Work Your Magic...

I'm the one she's been fighting for

2011-05-24T22:28:00.001+01:00

Like.

Maslenitsa in London: Part 1

2011-03-07T10:24:00.006Z

Three years ago I had one of (if not THE) most lovely day ever amongst a hundred thousand Russians in Trafalgar Square. It was I believe,the last Russian Winter Festival to be held in London,so you can imagine my excitement when I found out (thanks to acediscovery) about yesterday's Maslenitsa event.

I'd never heard of Maslenitsa before- my teachers only seemed to recognise Women's Day as a Russian holiday- but it's a week long festival that marks the end of winter and the run-up to Lent,during which there are pancakes aplenty.

Anyway,after finding out that not only would Sergey Lazarev be there (you might have heard of him- he did the idents for our radio show...),but Prohor Shalyapin and Chelsi too,me and Keira just had to go.

I don't know what I missed,as I got there an hour after the whole thing kicked of,but the first act I saw was Bayan Mix with their light-up accordions.I was scoffing a chicken fajita and Twix at this point so didn't get any pictures or anything,but here they are on Russian telly. I quite liked them.But not as much as I liked Namgar,a group from Buryatia where Russia borders China and Mongolia.Their fusion of traditional Mongolian music and guitars and drums is like nothing you've ever heard before,as I'm sure you can believe.

Keira arrived just before Prohor "if you're stars,then I'm a legend" Shalyapin took to the stage wearing a characteristically flamboyant outfit.This was just as well because by being there she'd just doubled his fanbase.I've always had the impression that Prohor wasn't very popular during FZ6 and afterwards,and nobody seemed very enthusiastic during his set,despite the fact that he did a few traditional Russian songs which I'm sure everyone would have gone mad for if it had been anyone else.To finish,he did Tolko Ty which is one of his own songs as far as I know.
The old lady next to me (not Keira) was clearly enjoying it very much as she turned to me and said "when are the Russian dancers on?" Hmm.And then she asked if Prohor was one of Russia's top pop stars.I should have said yes.Anyway,the lack of enthusiasm didn't seem to put him off- he is a legend in his own lunchtime after all.

WYM comes back to life...

2011-02-22T19:37:00.001Z

So Eurovision season is well upon us again,and as usual I've chosen to ignore the more in-your-face national finals in favour of the lower budget,lower key ones.Well that's a bit of an overstatement really,I've not followed much at all this NF season,but I certainly got into the Georgian one when I heard the songs a few weeks ago.Georgia of course started their Eurovision legacy back in 2007 with the brilliant My Story/Visionary Dream by Sopho Khalvashi.Then followed a few massive cockups and then a return to form last year with Sofia's impressively mobile performance of shine.With this unpredictability,I was a bit worried that it might be time for another crap year from the Caucasion nation.

Thankfully I needn't have been worried.They chose One More Day by Eldrine on Saturday night,which was probably the best and most obvious choice given the rock fad of the last few years.This is good rock though,with the USP of a good female singer.It's got a polished sound,a wailing chorus and some rap that doesn't sound embarassing.I've got a good feeling about this one,and hope to see them at the Esprit for the jury final on May 13th.

I'm still a bit sad that my favourite didn't win,although I didn't expect him to.Temo Sajaia's Soldier Song was apparently the favourite of a few ESC fansites,which surprises me a bit,as the song is a bit on the cheesy side.I still love it though,and I love Temo's voice and I'm not sure anything will beat it as my favourite song of this year's Eurovision season.

I wish I was stronger,I wish there was someone else to blame

2010-10-20T15:32:00.002+01:00

One of my biggest sucesses in recent years is getting my parents to watch Eurovision a bit more seriously,particularly my mum who before 2007 pretty much never watched it.Anyway this year my dad was especially impressed with Romania's song and now he has Ovi's album.It's called This Gig Almost Got Me Killed,and though it's a bit 90s in parts,it's actually a pretty good album.My favourite song from it (apart from Playing With Fire of course) is Reason,and I just found this lovely live version of it from an NRK TV show.

Soundtrack of eternity,unendliche Sinfonie

2010-10-20T14:03:00.004+01:00

Ooh I am liking this...

Not sure how long it will stay on youtube given the situation these days,so enjoy it while you can.This is the title track from Polarkreis' fourth album which will be out on 19th November apparently.It's not radically different from The Colour of Snow album (always a good thing),and although it's not as immediately catchy as Allein Allein or as dreamy as some,well MOST, of the other tracks on the album,I like it very much and look forward to hearing what else they've been up to in the last 2 years.Also loving the retro style video.Sehr cool.

Livin la vida russkiy

2010-08-25T13:23:00.002+01:00

World's Most Beautiful Man Aleksei Vorobyov has gone all Ricky Martin on us.In musical terms that is.

No idea what Bam Bam is about,but to be honest he could be singing about wicker conservatory furniture for all I care.It's just a nice catchy tune with a...charming video.Lyosha isn't the squeaky clean perfect Russian boy he was in New Russian Kalinka anymore.No,he's got chavvy friends,gets off with girls in nightclub toilets and he breaks things.He'd fit in so well in Gillingham,I want to organise a visa for him.

Potential ESC entrants for Liechtenstein Part 1: Rääs

2010-07-31T14:06:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I wondered aloud on this blog about the existence of the Liechtenstein music industry.Well it turns out there is one after all,and rather interesting it is too from what I've seen so far.So welcome to the first in a (probably very short) series of Potential ESC entrants for Liechtenstein.

Meet Rääs.

(from their website www.mundart.li)

How very reminiscent of Revolverheld's latest album cover (released a year after the picture of Rääs was taken).Who's copying who I wonder? :)

Anyway,Rääs are interesting because not only do they sing in German,they sing in the Liechtenstein dialect of German,which has more umlaut a's than you can shake a stick at.This alone would make them great candidates for ESC next year- there's not nearly enough dialects in the contest.

This is Bis du sälb (something like Be Yourself),and from what I can glean from the lyrics it's just about being responsible for sorting out your own problems.It contains good drums.

I take it that video is where the picture I posted comes from.Unless they were two separate occasions and there's just a lot more paint-flinging done in the Germanic countries than I ever realised.

Rock of course never does well at Eurovision,unless you're Turkish,in which case any old tat you send does well.So we wouldn't want Rääs to send something like that and end up doing a San Marino and bombing in their debut year.

So how about a good old ballad?

It's the paint again! Good Lord... Anyway,I think that song is lovely.But ballads are divisive at Eurovision.Maybe we want something a bit more mad?

Now I understand most of the words to this one.Balzers is the village in Liechtenstein where Rääs come from,and they're saying that they've been all round the world,but there's only one place they want to be.That being Balzers of course.This has Eurovision written all over it surely? It's a bit Ovo je Balkan but without the weird subplot about kissing,it's a better tune than Mama Corsica (a song that was also in a dialect AND finished 4th in 1993),and it isn't bland ethnopop like Hohrehronie.Sadly though,it is 3 years old so they wouldn't be able to use it next year.Maybe they can quickly knock one up about how great a capital city Vaduz is though and cobble together a Zauvijek Volim Te type video with lots of gratuitous shots of castles and flags waving in the breeze.

Come on 1FLTV,let me be your Eurovision consultant!

My mind is always on your side

2010-07-30T21:18:00.004+01:00

I'm going to Belgium next week.Ostend for a day anyway.Now I know there are a few good CD shops in Ostend,so I've been checking out the Belgian charts to get some ideas of what to buy over there.

Firstly I have to say how much I like Ultrapop.be, the chart website.There are Flemish and Walloon versions of course,and the chart helpfully points out which artists are Belgian (16 out of 50 ain't bad),and there are youtube links to every video.Good to see Jessy Matador and Tom Dice's Eurovision songs still doing well :) But at 17,one place above Me and My Guitar is Come Home by Amatorski.It's all slow and teams rather old-fashioned music with a very British indie vocal that wouldn't be out of place in one of those old annoying Orange adverts.Nothing annoying about this though,it's rather lovely in fact.It's in two sections,in the style of two letters- one written by the girl to (I presume) her soldier boyfriend,and one from him in reply.

Apparantly Come Home is part of a 4 track album,but there are a few other Amatorski songs on youtube.This one,Fading is my favourite.Its dreamy sound (with a slightly sinister undertone? I'm not sure yet) is like anything Sigur Rós or any number of Scandinavian indie artists would produce,which is perfectly fine by me :)

On the other end of the scale (and at number 26 in the charts) is She's Gone by a chap called Nelson who I know absolutely nothing about yet,other than that I love his voice.

P.S- Following the exciting news that Liechtenstein are likely to make their Eurovision debut next year,I think it's about time I had a look into their music industry.Early indications show that they don't actually have one,but that can't be so.If anyone has any tips for me,I'd be very grateful.

Promising news...

2010-07-15T16:09:00.002+01:00

Rumours abound on esctoday.com erm,today that Mika might write the UK's 2011 Eurovision entry.I can't stand the man's music myself,but I'm pretty certain he'd do a fantastic job.No boring ballads or 80s Butlins pop anyway.In fact I think it could be rather Eurotastic.Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Diaries at the ready

2010-06-30T22:39:00.003+01:00

Eurovision 2011 will be the week beginning 9th May according to esctoday.com.I'd heard the rumours but I cannot believe that they're letting Lena represent them again.Satellite was a worthy winner this year,of that there is no doubt,and I'm glad Lena's getting publicity across Europe,but having her sing for Germany again next year is a ridiculous idea.I guess they're doing it because they don't want to stage the contest 2 years in a row (maybe she should sing My Lovely Horse just to make sure of it),but seriously.Germany has a massive wealth of musical talent so to just make the snap decision to have a singer whose "charm" actually wore off pretty much as soon as she won in Oslo is a pointless move which I'd be quite annoyed about if I was a German singer looking for the chance to publicise myself on the world's biggest musical stage.But what do I know.

I try to write some pretty lines

2010-06-30T01:46:00.002+01:00

Song of the Day:
Michel van Dyke- She Comes at the End of the Day

Michel is the brains behind Ruben Cossani (who,incidentally are working on a new album- very exciting,I'll need to go back to Germany to buy it) and the writer of Echt's wonderful Du Trägst Keine Liebe in Dir amongst other things.Turns out he's done stuff in English too.I'm loving this one.

Momentous Day!

2010-06-08T00:03:00.004+01:00

OK so I'm a few minutes late now,the momentous day was yesterday.Not only did I do my last ever exam (a French speaking exam supposed to be about French energy policy but for some reason that I'm grateful for,my teacher brought up Eurovision),not only did I present the last Sounds of Europe for the foreseeable future,but...it's Work Your Magic's 3rd birthday!

I know I hardly post on here anymore,but I hope that will change now I've got literally nothing to do for...well,the rest of my life as yet.Somehow nearly 10,000 people came and had a look at this blog in the past 12 months despite not much going on,and it's still linked to on esctoday.com which is a great honour and means a lot to me.Thanks to all you 10,000(ish) people,and thanks to everyone who listened to Sounds of Europe too.We had a lot of fun doing it,and actually we're entering ourselves for the Student Radio Awards on the advice of people both at our station and a certain Kevin Hughes,Capital FM's showbiz reporter.To win an award,or even just be shortlisted,would be brilliant,and a great way to end what's been a fab 2 years.

Me and Keira are quite naturally feeling a little bit sad about the end of our show,but we've bought teacakes to cheer us up,and we're watching the videos of the lovely Harel Skaat,which are the perfect Europop pick-me-up.If Harel's beautiful eyes and smile fail to make you smile a little bit,then you probably have a heart of stone.Or you just don't like Harel Skaat...

Peter Nalitch: An Apology

2010-06-04T23:46:00.002+01:00

Currently working on my Eurovision review,it should be here by the end of the weekend.

But before I publish that,I feel I should write an overdue apology to the wonderful Peter Nalitch.I wrote off Lost and Forgotten after the Russian National Finals without listening to it properly.Like most of western Europe I failed to get the joke or even realise that there was one.Which is a bit strange for someone who loves the Russian sense of humour as much as I do.In my defence I didn't listen to it all the way through before I wrote my post,and I didn't see the video either.Once I had actually seen and heard it properly at the semi final though,I loved it,and am glad it got into the final in a year where Eastern Europe was a bit too underrepresented for my liking.I was also a bit disappointed that Russia has such a great music scene that they chose not to take it too seriously this year.But actually that's something I like about Russia,they don't care what anyone else thinks,unlike certain other countries at Eurovison.(Naming no names,there's a particular Scandinavian country who faffs around every year trying to come up with something they think everyone in Europe will love,even going to the pretentious extent of using international juries at the national final resulting most years in an embarassing flop...)

Whether Russian humour is your thing or not though,the audience at the Telenor shouldn't have booed every time Russia got points.I know this isn't a new thing,and I don't think Peter really cared,but it annoys me that there's so much anti-Russian feeling at Eurovision.As the great philosopher Michael von der Heide once said- "it's not war,it's just the Eurovision Song Contest" :)

Anyway,here's the song that made Peter famous.The Bahamas line gets me every time.

