Bundesvision 2011: Hamburg

Thees Uhlmann - Zum Laichen und Sterben ziehen die Lachse den Fluss hinauf

I like songs that reflect on the paths that life takes us down.  I also like songs that have catchy musical hooks.  Thees Uhlmann's Zum Laichen und Sterben ziehen die Lachse den Fluss hinauf provides both of these things.  And really, this is a nice song.  There's plenty of emotional power, there's plenty of introspective reflection.  But for whatever reason, it seems like the sum total of this song is less than its component parts.  Despite its strong points, Zum Laichen und Sterben is musically just a little too repetitive, and its sentiment seems just a little too forced. 

Prediction:  Zum Laichen und Sterben ziehen die Lachse den Fluss hinauf will appeal to German sentimentality.  But I don't think that it will appeal to more than a minority of Bundesvision voters.  I predict Zum Laichen und Sterben to do better than some of the competition, but will still dwell in the bottom third.

Bundesvision 2011: Thuringia

Alin Coen Band - Ich war hier

Every year the Bundesvision Song Contest lineup consists mainly of artists who cater to the "norm".  They are competent musicians performing pleasant enough music that allows the listener to pass a few moments of his or her life in a not-disagreeable manner.  Every year, though, there are one or two artists with whom I fall in love because they deliver a song that goes beyond simply possessing a pleasant veneer.  Their songs deliver an emotional punch either lyrically or, more likely as my German is more than a little rudimentary, musically.  This year, the Alin Coen Band delivers that punch with their song Ich war hier.

Perhaps the best way to describe Alin Coen is as a singer/guitarist who delivers emotionally potent folk-tinged melodies in a manner similar to Joni Mitchell or Indigo Girls.  That is not to say that she simply mimics an already well-established genre.  Instead, she uses this genre as a launching pad from which to deliver tightly crafted songs that are sung with a mixture of deep emotion and obvious joy.  In a world dominated by synth-pop, hip-hop, and all of the glitz that typically accompanies these genres, Alin Coen emerged onto the German music scene seemingly from out of nowhere on the strength of the buzz generated by her low-key appearances on German music television programs.  With songs like Ich war hier, it is not hard to see why.

Prediction:  The Alin Coen Band is not your typical TV music extravaganza artist.  However, Ich war hier is a fine showcase of Ms. Coen's band's talent.  With an album currently doing well in the marketplace, I predict that the cream of Bundesvision will rise to the top, putting Ich war hier easily in the top third - although probably still well shy of top of the heap.

Bundesvision 2011: Bavaria

Andreas Bourani - Eisberg

As if to finally signal the end of my summer vacation, upon my return home I see that the Bundesvision 2011 songs have finally been announced.  That gives me precious little time to preview all 16 entrants, so without any further ado let us begin with Bavaria's entry: Andreas Bourani and his song Eisberg.

As I get older, I find that I am learning to enjoy well-crafted and well-executed "alternative" pop ballads.  Maybe I'm getting soft in my dotage, or maybe I'm simply slowing down, but I actually find inoffensive and unremarkable songs like Eisberg kind of appealing.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want to give the impression that this song is dull.  Far from it.  Rather, much of its appeal comes from the fact that it is easy on the ears, it has some pretty decent hooks while not being overly ambitious or experimental, and it is sung by an artist with a remarkably smooth, pleasing, and well-trained voice.  Best of all, at least in my own mind, Eisberg does not adhere to conspicuous and self-conscious cliche, as do so many other pop ballads in the world today.

Prediction:  Well-executed ballads seem to do reasonably well in competitions like this.  I don't think that Eisberg has an iceberg's chance in Hades of winning, but I predict that it will place respectably somewhere in the top half of the pack.

Music Video: Xindl X - Dysgrafik

I always hate it when somebody says that a particular language doesn't "track well" for popular music - typically they say this when explaining why everybody wants to sing pop in English, and why non-English music is supposedly inferior.  I hate it. . . but then occasionally I hear music from a non-English speaking country, and I think to myself, "Wow, that language really doesn't track well."  Up until today, that is what I thought of music from the Czech Republic.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Czech people, and Czech art and literature is some of the most moving and complex in the world.  But their popular music has always sounded a little "off" to me.  But totally disproving this prejudice, along comes Xindl X.  His mix of hip-hop, reggae, jazz, funk, and myriad other influences just sounds good.  Listen to Dysgrafik, and I think you will agree.

Music Video: Ucnobi - Zamtari Ertad Gadavagorot

The area where Eastern Europe meets Western Asia is a melting pot of dozens of different nations and cultures.  One of the more interesting nations is Georgia, which has has its own language and history separating it from its larger (and often openly hostile) neighbor, Russia.  Of course, even when a singer is political, politics often takes a back seat when you have great homegrown music that you can dance to.  Georgian artist Ucnobi delivers that homegrown music in spades, particularly with Zamtari Ertad Gadavagorot.  While being clearly Latin inspired, Zamtari Ertad Gadavagorot combines this Latin inspiration with a healthy dose of Eurasian exuberance to make a great tune that is fun in any language.

Music Video: Dodo - Leu vo Zueri

In case you haven't noticed, I have been on something of a roots reggae kick as of late.  What fascinates me about reggae is that, like hip-hop, it seems to transcend languages and borders almost effortlessly.  Today's illustration of this fact is Swiss reggae artist Dodo, and his song Leu vo Zueri.  As with reggae anywhere, Dodo delivers smooth grooves, a powerful message, and a gripping voice.  The only difference between Dodo and other reggae artists that we have seen here before is that Dodo delivers all of these key elements in Swiss German. 

Music Video: Uwe Banton - Aufstehn

Friday afternoons in the summertime always put me in the mood for reggae.  Yeah, I know that traditional roots reggae is typically a voice of protest against social injustice, but it is still so hard to not think of sipping rum on a beach when you hear that groove.  For that perfect combination of social protest and Caribbean groove on this beautiful sunny Friday afternoon, I bring you German reggae legend Uwe Banton with one of his very few German language songs, Aufstehn. If watching a bearded and heavily dreadlocked white German sing roots reggae has you scratching your head, I encourage you to close your eyes and open your ears.  Uwe Banton brings you roots reggae at its best.