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01 November 2007

Variable album ratings, Norway, and the disappointing truth about Bonnie Tyler [More:]I was checking out the huge 80s music thread from several weeks ago, which I had missed while I was on vacation. Seeing the name of Bonnie Tyler invoked, I realized I didn't know much about her and figured, what the hell, and started reading her wikipedia entry. In that entry it is mentioned that her album "Bitterblue" went Quadruple Platinum in Norway. Being American, I was, "four million albums in Norway! WTF?" Which led me to checking and finding that the population of Norway was about four and a half million at that time. I then looked up record sales grades and was disappointed to find out that it only takes thirty thousand record sales to qualify for platinum in Norway as opposed to the one million it takes in the United States.

Call me crazy, but I much prefer the idea of Norway being this land of ice and snow and rabid Bonnie Tyler fandom where roughly 89% percent of the population owned a copy of "Bitterblue" as opposed to the more realistic figure of roughly three percent.

It's so much more fun the other way.
I used to live in an apartment next to a guy who, maybe once a month or so, would play 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' over and over, for an hour or more, at ear-splitting volume, at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. Aside from that it was a pretty nice place.
posted by box 01 November | 15:11
I'll bet that guy was softly sobbing to himself the whole time, too.
posted by Atom Eyes 01 November | 15:25
box, was he norwegian?
posted by desjardins 01 November | 17:17
Many American pop fans have no clue that Bon Jovi has been a continuous A-list concert draw outside the US since their first album.
posted by mischief 01 November | 18:33
The title of your post, "Variable album ratings, Norway, and the disappointing truth about Bonnie Tyler" sounds to me like either the title of a Lester Bangs article or an early Guided By Voices song title. If you don't mind, I think I may use that for the title of my ext mix disc!
posted by Slack-a-gogo 01 November | 23:53
Yeah, Bon Jovi is huge in Germany.
posted by chillmost 02 November | 04:37
I used to live in an apartment next to a guy who, maybe once a month or so, would play 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' over and over, for an hour or more, at ear-splitting volume, at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. Aside from that it was a pretty nice place.

That's just fucked up. He was probably playing it that loud to cover up the sound of the power tools he was using to cut his victims into freezable pieces.
posted by chuckdarwin 02 November | 04:40
The title of your post, "Variable album ratings, Norway, and the disappointing truth about Bonnie Tyler" sounds to me like either the title of a Lester Bangs article or an early Guided By Voices song title. If you don't mind, I think I may use that for the title of my ext mix disc!

Go right ahead!
posted by King of Prontopia 02 November | 09:19
OMG! RUN! Run away now, while you still can!! || Soulja Pooh,

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