#esc 1974

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #663:

All four members of the band ABBA reunited at the end of May, 2024, to be honored by the king and queen of Sweden in Stockholm. The group earned the Royal Order of Vasa, which makes them Commanders of the First Class, for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

[Source]

"All Four ABBA Members Reunite to Be Knighted at Royal Ceremony in Sweden," Variety.com.

[myeurovisionsongcontest]

[vintageurovision]

Gigliola Cinquetti performs 'Si' for Italy during the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Brighton, England, on 6 April that year. [photos: Roy Bedell]

[everyeurovisionsong]

Luxembourg 1974

'Bye Bye I Love You', performed by Ireen Sheer. Composition by Ralph Siegel. Lyrics by Michael Kunze.

"To be memory holed" in the parlance of reality TV is to be placed right after a hugely memorable act in such a way that the performance cannot be recalled. Ireen Sheer has a strong claim to be one of the biggest memory holes in history.

Singing for Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, she had the challenge of going out on stage after ABBA performed 'Waterloo'. To gather a fourth place after that suggests a strong song.

'Bye Bye I Love You' straddles the two dominant Eurovision styles of the seventies. On one side you have the chanson styled presentation and soaring voice. On the other side you have the lighter side of the seventies with a strong bubblegum beat keeping it light. And do I detect a threat of breaking into "My… heart… goes… Boom Bang-a Bang…"?

Sheer would be back in 1978 and 1985, but this would be her best result. She brings her best game to the Brighton stage, but there's no bite to 'Bye Bye I Love You' and this little fluffy number is blown away by a Swedish hurricane. 

Points: 14. Placing: 4th

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #336 - Neil Young, On the Beach, 1974

I dischi di Agosto avranno come caratteristica che li accumuna la presenza di una spiaggia. Un po' perché è argomento decisivo del periodo agostano, e un po' per l'autoironia che io la spiaggia ad Agosto la vedrò solo di passaggio perché, fortunatamente, è un periodo di grande impegno professionale. La piccola antologia inizia con un disco capolavoro, che è perfetto anche per il titolo ad entrare a far parte di questo piccolo gruppo. Neil Young nel 1974 è ormai un artista pienamente affermato: arrivato dal Canada in California quasi dieci anni prima, nel 1966, attraversa da protagonista la grande stagione del rock californiano, quello legato alla tradizione del folk, che si riafferma dopo la spettacolare, e breve, stagione psichedelica a cavallo tra i due decenni,'60 e '70. Young è protagonista con i Buffalo Springfield, con il più famoso supergruppo degli anni '70, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young e con la sua parallela attività da solista, che ha inizio nel 1969 quando pubblica il suo prima album a suo nome, Neil Young. È stato anche il fondatore di due gruppi, i Crazy Horse, dall'animo più rock ed elettrico, e gli Stray Gators, più country folk. alternando i due gruppi. Dopo l'uscita dal quartello con David Crosby, Stephen Stills e Graham Nash, con cui rimane in bellissimi rapporti, nel 1972 pubblica il disco più famoso della stagione folk rock: Harvest (1972) che con le sue canzoni famose ancora oggi ( tra le altre, perle come Heart Of Gold, Old Man, Alabama) diviene un successo mondiale che gli apre definitivamente le porte della fama. Che tra l'altro è un concetto abbastanza distante dallo "Young-pensiero", che ha sempre ritagliato per sé la massima libertà espressiva e creativa. A questo fastidio, si aggiunte un periodo di grandi dolori: le morti per droga di Danny Whitten, il chitarrista dei Crazy Horse, quella del suo roadie più fidato, Bruce Berry, per lo stesso motivo, è un dramma più privato. La sua relazione privata con l'attrice Carrie Snodgress sta giungendo al termine, al figlioletto della coppia, Zeke, viene diagnosticata una forma di paralisi cerebrale. È con questo animo tormento e addolorato che Young scrive in due anni tre dischi che formano la non ufficiale "ditch trilogy", la trilogia del dolore: Time Fades Away (1973), che è il primo allontanamento dalle gioiose armonie folk per un rock più duro, sfilacciato, nervoso e impregnato di cupezza. Il successo è decisamente minore dei precedenti, ma Young non cambia linea e sforna un album ancora più cupo, Tonight's The Night, che in un primo momento la sua casa discografica gli rifiuta: registrato in presa diretta, senza post produzione, è il suono grezzo e cupo di un uomo che sta cercando di trasformare il suo dolore in musica. Verrà pubblicato nel 1975, in mezzo Young registra il disco di oggi, che esce il 16 luglio 1974.

