Musik i Full Fart [Music at Full Speed] v5

A long overdue post of the music I've been listening to and highly recommend. Artist links will take you to an informational website (MySpace page, artist website, etc). Song links will take you to a video of the song.

Swedonia Songs
There is some really great pop music coming out of Sweden. The varied offspring of ABBA and Roxette keep forming new wondrous variations. I only wish my friends in the States had direct access to some/all of it. So, I'll do my part to enlighten and encourage.

Alphabeat's bouncy Fascination came out in 2008 but holds up well to global inspection even today. John ME has a yearning love song with the requisite reference to drugs, Love is My Drug, on which he duets with Amanda Jenssen (winner of Swedish Idol). At 3:05, it looks a lot like love. Another winner of Swedish Idol is Agnes Carlsson (or just Agnes). Her dancefloor hit, Release Me, is one of the best dance pop songs of 2009. YouTube seems to have pulled the video (since she has exploded on the music charts around the world), but you can watch it on her website. Another one of her songs, On and On, is more Eurodance but still lots of fun. Basic Element is a dance act from the 90's that re-emerged a few years ago. They are putting out blatant eurodance like Touch You Right Now. What's not to like about that? Then, there's Robyn. She's practically Swedish music royalty. Be Mine! is quirky pop. Very Robyn. Speaking of Swedish musical royalty, A Camp, the side group of Cardigan's lead singer, Nina Persson, released Stronger Than Jesus.

In spin class, I've gotten into the zone with some spirited music including Oh Laura with Release Me (Attic Remix) and Swingfly with Singing That Melody. Position 2, please.

Swedish acts are featured prominently in commercials. The Honeythieve's Reminder is used in television ads for Lindex. I love the global ad and the song for Magnum Temptation ice cream bars. Though, the music sounds a bit like the White Stripes. A DJ/music producer out of Stockholm creates sonic snippets for use in Cubus commercials. And I love them. Two ads, for Christmas and Summer, are the best. I think of them as my own personal soundtrack. I walk down the street and this music plays in my head. Try it. Oh, and the model in the commercials is Swedish supermodel, Mini Anden.

I'm a sucker for a good power ballad. I grew up in the 70's and 80's, so guilty as charged. When I heard Takida's Curly Sue, I knew I would like it in spite of myself. Why!?! And then there is my lone Swedish Alternative pick (cause Alphabeat is pop with a capital P), Mando Diao, with their Echo and Bunnymenesque song, Dance With Somebody.

Dance
Shena brings back the disco with her NuDisco gold, Can't Stop The Rain. David Guetta pairs up with Kelly Rowland for When Love Takes Over; this is the dance song of the Summer. And, yes, the Black-Eyed Pea's I Got A Feeling will compete with Guetta for song of the Summer. Hed Kandi continues to roll out (and rework) some great dance music including Warren Clark's Bitch is Back which features the aforementioned Shena on vocals. And Ali Payami's Dancin' which features vocals by Missum. She brings on the fun-K. Kraak & Smaak lay on the funk with Squeeze Me Tight. Utada is a Japanese-American who sings mainly pop who has had much more success in Japan. But, Automatic, Pt. II caught my attention. Sleek. Stylish. Tokyo at night. Laurent Wolf, French DJ/producer, has delivered with a followup to No Stress, again featuring Éric Carter: Wash My World. And finally a song from way back in 2007: Let Go by German DJ extraordinaire Paul van Dyk.

Alternative
Moby's new release, Wait For Me, traverses one amazing sonicscape. Shot in the Back of the Head is sublime. When the weepy guitar comes in at 1:08, it's staggering. Pale Horses harkens back to Play quite nicely. Lily Allen actually wrote a song I like (Lily Allen = not so much). Normally, I think the whole Brits singing with a Brit accent a little much. But, this cheeky homage to a Carpenter's song, F*ck You is quite catchy. Diane Birch has some great pipes. Fortunately for me, she was featured on iTunes where I was exposed to Rise Up.

