Sweden's nationally-televised WTF (musical) car crash moment of Saturday night -Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li., performing "Mirakel"; a new low for Melodifestivalen?

Sweden's nationally-televised WTF (musical) car crash moment of Saturday night during Melodifestivalen -Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li., performing "Mirakel"

Proof that, at least in Sweden, some people love a (musical) car crash as long as they are not in it...

No, it's NOT your imagination.

I really HAVE been avoiding mentioning what's been going on thus far at this year's installment of Melodifestivalen, the iconic and nationally-televised song selection contest over five weeks that annually leads to Sweden's choice for the Eurovision Song Contest, this year, taking place in Azerbijan in a few months.

I could get into the reasons why I've NOT mentioned what's doing with familiar Hallandale Beach Blog favorites like Molly Sandén and Timoteij so far, but it's easier to say why I've broken that silence -Sweden's nationally-televised WTF (musical) car crash moment of Saturday night -Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li. 

As always, seeing is believing!

*All screen grabs on this page are from SVT by South Beach Hoosier

To say the least, the reviews of Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li are in and they are so angry, scathing and unmerciless in their pummeling, that it's a wonder that many of my friends and folks I know, like Sofie and Pernilla -who keep coming back to the blog!- who watched the show LIVE Saturday night didn't, well, blow a gasket.

Or make like Elvis and shoot their TV set! 

Though now that I think about it, maybe some of them did, since as of early Monday morning, I have NOT heard from some of them after Saturday night's deltävling 3 -Third heat-of this year's competition in Leksand, like I did after the two previous weeks the past two Saturday nights in Växjö and Göteborg, respectively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1keVBfBrVI4

I urge you to watch this video ASAP because this video will probably be yanked-off YouTube very soon by SVT for copyright reasons, but it's the only one I've seen that shows how truly horrendous the act was.

Oops! Too late. 

They already hit it and removed it since I saw it a few hours ago.

Since that's the case, watch their performance here on SVT Play's website, which will have the entire show online for viewing until MIDNIGHT Tuesday morning Stockholm/Central European Time (CET), which is one hour ahead of GMT and six hours ahead of yours truly in Miami, in U.S.  Eastern.
So the deadline for seeing this is 6 p.m. Eastern.

Get moving, because the clock is ticking!

Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li appearance starts at 0:45:58 on the vid, ends at 0:50:05.

http://svtplay.se/t/102943/melodifestivalen

I watched the show in its entirety on Sunday afternoon, taking notes.

So, did I mention that people were angry?!!!!

Apparently, more than I thought, there were thousands of people watching TV in Sweden on Saturday night who thought they'd say a big f-ck you to the Swedish music industry, and do it by spending what amounts to about two bucks to text this "car crash" -the favorite metaphor being used among Swedish bloggers to describe this performance the first 36 hours afterward- and send them directly to the Finals in Stockholm on March 10th, at Globen.

Hmm-m... imagine if a participating country's national Eurovision song selection competition was hijacked by the country's usually-friendly folket in order to send the worst possible act to Baku, Azerbijan for the actual European competition...

Hmm-m... now that's a question so preposterous and diabolical that even Stieg Larsson never thought of it while toiling away in Gamla Stan thinking of things for Lisbeth Salander to get upset about!

Yes, it's sort like what the Florida Marlins did in November in announcing their new Miami Marlins logo and uniforms for their new stadium in Little Havana... which was, itself, a rainbow-colored WTF moment as far as most fans were concerned!
Yet typically, the condescending Marlins owners and management act like this finished product is what they always wanted, and don't much care what fans really think.
They're so in love with the idea of being "bold," of marketing themselves in Latin America in pastel colors, that they've lost sight of what the real fans who actually attend their games think.

For those of you reading this outside of South Florida, I honestly DON'T see anyone wearing this stuff around the area, that is, except for the sort of person at the shopping mall who does so clearly to bring attention to themselves.
Like the sort of woman who purchases a new expensive purse or accessory and takes it with them to Sunday brunch and tried to appear blase about it, even while craning her neck to see who notices it.

Miami Marlins New Logo and Uniform

http://youtu.be/mC-zle_rk4g

Here's what some of the Usual Suspects, music-wise, have been saying so far.

Over at Scandipop, 

...it certainly got people talking, as well as voting – “Björn Ranelid” and then “Ranelid” both became wordwide trending topics on twitter last night after his performance.

At the ESC Xtra, which LIVE blogged the show, when it was finally announced that Ranelid & Li  had qualified to go directly to the Finals in Stockholm, along with Molly, they wrote simply,

I am lost for words Sweden. See ya next week…

At the more action-oriented Schlagerblog, which was not so crazy about Molly's song, either, they wrote

The big surprise for the Schlagerboys was how excited we got about Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li. Who'd have thought a bonkers orange bloke wandering around the stage rambling on in Swedish while his granddaughter prances around for the chorus in a glittery frock would be so fab! The best bit was near the end where the key change should have been, when he clearly forgot his microphone was live and started mumbling the words to the chorus. Love it!

