When the Cheshire emerges...

It was a stay-at-home day today, which was needed. I listened to a real mix of stuff as I did my housework and small DIY projects, most of which I hadn't heard for a while. Jay-Z/Kanye West collaboration Watch The Throne (which is still epic), Kimbra's Vows, a bit of Arctic Monkeys, Josh Pyke...

But there are a couple of individual songs that stuck with me today.



This was the biggest. I'd forgotten how GOOD this song still is. Connie Mitchell (whose voice has to be close to the world's most underrated) singing about confusion and alternate universes. From 16 days to 16 weeks the emotion remains one-sided. Gosh, how so many of us have been there.

The lyrics are just spot on.

I'm just like you/Don't know what to do/I'm caught here in the middle of a life/I can't leave but I want to

I just want to get your attention/But I know that you're looking away/16 weeks since you left my life I'm still looking for you

And the way she sings the closing part is haunting... I wonder, wonder, wonder what you're doing, where you are/I wonder, wonder, wonder what we could've been

Sneaky Sound System are so good. And Miss Connie rocks it on stage- seeing her up close when I lived in Dubbo I was amazed. They need to bring out new material pronto.



I haven't really caught onto the whole Iggy Azalea bandwagon yet, only having really heard Black Widow on constant repeat on the radio, and just before a pre-Fancy song called My World, which is awesome. Looking forward to discovering her other stuff - doing Australia proud, clearly, and she be havin' better beats than the horrible Nicki Minaj any day.

As for this song, loving the Kill Bill homage in the film clip. And the lyric I'm gonna love ya/Until you hate me is gold.

That and the chorus of G.R.L's Ugly Heart have been in my head for some time now: Okay you're pretty/Your face is a work of art/Your smile could light up New York City after dark...

There's really catchy, girl power-friendly stuff on the radio right now isn't there? Love it.

On a final note, listening to Snow Patrol's Eyes Open album among all this other music today reminded me of how good Make This Go On Forever is. Not that the whole album isn't good, but this song is arguably the best.

I was listening to a mix of songs on my computer one night, which included Delta Goodrem's first album. It made me think of how huge Innocent Eyes was when released - and how much it impacted on people. I know one of my friends listened to it every day after school for a long time, and it still doesn't surprise me. It's quite a beautiful pop album, very raw in a way. I turned 14 that year, and Goodrem was a teenager herself having written the songs - so it was extremely relatable to a lot of her fans.

A personal favourite still is Will You Fall For Me, a simple song about unrequited feelings. I thought to look up a live version on YouTube - and then found she had re-recorded it last year as part of a 10th anniversary release which I had no idea about.

And I didn't like it.

Apparently this came out in November 2013...

She had changed the arrangement a bit, and it sounded too mature for what it should be. Like, Celine Dion mature - which means not in a good way. I think the appeal of this particular song is that it has more of that innocence attached to it. But that does not mean you should rework it with a children's choir in the chorus.

It just reminded me of one other time when I was really disappointed by a different version of a song. Avril Lavigne performed I'm With You on Rove Live when she was really big, and I was scarred by that live version for a while. Although it's still a good song, she managed to rip a small piece of its soul with that performance.

Do you have a song you've had ruined by a different version? Or one that's been made better remixed or reworked by someone else?

10.34pm: So there were a few surprises... but it's sinking in, there is a Eurovision final coming!

And so begins my media blackout, I will try to write tomorrow but there will be no live blog - I'll be too busy enjoying myself at a Eurovision party. Good night!

10.33pm: And of course Conchita was the last announcement. But they're our finalists! So from my picks Israel and Macedonia miss out.

10.32pm: Belarus are in - CHEESECAKE! And the kids from Finland. Yes, they're high schoolers. My bad.

10.31pm: Greece had some bromance there... Malta DOES seem like so long ago but they're in.

10.30pm: Oh wow, Slovenia. Oh no, and Poland too... But Romania and Norway are good.

