Jennifer López Spanish language remixes and versions

Today I've had a rather difficult and laborious day, so I've decided that the best way to relax was to come here and make another little post. :-) The object of this post is someone who is very far from the majority of singers featured in this blog (or rather, below them) in terms of talent, but she has released some truly excellent remixes and, in the past, her material was very enjoyable. Thus, as an homage to the Jennifer López of the olden days, I'm posting a few random remixes that by far surpass the original format of the songs they are meant to improve. Also included are two Spanish versions of songs from her best effort so far, the ridiculously named 'J.Lo'.

Personally, I've always thought that La López sounds extremely uncomfortable whenever has to even utter the simplest of phrases in Spanish, let alone singing (the recording sessions of her horrid dronefest Como Ama una Mujer must have been quite a show :-D - actually, I wonder how she communicates with that mummy she has for a husband... Is there a non-verbal language for necromancy? Sorry, that was a bitchy moment ;-P). Anyway, she sounds surprisingly at ease in the utterly superb Cariño, which is simply one of the most infectious (not to mention original) salsa-and-faux-R&B mash ups ever. The Spanish version of Love Don't Cost A Thing is slightly different from the original (it sounds a bit like a demo recording, in my opinion), but the delivery is so awkward that you won't be able to keep from laughing! :-D

La López redeems herself with the infectious reggaeton remix of '¿Qué Hiciste?', which injects the song with an ominous air of cold cruelty and impassioned desire of revenge that's quite unnerving, and saves it from the mediocrity of the original. Si Ya Se Acabó is given an aggressive club beat and distorted winds to create an irresistible call to the dance floor - if you can resist the urge to dance with this, you're superhuman... Or, better said not human at all! then, the Spanish version of 'Waiting for Tonight' is drastically changed by Pablo Flores, who I'm sure had making our heads spin when he addes the eardrum-assaulting percusion and bizarre electronic effects.

Well, that's all. Of course, I have to remind you to go to your favourite online store to buy Jennifer López's albums. It's not as if they were difficult to get. Maybe Amazon is a good choice. :-)


Cariño/Darling

Amor Se Paga Con Amor/Love Is Paid With Love (Love Don't Cost A Thing)

¿Qué Hiciste?/What Have You Done? (Luny Tunes Reggaeton remix)

Si Ya Se Acabó/If It's Already Over (Radio remix)

Una Noche Más/One More Night (Waiting For Tonight - Pablo Flores remix)

A few songs by Mónica Naranjo and some other things...

Yesterday I was revising my music files and found several tracks by Mónica Naranjo that I had downloaded some time ago, and found quite interesting. With the exception of the 2005 mega hit Enamorada De Ti, which was the only new track released with her hugely successful greatest hits collection, Colección Privada, all of them are remixes of previous hits. If You Leave Me Now was Mónica's first proper foray into English language, and even though it wasn't as successful as she had hoped (or as it ought to have been), is a wonderful dance track that will surely awaken your interest. While the original is simply marvellous, this club ready remix is quite interesting. It was included in the English language version of her album Chicas Malas/Bad Girls (2002), along with a catchy -yet certainly more relaxed- remix of the title track, which I'm also posting here.

The last remix I'm posting is simply superb; in fact, it's the best of all these songs. Even though the original version of Shake The House, the song chosen to represent the Spanish delegation in the 2002 FIFA World Cup (ewww!), is only notable because it features Mónica's highest note ever (a spectacular C6 in chest quality voice!), this vastly superior remix, with its urgent beat, repetitive percusions and heavy mechanical instrumentation, is sheer delight. It's also, like all good things in life, a bit short. However, it's so good that you won't be able to resist playing it again and again - which will indubitably compensate for its short length ;-). Well, without further ado, I leave you will the songs. Enjoy!

But, before anything, let me remind you to go to buy Mónica's albums at Amazon before! :-)

Edit: After further review, I've decided that one of Mónica's best songs in the last years deserved a place in this post, and I've included the link. I Ain't Gonna Cry/No Voy A Llorar was timidly promoted in Eastern Europe (particularly Greece and Russia), and managed to climb to the top twenty in both countries thanks to airplay alone. As always, Sony refused to properly support Bad Girls, later blaming Mónica for its mediocre international performance, but this time I am genuinely surprised that this wasn't a massive hit. While a prefer the superb original, which is pure disco awesomeness, this remix is just lovely, and I cannot imagine anyone not loving it. That's all - enjoy ;-).


Enamorada De Ti/In Love With You

If You Leave Me Now (Rawling Mix)

I Ain't Gonna Cry (Steelworks Mix)

Bad Girls (NY remix)

Shake The House (Mr Smash Fever's Pitch remix)



Changing the subject, I've been looking around today and I've found a few posts that I'd like to share with you. A few days ago, the always fantastic PopTrashAddicts presented a review of Scottish diva Sheena Easton's spectacular modernized disco album Fabulous, which is nothing short of amazing.

The wonderful PosterGirl truly works hard to find exceptional singers, and she invariably succeeds. This post about Estonian singer Kadi Toom is excellent, as is the exposition accompanying it :-). I've particularly enjoyed Nightfall, which is one of the sweetest ballads anyone could imagine!

Via PosterGirl's blog, I've just discovered YouDon'tKnowPop, which is very enjoyable. Thanks to it, I've had a brief journey through Ireland's pop landscape, and discovered the excellent singer Evan - who looks as good as he sounds ;-)!

