Lopez Blogs

A couple of dance compilation albums out next week feature Axwell's glorious, euphoric dance remix of "It's True": Ministry of Sound's "Ibiza Annual 2007" and also "The Pacha Experience Vol 2". It's likely to turn up on some more dance compilations along the way: the more the merrier we say, as we at EuropeCrazy will not rest until there is world domination for Salem Al Fakir. "It's True" may well be the dance record of the year and possibly the most euphoric dance anthem since Bob Sinclar's wonderful "Love Generation", but hey, I'm biased. And you knew that. But it is.

Bit of a change this week. Usually I'm not hanging out on the web on Fridays as that's the night I usually hang out with faithful travelling companion. Swapped nights this week though.

Found out that the 7th series of France's "Star Academy" will begin on Friday 26th October 2007 on TF1. This year's contest will pay homage to Gregory Lemarchal, who sadly died on 30.04.07. Through the magic of video the contestants will "virtually duet" with Gregory.

It's all rumours of course at the moment about who will replace Alexia Laroche-Joubert as directrice: according to VSD magazine, Endemol want none other than Raphaelle Ricci (yeah, like that will happen.....!) but the name of Caroline Diament is turning up quite regularly as a possible replacement.

So we got together and compared lists of what we want to do in Berlin. I had 12 things on my list, whilst faithful travelling companion always has to go that bit further and he presented me with 23 items. In 7 days. So I got the calculator out...that's 3.2857 things to do/places to go per day!

Yet another talented curly haired young man that I want to bring to your attention.

Paul Steel is his name, "Your Loss" is the song, and it's a very very very good uptempo song. His album "Moon Rock" is out in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to it.

It won't be long till the MTV Europe Music Awards which will take place on 1st November in Munich. News reaches us today that they will be presented by none other than that well-spoken young man Mr Snoop Doggy Dogg. Live performers will include the Foo Fighters and Mika. More news to follow....

Can't believe it's almost two years since I saw Jamiroquai live: fantastic band. Still think that Jay Kay is a genius and he never got the recognition he and his band deserved. There's not much been happening on the Jamiroquai front since the release of the "High Times" greatest hits CD, but news reaches us of a new live DVD to be released in October 2007 : "Live At Montreux 2003". Whilst I'm pleased to see this, I'm a bit disappointed that there is not yet a DVD of the 2005 "Dynamite Tour". I thought "Dynamite" was and still is a fantastic album, I was listening to "Starchild" and "Dynamite" and "Seven Days In Sunny June" on the way home from work tonight and they still sound so fresh today.

News reaches us that EuropeCrazy's favourite little Spanish hunk has become engaged to his personal assistant, "stunning brunette" Raquel Pereda. Apparently the two have been dating since last year. Congratulations to the happy couple.

But wait...! Alejandro's ex-wife Jaydy Mitchel has also found love. With none other than EuropeCrazy's favourite Mexican hunk, FC Barcelona's Rafael Marquez. Hasn't she got very good taste in men!!!!!

Things never move too quickly in the French singles chart, so I thought I'd have a few weeks break from doing the update and what happened? It's all change.

A new song by Jean-Jacques Goldman is always a big event in France. "Quatre Mots Sur Un Piano" is billed as a duet with Patrick Fiori, however there is also an uncredited female voice on the track - Christine Ricol. It's a slow meandering ballad which may take a while to grow as I'm not really a ballad fan, but it's also the kind of song that Goldman does so well.

At no.2 in the classement is "Garcon" by a new name to the French music scene, Koxie, which is a kind of rap song with summer novelty appeal.

A real big surprise at no. 6 is none other than the Ukrainian legend that is Verka Serduchka, with the mighty "Dancing Lasha Tumbai"!!!

"On A Change" by Les Deesses is a nice slice of zouk-like soul which is always around in France at this time of year. This summer's big zouk anthem would appear to be "C'est Dans La Joie" by Mokobe.

"Tango Princesse" is a nice change in musical style for Julie Zenatti who I'm not really a fan of, but this is worth a listen and the video's a bit of a circus extravaganza.

"Butterfly" by Superbus was one of my favourite French tracks around the end of 2006, "Lola" is their latest song. Their lead singer Jennifer Ayache sounds a bit like Gwen Stefani, although she has her own striking and individual style. Can't get that "boom boom boom boom boom boom....." hookline out of my head.

Interestingly there are very few British/American acts in the French singles chart at the moment: only Mika, Rihanna and Nelly Furtado figure in the top 20.

Lena Philipsson and Orup on the same bill at Stockholm's China Teatern: how good is that! The twosome are back together on stage for another season of live extravaganzas starting at the end of September.

A magic and memorable summer holiday which established Nice as my most favourite place. An equally memorable playlist too...
The cheeky "Papi Chulo" by Lorna was the song of the holiday: it’s totally outrageous and could only ever be a holiday hit!
France’s biggest hit of that summer was "Laisse Parler Les Gens" by Labylle, Devereux and Passi: summer is always time for zouk in France, and this was the 2003 vintage.
"DJ" was the breakthrough hit for Diam’s, who has become France’s best selling female rap artist and most recently cleaned up at the last NRJ Music Awards.
"The Magic Key" by One-T and Cool-T was another massive rap hit and one which I played for a long time afterwards.
Willy Denzey was another French r’n’b artist from that year: "Le Mur du Son" was a big hit in 2003.
Biggest English-language hit of the holiday was undoubtedly "Breathe" by Blu Cantrell.
It wouldn’t be a holiday in France without Marc Lavoine and this time "Dis Moi Que L’Amour" got lots of airplay.
Finally, Placebo have always been massively successful in France and "The Bitter End" was yet another in a long line of huge hits for them.

