Category: Saturday Flashback

Christmas Flashback: Feuerherz – Merry Christmas

Tom: We started out this Christmas season with three songs in a row that actually made me feel a bit festive. It’s been all downhill since then. Tim: this is your last chance. What’ve you got?

Tim: Ah, um, well, I’ll be honest: this might not be your cup of tea. HOWEVER, although there’s no real song this year that screams “this belongs on Christmas Day”, this one really really does. Feuerherz are a German band with members from multiple nations, and released this a couple of years back; hopefully you’re up to date on your English, German, Italian and Dutch.

Tom: I think there’s a little bit of Spanish in there as well? I’d have been more impressed if they managed to rhyme across languages, but sure, okay, I get the spirit of this.

Tim: Now, I didn’t mention this in the intro for fear of overselling it, but is it just me or does this have elements of Basshunter in it?

Tom: What? … where?

Tim: Specifically, the backing underneath the second half of each verse and the choruses, which put me in such a mind of his stuff that I couldn’t help liking the rest of it, however much the harmonies make it sound like a crap JLS ballad.

Tom: Okay, so now I feel better about it, because “crap JLS ballad” was pretty much what I was going to say here.

Tim: Yeah. It may be a dated reference but every year I think of JB’s beautiful greeting and well up with joy (and there’s an outstanding key change if you keep listening to that). Back to this, though, and you’re not missing much if you’re not fluent in all four languages, as they basically say exactly the same thing: to all our friends, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Tom: This song doesn’t actually help me with that sentiment at all, but hopefully the rest of the world feels different. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Saturday Flashback: Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler – Home for the Holidays

“That string section is just wonderful.”

Tom: I have no idea how I’ve never heard this track before. It’s absolutely lovely. But I warn you: it’s a song that gets worse each time you listen to it, so before you read any further, have a listen through.

Tim: Okay, but I’ll be very upset if you’re about to ruin it for me.

Tim: Hmm, seems quite nice to me, aside from Tim in the video looking glum, as if he’s only just realised that Ash’s glory days are well and truly behind him.

Tom: Let me explain why I think it’s lovely: the message is exactly a mixture of optimistic and nostalgic: “did you ever make it out of here” is something that anyone who’s gone back to their old hometown for Christmas can relate to. And that string section is just wonderful.

Tim: Agreed, on all three counts.

Tom: It passes both of my Good Pop Tests: after listening to it only once, not only I could hum the chorus (which they opened the song with!), but I immediately wanted to hear it again.

Tim: Good, we’re in alignment, it’s a nice song. Shall we leave it there?

Tom: And that’s when I notice that there are things to dislike here.

Tim: Oh.

Tom: The football-chant clapping in the verses starts to grate after a while, and whoever decided to include sleigh bells in the same rhythm needs to have a long think about what they did. After a while, it’s all I can hear: this song would be so much better with, well, basically any other standard percussion here.

Tim: Hmmmm…all true, technically, but what you’ve really described here is just all the clichés that typically come with a standard Christmas song. Sure, they might get trying (particularly now you’ve pointed them out to me), but I do at least prefer that to what might otherwise be a boring 2-4 beat clap.

Tom: I also have two notes on the video. First: that shot of Tim Wheeler singing while staring awkwardly into the distance really doesn’t need to be used as much as you think it does. Or at all.

Tim: Smiling would help, just a notch.

Tom: And second: wow, those couples must have had to kiss for a long, long time for those final shots.

Tim: Oh, well at least we’re finishing on a happy note.

Saturday Flashback: Chips – Dag Efter Dag

“All the pub-rock-Christmas-piano tropes, only not about Christmas. I can live with that.”

Tim: It’s DECEMBER, so Christmas tracks are just around the corner; let’s get into the mood with Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 1982, shall we?

Tom: Oh boy. Okay, folks, I’m starting this December with even less Christmas spirit than usual, so this is going to be a bumpy ride.

Tom: It sounds Christmassy because it literally has the “ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum” piano bit from All I Want For Christmas Is You in it. The whole thing’s so stereotypical that I actually started laughing.

Tim: True, except that of course it’s not a proper Christmas track – the closest we’ve ever got to that on stage would arguably be back in 1963, with Monica Zetterlund singing “Come now, and let me show you this, our winter town”. Or maybe that Luxembourg one about penguins. Hmm. Nonetheless, sprinkle some bells on this and I’d say you’ve got yourself a damn good festive feeling.