DigitalTechnique hasn't been updated for some time now, but it recently featured an adorable acoustic version of Alphaville's classic Forever Young, performed by semi-legendary 80's teen queen Tiffany!

POPtastic! recently featured, among a myriad of exciting new things, an impossibly catchy cover of Click Five's excellent pop gem Friday Night by the lovely Christy Romano. Needless to say it, I've loved it! Then again, it's difficult not to love everything featured there :-).

That's all for this month - I'll return in April with some very exciting things! First of all, I'll rush head on to the world of Laika with megastar Kaiti Garbi, and Russian pop lovers shall be delighted with the inclusion of Estrada legend Alla Pugacheva among the many worldly divas of this blog - but don't despair, there will be many other new things! See you then :-)!

Special Songs Pt 3

This month’s special songs are two versions of one of the algid points in songwriter Michel Berger’s and legendary Quebecois lyricist Luc Plamondon’s 1976 spectacular opera rock Starmania. Even though the project was meant to be a stage show, strangely enough it was released as a recording in 1978, almost a year and a half before débuting in Paris’ Palais Des Congrès to enormous acclaim. In fact, the show became so popular that many of its songs have become classics, and made of exceptionally talented singer Daniel Balavoine a superstar. It also contributed to give new impulse to whiny-voiced sixties’ starlet France Gall’s career, who also happens to be Michel Berger’s muse :-S.



The plot of the story is nothing short of amazing, blending an innate sense of teenage rebelliousness with a detailed analysis of social phenomena such as totalitarianism, terrorism as a social response to economical, sexual and political discrimination, as well as the evils of industrialization. It also has plenty of intrigue, with unrequited love being the catalyst for the musical’s many tragedies! Needless to say, it’s awesome! :-)



But well, we were talking about songs! In 1992, an English version of the show was produced in collaboration with Tim Rice, and was released in the album Tycoon. The original cast of this English version couldn’t be better! La Grande Dion, the awesome Cyndi Lauper and the unique Nina Hagen all together in one recording! Sadly, the project never really took off and it has only been sporadically staged in Paris as a curiosity for those who have already seen the show a million times - which is downright criminal, because not only are the songs superb, but Tim Rice’s lyrics are unbelievably accomplished and adhere perfectly to traditional canons of poetry while still being accessible to all publics. I would go so far as to say that they are far superior to Plamondon’s, but then again that’s not difficult.



The song in question, Le Monde Est Stone/The World Is Stone, is considered by many of the Plamondon’s greatest lyrical accomplishments, combining his trademark robust simplicity with what is, surprisingly, an absolute sense of hopelessness that’s as universal as it is personal; simply put, the song manages to draw the listener in with the representation of a person’s despaired wandering through a hostile world that systematically preys on those who are vulnerable, and unites everyone in experiencing the feeling of perpetual and anguishing defenselessness that they convey. Tim Rice’s version, however, is much more complex, building successive layers of personal experience, vibrant agony, resentment and a mild form of social criticism (or maybe an accurate picture of the human condition) with impressive fluidity, turning the song into a true anthem.



In 1991, Céline Dion released her version of the song in the moderate hit album Dion Chante Plamondon, which was mainly composed of songs from Starmania. Cyndi’s version would not appear until a whole year later, as part of the failed project Tycoon. Personally, I have to say that I enjoy the English version much more (strangely enough - I never thought I'd be able to say this!), mainly because of the lyrics, but also because of the far better production and more passionate delivery. So finally, here you have both versions! I hope you enjoy them :-). but before we finish, remember to go to buy either the single or albums at Amazon.

Céline Dion – Le Monde Est Stone

Cyndi Lauper – The World Is Stone

The conventional iconoclast - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper’s career has been built upon defying people’s expectations of what she was willing to do, and what they thought she wasn’t capable of doing. At first, everyone assumed that she was just some little Betty Bop caricature in punk-ish Marilyn disguise – an idea that seemed to be confirmed by the cutesy, unsubstantial songs that she cheerfully screeched with her deceptively girlie soprano voice. But even then, she refused to play the role that had been assigned to her by showing some of the considerable complexity and depth that lay underneath the bright colours and loud teenage anthems that shone at the surface. Or to speak in a clearer fashion, Cyndi is a superb songwriter capable of retelling the daily tragedies that afflict people’s lives in a way that makes them sublime without falling into pretension. Simply put, Cyndi is awesome.

And it is thanks to her qualities as a songwriter and her desire to explore and expose the seemingly banal mysteries of daily life that Cyndi has managed to carve a place for herself in the pantheon of unfairly ignored and misunderstood artists. Flexing her highly versatile voice to suit every imaginable situation and mood, traveling across all possible styles and genres (often within the same song) and posing awkwardly like a feral child fighting against the constraints of adulthood, Cyndi has managed to fool everyone into thinking that she is just a joke, when in reality she is a world class singer capable of awe-inspiring displays of vocal virtuosity, as well as a crafter of deeply moving, yet surprisingly understated songs.



