Update

Apologies for the lack of posties- I'm back in the UK with the Island Monkeys and the first computer ever made.Seriously,even your old Amstrad ones with the tape decks were quicker.Anyway,I hope to remedy this within the next week or so by means of a new computer,but if not,I'll be back in good old Deutschland on January 3rd with a semi-reliable internet connection.In the meantime,you could always have a looky at the best song I've heard in the last week- Allein Allein by Polarkreis 18.Youtube linking is out of the question for this biblical relic,but I'm sure you can find it yourself if you really want to :)

Top 50- 27: I'll drop my guns and bring a bouquet

BWO- Lay Your Love On Me

If only there was room for such fabulousness on Deutsche Bahn trains.My trips to Flensburg would be far more enjoyable.Sod the Hung Up thing,this song is infinitely better than anything that old witch could create (bar her 80s stuff of course,that was rather fab).Also brings back very happy memories of dancing at the Scala at the Eurovision party in April.Best night of the year,definitely :)

Top 50- 28: One day you will be mine and that's the way I feel

Aleksei Vorobyov- New Russian Kalinka

No wait,a man that hot deserves 2 pictures.



Note the scarves in both of them.I'm a big fan of men in scarves.

Mmmmmmm....As well as being the fittest man alive (yes,it's official),Lyosha is a great pop singer.The original message of the New Russian Kalinka that we liked so much- ie,give Russian music a chance- has been lost in the new version (the New New Russian Kalinka?) and it just isn't as good when it's about a girl.Doesn't make much sense.I still think the original would have been great at ESC- bet Europe's grandmas would have loved him being the nice wholesome Russian boy that he is (I know my nan would have anyway),every other woman in Europe would have loved him,the gayers would have loved him...Oh! And NRK is a million times better than Believe of course.

Top 50- 29: I'm asking you to change my life

Tiziano Ferro- Indietro

Alla mia età is Tiziano's best album to date I think.I've only listened to the whole thing once (on youtube that is)- mother bought me the CD in Italy and I haven't been back to Britain to be able to listen to it yet- but I liked pretty much all of the songs from the first listen,which can't be said about the other albums of his I have.I'm picking Indietro because it's kind of anthemic I think.At least,the chorus is anyway.I'm really not loving the English version with Kelly Rowland,something about it just doesn't sound right.But it's still good to hear Tiziano singing in English (and Kelly doing her Italian bit at the end!),and there's some nice lines in it,such as "I thought I was cursed, destined to be lonely,a circle in a world of squares where nobody knows me" Love it.

Top 50- 30: Aching to get you alone and tell you you're still the only one

Charlotte Perrelli- Black and Blue

I feel like I'm in the minority when I say I love the Hero album.With the exception of Holy Man,which is just annoying,I think every song is great.Admittedly I shouldn't really say that about Appreciate- I'm lucky if I get to the end of the first chorus without crying like a baby- but I really think it's one of the best albums of the year.Black and Blue is my favourite because I do love a big ballad,and they don't come much bigger.I adore the lyrics in particular...yeah,that's all I'll say.

Top 50- 31: Pride's the cure

BWO- Bells of Freedom

Back in September it was decided that if Queer Idol ever becomes a real programme,it will be presented by Paul from Fizzy Pop,and the ITV2 spinoff show by me.I'm sure you'll agree that's a great idea :) Now I might have an aversion to schlager,but I do love BWO- particularly their most schlagertastic Melodifestivalen stuff.Also really loving Rhythm Divine at the minute,but that's old so I couldn't count it.As well as the song itself being great,I love the fact it's this year's Europride song.Straight as I may be,anything to do with gay pride makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Top 50- 32: And you speak without saying anything

Giusy Ferreri- Novembre

If ever I had a style icon,it would be Giusy Ferreri.She looks goddamn fabulous in the Novembre video.Anyway.I'm not a big fan of the whole Amy Winehouse thing,but somehow it kind of works in Italian,because (well in my case anyway),I expect either big ballads or sub-standard pop songs from Italian singers.I like everything else of Giusy's that I've heard so far too,some of which may or may not be coming up later in the chart.

Top 50- 33: I pray that you're missing me the way I'm missing you

Marie Picasso- Out of My Hands

Marie's album was released last year,but it was near the end of December,and as I discovered it this year,it still counts :) It's a very good album actually,not a hint of schlager and with varied,super tunes from the 80s-tastic Romeo to the amazing power ballad that is Miracle,and this somewhere in the middle.Again,I like the lyrics to Out of My Hands,and it's a good song to sing to.If you feel like singing.I think I said it before- if only our Big Brother contestants were so talented...

Top 50- 34: One night you'll see,I'll escape from fate

Paolo Meneguzzi- Era Stupendo

There's been a right proper Italian renaissance going on in this blogger's life this year.Maybe Paolo started it.It was a shame Era Stupendo didn't get through the semis- it was my early favourite in the competition,and I still think it's a great Eurovision song,and maybe would have even won a few years ago before ethnic started to be the in thing and you had to have a silly over-the-top performance.But whatever.To be honest,Paolo's vocal wasn't quite up to it on the night,and that worked against him.But it's a brilliant song all the same.

Top 50- 35: How can I move on when I'm still in love with you?

The Script- The Man Who Can't Be Moved

I still can't quite believe that The Script are Irish.Not because Ireland doesn't produce good bands,but...actually,no,I can't think of another Irish band I particularly like.But anyway,We Cry was a good song,but this one is even better.The concept appeals to me,and I like the chorus especially.

Top 50- 36: Every day on earth...*

Dima Koldun- Kazhdiy Den Na Zemlye

Dima K hasn't been as brilliant this year as he has been in the last few years.Maybe it's because he's all busy with this rock opera thing he's doing.But a few months ago,Kazdhiy Den Na Zemlye was my song of the moment.Nowhere near the greatness of Ya Dlya Tebya or Nikagda or V Ritme Tansa (where that lovely lovely picture comes from),but it's OK.As middle of the road music goes.

