Lopez Blogs

Few days ago I told about first two Idol participants who were selected by audience and got their tickets to Friday shows stage. Here we have another 4 successful contestants.
This year contest from the first sight from audition looked in my opinion lacking unique commercial characters but on pre-final stage it turned so that vocal level of chosen artists was very stable and strong so many who deserved to go further couldn't do it. However they still have hope to get through as jury's wildcards and we'll know these lucky contestants already this Friday.
Huge favorites Alice Hagenbrant and Jay Smith haven't deceived expectations of public and got to the final together with Andreas Weise (son of popular tv-host Arne Weise) and Minnah Karlsson - girl with one of the best auditions this year in my opinion. However I should mention as well amazing performance of Daniel Norberg, loveliest Elin Blom and very nice performances of Simon Lingmerth, Sassa Bodensjö and Michaela Osberg who unfortunately haven't qualified but hope will be supported by jury.
Watch second evening-show here and third here.

Minnah Karlsson - Not ready to make nice
Daniel Norberg - High and dry
Malin Brännlund - Thank you
Jay Smith - Wherever you will go
Michaela Osberg - When I look at you
Simon Lingmerth - Kiss
Björn Nagander - Cryin
Alice Hagenbrant - One
Andreas Weise - I believe I can fly
Elin Blom - Nothing else matters
Sassa Bodensjö - Highway to hell
Emil Carlsson - The boxer

I'd really like to tell you about one of my favorite songs already very long time.
Probably not many of you heard about band Straight Frank but I bet you know the song "I'm Stupid" that became huge international hit of another Swedish band Prime STH already 10 years ago. After it Primes released two absolutely genial albums, have toured around the world and then unexpectedly stopped what started so fine deciding to take a pause in a search of new ways of development of their direction. Since that vocalist Noa Modén completely lost out of the music business highlights but another piece of Prime STH - drummer Kasper "Kaz" Lindgren otherwise didn't want to stop creative process and soon we've seen him in credits to albums of Ana Johnsson, Dead By April, Stanfour, Elena Paparizou and many others. In parallel to it Kasper has got two own projects - original indie-project Beware Of The Boo and rock-band Straight Frank sounding in best traditions of Audioslave. Quite long time Straight Frank stayed in a shadow but few days ago we've got news that band is ready with EP and the album in November, you can find some of their music stuff full of drive, sometimes impulsive, sometimes agressive, but always tuneful and well-produced on their Myspace and Facebook page. My personal favorite is "Mary" - thoughtful beautiful rock-song with anthemic chorus and very special vocal of Tobias Gustavsson (by the way another successful songwriter (Sarah Dawn Finer, Martin Stenmarck, EMD, Danny)).

Magnus Carlsson's new album "Pop Galaxy" is out and very soon I'm gonna give you preview of this album as it's really worthy work with loads of pop-anthems.
Though few days ago we've got new Magnus' single "The Best In Me" currently Mr. Carlsson is giving way to brand new video for one of previous singles "Feel You". Very enjoyable video with Magnus between huge computer graphics light panels and dancing in the rain, everything's looking huge, disco and positive and Magnus is in a great shape as well and ready for a new stage of music life with his new album.

Adrian Lux is fresh face in Swedish club music but after two successful singles "Strawberry" and "Can't Sleep" it's hard to call him newcomer as both of them turned to be really adult tracks with interesting videos with ideas and magic sound of Adrian.
Like every DJ he usually works on mixes for different artists and has already mixed Deborah Cox, Basement Jaxx, Salem Al Fakir and Oskar Linnros but I would put your attention more on his own tracks and I have a great reason for it.
Recently Adrian has released his third single "Teenage Crime" with support of not less than Axwell who has added his own remixes to Adrian's package and right now video for this single is out and its another great work. Like previous singles "Teenage Crime" has recognizable meditative mood with amazing atmosphere, catchy vocal line and light touch of Swedish pop-melody-line that you can sometimes feel in tracks of Swedish House Mafia. Video shows middle-age mom leaving her family in the night to catch young guy in the club to spend the night with, very thoughtful and interesting video that you should pay attention along with another works of Adrian.

Boy bands eh? I've adored them ever since I was little and will probably continue to adore them when i've long since been in my cold cold grave (because by then modern technology will enable me to live on cyber-style as an iPad or amazon kindle or on twitter or something). Yet - much like any other pop genre - success can be a tricky thing for them to attain. For every Westlife, Take That, JLS or The Wanted, there is a Digital, Billiam, V, Vigo and Avenue. Most of whome I've effused about on these pages at one point or another. crikey! Anyway, time to have a look at some of the current stock out there and what they are currently up to (and most importantly how hunky they are)...

THE ALTERNATIVE SELECTION:

• The Overtones ~ what with Glee shining a spotlight on innovative vocal harmony, the time is right for a group of fellas to come along and woo England with their doo-wop stylings. The Overtones are 5 everyday chaps who come from a painting and decorating background. Obviously singing on the job has paid off as they now have a record deal and their first album is out in October. Amazes. They have produced a mix of original songs and 50s/60s cover versions. Their debut single "Gambling Man" is a self penned effort that effervesces with charm - it's a solid, finger clicking 3 minutes of jazz tinged cool that is heavy on melody and weaves their voices intrinsically with each other without overpowering the music. I also like that it's a bit cheeky and while is imbued with their musical influences also manages to feel entirely at ease in today's pop landscape. This is reflected in their clothing choices too - vintage "Mad Men" styling with a hint of modern geek chic about them. I'm tres excited about their debut album Good Ol' Fashioned Love and sense that they may be a new obsession of mine. Hurrah! Oh and they are quite dishy too :P
• Straight No Chaser ~ I've enjoyed the Christmassy albums of SNC for a couple of years now. This vocal harmony group manages to outdo Glee with their latest album full of a variety of cover versions that manage to twist and invert what you know about the song and bring something new to the table. Take their latest single - Tainted Love. Sure everyone has heard this tune in Soft Cell format, but in the hands of SNC they turn it into an effortlessly cool, wonderfully harmonised effort where their voices replace the instruments and still make it sound layered and lush all at the same time. The video (click here - embedding disabled which is of course hideous) seems like a riff on The Hangover movie as the boys get up to all sorts of shenanighans in Las Vegas. Oh that's my type of party...

THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE:

• Boy Banned ~ busy preparing their debut UK single are the quartet known as Boy Banned. Possibly a play on the Girls Aloud name (and of course boy band, i'm not totally thick you know :P) they are busy building quite the following on twitter and facebook and engaging with their fans at every opportunity. A clip of their first single proper Street Light shows them leading with an engaging tune that builds on a strong, resonant vocal with minimal instrumental (that's vaguely reminiscent of the brilliant Living In A Box song Room In Your Heart that some boy band absolutely must cover or I will explode!) before launching into a luscious, mid-tempo ballad with an engaging beat and memorable refrain. It builds on all the successful tenents of previous boybands and bodes well for the full length version and video which is apparently coming soon. Oh, and while all the boys seem very charming, I must confess that it's Ethan's pop star hair and innocent face that has me most entranced ;)
• Big Time Rush ~ how on earth have I missed the monumental Nick tv show about a boy band?! This is ridiculous! Why did nobody tell me? They not only have some madcap adventures on tv, but they are prepping their debut album for release in October. If it is like their lead off single Til I Forget About You, it promises to be a power pop extravaganza the likes of which haven't been seen since the glory days of The Click Five (are they still going?!) Season 2 has just started on Nick, so I'm busy playing catch up so I can keep up with the tween phenomenon!

Other established boy band goodness coming your way this "fall"... new take that! new A1! new Westlife! new McFly! new JLS! More Wanted! And they say boy bands are over... Who else should I be checking out?

Every day of this week we'll be watching performances of 24 finally selected Idol-candidates who were grouped and public will be voting for them choosing one girl and one guy who will get to the final stage (when every of 12 participants will be leaving every week). So every of four days public will choose 2 finalists and jury will select 4 wildcards. The most successful wildcard of previous season was Reza Ningtyas Lindh who reached 5th place so it's definitely good that jury has a chance to help audience to listen more of some artists. And another interesting fact is that year before Clara Hagman has left out right on this phase of contest and being noticed got her place in new Ace Of Base so even if someone's going out at this point it doesn't mean we'll never see these artists again.
Last week jury has left a chance to both Jamilla Idris and Madeleine Finck-Björgen to get through to the contest if audience will prefer one of them by voting through weekend and people chose Madeleine (though Madeleine is the sweetest person in the world I think it's a shame Jamilla has gone as artist with one of the biggest commercial potential) but later it went not so good for Madeleine and she was left out of qualification border along with Janine Nyman, Jonathan Garcés and Sebastian Krantz (finalist of Talang-2008).
Two who got their tickets were Chris Andersen - simple but charming country-guy working very well with cameras and providing quite stable vocals and happy performance with his version of "Somebody like you" by Keith Urban and tough rock-girl Linda Varg (who participated in 2002 in another popular TV4 talant-show Popstars and was taken to the band Supernatural afterwards - band has made hit #1 "Supernatural" and album "Dreamcatcher" #1 and split out (male part organized band NEXX later)). Linda performed completely breathtaking acoustic version of U2's "With or without you" that I guess hasn't left anyone doubts that she will win this evening and she did it!

Chris Andersen - Somebody like you (Keith Urban)
Linda Varg - With or without you (U2)
Janine Nyman - Nobody's wife (Anouk)
Sebastian Krantz - If its all I ever do (Anders Johansson)
Madeleine Finck-Björgen - Everywhere (Michelle Branch)
Jonathan Garces - The worlds greatest (R. Kelly)
Whole pre-final episode #1

Gosh!!! This Christmas is gonna give us incredible amount of really amazing albums from some big names of Swedish music. Few days before Malena Ernman revealed that she's gonna release Christmas album soon but news about Sarah Dawn Finer's Christmas album sound like most promising release of last months. Ah, it's just words, they're not enough to say how excited I am about this release!
Last half of year soul-queen Sarah Dawn Finer constantly gave tips about her forthcoming acoustic album that she was planning for the end of year and now press-release is out on her site and we can see whole tracklist and exact date - November 3rd when the world will hear this album. Year ago Sarah recorded track "Min bön" with Peter Jöback for his album "En god Jul och ett gott nytt år" and now it's her turn to present her winter compilation. The album will consist of the most favorite Sarah's classic Christmas songs which mean a lot for her and which she was grown on and as well some which before weren't associated with Christmas like "River" by Joni Mitchell, "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan and "Sometimes It Snows In April" by Prince. You can also find Swedish version of song "For a Friend" (from previous album "Moving On") released earlier this year as Royal Wedding single in Swedish version - "Kärleksvisan" as bonus track. The album was produced by Jesper Nordenström (The Rasmus, Daniel Lindström, Uno & Irma, Anna Ternheim, Magnus Uggla) with many guests artists and musicians involved in this record (Nisse Landgren, Eric Bibb, Louise Hoffsten, Per Lindvall, Goran Kajfes, Johan Norberg).
Below you can see tracklist and one of the song - "Maybe this Christmas" by Ron Sexsmith that Sarah performed before - quality of the video is bad but it sounds quite good to fall into complete obsession about this release!

1. I'll Be Home For Christmas
2. Maybe This Christmas
3. Have Yourself A Merry Litte Christmas - feat. Nils Landgren
4. The Christmas Song
5. In The Bleak Midwinter
6. Christmas Time Is Here
7. Angel
8. Auld Lang Syne - feat. Eric Bibb
9. I'll Be Your Wish Tonight
10. Winter Song - feat. Louise Hoffsten
11. River
12. What A Wonderful World
13. Sometimes It Snows In April
14. Kärleksvisan (Bonus Track)

How many artists out there would be bold and ambitious enough to release three albums in one year, particularly in today’s very fragile music marketplace? Not many, I would imagine, so it’s "three cheers" for Robyn as she has boldly gone where most other artists wouldn’t dare to go.
"Body Talk Part 2" is, as the title suggests, the second part of the trilogy. Already well-received by music critics in her native Sweden, who are particularly proud of one of their country’s hottest musical exports of recent years.

