Has Strictly Come Dancing jumped the shark?

I never thought I'd hear myself say those words, but after the initial weeks of this year's contest I've already come to that conclusion, as I quickly realised it's not going to be a vintage year.  Just how much longer can Strictly "keeeeep dancing"?

Despite being the annual highlight of Saturday night telly viewing here at EuropeCrazy HQ from now till Christmas, the first few weeks have been more of a trial than a treat – 2-hour marathons of mediocrity, where I used to love this show there are too many ‘meh’ moments, too many z-listers, too many ‘what are they in? what are they famous for?’ faces.  

From series 1's original line-up of professionals, only Brendan Cole and Anton du Beke remain, and there's a new crop this year - Aljaz Skorjanec, Anya Garnis, Janette Manrara, Kevin Clifton (and Iveta Lukosiute stepping up to full-time after filling in last year); Aliona Vilani was axed but replaced the injured Natalie Lowe, only to be paired with someone who would be evicted very early in the competition (not suggesting any conspiracy theories or anything, like...!) Over recent years there has been less focus on the professional dancers, who seem to be more sidelined than before.

Ratings-wise, Strictly has never been so popular.  Last year it overtook the X Factor and topped the Saturday night TV ratings, and it's doing very well again this year.  However, I feel that on its way to the top of the ratings, the programme has lost its way, its heart and its soul. Crap VTs, stupid theme-weeks, the Wembley shambles, and now this year 'stating the obvious' - Tony Jacklin's a golfer, oh let's dress him up in a glittery golfing outfit! Fiona Fullerton....hmm....Bond girl - let's have her dancing to a Bond theme!  And so on, and so on.  Has anyone noticed an increase in the use of props/furniture this year?  This is now a constant and unnecessary irritation and takes the focus away from the actual dancing.  And don't start me on the musical slaughter of modern-day songs by "our fabulous singers" - well that hasn't changed, has it???

There also appears to be a lack of content in many of the dance routines, which makes a bigger mockery of the judges' high praise (or as my mum calls it, "feeding their egos") and the over-marking by the judges at such an early stage of the competition.  If you're awarding 7s, 8s and 9s to mediocre contestants at this stage, it doesn't leave much scope for later in the series, does it?  The healthy and constructive criticism which used to be a part of the show has been watered down, and the praise is piled on.  Got to keep the "celebrities" happy, eh?

I also have another problem with this year's Strictly:  why do so many of the contestants look as if they'd rather be somewhere else?  Where's the joy?  Lighten up, people!

There is one positive thing to report this year - for one week only, the show returns to its spiritual home at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom on 16.11.13.

 

This year's front runner and "chosen one" appears to be Natalie Gumede a.k.a. Killer Kirsty from Corrie.  She is a trained dancer from her childhood.  As expected, a judges' favourite although as with previous years' 'favourites' she is maybe a little too focused on the prize and therefore lacking the likeability factor.  She is paired with Artem "the chest" Chigvintsev so that's guaranteed a few extra votes.

Abbey Clancy is best known for being a WAG (married to tall robot-dancing bloke Peter Crouch) although apparently she's a model n' stuff like that.  She is paired with new boy Aljaz from Slovenia.  She also appears to be a bit of a spoiled little princess, happy when the praise is flowing, but watch out for the criticism-scowl....

Ashley Taylor-Dawson a.k.a. him off Hollyoaks.  He's probably the best of the male contestants and is very likely to be the last man standing in a year where the non-professional male crop is very poor. 

 

Ben Cohen is a rugby player.  But more importantly, he is rather hunkalicious and when he ripped off his shirt last week to reveal Ben-in-a-vest, we were holding up the 10's at EuropeCrazy HQ.  He is rather wooden in the dance stakes though, and we see little sign of improvement.  He's paired with Kristina Rihanoff.  Mum: "Oh well, at least he's nice to look at...." #shallow #shallow #shallow

Dave Myers is half of the incredibly likeable Hairy Bikers so I was delighted to see him in this year's show.  He is certainly a candidate for the John Sergeant/Ann Widdicombe crown this year, but at least he's playing it for laughs, and his partner Karen Hauer is in on the joke....

 

Robin Windsor always tries to make the most of the limited ability of the dancers he's paired with.  This year his partner is Deborah Meaden who's best known for Dragon's Den.  She has improved a little over recent weeks, although she lacks a fanbase therefore an early exit is inevitable.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Anton du Beke.  Who it has to be said has been paired with a selection of duffers over the years.  He seemed a bit happier with Fiona Fullerton who may look the part, but yet again she's another wooden example of the mediocre class of 2013.  She's probably only got this far because of the very popular Anton rather than her own dance talent.

 



 

Fashion designer Julien McDonald was taking up residence in the bottom two before finally being evicted last week, although it would appear that people seemed to object more to his over-the-top personality rather than his dancing.  This also meant an early exit for Janette Manrara, another of this year's new professionals.  Interestingly, all of the new dancers are all in relationships with other new dancers: Janette & Aljaz, Anya & Pasha, and Kevin & last year's newbie Karen Hauer.

 

 

To borrow a well-known reality show phrase, "the journey" can have a huge influence on how well a contestant does.  Mark Benton - "him off the telly" started off as another comedy contestant, however he seems to be showing signs of progress and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a longer stay on the show than we first thought. 

 

 

Patrick Robinson, another one of those "blokes off the telly", seems to be the second best male contestant after Ashley Taylor-Dawson, however he needs to bring more content into his performance as he clearly has the ability to go further.  This is an area which professional partner Anya Garnis needs to work on.

 

 

Before the series started, Rachel Riley ("her off Countdown and assorted other celebrity quiz shows") was one of the favourites.  However the numbers are not adding up and the vowels are definitely missing from her d nc ng. She's wooden, she looks uncomfortable and I'd say her days are numbered.  There is no chemistry between her and her partner Pasha Kovalev.

 

 

We expected lots of references to "Murder on the Dancefloor" when one of our favourite pop stars from the last decade, Sophie Ellis Bextor, signed up for Strictly.  And we got them of course.  But at long last, Brendan Cole can be happy that he has a dance partner who actually can dance.  However, like a couple of the other front-running females, Sophie needs to lighten up and look as if she's really enjoying this thing, otherwise the viewers might show her the exit door earlier than expected. 