Still I'll love you forever

2010-05-31T03:26:00.002+01:00

Well done to Tom last night getting Flanders' best result ever at Eurovision.Must admit I didn't get the fuss during the semis,and I still think Me and My Guitar is quite forgettable,but by Christ he's adorable isn't he?! The way he waved and said bye at the end was like something off of the Father Ted Eurovision special.The song might grow on me yet.I really don't like the lyrics (some of them anyway),but the first half is rather Teitur-like.Anyway,I've just familiarised myself with his album,Teardrops.A few songs have stood out immediately as ones I don't think I'll ever like,but this one is the complete opposite.It's quite atmospheric and it's called Forbidden Love.

Happy Eurovision Day!

2010-05-29T03:08:00.002+01:00

Happy Eurovision Day to all readers of Work Your Magic and Parlez-Vous Europop.Earlier on Twitter,@FannyPeculiar said the night before Eurovision is like Gay Christmas Eve.Although I'm a straight girl,I have to agree.This year is my 18th ESC,that I can remember anyway.I'm sure I watched it before I was 6,I just probably fell asleep halfway through or something.It was my dad who got me interested in the contest,and funnily enough it's now him who falls asleep halfway through.

Silly as it sounds,Eurovision is more of an event to me than Christmas,and probably my birthday too.It's probably quite similar actually,every year you get something you don't particularly want (*cough* Greece *cough*),and it's always a bit sad at the end when you have to wait another whole year for the next one.

I remember having a thing for this song from 1993,and having the chorus in my head for ages afterwards...

I remember going to school the weekend after Secret Garden won with Nocturne in 1995 and excitedly telling my teacher that I was really happy Norway won because that was mine and my dad's favourite.Of course,she didn't care in the slightest.And I remember Tanel winning in 2001 (that night was also the one and only time in my life I've ever been stung by a wasp),and getting a major 14-year-olds crush on him leading to lots of pictures of him on my walls,the recording of Estonia Dreams of Eurovision (I still have the video tape!) and texting an Estonian website to get Unistus as my ringtone.

They might not be your average childhood memories (then again,my first memory of life in general was seeing the Berlin Wall come down on the news...),but Eurovision has been a constant that's always there and has been a part of me for a long time.And long may it continue!

Who cares about Sweden?

2010-05-28T13:22:00.003+01:00

I don't understand this media frenzy about Sweden not qualifiying.Sure this might be the first time in 30 odd years that they're not in the final,but that's what happens when you send crap.I'm no fan of schlager whatsoever so it's refreshing of the Swedes to try something different,but this something different was duller than ditchwater in the dullest ditch in Dullsland and so it was rightfully knocked out last night.The music and the lyrics didn't match (the words suggested it was an uplifting song,but non-English speakers would never have guessed this in a million years),Anna was annoying and the song just never went anywhere from the moment it started to the second it ended.

Sweden would do well to remember that though they may spend millions on the most pointless,drawn-out national final in Europe,nobody is guaranteed a place in the final*.If the European media should be commiserating anyone,it should be Femminem and Michael von der Heide,who put in two of the best performances of the night,vocally and visually,and both of whom deserve to be in the final so much more than certain other qualifiers whose names I won't mention.

While we're on the subject of last night,congratulations to Jon Lillygreen,whose qualification was one of yesterday's pleasant surprises and whose song is (to me at least) the best of the guitar-based pop this year.

* Unless you're Greece or Turkey of course.Then you can send whatever tat you want.

Delayed thoughts on Eurovision

2010-05-23T22:47:00.002+01:00

(All video links in this post are to rehearsal videos,so if you want to remain in suspense until the big day,don't look!)

I'm still undecided on who I want to win,there are actually tons of songs that I like this year,with no one in particular standing out.Harel's song has really grown on me now I've seen the rehearsals- his voice is faultless,and it's such a simple performance that it deserves to do well.Also,you can't ignore the fact that,visually,he is perfection itself,and his backing singers aren't too far off either :) Still loving Denmark's song too,though the recorded version is much better than the live version.Feminnem are amazing for Croatia,watching the rehearsal gave me goosebumps the other day.Though they have got a bit of a stage performance going on,it doesn't detract from their brilliant voices and a song which is powerful and has great lyrics.Estonia are also wonderful (love Robin's Renars-esque dancing) and I can't wait to hear what Malcolm Lincoln's new album sounds like.And then there's these guys...

That's my new desktop picture,it never fails to make me smile.Inculto,bless them,have done so much work to promote themselves all over Europe (see their youtube channel for details) and their song is great in so many ways that it will be a shame if they don't qualify.Same for Switzerland,whose stage setup and backing singers are possibly the best in the competition.Michael's voice is very sexy indeed,which I think should always count for something in Eurovision :)

I hope an Azeri win isn't a foregone conclusion.Though I'm glad Safura has done away with the horrible nasal voice thing,the song is still dull,with an annoying,predictable chorus.And the whole steps thing is reminiscent of Dima's ladder from 08.It's pointless and just makes everything look awkward.Drip Drop probably is in the best 15 songs this year,and I normally support Azerbaijan,which I still do really- I'd love to see the contest taken to Central Asia in the near future.But just not this year.There are too many other,better songs in the competition.

As for the Big Four,I think this is the strongest set of songs they've had as a collective for a few years.Spain's performance is surely the cutest this year (I especially love the rag doll),and Daniel has a belter of a voice.Germany are of course still second favourites to win (wonder when the last time was that that happened?!)I still can't see it happening myself,but I love the song,and Lena is adorable.I wasn't sure how well the backing singers would work,but I've concluded they're very good.Poor old Jessy Matador seems to have had a bit of a hard time so far,what with all the negative criticism back in France where the consensus seemed to be that he wasn't right for Eurovision.Au contraire,I think he's just what Eurovision needs."Typically French" the song might not be,but after stuffy old Patricia Kaas last year,I think they made the right decision to lighten up a bit,but not be as quirky as previous years.I hope it does well,and I hope it follows say,Didrik or Harel in the running order,just for maximum effect.

Then of course there's us. We were supposed to do an interview with Josh for Sounds of Europe a few weeks ago,but due to his schedule changing blah blah blah,it didn't quite come about,and he just did a telephone interview with another show that his friend presents.This is probably just as well as we'd slagged off the song several times on the show before.I love Josh to bits,he seems like a really nice guy from all the interviews I've seen/heard,but the song is a bit pants.Especially the new version.But I was very impressed with the rehearsals,the Ani Lorak style white box things were a bit unexpected,but a million times better than what I was imagining.It won't set Europe on fire (that's Romania's job,hahahahahahahaha... :/) but I hope it won't do as badly as the bookies predict.Josh has got the granny vote safe already,surely?

New song from The Ark

2010-03-30T23:39:00.001+01:00

I'm not that impressed.

Teitur at the Purcell Room,Friday 26th March

2010-03-27T23:26:00.003Z

Thank the Lord for Twitter.If it hadn't been for Twitter,I'd (probably) never have found out about Teitur's show at the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre last night.Having seen him in Esbjerg,Denmark (a 3 and a half hour train trip from where I lived in Germany) just over a year ago,and neglecting to write about it,I couldn't pass up the chance to go and see him again at a venue I'm familiar with,half an hour away from where I live now.

This show was quite different to the one at Tobakken in Esbjerg.There,Teitur was accompanied by a band,whereas this time,he was all alone with his piano and guitar,apart from in a select few songs where he was joined by a string quartet).The first song was All My Mistakes from the second album Stay Under the Stars,which set the mood for the rest of the evening- lovely and chilled out.

The next few songs were from the forthcoming (as yet untitled) album,which will be released around September.Thanks to Twitter again,I already knew the lyrics to When I Had It All,and a few weeks ago on Sounds of Europe,I said I hoped he'd "cobble a tune together in time for the show".It was of course,much more than cobbled together,it was wonderful,though how it will sound on the CD is another matter.If this album is anything like The Singer,and there are lots of different instruments and sounds going on,it will sound completely different to the simple but effective piano-only version.To be honest though,Teitur's music for me has always (mostly) been all about the lyrics."It's hard to let go of what you thought you wanted,it's harder to hold on to dreams that are haunted" is my particular favourite line in that song.

Fly on the Wall,Feel Good,Waverly Place and Freight Train are also songs from the new album,my favourite being Freight Train.Teitur said that it always reminds him of his father,and it's all about taking chances and making the most of life.On a personal level,and at this stage of my own life,the lyrics felt very poignant,and I got...slightly emotional :) The fact that Freight Train was followed by an encore of I Was Just Thinking made it all the more emotional.I'm a single person,and have been for longer than I care to remember,so the words don't have any personal resonance for me anymore.But still,it's a special song for me,partly because it's the first Teitur song I heard,nearly 7 years ago.

There were lots of other songs from The Singer,including of course the title track,which is one of my favourites,not least because of the line "they just want to understand me,and I sing to be loved" and the end note,which gets me every time.This version was probably quite close to the one he played in Esbjerg,but wasn't as dramatic as my favourite version,this one from Danish TV show,the 11th hour.

Don't Let Me Fall in Love With You,We Still Drink the Same Water and Catherine the Waitress are other highlights from The Singer,and though I enjoyed them,they're definitely better when all the other instruments are involved.And arguably in the case of Water,when Olafur Arnalds and Ane Brun are involved :)

Great Balls of Fire was played quite early on,which I like much more than the original version.Played at a slower tempo,in a minor key,with a string quartet changes the feel of the song altogether.It's eerie,almost sinister,which are not feelings that usually come up in your average song...The string quartet were great in every song they played,and in particular made Josephine an unexpected highlight of the show,as it's never been a favourite of mine.

What has always been a favourite of mine however,is Louis Louis,so I was very happy when Teitur played it :)

The final song of the night was One and Only.A nice,mellow end to a nice,mellow evening,even though I could have stayed listened to him all night.

Though this show didn't quite have the magic of the one in Esbjerg two Octobers ago,Teitur is (to quote his own song Legendary Afterparty) "still my hero,if I ever had one."

ESC 2010 Review Part 3

2010-03-24T13:28:00.000Z

Iceland: Hera Bjork- Je ne Sais Quoi

Hera’s song Someday from the Danish MGP last year was one of my favourite songs of the year for many reasons. This one is completely different, but I love it just as much, even though I do have the tendency to forget about it whenever anyone asks me what my favourite song of this year is :/ I adore Hera though, she’s completely fabulous and I would love to be able to belt out a tune like she does. IMHO Je ne Sais Quoi is approximately a million and three times better than last year’s Icelandic entry, which was only made bearable by the fact that Hera was doing backing vocals with good old Fridrik. Sadly it won’t do as well as Is It True, which is a travesty because this is exactly the sort of disco tune we all love. Probably.

Lyrics- “I am standing strong, I've overcome the sadness in my life” :)

Verdict- LOVE

***

FYROM : Gjoko Taneski ft Billy Zver and Pejcin- Jas ja imam Silata (I have the strength)

Just your typical Balkan rock song, which is good but in danger of being forgotten unless it has a good draw. That’s until the rapper appears and the massive guitar solo happens. The solo itself is massive I mean, not the guitar, although that could be quite a good gimmick. Anyway, I like these twists, and I hope the rest of Europe will too.

Lyrics- “It’s good to be free and alone” Amen to that

Verdict- LIKE VERY MUCH

***

Malta: Thea Garrett- My Dream

Sort it out Malta, ballads are all very well but Ira Losco was far more fun and interesting. Thea has a good voice, but as pop ballads go, this is more towards the Senhora do Mar end of the scale rather than the Il Faut du Temps end, ie- it’s boring. And the birdman is just terrifying.

Lyrics- “This is my dream, I want to make it really happen.” That is the generally the nature of dreams.

Verdict- DISLIKE VERY MUCH

***

Poland: Marcin Mroziński- Legenda

Someone on youtube says- “I LOVE the first 25 seconds, Then it's just a piece of crap”. I think I agree. Marcin clearly has an amazing voice that is capable of much better than this. After the massively dramatic intro, it just gets boring. And inserting bits that are in the same style as the intro at random intervals doesn’t let you get away with it. The backing singers sound a bit ropey and desperate, and the whole thing (for me anyway) just doesn’t work. With a different song, I think Marcin would be a force to be reckoned with, though that’s not to say I think Legenda will be a flop. I think it could be one of those that does surprisingly well without anyone understanding why. Ooh I’ve just heard the ending, it’s very abrupt. I quite like that.

Lyrics- “Lovely princess, I am here to save you, take your hand and tell me that you love me” Can’t you send Vorobyov to save me instead please?

Verdict- Great voice, wrong song. DISLIKE

Just imagine...

2010-03-22T19:12:00.004Z

Cheeky old Belarus have gone and changed their song since I wrote about the last one.How naughty of them.Unlike the farcical Ukrainian selection issue that's still going on,this Belarussian change seems to have paid off.Butterflies may actually qualify for the final I think! It's a lovely ballad actually,OK it's a bit boring,but it's really pleasant,it's sort of like something from a Disney film,which are pretty universal,non? Major plus points of Butterflies include the Regina style drums throughout,the Drop and Surge into the final chorus,the guy (not the one who sings first) has a great voice. Major downside- I'm not convinced they're all great live singers.Other observations- The first guy who sings looks really good in a suit,the girl in the middle's dress is nice,the first line of the chorus sounds like a slowed down version of the first line in the chorus of Party for Love by Jari Sillanpää.

