Lopez Blogs

If you live in the UK, you might have noticed that there's something missing from the CD racks in your local record shop. Or indeed, on this country's legal download sites.

I refer of course to the new Shakira CD, "Sale el Sol" which has been released worldwide and is doing very well, which is no surprise considering she's been one of the world's biggest superstars over the last 8 years or so.

Switch on a music channel here and you might just have spotted the video for her latest single "Loca" (which bizarrely features Dizzee Rascal??!!). So you want to get her new, predominantly Spanish-language album then, perhaps? So that you can get to know the songs before her upcoming UK tour? Well....no, you can't. Despite appearing in new release schedules for 8th November, "Sale el Sol" is nowhere to be found.

It would appear that the release of the album has either been delayed, or maybe it won't be released at all. Could it be because it's in Spanish, perhaps?

Why is this country's media and music industry so averse to anything in a foreign language?

What a missed opportunity, considering that she is finally coming over here to tour...

A bit of Jamaican sunshine on a freezing cold night....ladies and gentlemen, The Jolly Boys, with a very unique cover version of the Amy Winehouse classic. It does go on a bit, but good fun nonetheless:

Interesting to see that one of my all-time favourite reality pop contestants, Darius, is one of the contestants appearing in the new celeb-reality "Pop Star to Opera Star" show which is coming to ITV1 on Friday nights.

Slightly more baffling though is that he has now changed his name from Darius Danesh to Darius Campbell. Surely it's not the name but the talent that counts? He did pretty well for a while in musical theatre being Darius Danesh, so why the change now? (I sincerely hope it's not to appease any mindless morons working in the entertainment business who may view anyone with a non-English-sounding name with suspicion....!)

I don’t know, but a week can be a long time in the world of music. As if the continuing Sugababes game of line-up musical chairs (Jade "It’s My Time" Ewen in, last remaining original member Keisha Buchanan out) and the earth-shattering news of the Chas and Dave split wasn’t enough, now here is a strange one.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of Aussie duo Empire of the Sun, so I’m somewhat perplexed by the news that one half of the band, Nick Littlemore, has allegedly been "missing in action" for five months and will not take part in the band’s forthcoming debut live shows in Australia. Singer Luke Steele told an Australian newspaper that he has been left "holding the baby" and that he will be backed by a group called The Swiss for the live shows starting this weekend.

There is more about what can be expected from the weird, wonderful, conceptual live EOTS experience and the myths that surround the ‘band’ at http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/stranger-than-fiction/2009/09/24/1253385071568.html

Where all this leaves the future of Empire of the Sun, nobody knows. It would be a shame if Luke Steele didn’t continue with this magical musical adventure though.

A couple of interesting articles which I found this week:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/27/big-in-japan-daniel-merriweather which interestingly examines why home-country popularity can totally pass an act by, yet they can become huge abroad. "Big In Japan" syndrome in other words. They completely hit the nail on the head about Charlie Winston: yet further proof that the movers and shakers who dictate British musical tastes continue to have an aversion to artist development in favour of the next big thing.

Which brings me on to an article in the Telegraph. Now you wouldn't catch me reading that newspaper in a million years, but I found this whilst searching for articles about Erik Hassle:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100002668/why-pop-music-is-a-cruel-business/

Mr McCormick makes some very relevant points indeed: and I fear the worst for Erik's career in the UK if he's going to be bracketed alongside pop's next big things, rather than being allowed to develop as the talented artist which he undoubtedly is. Album review to follow....

Here are some singles scheduled for UK release in the coming weeks, all of which have been big faves of mine in recent times!

10.08.09
Bob Sinclar featuring Sugarhill Gang "Lala Song"

24.08.09
Erik Hassle "Don't Bring Flowers"

31.08.09
BWO & Velvet "Right Here Right Now"
Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat "Lucky"

07.09.09
Milow "Ayo Technology"

28.09.09
Agnes "On and On"

However, given the dire state of the UK singles chart, I'm not building my hopes up :(

Yes, it's time for a rant!!

You may think that what I'm going to say is a bit strange, given that I'm female myself, but here goes....

I'm sick of female singers - bring back the boys!

If you've been listening to the radio over the last few months and looking at the chart rundown it can't have escaped your notice that the mainstream music scene at the moment is dominated by female acts of varying quality, and male singers can't get a look in.

