that I did from their solo albums.

Was very excited to see Måns Zelmerlöw next. He seems to be developing a tradition of alternative-acoustic-versions of his hits, and he did the same with "Hope and Glory" although my mum thought that this was inferior to the original. He is still a very good artist though and I can see him having a long career.

Kalle and Bengan next with a bit of folk, which was ok if that's your bag. Swiftly followed by Jill Johnson, who firstly came to our attention in 1998 when she represented Sverige @ ESC, but since that time she has reinvented herself as Sweden’s queen of country music. Again this isn’t really my type of music, but she is a very good singer and very good at what she does.

Next up, Malena Ernman who IMHO got a bit too much time on this concert....again she is very good in her field (opera) but I get the feeling she probably wouldn’t have got the same exposure if she hadn’t won MF.

So, to the real star of the show, Salem Al Fakir. For those not familiar with this underrated Swedish musical genius, he was as ever a very appealing vision with his messy curls, dressed in a white shirt, black trousers and of course his trademark braces. He got Vicky & Dan clapping, and commanded the stage like the true showman that he is, and vocally he was perfect on a confident version of "Astronaut".

Back to Måns, who performed a lively "Cara Mia" which got everyone smiling and clapping - what an entertainer he is. Malena again, backed by Kalle & Bengan. Time to fast forward....to Salem Al Fakir, who was back with my favourite song of his - "Good Song" which again got the crowd clapping along. Salem looked as if he enjoyed every single minute of this, and his enjoyment was infectious. His pop/soul/jazz vocals have never sounded better: the man is a true star.

After Victoria dishing out her annual-stipendiet it was time for Malena and "La Voix" which left me cold. Then Jill again, then MZW with a kids’ choir, entertaining us with his latest single "Hold On". I've probably got a few songs on the album which I like more than this one, but he never disappoints.

Finally, the return of Lena and Orup with a very enjoyable medley of their hits. (It would have been more intriguing if they had sung each other's songs, but maybe that's just my wishful thinking?) The show closed with Bengan and Kalle and all the performers back on stage to sing a couple of songs for to the princess.

Rumour has it that this annual celebration will no longer take place following Victoria and Daniel's wedding in June 2010. I hope this won't be the case, as I look forward to this event every year.

You can watch this year's "Grattis Kronprinsessan" at SVT's website: http://svtplay.se/v/1625278/kungahuset/grattis_kronprinsessan. The show will be available to watch until 14th August 2009: well worth watching too, especially at the 35 minutes and 50 minutes mark :)))

I put on my shoes and I'm ready for the weekend

It's not always an easy task to follow up a no.1 hit single, and when that particular single was the mighty "I'm Not Alone" (still my favourite British single of the year so far) then it was a major challenge for Calvin Harris, who continues to be a big favourite on this blog.

So three cheers for "Ready For The Weekend" which presses all the right dance-pop buttons for me. I can only reiterate my previous view that he is breathing fresh new life into dance music. The single is out on 10th August; the album of the same name is out one week later. Have a listen to the new single at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Z56le7-H4

Holiday news...

Regular readers of this blog will be well aware that I usually take my annual summer holiday in September, it's usually booked by now, and it's usually either France or Germany.

This year's been a bit different though. With the Euro exchange rate still totally rubbish, we made the decision a little while ago to go 'non-Euro' in the southern half of the continent. My initial favourite was Croatia, but there were a few practical problems getting the deals/hotels/dates we wanted etc, so that's been put on hold yet again - we'll get there eventually but not this year.

Anyway, after a great deal of discussion and debate we settled on another new country: Turkey. Initially a very unlikely choice for us, if only for the reason that we're not "package holiday" people, but as time goes on it seems to make more sense. It's a new country, a new culture, and we like Turkish food. That haggling scares me though :))

Will try and get booked within the next couple of weeks - more news soon...

This weekend...

I'm hoping to do a round-up of some of my favourite Swedish summer TV shows. Of course I should have done this on a weekly basis but the best laid plans etc etc....I'll also finally post my "Grattis Kronprinsessan" review which I previously promised to do.

One of these days, normal service will be resumed :)

Album Review: "A State of Mind" (Deluxe Edition) - E.M.D.

Having seen their very nice performance on last week’s "Sommarkrysset" I thought it was time to finally post my review of this album!

