Lady Gaga - So Happy Could Die

It's another Fabulous Friday, and I've just woken up to blue skies, sun and a beautiful view from my room in a hotel outside Pafos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Unfortunately I will have to leave that behind today, but on the other hand I'm going back home to my beautiful wife, so I guess it evens out. Anyway, it being Friday and all, I have chosen a great song that mysteriously was never released as a single. "So Happy I Could Die" was featured on the Lady Gaga EP The Fame Monster (2009), that was released on its own as well as being bundled with her debut album The Fame as a deluxe edition. I think it's one of her very best songs, described by Wikipedia as Europop-influenced which I guess is pretty much spot on. It makes me want to dance, and so does the rest of my Fabulous Friday choices. Check them out here.

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Quantic & Nickodemus feat. Tempo & The Candela Allstars - Mi Swing Es Tropical

What a great song! "Mi Swing Es Tropical" is one of several great Latin-flavoured songs in Jon Favreau's wonderful feelgood film Chef, and is performed by a bunch of guys. Quantic is a British-born Columbia-based musician named Will Holland, Nickodemus I'm not sure about, he may be Dutch. Also present is the featured singer Hector "Tempo" Alomar and he's Puerto Rican, as is, I think, The Candela Allstars. No matter where any of these guys hail from, they deliver a fantastic tune, and their swing is indeed of the tropical variety. Do I know when it was first released? Either in 2005 (according to Discogs) or 2008 (according to a dubious Wikipedia article about Holland). I think Discogs is right, but never mind that, just dance!

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The Jayhawks - Angelyne

The Jayhawks, originally a vehicle for the singer/songwriter partners Mark Olson and Gary Louris, has mostly been run by Louris after Olson left the band in 1995. The two partners banded up together at a later stage, first for an acoustic 2009 album called Ready For The Flood under their own names, then for a proper new (but disapponting) Jayhawks album in 2011. The two are no longer on speaking terms and there have been no new Jayhawks records since, but we're left with an impressive legacy, both from the early years, and the later years when Louris has been the driving force. "Angelyne" stems from the latter period, from the 2003 album Rainy Day Music, and is one of the best songs on it, which actually says a lot as it's quite the record. This is simply a dead catchy pop song disguised as a country rock tune, something along the lines of "the best song Eagles never wrote".

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Magnet - She's Gone

Magnet is the alias of Norwegian singer/songwriter Even Johansen, internationally best known for his exquisite cover of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay", made as a duet with Gemma Hayes, that appeared in the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt vehicle Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He's made a lot of remarkable songs, but I still felt like playing another cover version of his. This wonderful take on Bob Marley's timeless "She's Gone" appeared on his wonderful 2007 album The Simple Life. Give it a spin!

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Jon McLaughlin - You Can Never Go Back

Pop singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin, not to be confused with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, was totally unknown to me until this afternoon when a friend of mine asked me to check out his song "You Can Never Go Back". And boy do I like it! An Electric Light Orchestra-inspired song that evens namechecks Kublai Khan's summer capital Xanadu just like ELO did with Olivia Newton-John in 1980, and sports a fabulous power poppish guitar solo that puts me in mind of New Radicals' awesome "You Get What You Give". The song is lifted off McLaughlin's second album, 2008's OK Now. Love it!

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Alan Jackson feat. Jimmy Buffett - It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

It's always five o'clock somewhere, and today it's even Fabulous Friday. Country singer Alan Jackson enlisted Jimmy Buffett to help him out towards the end of this incredible party song and you'll soon know why, as Jackson's blending him perfectly into the song. It's already a good party but when we enter Buffett's fictional paradise Margaritaville it gets even better. If this doesn't get you in a good mood, nothing will. But remember - play it loud!

Check out previous Fabulous Friday entries here.

Charmed - My Heart Goes Boom

It's Fabulous Friday and as we'll find out tomorrow which song will represent Norway in this year's Eurovision Song Contest we're looking back to the year 2000 and the girl trio Charmed that entered the contest with a dead catchy Motown pastiche called "My Heart Goes Boom". It was not a great success, but not that bad either as it got to number 11 out of 24 participants. Charmed was, unsurprisingly, a short-lived act. They recorded one album in the wake of "My Heart Goes Boom" and then they went boom too. Still, this is a great song.

