7 songs of spring-summer

My blog tends to live in its own little world, so I'm pleasantly surprised when linked by another blog. Boz recently challenged me to a meme.

I like the word meme - it's all about me(me), and also the French for same (même), so finding our similarities.

The task is: "List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs."

So. Click to hear a muxtape of these seven songs, and read on.

Infernal - Self Control
A cover of the Laura Brannigan song, but with added europop-ness. I've just finished my PhD thesis. When I was studying, I listened to this lots. Firstly, the song themes are similar to my research... what people think of themselves and others when out drinking and socialising. And secondly, I was able to bop along to it in my library seat.

Kylie Minogue - Your Disco Needs You
For the past few weeks, my office has become obsessed with this - we play it whenever we need excitement or a little motivation. I recently found out it was written with Robbie Williams, and there are versions where Kylie does 'the French bit' in German and Spanish. I've included the German one here, for novelty.

Ani Lorak - Shady Lady
My absolute favourite from this year's Eurovision - I listen, and I strut. A little camp, very strong, very diva - and the most enthralling performance. It's just a shame it didn't win! I've included the Russian version.

Bodies without Organs - Last flight to San Francisco
My favourite song from their last album. I love a song with a placename in it, and any song that evokes travel wins with me.

Hannes Schöner - Nun sag schon adieu
I'm soon going to start learning German, so I've been listening to German songs to get used to the language. This song comes from a German eurovision preselection in the 80s... and led to one of those moments when my boyfriend recognises a song from his childhood that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

Katri Helena - Äiti kuin äidinäiti
When I first listened to this, I thought "what the heck is Katri Helena doing in the second verse? What's that noise?" I asked a Finish friend, and happily now I know. But - what do you think? Answers in comments please. Ones that tickle me will win some prize or other.

An Pierle - Il Est Cinq Heures Paris S'Eveille
A vintage chanson given a modern touch - I love the energy of this. I play this when I need to think of life and be inspired. I listen to this and think that living in a city is a fantastic stimulating rollercoaster ride.

Now I'll pick some folk to meme. So: Chig, ItinerantLondoner, Karinski & GayPop, Poplicious! and Fabtastic!

Polski-pop

A compilation album of the best Polish music is released next week in the UK - evidence of the growing market for all things Polish in the UK, due to recent arrivals, but hopefully the songs will gather some British fans also.

This is fantastic: part geography, part europop.

The album has a whopping 76 songs, with many Polish Eurovision acts appearing - Edyta Gorniak features multiply, as well as Blue Café, Kasia Kowalska & Justyna.

One song title jumped out at me - Natalia Kukulska's Sexi Flexi. It turns out to be a slice of funky pop, with a simple but ace video. This song is from her tenth album - how many UK popstars achieve such an accolade?

• Check out The Best Polish Songs Ever

Let's Get Quizzical

Every week, in my office, we have a quiz. The quizzes usually have a geography theme (we're nerdy like that). This week I provided the EuroPopQuiz!

Now I'd like to offer the quiz to the dear readers of acediscovery. I may make this a regular occurance as quizzes are the ace fun.

So - listen to or download the mp3 and reply. The mp3 has 7 sound clips - each from a different country. The task is to identify which country the songs come from - hint: all the countries are in Europe.

I'll select a winner, and there will be a prize! (most likely a CD)

Discoveries #3

• The phrase creakingly posh.



• The Wet Look Jersey Maxi Dress by Kate Moss for Topshop. I can't wait to see it on the drunken streets of London. It would be amazing to strut in.
  
  
• I've been reminded of the immense gloriousness of Sia's Breath Me.



• Eurovision 2008 has a stage, with a great big phallic pole up the centre, and tentacles.




• Eurovision 2008 has a logo. It is intriguing. I'm quite excited to speculate what the purple shape is - a plum? a pepper? a wind-based clay instrument? Your suggestions please!

Swedish pop @ G-A-Y

I went to G-A-Y on Saturday night to see BWO, Alcazar and Army of Lovers.