Don't get me wrong - there are some new female acts I do like, most of them are of course European, and of the British contingent VV Brown and Little Boots to name two, but they haven't really had the massive airplay/overexposure of the usual suspects....

Category A: Landfill R'N'B. Start the conveyor belt.
Beyonce, Ciara, Shontelle, Rihanna, Keri Hilson, and too many others to mention.

Category B: Eye candy (a.k.a. why can't we have a girl band which looks normal/slightly overweight/not dressed like slappers for once?)
The Saturdays, Girls Aloud (the latter IMHO are now past their sell-by date, but at their peak they were great)

Category C: Post-Winehouse
Arguably the worst category of all: Duffy, and worst of all Pixie Lott. What would my mama do? Like, who gives a ****?

Category D: Ooh, aren't I quirky and don't the critics just love me? (a.k.a. this year's PJ Harvey)
Florence and the Machine. Previous winner still doing the rounds: Lily Allen. (Although credit to her for being opinionated, and "The Fear" is a very good record indeed)

Category E: Rock chicks (a.k.a. radio programmers think they're sooo edgy)
Pink (I liked her once, but I can't listen to her anymore cause she's played to death); Kelly Clarkson (my life would suck if I hear this any more...); Katy Perry.

Category F: 80s revivalists
La Roux = nails down a blackboard. We've heard it all before, and better....

You'll have noticed I've left this year's most-played act Lady GaGa off my list. Strange as it may seem, I like her in a bizarre way, even though I probably shouldn't. "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" are good pop records which I think will have some longevity. The fact that they are played 17 times a day, every day, and I never tire of them, must mean something.

Yet another female fronted act, Cascada, has topped the British charts for the last two weeks with "Evacuate The Dancefloor", which is a significant departure from their usual chavvy-dance into GaGa territory.

But it will all change tomorrow, as X Factor runners-up, boy band JLS, are tipped for no. 1 with "Beat Again". OK so it's more of the same landfill r'n'b which is polluting our singles charts and radio playlists, but I thought I'd mention the significance of this anyway. Firstly they're male. Secondly, they're a boy band, which is very significant indeed, since recent years have seen tough times for boy bands in the British charts, so this might just be the start of something!

What concerns me most is the lack of decent male popstars/talented male singer-songwriters who are being overlooked in this country. The only thing giving me hope is that pop music goes in cycles, so hopefully this year's thing will soon be last year's thing and we can bring the boys back to the airwaves and the charts once more.

OK so regular readers will know just how much I love, love, love Empire of the Sun....isn't it amazing that "We Are The People" has finally done the impossible and broken into the UK top 30 singles chart! If you haven't seen/heard it yet then check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_Nlm0871E&feature=related

Here is the video for "Standing On The Shore", which I probably love even more than "We Are The People" . A place in my end-of-year top 5 is guaranteed...!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDOIi27AgFk

Every day the killjoys are out to spoil our surfing fun. Digital Spy reports here that YouTube is about to block music videos to British users after they failed to reach an agreement with the Performing Rights Society over licensing.

Not good :(

The Guardian reports here that one of my favourite old rock bands are reforming for a European tour this summer.

This trend of bands reforming got a bit tedious after a while, but this has got me genuinely excited. I saw them live in 1997 and would really like to see them again :)

I am so happy tonight...."I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, a song which I've loved for a long long time on this blog, and one which everywhere else in Europe equally loved long before the UK did, has finally climbed to no. 11 in the UK top 40 singles chart.

The singles chart is pretty meaningless now and generally cluttered with dull r'n'b and overplayed radio rubbish, not to mention chavvy trash like Kid Cudi's "Day and Nite", possibly the worst thing to grace the top 5 since...well, the last worst thing to grace the top 5.

So, for a nice little easy going song like "I'm Yours" to get into the top 20, it's a massive achievement indeed. Well done Jason. It's long overdue.

I haven't been feeling too great over the last few days and the next few days are going to be a bit mad too but I may just post a few random thoughts along the way. Like these....

1. Britain goes GaGa over GaGa: "Just Dance" knocked "Hallelujah" off the no.1 spot on Sunday. Hooray!! What a great pop record, and it's got me hoping that 2009 could be the year when quality pop finally wrestles control of the charts from the manufactured talent show rubbish, the identikit r'n'b and the corporate indie.

