Eurovision Song Contest 2024 *clears throat*

(I do that a lot, btw. Damn rhinitis! Hmm, alluring image to cultivate on the Internet right there…)

I PLEDGED (well, sort of) that I would go into this year’s Eurovision cold! (As cold as could be!)

(I am still a little put out at last year’s results. Well, it happened. I would love to be a juror one day. Oh, the POINTS I would give to some of the songs… #Power) (I would probably be a rubbish juror actually. I don’t like the bit at the end when the acts receive their public vote: you can tell it’s tough for many of the contestants. Justice for “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” ETC.)

I have heard some songs in their entirety.

Look, we’ll see how this goes, ok?

If anyone is interested *ahem* I made a playlist with some of the national final songs from this year (Lithuania, Estonia, Goddess Konstrakta from Serbia, RAAVE! from Austria).

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yjfpUHxRqKf55RU44k6CO?si=6dBzPxkqReum9F_VwpYsMw&pi=e-CP17-xqsQVGi

I have watched Eurovision on and off since the 1980s.

My favourite Eurovision song of all time is this captivating masterpiece.

Goddess! Robbed! Babble! Etc…

My favourite songs from the last few years, hmm: Serbia from 2022/2023. Austria from 2023. Anouk (Netherlands). I honestly don’t know! Hold up, is it time for another playlist…

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0g68TA4oT3IJrHAF9Jk5js?si=BtdchOxRSZ6Id5WBjKZ-Yg&pi=e-Jq0QSIXkRJ-e

I like songs to be in native language if possible. I am a middle aged woman whose passport expired. Gimme different cultures, different languages! Give me that flavour, that excitement!

I am aware that I am getting older and some of the factors (things like TikTok integration) mean nothing to me (oh Viennaaaa). I really don’t want to sound like someone shouting at a cloud. I want to get the balance right (oh the title of a Depeche Mode song).

What have I heard so far, then?

Estonia – song with an incredibly long title that I am not going to look up as my cat is on my lap (Eesti, we are cool, right? We have a history!)

SOUNDS LIKE I have no idea

I completely and utterly love this and I am thrilled that this song will be representing Estonia in May. This is why I watch Eurovision! It’s in Estonian, it represents Estonian culture. The package is so fun and charming and clever and infectious. I might have to vote for this, you know. When did I last vote at Eurovision? I don’t always particularly care for the Estonian entries. I used to be a big fan of the Estonian music scene. Tallinn is home to this gem…

https://youtu.be/4j5M4N_NDPg?si=4Hrn_30A9ejbtCOA

(Does the embed work? It is the Depeche Mode bar in Tallinn. GOD. The sweetest perfection indeed.)

Sweden – Impossible

SOUNDS LIKE “Salva Mea” by Faithless (thank you Internet!)

Yes, Sweden has the ‘teacher’s pet’ tag for sure: they are good at what they do and I will always respect a competition like Melfest (they put the work in and it invariably pays off) but, yeah. It can be like eating Pringles (let’s NOT go there) instead of trying a new flavour, something different… I would love to hear Swedish language, for example. (When did Sweden last send a song in Swedish? It is a beautiful language.)

These singers (Marcus and Martinus) are adorable, and it is probably just as well I am not a juror because I don’t like to think of their little faces being disappointed in any way. Eurovision can be ruthless. Of course they will do well because Sweden (and the singers are Norwegian). The song is catchy. Good luck to them.

(I will be back…)

(I love Pringles btw. Way too much. And I always almost eat the original ones.)

Spotify Wrapped 2023 *the taste just slips away*

Well, I haven’t done this yet… What has been keeping me?

To be honest, I have been pretty down about things. (I am ok, but just feel so tired by a lot of things. And yeah, the usuals: hello, anxiety!) (I have lost confidence, big time. Not that I have much confidence anyway. Gaah, this is cheery reading.)

SPOTIFY! WRAPPED! 2023! Isn’t my taste in music good!

My number one song for 2023 must surely have one of the best intros ever. I almost exploded with excitement when this rocked up on a “Top of the Pops” repeat.

I just want to know!!!

