It's been a weekend of ups and downs - ups included getting a rather cute new car (arrives in 2 weeks), the excellent last but one Doctor Who episode and a rather delicious slice of cheesecake. Downs include more bloody hayfever, more bloody football and starbucks going up by ten whole shiny pennies. The audacity. The nerve. The unmitigated gall! However, the most lovely thing to happen this weekend was the royal wedding in Sweden. Not only did it achieve the fairytale feel of which all weddings should be measured by (i.e. this), but all of Sweden's pop majesty came out singing some ok, some good and some glorious songs for the event. Which is why I adore Sweden - they put on a massive disney-esque wedding and pop gets the royal seal of approval. Amazes. Above is a rather syrupy yet lovely ballad from Agnes "Release Me" Carlsson and Björn Skifs that wouldn't be out of place at the end of some animated Disney feature, while below are two of my favourites aural tributes to the marriage of Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel Westling. Mazel tov! Romance rules :)
A Right Royal Romance:
- Darin ~ Can't Stop Love: While everyone impatiently awaits the *actual* new Darin single, Love Killer, this rather glorious mid-tempo gem quietly snuck it's way onto Swedish i-tunes this weekend. And thank heavens it did. It's bloody lovely. It's got this shuffling hand clap beat with a delicate piano trinket of notes playing over and it all builds up into this bombastic chorus of crashing drums and a powerful vocal from Darin. Lovely lyrics too - "can't stop, can't stop this love/no matter what they say/I love you". Quite divine. Love Killer is going to have to go some way to beat this, as this is just a joyous follow up to the also excellent You're Out Of My Life. It's only a clip above, but Darin looks most handsome and the sky backdrop is just beautiful.(Also see postergirl; scandipop; swedish stereo)...
- Salem Al Fakir ~ All Day Love: A genuinely touching devotional song driven by a strong piano melody has shown as softer side to the quirky Salem's range. Or so you would think - it's got a really great integration of sounds mixed in. There are the softer sounds of the piano verses, with tinkling bells and occasional flute - then the chorus expresses the passion of the lyrics with some jaunty horns and an off kilter feel to it. It could have been a big old mess - having a tender boyband ballad start then an E Street Band chorus, but it works brilliantly. You can download the song for free here if you are quick by just typing in your email address and the word salem! Go!
Top 21 Songs of the Week:
And what could be more romantic than having Kylie's All The Lovers at number one for a sixth week?! Let's watch a live performance with her towering masses of cuddles and kisses. It's like a strangely more innocent version of all the debauchery that went on in the season 2 finale of True Blood (ps season 3 - off to a great start!) I suspect she may get challenged for the top next week by Darin, Magic Numbers or THE RETURN OF MY BELOVED MAROON 5!!
21 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Circles (NE)
20 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Alarm
19 ~ Eric Saade, Manboy
18 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction
17 ~ Donkeyboy, Sometimes
16 ~ BrightLightx2, A New Word To Say
15 ~ JLS, The Club Is Alive
14 ~ Lovestoned, Thursdays
13 ~ LeKid, Mercy Mercy
12 ~ Bang Bang Club, Chemistry
11 ~ Dirty Disco, White Room
10 ~ Brandon Flowers, Crossfire
09 ~ Gravitonas, Kites
08 ~ Scissor Sisters, Fire With Fire
07 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, Hearts Don't Lie
06 ~ Kelly Rowland, Commander
05 ~ Chanee & N'evergreen, In A Moment Like This
04 ~ Simon Curtis, Beat Drop
03 ~ Same Difference, Shine On Forever
02 ~ Eric Saade, It's Gonna Rain
01 ~ Kylie, All The Lovers (6 weeks)
Coming this week: Maroon 5! Moto Boy! Pipettes! The Like!
I like so much Darin and Salem..they are my favorites, actually...but the song WHEN U TELL THE WORLD YOU´RE MINE IS SIMPLY MARVELOUS
ReplyDeleteI have been in Stockholm and have taken some shots of the Royal wedding...
http://graceolsson.com/blog/2010/06/swedish-princess-married-today/
I will come back gere soon
nice day
Though I really like Agnes' and Salem's songs (Salem has made a really great follow-up of Keep On Walking and I think song will get very long success) but I'm melting for "Can't Stop Love" - it's modern, it's beutiful and it's so full of emotions.
ReplyDeleteKylie is clearly Queen of the stage, shame on me I didn't manage to get one of her full-length concerts.
For some reason, I now have the cheesy 70s song "Love is in the Air" stuck in my head. Must listen to "Crossfire" to erase it!
ReplyDeleteThat video of Kylie's from the Verona Colosseum - what an amazing place to perform!
ReplyDeleteFuck those royals! The only one who matters is COUNTESS LUANN!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon - great photos. The Agnes/Bjorn song is indeed very lovely. I feel like i'm twirling around a Disney film each time I hear it! Please do come visit again :)
ReplyDeleteDamian - Can't Stop Love has just dominated my mp3 player all weekend (until this morning - see today's post!) and I just adore it. it's going to be hard for love killer to top this :) and maybe you will get to see Kylie on one of her more upcoming (presumably) concerts!
John - booo you romance scrooge :P Though Crossfire is quite romantic in it's own way, and laying my body down next to B-flo would be quite nice ta very much!
Bharat - it looks brilliant. I'd love to see an act perform there. Kylie would do. or you!!
D'Luv - oh you and your ways :P
It's made me sort of excited for a royal wedding here. Harry and/or Wills needs to sort it out pronto. Imagine specially written tunes from Take That, Girls Aloud, alexandra burke, leona lewis, et al? Brilliant. Love the Darin tune. Cheesy yet a modern sounding ballad. surely if this was a bigger hit internationally it would be a massive wedding song everywhere?!
ReplyDeleteFirstly - Loving the cheesecake & the new Car :)
ReplyDeleteKylie? = Perennially amazing for ever and forever more!
the darin song is so good. i heard that Benny Andersson wrote a song especially for the wedding as Abba performed at the King and Queen's wedding in 76. Do you know anything about that/?
ReplyDeleteSo sweet. "Can't Stop Love" is my pick of the bunch at the moment, too, but the performance of the Agnes/Björn song was moving. I hadn't seen that video of Darin. Bit strange, but better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteBen - i would love a UK royal wedding to bring together the pop masses of England! Maybe it will coral Shayne Ward into doing something! Imagine!! (It has been 3 bloody years!)
ReplyDeleteAaron - not long til Aphrodite rules our lives :P
Anon - not sure about that. I will have to check with some more knowledgeable than I scandipop folk...
PosterGirl - CAn't Stop Love is beyond amazing. I can't stop playing it and i can't stop loving it. Magnifico!!