At a time when female acts seem to be dominating the charts, and you can’t open a tabloid newspaper without daily shots of Katy Perry, The Saturdays, Cheryl Cole etc, Robyn’s profile in this country is still relatively low. Which is just fine: despite her own very striking image, she is still known first and foremost for her music, and continues to compete on her own terms.

Where its predecessor opened in confrontational manner with the stark "Don’t F****** Tell Me What To Do", the second album opens in a warm and welcoming manner with "In My Eyes", in which she reassures us that everything will be all right - "....it’ll be OK". This song is better than OK, actually: it’s a perfect example of her effortless style of pop.

The good feeling continues on "Include Me Out" which is less electro-pop and more electro-r’n’b, complete with a mid-song rap from the lady herself.

"Hang With Me" previously debuted on "Body Talk Part 1" as a ballad, but here it is in all its dance-pop glory. Like all the best pop acts, Robyn knows the value of simplicity in getting her point across, and "don’t fall recklessly, headlessly in love with me" is probably one of the best lines in a pop song for a long long time.

Robyn continues to get her point across on the pulsating electro track "Love Kills" which has a very clear message - "protect yourself!" - and a catchy chorus.

As with "Body Talk Pt 1" though, things get a little patchy. I wasn’t so impressed by "We Dance To The Beat" which I’d only consider as filler and no more. "Criminal Intent" is a little better, with that hookline "somebody alert the authorities, I’ve got criminal intent", but again it’s not much of a song. On the plus side though, they do show off her versatility as an artist and her hip-hop/dance influences.

A guest appearance next from Snoop Dogg, who seems to be a bit of a rapper for hire these days, but at least he gets more to do on this than his recent, lazy contribution to Katy Perry’s "California Gurls". This one merits the ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker thanks to Robyn’s fondness for the ‘F’ word on this one. "U Should Know Better" offers the advice not to mess with her, and I love that lyric "...the whole industry knows not to f*** with me". Both Ms Carlsson and Mr Dogg sound as if they had a great time making this one.

Finally, "Indestructible" which, in the style of "Hang With Me" appears here first in ballad form and is promised to return on "Body Talk Part 3" (due for release around December 2010, I think??), in its full dance-pop glory. The ballad version is fine - although maybe not as good as the ballad version of "Hang With Me" - but as I always prefer uptempo to ballads, then I’m looking forward to the dance-version will definitely improve the song.

Like its predecessor, "Body Talk Pt 2" isn't quite a ten out of ten album, but it's still one of the best recent releases I've heard. Both albums demonstrate the talent and versatility of one of today’s best pop artists. Imagine how good her "Best Of" album will be....in the meantime, bring on Part 3!!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. The auditions are over and it's time for bootcamp. Without Cheryl (buggy) or Dannii (Placenta-y). Imagine half your workforce not turning up! Still there is lovely Nicole standing in. Again, i state that the US X Factor must sign her up stat! I guess she is like the temp from Randstad that you really like but don't have a permanent position for... :P Oh let's just get on with it and see what changes are in store for the 211 (!) acts put through so far...

• INTRO ~ Everyone arrives. Louis and Simon arrive. Simon's shirt is absolutely hideous. The time keeps popping up on the screen like it is some high octane drama a la 24. It is not. At best, it's like one of the better Hollyoaks. All the acts are split into the respective categories and each act in the category has to sing the same song! Gasp! The innovations!
• THE OVER 25s ~ they get Poker Face. It does not suit anybody, except 50 year old check out operator Mary. And perhaps Marlon from last week. Mary pronounces Lady Gaga as "lady gag-her" which makes me smile quite a lot. As much as one can smile with raging toothache.
• THE REST ~ Oh clearly the producers are bored of this part of the proceedings already because they are just whizzing through it montage style. Tobias fucks up Man In The Mirror and has a good cry with Dermot. Oh Tobias - Idina fucked up Defying Gravity in her audition for Wicked, said a curse, nailed it, and got the part anyway. So all is not lost (despite Simon saying there are no second chances. Perhaps he means figuratively. Like when people say "oh i literally laughed my head off" Well you didn't, so clearly you mean figuratively).
• THE GIRLS ~ did the groups and the boys even happen? I popped two co-codemol and must have missed the montage. Chloe turns up late because she has been on the lash and her mouth tastes of sick and vodka. She is class all over, though at least honest. Ghastly. As are many of the vocals in the montage. Madonna-Katie sings, is only ok and says it's in the lap of the gods. She means Simon's crotch.
• DECISIONS1 ~ Simon & Louis talk about people whose pictures we cannot see, so it is all a bit meaningless. This is yet another X FACTOR CLICHE that I had forgotten about. Tobias is still crying. Someone needs to give him a valium. Lots of people go home, though honestly it's really hard to tell who. This episode is all over the shop. On the flip side, lots of people are through and X FACTOR CLICHES abound including the "you are not...." (long pause) "...going to be disappointed, you are through!" fakeout & people calling their folks and holding the phone like they are on The Apprentice (UK version)...
• DAY2 ~ Dermot has a new shirt on. He looks as good as ever. The acts are back on stage. And being taught to dance. It's not a judged section of the show so is ultimately just a bit of filler that is probably designed to bring some comedy relief to what I'm sure the producers believe is a bit of tension. What is funny is Brian dressed as a kermit version of Kylie's Can't You Out Of My Head persona. Titter. His neckline is well plunging though. Lots of people dance badly and Louis trots out the first "people need to own the stage" of 2010. Bless him. I'm a bit speechless at it all really, but the sweat pouring off househusband Stephen is making me nauseous...
• BAD DANCERS ~ Zain has a bit of a hissy fit. Have we even seen Zain before? At all? Ever? Probably not and now he is a supporting player given a guest starring role in the script. He runs off backstage, refuses to dance and basically has a bit of a nervy mare moment. Simon pep talks him and he decides to give it a go. He's not awful and Simon displays some smugness. The girls and groups have no nervy mares among them so don't get nearly as much time spent on them. 2 things though - Diva Fever rock the most, and despite Mary's gippy knees she at least gives her titties a good shake. Glorious.
• THE FINAL CHALLENGE ~ the remaining acts all have 40 songs to chose from. They must absolutely pick the right song. This clearly means that some people will pick the wrong song and this will be THE WORST THING EVER. Etc.