Another new arrival in the professionals is Kevin Clifton. a.k.a. Kevin from Grimsby.  He seems quite likeable and doesn't seem to take himself seriously with his geek-glasses.  A breakfast TV presenter is always a staple of Strictly and this year it's Susanna Reid's turn.  She is good, although she is beginning to grate on me.  I do not find her likeable at all, and I think she's becoming too full of her own importance.

 

First evictee this series was golfer Tony Jacklin, and a convenient early exit for Aliona Vilani. No surprise that Tony was sent off to the 19th hole as he was one of those (traditionally male) contestants who thought the show was called Strictly Come Walking.

 

 

James Jordan is still in the show despite being tipped for the axe...oh wait, no, he's gone - along with Vanessa "is there any show she won't appear on?" Feltz.  I can't stand the woman at all, and she wasn't any better at dancing than she was tackling anything else on numerous celebrity shows.

 

I hadn't told my mum, who has also been a Strictly fan from the early days, that I had written this blog post.  This week, she said "I feel exhausted by the end of this programme.  I don't enjoy it any more.  It's too fake".  So she agrees with me.  We are tired of celebrity this and celebrity that.  It's not about the dancing any more, not that it ever really was, but the one celebrity show which we did enjoy, Strictly Come Dancing, has become Strictly Suck Up To Celebrities.  Perhaps it's time for the show's last dance...

Swedish Idol 2013: Friday Finals Week 5 - 25.10.2013

This week's theme: songs by previous Idol contestants.  Such a rich archive to plunder, and the crossover with Melodifestivalen was irresistible, with 5 of the 8 songs this week having either won or competed in that contest.  The original performers also sent little good-luck video messages, apart from Robin Stjernberg who was in the Idol studio.

Miriam Bengtsson - "This Is My Life".  So many songs to choose from, so why pick this insipid song which, if you'll all remember, didn't even make it to the Eurovision final?  The musical arrangement gave it a more modern twist, and while Miriam did her best, the vocals didn't always hit the target.  

Sandra Wikström – "You".  Bringing things up to date with this year's Melodifestivalen winner, by an Idol runner-up.  Lots of vocal gymnastics which we expect from Sandra by now, but thankfully none of the silly running-about stuff going on in the background. 

Kevin Walker - "Hope and Glory".  Lots of people are still standing for the Walker juggernaut. Unfortunately he's gone down the old easy-listening acoustic route - he clearly knows his own limitations - when we really want him to go out of the comfort zone and for something stompy and anthemic.  However he also knows his audience.  This was his best performance so far.

Jens Hult - "White Light Moment".  Jens has been very impressive over the last couple of weeks.  Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for his take on the Tove Styrke song.  Parts of this were just so awful that if it was an audition he would have no chance of going on to the next stage.   That's his problem - like many of this year's Idol contestants, he lacks consistency. 

Erik Rapp - "Euphoria".  A daring and iconic song choice, which has become so associated with its original performer Loreen, that Erik, despite trying to put his own stamp on it, didn't quite succeed.  It wasn't a Jens-type train wreck though, and he still has the quality to go far.  His vocals often remind me of Terence Trent D'Arby in places. 

Elin Bergman - "Happyland".  A very good song choice for her style.  If you remember my blog posts from the 2007 series, you'll recall that I wasn't an Amanda Jenssen fan at the time and only appreciated her after she began making her own music.  Maybe Elin will be the same?

Gabriel Alares - "You're Out Of My Life".  Gabriel was definitely within his comfort zone here.  Ballads seem to be his strong point although he's still missing the emotional connection required of a song like this one. 

Matilda Melin - "Release Me".  Much of this was pretty flat and disguised by some Elin-style growls and vocal inflections.  It didn't soar the way it should. 

Bottom two: Jens and Miriam.  The failure-to-qualify curse of "This Is My Life" struck again and Miriam was sent home. 

Swedish Idol 2013: Friday Finals Week 4 - 18.10.13

This week's theme was "gone too soon" which is not a reference to the eliminated George (you can tell I'm still annoyed about that one) but songs by stars who are no longer with us. 

Sara Sangfelt: "Rehab".  This was all over the place , singing a different melody and was very disappointing, as I thought she would do justice to an Amy Winehouse song.  This was just the wrong one.

Elin Bergman: "No Woman No Cry". You may be surprised to learn that there were moments during this version (of the Fugees version) which weren't 100% terrible.  It's probably too late to hope that she might be steered away from the chavvy musical style and look, for there may just be some potential there after all. 

Erik Rapp: "A Change Is Gonna Come".  After Erik's shocking bottom-two place last week he was back to his best.  He has such a solid, mature vocal style for one so young, and a great recording voice so win or lose, we're going to be hearing a lot more from him.  This was an almost faultless vocal performance.

Miriam Bengtsson: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody".  Song choice, FFS!  Can we please have a little more imagination?  This isn't X Factor after all.  Happily, Miriam brought a lively and more updated performance but as with her Michael Jackson cover the other week, her vocals can suffer at the expense of the dancing and stage movement.

Gabriel Alares: "You Can't Kill Rock N'Roll".  Now this is more like it.  A great song choice, dedicated to Sugarplum Fairy's drummer Kristian Gidlund who recently passed away.  A very interesting decision to reinvent it as a big Swedish pop ballad which was effortless for him.  As the weeks go on, does anyone agree that he's becoming the Idol 2013 contestant most likely to appear at Melodifestivalen....?

Kevin Walker: "Behind Blue Eyes".  He's very smart is Mr Walker.  He has an easy-going, if limited, vocal style, but he chooses songs very carefully which don't stretch his vocals too far.  However he needs to work on his emotional interpretation, as he grinned his way through dark lyrics.  The jury were very positive about this week's performance.

Sandra Wikström: "Try Again".  A bit too much fight and attitude this week which overwhelmed the subtlety of the original.  She's maybe trying just a little too hard to prove herself and fight off the "haters". 

Matilda Melin: "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay".  Matilda and Sara seem to have vocally morphed into each other.  I'm desperately searching for some vocal subtlety in this year's female contestants, and failing miserably.

Jens Hult: "Come As You Are".  Subtlety was in short supply here too, but then we wouldn't really expect that from the gravelly voice of Jens singing a Nirvana song.  There were some cringeworthy moments in here but he is still rather good at what he does, I guess.

Bottom 2: Sara....

...and Sandra...

...with Sara eliminated this week.  Presumably her vocals will now be completely inherited lock, stock and barrel by Melinda.  8 contestants remain, and by the law of averages one of the boys will be next to go, but which one?

