Tag: Shirley Clamp

Shirley Clamp – Självklart

“There’s not a lot to say about it, beyond: it’s lovely.”

Tom: BORED, Tim. I’ve been BORED of pop music lately. It’s all the same. And I realise this seems a bit like the start of Flash Gordon, but: what’ve got you for me this time?

Tim: Hmm, a fair amount of pressure you’ve laid on me there, but I’ve got this, from the queen of Christmas herself. A nice jolly track; song title translates as Obvious, and I’ve no idea about the rest of the words.

Tom: If there was a button marked HOT HAIL in front of me, I’d be pushing it. (That is not a compliment.) Most of the lines in the verse are just going between the same two notes, up and down. The chorus just seems to plod along. And for a singer with, as I recall, a pretty damn good voice, there’s really not much here that couldn’t be done by any session singer.

Tim: Off, blimey, that’s harsh. So harsh. I’ve been sitting here for quite some time now trying to think what to write about it, and now I’m not really sure what to write. If, indeed, to write anything. Because there’s not a lot to say about it, beyond: it’s lovely. Moves quickly, lightly, almost deftly if a song can be described like that, and sounds happy, playful and somewhat joyous.

Tom: BORED.

Tim: Mate, you’re not in a great place right now, are you?

Shirley Clamp – En Afton i December

Tim: This year’s the tenth anniversary of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, and—

Tom: Oh heavens, she brought out her dance remix the same year as Band Aid 20? Bloody hell. What’ve we got now?

Tim: Well I was just about to tell you, actually – Shirley’s bringing out another Christmas track to keep us entertained. It’s not quite the massive party anthem that Do They Know It’s Christmas? is, but this is An Evening in December.

Tim: And that’s quite pretty, isn’t it? Conjuring pleasant images of sitting around a fireplace, playing charades or arguing over Monopoly.

Tom: It is, and I suppose that’s a perfectly valid choice for a Christmas track, but I can’t help wanting something more out of it.

Tim: I don’t know, I like it as a ballad. I say ic conjures nice images, mind, but I’m not sure what the rest of the lyrics are all about, so it might be about how terrible splitting up is around Christmastime; I do hope not, though.

Tom: Top quality Christmas music journalism right here, folks.

Tim: Well, it’s not on any lyrics sites, and Duolingo don’t do Swedish yet, so what am I meant to do? But we’re getting distracted. This is really just a lovely Christmassy ballad, climaxing in a lovely final chorus. Top work Shirley.

Saturday Reject: Shirley Clamp – Burning Alive

“A brilliantly executed powerful ballad.”

Tim: Her first Melodifestivalen entry since 2011 (when she led the pop group Shirley’s Angels), this came sixth in last week’s very strong heat.

Tim: It’s wonderful Shirley, and a brilliantly executed powerful ballad.

Tom: It’s emotional, certainly, but it sounds more like a bit of a riff on Sia’s “She-Wolf” to me — without David Guetta, I’ll grant you, but that piano riff and voice a just a bit too similar.

Tim: Hmm, you’re possibly right, though I didn’t notice it so I’m not that bothered. Unlike Thursday’s track, this deserves emotion, and she provides it in bucketloads, and then there are the backing singers, not appearing on stage because we can’t possibly distract from Shirley and her “got them so I’ll flaunt them” attitude to her legs.

Tom: I can’t fault her performance, that’s true.

Tim: It’s all complemented perfectly by the key change and the wind machine, which let’s face it would be better described as a storm-force gale machine. Basically, in any other wear this would have deserved a straight-to-final placing; on the other hand, it’s a high quality of song we’re seeing this year, so commiserations, Shirley, but what can you do.

Saturday Flashback: Shirley Clamp – Do They Know It’s Christmas?

“Woefully inappropriate”

Tim: Okay, so we’re done with our week of British festive tracks; let’s head over to where the good stuff lies. For this track, bear in mind what we’ve mentioned about maintaining the spirit of the original.

