Eurovision 2014 Final...

SO, AT LAST, IT HAS BECOME THE DAY.

Eurovision 2014 final is today, and what I can tell you -- this year seems too complicated to favor one particular song, since most of them are very good and will make a decent win tonight (today, depends where you are watching).

So, from my 20 favorites from the semifinals I scored 80% right (not so bad, I say to myself), but making a prediction on WHO will win, is a different story. I can't tell, just because: I don't know.

What I can tell you is, who I THINK can maybe win tonite.

I think the winner will be among these: Armenia, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden. I don't like it, it's way too broad. But rounding up to 5 seems fair, just because I like odd numbers, and this only is my thinking... it'll depend at last on how Europe votes.

I think Spain and the UK will be the great performers among the big 5.

An songs that I totally LIKE, from Switzerland, Finland, Greece, Romania , Malta, France and San Marino will be well placed, but not enough to win. Why? The 3 known factors: block voting (mainly, ex-USSR countries and the like, the Balkans and Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries), the time of performance (1st half vs. 2nd half), and the geo-political and diaspora vote.

For this last reason, I see Ukraine scratching better votes this year, because of all the Crimea thing; same reason why, even though they have a KILLER song (the best in years), Russia will not be very well loved in 2014.

So, who's your favorite to win?

This is the running order for the Final:

1. Ukraine
2. Belarus
3. Azerbaijan
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Romania
7. Armenia
8. Montenegro
9. Poland
10. Greece
11. Austria
12. Germany
13. Sweden
14. France
15. Russia
16. Italy
17. Slovenia
18. Finland
19. Spain
20. Switzerland
21. Hungary
22. Malta
23. Denmark
24. Netherlands
25. San Marino
26. United Kingdom

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2014 Eurovision Song Contest

Llega el momento del año para Eurovisión, y en 2014 el concurso será en Copenhague, Dinamarca, el sábado 10 de mayo, y las semifinales ocurrirán el 6 y 8 de mayo.

31 países se juegan el volver a cantar en la noche final, y como acostumbro hacer aquí abajo van las canciones que yo creo pasarán, junto con el anfitrión (Dinamarca) y los "Big-5" (España, Francia, Alemania, Italia y el Reino Unido).

Semifinal 1:

1. Suecia
2. Albania
3. Islandia
4. Rusia
5. Letonia
6. Azerbaiyán
7. Armenia
8. Estonia
9. Bélgica
10. Hungría
11. Moldavia
12. Montenegro
13. San Marino
14. Portugal
15. Ucrania
16. Países Bajos

Semifinal 2:

1. Noruega
2. Israel
3. Georgia
4. Austria
5. Lituania
6. Polonia
7. Malta
8. A.R.Y. de Macedonia
9. Finlandia
10. Irlanda
11. Rumanía
12. Eslovenia
13. Bielorrusia
14. Grecia
15. Suiza

Y eso es lo que yo pienso ¿Qué opinas? Comentarios abajo, me gustará saber tu opinión.

Las 37 canciones completas, según el sitio de ESC en youtube:

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The year in pictures

2013, a year in pictures
Music: American Authors - "Best Day of My Life"

#flipagram made with @flipagram
http://flipagram.com/f/1XkTy2H5Iz

Malmo 2013 Eurovision Final Night

So tonight is the final of Europe's favorite song contest.

Here's a sneak peak!