10.28pm: About time... Switzerland the first to go through.

10.20pm: What just happened there with Macedonia? Should I be confused?

And the host is wearing pants. Since when does a female host not wear a gown?

10.18pm: And we've just seen an octogenarian take centre stage and tear it apart. Great work.

10.16pm: Bring back the hot Norwegian guys...

10.14pm: Oh, I was going to do this video thing, but I ran out of time. Go the girl from Ireland. Aw.

Meanwhile, I just wish Nikolaj could somehow be kept on the screen. He's a little amazing.

10.10pm: My pick of who might go through: Malta, Israel, Norway, Austria, Finland, Belarus, Macedonia, Switzerland, Greece, Romania.

10.02pm: Jessica Mauboy. Strutting her stuff to 180 million. Sounded a bit nervous at first, and it's a hard song to belt out. But she did great. Go girl. Darwin represent.

9.59pm: Bahaha, we knocked the UK out of that graphic of Europe. And we have Swans players and koalas. Excellent.

9.56pm: Alright, Romania are bringing it. THERE'S A CIRCULAR KEYBOARD. But really, Paula Seling and OVI are giving us a great end. Good song!

9.53pm: Slovenia's Round and Round is OK, but again not huge. Tinkara Kovac's shoulder pads are, mean dress.

9.50pm: WOW. Greece brought that - and I'm not biased, we needed something big. Totally sold with Freaky Fortune and RiskyKidd.

9.49pm: YEEEEESSSSS! Rise Up!



9.46pm: Who came up with revealing these records? And how is the most amount of licks even managed to be known? Fuck me, I love Eurovision.

And now I finally get to see Greece. Represent!

9.44pm: Down Under on the flute from Slovenia's entrant. Love.

9.39pm: Need to make violins a key point of note for future contests. As relevant as silver, white and key changes...

9.38pm: Folk again from Switzerland with Sebalter's Hunter Of Stars. But more good-looking males never hurts.

I'm waiting for that standout Eurotrash number though. And Greece's song is finally next.

9.35pm: To The Sky would probably be one to grow on you. But it's not a song that really prompts some boob-shaking, sorry Tijana. FYROM is hit and miss but this is one of their better songs...

9.30pm: OK, so the song's not really about cheesecake. But the beat is good.

9.29pm: Belarus! (Some) hot men in suits dancing. Singing about Cheesecake. Teo, I'm sold.




9.26pm: Ireland always manage to put something about their culture, even when it's a DJing turkey... Celtic motifs are cool, but the song is average. Can-Linn and Kasey Smith don't make my Heartbeat.

9.23pm: OMG. There's a song called Cheesecake. Loving the culinary theme this year.

9.17pm: The only rock band for this year comes from Finland... Something Better by Softengine wasn't too bad a song. But I was slightly distracted.

9.15pm: And finally a good-looking young male. In a shiny suit jacket no less. Swoon.

9.13pm: Glitter. Futuristic ballerinas. Light rapping... and a wink to the camera. Lithuania had it all, Vilija commanding Attention. Could have going a bit harder on the vocal though I reckon.

9.10pm: Well that got our ATTENTION!!!

9.09pm: "If this is your first time watching Eurovision, welcome." Couldn't have said it better Sam Pang.

9.08pm: Conchita Wurst. This year's Romania for sheer spectacle? Well, Rise Like A Phoenix has lyrics that are rather fitting for her. She looks great, the song's pretty good and the crowd love it.

9.02pm: It's time. Waiting for the revolution that is Conchita Wurst...



8.58pm: So that was Donatan & Cleo's My Słowianie - We Are Slavic... well, Poland singing about a different culture was one part of it.

8.55pm: Aaaaand we get folk outfits. Fabulous. Ooh, but trying to sex things up a bit. And looking tacky as hell for it. Excellent.