Retour a Paris.
"Ma Liberte de Penser" by Florent Pagny was played non-stop on the radio, right from the off, and wouldn’t go away.
By that time Jenifer was also well-established and her nice ballad "Donne-Moi Le Temps" was also a radio favourite.
Chimene Badi had originally auditioned for Popstars, but didn’t get in the band because she ‘dodn’t look the part’. What they neglected to mention was that she had a fantastic voice which would inevitably get noticed. Chimene had the last laugh: she became a massive star and "Entre Nous" was her debut hit.
France’s obsession with Madonna meant that "American Life" was on about 83 times an hour.
Make Luv - Room 5: theme tune to "Nice People" which was like a multinational Big Brother.
Sur La Route - Jean-Louis Aubert & Raphael. Think this might have been the first time that Raphael came to the French public’s attention. He soon became a superstar with "Caravane".

Last night saw the final of "Dance X". Unfortunately this series has not been successful in the ratings (and that was even before the return of X Factor last week). IMHO, they should have kept it to a dance contest rather than trying to find a dancing/singing group, as on many occasions throughout the series both groups were a bit ropey vocally.

Both teams started the final with two group numbers "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Dancing In The Street". It wasn't long before Arlene was into panto-baddie mode and it wasn't long till Bruno was taunting her. Oh come on....this rivalry fooled no-one.

Team Arlene gave us "Great Balls of Fire", although it was a little slow, even if Daniel redeemed it as usual with one of his breakdance moments.

"Black Or White" - Team Bruno: this was more assured and lively and the choreography suited the music...but "granny Phillips" didn't think so, accusing the 3 girls of being out of step with each other.

"Toxic" - Team Arlene: a more contemporary tone this time and I thought the vocals were quite good...but Bruno didn't.

"I Can't Get No Satisfaction" - Team Bruno: the thing about Team Bruno is that they would be perfect if they didn't have out-of-place Claire. Marcquelle and Phoenix are good and Marie and Rana are very striking.

The thing is though, I still don't see a recording act among either team.

"Rhythm of Life" - Team Arlene: great showstopping theatrical routine from earlier in the series. Both old school and contemporary in one.

"Land of 1000 Dances" - Team Bruno: crowd-pleasing foot-tapper.

By this time I was sat firmly on the fence and didn't know who I liked best!

In "Pop Idol" style, both groups performed their version of the winners' single "Dancing In Repeat" (rubbish title), which they have both recorded and also filmed the video for, so it should be rush-released very soon. Still couldn't make up my mind.

And so to the result. The winners of Dance X were ......TEAM BRUNO!
I wasn't too bothered who would win anyway, Team Arlene were initially my favourites but when Ife went out and Camilla stayed in I wasn't happy, and Bruno's team made good progress over the weeks so congratulations to them, they'll have their 5 minutes of fame and their support slot on the Rihanna tour. As for Team Arlene - maybe someone will give them a deal as well?

Hard to believe but Dave Pearce's "Dance Anthems", broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in the UK, is 10 years old today.

Every Sunday night, right after the "Top 40" Dave plays lots of great dance tracks both old and new, and this has been essential listening for me over the last 10 years and hopefully it will go on for another 10 years..... :-)))

The Way I Are - Timbaland: I went from not liking this much to playing it more than any other song this week.
It’s Only You/It’s True/Good Song/Dream Girl/This Is Who I Am - Salem Al Fakir: Fantastic songs. Nothing more to say. I have completely lost my heart to this man, who right now is my favourite singer in the whole wide world! :-)))
Japanese Man - Salem Al Fakir (YouTube video, live - Parksommar): maximum audience participation, and first look at Salem’s reinvention as rock star.
Jag Gor Min Grej/Kommer Ifrån - Snook: What, no ‘Inga Problem’ this week? (Thought I’d give it a rest) anyway still loving their album!
Stronger - Kanye West: His choice of samples always lift his rap out of the ordinary: last time Shirley Bassey, this time Daft Punk!
Suburban Knights - Hard-Fi: Effortless singalong guitar pop which shows up a lot of inferior competitors for what they are.
Worried About Ray - The Hoosiers: I’m seriously worried about...why this song has eaten its way into my brain.
Ole Black & Blue Eyes - The Fratellis: nice.
Painted by Numbers - The Sounds: something Swedish which I missed out on, but it’s on The Box’s playlist (www.thebox.co.uk) so what better time to try it out.

If I've got the date right, I think Kyo's main man Benoit Poher was due to get married today, so let's celebrate with "Le Chemin" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfmxPeIP4GI

Whilst I was in holiday in Nice a couple of years ago I almost had the opportunity to see them playing live in the local Virgin Megastore but managed to miss this :-(((

"Je Cours" was another song of theirs I liked a lot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnOkIsFg-h4&mode=related&search=

The night of June 22^nd was a very special one for me. This, my dears, was my first time to ever see Darren Hayes in concert. From the get-go, I took the entire experience in with reserved awe; in such an intimate setting as the Roxy in Los Angeles, it was almost a goal of mine to ensure this concert remained exactly that, an experience. Typically, I am the insufferable twat bounding endlessly like a kangaroo on crack who is hell-bent on ensuring that the artist notices, consequently making the concert his own personal show of sorts. I didn’t want that this night for some reason. I wanted to remain a face in the crowd, and absorb the music as it should be absorbed. Needless to say, Mr. Hayes did not disappoint, far from it in fact (and I still managed to dance like a much sweatier version of said kangaroo).