*Quite literally the only (half) line I know

Top 50- 37: You think I'm strong and know the way

Ich+Ich- Stark

Ich+Ich were introduced to me by another of my acquaintances here in Kiel.Having heard his usual taste in music,I wasn't expecting too much from them,but I was very pleasantly surprised.If you don't know- Ich+Ich are Annette Humpe and Adel Tawil (who did the Prison Break theme Ich Glaub an Dich with Azad).He has a very lovely voice indeed,as does Annette on the occasions she sings.Stark is a nice chillout song I think,although the lyrics are pretty sad (general theme being stuck in a rut and not knowing what to do with your life by the looks of things).The duo's latest single comes later on in my chart...

Oh dear oh dear :(

My fears are confirmed- the Litesound/Dakota duet is awful.



I mean,it's OK,it's hardly Do You Believe and would be completely out of place at Eurovision.Dimitry's voice is great as ever,but the song would sound a million times better if they,erm,ditched Dakota maybe? Just my suggestion.Anyway,they made it through to the final somehow,so someone must have liked it.

I didn't even know the semi final was tonight,what sort of Belarussian music fan am I?!

Anyway,these peeps are also in the final...

Petr Elfimov- Eyes that never lie (ugh)
Domenika- This is my day (it's certainly not my day)
Gunesh- Fantastic Girl (do we really have to be subjected to Miss "I'm so quirky" Gunesh every year?)
Veter v Golove- Or-or-and (if you just listen and don't watch,it's bearable.Just about)

Methinks it won't be necessary to start planning your trip to Minsk in May 2010 just yet.Seriously Belarus,you have Dima,you have Ruslan,you even have Dima's brother!They can't be the only good singers you have,surely?Sort it out!

Top 50- 38: Who looked inside my head and built you from my dream?

Farin Urlaub Racing Team- Atem

Another song that my favourite Flensburger sent me.Farin Urlaub is one third of Die Ärzte,and the Racing Team is his other project,who've apparantly got 2 albums out.I didn't know that.I only have 2 of their songs- but this is much nicer than the other one.I like how it takes over a minute for the bass and the drums to start,and I especially love the instrumental from 2.13 onwards.That's all I can really say.It feels weird writing about rock just after listening to Annie :)

Top 50- 39: Life's too long for you to get it wrong

Annie- I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me

A bit of saccharin pop never hurt anyone,and methinks there should be lots more of it about.If I didn't like the lyrics to this song so much,I'd probably find it really annoying.But they're good lyrics,so it's all alright :) There's a lot to be said for putting ring-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-ding-ding in a song to improve it too.I like it,it's probably my second favourite song feature of the year- after BiS's clappy bits in Katya.

Top 50- 40: Everything you do seems to be in slow motion

Teitur- Start Wasting My Time

The Singer is an...interesting album.I don't really know what else to say about it.The songs don't move me like they do on Poetry and Aeroplanes,and there aren't as many easy-listening radio friendly songs on it as there are on Stay Under the Stars.And there doesn't seem to be a theme running throughout the album like on the previous two.So it stands out,but is still very good indeed.Lyrically brilliant as always,songs range from the sinister You Should Have Seen Us to the insanely upbeat Catherine the Waitress.And somewhere in the middle is Start Wasting My Time.I'm not sure why it's become one of my favourites from The Singer,but I do love the chorus (somehow it fits the theme of laziness really well I think) and the build up to it,the mad piano bit at the end,and the backing singers.It seems so long ago that I saw Teitur in Denmark that I can't remember if he did this song or not,but either way,I love the video in the link of him performing it in Berlin.

Top 50- 41: There's always someone out there who will care for you

Maria Haukaas Storeng- Hold On,Be Strong

This grew on me quite a lot just before we saw Maria at the Eurovision party at the Scala.Before that,I was just bitter about Zuma not winning.I'm surprised it did so well at Eurovision really,although any kind of victory for Norway makes me very happy indeed :) I thought in a world of pirates,glitz and ice skaters,it would be overlooked,but its simplicity really works I think.It's nice to see a song do well simply because it's a good song sung by a good singer.Despite my loathing of Melodifestivalen,I'm intrigued to hear Maria's duet with Sahlene (singer of one of my all time favourite ESC songs).With all the other big names in MF,I doubt they'll win or anything,but it will be interesting I think.

Top 50- 42: We shared our lives for a few days and weeks

Philipp Poisel- Wer Braucht Schon Worte

Philipp Poisel is easily my best musical discovery of the year,all thanks to my favourite Flensburger who got me all interested by sending me the brilliant Unanständig.At that time I was despairing of the German music scene,and needed something new and exciting.Mr P is it.Wo Fängt Dein Himmel An is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year,and Philipp's sometimes Teitur-esque music and wonderful lyrics about all aspects of short-lived romances leaving their mark on you,please my ears very much indeed.I love all the songs on the album,with the major exception of one,but this one just stands out because of the lyrics- particularly the whole Baltic Sea reference :) Read about some other songs on the album here.

Top 50- 43: In case you didn't know,I really care for you

Kurt Nilsen- Rise to the Occasion

Sod the whole Guns n Roses thing,I'd been waiting to hear the whole of Rise to the Occasion for 2 whole years- the new single from Norway's best singer (and I feel I must add "in my opinion" to that sentence),is far more exciting than a probably boring album from some hasbeen rock band.I'll be honest,I'm not really into the whole country thing that Kurt's doing these days (although he did duet with Willie Nelson,which surely would have given him a few extra points in the Rye Experience household),I much prefer the good old grown-up pop days of A Part of Me,but Rise to the Occasion is lovely.Sad but lovely.The lyrics are wonderful,as you'd expect of Kurt.

Top 50- 44: Baby we've got to stop pretending

Zuma- Always Always

I've played this so much this year that it probably should be higher up the list,but hey,there's been so many great songs this year- competition is tough! ;) I was so annoyed Zuma didn't get to the MGP final- as annoyed as I was happy that Lene Alexandra didn't get through either.But of course Maria did a great job for Norway,and as great as Always Always is,I doubt it would have finished higher than Hold On,Be Strong.Anyway,great singer,great sound,just the right level of catchy...and who'd have thought a pop song mentioning sprouts and badgers would be so super?

