Eurovision 2024 (ish) – more reviews (ish)

(I had a Spotify playlist with all of the entries on in the background while at work the other day. I didn’t really ‘digest’ a lot of the entries because, background, and I also have this thing where I don’t always concentrate very well if I am listening to music, and girl has gotta pay for that Spotify subscription…)

LITHUANIA

Sounds like: something cool (*snort* I know, I am Gen X but this is cool right? It’s pretty frickin’ cool)

The Lithuanian national selection was really worth a watch.

(And that is only scratching the surface, you know)

I would LOVE for Lithuania to win. I have been fixated with the country since Blog Goddess Aistė sang “Strazdas” so beautifully in 1999. Go on, please give this Goddess the respect she so utterly deserves:

I love her

Back to 2024: I like that this song “Luktelk” is in Lithuanian (singing in a native language will always pick up an extra point for me). There is something really intense yet accessible about this song and it is definitely one of my 2024 highlights.

CROATIA

Sounds like: something Dead or Alive would have done in the eighties (talkin’ about Gen X, huh)

ITALY

Sounds like: a perfect Italian pop song

UNITED KINGDOM

Sounds like: “It’s A Sin” by the Pet Shop Boys (I have waffled on about my whole national identity in the past, but come on: GOOD LUCK OLLY!) (Olly is a big name to get, yes? Even I have heard the song “King”, and my Top 40/Radio One listening days are so far in the past you would not believe it #time)

UKRAINE:

Sounds like: again, something very cool. This sounds really creative.

FINLAAAAND:

Sounds like: something from a video game my brother and his friends would have enjoyed in the nineties

NETHERLANDS:

Sounds like: the nineties. Oh, for the halcyon days of this kind of thing…

Poing!

I actually have a soft spot for “Europapa” after reading the story behind the song. And yeah, there is a ravey bit about halfway through that had me slamming the ‘Like’ button on YouTube.

AUSTRIA

They had me at rave!!!

GERMANY

Germany is an unusual one in that they don’t seem to ‘get’ Eurovision (at least, not in recent years). I don’t know quite what it is. Germany is one of my absolute favourite countries for music and now I am trying to think of German Eurovision entries I have loved. Hmm, I hope to be back.

SWITZERLAND

Sounds like: something range-y and ambitious that is going to slay (sorry) with the right staging.

A lot of the other songs (to be fair, I was familiar with most of the songs featured here) kind of blended together.

Again, I may be back (I am off to think of German Eurovision entries!).

Bis bald!

Eurovision Song Contest 2024 *clears throat*

(I do that a lot, btw. Damn rhinitis! Hmm, alluring image to cultivate on the Internet right there…)

I PLEDGED (well, sort of) that I would go into this year’s Eurovision cold! (As cold as could be!)

(I am still a little put out at last year’s results. Well, it happened. I would love to be a juror one day. Oh, the POINTS I would give to some of the songs… #Power) (I would probably be a rubbish juror actually. I don’t like the bit at the end when the acts receive their public vote: you can tell it’s tough for many of the contestants. Justice for “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” ETC.)

I have heard some songs in their entirety.

Look, we’ll see how this goes, ok?

If anyone is interested *ahem* I made a playlist with some of the national final songs from this year (Lithuania, Estonia, Goddess Konstrakta from Serbia, RAAVE! from Austria).

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yjfpUHxRqKf55RU44k6CO?si=6dBzPxkqReum9F_VwpYsMw&pi=e-CP17-xqsQVGi

I have watched Eurovision on and off since the 1980s.

My favourite Eurovision song of all time is this captivating masterpiece.

Goddess! Robbed! Babble! Etc…

My favourite songs from the last few years, hmm: Serbia from 2022/2023. Austria from 2023. Anouk (Netherlands). I honestly don’t know! Hold up, is it time for another playlist…

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0g68TA4oT3IJrHAF9Jk5js?si=BtdchOxRSZ6Id5WBjKZ-Yg&pi=e-Jq0QSIXkRJ-e

I like songs to be in native language if possible. I am a middle aged woman whose passport expired. Gimme different cultures, different languages! Give me that flavour, that excitement!

