wibble

I’m not generally good at predicting - so getting 4 right is OK by me.

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British male solo artist: Jamie T, Mark Ronson, Mika, Newton Faulkner, Richard Hawley.
Me - Mika
Winner - Mark Ronson (see comment in original post!)

British female solo artist: Bat For Lashes, Kate Nash, KT Tunstall, Leona Lewis, PJ Harvey.
Me - Kate Nash
Winner - Kate Nash

British group: Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Girls Aloud, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That.
Me - Take That
Winner - Arctic Monkeys

British album: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare, Leona Lewis - Spirit, Mark Ronson - Version, Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion, Take That - Beautiful World.
Me - Mark Ronson - Version
Winner - Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

British breakthrough act: Bat For Lashes, Kate Nash, Klaxons, Leona Lewis, Mika. (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 1 listeners)
Me - Mika
Winner - Mika

British live act: Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Klaxons, Muse, Take That. (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 2 listeners)
Me - Take That/Kaiser Chiefs
Winner - Take That

British single: Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love, Mika - Grace Kelly, Take That - Shine, Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby, Sugababes - About You Now, Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie, Kate Nash - Foundations, The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray, James Blunt - 1973, Mutya Buena - Real Girl. (A live public vote will decide the winner on the night)
Me - Mark Ronson - Valerie
Winner - Take That - Shine

International male solo artist: Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Michael Buble, Rufus Wainwright, Timbaland.
Me - Timbaland
Winner - Kanye West
(I chose the right genre, but the wrong artist )

International female solo artist: Alicia Keys, Bjork, Feist, Kylie Minogue, Rihanna.
Me - Rihanna
Winner - Kylie Minogue

International group: Arcade Fire, Eagles, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, White Stripes.
Me - Foo Fighters
Winner - Foo Fighters

International album: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden, Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times, Kylie Minogue - X.
Me - Kylie Minogue
Winner - Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
 

Another awards list, another one of my tips…  although it’s a bit more difficult this time.
Best British Band: Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, The Cribs, Klaxons, Muse
Arctic Monkeys

Best International Band: Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Kings Of Leon, My Chemical Romance
The Killers

Best New Band: The Enemy, Foals, Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, The Pigeon Detectives, The Wombats
The Wombats

Best Live Band: Arctic Monkeys, The Cribs, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, My Chemical Romance
Arctic Monkeys

Best Solo Artist: Kate Nash, Jamie T, Jack Penate, Amy Winehouse, Patrick Wolf
Kate Nash

Best Album: ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ - Arctic Monkeys, ‘Shotters Nation’ - Babyshambles, ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’ - The Enemy, ‘Myths Of The Near Future’ - Klaxons, ‘In Rainbows’ - Radiohead
The Enemy

Best Track: ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ - Arctic Monkeys, ‘Flux’ - Bloc Party, ‘Men’s Needs’ - The Cribs, ‘Lord Don’t Slow Me Down’ - Oasis, ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’ - The Wombats
The Wombats

Best Video: ‘Teddy Picker’ - Arctic Monkeys, ‘Flux’ - Bloc Party, ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ - Justice, ‘Golden Skans’ - Klaxons, ‘Teenagers’ - My Chemical Romance
Bloc Party

Best Album Artwork: ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ - Arctic Monkeys - ‘The Good, The Bad And The Queen’ - The Good, The Bad And The Queen, ‘Sawdust’ - The Killers, ‘Because Of The Times’ - Kings Of Leon, ‘Send Away The Tigers’ - Manic Street Preachers
The Killers

Worst Album: ‘1973′ - James Blun, ‘The Trick To Life’ - The Hoosiers, ‘Spirit’ - Leona Lewis, ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ - Mika, ‘Blackout’ - Britney Spears
Spirit

Worst Band: 30 Seconds To Mars, Fall Out Boy, The Hoosiers, My Chemical Romance, Panic At The Disco
Harsh…

So the Brits nominations have been announced.