• CHER ~ is putting a twist on her song choice and adding a rap. This could be amazing. Or a sweet Christ moment. She does Viva La Vida though it isn't instantly obvious. It's a bit odd, but I really love her. It's not perfect, but it's daring and interesting and probably the most innovative thing ever seen at this stage of the competition.
• PRINCE & ROGUES: Have they even been on before? Perhaps during a montage? I like them. They do Party In The USA by Miley and sing "and the pussycat dolls are on". Do you see what they did there?!?! It works. Bravo.
• TREYC ~ I had issues with her name spelling last year and it hasn't changed this year. She does a rather good version of Creep, but she's been here before so the producers move on. Blimey, they are whizzing through it tonight.
• STORM ~ remember the vomit that Chloevil could taste in her mouth earlier? I'm tasting it right now. He's corn on the cob and i really can't be doing with that this year. Diva Fever seem to like him though. Bless their naivite.
• CHLOE ~ God her knees are atrocious. They are as horrible as her gob. She's got bits of belt hanging down by her crotch. They are like two tampon strings. Essentially she is like a slightly skankier version of Christina Aguilera circa Dirrty. IMAGINE! She forgets the words and freestyle hums. Travesty.
• TOM ~ who Pixie said no to and then yes to (fail). Sings Live and Let Die. He does some comedy rock god faces and some strutting on the spot. Simon can barely criticise this because it is at least on a par with Joe fisting in Ambitions...
• LIAM ~ who I adore nearly as much as I adore Cher. He's a bit nervous. Oh I hope he's brillopants. Oh god, he's doing Stop Crying Your Heart Out, which isn't a problem per se, but it's been on several times tonight because clearly Simon needs Leona's version to rechart. It's good but not great sadly :(
• THE REASON ~ they do the best acoustic version of Bad Romance I've ever heard. Though i've only ever heard one other. The Wanted beware - the game has been raised.
• MATT ~ Scruffy matt does a flawless, emotional version of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Twitter will explode with excitement over a boy doing this, though I'm sure Stereophonics or someone did it first. It's technically lovely but honestly, I was bored rigid. Probably the tooth

SUNDAY'S SHOW...

Apparently the pressure has never been greater. You know, other than the other years at this stage, or the live shows, or perhaps even the live final... tonight's show is much easier to blog as it focuses once again on individual performances, rather than annoying montages...

• KATIE ~ It's Madonna-Katie. She doesn't look as good this time. Her hair, in fact, looks a bit like Hilda Ogden. Oh enough sniping, she's doing a lovely cuddly version of Make You Feel My Love. Darren and I have a romantic little gazing moment that leads to other stuff, but then the tooth starts again. I was right to love her from the start. Amusingly, another contestant in the audience has an "oh poo, she's really good" look on her face...
• DIVA FEVER ~ YAY! It's diva fever! Or Divfev as I will now call them. I predicted on twitter earlier tonight that they would make the judges houses, but then break my heart by not getting through to the live shows. They do a bit of a dodgy version of Bad Romance, but are so full of pep and spunk (oo-er) that they must be put through for the fun factor. (Louis loves them, ergo there is a montage of acts that Louis loves but not Simon including Twat or whatever those twins were called)...
• AIDEN ~ He has Simon Curtis' 8 Bit Heart glasses on. He's doing This Year's Love by David Gray which is a bit disappointing after his first audition. God, these pre-song monologues are painful aren't they? I think Nicole has done a little love-wee and Simon's well into Aiden's amateur dramatics during the song. I've gone off him a bit now to be fair. (More montagey bits follow, including Husstle who in 2 minutes are already more interesting than 2 years of The Saturdays)...
• REBECCA ~ or the anti-Chloe. Her vocal coach, John Modi, is as pretty as her dress :P Just saying. Well, the dress in rehearsal, not the unfortunate choice she wears for the main audition :/ 'm distracted by her lovely but ever so slightly dull performance of Like A Star because SIMON IS DRINKING FROM A STYROFOAM CUP! This is a) dreadfully common and b) hideously environmentally unfriendly. This show has no green factor.
• NICOLO ~ or the real diva fever. He wants a mic stand. How bizarre. He rolls his eyes a lot and states he has come a long way (long pause) from italy. Which is unintentionally hilarious. I thought he would get swallowed up by Life On Mars, but apart from some pitching problems and Deidre Rachid Barlow neck problems,, it's the best LOM since G4. (More unintentionally hilarious quotes include Paige saying "i'm hungry". Guffaw)...
• GAMU ~ Must we have a reminder of each contestant's first audition? And more "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" in the background? Chill, Simon - it will no doubt re-chart for little Leona. Oh. She's doing Make You Feel my Love. Adele will be racking in the cash from the re-chart of this. Gamu is simply wonderful by the way...

That's it! Lots of deliberations are interspliced with lots of contestant platitudes about this being their last chance, how life changing it is, how they don't want to go back to the same old shit job that 95% of the people watching will have, etc. Nicole wants some of the 26/27 year olds in the boy/girl categories so the overs is upped to 25. I am aghast at this but only cos I am a stickler for rules. Oh, and 8 in each category are going to judges houses. Here they are with what i think is the best category listed first and the worst last (the ones I want in live shows are in bold)...

• GIRLS ~ Katie, Raquelle, Keri, Treyc, Annastasia, Rebecca, Cher, Gamu
• BOYS ~ John, Nicolo, Paige, Aiden, Marlon, Karl, Matt, Tom
• GROUPS ~ Twat, The Reason, Diva Fever, FYD, Princes & Rogues, Husstle & 2 new supergroups from solo contestants (X FACTOR CLICHE, but at least it means Liam is through!)
• OVERS ~ Honestly, they just whizzed through this and I couldn't keep up but Storm (boo) and Mary (yay) are through!

And then the judges for each category are revealed. Of course Cherevyl got the strongest category, while Dannii got the boys. Simon I do believe will work wonders with the groups, while Louis gets shafted with the overs. Poor bastard. AND SO IT BEGINS....