This is the final order of the 26 songs:

1. France: L'Enfer Et Moi by Amandine Bourgeois
2. Lithuania: Something by Andrius Pojavis
3. Moldova: O Mie by Aliona Moon
4. Finland: Marry Me by Krista Siegfrids
5. Spain: Contigo Hasta El Final (With You Until The End) by ESDM
6. Belgium: Love Kills by Roberto Bellarosa
7. Estonia: Et Uus Saaks Alguse by Birgit
8. Belarus: Solayoh by Alyona Lanskaya
9. Malta:Tomorrow by Gianluca
10. Russia: What If by Dina Garipova
11. Germany: Glorious by Cascada
12. Armenia: Lonely Planet by Dorians
13. The Netherlands: Birds by Anouk
14. Romania: It's My Life by Cezar
15. United Kingdom: Believe In Me by Bonnie Tyler
16. Sweden: You by Robin Stjernberg
17. Hungary:: Kedvesem by ByeAlex
18. Denmark: Only Teardrops by Emmelie de Forest
19. Iceland: Ég Á Líf by Eyþór Ingi
20. Azerbaijan: Hold Me by Farid Mammadov
21. Greece: Alcohol Is Free by Koza Mostra featuring Agathon Iakovidis
22. Ukraine: Gravity by Zlata Ognevich
23. Italy: L'Essenziale by Marco Mengoni
24. Norway: I Feed Your Love by Margaret Berger
25. Georgia: Waterfall by Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani
26. Ireland: Only Love Survives by Ryan Dolan

From those, these are my favorites for tonight (in alpha order):

• Azerbaijan
• Germany
• Denmark
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Russia
• Sweden
• Ukraine

With no Balkan countries in the final, and a with Scandinavian and Northern Europe countries in, is difficult to predict a solid winner... or a swing vote. Not to mention former USSR countries that usually do bloc voting also.

That being said, I strongly think the contest will stay in Scandinavia for the next year. Either Denmark or Norway will win tonight, I don't think Sweden will repeat the win. My heart favorite, Ireland, will maybe place in the top 5, and Germany will be the Big 5 top scored country, followed by Italy or France.

Do you agree with me? What do you think?


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Eurovision 2013

So this is finally Eurovision week: 39 songs will battle to be Europe's song for the year 2013.

If you are not familiar with this Song Festival Contest, I may suggest you to look it up in the Wikipedia, it has a fascinating story... or you can browse my previous postings of other years.

Back to this year: as you may be aware, Eurovision this year will take place in Malmo, Sweden. This is because last year's winner (Loreen) is from this country.

So... 16 and 17 songs will compete in the Semi Finals, only 20 will join the Big 5 and Sweden for the Grand Final, which will be this Saturday 18 May. For a complete revision of the 1st and 2nd semifinal songs, you can watch these youtube lists:

Semi Final 1

Semin Final 2

And these are my predictions for the final performances, not necessarily all of them are my favorites but it is what I think Europe will kinda vote. Let's see how many countries I get right.

Semi Final 1

1. Estonia
2. Denmark
3. Russia
4. Ukraine
5. Netherlands
6. Lithuania
7. Belarus
8. Ireland
9. Belgium
10. Serbia

Semi Final 2

1. San Marino
2. Azerbaijan
3. Finland
4. Malta
5. Iceland
6. Greece
7. Hungary
8. Norway
9. Switzerland
10. Romania

Finally, these are the ones already in the Final: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden (the host) and the United Kingdom.

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My life according to U2

Back in 2007 I received this 'test' in my Facebook. Today, I found it and amused myself on these answers. Recapping them, I certainly made a few changes...

So, the thing's like this: all of your answers (all!) have to be the title of one song from one artist, only. And you should not repeat them. You can try it if you want, it's fun but a little harder/trickier than you think. Re-post as "My life according to [artist]" and share it.

Photo credit: SteBo - 360° tour in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (3 Aug 2009)

• Pick Your Artist: U2 
• Are you a male or female? "Fortunate Son" 
• Describe yourself: "Original of the Species" 
• How do you feel: "Discothèque" 
• Describe where you currently live: "City of Blinding Lights" 
• If you could go anywhere, where would you go: "Until the End of the World" 
• Your favorite form of transportation: "Running to Stand Still"
• Your best friend is: "Wake Up Dead Man" 
• You and your best friends are: "Magnificent" 
• If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: "Vertigo" 
• What is life to you: "Elevation" 
• Your current relationship: "Even Better Than the Real Thing" 
• Breaking up: "I Will Follow" 
• Looking for: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" 
• Wouldn’t mind: "Moment of Surrender" 
• Your fear: "Endless Deep" 
• What is the best advice you have to give: "Walk on" 
• If you could change your name, you would change it to: "The Wanderer" 
• Thought for the Day: "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" 
• How I would like to die: "Last Night on Earth" 
• My motto: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"

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Something funny I found while on FB

Something funny I found in my Facebook timeline, worth "stealing and posting" for you all to enjoy, specially for my music fan friends and performers...