Tom: I can’t disagree: it’s basically all the pub-rock-Christmas-piano tropes, only not about Christmas. I can live with that.

Tim: Overall, it’s an “everything’s brilliant” message, and with that key change in the middle, I can only agree. You feeling it?

Tom: Weirdly, I am. I’m surprised. It won’t last.

Saturday Flashback: Kristina Bach – Hey ich such hier nicht den grössten Lover

“Blimey.”

Tom: I was on a coach in Germany. The driver was listening to an oldies station. For some reason, they played the Diana version of Candle in the Wind. They also played this, and, well, blimey.

Tim: Oh, oh yes blimey is exactly the right word there. There’s just…so much happening. The Eurodance beat, the Spanish guitar, that eastern European Eurovision entry “sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na”, and oh that lovely “ta da” ending.

Tom: As far as I could tell, this radio station was not having an Ironic Playlist Day. That’s genuinely on their playlist, “sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na”s and all.

Tim: It’s fun to listen to, I guess? But I can only begin to guess what the song writer was on when they put pen to paper.

Tom: I’d like to clarify, by the way, that the translation of the title is “Hey, I’m not looking for the greatest lover”. It is definitely not “biggest lover” as Google Translate suggests.

Tim: Duly noted.

Saturday Flashback: Celine Dion – My Heart Will Go On (Tony Moran Remix)

“Flipping brilliant”

Tim: Today marks twenty years since the release of this seminal track, and so let’s celebrate, because (a) it’s got a fairly interesting back story and (b) it has a flipping brilliant dance remix.

Tom: You’re right about the second part, but I didn’t know about the first.

Tim: Well, I’m fairly sure everyone knows the second, but let’s play it again anyway.

Tim: So here’s the thing: no-one involved really wanted this to happen.

Tom: Wait, the remix, or the original track?

Tim: Oh, the original – I would hope everyone involved wanted the remix. Celine Dion didn’t want to do another film soundtrack after Beauty and the Beast…

Tom: I’d forgotten she did that! To me, that’s always sung by Angela Lansbury — and yes, it was her singing in the movie, they didn’t bring in a vocalist for it. Anyway. Yes.

Tim: Huh, didn’t realise that either. But it wasn’t just her – James Cameron didn’t want to end Titanic with a pop song over the credits. But then James Horner, the composer, went up to Celine’s Vegas hotel room and started playing it, and she said “oh fine, I’ll do a demo for you”.

Fast forward to the demo recording, and no-one was really in the right mood – it was half nine in the evening, they’d all had a big dinner, Celine was getting stomach pains, but the producers said “go on, just give it a go, think about the film plot and we’ll see what happens”. And she did, and it was absolutely perfect. No need for a second recording, no multiple takes – just one flawless performance that left everyone somewhat speechless.

Tom: No kidding. I had no idea. That’s a heck of a vocal talent.

Tim: Admittedly you can’t quite hear the subtle nuances of it with this remix, but that “you’re…here…” into the final chorus can surely be agreed upon as one of the most impressive vocal moments of all time, on a par with Whitney Houston’s “and I” moment from I Will Always Love You.

In short: this song is ruddy fantastic, and anyone who disagrees is a total bellend.

Saturday Flashback: Maroon 5 – One More Night

“Pity the poor live drummers, though. “

Tim: We’ve remarked previously that Rihanna’s Umbrella doesn’t have its own unique backing, but does in fact share it with (the much much better) Symphonies by Dan Black and, indeed, anyone else who’s ever used Apple’s “Vintage Funk Kit 03“.

Tim: And I don’t quite know how it took me so long to recognise that, given that it’s their third most successful song ever.

Tom: The thing is, neither did I. Maybe it’s the change in tempo, or maybe there’s a change in emphasis. Pity the poor live drummers who’ll have to just repeat that Apple drum loop over and over again, though.

Tim: Funny old world, pop music, isn’t it?

Saturday Flashback: Sam Hunt – Body Like A Backroad

“You what?”

Tom: I know we don’t normally cover country here, even the pop-music version of it. But stick with this, because I’ve got a couple of reasons for it — the first of which is, this exemplifies the country standard of “entire song as extended simile”.

Tom: So here’s the surprising thing: this is one of the most popular country songs in US history.

Tim: You what?

Tom: 34 weeks at the top of the country chart. (It’s worth noting that US Billboard charts include airplay; it is still getting huge amounts of play on both pop and country stations, despite being released in February.) Triple platinum in both the US and Canada. Platinum in Australia. And… nothing in Britain.

