Oh, thank goodness, I'm not totally crazy...Last year, I was convinced that the version of Måns Zelmerlöw's "Miss America" being played on Swedish radio, at least some of the time, was different from the version on the album--subtly different, just really with enhanced drums, but I was sure that difference existed. Despite all my searching, though, I couldn't find anything to support that information. The only remixes available at the time were definitely not the version I thought I'd heard: they were all dance versions.
I only just saw that American iTunes has a remix by Grizzly, though, and as soon as I clicked the preview button, I heard louder drums but a still pop--not dance--song. That's got to be it. Why it was released to American digital music stores and not Swedish ones, I've got no idea. Bought it, of course, though it's not better than the original (which I really should have had on my singles countdown last year; just a case of taking him and it for granted).
Måns also appeared on game show Så ska det låta last night. If you've ever wanted to see him sing Linda Bengtzing's "Jag ljuger så bra" (!), Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," Gyllene Tider's "Sommartider," Björn Afzelius's "Tusen Bitar," "Var ska vi sova inatt" (complete with performance that, if not earth-shattering, is at least literally floor-shattering), Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me," you can watch the whole hour long show here. I'm sure clips will be on YouTube shortly if they aren't already. He's such a star. And he knows his international political history! Sigh.
Speaking of Måns, I never linked to one of my new favorite pictures of him or the comic strip that had me laughing for quite some time. I wish I lived somewhere where newspapers would publish comics referencing schlager stars. Oh, and CDOn confirmed that the only difference between the regular and deluxe editions of MZW is the booklet; the songs are the same.
Umm...to make this post seem slightly less pointless, did you know '80s Swedish group Secret Service (of "Flash In The Night") have a new single out? It's called "Different" and was an unreleased song unearthed while one member was moving boxes around.
Speaking of remixes and "Flash In The Night," I went on a mini-spree tonight, buying a couple of remixes by the Attic, the duo whose latest single was a cover of that old Secret Service hit but who quality-wise are one of the most reliable presences in the Swedish dance scene. At the end of 2008, Australian singer Candice Alley had her 2003 single "Falling" remixed by the Attic and released in the U.S. The Attic's reworking of the song suits it to a T, with the plaintive but commercial ballad-ish vocal part from Candice melding well with the fairly gentle dance beats underneath it. The other the Attic-related remix I bought was member Michael Feiner's fantastic remix of Daniel Lindström's "Saturday Night" (which is also not new but I've been meaning to buy from iTunes for some time). The song is much more interesting in this interpretation and, like the Attic's remix of "Falling," manages to be fun dance with some moving emotion behind it.
13 comments:
WOW - as if it wasn't obvious enough before...you really love Måns :D but it's understandable :)
I'm impressed you watched "Så ska det låta"! It's a great show and very therapeutic...almost fills that void MF leaves after mid-March!
Was it just my imagination, or did Måns sing "Var ska vi sova inatt" in Danish? And I was so mad I couldn't get the lyrics to "Jag ljuger så bra" before the singers!!!
By the way, thanks for the tip about Måns' myspace - I had a little listen and I'm looking forward to having a physical copy...although, I wish I hadn't bought the deluxe version if it's only the booklet which is different :P
Ooh, and the Attic!!! I got "Flash In The Night" from amazon.fr of all places and their album is a great listen, especially "In Your Eyes"!
Best Wishes,
Euro Sheep x-X-x
This is funny. I only discovered the Grizzly Mix two weeks ago or smth. I think I bought it from iTunes actually, or some other online shop... Anyway, it's WAY better than the original edit which I've never liked. :|
Im having one of those mad rush days today but here's my daily post recommendation for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er5Cr1uYS0I
Tessa - L.O.V.E
Never liked it at first but its grown SO much in the past few listens.
Conor
x
I LOOOOVE "Så ska det låta". True that Måns was great, you can definitely see his competitive streak. Lill Lindfors was magnificent with her rendition of "Trubbel". Did you see the episode from two weeks ago where Martin Stenmarck and Jill Johnson were one team, and Frida Muranius and the singer from Lasse Stefanz dansband were the other. That was quite an amazing show as well, with Martin, Jill and Frida all providing showstoppers.
Hahah - Is it bad that I don't get the comic? It may have something to do with the fact that I don't speak Swedish...
I'm a huge fan of Candice, and Falling is beautiful - I quite like the mix!
