Tag: Alcazar

Saturday Reject: Alcazar – Blame It On The Disco

“My word, is this about the performance.”

Tim: Anyone who’s not seen this before may want some expectations; all I’ll say is that in the Melodifestivalen final, the British jury gave it the full 12 points and the Russian jury gave it no points whatsoever.

Tom: I think I’m going to like this one.

Tom: That is incredible. I mean, it’s not a particularly good song, but they descended in a giant disco ball, namechecked themselves in the first verse, and then basically slammed into a key change with every single chorus.

Tim: People say Eurovision’s all about the performance, and my word is this about the performance. I’m not entirely sure what ‘it’ is, aside from excessive partying, that we’re meant to be blaming on the disco, but whatever it is, if it gets this reaction then damn, I want to be doing more of it.

Tom: So many pyrotechnics.

Tim: It got a very positive reaction, coming third with both viewers and (most) juries, but let’s be honest: it’s a good thing this didn’t win. It’s a glorious song (though still not their finest), and a truly wonderful performance, but it wouldn’t have been right for a Swedish Eurovision entry. What it was perfect for, though, was a Melodifestivalen final, and it made the night very enjoyable indeed.

Tom: Agreed: this placed exactly where it should.

Tim: It was written, incidentally, by the same three people who wrote the winner, one of whom has a frankly incredible record when it comes to Melodifestivalen. Sir, I salute you.

Saturday Flashback: Magnus Carlsson & Alcazar – Happy, Happy Year For Us All

Like Peter Andre with sleigh bells.

Tim: Last of the festive ones and ten years old now, here’s to 2012!

Tom: Dodgy grammar in the title, and a tune that sounds like Peter Andre with sleigh bells. This doesn’t bode well.

Tim: Oh come on. It’s a lot more in the vein of tradition pop than previous weeks have been, but this still has a sizeable number of fanfares and jingly things to convey the festive spirit, as if the lyrics weren’t enough.

Tom: Despite my initial skepticism, the chorus did win me over a bit. It’s by the numbers, of course, but it’s not going to get me off the dancefloor at an office Christmas party. If I worked at an office.

Tim: Alcazar are, as we should all know, also noted for their considerable success with a cover of Last Christmas, but this has the benefit of being both original and, unusually, more about the new year than Christmas itself. It’s a very upbeat message, and who could really dislike it? Well, except for that idiot at my work who insists that if it’s not from the 80s it’s rubbish.

Tom: And a happy new year to you too, Tim.

Same Difference feat. Alcazar – Karma Karma

A bit late to the Slumdog Millionaire bandwagon.

Tim: Same Difference: an X Factor 2008 finalist group whose track we previously covered reached the dizzying heights of number 100 in the UK charts. Alcazar: a fairly well-known Swedish pop group, whose biggest success internationally was 2003’s Crying at the Discotheque and whose most recent activity was a rather good 2010 Melodifestivalen entry, Headlines. For some reason – can’t quite see any particular logic – they’ve decided to team up.

Tom: Sounds like they’re a bit late to the Slumdog Millionaire bandwagon.

Tim: It is repetitive, and it is catchy, and it is pretty much what you’d get if you looked ‘pop music’ up in a dictionary, if you owned some weird dictionary that had videos in it instead of words.

Tom: It’s bloody not. I haven’t properly cringed listening to a pop song in a long time, but I did at this. It’s retro in all the worst ways: it reminds me of a dozen songs I hated when I was younger, and seems to jam in some Asian references and chord progressions that seem incredibly out of place.

Tim: Seriously? Because overall, I have to say: I think it’s brilliant.

Tom: I’m sorry to use this as a baseline, Tim, but I would honestly rather listen to the Black Eyed Peas’ “The Time (Dirty Bit)” than Karma Karma. Hell, I think I’d rather listen to dubstep. Now that’s saying something.

Tim: NO! I will NOT let that stand. You are WRONG. Just plain WRONG.

Extra points should be awarded for chaining together about five million ‘woah’s, and the bass line for some reasons makes me think of Super Mario Land. The only thing I’m not hugely keen on is the bridge exit, which is… odd, and I don’t really know whether I dislike it or not.

Tom: I almost thought the key change might redeem the song, but it doesn’t. It’s just as dire, only a couple of semi-tones higher.

Tim: Actually, scratch that – I’ve heard it several times now and it’s great. Like the rest of it.

Tom: I tried listening a second time, and it got worse. Probably because I knew what was coming.

Tim: And I now see the logic of the collaboration: together, they can make Proper Pop. And that is Good.

Tom: They can’t, and it isn’t.

Tim: WRONG.