A video of Andy Bell appeared during the Wrapped, thanking we Ride listeners for our support! A nice touch! You are very welcome Mr B. It would have been fun to have this for previous years (dreamy man from Chapterhouse could breathe his appreciation. Ooh, who else has topped my charts over the years? Nick Heyward?).

My numbers two and three are Estonian songs. (Albeit number two has a Japanese singer/title.)

Eesti!

Zombi!

Number four is this drum-tastic number from OMD.

Drums!

And number five we have Matt Bianco with this classic. (I’m pleased to see this has so many views, as it missed UK Top 40. Was it a hit elsewhere? One for Google.)

It’s Basia’s world, and we all just live in it.

The rest? Well… Dance music again features heavily. This song is one big motivating monster of a track.

Freakin’ choooon! 🐴💪

The excellent new Depeche Mode album features heavily.

I think the list is a fair representation of my 2024 listening habits (it did leave out the music I put on as relaxation for my cat but y’know, maybe that wasn’t eligible).

If you listen to my Spotify Wrapped 2023, please enjoy!

If you have read this entry, thank you!

Merry Christmas to you!

Top of the Pops – BBC Four – Episode 21/08/86 *Girls, Boys and Brother Louie*

Our hosts! Gary Davies and Bruno Brookes!

GD is arguably my favourite presenter from this time (aah, he and Janice Long. Gosh, she is missed). He makes it all look so easy, and I like how he doesn’t present with a supercilious air. This is his job, he’s good at it, he isn’t looking for cool points.

I don’t mind Bruno Brookes at all either. I grew up with him presenting the Top 40 on Radio One. I’ve seen a lot of goodwill towards Mark Goodier from the nineties kids (I guess I am technically a nineties kid as I came of age in that decade but I am so much more of an eighties kid in spirit): perhaps I have such sentiments for Mr. Brookes.

(Why does this text seem so small? Did they have Visionace capsules in 1986?)

(Listing below copied from the Popscene website)

(25) Depeche Mode – “A Question Of Time”

Oh my God, if it isn’t my favourite band! Heart emojis galore! The Mode! From my favourite album ever, “Black Celebration”! Happy Friday!

This song is of course an unadulterated classic (admittedly the lyrics are icky).

How exciting would this have been as a pop fan in 1986 (would I have liked DM in 1986? I was eight, sure, but I would listen religiously to the charts etc. I have no idea what I liked in 1986, really. My earliest faves like Thompson Twins and Nik Kershaw probably weren’t as visible. I don’t know. It was thirty-seven years ago, damn it!).

From the sublime to the…
(11) Prince – “Girls & Boys” (video)

Also sublime! Prince is a genius. He had the confidence and the vision to pull off things – ‘things’, how nebulous – that 99% of his contemporaries wouldn’t/couldn’t have dared. (I remember Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” from back in the day. One needs mammoth quantities of self-confidence to even go there without being an immediate object of ridicule.)

Eighties me would have found this cool I am sure: Prince’s gang, the French lyrics, the charisma, the style.

(23) Bruce Hornsby & The Range – “The Way It Is”

Does Bruce Hornsby look like Hugh Dennis? (What was that about Visionace earlier…)

I have always liked this song. What else did Bruce Hornsby do? As much as I like this song, I have never investigated further. I think I would have to be in a particular mood. Maybe, one day.

(21) Janet Jackson – “When I Think Of You” (breaker)

I think this era of Janet’s is my favourite (the “Control” era). I really enjoy this!

(19) The Human League – “Human” (breaker)

Phil Oakey aah aaah swooooon

(18) Peter Cetera – “Glory Of Love” (breaker)

It’s a power ballad! You know, if I ever get married, I could walk down the aisle to this. Come ON, it’s a statement.

(15) Jermaine Stewart – “We Don’t Have To…” (breaker)

…what? Take Our Clothes Off, you say? Whatta choon!

(This is a great episode!)

(12) Modern Talking – “Brother Louie”

Schlager time! I am guessing this was a big holiday hit (without looking it up).

Did “Cheri Cheri Lady” ever make UK Top 40? That is ein Lied!

(1) Boris Gardiner – “I Want To Wake Up With You” (video)

This is pleasant enough but I wouldn’t seek it out. (Also – not Mr. Gardiner’s fault – he shares a name with a certain British politician, and I will leave it here.)

