Musical Favourites

These are some of the things I’ve been listening and watching on Youtube lately… Some of it is old, some of it is new. All of it is fantastic!

First, a song by Caroline af Ugglas. I first discovered her in this year’s Melodifestivalen. She’s quite out there in her presentation style which is kinda cool. And she seems to put 100% into her songs, which is even better. Nonetheless, I suspect she might be “hard work”…

Here’s fantastic video from Swedish pop group, Roxette. I don’t think it was ever a hit in Australia, though it should have been.

A singer from Belgium who goes by the name, Kate Ryan with her cover of a 1980s French hit song.

And here’s the original. The clip is thematically quite different, as it’s a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and, presumably, other black American pioneering celebrities..

Swedish pop group, Alcazar’s cover of a song never properly released by Pet Shop Boys.

More Swedish pop, though you’d never know – except for the weather forecast – from the early 2000s.

And even more Swedish pop from their answer to U2, Kent (with English subtitles).

Or this one from Kent where someone has put together piss-take English subtitles to the song. It’s very very very funny, IMHO.

Swedish musical theatre and pop stars sing about about how “he is with me now”.

Another Swedish pop group with jazz, acoustic leanings. Their releases are quite eclectic.

Agnetha Faltskog, formerly from ABBA released this in 2004, after a 17 year break from recording. It’s a song from the 60s, and the video clip is very Scandinavian cinema meets Blair Witch Project. The song, apparently is about date-rape.

Though there’s also quite an interesting video by a guy called David Paris which is worth looking at…

And of course, you can’t have Agnetha without Frida, also formerly from ABBA with her classic 1980s rock song.

A few years after this, when she pretty much retired from an international career, she recorded this fantastic duet with Swedish band, Ratata in both Swedish…

and English…

It’s kind interesting you have both clips running at the same time. The most instantly recognisable thing is how the Swedish clip is much more about the lead singer, Mauro, while the English clip is much more about Mauro and Johan who were in the band together.

But long before that, Frida also appeared on Swedish television singing a Noel Coward classic.