Sapnish 2009

Because I had saved the track ranking, but I never actually wrote it down - here we go, the top tracks of Sapnish's last.fm charts 2009.


Noa & Mira Awad
there must be another way
Eurovision Song Contest 2009

The Israeli entry in 2009 was a magical, bilingual and peaceful ode to what the Song Contest should be all about. Not only the song, also the performance was flawless and unforgettable.

Read the post here for the complete memory. A logical and well-deserved number one for 2009.

Giusy Ferreri
novembre
Gaetana

This stunning track about November hit us in Athens in summer 2009. Yes, the lyrics were autumnal, but this driving, up-beat song works in every season and probably every mood.

Giusy Ferreri, who I'd never heard of before, has an incredibly strong and powerful voice - the comparisons to Amy Winehouse don't really find their target here.
The rest of the album is not as strong, but features various other very good tracks and ideas, which makes this a fine pop album with some soul and rock touches at hand.

Kejsi Tola
carry me in your dreams
Eurovision Song Contest 2009

This song was obviously awesome at first listen, but the crazy and weird performance that evolved on stage really didn't help in realizing that. And so it came to pass that 'carry me in your dreams' earned a strong 2 rating-wise at that point.

With time though it turned out that this is an absolute hit - strong beats, tempo and a great singer. Unforgettable and can be listened to over and over again.

ABBA
lay all your love on me
gimme! gimme! gimme! (a man after midnight)
Super Trouper

These two tracks off the CD version of "Super Trouper" could basically be representative for all the millions of times I have played ABBA that year. Both are genius, beautiful and simply hits. But I think I have said all of this before, so without quoting myself this is the respective entry to worship ABBA - the Gods of Pop.

ABBA
hey, hey helen
ABBA

One of ABBA's lesser known hits, this track is a great rocker, marvellously produced (the sounds, the sounds!) and sung with such angelic drive and beauty - don't miss this one, in fact, don't miss any ABBA song or album or video. Your life cannot be complete without ABBA.

Al Bano & Romina Power
makassar
Libertá!

Not a lot of people from Carinthia will say that this pop duo doesn't spark memories of countless vacations in Italy in the 80ies. When we hear Al Bano's impressive tenor and Romina's silky whispers we are taken back to all these warm summer nights at the beach, or eating pasta and drinking wine.

2009 was my year of rediscovering this Italopop sanctuary, and of all the great tracks they produced together, 'makassar' probably stands out a bit. A song between pop and schlager, enchantingly sung and blessed with one of the best chorus melodies ever. Even people who are ashamed to admit that they still like Al Bano & Romina Power (they are obviously lying) are saying that this track was actually a good one. Which would be the biggest understatement.

--Sapnish--

Mixtape Christmas Holidays 2010

SIDE A
Negură Bunget - pămînt
George Michael - careless whisper
Odyssey - our lives are shaped by what we love
Lady Gaga - dance in the dark
Snap! - rhythm is a dancer
Eddie "Ski" White - baby be mine

SIDE B
Dimmu Borgir - a succubus in rapture
Cradle of Filth - the persecution song
Taylor Dayne - tell it to my heart
Haddaway - rock my heart
Opeth - in mist she was standing
Atlantean Kodex - disciples of the iron crown


--Sapnish--

The Olden Days: Metal Hammer

Ich habe ja an dieser Stelle schon mal gejammert, dass der Metal Hammer nicht mehr lesenswert ist. Schade, stelle ich in allen Urlauben dank Zeit wieder nostalgisch fest, da er ja Teil meiner Adoleszenz war und vor allem Robert Müller indirekt viele Metal-Hausaufgaben gestellt hat, die mir auf meinem headbangenden Weg geholfen haben.

Wo wir gerade von Müller sprechen, ich las gerade einen alten Hammer und habe wieder ein Review gefunden, dass noch den guten alten Vibe trägt - informativ, unterhaltsam und knackig. Robert, I miss you - du wärst wohl der einzige Grund, heute noch den Hammer zu lesen (vorausgesetzt du bist nicht alt und satt geworden =)

Aus diesem Anlass hier das Review für Nostalgiker oder jene, die diese Zeit nicht mit dem Hammer verbracht haben:

Metal Hammer Januar 1999

V.A. - Darkness
Special Tip des Monats

Eigentlich spricht alles gegen diese Compilation. Das Cover sieht eher bescheiden aus, der Untertitel "Best of Wave & Independent" ziert so ungefähr jeden dritten Sampler, der auf meinem Tisch landet. Aber dann habe ich die Reaktionen einiger bewährter Gothic-Kumpels bemerkt, und das gab mir zu denken. Da war alles drin: das blanke Grauen, die nostalgischen Erinnerungen an Abende in der Schwarzdisse, die mit kontemplativer Betrachtung der Schuhspitzen verbracht wurden, die romantischen Gedanken an verführte Frauen zu Kerzenlicht und "genau diesem gottverdammten Song". Die Jungs würden diese Doppel-CD natürlich nicht mit der Feuerzange anfassen, denn erstens haben sie die Originale eh alle zuhause, und zweitens haben sie ihre Turmfrisuren schon längst abrasiert und philosophieren heute über "Wie scheiße ist Leonardo Di Caprio wirklich?" und Windows NT versus Linux als Serverbetriebssystem.