It is not very often that an artist who’s career has been such a mainstay of radio, one seemingly omnipresent throughout one’s life, begins to make the climb to the top of one’s list of favorite artists and musical influences well past their pop-radio prime. Mostly, they tend to be there from the beginning, instantly taking hold of your fan-ship, as it were. But after the night of June 22^nd, 2007, Darren Hayes had completed the slow trek he’d embarked on 10 years prior, beginning with Savage Garden, and claimed a perch at the peak of my musical idols.

This experience, his experience, was undoubtedly the single-most impactful musical experience of my life so far. This was also the first time I was able to experience what was in store on his new double-disc opus, “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made.” Now that I have been living with this record for several days, letting it marinate, as it were, the dust has begun to settle, and I feel that now I can finally make a worthy assessment of how this particular experience settles with me.

Before we begin, let it be known just how much Mr. Hayes has to live up to in my eyes in following up what is truly one of my favorite albums of all time, “The Tension and The Spark.” The words “a lot,” don’t really begin to do it justice. With that said, it can be safely assumed that my expectations for this record were, suffice it to say, through the roof. Now that it has indeed “settled” with me, I find myself both over and under-whelmed all at the same time.

Sonically, Darren has never been more on point. If a love note were ever written to express how masterful pop-production and sound engineering could indeed sound, this record would be it. With Robert Conley at the helm of “Spark” and now Justin Shave taking the reigns on this beautiful beast, it seems the formerly Savage singer has quite a knack for finding veritable virtuosos in the production realm. His musical partners clearly not only share his vision, but also hone and magnify those visions, adding much to the exposition of Darren’s conveyance of thought. The production on this record is more integral to this conveyance than ever, what with recurring themes of quantum physics, science, and, ironically enough, engineering, and is utterly astounding to say the least. The album’s opener, “Fear of Falling Under” is a sheer sonic masterpiece; not so much a stand alone song as a fully developed intro, “Fear’s” connective blend into “Who Would Have Thought?” is the first of many powerful, chill-inducing moments waiting to be found within the album’s 25 tracks…

25 tracks…

Twenty five whole songs…

Twenty five…

Ten plus ten,

Plus five again…

I think I may be the first Darren acolyte to say that this was just too many for this record.

Now before you throw your hands up in arms and crucify me on the spot oh ye less-than-forgiving readers, please understand how badly I wanted this to work, how much I wanted this to be the sprawling opus it almost is. With “The Tension and The Spark” we the fans were treated to a glimpse into a truly brilliant recording artist’s, not to mention songwriter’s, mind at the time. What we found was a haunted expanse of pain yet un-dealt with, thoughtful contemplations regarding the human experience, and witty musings on the world around him. That album’s single disc was just enough to express what was being expressed concisely, enough to let Darren’s penchant for recurring themes, and sometimes phrases (“eyes connecting” and the lack thereof, etc) resound, but not grow redundant. Here, on “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” we find so many recurring themes and phrases, so many times, that it does become redundant. Thoughts and phrases fully, and beautifully, expounded upon during “How to Build a Time Machine” are found several more times throughout the record, so many relationships and connections are said to be “amazing,” we hear about “this town” so very many times over the course of the record that one can almost predict when the lyric is about to bubble up again by the time you reach the album’s end. In 15 songs, this is reiteration, a mere recurring theme. In 25 songs, however, it does unfortunately become redundant.

With so many songs, Darren also has too much room to meander. A record that decidedly concerns revelation (revelation of the past, revelation of love, etc) strays too much on songs like “Bombs Up In My Face” and “The Great Disconnect.” Despite the former being really sonically innovative and entertaining, its political messages seem to come out of nowhere and the latter is so blandly un-Darren it is almost cringe-worthy. Such Bono-esque, “heal the world” tripe is not what I think any Darren fan waits years to hear when he releases much anticipated new material. In an album of storytelling from a typically introverted storyteller, the odd commentary resonate as exactly that, odd. A shorter tracklist would definitely provide some necessary hedging here and there.

Another flaw seemingly magnified by the record’s length is the occasional unpalatable lyric. To be frank, some are too far-reaching, seemingly haphazard for the sake of being haphazard and at times self-indulgent. Darren ironically describes what the album almost becomes when he says he’s “searching for pieces, pieces left behind, discarded moments in the junkyard of my mind.” The last album was an invitation to a devilishly dark, deep, underground museum within Darren’s heart and mind, complete with tour-guide and all, whereas this one seems to be a couple hours spent in the sun-dappled attic of Darren’s mind while his heart has tea downstairs, pre-occupied with his new love; yes one finds many, many treasures during the stay, but must sift through quite a dusty bit to find it, without a guide at that.

Do not let these past few paragraphs fool you into thinking that I am by any means disappointed by this record, for that is truly not the case. I, for one, am loving every moment I spend in this attic of priceless antiques, pictures of the past, gilded time machines, and hidden treasures.

