I almost made it but not quite

Do you ever get the feeling an artist you love is trying, really trying, to do everything they can to get you to not like their music?

SOMEONE's been listening to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and oompah bands an awful lot.

Sigh. I give up. I really do. Well, no, I don't--I'll probably get the album no matter what, knowing me, and taking this back in a matter of days as well as feeling awful I ever said anything negative--but it's frustrating, especially considering the vocal melody might even be really good, and heck, maybe I could have even learned to live with the ukulele, but did we really need that brass part? Really?

Album's called Army Of One, by the way; out this fall.

Edit: so we don't end on a down note, let's watch a stunning live performance of "Million Miles Away," a song I've never loved more than I do here, with this performance. That voice...

Oh my god, here I go again--I'm about to get in deep

From Espen Lind's MySpace blog:

Brand new single out soon!

Espen is currently working on his 5th studio album. The album is expected coming fall.
First single from the album will be out on radio in Norway shortly. The song will be added to the playlist here very soon - stay tuned!

From his MySpace bio:

Espen is currently in the studio finalizing his 5th album, set for release fall 2008. First single from this album “Scared of Heights” is expected on radio in Norway from May 1st.
This single and album presents a new chapter of Espen’s musical career…. Stay tuned for more info!

Oh. My. Gosh. It's really happening! Now if only I was able to buy from Norwegian iTunes...I wonder what "Scared Of Heights" sounds like...

(Speaking of him, Thnairg just recently reviewed his third/fourth album, April.)

Edit: while we're at it, let's watch a performance of his duet with Sissel, 2001's "Where The Lost Ones Go," which he co-wrote--now this is what I want from a ballad. And (speaking of the recorded version this whole time) from a duet--Sissel's soaring operatic vocals are incredible, but I couldn't appreciate them or the song as much without Espen's counterbalancing grounding part. The words "epic" and "timeless" may get tossed around a lot, but if any song ever deserved them, it's this one.

Love was a stranger and now he's walkin' with me

Continuing to bring you old news...

Do you know who performed a new song at a concert a month ago (well, "new" if we can ignore the fact that he apparently performed it live at least three months ago for a New Year's show, making me even more behind in finding this out)?




Espen Lind!

And sure, this song ("Sweet Love") is more piano-based pop, maybe with a little gospel influence, not a "Black Sunday"/"Joni Mitchell On The Radio"/"Everything's Falling Apart"-type song like I really want him to give us again (no, I still haven't mentally adapted to the fact that's not likely), but at the moment I'm too excited to actually see some sort of new material from him to judge the song. Now if only we could get some actual hard-and-fast dates for a new album from him or something...

Statistically, I wonder
That I ever found you
'Cause you are one in a million
I'm more like one out of two

And I'm not a catch,
I don't go for much
I've been played and I've been burned
But finally it's clear to me that my luck has turned

I'm not sure whether those are Sanna-esque lyrics or the sort that make me want a junior high-type trapper to scrawl them in, but either way, NEW ESPEN LIND! I'll worry about whether or not it's a good song later.

(Note that I haven't heard that this is a single or anything; it's just a song he performed.)

Wish I knew what I could do

(Note: today's post is less of a "you must listen to this song" post than it is a "I've got this thought that's wormed its way into my head and I finally need to express somewhere, and here's the best/only place to do so" post. It's half thought out at the moment, but I just needed to get the thought down "on paper" somewhere after it had been bouncing around in my head for months.)

I happened to read Fluxblog today--I don't read it particularly faithfully, but some of its writing can really make you think--and was really caught by something Matthew Perpetua wrote. Describing Kate Nash's song "Pumpkin Soup," he says that he originally misheard the line "I hope that you don't think I'm unkind" as "I hate that you don't think I'm unkind," and still prefers the misheard lyric because "my misheard version adds an extra bit of insecurity that isn't quite as obvious as the rest of what she's singing. I like the idea that she's frustrated by the fact that this boy would think that she's too sweet, even when she's going out of her way to keep things purely physical and emotionally distant."