Aber (ein großes Aber, was das betrifft): Die Metal-Komune hat das gotische Treiben erst in den vergangen Jahren so richtig für sich entdeckt - von Paradise Lost über Theatre of Tragedy bis hin zu Crematory fliegen Querverweise auf die Heroen der Achtziger durch die Interviews, und irgendwann wollt ihr euch vielleicht, wenn nicht die Turmfrisur erst kürzlich zur Matte degeneriert ist, auch mal schlau machen, wie der Kram denn im Original geklungen hat. In diesem Moment schlägt die Stunde von DARKNESS. Theoretisch könnte auch jede andere "Best of Wave & Independent"-Platte (mir graust es alleine schon vor diesen Worten...) nützlich sein, aber die meisten dieser Teile sind B-Liga-Material, mit ein paar großen Namen aufgepeppt und zusätzlich mit einigen Zuspätgekommenen aus dem Fundus der veröffentlichen Plattenfirma "veredelt". Auf DARKNESS aber ist - soweit das auf zwei CDs möglich ist - ALLES drauf. Alleine die ersten fünf Songs definieren das Genre Gothic Rock: Sisters of Mercys "Black Planet", "Spiritwalker" von The Cult (hach, diese Pelzmützen...), "Love Like Blood" von Killing Joke (okay, das ist 'Wave'), "Wasteland" von The Mission und "Moonchild" von den Mehlsäcken Fields of the Nephilim.

Die Electro-Tanzfraktion glänzt mit Front Line Assembly ("No Limit"), Invincible Spirit ("Push"), No More ("Suicide Commando") oder Nitzer Ebb ("Let Your Body Learn"), Industrial ist vertreten in Form von Ministry, den Krupps und Marilyn Manson. Außerdem u.a.: Love Like Blood, Project Pitchfork, Deine Lakaien, Cabaret Voltaire, Lacrimosa, The Jesus and Mary Chain, New Model Army, Psyche und Wolfsheim. Die paar stilistischen Ausrutscher wie - bei allem Respekt - Phillip Boa oder die Pixies nimmt man gerne in Kauf, denn wenn es eine CD sein soll, die einen raschen, aber umfassenden Überblick über die Vorgänge in den etwas schattigeren Ecken der Musikgeschichte der Achtziger gibt, dann ist DARKNESS zur Zeit die erste Wahl. 'Nuff said.

ROBERT MÜLLER


--Sapnish--

Zu "Frauen im Metal"

"(...) Doch Metalsongs sind häufig in E oder A komponiert, eine schwierige Tonlage für Frauen. Entweder die Tonart ist zu tief für sie, oder aber - wenn man es eine Oktave höher singen würde - zu hoch. Ich denke, Metalbands sollten einen Sänger haben. Und als Instrumentalistin wäre es natürlich eine Frage der Technik. Aber auch da bin ich eher skeptisch. (...)"
Joacim Cans, Hammerfall, Metal Hammer 03/2001

Lustig, dabei klingt Joacim Cans ja selber wie ein Mädchen...


--Sapnish--

"Scheiß verdammte Disco-Tanzmusik"

Songs they will play at the Christmas party.

Bryan Adams – summer of 69
Village People – YMCA
Gloria Gaynor – i will survive
Pointer Sisters – i'm so excited
Weather Girls - it's raining men
Bon Jovi – it's my life
Lynyrd Skynyrd – sweet home alabama
Joan Jett - i love rock and roll
Nirvana - smells like teen spirit
Cyndi Lauper - girls just wanna have fun
The White Stripes - 7 nation army
Katy Perry - everything
Rihanna – everything
Green Day – everything
Gwen Stefani - everything
Michael Jackson - everything
Black Eyed Peas - everything


--Sapnish--

The Most Horrible Genres

for Sapnish (subject to change):

Pop/Rock
Volkstümlicher Schlager
Musical

Natalia Oreiro - no va más (Turmalina)
Ska-P - tío sam (Planeta Eskoria)
Tommy Dorsey feat. The Sentimentalists - on the sunny side of the street (Swing Era)
Amon Amarth - without fear (Once Sent From the Golden Hall)
Amon Amarth - death in fire (Versus the World)
Rage - full moon (live) [Full Moon in St. Petersburg]
Laibach - nsk (Volk)
Agathodaimon - sfinţit cu rouă suferinţii (Blacken the Angel)
Ani Lorak - bez tebe (Ani Lorak)
Djamchid Chemirani - duo de zarbs à 7 temps (Le Zarb)
Tori Amos - father's son (American Doll Posse)
Ron Hubbard - redwood forest (Road Rash Soundtrack)
Mesmerize - the werewolf (Tales of Wonder)
Sothis - of night and silence (De Oppresso Liber)


Uruguay - Spain - USA - Sweden - Sweden - Germany - Slovenia - Germany - Ukraine - Iran - USA - England - Italy - USA

--Sapnish--

Paola & Chiara - Milleluci

Unfortunately, being a huge Paola & Chiara fan, this album is the first to really leave me totally unimpressed. It sounds at times a bit back to the roots, more rock again (like on the early albums), also rock as in "not so conventional" like 'stringimi' (which by the way should be a Maroon 5 cover as it sounds so so similar).

Speaking about cover - they covered Rihanna's 'russian roulette', which I guess leaves me as cold as the original. I don't know why, it's fine, but it doesn't grab me and hold me and love me and take me in. It's just a dramatic song with piano which is nice. Funny enough I also don't like the vocals here so much - I know they are supposed to express drama and therefore they should sound like this, but it doesn't do anything for me.