My favorite find so far has to be “Walk Away,” a magnificent, sprawling, acapella ode to a lover unscathed by the pain of a heartbreak that nearly cripples the other. This song is a masterpiece, and by the time the percussion comes in toward the end, the hardest of un-phased listeners will surely be moved, if not reduced to tears. This song is epic. Speaking of tears, “I Just Want You to Love Me” is bar-none the best love song Mr. Hayes has ever put his voice to, and will surely draw a few from the more sensitive listener. “Lucky Town” could have easily been crafted by the late Swede-pop luminary Denniz Pop (early Backstreet Boys, Five) or early, Robyn-era Max Martin, and “Sing to Me” could quite possibly be the best long-lost Savage Garden ballad never heard. The intriguing little music-box that is “Neverland” stands out as it is truly the only electronic pop song I’ve ever heard recorded in 3/3 time; a waltz that is not only about a boy plotting the murder of his abusive father, but a waltz that is, well, a waltz! With pop production and such! Really quite genius.

Speaking of genius, I might be reading a bit too much into it, but am I the only one who is drawing a correlation between “I Like The Way’s” pulsing reiteration of “there’s just one thing missing, one thing missing here is…love” with the swirling revelation of “Step Into The Light’s” “it feels like, it feels like, it feels like, I’ve never been in love before, it feels like I’ve never been in love before, it feels like…love?” I think I am onto something here, because both of the phrases in those songs are similar, except while the first one is about cheap, callous, love-free sex, and the kind of shallow doom it sentences one’s heart to, the other is truly a revelation that changes from “you know, I’ve never been in love before” to “it feels like I’ve never been in love before” and changes the entire context of the song’s title, “Step Into The Light,” making it so wonderfully smart on so many levels. It’s not about coaxing someone into the light, as the song would initially have you believe, it’s about Darren stepping out of the “Darkness” he found himself surrounded by on the last record. Simply genius, Darren.

In the realm of musical experiences, you won’t find one on par with “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” any time soon. Darren Hayes has grown his wings much like that little origami bird roosting all over his album artwork these days, and truly is soaring. A bit lengthy, yes, but you’ll soon find your favorites and know which tracks to click to, know which boxes and chests to open in the attic, if you will. So take your own step into the light, buy this record immediately, and indulge in everything pop music can aspire to be. Club Delicacy is right. These delicacies are worth the indulgence.

LINK: Purchase the album (US)

LINK: Purchase the album (UK)

LINK: Darren Hayes website

LINK: Simon Curtis website

LINK: Amazingly good XO review

Aftonbladet reports that one of Sweden's hottest rock bands of late, Mando Diao, will release their long awaited new album "Never Seen The Light Of Day" on 24th October.

You don't have to wait that long to hear the first single from the album, which is snappily titled "If I Don't Live Today, Then I Might Be Here Tomorrow": it's out on 24th September.

THE WAY I WOULD WORK SIMON CURTIS:

Alter Boy is coming, have no fear of that people. And not before time. Simon’s assault on the world of pop will be swift and merciless and no one will be left standing in his wake. In fact you will all be bowing down before him. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 15 months since I first wrote about Simon and that now I know his Alter Boy collection of songs inside out. And though they still sound as amazing and fresh as the day I first heard them, it’s getting difficult to think of new ways to write about my fave young new star. So I thought, ok, what if I were Simon’s record label boss. How would I want to market his career? And I came up with the following…

First off, there would be the download only single Resist, available with some stomping remixes that give Simon’s growing fanbase something new to buy and get his name out there. For the first single proper, I have to defer to Simon’s wisdom and go with the electro-pop stomper Answer, complete with eye catching video and X Factor live shows appearance and performance. This is a single that will hang around for a while, so the second single is all important. To showcase another side of Simon, I would pick the infinitely poppy Put Your Makeup On, based around the Popjustice/Xenomania theme tune. Again, remixes are the key here and I’m sure that Xenomania themselves would be obliged to help out. And of course, the lyrics are enough to secure him prime opening slot on the Sugababes tour… Time for the album to drop (dream tracklisting below) and a third single Broken (in it’s glorious Show Mix) hits the charts. For me, this is one of Simon’s most accessible and amazing pieces of work, and I never get tired of listening to it. Just to be a bit controversial at this stage, I would love to go for Sugar Sugar White as the fourth and final single. Not only does it showcase his whipsmart lyrics, but would draw attention to some of the bigotry that goes on in the world… And, although I think it may end up on the first album, I would be pushing hard to hold back the anthemic Pop Messiah for his comeback single from the second album. It’s a mission statement that by then he will have more than earnt.

ALTER BOY TRACKLISTING (not official!):

1. Intro
2. Left Right Left
3. Answer
4. Sugar Sugar White
5. Vicious
6. Broken
7. Put Your Makeup On
8. Bones
9. Religion Reduced
10. Capricorn Disease
11. Alter Boy
12. Resist
13. Bonus Track: Flashback

Been feeling a bit low and subdued (no particular reason) over the past couple of days so sought the perfect remedy last night...yes, I watched the video of Salem Al Fakir's "Good Song" once again which cheered me up, then I watched the video of "Dream Girl" which had me drooling, then the video of "This Is Who I Am" by which time I was laughing at all the crazy outfits he was wearing, then the "Grattis Victoria" performance of "It's True"/"Dream Girl" and by that time I was completely cured.