I am aware that I am getting older and some of the factors (things like TikTok integration) mean nothing to me (oh Viennaaaa). I really don’t want to sound like someone shouting at a cloud. I want to get the balance right (oh the title of a Depeche Mode song).

What have I heard so far, then?

Estonia – song with an incredibly long title that I am not going to look up as my cat is on my lap (Eesti, we are cool, right? We have a history!)

SOUNDS LIKE I have no idea

I completely and utterly love this and I am thrilled that this song will be representing Estonia in May. This is why I watch Eurovision! It’s in Estonian, it represents Estonian culture. The package is so fun and charming and clever and infectious. I might have to vote for this, you know. When did I last vote at Eurovision? I don’t always particularly care for the Estonian entries. I used to be a big fan of the Estonian music scene. Tallinn is home to this gem…

https://youtu.be/4j5M4N_NDPg?si=4Hrn_30A9ejbtCOA

(Does the embed work? It is the Depeche Mode bar in Tallinn. GOD. The sweetest perfection indeed.)

Sweden – Impossible

SOUNDS LIKE “Salva Mea” by Faithless (thank you Internet!)

Yes, Sweden has the ‘teacher’s pet’ tag for sure: they are good at what they do and I will always respect a competition like Melfest (they put the work in and it invariably pays off) but, yeah. It can be like eating Pringles (let’s NOT go there) instead of trying a new flavour, something different… I would love to hear Swedish language, for example. (When did Sweden last send a song in Swedish? It is a beautiful language.)

These singers (Marcus and Martinus) are adorable, and it is probably just as well I am not a juror because I don’t like to think of their little faces being disappointed in any way. Eurovision can be ruthless. Of course they will do well because Sweden (and the singers are Norwegian). The song is catchy. Good luck to them.

(I will be back…)

(I love Pringles btw. Way too much. And I always almost eat the original ones.)

TOTP 95 (January 95) – BBC 4 (Friday 14th July) *Tell Me When (Will I See Thunder Again)*

1995, eh? How did it happen? It’s 28 years’ ago? (Question mark key: pace yerself, woman.)

I feel more warmly (musically) towards 1995 than 1993 and 1994, for sure. I may not particularly like some of the Britpop oeuvre these days, but songs like “Alright” (Supergrass) and “Girl From Mars” (Ash) underpinned a summer where things really seemed to be more bright and positive in the UK.

(28 years though… He’ll hell hell! Hell! I said HELL!)

I was 16 in January 1995.

Our host (of the first episode) – Mr. Jack Dee.

The Human League – “Tell Me When”. Yay! That caption though (#JusticeForHeartLikeAWheel). Regular *cough* readers may be aware of my crush on Phil Oakey.

It’s not one of my favourite Human League songs (I prefer “Filling Up With Heaven” that came out later in ’95) but it’s always SO good to have them around. (If Phil is reading, of course: every single HL song is outstanding, a truly majestic experience!) The lyrics to this song are quite funky (if Phil wrote them/is reading: give him ALL of the awards, literary genius!). I wouldn’t have paid attention to lyrics at the time (I came of age during nineties rave, y’know).

This is of course from the HL album “Octopus” which features a song called “John Cleese, Is He Funny?” (A 2023 take on that title might be interesting…)

Philllll! Marry me! Sing for me! Philllll…

#JusticeForHeartLikeAWheel

PJ and Duncan – “Eternal Love”. Now, I was a weird teen. I wouldn’t have given this song the time of DAY as a younger teen, but maybe I was somehow making up for the lost time… I found this quite charming! (I liked it more then than I do now.)

Céline Dion – “Think Twice”. Céline is obviously an awesome singer, but I never really got the popularity of this particular song. It sounds a bit ‘highly regarded album track’ to me. I get the appeal of dramaramic songs like “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”, and “Because You Loved Me” for the late night radio slot for loved up couples.

Rednex – “Cotton Eye Joe”. Yikes. It’s frenetic? If Céline is a cup of tea with biscuits, Rednex is a sugary canned drink.