One particularly annoying thing about being a record buyer over the past 10 or so years has been the introduction of the "special edition"/"deluxe edition" of an album, usually released just a few months after the original, with the statutory extra tracks or remixes or video clips to encourage the fans to part with their cash once more to buy what is essentially the same album all over again.

For me, most of these special editions aren’t really worth it. However in the case of "A State of Mind" (Deluxe Edition) by E.M.D., it has turned what was initially a pretty disappointing - and dare I say mediocre - debut into something worth a listen. The album now comes with three added tracks, which I like a lot and which are hopefully an indication of the musical direction they will go in.

The album starts with their Melodifestivalen 2009 finalist "Baby Goodbye". This song still manages to divide opinion in blog-land: some like it, some hate it, I happen to love it - it’s just an instantly catchy pop song which I never tire of hearing.

New single "Youngblood" has also become a favourite of mine although it took a few more listens to get there. It’s similar in style to my favourite E.M.D. song (and as they like to remind us, ‘Årets Låt 2008’) "Jennie Let Me Love You" which is another one of those timeless Swedish boy-pop songs which I never get sick of hearing.

The final new track "I’m No Romeo" is again similar to "Youngblood", only slightly more uptempo and something you may expect to hear on a Danny Saucedo solo album. It’s a little similar to "Radio", although more in a boyband-style.

E.M.D. of course stands for Erik, Mattias and Danny, and I still feel that Danny is the group’s ace card both vocally and image-wise. For me he is still a great popstar, and so far he is managing to run two pop careers in parallel (something which seems to come naturally to Swedish artists!) - his exciting solo career and his extremely popular second-life as a member of a boyband which initially many of us were a bit sceptical about. However E.M.D. are now a phenomenal success in their home country, at a time when boybands seem to be out of fashion (but of course Sweden is a country where pop music will never die, and we should always be thankful for this).
That first single "All For Love", a decent remake of what was initially (IMHO) an unspectacular song anyway, is also included on this album. In fact it may be better than the original, if only that we don’t have the three egos jostling for space on the song!
For the remainder of the album they come on like a chirpier version of Westlife on the standard boyband fare - "Run to You", "Alone", "I Lied". "We Can" manages to be saved by Danny’s strong vocals on the chorus, whilst "For You" includes the very bizarre line "For you I’d set my house on fire". Bit extreme eh lads?? :)
"Give Me Some Time" is better because it’s in my preferred uptempo style, "Look At You Now" is an 80s power-ballad meets Take That’s "The Garden", that’s the best way I can describe it.
Unfortunately the album ends on a low note - "She’s My California" is like Westlife-on-stools at their very worst, with the most laughable cliched lyrics.
On the whole, though, I’m more positive than negative about this deluxe edition of the album. A bit more of the "Jennie"-style tracks might have boosted its rating even higher.

Verdict: Good old boyband pop with some high points and some low points, but all in all a decent debut at the second attempt. 6 ½ out of 10.
　

German Charts Update

Not had one of these for a while so here goes. I've been out of touch with the European singles charts of late so forgive me if some of these songs are a bit unfamiliar to me :)

Something a little bit different at number one. Not Michael Jackson or Lady GaGa, but "Jungle Drum" by Emiliana Torrini. Is there a particular reason for this, or is it just one of those songs that's gone big anyway?

At no.2 is a song which I immediately liked on first hearing whilst on hols in Dusseldorf: "Stadt" by Cassandra Steen, featuring the very distinctive voice of Adel Tawil. Nice mid-paced song which doesn't go down the boring r'n'b route.

Elsewhere, there aren't too many surprises with the usual suspects - Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, Cascada, Beyonce blah blah blah. And yes of course lots of Michael Jackson, the Jacko tunes of choice for German record buyers would appear to be "They Don't Care About Us", "Thriller", "Earth Song" and "Heal The World" (whereas the UK's favourite seems to be "Man In The Mirror", a song which was never a favourite of mine).

The good old tradition that is the latin-flavoured European summer hit lives on in "I Know You Want Me" by rapper Pitbull, with it's "one two three four" hookline. This song had completely passed me by but it's all over the European charts (including the UK top 40) so I suppose people are hearing it on holiday and buying it on their return home?