Registrato in moltissimi studi di registrazione, con una caterva di musicisti ad aiutarlo (e ne parleremo tra poco), On The Beach insiste sul dolore e la disperazione ma lascia trasparire una tregua, una speranza. È un disco blues, il canto della tristezza e del dolore per eccellenza, ma che Young puntella di sprazzi di luce, rendendo più distesa e godibile la musica. Eppure è un disco potentissimo, soprattutto per i temi delle canzoni. Walk On ritrova spirito e brio, e See The Sky About To Rain, che risale addirittura come embrione ai tempi di Harvest, solo voce e pionoforte Wurlitzer, quasi sembrano una riappacificazione, ma il resto è ancora rabbioso e dolente. Revolution Blues è la prova: un atto esplicito di accusa contro la società del tempo, con Young che sembra volersi identificare nello psicopatico Charles Manson, con versi rabbiosi quali: «ho sentito che Laurel Canyon è piena di famose star / Ma io le odio peggio dei lebbrosi / e le ucciderò nelle loro auto». I due si conobbero quando Young viveva in una piccola villetta a Topanga Canyon, il Laurel canyon, che una volta era il territorio delle tribù native americane, negli anni '60 era uno dei luoghi della Controcultura losangelina, dove vivevano moltissimi musicsti. Eppure, pur se controversa, la metafora non vuole celebrare la figura di Manson, ma, esorcizzarla attraverso un'identificazione nel senso di colpa collettivo di una società malata. Young diventa nostalgico dell'America rurale in For The Turnstiles, dove compaiono il banjo e il dobro, Vampire Blues è un blues ecologista, tema che sarà sempre al centro delle tematiche di Young, e che ha una curiosità niente male: Tim Drummond "suona" la carta di credito sfregandosela sulla barba di una settimana creando un curioso effetto fruscio. On The Beach, la meravigliosa e dolente ballata da 7 minuti, è una dichiarazione di difficoltà nell'essere una rockstar, esplicitata nel famoso verso «I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day». Motion Pictures (For Carrie) è probabilmente un'amara riflessione sulla sua storia d'amore che sta andando a rotoli e il disco si conclude con i 9, angoscianti e febbrili, minuti di Ambulance Blues, che è una summa del pensiero di Young sulla politica (con i riferimenti alle bugie del presidente Nixon), sulla musica e il suo mondo, persino sui suoi amici Crosby, Stills e Nash, in un periodo dove c'erano insistenti voci di un ritorno a 4. Suonano con lui David Crosby (che suona in Revolution Blues, e si dice impallidì letteralmente nell'ascoltare la famosa e incendiaria strofa, tanto che cercò di persuadere Young a cambiare testo ed iniziò a girare armato per paura che qualche squilibrato facesse come cantato da Young), Graham Nash, e due grandi musicsti della The Band, Rick Danko e Levon Helm, più i Crazy Horse.

Young prese il titolo dell'album da un film, On The Beach di Stanley Kramer del 1959, basato sull'omonimo romanzo di Nevil Shute. Sia il romanzo che il film erano di tipo apocalittico. E in questo senso è da intendere la copertina, leggendaria, che vede Young vestito di giallo di spalle, un ombrellone, le sdraio, la coda di una Cadillac insabbiata e sotto l'ombrellone una copia di un giornale che si riferisce allo scandalo Watergate di Nixon. La scritta del titolo, in pieno eco psichedelico, è di Rick Griffin, il disegnatore ufficiale dei Grateful Dead.

Il disco, pur vendendo meglio del precedente, non ebbe un grande successo, anche perchè la critica lo definì subito un disco "depresso", a cui si aggiungeva la natura quasi anti-commerciale di musica e testi. Tra l'altro, per decenni, il disco fu messo fuori catalogo, e per certi versi fu introvabile, tanto che i vinili degli anni '70 originali valgono oggi una settantina di euro. Questo fece salire l'interesse per il disco fino alle ristampe degli anni '90, ampiamente rivalutato con gli altri due lavori della trilogia del dolore come uno dei momenti più interessanti della ultra decennale carriera di Young. Un disco dolente ma potentissimo. Che non penso sia il migliore da ascoltare in spiaggia.