Swedish Idol 2013: Friday Finals Week 3 - 11.10.13

The week's theme was Swedish music exports, so potentially lots to choose from.

Erik Rapp: "Indestructible".  Erik took on the Robyn song which proved to be a bit of a misnomer as his song choice took a knock from the judging panel. OK so it wasn't his best performance, but did he really deserve so much criticism?

Sandra Wikström: "Lovefool".  Where Erik stuck to the style of the original artist, Sandra decided to, um, "Sandra-fy" this song, turn it into a big ol' stompy r'n'b diva number.  I'm still not keen on this type of singing, but Sandra finally let go and showed the spark which has been missing over the first couple of weeks. 

George Shaid: "Fade Into Darkness".  Sadly, a prophetic song title and a terrible mismatch of musical styles.  His style of singing doesn't suit dance music and his vocal limitations were exposed here.  He's clearly more suited to ballads and songs which suit his more controlled vocal style.

Matilda Melin: "It Must Have Been Love".  I guess the problem I'm having with this year's Idol is that many of the contestants are still trying to find their own 'style'.  Matilda is one of them, she is just "there" but that's all.  This was a rather dreary version of the Roxette song and the best thing about it was probably the flowers in her hair. 

Kevin Walker: "Poker Face".  "The Singing Footballer" is still making the news of course, and the "Walkiers" are giving the "Beliebers" a run for their money.  This wasn't earth-shattering and the bum notes just keep on coming, but turning the Gaga's classic into a countrified acoustic tune was actually quite an inspired move.

Sara Sangfelt: "Toxic". Restyled like an old-school Hollywood glamour siren, Sara turned the Britney song into a rather dramatic ballad and it suited her voice well.  She is one of the few contestants this year who does have her own distinctive vocal identity

Gabriel Alares: "Reload".  Where George had unravelled in his interpretation of a dance song, Gabriel found it a much easier task although this wasn't as good as his "Sista Morgonen" and if I'm honest he's still a bit "second division" - the backing singer rather than the star frontman.  Oh, and his quiff is getting higher by the week and is well on the way to Jedward proportions. 

Jens Hult: "The Lion's Roar".  So the gravelly old guy trapped in a young guy's body effortlessly tackled the First Aid Kit song.  He won't win this, but he's good for a few weeks yet and has slotted into the role of this year's 'rocker'. 

Elin Bergman: "All That She Wants".  This was horrendous.  She's trying too hard to be too "street", too aggressive in her vocals, and is working the chav look.  All of the things I really can't stand.  This was the sound of Ace of Base being slaughtered by Cher Lloyd.

Miriam Bengtsson: "F****** Perfect".  An improvement on her performance from last week, and as long as they keep her away from the usual regulation talent-show soul-diva songs (we know what they are) it might just give her some space to develop and become a serious challenger. 

Bottom 2: Erik and George, both paid the price for inappropriate song choice.   Bye bye George :(

The Palma Diaries: Day 1 - Thursday 19th September 2013

As we spent most of the previous day travelling and then a late evening arrival in Palma, for the purposes of my trip report Thursday is going to be day 1 as it was the 'real' start of our holiday. 

So forget the chilly mid-September temperatures at home, when at that point the heating had already been on for a couple of weeks.  It would be nice to remember what sunshine actually looked like again, as we'd forgotten.

As I'd mentioned previously in a couple of posts over at Random Ramblings, I'd been floored by a viral infection just a few days before the start of the holiday and hoped that the change of scene might speed up the recovery.  (Unfortunately this wasn't to be, as the soundtrack to every day was a persistent throaty cough, horrendous headaches and nasal hell). However, despite this (and a couple of other health niggles which I won't go into here) I still managed to have a highly enjoyable time in the capital of Mallorca. 

Palma is the main destination for all travellers to the island, however most of them then board a coach to one of the numerous popular resorts.  But we were more fascinated by what the city had to offer as a short break destination.

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature in the high twenties, just perfect.  The layout of the city centre is hard work for those who may be used to a grid system, as it's all twists and turns particularly around the old town where we were based.  It's easy to take a wrong turning and a map is highly recommended.  We get our bearings on arrival at the Plaça Major, which is visually quite similar to the Plaça Reial in Barcelona, painted in similar colours and has archways on all four sides.  There's a number of outdoor restaurants/tapas bars here with a good selection of menus.  More later...

We make our way through the old town and down towards the seafront.  On our way we pass the majestic Almudaina building (pictured below), which was probably my favourite piece of architecture in the whole city.  It began life as an Arab fortress and later became the Spanish royal family's residence in Palma, where official functions take place. 

The most famous building in Palma is probably the Cathedral, which sits alongside the Almudaina on a very photogenic spot of land.  It's big - very big indeed.

The area between the front of the cathedral and the seafront has been landscaped with an artificial lake and a tree-lined walkway.  This setting feels like a million miles from Magaluf, and we've already made our minds up that we made the right decision coming here.

During my research on cruise itineraries, Palma kept turning up as a popular cruise destination.  There were two ships in port today....

...the Costa Serena (left) and an MSC ship on the right. 

Apart from cruise travellers, Palma is packed with a cosmopolitan mix of international travellers, but so far, not a football top in sight!  There's lots of very upmarket clothes shops all over the city, which doesn't seem to be showing too many signs of recession.  The city has a relaxed atmosphere though, so casual holiday clothes are fine. 

Palma is like a smaller, more compact version of Barcelona, with its Catalan language and architectural gems.  It also has a street called La Rambla, however unlike the Barcelona equivalent Las Ramblas, this one is a bit of a missed opportunity, with only the odd restaurant and flower market.  As we will find out later in the evening, all the buzz is happening around the Passeig des Born. 

It wouldn't be a holiday diary without some gratuitous food photography of course.  For dinner tonight, we return to the Plaça Major for some old Spanish favourites.  Starting with Gazpacho....

...and then onwards to some veggie paella....

...all of which is accompanied by a bottle of the (very strong!) local Mallorcan red.  Needless to say in the interests of research, we would indulge in some Mallorcan wine tasting over the coming days. After all, you don't see these in the shops at home, so when in Palma...!

The square, and the city, was packed tonight.  The reason being that it was the Nit de L'Art - the night of art - which saw the city transferred into one giant art gallery.  Apparently it's an annual event - read more about it at http://www.nitdelartartpalma.com/en_home.html  The Plaça Major was the centre of lots of arty activity, including a jazz band playing on a small stage and a Mini car set up as an art installation where the artist invited members of the public to cover it in sticky tape.