Top 50- 45: Got one desire,and that is to go straight to your heart

Sergey Lazarev- Flyer

Better than Believe,better than Believe,better than Believe...I think that's all there is to say about this song really.Poor Sergey though,if there was ever a Russian pop star perfect for Britain,it's him.And he tried.But performing at kids' discos isn't really the stuff pop dreams are made of.OK,so he did a few club nights too,but it all amounted to nothing really.The album was never released here and...well,let's not mention Girlfriend.Although it has been played at least 4 times on British radio,so that's something :)

Top 50- 46: Turn the unthinkable to reality

Dima Bilan- Believe

Ugh.I still have a love-hate thing with this song.But whatever,Russia won ESC and that's the main thing.Of course it was all to do with political voting.Everyone knows the ex Soviet Union countries are so scared of Russia that they know they must vote for them at Eurovision to maintain peaceful relations.One vote for anyone other than Russia and Mr Putin will cut off the oil and gas supply to your whole country- be warned! Oh,and of course any western countries that may have given Russia points obviously did so because all the Russian and Eastern European immigrants were hurriedly phoning up,also trying to keep Mr P happy.Ooh,maybe that's why there's a lot of immigration- it's all a big Eastern European conspiracy to make Russia win Eurovision.Wow...Because western Europeans cannot possibly like Russian music.Don't be absurd.And Dima isn't one of Russia's biggest stars who's worked hard to become recognisable and successful to millions of voters outside of Russia.No no no,it's political voting.The people in Western Europe who send crap songs to ESC every year said so.So it must be true.

Top 50- 47: Stick to the beat

US5- Round and Round

US5 should sue Sergey Lazarev.He's so nicked loads of ideas for the Lazerboy video from this one.If only he'd nicked the rapping in a bad Cockney accent part too,that would have been amazing...Anyway.I like this song.Everyone likes a good old fashioned boyband,and what with Chelsi going all emo on our asses this year with the awful Mladshaya Sestryonka,a gap needs filling.So to speak.Round and Round is good old happy,cheesy boy-pop that I haven't really seen since Jetzt Anders(!).Jay is fit as in this video,despite his Dick van Dyke rap-lite...thing and his wearing a top that looks like it has "Bitch Boy" written on it.There's also a good deal of vocoder action going on,which is always a plus.

Top 50- 48: A love like ours...Spanish Spanish Spanish...

Jonatan Cerrada- Un Amor

Ah,any excuse to roll out the picture of JC sans pantalon.This is quite a special entry to the Top 50,as I've only heard the song in its entirety once.And that was in a French basement being performed live by the (sexy) man himself.Read about that fabulous eveninghere.I ain't a great fan of Spanish music,despite my foreign-language-music obsession starting with Gloria Estefan's Corazon Prohibido back in...whenever it was- 1998 or something.But all of JC's Spanish stuff that I've heard is great- especially Baila,which was played mmm,quite a lot at our house in Guildford last year.When and if it will ever be properly released is just one of those big questions up there with "what came first,the chicken or the egg" / "why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the tube" / "how does Kirkorov get his hair so big" etc etc.But we live in hope that there will be an answer soon :)

Top 50- 49: Loneliness is a crowded room

Alan Connor- Dance Away

Whereas some songs can remind you of amazing nights out,holidays,birthday parties,whatever...some songs can also remind you explicitly of pretty mundane moments too.This is one of those.Whenever I hear it,I remember the first time I heard it- sometime in spring on GU2 coming from Keira's room in Guildford while I was sitting on my bed looking for...stuff on youtube.This year (specifically springtime in Guildford) has been the best of my life,and anything that makes me remember any kind of related event has to be good in my book :)

Top 50- 50: Just remember faith and love is all you need

Litesound- Do You Believe

This song isn't number 50 because I like it the least.But I first heard it last year,in the interim period between finishing my top 10 and the end of the year.So it shouldn't really count.But I adore it,so I've included it anyway :) Litesound are like the Belarussian BWO (as I'm sure you've thought to yourself before :) ),they always seem to be in Eurofest but fail every time.Their previous efforts weren't too great to be honest,but Do You Believe is pure brilliance.With its (semi?) Christian hopeful lyrics,the anthemic chorus and Dimitry's wonderful Alex-from-the-Calling voice,I just don't get why it wasn't a hit.But the band are already known outside of Belarus- having toured in China,America and Russia,and having won an Italian song festival.They've just released their debut album too- Going to Hollywood,which,from what I've heard from it,is pretty good.Maybe they don't need Eurovision.But I'd love to see them in it.

Good news...

The WYM Top 50 songs of 2008 is now finished.Oh yes.It might not come as a surprise that most of the 50 are Russian and Eastern European songs,but there's also a fair bit of Scandinavian,a bit of German and *shock* even a few British songs too.It all starts tomorrow.When I get back from wherever I decide I'm going...

From Flensburg to Garmisch and back again,we sing our song

It's not vey often RH listens to music loudly,and when she does it's usually Katy Perry (God help me),so imagine my surprise (and horror) when I heard this eminating from her room just now...

Belarussian national final news

So the semi-finalists for the Belarussian selection have been announced.Probably about 6 months ago,but hey,I've been away :)

Good news- Litesound are back
Bad news- It's a duet with Dakota (I assume the Dakota from FZ7),who's also got a solo entry too.Nothing against Dakota,but I HATE DUETS!

More bad news- Gunesh is back
Even more bad news- So are The Champions. Although the song is called Shake it,Europe, so it might not be all bad.

Good news- Pincode aren't back

Haven't heard of any of the others,but the Alex Patlis band will be in it (ex lead singer of Noviy Jerusalem)- this is a song of his that I quite like,called Snegapad.What was I saying about duets...?



There's also your typical rock guy- Pyotr Elfimov

There's a big old fashioned ballad (this is the actual ESC song)

And that's all I can find for now.An exciting lineup,I'm sure you'll agree :/

Aim high Russia!

So it seems Russia are ditching the jury in the national final next year and is going for the 100% audience vote route.Very wise.I'm not a fan of the jury thing.So being the hosts and reigning champions,they'll be pulling out all the stops for Moscow 09 then?Not according to the Perviy Kanal- "We will not attempt to win Eurovision second year in a row, this idea is absurd".Cool!

