Happy Halloween

In honor of the last day of October, I present to you a special Halloween themed song from the Worst of 2008 list.

Dr. Frankenstein
LaGaylia Frazier
Romania

#78

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#78
The Picture
Þóra Gísladóttir
Iceland

Ok, so the premise is kind of silly and the verses are somewhat repetitive (intentionally), but the chorus is catchy. Besides, it’s one of the more original choices of metaphors for love (or prostitution?-“Pay a good price for me.”) I’ve ever heard.

#79

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#79
I Owe It All To You
Rob McVeigh
United Kingdom

Who knew they still made music like this? I thought this genre was on its last legs in 2002 but apparently, it’s not. As is the case with most syrupy, quasi-R&B songs by male British soloists thanking someone for showing them a better way to live, the live performance leaves a lot to be desired. The way he pinches off the words at the end of each line in the chorus is, more or less, the musical form of constipation. It’s still a decent song.

#80

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#80
Baby Blue
Victor Pshenichniy
Belarus

It’s nice to hear a song that offers comfort “while this world comes crashing down,” even if it is directed to a crayon. Fun fact: In hex, baby blue is represented by E0FFFF.

Baby Blue

#81

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#81
Thing We've Got
Afromental
Poland

This is the first song on this year's countdown that sounds like it could be an American song, and one doesn’t have to strain too hard to picture it doing well on the charts. Hurray for Poland.

#82

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#82
Eastern Wind
Torstein Södal
Norway

Poll:
Which of the following has more hair?
-The top of Torstein Södal’s head
-Torstein Södal’s face

#83

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#83
You Can
PinCode
Belarus

To be completely honest, this one was too unintentionally funny to not include. While songs like this are popular, performances of songs like this usually don’t include folk dancing or coonskin caps. Lyrically, the best line of the song is at the end where, after 3 minutes of warning us that it is dangerous to touch, the singer utters “Oops, uh-oh.”

#84

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#84
I'm Not Sorry
Di Bono
Belgium

It’s hard to take a rock band seriously when their lead singer is a Hufflepuff (see his tie).

#85

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#85
Vocalise
Andrea Gylfadóttir
Iceland

It’s very rare for an artist to have two entries on the list, let alone two that place next to each other, but Andrea Gylfadóttir has done just that. Her two entries couldn’t be farther apart musically either: one is a rock song and this one is a pleasant lullaby without words. Fortunately for all of us, “Vocalise” doesn’t slip into the realm of tacky new age music that is often found in your local incense and “save the rhino” tee-shirt shops. (Why do those places always sell hermit crabs?)

#86

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#86
Flower of Fire
Andrea Gylfadóttir
Iceland

“Flower of Fire” is an ‘80s-ish rock song that reminds me of something Heart would sing (if Heart were fronted by an elementary school principal). And, after watching the performance, I find myself craving jalapenos for some reason.

#87

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#87
Observations
Ivetta
Latvia

This song certainly has a lot going for it:
1) lots of fiddling
2) deep, thought-provoking lyrics (“If I fight back, I’m not dead.”)
3) an object-lesson for choreographers demonstrating how not to use dancers
4) at least it’s not this

It is fun to listen to, though.

Ivetta

#88

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#88
Candlelight
Csézy
Hungary

Is it just me, or does it seem like the video had 4 different directors? Ignoring the jumbled confusion of the video, “Candlelight” is a professionally made pleasant song. Last spring, I managed to catch an interview with Csézy on Hungarian television. The interviewer asked her about the song and she responded by saying something I didn’t understand because my Hungarian is severely lacking. Whatever she said, I’m sure it was interesting and enlightening.

#89

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#89
Get Up
Crash!
Norway

Crash! appears on the list for the second year with their song “Get Up”, which is another perfect specimen from the kiddie-punk genre (Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Blink-182, etc.). Teenagers eat this stuff up.

#90

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#90
Exciting
Tanita
Moldova

“Exciting” is one of those songs that your hear everywhere but you’re not sure why it’s popular. By everywhere, I mean in the preview for an urban dance film that airs every five minutes during your favorite television programs. Although I could not find a video for this song, I’m sure that it won’t be difficult for you to imagine what it must look like.

