Jag vet att vi kan om du bara vill

Swedish singer Paul Rein's recording career took place in the '80's, but even if you weren't following the '80's Swedish music scene, it's a safe bet you've heard at least one song he's had a hand in: Christina Aguilera's "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)" (my favorite Christina song, incidentally). You also may have heard him on Nanne's "Kom Hit," probably my favorite track from her most recent album. I've been a little obsessed with his own music (which he was mainly responsible for writing) the past few days, though; his Communicate album has some real gems, especially in its more synth-pop or Italo-disco moments (the chorus of "Hold Back Your Love" has just a tiny bit of "I Feel Love" about it, though I suppose you could say that for loads of songs given how much of a definitive song that was; if you're interested, I'd say "Lady O" and "Hold Back Your Love" are two big starting points for the album, though I've got a personal thing for "Communicate" and "Stop (Give It Up)" might be something else to check out, though I think with its more mid-tempo feel it's dated a bit). I think, though, that my favorite song from him has to be his Melodifestival 1988 entry "Bara du och jag" (yay for the return of SpeedyShare! Sorry about the cracks and pops, though). It only placed below sixth, but every time I've played it it's never failed to lift my spirits, make me smile, and bring up at least a little bit of an urge to dance around '80's style (perhaps imitating something from Footloose?). Despite being in Swedish, it's a song whose bouncy catchy melody should appeal beyond just hardcore Swedish music lovers; it's a song I can imagine slotting in nicely into the PWL era. Lyrics-wise? "Give love between us a chance," basically--you know the drill. As a song? Just perfect.

I dread the day twenty years from now, though, that my much loved spiky popstar hair is looked back on with the same reaction we have towards '80's hair now.

I have absolutely no idea where you would go about buying Melodifestival entries from 1988, so instead I'll just say that if you want Paul Rein's albums, check eBay or Discogs; be careful you don't buy something in vinyl if you can't use it, though.

Next up: maybe another male Swedish singer.