I can't stop listening to that Mor ve Ötesi CD which I bought last week in Bodrum. Brilliant Turkish rock music! Their name should be familiar to European music fans as they represented Turkey at Eurovision two years ago with "Deli". Their new album "Masumiyetin Ziyan Olmaz" just gets better with every listen, and I will review it soon on this blog. Harun Tekin has a terrific, distinctive voice and is a great frontman. Favourite tracks so far:

"Araf": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrKevlnYnqY
"2012": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHRzPVSh810 (audio only)

What comes to mind when we think of Polish Culture?  Is it Chopin, Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda?  That, and so much more! In its thousand year history, Poland has given birth to a nation of great artists, scientists, and innovators. It was and still is one of Europe's elite cultural centers that continue to fascinate and charm the world.  This blog will be a portal to discovering Great Polish Culture in all its diversity.  Polish music, art, and film, are just a few of the genres that I will be showcasing.
  
On October 15, 2010, I will be hosting a special presentation of Polish Music-Past and Present.  It will be a cornucopia of sights and sounds, and one which I am sure that you will enjoy! Videos and audio tracks will be presented online, accompanied by articles.

Please note: The complete version of this presentation will be available only on my website, but I will be providing links and snippets of information on this blog.

Log onto http://www.polishgreatness.com/polishculture/welcome.html  and celebrate the splendors of Great Polish Culture!!

One of the most inspring soul-artists and owner of amazing voice Stephen Simmonds has prepared new single "Just Love" and it sounds at least like the best single of month!!!
But firstly I'd like to present Stephen to those who don't know about him quite enough. Stephen Simmonds is international child, having Jamaican father and Swedish mother living with family in United States and Israel in childhood but finally staying in Sweden where he's got music education and was discovered in mid-90s. His debut album "Alone" turned to be a huge breakthrough in 1997 and debut single "Tears Never Dry" featuring Lisa Nilsson has become real classic of Swedish pop-music. Getting quite huge interest of labels around the world album was also released in Japan and in UK and US under new name "Spirit Tales". During next few years Stephen has released bunch of other singles ("All The People", "Alone", "Now's The Time", "Get Down") - very gentle and soulfull tracks which marked him as the singer with uniquely beautiful voice and excellent taste in music he was making. Another highlight of that Stephen's era was duo with Titiyo "Comin' Home" - one of the most beautiful song in discography of both, song without age. Later in 2002 when Stephen came back with new album "For Father" in 2002 they kept working together so you can here Titiyo's vocal contribution in this work. After release of Titiyo's huge hit "Longing For Lullabies" (in collaboration with Kleerup) Stephen has made brilliant cover for P3 Guld-2009 that I really recommend you. On "For Father" he was working as well with Dilba which he recorded single "For Father" with (along with other singles - "I Can't Do That" and "Let Me Touch").
Third album "This Must Be Ground" in 2004 marked Stephen's collaboration with other great vocalists like Sarah Dawn Finer and Anna Nordell and new singles "Where's My Love" and "Louder". In 2006 Stephen's song "So Good" qualified to Melodifestivalen but as he didn't want to sing the song himself it was rejected by SVT. This year Stephen has come back with brand new single "Adiyeah (Give People What They Want)" with new unexpected sound but still loads of artistic and vocal charm and after Summer of promotion and participance in Ladies Night show with Martin Stenmarck, Brolle and Andreas Johnson he's back with a new single "Just Love".
"Just Love" is written by Stephen and produced by huge international songwriter/producer Arnthor Birgisson who worked with many world names like Britney Spears, Leona Lewis, Westlife, Janet Jackson, etc. and also produced Darin's "You're Out Of My Life" and you can feel that hard beat in amazing combination with modern pop-sound, r'n'b vibes and completely ecstatic melody that screams to be new international breakthrough of Mr. Simmonds. Single is planned for release in the beginning of October along with new album "Anomie".

It's not secret, Sibel Redzep is the singer with one of the most beautiful and touching voices of country, pity that last time when we got her album was more than 2 years ago. However this year we've got whole 3 singles from her - her Melodifestivalen "Stop", duo with Lazee "The Fall" and with Alex Sayz "United As One" so obviously we can't complain but still our hunger for Sibel's stuff requires constant feeding! Great that we have Sibel's channel on youtube where she uploads her covers for some favorite hits. Should I say how gorgeous they are? No, I shouldn't because you should listen them yourselves!

So, today it's snowing and a polar bear's just walked past our room window....no only kidding folks, it's the usual - hot hot hot!

After breakfast we book for a trip to Kos on Saturday - here's a good chance to add yet another country to our growing list. More to follow...


Then it's off to a local record shop for the first CD purchases of the week: new CDs by Tarkan, and Emre Aydin - I wasn't really familiar with the latter until I heard his new song on Power Turk TV - "Alıştım Susmaya" and was impressed enough to buy his latest album. Reviews of both albums to follow on here, eventually....

Another day of hanging out in town. The high temperatures dictate just how far you can walk or how much you can do, but there's nothing wrong with hanging out in town. Earlier in the week I thought there was less of the hard sell than last year, but as I previously said, first impressions can be wrong! It's great fun trying to dodge the power-selling which goes on.

You always get more when you bargained for when shopping in Turkey....and today was no different. Faithful travelling companion bought a Turkish national team football top - and I got a marriage proposal from the young man selling it! Sadly I had to decline as I told him I couldn't move to Turkey because the weather was too hot ;)

One of the things you must do if you go to Turkey on holiday is: Turkish Night! These evenings usually consist of food, drink, folk dancing - talking of which....




...traditional music, novelty/specialist acts and of course the highlight of the evening - belly dancing. Not only female belly dancers - but a male one too! You don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of a male belly dancer. Sorry it’s a bit blurry, but you get the idea, and it’s very hard to take a photograph when all that...belly dancing is going on. 　
　

There's a pattern developing here already: hot weather, hotter weather, even hotter weather etc etc. But there is a lot to be said for the power of factor 50+ sun protection, which manages to fight both excessive sun damage and repeated plays of "We No Speak Americano" at the pool bar. It's all good.

Boo :( I have toothache. This is probably entirely my own fault as is usually the case with toothache. I am seeing the dentist on Monday morning. He will glare at me with his smouldering eyes and make me feel bad for indulging in that toffee from the £5 special offer tin of Quality Street. Curse the supermarket price wars! They will be the ultimate downfall of my nashers. So I am powering through the weekend with co-codemol and ibuprofen. And some surprisingly effective baby teething gel! Magnif! Luckily, there is lots of music to get me through til Monday morning. Here is what you should be checking out (toothache sympathy in the comments please!)...

