Finland - the country of odd sports

Finland är ett charmerande och stundtals udda land. Newsweek har utsett Finland till världens lyckligaste land. Kanske beror det på alla konstiga tävlingar man sysslar med.
Finland is a charming and sometimes an odd country. Recently Newsweek promoted Finland as the happiest country in the world. Maybe it’s because of all the strange competitions that take place over there.

Jag läste med stort nöje Jeanette Björkqvist inlaga i gårdagens Svenska Dagblad där hon nämner några av dess udda så kallade sporter – eller vad man nu ska kalla dem. Flertalet var nya för mig. Kanske beror det på att de uppfunnits efter att jag lämnade landet på 80-talet.

Yesterday I was reading an article in the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, about the odd sports and competitions you can participate in. Many of them I never heard about before even if my origin in Finnish.

VM in fotboll känns ganska alldagligt jämfört med VM i kasta lie, slå hö, stövelkastning, ärtätning eller svampplockning. Gillar man att springa kan man delta i vattenjogging eller nakenjoggning. Till vintern väntar nya utmaningar. Då är det dags för VM i snöbollskrig, snödrivsfotboll och vaksimning. Kanske dags att börja träna??!

World championships in football seems rather boring compared to throwing scythes, make hay, boots throwing, pea eating or mushroom picking. If you like to run there are sports like water jogging and naked jogging. All these are for the summer season. During winter there will be a world cup in snowball fighting, football in snowdrifts and swimming in a hole in the ice.
Time to start the preparations??!

PS:
Du kan inte delta i Myggdödar-VM. Den grenen har försvunnit efter protester från miljövänner.
You can no longer participate in mosquito killing. This sport is forbidden because of the protests from environmentalism. 



Source: SvD
Photos: Lilian, Nyhetskanalen.se, Scanpix

Lordi is still alive and Swedish Drifters goes Sha La Lie

Two videos, two bands and two songs to remember from this week in August. Finnish Lordi and Swedish Drifters. What do they have in common? Not much except that Lordi won Eurovision 2006 and the Dutch entry "Sha La Lie" with Sieneke participated in the same contest 2010.

The cover 'dansband' version by Drifters shows that a song like "Sha La Lie", which got so much negative feedback, before and under Eurovision, ends up being a kind of success after all. Maybe a compensation for the failure in Oslo and it certainly generates some money to the composer Pierre Kartner, alias Father Smurf.

Since the victory of Lordi in Athens 2006 I have hardly seen or heard anything about the group. Maybe it would have been different if I lived in Finland. Despite the fact that I'm not a fan of monsters, nor today's metal/heavy rock (thanks heaven for Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Uriah Heep....), I still appreciate this new song from Lordi.



Photos: Lilian, svenskadansband.se

ABBA is back – no it’s CC & Lee

The status of ABBA is unquestionable. A world without ABBA-music would be a so much poorer. Will ABBA ever be back on stage? In a way ABBA is always on stage even though it’s not the original group.
ABBA status idag är odiskutabel. En värld utan ABBA-musik skulle vara bra mycket fattigare. Kommer ABBA nånsin tillbaka på scenen? På sätt och vis är ABBA alltid scenaktuella även om det inte är originalgruppen.

A proof that “ABBA rules” is the rip-off and ABBA-copies that frequently pop up.  During the last weeks I have heard one of those rip-off-songs every day on Swedish Radio. Even the title is as close as it can be. I am talking about “Honey” with the Swedish sisters CC & Lee.
Listen to the song HERE

Beviset för att “ABBA rules” är alla rip-off och ABBA-kopior som ständigt dyker upp. Under de senaste veckorna har jag dagligen hört en av dessa på Sveriges Radio. Till och med titel är förvillande lik. Jag pratar om ”Honey” med Ronnebysystrarna CC & Lee.
Lyssna till låten   HÄR.  

ABBA won Eurovision Song Contest 1974. Maybe it’s time for Sweden to send a new version of an ABBA-song to Germany next year. Keep in mind that ABBA was extremely popular in that country. The rumor says that CC & Lee wanted to participate in Melodifestivalen 2010 with “Honey” but was refused by the jury. I hope the 2011-jury has reconsidered their mind in case another ABBA-pastiche is knocking on the Melodifestivalen door.