There's lots of people walking around in green "Crida" t-shirts.  I later learn that these are worn in support of a teachers' strike.  The teachers are striking in protest at the Spanish government downgrading the status of Catalan-language education in favour of the Spanish language.  In this Catalan-speaking part of Spain it's a very hot topic, and over the week we saw many people wearing these symbolic green t-shirts. 

After dinner it's onwards through the old town and down the Passeig des Born which is absolutely jumping tonight.  It feels like the whole city is out to party.  If Palma seemed a bit sleepy on our arrival last night, the residents were obviously catching up on their sleep in preparation for tonight's arty party!  Palma is living up to the description of 'the city that never sleeps'.

Every bar and restaurant is packed and there is a great lively atmosphere.  So far, Palma also feels like a very safe city.  But as I say in every holiday diary, everywhere feels safer than home does :) Finally, here's yet another picture of the Cathedral - by night.

In the next instalment, further exploration of Palma, and taking the weight off our feet on a sightseeing bus tour. 

Normal service resuming soon...!

My internet broke down last weekend and I've had no internet connection between then and now, which explains why there's been no posts this week.

Over the next couple of days I'll post my backlog of Swedish Idol reviews and some other stuff as well.

Swedish Idol 2013: Friday Finals Week 2 - 04.10.13

This week's theme was "Their Idols".

George Shaid - "Home" (Michael Buble): Maybe not the right choice as he lacks Buble's distinctive vocals, but George displayed good vocal control and restraint on this.  He's still one of my favourites in this competition, and certainly looked the part of a pop star this week.

Miriam Bengtsson - "P.Y.T." (Michael Jackson): Her outfit reminded me of a leopardskin onesie.  A little shrill and shrieky vocally, and certainly not a great song choice, although she really got into the performance towards the end.  A muted response from the panel and obviously the viewers agreed as she ended up in the bottom 2.

Gabriel Alares - "Sista Morgonen" (Niklas Strömstedt): a very good, if slightly anonymous, rendition of the song made famous by the man who is currently hosting rival channel SVT's "Alla Tiders Hits".  That's my problem with Gabriel - he has a good voice but doesn't really have that something extra to push him much further in this year's competition. Extra points from me though, for singing a Swedish-language song.

Matilda Melin: "Superhero" (Cher Lloyd): here at EuropeCrazy HQ it would be fair to say that we are not fans of Ms Lloyd and her swagger.  Matilda's obviously done something to annoy the stylists as she's clad in a Batman jumper proclaiming "WHAM!" on the front.  Maybe she should have sung a George Michael song instead.  Her days are probably numbered, judging by the panel's muted response.

Sara Sangfelt - "Your Song" (Elton John): it's not the Elton version, nor the Ellie Goulding version for that matter.  Instead we get the Sara-version, a little rocky in mood and also vocally.  Another styling nightmare. She hasn't been well this week, so the sympathy vote may have saved her, who knows?

Sakib Zabbar: "The Botten is Nådd" (Timbuktu):  Sakib was thankfully more animated than last week, yet he still didn't seem to be making that all-important connection with the viewing/voting public which was probably the reason why he went home this week.

Erik Rapp: "Wicked Games" (The Weeknd): now this is more like it.  I was complaining last week that there were too many safe song choices, where the old-style Idol would go for some less obvious choices. Well, normality has been restored.  Lots of sweary words and a more obscure song choice.  In a British talent show this would be the kiss of death; in Sweden this just raises his stock more and more by the day. Like his namesake Erik from Idol 2009, you get the feeling that he could take on any song and do it well.

Kevin Walker: "Say" (John Mayer): believe it or not, I was a big fan of John Mayer in the early stages of his music career, before he became more famous for his celebrity girlfriends.  Kevin's voice lacks the distinctive quality of Mayer's, however he did well enough on this.  Of course the competition's not all about being the best singer - and Kevin's easy-going charisma and winning smile is going to take him a long way.

Jens Hult: "Heart of Gold" (Neil Young): 'Rock'-style performers have traditionally done very well in Swedish Idol.  Jens brought rough-diamond quality to this, and he seems to be growing in confidence now, helped along by positive comments from the panel.

Elin Bergman - "Tell Me About It" (Joss Stone): she gave it her all but for some reason I'm still having trouble connecting with her and there is still something missing.  As they used to say, it's just a little bit karaoke.

Sandra Wikstrom - "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston): so we've decided that the stylists must have been in a right old bad mood this week.  Now they've put Sandra in an unflattering dress.  This wasn't her best week - not a great song choice and the end result was rather ...empty.

Two weeks in and Idol is still all about the boys.

Book Review: "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division" - Peter Hook

I read this book whilst on holiday and thought I'd give it a mention here.

The story of Joy Division has been told many times by many different people.  But this one really matters - because Peter Hook was there.

Peter Hook, bassist in Joy Division and later New Order, tells the real story in "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division".  The mystique and romanticised cult of tragedy around Ian Curtis' suicide and the intensity of the band's music and lyrics is refreshingly absent from this book.  Instead we get a little bit of a biography of Hooky's early life and the beginnings of his punk-inspired music career, with the formation of Warsaw who later became Joy Division and the rest is history.  A large chunk of the book is devoted to the band's life on the road, with all the laddish behaviour and jolly japes described in explicit detail with some glee.

Hooky's straightforward storytelling style may lack literary depth and intensity, therefore may not be to everyone's taste, but I lapped up his easy going and very funny anecdotal style - reminiscent of a guy sitting chatting to you over a couple of drinks in the local pub, about his adventures in a band once upon a time.  But Joy Division wasn't just any old band of course.

The story ends with Ian's suicide, and the guilt and conflicting emotions around this.  Again, Hooky is brutally frank and honest at the end of the Joy Division story.  The story was to continue, as the three remaining JD members, along with Gillian Gilbert, evolved into New Order, who quickly became my favourite band, thanks to their ahead-of-their-time fusion of alternative music and dance rhythms.  Hooky is now writing a follow-up to "Unknown Pleasures", to be published one year from now, which will focus on his time in New Order.  Now that is a story I can't wait to read, and I'm sure he will have lots to tell.  The camaraderie of the Joy Division days is long gone, and the acrimony continues to this day.

