Europop – Page 37

Saturday Flashback: Sakis Rouvas – This Is Our Night

“He thrusts, he jumps, he rips his shirt open just so we can all see his nipples.”

Tim: For no particular reason, the other day I ended up spending my afternoon losing myself in late ’00s Eurovision songs, and I remembered this absolute delight, from Greece in 2009.

Tim: I mean, where to start? Like many of the best Eurovision performances, the music is almost secondary to the actual choreography here, even if is a fantastic example of that period’s genre, thumping beats, key change and all.

Tom: It was never going to win. It was never even going to come close to winning. Greece, you tried, and you tried spectacularly.

Tim: But oh, that choreography. The thrusting, The Busted jumps (the many, many Busted jumps). What initially appears to be a standard plinth, but then is revealed to be so much more. It rotates! It’s a travelator! It opens up to reveal the Greek flag! And then Sakis himself – he thrusts, he jumps, he rips his shirt open just so we can all see his nipples.

Tom: Which was the inspiration for a certain outfit (and thrusting) several years later.

Tim: Ha, I’d forgotten the link there. So what more is there to want?

Mia Julia – Nummer 1

“Mate, it’s not ‘authentic’ music, it’s not going to be featured on Pitchfork, so just KNOW YOUR GENRE and EMBRACE IT.”

Tim: Spoiler so your expectations don’t get dampened and you don’t end up yelling ARE YOU KIDDING ME like I did: there is, tragically, no key change here.

Tim: Man, I was FUMING when she dropped into the final chorus at the exact same pitch that was used previously. COME ON, there’s a reason there are buttons in every major song production program to alter pitch nice and easily, know when to use them.

Tom: Thanks for the spoiler – although I will note that the middle eight has a few similar tricks up its sleeve, even what I’ve been calling the “Killers Manoeuvre” where it drops into a minor key for one chord.

Tim: It has all the textbook indicators of a middle eight that’s coming up to it: gently calming down, an almost a cappella quiet rendition of the chorus, sudden ramping up to do it all again a triumphant tone and a half higher, and then…nothing. What was the producer thinking? “Oh, key changes are so passé, we won’t be taken seriously.” Mate, I hate to break it to you, but THIS WON’T BE TAKEN ‘SERIOUSLY’. It’s not ‘authentic’ music, it’s not going to be featured on Pitchfork, so just KNOW YOUR GENRE and EMBRACE IT.

Tom: And here’s the thing: they’re clearly not embracing it. Maybe it’s just because I’m travelling through Germany right now and the song seems apt, but I broke into a big smile when that verse started. String hits, gently building instrumentation — and then, a chorus that just seems a bit anaemic in comparison.

It’s a shame, there’s a lot of potential. It’s so nearly there.

Tim: FUMING, I am.

Ben Zucker – Was für eine geile Zeit

“He’s never smoked and drunk massive amounts of whiskey – his voice is just naturally like this.”

Tim: This guy’s off Berlin, and this is his second single, following last year’s fair well performing “Na und?!” According to his Wikipedia page, he’s never smoked and drunk massive amounts of whiskey – his voice is just naturally like this.

Tim: Isn’t that good?

Tom: Oh, that is a heck of a voice. Admittedly I want to clear my throat now you’ve pointed it out, but yes, that’s a proper Blues Singer voice being applied to pop, which is fun.

Tim: Title translates to “What A Great Time”, and the song’s basically about a load of friends getting back together for a party, and, whether it’s intentional or not, the musical progression of this song sums the whole situation up perfectly. We start out as a fairly standard light rock track that you get when everyone’s “hey, how are you doing, what are you up to?”, gradually becoming a little more boisterous for the “wait, you really did do that? With her?” period, before the massive breakdown when basically everybody’s losing their shit on the dancefloor, and he’s doing that with her all over again.

Tom: That sounds like a personal story there, but, yeah, sure.

Tim: A great time indeed, and Ben, you’re very welcome to nick that concept for the music video.

Tom: This isn’t immediately going on my playlist, but there’s nothing wrong with it either — I just feel it needs something a little bit more.

Tim: Well, this isn’t the version I first heard and which inspired me to post this; that version is the Darius & Finlay Edit, which adds in a fabulous string backing and has an even better post chorus, but sadly it’s not on YouTube. If you’ve got a streaming service near you, do yourself a favour and play it now. You won’t regret it.