That almost instantly made me think of my reaction to Espen Lind's "Look Like Her." Technically, I never really misheard this song, but every time I listen to it, I can't help thinking that one little lyrical twist could have vastly increased my appreciation for the song--which, to be honest, is kind of odd for me, someone who rarely pays attention to lyrics and half the time has no idea what they're about anyway because she doesn't speak the language. Once I got the idea in my head, though, I just couldn't shake it.

Like much of Espen's third album, April, "Look Like Her" is a very simple acoustic ballad that just borders on feeling intimate but is so well-produced that it isn't quite. Espen has a great way with melody, which is a good thing--the album probably wouldn't stand up to much if he didn't. Over the course of ten songs, though, good as the formula is, the listener can start to wish that Espen would mix it up a bit.

As it currently stands, "Look Like Her" is just a little too straightforward for me--only the most minimal of instrumentation, all acoustic, simple catchy melody, and lyrics about how Espen has finally found his match. In the chorus, he sings

I have been waiting all my life
For someone to come and put things right
Never knew who she was
Never knew what she looked like...till now
Everyone said that I would know
When she appears, it’s gonna show
And now you are here
And from where I’m standing
You look like her

Pretty straightforward, right? Love at first sight kind of stuff, sung over a good if unsurprising acoustic ballad. And yet, the song could be so much more interesting if one little change was made in the theme. Keep the key line, the "You look like her," even keep how it's delivered, but change its meaning: make it so that Espen is singing about how this new girl reminds him of someone. In a heartbeat, the "You look like her" changes from simple recognition of attraction to a halfway wistful recognition of attraction mixed with loss. Sure, love and loss is just as common a theme in pop songs as is love itself, but the simple acoustic strums here don't lead you to expect that's where Espen is going with this song...and, as it turns out, he isn't; he's not creating this suprising matchup of music and lyrics. I just wish he was. The song would be more...meaningful and interesting for me that way.

To buy Espen Lind's third album April, go here (physical).

Next up: back to the traditional post format for something very poppy.

Babe I'm gonna get you back, gonna show you what I'm made of

Though it's been officially fall for a few days now, today was the first day that it really felt like it--the unseasonable 90-plus degree heat of the past few days was replaced with rain, falling leaves, and a grayness that seemed to seep into everywhere and erase all vestiges of the sun. With the weather like that, my plan to post this song was truly set; it's very much an end of summer song.

Yes, you thought we'd be taking a break from songs involving Espen Lind for a while, didn't you? Well, not quite yet, though today it's not just about him--it's also about Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes, and Askil Holm. All four are Norwegian and are signed to the same record label, I think, which led to them going on tour together in 2006, singing a mix of classics and their own hits, but all together. They do make sort of an odd-looking group, but who cares when they sound as good together as they do? The tour and album (a recording of it) found incredible popularity, as did the lead single from it, their version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." The song I'm posting, though, isn't that one; instead, it's a song that I love hearing just about any version of, so long as it stays "pretty." Actually, I take that back--browsing through iTunes, there's an awful lot of bad covers of it. Why so many trance and punk covers? Maybe this is a better way to put it: if someone sang it on Idol and did at least a passable job, I'd love it; in my eyes, the song is just that strong.

Boys of Summer--the Don Henley song loses about a minute or so in this cover, which is fine with me. The four guys' voices really do sound fantastic together, and this song suits them perfectly they can do wistfulness well. Why someone so paranoid about birthdays should love listening to a song emphasizing getting older, I have no idea (the Don Henley video does my head in--the bit with the guy looking miserable in the office?). I know this isn't the sort of song you'd call "poptastic" by any stretch and I imagine if there was any sort of ideological basis to my love for pop beyond "I enjoy it," this is the sort of song I should hate, but I love it. It's just such a hypnotic and well-written song.

