News: Poland, Scotland, New York and beyond...

A few bits and pieces for those of you subscribed to the updates on both the Eurovision song, "Is It True", and the club single, "Thinking of Someone Else"....!


But first things first.... this week's Eurovision pre-chart '09 week #2 !

This is a pre-chart of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which will take place in Moscow. In this chart all the countries are in the one and same chart. All the votes have to be updated within 2 weeks after a new song has been heard, until all songs have been heard.

POS COUNTRY PERFORMER(S) TITLE POINTS FAVE

1 Norway Alexander Rybak Fairytale 3325 143
2 Greece Sakis Rouvas This is our night 3288 140
3 France Patricia Kaas S'il fallait le faire 3248 112
4 Finland Waldo's People Lose control 2906 52
5 United Kingdom Jade My time 2717 34
6 Iceland Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir Is it true 2484 33
7 Turkey Hadise Düm tek tek 2464 27
8 Malta Chiara What if we 2022 14
9 Denmark Brinck Believe again 1959 18
10 Cyprus Christina Metaxa Firefly 1588 11
11 Germany Alex Swings Oscar Sings Miss kiss kiss bang 1506 9
12 Montenegro Andrea Demirovic Just get out of my life 1473 6
13 Slovenia Quartissimo Love symphony 1378 18
14 Albania Kejsi Tola Më mërr në ëndërr 1374 7
15 Andorra Susanna Georgi Get a life 1255 9
16 Romania Elena Gheorghe The Balkan girls 1219 4
17 Poland Lidia Kopania I don't wanna leave 1184 24
18 Moldova Nelly Ciobanu Hora din Moldova 1155 5
19 Lithuania Sasha Son Pasiklydes žmogus 973 17
20 Netherlands De Toppers Shine 944 8
21 Georgia Stefane & 3G We don't wanna put in 801 8
22 Armenia Inga & Anush Arshakyanner Jan jan 715 10
23 Ireland Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy Et cetera 675 9
24 Switzerland Lovebugs The highest heights 654 12
25 Bulgaria Krassimir Avramov Illusion 600 6
26 Belarus Petr Elfimov Eyes that never lie 517 1
27 Hungary Ádokzoli Dance with me 416 3
28 FYR Macedonia Next Time Nesto sto ke ostane 254 3
29 Croatia Igor Cukrov Lijepa tena 0 0
29 Latvia Intars Busulis Sastregums 0 0
29 Portugal Flor-de-Lis Todas as ruas do amor 0 0
29 Spain Soraya La noche es para mí 0 0
33 Bosnia & Herzegovina Regina Bistra voda 0 0

Last week's #7 is now at #6 !

Moving on to the Eurovision semi-final selection reviews, here are a couple of the latest additions to the batch!

Eurovision Countdown 2009: Iceland

By Richard MacKinnon (Scotland)

There’s a joke (with various versions) going around at the moment concerning the financial meltdown in Iceland and the worsening situation in Ireland: “What’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland? About six months…” Iceland have never won the Eurovision, despite entering some excellent, professional songs. They’ve entered someone with real class and a decent song this year, but a part of me is imagining the Iceland government sitting with fingers crossed that 2009 isn’t their year.

Like all international events, the Eurovision costs a mint to host and quite frankly, Iceland has better things to do with its money right now. So let’s hope Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir gets a good showing with this song - somewhere in the final top 10 - but just doesn’t quite reach the top. Here’s a clip of the song itself: “Is it true?”

Now for those of you who speak Polish, below is the review about the Icelandic entry from Poland:

EUROWIZJA 2009 - PIOSENKI
Single i ciekawostki

Najwcześniej wydanym na singlu utworem z ESC 2009 jest węgierskie "Dance with me/Tanclepes", które swoją premierę miało już 6. października. Na singlu znajduje się węgierska i angielska wersja utworu (mp3 z tymi wersjami dostępne po lewej stronie pod terminarzem) oraz dwa remixy do "Tanclepes". Dodatkowo na oficjalnej stronie wokalisty obejrzeć można teledyski zarówno do angielskiego jak i węgierskiego wariantu.

Na TEJ stronie można odsłuchać demo utworu "Is It True", który w Moskwie wykona debiutująca wokalistka Johanna. W wersji demo słychać głos Tinatin, jednej ze współtwórców piosenki. Tinatin na swoim blogu zapowiedziała, że islandzka wersja eurowizyjnej piosenki nie zostanie nagrana.

