Friday, February 22, 2008

When the clock strikes twelve

Right, I've got no idea what's going on with the Melodifestival clips at the moment, but at the least, you can listen to BWO's and Caracola's.

BWO

Caracola

I'm sure it'll all be sorted out soon, and the other clips must be there too.

Edit: scratch that, it's all fixed now; all the clips are up here. Thoughts (probably) in a bit.

Edit again: yay Patrik Isaksson! I was hoping he'd come through...and from the sounds of that clip, he did. BWO were right that their song isn't "Temple Of Love" part II--it's not a stomper like that song (that's just not the feel it's going for, but I have a feeling that will cause some people to feel let down by it)--and I really get why all the Madonna "Sorry"/"Hung Up" comparisons were coming from, though it reminds me of something else I can't place too. Anyway, I like "Lay Your Love On Me" but oddly don't want to say more at the moment--I want to hear the rest of the song before I decided what level of excitement I'm going to be at about it--is it worth over the top freaking out about or is it "just" a great song (because at the very least it's that)? Frida and Headline's "Upp o. Hoppa" is so summery and fun sounding that I can't help but be won over by it; the review that said you'll want to sing and dance along with it was totally right. It doesn't really sound like a Melodifestival song at all, though, and I'm not expecting it to win a lot of votes on the night (or to win over a lot of fans, for that matter). Caracola's song is also summery and upbeat, though with a completely different feel--highly produced campy girl group pop-schlager--arguably trashy but good. I'm not really a fan of opera (yes, I know I just wrote about liking Fredrik Kempe), but I think I like-to-really-like Thérèse Andersson's song...I'm at least intrigued by it, and could easily end up loving it and seeing it as some sort of "revelation." Ainbusk's clip starts out kind of typical ballad-y, but I really like the last five seconds; I need to hear more of the song to really know my feelings on it. Eskobar's song isn't as "big" as I was hoping or expecting from them, so I'm kind of disappointed so far, but I want to hear more--maybe it gets bigger or punchier later; if it has a great big climax or sounds anthemic live, I could end up getting sucked in by it.

In fact, so far I'd say Mickey Huskic's song is the only one that doesn't leave me at least a little interested to hear more, that I don't have anything positive to say about. Based just on the clips, Eskobar and Ainbusk's entries are above that (significantly and easily) but below the others, I think. Thérèse would be above them, and then I'd have (in no particular order) Patrik, BWO, Caracola, and Frida in my top four. That could easily change, though--Thérèse could challenge those entries, as could the songs on the rung below Therese's song. And really, I can see myself ending up in love with a good number of songs from this heat; trying to rank my top 5 is going to be difficult.

I'm not sure if I just have low standards or what, but from the sounds of it, this'll be another really great semifinal.

9 comments:

Unknown said...
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Robpop said...

Naturally i my hopes are on Caracola. But from the clips alone....I think BwO and Frida are very safe bets. Caracola might just edge out Frida but that, for me, is an outside hope.

A tiny part of me want Therese to grab it. I love her as a solo act as well as in PayTV. Her song sounds right up my ally. My heart tells me it should be Caracola or Therese. But my head orders me to get real...

Poster Girl said...

Really? Interesting prediction! I know a lot of people are pegging Patrik and BWO as the two that will go direkt till Globen...hmmm...if Frida was to do that well, I wonder if I'd have to reevaluate my liking of it?

Good luck to Caracola and Therese, though--I really hope their performances are great, because their songs sound like they are! I'm so torn on who I want to qualify to what...like, for example, though I put Frida in my top four, it wasn't one I was going to root for qualifying. Actually, I think I do know (based on clips and no performances) who I want the top four to be (in no particular order): BWO, Patrik, Caracola, and Therese. I think. Maybe Frida? Oh, I don't know--I really think this heat has some great songs in it, and a lot of songs with at least some value--not knowing who to cheer for because there's so much good stuff is a problem I'm more than willing to have, though!

Anonymous said...

I have to say i really like the sound of Therese's song it sounds by far the best from the clips.
Caracola are great too, though their song isnt really the type to send to eurovision imo.
The rest are average really, Amy Diamond & Sanna Nielson are still my favourites so far though :D

Myfizzypop said...

I really like the BWO clip - it's nothing new or forward from them, but honestly at least their output is consistent and i haven't found a single of theirs i don't enjoy. I can't wait to hear the full version.

Yuяi said...

I like the BWO clip too! Agree with Paul that it's not revolutionary output, but it's very consistent. And now that you mention it, I do hear some "Sorry/Hung Up" elements in it! :)

Poster Girl said...

Yeah, Caracola might get lost at Eurovision--I hope they win votes tonight, though! I do really like Therese's song from the sound of the clips as well--I wonder she'd give us a whole album based on this kind of style if she did well?

I really really like it! But then, like you two, I generally like their work. This third album didn't do quite as well for them in Sweden (which is probably why they're back in MF...), so I hope this helps them strengthen their base of support.

Anonymous said...

it was simply tragic that Eskobar and Patrik I fell out. More rock, less schalger in MF please!

Your semi 4 preview is very good! I doubt the songs will be as good as in semi 3.

Poster Girl said...

Thank you! That's great to hear. I really would've liked Patrik to make it through--I think I may have said this in another comment, but even just listening to the bridge building into the chorus in his song was enough to call a smile to my face, one I couldn't get rid of, and that's a pretty rare thing. It was a great well-crafted song, and I'm hoping it'll at least go on to be a radio hit for him. Poor Patrik--undeservedly underperforming twice now.

I am rooting for Linda Bengtzing this week, though, so I have to hope voters are in a schlager mood! Oddly enough, I'd say neither rock nor schlager are doing (or particularly present) that well this year--you could argue that BWO is schlager (and maybe that Sanna's a schlager ballad), but if there's any trend, it seems just like different kinds of pop (Bee Gees/Scissor Sisters pop, teen pop, hip-pop). I'm kind of surprised that the Ark's winning last year didn't result in more rock-friendly viewers watching and voting, though--or maybe the fact that they didn't rank highly at Eurovision has discouraged the people who followed Melodifestivalen for the first time because of them to not really be interested in it this year? Pure speculation on my part, though.