Happy 10th birthday, Bjorn Uldollus

 10 years ago today, I put in the finishing stitches on my Bjorn doll.  Happy 10th birthday, Bjorn Uldollus. :'D

And tonight is very special, it's a night for me and you...

 Just A Notion has officially been released, worldwide at midnight, local time.  I really like it, but also I happen to be amongst the minority who legitimately loves every single ABBA song.  However this song I especially love as it was always one of my favorites on the Undeleted medley (Givin' A Little Bit More is my top favorite from the medley *hint hint* ABBA plz release it xD ) 

I think ABBA have done a fabulous job redoing the backing track.  In all honestly, I think I prefer the instruments from the undeleted medley a little more, however I still really, really like this more modern one.  I think Benny's really given a chance to shine with his piano parts, and also I love that all four members are singing in the verses as it makes me super happy whenever they all sing together for some reason. :)  In the chorus, I kinda wish Agnetha and Frida's vocals were kept at the same volume as they were in Undeleted, as this one makes it super hard to hear Frida, but you can still hear her so it's alright.

Also I know it has been said that this song features entirely old vocals from 1978, however I have a sneaking suspicion the last lines in the song (I, I think it's more than a notion/In a moment, that dream is about to come true) might be a modern recording.  If that's true, then I really like how similar Agnetha and Frida can sound to their younger selves, despite some age coming through.  

Anyways, all in all, I love Just A Notion, and I am so happy to finally get to hear ABBA's version in full, and I am really looking forward to hearing the remaining 7 songs in just two weeks time!

Avatar Costume Analysis

Two posts in one day, can you believe it..? xD  

As you all know, I devote a lot of my time to recreating ABBA's costumes in miniature for my doll costumes.  I like to sew and remake things as accurately as possible, and that means that I of course want to remake the ABBA-tars costumes for my dolls because they are new ABBA costumes and I want my ABBA dolls to have all of the costumes haha.  Now I do have my issues with the ABBA-tar costumes, because in my humble opinion, they look kinda like the type of knockoff costumes a tribute band would wear, as sort of ABBA-inspired costumes.  See this, this, and this , just to put a few examples.  However, I respect the costumes chosen for the ABBA-tars, and I have a desire to remake them for my dolls.

So far, we know of at least two outfits that the ABBAtars wear on stage - the glittery ones and the red/green ones.

Unfortunately there aren't many close up photos of these costumes available yet, so I don't have much reference, but here's what I can tell based on the little footage we have of them:

Agnetha's glittery costume looks to be a two-piece outfit - a slightly flared t-shirt paired with an asymmetrical skirt.  The (digital) fabric looks like a sequiny fabric, like this one on amazon.  Her outfit is an aqua blue color, and she wears black boots with a bit of a slouch to them.  On the below photo, the boots look to be a solid black, but in the ISHFIY music video, they look like they could have some sparkle to them, like Frida's boots.

Benny's wearing a sparkly grey top, though it is unclear if it is long sleeved or short sleeved.  He's also wearing a matching long, thin scarf of the same material.  Interesting choice to have the scarf and shirt of the same material, but that's ok.  From the little I can see in the music video, his pants could be black, though I don't know if they're plain material or sparkly as well.

Frida's outfit is a sparkly silver, I'm assuming the same material as Benny's outfit.  Her outfit is also two pieces, though the t-shirt isn't flared like Agnetha's, but the skirt is the same.  She wears a belt, whereas Agnetha doesn't, and her boots are a sparkly silver and the same style as Agnetha's.  I do like how their costumes are similar yet different. :)

Bjorn wears a sparkly t-shirt that for some reason to me loos like it could be a sparkly gold, but it is extremely hard to tell from the lighting in the video.  His pants could be black as well, but again, not sure.

Next we have the red/green outfits.  There aren't many clear photos of these at all, but the cover for the new Just a Notion single seems to give us very, very little, but a little more details of the ladies' outfits.