8.53pm: Three Minutes To Earth? Georgia, what is this? The Shin and Mariko are not floating anyone's boat. Or skydiving anyone back to safety...

8.52pm: There is a man playing drums with a parachute. Must have a big balance problem. Oh no, he managed a big jump.

8.50pm: Carl Espen's Silent Storm from Norway - really nice ballad, was wondering if there's a really big key change coming... but it was gradual. Like it.

8.46pm: Song two is Israel's Mei Finegold with Same Heart. Her voice is very... deep. Though I'm not sure if it suits the song, which is actually OK.




8.41pm: Firelight's Coming Home from Malta opens. This is a very Mumford and Sons song, but with traditional instruments. And a female element. It's a good opener.

8.38pm: Oh man, Greece is 13th... bit of a wait. Meanwhile, Pilou and Lisa looked a bit touchy feely. No, she's just hands-on...

8.35pm: A dance act to start us off paying homage to the former shipyard the hall once was and famous Danish compositions. But we're ready now.

8.33pm: I'm doing a live blog again (in Central Standard Time) so if you have something to say during the night say it. I will be voicing my own opinions of course, so there's room for more

The Jessica Mauboy doco was lovely. Looking forward to seeing the performance in full. But first let's hear the rest of this year's contenders!

I visited the iTunes store to try and redeem a gift card and noticed an ABBA special for their 40th anniversary.

Among the albums I was really surprised to see ABBA Gold but with the word Oro. I am way behind the eight ball - I had NO idea they recorded the album in Spanish. AMAZING.

Sampling the songs as you do, I couldn't believe how happy it made me feel when I heard the music. Fernando was beautiful - it sounded so natural. This came as a surprise to me because of my history with Spanish speakers - but ahead of my trip to South America, where I plan to have some Portuguese and a small bit of Spanish up my sleeve (it will happen, learning tools are ready to go), hearing familiar songs in a language I don't understand was both weird and wonderful.

I would actually buy this.

I guess it's proof of ABBA's massive firepower, that the group's songs bode well in more than one language. Their creativity pays off to anyone with a common understanding of love and life. On trying to find out if they all speak Spanish (I don't think so), this comment on a forum from 'Gniblett' really got what I'm trying to convey:

It is bad enough trying to remember the lyrics of a song in your native language but to do that in a foreign language, with all the feeling and so clearly that the words have deep meaning with no hint of it not being their native tongue. This has always amazed me .... as one who grappled with French at school and failed dismally. 

In fact ABBA's English lyrics are more easily understood than many today who were brought up speaking English as a first language.

Amen to that.

***

On another note, I found out the Australasian version of ABBA Gold is different to the rest of the world because Ring Ring, Rock Me and I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do were bigger singles here. I've always wondered why people loved Super Trouper... guess I never knew it as a kid because it wasn't on my album. Go figure.

FLO RIDA!

Man, I asked you to stop with the covers a year ago now. And you've gone and done it again.

Photo: youtube.com

I know you've had How I Feel out for a while now, and it's gone well enough for you. But I've been busy.

I just want to say that it's not doing you any favours for credibility or your style. Whether you care about this I don't know (to be honest, I don't think you do), but what about respect?

See, now you've gone and tampered with a real classic. You're not the first with this song, and you won't be the last, but with your run of mashups/covers/whatever you want to call them it's been tiresome for a long time and you just need to stop.

You need to promise yourself you'll go to remake obsession rehab and clean yourself up.

Quick wrap of my immediate thoughts, let me know what you thought!

1. Latvia: Here we go! Made for a great start. Glitter suits with no shirts a bit intense for their tightness and brightness. Crowdsurfing and all. In the end, a really fun song.

2. San Marino: A shaky start from Valentina, who had that horrible social network song last year - this was a ballad, then tried to get epic. But still only OK.

3. FYR of Macedonia: What a random song. Mixing near dubstep, crazy old woman like the babushkas and a hot young guy. Pretty likeable in the Eurovisionverse.

