Enough time has passed since Düsseldorf, and it is time to rank the songs.
Oddly enough, I am yet to watch the 2011 ESC broadcasts in full. Every time I have tried to watch, I feel that the whole event is still too close in time. My impressions are too strong, and I don't want them to pale and get reduced to what you see on television.
So these reviews are more based on my impressions and memories rather than what it actually looked and sounded like on-screen.
But here they come, all 43 participating entries according to my own very personal and ruthless ranking, according to my very own criteria.
Welcome aboard, sit back, enjoy the ride and feel free to comment when you agree or disagree with me.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Cyprus 1990: evolution in reverse
After a series of internal and semi-internal selections, Cypriot broadcaster RIK decided to put on a real full-blown national final for the first time in 1990.
The enthusiasm was quite big on home ground, and the winning song was greeted with quite a lot of enthusiasm.
Haris Anastasiou - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 national final)
Maybe the voice left a little bit to be desired, but it looked quite right and up to date, and it sounded even more so. Calculated and copied straight off the Stock/Aitken/Waterman drawing board, bien sur, but putting the finger quite precisely on the current musical chart trends.
RIK also made a good and funny preview clip for the song, and more than one follower must have started believing Cyprus could make a bit of a splash in Zagreb.
Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 preview clip)
But then something went wrong - very wrong - as the team hired the stylist from hell. Or did they hire a stylist at all?
Stretch denim and a tourist t-shirt? Now really?
And while good old Haris had seemingly worked on getting has vocals together, the backing group do their best to shout the whole thing to death. As a result, a perfectly good, up-to-date pop song ends in a pale 14th place.
Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990)
The whole performance lacks the punch and the bounce that the backing track has. And the lack of style would make any jury member reach for the remote.
Anastazio already had ESC experience as a backing dancer for Cyprus in Brussels 1987, he must have noticed already then that it pays off to make a good visual presentation.
So, what's the excuse here?
The enthusiasm was quite big on home ground, and the winning song was greeted with quite a lot of enthusiasm.
Haris Anastasiou - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 national final)
Maybe the voice left a little bit to be desired, but it looked quite right and up to date, and it sounded even more so. Calculated and copied straight off the Stock/Aitken/Waterman drawing board, bien sur, but putting the finger quite precisely on the current musical chart trends.
RIK also made a good and funny preview clip for the song, and more than one follower must have started believing Cyprus could make a bit of a splash in Zagreb.
Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 preview clip)
But then something went wrong - very wrong - as the team hired the stylist from hell. Or did they hire a stylist at all?
Stretch denim and a tourist t-shirt? Now really?
And while good old Haris had seemingly worked on getting has vocals together, the backing group do their best to shout the whole thing to death. As a result, a perfectly good, up-to-date pop song ends in a pale 14th place.
Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990)
The whole performance lacks the punch and the bounce that the backing track has. And the lack of style would make any jury member reach for the remote.
Anastazio already had ESC experience as a backing dancer for Cyprus in Brussels 1987, he must have noticed already then that it pays off to make a good visual presentation.
So, what's the excuse here?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Preview clip: Armenia 2009
The best preview clips are of course the ones that improves the song they present. They make the song feel even more powerful and convincing. One clip that managed really well was Armenia 2009.
Inga & Anush - Jan Jan (Armenia 2009 preview)
It is so bouncy and colourful and stylish. The sisters look gorgeous and the scenes with the mass dancing are truly efficient.
Too bad that Armenia didn't play the dance craze card when they got to Moscow, but instead opted for a far more restrained approach.
Still stylish, but no bounce in sight. That probably lost them quite a few points in the end. Something happy and clappy would surely have scored higher.
Inga & Anush - Jan Jan (Armenia 2009)
Inga & Anush - Jan Jan (Armenia 2009 preview)
It is so bouncy and colourful and stylish. The sisters look gorgeous and the scenes with the mass dancing are truly efficient.
Too bad that Armenia didn't play the dance craze card when they got to Moscow, but instead opted for a far more restrained approach.
Still stylish, but no bounce in sight. That probably lost them quite a few points in the end. Something happy and clappy would surely have scored higher.
Inga & Anush - Jan Jan (Armenia 2009)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Memories from Düsseldorf
As keen followers of this blog will already know, I was sent to Düsseldorf by Svenska Yle (the Swedish-languaged branch of the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation) in order to cover the ESC from every thinkable aspect.