Songs to ease the toothache :)

• Shayne Ward ~ Gotta Be Somebody: Christ this is getting out of hand! First Westlife do Chris Daughtry, then Joe does Donkeyboy. Next we'll have JLS coming out with a cover of some Hoobastank song! Frankly I was mortified when I heard Shayne was coming back with a Nickelback song! Both him and Joe have tweeted so much about the amazing music they are making, then both pop up with cover versions. However, I have learnt not to make snap judgements and rather than a straightforward cover, Shayne has got a nice glossy pop/r'n'b arrangement rendering it significantly different from an original I really wasn't too familiar with anyway. The full version is actually quite engaging, and a solid return for Shayne that I'm more smitten with with each listen. Hopefully the general public will agree too...
• Adam Tyler ~ Operation: Adam Tyler is currently in the united kingdom and by all accounts having a whale of a time. That has no bearing on whether this track is good or not. I'm pleased to report however that it is rather bonza. It's a sleek, persistant electro groove - Adam's tapping his lower register on the vocals and his voice sounds great. It's very downbeat lyrically, about removing negativity of a failed relationship from his life - the middle 8 sounds particularly sinister when Adam sings "anesthesia" and the backing gets almost psychotic; it's bleeps and beats all over the place but held tautly together with some great production. Is this the outcome of living too long with his Friction addiction? Regardless, it works well as a sequel to that song or just a great piece of pop music. More per favor.
• Mohombi ~ Bumpy Ride: I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about Mohombi and his instantly infectious track Bumpy Ride. Basically he's a RedOne protege and he's crafted a fun, compelling summer anthem that will take you way into Autumn and beyond. It mixes smooth vocals with a slightly reggae infused track and comes across as a slightly more credible Start Without You. The video is a bit literal and reminds me at times of Peter Andre, but overall it's definitely an enticing tune that reels you in. Apparently lots more good Mohombi stuff is coming up (War Zone is brillo)....
• Magnus Carlsson ~ Best In Me: Oh my amazesticles! Magnus - always a reliable bet for some bonkers, gleeful pop majesty - has popped himself in a time machine, whizzed back to 1989 and produced one of the most thoroughly giddily enjoyable sparklingly fizzy pop treats of the year! It's not just inspired by Stock Aitken & Waterman, it's positively drenched in their influences. I'm pretty certain the backing track owes a huge debt to Love In The First Degree. It doesn't even matter. It's such a feel good piece of music and I can't wait to devour Magnus' "Pop Galaxy" next week. It could be absolutely immensicles...

• Charlotte Church ~ Back To Scratch: This is a very lovely, lilting return to pop for Charlotte. It totally follows on from more madcap numbers like Crazy Chick & Call Your Name, but represents a more mature reading from her - a reflection of what she has been through the past few years. Her voice remains well suited for this type of number and there's a sadness mixed in with the quite wonderful floating music. It's all pulled together very well and I'm ever so eager for her album next month. Love the multiple charlottes video above too! Amazes.
• Velvet Code ~ Follow You Follow Me: I first heard of Velvet Code on Larry Flick's Morning Jolt. It's synth pop at it's finest and is an insidious tune that soon weaves it's way into your synapses and refuses to let go. It's beautifully created music that shimmies with the knowledge that the person behind has a thorough understanding of what makes pop music great. The chorus in itself represents a simplicity of melody but with some complex electro instrumentation running behind it that elevates it to huge singalong status. Definitely one to watch

Top 21 singles of the week:

21 ~ Bright Light x 2, Love Part II
20 ~ Ace of Base, All For You
19 ~ Brandon Flowers, Only The Young
18 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Once Upon A Time
17 ~ Joe McElderry, Ambitions (NE)
16 ~ Eric Saade, Masquerade
15 ~ Darin, Lovekiller
14 ~ Jesse McCartney, Shake
13 ~ Charlotte Church, Back To Scratch (NE)
12 ~ DeeDee, Balls
11 ~ Kelly Rowland, Shake Them Haters Off
10 ~ Nadine Coyle, Insatiable
09 ~ James Blunt, Stay The Night (vid)
08 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Not Giving Up On Love
07 ~ Kylie, Get Outta My Way
06 ~ Scissor Sisters, Any Which Way
05 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag
04 ~ Elouise, The Winner Takes It All
03 ~ Maroon 5, Give A Little More
02 ~ Gravitonas, Religious
01 ~ Robbie Williams, Shame (3 weeks)

It's hard to feel the magic after only two hours sleep, the unavailability of hot water in the mornings, an uninspiring breakfast, and the traumatic sight of some sunbathers (too horrific to mention here!)

But the sun is shining, and we're centrally located in Bodrum, so let's explore. "Bar Street" is the main street in Bodrum - actually a mix of two streets which run from the beachfront to the marina - and is a mixture of bars, restaurants, clothes shops, souvenir shops and the legendary 'genuine fakes' although there are less immediate bargains to be had here than in İçmeler - none of that "two for a tenner" stuff here! On our first day it felt like there was less of the 'hard sell'...first impressions can be deceptive though!

The immediate and lasting impression is of a cosmopolitan resort, attracting tourists from many countries and also from Turkey itself. That's probably the first difference I notice between Bodrum and İçmeler, which seemed to attract more British tourists. The other difference I notice is that Bodrum is a real, working town and not just a holiday resort.

Let's stop for a Turkish coffee, shall we? ;)

Wherever you are in Turkey, you'll never forget where you are. Turkey has a uniqueness which you just don't get anywhere else. None of this "British fish and chip shop" rubbish. And it has pide - Turkey's own version of pizza. Ooh....it's time for lunch!


After lunch we do some more exploring, and walk to the other end of the beachfront, as far as the famous Halikarnas open-air nightclub (tagline: "You can not say you've been in Bodrum if you haven't been to Halikarnas"), take a back-street wander and then back via the many beachfront restaurants all competing for trade. Aah yes....the hard sell. But in this heat (a boiling 33 degrees) you need to stop for a cool drink in the afternoon.