It is of course all quiet on the Salem front in Sweden at the moment, but you can never say the same for this blog!!

OK so I've been on this diet for a while now but have recently had a spectacular fall off the weight-loss wagon: combination of bad fall = knee injuries = loss of motivation etc etc. Now starting to panic and needing to get in shape for Berlin!!

Believe it or not I'm actually doing this blog entry in my lunch hour at work!

Getting really excited now about our trip to Berlin. Travelling companion and myself did a bit of research last night and the biggest problem is going to be how to fit in all the attractions in this big city. Now we're not really "museum people" but in this instance, given the city's colourful history, it would be wrong not to visit Checkpoint Charlie, the Story of Berlin and the GDR Museum! Got some list-making to do this weekend of all the places we want to visit.

"Mount Pleasure" is its name, and I rushed over to http://www.cdon.com/ to hear the track samples only to find a problem with the link, this page cannot be displayed blah blah blah. Can't be bothered trying to find it anywhere else tonight as it's almost 00:30 and past my bedtime already.

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I'll have a chance to hear it then.

EDIT (24.08.07): still no joy, it's not on iTunes yet and CDON download link still not working. Managed to read reviews of it on Aftonbladet/Expressen/Dagens Nyheter and they are all very positive. Which makes me want to hear it even more!

Ooh this month is flying by and it will soon be time for the next artiste(s) to be revealed for our EuropeCrazy Hall of Fame.

But in the meantime I haven't forgotten our Artist of the Month - Tomas Ledin, so here are 15 songs which I recommend you have a listen to if you're not familiar with his music.

Just Nu - perhaps his best known song outside Sweden thanks to his participation at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest. IMHO this song was too good for the contest anyway!
Not Bad At All - the first time I heard him sing in English, this is disco-tastic.
Mademoiselle - short and sweet mid-70s pop song which is very catchy.
En Del Av Mitt Hjärta: the song that resurrected his career.
En Vind Av Längtan: 11 minute epic from the "Sanger Att Alska Till" compilation, building, brooding and wonderful.
Bla Bla Känslor: Another one from that album, this is a re-recording of one of his earlier songs and IMHO is a much improved version.
Helt Galen I Dig: One of the crowd-pleasing guitar anthems which he seems to have specialised in, over recent years.
Sommaren Är Kort: this is not so much a song, more an alternative Swedish national anthem.
En For Att Sova: From the otherwise patchy 'jazz album', this is an easy going jazz-soft-rock song (not sure how to categorise!)
Festen Har Börjat: If Carlos Santana was Swedish he'd have made records like this in the early 70s.
Vi Ar Pa Gång: Made this list only for the reason it was the official Swedish World Cup football song from 2006.
Det Ligger I Luften: One of the songs which he did in Melodifestivalen but didn't win.
Take Good Care Of Your Children: this was covered by Agnetha from Abba don't you know!
Det Blir Inte Alltid Som Man Har Tankt Sig: very nice song from "Djavulen Och Angeln" with a sweet acoustic vibe.
Sanger Att Alska Till: almost Latin-jazzy in its approach, and still sounds very fresh today.

There are many more songs I could have added to this list!

Just seen the trailer for the 3rd season of "Prison Break" - one thing's for sure, this Panamanian prison (Sona) is going to make Fox River look like a holiday camp.

Season 3 will launch in the US on 17.09.07 and the good news for those of us in the UK who have Sky TV is that we'll see it just one week later.

In the meantime I'm working my way through season 1 which, IMHO, is way better than season 2.

Today's bulletin from Planet Salem: That new song "Japanese Man" is finally on YouTube. Someone has very nicely took the time and trouble to post this performance from the Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg the other week. It certainly rocks, but then he goes into a bit of audience participation where he gets one half of the audience to sing the "whoa-oh-whoa-oh" bit and the other half to sing "you need a Japanese man", and the whole thing gets a bit "Allsång pa Skansen" if you know what I mean!! Hmmmm......

Talking of Skansen, there is another clip of him doing a song there at his Parksommar show and it seems to condense the whole Salem live experience into 65 seconds: he runs up and down the stage, runs off the stage into the audience and then runs back on and starts singing something which I don't recognise but has a kind a of James Brown/Prince-ish groove to it.

Phase 2 of Salem Al Fakir's brilliant career would appear to be underway.

Hard-Fi: Once Upon A Time…

The debut album was a delight. Who didn’t want to get ‘tied up too tight’ and experience the dark claustrophobia of that song, or thrash out to the everyman anthems such as Living For The Weekend, Hard To Beat and Cash Machine with their thumping beats and racing choruses. A nation was quickly won over. The “difficult” sophomore album is upon us all and lead off single Suburban Knights has divided fans (though debuted at 12 this week on downloads only) ~ shouty mess or slick indie pop heaven? Truth is, it’s neither, though it certainly grows on me the more I listen to it. But the good news is, it is certainly not the best tune on the album ~ Television has an amazing chorus steeped in cabaret style pianos dealing with a night in front of Kath&Kim (or whatever?!); Can’t Get Along is destined to be next years festival sing a long classic and We Need Love even has subtle shades of M5-inspired disco beats. It’s the slowies that work best for me though, particularly the piano driven Tonight and the lovely affecting Help Me Please, which was on a war child compilation a couple of years back. They may be denying the fans decent album art but for the most part the tunes are still there…(NME interview above)