WYM is back with a bang!*

It's been a crazy old two and a half weeks of visits to Flensburg and Denmark and...parliament.Yes peeps,I spent Monday afternoon at Schleswig-Holstein's parliament along with 200 German and Danish politicians,mayors,ministers,journalists...As a collective that is,not 200 of each,it isn't that big :)

So why am I back so soon? Well,as is always the case,when I stopped writing,I found a whole load of cool musical things that interested me.

- I found a renewed,stronger love for this song Isn't he going to be in ESC next year? With the rest of the group,I just can't picture it myself :/ I'm sure it'll be lovely...
- The video to Lonely appeared.Seriously,if you haven't already,watch it,Dima's looking hot.Although he so nicked the "I'm on top of a building,what shall I do?" scene from Ya Dlya Tebya.
- The Russian Music Awards happened.Hosted by none other than Gruppa Bilaz- Dima and Sergey,how goddamn fabulous? Had a pretty cool intro,which then fizzled out into some girlband singing an even more sedate than usual version of Na Beregu Neba.Gruppa Bilaz were great though- look.Is it just me,or does Sergey sing Believe better than Dima even when he's rolling around and thrusting on the floor?
- OMG- FABRIKA ZVEZD IS BACK!!!111 Well.It isn't,it's Fabrika Zirok for a start,and it's the Ukrainian version.And I think it's finished now.I'm particularly loving Vadim Olejnik though.Here he is singing one of the best songs of the year and looking a bit like Aleksei Vorobyov.By the way,can any Ukrainians or Russians out there tell me if the series is finished now,and if so,who won?And does Vadim always sing with Dantes?Spasiba!

However,the most exciting thing that I've discovered (actually I'm 6 months late,but still...I reckon I'm quite possibly one of the first people in native-English blogland to post about it) is that...drumroll...

Jakob Sveistrup has made a comeback!

No sarcasm,I am actually quite excited about this.I loved Talking To You and I loved Jakob's lovely brand of 1990s-HeartFM-wind down zone music.I loved his Eurovision jacket too.So much so,I have my own :)



Complete with stripe on the back :)



Ahem,yes....

I have both of his albums too,which I paid an extortionate amount for on CDWow a few years ago.I'm not sure if the new one is actually out yet- haven't read too much about it yet to be honest,just the odd thing on youtube.But I didn't see it in Esbjerg when I was there.And Tønder,well...let's just not mention Tønder.

Anyway,imagine my surprise when I discovered he'd gone all rock...



That's Hvem er Venner,and I love it.A lot.

It's OK though,there's still 1990s-HeartFM-wind down zone type songs on the album too...



Can't wait to hear more,might even nip back over the border and see if I can find this album in the near future...

Anyway,stay tuned for the arrival sometime this week of the WYM Top 50 songs of 2008.Oooh...


*or small fizzling sound would be more accurate

Arrivederci,amore ciao

It's come to one of those times again where I'm completely off of music.I find Scandinavian pop highly overrated these days,Russian stuff bores me,and I've listened to all my German stuff to death in the last few weeks.Just downloaded a whole load of Sigur Rós soundtrack songs too,but even they're not doing it for me.(Oh,by the way,they came from FTP sites that Sigur Rós actually link to on their official site.How cool?).I've had loads of ideas for things to write about,but just haven't really had the time or imagination to bother.So I think it's time for a bit of a hiatus.In the meantime though,here's one song I do still really like...



She's so cool.I want to be as cool as her :)

Well,bye bye for now then I suppose.If you miss me that much and want to read about what a thrilling time I'm having here in northern Germany with my seemingly Mute Housemate,you can always have a looky at my other blog.I haven't lost my ability to moan about everything,it's OK :)

WYM Official Top 10: Week 7

10: Monica Naranjo- Europa (modern day masterpiece)
9: Euroband- This Is My Life
8: Teitur- Tokspor
7: Annie- I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me
6: Sergey Lazarev & Timati- Lazerboy (may be a funky cool dance tune,but the lyrics are as Russian Pop as anything :) )
5: Philipp Poisel- Wer Braucht Schon Worte
4: Philipp Poisel- Unanständig (will it ever leave the top 10? Mmm...unlikely I think)
3: Charlotte Perrelli- Addicted
2: Giusy Ferreri- Insieme a te non ci sto più

Oh come on,you knew it was coming...

1: Vlad Topalov- Perfect Criminal

God bless Russia!

You might have got the impression from WYM that I'm a bit of a fan of all things Russian.In that case,you'd be right,and I can now add Russia's judo-loving ex-President/current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the list of cool things iz Rossii.Apparantly Andrew Lloyd Webber went to Moscow "to discuss bringing credibility back to the competition" (imagine that morning chez Putin- "so what appointments do you have today?" "Well,we're meeting to discuss the possible loan for Iceland,then there's the vote about extending the term of Presidency,but probably won't be able to stay til the end,coz Andrew Lloyd Webber's coming over at 12 to discuss Eurovision.He don't like to be kept waiting.").Anyway,Mr P said he's going to vote for the UK.Which is nice,someone has to!

Vlad vs Sergey- who's the Perfect Lazerboy?

So,the recent weeks have seen both ex-Smash boys release new singles.But which is better?There's only one way to find out...no,not a fight,I'm going to write about them both.

Oh,by the way,talking of Smash,it'll soon be time to drag out this little gem again.Love it :)

I've never given Vlad a chance really.What with all the stuff I'd read about him regarding the breakup of Smash etc,and the one song of his I'd heard (The Dream I think it was),I decided I didn't like him much.But the other day,Keira told me the video to his new song Perfect Criminal was out and I thought I'd have a watch.I've been listening to it an insane amount ever since- it's so so catchy.I've been really getting into electropop lately (I blame BiS).It's a bit Brother oh Brother lyrically,but infinitely more funky.The most important thing you need to know about it is that it contains clappy bits,which is always a good thing.Oh,and my favourite bit probably is at 4.10,where you think it's ending,but in fact carries on for another half a minute,being all groovy and wonderful :) The video is erm,a bit weird to say the least.Vlad is a bad boy and tries to escape from prison,and ends up getting quite a harsh punishment...However,it also features some rather cool dancing- although Vlad will never be the discotastic dancing genius that Sergey is :)




As for Sergey...Well I've never really been a big fan of his,until Girlfriend.I wanted him to win the Russian national final- I've said it (more than) once,so I can say it again: Flyer was sooooo much better than Believe! Anyway,yeah,but despite my supporting him there,there weren't too many of his songs that I really liked.I'm very into him these days though.I've posted Lazerboy on here before I think,but now the official video is out,at last.If you like leather,it's one for you.Like the video to Perfect Criminal,it's a bit weird,but not in the same way...Also like Perfect Criminal,it's the chorus that really gets to you.It's such a simple chorus but oh so catchy.It's in Russian and I have no idea what it's all about,but because the beat and the rhythm etc are so strong,I forget it's in Russian a lot of the time.Loving the laser noises at the end too :)



So which is best? Well let's be honest,they're not that much different are they? But for now at least,I think Vlad has the edge.Must be the claps that do it...