To buy the album Hallelujah Live, go here (physical).

Edit: I forgot to mention that Jonathan Fagerlund's next single will be the excellent "Playing Me," which I'm really excited about--I hope it does well. And I hope it's available for purchase on iTunes worldwide and from Klicktrade regardless of region again.

Next up: maybe an American singer.

You lost all you had, all that's good, all that's bad

I went back and forth on whether or not to write this yet--having just listened through Espen Lind's most recent solo album, April (from back in 2005), for the first time, I simultaneously had an overwhelming urge to share something from it (happens pretty much any time I listen to his stuff--if ever there's been an artist who I just want to post whole albums from because somewhere in them there's something for everyone and because only through hearing most of them can you get a feeling for how good he/she is, it's Espen), but it's far too early to really know what to say or which songs will ultimately be standouts. Espen's songs often have this weird quality of having a very strong melody that makes it so that you can instantly listen and appreciate them, but they only truly reveal themselves, open up, on repeated listens.

Unloved--this song is lush to listen to--use good headphones or speakers if you've got them, because it feels so much deeper that way. I am not a ballads girl, but Espen has an incredible way with them (though I do hope his upcoming album isn't an all ballad-fest). "When Susannah Cries" may have brought him fame, but if you haven't heard his duet with Sissel, "Where The Lost Ones Go" (recently covered by Sarah Brightman), you're missing out. Though "Unloved" is primarily piano-based, there's a deep slightly reverberating background noise that runs throughout the song, contributing to that depth I mentioned, and strings crop up occasionally to contribute to the lushness (actually, that "deep background noise" could be strings as well). Melodic, lovely, and--hmm, well, is it really sad? It's certainly not upbeat and I'd definitely say it's "moving," and reading the lyrics, you'd think it would be, and I guess it is, but with Espen's singing, it sometimes feels bitter, and despite the lush production and lyrics about emotions "kept inside," it--or rather, the character singing--sometimes feels...empty.

This is why Espen Lind drives me crazy, though; I've already posted "Joni Mitchell On The Radio," but these two songs together are still not enough to give you an idea of what he's like--"Look Like Her" is simple acoustic loveliness, I could so easily imagine Darren Hayes singing "Baby You're So Cool" (though not in his current phase--further back) and "Pop From Hell" is just so out there (I could imagine it getting Freddie Mercury comparisons, though once again, I don't know his work well enough to say) that I have no idea what to categorize it as, and those are just a few quick examples (I can't let an Espen post go by without mentioning how great "Black Sunday" is). Anyhow, you can pick up his album April from here (physical). It's sometimes worth checking eBay for it as well. I really want to do some sort of bigger feature on him in the near future, if I can think of what to say or do.

Edit: oh, and this page recently appeared, claiming to be his official MySpace--we shall see if that's true, but it would be nice for him to actually have some official presence online that we could get news from.

Next up: maybe a South African group or Maltese singer.

Maybe things are different when I wake up Monday

Do you all remember when I raved about Espen Lind's album This Is Pop Music? Well, it's still completely fantastic (really--everyone should go buy it). But, much as it deserves bunches of posts raving about it, that's not really what this post is about.

It's actually about this article, which is about a week old at this point, but which I only just read. Now, I speak literally no Norwegian (I've lost track of the number of times I wished I could speak Danish, Swedish, or Norwegian), but I think...I think...I think it's saying that we might be able to expect a new Espen Lind album this year! Maybe autumn, I think? It's definitely saying he's in the studio working on a new album.

Further proving it's a good time for Espen Lind news, someone recently uploaded the music video for "Black Sunday" on YouTube; the audio quality isn't very good, but it's an excellent song and I've really wanted to see videos for his non-ballads and more videos from his This Is Pop Music era.