Verdict- LOVE :)

Miscellaneous Post #1

2010-03-22T19:09:00.005Z

This is Peter Nalitch,Russia's Eurovision singer for this year,wearing a scarf.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it,but I am a MASSIVE fan of Lost and Forgotten.Great song :)

ESC 2010 Review Part 3

2010-03-16T15:05:00.002Z

Albania: Juliana Pasha- Nuk Mundem pa Ty (It’s All About You)

Not normally a fan of Albania, but this is pretty good. It’s catchy without being annoying. The chorus is repetitive but doesn’t get on my nerves, which is always a good sign. Juliana is a bit of a diva, and I do like her voice, but the whole thing is just a bit dated. I’d like it to get to the final but I don’t think it’s quite good enough. The Albanian lyrics don’t seem to be a million miles from the English version, and I don’t know which version she’ll perform on the night (a mixture, probably), but I think English is the way forward on this one.

Lyrics- “It’s all in the way you look at me, you’re driving me crazy”

Verdict- LIKE

***

Belarus: 3+2- Far Away

Insert “Far Away” based joke here. The Belarussian selection seemed to go on forever this year, limping towards this sorry result. No that’s not fair, listening to it for the second time now, it’s not as bad as I thought before. At least there’s a drop and surge, even if it isn’t followed by a key change. And one of the guys is quite cute. I think the main problem is something with the girls. The voices just don’t go together at all. It just feels like it should be a boyband song, like something Premier Minister would have done. But, the chorus IS very catchy.

Lyrics- “I’ll see a happy day, it’s far away but I will find it”

Verdict- LIKE? Not much, but maybe a bit

***

Belgium: Tom Dice- Me and My Guitar

Albania’s entry is called It’s All About You, this should really be called It’s All About Me. I don’t think Eurovision is the place for an autobiographical song, so I really don’t like the lyrics. They’re not even interesting autobiographical lyrics. But as far as the music is concerned, I’m loving it. It’s simple but effective, and although Eurovision purists wouldn’t agree, I love the idea of just a man with a guitar on stage. No gimmicks, no wind machine, no key change (!). Tom looks great too, he doesn’t look like a typical Eurovision singer, and I really like that. A whole contest of 42 singer/songwriters with a guitar or piano would be very tedious of course, but the odd entry like this is very refreshing, and I think it will work in Tom’s favour. I hope so anyway. The excellent Eurovision Windmachine doesn't agree though: [translation] "This dice has an extra side- one with a big fat zero on it". Harsh,but funny :)

Lyrics- “When darkness falls, then all of the stars will see just me and my guitar”

Verdict- LIKE. Would be Love if it wasn’t for the lyrics

***

Greece: Giorgios Alkeos and Friends- Opa

Ooh it’s like a big advert for Jamster. Seriously, how (and more importantly, why) do they make that ringtone sound? There are parts of this that I like, such as the singing, and the whole ethnic sound. At least it isn’t boring ethno-pop like Greece usually send, but still, I can’t say I’m a fan. Raquelita-Greek relations have been strained to the point of snapping in the past 6 months, so the less I say about Greek music, the better :)

Lyrics- Erm...”OPA!”

Verdict- MOSTLY DISLIKE

ESC 2010 Review Part 2

2010-03-15T19:47:00.001Z

Moldova: Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira- Run Away

Once you get past the horrendous non-matching outfits, the saxophonist (!) and the spinning podium thingies, this is not a bad song at all. The voices are not all that great to say the least, but it’s not the type of song that requires brilliant singers. The backing, beepy...noise is frantic but it works, and actually, I love the saxophonist now I think about it. And the fact that the podiums are still spinning when the song ends.

Lyrics- “Let me breathe, let me leave, just run away from my mind”

Verdict- LIKE

***

Russia: Peter Nalitch Band- Lost and Forgotten

I’m just at a complete loss to describe or explain this one. Russia has one of the best pop scenes around, and even though most of the country’s top singers didn’t take part in the finals this year, they still had the fabulous Maya Showtime by Alexander Panayotov. I just...oh I don’t know. On the whole, songs from the ex-Soviet states this year are pretty poor. I don’t believe in political voting, but if this even qualifies from the semi, then alarm bells will ring. There are all sorts of odd noises in this song, some of which I’m not sure are intentional. As for the title, I was going to say it’s quite appropriate, but I’m pretty sure Peter’s efforts will certainly be remembered. If not for the reasons he’d like them to be.

Lyrics- “I’m looking at her photos, what should I do with them?” (Is it me or are there a lot of questions in ESC lyrics this year?)

Verdict- HATE. But above all, DISAPPOINTED

***

Serbia: Milan Stanković- Ovo je Balkan (This is the Balkans)

Milan appears to be the lovechild of September and either Dima Bikbaev or Sergey Zverev, which is a good start. It goes downhill from there though. Ovo je Balkan isn’t terrible, it’s just boring and forgettable. Saying that though, I do quite like the “hop hop hop, ovo je Balkan , come on” bits. And what’s with all the outfit changes? The national costumes made sense, they were fine. I don’t know anything about Milan, but I do like his voice, so would like to hear more from him, as long as it’s just normal pop songs, not tourist adverts for Belgrade.

Lyrics- “Hop, hop, hop, this is the Balkans, come on!”

Verdict- WHATEVER.

***

Slovakia: Kristina- Horehronie

It’s Ruslana-Lite. A child-friendly Ruslana with a lovely silky voice. I like this, it’s ethnic without being too...ethnic. The drums make it sound a bit more modern and contemporary, if ya know what I mean. It’s just generally very pleasant and I think it could do quite well. At least, I think it would have done in previous years, but there does seem to have been a shift in popular song style this year, it doesn’t quite fit in with the trend anymore. But we’ll see.

Lyrics- “I’m lying on the grass and dreaming, of what, I don’t even know”

Verdict- LIKE

ESC 2010 Review Part 1

2010-03-14T23:54:00.002Z

BiH: Vukašin Brajić- Munja i Grom (Thunder and Lightning)

ESCtoday.com describes this song as a “reflective, partly melancholic rock ballad with a meaningful message”. I’d go along with that. BiH were of course last year represented by the wonderful Regina, whose Bistra Voda won various awards after finishing in a respectful (and surprising) 9th place. Bistra Voda also happened to be my favourite song of last year’s contest, so for me, this year’s entrant had a lot to live up to. I don’t think he’s done it though. Munja i Grom is an OK song, but ultimately quite forgettable. I like the drama of it because it isn’t over the top. I like the backing singers- an apparently important criterion for me this year :) And I love the ending, which is so understated that it takes you by surprise. I’m not sure that it will get through to the final, but a good draw in the running order will definitely help.

Lyrics- “Rage remains and it doesn’t seem to me that we’re eachother’s better half anymore” (I love that line)

Verdict- LIKE

***

Estonia: Malcolm Lincoln- Siren

Malcolm, which is not actually his name, is very endearing, though I don’t quite know why. He’s definitely quite cute, but I think what I’m really liking is his Britpop voice, it’s all a bit Vaiko Eplik. Oh, whaddaya know, apparently his debut album is due to be released this spring by Vaiko Eplik’s record label. There’s a funny thing! Siren is a good song, very unconventional ESC but good all the same. The backing singing works very well, and the slow verses are complimented by the killer chorus. (The chorus is a dealbreaker in a good song for me). I also like the camera work, and the dancing, and the ending, and his scarf. Scarves are often also a dealbreaker for me :)

Lyrics- “I wasted years, I wasted time, trying to reach the stars”

Verdict- LOVE

***

Finland: Kuunkuiskajat- Työlki ellää (One can work for a living too)

It’s folky, it’s old-fashioned, I don’t like their voices, and there’s a massive accordion, but there’s something about this that I really like. I think it’s the handclaps and the backing singers. The multiple tempo changes are good too, an often overlooked feature. Oh, and the violin. I don’t know, there’s not really much else to say, it’s just an inexplicably good song. It isn’t as good as Waldo’s People from last year, but I don’t think it will suffer the same fate.

Lyrics- “What do I sing when I’m happy? What do I put on top of floating melodies?”

Verdict- LIKE

***

Latvia: Aisha- What For?

Oh dear, is this really the country that gave us Prata Vetra and Fomins & Kleins? (Look, I liked Fomins & Kleins,OK?) This is absolutely awful, although actually, the melody isn’t half bad. And as gimmicks go, I do like that dress. Since when has God been a Mr though? Surely he’d be a Sir at least.

Lyrics- “Why are the skies so blue and mountains high? What for is your love always passing by?”

Verdict- HATE

The WYM ESC 2010 Review

2010-03-14T23:47:00.003Z

It's my favourite time of year, the build up to Eurovision.By Friday we'll know all the songs and the campaigns and promo tours will all be under way.Very exciting.Even more exciting is that Norway is being tipped as the winner already.I can't say I'd find this a complete tragedy.But anyway,I'll be reviewing all 39 songs here on Work Your Magic,which as you may have noticed hasn't seen much action in the past few months.I haven't given up completely,but due to too much work and not enough time,I think it will now become more of a "seasonal" thing,like rubbish Christmas jumpers,or Creme Eggs or fireworks.Only of course my season will be around February to May.Spring,I guess you could call it :)

Your country needs a better song

2010-03-13T15:25:00.004Z

Last night's recording of Your Country Needs You was good fun.Myself and Keira just went along to see Alexander Rybak really,who,incidentally was adorable.He seemed nothing like the arrogant little wotsit he sometimes comes across as.Oh,and his dancers were beautiful :) They played a bit of Eurovision music while they were setting up too,which included 3 repeats of Tornero! Eventually it was just me and Keira,and the two guys behind us singing along,which felt a bit odd.

The interim period between the pre-records and the live show was OK,we got given cartons of orange juice and KitKats.Of the 2 finger variety,not 4.

As for the live show,we were quite far back,near the stage entrance,so we didn't get to see much at all and had to watch it all on the screens above.But it was all good.Which can't really be said for the song.It's a shame,it has a lot of potential.The intro is great,I also love the ending,but it falls apart in the middle,which is kind of the important part :) We really wanted a key change,following a dramatic pause and quiet middle 8 (now known as a "drop and surge" in this house).We were hopeful too,but it just never happened,and I think that's the main problem.The song just doesn't go anywhere.And don't get me started on the lyrics...

I'm hoping it'll grow on me.I hated It's My Time last year,but came to love it.Well,that might be a bit of a strong word...I'm just not sure about this though.It has its electro-lite elements which seem to be a trend in this year's ESC,oh and a laser,but those are really its only redeeming features.As for Josh,well,whilst we were in the studio,he was the one I wanted to win.But listening back to all the performances last night (there was so much bass on Josh's version at the studio that it was a bit distorted and hard to judge),I think Alexis may have been robbed.But I do like Josh,he's really sweet,and the fact that he's a wooden dancer makes him all the more endearing to me,as I'm a wooden dancer too :)

It's been my biggest dream since I was about 14 to sing at Eurovision,so I'm really happy for him,it must be a great feeling.But sadly I just don't see us getting anywhere with this song,no matter who we chose to sing it.

If you want it baby,push the button when you crave me

2010-03-06T23:46:00.003Z

Look who's back with a new song...

And what a cool song it is too.Alarm is the first single from the yet-to-be-released (?) album Electric Touch,the name of which suggests to me at least that we're in for an album full of songs like this one.Which is no bad thing :)

Oh and look who else has got a new song...

I'm not so excited about this one.Or Dima's new lion hair come to that,but it's pleasant enough.The chorus is better than the verses,that's for sure,but the whole thing just seems to be a bit too chilled out for a single.Bit too chilled out for the Lady Gaga style video too.But we're not complaining,anything from Dima is always a welcome treat :)

Don't you want me to do those things to you?

2010-02-28T23:42:00.004Z

Oh Aleksei,you're so provocative *blushes*.

Quite excited about this new song from Mr Vorobyov...

Actually there's lots of musical things I'm excited about at the minute,mostly Eurovision based.If only I could find the time to write about them...Although while we're on the subject,how fab is this Eurovision attempt from Alexander Panayotov?

Russia's final is next Sunday,though I can't say I'll be watching this time around.No BiS,no Dima B,no Dima K,no Aleksei...Doesn't really seem worth it to me :)

Ugh

2010-02-06T20:14:00.001Z

Keep of Kalessin through to the second round of MGP.Really? NRK's stream is absolutely terrible for me tonight,so I wish they'd just get on with it instead of dragging it out and doing the talky bit and making them sing again.How many go through to the second round anyway? I'm starting to get a bit worried now.Of the three qualifiers so far,I only like Didrik,and even then I don't want him to win.Although he is rather dreamy,it must be said...

I know I'm overreacting a bit,but....