Speaking of Latin-flavoured pop, with a German twist, inevitably brings me to an old favourite of this blog: Marquess, the German band who sing in Spanish. "Arriba" is more of their good-time summery pop, although I think it's getting to the diminishing-returns stage with them now as this is nowhere as great as "Vayamos Companeros" for example.

Another song that's been around the German chart for a while is "Foot Of The Mountain" by A-ha. Their new album has been quite well-received by the critics. This single is very Keane-influenced IMHO, with its strong piano hooklines. Rather nice, if not earth-shattering.

Bring back the boys!

Yes, it's time for a rant!!

You may think that what I'm going to say is a bit strange, given that I'm female myself, but here goes....

I'm sick of female singers - bring back the boys!

If you've been listening to the radio over the last few months and looking at the chart rundown it can't have escaped your notice that the mainstream music scene at the moment is dominated by female acts of varying quality, and male singers can't get a look in.

Don't get me wrong - there are some new female acts I do like, most of them are of course European, and of the British contingent VV Brown and Little Boots to name two, but they haven't really had the massive airplay/overexposure of the usual suspects....

Category A: Landfill R'N'B. Start the conveyor belt.
Beyonce, Ciara, Shontelle, Rihanna, Keri Hilson, and too many others to mention.

Category B: Eye candy (a.k.a. why can't we have a girl band which looks normal/slightly overweight/not dressed like slappers for once?)
The Saturdays, Girls Aloud (the latter IMHO are now past their sell-by date, but at their peak they were great)

Category C: Post-Winehouse
Arguably the worst category of all: Duffy, and worst of all Pixie Lott. What would my mama do? Like, who gives a ****?

Category D: Ooh, aren't I quirky and don't the critics just love me? (a.k.a. this year's PJ Harvey)
Florence and the Machine. Previous winner still doing the rounds: Lily Allen. (Although credit to her for being opinionated, and "The Fear" is a very good record indeed)

Category E: Rock chicks (a.k.a. radio programmers think they're sooo edgy)
Pink (I liked her once, but I can't listen to her anymore cause she's played to death); Kelly Clarkson (my life would suck if I hear this any more...); Katy Perry.

Category F: 80s revivalists
La Roux = nails down a blackboard. We've heard it all before, and better....

You'll have noticed I've left this year's most-played act Lady GaGa off my list. Strange as it may seem, I like her in a bizarre way, even though I probably shouldn't. "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" are good pop records which I think will have some longevity. The fact that they are played 17 times a day, every day, and I never tire of them, must mean something.

Yet another female fronted act, Cascada, has topped the British charts for the last two weeks with "Evacuate The Dancefloor", which is a significant departure from their usual chavvy-dance into GaGa territory.

But it will all change tomorrow, as X Factor runners-up, boy band JLS, are tipped for no. 1 with "Beat Again". OK so it's more of the same landfill r'n'b which is polluting our singles charts and radio playlists, but I thought I'd mention the significance of this anyway. Firstly they're male. Secondly, they're a boy band, which is very significant indeed, since recent years have seen tough times for boy bands in the British charts, so this might just be the start of something!

What concerns me most is the lack of decent male popstars/talented male singer-songwriters who are being overlooked in this country. The only thing giving me hope is that pop music goes in cycles, so hopefully this year's thing will soon be last year's thing and we can bring the boys back to the airwaves and the charts once more.

Album Review: "Real Control" - Moneybrother

Last weekend I had my usual weekly ritual of watching TV4's "Sommarkrysset" on the internet. A rather enjoyable show it was too, with Moneybrother and E.M.D. among last week's musical guests. Suddenly it struck me that I had never posted my reviews of their most recent albums due to other commitments at the times of their release, so let's get this sorted right now :)

There's something reassuring about another release by Anders Wendin and his merry men, and even major line-up changes haven't changed his signature sound, which to these ears always sounded like a cross between Bruce Springsteen, The Clash and some other post-punk bands, whilst always retaining his own distinctive style.

First single "Born Under A Bad Sign" opens the album with its singalong chorus. You wouldn't expect a song with a title like "We Die Only Once (For Such A Long Time)" to be a cheery little reggae-flavoured foot-tapper, but amazingly it is.

