Having slightly calmed down after last night, I'm going to attempt to write something more than "AMAZING!!!!" over and over again (though really, that's what I still want to do).
10 things I loved about Linda's and Charlotte's performances last night (I had to choose some arbitrary number or else it would basically end up as a second-by-second list of what they did), in no particularly order:
1.) the aforementioned pause and look right before Linda's key change--that determined, hah-I'm-going-to-nail-this-and-prove-that-I-can moment
2.) Linda beaming and looking like she's going to bounce right out of her skin after the key change--she radiated confidence throughout the performance and now really has this incredible energy and presence on stage (I know it's a cliché, but she's grown so much as a performer), but she was obviously hugely relieved and happy she pulled it off
3.) Charlotte's opening pose and mic grab--iconic
4.) Linda's little head-cocked-back strut during the first chorus (right before the first "se mig" section)
5.) The leaning and swirling camera bit in Charlotte's performance
6.) The three-part group hand point right before Charlotte's key change (LOVE this way too much! Possibly my favorite moment of the night)
7.) Charlotte's soaring vocals overtop those of the backing vocalists singing the chorus during the key change (you know how I mentioned in one of my year end round up entries a song that had the one moment in music in 2007 that most stuck with me, that just thinking about could get me excited about the whole concept of music? I think I've found my moment for 2008)
8.) Linda's "hah"(s) (not new, but I've always loved them)
9.) Charlotte's reaching-towards-the-audience hand gestures in the second chorus, with the wind machine on
10.) Linda's styling and outfit
Also, I'd like to add that I think Linda's dancers worked fabulously and that someone needs to upload Linda's post-qualifying performance to DailyMotion--she was just so excited that it made the performance even more fun to watch. Oh, and the fact that I loved all the group strutting in Charlotte's performance is a given.
Moving onto the other contestants, I was genuinely surprised when Sibel's song ended--"that's it?" I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, but I hadn't really even realized we'd had a chorus, let alone a climax--I couldn't believe the song was over. I'm not sure whether that's a function of the song itself (which from the previews sounded great, but maybe it didn't have a chorus that stood out enough) or Sibel singing the whole thing so dramatically that it was kind of flat in a way--nothing "popped" like it should have. I'm not saying that she or the song was bad by any stretch, or that they didn't deserve to go to Andra Chansen (Sibel sang very well and I adored the "You and I belong together/We share a hidden past/And nothing more than your forever/And mine is what I ask" lines)--but I am saying she didn't deserve to go straight to the finals instead of either of the two songs that qualified.
I was kind of surprised to read the negative reactions to Daniel Mitsogiannis online after the fact. I definitely love the song, but I'd go further than that: for a young Melodifestivalen debutante to have to do that much complicated dancing (all these leg movements and hip wiggles and twists) and still manage to pull off singing an uptempo song impressed me. In the hands of many other young performers, that could have been a total unequivocal crash-and-burn scenario, but I didn't feel like it was at all for him (though I'm not saying it rivaled the night's top performances!). Apparently Sweden (and online fans) disagreed, though, and he ended up taking seventh, although that could partly be down to schlager and dance-pop fans who might otherwise have voted for him focusing their efforts on Charlotte and Linda.
I'm not complaining, though--getting Charlotte and Linda straight to the finals is a dream result that makes for a fantastic-looking final, only marred for me by Christer Sjögren. The second chance round, taking place this next weekend, has the potential to make it even better; two acts will be chosen to make it to the final.
Stealing Wikipedia's chart thing (though it looks small and blurry here--sorry about that! If you click on the picture you can see the full size version), I think the toughest matchup in this knockout format for me is Ola versus Caracola--I love both acts' songs. I think ultimately I'd like Ola to win this matchup; however, I'd prefer Ola or Caracola to either of the acts in the top bracket, where of the two Sibel is my preference. If Sibel ended up making it to the final, I wouldn't be too upset, but I'd definitely prefer it if Ola or Caracola did.
In terms of the bottom half of the lineup, my favorites are Carola/Andreas Johnson and Thérèse Andersson; put head-to-head, I'm not sure yet who I'd like to see win, though I might end up going for Carola and Andreas in the end. I haven't heard their song in a while, so it's hard to say. I'd be happy with either, though!
The fourth and final semifinal of Melodifestivalen is this coming Saturday; after that, they'll be a second chance round (Andra Chansen), at which various third and fourth place finishers from all the semifinals are matched up head-to-head in a knockout format until it's narrowed down to two, at which point those two will go to the final, which will take place the week after that. In other words, we've got three Saturdays left of Melodifestivalen: one for the fourth semifinal, one for Andra Chansen, and one for the final. For now, though, here are the artists for this week's semifinal, which is looking to be really tough. Same disclaimer as usual about all this information, and as usual, feel free to correct me or add things!