Thunder – “Stand Up”. Aah. Teenage me would not like it when the Rock Chart would show up on “The Chart Show”. The Indie Chart would freak me out in earlier years (they are so weeeird, they have weird names like My Bloody Valentine!) and purist me would get cross if they stuck Lisa Stansfield or someone on the Dance Chart. (It’s not really dance!!1) I can’t remember anything about this (sorry) but Thunder rocked up in the 1990 repeat later in the evening.

Ini Kamoze – “Here Comes The Hotstepper”. Nineties model aesthetic! I never go back to listen to this, but tune!

Boyzone – “Love Me For A Reason”. God, Ronan Keating is only a year older than me. He’d have been 17 here. Similar to PJ and Duncan: I remember quite liking this at the time, even though it wouldn’t have been ‘cool’. Watching these boyband performances back as an adult, the whole manipulation of teenage girls for their pocket money is so obvious. You also think that these lads (and young women in girl bands) would have been promised a dream, but they couldn’t be honest about their sexualities/ended up with eating disorders/metetricious scumbags in the industry etc etc. Aren’t I a ray of sunshine this evening?

Stay Now!

Still number one… East 17, “Stay Another Day”! I like the fact that this song was ‘Christmassed Up’. There should be an experiment on other songs. Put some bells on “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers!

I won’t blog the other episode (I’m too tired) but a couple of observations:

I love “Set You Free” by N-Trance/Kelly Llorenna – it’s so joyous!

“Riverdance” was number one in Ireland for EIGHTEEN weeks? How did it take so long to ‘hit’ British charts, as Eurovision took place in May?

I love this song from Eurovision 1994, incidentally. It’s stunning.

Riverwhaaat?!

Laterz!

Eurovision 2023 – *Who the hell are the juries?*

Goodbye, Eurovision 2023! Liverpool: you put on a boss show. BBC: you did yourselves proud. Ukraine: we will always stand with you. (God, absolutely always.)

Just some random stuff from moi… (Off the top of my head really.)

Lovin’ his work: I loved Remo from Switzerland’s voice! I’d be inclined to find more of his music on Spotify.

What does that sound like? (1) – “Solo” by Blanka (Poland) A little ‘Ace of Base’ with the melody?

Dramarama: “Echo” by Iru (Georgia). This should have been epic but didn’t quite hit that spot. An experienced symphonic metal singer would have nailed that song to the wall. I loved the visuals and swirling dress!

What does that sound like? (2) – the Romanian entry. (“Ghetto Superstar” in places?)

So charismatic… Joker Out from Slovenia, and Noa from Israel.

So stressful… Waiting for the results. Poor Alessandra from Norway was suffering hard in that first semi-final,

So joyous… Gustaph from Belgium, and The Busker from Malta!

Dramarama (2) – the Albanian family entry. I didn’t initially ‘get’ this, but I now completely get it. This is what Eurovision is about for me!

Now, here we go…

I was 90% sure (before the contest) that Loreen/Sweden would win. She is LOREEN, a Eurovision Legend! She’s representing Sweden, who ace this thing! It wasn’t my favourite song and I don’t think her vocals were on point on the night (disclaimer: I am no expert) which is why the overwhelming jury support got to me a little bit (I know that the jury didn’t vote on that particular performance). On my Mastodon account, I compared this support to the reviews for the Oasis album “Be Here Now” in 1997 (*cough* fionanarama@toot.wales). Yes, the product was slick and good, and Loreen is a star, but was it that much better than the other songs? Sweden is seen as something of a teacher’s pet at Eurovision, and this kind of thing doesn’t help. Maybe Loreen was astonishing at the jury final? Which leads me to…

The juries. What are the requirements? (I know, I could look it up.) For example: my favourite song was from Serbia, but could I in good faith give it 12 points when Marco from Italy gave a spectacular vocal? Are the juries encouraged to vote for their favourites, or to vote for the best vocal performances? And how does that work? It’s easy to be impressed with vocal trickery (hey, I have the same birthday as Mariah Carey) but what about rap, metal vocal, vocal while doing intense choreography?