One thing which clearly shines through this book is Hooky's love of music and his affection for Joy Division's songs which carries on, as he continues to perform songs from the Joy Division/New Order back catalogue with his band The Light.

"Unknown Pleasures" is well worth reading, whether you are a Joy Division fan or not.   It's a lively and often funny insight into the short career of a band whose music remains as influential today as it has always been.

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: September 2013

Not too much square-eyed activity this month as I had too much else going on but there was still time for the following treats.

Regular readers will know that I can't resist a real-life documentary - as opposed to so-called 'reality TV' once an obsession of mine, now a total turn-off.  Channel 4's "FABULOUS FASHIONISTAS" was the most inspirational and heartwarming piece of telly in a long while, focusing on six very individual and unconventional women 70 and upwards.  Anyone of any age worried about growing old - assuming they make it there - should have watched this and been truly inspired by these women and their love of life.

There is something oddly sweet about "THE FRIED CHICKEN SHOP" (Channel 4), where people come and go, in the pursuit of ....fried chicken of course, but the cameras also observe friendships forming and strengthening, relationships developing, and potential boyfriends rebuffed thanks to some dodgy chat-up techniques, watched over with some cheerful confusion by the young immigrant workers behind the counter.  Yes of course some of the customers will play up to the cameras, but all in all this show has the all-important feelgood factor and it could run and run.  Another series please!

Ditto "BOUNCERS" (Channel 4).  As long as there are drunken nutjobs around, this programme will also run and run.

Soggy bottoms didn't really mean anything to me until I was probably the last person in the country to discover "THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF" (BBC2).  This baking contest has been very popular over recent years so I decided to check out the new series and am now hooked.  Mel and Sue are refreshing hosts, whilst Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry can be tough nuts to crack, but they will also give credit where it's due.  This is just what I need on a Tuesday night - it's like a calming comfort blanket, only made of cakes (!?!?!)

"STRICTLY COME DANCING" (BBC1) returned to our screens this past weekend, so at least we'll now have something to watch on a Saturday nght.  Lots of new professionals this year, including the chiselled loveliness of Aljaz Skorjanec (gratuitous picture above)  It doesn't look like a vintage line-up of contestants compared to previous years, if week 1 is anything to go by, but we love, love, love Dave Myers!  Please keep him in! He has such a funny and likeable personality as part of the Hairy Bikers and this translates to the dance floor. He's having fun - a nice change from the usual win-at-all-costs brigade.  I'll do a separate post about Strictly in a couple of weeks once we get a better idea of where it's all going.

As a self-confessed shopaholic and retail therapy addict, "ROBERT PESTON GOES SHOPPING" (BBC2) was a must.  A documentary series about the history of shopping in this country - its past, present and future, and its highs and lows - was certainly long overdue and worth watching, although Mr Peston (who I believe is an economic reporter on the Beeb) is a bit annoying when subjected to him in such large doses.

Simon Schama's epic series "THE STORY OF THE JEWS" (BBC2) is the kind of programme that the BBC always does well.  Schama's own personal insight particularly came across in a recent episode about the Jews of Eastern Europe in the early 20th century.

Even though I know that the end is near, I'm really enjoying "SMASH" (Sky Atlantic) so much more than I used to.  The second series has really grown on me and I look forward to each episode.  The parallel musicals storyline, focusing on "Bombshell" and "Hit List" which has literally involved 'musical chairs' (apologies for that bad pun) has really boosted the show. I'm probably in a very small minority of "Smash" fans, which is probably the reason why it has been axed.

Maybe I'm just getting old and out of touch with TV comedy, I don't know....I wanted so much to love "LONDON IRISH" (Channel 4) but it ultimately left me cold.  Lots of swearing - the success of Mrs Brown's Boys certainly has a lot to answer for! Most of the sweary words don't offend me but I could do without repeated use of the C-word thank you very much.  There were some funny moments in the first episode of this new comedy series about a group of young Northern Irish exiles in London, but not enough to hold me beyond that.  But then again, I'm not part of that Channel 4 after-10pm comedy 'demographic' I suppose.  I think the main problem was that I couldn't warm to any of the characters.  Now where did I put my Father Ted box set...?

Finally, to the latest SVT music show "ALLA TIDERS HITS".  Now let me see....well-known (and less well-known) singers interpreting the songs of other well-known singers.  Ring any bells?  Remind you of a certain rival TV4 programme perhaps? Så Mycket Bättre needn't worry too much about this new show stealing its spotlight, (although that show is also maybe past its best now?).  Despite promising a lot, I've found it to be rather disappointing.  The whole production comes over as a bit amateurish, presumably SVT are blowing its entertainment budget on Melodifestivalen with only the spare change going on this one.  The critics haven't been very kind to the show either and I doubt if it'll get a second series.

Swedish Idol 2013: Friday Finals Week 1 - 27.09.13

Loreen.  Darin.  Agnes.  Sebastian Karlsson.  Måns Zelmerlöw. Danny Saucedo.  Amanda Jenssen. Christoffer Hiding.  Erik Grönwall.  Tove Styrke.  Eddie Razaz.  Olle Hedberg.  Linnea Henriksson. Amanda Fondell.  Moa Lignell.  Robin Stjernberg.

Just a few of the names who came to my attention thanks to my favourite TV talent show - Swedish Idol. And now, after a year off, the show is back.  In 2012, Idol was rested and replaced with the hideous "X Factor" however that was dropped after just one series - oh if only they could have done the same over here in the UK! - so maybe we should change the name of the show to "Sweden's Got Taste" :)  Anyway, this year's Idol has a lot to live up to, when you think about the calibre of many of the artists who originally started out on the show.

Above: Swedish Idol's class of 2013.  Just think, one of these people will probably win Melodifestivalen in a couple of years. 

As usual there's lots of coverage in the Swedish tabloids, who are mainly focusing on Kevin Walker, who has a very interesting back story.  For he is also a professional footballer with GIF Sundsvall, who had to reschedule a football match this week so that he could appear on Idol! Singing footballers haven't exactly had a great pedigree in musical history of course: think of all those embarrassingly bad World Cup songs, and don't start me on "Diamond Lights"(!) - so I guess Kevin will be out to change all that.

As usual, TV4 doesn't allow viewers outside Sweden to watch programmes/clips on its website so it's off to YT to check out the clips.

I haven't watched the qualifying stages of this year's Idol so apologise if my comments are a bit vague; I always struggle at this stage of any contest where there are too many new faces to remember (same goes for Strictly Come Dancing) and they only really hit their stride after about 3 weeks.  So this is the first time I've actually watched all this year's Idol contestants performing.