[techniktagebuch]

8. und 9. April 2024

Das Fernsehen von vor 50 Jahren

Wir wohnen in Schottland in einer hölzernen Kate von etwa acht Quadratmetern, die einen Fernseher enthält. "Früher wäre das nicht gegangen, ein Röhrenfernseher hätte da gar nicht reingepasst", sage ich. Aleks sagt: "Da können wir heute Abend schön fernsehen!" Denn in seiner Wohnung geht das nicht. Ich lache über die absurde Idee, aber dann verbringen wir wirklich den Abend damit, eine Aufzeichnung des Eurovision Song Contest von 1974 anzuschauen.

Es ist alles sehr faszinierend. Jeder Song wird von einem Orchester live begleitet. Das Orchester ist immer dasselbe, aber für jeden Song kommt ein Dirigent aus dem jeweiligen Land dazu. Bei der Punktevergabe wird das Ergebnis an einer Wand dargestellt, an der es zu jedem Land Umblätterzahlen gibt. Wenn die Umblätterperson (nicht im Bild) sich vertut, muss sie alle Zahlen von 0-9 einmal durchblättern, um wieder zur richtigen zu gelangen. Das führt manchmal zu verwirrenden Anblicken.

Hier hat Irland wegen eines Umblätterfehlers gerade 90 Punkte und liegt damit weit vor ABBA. Aber nur sehr kurz. (Screenshot aus einem YouTube-Video, das nicht lange genug existieren wird für eine Verlinkung, aber wahrscheinlich wird sich auch nach dem Verschwinden dieses Videos ohne viel Mühe eine Aufzeichnung des ESC 1974 finden lassen.)

Die Kameraführung ist ungelenk und ruckelig, aber ich kann nicht einschätzen, ob das an individuellem Ungeschick liegt oder ob Kamerastative in den 1970er Jahren äußerst schwergängig waren.

Am zweiten Abend sehen wir eine Folge der 70er-Jahre-Serie "The Six Million Dollar Man", die wir bis dahin beide nur dem Namen nach kannten. Lee Majors ist nach einem Unfall ein Cyborg mit verschiedenen Implantaten. Er kann sehr schnell rennen, was dadurch dargestellt wird, dass er in Zeitlupe rennt. Ich spekuliere zuerst, dass es damals vielleicht noch keine Zeitrafferaufnahmen gab, aber dann kommt eine kurze Zeitraffersequenz, es muss also gegangen sein. Der Grund für die Zeitlupendarstellung bleibt unklar.

In Lee Majors' Auge ist eine Kamera mit Zoom eingebaut, was man daran erkennt, dass ein rechteckiges Scharfstell-Kästchen im Bild erscheint wie bei ... ich weiß eigentlich auch nicht, worauf sich diese Darstellung bezieht. Fotokameras von damals? Filmkameras? Wenn Majors das Kameraauge auf seine Umgebung richtet, kann er auch gleich identifizieren, welches Fahrzeug diese charakteristischen Spuren hinterlassen hat. Das passiert aber nicht, indem diese Informationen in die Auge-Ansicht eingeblendet werden wie in der Bar-Szene am Anfang von "Terminator 2", sondern er muss diese Informationen für uns Zuschauende laut aussprechen: "Aha! Spuren von einem Soundso-Fahrzeug!" Das liegt wahrscheinlich daran, dass Monitore noch gar nicht so richtig existieren. Man müsste also auf Endlospapier ausgedruckt zeigen, was Majors da erkennt, und ein Drucker im Kopf, das war selbst den Entwicklern dieser Serie zu blöd.

Dann betritt jemand eine militärische Einrichtung, um sich alle Daten zu fehlenden Fahrzeugen oder Boden-Luft-Raketen geben zu lassen: "We'll use a computer!", kündigt er wichtig an. Diesen Computer sieht man dann gar nicht bei der Arbeit, jedenfalls nicht auf eine für uns erkennbare Weise. An einem Schrank blinken Lichter, dann teilt ein Mensch das Ergebnis mit.

Unter Lee Majors Implantaten ist auch keins, das der Kommunikation dient. Wenn er sich mit seinen Kollegen abspricht, muss er ein Funkgerät verwenden. Wo er dieses Funkgerät aufbewahrt, wenn es gerade nicht gebraucht wird, sieht man nicht. Vielleicht enthält der bionische Körper irgendwo ein Schrankfach.

Direkt nach dem Ende dieser (kurzen, aber durch sehr viele Werbeunterbrechnungen verlängerten Folge) kommt genau dieselbe Folge noch mal. Vielleicht läuft sie den ganzen Tag. Das wäre dann so ��hnlich wie Streaming.