Also, you should listen to previous Fabulous Friday entries. They are gathered here.

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Justin Currie - If I Ever Loved You

Now this song... Is it possible to write such an obvious candidate for best ballad of all time and be more or less completely overlooked? In 2007 former lead singer of the Scottish band Del Amitri released his first solo album, What Is Love For, and on that album were featured a song called "If I Ever Loved You". It's a big ballad in its original recorded form, and I really have no idea how this was never picked up by anyone important enough to make it a hit, or even make it known to at least a few people. The album tanked, and Currie's two subsequent albums, good as they are, didn't fare much better.

Anyway, the clip you're about to see is from a BBC Songwriters Circle show, where Currie, The Bible frontman Boo Hewerdine and former Squeeze singer Chris Difford share the stage, swapping songs. The piano from the original is replaced by a lone acoustic guitar, and Currie's beautiful, haunting voice. At the end of a song Difford's in tears, thanking Currie for this incredible song. So, at least some people appreciate it, and if it's been a while since you've seen a grown man cry, here's your chance. Hope you like this song too. For me, it's one of the finest songs ever written.

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The Kooks - Naive

Rock or "indie"? Who cares? The Kooks have a knack for writing great pop songs such as "Naive" which was the fourth single off the 2006 debut album Inside In/Inside Out. It's the same album that features "Ooh La", the album's sixth (!) single, which may be their most well-known song, but didn't exactly explode on the charts at the time of release. Nevertheless, singer Liam Pritchard and his partners in crime know a good pop song when they hear it. Or write it. Catch-eeee!

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The Waterboys - Every Breath Is Yours

The Waterboys' 2003 album Universal Hall contains some truly great songs, but is not that well known. "Every Breath Is Yours" is a wonderful ballad, a love song of the kind that Mike Scott seems to excel in, such as "She Is So Beautiful" and "How Long Will I Love You", songs about undying, eternal, at times even spiritual, love. This one is as beautiful a love song as can be written, with simple words about true devotion, repeated again and again, with an enticing, irresistable melody. Mike Scott at his best.

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Marina And The Diamonds - Happy

Marina Lambrini Diamandis, more commonly known under the moniker Marina And The Diamonds, is a Welsh singer/songwriter with more than a small modicum of success with hit singles like "I Am Not A Robot" and "How To Be A Heartbreaker", and April will see the release of her third album Froot. The title track was released as the first single in October, and the ballad "Happy" in December, drowning quietly in the Christmas preparations. "Happy" is definitely the better of the two, a sensationally pretty ballad that sounds like a cross between Lana Del Rey and Cyndi Lauper. This is just plain Beautiful, with a capital B, a grower of a song that in a perfect world would be a huge hit, sounding as it does like a truly timeless ballad. I simply adore this song!

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The Jayhawks - Better Days

After their fourth album, the masterful Tomorrow The Green Grass, founding member Mark Olson left The Jayhawks in the hands of his former band and songwriting partner Gary Louris who took the band away from their country rock sound into a more straightforward 70's style rock direction that had previously only been hinted at. The two subsequent albums, Sound Of Lies (1997) and Smile (2000) are different beasts, but in my opinion as good or even better that the band's previous critically acclaimed albums. Of the many excellent songs off them, I hold the Smile track "Better Days" in especially high regard, a sort of Badfinger-esque power ballad with a lot of punch and a melody to die for.

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The Margarets - Alain Delon

OK then, time to get serious. A recent result of pure madness was when some friends and I made our individual best of lists from each decade, starting with 50 songs from the 1950's, then a 100 each for the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's. Any of these lists can be accessed in WiMP by clicking on the tags, but now I just felt like concentrating on what I regard as the best song of the entire decade spanning 2000 to 2009. That title goes to Norwegian band The Margarets who recorded four albums before disbanding some years ago, and I fully expect most people in the world to totally disagree with me. But needless to say, I'm a fan, equally needless to say, I regard "Alain Delon" as their finest moment. It was released as a double A-sided single along with "Rubber Rubbish" in 2001, and both songs - excellent as they are - popped up on their debut album What Kept You? in 2002. To me, this is pop music as good as it gets. Now, the good news is that three of the core members of The Margarets are back together under the moniker Giske (the name of the island on the west coast of Norway where they hail from) and will release an album this spring. I can't wait.

