I confess I haven't followed Eurovision 2010 as closely as I should. Heh. Mostly, I've just wondered about Russia's entry this year, which since Morrissey still hasn't gone through on his threat to represent England sometime, looks like a likely favorite yet again.
Russia's dominant 'Evrovideniye' run is by no means surprising. They have had a long and glorious tradition of unapologetic, unintentionally hilarious pop junk. The recent viral sensation of a 44 year old song by Eduard Khil (that's "Trololo Man" to westerners) proves it goes back at least as far as Brezhnev. After the stinging disappointment of Serebro's 3rd place finish in 2007 (caused by a clear anti-Russian bias ginned up by the western media), the be-mulleted head of Dima Bilan lifted Russia off her knees to achive her rightful, glorious place in the first ranks of awful-pop music-loving nations.
This year's Russian entry is Peter Nalitch, or more precisely, the "Musical Collective of Peter Nalitch." They arrive after a transformation that can only be described as... you know, I can't quite think of a word for it. A few years ago, my wife pointed out the following video, which was a viral Internet hit in Russia and is honestly hilarious. It is also horribly catchy, and is frequently heard around our house to the extent that Mila has been heard singing bits and pieces.
The mix of cheesiness, a sense of light-hearted humor, and a catchy melody made them a clever candidate for Eurovision. But my god, their effort this year came out in the strangest possible way. They will go to this Saturday's Eurovision finals on the back of some kind of insane ballad called "Lost and Forgotten." Watching it, you wait for the joke... and wait... and wait... and my god, there is no joke!
I suppose it is not impossible this is some very advanced form of subtle, underground humor. A joke so deep that it completely forgets to be funny. But that is unlikely -- Russia takes Eurovision very seriously.
In a time when the very idea of one peaceful and prosperous Europe is fraying -- as Greece bottoms out, and others threaten to do the same, as Germany grumbles over bailing out its wastrel neighbors -- it is great that we have Eurovision to ask the big questions and raise the big issues. What's it all about? the best answer this year comes from Aisha, a crooner from Latvia whose existential ballad explores one particular blonde head's dark night of the soul. "What for? Only Mr. God Knows Why."
Indeed. (And I swear I'm not being ironic when I say I think she is way better than Ke$ha).
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