1.) Niklas Strömstedt, "For många ord om kärlek"(Too Many Words About Love) This week's joker, Niklas Strömstedt has a music career dating back to the '80's. I guess you could say he's a mature singer-songwriter sort, though some of the songs from his most recent album (from 2001) are kind of lightly poppy (or could be made sort of poppy with minimal changes), from the little I've heard of his work. On the plus side, he did co-write Magnus Carlsson's 2006 entry "Lev Livet!" (as well as Christer Björkman's winning entry in 1992). He says "For många ord om kärlek" is uptempo. He also says the song is a little more pop than schlager and kind of '70's-influenced. Niklas has a new album, Två vagar, coming out March 19.
To watch: well, YouTube doesn't give us too many options, so let's got with this montage set to his 1990 hit "Om"
2.) Calaisa, "If I Could" Calaisa is a female country-pop group made up of two sets of sisters. They released their self-titled debut album in 2006, preceded by the sweetly-sung single "Hey Girl." The official description of the song says that it's a ballad about losing someone near to you and wanting to do something to get them back. They've been working on a second album.
To watch: the video for their single "Hey Girl"
3.) Daniel Mitsogiannis, "Pame" Ooo, now here's a brand new artist whose song I'm very interested to hear! Granted, Fredrik Kempe--who, among other songs, wrote last year's "Cara Mia"--says that out of his tracks in this year's contest, Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" is his favorite, but I still have hopes that "Pame" will be good. In fact, speaking of "Cara Mia," Daniel sang on the demo version of that last year (as well as the originally English demo of Mathias Holmgren's "Långt bortom tid och rum" from 2005), making me even more hopeful of a similar revelation from "Pame" this year--though I'm trying not to let my expectations get too high. Also, apparently he and Måns sang it differently, which doesn't mean his version was necessarily worse but does mean maybe we shouldn't expect a Måns redux here...then again, Henrik Wikström, the other writer, describes the song as "'Cara Mia' with ethnic influences." As you might have guessed from the title, "Pame" has Greek influences (apparently it means "Let's go" or something like that); it's also said to be uptempo and danceable (Daniel says it's "happy, speedy, and explosive" and like a male version of Helena Paparizou). In terms of not particularly relevant or useful information, Daniel already has an official site set up in a similar style to those of Charlotte Perrelli and Linda Bengtzing--does he have management that have a lot of faith in the song or did he just hire the same people himself?
To watch: I can't find any videos of him singing whatsoever, so let's just watch the first performance of "Cara Mia" from last year again. It's still a rush. You know, I've really enjoyed this year, but now that I'm thinking about it, has any song really got me as excited as "Cara Mia" did? I have a feeling, though, that I'll get that this week, and hopefully from the song up next...
4.) Linda Bengtzing, "Hur svårt kan det va?"(How Difficult Can It Be?) Oh Sweden--I'm begging you: I need Linda in the final. As absolutely exciting as it is to have so many upsets going on, it worries me greatly for this round. Linda participated in Fame Factory, but her real establishment as a singer came with 2005's "Alla Flickor," a schlager song which may very well be the best song ever--a statement which would be easier to get away with if her followup 2006 entry "Jag ljuger så bra" wasn't so close in quality that it's easy to prefer it depending on the day. She released an album as well in 2006, and in 2007 she had a huge hit in Sweden in the form of her and Markoolio's jokey "Värsta Schlagern." Her entry this year is by the same people that gave us "Alla Flickor" and her second single "Diamanter" (and who have also worked on her upcoming album), among a bunch of other great songs. It was also originally described as being influenced by '60's schlager (there was also one early reference to it being a little bit like "Grace Kelly," but before everyone starts going into conniptions, that seems doubtful and I've heard absolutely nothing to make that sound accurate since), but all recent writing about it has referred to it as sounding very modern but being a "classic schlager" (so yes, it has a key change). Linda says the song is a girl singing to a guy about how he's stupid for not realizing she's the best thing that's ever happened to him. I have absolute faith in this track being completely a-maz-ing and March 19, the release date of her new album, Vild & Galen, cannot get here soon enough. Fact: Linda's on the cover of at least two weekly or monthly magazines in Sweden this month--please let that be an indication of her popularity in Sweden...