The model in this video is very pretty.

(28) The Communards – “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (video/credits)

It’s Ian Hislop Jimmy Somerville! Aaah BABY!

I am thinking that I haven’t given 1986 the credit it deserves. This was a storming episode.

I am off to rest my eyes…

Laterz.

So, that was Christmas

Happy New Year! OMG, etc.

It’s 2023! How did that happen? Remember the millennium and the millennium bug fears? That, friends, was 23 years’ ago!

Time flies and it can be really, really scary. The older I become (and getting older is such a privilege) the more poignant these events feel.

I have a family member who has (to my knowledge) always disliked New Year’s Eve, and she’s not hot on Christmas either because she finds it all (I believe) quite depressing and overwhelming.

I am used to my own company and being alone at Christmas isn’t really an issue. Sure, there is the fairytale of opening the presents under the tree while gazing into the eyes of the love of my life while wearing matching pyjamas while our animals gather around our feet and play with the discarded wrapping paper, but I am a hard old broad now. I spent Christmas Day a couple of years ago (Covid Christmas) binge watching “I May Destroy You”, and I had a bubble bath on that day while listening to “Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode. It was cool! (And a hot bath.)

This Christmas I watched the Harry and Meghan show on Netflix, and I also watched “Dead to Me”. I have been watching “Drop The Dead Donkey” on All 4. I have been playing visual novels (Laws of Attraction on Choices Interactive is golden), Animal Crossing, and Duolingo (does one play Duolingo?).

I know it is a little disgusting and I apologise but I managed to make myself quite ill from all of the food!

Telephone call… where was I…

If anyone is reading this: sending you and all those dear to you the very best wishes for 2023. x

TOTP – 15/11/1984 (repeated on BBC Four – Nov 2022) *Cryptic Kershaw*

(I do not think I am going to blog the episodes from the 1970s… but, never say never!)

Our hosts!

Mike Read (sans shades this time) and a v young looking Bruno Brookes. (Bruno is going to pop up again in 1994. Does he present any episodes beyond that year?)

(Remember when… Bruno Brookes used to win Best DJ at the Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party every year? Did anyone else ever win it? I seem to recall Pat Sharp and Mick Brown polling highly despite being Capital Radio DJs and thus only London area listeners could enjoy them. Those were the days, youngsters. These days you can listen to radio from all the world, but in my day… reaching for Werther’s Original )

(I think my next stop should be the Bruno Brookes Wikipedia page.)

CUE THE MUSIC!

Matt Bianco – “Half a Minute”. I freaking LOVE Matt Bianco and I love this song. Basia is one of this blog’s heroines, hands down! God I love her. Love her! I am sure I would have been entranced watching this as a six year old. Basia is so effortlessly gorgeous and classy, and her Polish nationality would have intrigued me too. (I had a Polish friend growing up and I would love hearing my friend speak Polish with her family. I thought it was so cool. Perhaps I am a polyglot in a parallel universe.)

If you haven’t already heard the Matt Bianco song “More Than I Can Bear”: the rest of this blog entry can wait, get thee to YouTube.

What an opening. Basia!! *calms self*

Where to next, Messrs Read and Brookes?

Duran Duran – “Wild Boys”. Why is it that the DD songs showing up on these repeats the ones I don’t particularly like? (Oh my.) I have never really ‘got’ DD but they have some songs I adore (I mentioned “Election Day” by Arcadia in the last entry, which is my favourite Duran related song; it’s a classic). Simon Le Bon is a strong singer and their eighties aesthetic was on point. (This video might have creeped me out as a six year old if I had seen it.) (There was no money spared here, that’s for sure. I hope Simon had a bucket nearby following all of the spinning on that contraption.)

This also seemed to go on forever. (I was grumpy because I just wanted Basia back, right…)

Again, thoughts are with Andy Taylor and his family at this time.

Eurythmics – “Sexcrime 1984”. (I do not know what my six year old ears would have made of that title.) This is obviously from a movie and if I wasn’t so damn lazy I would look it up. Eurythmics are like Duran Duran for me in that they are so integral to eighties music yet I just don’t ‘get’ them (while not flat out dislking them) like I get other bands of the era. This video also seemed to go on for ages. Has my attention span finally spun away?