Gotta love VG...

So Lene Alexandra has just won Norway's Skal Vi Danse- VG's headline is "Your moves,your moves,your moves are OK." Love it!

It's either me or her

I've never been a fan of Norwegian saccharin-pop princess Annie,but I am loving this song at the minute.I found it on the fabulous Norwegian site Girlfriend,which is full of fashion,showbiz news and other cool things.It's called I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me,and it's a very funky little tune indeed.With different lyrics,I don't think this would sound out of place on Sergey's TV or Radio album.Incidentally,the lyrics are great,and remind me of a situation I experienced a while ago.I wasn't the "me" or "her" though,just an observer,if you get what I mean.So the concept of the song amuses me :) Oh,and the ringy dingy ding ding ding bit will be in my head for ages...

WYM Official Top 10: Week 6

10: Marie Picasso- Out of My Hands
9: Charlotte Perrelli- Hero
8: Euroband- This Is My Life
7: Teitur- Tokspor
6: Charlotte Perrelli- Black and Blue (one of the most gorgeous ballads ever.Fact)
5: Vlad Topalov- Perfect Criminal (more about this little "Ohrwurm" later)
4: Philipp Poisel- Unanständig
3: Dima Koldun- Poezd na Yug (still loving the intro :) )
2: Philipp Poisel- Wer Braucht Schon Worte

I've been listening to CP's album quite a lot this week,as you can probably see.I never got round to reviewing it...No surprise there.Anyway,Black and Blue is by far my favourite song from it,but I'm loving this one a lot at the minute- love the lyrics,the melody...it's grown up pop I think :)

1: Charlotte Perrelli- Addicted

And who are you to judge me?

itunes on shuffle is a wonderful thing.It's just reminded me of one of my favourite ESC songs.2003 was a great year,but Croatia's entry Više nisam tvoja (I'm no longer yours) was one of the best I think.I remember fancying the blond dancer who stands behind Claudia when they're doing the weird line thing.He's camp as anything,but that's never put me off :) Claudia herself is also fantastically gorgeous and cool.If I was that way inclined...no,never mind.Anyway,here's the performance from ESC,complete with pretty crap choreography and awful outfits.And I love love love their accents when they switch to the English version (I Can't Be Your Lover) at the end :)

It hurts when I hear your songs but can't be with you

Unanständig has appeared on this blog many a time.I love it but it was the only song of Philipp Poisel's that I had.However,mummy bought me his fabulous album Wo Fängt Dein Himmel An? (Where does your heaven begin) for my birthday and I can't stop listening to it.It's a bit Teitur-esque I suppose,although the music isn't quite as varied as Teitur's is on his albums.However,like Mr Lassen,it's all about the lyrics with Philipp.Now I realise most WYM readers probably don't speak/read German,and although I'm a translator (sort of anyway),it's always difficult translating songs to make them sound just as good in another language.So I'll just summarise where necessary :)

The title track isn't necessarily one of my favourites,I don't understand it too much either,but musically it would fit right in on Poetry and Aeroplanes I think.And I like the video too.



Irgendwann (Some day) is a gorgeous song musically and lyrically.It's about missing someone and not knowing when/if you'll see them again,but thinking about them all the time- "when I'm standing on the platform in the morning/when I look out the train window" etc etc.The best line though has to be "and when the wind blows northwards,that's when I miss you."Doesn't that just belong in a Russian pop song?!

Then there's Wie Du,which is where the post title comes from.It sounds like it could be on the soundtrack to some angsty teenage drama.He even says "Angst" in the chorus (which of course means "fear" in German,but anyway...)Again it's about missing someone,although I'm not quite sure whether that's because he's split up with her or just wants to be with her or what.

Unanständig is still one of my favourites,even more so now I know what it means.The first line "they ask you where you're from but never tell you anything about themselves" sums up life for a foreigner in northern Germany I think.I like the whole sentiment though- "we love eachother how we want to,let the people think what they want,let them see that I want to be "indecent" with you,do crazy things with you and kiss you whenever I want."*Sigh* If only life was so...

My favourite one of the minute though is Wer braucht schon Worte (Who needs Words),which is about getting to know someone briefly ("we shared our life for a few days and weeks") but them having an impact on you afterwards all the same.The point is that you might not know much about eachother and might not speak much ("I know your language but you don't know mine,I don't know your country and you don't know mine") but in the end "who needs words when you can kiss/have eyes to see/have hands to feel" und so weiter as we say over here :) Extra points for this song due to the fact he mentions the Baltic ("I never went to see you in your city on the Baltic coast,and you never came to see me...in Stuttgart") Well,why would she- Schleswig-Holstein is where it's at! Ugh,I'm such a militant northerner these days.Anyway,the song...

Every minute my love for you gets stronger

So not only is Dima K involved in this rock opera thing,he's still got time to churn out brilliant Russkiy-pop.This is Poezd na Yug (Train to the South) and it's great.As always he's talking about good and evil etc etc,but that it doesn't matter because he's on his train going to see someone he loves.Awww.Why don't you get a train to the west and come and see me Dimka?I'd make you happy :) Deutsche Bahn has offers on trips to and from Belarus too,so I read today.Don't do it tomorrow though,I'll be on one to the north.Think it's about time I checked out Flensburg and the rude bakery staff :)



Edit: How fabulous is that intro exactly?I love it!

