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  • I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me

    I’ve just heard (and watched) all 24 songs up for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2011 selection; you can see them all below. It’s good to see decent studio video clips for each song for a change. It would seems that things are indeed getting better now that PBS has taken over the production of Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.

    Since I’m not a judge on the official panel this year (as I was last year) I see no reason not to publicly share my thoughts on each of the songs after this first listen. These are just first reactions and my opinion of some songs may change in the coming weeks; still, keep in mind that many of the people voting at the Eurovision Song Contest itself in May will only have heard those songs once.

    Please take these comments with a pinch of salt and if you disagree with me just forget what I think. You can also leave your own comments below, of course.

    01. Amber – Catch 22 (Ray Agius, Godwin Sant)
    Very nice. Could be the winner!

    02. Jessica Muscat – Down Down Down (Philip Vella, Jessica Muscat)
    Good laid back club vibe…but about 5 years too late.

    03. Wayne Micallef – Everybody Sing (Wayne Micallef, Wayne Micallef)
    Fresh and catchy pop. Wayne is a force to be reckoned with.

    04. Richard Edwards – Finally (Jan Van Dijck, Richard Micallef)
    A decent song by a solid performer, but perhaps a little to formulaic.

    05. Cherise Grixti – Heart of Glass (Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg)
    This singer deserves a better song!

    06. Marilena Gauci – He’s a Demon (Michael Henry, Anthony Grech)
    He may be a lot of things…but certainly not a demon.

    07. Eleanor Cassar – Hypnotized (Paul Giordimania , Fleur Balzan)
    Classy but probably slightly out of step with the new generation.

    08. Raquela – If I Could Do It All Again (Marc Paelnick, Mathias Strasser)
    Classy but probably slightly out of step with the older generation.

    09. Domenique – I’ll Follow the Sunshine (Ralph Siegel, Dr. Bernd Meinunger)
    Lena is not a better performer than Domenique but she has a far superior team behind her.

    10. Jamie Tonna – Lost Without You (Marco Debono, Aidan O’Connor)
    Not sure what to make of this one, but it didn’t grab me on a first listen.

    11. Kelly Schembri – Love Me Like Your Money (Sven Lundhol, Gerard James Borg)
    This has all the ingredients to be a great pop hit.

    12. Sophie – Love to Love You (Elton Zarb, Sophie Debattista)
    Poppy, catchy, and all that…fluffy but good, just like whipped cream.

    13. Baklava – Moon Dance (Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg)
    Best song from Borg and Vella since Vertigo. Actually quite good.

    14. Claudia Faniello – Movie in my Mind (Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg)
    It’s great to see Claudia enjoying herself instead of trying to win. Bring on the wind machine!

    15. Fabrizio Faniello – No Surrender (Johan Stentorp , Johan Bederholm)
    How is this one better than I Do?

    16. Ally – Numb (Ally, Ally)
    A heart-felt song…but I can’t see it touching the audience or judges.

    17. Glen Vella – One Life (Paul Giordimaina, Fleur Balzan)
    Not half as good as last year’s attempt by Glen and his team.

    18. Kurt Calleja – Over and Over (Johan J’amtberg, Kurt Calleja)
    Wow! This is a really good rock ballad. How did this make it through the preliminary selections?

    19. Klinsmann Coleiro / Benjamin Darmanin – This Love (Klinsmann Coleiro, Jonathan Spiteri)
    Could it be that Klinsmann is finally growing up? Altogether not a bad song at all.

    20. J.Anvil – Topsy Turvy (Jonas Gladnikoff / Niall Mooney / Andrew Zahra, Deo Grech / Natasha Turner)
    J.Anvil doing what he does best. With the right stage act this song could make a big impact.

    21. Amber – Touch Wood (Ray Agius, Alfred Sant)
    Good thing Amber has a better song than this one for this contest.

    22. Anna Azzopardi – Unfaithful (Renato Briffa, Keith Zammit)
    Good singer for unintentionally retro Euro-Pop toe tapper.

    23. Petra Zammit – Unintentional (Elton Zarb, Rita Pace)
    I love this singer. One day soon everyone in Malta will know her name, if they don’t already.

    24. Rosman Pace – You’ll Never Know (Steven D. Cook, Jordan Milnes)
    Twenty four pop songs is a little too much to choose from at this stage.

    I’ll hold off until the Friday 11 February semi-final to pick my 16 for the final and a possible top 3, so please check back on this blog, via my Facebook page, or through EurovisionMalta.com for an update ahead of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2011 final. I’m also planning to release a special issue of my Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast just before that week, with more general comments about the whole shindig.

  • On Top

    Show notes for the 240th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring the results from the 2010 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll:

    Top Album:
    Red Electrick – Vine Lady

    Top EP:
    Chasing Pandora – People

    Top Internet Release:
    Three Stops to China – Stay Away

    Top Single:
    Red Electrick – Jail Bail

    Top Video:
    Red Electrick – Who the Heck is Rek?