Oh, and while we're on the topic of Espen Lind, his stunning epic duet with Sissel features on a list over at Thnairg's World Of Music, a blog that I think loads of people reading this would also love. Said list, for example, is of the best sad songs and also includes McFly's "Bubblewrap" and Take That's "Patience." The Sara Bareilles album was just reviewed, too.

I still haven't bought his most recent solo album, April, or his live album with Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes, and Askil Holm, but trust me, I'm very excited about this. Hopefully it's a return to form for him.

I never thought that I would be the one to say these words

I don't think I've ever been as tempted to post a full album as I am right now. Norwegian singer Espen Lind's This Is Pop Music is the sort of album that should be commonly accepted as a great work, and yet I know few people will probably go out and buy it; though I've had it for only a few weeks now, it's one of my favorite albums ever. After listening to some albums, my main impression is "catchy;" for others, it's "beautiful;" after listening to This Is Pop Music, my first thought was "impressive." Don't think "dully self-conscious," though, as it's not. Espen Lind is definitely smart, creative--you can't listen to this album without thinking that this is an incredibly talented artist. Maybe crazy, but talented. And with a passion for pop music.

Keep in mind my tastes unintentionally tend to be pretty top 40--top 40 in different countries, but still pretty mainstream. Imagine an album that fits perfectly into that top 40 taste made by someone who could go all leftfield if they wanted to but hasn't, instead choosing to make a brilliantly creative but still entirely accessible album designed to show how brave and exciting pop music can be--that's This Is Pop Music. As we know via the album cover, Espen has put the emphasis on "This" in the title, and so it's probably a response to another type of pop I enjoy, so-called manufactured pop. If his point is to criticize all music of that sort, I'm not sold (let's not get into that debate here), but if he wanted to show how exciting pop can be? He's done it.

Though not identical, "Everybody Says" and "Life Is Good" make a matched set. They're also of the style I expect most people associate Espen Lind with; you wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the creator of "When Susannah Cries" wrote these ballads. In the context of the album, they're lovely, but it's such a shame that that's what Espen is known for, as, on their own, they're some of the least exciting of his songs--or rather, I wish everyone could know that the album is not all like that. Whether it's the soaring Sissel duet "Where The Lost Ones Go" (apparently going to be covered by Sarah Brightman soon); "Pop From Hell," which sounds like practically nothing I've ever heard but makes me tempted to throw out a Queen reference for some parts; the sparkly, catchy, delicious "Black Sunday," "Everything's Falling Apart," and "This Is The Time! This Is The Place!"; or the stylistic switch-ups of "Joni Mitchell On The Radio"--orchestral to creeping maybe Middle Eastern-influenced to slowed down sweeping chorus--the songs are this album are beautiful (even when aggressive) works of art that, although they might want a little admiration, also demand not just to be looked at from afar, but rather that you completely immerse yourself in them.

In other words, one song could never capture this album. Hopefully, though, it'll be enough to intrigue you.

Joni Mitchell On The Radio

I know I've probably overtalked this album beyond all reason at this point, but I really think people would enjoy it and, since it's not a frequently discussed album, I think I may have felt like I needed to fit in all that praise it should be getting in one post. You can buy it Espen Lind's second album This Is Pop Music here (physical). You can listen to preview clips on the Norwegian iTunes.

Next up: a British boy band or a Mexican group.

I love Saturday

Announcements!

This album


is very impressive. Everyone should go buy it...or you could wait until I finally write about it, as I definitely want to do some raving, but, given me, who knows when that will be. It's like someone looked at my music tastes and said "how can we make an album that will fill all of these, but creatively?"

This album


is also very good, although probably not quite as good as the previous album; I haven't really had time to listen to it thoroughly yet.

This album


is also excellent. I am toying with doing a feature over at A Kind Of Love In that ties in with it, but I'll wait and see before confirming anything.