2010-01-17T13:14:00.001Z

I'm getting nervous about Norway's MGP now- there are lots of good songs in it,which puts more pressure on a1 next week.Of course I'd love to see them at Eurovision probably more than any of the others,but it is a very good competition this year.Venke got through to Siste Sjansen last night,and I think her song is definitely a grower.She's so cute,I think I love her a bit.

I know you'll make it somehow

2010-01-14T00:56:00.003Z

I mentioned Brandur Enni briefly yesterday in my little thing about the Danish MGP.I've got a bit of a Faroese thing going on at the minute- my plan was to go there this summer but now that isn't happening,but I do intend on applying to Tórshavn University to do their Summer Institute thing next year.Anyway,that's not the point at all.Basically,Brandur had a new song out last year which I missed,and I think there may be an album too...But the first single is called Sometimes Truth Needs a Lie,and I really like it.Though it is essentially a modern pop song,there are still elements (the strings,mostly) which are so typically Nordic.It's lovely and warming :) And I like the video too,I find desolate buildings interesting somehow.

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix

2010-01-12T13:06:00.002Z

Oh how annoying it is when your Russian revision is interrupted by the announcement that Denmark's MGP contestants have been announced :) They are:

Bryan Rice - Breathing (wildcard)
Joakim Tranberg - All about a girl
MariaMatilde Band - Panik!
Simone - How will I know
Jens Marni - Gloria
Chanée & N'evergreen - In a moment like this
Kaya Brüel - Only tonight (wildcard)
Thomas Barsøe - Just like rain
Sukkerchok - Kæmper for kærlighed (wildcard)
Silas & Kat - Come come run away

Bryan Rice has a pleasant enough voice,and the songs that I've heard of his so far are pretty good.Especially No Promises,which was also covered by Shayne Ward apparantly.He's a bit easy-listening,radio-friendly though I think,so Breathing will have to be a bit special to get into ESC.

I don't really know anything about Joakim Tranberg,and there isn't much trace of him on youtube,apart from this.I'm not too fussed about that.But good old Ronan Keating is writing his MGP song,so I don't think it will sound anything like that.

MariaMatilde Band are quite new.They're very pretty and their music seems to be the sort of electronic stuff that's inexplicably popular over here nowadays.Though it's all in Danish,so it's a bit more interesting.I quite like them I think,they'd be quite refreshing at ESC.

Simone Egeriis is an X Factor-type winner and she's very 90s.Normally I would say that's a very good thing,but I'm not sure in this case.She's been around for 5 years now,and she's only 18,so a lot of her music is a bit...well,you can decide.This is That's When You Know,which is 90s pop with the odd hint of schlager in it.

Jens Marni is from the Faroe Islands,which is very exciting.Hopefully he'll do better than Brandur,the other Faroese singer who entered Melodifestivalen a few years ago.I'm definitely liking his music so far from what I've heard,but it isn't very Eurovision.His song is written by the guy from Johnny Deluxe (who sang Sindssyg in last year's MGP),so I can't wait to hear what it sounds like.Hopefully it'll have a nice big chorus like I Don't Wanna Wait No More.

More about the others later,but I really have to do some work now :)

Summer nights, forgotten dreams

2010-01-11T12:58:00.003Z

It's taken me 3 listens to decide,but I'm definitely liking Switzerland's ESC entry.After the weather-induced depression of the last few weeks,there's no better tonic than the start of a new Eurovision season.Sadly I can't see this one reaching the final,but it is a good tune,and I love the idea of "it's raining gold".Anything but more snow.

Forget the Queen...

2009-12-30T22:07:00.004Z

...Dima Bilan should be on telly all over Europe at 3pm on December 25th with his Christmas message...

Hi everybody!

Looking through the window I see the snow falling and drifting. It's cold out there. But it's warm inside - in my soul. And it's all because of you, my dear friends. This year put us through many things, but all this time I could feel your help and support. All this time we've been trying to get over the difficulties tempting our fate. And we've managed to do it. Together we made a great occasion for the whole Europe - the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. I think none of us will forget that day - the day that will be forever in our hearts.

I want you to believe in yourselves and I want you to believe that there's nothing impossible. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year that will definitely be brighter and more fortunate. Dima

Happy New Year peeps!

You and me and me and you

2009-11-30T01:21:00.003Z

Probably the winner of Cutest Music Video of 2008,should such a category really exist in the EMAs.

Probably my least favourite song on the album,but it's grown on me a lot since finding this video.I think it's the bee at the end that gets me.

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 16/11/09

2009-11-24T23:57:00.001Z

1- BWO and Velvet- Right Here Right Now
2- Luminita Anghel and Sistem- Let Me Try
3- Tiziano Ferro and Kelly Rowland- Breathe Gentle
4- Armin van Buuren and Sharon den Adel- In and Out of Love
5- Sergey Lazarev and Timati- Lazerboy
6- Blestachiye and Arash- Vostochniye Skazki
7- Kate Ryan and Soraya- Caminaré
8- Christophe Willem and Kylie Minogue- Sensitised
9- Azad and Adel Tawil- Ich Glaub an Dich
10- Bjork and Thom Yorke- I’ve Seen It All
11- Counting Crows and Bløf- Holiday in Spain
12- Royksopp and Karin Dreijer- What Else is There?
13- Laura Pausini and James Blunt- La Primavera in Anticipo
14- Lovebugs and Lene Marlin- Avalon
15- Silbermond and Xavier Naidoo- Sehen Wir Uns Wieder?
16- Danny and Therese- If Only You
17- Jan Plestenjak and Lara- Soba 102
18- Ane Brun and Teitur- Rubber and Soul
19- Filip Kirkorov and Dima Koldun- Kak Sumashedshi Ya
20- Antti Tuisku and Jenni Vartiainen- Kahdestaan
21- Eva de Roovere and ?- Slenterblues
22- Jonatan Cerrada and Ophélie Cassy- Ne m’en Veux Pas
23- Lauri Ylönen and Anette Olzon- October and April

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 9/11/09

2009-11-24T23:47:00.001Z

1- Måns Zelmerlöw- Cara Mia
2- Anna Vissi- Who Cares About Love
3- Danny- Play It For the Girls
4- Ace of Base- The Sign
5- BWO- Open Door (Disco Version)
6- Christophe Willem- Kiss the Bride
7- September- Satellites
8- Antti Tuisku- Levoton
9- BiS- Korabliki
10- Jonathan Fagerlund- Dance in the Shadows
11- EMD- Alone
12- Alexander Stenerud- Find My Girl
13- Marie Picasso- I’ll Be There
14- Eva de Roovere- Laat me je Lied Zijn
15- Katri Ylander- Piste
16- Dima Bilan- Changes
17- Anna Abreu- Silent Despair
18- Yvonne Catterfeld- Du Hast Mein Herz Gebrochen
19- Laura Pausini- Un Emergenza d’Amore
20- Espen Lind and Kurt Nilsen- When Susannah Cries
21- Silbermond- Letzte Bahn
22- Phillipp Poisel- Wo Fängt Dein Himmel An
23- Teitur- I Was Just Thinking

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 2/11/09

2009-11-24T23:32:00.000Z

1- Antti Tuisku- Marraskuu
2- Giusy Ferreri- Novembre
3- Amanda Jenssen- Do You Love Me?
4- Jonathan Fagerlund- Welcome to My Life
5- Kane- Rain Down on Me
6- Polarkreis- The Colour of Snow
7- Marina Korelin- The Best
8- Royksopp- Eple
9- Dima Bilan- Pozdravlayu
10- Tiziano Ferro- Per un po’ spariro
11- The Rasmus- Ice
12- Dima Bilan- Gore Zima
13- Prohor Shalyapin- Oi Moroz Moroz
14- Erik Hassle- Hurtful
15- Raymond van het Groenewoud- Twee Meijses
16- Bløf- Aan de Kust
17- Jonatan Cerrada- Un Dimanche d’Automne
18- BWO- Sunshine in the Rain
19- Jetzt Anders!- Viel zu Kalt
20- Danny- I’ll Be Over You
21- Apparatjik- Snow Crystals
22- Mew- Snowflake
23- September- Flowers on the Grave
24- Sven van Thom- Wenn du Gehen Willst
25- Charlotte Perrelli- Black and Blue
26- Katri Ylander- Rakkaus ei rapistu

Radio Flensburg- Not just for Northerners

2009-11-24T23:16:00.002Z

Apparently.

I'm getting obsessed with this fab internet radio station.There seems to never be any talking on there (which is always nice),and there's a good range of music,even if most of it is a bit predictable.Though they did play an Irish Gaelic ballad earlier,so there is the odd surprise.

Listen here.

You're still so bloody beautiful

2009-11-08T20:09:00.002Z

I love Ruben Cossani.I love Echt's song Du Trägst Keine Liebe In Dir.So I really love this...

Bit too happy sounding maybe,but it is Michel van Dyke's song after all.And Konrad has a lovely voice :)

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 26/10/09

2009-11-04T17:23:00.001Z

1- Mew- Repeaterbeater
2- Dina- Hater jeg å elsker deg
3- Danny- Utopia
4- Sheryfa Luna- Je Reviendrai
5- A-Ha- Take on Me
6- Sogdiana- Vspominaj Menya
7- Sasha- To nic, kiedy płyną łzy
8- Regina- Bistra Voda
9- Aleksa Jelic and Ana Stajdohar- Beli Jablan
10- Jan Plestenjak- Tvoya Druga
11- Taraf de Haidouks- Back to Clejani
12- Akcent- Let’s Talk About It
13- Ani Tamrazyan- Hate Me
14- Sevara Nazarkhan and Elf- A On Ne Prishyol
15- Gosia Andrzejewicz- Otwórz oczy
16- Mari- Dare Surtsch
17- Tina Karol- Lyublyu Yevo
18- Cyril Cinélu- Life
19- Jonatan Cerrada- Con Los Años Que Me Quedan
20- Ich und Ich- Stark
21- Gorky- Mia
22- Katri Ylander- Unta
23- Hector- Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen
24- Chelsi- Dlya Tebya
25- Velvet- Destiny
26- Scandinavian Music Group- Se sitä ja Se tätä
27- Espen Hana- Two of a Kind

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 19/10/09

2009-11-04T17:22:00.001Z

1- Anna Abreu- Are You Ready?
2- Charlotte Nilsson- Tusen och en Natt
3- Velvet- Chemistry
4- Laura Pausini- Il Mio Sbaglio Più Grande
5- Bløf- Alles is Liefde
6- Olavi Uusivirta- 606
7- Jari Sillanpää- Satulinna
8- Jenni Vartiainen- Mustaa Kahvia
9- The Ark- Absolutely No Decorum
10- September- Cry For You (Accoustic)
11- Sahlene- This Woman
12- Echt- 2010
13- Blackbox Revelation- I Think I Like You
14- The Rasmus- Chill
15- Mando Diao- You Don’t Understand Me
16- Tanel Padar and The Sun- Kuu on Päike
17- Prata Vetra- And I Lie
18- Sergey Lazarev- Shattered Dreams
19- Ani Lorak- Ukradi
20- BiS- Katya
21- Dima Bilan- Protiv Pravil
22- Das Bierbeben- No Future No Past
23- Måns Zelmerlöw- Rewind
24- Teitur- The Girl I Don’t Know
25- Kurt Nilsen- Tearing Me Up Inside
26- Roger Cicero- Atme ein, Atme aus
27- Jakob Sveistrup- Tænker lissom jeg

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 12/10/09

2009-11-04T17:21:00.000Z

1- Agnes- Love Love Love
2- Anna Abreu- Vinegar
3- ABBA- Mamma Mia
4- Danny- Tokyo
5- M83- Dark Moves of Love
6- Sergey Lazarev- Vspominaj
7- Hooverphonic- Mad About You
8- BWO- Rhythm Divine
9- Basshunter- Mellan Oss Två
10- O-Zone- Despre Tine
11- Annie- I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me
12- Molly Sandén- Mitt liv är mitt
13- PMMP- Joutsenet
14- EMD- All For Love
15- Mor ve Ötesi- Bir Derdim Var
16- Rammstein- Feuer Frei
17- Revolverheld- Nichts Bereuen
18- Karpatenhund- Zusammen Verschwinden
19- Philter- My French Connection
20- Antti Tuisku- Valo
21- Gerard Joling- Maak me Gek
22- Grégory Lemarchal- Mon Ange
23- Jonatan Cerrada- Libre comme l’Air
24- Dima Bilan- Ty Dolzhna Ryadom Bit’
25- Scandinavian Music Group- Vieläkö soitan banjoa?
26- Patrizio Buanne- Come Prima
27- Friðrik Ómar- Ef þú þiggur það

Sounds of Europe Tracklist: 5/10/09

2009-11-04T17:16:00.002Z

We've had requests from a few people to write up the tracklists from the show (which,I will remind everyone is on from 9-11pm UK time on Mondays and can be heard on the GU2 site for up to a week after).So I'm publishing them here,and also on the Sounds of Europe Facebook group.They might take a while to appear,as it's a bit of a process finding the recording and listening through it all again,but it will happen eventually :)

1- Måns Zelmerlöw- Lively Up Your Monday
2- Charlotte Perrelli- Not Alone
3- Joana Zimmer- Bringing Down the Moon
4- BiS- Tvoi ili Nichei
5- Molly Sandén- Hallelujah
6- Aleksander Denstad With- Coming Home
7- Jenni Vartiainen- Ihmisten edessä
8- The Rasmus- Falling
9- Disco Ensemble- Headphones
10- Dima Koldun- Work Your Magic (Deep Zone Remix)
11- Kate Ryan- Mon Coeur Resiste Encore
12- September- Can’t Get Over
13- Velvet- Fix Me
14- Mediengruppe Telekommander- Trend
15- Wouter Hamel- See You Once Again
16- Prata Vetra- Ty Ne Odin
17- Silbermond- Durch die Nacht
18- Kraftwerk- Die Autobahn
19- Span- Don’t Think the Way They Do
20- Dima Bilan- Toska
21- Johnny Deluxe- Sindssyg
22- Ruben Cossani- Bis auf Letzte Nacht
23- Echt- Du Trägst Keine Liebe in Dir
24- Scandinavian Music Group- Missä olet Laila?
25- Teitur- Tú ert ein eingil

I'll show you heaven when I get you alone

2009-10-13T21:59:00.001+01:00

Here at WYM HQ,it's all about this song today...