"6 am" (the song he performed on last week's "Sommarkrysset" has a very disjointed 3-songs-in-1 approach, but despite this it seems to work and it has a strong chorus. "Never Ever (I've Been Kissed)" seems to channel Wendin's inner Roy Orbison, if the vocals are anything to go by. Anders Wendin mainly sticks with his usual croaky, gruff Springsteen-style vocals on most of the songs, but "Not That Old" is very surprising with its falsetto vocals, well as near to falsetto as you're likely to get from Mr Wendin!!

"Just Another Part Of Me That Breaks Down": Long song title - check. Stop-start musical-energy - check.

The pace slows down for a big ol' croaky ballad "Young Faithful Love" but then we're soon back at home in Moneybrother's high-speed territory. "Here Comes The Vain Again" has a driving beat whilst "Feel Like Hurting Somebody" seems to mix soul and punk and strangely enough reminds me of early Dexy's Midnight Runners (!)

There is nothing on here as classic as, say, "Reconsider Me" or "...Joanna" or even "Just Another Summer", but many of the tracks stand up to repeated listening as it doesn't take long for them to eat their way into your musical brain :)

Six years on from his debut album, Anders Wendin continues to make the music he wants to make, timeless good old fashioned rock n' roll, filled with excitement and urgency. He makes no concession to here-today-gone-tomorrow musical fashions or trends, and we should be eternally grateful to him for that alone. If "Real Control" is more of the same, then that's just fine by me.

Killjoys on the rampage part 3: Goodbye Teletext

I just found out today that Teletext, the on-screen text information service shown on ITV and Channel 4, is to end in January 2010.

And I'm rather gutted about this. Yes I know you can find out anything on the internet, but it's been a daily ritual for me, for many many years at EuropeCrazy HQ to visit my favourite teletext pages, from local news and sport to ITV's entertainment pages with the soaps round-up and viewers' 'talking points', to my favourite of all - Channel 4's music section "Planet Sound" with its news, reviews, interviews and 'The Void' letters page (ok I'm showing my age now....texts, then!).

And let's not forget Bamboozle with Bamber Boozler, the pixellated quizmaster ;)

They will all be much missed.

Le Tour: Cav's got the other sprinters green with envy

11 stages in and already the annual cycling soap opera that is the Tour de France has the usual mixture of excitement and intrigue going on....

Aside from the Alberto Contador vs Lance Armstrong mind-games over who's the boss in the Astana camp, there is something of major British interest going on. Yet you wouldn't know it from the TV schedules - the nightly Tour updates are only screened on ITV4 (satellite channel).

Fade to dream sequence......

...Imagine if Le Tour was screened on a mainstream terrestrial channel at peak time, the way it once was on Channel 4, many years ago? I'm sure the sport would win a whole new set of fans, and the French tourist board would be rubbing their hands at the thought of everyone wanting to visit France, because there is no better advert for that country than Le Tour....

But back to reality. Mark Cavendish (pictured above, photo courtesy of Getty Images/BBC Sport) excited us all last year with his stage wins and he is surpassing it this year with an even better performance and not only is he back in the green jersey, he has now equalled the British record for the number of TdF stage wins - 8 in total. You get the feeling that he's not finished with the stage wins yet. Cavendish is young, confident, arrogant and talented - and for me he is very reminiscent of one of his recent sprinting predecessors, Robbie McEwen, who was no stranger to a stage win or two not so long ago ;)

This year Cav has been battling with Norway's Thor Hushovd for the green jersey: it will be a thrilling battle all the way to the last day in Paris.

Another British rider doing extremely well is Bradley Wiggins, who is now at 5th in the overall classification. He initially came through the impressive British track cycling setup and won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008, but his transition from the track to the top 10 in Le Tour has been quite phenomenal.

Italian cyclist Rinaldo Nocentini remains in the yellow jersey although his days wearing it will probably be numbered once the riders hit the Alpine stages of the race. Contador 2nd, Armstrong 3rd and Levi Leipheimer 4th: there is no question that Astana is certainly the strongest team this year, but which of their riders will triumph? I wouldn't want him to win it again, but it would be foolish to write off Armstrong as he is in a very strong position at this stage, and as past years have shown that when it comes to mind games, Lance Armstrong is always the man in the yellow jersey.

This weekend...

I won't be around much - doing a bit of socialising and even a day trip to the seaside (!) so reduced blogging although will try to do a couple of posts.

During my house clear-out I've been rummaging through some old tapes and unearthing some obscure musical gems as I go, so I'm discovering more material for my trips back in time on "Retro Saturday" - which is also taking a break this month and will be back at the beginning of August.

