I've fallen into a bad habit recently of starting these long, involved posts and then never finishing them, leaving them lost in the cobweb filled word of "Drafts" for who knows how long, and then rushing out a quick one or two sentence description of each song I'm loving at the moment (though strangely my last rambly long post got finished in one sitting). It's certainly not for lack of good music to write about--it's more a matter of songs that I love so much that I really want to do them justice or multi-part issues or explorations of subjects that cry out for a little more effort and my seeming ADDish inability to finish them.
I'll try to hit that middle ground sweet spot more often, though, because I need an outlet to talk about how much I'm enjoying Martin Stenmarck's new album, how excited I am about the new Adam Lambert album (I have apparently listened to each of the 30 second clips--well, except "Time For Miracles"--fourteen times on my iPod alone), how lovely the Sugababes' "Wait For You" is, how much bounce Anna Abreu's "Music Everywhere" puts in my step, or how hard I fell for Blake Lewis's "Left My Baby For You" (I've said before how much I love "Heartbreak On Vinyl," and that still holds true as well).
In the meantime, there are a couple of projects based around the end of the decade that are worth your reading time: Chart Rigger's 40 best pop songs of the '00s and XO's year-by-year review of the '00s. It's really easy to get caught up in the excitement of now and songs that you instantly love are a hugely important part of pop; having spent all Friday a week ago with that adrenaline rush you get from loving, really loving a new song, I'm certainly not going to knock the appeal of the here-and-now. A bit of distance, though, can sometimes make for a better, more insightful read and can take you back to some pretty special songs (and memories, even if the songs no longer hold the power for you now that they did then).
Showing posts with label Martin Stenmarck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Stenmarck. Show all posts
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Hold on just for a while
A few notes on artist and songwriter-related subjects:
Martin Stenmarck's upcoming album, I Septemberland, features five songs from the team at Swedish music publishing and production company TEN (A*Teens, Amy Diamond, Erik Hassle). In this case, though, the songs don't seem to be by the Tysper/Grizzly/Mack team (who in addition to the aforementioned successes have also been the creators of Industry's "My Baby's Waiting" and VV Brown's "Shark In The Water") but rather by Elof Loelv and Kim Wennerström, who also worked with Erik Hassle and produced Malena Ernman's "La Voix." Kim is also a member of the band DYNO and Elof has worked with them (if you're not already a fan, now's the time to fall in love with them; they're overdue a post here, but in the meantime, check out coverage on #1 Hits From Another Planet and Don't Stop The Pop), who are now under TEN's wings. Anyway, I wouldn't expect a change in Martin's style, but hopefully this is a good sign in terms of quality meeting accessibility. The song titles TEN is involved with are:
I Septemberland
Gråa Hjärtans Sång
Happy Ending
Jag Vill, Jag Vill, Jag Vill
J, Jeff och Jesus
Kris Allen apparently wrote some songs with Eg White (Will Young's "Leave Right Now," "Who Am I," "Let It Go," "I Won't Give Up," "Tell Me The Worst," James Morrison's "You Give Me Something," Adele) for his upcoming debut major label album. The tracklisting isn't finalized yet, so it's uncertain which if any will make the cut.
(Side note: the first tastes of Adam Lambert's new music is out, but it's a non-album power ballad, "Time For Miracles," for the 2012 soundtrack and is apparently not indicative of the sound of the album. Oh, and Dr. Luke recently mentioned he was adding retro synths to a song for Adam--I'm hoping he means Van Halen's "Jump"-style synths.)
Bosson released a greatest hits collection this past summer. Did anyone else not know that? A quick glance at the tracklisting doesn't show any new songs beyond a version of "One In A Million" featuring Elizma Theron. I hope he releases new material soon...and that it's more like his older songs, not like "Wake Up." He's friends with Twentyfive Productions (Lisette Vares, Danny's "I Need To Know") on MySpace, which could mean they just produced the new version of "One In A Million" or he's working on them with new stuff.
As Paul of Fizzy Pop and PopMuse have written, the video for Will Young's new single, "Hopes & Fears," is out. It's a great song, one of those gentle mid/up-tempo hybrids that just makes you feel better about the day.
Seven of the songs on Magnus Carlsson's upcoming album Pop Galaxy are by Pitchline (Velvet's "Take My Body Close" and "Come Into The Night" and a song with Elin Lanto that I still hope to hear some day--speaking of which, Scandipop has great Elin news about a new single and possible participation in a certain music festival).
Kleerup, Natasha Bedingfield, and newcomer Jonas Myrin (you might know him best as the male mannequin in Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Get Over You" video) all worked on a song together--presumably for Natasha. It was such a surprising combination that I had to mention it.
James Morrison has a new single, "Get To You," coming out to promote the rerelease of his second album, Songs For You, Truths For Me. It's produced by Mark Taylor, the same man who produced "Broken Strings," his excellent duet with Nelly Furtado, as well as many, many other songs. It's not quite as great as that earlier single, but it's good.
Nanne's great recent single "Otacksamhet" was co-written and co-produced by '80s Swedish popstar Paul Rein. Given how much I ADORE the Epicentre-penned "Kom Hit," on which Nanne duets with Paul, I'm thinking they should collaborate more often.
I'm sure all the hardcore Agnes fans already knew this, but half of Agnes's demo version of "Say Love," the song which eventually ended up being released by Sandra, is streaming in the music section of the website of the song's cowriters, Epicentre's Anders Wikström and Fredrik Thomander.