Charts Part One! Human League “Louise” at number 36. Phil Oakey was breathtakingly handsome in 1984.

Ray Parker Junior “Ghostbusters” at 32. I remember the 1987 song about sleeping alone, and aaah what’s next…

Alvin Stardust is next with a song called “Cry Just a Little Bit”. It’s pleasant enough and probably would have done well at Eurovision that year (it had that swing! I don’t know, it’s just a feeling).

More charts!

17 – Nik Kershaw – “The Riddle”

16 – Depeche Mode – “Blasphemous Rumours”

15 – Phil “Captain of My Heart” Oakey and Giorgio Moroder -“Together in Electric Dreams”

Is that a run, or is that a RUN?

Aaand we’re getting Nik in the studio!

Speaking of effortless pop, Nik nails it, nailed it; grammar be gone, logic be thrown away. This song is a stone cold classic. Nik Kershaw is brilliant and a hero of this blog.

Number One: Chaka Khan! “I Feel For You”! It’s mighty of course, a musical triumph!

Playout – “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters. Everyone in the studio is dancing and having fun. These dancing playouts are the highlights for me. Young people having the time of their lives. Tomorrow didn’t matter and minutiae didn’t matter: it was all about that ‘now’. Time is precious and life is precious and it surely cannot get much better than throwing shapes to classic pop on TV in one’s youth.

I am off to Wikipedia Bruno Brookes daydream about Phil Oakey whatever…

Yup, laterz!

Love Your…whaaat

So, I was recently at a Zoom meeting. To be honest, most of my Zoom issues relate to sound, or rather the squeakiness of my sound. (If there are any techie people reading who can help; danke.)

I was writing the minutes for this meeting and had to consult the recording. Oh dear…

I look like THAT?!

I have pretty heavy self-esteem issues. I do not have mirrors in my house (excluding a small mirror above the bathroom sink) because I hate looking at myself.

I guess I wasn’t quite prepared for the way it hit me. Reader, I am… How to phrase this? I don’t want to use the “u” word. My attributes are not aesthetic?

I have a wonky eye, a scar above one of my eyebrows following a bad fall (I was lucky to get away with just a scar: it’s frightening to think about it), rubbish teeth (my fault), thin lips and a chin that wobbles up and down. My hair is also greying. I am at peace with this and I don’t want to go down the colour route, but never say never. (I am actually pretty late to be going grey: my Mum went grey in her early/mid twenties.) I guess, if I am being honest, it is the whole idea of grey hair equalling old in the eyes of society (ask Kate Middleton, guys) and grey not being sexy *splutters* well… (I have a Facebook friend who is the same age as me and her hair is totally silver. She looks fabulous.)

I sound awful, I look awful; I feel sad. Maybe I want to binge on Jaffa Cake donuts (ooh, if only anyone read this blog and maybe I could do the #ad thing – #ad!) and listen to “Somebody” by Depeche Mode on a loop. God, and I should not be feeling like this. I am just feeling like all of this stuff has to come out? It may make me look like a ridiculous airhead, but it’s real, no matter how unpalatable it may be.

What is it they say: you have to love yourself etc etc… And I truly don’t. I am my own worst critic. I am full of anxiety. I am quite frankly something of a mess.

God knows I am luckier than most; my God, YES. I like my life most of the time; for sure. I LOVE lots of things about my life.

I think I am just a bit vulnerable.

(I might delete this post later.)

(Okaaay, should I blog about “Top of the Pops” again…)

I had another fall last week that scared me a bit. Life is scary. Lift your feet up if you can. I should have learned to walk in heels? My sister Arian Mariah Carey wears heels on a treadmill, yes? What would she think of me?!

Eurovision 2022 *It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s (and Ivana Spagna’s) World*

Before I start…

Vlado Janevski, let’s bring him here…

(Is his look typical of North Macedonian men? Oh gosh, this is, errm yeah, Eurovision, 2022222…)

Oh, yes. I have been thinking (some pre-birthday reflections). Should I try and, you know, promote this blog a little bit? Do I want to? Do I really want to put this on my Facebook profile, where people I know can read my ramblings about Jakki Brambles, etc? ETC? Am I being needy? It’s PBT – Pre-birthday Tension. Maybe I just wanna be looooved. Right, this DEFINITELY isn’t being linked to Facebook! Back to Eurovision.