On your bike

One of my favourite sporting events, the Tour de France, starts today with a very glamorous first stage in Monaco. It's a strange route this year though, as the north of France seems to have been totally overlooked!

Le Tour is the world's greatest cycle race although in recent years it's been dominated by controversy due to doping. Unfortunately we have to accept that this will always be around, and they're fighting a losing battle, but there are also "clean" cyclists who are working hard to improve the image of the event and I can only hope that they are the ones who triumph this year.

This year's Tour is overshadowed by the return of seven-times winner Lance Armstrong. Let me say that - putting aside his inspirational battle against cancer - I've never been a fan of this cyclist. I never liked his race tactics during his winning-years and I wasn't happy to hear about his comeback. Whether it's a successful one remains to be seen: his return will probably overshadow everything else and I can understand if many of the riders will feel a bit put out by the 'return of the king' anyway I'm hoping for a good, clean, competitive race by all involved.

The real star of the Tour, for me, is France itself. Even if you're not a cycling fan, watch the race and just fall in love with the beautiful scenery. Another bonus this year is that the Tour visits Barcelona, which should also be an amazing stage.

There's lots of good cycling stuff on the internet - check out cycling blogger Blazin' Saddles for example, for all the gossip at http://twitter.com/saddleblaze

UK Charts Update

So the Michael Jackson deluge didn't quite materialise in time for Sunday's UK top 40 chart, although this could all change next week.

"I don't understand why you're number one"

If I may borrow a lyric from the recent (ironically) number one hit of the same name by Tinchy Stryder....I don't get La Roux. And I don't know anyone else who likes them either. Maybe it's because they remind me of the Eurythmics, and I used to hate the Eurythmics. "In For The Kill" is my joint-top most hated single of the year, it makes my ears bleed equally with Beyonce's "Halo", my other joint-top most hated single of the year. Anyway, today I was off work and off to the big city for some retail therapy. Almost every shop we went into was either playing Michael Jackson or La Roux. I don't object to Michael Jackson, but La Roux on the other hand....anyway, why is that "Bulletproof" song no.1? (Probably because it sold the most downloads this week, duh)

Whilst I'm on the subject of overrated female acts - Pixie Lott. If I hear that "Mama Do" song on the radio once more I might just scream. Still, she's much less objectionable than Duffy....

Back to number ones. David Guetta was no.1 last week with "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland, which is a great dance track. And by a French act too! Apparently he was the first French act to reach no. 1 in the UK since Modjo (which was also a great dance act - I loved their album). Anyway I digress...David Guetta's released a lot of quality dance music over the last few years so he finally deserves a no.1 at last.

I was disappointed by the poor chart showing of Little Boots' "New In Town". She may be yet another one of those over-hyped female electro acts, but I think she actually deserves her success, as her album is full of memorable pop songs. (I'll get round to reviewing it here someday). Maybe the follow-up "Remedy" will do better?

If you want some serious UK chart analysis (as opposed to these ramblings) then check out the wonderful James Masterton's chart blog which is updated weekly at http://new.uk.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chartwatch/

(Mr Masterton is also responsible for a blog of such musical-statistical-fabulousness and total quality that once you start reading it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. http://blog.masterton.co.uk/)

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: June 2009

OK so it's been far too hot this month to be stuck indoors watching TV - but I've managed to come up with a few shows...

"Grey's Anatomy" (picture courtesy of http://www.greysanatomyinsider.com/) reached the end of its latest season and as usual, it was best to have the Kleenex handy. This has been a cracking season and proof that the show is still in its prime with good characters and storylines. My one criticism is that the show's creators/writers know what emotional buttons to press and it can all be a bit contrived and manipulative at times. The penultimate episode, for me, brought a lump to my throat - that moment when Izzie and Alex decided to get married, to be precise. Of course the final scenes in the season finale brought a dramatic and totally surprising twist. I read a spoiler somewhere so I know who's in and who's out for next season, and being the nice girl that I am I won't spoil it for you here :)

That spin-off show "Private Practice" (picture courtesy of ABC) is also back and its season premiere was wedged in between the final two episodes on Living last week. Strangely enough, it was a slightly disappointing opener, although I really enjoyed the first season; hopefully it will get better. It's a more lightweight frothy alternative to "Grey's", but like all these hospital/clinic dramas it has no credibility - does a hospital or clinic really exist with all those doctor/doctor romances going on?