Martin Stenmarck's upcoming album, I Septemberland, features five songs from the team at Swedish music publishing and production company TEN (A*Teens, Amy Diamond, Erik Hassle). In this case, though, the songs don't seem to be by the Tysper/Grizzly/Mack team (who in addition to the aforementioned successes have also been the creators of Industry's "My Baby's Waiting" and VV Brown's "Shark In The Water") but rather by Elof Loelv and Kim Wennerström, who also worked with Erik Hassle and produced Malena Ernman's "La Voix." Kim is also a member of the band DYNO and Elof has worked with them (if you're not already a fan, now's the time to fall in love with them; they're overdue a post here, but in the meantime, check out coverage on #1 Hits From Another Planet and Don't Stop The Pop), who are now under TEN's wings. Anyway, I wouldn't expect a change in Martin's style, but hopefully this is a good sign in terms of quality meeting accessibility. The song titles TEN is involved with are:
I Septemberland
Gråa Hjärtans Sång
Happy Ending
Jag Vill, Jag Vill, Jag Vill
J, Jeff och Jesus
Kris Allen apparently wrote some songs with Eg White (Will Young's "Leave Right Now," "Who Am I," "Let It Go," "I Won't Give Up," "Tell Me The Worst," James Morrison's "You Give Me Something," Adele) for his upcoming debut major label album. The tracklisting isn't finalized yet, so it's uncertain which if any will make the cut.
(Side note: the first tastes of Adam Lambert's new music is out, but it's a non-album power ballad, "Time For Miracles," for the 2012 soundtrack and is apparently not indicative of the sound of the album. Oh, and Dr. Luke recently mentioned he was adding retro synths to a song for Adam--I'm hoping he means Van Halen's "Jump"-style synths.)
Bosson released a greatest hits collection this past summer. Did anyone else not know that? A quick glance at the tracklisting doesn't show any new songs beyond a version of "One In A Million" featuring Elizma Theron. I hope he releases new material soon...and that it's more like his older songs, not like "Wake Up." He's friends with Twentyfive Productions (Lisette Vares, Danny's "I Need To Know") on MySpace, which could mean they just produced the new version of "One In A Million" or he's working on them with new stuff.
As Paul of Fizzy Pop and PopMuse have written, the video for Will Young's new single, "Hopes & Fears," is out. It's a great song, one of those gentle mid/up-tempo hybrids that just makes you feel better about the day.
Seven of the songs on Magnus Carlsson's upcoming album Pop Galaxy are by Pitchline (Velvet's "Take My Body Close" and "Come Into The Night" and a song with Elin Lanto that I still hope to hear some day--speaking of which, Scandipop has great Elin news about a new single and possible participation in a certain music festival).
Kleerup, Natasha Bedingfield, and newcomer Jonas Myrin (you might know him best as the male mannequin in Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Get Over You" video) all worked on a song together--presumably for Natasha. It was such a surprising combination that I had to mention it.
James Morrison has a new single, "Get To You," coming out to promote the rerelease of his second album, Songs For You, Truths For Me. It's produced by Mark Taylor, the same man who produced "Broken Strings," his excellent duet with Nelly Furtado, as well as many, many other songs. It's not quite as great as that earlier single, but it's good.
Nanne's great recent single "Otacksamhet" was co-written and co-produced by '80s Swedish popstar Paul Rein. Given how much I ADORE the Epicentre-penned "Kom Hit," on which Nanne duets with Paul, I'm thinking they should collaborate more often.
I'm sure all the hardcore Agnes fans already knew this, but half of Agnes's demo version of "Say Love," the song which eventually ended up being released by Sandra, is streaming in the music section of the website of the song's cowriters, Epicentre's Anders Wikström and Fredrik Thomander.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Try to find some more stars
While I'm engaging in pointless ways to evaluate an album, the tracklist for the Alesha album, The Alesha Show, looks pretty great. Special shout-out to track 12.
1.) Welcome To The Alesha Show
2.) Let's Get Excited
3.) Breathe Slow
4.) Cinderella Shoe
5.) The Boy Does Nothing
6.) Chasing Ghosts
7.) Play Me
8.) Hand It Over
9.) Do You Know The Way It Feels
10.) Can I Begin
11.) Italians Do It Better
12.) Ooh Baby I Like It Like That
13.) Don't Ever Let Me Go
14.) I'm Thru
15.) Mystery (hidden track)
I hope the cover is as awesome as it should be.
In other news, why on Earth did no one tell me Martin Stenmarck had recorded a new English language song? Granted, it's for charity--the Scandic Sustainability Fund, run by this hotel chain--but still, any Martin at all is always more than welcome. It's called "A Million Candles Burning" and you can stream it here or buy it from Swedish iTunes (if you're from Sweden) here (possibly the best thing about this whole project is that whoever came up with the remix name decided to call it the "Sustainable Mix." Brilliant). It's at #2 in the Swedish singles chart, but that means absolutely nothing in terms of how popular the song actually is. Maybe of more meaning is its entry into Sverige Topp 40 (which mixes albums and singles, so I really don't what it actually means either), which combines sales and TV and radio play, at #17.
