tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71111093448783974072024-03-17T12:00:56.822-04:00ABBAFan456's BlogABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.comBlogger1179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-32572314847018249002024-03-17T12:00:00.000-04:002024-03-17T12:00:08.616-04:00Song Analysis - Arrival ABBA have only two original instrumental tracks in their entire catalog, being Intermezzo No.1 and Arrival, though technically speaking, Arrival is not an instrumental track. ABBA had the idea to use Agnetha and Frida's voices as instruments so-to-speak, and they sing along with the keyboard, synthesizer, and strings as if they were another set of musical instruments. As the ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-45296528735270579222024-03-15T13:42:00.001-04:002024-03-15T13:42:05.998-04:00Song Analysis - Why Did It Have To Be MeOn most of ABBA's albums until now, Bjorn would have a few couple of songs where he sang lead vocals. But over time, eventually his performances would decrease, and ABBA would go on to mostly feature vocals from the ladies. That's not saying that Bjorn, and Benny, don't sing on ABBA songs, as Bjorn and Benny would always sing backing vocals and harmonies, but Bjorn only has one lead vocal ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-46622029740964588492024-03-13T10:47:00.004-04:002024-03-13T10:47:51.045-04:00Song Analysis - My Love, My Life My Love, My Life is another one of ABBA's breakup songs, a song about a relationship coming to an end. Though this song has a very mature feel to it. The narrator of the song is clearly heartbroken by the realization that their relationship has gone completely stale, but she deals with it in a very mature way. Specifically this part of the chorus, "but I know I don’t possess youABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-33286874896375519202024-03-12T09:59:00.000-04:002024-03-12T09:59:01.516-04:00Song Analysis - Tiger Okay, so if I'm being very honest, I don't quite know what this song is about. Is it about an actual apex predator? Is it about some creep or even a serial killer who likes to hunt people in the city? Is it metaphor for something else entirely? I don't know. But I do know one thing- this song is fun! The song is basically someone giving a warning about the dangers of the city, to ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-66953476771901666782024-03-11T10:40:00.000-04:002024-03-11T10:40:36.609-04:00Song Analysis - Dum Dum Diddle So a lot of people don't like this song. They consider it amongst ABBA's worst songs. They say it's cheesy, silly, and is so weird. A woman is jealous of a man's violin? That's so absurd! If I remember correctly, even Bjorn dislikes it. I think he once said that it was among the last song lyrics completed for the Arrival album and he was rushed on time and the ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-3269981440877704862024-03-08T10:16:00.001-05:002024-03-08T10:16:16.434-05:00Song Analysis - Monsieur, Monsieur In July 1976, ABBA began working on a track titled Monsieur, Monsieur. The song is very simple track about finding romance in France, a concept that would later, sort of get revisited four years later in ABBA's Our Last Summer, specifically with the line, "Strolled through Paris in the night, you and me. Oh, and we walked along the Seine." However, the song would ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-49084883081838029862024-03-07T09:07:00.003-05:002024-03-07T09:07:54.625-05:00Song Analysis - When I Kissed The TeacherSo far on Arrival we have two songs about youthful experiences, Dancing Queen, and When I Kissed The Teacher. Recorded in June, 1976, This song is about someone who has a major crush on her math teacher. She dreams about him every night, and can't stop thinking about him at all. Like he is all she can think about at all times of the day, and one day she just can't stop herself ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-23031925821295648412024-03-05T09:41:00.003-05:002024-03-05T10:10:52.602-05:00Song Analysis - Money Money MoneyDuring the 1979 tour, while performing this song live, Frida would jokingly say, "This is my song!" before jumping immediately into the chorus. And Frida speaks the truth - this IS her song! And I'll get into that in a little bit.Money, Money, Money had two working titles before becoming the song that it ultimately became: Gypsy Girl and Lebensraum. ABBA began working on the ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-2223042134671996392024-03-04T09:43:00.001-05:002024-03-04T09:43:16.290-05:00Song Analysis - Happy HawaiiHappy Hawaii is a song that is a perfect example of how ABBA, or more specifically Bjorn and Benny, would reuse and recycle their melodies if they for some reason didn't like how the song originally turned out. From what I can piece together, in April 1976, ABBA began working on a demo titled Why Did It Have To Be Me. But then the song changed vibes entirely and became Hawaii, ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-91059745081659484732024-03-03T09:02:00.005-05:002024-03-03T09:03:44.226-05:00Song Analysis - That's Me I used to have hard time understanding the meaning of That's Me, but I think I kind of get it now. It's a super fun sounding song, with beautiful joint vocals by Agnetha and Frida, some lovely harmonies and "oooooo" and "aaaaa-aaaa-aaa-aaaa"s during the verses and between the last chorus and last verse. You even get some fun backing vocals from Bjorn and Benny during the ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-38919673044015155072024-03-01T14:51:00.002-05:002024-03-01T14:51:17.078-05:00Song Analysis - Knowing Me, Knowing You I haven't really been discussing much of ABBA's working titles to their songs, but I found the working titles to Knowing Me, Knowing You to be interesting. We have "Ring It In" and "Number One, Number One." I find Number One Number One to be interesting as the phrase "feeling like a number one" became part of Super Trouper from 4 years later.Anyways, Knowing Me, Knowing You is aABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-1577395295092847192024-02-29T12:54:00.004-05:002024-02-29T12:55:01.095-05:00Song Analysis - Dancing Queen Dancing Queen, the song that is probably ABBA's most popular and is pretty much the song that people commonly associate with ABBA. The song that really gave them that boost in success that they had been looking for, and remains to this day, their most successful song.ABBA began working on Dancing Queen in September 1975. Apparently the moment each ABBA member had heard the ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-37146384620474433482024-02-27T09:50:00.003-05:002024-02-27T09:50:35.310-05:00New Doll Costumes - White And Gold Last night I finally got around to finishing my most recent doll costume recreations: ABBA's white and gold costumes from early 1979.As usual, a more detailed post on these outfits is on my sewing blog. :)ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-29322681271041758102024-02-26T11:00:00.002-05:002024-02-26T11:01:44.933-05:00Song Analysis - FernandoIn 1975, Frida began working on her next solo album, and album that mostly consisted of cover songs of various songs by different artists like David Bowie, The Beach Boys. The songs were all performed in Frida's own unique style and take, and she has so many different types of songs on there. A really good album showcasing Frida's dynamic style and range. In September of ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-23101840107808944112024-02-25T10:26:00.002-05:002024-02-25T10:26:41.940-05:00Song Analysis - Medley: Pick A Bale Of Cotton/On Top Of Old Smokey/Midnight Special In mid 1975, ABBA had the opportunity to partake in a compilation album of traditional folk songs, most of which were public domain tracks, from various countries titled "Stars Im Zeichen Eines Guten Sterns", which roughly translates to "Stars In The Sign Of A Good Star". ABBA were among several different artists included on this album, like Lars Berghagen, James Last, and Karel Gott ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-87581671914879085542024-02-23T10:04:00.004-05:002024-02-23T10:11:38.360-05:00Song Analysis - Mamma Mia Mamma Mia is honestly, I think, one of ABBA's most iconic songs. Firstly, the song has kinda become synonymous with a musical and musical movie series that I will not be talking about anymore because i freaking hate it, and secondly, the music video for the song ended up creating one of the most unique and ultimately classic ABBA visuals that has also become synonymous with ABBA. ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-74167211032449471662024-02-22T11:07:00.004-05:002024-02-22T11:07:35.027-05:00Song Analysis - I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do If I were ever going to get married, I would 100% walk down the aisle to this song. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do is a true love song. It's filled with the sound of wedding bells, saxophones, and jubilant piano playing. Agnetha and Frida sing jointly together, and they sound absolutely amazing, especially with some absolutely heavenly "aaaahs" throughout the last verseABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-33674081787992283062024-02-21T13:49:00.003-05:002024-02-21T13:49:37.396-05:00Song Analysis - Tropical LovelandI've said for years that this song is my top favorite ABBA song, and it still is. This song is unlike any other ABBA song. For starters, Bjorn and Benny took influence from reggae music, with "Raggae" even being the working title for the song. With recording commencing on February 21st, 1975 (coincidentally 49 years ago to the date - no I did not plan that), it features some lovely ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-40905873713844523492024-02-20T08:38:00.003-05:002024-02-20T08:38:19.723-05:00Happy 13th birthday, Frida Dollstad Today marks 13 years since I put in the finishing stitches on my homemade Frida doll. Wow. Happy birthday Frida doll. :3ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-39961474877126873902024-02-19T08:59:00.001-05:002024-02-19T08:59:04.941-05:00Song Analysis - Intermezzo No. 1Of ABBA's entire musical catalog, there are only two instrumental tracks, and one of them, aka Arrival, isn't even a full instrumental because it features Agnetha and Frida as instruments essentially. Intermezzo No. 1 is basically Benny's time to shine. Together Bjorn and Benny would come up with the music and lyrics together for all of ABBA's songs, but it's very clear that ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-30078614092187528952024-02-18T09:41:00.001-05:002024-02-18T09:41:24.224-05:00Song Analysis - Crazy World I've always loved Crazy World. It's actually a pretty funny song, with the main character of the song coming to a false conclusion and basically panicking over it making rash decisions based off this misconception. Recorded in October of 1974, the song is about a guy, who wakes up thinking about his girlfriend, so he gets up, takes a walk, and decides to stop by her place. ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-60568922987963451682024-02-16T09:37:00.005-05:002024-02-16T09:37:58.340-05:00Song Analysis - Rock Me Rock Me is quite the rocking track. I think it's quite clear what this song is about, lol, but not only that, it's also a testament to how much the character in the song loves his partner. With lines such as "yours forever honey
that’s what I wanna be..." and "your sweet lover honey
that’s what I wanna be..." it's actually pretty sweet and nice. Bjorn takes the lead ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-89660106513476555412024-02-15T11:13:00.004-05:002024-02-15T11:13:52.624-05:00Song Analysis - Babyppearing at 4:19 in the ABBA Undeleted medley is a demo track titled Baby. Recorded in October, 1974, Baby is an early version of what was to become the super fun and rocky Rock Me. Interestingly, according to ABBA Omnibus (which is an amazing website and also generally how I'm choosing which song to write about), Baby was recorded on October 18th, 1974, and recording for Rock Me ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-39601557532247705192024-02-14T10:00:00.009-05:002024-02-14T10:15:27.983-05:00Song Analysis - Here Comes Rubie Jamie Here Comes Rubie Jamie, also known as Terra del Fuego, is a short 40 second snippet of a demo that was included on the Undeleted medley from 1994, appearing at the 11:43 mark. From the little that we heard of the song, it's just a fun little piano track with some drums, and Frida and Benny singing together. It's a very simple lyric as well. Benny: "Some people long ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111109344878397407.post-27154699632795668162024-02-13T09:55:00.002-05:002024-02-13T09:55:40.426-05:00Song Analysis - Bang-A-BoomerangI have been very much looking forward to writing this post haha.ABBA began working on the song Bang-A-Boomerang in September of 1974, as part of the recording sessions for their upcoming album. In early 1975, Bjorn, Benny, and Stig as songwriters were presented with another opportunity to submit a song to Sweden's selections to the Eurovision Song Contest, but seeing as ABBA had just ABBAFan456http://www.blogger.com/profile/02491954321121811778noreply@blogger.com0