Am dritten Abend sehen wir eine weitere Folge von "The Six Million Dollar Man", aber diesmal kommt weniger Technik vor. Außerdem hat sich der Reiz des 70er-Jahre-Fernsehens abgenutzt. Wir gucken noch einem britischen Hundetrainer beim Erziehen von Hunden zu, aber das ist schon fast genau wie YouTube, nur langweiliger. Danach verlassen wir die hölzerne Fernsehkate wieder.

(Kathrin Passig)

[cat-mermaid]

The Rescuers Down Under

all joking aside tho, from 14:30 to 16:50 in my arrogant opinion is one of the most epic sequences in animation history, visually and audio-ly

i will die on that hill

this film had early cgi and it aged like a fine wine, not unlike invader zim or futurama's cgi

this film didn't deserve to be forgotten the way it has, everyone involved put their heart and soul into it and it shows

every time I watch this part I get the same thrill I did when I was a baby, because both the score and the visuals give this story such a grand epic feeling, like back to the future's soundtrack did, so much more then the scooby doo-esc 1974 version (which is a great movie by itself but you can clearly tell what decade it came from)

[klaine-92]

How conveniently that ABBA's ESC win was 1974. So next year it will be 50 years ago. The ESC had to go to Sweden to celebrate "ABBA" (well not really. They just wanna celebrate themselves like England did this year)

[sunevphoria]

IF YOU LIKE ANY OF THESE EUROVISION SONGS, PLEASE BE MY FRIEND (sorry if this is long, i have way too many faves plus it has some oldies but goodies):

-Évidemment (🇫🇷 2023)

-Den Vilda (🇸🇪 1996)

-Sentimentai (🇱🇹 2022)

-Hold Me Closer (🇸🇪 2022)

-My Sister's Crown (🇨🇿 2023)

-När jag blundar (🇫🇮 2012)

-Dinle (🇹🇷 1997)

-Hombres (🇪🇸 1993)

-In Corpore Sano (🇷🇸 2022)

-Oro (🇷🇸 2008)

-Lapponia (🇫🇮 1977)

-Fantasiaa (🇫🇮 1983)

-Hunter of Stars (🇨🇭 2014)

-La Mia Città (🇮🇹 2014)

-Moja štikla (🇭🇷 2006)

-Oniro Mou (🇬🇷 2018)

-One More Day (🇬🇪 2011)

-Crisalide (🇸🇲 2013)

-Hemel an aarde (🇳🇱 1998)

-Vrede (🇳🇱 1993)

-De Troubadour (🇳🇱 1969)

-O meu coração não tem cor (🇵🇹 1996)

-Ai coração (🇵🇹 2023)

-Cvet z juga (🇸🇮 2007)

-Vrag naj vzame (🇸🇮 2008)

-Forogj vilag (🇭🇺 2005)

-Story of My Life (Belarus 2017)

-La vie à vingt-cinq ans (🇨🇵 1974, idc if it withdrew last minute, it's still a masterpiece <3)

-Both of Loreen entries 🇸🇪

-Both of Go_A's entries 🇺🇦

-Any Greek entry from the 90s (especially 🇬🇷 1992, 1993, 1995, and 1996)

-Any French entry honestly (with some exceptions, but they're always ironically high in my rankings.)

-Any of the older Swedish entries mostly (bonus points if you like the older Melodifestivalen classics, ESPECIALLY if you like any Nanne Grönvall entry. <3)

Aaand that's it mostly, but I like wayyy to many ESC entries to compile them all into one post so yeah :')

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Which Sweden wins were deserved and which ones weren’t, according to me:

1974 - Waterloo by ABBA. Deserved.

This is the reason ABBA’s career set off! And they’re amazing!

1984 - Diggiloo Diggiley by Herreys. Deserved.

I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE DIGGILOO DIGGILEY. I used to listen to this on a CD so much as a kid that the CD broke. It’s silly, it’s catchy, it’s cheesy, it’s amazing. To think, back in this day you could win by singing about something so simple as golden shoes.

1991 - Fångad av en stormvind by Carola. Deserved.

It is catchy asf and easy to dance to. I get it.

1999 - Tusen och en natt by Charlotte Nilsson (Perelli now, but Nilsson in 1999). Undeserved.