Potential Singles: Suburban Knights; Television; We Need Love; Help Me Please

KT Tunstall: Drastic Fantastic…

This may be the best titled anything this year, competing with “Cowboys and Indie Fans” (adem via somewhere else) and “The Iron, The Switch and The Whore’s Clothes” (a pivotal chapter in my oh so nearly done book). Yes DF is an ace album title, but will it be an ace album? Like Hard-Fi, um yes. Almost. Lead single Hold On is a rollicking slice of peppy europhoric pop that so deserves to be doing better and is mirrored in other uptempo tracks like I Don’t Want You Now and the funky Little Favours. The debut album proved KT had a great knack for creating memorable melodies that were destined to be plundered by Idol contestants everywhere, and she hasn’t lost that touch here. The slower songs have an elegant simplicity about them that showcase her bluesy vocals. Hopeless is lovely and Beauty of Uncertainty is definitely an album highlight and future classic. Overall, a solid set of tunes that doesn’t break new ground but are charming enough to thrill you before breaking your heart…(Funnyman video above!)

Not only has the release of "It's True" been confirmed as the follow-up to Axwell's current house-tastic smash "I Found U", (although there's no news of the actual release date) but today I have just learned the great news that Salem Al Fakir is finally to be launched in the UK!!!!!

Seems no time since Sweden chose its last Idol-winner but as late summer approaches it will soon be time for another series and we can't wait!

Guess!
It's Only You/Dream Girl/Good Song/It's True/Tell Me/This Is Who I Am - Salem Al Fakir: that must be love, no doubt.
The Girls - Calvin Harris: Now a big Friday night favourite at EuropeCrazy HQ with me and my faithful travelling companion.
Green Light - Beyonce: original version mind, not the dancey remix one.
Let It Rain - BWO: just a great pop song.
Love Is Gone - David Guetta: the Guetta formula never fails these days. Cracking dance tune and funny video.
Inga Problem - Snook: didn't expect this one then, did you!!
With Every Heartbeat - Robyn: I got into this one later than most of my fellow bloggers and it's really grown on me.

I didn't want to like them - I didn't see the attraction of Ben Double-Barrelled-Surname, I hated their image, (maybe not as much as Haircut One Hundred) but still...."Down To Earth" is an utterly brilliant pop record, the kind of which you will never tire of.

It's 80s night but not strictly speaking an 80s act as this underrated and talented singer - full name Andrew Roachford - continued to have minor hits in the UK throughout the 90s as well, but he first came to prominence in 1988 with the brilliant "Cuddly Toy" which still sounds great almost 20 years after it was released.

Big-haired Italian pop goddess, full name Ivana Spagna, who conquered the charts across Europe with "Call Me" 20 years ago. "Every Girl and Boy" was also a big favourite of mine. Did some research and found out that she's still making records in her native language in her home country.

Where were you when you first heard "Reward"? I was sitting at home on my sofa one Saturday afternoon early in 1981 when I heard it on BBC Radio 1 and immediately was blown away. I wanted to know everything about this band and hear every record they'd ever made, so promptly went out and bought the "Kilimanjaro" album and all their previous singles. Immediately fell in love with Julian Cope after seeing him on "Top of The Pops" dressed in his flying jacket (!) Spent 1981 and the early part of 1982 as obsessive Teardrops fan, whilst realising that Mr Cope was, er, a "complex character" with self-destructive musical tendencies. This meant that the Teardrops would have a limited shelf-life: after the underrated "Wilder" album there was only a 12" EP and not much more. Following a solo career Julian Cope turned his attention to archaeology and prehistoric monuments: a genuine eccentric whom we celebrate this evening.

Yes Saturday night is 80s night at EuropeCrazy and we kick off with the fantastic ABC, whose blend of classic pop songs mixed with Trevor Horn's fantastic big-screen production is just timeless.

"Poison Arrow" will always be my favourite ABC song: the video has Martin Fry in trademark gold lamé suit, and just the right amount of drama. "The Lexicon of Love" was a fantastic debut album but it could never be equalled, and inevitably that would lead to their downfall. Martin Fry was a clever lyricist and an underrated genius from that decade: so that's why we've chosen to celebrate him and his music tonight.

Not that we at EuropeCrazy would dare to suggest "fix" but both Team Arlene and Team Bruno go into next week's final with 5 members left in both groups.

Drama during the week: Phoenix walks out! Phoenix comes back!
This week's theme was Disco. Team Bruno kicked off tonight with a dance routine to "Canned Heat" which was good, but Arlene thought the footwork was messy and we thought....Claire must go. No change there then.

Arlene's team went for a more traditional 70s approach to "Shake Your Groove Thing"... which Bruno proceeded to pick holes in.

Next for Team Bruno was "I'm Coming Out". Noted improvement here, they are closing on Team Arlene although, do not be surprised here, Claire is still.out.of.place. Arlene even liked it though.

She responded with "Car Wash", which was a good solid performance.

Finally, Bruno's team gave us "Le Freak" which was again another good performance, although the vocals on both teams still fall short of perfect. Why could they not have made it just a dance contest?

Arlene's team finished off with "We Are Family", liked the outfits and another good performance.