To watch: her performance of "Jag ljuger så bra" at the 2006 final
5.) Nordman, "I lågornas sken"(In The Flame's Light) Eek. I wish we could just take Nordman (who in their 2005 semifinal qualified directly to the final, while Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing had to go to Andra Chansen) out of this heat--I don't want them as a threat to my favorites. Sigh. Maybe I'm being kind of unfair here, but I just don't go in for gruff male voices, a fact that makes it difficult for me to appreciate Nordman's work. The writers of "I lågornas sken" did give us Jessica Andersson's "Kom" and Magnus Backlund's "The Name Of Love"--not classics, but not songs to make you instantly reach for the mute button either (and I actually really like "The Name Of Love"). Still, whether or not the writers call this a pop song and Nordman say it's "more schlager" (really? That doesn't fit with what I know of their work at all), I'm having trouble mustering much enthusiasm for a song that was stirring up controversy for its stage performance including the simulation of a witchburning onstage--it's not so much the act I'm upset with as I can't really imagine a song I like being conducive to that performance. Then again, the band do claim that it will be "beautiful and dramatic"--who knows, maybe it'll be a fantastic bombastic song (I wouldn't bet on it, to say the least). For the sake of the other songs in this heat, though, I'm almost hoping not. They've got a new album coming out March 12.
To watch: oddly enough, I can't find a video of their Melodifestival performance, but you can listen to the audio of it below, attached to a Lion King montage
6.) Sibel, "That Is Where I'll Go" 2007 gave us Sebastian and Måns (could have been Agnes) from the second season of Swedish Idol; 2008 brings us Ola and Sibel from the same season. Sibel finished third, behind Agnes and Sebastian, and will finally get a chance at commercial success with this power ballad. The song's writer says it's a big ballad about unconditional love. It starts out small and grows for the end and includes a lot of long high notes. For some reason, I see it as having a very good chance to do well. She (like seemingly most of the contestants this year) has an album due to come out this spring; it's called Diving Belle and comes out March 12.
To watch: her performance of (Niklas Stömstedt's) "Sista Morgonen" on Idol
7.) Fronda, "Ingen mår så bra som jåg"(No One Feels As Good As Me) 2007's Melodifestival saw two entries disqualified: first Agnes's, and then Fronda's, thus allowing Lustans Lakejer and Måns Zelmerlöw to enter the competition. Fronda's entry was disqualified because he sang the demo of it but he (/his record company) refused to sing it at the contest, at least not by himself (not all demo singers will go on to sing the song at Melodifestivalen, but SVT can choose to demand that the demo singer do so and disqualify the song if the demo singer refuses). This year, the rapper will be participating with a song that its writers describe as an uptempo party song with danceable rap beats and funny lyrics. Fronda adds that it's not a pure hip-hop track, more like "balkan-ska."
To watch: a montage (well, more like one photo) set to his song "En stor stark"
8.) Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero" ...or, as fans of Eurovision but not followers of Swedish music would know her as, Charlotte Nilsson. Charlotte was Eurovision in 1999 singing "Take Me To Your Heaven," and she's released four albums since then (if you like your upbeat schlager, her Gone Too Long album has some songs you'll definitely want to hear), with another one (in English) due out this April (which she says she wants to promote beyond Sweden). Charlotte hasn't entered Melodifestivalen since winning it in 1999, though it's often been rumored she'd be participating; her decision to finally enter again this year has a lot of people thinking her song must be something very special--and with the writers it has, that's a very strong possibility: Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren (who's been involved in way too many Melodifestival songs to list here). The official description of "Hero" says it's a dance and rock song, and it's also been said to be uptempo, have a great chorus and a really good beat, and be a modern pop song, not "Take Me To Your Heaven" part II. Charlotte says it tells a good story and is an uptempo dance-pop song that is a little bit rockier than "Take Me To Your Heaven" (though she points out that "rockier" is relative and she'll still be doing schlager songs), and will be a good way to establish her "new style." The performance involves a lot of dancing and girls in 10 cm tall heels, and the song has been said to be a potential winner of the whole contest as well as a great song that only gets better with each listen.
To watch: well, I could embed her winning performance of "Take Me To Your Heaven," but let's go with something more recent, a performance of her most recent single (but not the most recent of songs), the schlager-disco-pop "Jag är tillbaks"
It's easy for me to make my "who do I want to go through without having heard the songs" decision this week: Linda--I'm so worried for her; she has to make it--and Charlotte to the final. The trouble is, I can see all too many potential threats from the other contestants that could prevent that from happening.
Incidentally, in March and April we're getting new albums from Linda, Charlotte, and Sanna?! Now if only Lena Philipsson would release something new, it'd be pretty much the perfect year.