It's my birthday today...

That's all :)

Do you ever think of me and how we used to be?

Ah the good old days of living in an overpriced box in Guildford in 06/07,drinking cheap vodka (damn One Stop not selling Russkiy Standard) and singing along to delights like this...



If only there'd have been room to do the dance too...

Anyway,I'm posting this as a warning,I mean intro to something that will be happening on here quite soon.Not this weekend though,as I'm going back to the UK tomorrow- yep,Stansted,1.30,red carpet please :) I'm only back for 4 days,and while the thought of going back to the Inselaffen (yes,apparantly some Germans call us Island Monkeys) never really excites me,it will be bloody nice to have some proper food and entertainment after the crappy week I've had.Now normally I write about these things over on PVE,but hardly anyone reads PVE,so I'm writing it here hoping I'll get some sympathy :) I've been in bed practically for a week now (after 2 failed attempts at going to work on Monday and yesterday).I don't know what's wrong with me,I can't eat (although did manage a milkshake and chicken wrap yesterday- woohoo),I was dizzy for about 3 days,had a stupidly high temperature,headaches,muscle pain,sore throat,extreme tiredness,was going all shaky and cold at random intervals and a few other unsavoury things too.Today,I have a white tongue.What the f**k does it all mean?! I actually feel pretty good (well,alright) today,but it's put me completely behind for tomorrow.I have no clothes to take with me,because I haven't done any washing for ages,have no train ticket to Lübeck and my room here is an absolute tip,which must be sorted before tomorrow.Aagh.

WYM Official Top 10: Week 5

10: Teitur- The Singer
9: Anžej Dežan- Vroče (Ah Anžej...Sounds of Europe...Guildford...)
8: Marie Picasso- Out of My Hands
7: The Rasmus- Ten Black Roses (Been feeling completely emo lately,TR help :) )
6: Teitur- Ongir Pengar (Part 1 of a 2 part blues theme on the Faroese album- songs are called No Money and Think Positive.One can try :) )
5: Teitur- Káta Hornið ("I've arrived at a conclusion here- it's best to live among others who know where and whom you are" I love that line)
4: Philipp Poisel- Unanständig (Bought the album in Lübeck- it's good- I'll review it sometime.Maybe)
3: Teitur- Tokspor
2: Charlotte Perrelli- Hero

They're still number one...

1: Euroband- This Is My Life

Oh.Wow.

Diana just told me about this...



Britain's answer to Filip Kirkorov,a glittery Union Jack...it's all so camp and fabulous,I'm so excited!

Having done what the good man told me to and checked out the website,I have concluded- I WANT TO DO IT!!! It'd be like X Factor,I'd be the one crying every week because "I want this so bad"/"I want to win Eurovision to give my family a better life"/"I just want Filip Kirkorov to notice me..."

Sigh.If only I was in the UK for the first half of next year...

WYM Official Top 10: Week 4

10: Teitur- The Singer
9: Teitur- Andvekur
8: The Rasmus- Justify
7: The Rasmus- Ten Black Roses
6: Marie Picasso- Out of My Hands
5: Philipp Poisel- Unanständig
4: Timati & Sergey Lazarev- Lazerboy
3: Friðrik Ómar- Somebody to Love (I tell you,this man is singing at my wedding! He might be 83 by the time I find someone to have a wedding with,but still...)
2: Charlotte Perrelli- Hero (OK,she's probably still number one,but I couldn't post the video for 2 weeks in a row :) )

I'm that sad I listened to this about 5 times in a row at lunchtime.Expect it to feature very highly indeed in the end of year top 10/20/however many I have time to do :) Now I don't wanna get all political on yo ass,but I've been reading about the financial crisis in Iceland the last few days- it made me sad.Especially reading about the attitude of some Brits and Danes towards it all.We're all Europeans and should be helping eachother out.As the Facebook group says "Iceland will come back stronger and bigger- Áfram Ísland!" Yes.

1: Euroband- This Is My Life

It's finally happened...

There's a video to Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Lyubvi at last.Well kind of,it's mostly clips from Ryzhaya,which I really want to see now- it looks so bad that it might be good.There's a bit of a complex love quadrangle going on by the looks of things,complete with an abandoned wedding and the world's most ridiculous accident.Not wanting to be outdone in the drama stakes,the boys have gone for the Moody Chelsi look.Which fits the song of course,but just looks a bit funny in places :)

You lost and I won

She did.She's in the Bulgarian semi finals.God help us...



As Father Ted said to Dougal- "we have to lose that sax solo!"

WYM Official Top 10: Week 3

10: Teitur- Tu ert ein eingil (still want to see him in Hamburg)
9: Revolverheld- Die Welt Steht Still
8: Marie Serneholt- That's the Way My Heart Goes
7: Philipp Poisel- Unanständig (now I understand it)
6: Teitur- Andvekur (*sigh*,the Faroese album is soooo good)
5: Friðrik Ómar- Somebody to Love
4: Teitur- The Singer (notice a theme this week?)
3: Marie Picasso- Out of my Hands
2: Timati & Sergey Lazarev- Lazerboy

Yeah,it's a bit old now,but I can't stopn listening to it for some reason.I'm sure it makes me do a weird strut-type walk when it's on the ipod too :)

1: Charlotte Perrelli- Hero

I'm trying not to think about you

Note to self: 7 hour late night MSN conversations with nice men are good,but even better if you can deal with it the next day.

Last night I acquired lots of songs from my friend from just up the A7.I'm convinced he has every song in the world (Russian pop excluded- but then,that's my department :) ).But apart from the national anthem of the Soviet Union,this is my favourite one- It's called Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy,and well,it's a bit sad but there are some really good lines in it,and she does have a great voice.It reminds me a bit of Eden by Hooverphonic actually,which is no bad thing...

How cool!

Sounds like it should be a joke,but I'd buy it!Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin indeed...

Actually...

There's not much point in doing the WYM Top 10 this week,because I can honestly say I've listened to nothing but Teitur for the last week.Well,apart from one song anyway.Discotastic Dancing Genius Sergey Lazarev has been working with rather famous Russian rapper Timati (surprisingly enough,from FZ4),and they've come up with this piece of brilliance- Lazerboy



"I'm a Lazerboy for life" is possibly the worst line since "they call me Dima Bilan,Dima Bilan,D-D-Dima Bilan",but still.It's a funky song.