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#91

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#91
Pleasure
Crumbland
Finland

“Pleasure” is a modern rock song that is easy to imagine finding commercial success stateside. Even the video follows the basic rules of a 21st century rock video:

-It’s shot mostly in black and white (You can’t be taken seriously if your video is shot in Technicolor)
-The lead singer never makes eye contact with the camera and, by extension, the audience (Seriously though, what is he looking at?)
-Include semi-disturbing images such as smothering a woman with a pillow (But don’t show too much; you want it to be edgy, but not too edgy)
-Show the band playing in a location removed from society (Roofs of tall buildings, abandoned warehouses, and deserts work well. Note: tall buildings are especially good because they allow the lead singer to contemplate suicide and/or almost fall to his death)

#92

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#92
Blow Over
Natasza Urbanska
Poland

Natasza Urbanska is certainly consistent. Last year, her song “I Like It Loud” found itself at number 93 on my list. (Interestingly enough, both songs sound very similar.) As for the video, all I can say is that it’s the only clip I could find so please don’t ask me to explain the wedding dresses. That being said, I've never been to a wedding reception where there was not a breakdancing idiot, so the Poles get points for accuracy.

Natasza Urbanska - Blow Over

#93

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#93
Lullaby
Brandur
Sweden

Simple and sweet, “Lullaby” proves that a song doesn’t need to be flashy and over-produced to find success. A song like this would stand out on modern radio because of its quiet simplicity and force listeners to take notice of it. Of course, then they would notice that the rhyming in the chorus feels a tad forced, but at least they’re listening.

#94

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#94
All Night Long
Simon Mathew
Denmark

Instantly catchy and mostly harmless, “All Night Long” has the misfortune, as a friend of mine has observed, of sounding remarkably like it could be a commercial jingle. If this is the case, it’s certainly not advertising antiperspirant. (See the live performance) Nonetheless, it’s still a fun, innocent pop song that could find moderate success on the charts.

Speaking of Romania...

To put it nicely, it wasn’t a banner year for Romania. They managed to place 4 songs in the worst of 2008 list (which is a new feature this year). Here are three of them:

Zamira
New Effect feat. Gentiana
Romania

Any song that includes the line “This is a song about this” deserves to be on the list of the worst songs of the year, even if it starts with “We got zombie”.



Yeke, Yeke
Imba
Romania

I don’t know which is worse, the song or the dance.



RailRoad, RailRoad
Rednex feat. Ro-Mania
Romania

To be fair, Sweden is partly to blame for this one. (More on this later.)

#95

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#95
Pe-o Margine de Lume
Nico & Vlad
Romania

What starts as a pleasant ballad morphs into a schizophrenic mess when Nico enters one minute into the song, bringing the early 1990s with her. The disjointed nature of the piece ruins what would otherwise be a respectable entry. This is Romania’s only song on the list, which is disappointing for a nation that has done so well in the past. Oh well, maybe next year.

#96

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#96
One on One
Rolf Junior
Estonia

For this one, I recommend listening to the song without watching the video and then watching the video. Make sure you do watch the video though. It's certainly an interesting experience.

Rolf Junior - One on One

#97

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#97
Always, Always
Zuma
Norway

“Always, Always” is a catchy pop song that sounds like it comes straight from the 1980s. It may be hard to believe, but this is a good thing. The biggest hit of this summer was the new-wave influenced “I Kissed a Girl”, which shows that the younger generation is receptive to this trend. In addition, people who grew up in the late 70s/early 80s are in mid-life crisis territory which, among other things, will create a nostalgic drive to recapture their lost youth. Needless to say, we are in the midst of an 80s comeback and a song like this one has the potential to do well. Plus, any song that mentions badgers has to be cool.

#98

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#98
Peace Will Come
Diana Gurtskaya
Georgia

Songs about peace have historically done well on the American charts and this one should be no different. The fact that it’s Georgian makes the song more poignant given recent events in that part of the world.

#99

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#99
New Russian Kalinka
Alexey Vorobyov
Russia

“New Russian Kalinka” does exactly what it says on the tin; “updates” the classic Russian song “Kalinka”. I’ll let you decide if it needed to be modernized. As a bonus, the video includes a Bollywood-esque dance (actually, spastic arm movements) at the end.

#100

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

#100
Sillycone Valley
Lene Alexandra
Norway

As is tradition, the 100 spot goes to a novelty entry. Lene Alexandra is a model turned singer who is often described as being the Norwegian Anna Nicole Smith. Sillycone Valley is Lene singing about what she knows best (her first hit song was “My Boobs Are OK”). The song has a very laid back feel that suits the lyrics well and could easily become a top 40 hit (although it’s not catchy enough to do any better than the 30s).

Sillycone Valley

The Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard - 2008

Finally, the time has come to countdown the 100 greatest songs of 2008 that you’ve never heard (technically, this is not entirely true; see below). The main objective of this list is to demonstrate that Eurovision related songs can find mass appeal in the North American market. To be eligible for this list, a song must have competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest or a national competition to select an entry for the ESC. This year, nearly 1000 songs, half of which are Spanish, were eligible. Using my complex formula that rates quality, originality, and potential for mass appeal, these were narrowed down to the top 100. Now, without further ado, I present to you the Top 100 Songs You've (Probably) Never Heard – 2008!