Lauper has led a life that’s as shocking within the limits of what’s socially acceptable as is her music: not very much at all. What has always truly set her apart from other singers, though, is the fact that her music has no lofty purposes, nor does she aim to produce ‘works of art’ for the sake of vanity. She just explores whatever she wants at her own pace, and always tries to bring something very personal into the process. From the joyous female empowerment anthems of her début She’s So Unusual to her latest ventures into trip hop, pop standards and acoustic rock, she has always taken just the bare bones of every concept and song she comes across with, and filled them with the flesh of her own experiences and imagination. Long before Madonna found an exclusive God that could help her to convince the world that her music isn’t rubbish because it’s spiritual, or Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan decided to disguise their utter banality behind Stevie Nicks’ veil of faux neo-pagan mysticism, Cyndi was addressing deeply troubling matters from a very human point of view, talking about reality in a particularly pedestrian way that’s truly lofty because it presents everything as it is. Exceptional by means of simplicity seems to be the rule with her.



So, after having gone through minimum wage jobs, forgotten gigs at seedy bars, an unstable career the increases in quality of which have invariably translated in decreased public interest and support from her record company, Cyndi has finally settle into middle age with a very loyal following and the realization that critics, that strange race that takes everything at face value in their attempt to find depth in all things, have always been able to recognize her exceptional talent and the true reason behind her unfairly attained outcast status: she is just herself.

To end this post, I’d like to remind you to go to buy Cyndi’s records at Amazon. Enjoy! :-)

I’m Gonna Be Strong [’95 Version]

This amazingly beautiful and deeply moving ballad shows Cyndi at her best; from the soft, almost fearful beginning to the explosive end notes, her qualities as a vocalist are wonderfully showcased. Personally, whenever I hear this song the image of a breaking dam appears in my mind. I know that this is bizarre (that’s how crazy I am ;-P), but the emotional devastation that’s reflected in this song, which ends in furious waves of emotion that wash up the remainders of a past life that shall never return as it was, and sinks into a barren calm after a few instants, is a good simile. Video.

Shine

I really love this song! It’s a very peculiar dance number that combines a heavy percussion line with an airy, delicate background full of small details that build a bright, luminous picture. I also like a lot the changes in rhythm and cadence of the verses, which are given touches or reggae the first time around, and then explode into a kaleidoscope of violins that evoke a forest at spring. It’s one of Cyndi’s most interesting songs, mainly because it’s neither rock nor dance, but has elements of both genres in abundance. Not to mention that the lyrics are gorgeous. From her album of the same name, finally released in 2004!

Insecurious

This is an interesting track mainly for one reason: it’s a songwriting collaboration between Diane Warren and Desmond Child, but sounds nothing like the things that they normally do. It’s a very cheerful and bouncy rock song that seems to want to recapture the sense of teenage rebelliousness that La Lauper’s early songs had, and the lyrics seem to reflect that by presenting some rather awkward word play that wouldn’t be out of place in a child's first attempts at writing poetry (ugh!). Overall a very enjoyable song, it’s definitely one of the highlights in her album A Night To Remember (1989).

Water’s Edge

This is one of Cyndi’s most beautiful and curiously enough, commercial ballads. It’s also one of the only two occasions in which her trip hop and techno heavy album Shine slows down the pace and gives us ballad lovers a bit of a treat! It’s very, very melancholic and sad, with a soft, slow melody that delicately rises in the chorus, like little waves of soft rain in a cold day. Needless to say, this ought to have been a hit, but unfortunately the album didn’t receive even the smallest amount of promotion. Video of a live performance.

Ballad Of Cleo And Joe

There’s more to this song that meets the ear (:-S – gosh, ‘witty’ writing seems to be the norm with me today ;-P). Seriously, underneath the cold, aggressive beats and bizarre Middle Eastern-inspired ornamentation, there bubbles a sense of desperation and incertitude that’s only magnified by Cyndi’s cries and the subject matter of the song, which opposes the grim reality of an underclass gay man’s life to the illusory world of lights he enters every night as a drag queen. The video remix is hilariously cheap and tacky, with a heavily pregnant Cyndi dancing in front of what looks like rubbish bags while dressed as a disco ball! I told you she was fabulous! :-D

The Turkish queen of darkness - Şebnem Ferah

Şebnem Ferah is, in theory, Turkey's official Goth queen. However, as it always happens in that wonderful place that is South Eastern Europe, things aren't so straight and easy with her. Even though it's true that Şebnem does cultivate a somewhat Goth-ified image and occasionally delves into the realm of hard rock (in fact, she first started her career as the lead singer of a moderately successful hard rock band, Volvox), she is primarily the most prominent female vocalist of an eminently Turkish cultural phenomenon called Anatolian rock. Anatolian rock first emerged in the mid-sixties as an adaptation to Turkish tastes of American and U.K. imported rock music. However, it soon gained prominence, and by the early seventies it was an already well-established genre, fronted by legendary singer/songwriter Barış Manço, viewed by many as the father of the movement. From there, Anatolian rock has gone to develop further, adding elements of traditional Turkic, Armenian and Balkan music, and occasionally borrowing from Western Classical music and Arabic folk.

That’s where La Ferah appears. The daughter of Macedonian immigrants of very distant Turkish descent, Şebnem had a very happy childhood, surrounded by middle-class comforts and the ever-present sound of Rumelian and Slavic folk. Her parents, mathematics and physics teachers at a secondary school, were also professional musicians, and she received her first music lessons from them. Eventually becoming a very proficient guitar player, Şebnem wanted to be a professional musician, but her parents would have none of it. She was told that only a proper career would do, and was sent to the prestigious, American educational model-based Bursa Namık Sözeri High School, in Istanbul. While staying there as a boarder, she decided to form her first band with a group if six friends, Pegasus.

