Song of the Day: “Wake Up Everybody”

Hi, everyone! First off the bat, the Julia Barry goodie bag giveaway is still underway. Just share the link to the review of “Once, Or Twice” found on this blog, and make sure to include the tags #harmonyavenue and #juliabarrymusic! You can look at my Twitter feed (on the sidebar) or Julia’s (found at http://twitter.com/juliabarrymusic), for a helpful sample tweet you can feel free to RT for easy entry into the contest. Second, here’s another great Song of the Day. Today, take a listen to…

“Wake Up Everybody” by John Legend & The Roots (feat. Melanie Fiona & Common)!

Good golly, that’s a lot to type. Anyways, I’ve been a fan of John Legend’s music for a while, ever since I heard “Ordinary People” on a terrific jazz radio station we used to have here in AZ. His voice is absolutely terrific, he’s a great pianist, and his songwriting more often than not is top-notch. I loved his last CD, and was very interested to see how his new CD, with the Roots (a rock-solid band that you might have seen as the house players on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”), turned out. Oddly enough, the first time I checked it out, I largely skipped over “Wake Up Everybody.” The fact that it featured Melanie Fiona (a terrific singer I discovered via iTunes’ free download of the week) made me happy, but the fact that it also included Common (a rapper) kind of scared me off. (I am a huge, huge rap music hater. It really can’t be helped.) Then I heard the song on “Dancing With The Stars” a few weeks later (sans Melanie & Common)…and I really, really loved it. I finally took a listen to the entire studio recording of the song, and even though it indeed did include rapping, I was drawn in by the beautiful, subtly danceable music (it’s a song you can get funky to ), and even better, the really uplifting, positive message of the song. John, Melanie, Common, and the Roots really do a terrific job here. If there were more tunes like “Wake Up Everybody” in the world, it would definitely be a much better place.

Remember to read the review below this post, and enter to win! Thanks for reading Harmony Avenue, and as always, if you’d like to take your shoes off and stay awhile, and get notified of new posts, make sure to subscribe over there in the sidebar! Have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow, by the way.

Album Review: Once, Or Twice

OK, now I can talk about the free stuff. Actually, not yet. First, a little background. This is a review of the newest album by a terrific artist named Julia Barry. She was the SoundClouder of the Day on SoundCloud a month or two ago (where SoundCloud spotlights various users & artists for a day), and after checking the songs she had up on her profile, I was completely hooked. So here’s the review of “Once, Or Twice”…stay tuned right afterwards for details on how you can win some free stuff. And some other cool items of business.

Album: Once, Or Twice

Album Artist: Julia Barry

Released: July 2010

There are few things reviewers tend to use more than comparisons. Perhaps it’s a way to make music look more competitive…or to make a tangible connection to the reader as to what avenue the artist being reviewed is taking…or just a way to throw around names for kicks and giggles. Heck, sometimes even the musicians themselves end up using comparisons, in order to draw people with similar tastes to their craft. Whatever the reason, it’s hard for a musician to escape comparisons (whatever they may be) in today’s music world, and for female singer/songwriters, it’s often been vogue for one singular name to pop up over and over again…that of Joni Mitchell. If a woman plays piano and/or guitar, sings, and writes something anywhere near introspective, she must be the second coming of Joni Mitchell. Sometimes, these comparisons are slightly misplaced…the artist in question may be outstanding, but they may have little to do with the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter. The essence of Joni is sometimes hard to place, and all too often it ends up misplaced when used in reference to contemporary female artists.

Which makes it all the more interesting that the first name that came to mind when I sat down and listened to Julia Barry’s new album “Once, Or Twice” was…Joni Mitchell. Sonically, the two women aren’t quite the same…Julia brings a much more jazz-fueled, at times blues-tinged aesthetic to her music, while the jazz influences in Mitchell’s music have mostly remained either incredibly subtle or readily apparent. But there’s something about Julia Barry’s music that finds a kindred spirit in what Joni Mitchell has become so well-known and beloved for. “Once, Or Twice” is a lush, rich record full of beautiful, haunting music, sung by a voice that’s all at once pure, flexible, and expressive. What’s more, Julia Barry has a unique gift for songwriting and storytelling. Her songs paint a picture…often mysterious, sometimes unclear, almost always open to interpretation by the listener…but vivid and gorgeous all the same. She draws the listener in with warm, deeply personal songcraft, but at the same time stays enigmatic, revealing something new upon each listen.