I have been around before, this was my eighth Eurovision that I visited, but the whole thing was rather overwhelming.
Fun, absolutely one of the best jobs you can have under the sun, but I was left with so many new impressions and ideas and impulses that it has taken a while to wind down afterwards.
For instance, I have not since a single one of the Düsseldorf broadcasts through. Too demanding. And they are still too present to be enjoyable. I like them better when they play in my head.
But slowly, I will start doing my slight summary of this year's contest. And I will rank all the songs according to how I like them now, when all is said and done and every single point has been counted.
Before that, though, I'd like to share some Düsseldorf nostalgia with you all. Among many other things, I spent my ten days at Eurovision making small web-tv clips that I'd love to share with you here.
Düsseldorf in rewind!
Paradise Oskar arrives at the welcome party
Paradise Oskar mingles with the other delegations at the welcome party
Paradise Oskar on a cruise with the Finnish press
Paradise Oskar sings Germany's eurosong from 2007 as well as his own song
All the clips I made can be seen on our YouTube channel here and they can hopefully entertain one or two of you before my Ddorf analysis begins.
I have been around before, this was my eighth Eurovision that I visited, but the whole thing was rather overwhelming.
Fun, absolutely one of the best jobs you can have under the sun, but I was left with so many new impressions and ideas and impulses that it has taken a while to wind down afterwards.
For instance, I have not since a single one of the Düsseldorf broadcasts through. Too demanding. And they are still too present to be enjoyable. I like them better when they play in my head.
But slowly, I will start doing my slight summary of this year's contest. And I will rank all the songs according to how I like them now, when all is said and done and every single point has been counted.
Before that, though, I'd like to share some Düsseldorf nostalgia with you all. Among many other things, I spent my ten days at Eurovision making small web-tv clips that I'd love to share with you here.
Düsseldorf in rewind!
Paradise Oskar arrives at the welcome party
Paradise Oskar mingles with the other delegations at the welcome party
Paradise Oskar on a cruise with the Finnish press
Paradise Oskar sings Germany's eurosong from 2007 as well as his own song
All the clips I made can be seen on our YouTube channel here and they can hopefully entertain one or two of you before my Ddorf analysis begins.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Notable lyrics: Greece 1983
Just to be very precise... It took me years to figure this song out. I used to find it dull and difficult. I couldn't make head nor tails of it and thought it was one of the weakest entries ever sent in by Greece.
Christie Stassinopoulou - Mou les (Greece 1983)
It wasn't until I heard the cover version featured on the Euro-Revisions album (which I can heartly recommend - available on Spotify) that I was really blown away.
These days, this is one of my all-time favourite ESC tracks - delicate, tender and seriously melodic.
But one thing that always impressed me - long before I saw the light from a musical point of view - are the lyrics. A low-key lament from the insecure, a lullaby for everyone with low self esteem.
You tell me about the sea and the ships, about everything you have seen and experienced. And instead of feeling special when you decide to share this with me, I panic in fear that these wonderful memories will make you long back to old times and realise how dull and insignificant I really am.
So I will close all ports and all stations, and I will lock your heart in a cage, so you can't wander away from me.
Who can't relate to that feeling? The notion that as soon as our loved ones realise how unspectacular we really are, they won't love us anymore.
Christie sings for everyone who ever felt like that, and at least my heart melts.
Christie Stassinopoulou - Mou les (Greece 1983)
It wasn't until I heard the cover version featured on the Euro-Revisions album (which I can heartly recommend - available on Spotify) that I was really blown away.
These days, this is one of my all-time favourite ESC tracks - delicate, tender and seriously melodic.
But one thing that always impressed me - long before I saw the light from a musical point of view - are the lyrics. A low-key lament from the insecure, a lullaby for everyone with low self esteem.
You tell me about the sea and the ships, about everything you have seen and experienced. And instead of feeling special when you decide to share this with me, I panic in fear that these wonderful memories will make you long back to old times and realise how dull and insignificant I really am.
So I will close all ports and all stations, and I will lock your heart in a cage, so you can't wander away from me.
Who can't relate to that feeling? The notion that as soon as our loved ones realise how unspectacular we really are, they won't love us anymore.