This is probably the most ”unknown” of the Sweden wins and sorry to all the Charlotte fans but i’m just not feeling it. Both my parents have said they were very surprised this even won because they weren’t that into it either. It’s not a bad song, but idk if I would call it a winning song either. But oh well, there were other tastes and standards in 1999…

But another reason is that Iceland came in second this year and if we hadn’t won, they would have gotten their first win.

2012 - Euphoria by Loreen. Deserved.

Euphoria was amazing. It’s still a song that plays and holds up.

2015 - Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw. Both deserved and undeserved.

I was not expecting him to win in 2015 and when he did, I was very happy about it. His song was good and I think what really stood out was the effects with his little animated dude. The only problem is that his win lead us to

1. Have like 7 years of men representing us in esc, all with pretty similar songs and I can barely remember how half of them except for in the chorus. The only exception was 2020 with a trio of women, but then we didn’t have any competition. Finally in 2022 we had a woman compete again and it really felt like a bit of fresh air.

2. Insert Måns every year in esc somehow. Stop inserting him. Stop milking the man.

2023 - Tattoo by Loreen. Undeserved…?

The question mark because I don’t know how to feel. I should feel happy that we’ve won, but I did not at all feel that. Especially when it was so clear that the audience wanted someone else. It didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel fair. And I think swedish media definitely makes it worse when they openly mock the others, especially Finland, over this win. They’re making us look like prudes and kind of insensitive with the things they say. It’s like not even swedish media can celebrate this because they wanna focus on the negative backlash. Like with this behavior, I think we deserve as little points as possible for at least 5-10 years so we can fucking calm down, because I’ve noticed kind of already after Måns’ win we’ve developed this hubris, and I had hoped we’d start to calm down, but now with this win I am sad to say it’s probably not gonna disappear for a longer while.

But at the same time. The song isn’t bad… and Loreen is a queen. And I gotta say, I didn’t think she’d win. First of all, she competed in our national competition in 2017 and didn’t even get to the finale, so I was unsure at first what would even be different this time. Then she won, and I thought, well, people have sent precious esc winners before. It’s never gone that well except for one time in the 80s, but that is an exception. But I guess Loreen just has that po-po-po-pooooooweer /j So seeing her win actually was a bit of a surprise. I knew she’d be popular with juries, but I really thought ”oh but the televoters will probably only give her 100 points at max”. Haha…

It’s cool that she’s the first woman to have won twice, but tbh, eventually it’s just gonna be a textbook trivia. I mean, how relevant is Johnny Logan now? Now we need other records to beat - maybe first band to win twice (Måneskin, Lordi? Maybe?), maybe first country to win with only jury/televotes because the other gave them 0? This year was also a learning year how to do it next time, or possibly a protest to change the system. Honestly, the voting system has changed so much in years, and now we at least have the power in the semi’s. Maybe it will change, maybe it will not. We’ll see.

Also as a final note: There’s a lot of songs you barely remember who have won. From 2016-2019, the only song I remember is Toy by Netta. Also, there’s gonna be so much other underserved wins in the future. Both in our national competitions to choose a representant from our country, and in esc. What happened this year has def happened before.

I’m a bit curious what next year will bring. But I do think this win was more undeserved than deserved, even if I could see why it would win too.

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #534:

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA's song "Ring Ring," which was used as their first attempt to enter the Euro Song Contest. They ended up placing third in Melodifestivalen 1973. The following year, they were able to win with their song "Waterloo," winning Eurovision, too.

ABBA is thus uniquely allowed to celebrate two 50-year anniversaries in a row.

[Source]

'Ring Ringing in the year: ABBA's other 50th Eurovision anniversary,' Eurovision.tv.

[myeurovisionsongcontest]

Billete de ingreso al Dome Brighton para asistir a Eurovision Brighton 1974.

[swedish-songs]

Sweden has won the Eurovision song contest six times, most notably with ABBA and Waterloo in 1974. In 1999, Charlotte Nilsson (now Perelli) won the Swedish national competition for the Eurovision entry, Melodifestivalen, with her song Tusen och en natt (One thousand and one nights).  

Prior to 1999, every country had to perform their song in their respective national language, but from this year on, contestants have been allowed to sing in the language of their choosing. Nilsson performed an English version of the song, Take me to your heaven, in the Eurovision song contest, and finished 1:st, making this Sweden’s fourth Eurovision win.  

The song is a typical schlager, a type of European pop music most notably common in the ESC. It’s an upbeat love song in which the singer asks her lover to love her for one thousand and one nights, and in return promises to love them for one thousand and one nights. 