After its first summer festival, Pegasus lost two members and disbanded, but after a couple of months the five remaining friends decided to give it a try once again, and in 1988 the sixteen-year-olds formed Volvox. However, Volvox couldn’t play frequently due to the fact that it had to be a hobby – no one’s parents would accept it as anything else. Things changed, however, in 1991, when Ferah, then an economics student in Ankara’s Middle Eastern Technical University, met fellow student Özlem Tekin. Both girls became good friends, and after joining Volvox, Turkish-American Özlem gave her fellow band mates the courage to drop out of university and start playing full time. She would also exert a strong influence by exposing them to American indie rock (ugh! :-( ).



Sadly, Volvox were not as successful as they might have deserved. After three years of playing in bars, where they had a very loyal following, they decided to disband. However, fortune was smiling at them. One of their records was picked by Turkish State Television as part of the soundtrack for a series of documentaries on Turkish music, and Şebnem caught the ear of (will you guess it? ;-))… Sezen Aksu and her then lover, equally legendary Armenian songwriter and pianist Onno Tunçboyacıyan.

She became, like Sertab, Tarkan and many others before and after her, a tea-sandwiches-cum-background-singer and telephone dialer (apparently, Sezen hates it when she has to dial phone numbers herself – ah, the horrors that divas must endure for the sake of their art! ;-P), and the rest is, as they say, history! If you’ve liked what you’ve read and will hear, go to buy Şebnem’s albums at Tulumba.

Bu Aşk Fazla Sana/This Love’s Worthless To You

Şebnem’s first single as a soloist, from her début album Kadın/Woman (1996). A somewhat conventional acoustic ballad, the only highlight of which is the soaring, even majestic chorus. It will no doubt sound very ordinary to Western ears, which is the reason why it became an enormous hit in Turkey – its direct approach and instrumental simplicity (for Turkish standards), made it extremely exotic in a country in which even the lowest forms of disposable pop, are forced to carry the weight of an extremely rich musical legacy on their shoulders. Simply put, this song didn’t attempt to be an exercise of applied musical scholasticism; it’s just unaffected and simple - and that’s what made it stand out. Video.

Fırtına/Storm

This is a blend of house and rock with very light touches of folk (I would even dare to say that you’ll have difficulties to identify them). This song would make those sickeningly pretentious, ‘asocial-teens-market-research-says-you-like-this-crap’ wankers Evanescence, turn green with envy (which would be a welcome change from their overuse of Norma Shearer’s Silver Stone #1 white make up anyway). This is a dark, aggressive track that truly honours its title: having passed the first moments of tense calm, everything explodes into a furious hurricane of deafening roars and raging winds. This song marvelously juxtaposes the debacle of a failed relationship to the violence of a storm. Beautiful. Video.

Sigara/Cigarette

This is one of the biggest hits from the 2001 album Perdeler/Curtains. It shows a very strong Middle Eastern influence, but everything is done so carefully and with such subtlety, that it passes through your ears as a light mist. It is one of Ferah’s few full incursions into proper Anatolian rock, and it is truly delightful. With a lovely, sinuous melody that slowly and delicately drags its way across the aggressive background, it has many beautiful highlights, but the gorgeous flute that accompanies Şebnem’s voice during the chorus is simply magical. Video.

Hoşçakal/Noble Jackal

This is my favourite song from Şebnem's powerful new album Can Kırıkları/A Soul’s Pieces (2005). Even though the name of the song is a bit bizarre (God knows what was running through her mind when she wrote it), this is in fact an extremely beautiful and moving ballad that will carry you across distant plains and rocky hills in a moonless night, trying to make a living out of scraps that someone forgot, or no one else would want (yes, that’s what the song’s about!). The entirely human sense of desperation and the brutality of nature blend into one and are expressed beautifully by Şebnem , who shows the exceptionally sensitive songwriter she is with this piece.

The summer storm from Québec - Céline Dion

Originally I had thought about writing a rather lengthy introduction full of biographical details, to introduce Céline Dion’s French language material, but then again, I just thought that people have already been exposed to every imaginable detail of her life as to have reached the point of saturation a long time ago. From her humble beginnings as the languid, shy little girl from a poor rural Québecois family to local star to a gradually more admired (and successful) pop diva, Céline’s joys and tribulations are more than well-known by all – even those who would rather listen to a snoring, grunting bear than to one of her songs.

In spite of her eventual massive success and the admittedly clinical nature of her English language albums (which should be credited as marvels of technology, since the only human-produced sound in them is her impeccable soprano voice – the rest seem to be mostly remnants of a distant galactic battle), Céline has kept an earthiness and vivaciousness that only appear to emerge when she sings in her native tongue, and is given something more than affected, deliberately melodramatic ballads. Which is perfectly fine, but at 70-minute lengths it does become grating, especially since most of them are just plain awful.

La Dion's voice reminds me of a Summer storm: you know, one of those sudden explosions of deafening rain, fresh air and roaring thunder that seem to be a celebration of life and are there to remind us that there's always something magical and unexpected lurking underneath the boredom of daily life.