• Army of Lovers were just plain bizarre. Alexander Bard had a black blow up (female) sex doll with him.
• Alcazar were with new girl Lina, and all synchronised head turns and pointing.
• No handclaps! No strutting!
• Tess was dressed for wind machine success with a big flowy number.
• The wind machine was set to Carola strength for Tess, but a mere Sonja Alden trickle for Lina. Maybe there's a wind machine pecking order?
• Andreas was sharp with his shaved head and tight, tight trousers. He knew his market.
• They were all coy about Alcazar reforming, meaning 'no'.
• BWO were good too. Martin took his shirt off.
• They performed Temple of Love to a hugely bemused audience who had no idea of its Melodifestivalen brilliance.

Girls! Aloud!

I've been to see Girls Aloud play their Greatest Hits tour in Wembley. In a word, it was amazing. I love their songs, their attitude, their style. The audience was a hugely diverse mixture - young kids, gays a plenty, indie boys, Essex girls, trendy girls, New-Rave "youth of today" and many more besides. Girls Aloud seem to succeed by mixing quite complex, layered and referential pop music and lowest common denominator styling, and somehow pull this off with ace personality.

The Best Bits:

• Entering and coming down onto stage on a platform.


• Nicola, despite allegedly being Miss Body Issues, wearing the most revealing clothes of all 5. The minx was loving it.


• The band, great as they were, were kept well hidden at the sides of stairs with dancers to the forefront.


• The Hunky dancers, especially when wearing ripped shirts and ties or nothing at all. One long, lingering shot of a dancer's chest and torso proved there was certainly a gay in charge of the camera.


• Their dodgy covers were rescued by: Synchronised Strutting during Walk This Way, hunky dancer pelvic thrusts for Jump, and an amazing finger-clicking bit in I Think We're Alone Now.


• Cheryl Cole totally over-sexes her dance moves, especially during Something Kinda Ooh. She's fabulously filthy.


• Three dancers brought out nunchucks at one point. It's always nice to see violent weaponry on stage.


• Nicola's miserable puss for the "frankly I don't even care" lyric in No Good Advice was a joy to behold.


• Dance routines with canes.


• There was an odd Dirty Dancing routine but, sadly, no time for a 'Nobody Puts Nicola In The Corner' skit.


• A whole lot of shimmying, shaking, thrusting, lurching, head swishes and hair swooshes - especially during Wake Me Up and Money.


• The hunky dancers were hidden under bedspreads for The Show, and the song's "I won't sex you until I say so" message was given a whole Benny Hill chases around the bed treatment. Brilliant.


• Biology! Literal dance interpretations of "a girl's got to zip it up" and the tick-tock-clock dance move.

More pictures on Flickr, if you are interested.

Today's The Day

It's all so very exciting. Today is the day! I'm not only referring to the Eurovision semi-final tonight, but also today is Kikki Danielsson's birthday. Hurrah for Kikki!

Kikki is 55 today and, bless her, she doesn't look a day over 50. Poor Kikki's been in the spotlight more for her eating and drinking habits recently than her fab schlager credentials.

So let's redress that with some Kikki facts.

• Kikki has been in Melodifestivalen 9 times, and has gone to Eurovision twice, in 1982 and 1985 when she finished 3rd.


• She's been a proper schlager pop singer since 1973.


• Her Bra Vibrationer is not only schlager brilliance, but also a hilarious song title.


• In her latest Melodifestivalen appearance, Kikki came last in the final. Poor Kikki! But! I dag & I Morgan was pure schlager brilliance, with bongs and a whopping key change.


• Kikki wore a big pink kaftan or muu-muu or something. What's not to love?


• Kikki was very big in the 80s, rocking a big hair and shoulder-pads look.

For your download pleasure, here are I Dag & I Morgan from Melodifestivalen 2006, and the very ace Varför är kärleken röd? which came in 2nd place in 1983's Melodifestivalen.

Kikki Danielsson - I dag & I Morgan mp3 (right click - save as)

Kikki Danielsson - Varför är kärleken röd? mp3 (right click - save as)

Enjoy Kikki! Enjoy Eurovision!

Humppa!

Humppa is a bonkers Finnish musical style that seems to be a hilarious thrown-together mix of lots of instruments, wild on stage energy and exuberant performances. It's a sort of mash of ska and polka and folk and rock. It's brilliant.