The record starts off with “But Sweet,” a softly playful tune (with some terrific guitar work) that begins with the boldly adventurous line, “She was a sexy thing, and he liked that she secretly wore zebra underpants.” This is the kind of smoky, sultry number that could easily go wrong…but Julia keeps it grounded with an assured, lovely delivery, and an intriguing tonal shift in the latter part of the song. “Yet I Do” and “For Example” are both absolutely gorgeous ballads that practically radiate depth and beauty. (Barry’s crystal-clear upper register is used to devastating effect in the latter’s chorus.) “What Else” drives and flows with a unique urgency, and “Both Sides of the Moon” uses a quick, majestic piano intro to segue into a beautifully dark, textured swing.

Things keep getting better and better as the record goes on. “Everything Is Perfect,” where Julia is accompanied by only a guitar, is, well, pretty close to perfect. Arguably the best cut on the record, “Tell Me” is a subtly haunting bossa nova full of beautifully expressed heartfelt and loneliness. It practically begs for repeat listening. “Reverse” is also one of the album’s standouts, with some interesting slight rhythmic shifts, great lyrics, and a deeply melodic sensibility. “What If Love,” backed by luscious strings and piano, almost plays like a tone poem (think Joni Mitchell with “Paprika Plains”). “Canyon” is excellently soft and meandering, much like the barren desert landscapes it draws its imagery from. Finally, the album closer, “Homeward,” is strikingly written in a minor key, but makes a haunting balance between the light and the dark.

All in all, this is an outstanding album, full of life, spirit, and deep emotion. It’s beautifully sung, beautifully written, and beautifully performed, and isn’t just good for frequent listening…it deserves nothing less. Decades ago, Joni Mitchell made waves across the landscape of music with her haunting songcraft, and became an icon of the singer/songwriter genre. If there is any good in the world, Julia Barry will find the same success. With “Once, Or Twice,” she has certainly earned it.

 

*So now that you’ve read the review, you’re probably wondering how you can get this album. Or how you can find out more about Julia Barry. Guess what…you can! In about a week’s time, I’ll be posting an interview with Julia on this very blog. There are two contests that will be running in conjunction with the interview. First, you can win a free swag bag full of goodies from Julia (including “Once, Or Twice”). How? Just share the link to this very review on Twitter or Facebook. (You’re welcome to post it on both, but your entry will only be counted once.) The deadline for entry is Friday (though feel free to share Julia’s music, and this blog, long after that). In order for us to be able to find it easily, make sure to include the hashtags #harmonyavenue and #juliabarrymusic (whichever site you post it on). Here’s an example that you can feel free to copy and paste:

” Check out this review of  ”Once, Or Twice” & RT to win goodies + CD! http://wp.me/p19uKQ-V #harmonyavenue #juliabarrymusic “

Also, you can become a guest interviewer! Sort of. Submit your question for Julia via the comments. I’ll pick the best one for use in the interview.

The winner of the giveaway will be announced next week when I post the interview. Go forth and share! Feel free to share Harmony Avenue, or Julia’s music, in general as well.

Happy entering! And do you want to try before you buy/win? Listen to “Once, Or Twice” here:  http://juliabarry.com/album.html.

Song of the Day: “Do You Love Me”

Big, exciting things are afoot on Harmony Avenue! Starting tonight. But not yet. First, another lovely song of the day called…

“Do You Love Me” by Guster!

You know those ads on the side of Facebook? Yeah, they’re mostly annoying. But sometimes there’s some good ones. There are occasionally ads so painfully awkward they’re great to make fun of…but that’s not what I’m talking about here. There are also some ads for great music, and that’s how I discovered Guster, a great indie pop/rock band. The ad said something to the effect of “Do you like (insert artist I love here…I can’t remember quite which name the Facebook ad system pulled out of a hat)? Then you’ll love Guster! Listen to their new album here!” On an impulse, I clicked on it, and it took me to Guster’s Facebook page, where they had a SoundCloud preview of their whole latest album. And wow. It was good. DANG good. Here is one of my favorites. It’s a peppy, beautiful, totally uplifting and fun love song. (But not so peppy you’ll throw up…it’s a great balance of sweet and substantive.) Chances are it will brighten your mood. And take up residence in your head, but you won’t care because you’ll love it so much. Or something like that. Take a listen here:

Bonus! If you like what you hear…well, you’ll have to download this particular song on iTunes or something. But…there’s another song off Guster’s new album (called “Easy Wonderful”) that they’re offering for free! It’s a great tune called “Bad Bad World” (ironic title, eh?), and you can download it here: http://guster.com/badbadworld/

P.S.: So, the big, exciting things I was talking about earlier? They shall begin soon. I’ll be posting a special album review posthaste tonight, and you’ll have a chance to win free stuff! What is this, you say? Sorry, I can’t hear you right now. Details to come.

Sketches: Country Strong

Hi there! Once again, there’s been a bit of a gap between my last post and…now. Here’s another new feature…and this is one kind of without much bells and whistles. It’s where I want to basically just write. About a music-related topic that’s on my mind. For fun. And I might ramble. But with good intentions. I’ll call it “Sketches” (since that term is sometimes used in music for improv-type stuff, and that describes this fairly well). So let’s go!

This past Wednesday, I made a point of watching the CMA Awards on TV. It was years since I last saw them…I always see the commercials on TV and go, “Hmmm, that might be nice to see…” and then end up forgetting about it. This year, they were on a Wednesday, on a channel & time when I normally would be watching TV (ABC’s awesome Wednesday night comedy block…I love “Better With You” and “Modern Family”), so I decided to sit down and view my first CMA Awards in years.

Oh, by the way. I love country music. It’s a side of me that doesn’t often poke out too much nowadays…but country is what I grew up with. My love for jazz came on late in life, and any pop and rock songs I liked as a younger kid were spotty at best. We always listened to 107.9 FM (KMLE…”Camel Country one-oh-eight!”) in the car (we never cared for the Valley of the Sun’s other country station, 102.5, and we still don’t), we had the greatest hits of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Collin Raye (those are just off the top of my head), and I always simply always HAD to get the new Shania Twain/Dixie Chicks/SHeDAISY CD. Country was what I lived and breathed then.

So what changed? I’m not entirely sure. I discovered jazz in 3rd grade…my elementary school music teacher (an awesome, awesome guy named Paul Anderson who plays in a jazz band called the Yaman Jazz Syndicate) played Diana Krall once in class, and from then on, I was hooked…but I didn’t truly get into it until I was about 12 or so, and even then it was kind of slow going at first. But I guess it was probably the catalyst for me drifting a bit away from my country obsession. I slowly started actively seeking out and listening to a lot of different kinds of music, and for a while, country got shifted to the side. It went from being all I listened to, to being a tiny part of my music listening diet. I couldn’t really tell things were shifting then, but looking back now, it’s an interesting journey.

But as time has passed on, I’ve realized my love for country is still very much alive. I still treasure the Dixie Chicks, SHeDAISY, Shania Twain (the aforementioned trifecta of female country acts that I’ve always loved to pieces) collection I have, and have even added to it in the case of SHeDAISY in the past few years. (The only physical SHeDAISY CD I have is “Knock On The Sky,” which is by far my favorite of theirs. It’s terribly, terribly underrated. I might review it soon…anyways, all the music I have from their other CDs came from downloading songs individually over time.) There’s stuff peppered all over my iPod from Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jamie O’Neal, Brad Paisley (a few days ago I realized I only have two songs of his, and they’re both melancholy duet ballads ), Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Terri Clark, Rascal Flatts…the list goes on. It’s all kind of random in some places. I still haven’t recovered all the country songs I lost when we switched computers (I had a LOT more songs), so that accounts for a few missing areas, but mostly, my taste (as with any music) is kind of all over the place when it comes to country. I absolutely loved Rascal Flatts when they first came out (I remember my first thought upon hearing “Praying For Daylight” for the very first time on KMLE was, “Whoa! They’re like a cool N’Sync for country!”), but their newer stuff has left me a little cold. I love Brooks & Dunn’s CD “Steers & Stripes” (one of their mid-period albums), but I haven’t got around to putting any other music by them on my iPod. And so it goes for my whole collection. Even now, years after the fact, with me at 18, it’s still a work in progress.