Anyway, it would seem that Céline is only given the material she deserves with the frequency she should have it when she prepares a French language album :-(. In these albums, which explore every imaginable musical style from the perspective of a mellow, yet somewhat dressed up pop/rock folksiness that would scare the average every girl, but suits a sophisticated, mundane diva like Céline marvellously, she blossoms into a passionate, carefree chanteuse whose immense sensitivity vibrates in every note, giving meaning and life to every single word, giving a purpose to every loud cheer or hopeless cry (ugh, not again! It looks like a have one of my cheesy days ;-P).



Anyway, I just wanted to share with you some of Céline’s amazing French language songs, but first got to buy her albums, well, anywhere! :-D Or else go to Amazon, that’s always a safe bet ;-).

Destin/Destiny

This wondrous acoustic rock song is, like most of Céline's French output, strongly influenced by folk. It also happens to be my second favourite song from hers. The lyrics are extremely beautiful and poetic, but what truly makes them shine are first, the otherworldly melody (which is simply magical), and second, Céline's extremely passionate delivery. Released as part of her legendary 1994 album D’Eux/The French Album -a record breaker in every sense-, this song ought to have been a single, but remains as one of her brightest undiscovered gems. It is, needless to say, beyond beautiful. No words are worthy of describing it.

Dans Un Autre Monde/In Another World

This is a notoriously old-fashioned song that vaguely reminds me of Van Halen’s only tolerable moment, ‘Jump!’ Only, it is rather poppy and wasn’t written to suit Céline’s voice – its creator, Jean Jacques Goldman, decided that the 1998 album S’Il Suffisait D’Aimer/If Loving Each Other Was Enough would be made as if it were to be sung by himself. The contrast between the rough, almost aggressive melodies, the percussion rich instrumentation and Céline’s silvery soprano is amazing, and makes this album one of her brightest moments.

Tout L'Or Des Hommes/All The Gold Of Men

This gorgeous rock song is one of the many highlights of Céline’s somewhat laughable attempt at going ‘edgy’, 1 Fille Et 4 Types/A Girl and 4 Blokes. However, I would like to note that this isn’t laughable because it’s bad in any way. Quite the contrary, the songs are some of the best she’s ever sung. It’s just that watching a performer of Céline’s stature mirroring petty Britney wannabes in Joan Jett disguise (Avril Lavigne anyone?) in the album’s booklet is a bit strange, to say the least.

Quand On N'a Que L'Amour/When We Only Have Love

This live performance of the Jacques Brel classic is one of La Dion’s most impressive feats, because she manages to sum up a storm without resorting to belting the explosive high notes for which she’s famous. I know that this may sound a bit embarrassing, but the first time I heard this I was moved to tears – it is simply superb, and the lyrics are just wonderful. This is one of the few songs that manage to be inspirational without being laughably trite, as it truly awakens feelings of brotherhood and solidarity within one. Gorgeous.

Sous Le Vent/Under the Wind - duet with Garou

To close the selection, I've chosen this MASSIVE hit from 2000. It is a very melancholic ballad that’s basically pushed by both Garou’s raspy vocals and Céline’s majestic presence, which lifts it to the level of an epic love song. Even though it isn’t the most complex of songs in terms of melody and arrangement, it nevertheless preserves a certain ‘earthiness’ that makes it irresistible, giving an emotional depth to it that few other songs could have. Beautiful!

The young face of Greek Laika - Marianta Pieridi

Marianta Pieridi is one of the few young singers in Greece who still cultivates the more traditional aspects of Laika music, even if only to a very partial extent. Even though the vast majority of her material can be considered as being well within the realm of pop, she occasionally delves into Middle Eastern, Greek and Balkan folk with rather brilliant results. A native of Cyprus (just like Anna Vissi! :-) ), Marianta has lived, however, the majority of her life in Athens, from where her father, a Navy officer, originates. An interesting fact about Pieridi is that, during her adolescence, she only saw music as something tedious in which her mother, a lawyer fascinated by classical music and also an amateur pianist, forced her to participate. Conversely, Marianta concentrated all her energy in gymnastics at the Pan-Hellenic Athletic Club, where she specialised in apparatus work. Sadly (or maybe, fortunately), she was far from outstanding, and the realization that she would never become a successful gymnast eventually led her to give music a more prominent role in her life. However, she has kept her love for strenuous physical activity by frequently engaging in extreme sports.

After nine years of intense training, Marianta decided to try her hand at singing. Thus, she enrolled in the Athens Conservatoire and started studying music in earnest. Soon enough, she got her first break by being sent to Dublin for the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest, as part of the Greek delegation. After that, she became fascinated by the idea of singing before an audience as a soloist, and began earning her chops by working as a background vocalist every other popular Greek singer, including Despina Vandi . After six years, she was well-known enough as to get Nitro Music, a relatively successful record company, to sign her. A year later, in 2002, she released her début album I Gynaika Tis Zois Sou/The Woman Of Your Life, which became very successful on the strength of the massive dance hit S'Agapó. However, things didn't go well and Nitro folded shortly after... Luckily enough, Marianta was simply transferred to Universal, and kept releasing records. She soon released the awesome EP single Oute Ki Esy/Neither You, which spawned three hits and, after being included in her sophomore album, turned her into a superstar.



However, as of late, things in Marianta's career don't seem to have gone too well. In 2004 she released her album Abra Kadabra, and as it happened to the majority of Greek music stars, sales were less than impressive, and far below expectations. In fact, the album only produced one sizeable hit (the impossibly catchy Chairetismata/Greetings), and then slowly, but steadily, began to disappear from the charts. Personally, I understand why this happened - the music was far too removed from her usual style, with one too many unmemorable attempts at neo-folk and some of the worst dance songs I've heard in my entire life. Not a good purchase, if you ask me.