I wouldn't mind a commercial dance music revival either - if Guru Josh's "Infinity" was transformed from a 1990 laughing stock into a dance stormer then anything is possible. Oh and Calvin Harris is on the way back too. I like him.

2. Empire of the Sun: new wizards of Oz. Just discovered this amazing duo last week and I can't stop listening to "Walking On A Dream" and "Standing On The Shore" and "We Are The People" (www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound) They make dreamlike dance-pop which (to me) has very strong early 80s influences to it. Distinctive sound with floating harmonies and beats sometimes reminiscent of Deepest Blue (whatever happened to them?). I am loving this band and I think they're going to become major faves on this blog!

3. Michelle don't love Coolio: We're so addicted to this series of Celebrity Big Brother - who'd have thought it? Anyway there's the usual mix of the noisy/opinionated/entertaining/quiet/dull housemates. Even though Coolio, Tina and Terry can be annoying at times, I'd rather have them than comatose pop stars Mutya, scarf-boy Ben and Michelle, the latter two getting very annoyed by housemates' suggestions that they may be more than just friends. Tonight's BB was a Heaton blub-fest, as she whinged about Coolio the bully-o. Then Ben weighed in and got a very predictable response from Coolio!
Why is Michelle so bothered anyway? If she's in a secure relationship with her boyfriend outside the house, then she shouldn't really care. Or do we feel yet another fabricated reality romance coming on? The tears. The manipulation. Aah...it all makes sense now....!

I'm disappointed by the young pop stars, who seem ill at ease among the older and more opinionated members of the house.

I will probably post a few more updates over the week as I'm really into this series now. Anyway, Michelle, Mutya, Tina and the (overpaid) Ulrika are up for eviction.

I wish the highlights show would have more Verne as he's the reason I started watching it. His "Endless Love" duet last week was priceless though :)

As the new year has just started I thought I'd take a look back at a few acts which I came across for the first time in 2008....

Sam Sparro: "Black and Gold" is just a completely amazing single, which managed to overshadow everything on his debut album: nevertheless he is so talented that I don't think we've heard the last of him. Two words: "Hot Mess".

Bryn Christopher: an outstanding young performer who managed to blow everyone off the stage at the Saturday Night Fever Electric Proms show: if there is any justice, "Fearless" will finally deliver that long-overdue hit.

It was the year of the post-Amy female singer....but forget those Duffy types and listen to Gabriella Cilmi instead. "Lessons to be Learned" was a very accomplished debut album for one so young, "Save The Lies" was just a great single, and "Warm This Winter" is so catchy!

Despite being talented and good-looking, with a high-profile girlfriend (Martine McCutcheon) all that wasn't enough to put Jack McManus in the top 40 although "Bang on the Piano" did get lots of radio and video airplay. Where he goes from here is unsure: it's not looking good.

Jason Mraz is not a newcomer by any means, but I hadn't heard any of his music until this year so that's why he qualifies for my list. "I'm Yours" is irresistibly catchy, and (again) if there is any justice, it will finally be a hit for him in the UK and everyone will finally discover his music, and it will be such a rewarding experience.

Sam Beeton was yet another ridiculously young talent who attracted my attention in 2008: "What You Look For" should have been a massive hit....and I like this message on his MySpace blog: YOUR 2009 IS GONNA KICK SERIOUS BOTTOM. And why not.

My mum - who is possibly the trendiest mum I know - discovered VV Brown before I did, so major credit to her because VV is sooooo coool and she is going to be massive in 2009!! She is such a refreshing change from all those X Factor-Whitney-wannabes and all those Duffy-types too.

I've got high hopes for Sugarush Beat Company after the excellent "They Said I Said" so I hope they finally break through in 2009 with "Love Breed".

Hi everyone and welcome to 2009 on EuropeCrazy - and it's been a rather nice start to the year so far, hope it's been a good one for you all too.

This time last year I listed my favourite new acts (well, new to my ears anyway) of 2007 so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit that list and see what had happened to them. Not much, it would seem.....:(

Paul Steel was one of my big big hopes for 2008: but it all went horribly, horribly wrong. It would seem the British music industry can't handle such a mega-talent....as it turned out "I Will Make You Disappear" was to be a prophetic title and Paul was dropped from his record label. But he perseveres nonetheless: "Moon Rock" was released (only in Japan!) and in 2009 Paul will release his "April and I" animated film and also the "In A Coma" video. It's not over yet....!