I could go on and on about my country-related thoughts and memories…blasting Toby Keith’s “The Angry American” (a song I couldn’t stop listening to years ago, but now can’t really stand) with the windows open; going to my very first mainstream concert (by SHeDAISY) at the Arizona State Fair, and literally dancing in our way-in-the-back-of-the-coliseum aisle; being annoyed that my mom wouldn’t let us listen to “Goodbye Earl” and “Sin Wagon” off the Dixie Chicks’ “Fly” album (I still haven’t touched either of those songs in years); singing a Shania Twain song to a crush I had in elementary school in someone’s backyard at night. Those are just a few. Country has a special place in my heart. It always will, no matter how much at odds the country music field may be with most of the rest of my current tastes.

So back to the CMA Awards…I missed most of the first half because I had a previous engagement (I watched most of it later), but I caught some great performances: Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, and even Gwyneth Paltrow (singing a song from her new movie, “Country Strong”…I thought she did wonderfully) among them. I especially loved Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow’s tribute to Loretta Lynn (a country music legend, but only a recent find of mine), who even came out and surprised everyone, and rocked it (her voice sounds outstanding!) at the age of 76. All three of those powerful, talented women all on one stage? And then seeing Miranda Lambert getting the Female Vocalist of the Year award from Loretta Lynn, one of her idols? I almost cried, doggone it. No joke. (And by the way, afterwards I bolstered my Miranda Lambert collection on my iPod quite nicely. It went from 2 songs to…quite a lot more. She’s one ferociously talented artist. I’ve always been more inclined towards female vocalists…they’re just generally cooler…and Miranda is certainly no exception.) Plus Brad Paisley got Entertainer of the Year. I don’t have much of his music, like I said, but he seems like such a great guy. So all in all…a great night of music, one that stirred the old country boy in me once again. You just can’t keep a country music lover down.

Song of the Day: “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”

Happy Veterans/Remembrance Day, everyone. I’d like to share a haunting, beautiful tune today that fits this occasion rather well…

“Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” by Radiohead.

This song was released last August as a charity single (proceeds all go to the Royal British Legion) in tribute to Harry Patch, the last surviving trench fighter in World War I, who passed away last July. It’s a bit unlike Radiohead’s other music, with just Thom Yorke’s voice and a lush string arrangement by Jonny Greenwood. The lyrics are a slightly altered version of Patch’s own words. I’d like to take the time to post them here:

“i am the only one that got through
the others died where ever they fell
it was an ambush
they came up from all sides
give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves
i’ve seen devils coming up from the ground
i’ve seen hell upon this earth
the next will be chemical but they will never learn”

The realities of war are still stark and in our faces almost a century after Harry Patch gave his service in World War I. I applaud Radiohead for taking the time to create this outstanding piece of music to help us all remember the intense suffering, loss, and sacrifice of war…but also, within the music, providing hope someday for peace  and unity. It’s a powerful message, and a powerful song.

Let’s Play The Song Shuffle Game…

Here I am! With a post later tonight like I promised. (Sorry, but I have to celebrate the little things sometimes. ) Here’s where things get a little experimental. (And possibly reminiscent of Facebook?) Right now, I’m going to put my iTunes on shuffle…and write down (or rather, type) 10 songs. And then I’m going to ask myself random questions about each of them. And I’ll be kind of be winging this a bit. It should be fun? I hope so. Let’s see how this goes…

Da Songs:

1. Angels–David Archuleta
2. Valkyrie In The Roller Disco–The New Pornographers
3. Waiting On The World To Change–John Mayer
4. God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son–BYU Men’s Chorus
5. Under The Milky Way–Sia
6. King For A Day–Jamiroquai
7. Gloria–2009 Arizona All-State Choir
8. I Wish I Were In Love Again–Sarah Vaughan
9. Give Me The Simple Life–Ella Fitzgerald
10. Processional on “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”–Mormon Tabernacle Choir

So here we go. Ten questions. Each one about a different song.

1. How many times have you played number 6?

3, according to iTunes.

2. How did you find out about number 4?

Well, I kind of sang in Men’s Chorus all last year, so…I know the song very well. We all got 2-disc archival sets at the end of the school year, and naturally, “God Loved Us” (which we sang in General Conference) was on it.