Sandra Wikstrom - "Empire State of Mind".  I'm not really into that "belter" style of singing but she did well on this and is probably good for another few weeks in the competition.

Matilda Melin - "Thrift Shop".  Yes, that Thrift Shop, the one with the F words and all, which young Matilda reinvented as an r'n'b 'song'.  She made the best of it but I can't really understand why they give contestants songs like this.  (And I say that as someone who likes Thrift Shop).

Gabriel Alares - "Impossible".  There's a big Eurovision connection here, as Gabriel co-wrote Russia's 2013 ESC entry, the sickly-sweet "What If" by Dina Garipova, and he was also one of her backing singers at the contest.I think he has potential and some careful song choices could take him quite far in the competition. However he really needs to work on his breathing as he seemed breathless/wheezy at the end of each line of the chorus. He's trying to work that Danny Saucedo/boyband look.

Sakib Zabbar - "Get Lucky".  This song - which I still love, by the way - has been done to death! It's an easy song to sing, so it doesn't really show off a singer's potential though. This was all wrong for me and even he didn't look like he was enjoying it.  Lyrics changed in the chorus as well.

Sarah Mathisen - "Animal".  Sarah is probably one of the more 'anonymous' contestants and these are the ones who always go early.  Miike Snow as sung by Florence and The Machine.  Florence Welch is on the phone and she says she wants her vocal style back.

Erik Rapp - "Skinny Love".  On this performance, of a song which I don't particularly like, Erik would seem to be the finished article already.  Strong vocals and performance, and he will definitely make it to the latter stages of the competition without a doubt.  Erik is also openly gay - a rarity in talent-show land where any young gay male contestants are forced to disguise their sexuality in order to not alienate that all-important female fanbase.

Sara Sangfelt - "Set Fire To The Rain".  Oh no, not another Adele song, please!!!  I get the feeling that Sara may be more at home on something more rocky/edgy; if they keep giving her songs like this then she could be out of the competition in the next couple of weeks.

Elin Bergman - "Seven Nation Army".  This is like Cher Lloyd singing the Marcus Collins version of the song.  In the clip she looks a bit like Miley Cyrus before she got her hair cut and started all that twerking nonsense.  What does all this add up to?  A no from me.

Kevin Walker - "Pride".  Yes, the U2 stomper reinvented as a restrained piano ballad, with the singing footballer sitting on a stool.  Apparently he had some wobbles during the recent qualifying heats but this would appear to have been his comeback.  Kevin has some hysterical fandom already, which will just multiply from here.  Yes he's good, but so far he's not spectacular.

Miriam Bengtsson - "End of Time".  Yet another appalling song choice.  You used to get a better variety of songs in Idol.  I'm not familiar with this, but I'm guessing Beyonce, right?  Miriam already has a distinctive image, with her head shaved at one side and red hair cascading down the other side.  She could go far but she really needs better songs.

Jens Hult - "I Will Wait".  Banjos and tweed jackets at the ready for a bit of the old Mumford and Sons. This was a really great match of song and voice.  At first I thought he looked like an old guy, but he's only 20!  I'm not sure if he would do so well on different types of songs, but maybe give him some Stiftelsen/Takida or Mando Diao's "Strövtåg i Hembygden" and he might be good for a couple of weeks yet.

George Shaid - "Resolution".  On first listen I think this guy is going to do very very well - he has the looks and the voice, and apart from a couple of iffy bits, this was one of the best performances of the night. I'm not familiar with this song but he did well.

Bottom two: Sakib and Sarah-with-an-h: Sarah is eliminated.

I think the evening suffered from poor song choices for most of the contestants.  The great thing about Idol in the past was the better variety of songs than what you usually get on the talent shows.  This week's choices were a bit tired and predictable.  Sweden has such a rich pop heritage, past and present - do they really need to rely on the usual Alicia Keys/Adele and tiresome r'n'b efforts?

Most of the time for me, Idol is all about the boys and certainly on first viewing, Erik and George seem to be the strongest contestants.  On a completely shallow note though, there is no-one this year to pledge undying devotion to (!) - unlike Eddie Razaz, Christoffer Hiding and Olle Hedberg who were all the subject of my totally shallow favouritism!!!

On first viewing I doubt if any of this year's crop have the talent/personality/charisma (delete as appropriate) to join the long list of Idol 'greats' but nevertheless it is great to have Idol back again, and it will keep us going from now till Christmas, and then it will be Eurovision season once again.  Not that I'm wishing my life away or anything....!

Hola! (again)

We reeturned home yesterday from a lovely short break in the stunning city of Palma de Mallorca.  It was definitely well worth a visit and as far removed from the conventional holiday resorts as you could imagine. Unfortunately I wasn't my usual cheerful bubbly self on holiday (more info in this post over at Random Ramblings) but still managed to enjoy my time there.  Sunshine, blue skies, a reminder that it's still summer somewhere in the world, beautiful scenery, art, culture, architecture, good food and drink, good times.

Oh yes, and the "Palma Diaries" will eventually make an appearance on this blog too, once I get back to full fitness :)

La Vuelta a España 2013

Just a few weeks on from the Tour de France, La Vuelta is a tough race with so many questions - like, for example, just how do you pronounce Nibali?  (Nee-baa-li?  Nee-bly?  Nibbly?)

The good thing is that it gives many riders the chance to step into the spotlight thanks to the absence of many of the TdF's top riders.  No Chris Froome or Alberto Contador this year, for example.  It's not a race for sprinters either - no Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel or Andre Greipel. 

British interest was very minimal, with only a couple of Team Sky's plucky lower-division boys having a go.  For make no mistake, this is a race for the southern European tough guys, where Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) and Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde (Spain) were expected to dominate. 

But, just as in the Tour de France, they all had to take a back seat to a guy named Chris. 

Not Froome this time, but Horner - Chris Horner from the USA, the oldest man in the race at 41 years old.  Nibali - however you pronounce it - took the red jersey early on, when he explicitly didn't want it - but lost it when he explicitly wanted to keep it.  The gripping Horner-Nibali battle for the red jersey was set against a backdrop of an intensely tough route which makes much of the Tour de France look like a picnic.  The Vuelta may lack the magic and glamour of that iconic bike race, but yet it is still unmissable viewing packed with golden moments - the little-known Italian Daniele Ratto's epic breakaway and stage win on a gruelling rain-soaked, hypothermia-ridden climb in Andorra; or Tony Martin's brave breakaway on one stage only for victory to be snatched from his grasp.