However, Marianta redeemed herself with her next record Sfaira Stin Kardia/A Sphere In The Heart (2005), which presented some very interesting dance material along some of the most beautiful traditional songs and ballads I've heard from her! Still, this wasn't exactly successful (surprisingly, it performed even worse than her disastrous previous record) and things for Marianta have only started improving this past year, with the release of her Greatest Hits compilation DJ, which includes her superb version of Carola's annoying screamfest (how unusual! ;-)) Stanna Eller Gå, which has been an enormous hit and made the album a multi-platinum seller! Now go running to buy her albums here.

Ούτε Κι Εσύ - Oute Ki Esy/Neither You

This song is extremely upbeat and cheerful, and truly showcases Marianta's ability to command a melody and keep the listener's attention with the sheer power and enthusiasm in her performance. It was a huge hit in 2003, even if it is one of the more moderate successes from her second album Vale Fantasia/Deliver Fantasy. it has a sunny, bright melody and an urgent beat that lifts your spirits and makes you want to move! It is also one of the less original songs in the album, which boasts some rather interesting material, such as the folk-rock meets pop and house title track!

Μείνε Δύπλα Μου - Meine Dypla Mou/Stay Next To Me

This is my favourite song by Marianta! It starts off as some sort of Middle Eastern electro-folk experiment, only to suddenly explode into an upbeat dance song that combines everything from accordion touches, oud arpeggios and an aggressive electric guitar solo with an irresisitible instrumental hook and a thumping, fast beat that urges you to move... However, the melody is considerably beautiful, with a chorus that gracefully rises above all the instruments and flows into the diverse breaks of the song, which include grieving chants and brief spoken segments. Extremely beautiful! Video.

DJ (Stanna Eller Gå)

This is Marianta's gorgeous version of the song first made famous by Carola. Even though the lyrics are rather bland (OK, they're downright stupid), the melody and production in this song are strong enough as to compensate for this slight defect. I have to say that even though it's not my favourite of Marianta's songs, I find that her performance manages to make it very enjoyable as it creates a very warm, inviting atmosphere that both manages to suggest intimacy and openness. Video.

Μόνο Αν Ήσουν Τρελός (Anlayamatin) - Mono An Isoun Trelos/Only If You Were Crazy

At first I wasn't sure about posting this, since it isn't one of Marianta's typical ballads, mainly because it is more of a mid-tempo song, but I just found it irresistible with its violin progressions in chromatic scales, acoustic guitars and simply adorable little touches, such as the apparently random addition of flute, bouzouki and oud instrumental ornamentation. Beautiful.

The new Spanish starlet - Soraya Arnelas

One of Spanish reality TV cum talent show Operación Triunfo’s most popular contestants ever, Soraya Arnelas’ name has become, in spite of her best efforts to avoid it, the very definition of ‘media personality’. After the spectacular boom that was the first season, ratings began to fall. It wasn’t until the highest-rated privately owned channel in the country bought the broadcasting rights and decided to ‘revamp’ the show by adding a few elements of dramatism, that things did improve: Obviously, high ratings and morbid, exploitative trash tend to be synonym, and the show became the exasperating, repugnant succession of infantile mind games and pre-baccalaureate level backstabbing that is Big Brother, only this time with songs (ugh!).

These conditions were ideal for a catty, egocentric bitch like Soraya to blossom. A flying stewardess (the very definition of worldly sophistication! ;-P), who had already applied for and been rejected from every other imaginable reality TV show, Soraya became the object of equally intense adoration and hatred from audiences from the very first time she opened her pretty little mouth to praise herself, talk about herself, refer to herself and praise herself… Oh, I had already said that one! :-D Never mind, I’m sure that Miss Arnelas would love to have a chance to sing her own praises twice within the same sentence, LOL. She also showed a particular liking for insulting anyone whom she considered undeserving of her all indispensable approval, and complained about everything. A natural born Alexis Carrington in starlet disguise, in short, she is one of the undisputed divas of the program… even if she didn’t win, which is unfair: she was by far the best singer among the top three contestants, and one of the few people in that season who had any real talent. In fact, Soraya has been blessed with a rich, expressive mezzo voice and a good vocal range.

Soraya’s peculiar antics have, not strangely at all, provided her with enormous publicity and made her the object of intense debate in the media. And it’s only fair: the girl has worked very hard to make her reputation as a total cunt meet everyone's worst expectations. From sending an open letter to her fan club, in which she had the nerve to order the administrators to devote more time and effort to promoting her and her album - in spite of the fact that they were in the middle of their final exams at university and don't get paid a penny for keeping the arrogant cow's site up to date - to barking at her fans because they don't buy enough copies of her records and launching furious verbal attacks against anyone who doesn’t worship the ground she steps on, Soraya has reached new glorious lows with every passing day. Oh, but the Spanish LOVE her ‘extravagant demeanour’ ;-D , and follow her every move with bated breath, which has translated into huge sales.



Just to give you an example, this past summer Soraya was singing at a concert gala on TV, and mispronounced two words – instead of pronouncing ‘por ella’ (for her), she said poyeya… And good God! People went crazy about it and they were even mentioning it in the news! As unbelievable as this is (personally, I couldn’t give credit to my eyes), it only goes to show how popular Soraya is despite (or maybe thanks to) having the manners of a grunting pig and an impossibly bitchy personality.