Wkrótce swoją premierę będą miały remixy do bułgarskiego utworu "Ilussion", stworzone przez Deep Zone Project (ESC 2008). Remixów do swojej piosenki nie planują holenderscy reprezentanci - grupa De Toppers. Singiel z utworem "Shine" zawiera tylko jedną wersję utworu. Na profilu MySpace Sinead Mulvey z Irlandii usłyszeć można jej wersję utworu "Love?" z 2005 roku.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Encyclopedia has now been created and posted at the following link. To check out the info on "Is It True" and down the mp3 (it's official!) visit the Eurovision encyclopedia right here.

Yet another lovely blog article featured on one of the most informative music, entertainment and current event blogs out there - Zero Gossip, and also a little something closer to home.....

Yes, "Thinking of Someone Else" club remix has come full circle after many stop-overs across Europe, it has finally reached NYC.

For more info, check out Club Kerry NYC's Sunrise After Dark & Anthemic set lists at http://clubkerry.blogspot.com including a special download @ iTunes...

Just follow the link above!

Sunrise After Dark - The Set List (66:04):

1.Call Me (Original Short Version) - Shark & Sylvain
2.Teardrop (Aaron Fonzerelli Mcclelland Remix) - Eleze
3.Photograph (Kerry’s Teardrop’s in the Original Mix) - Alex M.O.R.P.H. featuring Roberta Harrison
4.Man on the Run - Dash Berlin featuring Cerf, Mitiska, & Jaren
5.Sunday Morning - Miqro & Maiqel
6.Ordinary Moment - Filo & Peri featuring Fisher
7.New Direction (Robbie Rivera Juicy Vocal Mix) - Robbie Rivera
8.Need to Feel Loved (Adam K & Soha Vocal Mix) - Reflekt
9.Miles Away (Peter Rauhofer Part 3 Final) - Madonna
10.The Fear (Stonebridge Explicit Club Mix) - Lily Allen
11.Made of Love (Push Remix) - Ferry Corsten featuring Betsie Larkin
12.Ain’t Nobody (2009 Rivaz Club Mix) - Kay & Stoxx featuring Mary Geras


Anthemic - The Set List (57:39):

1.Anthem (Original Mix) - Filo & Peri Featuring Eric Lumiere
2.Because I Love You (Dave Ramone Extended Mix) - September
3.You’re Not Alone (Club Mix) - Jose Amnesia Featuring Jennifer Rene
4.Come Fly Away (Soha And Adam K Remix) - Benny Benassi Featuring Channing
5.Get High (Nikola Gala Mix) - Chab & JD Davis
6.If You Knew (Original Mix) - Chris Lake Featuring Nastala
7.Can’t Help Myself (Sunfreakz Extended Mix) - Bellatrax featuring Sophia May
8.Self Control (Original Mix) - Dim Chris & Thomas Gold
9.Thinking Of Someone Else (Riffs & Rays Club Mix) - Tinatin
10.Shine On (Club Mix) - Filo & Peri (Hot New Track!)

That's all folks, but stay tuned for more!! :-)

Inside the Mind of a 9-Year-Old File-Sharer

This brief interview was posted on the Torrent Freak website, and quite frankly, it is rather eye-opening about how the youngsters - the real computer + file-sharing + fast internet service users and major "downloaders" perceive the phenomenon of "music piracy".

Fascinating at best, but scary at its worst... Because, let's face it, this is our reality TODAY - and tomorrow, all of this below is bound to multiply itself x100!

TF. Hi Hannah! How old are you?

- I’m 10 in 12 days

TF. What sort of music are you listening to right now?

Sean Kingstone, Shayne Ward and High School Musical 2

TF. Where did you first get into music?

- On the music channels, on MTV.

TF. When did you get a PC?

- People had computers but I couldn’t go on them but my Dad bought me one last year. I have internet.

TF. What do you do on the internet?

- MSN, talking to friends and cousins, games and dressing-up games [dolls]

TF. When did you first start using the internet to get music?

- My cousin showed me YouTube and then LimeWire and I was like “whoa cool!”

TF. What was cool about it?

- Because you can put anything in and it will come up and you don’t actually pay for it. Well you have to pay for the internet and LimeWire comes with the internet but you have to pay for that so LimeWire isn’t really free.

TF. Ok…I see….Do you get music from anywhere else?

- My cousin gets it from BEBO. She copies it from other people’s pages and puts it on her own.

TF. Do you think it’s ok to copy the music?

- Yes it’s ok because she only does it to make her page better.

TF. So you’re sure that it’s ok to copy it? What do you think about copying?