I'll have my updates on Molly Sandén and Timoteij and what else is going on in the competition later in the week before Saturday's competition from Malmö.

-----

http://svt.se/melodifestivalen/


http://www.visitsweden.com/

Sunday Multi-tasking: I'm watching the 2010 Swedish election returns LIVE on SVT -AND the Dolphins at Vikings ballgame!

Sunday September 19, 2010
1:33 p.m. Eastern

Dolphins 7, Vikings 0 after first quarter

I had a lot of very interesting things I'd worked on the past few weeks that I was going to run here in conjunction with today's national legislative election in Sweden, for seats in the Riksdag, but due to the many computer problems I've experienced the past 7-10 days -and already running behind schedule today!- rather than post them all here, and maybe miss some of the evolving info and analysis on the election returns, or any of the ballgame action, I'm going to wait until later today, perhaps during the Giants-Colts ballgame to post.

Plus, by then, though it will likely be very close, an actual winner should've emerged, though most experts I've read expect that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderates will not have a huge lead over its three centre-right coalition partners.


If you're curious to see how they cover the returns, or even if they rely on the same election night visual cliches, you can watch the Swedish election returns LIVE via SVT's complete coverage right here: http://svt.se/2.129956/valet_2010

That SVT site has been crashing a lot today already due to heavy demand, so I've also been watching TV4's coverage, so I don't miss anything important.
In fact, while it's just my opinion, their reporters seem to be hustling a little bit more than SVT's. http://www.nyhetskanalen.se/val2010/

Use your own best judgment and switch back and forth, compare and contrast.

At 2 p.m. Eastern our time, 8 p.m. in Stockholm, they just showed the folks over at the Sweden Democrats HQ, Sverigedemokraterna, jumping up and down after they reached 4.6%.
They are definitely going to get some seats in the chamber for the first time.
http://svt.se/2.128339/1.2153509/valu_sd_in_i_riksdagen

As of 3:54 p.m. Eastern they were up to 6.3% of the vote nationally.

The SD's message is clearly resonating with even more fed-up Swedish citizens than the condescending hipper-than-thou news media thought -and feared!

Seriously, news media, you continue to ignore self-evident problems and appease the un-civil in society, and then you are shocked that the populace wants changes?
Really?

Have you never heard of cause and effect?

Thanks for finally paying attention, late as it is, but guess what?
Many Swedes don't care what you think and definitely don't care for your smug attitude and your bias.

Rhetorical question: Am I talking about the news media situation in the U.S. or Sweden?
Both!

Because she was going to be out-of-town in Karlstad, one of our faves, super-talented singer Molly Sandén voted early on Friday. Molly posted the photo of herself -below- on her blog after she placed the correct color paper ballot in here official voting envelope and licked it, after voting for the first time, since she just turned eighteen-years old rather recently.

It's sometimes hard for me to believe that this really sweet and down-to-earth super-talent is only eighteen, because she has so much confidence and poise when performing, and has been doing so for years.

http://mollysandenblogg.blogspot.com/

Thumbs-up for voting!

See Molly's post on voting at: Nu har jag röstat!
http://mollysandenblogg.blogspot.com/2010/09/nu-har-jag-rostat.html

http://svt.se/

Walking in Memphis on Elvis' 75th birthday: some Swedish and Icelandic treats to celebrate with

1993 Elvis Presley Stamp -Watercolor of Elvis by Mark Stutzmamn

As some of you who've been coming to this blog
for awhile know by now, after my family moved
from San Antonio, where my sister and I were
born and my mother grew-up, my family moved
to Memphis in 1965, where we lived for three
years, and where my youngest sister was born.
We moved to South Florida in July of 1968
just a few weeks after Dr. King was assassinated,
following the horrific aftermath in the city.

It was in Memphis specifically, and the Mid-South
in general, on our weekend family drives around
Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi -not always
so great in an un-air conditioned car with two
younger sisters!- where I first developed my
deep and enduring love and preference for many
things that still remain with me to this day:
the Mississippi River; rhythm 'n' blues; Al Green;
The Andy Griffith Show; Dusty Springfield;
Petula Clark; St. Louis Cardinals baseball on
the radio in the summertime during their mid-60's
glory era; smoky sweet Memphis-style barbecue ribs;
cornbread, and, of course, The King - Elvis.