Here is a clip of Nilsson performing the song live during the Eurovision tryouts in Melodifestivalen:

[vintageurovision]

Carita represents Finland at Eurovision (1974) with the song "Keep Me Warm"

[Photos: Roy Bedell]

[residentraccoon]

Winners ranking oof

Below the cut. I don't hate any of them, as a side note

Personal favorites

1. Fairytale (Norway 2009) - When I found out about this, around the time I became an eurofan in 2018, I was in awe. It's so catchy and fun and omg I love the violin. Perfect

2. Nocturne (Norway 1995) - Want my anxiety to drop down to 0? play this song at any given moment

3. Waterloo (Sweden 1974) - Schalger pop songs from the 70s are my weakness. And how can you not love ABBA?

4. Dansevise (Denmark 1963) - There's something so charming about this whole performance. The singers' stage presence, the flow of the song, the guitar, like idk man it's so beautiful...

5. Heroes (Sweden 2015) - 12 y/o me had her eyes glued to the screen when this was on stage and whenever I re-listen to this I feel the same feeling as I did back then. The first ever eurovision song that I was obsessed with!

6. Arcade (Netherlands 2019) - Nothing more to say. Loving you is a losing game is a huge icon at this point

7. Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Luxembourg 1965) - I love the beat and how bouncy and cheerful it sounds. Her entire career story is so heartbreaking though I couldn't not feel bad for her...

8. Zitti e Buoni (Italy 2021) - Never forget the edgy italian rockers 😔😔

9. Tu te reconnaîtras (Luxembourg 1973) - I get such a nostalgic feeling from this, it's as if I've heard this several times in my childhood before but I can't exactly remember. The piano bits are so lovely

10. Fångad av en stormvind (Sweden 1991) - Why is everyone so harsh on this song, I'll never understand...I love how energetic it is!! It's probably my favorite Carola song tbh (okay I also really like Främling but shhhh)

11. Een beetje (Netherlands 1959) - Cute sassy song that could fit so well in an old disney movie? Yes please

12. Insieme: 1992 (Italy 1990) - Ah yes, the superior "peace and unity" song that actually feels genuine. I swear I've heard this before in the past actually, like before I listened to the esc winners

13. Hallelujah (Israel 1979) - Yes guys bring me the harmonies

14. La det swinge (Norway 1985) - Groovy nordic pop from the 80s my beloved, I love their outfits a lot! 💜

15. A-ba-ni-bi (Israel 1978) - It's so catchy like whenever I listen to this I have it on loop for 5 days straight

16. Vivo Cantando (Spain 1969) - I love this one too! Out of the 4 winners this or Netherlands were the best imo

17. Save your kisses for me (United Kingdom 1976) - Being this wholesome should be illegal /j

18. Un banc, un arbre, une rue (Monaco 1971) - Same story as Tu te reconnaitras, I kind of have the same feelings for both, I get this strange, nostalgic yet comforting deja-vu when I listen to them

19. The Voice (Ireland 1996) - It's so magical and mysterious, teleports me to another world everytime I listen

20. Puppet on a string (United Kingdom 1967) - This feels so wholesome and sweet, I always like these kind of carnival themed songs for some reason

21. De Troubadour (Netherlands 1969) - Love how melancholic yet upbeat it sounds, and the guitar is just amazing

22. Apres toi (Luxembourg 1972) - Makes me feel emotions that I didn't even experience, how great this is...

23. Molitva (Serbia 2007) - It's so anthemic, I feel connected to this song on a personal level

24. Euphoria (Sweden 2012) - It's universally known as the best esc winner, and I do like it but feel that it's a bit too overhyped and all? haven't willingly listened to this for a while, even though I still admire the choreography and whole stage show, which was indeed amazing!

25. L'oiseau et l'enfant (France 1977) - Favorite french winner, hands down

Really like this ones

26. My number one (Greece 2005) - Grown a bit off me lately because I've been way too fixated on the retro winners but still a classic nonetheless. The stage show is just so perfect

27. Rise like a phoneix (Austria 2014) - Outstanding. I'm so impressed by the melody and especially the lyrics

28. Rock me baby (Yugoslavia 1989) - Underrated as heck, it's so funky and the message is interesting!

29. Diggi-loo Diggi-ley (Sweden 1984) - Diggiloo diggiley himlen öppnade sig yeah don't ask me I know the lyrics to this by heart

30. Net als toen (Netherlands 1957) - She looks like she's telling a whole life story, I love this

31. Nous les amoureux (Luxembourg 1961) - Yet another one that I didn't care about before, but when I gave it a try I really liked it. Didn't know he was actually singing about a same gender relationship?? In the early 60s??