I know I'll probably never get around to actually writing about it like I should, but the new Sugababes album is great. Really, it is. And I've still not written about the fantastic Ladyhawke album yet, have I? Needs to be done. Albums that I found (to steal a phrase) worthy were pretty scarce in the first half of the year, but that's been changing over the past few months luckily. So far, I think I'd put Ladyhawke, Sugababes, Kate Ryan, probably Will Young on the list, though there are a couple of albums I've only just bought/got that I'll need to properly listen to a few more times before I make a judgment call (and I may be forgetting something).
My favorite album of the year so far, though? It's never been challenged since March. I've never done a proper write-up of it and I don't think I could even come close to doing it justice if I tried, but that may not stop me from trying at some point in the next few months, if I can ever figure out how to put into words my adoration of it, how exciting I find it. It's an album I'll recommend to anyone and everyone (recommendation was in fact how I first listened to it), but, oddly enough, it's not an album I can ever envision myself listening to with someone else unless it was in the most intimate of circumstances.
What is it?
In other news, Darin and David Jassy wrote American boy band (and My Fizzy Pop post subjects) V Factory's new single "Love Struck." Listen to it here. I could be completely wrong on this, but doesn't it even sound like you can hear Darin on the backing vocals sometimes? Speaking of Darin, you can also watch a video (in Swedish) of the making of the video for "Breathing Your Love" here.
According to an interview, he's got a record contract in France now.
1.) Welcome To The Alesha Show
2.) Let's Get Excited
3.) Breathe Slow
4.) Cinderella Shoe
5.) The Boy Does Nothing
6.) Chasing Ghosts
7.) Play Me
8.) Hand It Over
9.) Do You Know The Way It Feels
10.) Can I Begin
11.) Italians Do It Better
12.) Ooh Baby I Like It Like That
13.) Don't Ever Let Me Go
14.) I'm Thru
15.) Mystery (hidden track)
I hope the cover is as awesome as it should be.
In other news, why on Earth did no one tell me Martin Stenmarck had recorded a new English language song? Granted, it's for charity--the Scandic Sustainability Fund, run by this hotel chain--but still, any Martin at all is always more than welcome. It's called "A Million Candles Burning" and you can stream it here or buy it from Swedish iTunes (if you're from Sweden) here (possibly the best thing about this whole project is that whoever came up with the remix name decided to call it the "Sustainable Mix." Brilliant). It's at #2 in the Swedish singles chart, but that means absolutely nothing in terms of how popular the song actually is. Maybe of more meaning is its entry into Sverige Topp 40 (which mixes albums and singles, so I really don't what it actually means either), which combines sales and TV and radio play, at #17.
I know I'll probably never get around to actually writing about it like I should, but the new Sugababes album is great. Really, it is. And I've still not written about the fantastic Ladyhawke album yet, have I? Needs to be done. Albums that I found (to steal a phrase) worthy were pretty scarce in the first half of the year, but that's been changing over the past few months luckily. So far, I think I'd put Ladyhawke, Sugababes, Kate Ryan, probably Will Young on the list, though there are a couple of albums I've only just bought/got that I'll need to properly listen to a few more times before I make a judgment call (and I may be forgetting something).
My favorite album of the year so far, though? It's never been challenged since March. I've never done a proper write-up of it and I don't think I could even come close to doing it justice if I tried, but that may not stop me from trying at some point in the next few months, if I can ever figure out how to put into words my adoration of it, how exciting I find it. It's an album I'll recommend to anyone and everyone (recommendation was in fact how I first listened to it), but, oddly enough, it's not an album I can ever envision myself listening to with someone else unless it was in the most intimate of circumstances.
What is it?
In other news, Darin and David Jassy wrote American boy band (and My Fizzy Pop post subjects) V Factory's new single "Love Struck." Listen to it here. I could be completely wrong on this, but doesn't it even sound like you can hear Darin on the backing vocals sometimes? Speaking of Darin, you can also watch a video (in Swedish) of the making of the video for "Breathing Your Love" here.
According to an interview, he's got a record contract in France now.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
#1 Martin Stenmarck, "100 År Från Nu (Blundar) [Bassflow Remix]"
(The low quality video below is the unremixed version; there is a video with the sound for the remix--which did get substantial radioplay and therefore qualifies for the countdown--on YouTube but it's just attached to a photo and, since you can listen to it via a link near the bottom of the post, I thought I'd embed something else instead.)
Jag köpte drömmen om ett vackrare liv
När du låg bredvid
Bassflow are (well, is, maybe more accurate, I think) steadily becoming one of my favorite producers. They transformed "7milakliv," Martin Stenmarck's megahit from 2006, into a total anthem, and they worked their magic again with the lead single from Martin's latest album. Once again, they took a big dramatic piano-led rock ballad (though one that was admittedly already great) and amped it up everywhere it needed to be amped up, adding stronger backing vocals, picking up the tempo and giving the song more of a racing feel, and throwing in electronic touches, all of which serves to make Martin's powerful delivery of the chorus lines even more memorable and harder-hitting (and make the verses much catchier and more memorable). The climax of the song--like the climax of their remix of "7milakliv"--is a radiant soaring anthemic moment; the way Martin sings "Jag blundar/Och håller andan lite till..." with the backing vocals (2:52) and the almost spit out lines "och jag vet att 100 år från nu" in tandem with that backing music (3:06) are quite possibly my two favorite bits of music this year. In fact, if you were to ask me what moment in music most stuck with me this year, what moment just thinking about it without even hearing it can get me excited about the whole concept of music, it would be that latter one.