Imagine the scene: you're sitting at a beachfront cafe-bar and a guy who is the double of Eddie Razaz is sitting at a nearby table...it suddenly becomes very hard to concentrate on the other sights of Bodrum :) anyway, dear readers, I just know that you'll be wondering about the eye candy. Well I can reassure you, the eye candy is very, very appealing indeed, and continued to be very appealing over the rest of the week :))) Lots of lovely girls for faithful travelling companion too ;)

On return to the hotel we discovered the Power Turk TV channel - a music channel playing all the latest hits. For a fan of European music like myself, this was like striking gold. We discovered so many new songs and artists thanks to this channel, and it also helped to inform my CD purchases in the coming week.....! Catch up with the latest Turkish top 40 at http://www.powerturk.tv/.

In Bodrum, Bar Street is the place to be, morning, noon and night. There are many restaurants between the beachfront and marina, some of which are quite upmarket, but all of them have one thing in common - you enter the restaurant on Bar Street but you dine at the seashore. Just don't lean over toooo far....oops! Man/woman overboard :))) We had dinner at one of these restaurants tonight - very nice. One particular thing which appeals to me about Turkey is the wide variety of dishes available in restaurants, which cater to all tastes. That is certainly the case in Bodrum - there's something for everyone, although less of the set menus found all over İçmeler.

We round the evening off with a seafront drink - it may only be a Tuesday night, but there's a lively party vibe going on. But not too much partying for us tonight - need to catch up on sleep!!

Second consecutive year of our summer holiday in Turkey....but a different destination. In 2009 it was İçmeler, which left a significant and lasting impression on us, and it was very clear that we would return to Turkey again some day.

However, we looked at other destinations for our 2010 summer holiday, but when these didn't work out, Turkey became an obvious alternative. But how about same country, different destination? I had been intrigued by Bodrum, which offered a mix of historical attractions and a party atmosphere. An interesting contradiction. After further research, it became very obvious that Bodrum would meet our needs.

Bodrum is situated on the Aegean Coast of south-west Turkey, and the Greek island of Kos is just an hour away by ferry. Bodrum's famous landmark is the Castle of St Peter, built in 1402 (pictured above) - a centrepiece which divides the seafront: on one end is the beach and on the other side is the marina.

I don't have too many negative things to say about Turkey, but the one thing which must be mentioned is the very long delay on entering the country, due to the visa system where everyone hands over a Bank of England £10 note and has the visa stamp placed in their passport. This can be an extremely slow process - and an unwelcome one after a long, tiring day - so patience is required!! And then there was the never-ending wait at baggage reclaim....oh stop moaning, you're on holiday :)

As we had a night flight to Bodrum on Monday 13th September, we didn't arrive till the early hours of Tuesday morning, therefore day 1 of this diary will be Tuesday.

The original French 'pop idol' is back with a new single, "Je Danse". This is the first single from her forthcoming fourth studio album which will be released on 29th November. More info about this at http://www.idolesmag.com/article-340-Jenifer-Je-danse.html

You can also hear a short clip of the new song at www.chartsinfrance.net and in full at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm1Jg2gaw3k (no video yet but I guess this is still to come?) As usual with many of Jenifer's songs, it didn't really make an impression on me after one hearing, but I've heard it about three times now and it's already beginning to grow on me. Some choppy guitars, some well-placed handclaps (and you know I'm partial to them!) and even a bit of talking/rapping too = a catchy foot-tapper, although it's a long, long way from the original Jenifer-style. (If you heard this and didn't know who it was, you wouldn't really guess it was Ms Bartoli).

I'm feeling so 'out of the loop' with French music now, and really need to catch up. Maybe I'm missing out on something special. If anyone has any tips on good new French pop music then these would be very welcome.

This year has given us two Swedish new artists working with RedOne - Love Generation and Mohombi. It wasn't really easy for them to get love of Swedish audience but finally Mohombi's Summer single "Bumby Ride" reached Top-10 and has gone internationally being played around Europe whole season. So now time for new single has come and Mohombi gets support of Nelly on a new single "Miss Me" that's gonna be released on October 31st in UK. "Miss Me" is more calm and gentle r'n'b song, radio friendly, catchy and having amazing dance insert in the middle eight. Does it sound like international hit? Absolutely! You can already watch the video for this song, it's a party high quality video made obviously by proffs and again you can see a lot of nice choreography that I really like when it's perfectly done by such a tall guy like Mohombi (don't know why but I find this combination really impressive). So enjoy next huge export hit from Sweden!

Best rock-ballad of the year "Brush It Off" from Plan Three I've been talking about little earlier this year has got video treatment. It's quite simple video done with taste though showing band playing in some abandoned building and not distracting from amazingness of the song. Everything's on the place! Whole Summer band was performing all around Sweden and promoting their album Screaming Our Sins that I extremely recommend you as one of the best rock-albums I've heard this year. The song is released as separate single on iTunes just now that is weird but hope it means Universal gonna give band new push (rerfectly it would be internationally as their stuff deserves it).

New Magnus Carlsson's single "The Best In Me" is out and Magnus is on the way to promote it along with forthcoming album "Pop Galaxy" that's gonna be released already on September 29th and this album is going to be devotion to music of 80s - Modern Talking, Pet Shop Boys, Samantha Fox and other Magnus idols. You can hear it very well in new single, as it's probably the campiest disco-pop single Magnus ever did, spreading joy of 80s disco with tsunami-scale waves. Magnus performed single at TV4 in it's studio version so if you haven't bought it yet you can check it below. Single contains also cover-version of Alcazar's "Crying At The Discotheque" made in the same vein of Pitchline-pop that you can hear at Magnus' official site (+ Ruff & Jam mix for previous Magnus' single "Feel You" and Pitchline Extended version of "The Best In Me").
As well Magnus visited XL-Live with acoustic performance of "The Best In Me", another single - Erasure-cover "A Little Respect" and ballad version of old Barbados' hit "Kom Hem".

I may have had a change of heart re: Joe and Ambitions. I still would have liked to see Joe kick off with an original tune, but the video has won me over. I still totally adore the Donkeyboy song, but this is a perky, jolly version that almost makes it Ambitions:The Glee remix. PLUS! Dance routine! Immensicles. Adding to a boypop video breakdown update are The Wanted who quickly established themselves where millions have failed before as the boyband du jour. Their second single, Heart Vacancy is out soon. Let's see what pop's most eligible young men (collectively) have come up with!

