Meja – Todays & Tomorrows

“Meja’s been going as a soloist for twenty five years now, and here’s her latest.”

Tim: Meja’s been going as a soloist for twenty five years now, and here’s her latest, and I pressed play on it and immediately felt Christmassy.

Tom: …it’s January. Is that a good thing?

Tim: Have a listen, you tell me.

Tom: Huh. You’re not wrong, but I can’t place why. Those aah-aah-aahs in the background do sound familiar, but even with the clue of Christmas, I can’t quite place it.

Tim: At first I thought it was the 12/8 time signature (though that helps), but no, there’s another reason and part of me doesn’t want to point it out because if you haven’t noticed it and you enjoy the song then it might spoil it for you, so I’ll leave it.

Tom: I do enjoy this — it’s the first track we’ve covered in a while that’s felt like it’d inspire a phone-torches-in-the-air moment if it’s played at a gig.

Tim: Yes, I thought you’d like it. So…

Tom: But I’m not worried about it being ruined for me. Go on, what have I missed?

Tim: Well, those aah-aah-aahs you mentioned, and indeed a large part of the underlying guitar melody, seem very similar indeed, to my ears at least, to one particular track I’M SORRY.

Tom: Oh no.

Tim: But even with that, it’s a nice song, with a good style that works for her, straight out of the nineties. I do have an issue with the lyrics, though, which is that they’re basically meaningless: is she criticising the person she’s singing at, or complimenting them, or being romantic, or just providing something to think about? No idea. Sounds nice, though.

Saturday Flashback: Meja – All ‘Bout The Money

Tom: We talked about her new single yesterday, so it seems like we should evaluate her one big international hit. Because I could remember the chorus clearly… but none of the rest of it.
And off the top of my head, I still don’t remember any of it. So let’s listen.

Tim: RIGHT. Yeah, really don’t remember hearing it at all, so I’ll review it as a new track.

Tom: What? No. There’s no way you missed this. It was massive. It’s a cultural reference. How on earth did you miss this?

Tim: No idea. But I did.

Tom: Anyway: having listened to it again a couple of times now, I realise that I still can’t remember the verses.

Tim: Fair dos – they’re not hugely memorable, but it’s nonetheless a good track, chorus and forgettable verses alike.

Tom: This song really is just a setup for an incredibly good chorus — a few repetitive lines that made it everywhere fifteen years ago. Sometimes that’s all a song needs.

Tim: Yes, indeed – that chorus is a good one, and the verses have a decent enough melody to them that with or without the lyrics if I had heard them way back when I may well still now have had an idea of what the song was. I didn’t, so I’ll never know for certain, but it’s good fun to listen to. That much is true.

Meja – Blame It On The Shadows

“Nice, calm, folky pop.”

Tom: Remember Meja?

Tim: Erm…

Tom: No, I didn’t think you would. I’ll bet you remember “All ‘Bout The Money”, though.

Tim: YES. “I don’t need your money, money money, not about the money, money—” wait, that’s Jessie J. Erm, still no. But let’s pretend I do.

Tom: Well, fifteen years — and a lot of albums and singles that haven’t troubled the British charts — later, this the new single.

Tom: And I think we can safely say that she’ll, sadly, be remaining a one-hit wonder over in these parts for a while. There’s nothing wrong with the track: it’s nice, calm, folky pop, but it’s going to stay in the background.

Tim: Yes – if I were to compare to someone ‘big’, I’d say Emmelie de Forest, except that Meja doesn’t have a Eurovision victory to bounce off. Nothing wrong, but it’s not the most fashionable stuff anywhere right now, so probably not destined for hugeness.

Tom: But my word, she can definitely sing live: that rise into the last chorus is wonderful. Her fans will no doubt love it, and if acoustics-and-vocals is your kind of thing then this will go down very well indeed.

Tim: Oh, absolutely. Lovely final chorus, but nothing that’ll get airplay. Of course, one could argue (or rather hope) that we’re now in a time where radio stations don’t dictate what’s successful, but, well, for the time being hope is all we can go for.