4. Azerbaijan: Grey velvet suit, Joey Tribbiani look-alike. An alter-ego in a box and woman in mullet dress. Song was pretty good though, and dancing "supports the song as opposed to confusing you". Nice one, Julia.

5. Finland: WOAH. 80s Madonna mullet dress, questionable lyrics and a girl-on-girl kiss to end it. Intense.

6. Malta: Really cute song, a bit folky and poppy. The guy liked interacting with the crowd and I liked his outfit and happy face.

7. Bulgaria: Wow, mixing dance and traditional sounds with immobile backup singers in national costume. REALLY liked it, it was more Eurovision than a LOT of what's been seen so far.

8. Iceland: Blonde rocker in a suit doing some hand actions to a power ballad. Sounded nice, but I wouldn't pick it.



9. Greece: Wow! HUGE! Ska outfit with an oldie and a mini bouzouki, singing about how alcohol is free. In my head, that's a wonderful thought. They truly brought it.

10. Israel: Looks like she's out of a soapie with the soft lighting, sideswept hair and 80s glasses. Very strong ballad.

11. Armenia: LOVED the guy's outfit, very casual. The song was OK too, soft rock ballad. Was hoping for a wind machine but they gave fire instead.

12. Hungary: Hottie alert, singer AND guitarist. Hipsters rule for 2013. Song was a bit weak though, disappointing.

13. Norway: Someone in white! Woo! Gorgeous studded maxi dress, and a killer song. Scandipop fever hit Eurovision with this one, a Bjork/Robyn-friendly number. Excellent.

14. Albania: Threatened to be another Bulgaria. But a rocker edge. Suit wiht no shirt again. Brought it - but not metal enough, we haven't had that!

15. Georgia: Disney fairytale-style duet. Written by the guy who did 'Euphoria'. Wasn't a fan by the end which was disappointing. Gorgeous stage presence, but no Aladdin and Jasmine.

16. Switzerland: Well done to the 95-year-old cellist for staying awake. He looked scared when the singer was in his face though. That was more interesting than the song.

17: Romania: WOAH.

My life will never be the same after this song. Ever. #SBSEurovision #Romania
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) May 18, 2013

Nuff said.

***

Of those getting through: pretty happy with the results. Thankfully I knew Greece were getting through, otherwise I'd have almost have had a cardiac arrest by the end of it.

Will likely not blog tomorrow, but look on my Twitter account for updates and follow me on Storify. Check out my tweets from tonight on Storify before then!

Courtesy NBC News

Eurovision.

The most wonderful time of the year is here.

Last year I wrote the My decade of Eurovision series about my various quips and admirations of the song contest.

In 2013, my spirits rise once again in anticipation of the most exciting musical event of the year.

I have struggled to decide on whether to listen to some songs ahead of the semi-finals. But after last year's emphatic effort in raising the bar I'm worried that wouldn't do me any good. And I like it better when I'm finding out about the songs as they're performed.

One thing I'm still baffled about a year on though:

It's been three days and I STILL can't understand how @eurovision voters gave Tooji last place. I just want to give Norway a big hug...
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) May 30, 2012

I still listen to it all the time. I don't understand Europe's thoughts sometimes...

That aside, look out for my thoughts during the semis and grand final. And always feel free to pipe in and join the conversation!

***
They used to say to scientists, "Do you believe in God?" and the scientist would respond, "No, I'm a scientist." Today, in the 21st century, if you ask a scientist, "Do you believe in God?" the scientist will say, "Of course. I'm a scientist!".

The landscape of today's ARIA charts (for those outside Australia our national music charts) has changed dramatically from the dominance of the Spice Girls and Britney Spears.

More and more potential one-hit wonders are bursting onto the scene, and those with seeming longevity are either churning out hits to an inconceivable extreme or waning in terms of quality content.

The pop scene has well and truly changed since I was seriously in the loop.