32. Love Shine a Light (United Kingdom 1997) - Gives me a warm, comforting feeling, absolutely amazing

33. Boom bang-a-bang (United Kingdom 1969) - Yesss this is so cute as well, I love her expressions lol

34. Hold me now (Ireland 1987) - The superior Johnny Logan song

35. Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland 1988) - A literal queen, this was a no brainer win for that year

36. Refrain (Switzerland 1956) - Teleports me into the 50s. Oh to be a singer in the 50s...how would that be?

37. Ding-a-dong (Netherlands 1975) - The lyrics are incredibly silly, though the melody is super catchy

38. Only teardrops (Denmark 2013) - So beautiful, especially the flute.

These are good

39. 1944 (Ukraine 2016) - The glowy tree part always gives me the chills. I recently started to appreciate this more and the story behind the song is very tragic

40. Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland 2006) - The costumes are 3 edgy 5 me but the song, oh yeah, the song's really great

41. J'aime la vie (Belgium 1986) - What a bop. kind of 80s generic music but I don't care

42. Non ho l'eta (Italy 1964) - The instrumental is pretty, however, since I discovered the lyrics I just...don't like it as much anymore. It's probably my least favorite italian winner if I'm being honest.

43. All kinds of everything (Ireland 1970) - Might have gotten diabetes over how sweet this song is

44. Merci, cherie (Austria 1966) - That bridge is beautiful as heck. underrated

45. What's Another Year (Ireland 1980) - Yeaaah, I like this a bit, feels kind of long at times tbh

46. Take me to your heaven (Sweden 1999) - Tend to overlook this one, I feel like it's not as fun as the other swedish schalgers from the past (Bra vibrationer, Fångad, Waterloo) but gave it a try recently and I sort of...liked it? Sure, not as much as the ones I mentioned earlier but it's solid tbh!

47. Wild Dances (Ukraine 2004) - The live version is very messy tbh, I listen to the studio more

48. Un jour, en enfant (France 1969) - I love how soft her voice is, but ultimately the song transforms into powerful vocals with an epic climax. The thing is that I don't really actively try to listen to this...

49. Stefania (Ukraine 2022) - Epic flute guy is back! Kind of grew off me, maybe if I'll relisten it might go some places up I guess

50. Ein bißchen frieden (Germany 1982) - Please it's so cozy campfire cottagecore aesthetic

Neutral, don't listen that much to them

51. Making your mind up (United Kingdom 1981) - So energetic and silly, 80s trash lolol

52. In your eyes (Ireland 1993) - My favorite out of the 3 back-to-back irish winners

53. Rock n roll kids (Ireland 1994) - One of the legendary irish wins, it's good I guess but not up my alley

54. Amar pelos dois (Portugal 2017) - Reminiscent of those classy 60s chansons which I appreciate, still kind of don't get out of my way to actively listen to this, though

55. I wanna (Latvia 2002) - The first winner that had something more on stage than just dancing. Love the outfit reveal lol

56. Everyway that I can (Turkey 2003) - Trash early 2000s ethnic pop at its finest

57. Satellite (Germany 2010) - ...I kind of used to listen to this at first since I found it quirky and fun, but now, along with some others I kind of forgot about it?

58. Fly on the wings of love (Denmark 2000) - Not exactly my favorite, but it's nice

59. Si la vie est cadeau (Luxembourg 1983) - Feels a bit bland I guess? But it's a good effort

60. Believe (Russia 2008) - Maybe I was influenced about the war, but this really fell down a loooot in my ranking. Epic ice skater guy is great, but I tend to dismiss this one as being a winner for some reason

61. La la la (Spain 1968) - It's repetitive as hell, but at least I like the verses more, right?

62. Tom Pillibi (France 1960) - Her singing can get a bit too high for my ears lmao but it's nice nonetheless

Don't care about them that much, sorry

63. Running scared (Azerbaijan 2011) - It's not bad per se, but I still ask myself how did this win. It lacks substance, any sort of charisma or dynamic between the two

64. Toy (Israel 2018) - I used to haaate this one back in 2018, then it kind of became a meme in my friend group. So I don't really know what to say about this one

65. Everybody (Estonia 2001) - Very funky, but sometimes I forget that this is one of the winners 😂

66. Diva (Israel 1998) - Listen Dana is amazing, but I feel that her song lacks something? She wasn't singing that great either. Don't really find myself listening to it that much so...