Would the juries be encouraged to go for contemporary ‘TikTok’/’Love Island’ songs (in which case: I won’t be waiting for that phone call) or the timeless, exquisitely sung ballads?

I would want to vote for native language songs, too, and songs redolent of the country’s culture. I have been watching this contest since the 1980s. (I did miss a few years.)

What about the Croatian entry etc? How would you score that? As a spectacle it is unmatched, and it is a talking point for sure.

It was awful during the televoting results to see the dejected faces of many of the artists. (Thank goodness there were no ‘zero points’ around.)

What happened to the public vote for “Who The Hell Is Edgar?”

I don’t know the answer re the overall voting situation with the juries and the public. I don’t think everyone is ever going to be happy. Perhaps an idea is to have a 75% public / 25% jury split. I am pleased the juries saved some of the songs from even lower placings.

I loved the Finnish song and performance (that intro is fi-yah) and I hope that Käärijä gets all the good things from his experience.

#StandWithUkraine

(Where were The Reynolds Girls?! Why was there no performance of “I’d Rather Jack” from the Liverpool Songbook? God: that would have been transcendental… *thuds*)

Eurovision 2023 – *review cont* – *Who the hell is Fiona?*

I guess my heart isn’t quite in this this year, you know. I will probably always watch Eurovision as long as it around, but I have been following this extravaganza for literal decades. I might be old enough to be the grandmother of some of the entrants (bleep, should I leave that in?!). Of course I have these feelings the very year Eurovision is in UK, and the likes of Loreen are back-back-baaack, but when the feelings hit, you have to acknowledge them.

Shall I review some more entries, anyway? I won’t do them all. I don’t want my Spotify Wrapped to be skewed by songs I don’t particularly like (what? It matters).

Austria: “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” Aah this is a standout! It’s creative and colourful and also thoughtful, while having the catchy “Poe Poe Poe” hook.

Ireland: “We Are One”. Sounds made for a mobile network commercial. I can just picture the ad: a whole group of people stood in a field to form a human heart, while this song rings in the background.

France and Spain: these are entries that reflect the cultures of their countries, and this is what attracts me to Eurovision. If I had any clout (EBU, you reading) I might implement something where songs in native language got some kind of scoreboard advantage. I don’t know how it would work though. GIVE ME songs in Armenian/Georgian/Azeri!

Croatia: aaah. This is the kind of entry that is flat out loathed by the fandom (purity of the contest!) yet loved by the ‘casuals’ (teehee, Croatia!). I will admit that I haven’t paid this entry too much attention but understand that it has a strong anti-war message, which may not be immediately apparent.

Malta: oh Malta, baby. Please, Eurovision Gods: give Malta a win one year, please! I remember speaking to a Maltese guy who confirmed that his country is Eurovision crazy. I don’t think they are winning with this year’s entry though.

Italia: I know I have mentioned this before, but Italian entries are like the musical equivalent of dark chocolate.

It’s music for grownups. It is! No corners are cut, not a note is out of place. Yes, Måneskin brought the rawk, but I think there was a slickness there too.

I don’t think it is music you can leave on in the background while you play a mobile game or whatever. It might not always be (oh God) Eurovision friendly, but I don’t think one can ever argue with the inherent quality.

I might be back. C’ya.

Eurovision 2023 – my review – Part 2 *Роцк Лобстер*

(Uhmm, about following the Spotify playlist order…) (you’ve forgotten I wrote that, right? Right?)

Latvia. (Sudden Lights – “Aija”.) This is truly a ‘my type on paper’ kind of song. (Well, maybe more from a few years ago.) It ticks those indie rock boxes. Latvia, eh? Has it really been 23 years since this lil’ Britpop (Latpop?) number?

Latvia can bring the offbeat (last year’s salad song, the Pirates of the Sea) and the credible (the fabulously talented Aminata Savadogo, our Latpop heroes from 2000). I am interested to see (and of course hear) this year’s entry live in Liverpool. Let’s see if the performance elevates this song to an OMG fave!!! kind of song.

