Happy Europe Day Part 2

Hungary: I admit,I thought the Hungarian pop scene was probably full of people like Magdi Rúzsa,so I never really bothered exploring.However,Crystal are a really good group.I've liked everything of theirs that I've heard so far so I wasn't really sure which one of their videos to post,but I think I'll go for Repülj Tovább.


Ireland: Going to have to be a bit old-school here and go for The Corrs.Don't Say You Love Me is my favourite song of theirs,although I don't think they ever released it,so you might not know it.It's a great song,melancholy but wonderful.

Italia: It seems Perdono was huge all over Europe back in 2001.And rightly so,it's super.If Paolo does well at Eurovision this year,do you think the Swiss will go all Italian next year as well and send Tiziano?That'd be good.Anyway,he reminds me (a little bit) of Dennis Petrov in this video.Maybe it's the outfit.

Latvia: It wasn't too long ago that I was madly in love with Renārs Kaupers,but shamefully I haven't been keeping very up to date with Prāta Vētra business lately.I didn't even realise they'd done anything since Thunder Without Rain :/ Anyway,Colder is one of my favourite songs of theirs,it's very atmospheric I think.


Lithuania: Welcome by Inculto is by far the the best Lithuanian Eurovision-related song ever.Why they sent LT United to Athens,I have no idea.It's such a funny song and the video's great too.

Luxembourg: I own one Luxembourgish song,which I've heard is a cover of an Australian guy's song from 1984.It's called Love Somebody,and if you love cheesy 80s guitar pop,you should probably listen to it.

Malta: Learning Maltese in on my to-do list,I think it's a fascinating language.This is the only song in Maltese I've ever heard- it's an awful quality video,but it's Claudia Faniello singing Bajja tad-Deheb

Netherlands: Good Dutch music seems very hard to come by,I can definitely see why my Dutch cousin never listens to any.However,Wild by Monique Smit is a super pop song.She's far better than her brother :)


Poland: *Sigh*.I've really tried to like Polish music,but it's really difficult.So here's the one song I've heard that I can listen to and enjoy.Let's face it,Piasek's 2Long is the best Polish ESC song...ever,really.

Portugal: Sticking with the Eurovision theme, I loved Deixa-Me Sonhar back in 2003.Also,I didn't know until about 5 minutes ago that Rita did a duet with Ronan Keating.That's an odd couple if ever I've seen one.

Romania: I have soooo much Romanian music thanks to my lovely friend Ioana,most of it being dance music or the cheesiest pop you've ever heard.However,Mihai still does it for me.Cât de frumoasă eşti (You're so beautiful) is such a nice song,with what must be one of the longest notes in a pop song ever,(beaten only by Mihai himself in the song Why).


Slovakia: I love a good Pop Idol winner as you might have noticed.Peter Cmorik won Slovakian Idol in 2006,with a huge 84% of the vote apparantly.Čo to znamená (What does it mean?,that is the actual translation,not a request) is quite a good song,about people not having time for eachother.

Slovenia: Had to be this one really,the one and only Anžej Dežan and the theme tune for Sounds of Europe- Vroče!It's still by far the most played song on my iTunes (Cara Mia is a whole 50-something plays behind) and it still makes me happy every time I hear it.


Spain: Going to have to cheat here and post another Jonatan video.Well he is Spanish really...

Sweden: So many good Swedish songs to choose from,but I think I'll go for Måns's annoyingly gorgeous girlfriend,seeing as she has produced my favourite album in the world ever.This is Calling All Detectives,one of the slower ones from Enjoy the Ride,but a fabulous one all the same.

UK: I literally have 21 British songs on my iTunes (out of 1629),most of those being Leona Lewis's album.I just can't stand British music anymore,it's gone so far downhill since the early 2000s.So it's back to then we go,with the amazing a1 and Caught in the Middle.Never mind Take That and Boyzone,it should be these guys making a comeback!

Happy Europe Day!

