Call your girlfriend

The cover

The original

Someone like you

If by the end of the song you're not crying or at least feeling an aching stomach, then you either deaf or you have a heart of stone... 

Robyn

Robyn is a Swedish singer and a very cool and very talented one. She released her latest album in 2005 and was touring for a very long time with it: Sweden, Europe, England, USA and she got a lot of #1 songs in the charts in the UK and USA. Perez Hilton is a big fan of hers. I saw her last summer here in Göteborg at the Way Out West festival. It was her latest performance before she went to the studio to record new material. So now, five years later, she has a lot of songs ready. Enough to make three albums she said, and she's going to release those three. 3 albums in one year!

This song is the second single to be released. The video was made available on Thursday: enjoy!

The baseballs

How long did it take before you realised what song they were covering?

Way out West

I know I haven't put up more pictures but I was out a lot this week-end and now Fanny and Virginie are here and I try to spend more time with them than in front of my computer choosing pics and making some collage. But I will do it don't worry.

The girls are staying two weeks and I am really happy about that. Even better is the fast that Fanny is cooking and Virginie cleaning the dishes almost every day so it feels like holidays in my own home, I don't do anything!

One of the main reason for their visit here (beside a swedish course and hopefully see me) is the Way out West festival. It's in Slottskogen which is approx. 10-15 min walk from my place. That is the perfect festival: in town so that you can go home and sleep in your own bed instead of camping under a tent now showering and peeing behind a tree for 3 days...

This is only the 3rd edition of the festival but it's already a very good one. Look who was playing on only one of the three stages the first year:
Erykah Badu
Kanye West
Laleh
Manu Chao
Moneybrother
Salem Al Fakir
Shout Out Louds
The Ark
The Hellacopters
The Hives

Impressive no?

This year's program looks very interesting too, I don't know everything but just the fact that I'm going to see Robyn and that she will have many guests is making me really excited and impatient!

(Click on the image to make it bigger)

Britain's got talent

Can't put the embedded videao in here so please please please follow the link, put the sound veeeeery high, listen and enjoy. And maybe cry like I am doing right now. Can't help it, I'm overwhelmed with emotions, Susan is just amazing. Can't get bored of it!!!

Is Sweden going to win ESC this year?

I'm not a big fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Melodifestival (competition in Sweden following the same format as ESC) where the winner is going to just ESC. But tonight was the final of the Melodifestivalen so I was the end when they give the results. Once again the results of the votes of the juries and of the audience are really different.

And the winner is...



Malena Erman is a Swedish opera singer who sang a "pop" song. I like the style in the 5th element where the blue "creature" starts singing Lucia di Lammermoor and end up singing something poppy. But this one... mmmh! am a bit sceptical.

Do you think Sweden can win the Eurovision Song Contest with this song?

Un petit jeu

Quel est le point commun entre les groupes ci-dessous?

• U2
• Metallica
• Bruce Springsteen
• Madonna
• Depeche Mode
• The Killers
• Beyoncé
• AC/DC
• Coldplay
• Morrissey
• Mötley Crüe
• Tina Turner

Réponse: ils jouent tous en Suède cet été. Pas mal, non?

Et combien de ces concerts je vais voir? Probablement zéro...

Mamma Mia!

God, it's so GREAT!!!!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Challenge

I've been challenged by Audrey to put up here the songs I'm listening to or that I like a lot lately. So here we go, there's no real preference.

Some Swedish first:

Takida - Curly Sue (Sweden)



Amanda Jenssen - Amarula Tree (Sweden, she came 2nd in last year's edition of the Swedish Idol)



This video is a live because the "normal" studio version cannot be embedded but check it out too.

Maia Hirasawa - The worrying kind



It's actually a cover of the song usually performed by The Ark and that represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 in Helsinki.

Robyn - With every heartbeat (Sweden)



Some English and American now:

Estelle - American boy



Sara Bareilles - Love song



Same thing here, video disabled by Sony BMG hence the live edition...

Duffy - Mercy



And the last one is a Swedish one again. Not as recent as the other ones but I still love it. You may know if from the Saab commercial.

Oh Laura - Release me



And two bonuses from this last song: a live and a remix.

Live on a Swedish program, this one gives me goosebumps every time!!!



Remix by "The attic" (Swedish DJ/techno band)




And now, I challenge you Manny, Vickie and Norore!

Eurovision - part II

OK, France and Sweden on the same level: 18th... no one cares in France but in Sweden, they used the words "fiasco, desaster, derroute...", indeed the ESC is a big thing here, they all love and everyone thought Charlotte had a chance to win. Several newspapers tipped her as one of the favourite ones, and not only Swedish newspapers but even the BBC for instance.

Austria chose not to compete this year and said: "we've already seen in 2007 that it's not the quality of the song, but the country of origin that determines the decision."

I agree and think that says it all.

Eurovision

OK every country has sung now. I may sound a bit chauvinistic but I actually like Sweden's best. I like Iceland too. Georgia is horrible, it sounds like she's singing "Piss will come", yeah that will sure come, haha! France is... well, I don't really know what to think about it. Strange, funny, not the best song ever but when it comes to France at Eurovision, it most certainly is one of the best.

Well, we'll see in a little while how this whole thing turns out.

Who was your favourite? Did you even watch it?

My network value

I took a test and it seems you will make me rich my friends... you're worth a lot! Of course I knew that already and I cherished it but I had never set a price on it. Well this link has done it for me. 6.700.969 SEK, around 720.000 EUR!

