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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Margaret Berger - Will You Remember Me Tomorrow  

The rubbish internet in my house has prevented me from hearing the whole of Margaret's new album, but from the few tracks Chris has kindly provided me with, I am quite sure that it is brilliant. Margaret is as quirky as Robyn and Bertine but her music is pure pop, especially this track which on first listen seemed almost too sweet for me, but I then spent the next 24 hours with it playing incessantly in my head and I decided I loved it. Its slight strangeness that develops into brilliance reminds me of Girls Aloud's songs, and it's certainly up there with GA's very best tracks. She sings "oh baby" with a Britney-esque twang and for some reason the song conjures up memories of that scary robot woman who dances in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Speaking of robots, if this is a little too cheesy for you, I very much recommend the track Robot Boy which takes a slightly bizarre theme and makes it sound entirely believable and rather good fun - if there is ever a remake of Edward Scissorhands, the only way it could beat the original would be to have this song very aptly on the soundtrack.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The Caesars - We Got To Leave  

A few weeks ago I posted a song by Teddybears Sthlm and now I am posting one by a band which shares one of their members, Joakim Ahlund, who is the brother of fellow Teddybear and Robyn-producer, Klas Ahlund. The Caesars are a rock band but because of the link to the Teddybears, there is an obvious pop and electro influence and this, as well as being Swedish, gives them the edge above your average 'boys with guitars' act. You may remember their UK hit single Jerk It Out (aka the one off the iPod advert), but nothing they released since then made any impact here. However, they are big stars in Sweden and at around the same time Jerk It Out was successful here, they were having a hit with We Got To Leave in Sweden. I found their album, Paper Tigers, in a CD shop's closing down sale on Sunday and have been listening to it quite a lot, with this track becoming a firm favourite with its jolly 60s pop sound. You can sing along but it still sounds very cool so your friends won't laugh (too much).

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse  

My intake of new music has been slightly stunted lately as I have been settling into university life and internet radio doesn't work here for some reason (no Rix FM, it's awful), but I did go out and buy the recently released album by Swedish indie-pop group of 29 members (lead singer Emanuel and all his cheery Jönköping friends), I'm From Barcelona. I only knew a few tracks but I was pleasantly surprised by the rest, which makes up a very enjoyable album overall. There really are few acts as jolly as this lot, and only the most miserable miser would not smile at the lyrics of songs like this one, about building a treehouse: "I have built a treehouse, nobody can see us, it's a you and me house". Make sure you also watch their videos, cos they are really not to be missed.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Sinéad Quinn - Never Happy  

Fame Academy seems so long ago now - many TV talent shows have come and gone since, gradually getting less and less exciting (although I still watch them all), and FA remains the best. Why it wasn't allowed to continue for more than 2 series I'll never understand, because it really was a fantastic programme. It's difficult to explain for those who weren't fans why it was so much better than Pop Idol or X Factor, but for me it was just the variety in the show and the way we got to know the contestants. Each week had so many twists (especially compared to the predictable Idol format), such as surprise challenges, special prizes and duets, and with the Big Brother-style coverage we soon got to know who the ace ones were. My favourite in the first series was Irish pop-rocker Sinéad, who went on to make a highly underrated album full of great pop music. This catchy, funny song was the one that stood out to me instantly, but it's one of many ace songs on the CD, which I definitely recommend. P.S. I had to go back to Filelodge cos at uni I can't access my Orange web space, so if the files disappear, as they sometimes do, I apologise in advance - just leave a comment and I'll try to fix it.

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