THE CROSS-EUROPE CHART CHALLENGE... of Death! CROATIA
I am back from my break. I am extremely sunburnt, so I'll have no choice but to stay indoors and listen to magnificent pop for a few days. Which makes this the ideal time to start Round 2 of the Cross Europe Chart Challenge.
Right, let me tell you how I know it's gonna be. I wanted to include a few other countries but I didn't know how. But I do now, so starting in round 2 there'll be some other countries included. Then, at the end of Round 6, there'll be an extra round for those countries that missed out first time around.
I'd always envisaged Croatia, or Hrvatska to its people, to be one of the big powerhouses of Europop that doesn't travel. Why? I don't know, but it seemed bad that they had to be left out of the CECCOD - but a helpful reader pointed me in the direction of
their chart and a series of good fortunes enabled me to get them off Soulseek. Vesna Pisarovic was fairly easy to get, mind.
1. DINO - Ti Si Moja Prva Ljubav. This seems to be the Croatian entrant in the 2003 Junior Eurovision Contest - so it's charting a bit late after the event isn't it? Anyway, it's much better than the Belgian entry that was hovering around their charts in Round 1 (Xink I think they were called). It actually reminds me a teensy bit in places of the underrated Slovenian entry at the normal Eurovision - anyway, decent, nice chorus, key change bit, well done kids.
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2. COLONIA - Plamen Od Ljubavi. Yep - a fine song. Well constructed, sounds interesting, is not Varaždinski Band Aid... everything's a plus here. Up four spots from #6 last week and definitely deserving of it.
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3.LJUBOMORA , Vesna Pisarovic. Good up-tempo dance number. A bit like J-Lo's Waiting For Tonight, if that weren't a big pile of shit, obviously. I like how it opens with probably real drums lulling you into thinking it's not a big Eurodance thing and then it sensibly cheeses out nicely.
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4. VARAZDINSKI BAND AID - Bozicna. Band Aid? No, it couldn't a treacly charity thing, could it? Fortunately I can't tell what the song is about exactly, but the presence of what sounds like someone has selected the "choir ooh" noise on their cheap keyboard confirms that it is rubbish.
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5. TONY CETINSKI - Nebo Iznad Nas. Would that the vocals were mixed lower - they're too loud, and the worst thing about this. There's a good bassline in the chorus, and the whole thing has a quite nice funky squelching rhythm that's drowned out a bit. Could have been good - especially if it had been a little bit faster.
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6. JELENA RADAN - Netko Drugi. Not a patch on previous ace single
Povedi Me - big stirring chorus is present, but not correct - it's not particularly thrilling or exciting, or even, in fact, stirring at all.
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7. IVANA BANFIC - Lav U Scru. Sounds a bit like someone programmed a music box to play the pre-chorus from Wild World at the start. That plonging noise in the background hasn't been used in a Eurohit I've heard in about eight years - good to have it back. For a dancy song, this has a bit of variety in the rhythm, and it's not bad. Instrumental break recalls the glorious break from
All The Things She Said, if not precisely, at least in spirit.
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8. CHARLIE & TEQUILA BAND - Da Mogu Vrijeme Vratiti. Decent and no more; fairly agreeable summery riff, some nice blips and sparkling noises but not really much that's engaging in the way of melody.
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9. VANNA - Kao Da Me Nema. Uses that R&B guitar intro that TLC's No Scrubs (seemingly) invented (even though it didn't) and rendered obsolete in the space of four minutes. I like the way Vanna sings, she's putting a lot into it, and she raises her game when the big, chunky beats come in behind her. It's a nice building effect, rather diminished by an ungrateful chorus which loses momentum almost immediately. The verses are good - another missed opportunity here...
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10. MAJA SUPUT & ENJOY - Onako Kako Ti Znas. The chorus reminds me of
Sunny Came Home. I don't know why, but this is not a good thing.
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46 for Croatia, then. While I'm here I would like to plug the only Croatian pop music blog I'm aware of,
Ruralna Gorila. Chances are that like me, you won't understand a word of it, but I suspect it's our loss. (And if the writer of that site is reading this,
recommend me Croatian pop please!)