Eläkeläiset (Finnish for "pensioners") are a humppa band, who've been around since the early 1990s. Eläkeläiset mainly play cover versions of famous pop and rock hits in a fast humppa style with Finnish lyrics. They've covered lots of classics: The Cardigans' My Favourite Game, Madonna's Like A Virgin and a particular stand-out track The Pet Shop Boys' Domino Dancing.

Here for download is one we all know and love given a bit of humppa treatment.

Eläkeläiset - Kulumaton Humppa mp3

Bright New Things

Brightboy are an exciting new band from Helsinki. They bring us catchy guitar pop songs with hooky melodic vocals, and exciting synth highlights.

They released a few singles in 2006, and a debut album: Love For The Streets. Brightboy are one of the youngest bands to ever grace the cover of Finland music magazine Rumba. They've supported current Swedish pop darlings The Sounds on tour, so they have credentials.

There's something very Finnish about brightboy. Their songs speak of enjoyment and fun, getting the most from life, but a slight disaffection with their surroundings, knowing there's something better out there, as in their song This Town Is Getting Too Small For Me and a pragmatic attitude to fame and money, as in the synth-tastic Vanity Fair.

In particular, I love Wear Out the Soles (download below). It's infectious, melodic guitar pop with a great, fun sentiment about living for the moment and dancing with abandon. It seems very Finnish, for a country that throws off the shackles of winter by partying.

Brightboy release their second album, In the shadow of trance formers, in the early autumn.

Brightboy - Wear Out The Soles mp3

By the way, to hear lots more great contemporary Finnish music, visit Music Export Finland.

Finns Divas

Over the next four days, in the run-up to Eurovision, I'm going to feature some funky Finnish music. I'm starting today with two acts that need no introduction: Arja Saijonmaa and Katri Helena.

Arja Saijonmaa is a fab Finnish singer, well known for her Melodifestivalen entries, having entered twice and twice in the Finnish Eurovision preselections. She was cruelly robbed in 1987 by one point into second place with the amazing schlager classic Högt över Havet. Even more amazing was Arja's shoulder-padded wrap-around electric blue number and strut to the front of the stage to begin the song.




Arja has starred in three Finnish movies, written a book about Finnish sauna culture and is a United Nations’s Goodwill Ambassador. She has released 14 albums in Finnish, 11 in Swedish and has recorded also in Norwegian, Greek, Spanish, Italian, French and German.

Arja worked with Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to create Finnish versions of his Greek political songs. This can be heard in Jokainen Arkiaamu, a pleasant folksy song with hints of Greek folk and tango influences. Arja's vocals are as distinctive as ever.



Arja was catapulted back into the spotlight by appearing in Sweden's Let's Dance, having an affair with her dance partner, posing naked with him and generally vamping it up big style. Fabulous! Arja came back to Melodifestivalen in 2005, but, er, came last in her semi-final after a dreadful vocal performance. Best not to dwell on that one. Here instead is her demo recording of another 2005 MF song, Om Natten. Jessica Folcker sang the final version, but I much prefer Arja - she rasps her way through the song with drama and passion.

Katri Helena is another Finnish institution, having performed at Eurovision twice. 

In 1979, she performed Katson Sineen Taivaan, and, in 1993, came to Millstreet with the excellent Tule Luo. Whereas Arja is vampy and sexy, Katri is classy and sweet. Tule Luo is a brilliant melodic pop song with accordions. Katson Sineen Taivaan is a dramatic, rousing balladic pop song with swooping strings and a soaring chorus. Both songs are fabulous examples of the under-rated Finnish entries to Eurovision.

One of the things that astounds me about Katri Helena is her unwavering ability to wear blue. It just suits her so much. Away from Eurovision, Katri Helena is a much loved Finnish star. She is the first singer in Finland to have sold more than one million albums, and this list of her albums is huge, reaching back to the 1960s. Maailman pihamaat is a 1960s sounding song in Finnish with hints of tango (they do love the tango in Finland!)

Tomorrow... something a bit more hip and contemporary from Helsinki...