Ali Love found himself in the same boat, he was dropped by his record label meaning that his "Love Music" album hasn't yet seen the light of day. As with Paul Steel, you can follow his electro-funk adventures via his MySpace and again I hope that 2009 brings better things for him.

It was all quiet on the Daniel Merriweather front, but it's all about to go very big indeed in 2009 for this very talented soul-pop singer who will finally launch his solo career with his single "Change" and long-awaited "Love and War" album. It's looking very good for him!

It was also looking very good for David Jordan one year ago whose career seemed to be on the up following his appearance on the Royal Variety Show. "Sun Goes Down" was a hit, but the follow-up "Move On" failed to crack the top 40, then his next two singles sank without trace. It's not looking good for him....

Canadian funksters Chromeo keep on doing their thing....again check out their MySpace if you want to know what they're up to: that would be a re-released version of "Fancy Footwork" with some extra remixes added. The critics continue to love them, but commercial success has been much harder to achieve.

Nothing from the Snook camp in 2008: Kihlen concentrated on his work with Maskinen and also producing girlfriend Veronica Maggio's (rather good) "Och Vinnaren Är" album. (Aren't they such a cool couple BTW???)
Does anyone know what Snook will be up to in 2009?

Vincent Pontare concentrated his efforts on breaking into German-speaking Europe where he had a hit with "Miss Blue". Incidentally, Vincent was one of the most-searched-for acts on this blog in 2008. Hopefully I'll be able to write more about him in 2009 - fingers crossed that he releases that second album.

Tokio Hotel continued to build on their success in 2008, and "Scream" was finally released in the USA and Canada. They won a coveted MTV VMA in the USA for "Best New Artist", and this was followed by an MTV EMA "Headliner" award. The band had to cancel some tour dates as Bill had surgery to remove a cyst from his vocal chords however they were back on the road again and also preparing for the release of their third studio album scheduled for March/April 2009.

Despite a relaunch of "Bubbly", which got a lot of airplay on my local radio station and was very popular with some of my work colleagues, but yet again failed to chart, Colbie Caillat continues to be relatively unknown in this country.

Salem Al Fakir was launched internationally thanks to "It's Only You Part II" being used in the Volvo XC60 car commercial, however he remains the world's best kept musical secret. His second album is due for release in 2009: follow his adventures at his MySpace and also at my fansite for him, Planet Salem.

Coming next: the 2008 list.

Just found out that Eartha Kitt has died - now there was a legend.

Decided to pay my own little tribute here with the mighty "Cha Cha Heels" which was a big favourite here at EuropeCrazy HQ back in the day :)

I noticed whilst looking at the BBC radio playlists that "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz is on there. Continental Europe loved this song this year, but predictably it was overlooked in the UK in favour of dull r'n'b and dull guitar bands.

Great to see it being given another chance to crack the UK charts - hope it succeeds this time. It's no. 96 on the iTunes chart, oh well I guess we all have to start somewhere!!

I'll do some singles charts updates soon, can't promise when as it's going to be quite a busy week though.

I listened to this on Saturday night when it was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and then watched it all over again on TV, via the 'red button' on digital.

The concert at the Roundhouse in London was a celebration of 30 years of the classic movie soundtrack by the Bee Gees, and featured one Bee Gee - Robin Gibb to be precise - and the BBC Concert Orchestra, with a few guest singers thrown in.

Actually, the line up was like a EuropeCrazy fan-party, with three of this blog's musical favourites of the last 12 months: Sam Sparro, Gabriella Cilmi and Bryn Christopher.

The various songs were interspersed with the soundtrack's many memorable instrumentals performed excellently by the BBC Concert Orchestra, in fine form.

Track listing:

"Stayin' Alive" - Sam Sparro: Sam in falsetto mode, doing great justice to this disco classic.
"How Deep Is Your Love" - Sharleen Spiteri: possibly the low point of the night, as I didn't feel this was really the right song choice for her singing style.
"More Than A Woman" - Robin Gibb: Bee-Gee-tastic.
"You Should Be Dancing" - Gabriella Cilmi: Proof that she isn't just good on record - what a great live performer she is too!
"Night Fever" - Sam Sparro: more great falsetto - only he could get away with it. What's that haircut about though, Mr Sparro?
"If I Can't Have You" - Sharleen Spiteri: she was much better on this - very good actually.
"Jive Talkin'" - Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately: the boys from Boyzone did a very good job here.
"Boogie Shoes" - Gabriella Cilmi: great gutsy version of the KC song.
"Disco Inferno" - Bryn Christopher: absolute highlight of the night as this outrageously talented and underrated performer blew everyone off the stage. He looked amazing too :)) I'm in love! I was watching this show with my mum and she's just a bit in love with him too...!