ABBA vann Eurovisionen 1974. Kanske är det dags för Sverige att skicka en ny ABBA-pastisch till Tyskland 2011. Kom ihåg att ABBA var omåttligt populära i det landet när det begav sig. Ryktet säger att CC & Lee skickade in ”Honey” till Melodifestivalen 2010 men refuserades av juryn. Jag hoppas att 2011-års jury inte gör samma sak. 

The CC & Lee’s “Honey” is a decent song in the ABBA-genre but however – nothing compares with the original “Honey Honey”. Check out this video from a German TV-program. It was playback already back in 1974 but I don’t care. I know the song by heart so can fully concentrate on the fabulous clothes. I doubt that any ABBA-copies are able to copy these outfits.
"Honey Honey" with ABBA in Saarbrücken, Germany on 16 May 1974.

"Honey” med CC & Lee är en bra låt i ABBA-genren men inget kan överträffa orginalet. Kolla in denna video från ett tyskt TV-program där ABBA sjunger ”Honey Honey”. Visserligen var det playback redan 1974 men vad gör det. Eftersom jag minns låten utantill kan jag koncentrera mig på de fantastiska kläderna. Jag betvivlar att det finns någon ABBA-kopia som är kapabel att kopiera denna utstyrsel.
"Honey Honey" med ABBA i Saarbrücken, Tyskland 16 maj 1974.

Photos: Lilian, ccnlee.com, hanser.se, hd.se

A new Anne-Marie David performance - enjoy!

Anne-Marie David, winner of Eurovision Song Contest 1973 with the great entry "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" is still going strong. She is a great performer with a fantastic voice and recently she participated in the Festival Universong 2010 at Tenerife, Canary Islands.


Anne-Marie David, vinnare av Eurovision Song Contest 1973 med låten "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" är i högsta grad aktiv. Hon har en fantastisk röst och det kan ni höra i denna nya video från Festival Universong 2010, spm gick av stapeln på Teneriffa.

I'm happy to have received this video from Anne-Marie in person. Enjoy!
Jag är glad över att Anne-Marie har skickat mig denna video.





If you want to read my interview with Anne-Marie you will find it here:
Meeting with a Eurovision Queen

Photos: Lilian/Irene
Video source: Anne-Marie David

Chiara and Magnus Carlsson performing at Täby Galopp

Bortsett från mina tre besök på Ascot för en massa år sedan så hör det inte till vanligheten att jag besöker en galopp- eller travbana. Spel på fyrbenta djuren har aldrig intresserat mig men är det så att man kan få höra både schlager och eurovision mellan galoppvarven så kanske det blir fler besök på Täby Galopp.

Except for my three visits at Ascot many years ago, I usually do not visit horse race tracks. Games and gambling on horses is not my cup of tea but if it is possible to listen to schlager and Eurovision in between the races I might change my mind.


Ryktet gick att Chiara från Malta (ESC 1998, 2005, 2009) och Magnus Carlsson (tidigare Barbados och Alcazar) skulle uppträda och vad passar då bättre än att sätta sig på Roslagsbanan en solig kväll för att lyssna och intervjua.
We heard that Chiara from Malta (ESC 1998, 2005, 2009) and Magnus Carlsson (former Barbados and Alcazar) were supposed to perform at Taby Galopp outside Stockholm. It was a sunny evening and perfect for a small excursion.

Nedan kan du höra intervjun med Magnus (på engelska) och även hans schlager medley. Magnus har deltagit i Melodifestivalen sju gånger - som soloartist och sångare i Barbados och Alcazar. Och tro det eller ej – Magnus kan åter igen tänka sig att delta i tävlingen - även om han sa att det var sista gången 2007. Kul att han har ändrat sig!

Below you can listen to the interview with Magnus (in English) and also listen to his fab schlager-medley. Magnus has participated seven times in Melodifestivalen - both as solo artist and together with Barbados and Alcazar.Believe it or not but Magnus might consider to participate in the contest again - even if he said it was the last time 2007.We look forward!

Magnus Carlsson har fått en beundrarinna i Chiara. Vem vet - det kanske kan bli en intressant duo framöver.
Chiara became very impressed by Magnus and who knows - maybe this can be a future cooperation.  