Although it may seem to some, given the tone of what I have written, that I hate Soraya, nothing could be further from the truth. I actually like all of her singles and adore her superbly bizarre second album, the hilariously named Ochenta's/Eightie’s :-P from 2006 - which is possibly the campest, cheesiest and tackiest collection of trance and house covers of hits from the eighties ever! Needless to say, I love it because it’s incredibly fun! Enjoy! But first, go to buy her records here or here.

Mi Mundo Sin Ti/My World Without You

Soraya’s first single, this song met notable success, hitting number 5 in the Spanish charts and eventually reaching gold status, which is something very rare for a single. It is an inescapable pop song that could be most adequately described as a wave: the verses are slow and simple, there’s a rousing crescendo and the chorus rises like a majestic watery tower, only to fall and repeat the cycle again. Even though it doesn’t really showcase Soraya’s range (most of her singles don’t) it allows the listener to appreciate the beauty in her voice. Video.

Corazón de Fuego/Heart Of Fire

The title track of her début album, from 2004, this song is just perfect. It combines diverse types of Latin American and Spanish folk music, fusing them together with a thumping dance beat that easily molds itself to suit the changes in rhythm and cadence of the song’s different parts. It’s by far my favourite song by Soraya, and even though it wasn't that great a hit, it deserves all of my love. Hopefully it will also have yours! :-) Video.

Because The Night

Who else would have thought about making an aggressive, mindless club anthem of drab pseudo-poetaster Patti Smith’s only tolerable moment? Here you have the answer! It is rumoured that this will be the third single for Soraya’s record Ochenta’s (I laugh every time I read that name – tacky! :-D), which has already been promoted with two covers of goddess Laura Branigan’s Self-Control and Go West’s 1985 hit Call Me. This is simply irresistible, and if you don’t feel compelled to dance to this, you have to go running to the doctor, because you’re close to being declared clinically dead.

Send Me An Angel

This is a cover of the 1983 début single from the Australian New Wave band 'Real Life'. I have never heard the original, but I have to say that I adore this version. So much so that it’s my favourite song in her new album! From the very first synthesizer scales (how retro! :-P), to the very last pre-programmed drums, passing through Soraya’s unbelievably affected vocals, this is as close to Heaven as any dance song will ever get. It’s indispensable!

Anna Vissi's new international single!!!!

I can barely contain my excitement! I've just read that Anna Vissi is releasing a new single... Of sorts. It isn't exactly a previously unheard, still hot from the recording studio sort of song, but it hadn't been released as a single previously, so I suppose that, technically, it qualifies as new.

It's one of the four songs that Anna presented to the Greek public on the 14th of March last year, so that they could vote for what they thought that should represent Greece in Eurovision. I just wonder why Anna has decided to release this as a single, given the fact that the Greeks didn't exactly rave about it, but I guess that since it's a fun, light-hearted kinda song, she hopes that, at the very least, it will have some club rotation.

It has already been included in the playlists of several radio stations across Europe, but there's no official release date yet. Enjoy!

Who Cares About Love? (Alternative Version)

The brightest sun in Japan - Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki is the greatest female pop star ever in Japan. So much so, that she was dubbed ‘the Empress of JPop’ shortly after she released her sophomore (and first commercially successful) album A Song for XX, in 1999. During the most recent eight years of her career, she has amassed a spectacular collection of thirty eight Top 10 hits (27 of which have reached the number one position), received more awards than anyone and sold sixty million records, which has a lot of merit when one thinks that there are not many fans of JPop outside of Taiwan, Hong Kong and its country of origin. Her success has been such, that she no longer accepts awards – she’s so massively popular, that they are irrelevant to her and don’t affect her public image and professional prestige anymore.

Born in 1978 in an unstable underclass environment, Ayumi has had what by all means is a very uncommon upbringing for Japanese standards. Her father, a factory worker, left the family when she was four, and has never made any efforts to contact his wife and two children again. Her mother, who barely had any academic credentials, had to work all day long to be able to sustain her family, and left Ayumi and her brother under the care of their liberal and imaginative grandmother. A highly emotional woman who prized spontaneity above all things, Ayumi’s grandmother loved the arts and encouraged her grandchildren to express themselves in any way they wanted, especially if music was involved in the process.

At the age of twelve, Ayumi started working as a stewardess and model at a bank to contribute to her family’s economy. Shortly after, her grandmother died. A distraught Ayumi, who had never enjoyed school in the first place, abandoned the plans of becoming a chemical engineer that had been set for her, and decided that she wanted to go to Horikishi Gakuen, a prestigious stage school in Tokyo. After failing the entrance exams, she moved to Tokyo and had a disastrous experience as an aspiring actress – tired of always living in anguish because she didn’t have enough money to survive, she finally decided to drop out of High School and sever all ties with her management, whom she felt had never believed in her.