 Agnetha wears a greenish/blueish ensemble.  It looks like it could be one piece, but also could be two separate pieces.  The top looks a little bit like a loosefit sweater almost, with wide sleeves that gather in at the cuffs.  The pants are flared and remind me very much of her white jumpsuit from 1974/75.  There appears to be a floral pattern of sorts going across the top and down the pants, reminding me of the blue satin suits. And it looks like she's wearing heels of the same color.  Very matchy-matchy.

Frida's outfit is very similar to Agnetha's, but in red, though from the photos below, it looks like the sleeves could be more flared, and shaped kinda like a semi-circle if that makes any sense. xD  There is an actual name for that type of sleeve, but it is not coming to me right now.  

Based on the cover photo for the Just A Notion single, it looks like the front of Frida's outfit has a very long, slit collar (I'm sure there's a more proper term for this, but I do not know it xD), reminding me of Agnetha's outfit on the cover of Voulez-Vous, or Frida's silver "snakeskin" jumpsuit from 1974, just not as plunging. 

Bjorn's wearing a white suit jacket and red pants that also have some sort of design on the bottom of the pant legs.

And Benny's outfit is only seen from the side, but the silhouette of the outfit reminds me of his blue outfit from the 1979 tour, just short sleeved.  He seems to be wearing a matching top and trousers, in the same color, and there looks to be some sparkle.

Based on this snapshot, Bjorn's jacket has like this dark design going up the front, maybe with some sparkle, and he wears a white button down shirt with it.

To me, Bjorn's outfit looks very 1980s, whereas the girls' outfits are very early/mid-70s, but I have no further details on Benny's outfit so I don't really have an opinion on that.  

I'm hoping there will be more detailed photos of their outfits, but for now I hope this analysis is useful to anyone else interested in all the details of their costumes.  Here's hoping we get more high quality photos of their outfits because this girl really wants to sew. xD

Also should I try to make the motion-capture suits for my dolls as well as the futuristic outfits or is that overkill..? 

Just a notion, that's all...

 So on October 22nd, ABBA are releasing Just A Notion as a single anticipating the release of Voyage just two weeks after.  I am honestly so excited about the fact that ABBA are finally happy with the song and ready to release it.  So far we've only heard a 30 second snippet of the newly mixed song, but just those 30 seconds are enough for me to be super excited.

I know a lot of people are a bit unsettled by the fact that ABBA are releasing a song that has vocals from 43 years ago, but here's my take:  ABBA are releasing a new album for the first time sine 1981.  It's been so many years, and they're all so much older, their voices are gonna sound different - not that it's a bad thing!  Agnetha and Frida both sound AMAZING on I Still Have Faith In You and Don't Shut Me Down, but their voices have clearly changed a lot, meaning their new songs are gonna have a new sound.  Again not saying that its a bad thing at all.  However, ABBA are also giving us a song that will feature that familiar sound that we all know and love - ABBA in their prime, back in the 70s.  There's nothing more comforting than hearing new "old" material with Agnetha and Frida's voices as they were back in 1978.  

That said, I am also looking forward to hearing ABBA's new sound as we've heard in ISHFIY and DSMD.  New ABBA songs, recorded in modern day - so exciting!  This is going to be a new era of ABBA, and just like with all of ABBA's past albums, with each new album, there's a new sound and style.  Yet with their ever evolving style, they still manage to keep the ABBA style.

With just over two weeks to go, I can hardly keep my excitement in.  I had preordered Voyage (three different versions of it hahaha) literally minutes after they made the announcement, and I had planned on just stopping there, not purchasing anything else.  But excitement got the best of me, and I got a little impulsive and purchased the two CD singles as well.  I want to buy Just a Notion on CD as well, but they for some reason don't have it available in the US. :/  Rude. 

 Haha jk, but anyway, I am absolutely ecstatic at the fact that we're getting a new ABBA album with 10 tracks of pure ABBA magic.  17 more days to go...

1 month to go...

One more month to go before the release of ABBA's 9th studio album, Voyage!  I cannot put into words how excited I am to hear all the new songs.  It still sounds so unreal, but it's true: ABBA are back! :D

 And here is another drawing of the ABBA-tars from the I Still Have Faith In You music video. :')