Euro Sheep, I love (or LOOOOVE, to quote Len) Så ska det låta (and Måns, too, but as you pointed out, that's obvious ;) )! I really miss the feeling of settling in on the couch to watch another episode on an actual television. You're absolutely right about it helping make the transition to a post-MF world a little bit easier. I wish they'd clarified about Måns's album earlier, too--I probably would have ended up buying the deluxe version anyway, but for many other peoples' sake, it would have been nice for that to be known sooner. "In Your Eyes" is possibly my favorite the Attic track ever, which is really saying something. Another album, or even new material, from them can't come soon enough.
Alexander, weird coincidence! It's so strange that it wasn't made as big a deal of as the other remixes.
Conor, I went through something similar with that song: first play, not so caught up, but second play on, I liked it a lot more. With your comment, I just bought it from iTunes :)
Len, if I ever make it to L.A., we have to have a Så ska det låta viewing party together! That week was fantastic--predictably, I l-o-v-e-d Martin's "Let Me Entertain You" (four glass squares destroyed to Måns's one!), but he wasn't the only great part. Jill has a voice on her that means listening to her sing is always a great experience. Martin is such a showboater and she graciously let him do that, but she has a magnetism of her own that doesn't require that sort of antics (though she's funny, too, definitely). I wish her recent studio material included something a bit more poptastic, but at least her doing things like this allows me to keep my appreciation of her fully stocked. I really like Frida, too, from what I've seen of her. It was a really fun episode all around!
Aaron, yeah, the language thing might make it less funny ;) It's basically the guy insulting MF, the girl responding that she thinks Måns Zelmerlöw is good and should win, and (second panel) the guy responding that her liking him has nothing to do with music--that she's just hot for him and wants to keep looking at him--and that there's no way she she remembers his song. She says yes she can, it was catchy, and he keeps saying no way, that if she can sing one verse from the song, he'll kiss Måns's butt. The last panel is a crew member shouting to Måns that he has a fan who's here for a kiss, complete with the expression on the guy you see in the last panel. It's probably much less funny explained like that ;)
I have a bunch of episodes of SSDL burned to DVD that I watch on my big tv, so yes that viewing party would be well-equipped. Probably my favorite episode was from two years ago when Shirley and Sonja were teammates, and did a gorgeous duet of "För Kärlekens Skull".
Haha - Got it - Thanks!!!
It's still funny explained like that too!
This may be (ah who am I kidding) a bit off topic but I was wondering...Len, do you have an episode from last year where Frida Öhrn & Joacim Cans were up against Brolle & Linda Bengtzing? My friend and I have been trying for ages to find out who won and Frida's live version of "Release Me" is just the greatest :D
Len, I can't remember that, but I'll have to go look it up--Sonja and Shirley as teammates sounds like a great team. Burning the episodes to DVD is a smart thing to be doing.
Good, Aaron :)
Oh boy, I remember watching that episode, Euro Sheep, but I can't remember who won...hopefully Len will have an answer for you! By the way, in answer to your question about Måns and Danish, I struggled to understand a lot of what he was saying, too. My completely uneducated guess is that he was just letting his Scanian/southern Sweden accent come through, which would explain the Danish similarity (I couldn't have pinpointed that--besides Swedish, I can't really distinguish as well as I should be able to between the Scandinavian languages--but I'll take your word for it). I was upset with myself for not getting "Jag ljuger så bra" earlier, too!
EuroSheep, I rarely pay much attention to who wins, but I just looked it up and that's säsong 13 avsnitt 6, so I will get it out and rewatch. Tonight I am catching up on last week's episode with Jessica Andersson.
PPG, Sonja is just about the perfect Så Ska det Låta contestant. After all her years as session singer and demo queen, she can turn out note-perfect and heartfelt performances on the spot. She was even great as Markoolio's teammate, although for me he stole the show with his flawless version of "Högt Över Havet"--maybe it's the Finland connection between the two, but who would have thought that Markoolio would commit to memory ANYTHING by Arja Saijonmaa?
I'm so out of the loop at the moment I didn't even know "Så Ska det Låta" - need to catch up. I love that show and can only agree that it's a great way to help you get over your Melodifestivalen separation anxiety.
OMG - Secret Service! I used to love them and when I started buying CDs off the internet a few years ago, their "Top Secret" (greatest hits) was one of the first ones I bought. I like this "new" (old) song, they have such a distinctive sound. With all the 80s retro electro revival at the moment they could be back in vogue again soon...
Len, spot on about Sonja. The unexpected connections do tend to make for some of the best ones, don't they? The Markoolio/Sonja/Sibel/Brolle episode is one I haven't caught up on yet, but I'm definitely watching it in the next few days after your comment!
EuropeCrazy, my Secret Service knowledge isn't near what it should be. That greatest hits album may be one I buy in the future.
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