In the lull between Strictly Come Dancing ending and Eurovision getting into gear I merge the two!
Over the past few weeks I have been carefully pairing up Strictly dance styles and Eurovision songs. I suggest a number of potential choices for all of the dances but select my favourite - the one I would probably like to dance the most - to play on the show. There are some quite obvious choices, some less so!
If you are a newbie to Eurovision there will be some songs you know but quite a few you won't, so see this as an entry level gateway to the world of Eurovision. If you *are* in the Eurovision fandom you may find some of my idea a little bit leftfield -which I am kind of known for - but I also try my very best to dis-spell my moniker as 'the one who hates Denmark' !!!
In this podcast we look at the following dance styles: Charleston, Samba, Salsa, Tango, Jive, Waltz and, last but not least, the Showdance !
If you have enjoyed the podcasts, please get in touch and/or share my stuff :)
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/StrictlyEurovision2
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Monday, 31 December 2018
Thursday, 27 December 2018
#strictlyeurovision part 1
In the lull between Strictly Come Dancing ending and Eurovision getting into gear I merge the two!
Over the past few weeks I have been carefully pairing up Strictly dance styles and Eurovision songs. I suggest a number of potential choices for all of the dances but select my favourite - the one I would probably like to dance the most - to play on the show. There are some quite obvious choices, some less so!
If you are a newbie to Eurovision there will be some songs you know but quite a few you won't, so see this as an entry level gateway to the world of Eurovision. If you *are* in the Eurovision fandom you may find some of my idea a little bit leftfield -which I am kind of known for - but I also try my very best to dis-spell my moniker as 'the one who hates Denmark' !!!
In this podcast we look at the following dance styles: Viennese Waltz, American Smooth, Cha Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Rumba, Argentine Tango, Quick Step and Paso Doble.
I shall be recording part 2 in the next couple of days so if you have any mini reviews or opinions of the pod then get them in soon so I can read some out ! The second podcast should be up around New Year's Eve :)
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/StrictlyEurovision1
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Over the past few weeks I have been carefully pairing up Strictly dance styles and Eurovision songs. I suggest a number of potential choices for all of the dances but select my favourite - the one I would probably like to dance the most - to play on the show. There are some quite obvious choices, some less so!
If you are a newbie to Eurovision there will be some songs you know but quite a few you won't, so see this as an entry level gateway to the world of Eurovision. If you *are* in the Eurovision fandom you may find some of my idea a little bit leftfield -which I am kind of known for - but I also try my very best to dis-spell my moniker as 'the one who hates Denmark' !!!
In this podcast we look at the following dance styles: Viennese Waltz, American Smooth, Cha Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Rumba, Argentine Tango, Quick Step and Paso Doble.
I shall be recording part 2 in the next couple of days so if you have any mini reviews or opinions of the pod then get them in soon so I can read some out ! The second podcast should be up around New Year's Eve :)
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/StrictlyEurovision1
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Tuesday, 12 June 2018
RANDOMER
A few weeks ago I did a twitter thing where I shared some of
the music I have on my spotify playlist. At the time I just posted photos of
each track and artists that came up with little intro or meaning. In this
blogpost I hope to, even if just a small sentence, give the song a background
and how it fits in with my listening pleasures.
1) Against the wall by Jimi Tenor and Tony Allen
Jimi Tenor is a Finnish electronic artist whilst Tony Allen is the drummer extraordinaire who basically
is the father figure of Afro beat percussion. He is otherwise known as the
drummer who plays on Sebastien Tellier's "La Ritournelle"
2) Mon Svijet - Sergei Cetkovic
This was Montenegro's Eurovision entry in 2015. A well-built
Balkan ballad that has a great crescendo. Second best entry to date.
3) Common People by Pulp
Who was best Oasis or Blur...? WRONG it was Pulp. Released
in the height of my teens it still sings to my heartstrings
4) Get frighten by Lolita Zero
This was my spirit animal during National Final season for
Eurovision in 2017 and in many ways it still devastates me that this never got
chosen to go. Lithuania's winning song failed to qualify...
5) Real by Wolfsheim
German darkwave duo that are sadly no longer together. Their
albums are full of amazing work, mostly in English but some German language
work. The singer, Peter Heppner has gone onto some success as a guest vocalist on
other tracks.
6) Auntie Maggie's Remedy by George Formby
What a northern hero. I remember watching the movie this
came from "Turned out nice again" on the telly in my teens and finding this particular song hilarious, especially the line about ankles XD
7) Mensch by Herbert Grönemeyer
A classic song by a classic German artist. A huge star in
the German music world but seems to have lived in London for as long as I can
remember. Love the video too
8) O Superman by Laurie Anderson
If in doubt, stick on a bit of avant garde to calm the mind
down. I think I've been listening to this for half my life and I still don't
really know what this is or what it means - but frankly who cares!