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Gyllene Tider - Du måste skämta

Gratulerer med dagen til Per Gessle, som fyller 56 år i dag. Gessle er simpelthen å regne for en popgud, ikke minst gjennom sin posisjon i Gyllene Tider, kanskje det beste svenskspråklige popbandet som noen gang har eksistert. Med bena godt plantet i en klassisk pop/rocktradisjon som favner bredt, fra Buddy Holly og Eddie Cochran til T. Rex og David Bowie, videre til pubrockere som Dr. Feelgood (hvis hit "Roxette" ga navn til duoen Gessle utgjør med Marie Fredriksson) og Rockpile, og innom alt mellom himmel og jord underveis, er Gessle en ekte poptyv. Han låner/stjeler her og der, og han får det meste til å låte helt perfekt og superfresht. "Du måste skämta" er en av favorittene mine, hentet fra 2004s comeback album Finn 5 fel.

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Michael Bublé - Haven't Met You Yet

One of the happiest songs I know, "Haven't Met You Yet" is a track off Canadian pop/jazz singer Michael Bublé's fourth album, 2009's Crazy Love. It's the perfect song about the person you have yet to meet and that will change your life completely, overly romantic and upbeat, a feelgood song for the ages. In the music video the love interest actually is Bublé's then fiancée and future wife, Argentinian singer and actress Luisana Lopilato. It's a knock-out song that always makes me smile broadly. I love it!

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Gloria - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

After being alerted to it only a year ago, the Swedish group called Gloria's 2003 version of Talking Heads "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" has become one of my all time favourite covers. Adding further lightness and an updated production it doesn't differ wildly from the original, only emphasizing the song's qualities. Having said that, this is still among my favourite David Byrne songs, a piece of stunningly brilliant and original pop music. Gloria's version is from an album titled People Like You And Me, and either way, this is classic stuff!

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Van Morrison - The Way Young Lovers Do (live)

In 2008 Van Morrison revisited his landmark 1968 album Astral Weeks, performing the eight songs live, starting with two shows at The Hollywood Bowl on November 7 and 8. These concerts were recorded and subsequently released both as a CD and DVD. Of the shows Morrison said they "gave me a welcome opportunity to perform these songs the way I originally intended them to be." Here's "The Way Young Lovers Do" in all its newfound glory, the fifth song of the album, and originally the first track on side B for those who think this matters. Enjoy!

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Kent m/Nancy Danino - FF

Såvidt jeg vet er det litt uklart hva "FF" betyr, men en teori er at initialene står for "Franske Flickan" og refererer til Nancy Danino som synger låta sammen med Kents frontfigur og låtskriver Joakim Berg. Samma det, det som betyr noe er at "FF" er en fantastisk poplåt, et av høydepunktene på Vapen & Ammunition, Kents femte - og beste - album som ble utgitt i 2002. Kul video er det også, og breaket der Danino resiterer noen linjer på fransk er simpelthen dødssexy. Klassiker!

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The Postal Service - Nothing Better

American electronic pop band The Postal Service released one wonderful album, Give Up, in 2003 on Seattle's famed Sub Pop label that used to be home to Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and others during the grunge years of the late 1980's/early 1990's. A very different band than any of those, it was based around singer Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab For Cutie fame) and producer Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Headset) with Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) appearing as background singer and keyboards player during live performances. The album is filled with amazing pop songs, and the duet "Nothing Better" has rightfully been likened to Human League's "Don't You Want Me". The female voice belongs to solo artist and former Tattle Tale member Jen Wood, and she trades lines with Ben Gibbard's protagonist who refuses to realize their relationship is over whereas she has long since given him his final chance. Sad, but hauntingly beautiful.

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Sade - It's Only Love That Gets You Through

To say that I eagerly awaited Lovers Rock , Sade's 2000 album, would be an understatement. This is a singer/songwriter I truly cherish, and Lovers Rock was her first new release in eight years. Spearheaded by the wonderful single "By Your Side" it's my favourite album of hers along with the 1984 debut Diamond Life, full of exquisitely beautiful songs. Those are the best words to describe "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", the album's closing track that is not much more than a whisper of a song. These are four minutes of rare beauty. By the way, she left us waiting for another ten years before we got another album, Soldier Of Love, so who knows when there will be a new one...

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