67. Dors mon amour (France 1958) - it's very calming, but feels like it drags on for too long I guess?

68. Un premier amour (France 1962) - why is it so repetitive help

69. Why me (Ireland 1992) - it's...too whiny and dramatic for me, sorry, it's the winner that I listened the least so far 😔

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia di Musica #338 - AA. VV., Picnic-A Breath Of Fresh Air, 1969

La EMI fonda nel 1969 una sussidiaria, la Harvest, sulla scia di altre case discografiche, per intercettare le nuove sonorità, in un periodo, la fine degli anni '60, straordinariamente fertile dal punto di vista creativo. Per questo motivo pensa ad una compilation vetrina di alcuni artisti sotto contratto con la casa madre, affiancati da giovani promesse. Ne esce così un mix musicale intrigante e qualitativamente notevole del panorama musicale britannico. Tra l'altro il disco, un doppio, fu concepito e prodotto per costare pochissimo, per essere venduto nei negozi a 1,5 sterline. Ha delle particolarità: in primis la copertina, opera dei mitici creativi della Hipgnosis, che come tutte quelle agostane della rubrica presenta una spiaggia, in questo caso della Normandia. Un gruppo di uomini ha una maschera antigas. L'interno è ancora più suggestivo, in bianco e nero, dove gli uomini camminano sulla battigia e nel cielo si notano le copertine dei dischi da cui i brani sono presi. Tra questi fece scalpore la presenza di Embryo, inedito dei Pink Floyd. Registrato durante le sessioni di Ummagumma ma non incluso in quel lavoro, il brano ebbe una notevole vita live, cosa che spinse ad includerlo. La band non fu affatto felice della scelta, considerando quel brano alla stregua di un demo, tanto che spinse ad un parziale ritiro della compilation. Fu quindi in fretta e furia ristampata, senza riportare quella canzone. Per questo motivo le prime edizioni senza correzione sono un pezzo pregiato del collezionismo discografico. Ed è un peccato, perché il resto della selezione è favoloso. Si inizia con Into The Fire dei Deep Purple, da Deep Purple In Rock, la culla dell' hard rock. Poi perle del nascente progressive: Mother Dear dei Barclay James Harvest, dal loro meraviglioso disco omonimo d'esordio, quello con la copertina a mo' di rosore di una chiesa. C'è Eleanor's Cake di Kevin Ayers, Water della Third Ear Band, addirittura Syd Barret con Terrapin, da The Madcap Laughs, esordio solista dell' ex Pink Floyd, che uscirà addirittura un anno dopo l'arrivo nei negozi di questo disco vetrina. E ci sono altre perle di band minori, sicuramente per notorietà, ma che suonavano meravigliosamente. Se i Quatermass sono stati già protagonisti di questa rubrica, ricordo altri gioielli che all'epoca vivevano di grandi speranze. I Bakerloo, un power trio alla Jimi Hendrix Experience, qui con il torrido rock mozzafiato di The Worried Feeling, dal loro unico, bellissimo, ma sfortunato album Bakerloo; Again And Again de The Greatest Show On Earth, che pubblicarono due preziosi dischi nel 1970, entrambi con la copertina firmata Hipgnosis, capaci di un rock progressive segnato da una sontuosa sezione fiati; Tea And Symphony furono tra i precursori del progressive folk, con una formazione che mutava di continuo, furono inoltre una delle prime formazioni ad avere un proprio impianto luci per i primi spettacoli multimediali. Un altro rock trio presente è The Edgar Broughton Band, gruppo di Warwick, famoso per la voce blues, urticante e caratteristica di Edgar Broughton. Ebbero anche una sinistra nomea perché spesso organizzarono concerti in luoghi pubblici che finirono non poche volte in gigantesche risse con intervento della polizia, tanto che la band fu bandita da diverse città. Vista l'aura di culto, la EMI realizzò un cofanetto di 3 CD dal titolo A Breath Of Fresh Air - A Harvest Records Anthology 1960-1974 che mantiene alcune canzoni, tra cui Embryo, ne sceglie altre dagli stessi autori della prima e aggiunge qualche brano dell'ultima stagione del progressive. Vale la pena recuperare le canzoni del primo, per una playlist ante litteram di un momento eccezionale per la musica europea. E non solo.