Kamferdrops – En Liten Fågel

“I’m now wondering if I’ve ever touched a violin.”

Tim: You may (but probably won’t) remember that about six months back we discussed 1982’s Ein Bißchen Frieden, the mystifyingly second most successful Eurovision song since the current scoring system began.

Tom: I remember the conversation, but not the song.

Tim: It seems that success has rubbed off on Kamferdrops, a Norwegian artist who’s chosen to redo it. In Swedish.

Tom: Advance warning, there’s some potentially-disturbing body-horror imagery in here, albeit dolled up with a lot of candy-coloured graphics.

Tom: It turns out I do remember that song. Or, perhaps, I remember every other schlager song that sounds exactly like it.

Tim: It does, obviously, sound considerably different from the original, and just because of the language – Eurovision then was about about live orchestras, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if Kamferdrops has never once touched a violin.

Tom: I’m now wondering if I’ve ever touched a violin. Seen, sure. Heard, of course. Touched? I don’t actually know.

Tim: Somehow, though, it still has the same issues for me as the original does – it’s just a bit dull, a bit plodding. Sure it still has the pleasant up and down melody in the chorus, which is almost comforting in it’s gentleness, but in terms of things to get excited about, I’m still mystified by the popularity of it.

Tom: Right! This is exactly the same middle-of-the-road schlager as the original. Which, sure, might have worked back then, but why publish it now? Surely there can’t be that much nostalgia?

Tim: Not a clue.

Ace Wilder – Wild Child

“Several good bits and several bad bits.”

Tim: This one got to the final of Melodifestivalen this year, and has several good bits and several bad bits.

Tim: First bad point: that opening couple of seconds, and the times later on when that bit’s repeated. God, I find that jarring, and it just sounds wrong. Second: the shouting in the verses. Sometimes it can work, as Icona Pop have demonstrated many, many times; other times, like here, it just grates, especially when you’re combining that apparent anger with cheeky nods to the camera.

Tom: There’s promise in the instrumentation under that first verse, though, which is why I didn’t dismiss it immediately. And I’m glad I didn’t, because… well, I’ll let you finish the point you started in your last paragraph.

Tim: Good bit, though: every single moment of that wonderful chorus. The tune, the lyrics, the everything. Other good bit: the middle eight. It shows there’s a proper melody there, and that she’s got a good voice.

Tom: Which makes it odd that she has to switch into the weird not-quite-Icona-Pop voice, really. This could have been great, not just good.

Tim: Overall: yeah. That chorus and middle eight just about make up for the rest.

Laser Dreams – Friday Night

“YES, here I am, the most important part of the song”

Tim: Since it’s Friday, let’s have this. We both quite liked their previous, so they’ve sent us their follow-up for consideration.

Tim: So, the first moments of that got me excited, with the guitar sounding fantastic. The verse came in, vocal sounding great and the production underneath also faultless.

Tom: True. And the pre-chorus is great too — although, while I know the 90s-aesthetic is a thing at the moment, I also think it might be getting just a bit overplayed. There’s only so many bright neon triangles the world can take.

Tim: But then…ooh, the chorus. It just, I don’t know, doesn’t sound enough – more like an extension of the verse than any separate part of the song.

Tom: Yes. You’re absolutely right: it needs kicking up one notch or two.

Tim: I don’t want to say it’s a problem with the vocal, but it certainly sounds like it needs backing up with just something else, something that says “YES, here I am, the most important part of the song”. Other than that: it’s great, particularly that middle eight. But I just want a bigger chorus, you know?

Cazzi Opeia – Wild Ones

“Less of a not-quite-Icona-Pop, more of a not-quite-Sia. “

Tim: Let’s put Christmas aside for a bit, because we probably should, and you may or may not remember Cazzi Opeia’s most recent outing, Batman & Robin; if you don’t, there’s not much need to revisit it.

Tom: I do remember it! It was like Icona Pop’s “I Love It”, except significantly weirder. And not quite as good.

Tim: Sounds about right, yeah. This one’s a good deal more sensible, though not necessarily any more…standard? Possibly the closest word…oh, just press play.

Tom: Less of a not-quite-Icona-Pop, more of a not-quite-Sia. Including a child actor starring as “younger version of singer”. And the title “Wild Ones”, now I come to think of. Hm.