And here is the analysis:

A closer look at your network value

The range of your network is above the statistical average. This alone makes you stand out from the crowd. A network of this size demands high-maintenance. From a statistical point of view there is a limt to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships. This mean number of individuals is approx. 150 persons. (For more information see Dunbar‘s Number and The Dunbar Number as a Limit to Group Sizes).
Organisational tools, which help you professionally juggle these contacts e.g. www.xing.com offer a simple and effective way to manage and maintain your contact network.

The diversity of your network is currently suboptimal if you're looking to further your career. If you want to get ahead professionally, contacts that stem from business relationships, studies or spare time activities are very valuable. Try to establish connections from these branches. Using XING.com's people finder is a great way to revive old connections or establish new ones.

We asked you how varied your contacts are and you indicated that your network is very varied. A heterogenous network is very valuable and you should already be reaping the benefits. The more assorted and diverse your contacts are, the more you'll gain in terms of different perspectives and information. (Ref: The Strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited, Mark Granovetter).

People who you're regularly in contact with are of high value for daily business; however they add little to your overall network value. In contrast, people who you used to have regular contact with in the past and now not that often (e.g. former colleagues or old college friends) are particularly valuable. (Ref: Granovetter’s Weak Ties - How Weak Is Weak?). These old ties can quite easily be reactivated, especially when you need new ideas, input, inspiration or information.

We've put together a list of literary sources, references and recommendations to help you gain a deeper insight into Social Networking. See references

Try it yourself here!

Ma vie le samedi après-midi

J'vous fais le pitch. Samedi 16-17h, je rentre d'être allée faire mes courses, je jette un coup d'oeil à mes 2-3 blogs préférés dont celui de Manny-Chouchou (suis le lien, lecteur) et là, sur quoi je tombe? Sur ca!

Une vraie chanson qui fout la patate. J'la kiffe, je l'ai sur mon ipod.

Au bout de 30 secondes voilà que je me mets à danser seule dans mon salon. Les voisins, profitez du spectacle, c'est gratuit! hehe! Du coup, en dansant, je vois le rebord de ma fenêtre ou plus précisément la poussière sur le rebord de ma fenêtre. Du coup j'attrape mon plumeau et je fais la poussière en dansant sur Marvin Gaye. Et bien sûr, quand c'est fait, je garde le plumeau en main et le recycle en micro. Ben ouais, faut bien!

Donc voilà ce que je fais un samedi après-midi vers 17h... Pour citer une autre de mes blogueuses préférées Pénélope (suis le lien, lecteur): "Ma vie est tout à fait fascinante"...

These Bloody English!

What's with the British? Last June, Paul Potts was voted as the winner of the TV-show Britain's Got Talent, but he had tuff competitors and amongst them this little wonder:

Marianne James, laisse moi ta place

Ce soir je vous dévoile une facette cachée de ma personnalité: je suis découvreuse de talents. En juillet, j'avais posté sur Paul Potts, un vendeur de téléphones portables qui participait à l'émission "Britain's got talent", l'équivalent d'American Idol ou de la Nouvelle Star. Pour voir la vidéo, suivez the lien...

Le mec chantait du lyrique lors de sa première audition et maintenant le programme est fini et il a gagné!! Si vous n'avez pas suivi le lien plus haut, faites-le ici et maintenant et vous comprendrez de quoi je parle...

L'habit ne fait pas le moine

No comment needed, just listen...

This is us

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - This is us

A big thanx to my little pruno for the tips... Discovered them last year and became a big fan very quickly! Listen to the rest of the album because it's amazing!

:)

Me like

Me like Manic Street Preachers (since a looooong time, was young when I discovered them).

Me like The Cardigans and Nina Persson's voice (since a looooong time, was also young when I discovered them. It was 1997, it was Romeo + Juliet, I bought the OST, still have it, it was "prépa time" then... nostalgia, I'm old now).


Do the maths yourself: Me like Manics + Me like Nina? What do you think is my opinion about Manics & Nina together? Listen.

Well... no suspense ME LIKE NINA & THE MANICS!!!!!!

France vs. Suède (3)

This time, France and Sweden were competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 that took place yesterday in Helsinki, Finland. Well, they were 22 other competing countries, but let's just forget them, they were all bad anyway. What a poor year it was, not that I am an ESC expert, but I just thought there was no good song.

Well, here is Sweden's contribution: The worrying kind by The Ark


And France's contribution: L'amour à la francaise by Les fatals picards

What do you think of them? As far as I am concerned, I've know The Ark for a few years and like their music even if this song is more mainstream that what they're used to do. The first time I heard it I was a bit disappointed because I thought they could have done better. But after listenning to it a few times I started to like it. It's fresh, positive and catchy.

As for the French song, I had never ever heard of the group Les fatals picards before... And when I heard the song I thought: "eh... what the f*ck is this?" I mean, it's better than what we use to send with all these lame ballad songs, it's a bit catchy but at the same time quite irritating and annoying. You know when you have a hair in the face or a fly on the arm in the summer that is itching but doesn't want to leave... and what's this with the accent? Why the hell do they think with an English accent? In France we're so bad at talking English so who would be soooo good in English that they actually start speaking French like an English man... please. Pathetic.

Well, I guess you have understood who got my 12 points... Yes Sweden. The rest of Europe seemed to agree with me. Sweden ended up 18th (didn't think they would end up so far...) and France 22nd, as usual in the bottom 3!

Well, given that this post is about comparing France & Sweden and given the bad quality of the other contributions, I am not going to comment Serbia winning the whole thing. But what about you: did you watch? Did you vote? What did you think of it?

See you next year!