9) The system only dreams in total darkness by The National
This is basically down to my husband who plays this pretty
much every time we are the car and I have absorbed this by osmosis
10) Oblivion by Tenfold Rabbit
In 2012, this came 3rd in Eesti Laul, the Estonian Eurovision
selection show. The song that won eventually came 6th in the final but STLL
think this is better
11) Confusion !! by Cycle
I first heard this song whilst watching the San Fermin
celebrations on TVE. Although the song contains many obscure English
references, they are mostly Spanish!
12) Trees by Marty Casey and the Lovehammers
Marty Casey was second in the MTV show “Rock Star INXS”
where the winner became the new lead singer of their band. Although he did not
win, he honed this song in the process and was the best thing to com out of it.
13) Yambo by Salif Keita
This is an album track from his album M'Bemba. I think this
one because of its repetitive lyrics and banjoesque feel of the opening
instrument and also builds in an interesting way
14) River flows in you by Yiruma
Yiruma is a Korean pianist and composer many of his
compositions can be found as background music in films and tv scores. It's the
kind of music that sounds familiar but you don't really know it.
15) Jam by Michael Jackson
If you can think of a better Michael Jackson song then you
are WRONG WRONG WRONG !!!
16) Cette femme est un heroes!!! by Alex Mansion
This Belgian artist can be found as the source of many hits
since the 80s although most of them are under band names and pseudonyms. He
also conducted Luxembourg's entry at Eurovision
17) Enga Fordoma (karaoke version) by Pollapönk
This Icelandic band sang a
full English version of this at Eurovision in 2015 and they describe them
selves as a 'child friendly punk band'
18) Morgens immer müde by Laing
This band came to prominence when they entered the
Bundesvision Song Contest in 2012 coming second with this reworking of the song
by comedy actress Trude Herr.
19) Caravan by Inspiral Carpets
In the realm of Brit Pop some bands predated the whole thing
and almost started it off without even knowing. That is this lot - but with
ruder t-shirts!
20) Jolibwa by Melissa Laveaux
I saw this performance recently on Later and loved the
guitar work. It's deeply rooted in Afro beat but has that lackadaisical Caribbean
feel at times
Friday, 11 May 2018
Final ideals
2 exciting semis down - now just the final to go...
Let it now be truly known that we really really REALLY do not have a clue as to what is going to win!
First of all, the running order has now been finalised and it is incredibly full-on, the second half in particular seems at a much higher pace than the second half, although the end of the running order as some surprisingly slow punctuations. This has dented a few hopes and dreams, most notably Spain who have been handed the dreaded number 2 spot - a from which no country has ever won. I am not going to indulge too much into the mechanics of this pseudo-science mainly because apart from the obvious favouritism spots, and the much hyped benefits of being in the second half, 4 of the last 5 ESC winners have actually been from the first half.
So, based my own personal opinions and preferences with a tiny bit of swaying from the live performances seen during the semi finals, fan participation in the hall and the general fan opinion on social media, here is my list of the 26 finalists.
Don't expect this to be the actual result - although that would be rather epic. From my list, I would say that Albania has almost no chance of winning and Denmark would be quite the shock, but after that any of the next 3 could be winners. Also, depending on demographic, the opera from Estonia or the modern metal from Hungary could be a sneaky benefactor. I get the feeling that the winner of the jury vote, which is done first, will not be the same as the televote winner. Depending on margins, this may or may not affect the placings but will make it a very close result.
One huge issue that may sway the voting is the question of where some of the 'friendly votes' will go? With the obliteration of some of the ex-Soviet countries - where will their televote go if their de facto first choice isn't there? Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine are still standing and one must remember that Alexander Rybak is genetically Belarusian so they have to be seen as possibly exceeding in the phone votes. On a similar theme, the Greek diaspora vote will go straight to Cyprus and from ex-Yugoslavia Slovenia and Serbia should see a small boost.
All I hope is that it's a slick show, the performances are good and the voting is clear but also nail biting!
Let it now be truly known that we really really REALLY do not have a clue as to what is going to win!
First of all, the running order has now been finalised and it is incredibly full-on, the second half in particular seems at a much higher pace than the second half, although the end of the running order as some surprisingly slow punctuations. This has dented a few hopes and dreams, most notably Spain who have been handed the dreaded number 2 spot - a from which no country has ever won. I am not going to indulge too much into the mechanics of this pseudo-science mainly because apart from the obvious favouritism spots, and the much hyped benefits of being in the second half, 4 of the last 5 ESC winners have actually been from the first half.
So, based my own personal opinions and preferences with a tiny bit of swaying from the live performances seen during the semi finals, fan participation in the hall and the general fan opinion on social media, here is my list of the 26 finalists.