The title track is far behind past ballads like 'un mondo pieno d'amore', 'un giorno di sole', even 'vicky' or 'anni luce' or, more recent, the great 'cambiare pagina' or the mind blowing 'senza confine'. Yes, I know it is meant to be more cheerful than most of the songs I've listed, and maybe this is why it doesn't work. It sounds stale, very trivial and cannot convince me even one tiny bit.

'pioggia d'estate' is a nice track that would only be standard on other albums, but on this one it basically stands out. It is obvious that it was made to be a hit single with the very catchy hymn chorus and the modern dance instrumentation, and it works although lacking a really fantastic idea or melody.

'sudoku' I guess quotes Madonna's Erotica album which was nice to hear, but it remains quite conventional and cannot evolve into something special. Again the melody lines go back to their first two albums. After a good start, the faster 'adesso stop!' draws cheesy 80ies Pop/Rock rhythms in that make the whole song very old fashioned and mal-crafted. It just doesn't work, despite the Drum'n'Bass and the (very nice) Electronica borrowings. And like that almost every track passes by without being memorable.

Paola & Chiara have, for me, always (or at least in their "newer" phase beginning with Television) been walking the edge between pop and pop art, and they did it very well most of the time. I usually found one or two songs on almost every album that didn't convince me, even on the really great ones I adore, but it is a really bad surprise that they have delivered such a dull, ordinary and by the way short (half an hour? really?) new album. I expected much more and cannot help feeling disappointed. Still, yes, this is an album that is nice to listen to, but really far away from what these sisters are actually capable of in the vast and exciting area of Pop music on this planet.


--Sapnish--

Paola & Chiara - Milleluci (Preview)

: (

I might write a review for this at some point, but I don't know... It's really not a strong album, and while I can listen to most of it without being bothered (and there are good bits of course, they are Paola & Chiara...) and while I can say that this album is really "nice", this is just SO NOT what they are able to do.

Weak album, unfortunately.

Check this for more fun instead - fino alla fine (live 2004):




--Sapnish--

The Bands of the Moment

Bathory
Virgin Steele
Manilla Road
Cradle of Filth
Sacred Oath
Atlantean Kodex



--Sapnish--

@ Work these days

Cyclone Temple - I Hate Therefore I Am
Virgin Steele - The Black Light Bacchanalia
Manilla Road - Open the Gates



--Sapnish--

Defleshed - grind and rewind (Reclaim the Beat)
Ulver - hymne VII - wolf and the night (Nattens Madrigal)
Graveworm - it's a sin (Engraved in Black)
System of a Down - lost in hollywood (Mesmerize)
Nocturnal Rites - lost in time (Tales of Mystery and Imagination)
Izimpigog (Hillcrest) - uyisigqila sotshwala (African Vibrations)
Battlelore - forked height (Sword's Song)
Chuck Berry - brown-eyed handsome man (The Best of Chuck Berry)
Epica - the divine conspiracy (The Devine Conspiracy)
Thunder - backstreet symphony (Their Finest Hour (And a Bit))
Aterciopelados - a su salud (Gozo Poderoso)
Lady Gaga - brown eyes (The Fame)
RAMP - come into knowledge (Mojo Club Dancefloor Jazz Vol. 09)
Rolf and Liesl - sixteen going on seventeen (The Sound of Music Original Soundtrack)


Good to be back! If we learned something in this round of today, it is that we should believe in ourselves. We actually would have guessed more bands/songs correctly if we only trusted our gut feeling and would have gone with it.

Apart from that, we had some themes going on again. The brown eyes (Chuck Berry, Lady Gaga - horrible song off the equally horrible first Gaga album), the "being lost" (System of a Down, Nocturnal Rites) and of course the time motive - "the end has come"? Not really, at least in Epica's case. I would have loved to see our faces as this track was going on and on and on... : )

By the way, strange to hear this RAMP track - usually the Mojo Club series has proved to be full of first class hits, but this time we were disappointed.

Let Today control your body!

Sacrifi-Sir & Sapnish
Still Reigning

Review: Therion - Sitra Ahra

As a huge Therion fan it hurts to say that, but Sitra is a big disappointment. This is toothless, boring and utterly uninspired. Most of the songs have some interesting parts that momentarily spark interest, but it all gets lost somewhere along the way, either by boredom or pointlessness, or by terrible bits that make you wonder how they could ever pass the Johnsson quality check. At times you are reminded of old Therion, but in a way of "2nd class" riffs and melodies that weren't good enough for previous records.

While some songs can at least partially entertain (or at least pass by without being painful), the horrible circus music of 'land of canaan' is unbearable. Just horrible. I cannot believe Johnsson composed this, my world is shattered.

This feels more like theater, a varieté show. This is no album, it doesn't know where it's going, lacks great songwriting (I'm disgusted that I have to say this about Johnsson, but it's true) and features an odd and misguided sound where also the singing at times sounds horrible. I'm not a big Snowy Shaw fan, and certainly he is not what makes this album bad, it's the overall lameness of the choirs and the misplacedness of the solo voices - not constantly, but far too often to make this enjoyable.

They have lost it, at least for now. There is nothing fresh, nothing creative, nothing irresistable about this band anymore. Sitra is not inspired, not progressive, not even "Opera Metal" - it's dull, bits and pieces thrown together and it displays a shocking lack of songwriting genius that I would have never believed is possible when it comes to Johnsson.

Usually this is not the case, but surprisingly enough it would actually be enough to point at the top review that was posted over at fromthedustreturned. I don't agree with every single argument, but overall this review gets it exactly right and explains what is wrong about this release.