This album


finally arrived yesterday, but I haven't worked up the nerve to open it yet--in its pristine plastic packaging and cardboard case, it looks so "ooo, I'm a collector's item!" that I haven't been able to bring myself to open it, as much as I'd like to hear it. (Actually, it's got a black outer cover, but I presume the above cover is on the actual album.)

These albums






are probably also good, but I only got them today, so I can't say.

I know this album


is great, but I only just bought it today. Umm...better late than never?

However, none of these albums have the song I'll be featuring a little later today; that's from another album I just got.

Yes, I pretty much have no money right now. It's worth it.

Second thoughts on you at night

Random thoughts late on a Monday night:

• My Internet connection is awful right now. It's been steadily deteriorating, but it's now it's practically to the point of unusuability--I don't dare (legally) download an album, for fear it stops midway through and lose my money (or have to go through the hassle of writing to the service). Also among the casualties is anything from LiveJournal, meaning I can't read CFB Goes Pop at the moment. My "real" e-mail has become just about useless, too...
  
• ...of course, having to refresh pages three times before they properly load somehow hasn't cut down on my blog reading. I'm rather loving this blog at the moment, which, along with featuring Take That's Beautiful World, the Feeling, Fountains of Wayne, his top 10 soundtracks (Quantum Leap reference! Star Trek reference!! [Can we tell what kind of house I grew up in? Just be glad I didn't dedicate a whole post to the fact that Xena was releasing a single]), and very good writing, has a problem with far too many CDs that I can imagine myself relating to all too easily in a few years. It's also got me considering buying something by Australian singer Eran James...
• ...and speaking of blogs, Nordic Noise has me strongly considering buying an Espen Lind album (or albums). I only know "When Susannah Cries" and his duet with Sissel, "Where The Lost Ones Go" (the former being what he's mainly known for, but I strongly recommend getting the latter, too--it's even available on US iTunes--as it's gorgeous; Sissel's voice just soars and Espen's is perfect), but I have a suspicion I'd really like--probably love--his work. Maybe Red and This Is Pop Music?
• Danish singer Bryan Rice's (original singer of "No Promises" and whose songs have been recycled a ridiculous number of times, as I ranted about at A Kind Of Love In for a while) new single "I Lied" is out now/Wednesday, depending on where you're shopping; if you liked his past style, you'll probably like this new one--ballad that's not quite "big" but getting there ("if you doubt what you did was right, you should know [crescendo into the chorus] that I liii-IIIiii-iied when I said I'm over and done with you"--despite that line, I think it's supposed to be about how broken up his after a break-up, or else it makes no sense), some high notes in the chorus. You can listen to what I'm guessing is about half of it on his MySpace; at first listen, not his best work, but good. His new album, Good News, is out this fall. Fact I still can't believe is true: the title track of his debut album Confessions was originally meant for Britney Spears. Of course, there are probably loads of songs you could say that about. I guess I can sort of see it.
• Songs I like, courtesy of Popjustice (or rather, the people over there): Christophe Willem's "Double Je" (technically the remix of it, but it's the version being marketed), a great poppy song with electro (I guess) influences. "Kiss The Bride," an English song, sounds good from the preview clip, too. I love the fact that he won France's version of Pop Idol--he would never have stood a chance of being any more than a joke here; in France, he wins and goes on to release an excellent pop song. Also good is Sofia Zida's "Disco Mamazida," Finnish dance-pop that should hook you in from the moment you hear that beat. "Money (Greedy Honey)" from her album is also worth a listen.
• Brilliant interview with Dan from the Feeling over at Chart Rigger--I completely blame the blog world for making me read Dan Gillespie (Sex) Sells every time I see his name, whether or not it actually says that, though.
  
• Dutch group XYP prove they have much better songs than "Body to Body" over at Don't Stop The Pop. "Blue Day" reminds me of something the Brady Bunch or Partridge Family would sing today if they had good pop producers, and that's a very good thing. It makes me want to crowd into a Little Miss Sunshine-esque van with my family and sway back and forth singing it.