Lithuania. Last year’s entry from Lithuania was exquisite – so classy! Monika Liu was absolutely captivating. Lithuania is represented by another Monika this year and the song is called “Stay”. I think Ms Liu spoiled me last year, and that enthusiasm is hard to come by. I wish Ms Linkytė well, of course.

Estonia. (Alika: “Bridges”) There was THIS stormer of a song in the Eesti Laul final: wouldn’t this have been perfect for Liverpool?

Tuju know what I mean?

Alika won Estonian Idol and obviously has immense vocal capacity. “Bridges” is a big ballad and I am sure Alika will perform the heck out of it in the ‘pool.

Serbia – an interesting entry for the second year in a row! Who is this guy posing with a lobster? His name is Luke Black?

(I play visual novels, and I am reminded of “The Freshman” series – Choices Interactive – where your character can choose to adopt a lobster as a pet.)

Enjoy!

There is something I really like about this. I am going to listen further (doh) – this has definitely grabbed me… (You can listen too; go on!)

Rock Lobster!

Azerbaijan – aah, it’s the Azeri Kings of Convenience! (Except KOC are not twins, of course.) This is a rather charming entry!

More, more!

My favourites from this batch: Lobster Man and Azeri Kings of Convenience.

Laterz, I guess…

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – *Liverpool/Ukraine* – my review of the songs! (Part 1)

OK! I guess it is time! Is this going to be a yearly thing? (Did anyone read the post from last year reviewing the Eurovision songs with same titles as Depeche Mode songs? I mean… 🥰) (Yes I will use emoji when it comes to Eurovision posts. It is a blog rule. 😜)

Let’s see…

I am going to review six songs at a time! (This could change, and probably will change.)

I am reviewing the songs in Spotify playlist order. (Speaking of Spotify, I asked for the Eurovision playlist not to be taken into account while evaluating my tastes, or some such prompt. Yes, I am a fan, but it is about the purity of my Spotify Wrapped – I do not want a song I dislike to nudge ahead of some shoegaze song obsession, y’know.) (Actually, watch for Armenian Duduk music in my list this year. It is definitely relaxing…)

(Just tried to pull up the Spotify playlist and it is defaulting to the playlist from last year. Perhaps Spotify knows that I am being awkward.)

I am listening, not watching any videos if I can help it, so there is no prejudice.

I am no musician, so there isn’t going to be an intricate analysis of the songs. It’s going to be about what I like, really: a visceral thing.

Let’s go!

🇸🇪 SWEDEN: it’s Loreen!!!! Yes, that one! She’s back, back, baaack! And she might well win again with this song (“Tattoo”).

When I was younger, I used to buy Kiss FM compilation albums. I loved having the likes of “Jumbo” by Underworld (which is a MONSTER of a tune) on CD with other dancey highlights that I loved. I think “Tattoo” would fit perfectly on one of these albums. It would find an ideal home among such hits as “King of my Castle” (Wamdue Project) and “Sing it Back” (Moloko). I have just reminded myself that those songs are almost 25 years old. HELL, I feel ancient.

If you liked “Euphoria”, you will like this! Loreen seems like an awesome person too. Yes, it often seems that Swedish entries are somewhat ‘favoured’ (they have “Melodifestivalen” for God’s sake, they take this thing SERIOUSLY) but I won’t begrudge this winning.

🇺🇦 UKRAINE: oh Ukraine. My God. How to put into words… I haven’t the capacity to put my thoughts into words. I will try and focus on the song. It sounds a little shuffly mid-tempo effort. Slava Ukraini. Stand With Ukraine.

🇫🇮 FINLAND: this is an exhilarating fusion of industrial music and pop. It’s freaking awesome. It’s in Finnish, too!

🇳🇴 NORWAY: fun fact: I first heard this at work earlier this week (I had the playlist on in the background) and this song has stayed with me ever since, after just one listen! It is absurdly catchy. If performed well in Liverpool, this could do well for Norway.