WYM Official Top 10

...will be back tomorrow probably.I'm currently on Skype to Keira trying to plan an exciting birthday for me in a destination reachable from both Hamburg and Helsinki.It's a tough job.

Czech it out

In the end I got up far too late today to be able to write a good enough post about Friday night as well as do all the other stuff I had to do today.Actually I didn't get any of that stuff done either...But I have been watching X Factor from last night- waiting for the nice person to upload tonight's episode now.And I've been watching a bit of Czech X Factor too:



Now that's not a terrible version of the song,but the bike and the woman and all the leather really bother me...

Back from Denmark

Thankfully.No,it wasn't that bad.Read about it tomorrow on Parlez-Vous Europop,and about my magnificent evening in the company of Teitur Lassen here on WYM...

Theme Thursday: I'll treat you like a bad girl

(Or is it fat girl...?)

Readers,welcome to the first Theme Thursday!* This week we'll see the...

Top 5 "Sergey Lazarev is a discotastic dancing genius" Songs of the Week

He's so cool that he shouldn't be legal (he oughta be banned)...

5: Shattered Dreams

In this performance from Song of the Year 2007,Sergey's going for the "Páll Óskar-at-the-Scala-Eurovision-Party" look.But there's no sequins,so it doesn't work as well...But the dancing makes up for it :) Oh,and look,there's Alla Pugacheva- why did she ever split up with Kirkorov?They were made for eachother...
Highlight- The "strut and grab" in the choruses




4: Do Me Right

Erm,how tight are those trousers,Sergey? If you ever need a new employee to spray them on for you,just leave a comment on this post and I'll be over to Moscow as soon as.Nightlife in Kiel is probably not half as fabulous as over there anyway :)
Highlight: I'm loving the little jump sequences at 1.09 and 1.16.That face at about 1.29 is a classic too!




3: Fake

Ah yes,the most dodgy lyrics of all time...This video is the Gay Club Mix apparantly.Now was a gay remix really necessary?Fake is as camp as a row of pink tents as it is.Because all of his others are 100% macho anthems of course.
Highlight: His whole "Yeah,I know I'm cool" attitude,despite wearing white trousers and a black and white stripey shirt




2: GU2 Radio

Oh sorry,did I say GU2 Radio? I meant TV or Radio.Just getting flashbacks to the great man himself doing the idents for our show...Anyway,this is a trippy video where Sergey's dressed like a bank manager but still being achingly cool dancing with some interesting creatures.Also check out the Typical Russian Audience.
Highlight: The robotic bits



1: Do It For Me

From the show Being Sergey Lazarev according to the top corner of the video.Wasn't there a Being Dima Bilan as well?I bet he didn't do cool things like this in it though.
Highlight: The bizarre arm movements,the thrusting,that weird thing at 2.25,everything!



*Which may or may not be a regular thing,I haven't quite decided...

Guess what...

I think I'm actually all ready for Denmark.Despite only having £13 (!) worth of Kroner left after my hotel bill.Mmmm...thank God for Nationwide and their free withdrawal thing :) I also need to pack and buy several snacks for the trip,but apart from that I'm ready to go.But not before the first Theme Thursday tomorrow...Yes,it's another excuse to post something every week when there's nothing else to talk about.You'll see.

Anyway,I have a question for any Russian readers out there (I know there are some :) ),are Maksim Galkin and Alla Pugacheva getting married or not?As much as I like to keep up to date with all the Russian showbiz news,my sources can be rather inaccurate...

Let the countdown begin...

New Eurovision Year officially starts on Thursday when Bulgaria hold their first quarter final.I know,Bulgaria- how's that for a spectacular opening?Info/videos of the participants seem to be pretty hard to come by,but I did find this- it's Monika Kirovska and "Bring Me Back My Freedom" from last years' finals...



Can't wait for Thursday... :/

I'm as harmless as a chicken in a freezer

Don't let it be said that Teitur is all about wonderful introspective songs about long-distance relationships and loneliness...



I love him!

WYM Official Top 10: Week 2

10: BWO- Lay Your Love On Me
9: Dima Koldun- Kazhdiy Den Na Zemlye (I do tend to get bored with Dima songs quite quickly...)
8: The Rasmus- Living In a World Without You
7: Take That- Pray (God knows why,I hated them first time around,but since buying the Greatest Hits album for (and subsquently stealing back from) my dad,I've been really getting into them)
6: Teitur- The Singer (Love this video,the way he nails the ending makes me all goosepimply.I can't wait for Friday)
5: Marie Picasso- Out of My Hands
4: BiS- Katya (read an amusing story about this song that I might write about some time if I can be bothered.Then again,it was probably made up anyway)
3: Leona Lewis- Better in Time
2: Baracuda- I Will Love Again

Now I've never been a fan of Queen,but my God this version of one of their songs is amazing...

1: Friðrik Ómar- Somebody to Love

Because of you I'm lonely

As if the last 2 days of sitting on my arse doing nothing weren't bad enough,I got sent home from work this morning for being full of germs :( Still,at least that means I can blog a lot today.

Great news Russian Reality TV fans- Fabrika may be gone but Zvezdniy Led is here! Literally meaning Starry Ice (how quaint),ZL started erm,recently,and what a celeb-fest the opener was! Unlike Dancing On Ice at home,where we have washed up Blue Peter presenters and- as Keira pointed out- Westlife for the grand finale,the Russian version has big names like Dima Bilan (yes,him again) and his manager Yana Rudkovskaya skating,performing to live music sung by the likes of Russian overlord himself Filip Kirkorov!No Z-listers presenting either- Zvezdniy Led is hosted by Maksim Galkin (who else,this is Kanal Rossija after all...) and Dima B's Eurovision buddy/Yana's boyfriend Evgeniy Plushenko.

As seems to often be the case with Russian Reality TV,the performances are pretty dramatic- there's your normal ice skating lifts and stuff but also a few other interesting elements as well at times.Also as seems to often be the case with Russian Reality TV,they talk for a hell of a long time after the performance...