I adore Martin Stenmarck. I adore (in recent times) Bassflow. Together, they are a match made in heaven, Bassflow knowing exactly how to rework rock music to make it exactly what it should have been in the first place; he gives the songs whole new levels of energy and power. The fact that all of Martin's singles these days seem to get the treatment (latest single "Rubb och stubb" has as well), at least for Rix FM's sake, is one of the things most worth getting excited about in music today.
100 År Från Nu (Blundar) [Bassflow Remix]
Find it on: Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör
Jag köpte drömmen om ett vackrare liv
När du låg bredvid
Bassflow are (well, is, maybe more accurate, I think) steadily becoming one of my favorite producers. They transformed "7milakliv," Martin Stenmarck's megahit from 2006, into a total anthem, and they worked their magic again with the lead single from Martin's latest album. Once again, they took a big dramatic piano-led rock ballad (though one that was admittedly already great) and amped it up everywhere it needed to be amped up, adding stronger backing vocals, picking up the tempo and giving the song more of a racing feel, and throwing in electronic touches, all of which serves to make Martin's powerful delivery of the chorus lines even more memorable and harder-hitting (and make the verses much catchier and more memorable). The climax of the song--like the climax of their remix of "7milakliv"--is a radiant soaring anthemic moment; the way Martin sings "Jag blundar/Och håller andan lite till..." with the backing vocals (2:52) and the almost spit out lines "och jag vet att 100 år från nu" in tandem with that backing music (3:06) are quite possibly my two favorite bits of music this year. In fact, if you were to ask me what moment in music most stuck with me this year, what moment just thinking about it without even hearing it can get me excited about the whole concept of music, it would be that latter one.I adore Martin Stenmarck. I adore (in recent times) Bassflow. Together, they are a match made in heaven, Bassflow knowing exactly how to rework rock music to make it exactly what it should have been in the first place; he gives the songs whole new levels of energy and power. The fact that all of Martin's singles these days seem to get the treatment (latest single "Rubb och stubb" has as well), at least for Rix FM's sake, is one of the things most worth getting excited about in music today.
100 År Från Nu (Blundar) [Bassflow Remix]
Find it on: Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör
Friday, September 28, 2007
There's gotta be a way that's better than just getting by
From the Department of Weird or Surprising Covers:
(By the way, this post title isn't taken from any of the above songs but a new-ish American song I may actually like and post soon; super-cheesy title but pop-rock stylings, though not quite as hooky as I'd like. Literally everything I've seen has compared them to Avril, but don't think "Girlfriend" or "Sk8r Boi" Avril, sadly; too earnest for that. I could end up going off it quickly, though.)
- Portuguese singer FF does Martin Stenmark's "7milakliv" on his second album (renamed "Eu Só Quero Ser")
- German group Cinema Bizarre (who are awkwardly gothically styled) do Protocol's "She Waits For Me" as the b-side to their debut single
- American artist Lucas Prata (who did the good dance-pop "...And She Said") does B3's "All The Girls" for his latest single (and I'm surprised at how close a cover it is to the original--not dance-popped up like I'd expected)
- Icelandic singer Sigrún Vala does Shirley Clamp's "Min Kärlek" and Sahlene's "We're Unbreakable" as singles (renamed "Því ástin" and "Ekki gera neitt," respectively)
(By the way, this post title isn't taken from any of the above songs but a new-ish American song I may actually like and post soon; super-cheesy title but pop-rock stylings, though not quite as hooky as I'd like. Literally everything I've seen has compared them to Avril, but don't think "Girlfriend" or "Sk8r Boi" Avril, sadly; too earnest for that. I could end up going off it quickly, though.)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
You'll always be the one
ESC Today is going to give me a heart attack with all this "Selma news" that turns out to not ever really be as big as I'm hoping it will be--first the whole "guess what? She'll be involved in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins...but just as a judge" thing, and now the headline "Selma song sees UK single release." Can you imagine my excitement?
Well, it's "All I Know Of Love," a two year old duet she's done that featured on Icelandic singer Cortes's album, and it's being released as a b-side. Basically, nothing fantastic or worth getting excited about (I imagine I'd like it a lot more if Cortes wasn't such an operatic singer--that's just not my preferred style). Sigh. Some day!
On the other hand, they did alert me to the fact that you can preorder a signed copy of Martin Stenmarck's new album Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör (has he been taking album naming lessons from Lena Philipsson?) here. Lead single "100 år från nu (Blundar)" is still a fantastic song (it was really nice to see it top the Swedish singles chart last week, even if how much the singles chart [as opposed to, say, radio play or albums sales] means is debatable), so I'm very excited to hear more. It's released November 7.
Well, it's "All I Know Of Love," a two year old duet she's done that featured on Icelandic singer Cortes's album, and it's being released as a b-side. Basically, nothing fantastic or worth getting excited about (I imagine I'd like it a lot more if Cortes wasn't such an operatic singer--that's just not my preferred style). Sigh. Some day!