In a side note related to this past Saturday's semifinal, I read online--well, why don't I just quote it, but this is all [sic]:
"Currently he [Oscar Görres] is composing and producing a record for the artist Therese Andersson performing under the name Evan. Therese Andersson is also classically schooled and sings in the genre pop/ballad."
Now, Oscar's not Evan (he co-wrote some songs on Danny's album and co-wrote Donal Skehan's "Double Cross My Heart" and LoveShy's "Mr. Gorgeous") nor is Therese, so I have no idea what to make of that, but it's at least nice to know that a record is in the works. Therese also said in an interview that Pay TV are still working on their album, though if her solo album comes out at the rate of that album, we'll still be waiting for it in 2010. Once again going off on a tangent, Oscar Görres's official site that I linked to above allows you (in the "Media" section) to listen to a clip of a Danny song called "Alive" (it's also on his MySpace). Song they wrote together but that didn't make the cut? Song that was reworked into a song that eventually made the album? I've got no idea (though if it's really obvious or something please let me know!).
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.
Third round of Melodifestivalen this coming weekend! Once again, I'm no expert, so feel free to add things or correct me, and I've not heard any of these songs or even talked to anyone who has--it's really just my attempt at a round-up of information that we all have access to online, as well as some background information for people new to the contest.
1.) BWO, "Lay Your Love On Me" Probably the big guns out of this heat, BWO are a three person group masterminded by Alexander Bard, who's also been involved with groups like Army of Lovers and Alcazar. The other two members are Marina Schiptjenko and lead singer Martin Rolinski, who appeared on a series of Popstars in Sweden. If you've never heard their music, hurry out and buy their debut album Prototype right now--it's packed full of fantastic pop (one of the best pop albums of the '00's, I'd say) and was an incredibly exciting arrival upon the music scene when it came out. Their first Melodifestival entry, 2005's "Gone," is easily one of their weakest tracks, but they more than made up for that in Melodifestivalen 2006 with the pop stomper "Temple Of Love," which was only prevented from winning the contest by the comeback (after fifteen years away from Melodifestivalen) of Carola. If "Lay Your Love On Me" is as good as "Temple Of Love," we should all be getting very excited. The song's writers say it's a dramatic electronic disco track. BWO also say the uptempo track isn't "Temple Of Love" mark 2 and is more melodic than that song; also, they'll be wearing "avantgarde" outfits. Reviews so far of it have been very positive, but (from what I've read) not very specific...hopefully we'll get more news as Saturday approaches. Henrik Wikström, one of the writers, does compare the track to Madonna's "Sorry," though (as did Alexander, along with "Hung Up"), and an Aftonbladet reviewer says that "Lay Your Love On Me" is dramatic electronic pop that perfectly suits Martin's voice, has a fantastic chorus, and is even better than "Temple Of Love." After releasing three albums (excluding their remix album), they'll be releasing a greatest hits, titled Pandemonium, this April; in addition to "Lay Your Love On Me," it'll have two other new songs.
To watch: their performance of "Temple Of Love" at the final of Melodifestivalen 2006--WANT! LOVE! Ohh-ohH-OHh-OHH!
2.) Mickey Huskic, "Izdajice" Mickey's kind of an unknown factor here, since I don't think he's released any music commercially before (by himself--he is part of a band)...though apparently he's tried to enter Melodifestivalen a bunch of times before. The song's official description says that it's a ballad with Balkan influences, with "Izdajice" meaning "betrayal." It nearly qualified for last year's Melodifestival. There's got to be a cello in it somewhere, since a beauty pageant winner will be playing it for the song. Apparently it could be compared to Bosnia Herzegovina's 2006 entry. Also, the song is all in Bosnian, I think. Mickey's recently signed a deal with Universal and is working on an album.
To watch listen: a montage set to a song of his, "Kazna za sve;" alternatively, you can watch a live performance of the song here
3.) Frida feat. Headline, "Upp o. Hoppa"(Get Up And Jump) Frida (Muranius, not part of ABBA) had a hit this past spring/summer with "Dunka mig gul och blå," a light singer-songwritery kind of song that played with rhythms a little bit in a way that I guess could be construed as hip-hop influenced...and probably should be interpreted to be, given that Headline is said to rap on "Upp o. Hoppa." In fact, the beginning of the official description for "Upp o Hoppa" could almost apply to Frida's earlier hit: singer-songwriter hiphop with African guitars (here about living life while you can). Then again, "Upp o. Hoppa" is said to be an uptempo track. Schlagerprofilerna says they've heard it's pop-rap that you want to dance to and sing with. As a kind of irrelevant aside, the song was originally announced as being called "Leva livet," but then retitled.