You know you're getting old when...you remember when a current cyclist's dad won the Tour de France.  I remember Stephen Roche winning the Tour de France in 1987, back in those days when the highlights of Le Tour were screened nightly on Channel 4.  Now his wee boy Nicolas is all grown up, and had a very good Vuelta this year, finishing 5th overall.  I'm sure he will go on to greater things. 

But I digress.  With the gap between Horner and Nibali down to just three seconds with two days to go, it was all to play for on the crucial penultimate stage, when Horner crushed Nibali's challenge and had the race won, just one day before the final stage in Madrid. 

Needless to say in these post-Armstrong times, you can't be too good without your credibility being questioned at press conferences and internet forums.  Winning the Vuelta was a tremendous achievement, but for a 41 year old American rider, judged to be past a professional cyclist's physical peak, a former team-mate with a history of injuries and no real Grand Tour form, questions will be asked.  The cheerful and chatty Horner always had something to say during his many interviews in the Vuelta, but strangely sidestepped important questions in his final post-race interview in Madrid. 

As ever, ITV4's coverage was excellent, with Gary Imlach presenting and Phil Liggett on commentary.  Even better news for us cycling fans is that ITV has secured the rights to broadcast the Tour de France until 2019; ITV4 will also show the Criterium Dauphine, Criterium International, Liege Bastogne Liege and Paris Roubaix from 2016 to 2019, which are all very important races in the cycling calendar.  ITV4 will also continue to screen the Tour of Britain and the Vuelta. 

The Square-Eyed Couch Potato: August 2013

So let's kick off with "THE RETURNED" (Channel 4) which ended on the evening of my last 'Square-Eyed' blog post and as predicted, did not deliver all the loose ends tied up with a great big bow. But did we really expect it to?  The answer again being a very definite 'non'.  But it was one hell of a creepy, involving story and as with all our favourite subtitled dramas, we count the days till it appears on our screens once again.

Oh, and I did, finally, finish rewatching series 1 of "THE BRIDGE" (BBC4) which did deliver a more satisfactory conclusion and that too has me eagerly awaiting season 2.

Something finally coming to an end: "DEXTER" (Fox) is hurtling towards the end of season 8 and I'm still none the wiser how it will end.  Hoping for some kind of satisfactory conclusion to tie all the loose ends up and all that, but television being what it is today, I probably doubt it.  I have about 4 different permutations running through my mind at the moment about how it will end.  It maybe hasn't been a vintage season so far, but it's hard to sustain the exceptional standard which this show has set over the years.  (Season 3 and 4 remain my favourites so far).

Apart from its brilliant cycling coverage, ITV4 sometimes has other things worth watching. "AMAZING ARGENTINA" was another of that channel’s occasional clip shows celebrating the glory days of my favourite South American football team. My favourite of them all was the 1978 squad who thrilled on home ground in that year’s World Cup, and Mario Kempes was my all-time favourite, for footballing and shallow reasons :)

The "WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS" was recently televised on BBC1 and BBC2. Never were expectations so high after London 2012, but for every minute of live sporting action, there were 10 minutes of chat from the expert pundits. I recorded one day’s coverage and it was about an hour before they actually showed anything. Thank goodness for the fast-forward button, where I made the unnecessary chatter move on faster than Usain Bolt in the 100m.

One of those talking heads, Denise Lewis, also turned up in "YOUR FACE SOUNDS FAMILIAR" a.k.a. Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, yet another useless attempt by ITV to fill its Saturday night schedule when they don't have X Factor/Britain's Got Talent/anything with Ant and Dec in it.  It should have been renamed "Pointless Celebrities" however there is already a show of that name, coincidentally featuring one of the "Your Face..." contestants, the ubiquitous Alexander Armstrong.

Back to the Olympics. "INSPIRE: THE OLYMPIC JOURNEY" (BBC1) will be an occasional series looking at that overused word - the "legacy" of London 2012.  My own view is that there probably won't be one, apart from a misty-eyed nostalgia watching old clips and saying, "remember that?"  I think it was Matthew Pinsent who said that the real legacy will be in the Games encouraging the public to participate in sport.

Which is a difficult one to call, given this country's current obesity crisis and accordingly, TV's obsession with making programmes about it.  Jacques Peretti previously made a series called "The Men Who Made Us Fat" and followed it up with, appropriately, "THE MEN WHO MADE US THIN" (BBC2).  This looked at the growth of the diet and fitness industry over the years and concluded that all of us who go on diets etc are buying into a myth and so diets don't work.  Having been there and done that of course, several times, I'd say that's pretty true.  But did he really need several weeks of an overlong series to tell us that?

Closer to home, "SCOTLAND THE FAT" (BBC1 Scotland) only needed one hour to tell us that we're the second fattest country behind the USA in the obesity league table, and we rely too much on takeaways and ready meals.  Yep, it didn't tell us anything new either, but as these things go it was a pretty good documentary. 

I had missed "TELSTAR - THE JOE MEEK STORY" (BBC2) the first time it was screened on TV so was eager to see it at last.  The words 'British film' usually have me running in the opposite direction but this was actually a goodie - a high-speed biopic of the eccentric 60s music producer Joe Meek whose life ended in tragedy.  This film was never dull and had a cracking over-the-top performance by Con O'Neill and some interesting cameo appearances too.  Oh and finally, I even managed to watch something with James Corden in it, without reaching for the off switch.

I decided to watch "LARS AND THE REAL GIRL" (MGM) which with that title I mistakenly thought was a Scandinavian film..  It turned out to be an oddly appealing film set in one of those little Scandi-enclave towns in the USA.  The storyline - shy guy buys a lifesize doll - suggests a Judd Apatow-style sleazy comedy, but it turned out to be a very gentle, if rather bizarre, film about love and acceptance, with a hopeful ending.  Ryan Gosling is one of those actors who is very popular at the moment, although I hadn't actually seen him in any films until this one.  He certainly gave a very good performance here.

