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.