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Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Greetings euro-fans!

ESC 2011 is just 2 weeks away! Have you already chosen your favorites?

Since it's a tiresome task to post EVERY video in one single entry, here's the Eurovision list with all the songs (click here).

Here's the playlist I created from the original Eurovision channel:



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Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka-waka, zangalewa!

Es curiosa la memoria, más ahora con la internet siendo parte de nuestos días. No bien salido y sabido el tema de Shakira para el Mundial de Sudáfrica 2010, los blogueros y foristas (en América Latina especialmente) notaron las similaridades con "El negro no quiere" de las Chicas del Can (eso sí es memoria!); y Wilfrido acusó de plagio.

Investigaron los internautas. "Zangalewa" salió a la palestra, una canción de Golden Sounds (Camerún) de 1986. Wilfrido (Vargas) dijo que, bueno, las letras no eran suyas, que las escuchó de canciones africanas. Y hasta ahí llegó la cosa. Chequen el vídeo:

Libertango

Esta es una pieza que me ha gustado desde hace tiempo, espero que os guste.

"Libertango" is a composition by Argentinian tango composer Astor Piazzolla, published in 1974. The title is a portmanteau merging "Libertad" (="Liberty") and "Tango", symbolizing Piazzolla's break from "cannonical" tango to "tango nuevo", by incorporating elements from jazz and classical music to the tango. In the video we see cellist player genius Yo-Yo Ma (馬友友).

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Beatlemania Now

+info: www.beatlemanianow.com
www.showpro.com.pa

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Carmina Burana in concerto

Iñaki Urlezaga, argentino, es bailarín principal del London Royal Ballet y principal bailarín invitado en el Het Nationale Ballet de Holanda. Es fundador de la "Compañía Ballet Concierto", en tablas desde el año 2000.

Su versión de "Carmina Burana" (Carl Orff, alemán, 1895-1982) es un espectáculo de danza moderna, contemporánea y clásica, con una fuerza que ha arrasado en otras capitales del mundo.

"Carmina Burana" la comprenden cantos poéticos, profanos, irónicos y atrevidos de la Edad Media, convertida en cantata por Orff en 1937. Quizás la pieza más conocida sea "O Fortuna" (Fortuna Imperatix Mundi).

Esta novedosa puesta se presentará en única función este viernes 7 de agosto en el Teatro Nacional. Acabo de comprar mis boletos... y espero un gran espectáculo.

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#$%& de su madre (sin censura)

"Su Madre" ::
DJ Black ::
Asterisco Record ::

Sin duda es vulgar, es irreverente, pero no se niega que es muy pegajosa por su "beat" y su letra (¿por qué no?) y definitivamente la canción del Carnaval de este año; puede que a algunos les sea la letra cierta, puede que a muchos otros no, pero sí es seguro que la crítica social denunciada a través de esta canción es poderosa y popular... y francamente, refleja una realidad en época pre-electoral, haciendo un repaso de los acontecimientos más recientes: el envenenamiento por dietilenglicol, la huelga de más de un mes de los médicos de la CSS, el alto precio de la gasolina y el costo de la vida, el deficiente transporte público, el "no voy" de los taxistas, el boom de la construcción, etc.

Sí, la canción es fuerte por su mensaje, al igual que lo son los 77 #$%& de su madre que se tira este man en casi 4 minutos, lo que le ganó su "warning" de la Junta de Censura (recordemos que existe auto-regulación de medios), aunque se sabe (en la calle) que la censura es más bien por a quiénes ataca que el mismo improperio -- peores cosas escuchamos todos los días...