Encore
"Words" - Ronan Keating & Stephen Gately: pretty faithful version of the song, although I was never too keen on the Boyzone version if I'm honest.
"Heartbreaker" - Gabriella Cilmi: a great new singing talent with vocal maturity beyond her years.
"Emotions" - Bryn Christopher: just brilliant. I totally love this guy, he is a fantastic singer. Why isn't he a massive, massive star?
"To Love Somebody" - Robin Gibb: a fitting and dignified conclusion to an amazing concert.

If you haven't seen the show then some of the clips are over at YouTube. Not that I ever need any excuse for a bit of Bryn Christopher, so here's some "Disco Inferno"...

Since 'Summer' effectively passed me by, I'm now looking forward to the latter half of 2008 and all the musical goodies that will/may bring:


Will Young - First single "Changes" from his new album. It's got a bit of the James Morrison about it, but that's not really too bad, although it's no "Leave Right Now" or "Your Game" either.


Fibes! Oh Fibes! - third album expected towards the end of 2008, should include the delightful catchy pop of "Love Child" which is currently over at their MySpace (www.myspace.com/fibesohfibes)


Sebastian Karlsson - over at his MySpace (www.myspace.com/sebastiankarlsson) he reports that the first single from his third album is due in a month's time. The new album has also been mixed so it shouldn't be too long till it's hitting record stores.


Måns Zelmerlöw - he's no longer appearing in the stage version of "Footloose" - replaced by none other than Brolle - and his second album is due towards the end of 2008.

I'm in "grumpy old woman" mode tonight.

Last week Woolworths announced that they will no longer be selling CD singles. Now I've never been a fan of the CD single - they were far too overpriced and I'd prefer to wait for that artist's album (or the next 'Now'-type compilation). However, there are many people out there who do like them, and once again the humble record buyer is being dictated to by "the market", in the same way that they decided that we should throw away our turntables and vinyl records once the shops became full of CDs, will those same CDs become obsolete now that "downloading is the way to go"? And before you ask, I'm not anti-downloading by any means, far from it, but the customer should be allowed to choose how we want to listen to our music.

But there is some hope. Whilst shopping in "the big city" yesterday, one smaller record store just brought back so many memories. Among the CDs and DVDs, there they were. Vinyl albums. Just like the ones I used to buy all those years ago, before I was dragged kicking and screaming into the compact disc era. I didn't get rid of any of my vinyl though: it's still here at home with me, and I've had the same hi-fi system - with turntable - since 1994.

Whether it's a reaction to downloading, or maybe the arrival of those MP3-turntables, there's a renewed interest in vinyl, and many bands are also choosing to release 7"-only singles.

For a generation (or two) of music fans, this may be a quaint novelty, but for anyone, say, 35 years old or over, "the vinyl years" were very special indeed - a time when buying an album was a very special experience. And can you really say the same about downloading a few songs off the internet to play on your tinny little mobile phone speaker?

Rant over :))

The possibility of "Black and Gold" going to no.1 in the UK singles chart this weekend is quite an overwhelming thought actually. As regular readers will know, this song is (currently) my favourite of the year and is a definite tip for the top 10 of my 2008-50 (to be published on here in 8 months' time, folks!!!). Anyway over at www.myspace.com/samsparro there is a kind-of mash-up of "Black and Gold" and Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" which is (inevitably) titled "Back to Black and Gold". Not up there with either original, but worth a mention nonetheless. Anyway Mr Sparro appeared on BBC Radio 1's "Live Lounge" on 11.04.08 and performed "Black and Gold" and of course, being the "Live Lounge", he did a chilled out, jazzy soulful cover version of the current UK number one single "American Boy" by Estelle. Anyway.... "Black and Gold" continues to be utterly fantastic anyway and if you haven't seen the video, find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHuebHTD-lY

EDIT 14.04.08: Sam narrowly missed out on the no.1 spot this week and had to settle for second place - Estelle remains at the top.