B*W*O

I totally haven't forgotten this blog, I'm just hyper busy changing jobs and finishing a PhD. I'll be back super soon. I took time out yesterday to see the amazing Bodies Without Organs at Popjustice Live. It was blog-tastic: I spotted / met: Jessica, Trixie, gaypop, this dude and Mr Lowculture. Wows.

• Alexander Bard swished his arms to shoo the crowd as they entered. Martin left a gaggle of gays trailing in his wake.


• I tried to be very post-modern and take a picture of the band being photographed by digital cameras and camera phones. I failed. It would have been so appropriate with their netocracy lyrics.


• Not pictured above is Marina. She was busy plinking her keyboard with one hand, continuously adjusting her hair with the other, and doing breathy spoken word bits. Amazing.


• They played Chariots of Fire, Sunshine in the Rain, Sixteen Tons of Hardware and, er, other ace songs. The highlight was Temple of Love, the Eurovision stomper that never was. If only Carola had not said her prayers.


• Martin is a thumping performer, full of energy and bounciness. He looks, in other words, like he's a right go-er in the sack.


• Martin dropped the mike at one point. Literally, dropped it. He also played the mike-stand in a way Lena Philipsson would be proud of and, as you can see, almost gave it head. Lena would never do that!


• Martin had soaked himself in water by the end of the gig. The audience were suitably excited.

Ace Songs for Europe #5: Vive La France

The good people of France choose their Eurovision song tonight. France have been rubbish for the past 2 years, but they've upped their game considerably this year and have invited lots of well known acts to participate. And the acts, they say yes. My favourite is by Les Fatals Picards. It is called L'amour a la francaise - Love by the French, or French Love, or something like that.

Reasons why it should win are:

• It is jaunty, kooky bouncy guitar pop.
  
• Apparently Les Fatals Picards are a punk band, although you wouldn't think it to look at them, or hear them. So quite how they are I don't know.


• They seem to use humour a lot in their songs and music. Maybe they're a comedy punk band. Hurrah.


• Les Fatals Picards have been 'on the go' for 7 years, and have 4 albums to their credit. According to one hastily BabelFish translated description of the band: "It is now a shock troop made up of five proud strapping men". Intriguing.


• The song mixes English and French in a thoroughly endearing way. My French is rusty as a rusty bucket but I think they're singing about love clichés or some such. Apparently it's sung in a comedy American accent. I like that sound.


• The whole sound is slow, jaunty and just a little My Star-ish.

Download: Les Fatals Picards - L'amour a la francaise


Another excellent song in the French selection is Vive Papa by Les Vedettes. Les Vedettes are a troupe of Belgian cheerleadering majorettes. Ace! They have throwing sticks, white boots, laces, brass band oompah music. The troupe is made up of actresses, dancers, designers and all sorts. They sound fabulous.

Their song Vive Papa! is written by someone important and indie called Katerine. Katerine is a man. The song apparently is about Pinochet. I don't know about the politics, but it sounds like a riot with Gwen Stefani (when she was good) leading The Pipettes into battle against the forces of mundane. This is quite ace.

Download: Les Vedettes - Vive Papa!

Rockin' Robyn

I went to see Robyn play in Metro last night. Rather than the erratic and raw Robyn we saw last time, this was funky Robyn. 

She was in total control of the stage, and the audience loved her. We sang along at all the right moments, and you could see Robyn was overwhelmed by our reaction. She chirped "takk" and "thanks" and was uber-cute. These were the high-points:

• It was a retro-Robyn-fest, with performances of Show Me Love and Keep This Fire Burning.
• The best song of the night was her newest, the oh-so-sublime With Every Heartbeat.
• Robyn put her hand up her top for one chorus of this and affected a very strong heartbeat. Ace.
• Robyn danced her little legs off - bopping and popping to nearly every song. This involved a lot flailing of arms and legs. Coordinated, she is not.
• Robyn's fringe covers half her face. I don't know how she sees.
• There were two performances of Be Mine - for both she neglected to say the "and you looked happy, and that's great ... I just miss you, that's all" line. I agreed with a random, excitable Swedish girl that this was not right, so we said the line together, thus making everything OK.
• Konichiwa Bitches was ace, as per usual.
• Robyn was accompanied by two drummers - such a good look.