Joe McElderry - Ambitions

• So many youtube videos start with an advertisement now. Still Charlie St Cloud looks quite good and Zac Efron still has quite good movie star hair.
• (PS, I nicked the shot above from D'Luv. You can read his Joe thoughts here...)
• Oh, it's on. Joe gets out of a yellow cab clutching something in his hot little hand. His quiff works for him as he wonders through the downtown streets of Anytown USA
• Only don't be fooled pop pickers! Your eyes have been deceived! deceived I tells ya! The town is moving! It's actually a soundstage with lots of people working on Joe's video shoot. how postmodern! How breaking the fourth wall!
• To be fair, young Joseph looks like he is having a whale of a time, and I do quite enjoy the strutting through the streets moments at around 25seconds...
• There's bunting! Simon Cowell loves bunting! It was all over the Same Difference We R One video. Joe grabs a lady friend and then this happens...
• DANCE ROUTINE! It's fist fist fist fist, shoulder shimmy, arm wave. you can't really go wrong with that can you? It's very Steps/Same Difference/SClubHoweverMany and that's a-ok with me.
• The dancing is clearly a watercooler moment as americans might say. This is evidenced at 58seconds when Joe walks past some strumpet leaning against a watercooler! Amazing. I love a bit of in your face not at all subtle literal interpretation. And I'm not even being sarcastic.
• Oh Gay J, I am loving the vid. I'm being won over! There is an orchestra setting up and some silly billy drops his papers all over the streets. I was a bit disappointed Joe didn't go and help him. he always seemed like such a gentleman.
• Oh phew. he has gone to help :) Gentleman status fully restored. And what does silly billy do? Throw them in the air and launches into the dance routine! Amazing. I always said Joe was very musical theatre and this kind of cements that for me. It's an ebullient fun loving moment, and adds a certain joie de vivre to what ultimately is quite a melancholy (lyrically) tune...
• People are dancing all over the place. it reminds me a bit of Hi-Fidelity from Kids From Fame. There are some good looking fellas behind Joe giving it a shimmy and a shake, and the dedicated chappy doesn't even get distracted for even a second. My cosmic horn makes me pause the video to get a better look though :P
• Pause at around 2m14s and you'll get a pretty good idea of what the inevitable X Factor live performance will look like.
• Let's marvel a little more at the dance routine - the bit at around 2m30s with arms in the air, then arms to the floor is taken directly from Mamma Mia's Dancing Queen routine on the docks.
• I'm actually quite disappointed that the end of the video is nigh, but little J is growing up because that is some serious sultry seduction he's giving to the camera with his eyes!!
• I can confirm that I think I have been pretty much won over by the video. I'm so easy :P

The Wanted ~ Heart Vacancy

• Loving the footwear boys. Boots are so this season (and a bit last season as well, but some fashions transcend more than one season so it is ok). Also loving the neutral colours going on. Boyband walking down a deserted street is a classic nod to those that have paved the way before you!
• There are some nice close ups of the boys too. Some chiselled cheekbones and cheeky grins happening. Pause at exactly 9 seconds and marvel at the facial contours of Max. You could slice cheese on that structure!
• It's all very serious, though there is a little bit of laddish tomfoolery going on at about 25s and they all find something quite amusing about 10 seconds later. Perhaps someone has let one rip?
• The glorious chorus starts and the boys all sing together. Meanwhile, night time has fallen and all the locals are gathering in some beautiful church courtyard to watch an old movie. I hope it's Barefoot In The Park. That's a Jane Fonda classic!
• During the second verse, I shift allegiences between which member is currently "the fittest" almost as often as the camera flits between them. Back at the movies, a young lady is backlit by the projector giving her an angelic glow...
• The boys are now at the movies (that young lady finds gently amusing), and having a right good singsong at the back. This proves that this is just a casual movie event. If it was the Vue they would have been kicked out by now :P
• Just prior to the 2m30s mark, the guy in the movie with classic 40s slicked back hair gives the camera a smouldering look. Young Lady finds this most enticing and clutches her hankerchief to her bosom. I would mock her for this, but I am convinced that Patrick Dempsey gave me such a look once in a Grey's Anatomy...
• It's now the middle 8 of the song, and Curly Haired Wanted is belting it out. Most pleasingly too. Meanwhile, the locals are getting a bit annoyed at the distraction. Honestly, some people have no appreciation for pop music. Even the stars of the film are getting jittery, while Young Lady gets well excited!
• Oh my goodness. 40s Movie Star has legged it out of the screen and gone for the hand of Young Lady. One of the locals quite rightly finds this a bit disturbing, gets the vapours and has to have a bit of a lie down. I would have just had a mint baileys myself to take the edge off...
• Young Lady has gone to live in the movies. Don't we all wish we could do that. I would live in Mean Girls. Or Love, Actually. Probably flit between the two. Anyway, the locals are over the shock and loving this happy ending. There's quite an amusing shot of the rest of the movie stars trying, but failing, to get through the screen. Sigh. They don't get the message - Young Lady filled 40s Movie Star's heart vacancy.
• And that's it. Tres bon. PS, kudos on being embeddable. Unlike Joe. Grrr.

Coming sat - weekly pop update! Coming sun - X FACTOR BOOT CAMP!!!!

Probably I could not to write about amazing trio of Martin Stenmarck, Linda Pritchard and Jessica Marberger performing at "A Grand Evening" Christmas show...


...though I guess you remember I commpensated it with news about Sanna Nielsen, Shirley Clamp and Sonja Aldén Swedish Christmas album "Vår Jul"...


...and Måns Zelmerlöw who will release his first Christmas album and (I haven't told about it) will join girs in Christmas tour second year in a row, this time with help of Brandur and Björn Kjellman...


But these great news have arrived just now!!!


New Malena Ernman's Christmas album "Santa Lucia" will be released on November 17th and officially it's the most exciting Christmas release I've ever heard about!!! In Christmas period Malena will be touring a lot and to understand how heavenly can Malena sound with this sort of song check her performance at Nordiske Julkoncert year ago.