Friday, May 25, 2007

Don't you think of a four letter word to use

Poor BBMak. I'd really love them to still be around--I loved the sound of their voices together, you could always rely on them for some good music, and I'd love to see what they would have come up with as the years passed by. Their popularity was in the midst of my music-ignoring years, but even I couldn't be unaware of "Back Here," which really is a great ballad...but not my favorite song (there are two) on their debut album. I do remember them appearing in a video promoting a fundraiser our school was involved in--one of those "sell these pointless items to your parents and their friends and win these cheap prizes" type of deals--and being surprised to find out that they were British.

I'm Not In Love--choosing between this and "Next Time" was a pretty difficult choice, as both are lovely, sweet, catchy pop songs, with guitars, yes, but of that style where you don't think "pop with guitars." Posting "Next Time" would have given me an opportunity to rehash my theory that the lyricist for Jesse McCartney's "Tell Her" was listening to that song an awful lot while brainstorming (which I've just managed to do anyway), but ultimately, the slightly faster "I'm Not In Love" just barely won out. I'm still not sure it's the right choice, though, so I definitely recommend checking out "Next Time."

To buy BBMak's debut album, Sooner Or Later, go here (physical) or go to iTunes; for example, if you live in the U.S., go here.

Unrelated to music, but if I see one more TV season finale or movie that ends with major characters dying or being forever separated, I am going to GO CRAZY.

Next up: maybe a South African singer.

7 comments:

Robpop said...

This is related to the NKD post.

The girl band shine 4 also do a cover of I Want your Love. And its better than NKD's. Its more schlager/poppy. The NKD one is more guitars/drums. The Shine 4 version is far more discotastic.

Paul said...

sigh. where to begin on the brilliant BBMak... i loved their first album but felt the second album surpassed it and was an amazing slice of pop brilliance. Staring Into Space was such an aces song and the track they did for a disney film (treasure planet??) Always Know Where You Are was an epic showcase for their always excellent harmonies. Sigh again. Now i'm going to have to dig out their mp3s again and have a jolly good reminisce

Anonymous said...

Hi Poster Girl!!
I love the songs you post, they tottaly rock!!! ^^

And BBMak is very cool!!!

Kevin said...

PG, you do know that they released a second album, no?

I was never a fan of BBMak, way too boring for my cup of tea. However, I fought their debut album... the pricey Japanese import no less, a year before they broke through in America. They only had one really handsome member, Mark Burry. Of course with my luck, the other two members are the one who are active and either have a website or a MySpace page... but nothing about Mark! Boo! Christian Burns has a new single with Tiësto, "In The Dark".

PG, I'm still waiting for an Another Level post, just to see Mark Baron... ha ha. J/K.

In regards to Måns' album, I like it for the most part, this is definitely not an Idol-related album. I should say that, unlike the rest of you, I don't like albums for the most part, the most number of songs I like from any album is 6... at the most; therefore I'm happy with his album (by my "standards", ha ha).

What I'm most impressed is that Måns not only wrote/co-wrote the LYRICS for almost all the songs in the album, but he also wrote/co-wrote the actual MUSIC for most of the tracks as well.

I really don't like his rendition of "Maniac", he really sounds bored, as if he couldn't be bothered... or is it just me? It's surprising that the song is a dud, considering that Ali Payami produced the track.

I love the remixes for "Work Of Art (Da Vinci)", unfortunately, I can't tell you which mixes I like, because I'm convinced the track-listing is incorrect. The is the track-listing for the CD maxi promo (which will be the same as the commercial CD maxi):

1. Original Version 03.45
2. PJ Harmony Summer Nice Version 05.27
3. Ali Payami Club Remix 06.36
4. Ali Payami Vocal Remix 06.35
5. PJ Harmony Summer Radio Edit 03.15

Now see, the "PJ Harmony" mixes sound exactly like something from Ali Payami, especially track No. 5 (which sounds very similar to the Ayi Payami's mix of Linda Sundblad's "Oh Father"), while the "Ali Payami" mixes sound like something by PJ Harmony. But even if you invert the track names with the numbers, they still don't seem to be accurate, since there are Radio Edits clocking at 06:36 minutes...

PG, keep an eye in your mailbox for a surprise...

(Third try)

Poster Girl said...

Oh really, Robpop? I've got to get that album, then...expect to hear my thoughts on it in, oh, say, a month, then ;) "Discotastic" is promising!

Enjoy reminiscing, Paul :) The Treasure Planet soundtrack roped in a couple of surprisingly good songs--the South African version had a Heinz Winckler ballad on it that I really shouldn't like but do. I've got the BBMak song, too, thanks to you!

Aleera, I love that you featured Nek! I just found out about him recently and I love his work :)

Oh, yes, I've got it (the second BBMak album). And you mean this Mark Berry, right? Looks like it's pretty new...if it's real. I'll work on catching up on Another Level ;)

I wouldn't say I'm an album person at all, in general! I'd really like to be, but my listening is a little too shallow at this point--I tend to key in on the most immediate songs, the best songs, and just listen to those, and having an iPod means that's really easy to do, so that tendency is even more exacerbated.

Really? The remixes are good? For some reason, I'm surprised--maybe because I'm having trouble envisioning what a remixed version of "Work Of Art" would sound like. I trust you're right, though :)

The writing music part is impressive (well, assuming the songs are good ;) )...and promising for the future.

I haven't heard his version of "Maniac" yet, but, though I suspected it was a cover once I saw the tracklisting, I was really surprised that they included it. Including a Fredrik Kempe album track is different from a pretty famous (assuming it's famous in Sweden, too) song--including a cover like that is something I expect out of a post-Idol album, which I know this is, but I would've expected a more..."international" or long-term perspective or something--a perspective they seem to have taken for the rest of the album, but with that one exception...

Kevin said...

Oops, why did I type Berry? It is Barry. And yup, that's him, his profile was created 2 days ago! Because of Christian Burns' recent success, I'm sure. ;)

Yes, most songs are credited to Måns Petter Zelmerlöw (lyrics and music, 7 in total).

Didn't you hear the previews from Måns' jukebox? There might be a reason why this cover was recorded after all. Did you watch the AftonbladetTV interview? The interview hops along a dance routine for "Maniac". But they are a bunch of teases... just when you think they are going to show him working out... nothing happens. Double boo!

The set of mixes by... um, the ones listed as by "PJ Harmony", though I'm sure they are by Ali Payami, are the best. House-y. The ones by "Ali Payami"(i.e. PJ Harmony) are not bad, but way too electro for my taste.

(Second try)

Poster Girl said...

I did listen to the previews, but they were low quality and I've avoided listening to them recently (to heighten anticipation for the album), so I can't remember his version very well. I'm behind on my Måns news--I haven't seen the interview...but, if it's on TV and in Swedish, I won't be able to understand it. I'll probably still watch it anyway, though, knowing me :-/

Ooo, housey? Really? I was envisioning something like...I don't know, the PJ Harmony remix of Andreas Johnson's "Little Bit Of Love," for some reason, maybe because, like "Work Of Art," it's not a naturally dance song. But even then, I couldn't really imagine it.