And that's that. Robyn is playing another London gig in just under a month, at Cargo. Click here to book, and go see as Robyn is fantastic and ace.

Ace Songs for Europe #3

Drama! There's a male singer with a potential Eurovision hit. A solo male singer hasn't won Eurovision since 1990. That puts any idea of Morrissey performing into some perspective. That said, 3 of the last year's Eurovision top 5 acts were solo male performers (Dima, Hari, Mihai) so the time is now for a male winner.

Dmitry Koldun has been chosen by Belarus as their performer. Mr Dmitry is a former gymnast and apparently has entered a "chemical faculty" of Belarussian State University. According to one site, he has a big talent. Nice. It would seem Dmitry (Dima to his friends) came from some reality tv show, and has since either dyed his hair brown or stopped dying it blonde. Well done him. He won the semi-final held in Belarus with another song, realised it was a bit rubbish, dumped it and now goes to Helsinki with this stomper Work Your Magik. The song title is a word play on Dmitry's surname with koldun meaning magician. It's all very clever, isn't it?

The song is ace. It's quite dramatic, and while not 100% ace pop, it's definitely got what we're looking for:

• Dramatic stringy synthy opening. Very Bond tune-esque. I can imagine lady dancers in sparkly silhouette.


• Spies! Belarus! Russia! USSR! Genius.


• Opening phrase: Welcome to the Night. Always a pleasure.


• Lyrics that could be about love, food or dirty sex or all of the above.


• Wonderful rousing chorus reached in 40 seconds. It's really 2 choruses in 1. High potential for strong arm waving and shaking, and dramatic body flailing / dancing.


• I am able and I'm willing. Yes I'm willing - Oh, yes?!


• When you cast your loving potion over me - Oh yes?!


• skin-to-skin lyric updates Dima Bilan's flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone lyric with a much more pleasant image


• Good potential for a glitter throwing moment (it's a loving potion!) or other such stage dramatics before the middle 8.


• Key change!


• High note and a bell to finish.

Ace.

Download Dmitry Koldun - Work Your Magik mp3

Cat5

Last night, I went to Swedish indie night Tack! Tack! Tack! with Mr Club Contact and Ms Karinski to see Swedish electro-pop minxes Cat5. Cat5 are Hanna and Christina, from Gothenburg. They have pretty much written and produced their debut album by themselves. It's a riotous mix of electro-synths, beats and deadpan, sexed-up lyrics. They put on an ace show:

• It was an all-out audio-visual experience. There was a siren light on the keyboards, there was a screen projecting static imagery and word, numbers and slogans and amateur-esque 'visuals'. The lighting was a glarish concoction of strobe and strip lighting.
• They played about 8 songs. Highlights were Drop The Bomb, You Go Girl and Sexy.
• Both girls took turns on their tiny keyboard, but neither really managed to muster up much enthusiasm, looking bored with a wonderful display of popstar ennui.
• They describe Sexy as an 'electronic pearl'. There is an ace lyric: I'm too sexy for my jeans, I got to take them off. Before you put your hands on my ass.
• One of the girls looks like a Nordic Heidi Sugababe.
  
• Their 'rider' was two glasses of wine.
• One is blonde, the other is brunette. Their name is Cat5. They are the electro-embodiment of Finnish eurovisionners CatCat.
• A young Swedish woman barged through the crowd in the middle of their set. With a glass of wine in one hand, she crossed her arms, cocked her head, and looked at Cat5 as though they were an art installation, and continued to stare with an intrigued but questioning look. It was ace.
• One member of the audience was very enthusiastic. He was giving it loads. He led a small number of people to chant, "en gång till".
• One of the slogans that flashed up during their set was: TWISTED SISTERS TALKING SHIT. You can't argue with that.

Download: Cat5 - Sexy mp3 // Cat5 myspace // Cat5 // Tack! Tack! Tack!

Enter the Dragonette

I went to see Dragonette play in Metro last Thursday night. They were typically ace.

• They played about 10 songs. Competition and I Get Around were definite highlights, as they're dirty songs about being a mistress and staying out all night.