Here's Dima and his partner Elena Berezhnaya (Team Berlan as they explain at the beginning).They did quite well,as you'd expect.I'm having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Dima's hair at the minute,I'm thankful that the mullet's gone,but still,is a ponytail really necessary?



Also,it seems Dima's got a new song out.It's called Lonely and well,I really like it actually.Even if it does remind me of something you'd hear in the chavvy clothes shops on Chatham High Street.

There's less crap songs than there used to be

So excited,I'm off to Denmark on Friday morning to go and see this man...



It's costing a small fortune,despite only being 2 hours away,but I missed him in London in August,because I thought coming here early would be a good idea.I've seen videos of this tour from various different places,and it looks pretty damn good.Now if only I could work out how to get to Esbjerg...

What promotion!

My family come from a tiny tiny island (actually,it's not that small- as big as the Isle of Wight apparantly) in the Tyrrenhian Sea called Ischia.Wikitravel says "Ischia is the largest island in the bay of Naples and is considered by many to be the most beautiful." Ha,in your face Capri! Anyway,not much goes on there,there's a lot of German tourists but that's about it.Until now,now Mr Shut-Up-Baby-Don't-Be-Fake went on holiday there that is.Here he is loving the Castello Aragonese so much that he can't even bear to look at it.And here he is also doing the Italian thing of wearing dodgy clothes and posing on a moped*.Now these pictures have made it into OK Magazine,hopefully a trend will be set amongst other Russian pop stars and Dima,Dima and Chelsi and the BiS boys will want of a bit of l'isola verde action.Must get involved with the family business pronto!

*In the background of the moped picture there's a typical Ischitanian taxi.They're certainly an experience everyone should try!

They ask you where you're from,but never tell you about themselves

The Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg started yesterday.It finishes tomorrow- some festival that is.Anyway,there are a lot of bands/singers there,some I've heard of,but most of them I haven't.One I do know though,is Philipp Poisel.Lovely-German-Friend-Just-Up-The-A7 sent me one of his songs a while ago,and I really really like it.I'm becoming quite accustomed to this German music business it seems :) Unanständig means a whole manner of things (rude,obscene,shocking...),things you wouldn't really think of when listening to the song if you don't speak German.Now I do speak German,but apart from the first line (post title),the lyrics are pretty difficult to translate.My friend explains it as "he sings to a girl that he wants to do nice things with her and that it doesnt matter what other people say/think about it".How sweet :)



I have since listened to a lot of his album,and it's pretty good.Will probably write some more another time when I'm not insanely tired.Well,I did spend the whole day at a bloody trade exhibition thing in a school today after all.If there's one thing I've learnt about the Germans since I've been here,it's that they love their trade fairs!

Newly remembered fabulous songs

Isn't it strange how one little word can remind you of a song you'd completely forgotten about and probably wouldn't have ever thought about otherwise? Well today,that word was "grausam," which led me to remember not only a conversation I had ooh,nearly 2 years ago now,that resulted in the line "Yuck,das ist grausam. I don't even know what grausam means,but I'm sure it's appropriate," but also this great song by Die Ärzte.It's called Nichts in der Welt,and is incredibly self-indulgent,but I love it all the same.Cover your eyes and ears Pop Purists,for guitars are on the way...




Nothing reminded me of this second song- which is either a really bad pun,or some kind of mindbending paradox depending on how you look at it.I didn't mean it to be either.Anyway,this is Remind Me by Röyksopp.I've never taken any notice of what the song's about,I'm just always bloody fascinated by the video...



This is one of my favourite unsuccessful Melodifestivalen songs (2006),but I didn't even know it had a video til 5 minutes ago...



This came on my ipod just as I was arriving in Schleswig on Saturday,and it made me so happy.Probably more to do with the fact that I could get off the bus after 2 hours,but also partly because it made me think of good times in Guildford when me and Keira used to sit doing our work in the front room with the Chelsi DVD (my finest achievement) on "in the background",but getting distracted by Malenkiy Prins and Krilya.Every single time.Still find the scandal of Roman and Aleksei nicking Senya's line at the end hilarious :)



As far as last-year-nostalgia goes though,nothing beats this song.I found it somewhere on my computer the other day,and although it might seem an odd one because a) it's British and b) I've never mentioned to anyone that I even like it,it reminds me so much of last year in Surrey that I feel just a little bit sad when I hear it...



Although I must say- the intro does remind me more than a little bit of Round and Round by US5 :)

WYM Official Top 10: Week 1!

It's new,it's (not very) exciting...it's the WYM Official Top 10! (Read- excuse to blog every week even when there's no news) So...

10: Daughtry- Over You (Thankfully I'm leaving my temporary rock stage now)
9: BWO- Lay Your Love On Me
8: Teitur- I Run the Carousel (sooooo want to see him in Hamburg next month!)
7: BiS- Tvoi ili Nichei
6: Dima Koldun- Ya Pridumal (don't think I've mentioned that one before,watch it here)
5: The Rasmus- Living In a World Without You (Look,look,look! - they were on RTL on Saturday night,along with someone else I'll mention in a minute and- erm- Paul Potts :/)
4: Teitur- The Singer (I simply must write another big Teitur post sometime soon)
3: Dima Koldun- Kazhdiy Den Na Zemlye
2: Baracuda- I Will Love Again

And what can possibly be number 1...?

Everyone's favourite futuristic Russian duo from Fabrika Zvezd 7 of course!

1: BiS- Katya

I only posted the proper video a few days ago,so here's a nice "live" version from Sochi.The boys are doing their best to get their groove on,but I must say they look pretty lost without the robots.Oh,and I love the attempt at making the final chorus a bit special,where Dima does a cartwheel and Vlad just kind of bounces :)

Though my heart is breaking I will love again...

Dear readers,I believe I've found a good German song! I'm sure I've heard it in Britain before,but then again,it's a dance song,and they all sound the same after a while.Baracuda have been around for quite a while actually,but their latest song I Will Love Again is the only one I've heard.It's your typical anthemic dance song,but I really like it- probably just because it's not Coldplay or Gabriella Cilmi.

I heard it on Saturday night on RTL2,when there was some big musical event thing called The Dome on,and I haven't really stopped listening to it since...