9 posts tagged “eurovision”

Oh I know it's not right, being a music blog and all, but this is one of the funniest things I've seen all year. Thanks to daljian in the Eurovision post comments we now know who the funny drunk man was. Björn Gustafsson is unsurprisingly even funnier though, as this amazing standup performance on some at some Swedish awards show. Don't worry, it's all subbed up, just promise me you'll watch right to the end, yah? "Steeg diev!" Rofl11.

- Chris-so gonna get smacked by vu-topher

Headhunter - Parasite of Society Discography [1990] Parody of Life [1992] A Bizarre Gardening Accident [1994] Rebirth [2008] Parasite Of Society

In an effort to help out Soup, who is getting a ton of stuff from me, I've picked out a few metal bands to review - mostly because of their international appeal.

As you know, metal is huge everywhere, so here are a few from different countries:

Headbangers, rejoice, Germany's Headhunter is back after 13 years with the release of Parasite Of Society, out in Germany a few days ago on May 23^rd. US fans will have to wait until the official release date of June 10^th, from Candlight Records.

Listening to the album, it sounds as if this power/thrash metal band never really left the 90's, which is just fine for fans of this band. Believe me, just doing brief research on this band, I came across so many blog entries from fans who were absolutely were looking forward to this album for so many years. From my understanding, this new album is more "power" than previous efforts.

Also, this really suprises me, but their songs are sung in English, not German. I did enjoy their storytelling songs, particularly "18 and Life", which tells the story of poor Ricky who joined the army (as it turns out, this is a Skid Row cover song, see comments below).

They also show off their headbanging badge too, of course, doing such songs as "Parasite Of Society" and "Doomsday for the Prayer" (singer Schmier seems to be channeling Axl Rose here).

The newly reformed trio will make a special appearance at Wacken Open Air Festival on August 1^st. Parasite of Society is available now in Germany, early June for US.

Dantesco - Aguila de Sangre Dantesco Discography [Jul 2004] Dantesco (demo) [May 2005] De La Mano De La Muerte [Apr 2008] Pagano

Puerto Rico's most famous metal band is undoutably Dantesco. As their name suggests, "Dantesque", I believe they're named after the poet, Dante from Florence, Italy, who wrote The Divine Comedy. They've just released Pagano on April 24^th on Cruz Del Sur Music (I would link to their website, except google seems to think that this website "may harm your computer").

I like the weird horn at the beginning of "Aguila de Sangre" (Eagle of Blood), and the song has a nice epic feel, being about seven minutes long. Plus check out the guitar shredding in the middle of the song.

Since all the songs are in Spanish, I couldn't really tell you too much about the meaning of the song, but I reckon if you like doom metal, this might be right up your alley.

By the way, interestingly enough, there is a song called "De La Mano De La Muerte" (Of the Hand of Death), which should've appeared on their debut album of the same name... but somehow is on this second album. Listening to it, the song really doesn't belong on their release - mostly because this is a (quieter) acoustic song, whose only purpose seems to be a nice break between the other heavier songs.

Currently, the band is planning on playing a few dates, mostly in the Florida area, although the venues are still to be determined:

07/10/08 Jacksonville, Florida
07/11/08 Orlando, Florida
07/12/08 Miami, Florida
07/13/08 Tampa, Florida

If you're going to pick up Pagano, check out that there is a Limited Edition Slipcase version that includes an embroidered patch that was released April 11^th prior to their appearance at the Up the Hammers Greek Festival.

Finland's Teräsbetoni have been in the news lately. Their third album Myrskyntuoja reached the top 40, mostly based on their amazing music video for "Missä Miehet Ratsastaa" (Where All The Men Ride Forth) for Eurovision 2008. The video is about these norsemen/vikings who found themselves in the modern age, where they find themselves becoming a metal band... it looks more like a wonderful movie rather than a music video (well, that is at the beginning of the video...)

Maybe Christopher or someone in the UK can let me know if Teräsbetoni's been eliminated yet.