3. Quote the first line from number 7.

Ah, good, I gave myself an easy one. (I’ve gotten to the point on my post editor that I can’t see the song list anymore, and I didn’t really try to keep track of the numbers before I started these questions, so this could actually be kind of random and arbitrary.) “Gloria in excelsis deo…” (Another song I was part of and had to memorize. )

4. When’s the last time you listened to number 1?

According to my handy dandy iTunes, February 28, at midnight.

5. If you could use one or two words to describe number 5, what word would you use?

Subtly brooding.

6. Who would be a great artist to cover number 8?

Haha, now I gave myself a doozy…since it’s a jazz standard and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t covered it. How about for a choice out of left field…since she just came on my shuffle (I’m keeping it running)…a haunting “Hide and Seek”-esque version by Imogen Heap?

7. Name another song you have by the artist who performed number 2.

“Go Places,” which was in fact the first song I downloaded by them. (It’s beautiful, by the way. I heard it in my junior English class and I simply had to get it on my iPod, regardless of the less-than-ideal name of the band.)

8. What would be a good alternate title for number 3?

Great, why did I come up with this question? How about…”Waiting on the World”? A cop out, I know, but it’s my blog.

9. Do you have any versions of number 10 by any other artists?

Yes, I believe. Let’s see…oh wait, apparently only one, by Rascal Flatts of all people. Interesting…

10. Translate number 9 into Spanish.

Dame la vida sencilla. (I may or may not had to resort to Google Translate. Sorry, but my Spanish is a bit rusty lately. )

Well, that was an interesting little puppy. Did you like it? Hate it? Sitting on the fence about it? Please do let me know, because I want to see whether it’s something worth keeping up or not. (I personally think it was kind of fun, which is always a good goal to achieve.) And here’s the part where you all (hopefully) get involved…in the comments, I’d you like to pick a few of these questions (however many of them you want, whether it be 1, 5, or 10, or anywhere in between) and then pick a few songs off of your particular music software’s shuffle function. (You can also use your iPod/Zune/MP3 player of some sort too.) Let’s see some of the answers you have, and make this a bit of a party.

Artist Spotlight: Lucy Schwartz

Howdy all! Well, it’s been six days since I last posted. It’s not as if this blog was empty otherwise, but I was intending to post regularly…so sorry about that. I shall do better in the future. Anyways, as promised, here’s another wonderful artist spotlight. (Later today I’ll also be introducing another new blog feature, so stay tuned.) Without further ado, today’s Artist Spotlight shines the musical light on…

Lucy Schwartz!

Lucy is a terrific singer/songwriter that I discovered while watching “The Women.” It was a pretty good movie (I liked it), and part of the conceit of the film was that everything about it involved women…no men appeared in any shots in the movie (even the long shots and crowd shots, which is pretty impressive), and only women were used for the soundtrack. One of those women, only about 16 or 17 years old (am I getting this right?) at the time, was Lucy Schwartz. She wasn’t only on the soundtrack once, but twice, and in addition, her songs were placed at the opening credits and the end credits. Which meant when I was wondering during the beginning, “Who is singing this really cool song?,” the answer to that question was…Lucy. I fell in love with the following two tunes from the movie:

I was listening to those songs over and over for the most part, but it took me a while to discover she had an independently released album already. It was called “Winter In June,” and I really loved it…but because I didn’t really have any spare cash for a while, it took me about a year to finally get it on my iPod, thanks to a free trial from eMusic where I got 50 free downloads. Here is one of my favorite cuts from that album (complete with music video! shiny!):

Not long after that, Lucy started kicking things up a notch, and before long, she had some new stuff, starting with a new EP that I was able to get pretty quickly (thanks to an interesting music site called Amie Street, where they have an interesting pricing system) after it came out. The title track (which I love) from that EP:

Finally, in September, a brand-spanking new album! A terrific song from that very album (which I got for free as a KCRW Song of the Day, and subsequently it skyrocketed to my 2nd-most-listened-to song in iTunes in about a month), called “Rain City”:

So what do I love about Lucy’s music? Here’s what I wrote in an email I sent to enter a contest to win a signed copy of “Life In Letters” (I won ), that I think describes it pretty well: “Sometimes listening to her music, it’s almost like she hacked into my brain and found out exactly what I like in music. It’s so perfectly put together…the chords, the lyrics, the vibe, her beautiful voice. It’s peaceful, exciting, unique, and wonderful all at the same time. I can’t get enough of it.” Her songs are just plain beautiful, happy, uplifting, haunting, and deep, sometimes all at the same time. Especially with the new album, Lucy is incredible at writing and making her music very textured and atmospheric. It tells a story.

