Vintage lizard!

Ooh, check it out ... ! Very cool postcard that I got from Daïre in Estonia on my birthday last week. Isn't it fantastic? Black and white works incredibly well in photographing reptiles sometimes ... it's to do with how it shows light and shadow on their bodies, I think. Kind of chiaroscuro, if that's the word I want. :-)

Pretty sure this is 'just' a regular bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps or some related species. But it's still wonderful. Hey, there's a reason why they're so popular.

ESTONIA 2011 - Rockefeller Street

Does anyone remember the Swedish entry back in 2005 ... ? It was so weird because it was a Swedish song, in Ukraine, and it was about an American city. It was seriously bizarre. And they ended up seriously bombing. Listen to the lyrics of this year's Estonian entry and I'm sure you'll see why I'm bringing this up now.

But apart from that, this is actually a pretty darn good song. It has some features that are a little jarring - like the segue from the chorus to the verse, I'm not at all sure about that - but overall I think this is really good. Catchy and pretty original. I like it. I have a good feeling about Estonia this year. The presentation needs some tweaking, maybe especially her outfit (sorry) but the song itself ought to be a shoe-in for the top ten. At least. Good luck to Estonia. :-)

Check it out. This is Getter Jaani performing Rockefeller Street by Sven Lõhmus. He'll be competing for Estonia on Thursday, May 12th.

Widescreen here.

Lyrics here.

ESTONIA 2010 - Siren

OK, I realize I've been saying mostly mean & nasty things about this year's entries so far, and it's maybe time to start being nice to someone, but seriously, this is some messed up shit right here.

I will start off by saying something nice, though. Just to prove that I am not completely a heartless machine creature. This song is really catchy, and his voice isn't that bad. It's interesting, an unusual singing voice. So they could have done something with this. But then again, brr ...

It's only catchy about halfway through, then it gets repetitive and annoying. The performance is seriously weird and off-putting. What's with the dancers and their bizarre leg action, and what is with that bunch of flowers?? Then there's the lyrics ... the less said, the better. The title makes no sense. If English is so difficult, why not sing in Estonian?? It would definitely have gone down better that way.

It's not only his life that's lame ... >:-) This entry will probably, hopefully, fingers crossed, do really badly. The Estonians need to be taught a lesson. We know they can do it, their entry was so wonderful last year! I don't know what they were thinking with this one. This guy wasn't among the favorites in their national final as I recall, so I don't know what happened there. And, no joke, I don't want to know.

This is Malcolm Lincoln - which is not a person, although it sounds like one, it's actually the band name - and their backing dancers/singers/whatever those guys are, Manpower 4, performing Siren. It was composed by the singer, Robin Juhkental, who will be competing at Fornebu on May 25th.



Lyrics here.

Sad news, at least for Norwegians who were little around 1980 - Gustav Lorentzen died today. :-( He was only 62 years old, that's like five years younger than my father. o_O Half of Knutsen & Ludvigsen, gone forever. :-( But we will always have the badger in the ceiling ... !!!

Moldova, Malta, Estonia

Moldova:
Yay ... !! :-)
Now here's an ESC performer who can really sing. I don't care what Aftenposten says. ;-)
Again, everything's good about this song. Nothing I would change. She even sings in Moldovan. Me like ... !! I'm so glad she got through from the semi ... otherwise she would have had to pay for the trip herself. :-D Go Moldova!! I'm sure they'll do very very well. :-)

Malta:
Good song, good performer with a wonderful voice. But we're talking about BookCrossing and vacation experiences (on Malta, but still) while she's singing, so it obviously can't be all that.
The Maltese have high hopes - as usual - but I'm afraid they're rather groundless. They'll probably do pretty well, because, hello, it's Chiara. :-) But I'd be amazed if this won.

Estonia:
Ooh, my favorite ... !! I love this song. Every time I hear it, I just like it more and more. Beautiful.
The lyrics aren't even about that same old un/requited love shit. They're very deep and profound. ;-)
Lovely music, beautifully performed, a wonderful singer.
I can't see this winning, because I think its appeal isn't quite broad enough. I would be deliriously happy if they did, though. :-)
Go Estonia!!!

Albania, Ukraine, Estonia, the Netherlands

Albania:
WTF is this?? :-o
As I predicted, they've changed the song a lot since the national final. Well, they've had to, it was way too long. The song is much much better now. But.
WTF is with the guy in green? And the two mimes?? o_O
Bizarre choreography.
Weirdest presentation this year. And especially after the wonderful Moldovan entry, this totally falls on its face.
Bye bye, Albania.