I got a press release that also mention that lead singer, J Ahola, is preparing Northern Kings' album Reborn for a June 16^th release. From the description, they're a rock operatic supergroup comprising of four heavy metal singers.

Looking at the track listing, it seems they're all cover songs, the most interesting covers includes "Creep" (Radiohead), "We Don't Need Another Hero" (Tina Turner) and "In The Air Tonight" (Phil Collins).

Links: official-headhunter.com myspace.com metalhordes.com myspace.com/dantescoepico terasbetoni.com

Soup wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 2:25 AM

Actually, you'd be surprised. It's not uncommon for metal bands from non-English speaking countries to sing in English because it makes it easier for them to get their music out to English speaking countries, who tend to be really enthusiastic about metal. Bands that don't do that tend to have trouble "making it" in the UK and the US. But a few examples off the top of my head: Emperor (Norway), Mayhem (Norway), Running Wild (Germany), Sepultura (Brazil), and literally countless others.

I totally want to hear a metal band covering Tina Turner. That sounds awesome.

Skid Row - 18 & Life

crankypants wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 11:16 AM

Didn't Skid Row or one of those late 80s/early 90s bands have a song called 18 & Life?

Yup

Ricky didn't join the army in that one though....

Yup, that time of year again. Europe collectively moans, and the rest of you stare on in disbelief. So I missed the first half (oh, no, how could i...) and the Irish chicken never made it anyway. Still, here's a best of, and it's still going on so expect one or more new ones later...

France
Sebastien Tellier's Divine sounds a bit like Pulp crossed with the Beach Boys. How can he win lose ... win? Lose. Be positive Pepsi... France weren't quite so impressed and got in a right huff that he sung in English. Personally I'd be more worried about all the beards. Check out the Sexuality album it's from for a retro hit.

Georgia
The first stand out track I saw, Diana Gurtskaya's "Peace Will Come" ain't so good in video form, but along with being one of many trying to goth it up this year, they were much better live. Maybe not those white headed twa... err... but how the hell'd they get changed so fast?
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Just caught this on the catch-up. If I didn't know any better I'd say it's the reformed Moldy Peaches. Lord knows they have enough press for it... anyway, it's actually just one guy, Elvir Laković aka. Laka, the song is Pokušaj, and it's damn good once you get past 1.30. Epic in a Baywatch titles kinda way.
- Christopher

Jovana Janković

Björn Gustafsson gives points in 2008 Eurovision

Cat wrote: Sat, May 24, 2008 at 5:24 PM

I love the woman who is co hosting. She's like a villian in some bad movie. And a classic moment when they bought out the old girl who won the first Eurovision.

And I can't remember who was singing but the dancers wearing white. The guys in long white shorts and long white socks. Too much. It's always like watching a school concert.

daljian wrote: Sun, May 25, 2008 at 3:45 AM

Björn Gustafsson is his name.

He is an upcoming swedish comedian (Done only swedish stuff I think)

youtube.com/results?search_query

Baccara are María Mendiola and Mayte Mateos and they had a massive hit with their debut single, "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" in 1978. Fueled by Eurovision (representing Luxembourg), this song became the staple of Eurodisco for years to come.

Their subsequent releases never really capture the popularity of their boogie song and by 1983, the duo broke up to pursue solo careers.

Mayte Mateos went back to the Baccara name, this time, teaming up with Marisa Pérez. Although I don't think they released any albums from this team-up, some of their songs would later appear on their Our Very Best (1994).

This is where it starts to get weird, Pérez (who wasn't originally part of the duo) wound with the other original girl, María Mendiola, to form New Baccara! The "New" part was quickly dropped and they were soon known as regular Baccara. This team-up was a little more successful and had a few minor hits, including "Call Me Up" and "Fantasy Boy".

Since the song was so influencial, there's been a few cover songs of course.

Goldfrapp recorded "Yes Sir" (note the absent of the dated word "Boogie") on their single "Twist". The b-side made it on as a bonus disc for their Black Cherry (2003) album.

