Music Video: Myslovitz - Scenariusz Dla Moich Sąsiadów

It's funny.  Over 14 years ago, I married a beautiful woman of Polish descent.  And yet, over the year or so since I started this blog, I have never posted a video by a Polish band.  Until now.

Today, from the Polish town of Mysłowice comes the nationally popular band Myslovitz, and their song Scenariusz Dla Moich Sąsiadów.  This particular track is an enjoyable Polish take on the alternative genre from their 2006 album Happiness is Easy.  While it is somewhat dated in that respect, Myslovitz has a new album slated for release this year.

Music Video: Locas in Love - An den falschen Orten

I will admit to having an affinity for bands with female bassists.  I don't know why that is, and I certainly don't know why I am telling the world this, other than to use it as an eye-catching way to introduce Köln, Germany's band Locas in Love.  Fortunately, Locas in Love is more than just a band with a female bassist.  For over 10 years, they have been successfully producing insidiously catchy pop tunes, like their most recent single, An den falschen Orten.

As usual, non-English language pop gets little play outside of whatever country it comes from.  If there was any justice, though, Locas in Love would have a solid underground following in the U.S. or the U.K.

Music Video: Babaman - Tentan Di Fermarmi

I am always amazed at how well reggae and its various offshoots (ska, dancehall, ragga, etc.) seem to travel around the world.  If you have read more than a few of my posts, you will note that I post a lot of German reggae.  Well, today I will give you a tasty bite of Italian dancehall.

Hailing from Milan, Babaman has put out 10 albums of pretty decent quality music.  His track Tentan Di Fermarmi, from his 2008 album "Dinamite" is a nicely representative sample.  It has slick, heavy beats, intense vocals, and plenty of typical dancehall bravado. 

Music Video: Seu Jorge - Suffragette City

This past weekend, my wife and I were enjoying some tapas at a restaurant in Georgetown, when she stopped the conversation and asked me if I could recognize the song playing on the sound system.  It took me a few moments to wrap my mind around what I was hearing.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: "That's David Bowie's Suffragette City!!!"

Well, not exactly.  It was actually Brazilian singer Seu Jorge providing his take on David Bowie's Suffragette City.  This one is beautifully rendered on acoustic guitar, and in Portuguese.  In my opinion, it takes what is already a really good rock tune, and turns it into something even greater and more sublime. 

All that, and the Arroz Meloso al Azafrán con Gambas was pretty good too.

Music Video: Pierre Ferdinand et les Charmeurs - Ganz Paris ist eine Disco

Let me just put this out there: I'm a lazy liar.  Yesterday, when I posted that I had run out of interest in previewing Bundesvision 2011, I indicated that much of it had to do with reviewing songs that were not terribly appealing to me.  Well, that was partially true.  That sentiment was based on incomplete information though.  When the bands for Bundesvision 2011 were announced way back in June, they didn't announce the songs.  So, having nothing else to go on, I listened to whatever random sampling of music I could find online.  When I came to Saarland entry Pierre Ferdinand et les Charmeurs, I was unimpressed by what little I heard.  They seemed like the kind of novelty act that is amusing for about a day and a half, and ends up losing a competition like Bundesvision by dozens of points (see Lower Saxony's Dirk Darmstaedter & Bernd Begemann's entry from last year, So geht das jede Nacht).

However, when I looked at the final scores from Bundesvision 2011, I noticed something that caught me by surprise.  Pierre Ferdinand et les Charmeurs' entry, Ganz Paris ist eine Disco, did not finish in last place as I had expected.  Not even close.  Sure, it didn't win either.  But 11th Place out of 16 entries was still markedly better than I had expected.  What is up with that?

Then I finally watched the video for Ganz Paris ist eine Disco, and I actually really like it.  It is disco with a healthy dollop of funk.  Yes, it is kitschy, and it is certainly tongue in cheek.  But it also gets me smiling and my feet tapping.  Lying and sloth may be deadly sins, but hopefully my confession of actually enjoying Ganz Paris ist eine Disco will at least take a little time off my stay in limbo.

Bundesvision 2011 Update

If you read this blog with any frequency, you will note that I just left the Bundesvision 2011 Preview hanging.  Well, yes.  I will admit to that.  It happened for two reasons.  First, unlike last year, most bands did not release videos for their Bundesvision 2011 entries until the last possible minute before the contest . . . if at all.  Second, to be brutally honest, I just lost interest.  In any typical year, there are basically three types of songs: songs that I think are great, songs that I think are so-so, and songs that I think are boring.  By the time I get through the first group, it is really difficult for me to devote my time to coming up with pithy, interesting, or informative things to say about the remaining two groups.

Anyway, Tim Bendzko of Berlin won this year's contest with his tune Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären.  It's a nice enough song that I personally would have put in the so-so group that I mention above.  My personal favorites (Kraftklub, Frida Gold, Alin Coen Band) all ended up somewhere in the middle of the pack.  I suppose it just goes to show why I am not a professional A&R guy.

Bundesvision 2011: Saxony

Kraftklub - Berlin

I will admit something: every year (well two, so far) previewing 16 songs for the Bundesvision Song Contest can get pretty monotonous.  There are always a handful of ballads - both male and female, a handful of electronic or dance songs, a couple of soul songs, a couple of indie songs, and the show is wrapped up with one or two borderline novelty tunes.  While many of these songs are quite good, very few of them stand out for their originality.  Occasionally though, a band does something different.  This year, Kraftklub is that band.

Kraftklub first crossed my radar a few months ago with their self-released free-download album "Adonis Maximus".  Their music is a vibrant mix of hip-hop, punk rock, and disco - musical genres that one probably would not think would go together.  Combine this with an eastern German "nerd chic" fashion sensibility, and you have a band that truly stands out from the pack.  Kraftklub's song Berlin demonstrates their craft well - although it is by no means their best song.

Prediction:  As with any band that blows away established genres, Kraftklub's success in the broader German marketplace is by no means assured.  All things considered though, Berlin is a fun, energetic, and exciting song that should do well against the more cookie-cutter competition.  I predict that Berlin will place somewhere in the top 3.