Tim: Well…yeah. Admittedly I’m not best placed to judge the merits of country songs, but even I can tell this is really quite dull. That line “15 in a 30” pretty much sums it up.

Tom: Oh, and no music video either. Sure, it’s on YouTube as audio, and as a lyric video, but if any music TV channels want to play it, they’ve got nothing.

Country music is strange.

Tim: Utterly baffling.

Saturday Flashback: DJ Ötzi & Nik P. – Ein Stern (der deinen Namen trägt)

“This is INCREDIBLE.”

Tim: Courtesy of Apple Music’s German Pop division, I discovered a DJ Ötzi Essentials playlist, and I was DELIGHTED. Here, as his most successful one in his native Austria, is “A Star (That Bears Your Name)”.

Tom: Hahahahaha that’s amazing from start to finish. Never mind the music, there’s the video: the dodgy CGI, the individual dancers, the acknowledgement that they’ve not got quite enough to make a full video there so they cut to the behind-the-scenes and stock photos.

Tim: Isn’t it just beautiful? Anyway, this here stayed at number one in Germany for 13 weeks, and for 14 weeks in Austria, in early 2007, and I don’t really know what to make of that fact. I mean, it’s good – love the melody, love the electric guitar/dance beat combo, obviously love the key change – but THREE MONTHS?

Tom: Mate, Saturday Night lasted 15 we– sorry, I just got to the key change and BLOODY HELL. This is INCREDIBLE.

Tim: Apparently many pop music radio stations refused to play it, with it not quite fitting into the musical zeitgeist of the time – that could, arguably, have helped it, with fans buying it either in protest or just so they could play it. But even so – three months?

Saturday Flashback: Marco Borsato – Dromen Zijn Bedrog

“Brilliant, in that 90s sort of way”

Tom: One more from my recent Dutch trip, still off the station that translates to “100% Netherlands Party”, and this time going all the way back to 1994. Frankly, I could send you anything off their playlist, but this one stands out: one of the most popular Dutch-language singles of all time.

Tim: And yet by a singer next to no-one outside the Netherlands will have vaguely heard of. A cruel industry, this.

Tom: I think you’ll be on board from about the time the 90s-synth piano arrives in the intro.

Tom: Listen to that guitar. It’s like they wanted Santana, but couldn’t look outside the Netherlands.

Tim: Well, I think that’s a perfectly acceptable alternative – certainly gets the job done, because that’s really quite the noodling going on there.

Tom: I don’t know how this track simultaneously manages to sound brilliant, in that 90s sort of way, AND yet manage to outstay its welcome a bit at only four minutes long.

Tim: Yeah – I had the exact same reaction. It’s good, and I like it, but I’d have no problems whatsoever chopping out the first middle eight/chorus pairing.

Tom: I am genuinely wondering if there are club nights in the Netherlands that still play this rubbish, because I would totally go to one.

Tim: Oh, Tom.

Saturday Flashback: Frans Duijts – Altijd te laat naar bed

“My happy-work music now“

Tom: I was driving through the Netherlands last week, Tim, and stumbled upon a couple of radio stations that play only Dutch-language music. Sometimes oldies and covers; sometimes just party music.

Tim: Makes sense.

Tom: What I learned is this: there are still parts of Europe where actual FM radio stations will play actual schlager music. Or DJ Otzi. These stations are going to be my happy-work music now.

And of the several songs that I asked my phone to remember (seriously, this got actual airplay in 2017), this one stands out.

Tim: I…I can see why that would have stood out. I mean, the Wesley Klein one is good, but this, oh, this is something else.

Tom: There’s so much going on there. The underprepared hotel corridor fever-dream. The marching band and cheerleaders. His own gold disc. Then there’s the lyrics (which are far more philosophical than you might think).

Tim: Well any song that kicks off talking about evil cats gets a thumbs up from me.

Tom: All it’s missing is a key change (yes, I was surprised there wasn’t one, too.). Once again: this got airplay. On an actual radio station. In 2017.

Tim: Despite a lot of things, it’s good to know that there are parts of the world that are still beautiful.

Tom: The context made this seem much better than it actually is, of course: I had the radio turned up loud, with the windows down, driving my car along a levee in the Netherlands. Even this ridiculous cover, which in hindsight is mostly a disaster, made me grin. I would never have asked for a Dutch rap bit, but in the moment it was perfect.