...which is nice because it means I don't have Maak me Gek going around my head anymore.

Make me crazy

2009-10-12T10:08:00.001+01:00

Sometimes it's quite shocking discovering new things that you like.More specifically,it's shocking when you hear this and think "hmm,I'm going to listen to that again".

Important announcement!

2009-10-04T23:45:00.002+01:00

Surrey's finest European radio show (Sounds of Europe) is back tomorrow night at 9pm.We haven't been on air for nearly 18 months so it may not be up to its usual amazing standard ;) But I've just finished my half of the playlist and can't wait to hear it all on the studio sound system.It's a pretty varied show this time around- we've got our normal cheesy pop,indescribable German stuff,something a bit rockier than we'd normally go for,and of course,a bit of Teitur.Oh,and our Sergey Lazarev idents that we will never get bored of playing :)

Listen live at or listen back any time in the next 7 days.

Is this our great achievement?

2009-09-30T21:32:00.002+01:00

Despite being a little bit late in on the act,there's a bit of smug feeling going on here at WYM HQ.After an absence of nearly 3 years,Aleksander With (arguably Norway's best Idol winner) has returned with this pretty fab new single What's the Story? I know he'd been written off by some,destined to be another wasted talent like Kjartan Salvesen or Jonatan Cerrada maybe.But I knew he'd be back :) An album is soon to follow apparantly...

My time will come in 2010,when we'll meet again

2009-09-23T19:19:00.003+01:00

I seem to be inundated with recommendations to German emo videos whenever I sign into youtube.You know,the sort with cliché black and white pictures of hearts and tears and sad people in eyeliner,combined with naff phrases like "I hate myself for what I did to you",finished off with an even naffer song which seems unfitting for the whole video.I don't know why I'm being recommended these- I've only ever watched one once,and that wasn't by choice.Anyway,it's probably a good thing,because I rediscovered a really good band in the "related videos" section.

I first found out about Echt before I moved to Germany,downloaded a few of their songs and thought nothing more of them.They seem to be pretty much the only band from Schleswig-Holstein who've had any degree of success.With the exception of Fettes Brot I suppose,who just about come under SH.But Echt are far better,because they come from Flensburg,which gives them an automatic cool status :) In unrelated facts- my (ex)-friend from Flensburg went to school with them,so I found out a while ago*.He didn't like their music though,said it's corny.Now I've actually bothered to read some of their lyrics,I see what he meant.But I still think they're rather good,in terms of musical sound :)

Echt's biggest song is Du trägst keine Liebe in Dir (You carry no love inside you),which I think is a cover- not sure who the original was by though.This is one of the songs I downloaded ages ago- it sounds a bit British indie to me,but from the 90s,when British indie was actually good.

Then there's Mein kleines Universum (My little universe),an album track from what I assume was their debut in the late 90s.I like it.Unsurprisingly,it's about having your own space,being in your own world where you don't need anyone or anything else.

But my favourite is 2010.It's cool and catchy and it mentions Neumünster.The video is a bit bizarre.I don't know when my time will come,but I'd prefer it didn't involve naked Germans,car trashing and breaking into my old school.Nice to hear the lovely northern accent again though...

ECHT - 2010 from Kim Frank on Vimeo.

* I still win though- I went to school with Lisa Andreas,remember her?

Observations

2009-09-04T18:28:00.002+01:00

I'm off to Scotland with Keira for a few days as of Monday.We're staying in a super posh apartment (well,the one in the pictures is anyway) in Edinburgh complete with big telly and DVD player.Seeing as the weather up there isn't exactly tropical at the minute,I feel this could come in rather useful.So I unearthed my Chelsi and General Europop DVDs to take with me.I haven't seen any of the videos on them for over a year now,so thought I'd have a quick look.Seems I still find them as brilliant as ever,and I noticed that...

- Getting the FZ contestants to sing Kruto Ty Popal Na TV and all the variants at the beginning of every show just seems a bit...weird

- Chelsi should be bigger than Take That

- 2.58 onwards: why?

- Dima's ESC performance of Believe is truly awful.Not because of him but because of...everything.I thought maybe I was overreacting last year,but no,it's seriously bad

- No song written at any point in world history,and no song that is yet to be written will ever be as good as this

Tune into me

2009-09-02T12:30:00.003+01:00

Guest DJ for Sounds of Europe maybe?

See 2.03- he'd fit right in,we're always murdering Dima Koldun songs in the studio :) Though we've never left the microphone on whilst doing it,unlike silly Dima.

I'm loving this song Nastroysa Na Menya,what with this and Chelsi's Tochka Vozrata- maybe the dry spell in Russian pop is over...

I wonder if we could get the management of our radio station to get us some glitzy headphones? Old ones with half the sponge hanging out just aren't as glamorous.

Nobody knows how long the road to happiness is

2009-08-28T10:43:00.002+01:00

A year ago,when I left the UK,I pretty much gave up on Russian music.Dima K's songs were getting a bit boring and samey,Chelsi did the awful Mladhsaya Sestryonka,and I didn't know about BiS' album.More recently,I've sort of turned my back on pop altogether and have only really been listening to Scandinavian indie/classical music- which is pretty difficult to write about a lot of the time,hence the long blog break.But thanks to youtube and my new computer which refuses to ever sign me out of it,this was recommended to me yesterday.

I'm not too sure what Toska Vozrata means,but never mind.I think it's a great pop song,very summery with a singalong chorus.I'm rejoicing so much that they've gone back down the Stan Moey route and didn't stick with the Mladshaya Sestryonka stuff :)

Sometimes I've got nothing to say

2009-08-24T23:47:00.002+01:00

Mew's new album was released today,the first in 4 years.I can't believe it's been that long since I discovered them in Rock Sound.I also can't believe I used to read Rock Sound,but there you go.Anyway,this album is called *deep breath*

"No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry They Washed Away, No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired, Let's Wash Away"

Got that? Good.

Some people call Mew pretentious,and yes,I would normally think that too of any band that named their album that,and the songs on it had strange titles that seem to try to look cool.Such as "Cartoons and Macramé Wounds".I had to look up what Macramé means on Wikipedia- not something that I tend to like in a song title.It might also be seen as a bit odd to include a track (New Terrain) that sounds pretty unintelligible listened to normally,but is even harder to understand played backwards,when it becomes another song (Nervous).But anyway,I don't believe Mew are pretentious at all.I adore their music and image as bizarre as it may be.

Mew have had their pop moments (sort of) with songs such as Am I Wry?No and King Christian back in the early days of Half the World is Watching Me- an album which has been released 3 times.They've also had some downright sinister songs such as 156 and A Dark Design.These sort of songs tend to be both lyrically sinister,and have a whole new layer of darkness added thanks to Jonas' distinctive voice,a voice which you wouldn't expect to sing about death and self-harm.

The No More Stories album has a very different sound to the first 4 albums,especially the previous one- And The Glass Handed Kites.The music itself is a lot more cheerful and upbeat sounding on the whole,a bit more contemporary,and some may say you can hear influences from other bands and genres more on this album.Though I think Mew's "genre" is still up for debate.The whole thing though is still unmistakably Mew- there are unusual time signatures,the aforementioned backwards song,and cryptic lyrics.There are no big epic songs like Louise Louisa this time around,and actually I still can't really tell which song is which just from listening to it.I would say Repeaterbeater and Introducing Palace Players are the potential singles,but my favourite is right at the end.I mentioned Mew's lyrics usually being quite cryptic,which is another thing I love about them.But it's pretty clear what Reprise is all about.

I travel and travel,I'll never come home

2009-06-25T20:10:00.002+01:00

So I came back to France today,to the super news (thanks to Laura at EuropeCrazy) that Polarkreis 18's debut Allein Allein will be released in the UK next month,and is being played on Radio 2! This,on top of the fact that there was loads of Europop on the music channels at home last week makes me really happy indeed.OK so it was only Agnes,Star Pilots and Kate Ryan on telly,but you can't be choosy.And then there's Teitur on Radio 2 the other week,and the World Service a few weeks before that...For me it shows progress for the music scene in the UK- a country who I've musically ignored for a good 3 years now being sick and tired of all the indie clones who've invaded the charts and sat there festering for far too long.Maybe it's now safe to put the radio on again and tune it to something other than Radio 4?

I realise that European music of any kind will never make the same impact as the aforementioned indie clones and the endless stream of American tripe in the UK,but still,it's an exciting prospect.And on a geeky note,not since The Rasmus released In the Shadows in 2004 have I been able to say "I knew about them ages ago!" So yes,three cheers for Europop :)

And speaking of Polarkreis 18,here's my other favourite song of theirs- Tourist.This is a bit different to the album version- Felix doesn't do the "Ich bin nicht hier,ich weiss nicht wo ich bin" bit normally.But it's good.His voice is magic.

It's Time for Regina!

2009-06-23T14:19:00.002+01:00

Eurovision always leads to fab new musical discoveries- Dima K, Anžej, Írafár... And this year was no different. My band du jour are of course Regina, who did really well with Bistra Voda and 9th place in Moscow. Not only was it a lovely, moving song, but the guys themselves seem really nice from all the interviews I’ve seen. Davor particularly is very charming, and very funny too. And he speaks fluent German, which is always a plus as far as I’m concerned :)

Vrijeme Je (It’s Time) is Regina’s 10th album since the originally titled debut “Regina” in 1990. And actually, one of the songs on VJ (called Spavaj) is an updated version of the original which appeared on the debut album. I haven’t heard the new (and improved?) version yet, but the original is rather good. It does sound as old as it is, but I find it quite haunting, and the lyrics are very moving too. This is the one thing that bugs me a bit- I’m used to knowing what songs mean, whatever language they’re in. But in the case of Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian songs, there aren’t many translation resources around, which makes it a bit difficult. I did learn Serbian for a while, but that was 5 years ago and I’ve forgotten everything now, so have to go by the (rare) translations people put on youtube. But anyway, the songs on Vrijeme Je are still powerful enough to have an impact without knowing what all the words mean, which I don’t think can be said for all pop albums.

As you’d expect from a band who seem proud of their Yugoslavian roots (despite spending several years in various other countries during the civil war in the 90s), there’s a strong Eastern European feel to the album. There are all kinds of instruments going on- with a big emphasis on the strings that you tend to hear a lot in Balkan ESC entries- especially in Bježi dok sam Mlad (Run While I’m Young), one of my favourites (it’s also this song that made me realise how pretty the Bosnian language sounds), and also in Pazi gdje spavaš , a rather sexy affair that also contains copious 80s style guitars and a big shouty chorus. Pianos are also used a lot, especially in the beautiful, seemingly chillout song (until the big surprise intstrumental free-for-all at around 2.30) Snijeg (Snow). The good old accordion also features prominently in Bijele Zore (White Dawn)- which is a whole 5 minutes long and ends with an extended outing for the 80s power ballad guitars. I felt that BZ would have been a really good song to end the album with, but then I suppose that was always the natural place on the tracklist for the English and Russian versions of Bistra Voda.

Then of course, there’s Davor’s vocals, which always add an extra layer of loveliness :) Despite not knowing what many of the lyrics are talking about, you get the impression that it’s all very deep and that Davor means every word. He sounds passionate about everything- which I think you could also see from the performances at Eurovision. The title track Vrijeme Je is a break-up song from what I can gather- the choruses are angry sounding, yet when he sings the line “my heart still hopes, and searches for happiness... but always in vain,” it all sounds rather tragic. It’s a bit like a Bosnian version of Freunde Bleiben. Sort of.

Possibly my favourite of all the 13 songs is Sve Sto Imam (All We Have). I guess it should be quite forgettable really- it’s not really single material, and there’s nothing in particular about it that stands out enough to be remembered like the chorus of Zvaću te pile moje or the radio-friendliness of Koji ti je Sad. But it has a good, almost RnB like beat to it, and has all the range of instruments to make it sound exotic and eastern at the same time. Actually now I think about it, it’s a bit Prohor Shalyapin.