Los sonidos están en la vía, sean ustedes los jueces.


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Música a la vista

Then I guess, white is fashionable again: the Phonofone II is entirely done in ceramic, a retro-avant-garde piece of science, art, and beauty, plus being able to play state-of-the-art technology. This is one of my latest findings, a "twisted" listening device that surely is recurring icon now that the Grammys are quite close.

About the thingy: it transforms any personal player/earbuds into an audio console, just placing the buds on the rest piece. It doesn't use any power at all, just the conventionals of the acoustics physics, virtue granted by the horn (passive amplification) and the material. The sound is pristine, or so the website says, with some restrictions. For more info on this go to Science & Sons

¿El blanco de moda? Otra vez, parece, y el Phonofone II es el mejor ejemplo. Entre lo último que he encontrado en gadgets está esta pieza retro-vanguardista hecha en cerámica blanca, que conjuga arte, belleza y ciencia, permitiendo sonar lo último en tecnología. Transforma cualquier MP3 player/audifono en una consola, solamente poniéndolos en la pieza. No usa electricidad o baterías, sino física, a través de la amplificación pasiva dada la acústica del material y la forma del cuerno, obteniendo un sonido similar a las bocinas de un laptop. Más info:Science & Sons


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Non Me Lo So Spiegare

"Non Me Lo So Spiegare", Laura Pausini e Tiziano Ferro ::
Laura Pausini San Siro 2007 ::
Milano 2-giugno-2007 ::

Un po' mi manca l'aria che tirava
O semplicemente la tua bianca schiena...
E quell'orologio non girava
Stava fermo sempre da mattina a sera
Come me lui ti fissava
Io non piango mai per te
Non farò niente di simile...
Si, lo ammetto, un po' ti penso
Ma mi scanso
Non mi tocchi più

Solo che pensavo a quanto è inutile farneticare
E credere di stare bene quando è inverno e te
Togli le tue mani calde
Non mi abbracci e mi ripeti che son grande,
Mi ricordi che rivivo in tante cose
Case, libri, auto, viaggi, fogli di giornale
Che anche se non valgo niente perlomeno a te
Ti permetto di sognare...
E se hai voglia, di lasciarti camminare
Scusa, sai, non ti vorrei mai disturbare
Ma vuoi dirmi come questo può finire?

Non melo so spiegare
Io no me lo so spiegare

La notte fonda e la luna piena
Ci offrivano da dono solo l'atmosfera
Ma l'amavo e l'amo ancora
Ogni dettaglio è aria che mi manca
E se sto così.. sarà la primavera
Ma non regge più la scusa


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Όλα γύρω σου γυρίζουν

- Σάκης Ρουβάς

Πάλι απόψε σε θυμάμαι και σε θέλω ξανά
Όλα πίσω με γυρνάνε μου ζητούν πολλά
Μες του χρόνου το ταξίδι διακοπές με πας
Τη καρδιά μου δαχτυλίδι φοράς
Πάλι θα ρθω να σε ψάξω σε βαθιά φιλιά
Την πορεία σου ν’αλλάξω να με θες ξανά
Στην ανάσα σου να καίω σα κρυφή φωτιά
Εγώ για σένα

Όλα γύρω σου γυρίζουν
Σκέψεις, λέξεις, σχέσεις, όλα
Όλα γύρω σου γυρίζουν
Μέρες, νύχτες, μήνες, χρόνια
Όλα στα ζητώ στα δίνω
Λάθη, πάθη, τρέλα, όλα
Όλα στη ζωή μου είσαι
Γέλιο, δάκρυ όλα είσαι εσύ