Last week I decided to look up the ARIA charts and see how many songs I knew. The list has since changed but I'm sticking with what I researched.

For all the accolades and countries its topped, I'd never heard this song before in my life. Honestly. But it's quite beautiful, catchy in a good melodic way. Like.

2(1) Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton (MACK)
I HAD heard this before and knew who actually sung it. And I like this song too, very up-tempo and my style.
I'd never heard this before, and I've never heard of MKTO. And I don't want to again. Couldn't last a minute of the song.

4(3) Just Give Me A Reason - P!nk feat. Nate Ruess (RCA/SME)
I'd only heard bits and pieces of this song, but to hear it in full was nice. I do like it - but I hate the fact it's the Fun. lead singer that comprises the male half. His voice does suit the song but I reeeeally don't like the few songs of theirs I've heard. Anyway, I thought the film clip was pretty good too.

So unless you were living under a rock, any social media friend of mine at least would know my current residence was home to triple j's One Night Stand yesterday.

I had a great time.

There are some things I would like to point out:

Right now I still have 3G because of higher ground. Don't expect to get #triplejONS updates though, reception's already gone once #fail
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) April 13, 2013

That was before I left for the showground. Phone reception was atrocious. I'm surprised this wasn't countered considering we're a bigger location for this event and probably have the capacity to open the tower(s?) for stronger coverage. Why do social media and mobile phones exist if we can't handle an extra 10,000 people wanting to communicate?


I usually wear earplugs to concerts and festivals these days (yes, I'm old) - and I forgot them. I was kicking myself a little bit, but the acoustics were some of the best I've ever experienced at an event. Even as I gradually got closer to the stage throughout the night I could still hear the performers well and it wasn't terribly loud. My ears now aren't even that bad.

For the record, they all did a great job. I'd done well during the week to look up the other artists' songs, and really enjoyed all of their sets (a nicely diverse mix within the 'alternative' music world). To hear Seth Sentry's The Waitress Song live and know Ball Park Music are as boppy as they sound on radio was pretty awesome.


I was really looking forward to Flume though, and eventually made my way into the thick of it by the halfway mark of his set. Which was pretty epic I must say - he just about blew my mind. I miss going out and hearing that sort of music all the time.

Then I found out this afternoon where Flume had been where he went for breakfast this morning... five or so hours later. Fail.


On a sidenote, I'm not sure whether we were in any sort of camera view on TV during the Flume set. Oh well. But at least I have something to show for it - the tee has elephants because of Dubbo's zoo :D

Time for a Europop lesson.

Some non-Europeans might remember Greek singer Sakis Rouvas as the dude who swung into the Athens 2004 Olympics Closing Ceremony (literally) before falling mid-routine. Others remember him more fondly as performing one of Eurovision's best songs in recent years with 2004's Shake It (quite frankly, as the favourite that came third he was robbed). He of course also represented Greece again in 2009.

He is also quite possibly one of the world's most prettiest men. #justsayin'

I bought his latest album six months ago when I was in Athens as a tool to help me improve my Greek should I start taking proper lessons. While that's currently a work in progress, I finally listened to the album all in one hit last week.

If anyone survives the Greek economical crisis it will probably be him. Damn, his songs are catchy.

Sakis Rouvas performing Shake It for Greece at Eurovision 2004

I haven't been this excited to listen to a full album repeatedly in some time. He doesn't sing any English tracks on Parafora (Madly), but on hearing more than his Eurovision fare I totally see why this guy is Greece's king of pop. It's damn good stuff.

Even if I don't understand a whole lot of it.

It makes me wish I could understand more, which is the point. That's good. Yet the words swirl around my head for much of the day as I'm trying to work, eat and watch TV. I've taken it further to listen through all the other Greek songs on my iTunes as I cook each night, and vow to understand it all fluently one day. Especially for the sake of Mr Rouvas and what he is trying to sing to me.