The album ends on the sad and moody ballad Ruzo Moja, followed by (as mentioned) the English and Russian versions of Bistra Voda- both of which are pleasant, but obviously not as good as the original (which, by the way, is track 3).
The first single from Vrijeme Je though, is track 1- (Zvaću te) Pile Moje, which makes a great opener to a great album. It’s fast, catchy, and sounds super on a proper sound system. Like all the others, it’s rather long at just under 4 minutes, but when you’re watching the video and are distracted by Davor who looks very yummy indeed, it seems over in no time. It’s a wonderful fusion of “typical” Eastern European and “typical” Western European pop, which I hope will win over some of the many Balkan music skeptics who are all over Europopworld these days.

Love is not just a word

2009-06-23T12:59:00.001+01:00

I’ve had approximately 268 various computer problems in this last week, which means I've only just got round to listening to the previously mentioned Best Album of the Year. It may have been a bit premature to call it that after listening to only the first 3 songs, but it seems I was right. Am working on the review at the minute, but for now, here’s something completely unrelated but wonderful. I found it hidden in the depths of my old laptop’s hard drive last week.

Yvonne Catterfeld - "Sag mir - Was meinst Du"
Uploaded by tkf - Explore more music videos.

Coming soon...

2009-06-16T23:25:00.002+01:00

This week some time (hopefully),a review of the best album of the year will appear somewhere around here.I say hopefully because I haven't even listened to it all yet,but from what I hear so far,it's really rather good :)

It's that time of year again

2009-06-07T19:17:00.003+01:00

Isn't that the best cake in the world ever? I want it for myself.Anyway,yes,today marks the 2nd birthday of my (admittedly rather neglected) first child.So much has changed since June 2007 when WYM all started- most notably the arrival of Parlez-vous Europop,which has taken up most of my attention over the past 10 months as I've been out of the country and preferred to talk about me rather than keep up with European music.That said,I did discover some pretty wonderful songs and singers during my time in Germany.The same can't really be said for France though- I've tried but I'm just not feeling pop française.But anyway,I must be doing something right,the ever-wonderful Sitemeter informs me that I've had over 17,000 hits in the past year at least,which is a hell of a lot more than I expected.So thanks for visiting peeps! And by the way,I'm leaving France in just under 5 weeks,and when I get back home,I intend normal service to resume.Actually I do have a rather grand idea for this blog,but it's a question of time and resources that I don't have at the minute.But stay tuned.

Of course at the birthday of a music blog,one needs music,and so here's what is easily the best song that's come about since WYM started...

You must learn to love the rain

2009-05-22T12:58:00.002+01:00

Here's the video to Teitur's latest single The Girl I Don't Know.Was a bit unexpected for me- it's not quite the image that forms in my mind when I listen to the song...

Teitur is on tour in the UK at the minute,so go and see him if you can.You won't regret it :)

I don't know for sure where this is going

2009-05-21T10:07:00.004+01:00

Nearly a week on and Mr Rybak is still on the front pages of VG.Not surprising I suppose.Fairytale is of course still number one in the VG Lista (Top 20),but at number 2 is another of Alexander's songs- Funny Little World.The jury is still out on it here at Europop Mansions Kent Branch.Once you get past the fact that it sounds like the theme tune to QI,it's quite pleasant I suppose.I guess I like it a bit more than I thought I would.There are rather large similarities to Espen Lind's Scared of Heights (which I possibly prefer),and it really is cheesier than a fondue,but it's quite a nice antidote to the manicness of Fairytale.

365 days and counting....

2009-05-18T18:49:00.002+01:00

Until the first semi final of Oslo (probably) 2010.Unfortunately I have the trifling matter of exams around that time,but whatever.Bring it on :)

Čestitke Regina!

2009-05-18T16:23:00.002+01:00

Not only did Regina come 9th on Saturday,they also won the Marcel Bezençon award for Best Composition.Which is pretty cool.Here's the presentation.Who needs all the glitz of the Oscars when you can quickly shove a screen up in the green room of the Olimpiskiy?

Still happy :)

2009-05-16T23:26:00.002+01:00

So the most boring entry of this year's final may have come second (seriously,I really don't understand its charm.Is bland lyrics and a static performance what people want from ESC these days?) it's all good,because Regina did so much better than I expected :) 9th or 10th,I can't remember where they finished,but they did very well.And rightly so.It was by no stretch the best song in the competition but I loved it and the performance was very aesthetically pleasing.Slightly miffed that Norway had to go and give France 1 point right at the end meaning Regina didn't finish with the same points as them,but still,it's good :)

More about the final tomorrow when my headache has gone.

Oh,apart from my favourite quote of the night from Graham Norton when Rybak was coming back on stage at the end:

"Oh,is he gonna squeeze a tear out now?"

Hehe :)

I'm so proud :)

2009-05-16T21:01:00.001+01:00

Thank the Lord for Moldova being on after BiH,providing me with time to come and blog and say how great Regina were.Davor sounded brilliant tonight,after the semi final on Tuesday I was a bit worried.But it couldn't have gone better tonight.This blogger is very happy indeed :) :) :)

SF2

2009-05-14T22:07:00.003+01:00

De Toppers woz robbed!

Yay for Denmark though.I adopted them as my homeland back in January,so am glad to see they qualified.Niels is still a little bit too Ronan-like for me,but Believe Again is a really good song.Simple but effective.

Other musical highlights:

- Croatia,as mentioned at the start of the show.I always support Hrvatska from afar,no matter how bad their song is,but Lijepa Tena is very pleasant.Bit surprised they qualified,but they certainly deserved it more than some others did.
- Sakis surprised me.He was always a definite qualifier,but I never really gave the song a chance and assumed it would be rubbish,generic dance music.Which technically it is,but of the perennial favourites (Greece,Turkey and Armenia),it's the best.And definitely better than Shake It.I voted for Shake It :/ Oh,I loved his flat escalator...thing.And the ripped off Dima jumps.
- Alexander was good.Although I'd seen the rehearsals about 3000 times,so knew what to expect.Still seemed better tonight though.
- Poland seem to do a good line in ballads.Loved Isis last year,and this time around,Lidia was super and the whole thing gave me goosebumps.It was quite intense I thought,and although I wasn't really paying attention to the words or anything,I kind of felt it.Much better than Iceland's load of pap.Yes,yes Johanna has a good voice and all,but the song is soooo boring.

General highlights:

- Dimitry Shepelev

Other,unrelated highlights:

- I used my trusty system of eurovision.tv as well as Belarus TV.When I first put Belarus TV on about 5 minutes before the start of the show,the first thing I saw was Dima K (looking great as ever these days),and then Regina.God bless Belteleradiocompany and all who make these shows!They know how to please this blogger :)

General annoyances:

- Poland not qualifying
- Netherlands not qualifying
- Slovenia not qualifying
- Zoli not qualifying
- Moldova qualifying

Maybe I've changed my mind

2009-05-14T20:12:00.004+01:00

OK so Croatia's song seems to have passed me by this year.Although it gets a bit noisy and messy towards the end,but it's nice on the whole.Very southern Italian with a bit of Balkan dramaticness.I like.I'll replace Serbia with this one on my Want To Qualify list.

And by the way- is it just me or does Sinead look to old to be singing a song with such stupid childish lyrics? If this qualifies while Hera's Someday didn't even get a look in,I'll be miffed.(Christina Schilling is partly responsible for them both.)

By the way,I'm twittering too (tweeting?) if you're remotely interested.It's partially filling the company-shaped void I have.

WYM Offical ESC Predictions- Part 2

2009-05-14T19:21:00.003+01:00

Not in the slightest bit excited about tonight's events,not least because of the lack of Regina,but will attempt to follow it all anyway.

Predictions for qualification.Originally I didn't have Hungary down,but seriously,this semi is so piss poor,it has to go through,surely?:

- Norway
- Azerbaijan
- Ukraine
- Denmark
- Greece
- Hungary
- Cyprus
- Serbia
- Estonia
- Slovenia

Who I want to see in final (with possible exception of last 2):

- Norway
- Hungary
- Denmark
- Slovenia
- Netherlands
- Azerbaijan
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Albania
- Serbia

Been doing my bit to promote Regina today.Although here in France,the main obstacle seems to be persuading them to watch ESC in the first place.Anyway,I sent Bistra Voda to a colleague today,along with the words "this is my favourite,it's great".Although I did send him La Voix,Todas as Ruas do Amor and Dance With Me too,which might have counteracted it all.

SF1

2009-05-12T22:34:00.004+01:00

So,now I've calmed down a little bit after my double-sided excitement at getting all 10 qualifiers right AND my favourite boys from Bosnia getting through,I can write a bit about this evening.

Let's start with BiH though.It wasn't Davor's greatest vocal performance,but on the whole I thought it was great.I adore the military theme and they all looked fab in their outfits.And I still love the bit where they all stand together like revolutionaries about 2 and a half minutes in(well,they're "soldiers of love" according to Aleksander) with the flag and the wind machine.I hope the nerves don't get to Davor on Saturday.He's so confident in all the interviews I've seen,but they're one of the favourites (which still surprises me),so they must be feeling a bit of pressure.

Other musical highlights:

- La Voix was better than expected.After the rehearsals I'd written it off a bit,but it was OK.Malena seemed to enjoy it.
- Flor de Lis were great for Portugal.Now they really did enjoy it,that was obvious.And so they should have,it's a lovely song.The singer (can't remember her name :/) and the accordion player looked fabulous too.I want both of their outfits :)
- Andrea was super,it's a shame she didn't qualify.I loved her routine.So did my friend Emma back in Gillingham.So much so,she text me about it twice :)
- Waldo's People were good.Emphasis on the People rather than Waldo.But then you can't really have one without the other I suppose.Cool performance.
- Next Time from FYROM were better than I expected too.

General highlights:

- That stage is amazing.Elena from Romania's set was probably my favourite- the pink,flowery one.And Portugal's was cool too.
- Dimitry Shepelev
- Naff as it was,I loved the opening bit with the kids on the bird.The magic was kind of ruined though as soon as Andrey came on stage."HELLO EUROPE!!!!" That little girl will never hear again...
- Actually in some ways I did kind of like Andrey and Natalia.Mostly because they were so bad it was endearing I think.Especially the parking joke.
- The postcard bits.Although as Emma said- "why are they wearing countries on their heads?"
- The military band singing along to Tatu.It was so fabulous I have no more words to describe it :) Although I still prefer the Belarussian military band's version of Work Your Magic that they did at Eurofest last year.
- The Russian words/phrases before each song.Although it didn't go unnoticed that one of them was "skazka"- Fairytale.It's a fix- Norway will win!

General annoyances:

- Despite having the eurovision.tv stream on as well as the stream from a Belarussian TV channel on mute in the background in case of emergencies- the whole thing just stopped when Andorra came on and I didn't get either feed back until the end of Switzerland.Boo,they were one of my favourites too.
- Turkey qualifying because they're Turkey and it's written in the rules of ESC that they must qualify regardless of what pap they send.
- Armenia.Cool outfits,but that HAS to be the most annoying song in the world ever,surely?That chorus just gets me every time,I can't stand it.
- The fact that practically everything good was in tonight's show and we're left with all the chaff on Thursday.With the big exception of Zoli of course.Mmmm,Zoli...

Let's reconvene in 36-ish hours then shall we?

Shock

2009-05-12T21:57:00.000+01:00

My predictions were all right! Shame about Switzerland though :(

Important question of the evening

2009-05-12T21:26:00.001+01:00

Who is Dimitry Shepelev and does he want to come to my next birthday party?

WYM Offical ESC Predictions- Part 1

2009-05-12T17:13:00.002+01:00

So,3 hours to go.I'm still not sure yet if my connection will hold out,or even if I'll be able to get the stream to work to start with,but I'm excited all the same.It's been a bit of an odd Eurovision year this year.My beloved Russia has disappointed me with its song,it's hosts and- from what I've read in various places- its attitude towards ESC at times.BUT,the stage is amazing and I'm sure there'll be some really good entertainment during the intervals and such.

It's taken forever for me to actually get enthusiastic about this years' contest too.As you can probably see from my lack of posting over the last few months.Maybe because it's the first year I've been working full-time and haven't been able to spend as much time as I would normally on ESC stuff,maybe because my ESC buddy isn't even in the same country as me this year,or maybe it is just a crap year compared to normal.But actually,although there aren't any completely brilliant entries this year,there are a lot more good ones than I originally thought,and I think I'll be happy with the result.

Anyway.These are my predictions for qualification tonight:

- BiH
- Sweden
- Armenia
- Turkey
- Israel
- Finland
- Iceland
- Malta
- Portugal
- Romania

And these are the ones I would like to see in the final (admittedly I don't really care about the last 3,I just needed to make up the numbers):

- BiH
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Montenegro
- Belgium
- Finland
- Switzerland
- FYROM
- Czech Republic
- Bulgaria

We will see...

Just play the f*****g note!