On the other hand, they did alert me to the fact that you can preorder a signed copy of Martin Stenmarck's new album Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör (has he been taking album naming lessons from Lena Philipsson?) here. Lead single "100 år från nu (Blundar)" is still a fantastic song (it was really nice to see it top the Swedish singles chart last week, even if how much the singles chart [as opposed to, say, radio play or albums sales] means is debatable), so I'm very excited to hear more. It's released November 7.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
You know I can't get over, no matter how I try
Sorry, I can't get the Scott Mills show to play at the moment, but I'll get up a better version of the McFly song (I hope) whenever that happens, though I expect it should be all over the Internet by then.
Anyway, quick Ola Svensson update: his new single "S.O.S." will debut on Rix FM this Friday morning (well, Friday morning in Sweden) at 7:30 AM. Oh, and the album, Good Enough, is officially out October 3. I really want to hear "S.O.S." to get an idea of what the rest of the album is going to sound like and to try to get a better idea of its quality.
While we're talking of Swedish albums, though, September's sure-to-be-fantastic third album Dancing Shoes comes out September 26, BWO's third album (excluding Halcyon Nights, which was all remixes) Fabricator comes out September 19, Da Buzz's greatest hits album comes out October 24 (if you've not heard much from them--and their albums are available on iTunes stores throughout the world, I think--it would be worth picking up, or at least thinking about), and Martin Stenmarck's fourth album Det är så pojkar gör när kärleken dör comes out November 7. Did I forget anyone?
(Still wish I knew something about what Tony Nilson was doing, though--his own album would be great, but failing that, I hope he's writing for people...)
Anyway, quick Ola Svensson update: his new single "S.O.S." will debut on Rix FM this Friday morning (well, Friday morning in Sweden) at 7:30 AM. Oh, and the album, Good Enough, is officially out October 3. I really want to hear "S.O.S." to get an idea of what the rest of the album is going to sound like and to try to get a better idea of its quality.
While we're talking of Swedish albums, though, September's sure-to-be-fantastic third album Dancing Shoes comes out September 26, BWO's third album (excluding Halcyon Nights, which was all remixes) Fabricator comes out September 19, Da Buzz's greatest hits album comes out October 24 (if you've not heard much from them--and their albums are available on iTunes stores throughout the world, I think--it would be worth picking up, or at least thinking about), and Martin Stenmarck's fourth album Det är så pojkar gör när kärleken dör comes out November 7. Did I forget anyone?
(Still wish I knew something about what Tony Nilson was doing, though--his own album would be great, but failing that, I hope he's writing for people...)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Jag blundar
Are you kidding me, Martin Stenmarck? A lead single I love instantly? And that's actually less rock than before? Electronic touches? That are cute, no less? But still with guitars and that big catchy pop-rock-friendly chorus?What is it sampling? Or maybe nothing and it just reminds me of something?
I don't expect this to be quite as big a hit as his last album's lead single--I can definitely imagine some fans of "7milakliv" feeling like this is a let down, since it's perhaps not as distinctive and epic-sounding, but this is the sort of thing that wins me over instantly. And a perfect direction for him. Please let it at least do OK...
Anyhow, here's a horribly low quality radio rip, just in case anyone else is as curious as I was to hear it.
Consider my fears assuaged, then.
You can pre-order Martin Stenmarck's new single, "100 år från nu (blundar)," here (physical) or the album from which it comes, Det Är Så Pojkar Gör När Kärleken Dör, here (physical); the single is due out September 12 and the album November 7.
(My second "fear": is it a cover?)
Posted for only a little bit, as is usual.
Oh, and added when I noticed it at the last minute: him performing it live:
For what it's worth, though he's a good performer, I definitely like the studio arrangement much better, at least based on the low audio quality I heard.
Edit: you know how yesterday I was hoping he'd follow the pattern of "Han är galen"? Well, he hasn't--he's done something even better, that I didn't think he'd ever do--if anything, this song is closest to the Bassflow remix of "7milakliv"--not identical, but it's closer to that than anything else from this past album.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Jag är ensam, trasig, farlig
Swedish singer Martin Stenmarck's new single "100 år från nu (blundar)" comes out September 12 (though he's already debuted it) and his new album Det är så pojkar gör när kärleken dör comes out November 7. In celebration (well, hopefully I'll be celebrating when I hear it), here's a post about him I've been meaning to do for a while.Martin Stenmarck seems intent on making me less and less interested in his music career. Fantastic radio-friendly (even if radios didn't realize it) debut album with a bunch of catchy uptempo pop-rock songs? Well, let's slow it down, make it even more MOR and even more ballady and sentimental for the second album and reuse one of the debut's weakest tracks. That wasn't enough? Heck, let's throw a Las Vegas pastiche on the re-edition. Third album time? I know! Let's recycle a previous single from that first album--but in Swedish this time! And let's make the two biggest hits duller than any of the singles from the first album! Good plan!
And yet, I can't let go and wouldn't want to. He keeps taunting me--I didn't initially think much of megahit "7milakliv" (though my opinion of it has improved a lot by now), but they gave me a brill remix just to show what could have been. And threw "Han är galen," one of his most fun tracks ever, on the album. Plus, much as I just brushed off his second album, I'd be a fool to say it didn't have its gems--I really love "That's When I Love You" and "19 Something"--and that it hasn't grown to be something I love.
Plus, he's still got that voice perfect for this style of music and that talented songwriter brother...