One huge issue that may sway the voting is the question of where some of the 'friendly votes' will go? With the obliteration of some of the ex-Soviet countries - where will their televote go if their de facto first choice isn't there? Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine are still standing and one must remember that Alexander Rybak is genetically Belarusian so they have to be seen as possibly exceeding in the phone votes. On a similar theme, the Greek diaspora vote will go straight to Cyprus and from ex-Yugoslavia Slovenia and Serbia should see a small boost.
All I hope is that it's a slick show, the performances are good and the voting is clear but also nail biting!
Monday, 7 May 2018
Ranking, wishlists and predictions
Blooming heck, this really is as clear as mud...
Now that the rehearsals are done it is fair to say that things have certainly got more complicated. Some songs that were borderline have now become sure fire contenders or fallen to the wayside. Conversely there are are couple of big hitters that have failed to hit the mark in rehearsals and don't look as sure as they once were. It's all got a wee bit muddled...
That said, I need to get this down so I have at least had my say...
So here is my 43 song ranking - I will post ANOTHER ranking list with just the 26 finalists on Friday night/Saturday morning:
This would make my personal qualifiers from each semi as follows
That said, I don't feel that either of this lists are going to be accurate when it comes to the actual votes. The 100% records of Romania, Azerbaijan and Russia would be broken if my list were true and although I feel there is a good chance that one of the 3 will fail, I doubt at three will flunk, Other major nations like Sweden and Bulgaria, for me, miss out but I think they will both get through (as much as it pains me to say it!) In my lists I suspect that Albania, Austria and Belgium could be on the borderline in semi one whilst Slovenia, Australia and Georgia could go either way in semi two but I think my expectation of San Marino is a bridge too far! With this all said and done, if any of the performances fail to ignite during the jury final OR the live televoting final - it could be anybody's game and there *will* be some shock non-qualifiers.
Come back at the end of the week to get my ranking of the 26 finalists !
Now that the rehearsals are done it is fair to say that things have certainly got more complicated. Some songs that were borderline have now become sure fire contenders or fallen to the wayside. Conversely there are are couple of big hitters that have failed to hit the mark in rehearsals and don't look as sure as they once were. It's all got a wee bit muddled...
That said, I need to get this down so I have at least had my say...
So here is my 43 song ranking - I will post ANOTHER ranking list with just the 26 finalists on Friday night/Saturday morning:
SF1
Albania Czech Republic
Estonia Austria Belgium
Lithuania Cyprus
Israel Finland Ireland
|
SF2
Denmark Ukraine Serbia
Slovenia Moldova
Georgia Hungary Norway
San Marino Australia
|
That said, I don't feel that either of this lists are going to be accurate when it comes to the actual votes. The 100% records of Romania, Azerbaijan and Russia would be broken if my list were true and although I feel there is a good chance that one of the 3 will fail, I doubt at three will flunk, Other major nations like Sweden and Bulgaria, for me, miss out but I think they will both get through (as much as it pains me to say it!) In my lists I suspect that Albania, Austria and Belgium could be on the borderline in semi one whilst Slovenia, Australia and Georgia could go either way in semi two but I think my expectation of San Marino is a bridge too far! With this all said and done, if any of the performances fail to ignite during the jury final OR the live televoting final - it could be anybody's game and there *will* be some shock non-qualifiers.
Come back at the end of the week to get my ranking of the 26 finalists !
Thursday, 3 May 2018
Alternative lyrics
NORWAY
Step one - do a shit, and do it all day long
Step two - just roll in it that's how you make a pong
ISRAEL
I’m not your hen (not your hen)
I’m full of zen (full of zen)
I’ll lay an egg I’ll watch you boil it
Dip some soldiers now to the mother-dunking beat
CYPRUS
Cause I’m building up and it ain’t falling down – I’m building it higher
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Cause I’m making up a boat and then a car - yeah I've got 4 tyres
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Lego !
BULGARIA
So I love the traffic cones
Take pictures on our phones
Fill them all up with stones
I love the traffic cones
SWEDEN
Just wanna pi-pi-piss you off
So don’t you da-da-dare mess up
I just want to kill your mood
Make you throw up all your food
I will now, I will now
UNITED KINGDOM
Months are like September, October and November
Don't you dare forget December all these months oh oh, all the months oh oh
Step one - do a shit, and do it all day long
Step two - just roll in it that's how you make a pong
ISRAEL
I’m not your hen (not your hen)
I’m full of zen (full of zen)
I’ll lay an egg I’ll watch you boil it
Dip some soldiers now to the mother-dunking beat
CYPRUS
Cause I’m building up and it ain’t falling down – I’m building it higher
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Cause I’m making up a boat and then a car - yeah I've got 4 tyres
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Yeah ah yeah ah yeah
Lego !