Photos, video: JP, Lilian, Merja

Stockholm Pride is like a mini-Eurovision once again

The most popular evening during Stockholm Pride Festival is the Eurovision evening.  This year’s event was accompanied by grey clouds but compared to the heavy rain earlier a small dripping and dropping might be seen as a tribute to Safura, one of the guest artists. Me and my good friend JP, were in front of the stage to film and take photos. Dressed up in rain coats. The show was in two acts. Some of the artists have been announced in beforehand but this is an evening where the surprise element is important.

Act one included Swedish Eurovision and Melodifestivalen artists performing with a live band. The host was Anne-Lie Rydé (MF 2004, 2005, 2007) and she presented the artists with humor and happiness. The first  on stage was Shirley Clamp, followed by many beloved artists who we remember from the early days of Eurovision. The last one in the cavalcade was Björn Skifs who is still one of the most popular singer, entertainer and actor in Sweden with long career which started already during the 60ies.

Act 1: List of artists - some including the video from the performance
Shirley Clamp (MF 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 + backing for Antique 2001):
- "Med Hjärtat Fyllt Av Ljus" and "Att älska dig"
- "Min kärlek"
Claes-Göran Hedenström (MF 1968)
Jan Johansen (ESC 1995): "Se på mig"
Christer Sjögren (MF 2008): "I Love Europe"
Nanne Grönvall (MF  1998, 2003, 2005, 2007)
Nanne Grönvall together with Angelique Widengren (MF 1986, 1987)
Göran Fristorp (ESC 1973 with the group Nova): "Sommaren som aldrig säger nej"
Svenne och Lotta (MF 1975): "Bang A Boomerang"
Blond (ESC 1997)
Jill Johnson (ESC 1998, MF 2003)
- "Crazy in love"
- "Kärleken är"
Björn Skifs (MF 1975, ESC 1978, 1981)
- "Fångad i en dröm"
- "Michelangelo" 

Act two was hosted by the entertainment group Schlagerfeber and with Mr Melodifestivalen himself, Christer Björkman, acting as master of ceremonies. The live music was gone and we were back in the modern, pre-recorded time. The cavalcade was very much a flash back of Melodifestivalen and ESC 2010 with a hint of earlier years. Anna Bergendahl was greeted as a queen and it was easy to understand the disappointment Swedish people must have felt when she didn’t qualify for the final in Oslo.

Great applauds were also given to Chiara from Malta, dressed in a rainbow colors and Norway’s Didrik Solli-Tangen. It was very nice to see a relaxed Didrik, dressed in jeans and with a twinkle in his eye, far away from the proper and strict Didrik we met on stage in Oslo. In the interview we made before the concert he confirmed that a new album with up-tempo song is under production.

Last but not least, the rumor was confirmed. Lena, the winner, Meyer-Landrut entered the stage. She is on a promo tour right now and she arrived directly from the airport. She is as charming and relaxed as ever before. Maybe it was because of the late evening but somehow I felt that her English accent was a bit softer that it used to be.
All in all the Schlager evening of 2010 was far more better than last year. The surprise element was found mainly in act one and I have to say that nothing compares to a good live band. Act two was okay but maybe Melodifestivalen and ESC 2010 are too close in time and therefore it sometimes felt a bit boring. An extra praise to Christer Björkman and the small stories he told in between the performances.

Act 2: List of artists - some including the video from the performance:
Elin Lanto (MF 2007, 2010)
Sofia (MF 2007, 2009)
Chiara (ESC 1998, 2005, 2009):
- What if we
- Angel
Sibel (MF 2008, 2010)
Jenny Silver (MF 2010)
Neo (MF 2010)
Hanna Lindblad (MF 2010)
Linda Pritchard (MF 2010)
Didrik Solli-Tangen (ESC 2010): "My Heart Is Yours"
Anna Bergendahl (ESC 2010): "This Is My Life"
Safura (ESC 2010): "Drip, Drop"
Hera Björk (ESC 2010): “Je Ne Sais Quoi”
Lena Meyer-Landrut (ESC 2010): "Satellite"

Videos, photos: Lilian, JP
Source: stockholmpride.com