Han är galen--given that we can't really expect Martin to go back to his first album or second album sound, I'd at least like to see some more songs like this on his new album--or at least fewer ballads. Like "7milakliv," piano is prominent, but beyond that, they couldn't be more different (well, they could, but whatever). "Han är galen" is more upbeat, more "thowback" sounding--maybe that comes from the horns?--and even has gospel-style backing vocals. It's just such a fun track--certainly not as "pure pop" as some things I've posted, but no less good for that.
To buy Martin Stenmarck's album 9 Sanningar Och En Lögn, go here (physical). I very much recommend picking up his debut album One as long as you don't hate guitars and even grabbing "That's When I Love You" and "19 Something" from Think Of Me, which is available on iTunes stores throughout the world.
(By the way, before anyone starts thinking I really dislike Martin, you should check out some of my earlier posts on him. Even the songs I'm not so fond of are generally pretty good--I just have high standards for him [and sometimes the songs have had to grow on me]. Anyone who chooses to cover Boris's "When You Think Of Me"--even if his voice doesn't have that rough edge that Boris's does and that fits the song so perfectly--clearly has good taste in music. I could post good songs by him for weeks on end...every time I write about him, I can barely restrain myself from posting a bunch more songs by him--if I went any past one at a time [and choosing that one is always difficult], I'd never be able to stop.)
Next up: an Israeli singer, I think.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Jag vill byta land och vara han som försvann
(Each of my posts about this artist seems to turn into a book, so I'm going to try to avoid that this time.)Remixes of dance songs can be quite fun. Other times, a remix can totally remake a non-dance song, be it making it into something epic like the Thin White Duke Mix of "Mr. Brightside" or just cheesy fun like, say, the Almighty Mix of V's "Blood Sweat and Tears." However, there's something to be said for a remix that keeps the essence of the original song, just changing it into exactly what it should have been to begin with. Today's song is one of those last cases.
Martin Stenmarck probably needs no introduction here, given my past raving about his work, but suffice to say: Swedish singer with a brilliant debut album that should have been a classic worldwide and packed full of songs that are so perfect and so radio-friendly that they should be staples of even U.S. radio stations...such a great album that it's been pillaged n
umerous times, both by other artists and Martin himself for later albums. Martin beat out Nanne Grönvall in Melodifestivalen 2005 with a song not really typical of his usual style and, at Eurovision, got Sweden one of its lowest placings in a long time, which, for a country as serious about Eurovision as Sweden, is quite the crime. Last year, though, his comeback single "7milakliv" (or "Sjumilakliv"), which I think means "Seven Mile Leaps" and is roughly equivalent to the expression "Leaps and Bounds," was a huge hit and, though I wasn't over the moon about the song itself, I was rather thrilled for him--to see him make such a comeback after such a big defeat is sweet, and his first album is just so amazing that he deserves loads more success than he's had. Anyhow, though I thought the original version of "7milakliv" was all right, there's a remix of it that vastly improves on it.7milakliv--the original version, included mainly for comparison purposes. A rocky piano sort-of-ballad thing that gives way into a big chorus, complete with backing vocals that just make it seem all that much closer to epic.
7milakliv (Bassflow Remix)--forget the original--this is what it should have sounded like; this remix is glorious, making the song positively anthemic. It's faster, shorter, more energetic, and basically better in every way. That climax around 2:48 (including the build-up beforehand and the continuation afterwards) is just amazing--all that overdone emotion of the original is finally put to good use as an explosion of drama and light. There's one beat I wish we could take out--a periodic, almost heartbeat-like beat, but less regular--but otherwise, this is the song that should've been all over Swedish radios--and in some cases, it was.
You can buy Martin Stenmarck's third album, 9 Sanningar Och En Lögn, here (physical); "Han är galen" from it is pretty fun. The album I really recommend getting, though, is his debut album One, which is in English, if that makes any difference, and excellent; it shares a spot with about two other albums in my trinity of music used to explain to people why I have to listen to music not big in the U.S. Call it rock if you will, but it's smoother and got better melodies and more hooks than most "this is definitely pop" music out there; "Frozen In My Heart" isn't even that far from being a boy band song. The album isn't necessarily one I would call pop-rock, but it is some fusion of rock and pop, if that makes sense.
Next up: maybe someone Danish.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
You're the one for me
Wishful Thinking Signs that Måns Zelmerlöw Will Win Melodifestivalen 2007
1.) He's already racked up more YouTube views per day than any of the other contestants and the most overall (this was true when I actually calculated it about a week ago).
2.) He's got the Martin Stenmarck post-victory pose down already:
Martin:
Måns:
(Let's just hope he'd get a higher ranking than Martin at Eurovision itself!)
3.) Sebastian and Andreas Johnson (and maybe the Ark, who I do want to see do well) will end up competing for the same votes, as will all the ballads (Tommy Nilsson, Sonja Aldén, Sarah Dawn Finer, and Marie Lindberg) and the more traditional schlager (Anna Book and Sanna Nielsen), leaving who to sweep up? Måns! (I know, that's unlikely to happen, but this is wishful thinking, remember?)
"Cara Mia" is my favorite song in the finals, and I'm hoping it'll win; at some point, I may have to attempt to explain how absolutely amazing it is, but it wouldn't be necessary for you to appreciate it--it's one of those songs that's instantly excellent. Here's his semifinal performance:
Fantastic.
Next up: something not related to Melodifestivalen, or even Sweden.