The daddy of all the hospital dramas is of course "ER" which finally came to an end and went out in a very dignified fashion. I liked the way they brought back the older characters over the course of the final season, it was all very natural and well-done. To the end, "ER" never lost its dramatic strength, and arguably has been one of the best US TV series of the last 20 years. I only got into "ER" after George Clooney departed the series so I invested in the Season 1 box set the other week, and maybe one of these years I'll get round to watching it :)

One American series which I won't be revisiting is "Army Wives" on Living. I liked season one, but the first three or four episodes of season two were so dismal and depressing that I couldn't take any more and stopped watching. I know the subject matter is no fun, but a little lighter touch wouldn't go amiss.

"90210" finishes tonight on E4 and I'll probably watch this tomorrow. Strangely enough I've enjoyed this updated version of one of my old early 90s favourites, it's still gloriously cheesy escapism. My favourite character is Erin Silver, played by Jessica Stroup: she acts everyone off the screen in every scene that she's in and I hope we see a lot more of this fine young actress.

Elsewhere....My "Hollyoaks" backlog is going so far back that I've probably got about 3 weeks worth of episodes to watch. My enthusiasm for the show is slightly waning, I admit. As usual, after a big story (Warren was killed in the fire in The Loft, and Justin headed off into the sunset in a car with Russ who abducted his son...just another day in that sleepy little village!) the show has struggled to get back on track.

"Coronation Street" meanwhile had a spell when it was good, but two things have spoiled it recently - any scene with David Platt in it, and the ludicrous Fiz and John Stape storyline. No, make that three things: Rosie Webster.

"Come Dine With Me" was back in its nightly slot, which is always well worth watching with Dave Lamb's voiceovers - one of the funniest things on TV - even though you probably wouldn't want to eat any of the meals on offer :)))

It's been in a nightly Channel 4 double bill with series 3 of "Coach Trip". I loved the first two series but this one quickly lost its magic for me. Too much time is spent on recaps, and not enough on the destinations or the interaction between the travellers. I'm off the coach...

The 2009-50: halfway there

It's almost the end of June - can't believe we are halfway through the year already!

I've been checking my list of favourite songs of the year so far and my list already has 40 songs in it.

Only 10 of the songs have been released in the UK; and some of these songs are likely to drop out of the final listing as some (hopefully better) European tracks enter my chart over the next few months.

If the British charts have been pretty dire, then it's been an absolutely amazing year for European music so far - all my favourite acts have released new material, and there's so much more to come...

I'll begin unveiling the 2009-50 from Thursday 19th November - two tracks per night, you know the formula by now!

(and yes, there may be one or two Salem songs in there :))) )

Swedish Charts Update

Milow sits at the top of this week's Sverige Topplistan having knocked Alexander Rybak's ESC-winner "Fairytale" off the no.1 spot. "Ayo Technology" is still dominating the European singles charts - I wonder if it will ever get a release in the UK? Does anyone know?

ESC runner-up Yohanna is still at no.3 with "Is It True" - this has also been a very popular song, long after the contest.

Other Swedish acts in the top 10: Promoe, whose very catchy "Svennebanan" is probably going to be around for a long long time and will be one of the biggest summer hits over there; and Dead by April's rock hit "Losing You".

Reunion-mania doesn't seem to be restricted to the UK or USA - some Swedish acts are at it too, like Style - they were big in the 1980s and now they're back with "Vill Ha Dej, Igen" the title is a nod to one of their hits but it's actually a new song featuring the distinctive vocals of Christer Sandelin.

Anders Fernette is still in the top 10 with his cover version of "Hungry Eyes" whilst Elin Ruth Sigvardsson has enlisted Lars Eriksson for her top 10 hit single "Love".

Other Swedish acts in the top 20 this week: Darin, Bad Influence and Niclas Wahlgren.

Erik Hassle is still in the top 20 with "Hurtful" which has been going up and down the top 40 chart in recent weeks. His debut album will finally be released in Sweden on 19th August and has already received much acclaim in blog-land.