Estonia. I used to be obsessed with Estonia. There is a bar in Tallinn dedicated to Depeche Mode (endorsed by the band, too).

https://www.depechemode.ee

I have not been in Estonia since 2016 and I still regularly dream about this place.

Anyway, the Eesti entry this year is by Stefan and it is a big anthemic cowboy themed number. Stefan is handsome and the package is strong.

As this is Estonia (my specialist country, or was), here is a song from this year’s Eesti Laul that I really liked.

And #iconic:

Italia. Italian entries are a bit like dark chocolate. You may not always be in the mood, but it is sheer quality through and through, and better for you than other treats. I love Italy. I love having Italian heritage. Italy just excels in so many ways, yes?

I am looking forward to the hosting of this year’s contest. I want drama; of course I do. I am an Aries, with Italian heritage! I love the 1991 contest as a spectacle (and also really like a lot of the songs). Is it on YouTube?

Allora!

(Poor Sofia Vossou. I remember reading YouTube comments, and I think I could make out the Greek word for “sax” if nothing else.)

Australia. Aussies! This is very well sung. It needs a further listen, for sure.

Belgium. Belgique! This is also very well sung! It also needs a further listen!

Switzerland – “Boys Do Cry”. (Aka “In Your Face Robert Smith”.) Marius Bear has a great name. It is a strong ballad. (Meh, I really should have listened to these songs just a bit more before blogging…)

San Marino sorry whaaat Ivana Spagna participated in the national final?? Did she?? Do I want to listen to this…

Or do I keep her as a delightful eighties memory:

How did she do?? Well, she obviously didn’t win… Please, tell me, she didn’t get three pity points from the jury and nothing from the televote or something! No, I am keeping Ivana as a happy eighties memory. I want to remember her by her eighties sass. Ivana will understand. We are kind of Italian sisters; riiiight…

My apologies: I am being disrespectful to the winning song, which is called “Stripper”. I must listen to it again.

Laterz.

Eurovision 2022 (2) *The Depeche Mode song title edition*

Austria – “Halo”

DAMN. There is an official video for this?! Later, später, Eurovision is calling…

This (Austrian) entry is a lot of fun! It reminds me a little of those songs you’d find on dance music compilations in the mid-noughties. Which means that I am probably around twenty years (at least) too old for this. Gulp. I would love to go to Austria one day. I used to yearn to come from a country like Austria (a combination of Eurovision fandom and heavy Eurosport watching in my younger years).

Finland – “Jezebel”

Aaah…

I was too old (hey, it is my birthday on Sunday. Shall I make just a few more references to my youth that has gone) when The Rasmus came on the scene, I am sure. Without looking it up, I believe they were (and probs still are) fairly big. The only song of theirs (excluding this one) that comes to my mind is “In The Shadows”.

Maybe it’s a bit like the Finnish nu-metal entry from last year: the genre isn’t really my thing (though not to the extent of FIN 2021) so I don’t feel I can really judge it properly. It is clearly very well done and I imagine this will scoop up lots of televotes. (Not quite in the same category I know, but poor Hooverphonic from last year didn’t get the votes. I remember falling in love with that band in summer 2001, but their European popularity from back in the day didn’t translate into votes.)

Montenegro – “Breathe”

Gosh, I like Vladana’s voice very much. I do not know what I was expecting but colour me impressed! This is a song with an emotional resonance. I am so sorry Vladana lost her Mum to Covid. I wish Vladana and her family nothing but love and I wish this song nothing but the best in Turin.

Laterz! But but, bonus entry…

#JusticeForHooverphonic

TOTP 1992 – BBC 4 – 18th June 1992 *Hot D-mn*

clearing throat

Well, hello. Just poppin’ in, and all. It has been awhile.