Well, for what it's worth, since this is one of my favourite bands I also have to launch into a (German) song-by-song:

Sitra: Sehr zahnlos, angezogene Handbremse. Der Refrain ist eigentlich sehr ohrwurmig, aber das muss ja nicht immer was Positives sein. Langweilige vocals von Lori(?), die anderen sind okay - der Chor klingt sehr nach 90er-Therion. Komischer Sound, klingt irgendwie nicht homogen.

Kings: Vielleicht der irgendwie beste Song des Albums. Ist beim ersten hören noch überhaupt nicht aufgefallen, weil da dachte man ja noch, da kommt noch was. Jetzt wo man weiß, wie der Rest aussieht, sticht der irgendwie hervor. Schöne vocals, vor allem im Verse. Auch nicht so homogen, der stillere Part nach dem galoppierenden Verse zB. passt überhaupt nicht. Erinnert am ehesten noch an klassische Therion, aber die Komposition an sich ist trotzdem nur guter Durchschnitt für Johnsson-Verhältnisse. Die flotten Parts sind cool, aber auch ein bisschen gezwungen. Die Gitarrenmelodien sind schön (klingen für mich als Laien aber nicht so wahnsinnig toll gespielt).
Insgesamt nicht schlecht, dieser Song. Man muss aber auch sehen, dass hier sehr die Vergangenheit zitiert wird (was ja jetzt nicht grundsätzlich schlecht sein muss). Das "kings of edom", das der Chor zB. gegen Ende zu den schnellen Gitarren singt, ist "nightside of eden" entlehnt. Die Gitarren selbst erinnern ein bisschen an "wine of aluqah" - Übrigens, wenn man sich "wine" als Vergleich anhört, kommen einem die Tränen. So muss das gemacht werden...
Und übrigens: die viel-zitierten "Flamenco-Gitarren" hier braucht kein Mensch. Ja, die sind da, die sind schön, aber sie geben dem Song überhaupt nichts, und gehören auch nicht hierher (es sei denn, man möchte jetzt diskutieren, inwiefern die muslimischen Einflüsse auf iberischen Halbinsel den Flamenco begründet hat).
Aber ja: einer der besseren Songs, wirklich nett.

Sabbati: Achja, das Phantom der Oper. Cooles Riff zu Beginn. Hier ist Snowys Stimme okay, wenn auch nicht wirklich so irre toll. Er versucht wohl, Piotr Wawrzeniuk zu imitieren, für mich immer noch DIE Therion-Stimme schlechthin. Von daher schon okay, das zu probieren. Oder singt das der Vikström? Die Phantom-Stellen sind jetzt nicht so wahnsinnig originell, aber die passen. Loris Stimme (wenn sie das ist) ist hier ein bisschen hysterisch, aber alles in allem ein netter Song. Kann man hören. Die "singenden Geigen" (naja, nicht ganz, aber ich kanns nicht beschreiben) die den Song zum Ende begleiten, führen zurück zu Theli.

Canaan: Was soll man sagen - ein Abgrund der Abscheulichkeiten, ausgewalzt und präpotent. Ein Horror. Therion raspeln dir eine Wunde und streuen dann 10 Minuten Salz hinein.
Im Ernst jetzt: das ist kein Song, das sind einfach ein paar Teile alte Therion (langweilig, kopiert, und das auch noch schlecht), Altersheimrock mit ein paar Flöten, mit Zirkusmusik und Boney M. gepaart. Snowys Vocals sind ein Witz, irgendwo dazwischen quietscht noch Lori Lewis ein bisschen. Von der Harmonika möcht ich gar nicht erst anfangen... eine Frechheit.

Hellequin: Fängt okay an mit den "rezitierten" Hellequin-Rufen. Schlimme weibliche Stimme, und die Metal-Vocals im Verse haben auch einen Beigeschmack. Und dann gehts los: ein Zirkus der Stimmlagen, ein Carneval der Tiere unter Sängern. Wenn man hier nochmal den Qualität/Quantität-Hintergrund erklären muss, dann ist das Album sowieso nicht mehr zu retten. "Mehr" ist nicht unbedingt "besser". Auch hier nicht. Viel von dem Geknurre, Gegrunze oder Vibrato-Geflöte hätte man sich einfach schenken können. Es macht den Song nur nervig, sonst nichts. Eine nicht durchdachte Komposition, die im Endeffekt nur verwirrt. Ich bin immer noch der Meinung, dass die Grundidee hier ganz gut ist, aber die Ausführung treibt einem die Zornesröte ins Gesicht. So viel Geschwurbel mit so wenig Output, schlimm.

2012: Was zum Kuckuck soll diese gepresste, armselige "Metal"-Stimme? Ist das Shaw?
Musikalisch auch teilweise nicht schlecht, die düstere "Maya-Kalender"-Atmosphäre ist cool und wie für Therion gemacht. Es schwimmen aber auch, wie so oft auf dem Album, die guten Ansätze wieder im Mittelteil irgendwie davon und nicht viel bleibt zurück. Gesanglich gruselig, sogar die "aaahaaaahaaaa"-Männerchöre fand ich irgendwie scheiße.