On the whole, tonight was too close to call but we thought from the beginning that Arlene's team would lose yet another member in order to even up the numbers, and we thought without doubt it would be Camilla, who should have gone last week. As it happened, Team Bruno won the viewers vote, leaving Arlene with the big decision of who to drop.

Camilla saved first - why? We can understand why Daniel survives, as he's a great dancer, and Chelsey is tall, striking and pretty, but what does she see in Emanuel - he's not that great.

Bottom 2: Ashley versus Kalvin, and the result was therefore in no doubt... Kalvin goes home, leaving Arlene's team of three girls and two boys versus...Bruno's team of three girls and two boys. Hmm.

Final next week!

Oh my! Adam Levine has been watching too much Grease Is The Word and yet still manages to look amazingly hot. He showed up on Canadian Idol, performed a rocked out version of Wake Up Call that has me slathering for his tour, and showed off his 50s shlock musical hairstyle that I whole heartedly approve of. Marv. Plus, black is very slimming and he looks quite buff. Oh! And click here for a tour diary from some magazine, and below is a german magazine shot of Adam at home, which seems very similar to the In Style feature the lovely XO alerted me to back in April… Nice scarf, Mr Levine. Call me!

Been over to Snook's official site (well I would, wouldn't I!) to discover loads of photos from their gigs in 2006 in Sweden and Norway when Salem was playing keyboards with them on their tour.

Can I just say that the tied-back-hair and hilarious attempt to grow a 'beard' is so not a good look, and don't even start me on the flat cap. :-(((

Thankfully all that is in the past and he was soon back to his big-haired loveliness!! (However the idea of the Snook boys and Salem on the one stage is almost too much to think about....!)

Did you think I could stay in Salem-Rehab? Yes, just like Amy Winehouse I've had enough of rehab so I'm back to the good old world wide web where everyday there are new delights to discover: tonight I came across a Svenska Dagbladet article from January where Salem interviewed his big brother Nassim!


Nassim is a presenter on children's TV in Sweden and being a member of the Al Fakir family he is inevitably multi-talented: he plays drums and percussion and he, along with Salem, was a member of the jazz-Arabic folk combo Fakir Karlsson. A fascinating interview in which the brothers discussed everything from Swedish-Arab identity to kebabs to big hair! (Yes, Nassim also has big hair, although he is nowhere near as delightful as Salem).


Can't understand why he has all those daft YouTube videos though. There is one of him miming and dancing around to Rihanna's "Umbrella" which still has me wondering why.

The film deviates a little bit from the stage version, but ends up a tauter production because of it. Nikki Blonski is amazing in the role of Tracey, a girl who constantly wants to see the good in the world, and doesn’t understand why people shouldn’t all be treated the same. It’s her unwavering commitment to this that inspires the people around her to break out of conformity and get with the cause. Which all sounds very heavy if you write it like that, but is actually just sparkling and sunny pretty much all the way through. The cast here are all excellent – Zac Efron is less annoying than in HSM and does well as Tracey’s love interest. His little winks of introduction are quite cheesy, but within character and his big solo number (written specially for the movie) ‘Ladies Choice’ is a rollicking energetic pop rocker. Michelle Pfeiffer is appropriately uptight and superior in her big number ‘Miss Baltimore Crabs’, while John Travolta is just hilarious as the two ton Edna Turnblad (who gets to mutter the line “It’s been years since anyone asked me to dance”! Ooo subversive!). Even his dance scene in the big finale is strangely mesmerising.

The big numbers all work extremely well. Opener Good Morning Baltimore is exactly how every morning should start for everyone – full of hope and inspiration and John Waters as a flasher. Can You Hear The Bells is a dreamy little love poem that gains extra hilarity from Tracey walking down the hall, pushing people out of her way and telling her driving instructor “won’t go all the way, but I’ll go pretty far…”; I have to disagree slightly with PPG and say that Without Love works well even without the visual accompaniment, although it is a gem. The stage version (below) is actually slightly different – though both have lines in them that relate directly to what is happening on the screen/stage, so actually I can see where PPG is coming from! Haha, however, it’s one of my favourite songs on the album and in the film. I guess I just like the message. It’s the finale that kicks it all into high gear though ~ Can’t Stop The Beat integrates the two dancing teams on the Corny Collins show (James Marsden looking very RAR and politically correct!) and wraps all the storylines up. Though, that Inez chick who wins the crown was a rubbish dancer imo and actually is probably only one of those cutesy kids who wins things because she is young. Ew. That aside it’s very uplifting, catchy and indeed does make you want to swim in an integrated pool!

Underappreciated ~ James Marsden does a good job of being the cheesy host, but brings a slight gravitas to the role as he struggles to develop it socially to be more inclusive. And Amanda Byrnes – I freaking love her. She does amazingly well in the role, with her facial expressions being the highlights. When Seaweed cuts her loose from the ropes her mother has put her in and pulls out a blade, she looks very turned on for a brief second! Genius. Oh and the final pop number through the credits ‘Come So Far’ is SClub inspired brilliance (and written especially for the film)…

Extras ~ Cooties and Mama I’m A Big Girl Now feature on the movie soundtrack but not in the film. They are taken from the stage show version and recorded for the soundtrack. Deleted scenes on the dvd? One hopes so! Plus extra points if you spot Ricki Lake’s cameo in the film…

MP3: Without Love(stage version)

MP3: Come So Far(film version)

MP3: Welcome To The Tonys (Forbidden Broadway parody)

LINK: Literally, eh dluv...