Adult Alternative
Seriously, I love Laura Izibor. This woman's voice has me hypnotized. She finally released an album with all the wonderful songs I'd heard before and some new favorites. This includes the quite lovely If Tonight is My Last. It puts a big smile on my face. Another new voice with promise is Angel Taylor with Make Me Believe. True, Yael Naim made her name by having her song, New Soul, included in an Apple commercial. Don't hold that against her. Instead, check out another single, Far Far, and enjoy.

R&B/Soul
A great voice not to be missed is Chrisette Michele with Blame it on Me.

Trip Hop
Tricky! He's back. Puppy Toy. Check it out.

Guilty Pleasures
I am not sure if these guys qualify as a guilty pleasure or the end of all things with taste as we know it. Star Pilots competed in Melodifestivalen 2009 with their song Higher. Needless to say they did not make it to Eurovision representing Sweden. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. So, where do I start? How about a contest? See how many song lyric cliches you can identify in this song. It is basically just a string of cliches set to a throbbing dance beat. Not as egregious and 100% eurodancepop is their other song In The Heat of The Night. Enjoy.



Archive Posts
Musik i Full Fart Volume I
Musik i Full Fart Volume II
Musik i Full Fart Volume III
Musik i Full Fart Volume IV

Opera Diva Wins Melodifestivalen

The winner of the 2009 Melodifestivalen has been selected to represent Sweden in the Eurovision contest. It's opera singer, Malena Ernman, who sings La Voix in both English and French to a throbbing disco beat. It should have strong multi-national, multi-generational appeal. How can it lose? I mean, this is the 35th anniversary of ABBA winning the Eurovision contest. Well, that satirical musical number presented at the finals in Stockholm might not go over well with this year's Eurovision host country, Russia. More on that later.

Melodifestivalen is bigger than ever. Here's an introduction to this year's event. There were four regional contests held around the country to select the semi-finalists for the finals in Stockholm. In additional, there was a second chance contest (andra chansen in Swedish) to select from those artists that did not make it through the semi-finals. The first regional show was right here in Göteborg. The event was televised live. According to reports, 3 million people watched that show. For perspective, Sweden only has a population of 9 million. In the United States, 100 million people would have to American Idol to achieve the same ratings success.

My take on the artists and songs in this year's contest can be described in one word: flat. There were some very lackluster performances and forgettable songs. Now, I like Alcazar, but their song, Stay the Night, was as limp as a semla sitting in milk. At least compared to this little ditty, which I love. And, Måns Zelmerlöw's Hope & Glory didn't have any. Måns was a favorite going in to the contest. Maybe next year. I still think he is the Enrique Iglesias of Sweden. E.M.D. with Baby Goodbye was pretty good but the song title was self-fulfilling. And Agnes, who I like, didn't deliver enough Love Love Love. Still, most had the requisite sing-along-pop and dance sensibility. Which is what Melodifestivalen is all about. The winner, Malena, wasn't expected to do well, but the public voted for her in big numbers.

Now, on to the controversy. At the finals, there was a parady skit and dance number that mocked Russia and its national anthem. The dance number had Matryoshka dolls and Cossacks and dancing bears. Oh my. Lots of Russian stereotypes. Offensive, maybe. But, funny as well. Oh, those nutty Swedes. Enjoy.




And, one final treat. In honor of ABBA's win at Eurovision 35 year's ago, here is a video of them singing Waterloo in Swedish at Melodifestivalen that same year.

Mamma Mia! We've Moved to Sweden Redux

I received a request to put this photo back up. So, back up it goes. To live on in the infinitude of the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Fish Balls

Mmmmm. Fiskbullar! That's Swedish for fishy bits. But, they're not really formed into a ball. More like an oval. I found this flavor and had to try it based on my previous [less than satisfying] experience with fiskbullar. These fish balls are in a clear broth (buljong in Swedish). No heavy, creamy, flavor-smothering sauce here - unlike the first time. Just a strong fish smell. Tasty. Chock full of protein and omega-3. And made by ABBA. Here I only thought they only made pop music. Guess they must have diversified.

Eurovision Blast from the Past

Winners of the 1973 Eurovision Contest:



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