Tom: Just a reminder here that we’re probably due a Band Aid 30 next year. Band Aid 20 was nine years ago… and it was sold on iTunes. Time moves pretty fast.

Tom: That… that is energetic.

Tim: The Band Aid version is arguably the Christmas charity single to dominate them all. It’s deep, it’s explicit in what it’s saying, and while there’s a levity to it you never forget what it’s about. Well, unless you’re Shirley and you’re singing it, because, damn, could no-one have told her what it’s about?

Tom: There is a fairly inappropriate level of RAVE to this, isn’t there? There are plenty of songs that this treatment works for, but I’m really not sure this is one of them.

Tim: Right – and don’t get me wrong, I love a god pop banger as must as the next sensible person, but the idea of jumping around to a poppers o’clock rave tune about people starving of hunger just doesn’t quite sit right. That won’t stop me of course, because it’s a fantastic cover – just also woefully inappropriate.

Shirley Clamp – Little By Little

“This seems pretty good, as middle-of-the-road Europop goes.”

Tim: I’d write an introduction, but you’re probably already fixated on those two massive things in the video below.

Tom: Hey, I resent that.

Tim: That’s fine by me, but I don’t see you denying it.

Tim: So it’s a new Shirley Clamp track! The first in ages, and it’s…well, it’s alright but it’s not as good as it could be, is it?

Tom: What’s it missing, then? This seems pretty good, as middle-of-the-road Europop goes.

Tim: Where’s the massive closing chorus? Where’s the key change? Where, basically, is the Shirley Clamp who gave the world Min Kärlek? (and yes I know that doesn’t actually have a middle eight and so doesn’t quite work here but you know what I mean so shush)

Tom: You were expecting schlager, and you got a regular pop track. If other artists had brought this out, it’d be “hey, that’s not bad”, but… it’s not other artists.

Tim: I suppose that’s not entirely fair – music’s changed a bit, and this is more of a dance-pop number than pure schlager, but sometimes people should stick to what they do, because otherwise people like me get disappointed, and I WANT A NEW SONG WITH A BIG KEY CHANGE.

On the plus side, though, as of tomorrow there’s only a fortnight until the big Eurovision selection processes start to get going, so it’s ALL OKAY I SUPPOSE.

Saturday Flashback: Shirley’s Angels – I Thought It Was Forever

Shirley’s an interesting lady.

Tim: This was Shirley Clamp’s (who headlined at previously mentioned Europop night) most recent entry into Melodifestivalen, in 2011. (She’s the one in the middle.)

Tom: I’m sorry I missed her performance: in my defence, I had to be in Slough at 7am the next morning.

Tim: Now, Shirley’s an interesting lady. Since you left early, here are a few highlights:

– she believes I Will Always Love You is a very uplifting song, and so clearly doesn’t believe in thinking about the lyrics of songs she plans to sing.
– she seems somewhat breast-infatuated; for example, the person who sang along loudest a medley, she said, “is allowed to feel my right booby”, and he duly was.
– following that, she worried that “my left tittie is feeling a bit unloved now”
– finally, she shared with us the fact that just a few hours before this performance she gave birth, and that as she entered the last chorus here, with her baby backstage, she started lactating and pretty much ruined her dress.

Tom: You’ll be happy to know that at least one of those moments of breast infatuation made it to YouTube.

Tim: Ah, good – now the world can see. Anyway, lactation and somewhat mediocre staging aside, this is a pretty good tune. Bit repetitive towards the ends, possibly, but it does have a nice key change to lift it up a bit, and that’s all we really need from a good entry.

Tom: Can’t argue with that: it’s catchy enough, although I can see why it didn’t make it through.

Tim: Oh, and finally from that night, I am appalled that you genuinely didn’t know that the Saturday Night dance routine has five sections to it.

Tom: I never learned Saturday Night. Or the Macarena, come to that. I was a stubborn youth.

Tim: Appalled.