• A song called Marvellous is, indeed, marvellous.


• There was a great musical segue between one song & I Get Around.


• People were dancing in an exuberant fashion. I Get Around got people moving, only for the gig to be cruelly cut short.


• Martina (henceforth to be called, Lady Dragonette) wore an amazing 80s striped blanket dress with big shoulders held together with black-masking-tape-patent-dominatrix-belt and too-high-to-function heels. She danced in these heels. Dancing featured robotic arm movements, ace synchronised movements to I Get Around and some marching.


• She revealed that she nearly didn't wear the heels as they hurt like hell. Thankfully she wore them in the name of showmanship and glamour. Excellent working of the Bet Lynch miserable behind the bar of The Rovers but slapping a bit of lippy on, serving a G&T to Rita with a smile and flirting with the male punters while calling them "cock" spirit.


• The boys wore skinny jeans and shirts. Not as co-ordinated as last time.


• I finally worked out which boy is which. Dan is the tall, dark-haired man who plays guitar and keyboards. Will is the blond cutie who plays guitar. Joel is the floppy indie-haired drummer.


• Fan-girlies gushed forward to the stage when the gig ended to talk to Joel.


• Lady Dragonette revealed that she cut the boys' hair. ACE.


• While the boys set up the stage and instruments, Lady Dragonette was backstage doing her hair. We later asked her how she did it, and she gave us a hair demonstration.


• Their manager's mother was there. She looked like a very nice lady.


• Dragonette have coined a geographical phrase. Shepherd's Bush will henceforth be known as She-Bu (pronounced Sheh-bu).


• I Get Around was the highlight of the gig - it should be an instant hit. 

Ace Songs for Europe #2

Spain are having a very protracted and complicated national final, selecting their singer and song seperately and then matching it all up. It'll either be brilliant, or disastrous. One Spanish popstar who's taking up the challenge is Rebeca. She's been around for 10 years, with her debut album selling hugely in Spain, South America and the USA, going double-platinum in Spain. She's had 6 more successful albums, so she knows her stuff.

Rebeca is entering as a singer, but has also entered a song, so here's hoping they'll be 'matched'. She's teamed up with Invincible writer, and all-round schlager-hit-machine-maker Thomas G:Son to come up with I love you, mi vida. It is ace, and here's why:

• It's mostly in Spanish, and has ace words like amor / pasion / corazon / suerida


• It hits the chorus in 47 seconds.


• Eee-aaaiiyy--ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh


• the 'this is serious, important music' synth sounds which are ace pop really.


• "hey! hey! hey!"


• Spanish guitar and castanet moments.


• It's got a key change!


• Rebeca's singing soars all the way over the key change.


• It would fill the stage, with very high potential for hunky dancers and dance routines.


• Rebeca's no stranger to a bit of strutting.

Download Rebeca - I love you mi vida mp3

Ace Songs for Europe

Hurrah. What with all the news about Morrissey possibly being involved with the UK Eurovision entry this year, it's definitely Eurovision season.

My friend Trixie has asked me to be the shiny "Eurovision correspondent" on Londonist.com, so clicky here to read my first post.

Over the next few months, I'm going to feature some of the best songs from the many, many preselections all around Europe.

Today, we have Olivia Lewis singing Vertigo from Malta. Olivia has come second in the Maltese selection lots of times, so must be a shoe-in to do well this time. Vertigo is pure eurovision, with wonderful lyrics.

Reasons why Vertigo is ace:

• ethno-pop rhythm and beats


• the clever contrast-ful in the lyrics: "yes / no" "stay / go"


• "gave you all, A to Z" - it's about maps!


• Nonsensical lyrics: "I've become indigo"


• despite the flat hair in this photo, Olivia likes big hair and ridiculously overblown costumes, as can be seen here and here.


• clap-clap-clap-clappy clap-clap-clap-clappy


• the sheer amount of lyrics that offer really obvious choreography:
  * you're spinning me round and you're holding me down
  * and I turn. You're not there
  * you're lifting me high, then you're taking me low


• Vertigo!

Hurrah.

