You can call me ManBoy

Or another thing about Swedish Music...

The lilacs that blanket my front walkway are in bloom. They are pretty, but their real glory is in how they fill the air with an indescribable sweet fragrance. And since that is an unbloggable experience (at least until Apple invents the iSmell), I shall instead return to the topic of pop music.

When I see the previous post title 'Swedish Music' I am reminded that the Melodifestival deserved a blog post, but never got one. Sweden goes crazy for a few weeks watching the song contest that made ABBA famous. Facebook posts, television, newspapers and even preschools conversations were all dedicated to this national song contest that determines which Swede will go on to the Eurovision song contest.

The song that won was sweet. The singer Anna was a bit plain, and she reminded me of Jewel. But the contest had fascinating contestants like tall hot swedish blondes with wind blown hair and accordions and baton twirling europop stars , singing in ways we would make fun of in the states.

The whole idea of a song contest is quaint. Times have changed- now we have American Idol- but in Florida I would have an inner chuckle every time my Swede would reverently mention a song as the winner of The Eurovision song contest. I had never heard of any of them. It seemed so, European, and in a weird Nena's '99 Luft Balloons' kinda way and not a hip Run Lola Run Franka Potente sorta way. (Must add: I want to be Franka Potente when I grow up. Besides being beautiful and cool, my job would be to make action movies with Matt Damon). Those singers are not Swedish by the way, they are both German, but you know, they are all Euro-.......as heard in the USA. The Eurovision contest does not make it to the USA.

It was fascinating to watch the passion the Melodifestival brought to Sweden. Even the preschoolers at Swedegirls schools were discussing it, and just the other day her neighborhood friend asked if she had gone to any performances. She occasionally mopes that she did not. Already at 5 she has her first case of keeping up with the Jones, or the Funkqvuists, or whatever....

The trickle down Melodifestival hit that stuck with our family cracks me up. The song Swedegirl was singing after school? The one SwedeDaddy and I happened to catch on TV?

It makes me think of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore everytime.

If I wrote for Saturday Night Live, you would see a skit with Ashton Kutcher singing this, in his undies ala Tom Cruise in Risky Business, with the 'Sprockets'-y back up dancers like in the video doing the wave and acting out 'halo on my head', and he would get that inexplicable gush of water, ala Flashdance, dumped on his head at the end. And of course, there would be the fake lightening, too.

The Eurovision contest concluded just yesterday. Sweden did not win, 19 year old Lena Meyer from Germany did with her song Satellite. She was so cute about it. German may not be the prettiest sounding language to the American ear, but English spoken with a German accent always sounds cool to me.

No one can say Finland did not try, or that Greece did not make a showing....or that Latvia did anything but try to get to the bottom of the deep questions in life. Or that UK did not put up a good fight in the back up dancer category.

As for me, you can call me ManBoy. I don't care, I'll show you how to love.