🇨🇿 CZECH REPUBLIC: hmm, this is an interesting one. My notes read “spiky art pop”. I think I should learn the story behind this one. I definitely like it, but the other songs featured in this post (with the exception of Ukraine) (sorry Ukraine) have stayed in my head and this hasn’t (give it time).

🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM: in the post before this one, I promised I would not bring my own politics into this. It’s catchy, and Mae Muller is clearly super talented. I’ve read that this is like “Love Island”/TikTok music (noo, I am feeling ancient again…) (my iPad has just switched to dark mode it seems. This entry is fading to blaaack…).

Here is the Underworld song I mentioned. Isn’t it good?

1999 vibes!

Until next time…

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – it begins!

Hello Yoorop!!

Aaaah!!

I did this last year (what, are there any entries that share titles with Depeche Mode songs this year-) and you know, I think I am going to do it this year! That isss: review each and every entry for THE Eurovision Song Contest 2023! ✨

(Yes, I used an emoji. If you can’t use an emoji for Eurovision, when can you use one of the damn things?)

I write as a Eurovision fan of decades.

I burned myself out of Eurovision a little a few years ago (an existential thing) and that enthusiasm will never truly come back (I am an older woman now, I listen to Greatest Hits Radio and Classic FM, and have never used TikTok ever ever) but you know, it’s still Eurovision. Eurovision! It’s like Wimbledon (tennis) every year. It’s an event. I love the languages, the colour, the sparkle. There is still more good than anything else for me. (Let’s not talk about the Danish entry from a couple of years ago failing to qualify that one really hurt justice for Fyr og Flamme!)

So!

Let’s see if I can review these songs without falling back on the following:

Appraising the Lithuanian entry without mentioning “Strazdas” (hell, though: that SONG)

Reviewing Estonia without some bleating about my favourite Eesti Laul songs that went out at the semi-final stage in 2015 or something

The UK, and my relationship to the UK as a Welsh person (keep politics out of Eurovision!!!)

My age

The scorching Danish entries from the eighties (and Fyr og Flamme from 2021 sob sob)

We ready for this? Y’all ready for this?

Coming soon!

Party Zeit!

Eurovision 2022 *Final Thoughts* (2)

Might have done better in an earlier contest: Malta, Cyprus (the Cypriot song was quite lovely), Romania

Oh Denmark, with your Ho-kago Tea Time energy…

Love the Polish singer’s (Ochman) voice, but the song itself needed more of a ‘push’.

I think Emma from Malta also needed a stronger song.

Oh Georgia, with your kooky energy!

(I might be back…)

Eurovision 2022 *my final thoughts*

Congratulations to Ukraine! The song has grown on me and for sure, how could anyone object to a Ukrainian win at this time.

United Kingdom second! Wowza. This song wasn’t my favourite but Sam Ryder can so obviously sing and has bundles of charisma. Congratulations to him.

And Spain! España! I actually missed that performance because my cat came in, but I think Chanel merits a YouTube hit. (I won’t be long, Chanel!)

Aaah, what else…

My favourites were: Lithuania, Serbia, Czech Republic (though I see how it got lost in the final) (I am thrilled that they made it to the final!), Portugal (gorgeous), France (emphatic).

The semis were interesting. The San Marinese song was a STOMPER:

(I like the word “stomper”. I should try and use it more often!)

I was a bit distracted by the tattoos on The Rasmus:

(They are Finnish; they are hardcore. What’s a little pain…)

(The Finnish attire also had me scrambling to find Inner City’s iconic performance of “Let it Reign” on “Dance Energy” from back in the day. Where is it? Well, as I cannot seem to find it, here is another Inner City song as an interval for this entry.)

Bop!

I really feel for the acts who get low televote scores.

It was awful to see how those happy men from Latvia and Ronela from Albania deflated while waiting for their results (ultimately non qualification) in semi-final one.

The Armenian song sounded like something from “Grey’s Anatomy” (I have yet to finish season two, and have spoiled future storylines for myself, so yeah).

What else?

I might be back! This is a tentative “Part One”.