To a devout Elvis fan like me, who knows just
about everything there is to know about him,
the good and the bad, the best books ever written
on Elvis -by far- are Peter Guralnick's masterful
"Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis
Presley" and the great follow-up, "Careless
Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley."

Each is written with honesty and empathy,
free of the judgmental cant and analysis that
doomed other books that purport to tell the
tale.

It was also while living in The Mid-South,
that I first became greatly interested in the
American Civil War, following a summer
day-trip to Shiloh, the site of the bloody
April 1862 battle.

It was on that summer day-trip that I had
a chance encounter with a VERY old man
on the battlefield itself.
A man whose own father had actually
fought in the battle -and lived to tell
the tale!

For more info on Shiloh, see
http://www.nps.gov/shil/

Spending a day there is an awesome and
eye-opening experience and really puts
things into their proper perspective,
just as my later trips to Gettysburg,
Harper's Ferry, Winchester,
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
did as well, after I moved to the
D.C. area.

You'll recall that a few days ago I shared
video with you of Yohanna singing
Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
at En Sång För Hemlösa 2009 in
Stockholm and encouraged you all
to watch the entire TV program if
you could, because it was so well done.

Well, on what would be Elvis' 75th
birthday I return to our talented friend
from Iceland and share a song that she
recorded last year called Butterflies
and Elvis.

I'm choosing today to also write for the first
time here -though some of you know from
emails- about another young singer whom
I know you all have never heard of before,
but whose talent is so obvious that...
well, the first time I heard him, let's just say
that I was just thunderstruck.

Just like I was the first time I heard
Molly Sandén or Yohanna.
Obvious transcendent talent!

A friend in Europe has seen him on the
Idol Sweden program and she sent me
a video of his audition in Malmö in an
email last year that had the simple words,
"Must see!!!" in the subject header.

Wow! Was she ever right!

I'm talking about Calle Kristiansson,
a name you will be hearing a lot more
of in the future, because seeing and hearing
IS certainly believing.

-----
First, the original version of Mark Cohn's song
that you probably first heard sung by Cher.



When the song was incorporated into the
1997 X-Files episode called The Post-Modern
Prometheus, it instantly became my favorite
episode.
See video of it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CKs8NjusTQ

----

Prepare yourself to be wowed and remember
in the future who first told you about a Swedish
singer named Calle Kristiansson.
Me!

TV4.se
Calle Kristiansson - Walking in Memphis -
IDOL Sweden 2009,
auditions in Malmö

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CESHAeCxV4



-----

Calle Kristiansson - Walking in Memphis -
XL Live Expressen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtKe9qQYH8



See also:
http://www.expressen.se/
and http://www.youtube.com/ExpressenTV

-----

Yohanna -Butterflies and Elvis
from her Butterflies and Elvis CD



See also: http://www.youtube.com/TEAMYOHANNA
and http://teamyohanna.blogspot.com/
plus http://www.myspace.com/yohannamusic


Memphis Commercial Appeal
Bitter cold can’t keep these Elvis fans from his birthday party
By Michael Lollar
January 8, 2010
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/08/bitter-cold-cant-keep-these-elvis-fans-his-birthda/

Wow! Yohanna sings "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day" on TV3's "En Sång För Hemlösa 2009" (HD)

To start the New Year off right, in a positive mood, I'm going to a new favorite of mine this
past year, with Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, a.k.a. Yohanna.

I wrote in this space many, many months ago, much as I had earlier -and justifiably so- for Molly Sandén and Esmée Denters: Hennes enorma talang kunde knappast vara
mer uppenbar!
Her enormous talent could hardly be more obvious!


I was more accurate about that than anything else I wrote here all year.


For your perusal, below, along with the teaser, from just two weeks ago on Dec. 15th in Stockholm, for TV3's Dec. 23rd and 25th broadcast of her amazing performance at their "En Sång För Hemlösa 2009" (A Song For The Homeless 2009), Yohanna sings "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day"




If you've heretofore neglected to take my sage advice to heart, do yourself a favor and start
the new year off right and take a listen to Yohanna's amazing voice for yourself at
http://www.youtube.com/user/yohannamusic
and
http://www.youtube.com/TEAMYOHANNA
and
http://www.myspace.com/yohannamusic


You can watch the entire video of the broadcast, by turns beautiful and thoughtful, and just under
59 minutes, at: http://www.tv3.se/play/224911

Once there, click Fullskärm for full screen and best viewing.
The audio is superb.


I should mention as a bonus delight that the second song played here is Yohanna singing
the song she sang in Moscow at Eurovision and captured second place with, Is It True.
I hardly need tell you at this point that she's amazing here, as per usual.
But she is.

I realize that many, if not most of you, won't know whom everyone singing and speaking
is, per se, but trust me, it's well-worth seeing for yourself, and shows what you can put on
television if you genuinely have the desire to put quality first.