Ukraine:
OK, now, I totally hate this song. The presentation is awful, she's awful, the song sucks and just ... everything is so wrong. Yuck.
What are the backing dancers wearing, and why??
Riddle me this ... if a woman dresses like a whore, dances like a whore and acts like a whore, then ... what ... ? o_O
There is nothing I like about this song.
Anne Ida says she hopes everyone under the age of ten is in bed by now. ;-)
Piece of shit. I cannot comprehend how this can be a favorite. Fingers crossed that it doesn't make it through. Someone have mercy and don't make us sit through this one more time.

Estonia:
Ooh, Rändajad ... !!
I like it, I love it!! A beautiful song, wonderfully performed. She has such a lovely voice.
A beautiful presentation.
A fantastic entry. Estonia, you've got my vote.

The Netherlands:
Anne Ida can't stand the guy in the middle ... :-D
She's right though, there's something seriously weird about his voice.
Kind of overkill to call the song Shine, and then wear those sparkly suits ... ? OK, we get it.
I like the backing singers' dresses, though. V. nice.
I stand by what I said before - this is a song that could have been in the contest ten years ago. And probably would have done better then.
It's a catchy song with a good beat, but I don't think it has what it takes to go all the way. Not anymore.

ESTONIA 2009: Urban Symphony – Rändajad

And now, one of my absolute favorites in the ESC this year. Maybe my top favorite, I'm not sure yet. :-) But definitely one of the best songs in 2009. :-) And I'm so glad to see it, because last year Estonia totally fucked it up. Their entry in Belgrade was just ... WTF?? Total piece of shit. That's the nicest thing I can say about it. Worthless. And predictably, they failed to get through from the semi. They actually haven't qualified for the final since 2003 ... and that's kind of weird, because they won in 2001, and for several years running there they got really good results. And then, I don't know ... suddenly they just lost it. With that crapfest they sent last year I was about ready to give them up for lost. And then they send this. Aah. Hope springs eternal ... and is sometimes rewarded. :-)

So what's so great about this song? Everything!! :-D Well, what I like is that it's original - in many ways - and unusual; it has an excellent melody, sweet and flowing; it's well presented; it's well performed - the singer, whose name I think is Sandra Nurmsalu, has a nice voice that she uses well in this song; the group is professional and seems confident on stage; it's even in Estonian. What's not to like here?? I dig this song. I'm so glad that they're in our semi; that means that I can vote for them, and I promise you I will. Go Estonia!! :-)

This is Urban Symphony performing Rändajad by Sven Lõhmus. He will be competing for Estonia on May 14th, and in an excellent slot, #18. The Netherlands go on after this entry, and I think that the Dutch song - so ten years ago - will make this one stand out all the more. Not to mention that the song preceding it is the Ukrainian entry ... and that cheesy skankfest will make Rändajad seem even more classy than it already is. Yay. :-)

Lyrics here.

Montenegro, Israel, Estonia

Montenegro:
The song sounds better than I expected. Better than in the video. He's got stage presence. I didn't think much of their chances when I'd just seen the video, but now they're sounding good. They've got a good shot at a place in the final.
His backing dancers look like hookers though. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Israel:
A striking opening. People will remember that. Unfortunate starting slot, but good presentation.
The song is still boring though. I SO don't understand how this can be a favorite.
I hope this doesn't make the cut.

Estonia:
Piece of shit.
The guys can't sing for shit and they look like idiots. Again the backing dancers look like ... OK, not hookers. Strippers. The beat of the song is incredibly annoying.
It certainly is a gag entry - as in, gag me with a spoon.
I hope intensely that this doesn't make it (although it may, and I won't be entirely surprised if that happens) because I never want to hear this 'song' again.

Ha ha! The Estonians got booed!! :-D

ESTONIA 2008: Kreisiraadio - Leto svet

My eyes, my eyes ... !!! AAUUGHH ... !!!

Seriously. WHAT IS THIS??? This is like a joke, this is like the UK last year only even worse. Estonia won in 2001, they were the first of the Eastern countries to win ever. How far the mighty have fallen!! This entry is embarrassing, without the saving grace of being totally out there alien like Ukraine last year.

These guys used to do comedy shows on TV in the 90s. One of them is an MP now. One of the others has done something ESC-related before, conducted a couple of the previous Estonian entries or something. Obviously he has learned nothing. And those dancers in the background in their gold spangled miniskirts ... argh.

Was this the best entry in their national finals this year?? I DON'T WANT TO KNOW what the others were like. Or is this funny to Estonians?? Help!!

I fail to see how they think they can get anywhere with this. There's a bit of various languages in there - some Serbian, some Finnish, and some German, was it? At least. But I don't think anyone's going to feel that this song is great praise to their national languages ...


http://youtube.com/watch?v=cFyJ9YmlZdw