Ever heard a song that was so close to touching those heart strings but went and fucked it all up by going a totally different (and worse) direction? Well this is the thread for you!
Yeah, I call that "the Eurovision Effect". At the risk of sounding like a Eurocuck, there used to be a lot of halfway decent bands on Eurovision - but, y'know, emphasis on
halfway. In order to even qualify for Eurovision, a song has to compromise its style and integrity in such a way that Europeans will vote on it. There's predictable formulas that get tweaked each year, ever-so-slightly, and the more a song tries to deviate from that year's formula, the less chance it has of actually appearing in the contest.
There've been some genuinely fun bands on Eurovision, but with very few exceptions, even the good songs feel like they're juuussssst short of where I hoped they would be.
For instance:
Probably the best Eurovision band, but as a Scandinavian metal nerd and longtime GWAR aficionado, it just... it leaves me wanting a little more. Every time I hear Lordi, it's like I was expecting SYL but got KISS instead.
Or this one:
On paper, four Finnish dudes with Downs Syndrome playing punk rock should be the greatest thing in Eurovision history, but this particular song wasn't their best, and the reception from the Eurocrowd was mostly just condescending virtue signalling and lukewarm politeness. Dunno what else I would have expected, so fuck it.
I unironically enjoyed Sunstroke Project's 2010 entry, "Epic Sax Guy Meme Song", but then they came back in 2017 and shat this demimonstrosity out. Swore off Eurovision after this song, so I did.
Thinking this over a bit more, I don't really know how I'd fix Dustin the Turkey. I always felt like they could have done MORE - like, it's already a joke song, right? A giant "fuck you" to Ireland and Europe as a whole. Why not have more drag queens? Dial the Eurotrash up to 11? Maybe I'm just being picky, but I can't shake the feeling that Dustin the Turkey compromised the integrity of his vision.
TOO. FUCKING. SHORT.
Anyways, you get the idea. Eurovision is full of this shit. Creating musical disappointment is basically the sole reason the contest exists.
(that, and pushing schoolyard politics)