It beats the hell out of any original holiday programming that you saw on American TV
networks over the past two weeks -as if there was any!

Don't hold your breath thinking that COMCAST is going to do anything half this quality if
they get the govt. okay to buy NBC-TV.

And besides, what's the point of my having a blog if I can't share with you here, something
that I personally find of great value and pleasure?



Gott Nytt År!

No "Glee" on Capitol Hill, but a lot of smiling faces at Fox-TV; "Where is Love" - Molly, Frida and Mimmi Sandén

Recently, I was finally able to watch the Pilot episode
of Fox-TV's critically-acclaimed new show Glee from
beginning to end without interruption, instead of in bits
and pieces.

I even noticed over the weekend while I was over at
Wal-Mart that they was selling the Pilot DVD for only
$5 a pop, and as it happened, while I tried to find a
register with a short line, I noticed a couple of kids
with the DVD in their hands, certainly a positive sign
for Fox in general, and what promises to be a huge
audience tonight -including me- when it has its Fall
premiere at 9 p.m.








That's about the time that most Americans will be
wondering why President Obama didn't outline
the specifics of what he wanted in his health care
reform package in the first place, instead of giving
Congress enough rope to hang themselves,
as if his doing the exact opposite of Hillarycare,
holding things close to the vest and meeting in private
and initially refusing to tell the public and press
who was in the meetings, was going to be the road
to success,

One of the songs that was sung in the Pilot is one that
I've heard probably a couple of dozen times before,
Where is Love from Oliver!, and yet I know that
what's become my favorite version of it, an a cappella
version, is one that 99.99% of you have never heard before.

Well, that being said, since the show will be on in a
couple of hours and I can't really imagine any scenario
where I'd ever have an excuse to use it here in the
near future, for your listening pleasure, from Stockholm,
the ridiculously-talented Sandén sisters: Mimmi,
Frida and Molly.

ABBA's Benny Andersson on BBC One's "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross"; clips of interview & song; Telegraph interview

To better set the stage for the following post and associated

videos, the Telegraph had the following story last Wednesday:

Benny Andersson interview for the Benny Andersson band on Hampstead Heath

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/5711429/Benny-Andersson-interview-for-the-Benny-Andersson-band-on-Hampstead-Heath.html

Reading the article above reminded me of all the

B/W film that I and most other serious ABBA fans

have seen over the years that featured the guys

playing in Skiffle bands, at venues not unlike the

ones described here by Benny in the mid-late

1960's.

"Every town in Sweden used to a have a Volkpark with a stage and a dance floor where in the summer bands would play and people would bring their own booze and dance," says Andersson when we meet in the hotel he owns in Stockholm. "In the Eighties that started to decline, so in 2000 we started to play in Skansen to try and recreate the feeling of those big bands from the forties and the fifties."

This is perhaps the best single example I can think of,

when the music sounds like it was done just right, and

with Helen Sjöholm, you know the problem will never

be with the singer,

From 0:40 to 0:56 of this Rick Steves video of Skansen,

you can get a sense of the sort of folk dancing I suspect

Benny's talking about.

By the time the interview below with Jonathan Ross

concludes, and you combine it with his insightful

earlier comments in The Telegraph, you really can't

help but come away even more impressed, because

it's clear that Benny's positive attitude is undoubtedly

one of the keys to his continued success and health,

because he seems to keep things in their proper

perspective.

He really enjoys the life he has now, believes the other

three do as well, he has the freedom to write whatever

he wants and has the good sense not to want to turn

his life -and his family's- upside-down:

"To have talent is just luck. But you have to take care of your talent by working.

I try to write music every day. I am not an artist. I don't have that drive or ego to

perform. I just want to write music that other people want to listen to. I want to

have a conversation through the music and for it to be as good and meaningful

as it can be."

Benny's so calm and reassuring that I almost think he could play

a shrink in a Woody Allen comedy.

----------

From BBC One, July 3rd, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhu5AEhcpEk

--------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc8VsBaNox4

For more info on other clips of BBC One programs see:

http://www.youtube.com/user/BBC

For more info and prior Jonathan Ross interviews,see

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m99d and

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=72144E4796241B73

His program started airing on BBC America in mid-June,

and based on the schedules of guests so far -I'm watching

it right now with Dustin Hoffman- it would appear that

they're on in the U.S. roughly 2-3 weeks after they first

appear LIVE on his show in London, since for the first week,

the BBC iPlayer has exclusivity with the video throughout world.

His BBC America webpage is at:

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/377/index.jsp

Closing out this post with Molly Sandén singing the

same song from above, Thank You for the Music

from just over three-and-a-half years ago at Skansen

on New Year's Eve.