BULGARIA
So I love the traffic cones
Take pictures on our phones
Fill them all up with stones
I love the traffic cones
SWEDEN
Just wanna pi-pi-piss you off
So don’t you da-da-dare mess up
I just want to kill your mood
Make you throw up all your food
I will now, I will now
UNITED KINGDOM
Months are like September, October and November
Don't you dare forget December all these months oh oh, all the months oh oh
Saturday, 28 April 2018
Pre-rehearsal ranking
Today is Saturday 28th April and rehearsals for this year's Eurovision start tomorrow - so it was time to get down to brass tacks and nail my colours to the mast!
Using Mr Gerbear's magnificent song sorter I was able to make a reasonable ranking (I had to move one song because it was quite a lot higher than I thought it would be but that was the only noticeable anomaly) My tastes are still changing and I know that once footage comes from rehearsals, tastes - and the songs' chances of winning- will change drastically but this is it for now.
Also, for an interesting comparison, the ranking numbers are highlighted to signify its path to the final:
yellow means the song is in semi final 1, blue means it is in semi final 2 and green means it is automatic qualifier.
As you can see semi final 1 (at least for me) is going to be BRUTAL with most of my personal favourites in that show. But only the top 10 from each semi getting into the Saturday night final, I get the feeling many of my favorites are not going to make it!!!! If you fancy dipping your toes into who this year's eurovision has to offer, have a watch and listen to clips of all the songs here.
I will predict my semi final qualifiers next weekend!
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
Using Mr Gerbear's magnificent song sorter I was able to make a reasonable ranking (I had to move one song because it was quite a lot higher than I thought it would be but that was the only noticeable anomaly) My tastes are still changing and I know that once footage comes from rehearsals, tastes - and the songs' chances of winning- will change drastically but this is it for now.
Also, for an interesting comparison, the ranking numbers are highlighted to signify its path to the final:
yellow means the song is in semi final 1, blue means it is in semi final 2 and green means it is automatic qualifier.
As you can see semi final 1 (at least for me) is going to be BRUTAL with most of my personal favourites in that show. But only the top 10 from each semi getting into the Saturday night final, I get the feeling many of my favorites are not going to make it!!!! If you fancy dipping your toes into who this year's eurovision has to offer, have a watch and listen to clips of all the songs here.
I will predict my semi final qualifiers next weekend!
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
Friday, 27 April 2018
SOA 2018 episode 6
We start, unusually, with a discussion about the phenomenon that is… Ross Anthony and whether he is actually as British he purports to be (Google “Ross Anthony British” to see the amazing* music video)
Points of order discussed include:
1 – well dodgy pyramid schemes involving Bobby Davro (or not as it turned out)
2 – needing to be ‘a bit more Sopho’
3 – letting off wind
4 – Runrig – and their apparent lack of successors
5 – Eastern European stage schools
The songs pulled apart on this show are from – in alphabetical order:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Germany, Moldova and San Marino
* Sorry, I lied. Soz.
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/SOA1806
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Points of order discussed include:
1 – well dodgy pyramid schemes involving Bobby Davro (or not as it turned out)
2 – needing to be ‘a bit more Sopho’
3 – letting off wind
4 – Runrig – and their apparent lack of successors
5 – Eastern European stage schools
The songs pulled apart on this show are from – in alphabetical order:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Germany, Moldova and San Marino
* Sorry, I lied. Soz.
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/SOA1806
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
SOA 2018 episode 5
Just by chance we have a lovely intro by a local celebrity !
Quite a bit of bickering on today’s episode but mainly about
each other – not the songs!
Points of order discussed include:
1 – Let Loose
2 – a weird Apprentice buying task
3 – knowing the cast of BBC’s Fame Academy series 1 without
really thinking
4 – the surprise return of the Austrian tourist board
5 – a song with an ironic title
The songs pulled apart on this show are from – in
alphabetical order:
Croatia, Czechia, Hungary,
Lithuania, Norway, Russia and Spain
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/SOA1805
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
SOA 2018 episode 4
We are more than half way through our Eurovision odyssey and
we’re both feeling a bit of cabin fever and what a day to do the longest episode of the run :/
Notes on this episode include:
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/SOA1804
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Notes on this episode include:
1 – cost of video production v cost of song production
2 – ginger and proud!
3 – forgetting that you like something
4 – Goodness Gracious Me
5 – getting rid of the band!
The entries looked at on this show are – in alphabetical
order:
Australia, Belarus, Denmark, France, Malta, Montenegro,
Romania and United Kingdom
Follow us on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/ESCarmchair
or like our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ESCarmchair to find get the latest information about blogposts and podcasts or even have a look back at our old ones :o)
You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/SOA1804
Click here to listen to this podcast in your usual music player (M3U Playlist)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)