To watch: the video for "Dunka mig gul och blå"
4.) Thérèse Andersson, "When You Need Me" Thérèse (those accent marks are going to get annoying quickly) is best known to Swedish pop fans as one-third of (I can't even begin to think of what adjective to use to describe Pay TV's we're-too-cool-for-you electro-pop stylings--"snarky" isn't aloof enough) Pay TV. What does her solo participation in Melodifestivalen mean for that group? I have no idea--maybe Robpop does? Her song "When You Need Me" is officially described as a combination of pop, musical, and Celtic influences with a message about daring to love again. Thérèse says when people hear the first verse they'll think "oh, another rock chick," but then when the chorus hits they'll wonder if it's the same song. It's co-written by Evan of "Under Your Spell" from Melodifestivalen 2006, and he describes the song as a mix of Sarah Brightman and Nightwish, adding that it's uptempo, has some guitars, and switches back and forth between genres, with the chorus being pure opera. Gylleneskor compares it to Slovenia's 2007 entry in Eurovision.
To watch: Pay TV's performance of "Refrain Refrain" at Melodifestivalen 2005
5.) Patrik Isaksson & Bandet, "Under Mitt Tunna Skinn"(Under My Thin Skin) Singer-songwriter Patrik Isaksson had success around the turn of the century in Sweden, but 2006 marked a relaunch or comeback of sorts for him. His song "Faller Du Så Faller Jag," a piano-based ballad, may have qualified to the second chance round and just barely failed to qualify to the final from there (it took third), but it went on to be a hit for him; additionally, it was very well received critically. How do you follow up an entry that some critics viewed as one of the best ballads in Melodifestivalen in recent years (or period)? Not with a ballad, apparently, but more with a typical song for him, one with a powerful/pounding chorus--but also with a song that's said to not be quite as good as his previous entry.
To watch: well, I'm obligated to post his performance of "Faller Du Så Faller Jag" from Melodifestivalen 2006 (which bafflingly didn't show up on YouTube when I used YouTube's search function and typed in his name), but I do want to mention that I fell in love with his very very MOR ballad with Sarah Dawn Finer, "Du Som Tog Mitt Hjärta," last year. I really like his earlier hit "Hos dig är jag underbar" as well, and that's faster and with more of a punchy chorus, as is another earlier hit, "Ruta 1"
6.) Caracola, "Smiling In Love" I have high hopes for a good song from this girl group! Caracola (if P4 can be believed, they're named after the Spanish word for "conch"--like the shell) have released two albums of dance-influenced pop, one in Swedish and one in English (well, I swear I remember seeing that they released an English album--called Love Alive or something, I think--and even almost buying it, but now some traces of that seem to have been erased from the Internet; it included many English versions of their earlier Swedish songs), but have yet to really break out in Sweden. "Smiling In Love" is another case of very good things being said but me not knowing many specifics; it's said to be a good modern happy pop song, and the girls themselves say it's catchy Caracola-type schlager. With luck, they'll be the year's Cosmo4--though hopefully they'll get a higher ranking! They're planning to release an album, This Is Caracola, this spring.
To watch: well...there's a non-professional video of them performing "Mango Nights" embedded below
7.) Ainbusk, "Jag saknar dig ibland"(I Miss You Sometimes) This is a group I know nothing about--I guess they had some hits (big hits) back in the '90s. Josefine Nilsson, one of the members, competed in Melodifestivalen 2005 with "Med hjärtats egna ord." "Jag saknar dig ibland" is apparently a good ballad about regret and has a similar feel to Sonja Aldén's "För att du finns" from last year (with which it shares a creator). It starts with piano and then builds and has a big chorus. Schlagerprofilerna says that it's been said that it could have been a good comeback song for Shirley Clamp if she'd wanted to return to Melodifestivalen.
To watch listen: a montage set to their '90's hit "Lassie" (co-written by Benny Andersson)--there's a long talking bit at the beginning
8.) Eskobar, "Hallelujah New World" Not your typical Melodifestival group, Eskobar are an indie-pop or alt-pop group that has been releasing music since the late '90s. They're also this week's joker/wildcard. Schlagerprofilerna reports that it's rumored (though how strongly, I have no idea) that "Hallelujah New World" is Eskobar's best song ever. Their song is also said to be uptempo with a clap-friendly section in the middle, and the band says the song is big/grand. They've got an album called Death In Athens coming out this March.
To watch: their 2002 hit single with Heather Nova, "Someone New"
Your problems don't exist when music feels like this.
Songs are posted only for promotional purposes (I love them and want others to know about them, too)--if you like them, please "go out and buy the record"! If you are an artist, represent one, or are a songwriter/producer and would like your songs removed, I'll gladly do so (just let me know).