Well, to close, two more items of interest. First, Lucy’s latest music video, choreographed by Sonya Tayeh of SYTYCD, that happened to win the MTV U Freshmen online poll, and now is in regular rotation on MTV U (heck yes!):

And finally, a gorgeous ballad called “Gone Away” that has a bit of a story with it. (Well, more of a personal connection, but whatever.) It’s on Lucy’s new album, but it came out as a single a while before that. Me, my sister, and her friend did a fun little covers project this summer called The Mesa Sessions (I wanted it to continue into the fall, but they’re too darn busy) and posted songs on YouTube, and “Gone Away” was one of them that I decided to sing. About a week or so after I posted it, I was shocked to find a comment on the video by…Lucy Schwartz! And she said it was good. (In case you’re wondering, I was eventually able to pick up my jaw from the floor. ) You can find my version on YouTube by searching for “gone away lucy schwartz cover” (it’s a few videos down, by the account called “mesasessions”), and here’s Lucy’s original (the single version, the album version is slightly different):

And finally…you can get Lucy’s song “Graveyard” (the song the music video is of above) for free! Head on out to this link: http://app.topspin.net/store/artist/2357?wId=30529&theme=black&highlightColor=#c9c9c9&w=400&h=333&src=fb

I’ll be posting again later today with a new feature. Feel free to comment, discuss, and even suggest your own favorite artists!

Song of the Day: “Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)”

Before I get into this post, let’s all take a moment to banish the procrastination/other stuff that has kept me from posting another Artist Spotlight since Thursday. Banish! There. That should do it. How about I post it tomorrow, and give y’all another Song of the Day for now? Good? Good. Now to the song…

“Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)” by Laura Marling!

There’s some songs that are just plain gorgeous and heartbreaking. This is one of them. The lyrics are haunting, the vocals are heartfelt and perfect, the instrumentation is lovely, and the melody & chords just beautifully complement it all. It’s a sad, evocative song, but it’s also uplifting and warm in a way. I really haven’t been able to stop listening to it lately. By the way, Laura Marling is a terrific British singer-songwriter whose last two albums have been nominated for the Mercury Prize…a pretty big deal and no small feat. I highly recommend her music (I will warn those of you like me who don’t like profanity that she gets a little salty on a few of her earlier songs…I can tell you for sure that her latest album, “I Speak Because I Can” is all clean, and all absolutely terrific music).

Song of the Day: “Satellite”

I haven’t posted since Thursday! (Insert panicked shriek here.) The trusty old (well, older than anything else on this blog) Artist Spotlight feature will return tomorrow. As for now, here’s another new feature…the Song of the Day. So what will it be like? First off, it probably won’t be every day, because although I definitely have enough songs I love to go around, that’s just too crazy to be posting a song for every single day of most of the rest of my life. I have a few already in mind, so they might come quickly at first, but there might be some longer stretches where I don’t have one particular song in mind to share. They’ll mostly be songs that are on my mind for some reason or another. Most of the time they’ll be one of my favorites of the moment, and sometimes they may be songs that might become one of my all-time favorites, but the only thing true of all of them is that they’re good songs. (Unless I specifically say they aren’t. ) So here we go! Our first Song of the Day here at Harmony Avenue, just in time for midnight to strike here in Arizona…

“Satellite” by Lena!

A little background: This song won the Eurovision Song Contest for 2010. (Eurovision is a really interesting longstanding tradition in Europe…tons of countries get together and each submit a song to be judged, and then vote on each other, basically. ABBA won way back in 1974 for “Waterloo.” Heck yes. ) The song’s performer, Lena Meyer-Landrut, and the song itself, was selected via a German “American Idol”-style show called Unser Star für Oslo (“Our Star for Oslo,” Oslo being where the Eurovision competition was held). I stumbled upon it about a week or so ago while searching Wikipedia about Adele, since it mentioned in the article that Lena had covered a song by her (“My Same”) for the show. Judging from the videos I watched, she isn’t a pitch-perfect live performer, but she’s really spunky, energetic, and really gets into the music. I like it a lot. Anyways, here’s the song. Bear in mind it’s INCREDIBLY catchy. You may not be able to get it out of your head for days.