Since I last watched, I have missed:

• Shakespears Sister gargantuan stint at no. 1
• Right Said Fred being deeply dippy at no. 1
• KWS with their song of yearning at no. 1 (that was a bit of a strange one, as there was a version by an Italo act around at the same time. I don’t know what happened. It was thirty years ago)
• Femi Oke presenting (she seems awesome on Twitter)
• Smashie and Nicey presenting
• “On A Ragga Tip” (I try not to use emojis in my blog posts, but damn: 😢😢😢)
• a performance of “Papua New Guinea” by Future Sound of London (apparently Lisa Gerrard – Dead Can Dance etc – did the vocal? Wow)

Oh, and I corresponded with Mark Franklin via Twitter. The man is a SWEETHEART.

I don’t think this is going to be a regular thing (I muted most of the episode) (apropos of what was happening for me in 1992) but, we’ll see what happens.

Onwards! Crisp biscuits!

Our hosts: the wonderful Mark Franklin and, hello, Bob Geldof? This feels a little off field. Bob is going for the laconic John Peel/Nicky Campbell/Dame Brambles style of presenting. Bob reveals at the end of the show that he has a fantastic new single out.

(Incidentally, Tony Dortie did NOT hold back on Twitter when it came to Sir G.)

We start the show with…

U-U-U-Utah Saints!

This song is the Kate Bush sampling one (“Something Good”) and I like it a lot more than the Annie Lennox one from last year/1991. It’s still not top drawer dance for me, though (spoiler alert: there is something very good in that department coming up in this blog laterz!) (autocorrect, please do not correct my spelling, it disrespects Mr. Dortie, who is a dude!).

Bob Geldof tells Sophie B. Hawkins that he just wants to look at her. Alrighty, Bob. This whole snark presenting is perhaps not working. The Sophie song is “DAMN! I wish I was your lover”. I was 14 when this came out – a sheltered 14, too – and I didn’t know about the lesbian subtext. I don’t think lesbian representation was too great in 1992. There was Martina Navratilova, and then Beth Jordache came along in “Brookside”, and maybe Channel Four would have had some after hours thing. Again, this was thirty years ago, but I am so pleased there is so much more visibility. These things matter.

(Sophie gave a storming performance, and her hair was great. It’s not a song I would really seek out but I enjoyed hearing it again.)

The Orb – “Blue Room”. I am just going to post this performance without comment. It, you know, transcends mere vocabulary.

(Actually, I cannot find it on YouTube, so.. think of playing chess to trippy spacey music.)

Sir Elton John – “The One”. Ooh, they are highlighting the new entries! But just the artists? OK, baby steps. Apologies Sir Elton – this song is one of his big ballads. Sir Elt does these well.

Take That – nooooo!!! What are they doing here, so soon? It was only yesterday that I was bopping along to the Peter Powell presented shows, and now Take That are here?! This song – “It Only Takes A Minute” – is full of zest. Not really my thing (I do like some TT songs) but it felt like a moment for pop. In an office in Carnaby Street, London, the editor of “Smash Hits” magazine was breathing a sigh of relief. Pop was on its way back.

Breakers. Hello, Diana Ross! Fun fact: both she and Sir Elton have their birthdays close to mine. March Arians, represent!

Sir Bob introduces “Make Love Like A Man” by Def Leppard. I have the occasional liking for this kind of soft rock – “Photograph” by Def Leppard is a TRIUMPH – but I just wasn’t feeling this. Sorry. (I must be nice.) (If anyone from DL is reading, gimme “Photograph”. That mighty eighties hair rock energy! Gimme!!!)

Number One – it’s Erasure with their ABBA EP! It’s summer 1992 all right. They carry it off, of course. Andy Bell can carry off anything it seems, and Vince Clarke is a maestro. (Ooh, will I get to blog Depeche Mode one day? Well…)

We are done. Mark Franklin deserves a medal. He was seventeen (he was!!! He told me on Twitter!!).

Song of the episode – ehh, I don’t know. It’s a contrast to this time in 1991, when I couldn’t always decide upon a fave because I enjoyed many of the songs.

No bubbling under this week, because of this banger at no. 21. A rave classic with elements of “Song to the Siren”. Worthy, I am not.

*sigh*

And, it goes without saying: #IStandWithUkraine