Album Review: "Walking On A Dream" - Empire of the Sun

"I'm just in awe of what's in front of me"

Firstly, can I just say that this album review is 6 months late, as I ordered the album back in January and it was delivered on its initial release date: but due to circumstances, time went on and one month turned into another...so here we are at the end of June 2009, with EOTS finally having broken into the UK singles chart with "We Are The People" so I thought it would be a good time to publish my review. Better late than never.

The unique selling point about this Aussie duo is that they neither look, nor sound, like anyone else. They have a distinctive image, which once seen will never be forgotten. Their music is almost always compared to another duo who achieved fame over the last 12 months, MGMT, but in my opinion EotS are much much better.

The main thing about this album - dare I say a stumbling block - is that the first four tracks "Standing on the Shore"/"Walking On A Dream"/"Half Mast"/"We Are The People" - are so stunning that they overshadow everything that follows, to such an extent that it could be described as an album of two halves - the outstanding first four tracks are probably the only ones you will need, and if they are to define EotS' career, then that would be a fine quartet to remember them by.

The lyrics of "We Are The People" make reference to 1975. There is perhaps a retro feel to some of EotS' music which sounds as if it could have come from that time, and that's maybe what makes it special for me. I'm really glad this song made the UK top 20 - but I was also pleasantly surprised too, that something of such considerable quality could break through into a chart mainly consisting of dire tedious rubbish.

If you do manage to get beyond the first four tracks, then well done. The bad news is that there is nothing to match their greatness - although "Delta Bay" is weird and wonderful with its falsetto vocals; instrumental "Country" is reminiscent of the Twin Peaks theme (remember that?); "Swordfish Hotkiss Night" has the duo channelling their inner Prince; and closing ballad "Without You" definitely sounds as if it was lifted off an 80s film soundtrack.

Empire of the Sun is a unique act with lots and lots of promise for the future - they've delivered a great (if uneven) album but if they keep on developing their musical vision then they will become a real force to be reckoned with.

Special by name, special by nature

It's Glastonbury time again, so it's a bit of a telly marathon for me this weekend....last night I was channel-hopping through the BBC channels covering the music festival and was very lucky to come across BBC4's coverage of The Specials set on the Pyramid Stage.

Absolutely fantastic. The band recently reformed for a 30th anniversary tour (we weren't quick enough off the mark for tickets) but despite the passing of time, it could have been 1979 all over again, such was their freshness, energy and enthusiasm. The set included "Gangsters", "Rat Race", "Blank Expression", "Monkey Man", "Concrete Jungle", "A Message to You Rudy", "Do Nothing", "Too Much Too Young", "You're Wondering Now" and last but never least, "Ghost Town". That song for me summed up the turbulent summer of 1981 and is every bit as relevant today. And yes, Terry Hall kept a straight face throughout....nothing ever changed :))

Their set was the highlight of the festival for me so far. I didn't see much else apart from bits of Little Boots, VV Brown, Ting Tings, and notably Lady GaGa - I never thought I'd see the day when someone like her would wow a festival crowd, but that's indeed what she did do.

Neil Young headlined last night, but I gave him a miss as he's not my cup of tea.

Tonight: Bruce Springsteen, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand. Off to set the video....!

Michael Jackson

I woke up this morning to the news that Michael Jackson died yesterday, aged 50. He lived his life in a big, bold, bizarre and controversial way and the more I think about it, it's not so surprising that he died so young. He was probably the first worldwide megastar of 'our' generation, and the first to leave us.

Predictable things followed....notably those phoney showbiz obituaries, and his songs were, unsurprisingly, all over the radio.

Everyone's talking and writing about him today. I don't have anything new, or original, to add. All I will say is that MJ made two fantastic albums which still sound so fresh today - "Off The Wall" and "Thriller", and nothing recorded after them came anywhere near their greatness. As a performer, his influence lives on in many of today's artists.

Just like Elvis and John Lennon before him, Jackson's records will sell again in their millions -so you can expect every top 40 singles and album chart in the world to be dominated by him this week.

"Allein Allein" finally getting a UK release!

I've just been to the BBC Radio 2 website (!) to check their weekly playlist and I found out that next week "Allein Allein" by Polarkreis 18 will be their 'Record of the Week' and the song will be released on 27 July.

Hopefully it will be a big summer hit!

(Just in time for you coming back Rachel - it'll make you feel like you're back in Germany again!)