    Top Overseas-based Release:
    Krokus – Hoodoo

    The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

  • Memories

    I’ve neglected my blog…or, to be precise, because I’ve stopped consciously wanting to blog, my blog has turned into a way to publish show notes for my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast. I wonder how much of this has happened because I’m simply too busy to blog about anything but my podcasts. Perhaps the apparent decline of interest in the blogosphere has contributed to this shift too. Without a scientific study, or at least an in-depth investigative report, there’s no telling what’s what.

    For the first time since I started my blog back in 2004, I’ve refrained from going through the usual end of year rituals. This had been on the wane for the last couple of years, so you could say that it simply died a natural death. However, through the M3P I’ve maintained the general (if not the personal) aspect of the annual end-of-year round-up for 2010. I believe that this is a start of a new way to do things during this decade and hopefully even beyond.

    The adventure that is/was MaltaMedia has morphed into something quite different in the last year or so. I could have blogged heavily about all that but chose not to dwell on what could or should have been (I could have blogged about the demise of the monthly aboutmalta.com newsletter after 10 years of continuous publication) and focused on the positive developments ahead. I should probably blog about those in 2011. Part of these developments involves rethinking the portfolio of websites in the MaltaMedia Online Network, as well as continuing to improve and develop the best aspects of all that, as we’ve done with maltafootball.com in 2010.

    Many people in Malta still continue to associate me with Eurovision. This is probably because they only ever see/hear me whenever this event is near or on. I don’t mind. I can’t expect everyone to engage with the complex and eclectic interests I have in all aspects of Maltese life, and even less with my interests beyond Maltese shores. I will continue to blog about Malta’s entries to the Eurovision Song Contest but keep the best ideas for the Eurovision Research Network. Judging by the official URL chosen for this year’s selection process and eventual entry I seriously doubt that any of my recommendations have been taken seriously by anyone that matters, if they’re even aware of them at all.

    Now that my Franklin Furnace book is out (we’ll actually start marketing it next week) I can focus on other writing projects. I already have five plates spinning in front of me this year: (1) a couple of short essays for a book on Maltese photography; (2) a new performance theory I’m introducing at a February workshop at Royal Holloway, which I’m hoping to eventually develop as a chapter for a 2012 book called Performing the ‘New’ Europe; (3) a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Social Media; (4) co-editing a book on Performance in Virtual Worlds; and (5) a couple of other ideas that are currently still in formation.

    I will do my best to give this blog more time than I have over the past few months. The many readers of this blog over the years have been (mostly) a source of joy for me, with comments, suggestions and all sorts of recommendations that have enriched my online experiences. Now I’m off to focus on the first of those writing assignments…and perhaps I’ll blog about them as I go too, especially if any readers of this blog show me a sign of life.

  • One in Ten

  • Vote for the Top 2010 Music Releases in Malta – poll open until 1 January 2011.

    • Show notes for the 239th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta.

    Joe Mizzi – Ten Hills
    The first album I’ll be expecting in 2011 will be Joe Mizzi’s Angels Fall. This is a track from it, released online ahead of the album launch. It has one of Malta’s most venerable rock exports at his very best. After three decades of doing this, there’s no denying that Joe Mizzi has got it right, even if, in my humble opinion, he has been underrated by many both in Malta and overseas.

    Red Electrick – Miss Crane
    The MMI 2010 Listeners’ Picks poll has several days to go before the actual top picks are revealed, however, Red Electrick are currently at the top of three of the six categories: albums, singles and videos. With just under 450 listeners already casting their votes, things are still wide open. So, if you haven’t voted yet, now is the time to do it…and it’s unlikely that this band won’t be a top pick on at least one of the three categories in which they’re currently riding high.

    Clinton Paul – Badass Soldier
    Nominated in the video category of the MMI 2010 Listeners’ Picks poll, this song has attracted quite a broad range of attention over the last several months since it was released.  I’ve been wanting to include it for several weeks and as this the last podcast for 2010 I certainly couldn’t put it off any longer. Whether Clinton Paul’s brand of music is your cup of tea or not, there’s no denying that he puts all the resources available to him in presenting his songs. His latest release (Madhouse) is clear testament to this. Just check out the videos produced by iSPY Media Production House and you’ll sure make up your own mind about this.

    Irene Fargo – For a Lifetime
    Paul Abela and Joe Julian Farrugia have written many songs together, so it comes as no surprise that Italian singer Irene Fargo has recorded one of them, written specifically for her. People who like these types of songs will find that there’s masterful hands involved in this one, and Irene’s voice is certainly as good as it ever was.

    Color – Supernova Lifestyle
    Kurt Chricop has appeared on the MMI series several times before, most as l urk. He also records under the name Color and this particular track is one of 9 in an album of remixes called Circle When Remixed, based on Jazzyspoon’s 2010 self-released album Circle When Finished. Color is a more melodic side of Kurt Chircop and I’m sure that people who like his l urk material will not be disappointed with this either. I for one find it very appropriate for ending this year’s final podcast.

    The MMI series will be taking a break over the next couple of weeks and, as in previous years, you’ll be able to hear a two-part special edition of Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop’s Tisqifa għall-Għana Tagħna, featuring traditional Maltese singing with a Christmas theme.

    The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.