Christie sings for everyone who ever felt like that, and at least my heart melts.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Notable lyrics: Ireland 1984
Linda Martin would come back with a vengeance in 1992 and win the whole shebang in Malmö with the classical ballad "Why Me?".
In Luxembourg 1984, she behaved a lot less like your typical Eurovision lady. She came in, dressed to kill in her white outfit and her screamingly red hair, offering a dramatic little pop symphony with a most non-Irish sound.
Linda Martin - Terminal 3 (Ireland 1984)
The lyrics seem plain and ordinary: a woman is about to reunite with her lost lover, and in accordance with the official Irish stance on relationships and divorce this should constitute a very happy ending.
But there is more drama than that in the picture.
It's not all that easy to forgive and forget once you have been stood up. "Another time and place / can never quite erase / the way he turned his back and walked away."
And what says she won't be stood up again? The lyrics end before the guy shows up. Will he be there? Or did he change his mind again?
And does it even matter? Is there any love to be saved? "I told him nothing's changed / and I still feel the same / he's been away too long." It doesn't mean that it's true, just because she told him so.
Maybe she is just trying to convince herself everything will be fine.
And I love lyrics like these, that will paint a tiny scene from somebody's life and leave more questions than answers. Just like real life.
Maybe Johnny Logan wrote better songs than this one, but never a better lyric.
In Luxembourg 1984, she behaved a lot less like your typical Eurovision lady. She came in, dressed to kill in her white outfit and her screamingly red hair, offering a dramatic little pop symphony with a most non-Irish sound.
Linda Martin - Terminal 3 (Ireland 1984)
The lyrics seem plain and ordinary: a woman is about to reunite with her lost lover, and in accordance with the official Irish stance on relationships and divorce this should constitute a very happy ending.
But there is more drama than that in the picture.
It's not all that easy to forgive and forget once you have been stood up. "Another time and place / can never quite erase / the way he turned his back and walked away."
And what says she won't be stood up again? The lyrics end before the guy shows up. Will he be there? Or did he change his mind again?
And does it even matter? Is there any love to be saved? "I told him nothing's changed / and I still feel the same / he's been away too long." It doesn't mean that it's true, just because she told him so.
Maybe she is just trying to convince herself everything will be fine.
And I love lyrics like these, that will paint a tiny scene from somebody's life and leave more questions than answers. Just like real life.
Maybe Johnny Logan wrote better songs than this one, but never a better lyric.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
ESC 2011: did you enjoy Düsseldorf?
Hello all...
I hope you all had an excellent time with the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, whatever way you watched it. On location, in front of your telly, with your laptop on your knee.
I know I had an excellent time.
The only really bitter little taste is that I had to sacrifice the blog in order to do my job properly. When I had made the news articles, the web tv, the columns and the radio reports I was all out of words.
It is a bit silly to have a eurovision blog on and then drop it when the season moves into top gear. I would have loved to be here and discuss more with you, dear readers, the development, the acts, the performances and the predictions.
Well, I also know that a fraction of you out there has the same need as I do. We need a eurovision blog the most when the season is at its slowest. Some place to turn to when nobody else wants to hear about Eurovision but you still want more.
So I will take the blog up again, slowly, and keep it going for the summer, waiting for the next season to start.
Hope you are still here, some of you, and please tell me... What did you think about the 2011 ESC? Who was your favourite? And why? Please leave a comment and brighten up my day.
I hope you all had an excellent time with the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, whatever way you watched it. On location, in front of your telly, with your laptop on your knee.
I know I had an excellent time.
The only really bitter little taste is that I had to sacrifice the blog in order to do my job properly. When I had made the news articles, the web tv, the columns and the radio reports I was all out of words.
It is a bit silly to have a eurovision blog on and then drop it when the season moves into top gear. I would have loved to be here and discuss more with you, dear readers, the development, the acts, the performances and the predictions.
Well, I also know that a fraction of you out there has the same need as I do. We need a eurovision blog the most when the season is at its slowest. Some place to turn to when nobody else wants to hear about Eurovision but you still want more.
So I will take the blog up again, slowly, and keep it going for the summer, waiting for the next season to start.
Hope you are still here, some of you, and please tell me... What did you think about the 2011 ESC? Who was your favourite? And why? Please leave a comment and brighten up my day.
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