2009-05-10T14:51:00.003+01:00

Having read the exciting news that my boys from Bosnia&Herzegovina are now 3rd favourite to win in Moscow on Saturday (8/1- they're ahead of perennial undeserving favourite Turkey!) and are red hot favourites to win the semi on Tuesday (the one that's not on telly in France,hmph),I'm now super excited about next week.

So as is tradition for me every year,it's time to watch the Father Ted Eurovision episode. Dick Byrne's The Miracle Is Mine makes me laugh even more now after last year.It's so over-the-top I just can't help but think of Dima and his ladder and everything :)

Ugh,von Teese? Really?

2009-05-09T19:57:00.003+01:00

First Dima brought along his two famous buddies last year,now Germany have got Dita von Teese with them for Miss Kiss Kiss Bang...What's next- will Putin come on with Prihodka to blast the last chorus of Mamo? Seems ESC is turning into a "who has the most famous friends" contest,and it's a bit naff.I think Germany's song is great on its own really.Much better than stuff they'd normally send anyway.Especially as NDR chose it too- NDR who seem to think 24 hour Coldplay and Gabriela Cilmi is what listeners want.

ESC 2009- The excitement begins (at last)

2009-05-07T21:27:00.006+01:00

After watching the rehearsals of all the songs that are actually any good in this year's ESC (count them on one hand...),I have concluded that Zoli Ádok is ~~the hottest man on earth at this moment in time~~ a very good singer indeed.Charismatic too.And possibly even more of a discotastic dancing genius than Sergey Lazarev.

According to ESCMalta

Tamas Naray promised to create glamorous costumes for the Hungarian package

Hungarian package- is that what he's known as these days? I look forward to seeing the results.

Speaking of glamorous costumes,I'm loving Malena's dress.Even if La Voix itself has lost quite a lot of its charm with those backing singers,who sound bored stiff.Admittedly the second rehearsal was a bit better,but I really can't see it being Stockholm 2010.I still love Malena though- "the dancers look beautiful and I look like white trash...But this is how I usually dress".Classic :)

Denmark, Finland, Netherlands (Jeroem especially) and Slovenia (how cute are some of those violinists?) all sound great too.And well,actually so do quite a few others.Maybe this won't be quite the rubbish year we thought it would be?

The song I really can't get out of my head though,and have liked since the first time I heard it,is Regina's from Bosnia&Herzigovina.

OK,so some of Davor's moves are quite amusing,and it is a bit nothingy in places.But I think it's beautiful.Yes it's the kind of ethnic ballad that we've all got bored with in the last few years (even if this is doing pretty well at the bookies),but those military-style drums and the San Marinese-esque (remember them?) beepy bits make it stand out from previous ethnic Balkan songs I think.Also,top marks for group pose incorporating wind machine and red flag.

So I think it's time for WYM to swear its allegiance and declare,Jesse's Diets style:

This year,I will be mostly supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It's offical.

You're hiding from yourself

2009-05-04T22:06:00.002+01:00

Song of the day:

Been listening to Röyksopp's new album Junior this evening.As I expected,it's pretty damn good.More on that another time maybe.When I've finished listening to it.

You're still there

2009-04-25T22:39:00.003+01:00

It's a new(ish) Giusy Ferreri song.She's gone all moody since the likes of Novembre,and is smashing expensive things up with an indestructible guitar and shouting at her boyfriend within close proximity,yet still managing to look completely fabulous throughout.Splendido.

Oh yes,it's called Stai fermo lì and it's the third single from the album- Gaetana.

Be yourself no matter what they say

2009-04-21T18:48:00.003+01:00

So there's a new video out for La Voix eh?

I'm loving the black and white,and the fact it's shot in Germany.But it is a little bit odd isn't it? Maybe they should have used this one...

Anyway- and this is true- last night I was thinking how cool it would be if there was a German version of CP's Hero.Schlager is an originally German invention after all.So I was surprised and pleased to find that there is indeed such a thing as a deutsche Version...

Wow,that video...

I might have loved you but you're gone all the same

2009-04-06T22:14:00.003+01:00

Continuing my education in French pop (and after reading about him over on PPG),I bought Christophe Willem's album Inventaire today.€7,99 in Virgin,that's probably the best price anyone's paid for a CD in France ever.Anyway,I haven't listened to it all yet,but I do love this song Jacques a Dit (Simon Says).It's rather lovely.And I adore Christophe's voice...

Christophe Willem - Jacques à dit
Uploaded by espritjeune

New album out next Thursday I believe.I look forward to it.

For a few minutes we're the reality

2009-04-01T20:17:00.003+01:00

About 3000 years after the event,I remembered that the Bundesvision Song Contest has been and gone.I think I might have mentioned it before,but it's a mini version of ESC where all the German states take part.It was Stefan Raab's idea (remember him?) and it's basically a really good way of finding new German music.There aren't ESC type rules as such- singles can be entered,and have been by lots of famous German bands.Revolverheld sang Freunde Bleiben for Bremen in 2006,Culcha Candela represented Berlin in 2008,the same year that Sportfreunde Stiller represented Bavaria (I didn't know that's where they're from...) etc etc.Last year's contest though,was won by the state of Brandenburg.Subway to Sally's song Auf Kiel (unfortunately nothing to do with the second best city in Germany) beat Thuringia's Clueso by 1 point.

Anyway.This year,Berlin won with quite frankly a pants song with a weird video.Schwarz zu Blau is by Peter Fox and beat the second place song by 30-odd points.And what was that song that came second I hear you ask? :) Well,none other than my favourite band of the moment- Polarkreis 18 (for Saxony)with The Colour of Snow.One of the rules (probably the only one) of Bundesvision is that the lyrics have to be at least 50% in German,so this version is a bit different to the album version.Because it's such a British style of music,it sounds a bit weird auf Deutsch,but it's still very good.

Other songs of note- well,I haven't listened to them all,but I did of course listen to (and love) Schleswig-Holstein's entry, Bis Auf Letzte Nacht (Until last night) by Ruben Cossani.

And then there's our neighbours Niedersachsen.Their song was Du Fehlst Mir (I miss you) by Fotos.It's like,you know,so indie.

I think of you and traces we leave behind

2009-03-27T22:52:00.003Z

I'm completely loving the new Kleerup song,having found out about it on the brilliant Popjustice.But it's true,the video is very sad :(

Actually that's three sad songs in a row that I've posted now.Let's remedy this...

There.Now I feel thoroughly cheered up :)

I just want you to know...

2009-03-21T21:35:00.000Z

As I was saying to Keira the other day,I'm a sucker for big romantic ballads.Måns's A Stanger Saved My Life being the most recent example.But I just found this song by one of my favourite singer-songwriters Philipp Poisel,and although it's not really a big ballad,it's quite intense and is one of the most bloody heartbreaking songs I've heard in a long time.

Just an excuse for me to translate German again,here's what most of it means :)

Keep me hidden where you won't find me but will still miss me
I haven't spoken to you for weeks yet I'm forever wondering where you are

I just want you to know that I still love you
And that in the end,there's no one else who can complete me
No one else who can move me like you

I'm interested as to why this isn't on the album.It would fit perfectly on there.

Cross my heart and hope to die,I'm not drunk and I'm not high

2009-03-21T18:03:00.002Z

It's always exciting hearing songs in places you least expect they'll be played.So today in H&M at the Forum des Halles,I was very pleasantly surprised to hear this...

Teitur being played in a clothes shop in Paris? Madness.I heard Catherine the Waitress on Radio 4 a while ago too.Well,on the World Service after 3am.They have this music show on there and they did a (pretty unremarkable) interview with Teitur and he did a lovely lovely version of Andvekur,from the equally lovely Faroese album Káta Hornið.

The video I posted there was from a gig in Slagelse in Denmark,a few days after I saw him in Esbjerg.I remember him playing Catherine the Waitress in Esbjerg,because it was during that that I had an...interesting shall we say,chat with his support act.

Anyway.A few years ago,Teitur was on tour with KT Tunstall.In the UK too which,of course,I somehow missed.But apparantly a few weeks ago they were here in Paris (why don't I ever know about these things?!) recording for the France 2 programme Taratata.Their duet of Nothing Compares To You was aired last Friday on said channel France 2.AND I MISSED IT!But never mind,there's always youtube.

Woohoo!

2009-03-14T23:17:00.002Z

After a really rather good day of walking around Paris getting very sore legs and eating lots of bad things,I was rather happy.And my mood just improved by about 3 million percent when I heard that Malena won MF.Well done Sweden,you did the right thing :) Now I have a song I can definitely support this year.And that feels good :)

8 (and a bit) hours...

2009-03-14T10:44:00.002Z

I've never cared so much about a Melodifestivalen result.I do generally have a favourite every year which invariably gets nowhere in the final,but I've never actually supported Sweden in the ESC itself.This year though,for me anyway,it all rests on Malena winning tonight.I know La Voix is a song which seems to divide opinion like Marmite,but I think Sweden choosing anything else will mean they'll just be average like everyone else this year.There's been a few songs this year that I've heard from national finals,and ones that have already been chosen,where I've thought "that's alright",but La Voix is the only song from the many I've heard that actually makes me feel something in the same way Tornerò,Work Your Magic and This Is My Life have done in recent years.So come on Sverige,don't disappoint us like so many other countries have this year!

In which WYM gets all political...or not

2009-03-11T19:51:00.004Z

So Georgia have withdrawn from this years' ESC.Shame?Not really I don't think.As I mentioned the other week,I liked the music to their song,but overall,I found the whole thing quite annoying.After reading more about the whole debacle surrounding We Don't Wanna Put In,I'm glad they've been disqualified,although this opinion doesn't appear to be shared by a lot of other fans on ESCToday.

For my liking,there's far too much anti-Russian sentiment in Europe these days.I don't fully understand Georgian-Russian relations,and being as I don't live in either Georgia or Russia,I am in no position whatsoever to judge either country.So neither should anyone else be.But what I do think is that it would have been completely wrong for the EBU to let Georgia enter such a provocative song.It's clearly in the rules of ESC that songs with a blatant political message are forbidden,and so it should be.Eurovision is entertainment,not some arena for countries to take cheap shots at eachother.Of course,Georgia probably realised this anyway and probably expected to be disqualified.But for all these people whose comments I've read to say "it's restricting freedom of speech","it's censorship",and the good old "it's the EBU being bullied by Russia" (of course,because everyone knows all Russia wants is to become the supreme Eurovision winning nation and will achieve that by any means possible)- it's just rubbish.

Protest is a healthy thing,so if Stephane&3G want to perform We Don't Wanna Put In in Tbilisi,in the Red Square,in Victoria Station outside Boots,then good on them.But Eurovision is not the place to talk politics and should never be.As it says in the rules.As me and Keira were discussing last night,if one country entered an 8 minute song,people wouldn't be getting all angry and coming out with ridiculous comments when the EBU told them to cut it down.Because it's a rule,and all competitions have rules.

End of rant.

I'm so jealous,jealous of you

2009-03-04T18:59:00.003Z

New Faroese music alert!

Well not that new,he's already released one album back in 2007,but I've just discovered Heiðrik and find him quite intriguing.I'm not so mad about the weird black eye thing he and his band have got going on,but I am quite mad about his voice.I have no idea what genre you'd put his music in,going by the song I've posted here.It's kind of dark and maybe slightly sinister in places but then there's the strings which as well as adding a bit of a Scandinavian sound to the song,lift the mood slightly.Anyway,this is Jealous,and the performance is from the Nordic House in Tórshavn last year.

Poor Lyosha

2009-03-03T19:01:00.002Z

Some wench has upset lovely Aleksei Vorobyov in his latest video.He's all moody and sorrowful bless him.Forget Me is a good song actually,it's a bit different to Aleksei's normal style,and a bit closer to Dima B's I think.And the video?Mmmmm....Sodding bookshelves!

By the way,it seems Mr V isn't going to be in the Russian National Final on Saturday after all.From what I can gather,he's accepting a job on some American film and has to be in LA at the weekend to sign contracts and things.This all happened at the last minute meaning that there won't be anyone nice to look at in ESC this year.Oh well,let's look at this rather nice picture of him and his Christmas tree...

Yum.