You might not have known (I didn't until about a week ago) that May 9th is Europe Day,a day of celebrating European unity which was meant to be a public holiday across the member states of the EU,although I doubt we'd ever have had it here.However,it was -for various reasons- removed from the Lisbon Treaty.Anyway,I'm still celebrating it,by writing about really good songs from each of the member states :)

Austria: As tempting as it is to go for the wonderfully cheesy Du Bist by Tie Break,it's going to have to be a Jetzt Anders song.I know it's a cover,but I love Ein Neues Leben.I really like the lyrics and the summery,happy feeling I get when I listen to it :)

Belgium: I must choose 2 Belgian songs here- Mad About You by Hooverphonic was one of my favourite songs that I discovered last year.However,when you're talking Belgian,you can't beat a bit of Jonatan.


Bulgaria: Just because I know no other Bulgarian music (although Deep Zone are Bulgarian and they're responsible for the masterpiece that is the Work Your Magic remix...),I'll have to go for a Kirkorov song :/ Again,it's a cover (of Antique's Die For You in fact),but it's a pretty good one actually.Shield your eyes if you watch the video,Filip's wearing red shiny trousers.

Cyprus: I've just discovered Marianta Pieridi and I think she's pretty cool,even if her songs are a bit hit and miss.I love this one though,it's called Meine Dipla Mou (no idea what that means :/)


Czech Republic: Again, I don't know much about Czech music,but Lucie Vondráčková is the niece of another famous Czech singer,and this song - Strach- is her most famous one.

Denmark: Sometimes on Sounds of Europe I like to bang on about how great Mew are.The Zookeeper's Boy may or may not be their best song,but it's lovely all the same.I love Jonas's cryptic lyrics.

Estonia: We were listening to Tanel's Everybody last night.I can't believe that was the song that relaunched my obsession with European music!Anyway,I might have been one of the only people in Europe who liked Eighties Coming Back by Ruffus/Claire's Birthday,but I still think it's great 5 years later.Again,not necessarily their best song,but I love Vaiko Eplik's voice,and they definitely deserved more than the 14 points they got at Eurovision.

(P.S,I think there might be a good few more posts about Estonian music coming up soon)

Finland: Oh how I loved The Rasmus...I particularly loved this song Falling,from the fourth (and by far the best) album Into.It was the first song of theirs I ever heard,on a wonderful Estonian website which sadly no more exists :(

France: We heard Il Avait Les Mots by Sheryfa Luna in Paris last month and thought it was fabulous.

Germany: I'm not the biggest fan of German music really,it's too rocky for me.But I don't mind a bit of Sportfreunde Stiller sometimes.This is a very silly song involving Roque Santa Cruz.It's (predictably) called Ich Roque.


Greece: Has to be Everything by Anna Vissi.What a ballad!

More later I think...

The news we've been waiting for for ages

By 'we',I of course mean me and Keira,although I'm sure there are some other people who will be quite excited about the fact that Dima K is finally releasing an album.June 11th apparantly (isn't that his birthday?).Shame we'll have to wait 6 years before it appears second hand on Amazon though...Oh,and some other exciting news too,Dima has also said that he wouldn't mind doing Eurovision again.Yes!Come back and sing for the UK with me and Keira,it'd be amazing...Anyway,here he is singing Nikagda at the final of Miss Belarus,complete with some very annoying echoey sound effects.

Viva España...

What is it with Dima and Spain these days?First there was the whole Porque Aun Te Amo Eurovision thing,then he says he's releasing a Spanish album sometime soon,and now he's done Believe in Spanish too (is there even a Russian version?).Anyway,it's called Creer,and it's alright.But I think the English one is probably better.

Scary Chelsi...

Chelsi used to look so lovely...


This video of their latest performance of the new song Ne Hvataet Eyo Glaz (not Kak Zhe Adinoka as I said the other day) tells a different story.

Roman's hand has turned metallic...


Arseniy's hair will get its own postcode if it gets any bigger...


And Dennis has gone for a bit of a Llewellyn-Bowen look...


Oh dear.Still,fabulous song though :)

Schaust du mir in mein Gesicht und sagt "ich hoffe ich verletzt dich nicht"

I'm in a very bad mood.There's no better antidote than watching fit Germans cut things up with chainsaws :)

I blame myself for it all

Just a quick post to say I'm madly in love with this song,since finding it this afternoon.It's been a long time since anything exciting and Chelsi-related has happened,but now they've put their new song Kak Zhe Adinoka up on the website,I'm very happy.It's a big ballad,and not a typical Russian sounding one either.It reminds me a bit of Måns's My Mistake in places,but that might just be me.Anyway,listen to it here