Cú: Dumme und viel zu gezwungen "heavy" klingende Riffs leiten diesen Song ein, nur um ihn dann sofort in einem Gänseblümchen-Refrain säuselnd aufzulösen. Hier sind die vocals mal wieder schlimm, Snowy (ich denke, dass er das ist) krächzt im schlechtesten Sinne, und plötzlich setzt im zweiten Refrain irgendeine Frauenstimme/Snowys Sopran (ich weiß nicht, wer es wirklich ist, und es ist mir auch egal) ein und quietscht mit, als ob sich ein junger Bursche am Villacher Fasching als Rotkäppchen verkleidet hätte, sich besoffen hat und jetzt so tut, als ob er singend mit Korb und Kopftuch durch den Wald hüpft, auf dem Weg zur Großmutter. Dann lehnt der Song Richtung Hard Rock, das Lied windet sich weiter wie ein fetter Lindwurm, der eine Bergkette überqueren muss, und man möchte nur noch endlich vom Wolf gefressen werden, damit das Leiden ein Ende hat.

Kali: Ja, schrecklich dass dieser Kultsong von "Sirius B" hier mit seinem Namen herhalten muss. Ziemlich durchschnittlich... tut längst nicht so weh wie einige Songs davor, aber gibt einem auch so absolut gar nichts, an dem man sich festhalten könnte. Auch hier versucht Snowy/Thomas wieder, nach Piotr zu klingen, was den Song aber nicht ansatzweise retten kann. Überflüssig.

Shells: Die Eröffnung sind funky Geigen, aber schon bald kehrt wieder die Langeweile ein. Die Männerchöre siechen dahin, es gibt zwar ein bisschen musikalische Dramatik, aber sonderlich aufregend ist das nicht. Um 1:30 herum gibt es wieder einen aus der eigenen Vergangenheit geliehenen Part - ich komm jetzt nicht drauf, aus welchen Songs, aber eigentlich ist es auch egal. Ehe ich noch weiter überlegen kann, ist das Lied aus. Whatever.

Din: Beim ersten Hören der beste Song, mittlerweile eher öd. Richtig tolle Stellen gibts hier nicht, es scheint so, als ob es eher zum Selbstzweck dahinbrettert um möglichst "metal" zu sein. Gekeife und Halford-Vocals, wie nett - aber hilft dem Song auch nicht. Die Kürze des Tracks deutet auch eher daraufhin, dass das eher ein Gimmick als ein richtiger Song ist. Wenigstens die Gitarren klingen hier richtig tight und nicht so komisch wie auf anderen Stellen des Albums.

Children: Noch einmal ein richtiger Stinker zum Abschluss. Pink Floyd in Schlecht zu Beginn, und dann fängt das große Gähnen an. Kinderchor... ich hab schon Reviews gelesen, wo stand, dass der toll klänge - ich finds schlimm. Ungefähr auf dem Niveau der anderen Vocals auf "Sitra" halt. Irre langweilig, kompositorisch wohl der schlechteste Song auf dem Album. Ich weiß nicht, was das sein soll - verträumt? Man kann sich jedenfalls kaum wach halten, wirklich widerlich. Ganz schlimm.


--Sapnish--

Crematory - utopia (Crematory)
Wizard - iron war (Head of the Deceiver)
Paradise Lost - host (Host)
Whizzkids feat. Inusa Dawuda - rumours (digi digi) [Kontor - House of House Vol. 7)
Six Feet Under - mass murder rampage (Maximum Violence)
Metallica - of wolf and man (Metallica)
The John Morris Orchestra - (i've had) the time of my life (instrumental version) [More Dirty Dancing O.S.T.]
Devin Townsend - devoid (Physicist)
The Prodigy - section 2 (The Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One)
Wael Kfoury - qarabe laya (Qarabe Laya)
Crematory - the eyes of suffering (Remind)
Moonspell - erotik alchemy (Second Skin EP)


For reasons not known to me my mp3 player only took 12 of the 14 songs to Carinthia. Featured old loves (Paradise Lost, Metallica, Moonspell), things that weren't as bad as expected (Wizard), things I didn't know I had (Prodigy presents) and useless (More Dirty Dancing - yes, we all were waiting for this instrumental...)

--Sapnish--

@ Work today

Anna Netrebko - Souvenirs
Thulcandra - Fallen Angel's Dominion

--Sapnish--

WIP - Genres & Sapnish

Genres I love
Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Turbo Folk, House, Opera, Eurodance, Arab Pop

Genres I like
Rock, Death Metal, Pop, Blues, Hip-Hop, Disco, Gothic Metal

Genres I sometimes like
Folk, Electronica, Schlager, Jazz, Reggae, Techno, Punk, Country, Soul

Genres I hardly ever like
Musical

Johnny Cash - i walk the line (This Is Gold)

Korn - am i going crazy (Issues)

Marduk - fistfucking god's planet (Panzer Division Marduk)

Marylin Manson - user friendly (Mechanical Animals)

Satyricon - the scorn torrent (Rebel Extravaganza)

Jerry Goldsmith - st:v main theme[rock mix](Soundtracks)

Carpathian Forest - skjend hans lik (Defending the Throne of Evil)

Ceca - lepi grome moj (Idealno Loša)

Seventh Seal - the prisoner (The Sacred Test)

Maxx - i want you (To the Maxximum)

The Chemical Brothers - pioneer skies (Come with Us)

Aerosmith - drop dead gorgeous (Just Push Play)

Elton John - when i think about love [i think about you](Duets)

Anna Netrebko - lorsque je n'etais qu'une enfant (Souvenirs)

Wow ... Today must have been in a Black Metal mood and Im wondering if "blogger" actually accepts Marduk's song or some profanity filter pops-up and I have to rename the song's title to something similar. I didnt understand Satyricon really, liked Ceca and loved Maxx ...