Download Olivia Lewis - Vertigo mp3

World Song Festival

I recently took part in World Song Festival, an online competition much like Eurovision. Songs are sent from countries around the world, we listen, we judge and a winner is chosen. I liked the idea so much that I decided to help the organiser, Trond from Norway, by designing a website for the competition.

The overall winner was the very, very excellent electro-pop song Gabriel by French singer Najoua Belyzel. The song was a hit in France, going to number 3 in the charts. In 2006, Najoua released her debut album Entre deux mondes, which debuted at 7 on the French charts, and apparently will be promoting herself across Europe in 2007. Ace.

Gabriel is a fantastic electro-ish number with vaguely ethereal, moaning vocals and a grinding chorus which sounds great with its French vocals. The high-point is the ace apres-chorus electrofied break-down.



There were some other ace songs in the festival, here are some of my favourites.

It would be so wrong if I didn't pick the Swede. Nanne Grönvall, the ace rocky schlager star is just great. Having re-invented her look and image more times than I've had haircuts, her latest look says 'big hair, small lady'. 

That small lady totters around on high, high heels, wears skimpy floaty dresses, and kicks and struts with aplomb. She was ROBBED of Melodifestivalen in 2005 with Håll Om Mig, a performance made super-ace by having wind machines ON STAGE. Amazing. She'll be in Melodifestivalen this year with the hopefully bombastic + poptastic Jag måste kyssa dig (I Must Kiss You).

Coming 12th in WSF, Om du var min starts with the stock schlager slow-start, kicks in a beat, and builds to a pumping chorus. Nanne likes a guitar sound, Nanne likes to rock out in a twirling style.



From Japan, Nami Tamaki's Reason is J-Pop brilliance. 

There's a wall of immense sound, parts pop, parts electro and part super-cute Japanese style. The song builds with booms and explosions to its chorus which is an even bigger sound that can barely contain itself for the breakdown. And you just know that the slow parts are just breathers, waiting to give way to even more top pop explosions. As with so many J-Pop stars, Nami Tamaki has released many albums and singles in Japan. This one reached 2nd on the Oricon Charts. It came 6th in WSF.



Elefante are a Mexican band who perform fairly standard Latin rock. I liked their song Mentirosa, simply because it was great Latin pop. It does exactly what you want - has a great catchy chorus, lovely Spanish sounding guitars and harmonies. Elefante seem to be fairly successful in Mexico, with a number of albums and a greatest hits to their name. In WSF, they finished in 36th position.



Jorge Rojas' Busca en tu corazon is 100% pure cheesy, and I can't help but love it. Jorge is Argentinian, and released his debut album there in 2005, from which this song comes. Busca en tu corazon is a deeply heartfelt up-tempo ballad with panpipes, latin guitars and so much pleading with a rousing chorus. It's a real lighters-in-the-air, swaying from side-to-side song and has wonderfully implausible lyrics like "look in your heart if you want to find the road to follow to discover the truth". Fantastic. It was 20th in WSF.



Finally, Dilnaz Akhmadieva is a popstar from Kazakhstan. I always knew there'd be more to Kazakhstan than Borat! Dilnaz sings in the Uyghur language, and has been singing for years, even though she's only about 20. This song, Zolotoy, Zolotoy which could mean Golden, golden is ace. It's got a eastern, ethno-tribal sound mixed with some electro strains and beats. 

If Kazakhstan ever want to be in Eurovision, sign her up now. It finished 23rd in WSF.

Top 9 Most Ace Swedish Pop Songs of 2006

It's the time of year when pop-pickers start to compile their 'top songs of the year'. Lists have already appeared on #1 Hits from Another Planet, dirrty pop, karinski and Indie Girl & Pop Boy.
For my list, I've decided to compile my top 9 most ace Swedish pop songs from 2006. So, in no particular order other than numerical, here we go:

1. Jessica Andersson - Kalla natter

This Melodifestivalen song didn't make it through to the finals. Jessica Andersson's performance was a little odd, which is a pity as Kalla Natter is an excellent pop song par excellence with a great opening, nice vocal melodies, a storming chorus and the words "Går vi närmre och närmre varann" in the second line with just sounds cool.


