An honesty with a pleasant surprise

I wasn't planning to open this special with this group--I was going to go with something poppier in a traditional sense--but I wanted to prove this special doesn't mean people who don't see themselves as fans of "Swedish pop" (how can you not be?) shouldn't turn off. Of course, there will be a little bit of schlager (not much, though, I think) and loads of the poppy melodies you expect from Sweden, but today's group--well, if I had to compare them to anything or anyone, I think I'd go with (and don't hurt me for this, OK? I lack reference points) the Beatles. In a really cheery, poppy, young, more modern way.

The Wallstones are made up of two Fame Factory contestants, Karl Martindahl and Johan Becker. The group competed in Melodifestivalen 2005 with "Invisible People." Today's song, a single from 2004, is better, though, probably because it's so relentlessly upbeat in a more genuine, committed way.

Good Old Stonecake--don't ask me what the title's referring to; I have no idea. What I do know is that this song takes a while to get going, but that chorus is pure joy and by the time we're two thirds through, I'm in full "can't get this cheesy grin off my face" mode. I think it's the high-pitched "whyyy-yyy-yyy" that seals the deal. The "na na na"s help too, definitely.

To buy the Wallstones' album Pleasure and Pain, go here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: a female singer, I think.

I've been drivin' 'em crazy

All right, so it's decided: Terri Walker's "Whoopsie Daisy (Hit 'n' Run So So 90's Discomix)" (is that not a fabulous name for a remix? How could I not want to hear it after that?) will have to wait because, starting tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to do that (Swedish) Fame Factory special I mentioned awhile ago. Since I didn't watch the series, though, for a lot of people, it's not necessary going to be singers I like, but more songs I like, since often those songs are virtually the only thing I know about them--but there have been so many of those over the years I'm sure I've missed some, so it'll be far from complete.

Knowing me, I'll get through three days of the special, get sidetracked for a day, come back to it for two days and then decide it's not worth finishing, but I'm going to try!

I would write a sonnet, put your name upon it

Fact: I have literally never heard someone say that they like One True Voice's "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words." Even the times when someone will say something good about them or their debut single, they inevitably include a comment along the lines of "let's forget about the second single" or "and then they followed it up with the awful 'Shakespeare's (Way With) Words.'" I imagine if you asked the former members of the group themselves, they would completely disavow it (though I expect they'd disavow everything to do with the group altogether as well). Formed as a result of the TV show Popstars: The Rivals, they faced Girls Aloud in a chart battle with their debut singles. Am I claiming "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" was a better song than Girls Aloud's second single "No Good Advice"? Not by any stretch. But I like it! It's a nice cheesy boy band song. This was the last song they released--never even made it to an album, which I'd say is a shame, but I'm sure it would've flopped horribly. I'd probably still like it, though :-/

Shakespeare's (Way With) Words--one of the strangest uses of parentheses you'll see in song titles, but that doesn't take away from the song itself, even if it does make it annoying to type out. It is unarguably cheesy, but it's catchy! Maybe it's just proof that I like the "boy band sound" enough that I'll accept almost anything from it, but I don't see why it's so awful. It's not modern at all and yes, the lyrics are dorky, but how is it so much worse than a lot of the other things coming out at the time that it's universally a punchline? Wait--on second thought, don't answer that; let me just go on enjoying this.

To buy One True Voice's second single, "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words," go here (physical).

Next up: maybe a remix of a British singer's song.

Saturday night we'll pack the floor

So I was messing about on this site (which is excellent for Melodifestivalen history) and looking at some of the songs that have been rejected over the years when I noticed that one of the songs rejected on the last day in the 2007 review process was called "Work It (Everybody)"--that's got to be the song Gerard went on to cover in Spanish and that I mentioned you can listen to a demo of on another site, doesn't it? I noticed there was another song in the same situation called "Tid att gå vidare"--I'm not sure about timelines, but that could've been the Thomas G:son-penned song Barbados would go on to release, couldn't it (not necessarily, of course, given that there have been other songs with that title and it's not an uncommon phrase)? The title "Gomenasai" jumped out at me considering that BWO have a song with that title on their album, but I imagine those one word titles can be deceptive (it's hardly as if they're the only act to ever record a song with that title), and that doesn't seem to fit with the image I have of what BWO were wanting to do (which really isn't based on anything, to be honest).