1.) He's already racked up more YouTube views per day than any of the other contestants and the most overall (this was true when I actually calculated it about a week ago).
2.) He's got the Martin Stenmarck post-victory pose down already:
Martin:
Måns:
(Let's just hope he'd get a higher ranking than Martin at Eurovision itself!)
3.) Sebastian and Andreas Johnson (and maybe the Ark, who I do want to see do well) will end up competing for the same votes, as will all the ballads (Tommy Nilsson, Sonja Aldén, Sarah Dawn Finer, and Marie Lindberg) and the more traditional schlager (Anna Book and Sanna Nielsen), leaving who to sweep up? Måns! (I know, that's unlikely to happen, but this is wishful thinking, remember?)
"Cara Mia" is my favorite song in the finals, and I'm hoping it'll win; at some point, I may have to attempt to explain how absolutely amazing it is, but it wouldn't be necessary for you to appreciate it--it's one of those songs that's instantly excellent. Here's his semifinal performance:
Fantastic.
Next up: something not related to Melodifestivalen, or even Sweden.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Remember me when I'm gone
Random trivia before we get into today's actual post:
Is it possible to adore an artist even though you deliberately own only one of their three albums, and it's their first? If so, I think that sums up my feelings about Swedish singer Martin Stenmarck. Though I do have a couple of his other songs (one from Think Of Me, though I might buy another soon, and a remix of "7milakliv"), and I quite like them, from what I've heard of Think Of Me and 9 sanningar och en lögn, I haven't felt compelled to buy them (heck, both even recycle songs from his first album), but his first album, One--oh my gosh. It's some of the best money I've spent; full of should-be-radio hits, it's the sort of album that should have won him international success (and to some degree, it did, as he released it in a couple other European countries, but I'm talking truly worldwide success). I wrote practically a mini-essay on just one song from it, "I'm Falling," if that's any indication of how much I love it. In fact, it's in the pretty elite club of albums I actually force other people to listen to or will put on when I want to explain why I listen to music that's not known in the U.S., and that's a club that only has three albums in it. I very much recommend buying it; poppy it is not, but pop? Definitely yes, although classifiable as rock, too.
I Got To--while "I'm Falling" could be seen as a stomper, this has a more literally stomp-oriented beat, broken down and edgy. There's an interlude in the middle that's rather strange--it gets all soulful for a couple of lines--but besides that, this is storming rock-friendly pop of the highest order. So catchy that you might want to avoid listening to it if you don't want to be thinking about it for days, this probably wouldn't be heralded as boundaries-pushing, but it's also far from generic, with a beat and melody that separate it from the pack and would be perfect for shouting along with. The song itself also seems ideal for live performances--it couldn't fail to get the crowd excited, and it'd really lend itself to some manhandling of the microphone stand. As always, Martin's voice is perfect for this type of music, smooth (though he can break out the grit when he wants to) but strong. "I Got To," like many of the songs on the album, is so radio-friendly (and video-friendly) that it practically hurts. The song manages to capture an emotional state perfectly, as in that chorus, vehemently spat out in brief phrases, like bursts of anger and power, and the brief "eye of the hurricane" moment, the moment where the singing stops and the guitars drop out and all we get is an almost haunting xylophone (maybe bells?) part that somehow manages to make the usually pretty tinkling sound of the instrument sound ominous, before Martin's voice returns, and gradually gets stronger and stronger, maybe angrier and angrier, almost desperate, perfectly intersecting with those bells, which continue even once we get the guitars back. This isn't artsy music, but it is art, so incredibly capturing how powerful guitars can be (even when they're not breaking loose) that it should be required listening for the countless Kelly Clarkson-inspired "rocky guitars are the route to success!" knockoff singers abusing the instrument at the moment.
What are you waiting for? Buy Martin Stenmarck's amazing debut album One here (physical)--I can't recommend it enough. I might eventually end up buying his second and third albums, though the little I've heard of them has yet to impress me, just on the strength of the first.
(Edit: I forgot to mention that his official site has clips of all the songs on the album, if you're still not sure about buying it; go to "Music" and then "One.")
Next up: possibly a former Idol contestant from Norway, but most likely she'll be in a few days; it might finally be that German band's turn.
- Yesterday's song ("Tidsmaskin") was co-written by today's singer's brother and Nick Jarl (as well as Jessica Asp), who also co-wrote a lot of the songs on today's singer's first album (and presumably later albums), though you'd probably never guess that by listening to it.
- Today's singer voiced Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson in the English version) in the Swedish version of the movie Cars.