Tim: String samples, vocal twists, what sounds like reversed audio in there, a good beat all coming together to make a song that’s unexpectedly enjoyable. Unexpected, that is, because it really is quite a mish mash of elements, and it takes a hell of a skilled producer to make it sound good.

Tom: Enjoyable? Alas, it was just a bit dull for me: I’ll admit the chorus is burned into my head, but that’s because it’s a bit slow and repetitive. The mishmash keeps it from being a complete non-starter, but I just can’t get excited about it. Why’s it enjoyable for you?

Tim: Hard to say any immediate reasoning, other that it really just does it for me. Though if I did have to pick one specific moment, when it’s coming back in for that final chorus, it got me instinctively moving my head back and forth, in a good way. This…this is nice.

Saturday Flashback: Magnus Carlsson & Jessica Andersson – En stilla väntan

“I’m a sucker for a good male/female duet”

Tim: So this is one I really wanted to feature last year, but held off doing in case a proper video ever appeared; twelve months on, that’s seeming unlikely, so here’s a live version.

Tim: Upsettingly, I’ve no idea at all what the song’s about – can’t find any lyrics online, and I can’t even find a decent title translation that makes sense. On the other hand, it sounds bloody lovely, as I’m a sucker for a good male/female duet, and with those gorgeous strings rolling around in the background it’s giving me nice memories of Tor & Bettan, a Reject that’s still up in my top ten as a frequent listen.

Tom: Huh. For me, it’s just… well, it’s background music, really. Apart from that instrumental bit coming out of the chorus that sounds a bit like the theme tune to The Champions. Why do you like it so much?

Tim: This is a beautiful song, particularly with the rhythm in that wonderfully strong chorus, topped off with that lovely middle eight, and I really do love it.

Nicki French – Very Christmas

“Tom, I think…I think I’ve got you feeling festive.”

Tim: Nicki, star of that amazing Total Eclipse Of The Heart cover and Eurovision 2000, has joined Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and Sia in the list of ‘brilliant female soloists who have a Christmas album out this year’.

Tom: Quick question about this video: what’s the bloke in the background strumming on a guitar doing?

Tim: Just having a laugh, I think – it is, after all, “just a happy holiday”. And speaking of the video, in case you’re looking at that 5:38 running time with a look of horror on your face, you can safely start at 0:36 and switch it off after 3:40, as this is an extended version.

Tim: Hey, it’s festive 90’s dance pop! Or, alternatively, music that every year I try to persuade my parents to listen to, and every year without fail get utterly shot down.

Tom: Or even more alternatively, “the cash-in record”! This is the first one for this season that sounds exactly like someone’s just cobbled togeth… ah, damn it, my foot’s tapping. What the hell have you done, Tim?

Tim: Tom, I think…I think I’ve got you feeling festive. Let’s play this loud right now, and dance around like we just don’t care about anything except ALL THE FESTIVITIES. There’s not a huge amount to say about this, really, except that this is exactly what I would expect a Nicki French Christmas song to sound like, and is very enjoyable for it. Agree?

Tom: Yes. I agree. I don’t actually want to listen to it again, but I agree.

Jasmine Kara – Dear Mr Santa

“Basically she’s just asking Santa for a plane ticket.”

Tim: In which Jasmine sings a lot about snow, but seemingly doesn’t have the budget to do fake snow in the video. Oh well.

Tom: Sometimes the title of a song puts me off. This is one of those times.

Tom: Huh, that’s actually a half-decent song, despite the constant irritating sleigh bells that never go away once you notice them. You can stop them for a while, producer, we know it’s a Christmas track.

Tim: Now while the lyrics here would traditionally be interpreted as “we broke up, but I wish we were back together” in the standard lovey dovey vibe I mentioned yesterday, it’s apparently meant to be taken more literally – she’s stuck in America, her boyfriend’s in Sweden, and basically she’s just asking Santa for a plane ticket. Not quite as romantic, but thoroughly practical, so I’m fully on board (ha, accidental plane pun) with that.

Tom: It’s got enough “sounds like an old Christmas track” to it, while still being interesting. And those vocals are really, really good.

Tim: Musically I’d never really thought of a Motown-styled Christmas track, but it seems to work nicely, particularly with those vocals you mentioned. So me? I’m two for two, so far.

Tom: Agreed! You’ve sent two decent Christmas songs in a go here, what’s going on? Have my standards changed, or is there good music this year?

Tim: Well, kids, check back tomorrow to find out!