- I suppose it’s not ok to copy but people copied it off her site so she just copies theirs. It’s like, you’re copying my t-shirt so i’m copying you on shoes.

TF. Ok, so a bit like copying school work?….Hmm….ok, let’s talk about copying on the computer again. When you started using LimeWire, did anyone ever mention that if you did certain things you might be breaking some laws?

- Why would they put it [music] on the internet and invent mp3 players if it was against the law?

TF. Confusing isn’t it?….You mentioned you like Sean Kingstone - what if I told you that Sean Kingstone’s boss might send you a letter asking for money because you shared his album on LimeWire? What would you say to him?

- W.E! [whatever!]

TF. Come on, play along with me. What would you say if he did?

- I’d say “tooooo strict!” and anyway he can’t make me do anything. He’s not the boss of me, he’s the boss of Sean Kingstone.

TF. What do you think might happen if you didn’t pay him?

- Nothing. I’m too young to be charged by the government so he can’t charge me.

TF. Would you carry on using LimeWire after he sent the letter?

- Yeah!

TF. Why?

- Because you can get good albums off there. Duh!! My CD’s don’t work in my mp3 player so LimeWire is the only way to do it. I bought High School Musical 2 on CD but it won’t go on my mp3 [player]

TF. How would you make LimeWire better?

- To speak to the person sending the music to make sure they send the right one, sometimes they send stuff that doesn’t even play.

TF. Do you know what a pirate is?

- They have parrots [effects 'arrrrr']

TF. Do you think its legal or illegal to copy a CD or DVD?

- Some men right, they sell you a DVD at the market but when you get home it doesn’t play, that’s illegal.

TF. Why is it illegal?

- Duh!! Because they tell you it works and when you get it home it’s rubbish and jumps in the middle and its a waste of money!

TF. Do you think you should be paying for stuff off LimeWire? You have to buy CD’s from the shop…

- You have to pay for CD’s because they’re actually on a disc not on the computer. My cousin, right, she uses LimeWire when she doesn’t have any money for CDs.

TF. Did you ever download anything by anybody and then go to see them?

- I got stuff by Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe and then I went to see Blue. Why don’t you ask me what my favorite hobby is?

TF. Ok, what’s your favorite hobby?

- Dancing to music, it’s fun!!

$0.00 vs. $0.99

Piracy: the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Common knowledge, one would have thought, but is it really?

When I first came across this term, I hadn't quite realized that I'd been a consumer of such products among millions of others, particularly in the land of "rightful" piracy - Russia. Back when we couldn't get original records and videos from abroad, the only alternative (and not a cheap one, either) we had at the time was a pirated copy of a foreign CD, VHS, etc.

One of my most vivid memories from the time my family moved to Moscow is a regular weekend trip to "the park of all pirates - Gorbushka" where one could literally get hold of anything that had ever been released in the west, or at the very least order a pirated copy from one of the "wiz" movers and shakers of Gorbushka.

Over the years, this venue has become one of the hotspots of Moscow and has, in fact, been featured in some of the tourist guides for foreign visitors.

Here's one such example: "Within a short walk from the metro station, this market located in the park around the Gorbunov House of Culture is very popular with both Russians and foreigners. You can buy any computer CD-ROM, CD, DVD and video film here, as long as you're not too bothered about copyright infringement. The prices are generally very cheap. Pirate copies account for more than ninety per cent of the CD-ROMs on sale, and more than half of them are translated in the Russian language."

You can only imagine the popularity of this music & film lovers' haven back in the days of Soviet Union - it was packed, to say the least! I bought all of my initial records at Gorbushka, from Maria Callas to Whitney Houston... It was my favorite weekend getaway with my dad - Saturday afternoon at Gorbushka was my ultimate dream come true at the tender age of 9!

Shortly afterwards, though, after the Soviet Union had completely collapsed and getting hold of foreign products became a matter of popping over to a nearby store, I realized that no pirated disk with faded artwork could replace a civilized CD with a colorful and informative album sleeve with liner notes, etc. You couldn't get an imported album for less than $15 but it was so worth saving up for that original copy!

Naturally, at the age of 9 (or even 12) copyright infringement was the last thing on my mind. But even when Napster became the coolest site among my classmates in the late 90's, I wasn't tempted in the slightest - what's the point downloaded an mp3 when I can buy an album with 12 tracks and a nice album sleeve with credits and "thank you's? That was my weak argument against Napster and its clones, but I meant every bit of it, although my friends couldn't figure out how a free download could beat a full priced CD bought at the Purple Legion, my favorite record store at the time.