I found out that they are releasing a 4th album, Seventh Tree for February 25, 2008, according to Deer's official myspace blog. The post was published yesterday, November 9th, and contains all the track listing.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor also covered "Yes Sir I Can Boogie", a b-side off I Can't Change You. This version is a little more faithful, but lack the charm of an Spanish accent.

She started her career as an actress, but then joined Theaudience^[W♥M] in 1997. The band quickly split after only staying together for a year.

By 2000, Ellis-Bextor lent her vocals on Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) and topped the UK charts. She decided to put her novel-writing career on the backburner to concentrate on her music - and by 2001 she's released her debut album Read My Lips.

Incidentally, she was recently in the news when someone posted that she was murdered last month. You would've easily spotted the prank when you read the punchline: "[she was] murder on [Zinadine] Zidane's floor".

 11/10/2007 15:27:39  vu my♥posts vu@weheartmusic.com www.baccara-web.de

I came across Evridiki (full name is Evridiki Theokleous, in Greek: Ευρυδίκη Θεοκλέους) from this year's Eurovision, she was representing Cyprus. Apparently she's quite popular with Eurovision as she also represented them in 1992 and 1994.

A little background to Evridiki: She was born in Cyprus, which is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean and a popular tourist destination. She studied music at National Conservatory of Cyprus, Le Studio des Variétés in Paris, and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, before eventually moving to Athens, Greece, in 1989. She collaborated with several musicians before launching her first solo album in 1991.

So, anyway, this year, Cyprus once again turned to Evridiki for their entry with the song "Comme Ci, Comme Ça". The lyrics were written by Posidonas Giannopoulos and music composed by Dimitris Korgialas.

Unfortunately, it failed to reach the semi-final.

Cyprus, there's always next year!

 August 10, 2007 6:31 PM  vu my♥posts vu@weheartmusic.com www.evridiki.gr

From Bruxelles, Belgium, comes Les Vedettes! I can't speak French for the life of me, but from what I can tell, it looks like they've been co-touring with Katerine (see video for their participations in their concert). Incidentally if you watch the video, the half way song called "Louxor J'adore" by Katerine from his Robots Après Tout album.

Anyway, Les Vedettes are made up of 14 cheerleaders, dressed up in some crazy French Cowgirl outfits. I've watched a few of their videos, it looks like a fun visual performance. They do remind me a bit of the Pipettes, only these girls looks dangerous :)

From my limited French, I can see that these girls are all from different backgrounds. Some are dancers, comedians, fashion designers, and artists.

So, enjoy this fun song called "Vive Papa" (Live Father). It's written by Philippe Katerine about the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. They used this song to compete with other high-profiled bands to represent France in Eurovision 2007, but I think they lost out to my favorite Les Fatals Picards.

Related Entry: Marija Šerifović - Molitva

 July 08, 2007 6:30 PM  vu vu@weheartmusic.com vedettesplusoumoinsmajorettes.be

Marija Šerifović won Eurovision 2007 with her song "Molitva" (translation: Prayer, but the English song is renamed "Destiny").

I didn't know this, but apparently each of the finalists have a special CD+DVD made for them, I'm assuming for radio stations and judges and are not for retail sale (although doing a quick lookup on ebay, you can find quite a bit for sale).

I tried to find the English version of Molitva, but the only version I found were the original Serbian version and some awful dance mixes.

So I'm putting up her winning song and another one called "Bol do Ludila" (Unbearable Pain) from her Bez Ljubavi (Without Love) album.

vu Links: www.marijaserifovic.net | www.eurovision.tv

This little known song was a massive hit in Ireland about ten years ago. It was recorded by two priests in an effort to get to Eurovision. It also hit the low charts in Britain and France, riding in on the last waves of BritPop.

I can't seem to find a full track of this, so here's a live sample. It's such a shame that this never caught on and became the hit it should have outside of Ireland, but them's the breaks. Enjoy!