Now that I am allegedly in Salem-rehab and trying not to listen to his album or watch his videos every day....WELL IT'S NOT WORKING.

Tonight I found a clip which someone had very kindly posted of him singing "Dream Girl" from his Gamleby Folkpark gig on 28.07.07. Despite it being the usual wobbly mobile phone video, the sound is brilliant and his singing just gets better and better.

Worst thing about it: it's only 86 seconds long, but every second of it is marvellous.

Some news on new album releases for the autumn of 2007. The Hives' new album will be called "The Black and White Album" and very interestingly they have enlisted Timbaland and Pharrell Williams amongst other producers. Now that should be an interesting collaboration.

The latest album by HIM, "Venus Doom" is out on 17.09.07 and a much darker sound is forecast. It's said to be heavier, with long songs and no keyboards.

Finally, Swedish acoustic maestro José González will release the follow-up to his hugely successful "Veneer" in September. The title of the new album is "In Our Nature". Looking forward to this as I particularly enjoyed his work on Zero 7's last album "The Garden".

The Jonas Bros ~ The Jonas Bros:
Stunningly original album title aside, I was all prepared to hate the Jonas Bros if only for the fact that they may well be the new Hanson and covered Busted songs. Then I realised I didn’t really care about Busted that much so perhaps it was ok to listen to them, after them being rammed down my throat on radio Disney in florida. So I accidentally (read: secretly) purchased their sophomore album and accidentally (read: secret shame publically revealed) like it. It’s not particularly a work of art, but it’s quite enjoyable in a generic, throwaway sort of way. It’s basically a collection of kid-friendly radio rockers that aren’t offensive or hard work in anyway. There are also some quite sweet ballads in there, and thrown in for good measure are Year 3000 and the truly awful Kids of the Future (they couldn’t cover Electric Youth??). So judge all you want, but check out Goodnight and Goodbye and try not to be taping your little pudgy feet...

OK so tonight I heard the new Girls Aloud single for the first time. Verdict: yes, yes, yes. It's got that nice kind of electro-pop vibe going on, it starts off very well indeed and even if it runs out of steam towards the end, it's still a rather mighty fine pop record and maybe that's the reason that they are the guiltiest of guilty pleasures.

It's True/This Is Who I Am/It's Only You/Dream Girl/Good Song/Tell Me - Salem Al Fakir: this week in order of preference, although I love them all!
Inga Problem/Snook, Svett Och Tarar/Kommer Ifran - Snook: Am loving this duo more with every week. Sweden's coolest (and cutest) rap duo. (especially Daniel Adams-Ray...!)
Selfish Jean - Travis: Nice uptempo song, they are in fine form here. Brilliant lyrics too: "You keep your chocolate biscuits/wired to a car alarm".
Let It Rain - BWO: Pop perfection, nothing more, nothing less.
It's Been Hurting All The Way With You, Joanna/Reconsider Me/Blow Him Back Into My Arms - Moneybrother: New album on the way, but in the meantime I'm getting acquainted with his old stuff. Great!
Ready, Set, Go! - Tokio Hotel: 4 weeks till I go to Germany - might be some Tokio Hotel-type purchases on the cards....
Because of You - Ne-Yo: having a revival of this one at the moment. One of the year's best r'n'b songs.
Work Of Art (Da Vinci)/Please Me - Mans Zelmerlow: he just won't go away. Not that we want him to of course.
The Way I Are - Timbaland: resisted this for a while but now I give in and it has now eaten its way into my brain.
Last Party - Fibes, Oh Fibes!: They're from Gothenburg and make nice mature pop-soul of which this is a fine example.
Suburban Knights - Hard-Fi: They're back! We love them! One of the UK's better guitar bands of the last couple of years. Another hey-hey-hey singalong anthem which is a real grower.
My Interpretation/Grace Kelly - Mika: Why is he such an easy target for the critics? Do they not know talent when they hear it?
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John: Swedish combo who are now getting a lot of recognition particularly in the USA. Catchy spacious foot-tapper, very Magic Numbers-ish and with that very catchy whistling hookline.

So "With Every Heartbeat" has finally reached the top of the UK charts. OK so it's been around for ever, but not that it matters because A SWEDISH SINGER IS NUMBER ONE and that is more than good enough for us.

There is pop greatness, and there is Swedish pop greatness.

Welcome back BWO. "Let It Rain" is a little pop diamond, twinkling brighter than anything else I've heard in a long time.

The cruise ship-set video is suitably surreal (flying lobsters!!!) and they continue to have the most unusual and unique image. Oh and Martin looks quite sweet in the video.

If you don't eventually love this song then there's no hope for you.

Thinking of opening my very own rehab clinic and admitting myself for serious addiction to Salem Al Fakir. I have now been a Salem fan for precisely one month and there is no sign of this obsession going away. I have played his "This Is Who I Am" album almost every day for the past month, can't let a day pass without watching one of his videos (although sadly many of them are no longer online) and frequenting the Swedish media to feed my appetite for information.

We at EuropeCrazy will continue to follow Salem's career and will continue to campaign to get his great music heard outwith Sweden. Surely it will only be a matter of time till that happens! In the meantime we will continue to be the UK's no.1 unofficial source for news, information and general obsession about Sweden's brightest new musical talent.