After convincing her mother to move to Tokyo so that she could support her, Ayumi spent all her time partying in the trendy nightclubs of the Shibuya district, where she would become part of the rap scene. Rapidly signed to Columbia, in 1995 she released her début album Nothing From Nothing, which was a crass failure. Dropped by the label, Ayumi then met Masato Matsuura, the director of a then mid-sized record company called Avex Trax. After much negotiating, she agreed to sign a contract and promised to educate her voice. Soon enough, Ayumi stopped attending music classes, and Matsuura, who was convinced that she would become a star, sent her to New York for a year. When Ayumi returned, she was a changed person and started recording what would be her massive début album with Avex Trax. From there onwards, the rest is history! :-)

Making a selection of Ayumi’s work has been a bit of a daunting task (all of it is excellent), but I’ve finally brought myself to do it for you, my dear readers (that’s the kinda boy I am! ;-) – I’m just joking!). If you want to buy her records, please go to Amazon.

Trust

Ayumi’s third single and first Top 10 hit, this impossibly sweet song is one of the highlights of her Avex début album A Song for XX. However, this isn’t exactly it. This is the re-recorded version of the song that can be found in her first greatest hits collection A-Best, from 2001, and is far superior to the original. With its melancholic, slow verses and swift, agitated choruses, it is a simply irresistible spoonful of sugar, which is only moderated by its sad lyrics about a broken relationship. Lovely. Video.

Startin’

This is Ayumi’s 14th consecutive number one since 2002, and was the first single from her album Secret, from 2006. It is an aggressive electro-rock track that juxtaposes a melody sweetly carried by her delicate dulcet tones, to a mind-boggling instrumentation that fuses endless layers of distorted guitars to produce a feeling of anguished expectation. Video.

End Roll

This lovely song is pure JPop! It uses the sound of clinking chains and repetitive piano scales to bring us into a slow, reposed ballad that retains its urgency thanks to a wobbly bass line and a fast, insistent beat. However, it suddenly rises into a majestic chorus the power of which is hidden behind Ayumi’s pretty, careful delivery. It feels like one of those storms in which the sun keeps appearing in between the clouds – beautiful, but leaving in us a lingering sense of incompleteness, of wanting something that cannot be attained… Very special. Taken from Ayu’s third album, LOVEappears (1999). Video.

BLUE BIRD

Her latest single, and 15th consecutive number one, this cheerful and delicate song is the sort of thing one wants to hear when afflicted by feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt. You know, one of those songs that make you want to get out in the sun (IF there is sun, unlike most of the time in England! :-D) and be glad that you’re alive! I love this song, and think that it was a very well deserved hit. It talks about a bright, beautiful Summer day devoid of all worries… Lovely! Video.

M

A song about an imagined conversation between Ayumi and the Virgin Mary (?!), this extremely pretty ballad resorts to ever-changing instrumental lines that swirl around the main melody to create a warm atmosphere, only to suddenly explode into a fast chorus that is driven by what could be best described as a house beat on valium (sorry, I’ve had a hard day and I’m not at my best :-S). The instrumental bridge is excellent, with a very accomplished electric guitar solo that will leave you in awe! Video.

Month's Heading: March, the Stormy Time of the Britons

The unstable month of March, time of violent storms, melting snows and incipient, fragile blossoms (this looks SO much like one of those essays one had to write for English class at Secondary school - I'm awful, I know! :-D) is a time of transition that seems to forcibly push the silent slumber of Winter to the furious explosion of life that takes place during the Spring. Its crazy weather is the reason behind the saying that claims that March 'comes like a lion and goes like a lamb', and is probably the reason why the Britons called it hyld-monath, the Loud Month!. And it's true! After the Spring equinox, the storms are more infrequent (theoretically, ahem :-S) and things mellow out.



Originally the first month of the year, March was named after Mars, who originally had nothing to do at all with war and destruction, but was an Etruscan deity of life, fertility and vegetation. From there, he went on to become a protector of fields and crops. Thanks to that, he became associated with Ares, the Greek god of brutal war (with a lot of imagination, I guess). However, Mars, unlike Ares in Greece, had a very prominent role in the pantheon, since he was seen as the 'divine' defense against military enemies and the supplier of grains and vegetables, the staples of Roman diet. Food and war - isn't that the most perfect combination you've ever heard of? ;-P However, this god's importance is attested by the fact that six festivals were held in his honour throughout the year - four of them taking place in yep, you guessed it, March!



As said above, March was the first month of the year even after Numa Pompilius added January and February to the calendar - in fact, it kept its prominent role for 250 years, until the time of the decemvirs, when the State decided to stick completely to the Solar calendar (451 BC). Still, many parts of the world weren't so willing to change things, and some countries stubbornly refused to adopt this arrangement. In Russia, the new year began in March 1st up to the 15th century, and England and its colonies kept things in the same way up to 1752! Wow, talk about being pig-headed! (I'm only joking ;-)).



Well, here's when I stop boring you! I am presenting you with one of my favourite songs, sung by my favourite singer ever, legendary Italian diva Mina Mazzini!!!! I Giardini Di Marzo is an exceptionally beautiful ballad that talks about a young man's feeling of estrangement and desolation during the first days of Spring, when he realizes that he's immersed in a disfunctional relationship and doesn't enjoy his life at all... A bit depressing, but then again, its songwriters Lucio Battisti and Mogol (the greatest songwriting team in Italy in the 20th century) had a penchant for creating sad songs. It was a MASSIVE hit in Italy during the Spring of 1974, and has become one of those 'indispensable' timeless classics that every singer worth their salt has to cover at one time or another.

I Giardini Di Marzo/The Gardens of March

Enjoy the arrival of Spring!!!!! :-D