Όποιο δρόμο κι αν βαδίσω καταλήγω εκεί
Άλλη αγάπη δε θα ζήσω θα σαι μόνο εσύ
Τώρα ξέρω που πηγαίνω που ανήκω εγώ
Τη ζωή μου μες τα χέρια κρατώ
Πάλι θα ρθω να σε ψάξω να σε βρω κρυφά
Τη συνέχεια να γράψω μη χαθείς μετά
Κι ένα μόνο θα σου λέω είμαι εδώ ξανά
Εγώ για σένα

All spins around you (Sakis Rouvas)

Again tonight I recall you and I want you (once) more
All takes me back and asks too much of me
Within the travel of time you take me away
My heart you are wearing as a ring
Again I will come to search for you in deep kisses
Your way to change, for you to want me (once) more
On your breath to burn as a concealed fire
I for you

All spins around you
Thoughts, words, relationships, all
All spins around you
Days, nights, months, years
All I ask of you, I give it to you
Mistakes, passions, madness, all
You are all in my life
Laughter, tears, all this you are

Which ever way I may walk, I end up there
Another love I won't experience, it'll only be you
Now I know where I am going, where I belong, me
This, my life I hold within the hands
Again I will come to look for you, to find you secretly
What is to follow to write so you don't loose your way after
And the only thing I will be saying to you is… I'm here (once) more
I for you

Free translation posted on 19-May-2007.

A "prayer" wins Eurovision

Serbia's Eurovision 2007 entry won the song festival!

Molitva, Prayer in English, it's an espectacular ballad sung in Serbian language that cautivated, not only Eastern Europe countries, but the rest of the continent as well.

Here's the Crotian TV broadcast, with the lyrics as well.

MOLITVA
Ni oka da sklopim,
postelja prazna tera san,
a život se topi
i nestaje brzo, k'o dlanom o dlan.

K'o razum da gubim,
jer stvarnost i ne primećujem,
još uvek te ljubim,
još uvek ti slepo verujem.

K'o luda, ne znam kuda,
ljubavi se nove bojim,
a dane, žive rane,
više ne brojim.

Molitva, kao žar na mojim usnama je,
molitva, mesto reči samo ime tvoje.
(I) Nebo zna, kao ja,
koliko puta sam ponovila,
to nebo zna, baš kao ja,
da je ime tvoje moja jedina
molitva.

Al Bogu ne mogu
lagati sve dok se molim,
a lažem ako kažem
da te ne volim.

English translation
I'm wide awake
An empty bed drives my dreams away
Life melts like ice
Disappears in the twinkling of an eye

I'm losing my mind,
Pushing reality out of sight
Our lips are touching softly
You're the one I believe blindly

I walk around like crazy
Falling in love frightens me
Days are like wounds
Countless and hard to get through

Prayer...
It burns my sore lips like a fire
Prayer...
Thy name is something I admire
Heaven knows just as well as I do
So many times I have cried over you
Heaven knows just as well as I do
I pray and live only for you

I can't lie to God
as I kneel down and pray
You're the love of my life
That's the only thing I can say

More bla bla bla regarding the song contest soon, as soon as I review my precious recording of yesterday's event.

10 to the final... plus the other 14.

So, you are ready to poll for the song of Europe?

Poor Czech Rep. didn't make it, even thought they had a powerful song. Anyway, I think next year contest will be in the South. Spain's year this time? Probably, but doubt it. The guys are cool, but the song sucks big time.

I think Greece can repeat the wonder... then, again, why not Romania, let's say.

Let me think of my fave, and I'll let you know later on.

Hello, Helsinki calling

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the 52th Eurovision festival. Let's hear what Europe thinks is the best song of the continent. The final will be held this weekend in Helsinki, Finland.

And this year for a change, there's no clear favorite!

If you happen to have satellite/cable tv, turn on Television Española (TVE) international channed this Thursday night for the semis and Saturday 9PM CET (2PM GMT-5) to watch the final.

Will pop beat over rock this year? Let's see how musy-mushy ESC turns out to be.

Stay tunned!

Blast from the past!

"Bad Boy"
Miami Sound Machine
1986