Eurovision 2008: Slovenia

Tuomo Neuvonen: Success for Slovenia, one of the remnants of Yugoslavia, has been relatively elusive (unlike for Croatia or Serbia). We can be grateful for Slovenia for one key moment in Eurovision history: thanks to Slovenia in 2002 the doors were opened for drag queens to perform as the main act on stage (Norway in 1986 did have a drag performer on stage but not as the performer). At any rate, here's Slovenia, Rebeka Remelj, and Vrag naj vzame:

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At last an entry that got my booty shakin' and dancin'! Not a pretty sight (my booty shaking, that is), I'm sure, but I had been waiting for an entry like this. And as for body parts, Rebeka also has the boobs for Slovenia to succeed :-)

One more (disturbing) observation: if you listen to both links, you will notice that the one provided by eurovision.tv is more clubby (i.e. the one I danced my ass off to) than the one I picked up on Youtube (labeled: official). It will be interesting which one will actually be performed on stage... I like this one a lot (so far my favourite, I guess), but a lot of my judgement hinges on which version of the song will be performed on stage...

Vrag... in Russian that's "enemy" (враг), but what on earth is the naj vzame? Judging by the video (unhappy people running away from each other, etc.), I've hypothesised that the title must be Slovenian for "snake in the grass" or something like that. Any thoughts?

Eurovision 2008: Azerbaijan

Tuomo writes: As I mentioned earlier, this year features two newbies, San Marino and Azerbaijan. So hailing from the shores of the Caspian Sea, here's Azerbaijan, Elnur & Samir, and Day after Day:



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When I read the name of the song, I couldn't help thinking way back to 1982 when the Swedish entry was called Dag efter dag, or "day after day." Elnur & Samir's interpretation of the same concept couldn't have been further removed from the 50s schlager infused performed by Chips (which, incidentally, is the recipe for every Swedish entry tee hee hee). The first 20 seconds of falsetto shrieking made me cringe in fear and pain of what the remaining 2 minutes and 40 seconds would offer...

Much to my surprise, Day after Day evolved after those ear-piercing 20 seconds into a more melodious, yet heavy metal style (pop?) song. Once again, I thought of Depeche Mode, so by the time I got to the end, I realised that I actually liked this one. In fact, Azerbaijan will almost certainly give Finland run for its money! This was so much better and stylish... But in the end, how will they perform it live on stage. Will they bring down the house (no pun intended) by attracting televoters across the continent - or will it be reduced to sheer cacophony?

Eurovision 2008: Belgium

Tuomo writes: Belgium has a long history of participation in Eurovision, but to date their obly victory dates back to 1985. With ups and downs and a couple of close calls, the second victory has been elusive ever since. So without further ado, here's Belgium, Ishtar, and Julissi na jalini:

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Hmm, Belgium appears to emulate the success of Sanomi from a couple of years ago with lesbian yodeling. Way then the entry was in this artificial language sung to a haunting, yet exotic tune. Only in 2008, they've decide to make it more up-tempo, cheery, and klezmer inspired. I like it, yet I'm thinking, "Is this how Belgium got away without performing in either of the national languages or in English?" Inasmuch I go around telling people to listen to music with their hearts, not their ears only, I feel like I'd like to know what the "plot" for this song is. As for success, it will be interesting to see how this fares...

BTW Julissi na jalini in true ethno-pop fashion includes some ululation, which Dave affectionately refers to as lesbian yodeling... :-)

Eurovision 2008: San Marino

Tuomo writes: There may be a lot of critique against the Eurovision concept - or should we call it brand - for promoting music that is insipid, commercial, of minimal artistic value yadda yadda yadda. Yet, more and more countries express the desire to participate. In fact, the two-night semi-final format can be argued to be the offspring of providing a fair opportunity for as many as countries as possible to showcase their musical talent - or in some cases lack thereof... :-) In this sense, year 2008 is no different with two newbies of which the first one is the lilliputian San Marino (I have to admit that I had to look up some info on it!), Miodio and Complice:




Here orhttp://www.eurovision.tv/medialounge/video/596

It's a pity that Italy, a country of almost systematically almost overqualified but under-appreciated entries, has been absent from Eurovision for a number of years. So now it's up to San Marino to continue the legacy of musica italiana. There have been times where in hindsight I've regretted putting so much effort in college in learning Italian instead of, say Spanish, but it was such a sexy language to know in the mid-80s in - and still is... And Miodio's song just does exactly what Italian to this day does to me: send shivers down my spine à la John Cleese in Fish Called Wanda.

Another aspect that I like about this entry is that it makes me think of one of my favourite pop/rock groups: Depeche Mode. Light pop with dark, mysterious, if not downright sexy undertones: mamma mia!

OK, so San Marino may be lilliputian in size, but could it be this year's brobdignagian surpise? (See, I read more than Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in college...!!)

Eurovision 2008: Moldova

Tuomo writes: A relatively recent participant with only three times behind, Moldova has performed in the final every single time, either directly or through the semi-finals, so here's Moldova, Geta Burlescu and A Century of Love:

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In general, I like this kind of music, jazzy and smoky. However, judging by how jazzy numbers have fared in recent years, unfortunately Moldova has slim chances in making it to the finals in 2008. Though let's not forget that Hungary managed to pull it off last year, so who knows... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Moldova.

Eurovision 2008: Estonia

Tuomo writes: I used to think way back in the 80s, when Finland's lack of success in the Eurovision was hypothesized to be due to the unusual language, how wonderful it would be if Estonia (or even Hungary) could participate and how we'd exchage 12 points because we'd be the only ones to appreciate each others songs based on the language. Then Estonia participated in 1993 for the first time with little success though and was eliminated for a year. This obviously supported the language hypothesis - until Estonia returned in 1995 with Kaelakee hääl and placed fifth, higher than Finland had ever even dreamt of achieving. So much for that hypothesis. Then in 2001 Estonia went and won the competition with Everybody. Maybe Finland's lack of success was due to lack of talent or ambition or us being põhjapõder, or reindeer (as the Estonians call us Finns) or something after all :-) Even with Finland's victory in 2006, Estonia had managed to crank out entries that have placed fairly well. So here is Estonia: Kreisiraadio and Leto svet:


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Issand, or dear God! What was this? A Dadaist pastiche or what? I have always admired the Estonians for their wry sense of humour, but in terms of Eurovision this is almost inappropriate. By the time I got to the third part - in Finnish (?!) - I simply couldn't believe my ears and eyes. I don't think this is going to do well - even with the scantily clad girls - though an annoyingly catchy tune (I caught myself humming along a moment ago...) might help Estonia make it to the final. In this light, one is almost obliged to consider Ireland's turkey (pun partially intended) high humour. Please make them stop the noises in my head!!! :-(

Eurovision 2008: Israel

Tuomo writes: I'm on a roll - I feel I can publish one more review before going to bed. Introducing Isreal, Ke'ilo kan "As If Here" performed by Boaz Mauda!

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One thing I can say about Israel: they rarely disappoint, and this is definitely no exception! What I did not like was the part in English: sing in Hebrew or in English but not both. And this applies to all other countries who do this - just a pet peeve of mine. A "typical" Eurovision ballad that IMO should do well but, on the other hand, could get lost among the other entries by not having that certain oomph. Lots of velar fricatives in the beginning and faboo ethno drums in the end that made me happy...

But what's up with those tweaked eye brows? And that buff body, which fortunately is not present in the clip (but can be explored elsewhere on the Internet). Sour grapes...! :-)