Sacrifi-Sir

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - The final

Big 5 =


Spain: Daniel Diges - algo pequeñito (something tiny)
Haare. Zirkuslied.
Flitzer, wie super!!!!!!!
Schlimmes Lied. Er ist ein bisschen herzig.
S: 4/5, R: 5

Norway: Didrik Solli-Tangen - my heart is yours
Ugly Betty-Boss. Mini-Tenor.
Little Drummer Boy. Öd. Pulling the choir closer.
S: 5, R: 5

United Kingdom: Josh - that sounds good to me
Typisch UK, banal, 80er-affin (in the worst possible way).
Langweiliger, uralter Scheiß.
S: 4/5, R: 5

France: Jessy Matador - allez olla olé
He's a bit cute. Bisschen billig und sehr simpel.
Gute Idee, aber zu wenig - nach 1 Minute ist alles gesagt.
S: 4, R: 4

Germany: Lena - satellite
Zappelig, hoppelig - komisch. Kein Hit.
Nervt jetzt schon. Lippenstift.
S: R: 5


Well, another year, another wrong winner.

Despite the buzz and the odds, Lena's triumph was still a surprise to us. I can for the life of me not understand what's supposed to be good about this tune. But yes, OK - this is further proof that the system is working. Europe votes for what they like best, and it was the strange song from Germany this year. Congratulations nonetheless of course, even if the song and the singer are not my cup of tea - not even a tiny bit.

But before we have a look at the rest of the night, I still have some questions to Germany:

Do you still think, like the previous years, that the system is outdated, unfair and must be changed? Or do you think that it works all of a sudden?

Do you still think that the Eastern European countries are a "Mafia" and that's why Western European countries are ranked so badly? Or do you now think that they just vote for the song they liked most?

Do you still think that the Eurovision Song Contest is a farce, an old-fashioned relic of ancient times that says nothing about music, taste or pop culture? Or do you now think that it perfectly represents musical taste over Europe?

You see, Germany? You see now?

Apart from that - what a great night. An utterly perfect "intermediate show" before the votes (goosebumps), the stage invation during the Spanish entry, and the everlasting theme of Eurovision - Europe united. All different, all the same.

From all the songs we liked, maybe Ukraine has to be mentioned first. A great, unconventional - yes perfect song and a perfect performance. In the end we were wrong - we were sure Europe would not be ready for such a special and "complicated" song which was on a totally new level. But they were, rank 10 is amazing. Alyosha pulled of a haunting, fascinating and very likeable performance. One of the great discoveries of the night.

Greece is the winner of the hearts - such a cool and yet traditional song is what we basically all want to see from them. And we so got that - an incredibly good dance tune, and Greek lyrics. Thank God. This was sooo catchy - it should have won.

And Iceland... Iceland is the tragic figure of the evening. After a nothing less than perfect performance in both the semi and the final they would have really deserved more. Hera's absolutely splendid voice and a fantastic, glorious Eurodance track - what was Europe thinking with that vote? Shame on you. That was one of the best songs this year. All hail the Queen of Eurodance 2010.

Honorable mentions should go to Moldova (nice song, too shrill and too many people on stage though), Malta (simply because the song was nice and was nowhere near deserving the bad odds before the semi-finals), Albania (another perfect performance - great pounding song, classy black outfits and a likeable and very able singer), Macedonia (it was not perfect, but they had at least a great chorus and a great guitar solo - more than most participants had), Denmark (if there was ever a classic Song Contest tune, this was it), Israel (Harel Skaat is a great performer with a wonderful voice, and he's gorgeous), Croatia (nice Croatian tune, very well performed - this one should have gone to the final), Turkey (cool and interesting Modern Rock, the top classification well deserved), and Eva Rivas' breasts.

Yes, where there's light there's shadow. This night was no exception.

I will surely never forget how we screamed and jumped out of our seats when the horrible Belarus group unlocked their butterfly wings. These are moments that will stick, believe me. Terrifying and unbelievable.

Also, the Netherlands... I don't even know what to say to that. Finland will give us bad dreams, Lithuania was just plain awful, and the poor Aisha from Latvia pulled off a truely gruesome performance with a very, very wrong vocal range. Painful to watch.

We were fast asleep during the lullabies by Ireland, Cyprus and Belgium. Serbia sparked some hope just to burn it, and Romania literally burned it.

And yeah, Germany was bad - bad, fidgety, annoying song and an unfortunate performance. But yes, apparently most of Europe felt differently, and we will accept that.

Speaking about them - the "Big 5" (including Norway) were all in all so horrific, I really don't know what they were thinking. Again. Like last year, and the year before, and.........


This was without a doubt the best Song Contest as an event we have ever seen. There were no unnecessary lengths, and all the show acts were amazing. We shared the Moment. And the songs will stay with us for much longer than just one night - everybody who says something else has never really watched and understood the Eurovision Song Contest.

Thank you Norway, and good night.

Sacrifi-sir, Meh and Sapnish

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - Semi-final II

(Keine Flügel heute? Ah, doch...)