2. Bodies Without Organs - Chariots of Fire

BWO gave Carola a run for her money in the Melodifestivalen final with the excellent Temple of Love. My favourite song from them this year was Chariots of Fire from their second album. The album overall had a few misses, but its hits were spectacular. Chariots of Fire is just one, with an excellent chorus, melody and lyrics which suggest continually trying to reach pop perfection. Buy Halcyon Days

3. Marie Serneholt - Enjoy the Ride

Ex A-Teens popette Marie Serneholt's album was pretty great. My favourite song, without a doubt, was Enjoy the Ride. It's ever so slutty, but comes off sounding oddly innocent. Using a horse riding conceit for a riding of a whole other kind (the Irish slang kind...), the song has excellent clip-cloppy sound effects. Horses hooves, people!!! Special marks also for the lyric "straddle the seat". Buy Enjoy the Ride


4. Le Sport - Your brother is my only hope

Now sadly split up, Le Sport (or Eurosport?) were a very quick ray of electro-poppy brilliance. Taking tATu's teenage lesbian idea, but changing it to boys with a fascination for the Pet Shop Boys, Le Sport had some excellent songs such as If Neil Tennant was my Lover. I was torn between choosing Chemical Drugs or Your brother is my only hope for the list, but the latter song won out for the "Kathy, Lisa, Mary-Beth" line and the wonderful small-town-gay feeling that it invokes.

5. Linda Sundblad - Pretty Rebels

Linda's debut solo album Oh My God!, released this year, was amazing and made bloggers stand to attention. Pretty Rebels is a highlight, with an all-too-cute line declaring that "we're the babies, born in the 80s". Yes, Linda, yes we are. Buy Oh My God!



6. Magnus Carlsson - Lev Livet

Magnus' entry for Melodifestivalen was pure schlagery greatness, and didn't really deserve to come in 8th position. It has a catchy sing-a-long chorus, plinky-plonky bouncy verses and a great build for a key change. The complicated choreography probably cost it a vote or two, so let's hope Magnus' song for 2007 Melodifestivalen will be equally as ace but with better dancing. And let's hope he continues wearing suits. Rarrr, Magnus.


7. Andreas Lundstedt - Lovegun

This is wonderful filth from Magnus ex (colleague). A Swedish friend of mine claims to have been "friendly" with Andreas, friendly so as to avoid libel action. I asked him if he saw Andreas' lovegun. The link was lost on him. Evoking disco, evoking Studio 54, evoking oral sex, and with enough phallic images to shake your stick at, this is glorious disco-smut - you have to love it.


8. Kikki Danielsson - I dag & i morgon

A Swedish guy I know once told me that nobody in Sweden likes Kikki! It's no wonder she ended up last in the MF final. Poor Kikki! Having been on the Swedish version of You Are What You Eat, she's a bit like Michelle McManus but 1000 times more ace, as this song proved. It had bells, it had sing-a-long chorus, it had a sort-of triumphant 'I beat the booze and now I'm singing a song about it' sentiment. Most of all, it had Kikki on stage in a glorious pink kaftan. Viva Kikki D!


9. Amy Diamond - Big Guns

A rallying cry for all Swedish tweenies - don't let The Man (or the Gentlemen with the Sharp Tongues) tell you what's cool. Except if he's saying that cool = Amy Diamond. Cos that's correct. I love this song for the line "Have a cookie and some television". Buy This is Me Now




So they're the top 9 most ace Swedish songs of the year. The first 5 songs can be downloaded, by clicking links. There were loads of songs I didn't include, and if the list proves anything it's that Swedish pop is just 100% pure ace brilliance.

...oh, if you're wondering about the absence of the divine Carola and Evighet / Invincible - she reigns supreme, like a deity overseeing all. I preferred Evighet, the Swedish version, simply for the line "ingenting kan stoppa mig, det blåser en vind" which means "nothing can stop me, a wind is blowing". This is ace because:

a) IT REFERENCES THE WIND MACHINE!!!
b) it uses ingenting, the unofficial word of all Swedish schlager songs.

God bless thee, Carola. Watch an ace MF medley performance here. About 4 minutes in, Carola goes whoopsy-daisy, head over feet, suspended above the audience. It's amazing.