More speculative stuff: another of the songs on that list is called "Addicted" and that's the title of another song Gerard has recorded, written by the same people who did "Work It (Everybody)." If I'm remembering correctly, that's also a title of a song that supposedly Ola was considering as releasing as the second single after "Natalie." Could potentially be either of those, both of them (though I would tentatively lean towards not; if Gerard is going with the style of "Work It (Everybody)" and his "Addicted" also fits with that style, it seems like a song that would fit better on Ola's first album than second, from what we've heard so far), or neither. Another song on the list is "Looking For A Star," which has the same title as the song Rednex would go on to release that summer.

(It's always really obvious when I've been trying to educate myself/catch up on what I've missed out on, isn't it? And yes, I really am that excited about Melodifestivalen that I've been spending time guessing what songs were in the running for last year's. Sigh. What can I say? I'm addicted.)

(Oh, and I noticed that one of the 2006 rejects was called "Värsta schlagern"--but surely if it had been the "Värsta schlagern" [or even if there was a chance it was] there would have been more talk of that by now? And that was a longer wait to release it than I would have expected--the timeline seems off. Plus, I thought I remembered hearing/reading that Markoolio had turned down the offer to compete in Melodifestivalen with it, and that he sort of regretted it. I could have invented that, though. Same list--of the top 103 songs in 2006--also mentions songs called "Amanda" and "Drop Dead," so I'm completely confused at this point.)

In the shadows of sin my soul is yearning

Song I'm currently quite taken with: Swedish singer Verah's "Fall Again" (listen to it on her MySpace here). It's dancey pop, catchy and really good! She's signed to Lionheart, apparently, so that's a good sign for it getting released or for us at least getting to hear more from her.

Relatedly, one of the song's co-writers, Irini (or iRiNi, as she has it stylized), has a song on her MySpace called "Play" that has some fantastic backing music. I'm not 100% sold on all its vocal melody yet, but boy, has it got some fantastic music--just listen to that revvy opening! Fabulous. And I'm quite sure I'll be wholeheartedly saying I love the full thing without qualifications in a matter of minutes.

Here come the drums

A THREE-PARTER? Who on Earth makes three part television shows? How am I supposed to cope for the next week?

At least I got to see McFly and listen to "Voodoo Child," but that is SMALL CONSOLATION for another week of torture waiting to find out what happens next.

(Music related coverage back after this.)

There's gotta be a way that's better than just getting by

From the Department of Weird or Surprising Covers:

• 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)

All of these, save for maybe the Sigrún Vala ones, are relatively recent (as in, from the past few months), I think.

(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.)

You never rise above being with the one you love

Esther Hart deserved better than her thirteenth place finish in Eurovision 2003; she should've at least qualified the Netherland directly into the final for the following year. She gave a solid vocal performance (even voted the best)--you really can't argue with her voice. Outfit choice, yes, but not voice (she looked better at the national final)--and her song "One More Night" was great, catchy and uplifting. The Dutch singer got to release an album, Straight From The Hart, after her participation in Eurovision, but I don't think she's released any solo commercial music since. I've been meaning to investigate more of what she's done, but never got around to hearing any more of it than what Popsound once posted. Don't be surprised if she ends up cropping up here again, though. On an interesting note, that same year she was also in the running to represent the UK (with a different song, "Wait For The Moment"), but she decided to represent her home country and pulled out of the UK contest; her song was given (with a new name) to Simon Chapman, who...well, didn't win A Song For Europe.

One More Night--this is a slightly cheesy, cheery pop song written by the same people who did Marlayne's 1999 entry "One Good Reason," which some people have pointed out similarities with, but "One More Night" feels stronger (in terms of tone), though I suppose that could have something to do with Esther's voice. It's simple but good, not challenging but really enjoyable.

To buy the album for Eurovision 2003, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe a British singer.

Can't take it anymore

Well, it's nice to know the record company have decided it's not worth putting any effort or money into Linda Kiraly's new music video. So can we safely assume they're writing the project off then?



I can honestly not remember the last time I saw a video this cheap looking (and dull) from an American (or American-releasing) artist ostensibly with major label backing. Whoever's handling this should be ashamed--the song is fantastic and deserves to do well and I'm sure it could lend itself to lots of decent video concepts, but even if I didn't love the song, I'd be embarrassed to see this. Seriously, if you're giving up on the song after its failure to take off at radio over the past two months, just don't bother filming a video--don't release this.