Lithuania: InCulto – eastern european funk
Och, a-cappella. Ja, schlimm. Hosen. Dorky. Shorts
S: 4/5, R: 4/5

Armenia: Eva Rivas – apricot stone
Miss Clevage. Akzent. Gezappel. Der Flöter... Öd, braucht kein Mensch.
"and she gave me apricot"
S: 4, R: 4

Israel: Harel Skaat - milim
Süß, aber eher öd. Wenigstens Hebräisch. Drama. Aussehen und Ausdruck.
Zum Schluss ein bisschen schief.
S: 3/4, R: 3

Denmark: Chanée & N'evergreen – in a moment like this
Pop, nett. Schwedisch. 100 % klassisch Eurovision. Windmaschine & Nebel.
S: 3, R: 3

Switzerland: Michael von der Heide – il pleut de l’or
Ohren. Same as above, nur schlechter. DJ Bobo an der Laute? Bieder, Stimmchen.
S: 3/4, R: 3

Sweden: Anna Bergendahl – this is my life
Große Gitarre. Öd. J. Hoban.


Azerbaijan: Safura – drip drop
Billie Jean. "This drip drop"??
Öd. Enttäuschend, lahme Ballade.
S: 4, R: 4/5

Ukraine: Alyosha – sweet people
Klingt wie Pink - dramatisch, cool.
Oh Metal!!!! : )
Ganz stark.
S: 1/2, R: 1

Netherlands: Sieneke – ik ben verliefd (sha-la-lie)

Circus. Fuck!!! Oh Gott. WTF?
S: R: ?

Romania: Paula Seling & Ovi – playing with fire
Fire/Desire. Nett, aber auch seltsam. Too much of everything. Alba?
S: 3, R: 3

Slovenia: Ansambel Žlindra & Kalamari – narodnozabavni rock
Folk Metal? LOL
Gemeinsam OK, aber die Wechsel? Too forced. Nicht homogen. Münchner Freiheit ist nicht Rock.
HvG
S: 4, R: 4

Ireland: Niamh Kavanagh – it’s for you
Sehr irisch, aber einfach nur altbacken, langweilig, öd. Zzz...
S: 4, R: 4

Bulgaria: Miro – angel si ti
Eurodisco. Zuviel ohohoooooo.
S: 3, R: 2/3

Cyprus: Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders – life looks better in spring
Yawn. Singer/Songwriter-Ödnis. Echt hart.
S: 4/5, R: 4/5

Croatia: Feminnem – lako je sve
Tja, ganz/halbwegs flott - Kroatisch is so schön. Nicht schlecht.
S: 2/3, R: 2

Georgia: Sofia Nizharadze - shine
Musical-Erfahrung, Scheiße.
Choreographie. Winkie-winkie?
S: 3, R: 2/3

Turkey: maNga – we could be the same
Modern Rock, mit Samples.
*Flacker*
Ganz gut.
S: 2/3, R: 2

The "stronger" semi-final was a big disappointment overall. But we've seen some really strong tunes - what will the final bring?

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - Semi-final I

(Beat-less times?)


Moldova: Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira – run away
Jetzt schon die Geige. Dance beat. Und Saxophon. Zu viele Leute - Abzug für die Sonnenbrille. Aber kann man nicht schlecht finden.
S: 3, R: 3/4

Russia: Peter Nalitch & Friends – lost and forgotten
Es schneit. Tenor. Bisschen komisch, Sprechgesang? Windmaschine back!
S: 4, R: 4

Estonia: Malcolm Lincoln – siren
Synthie???!!! Klingt britisch, 80er. Ich glaub da kommt kein Beat mehr... George Lazenby.
S: 3/4, R: 4

Slovakia: Kristina Pelakova - horehronie
Folk-Ethnopop? In the Woods. Slowakisch = Bonus. Wo ist der Beat? Hoppelt dahin... Guter Beginn, aber... Waldschrat-Gruppe.
S: 4, R: 4

Finland: Kuunkuiskaajat – työlki ellää
Reiner hat Angst. Zu Recht - Geige - sprachlos. Ohne Worte, Mund offen.
"Nochmal hören möcht ich das nicht, das ist klar."
Wenn die Frau an der Zieharmonika nicht in unseren Träumen auftaucht, können wir uns glücklich schätzen.
S: ?, R:

Latvia: Aisha – what for?
Rock? "...ob da drunter noch was is?"
Licht = nicht so vorteilhaft. Kleid auch nicht. Lied auch nicht.
Und wieder kein Beat... Oh Mann, ganz schlimm. Schief. Mr. God and Uncle Joe.
S: 5, R: 5

Serbia: Milan Stanković – ovo je balkan
Eine Elfe!! Schief. WTF? Folk, der aber verhunzt wird. Ein kleiner guter Ansatz.
Oh bitte.
S: 4, R: 4

Bosnia Herzegovina: Vukašin Brajić – thunder and lightning
Ohrringe. Braver, normaler Rock/Pop. Schlimme Backgroundsänger, wie von einer Charleston-Party - kein Rock.
S: 3/4, R: 3

Poland: Marcin Mroziński - legenda
Mahlzeit. Schräge Melodien... SO seltsam. Komisch.
"Der Apfel war vergiftet?"
S: ?, R: ?