ESC so far Part 2

2009-03-01T21:51:00.004Z

Ireland: With the exception of Dustin last year,I think I've hated everything Ireland have ever done,and will continue to do so until they do the right thing and send The Corrs.I also hate girlie "rock" groups and songs with stupid titles.So Et Cetera really does nothing for me.Verdict- HATE

Latvia: Like EuropeCrazy,I long for the days of Prata Vetra and good Latvian entries.OK,actually I've liked probably every one since 2000,but I hope Sastrēgums doesn't mark a turning point for Latvia to start falling into oblivion.Verdict- HATE

Lithuania: I find Sasha endearing because he looks like a proper Medwegian at times.I do really like his voice,and the piano,but in general,the song really isn't memorable.And it will be even worse in Moscow,because he's singing the English version.I've seen the lyrics.It's not good.Verdict- I'm not too sure actually,somewhere on the border between like and dislike(this really is a bad year),but I think I have to say DISLIKE

(FYR)Macedonia: There's always one song that I really like and no one else does.And that song usually comes from Montenegro.But I really do like this 80s rock thing.It's so happy,I don't understand what's not to like.Verdict- LOVE

Malta: As a friend of mine would say,this is EPIC.Sounds like something from a Disney film to me really.But Chiara does have a very nice voice.However, Verdict- DISLIKE

Moldova: Just a little bit too on the ethnic side for me I think.Verdict- HATE

Montenegro: Andrea is gorgeous,this always helps.But the song itself is great- so energetic,dramatic and all round fabulous.Verdict- LIKE

Netherlands: When I heard De Toppers were going to Moscow,I was worried.When they enlisten Jeroen Van Der Boom,I felt better.But I still wasn't expecting this.They show that you don't have to take it too seriously,but at the same time,can still produce a good song too.They're all good singers,as are the backing singers,and the chorus is great (important for me this year),and it has the perfect ending.And I'm loving the tin foil outfits too.Verdict- LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Norway: Alexander is of course biologically Belarussian (and incidentally,also all over VG the last few days),so I love him for sticking to his Eastern roots with this song.It's ethnic with a twist,and although it's taken a while for me to get used to,I think it could do quite well in Moscow.Which is an opinion shared by quite a few people I think.Violins may have been my enemy last year,but I've made peace with them this year :) Verdict- LOVE

Poland: Talking of violins...Isis is the queen of Polish ballads for me,but this really isn't bad.I definitely prefer it to the Icelandic one.Lidia has a proper belter of a voice,unlike Jóhanna,who I find a bit whiny.Verdict- LIKE

Portugal: I don't usually go for Portuguese ESC efforts,the last one I liked being Rita's Deixa-Me Sonhar in 03 (then again,wasn't everything great in 03?),but this is beautiful.The folk instruments are wonderful,Portuguese is a lovely language and the singer's voice is very delicate but strong at the same time.I especially like the guitar at the beginning and at the end when it's the only instrument playing.Actually I like the accordion too.Violins,accordions,what's going on with me?I could enthuse much more over this song,but will save it for another time :) Verdict- LOVE.Fast becoming my favourite.

Romania: Ugh.Just ugh.Like the Cypriot entry,there's nothing endearing about this song for me whatsoever.Although it does have a big advantage over Cyprus in that it doesn't make me want to end it all.Which is always a plus,surely?This is one for the straight-male vote and that's about it I think.Verdict- HATE

Slovenia: From the straight man's vote to the middle aged housewife and granny vote.As long as they don't get too distracted by the singer's boobs that is.It's difficult.This is really good though,I think Slovenia are onto something here.If you listen to just the instrumental bits without watching,it does sound a bit like dodgy on-hold music that HSBC might play you whilst they go and do something useless for 15 minutes before coming back to you and giving you a useless answer.But the performance is very good,simple but effective,as all the best are.Verdict- LIKE.Very much.Must be the violins...

Spain: Average.Sounds more like a Turkish entry than a Spanish one.Methinks the performance and probable hunky backing dancers will be the best thing about it.Verdict- DISLIKE

Switzerland: I love Switzerland.And I really like Lovebugs and I am definitely feeling that synth in the background.But I've had this song for about a month now and didn't realise it was their ESC effort.Because it really isn't an ESC song.It is great but just sounds too much like an album track to me.Then again,what can you really expect from a pop-rock band I suppose? But I do really want them to do well in Moscow.Verdict- LIKE

Turkey: Turkey's songs are always promoted well every year,and I do try to like them,but I just never understand why they're so popular year after year.Düm Tek Tek isn't one of the worst in recent times,but it still doesn't do anything for me.Verdict- DISLIKE

UK: EuropeCrazy described My Time as "a total pile of mince" last month when it was chosen.Which amused me greatly,and I agreed 100%.But it seems to be our lucky year,as everything is so sub-standard,it makes our song look half decent.I disliked Jade immensely throughout Your Country Needs You,I didn't understand why everyone loved her when she was murdering a new song every week.But she certainly sings this pile of mince very well indeed.Which is more than can be said for other singers in the competition this year.And the lyrics may be naffer than naff and the chorus really annoying,but sadly I have to say (because no British person is meant to enjoy UK ESC songs are they?)...Verdict- LIKE

So that's 5 that I love (Hungary,Netherlands,Norway,Portugal and Macedonia),10 I like,9 I dislike and 8 I hate very much indeed.The outlook is grim.

ESC so far

2009-03-01T20:54:00.003Z

So here's what I think of this years' ESC songs so far.Basically,not very much.

Albania: Very listenable (makes a change for Albania),I like the ethnic beat.Most of the time.Verdict- LIKE

Andorra: Potentially good song,but Susanna's voice is annoying and lets it down a lot.Verdict- DISLIKE

Armenia: Nice ethnic elements that aren't too overpowering,but what's left when you take them away is a very irritating song indeed.Verdict- HATE

Belarus: No words can tell you how disappointed I am with Belarus this year.This is awful.Verdict- HATE

Bulgaria: Starts very promisingly I think,I like the dance beat and the catchy chorus is always a plus.But it just gets worse.Verdict- DISLIKE

Croatia: Average run-of-the-mill Balkan ballad.Verdict- DISLIKE (but only because I love Croatia as a country.If I didn't,the verdict would be Hate :) )

Cyprus: This is ear abuse.It's tradition for me to hate Cyprus's ESC entries,but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this is one of the worst Eurovision songs ever.It really is terrible.The lyrics are stupid,Christina sounds bored and can't even hit the easiest notes...it just has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.Verdict- HATE.Possibly more than anything else in the world right now.Cyprus,I'll lend you my cat next year,better noises come out of him when he's upset.

Denmark: Niels seems to be trying to sound like Ronan.His voice doesn't always sound natural.But the song is OK,with an anthemic chorus.Definitely has potential.Verdict- LIKE (lots)

Finland: I'm struggling with this one.I absolutely love the chorus,more than I've loved any chorus in quite some time,but at the same time,I don't like the rap at all.And the middle 8 is rather bland.But there's no doubt it's one of the better songs this year.Verdict- LIKE

France: Ah,my actual home country for this year's ESC.If this was in any other language and for any other country,I'd hate it.Definitely.But as it's in French and sung by a French diva,it almost works.It's dark and moody,which I kinda like.Typical French I guess.It's certainly boring and a crazy choice for ESC I think,but I'm not convinced it will finish last or anything.Maybe second to last,but not last :) Verdict- we'll say LIKE for now.I don't hate it,that's for sure.

Georgia: Political or not political (I really don't care),to me this really sounds like something you'd hear in some ultra-trendy clothes shop.At least it would do without the vocals.Which are really not the best.And OMG as they say,what is that little breakdown bit about? :/ Verdict- DISLIKE (but I do like the music itself very much)

Germany: It's grown on me since I first posted it last month,despite my hating of this genre of music.It's well produced,catchy and Oscar is certainly rather charming.He has a lovely voice too.One of the better songs this year I think,but still average in comparison to normal years.Verdict- LIKE

Greece: "Ooh,it's Sakis" I thought,"it must be good".But no,it's Europop of the lowest common denominator.But Sakis is still lovely.Very lovely.So he'll get through :) Verdict- DISLIKE

Hungary: I think I prefer the Hungarian version,but either way it's still rather good.Zoltan (my favourite name ever)is rather nice,and he can certainly move.If the video is anything to go by,the performance on the night will be pretty good.I don't think it's good enough to win,but has definitely surpassed my expectations of Hungary about a million times.Verdict- LOVE

Iceland: After producing THE best song of last year,Iceland have completely disappointed me this time around.It's boring,but not even in an original boring way like France's song.Verdict- HATE

More later :)

Elle a La Voix indeed...

2009-02-28T22:49:00.003Z

Seeing as there was nothing else on tonight,and I can't watch the BBC online anymore,I thought I'd check out Melodifestivalen.I liked Star Pilots,and didn't mind that Esta Noche song,Agnes was OK,I liked Sarah's performance but thought the song was boring,and was a bit disappointed with Maria and Sahlene.But wow,isn't Malena amazing?I've never heard anything like La Voix (well,Alenka was a bit similar in 07 but this is far more upbeat),and I really really hope she wins MF.Which means she won't.

I'm leaving Paris,I know I'll pay for it later

2009-02-23T23:15:00.000Z

Mini obsession of the day today is Julien Doré- winner of the *checks...* fifth series of Nouvelle Star.Turns out he's playing at the Olympia near Montmartre in a few months time.If I'm still into him then then I must go.Anyway,here's one of his catchy songs- Les Limites.

Clip Julien Doré Les limites (3)
envoyé par madmoiZelle

I'm loving his other single Figures Imposées too.Must remember to look for the album (Ersatz) in FNAC this week.

Bonsoir mes amis

2009-02-22T22:15:00.003Z

Hi hi,I am still here,I'm just a bit busy at the minute getting lost in Paris,spending horrible amounts of money on groceries and staring at fit French men on the metro.I did intend on writing my thoughts about the Raphaël Haroche album I bought the other day,but when I found out it's actually his debut album (released 9 years ago),I thought I'd probably missed the boat on that one.But worry not,I live near(ish) to a giant FNAC and will no doubt buy lots more (hopefully more modern) music in the near future that I can write about.Oh,and Nouvelle Star starts over here on Tuesday so I might write about that as well.My reception of M6 isn't that great but I'll still bear with it if there's the slightest hope of seeing my new neighbour ( ;) ) Jonatan Cerrada on it some time.

I must say I've not really got into ESC this year like I normally do.Belarus have disappointed me,the UK have disappointed me (although I'm thinking we won't actually do as badly as we should),Norway have disappointed me (I feel Fairytale might grow on me,but still,I wanted Espen Hana to win),Denmark have disappointed me big time, and as you probably know,I hate Melodifestivalen.So not a lot going on to excite me.Being a big Måns fan,I have of course seen and heard Hope and Glory,but even that's not doing much for me.Have a look at what Rick over on Stornisse has to say about it.I agree completely.

Imagination feeds my hungry heart

2009-02-11T20:37:00.002Z

When I was thinking about this post,I thought of starting it along the lines of "now I guess seeing as I lived in Germany for 5 months,I should be all 'patriotic' and support their ESC entry however bad it is.But I just can't bring myself to." I don't do swing music- brass/wind instruments (whatever they are,I neither know nor care) really don't sit well with me (unless it's a military band performing Work Your Magic of course...),and I just find the whole genre a bit naff.So when Miss Kiss Bang Bang started,I thought "ugh." Actually I probably thought "ugh" just from reading the title.But it is actually a pretty good song.A lot better than I expected from NDR anyway.It won't win,it has no chance- Roger didn't exactly do well now did he? And it seems a bit odd that Germany's gone down that route again,but still,for what it is,it's pretty good.Catchy,key change,cute guy,silly lyrics.What's not to like really?

Laters

2009-01-31T06:38:00.002Z

So I'm going back to the UK today for a few weeks before I move to France.You know what that means- probably no posting.But as soon as I get to Paris,I am intending on going to see the lovely Jonatan Cerrada in the musical Je m'voyais déjà.So maybe you'll hear about that :) Tatty bye!

Top 50- 1: I don't wanna change a thing

2009-01-30T19:19:00.004Z

Euroband- This is my Life

Well.As you've probably realised by now,I love songs about broken relationships,heartbreak etc etc...such an emo.But This is my Life is completely wonderful because it's just so damn happy.You can't help but feel good when you listen to it.It also helps that Friðrik Ómar has one of the best voices I've ever heard (check out his version of Somebody to Love if you're not convinced) and that Euroband are a great duo who just enjoy what they do.I hope we see more of them in the future.

Top 50- 2: Let them think what they want

2009-01-30T19:11:00.003Z

Philipp Poisel- Unanständig

I haven't listened to PP's wonderful album for a while now,but Unanständig will always remind me of my time here,for many reasons.Well OK,one reason.

Top 50- 3: Why does everything have to be so complicated?

2009-01-30T19:07:00.002Z

Sergey Lazarev- Girlfriend

Oh look,it's that man again.Girlfriend was easily one of the most played songs at Europop Mansions Surrey Branch last year.And for good reason- it's fabulous.We played it a good few times on Sounds of Europe too,and actually I think it was played on 2 other shows at GU2 as well.Good times!

Top 50- 4: Close to perfect and just your type

2009-01-30T19:01:00.002Z

Vlad Topalov- Perfect Criminal

I've been getting into Vlad's work lately- I have his album Odinakaya Zvezda and it's pretty good.None of it as good as this banging tune though :) It's the chorus,and the clappy bits that do it for me.Yes,definitely the clappy bits.Clappy bits come in at number one on my list of best features of a song in 2008.I can't wait to play this song on Sounds of Europe when it returns later this year.

Top 50- 5: Be my lover be my friend

2009-01-30T18:54:00.002Z

Charlotte Perrelli- Hero

I really wasn't too keen on Hero during Melodifestivalen.I never like the winner to start with because there's always someone else who I think has been robbed.I can't remember who it was last year,but it didn't matter in the end,because Hero is fabulous.I don't know why I suddenly started loving it,but it was quite possibly something to do with the fact it was played about 86 times at the Scala Eurovision party.