Now, years later, before I've even released an album commercially, I realized that my upcoming single which is currently available for promo only - "Thinking of Someone Else" - is beginning to appear on various Russian websites for sale... Which is so odd because at the moment, it's exclusively available through compilation CDs for Promo/Radio/Press ONLY, so whoever is getting the 15 cents per download is clearly practicing the forbidden act of piracy!

It's childish to feel angry about this, of course, as one could argue that if your music is already circulating among pirates, it means that there's some sort of demand for it. So although technically it's a copyright infringement at its worst, the fact that at least a few of the people are willing to hunt for an mp3 download of the song is somewhat flattering, nonetheless.

No one has managed to really beat the system just yet, not even iTunes. People are still willing to spend that extra hour in search of the cheapest or even an all-around free download of their favorite song of the week...

It's human nature, after all: "If I can get this song for nothing, why should I pay 99 cents for it?" Unfair, I agree, and even cruel, for everybody is entitled to a share of the profits as a result of their own blood and sweat. But guess what? It's the reality.

Pop Music: What Goes Around, Comes Around...

Pop Music. Funny how this unpretentious, light-hearted term has truly become a phenomenon and has taken over so many of our lives. Some swear by these two words, others consider the very notion of it way beneath them. But so very few of us have been left completely sterile and ignorant of this genre.

Quite ironically, as I flipped through the online pages of Wikipedia (another representative of today's pop culture - forget Webster's dictionary - Wiki is the big boss now!), I noticed how Pop Music is not referred to as a set genre, but instead: "music charted by the number of sales, plays, etc. that the work receives. It is not a particular genre or style of music, but simply that which is the most popular for the tracked period of time." So true, I never looked at it that way.

Another interesting point made by the same source is that in opposition to music that may require education or formation to fully appreciate it, "a defining characteristic of pop music is that anyone is able to enjoy it."

What about the pop stars? I often wonder how the simple term "singer" has gradually shifted from the very essence of "a music artist" to the pompousness of "a pop icon" and finally has reached an arguably low form of art under a very glittery "pop star" position.

Can't say too many pop stars worrying about this too much nowadays, but a significant chunk of the album-buying (not the single buyers!) demographic in today's marketplace have raised the question on a number of occasions. It's hard to blame them, really, as there are more and more single-oriented records and much less "conceptualized" albums being made these days. How many songs do you really LOVE on an average album you normally buy nowadays? 1? 2? The days of "I love this album, what a work of art" are pretty much over. Itunes has made it a lot easier and much more convenient to operate on these terms - you like one or two songs on an album but aren't willing to spend 20 bucks on a CD of 12 tracks, 10 of which you don't really like? No problem. The obvious downsides are probably present, as well, but let's leave that to the critics...

It is a shame, though, that most artists (not all) have been replaced by what we now call the "pop stars" on a larger scale. Television has certainly helped a great deal, and particularly all the music-oriented reality shows. But can you do? C'est la vie, really.

These afternoon I came across Nickelback's Rockstar video spoof about "Pop Stars" which is absolutely hilarious, but at the same time, quite sad if you look at it from a realistic standpoint. Funny and all that, no doubt, but the ironic thing is that joking aside, it actually is a very objective synopsis of what's popular today. It's pointless feeling distraught and nostalgic about it, what's done is done and that's the end of it... For now. I'm constantly surprised - pleasantly surprised - when I witness first-hand the ever-growing "comeback" of real hunger and thirst among average music lovers for REAL music. Not to say that today's pop hits aren't very commercial and very catchy - no offense at all - but what ever happened to the days when we were regularly discovering the big shots like Elton John, The Beatles, Aretha, Barbra, The Jacksons....? Revolutionary talent, that is... It's hard to beat that sort of caliber, isn't it. Plenty of fabulous one-hit wonders have emerged lately, there's no denying of that! Great sounding, well-produced, highly addictive commercial successes all around... But what happens a few months down the line, when what was hot last month is no longer the "flavor of the month" today?

I read an interesting interview with the legendary Sir George Martin, often referred to as "the Fifth Beatle". His take on today's pop-music scene isn't all that lovey-dovey, either... "I've listened to quite a few records," Martin said, "but I'm not terribly happy with the current pop music."

Everything comes in a full circle, though, no doubt it'll be that way in this case, as well. Just curious to see what will eventually prove to be the final straw that leads on to the new beginning, a brand new starting point of that same old circle.

Interesting times... And remember: what goes around, always comes around :-)

P.S. Some of you might be wondering right now: "who cares?" And that's the bottom line, whether we like it or not - some do, others simply don't! :-)