Belgium: Tom Dice – me and my guitar
Typisches Singer/Songwriter-Gedöns. Ordentlich fad. Dawson's Creek.
Fast eingenickt.
S: 3/4, R: 3

Malta: Thea Garrett – my dream
Klassisch Song Contest, altbacken. Anfang-90er-Sound. Tolle Stimme, dramatische Keyboards. Nett.
S: 3, R: 2/3

Albania: Juliana Pasha – it’s all about you
Steckdosen-Geiger. Kann man nix sagen - gute Stimme, rockt, wummert. Cool.
S: 2/3, R: 2

Greece: Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - OPA
Woohoo, Folk und Griechisch! Das fetzt... die Performance kann nix. Aber toll.
S: 1/2, R: 1/2

Portugal: Filipa Azevedo – há dias assim
Langweilig. Öd. Dann "Dramatik" mit Zirkusbeat.
H. Karlsson.
S: 3/4, R: 3

Macedonia: Gjoko Taneski – jas ja imam silata
Stripper. Schwacher Verse, cooler Refrain. Oh Gott, ein Rapper statt Riff!!!
Cooles Solo!
S: 2/3, R: 2/3

Belarus: 3+2 - butterflies
Trauriger Chor mit Mähnen. Pianist. We're like butterflies.
OMG Flügel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

S: 5, R: 5

Iceland: Hera Björk – je ne sais quoi
Dawn FRENCH.
Eurodance!!!!! Great beats!!!
Background: zu viel Beine.
S: 1/2, R: 1/2


Off we go, with hopes for Semi-final II.

Wael Koufry - law alou (Shou Ra'iyik)
ZZ Top - thug (Eliminator)
Rhapsody - the march of the swordmaster (Power of the Dragonflame)
Massive Attack - future proof (100th Window)
Party Animals - hava naguila (Dance Mission 12)
Led Zeppelin - heartbreaker (II)
Freddie Mercury - living on my own (The Freddie Mercury Album)
Belphegor - bloodstained ritual (The Last Supper)
The Doors - summer's almost gone (Waiting for the Sun)
Goldfrapp - train (Black Cherry)
Grailknights - der könig von thule (Alliance)
Dawn of Winter - throne of isolation (The Peaceful Dead)
Placebo - the neverending why (Battle for the Sun)
Drudkh - price of freedom (Lebedynyi Shlyath (The Swan Road))

Sapnish & Sacrifi-sir

Haddaway - i know (The Drive)
Mithotyn - in a time of tales (King of the Distant Forest)
Ambeon - sweet little brother (Fate of a Dreamer)
Hate Squad - condemned to die (Theater of Hate)
Illuminate - über deinem schlaf (Ein neuer Tag)
Falconer - the coronation (The Sceptre of Deception)
Queen - it's a hard life (The Platinum Collection)
The Athenians - america insurecta (Magic of the Greek Bouzouki)
Bob Marley - kaya (Reggae Hits Vol. 1)
Mónica Naranjo - para siempre (Tarántula)
Electrocop feat. Nik Page - sincity (Schwarze Nacht Vol. 2)
Magazin - sudnji dan (Greatest Hits)
Darkness Ablaze - the demon prevails (Darkness Ablaze)
Tokyo Blade - tough guys tumble (Blackhearts and Jaded Spades)


5/14, and a quite weird Today.


--Sapnish--

Working Music Reporting

Orphaned Land - Mabool
Unleashed - As Yggdrasil Trembles


--Sapnish--

Pink Floyd - eclipse (The Dark Side of the Moon)
Impaled Nazarene - the crucified (Decade of Decadence)
Lordi - supermonstars (The Arockalpyse)
Beyond Fear - telling lies (Beyond Fear)
Iskald - when hell freezes over (Shades of Misery)
Estopa - suma y sigue (Estopa)
Vesna Zmijanac - kazni me (Istina)
Legion of the Damned - black templar (Cult of the Dead)
Anathema - shroud of frost (The Silent Enigma)
Deichkind - gut dabei (Arbeit nervt)
Live - they stood up for love (The Distance to Here)
Tegan and Sara - so jealous (The L Word Season 3 O.S.T.)
The Kinks - sittin' on my sofa (The Ultimate Collection)
Iron Maiden - die with your boots on (live) (Live After Death)

7/14

--Sapnish--

Music I still don't own

But want to.

Takefumi Haketa - Eurasian Empires (Soundtrack)
Mad Professor - beatrocker
Carla Thomas - games
Console - my dog eats beats
Klee - oh oh (only available on the "Berge versetzen" deluxe edition...........)
Valpurgis Night - same


--Sapnish--

Work Night

With the Sniper:

http://www.live365.com/stations/photoboy2

Classic Rock, Kitsch and Oldies.


--Sapnish--

To mention the Lady Gaga phenomenon

I'm listening to her new "album" The Fame Monster (which is actually a couple of songs meant to be an add-on to the debut The Fame, they say), and while the precessor was - apart from the two hit singles and maybe one or two other songs - a harmless, boring and utterly uninspired album, THIS album cannot be dismissed so easily.

Nobody needs the 10 or so filler tracks on The Fame, and you're fine by downloading 'poker face' and the true hit, 'just dance'. Everything else will just make you angry (or put you asleep).

But here, things are different. It's more daring, more diverse, cooler, better, more. And it's really worth a listen - this is, despite the streamlined musical targets, much more artistic and simply much more interesting.

By the way - at times she really and totally sounds like Madonna. I'm surprised that only few people have said yet how much for example the great 'dance in the dark' quotes the Queen of Pop (listen to the last part of the song - 'vogue' anyone?). Although I'll admit that not everything Madonna did in the last ten years was incredibly revolutionary, I still claim that none of these songs here can hold a candle to her work. Not even the catchy epic 'bad romance'. But the album works, the spark of inspirational pop music that can become a worldwide phenomenon that was nowhere to be found on the debut - it is here.

So, listen to it if you like pop music and can bare some touches of house as well. She has more of an artistic vision here, and yet it is simple and can be easily listened to - including outstanding production.


--Sapnish--