Here are my choices for each category - let’s see how many I get right. :)  As my tastes are different I don’t expect there too be many matches…

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The shortlist for this year’s Brit Awards, to be held at Earls Court, London on 20 February.

British male solo artist: Jamie T, Mark Ronson, Mika, Newton Faulkner, Richard Hawley.
I’m going for Mika as he’s made the most contribution to the charts this year. Although Mark Ronson is also in the running, technically I don’t class him strictly as a solo artist.

British female solo artist: Bat For Lashes, Kate Nash, KT Tunstall, Leona Lewis, PJ Harvey.
Again, Kate Nash has had more impact on the charts, so I have plumped for her.  This is a difficult category as there are many other good artists. Bat For Lashes are brilliant, but probably not a mainstream choice, KT Tunstall - second album so currently in the spotlight, Leona Lewis - large sales, but not much else (?).

British group: Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Girls Aloud, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That.
I’ll go for Take That as last year was their comeback year, whilst the other groups have plodded along over the last year.

British album: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare, Leona Lewis - Spirit, Mark Ronson - Version, Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion, Take That - Beautiful World.
Mark Ronson - Version for me.  Although mainly covers, I like the way current songs are made to sound different.

British breakthrough act: Bat For Lashes, Kate Nash, Klaxons, Leona Lewis, Mika. (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 1 listeners)
Mika again as he has had the most success over the last year.  (Although if this is Radio 1’s choice it will probably end up being Klaxons.)

British live act: Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Klaxons, Muse, Take That. (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 2 listeners)
Not sure about this one…  Take That or Kaiser Chiefs based on personal taste.

British single: Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love, Mika - Grace Kelly, Take That - Shine, Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby, Sugababes - About You Now, Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie, Kate Nash - Foundations, The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray, James Blunt - 1973, Mutya Buena - Real Girl. (A live public vote will decide the winner on the night)
Another difficult one - I can think of a good case for each of these songs. I have a feeling it may be Mark Ronson - Valerie. (Kate Nash and The Hoosiers are my other front-runners).

International male solo artist: Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Michael Buble, Rufus Wainwright, Timbaland.
This would have to be Timbaland as he was everywhere and working with almost everyone in 2007.

International female solo artist: Alicia Keys, Bjork, Feist, Kylie Minogue, Rihanna.
2007 seemed to be Rihanna’s year and looks set to continue for a few months yet…

International group: Arcade Fire, Eagles, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, White Stripes.
No idea - Foo Fighters?

International album: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden, Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times, Kylie Minogue - X. 
I don’t think any of these albums are particularly spectacular, but I’ll go for Kylie Minogue - X.

The Christmas songs below are those that made it into the Christmas chart for 2007.  Let’s see how fast they fall out!

#4 - Fairytale Of New York - Pogues Featuring Kirsty Maccoll
#6 - All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
#16 - Last Christmas - Wham
#18 - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard
#20 - Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
#21 - It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams
#22 - Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin’ Stevens
#24 - Do They Know It’s Christmas - Band Aid
#33 - Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
#34 - Don’t Shoot Me Santa - Killers
#41 - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band
#42 - White Christmas - Bing Crosby
#44 - Wonderful Christmastime - Paul Mccartney
#47 - Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord - Boney M
#49 - It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like - Perry Como
#51 - The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
#53 - Step Into Christmas - Elton John
#60 - Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town - Bruce Springsteen
#68 - Mistletoe And Wine - Cliff Richard
#72 - Walking In The Air - Aled Jones
#73 - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby & David Bowie
#76 - Santa Baby - Kylie Minogue
#86 - Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
#87 - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Dean Martin
#93 - Please Come Home For Christmas - Eagles
#94 - Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
#105 - Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) - Darkness
#106 - When A Child Is Born - Johnny Mathis
#111 - Last Christmas - Cascada
#115 - Frosty The Snowman - Ronettes
#120 - Christmas Wrapping - Waitresses
#121 - Lonely This Christmas - Mud
#123 - Calling It Christmas - Joss Stone & Elton John
#128 - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
#150 - Do They Know It’s Christmas - Band Aid 20
#151 - A Spaceman Came Travelling - Chris De Burgh
#156 - Sleigh Ride - Ronettes
#157 - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble
#159 - Proper Crimbo - Bo Selecta
#160 - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Frank Sinatra
#185 - 8 Days Of Christmas - Destiny’s Child
#187 - Winter Wonderland - Tony Bennett
#189 - Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree - Mel Smith & Kim Wilde
#195 - Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley

I think this song is starting to rival the record for the most number of artists to record a song.
As far as I know there are versions by
- Bellefire
- Jo O’Meara
- Rascal Flatts
- Cascada

Any more to come?

So it’s all over for another year, and again a poor showing for the UK entry. While in some ways it wasn’t the best song, I find it hard to believe that Scooch only managed to get two countries voting for them.

Unlike 2003, where the ‘nul points’ was seen as a political statement about the opposition to the Iraq war, over the last few years it must be partly down to the quality of the songs offered by the UK.

That said, the ‘friendly’ voting does detract from the whole idea that is Eurovision. Sure, it may be that the Eastern European countries like the same type of music, and would therefore vote for each other (but this doesn’t explain how Finland won last year). However, I think some steps need to be taken to rein this in somehow.

Some thoughts I’ve had on this (which are unworkable!):

• No country can award 12points to the same country 2 years in a row - unworkable because it’s too difficult to keep track of
• A country can’t vote for it’s immediate neighbours - unworkable as some smaller countries they have too many bordering countries
• Scale back on the number of countries entering - I think the contest is currently too long, not that this will help with the voting
• Split the whole contest into two - Western/Eastern (yeah right - double the budget etc…)

Other possibilities I’ve seen:

• Hold a separate Eastern European and European semi-final and the top 12 of each go through to the final
• No longer have televoting and go back to a jury system - I think this is unworkable as it becomes more of a jury of ‘arty’ types deciding on a song rather than what the public like

As I’ve seen elsewhere, what is needed from the UK is a proper singer and a decent song. Yes, Scooch were once a proper band, but the start of the song on the night didn’t do them any favours.

So, roll on Eurovision 2008 in Serbia

Well, after having listened to all the songs for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, I think I can safely say that the UK entry doesn’t have a hope of winning.  There are some far stronger songs than Scooch’s, and even some of those will get knocked out during the semi-final on 10 May.

Not that it means that much of course. Being one of the ‘permanent’ members, the UK will not be booted out for a year (or more).

 All will be revealed on 12 May

So Scooch are representing the United Kingdom in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.  Scooch weren’t the best of chart acts when they were around (reaching #5 in 2000), but they generally sang catchy pop songs.  – I should know, I’ve got their album

However, while this type of pop generally works for the likes of Sweden and their endless Abba-like songs and acts, I’m not sure it will work for the UK.  Admittedly the Katrina & The Waves winner was a proper pop song, but that was 10 years ago.   

These days, with the influx of Eastern European countries, tastes have changed a bit.  For example, Finland’s winner last year - Hard Rock Hallelujah - is probably the ‘heaviest’ song to be entered and also win the competition. (Yes, I know Finland is not in Eastern Europe).

So we’ll have to wait and see what happens in May.  As usual, I’ll be watching it, which to me is better now that they’ve speeded up the voting procedure at the end.  Now all they have to do is find a way to get rid of the ‘friendly voting’ between countries - especially the Eastern Europeans…

I was looking at some old charts of the 50s and early 60s, with the dominance of soundtracks.  Why is the term ‘Original Soundtrack’ used?  As opposed to ‘Unoriginal Soundtrack’  As far as I know there is no such thing.  If another album is produced it is invariably by Various Artists or Soundtrack II.  (The ‘Original’ bit seems to have been used ages ago, so it doesn’t seem to be anything to do with the fad of re-recording songs with different artists during the 70s!)