Is it possible to adore an artist even though you deliberately own only one of their three albums, and it's their first? If so, I think that sums up my feelings about Swedish singer Martin Stenmarck. Though I do have a couple of his other songs (one from Think Of Me, though I might buy another soon, and a remix of "7milakliv"), and I quite like them, from what I've heard of Think Of Me and 9 sanningar och en lögn, I haven't felt compelled to buy them (heck, both even recycle songs from his first album), but his first album, One--oh my gosh. It's some of the best money I've spent; full of should-be-radio hits, it's the sort of album that should have won him international success (and to some degree, it did, as he released it in a couple other European countries, but I'm talking truly worldwide success). I wrote practically a mini-essay on just one song from it, "I'm Falling," if that's any indication of how much I love it. In fact, it's in the pretty elite club of albums I actually force other people to listen to or will put on when I want to explain why I listen to music that's not known in the U.S., and that's a club that only has three albums in it. I very much recommend buying it; poppy it is not, but pop? Definitely yes, although classifiable as rock, too.I Got To--while "I'm Falling" could be seen as a stomper, this has a more literally stomp-oriented beat, broken down and edgy. There's an interlude in the middle that's rather strange--it gets all soulful for a couple of lines--but besides that, this is storming rock-friendly pop of the highest order. So catchy that you might want to avoid listening to it if you don't want to be thinking about it for days, this probably wouldn't be heralded as boundaries-pushing, but it's also far from generic, with a beat and melody that separate it from the pack and would be perfect for shouting along with. The song itself also seems ideal for live performances--it couldn't fail to get the crowd excited, and it'd really lend itself to some manhandling of the microphone stand. As always, Martin's voice is perfect for this type of music, smooth (though he can break out the grit when he wants to) but strong. "I Got To," like many of the songs on the album, is so radio-friendly (and video-friendly) that it practically hurts. The song manages to capture an emotional state perfectly, as in that chorus, vehemently spat out in brief phrases, like bursts of anger and power, and the brief "eye of the hurricane" moment, the moment where the singing stops and the guitars drop out and all we get is an almost haunting xylophone (maybe bells?) part that somehow manages to make the usually pretty tinkling sound of the instrument sound ominous, before Martin's voice returns, and gradually gets stronger and stronger, maybe angrier and angrier, almost desperate, perfectly intersecting with those bells, which continue even once we get the guitars back. This isn't artsy music, but it is art, so incredibly capturing how powerful guitars can be (even when they're not breaking loose) that it should be required listening for the countless Kelly Clarkson-inspired "rocky guitars are the route to success!" knockoff singers abusing the instrument at the moment.
What are you waiting for? Buy Martin Stenmarck's amazing debut album One here (physical)--I can't recommend it enough. I might eventually end up buying his second and third albums, though the little I've heard of them has yet to impress me, just on the strength of the first.
(Edit: I forgot to mention that his official site has clips of all the songs on the album, if you're still not sure about buying it; go to "Music" and then "One.")
Next up: possibly a former Idol contestant from Norway, but most likely she'll be in a few days; it might finally be that German band's turn.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
You've been stealing since the first day
I'm Falling--that success "7milakliv" is having? It--and much more--rightfully belongs to the uptempo (some have said it sounds like a faster, stronger version of the Calling's "Wherever You Will Go") "I'm Falling," from Martin's critically-praised but criminally overlooked debut album One (I suspect most people don't even realize his new album 9 Sanningar och En Lögn is his third album [excluding his children's album]); One faded away with very little impact on the general public. I think two singles--"Losing Game" and "The Cure For You"--were released off of One, vanishing pretty much without a trace. That's a shame, but the real shame is that this song was never a single (I think it was a single in Germany, where it hit #1, but I can't find record of it having been released in Sweden, or if it was, I don't think it charted)."I'm Falling" should unquestionably be a radio classic, and not just in Sweden; there are some radio stations in the U.S. that should or would lap it up. It is rock, or at least rockier than what I normally post, but genre should place no limits on the recognition of a good song, and this is far more than a good song; additionally, I think it's also d
efinitely pop. You're hooked from the very opening, with those guitars and the distant echoey voice that still somehow hints at the power to come. Then you get to the first verse, and the guitars tone down for a moment, but with those lyrics ("God, I'm so stupid"--the lyrics generally aren't revolutionary, but they work well and are sung with conviction) and Martin's delivery--strong but with a touch of self-anger or self-disgust, as well as rebuke (for who? the girl who broke his heart or himself?)--you know something big must be coming. And then, finally, we get to the chorus, and it's like a release--all that mixed-up anger and rebuke come out in a shouted but not shouty couple of words--it's enough to make me want to grab a mike stand just so I can do the rocker tilt-it-to-one-side thing and shout along with him. It's so simple, yet so powerful and so perfect. Martin has such a perfect voice for this kind of music, smooth but strong, appealing and yet perfectly capable of expressing emotion, only hinting at a rasp once in the song. It's rock, but it's not hard rock, and it actually has a melody and hooks and is perfectly radio-friendly. How was this not a hit? Why was it not released? If I ever run my own radio station, this is getting a lot of play (and I don't care if it doesn't fit in with Gareth Gates and A*Teens). "I'm Falling" is perfect for everything--for radio, for headphones, for blasting out of your car, for stereos, for concerts--everything. You must hear this song.(It's also worth noting that, on the promotional copies of One, "I'm Falling" was labeled "Thief," so it's sometimes referred to that way.)
Buy the album. OK, so if you're only into "pure pop," it probably won't appeal to you, but it is ridiculously good--get it here (physical) while you still can. I'll review it in more detail later (it's so good--cohesive, powerful, the proper proportion of ballads, and catchy)--but, right now, I'm so in love with "I'm Falling" that, whenever I try to listen to the rest of it, I end up skipping back to "I'm Falling."
For anyone looking forward to the new McFly album, you can read a track-by-track review of it here; I don't dare take the star ratings at face value (though I hope they are accurate!), but at the very least, it'll give you an idea of what to expect. Motion In The Ocean sounds brilliant.
Next up: I'll be gone from Thursday through Sunday, so the next post won't be until Monday--maybe a well-known US singer.
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