Film of the month for me had to be "KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND" (BBC Four) an incredibly powerful, distressing and moving film, set in the early 20th century.  What makes it even more powerful is that it is based on a true story, about a reform school for delinquent boys, set on a bleak island, Bastøy (the film's Norwegian title is Kongen av Bastøy), where they endure every manner of abuse, and are known by numbers rather than names. The catalyst for change and revolt is Erling (C19) - who plans an escape and inspires the other youngsters to finally rise up against the brutality.  Erling's friendship with fellow inmate Olav is also a crucial part of the story. It's not an easy film to watch by any means, but it is an outstanding one thanks to the performances of the always-reliable Stellan Skarsgård and the impressive young cast. 
　
I watch very little in ‘real time‘ on TV as I usually record it and make up my own TV schedules - have been doing this for years, so I have a little chuckle when people go on about ‘TV on demand’. It is a lot easier these days to record all the TV shows you want to, thanks to all the +1 channels. Anyway all this recording and fast forwarding means that you can skip the adverts. However, on one occasion when I was actually watching something live, I heard something to make me sit up and take notice during an ad break. The Persil Bio ad was soundtracked by none other than M83’s "Outro" which made me jump up and exclaim - "It’s the MGP opening theme music!" You know you’ve been watching too many national finals when.....!

Still on the commercial breaks, there’s another one on at the moment - for Citroen cars if I’m not mistaken - and soundtracked by "C’est Beau La Bourgeoisie" which I first became aware of during a holiday in France and am now happy that it’s turned up on an ad on "our" telly.

"MAKE ME A GERMAN" (BBC2) sounded like a very interesting idea - send a British family to Germany to live and work there and compare their lifestyle with the British way of life. It was nice to see a programme which actually gave a fair view of Germany for a change and gave some insight into the differences between ‘them’ and ‘us’ although did unfortunately fall back on stereotypes at times. The problem with this documentary was that it was only an hour long when it would have probably made a great series. We need more programmes on British TV about how Europeans live, if only to enlighten the ‘Eurosceptics’ in this country.

As you know, I went on a cruise back in May and totally loved it. Unfortunately, "THE CRUISE - A LIFE AT SEA" (BBC2) would not convince anyone to take this type of holiday. The series featured a round the world cruise on a Fred Olsen ship, which even had its own vicar. The whole thing, from the ‘considerably richer than you’ passengers to the hideous activities was depressingly dull, and a million miles removed from the (thankfully) more inclusive, all-ages, 21st century face of cruising.

As usual there's been lots of festival coverage on telly over the summer.  But why all the same acts all the time?  Just how many more times do we need to watch Jake Bugg or Chase and Status?  If the BBC is going to broadcast a festival, they should put about 20 other acts on the red button at the same time, so that we can watch what we want rather than what they think we want. 

After all this time (I'm always late to the party) I finally discovered "DYNAMO: MAGICIAN IMPOSSIBLE" (Watch) and am glad I did. I'm usually sceptical about this sort of street magic stuff, and yes of course, it's all just an illusion. But Dynamo (real name Steven Frayne) is so sweet, likeable and down-to-earth that you just want to believe. 'The wow factor' is an over-used phrase in TV these days, but it's worth using when it comes to Dynamo, who is always watchable and entertaining.

Allsång: no longer i Måns' hjärta

While I was on my blogging-break I caught up with one of my annual summer highlights - SVT's Allsång på Skansen.  The series ended on 13th August followed by the shock announcement that Måns Zelmerlow, who has successfully presented the show for the past 3 years, is quitting the show and will not be back next year.  He has done a great job and immediately slotted into one of the highest-profile TV presenting roles on Swedish television which is always subject to tabloid scrutiny, and he certainly won over the viewers and critics very quickly indeed.

Måns leaves the show on a high.  In Anders Lundin's final year (2010) it was an ailing show, losing viewers and under attack by the tabloid critics.  The show had to evolve and change.  Måns took over in 2011 and with this younger presenter came a number of younger current chart acts which in turn brought a noticeably younger audience to Solliden.  To outsiders, Allsång may look like a quaint, outmoded concept, but I will always defend its right to exist.  And even if it's only within the grounds of Skansen, the show continues to unite young and old in their love of Swedish music, a good old sing-song and a celebration of the Swedish summertime.

You won't be surprised to learn that my absolute highlight of this summer's series was the return of Oskar Linnros, who has become a much bigger star since his 2010 debut performance on the show.  I also enjoyed the "Så Mycket Bättre"-themed week with Petra Marklund, Style and Petter on that week's guest list.  As ever, there was the usual quota of Melodifestivalen acts: Anton Ewald was particularly impressive as was this year's MF winner Robin Stjernberg of course.  And then we also had this year's ESC winner: Emmelie de Forest, barefooting her way across the stage (and presumably leaving herself wide open to a foot infection - sorry, but seeing people going barefoot makes me squirm!).

2013 may not have been a vintage Allsång year, relying on safe crowdpleasers like Gyllene Tider, Magnus Uggla and Håkon Hellström and mixing these with here-today gone-tomorrow chart acts, but one thing's for sure, Måns was an excellent presenter and will be missed.  He will be a tough act to follow, and SVT will have some work to do.  They need to get it right, to identify someone who will appeal to all ages and tastes.

Bosse Larsson, Lasse Berghagen, Anders Lundin, Måns Zelmerlöw - who will be next on the list of Allsång presenters?  Names in the frame with the bookies include Marie Serneholt, Lena Philipsson, Danny Saucedo, Kalle Moreus.  If, as is rumoured, the next host will be the first ever female presenter of the show, I think Lena Philipsson would be a fantastic choice; not only is she a great singer and entertainer, loved by the Swedes, but she also has the personality and charisma to effortlessly take on the role of Allsång presenter.  I would have my doubts about Marie Serneholt or Danny Saucedo - I like them, but I don't think they're ready for the job yet.  One thing's for sure, I hope they don't give the job to the ubiquitous Gina Dirawi....

Let's just hope that, whoever gets the job, that SVT continues to let all of us who live outside Sweden watch and enjoy the show, unlike TV4 which continues to deny all of us (outside Sweden) the chance to see "Lotta på Liseberg" and "Sommarkrysset" on their website, limiting it only to viewers in Sweden.  Which is a real shame, as both shows have had a good line-up of guests this year.

But back to Måns.  He's now concentrating on the next phase of his music career and is getting ready to release his "Barcelona Sessions" album which, if the excellent "Broken Parts" is anything to go by, will be worth the wait.  This album will see Måns moving away from the schlager/pop sound of his first two albums in favour of a more 'adult' sound in the anthemic style of, say, Coldplay or Keane.   Good luck with your future adventures Måns!