Allsång versus Lotta: Round 1

So I finally got my computer problems sorted out last night and was able to watch the clips of "Lotta på Liseberg" which launched on Monday night, and then the season premiere of "Allsång på Skansen". And the winner is....?

Well, the people (OK the Aftonbladet readers) have spoken, and there's a clear winner: the established summer favourite, SVT's "Allsång på Skansen".

Lotta Engberg kicked off with a couple of singalongs including "Välkommen till Göteborg" which I guess was their answer to "Stockholm i Mitt Hjärta". She appears to be an enthusiastic enough hostess, but as I watched the show I couldn't help but get the feeling that this show is just a (slightly inferior) Allsång-copy, and there's a bit too much of Lotta in the show and not enough of the other guests, which wasn't helped by the commercial-breaks cutting out their extra songs which were only available later at TV4's website.
This week's guests -
Nanne Gronvall - I'm not really a big fan of her's, and I don't particularly like that "Du Är Min Man" song either, but she is a crowd-pleaser;
Christer Sjogren - his "Bossa Nova Baby" was way off the cheese-scale lol but I liked the dresses the girls were wearing, and as for "I Love Yoo-rup", well this song came into my head at work today despite my best efforts to hate it!
Ola - "Sky's The Limit" was ok on first listen and I think it'll grow on me, although I can't really say the same for his new look though. Yes I did say that, and you know how much I adore my curly-haired boys...!
Brolle - complete with his new trademark big glasses - is going through a phase. Last week it was Buddy Holly (on Sommarkrysset) this week Elvis: he's definitely going back to his rock n'roll roots.

I did like the part at the end when all the guests sat on the stairs and sang that old Ulf Lundell song (which incidentally, faithful travelling companion has on an Ulf album he bought a few years ago in Sweden)

The real fun in these shows, whether it's Allsång or Lotta, is seeing the younger pop stars throwing themselves enthusiastically into the singalongs - (excuse me while I get a little misty-eyed at the memory of Salem Al Fakir's "Nu Är Det Gott Att Leva" on Allsång in 2007...!)

But I digress....

If "Lotta..." is a new show which needs to settle and grow into its own skin, "Allsång" is the daddy. The stunning Stockholm backdrop, with the Viking Line ship in port, just sums up a Tuesday summer night for me. The minute "Stockholm i Mitt Hjärta" starts up, that's me hooked. And so it was yet again this week.

Tomas Ledin proved that he can still keep the crowd happy, whilst Henrik Dorsin had everyone singing along with "Tingeling" (I love this - I know I shouldn't but I do) and then Måns Zelmerlöw completely set the standard for the rest of this summer's series. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the future king of Swedish light entertainment. He is (rightly) being acclaimed by the Swedish press for his performance this week - and also putting forward his credentials as a future presenter of the show! One thing's for sure: he's a better singer than Anders Lundin.

After watching both shows I'd have to award round 1 to Allsång: more natural, less forced and just an overall better product. Having said that though, I'm glad both of these shows exist: there is no equivalent here in the UK (it would be considered far too 'uncool' sadly) and I think there's just something really nice about getting people of all ages together in the open air in the summertime to sing along and have some fun.

Grrrrrrr.....

Black mark to TV4 (part 1): I've just spent the last 30 minutes on TV4's website trying to watch the clips of Ola and Brolle on tonight's first Lotta show from Liseberg - why I'd even settle for Christer Sjogren singing "Bossa Nova Baby" (!) - but all I get is a black screen and a little circle going round and round and round. This shouldn't happen! I've got super-fast broadband now! What's wrong with this thing? Is it just my computer or does everyone have the same problem with watching clips/shows on TV4's site? It was always slow but now it's even slower....

Someone please please please upload this show (and Sommarkrysset for that matter) to YouTube, the sooner the better. Tack.

I'm off to bed now, I've had enough of this. Fingers crossed that SVT Play doesn't let me down tomorrow night. Promise I'll be in a better mood tomorrow :)

EDIT 23.06.09: Black mark to TV4 (part 2): Although all artists sung two songs on the show, Swedish TV viewers only got to see one song each - as ad breaks were shown during the other song. Understandably, the Swedish press and public are not too happy about this fact, and I know that the 'extra' songs can be seen at TV4's website (which isn't much consolation as all you get is that little circle going round and round) anyway TV4 needs to get its act together and broadcast all the songs in future shows.