Of Storms and Sundays

Eurovision 2019, Season 2

Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they cover the entries from Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Latvia, Romania, and Germany! This week, the crew tries to figure out the witchcraft behind Estonia’s staging, has some questions about the “sisters” from Germany, and generally agrees that this group of entries are a little low energy.

Songs covered:

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“Everyone is Falling”

Eurovision 2019, Season 2

Join Max, Alix, and Bart as they review the entries from Australia, Italy, Montenegro, and the UK. In this episode, Alix gushes over Italy, Max and Bart discuss the merits of Australia’s weird staging, and all three agree that Montenegro maybe could’ve done better this time.

Songs covered:

Note: We ended up not including a clip of Darude’s “Sandstorm” but you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU

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And So It Begins…

Eurovision 2019, Season 2

Welcome to Season 2 of Star Spangled Eurovision! The first four entries for Eurovision 2019 have been revealed, and Max, Alix, and Bart are back to kick off the Eurovision 2019 season with their hot takes on the songs from Albania, the Czech Republic, France, and Spain. Tune in to find out who we like, who we don’t like but wish we did, and what we think some of these songs are really about.

Shownotes:

Songs featured

National Final Schedule – https://eurovision.tv/calendar/

Semi-Final Allocation – https://eurovision.tv/story/semi-final-allocation-draw-results-2019

And finally, if you’ve never seen it, you *must* watch Serhat’s 2016 entry for San Marino, “I Didn’t Know” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYKFKgwVbV4

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Brands, Logos, and Themes, Oh My! w/ Katy Shea

Season 1.5

Just in time for the reveal of Eurovision 2019’s theme “Dare to Dream,” Max and special guest Katy Shea dig deep into the Eurovision brand. Join us as we discuss the Eurovision logo, the yearly themes and slogans, and how host countries use the contest to show the world what they’re all about.

Shownotes:

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Sonata in E Minor(ity) w/ Nicole Johnson

Season 1.5

Join Alix, Max, and special guest Nicole Johnson as we talk about diversity at Eurovision and whether or not the image Eurovision paints of a tolerant, multiethnic and diverse Europe is truly reflective of the reality. We also dish on Mikolas Josef’s new single, “Me Gusta,” and our favorite Moldovans’ guest appearance on Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father.

Listen to “Me Gusta” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnjz_u8_dM

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Next Year in Tel Aviv! w/ Sarah Unbehaun

Eurovision 2019, Season 1.5

September 1st marks the official start of the Eurovision season, as any songs released after that day are eligible entries for the contest! Join Max, Alix, and special guest Sarah Unbehaun as they discuss the reveal of the host city, what we think might (or want to) happen this year, and what artists we want to see at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019!

Shownotes:

Swiss Broadcaster RSI has revealed 13 songs it’s looking to submit to the internal national selection and is asking for some public input. Listen to the songs and find out more here.

 

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The Luck of the Irish w/ Liam Mullins

Season 1.5

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country, and won four times in five years from 1992-1996. They’re also the only country that has won three times in a row and the only country to have won twice with the same artist (Johnny Logan, 1980 and 1987). Even Riverdance first premiered at Eurovision as the interval act at the 1994 contest in Dublin! Yet, Ireland’s luck seems to have dried out. They haven’t reached the Top 5 since 1997, and have failed to qualify for the final seven times since the semifinals were introduced 14 years ago. Join Max, Alix, and our special guest, Liam Mullins, as they dissect why Ireland stopped being good at Eurovision, whether or not things might be looking up for the emerald isle after 2018, and why the hell they decided to send a turkey that one time.

Songs featured:
Donna and Joe – “Love?” (2005) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9CHcqe7xro
Dustin the Turkey – “Irlande Douze Pointe” (2008) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps3kxGo_gro
Ryan O’Shaughnessy – “Together” (2018) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYBtf4ZMfjw
Mickey Joe Harte – “We’ve Got the World” (2003) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ9jfwOcmro

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“We Will Love You, But No One Else Will”

Season 1.5

Ever wonder what former Eurovision winners are up to? Well we wanted to find out too, but our research left us underwhelmed. So instead of catching up on what past victors have been doing since their big wins, Alix and Max discuss why winning the Eurovision Song Contest doesn’t necessarily lead to widespread international fame, why ABBA is the exception and not the rule, and why Netta might be the one to break the mold.*

*As of posting, “Toy” is #6 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and #29 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. If you didn’t get a chance to see Netta perform on the Today show, you can watch it here: https://bit.ly/2MUyyBm

And as promised, here are some of our favorite new tracks from past Eurovision winners:

Dima Bilan (Russia, 2008) – “Derzhi” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LrXZbOAWQ
Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden 2015) – “Happyland” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWYCBhj7sE
Jamala (Ukraine, 2016) – “Krila” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W3zXLpf09A
Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009) – “Kotik” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxxEcOWdZsg
Loreen (Sweden 2012) – “Statements” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdil9UO80Yo
Salvador Sobral (Portugal 2017) – “Mano a Mano” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTyaEaFzL9U

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“Swedish is Such a Beautiful Language”

Season 1.5

Alix and Max are back this week to discuss some of the latest Eurovision news and our big topic of the week: languages! After a short history of languages at Eurovision, we try and figure out if not singing in English puts an entry at a disadvantage in the contest.

And in case you’re interested, here’s ABBA singing their Eurovision-winning “Waterloo” in their native Swedish: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUUhu6Fi9ds

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It’s All Political

Season 1.5

This week, Max and Alix try to unpack the ever-changing, often controversial voting system and try and decide if bloc voting actually has an effect on who wins Eurovision every year. Also, we introduce a new segment where we bring you the latest news from the Eurovision world!

Further reading:

“Partisanship at Eurovision is becoming more Blatant,” The Economist – econ.st/2MT22jj

Alexander V. Mantzaris, Samuel R. Rein and Alexander D. Hopkins, “Examining Collusion and Voting Biases Between Countries During the Eurovision Song Contest Since 1957” – jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/21/1/1.html

Siobhan Palmer and Ashley Kirk, “A guide to political voting: Who votes for whom at Eurovision?” The Telegraph –bit.ly/2MUyyBm

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