Cav's Place

I was saying that I may replace what should have been my usual post about Eurovision with one about FalastinVision this year, as part of my boycott of Eurovision over the fact that they didn’t ban Israel alongside Russia and Belarus, so I’m doing this now, though I must begin by stating that I did make an attempt to watch at least parts of the recording of the event, but it was simply painful, so I eventually skipped to the results… Which were surprising. But I guess it depends on what the voters actually looked for, and what languages they understood, because the winner makes it clear that the international audience didn’t have the biggest impact. In fact, it doesn’t seem to have had the biggest impact even among the public votes. So I won’t comment about the results, just listing the actual position between parentheses for each song, with those that were tied on points being listed in the order they were presented in the stream, assuming it’s correct, since I don’t know what the tiebreaker was.

For such a “protest” event, I expected a lot of rap and some folk, and my expectations were largely proven true, but there were a few other entries as well, and those tended to stand out, be it in a good or a bad way. But the folk songs also did, at least for me, two of them in a very good way. On the other hand, I had problems ranking the rap songs, so ask me again and I may order them differently, but they’ll stay in the same section of the classification, behind the four that I consider to actually be good songs, or relatively good in case of the fourth, and before those that bother me, or bother me more, because of the sound but usually not only that. Either way, since there were just 15 songs in the final, I’ll write a brief comment about each, listing them according to my classification.

1. (8.) Duo Pepe och Mary – Túnicas Blancas is just a lovely song that grabbed my attention right away and I couldn’t really consider any other one for the top spot. That’s pretty much all I can say; it’s way above the sort of thing you’d expect at such an event.
2. (6.) Ellen Upstairs – The Mothers Pray is folk, and in this case even quite obviously recorded at home and in a rather poor quality, but it still shines in spite of that. And the lyrics are also powerful. It’s the other entry that stood out for me and in plenty of ways it may be more deserving than the lullaby above, but I’ll leave it second.
3. (10.) Johanna Kroon – Visa till Palestina is another folk song, but it’s just a lovely piece. And an English translation of the lyrics is available, and if it’s accurate then it strikes me as even more remarkable that such a clear and, if I may use the term, extensive message was weaved into such a lovely song. But it could do with more of a structure, a chorus, which would have also added to the length, since it’s all too short. It’s clearly one of the best entries even so and I’m tempted to say that it should have been second and could have even challenged for the top position, but as it is, I just can’t place it higher.
4. (11.) General Knas – Calling Out for Peace actually doesn’t sound bad, the problem being that the lyrics are written in this “reggae” style that may be difficult to understand. Still, it’s an interesting, professional entry that also stands on its own as a song, regardless of the message. And that change of voice definitely catches your attention.
5. (14.) JC Bigfoot ft. EMA – They Are Human would have been an unremarkable rap song, performed by a guy who doesn’t even seem capable of rapping properly, without those female vocals, but those do add to the value. And the lyrics, which are by far the primary focus in such songs, are quite accurate and meaningful. So it’s not exactly something to listen to, but it deserves its place.
6. (5.) Lil Moe – F Is Real is another rap song, but I must frown at the pretty much completely digitized vocals. Then again, I guess there were no rules against it, and it probably makes the song much more listenable. But what’s relevant is the message, which makes me wonder why the English translation appears in the video, but isn’t also listed on the page. Either way, while entirely understandable, I do find myself hesitating a little before the harshness of the message and wondering about the precise meaning of certain parts. Plus that it’s another song that’s too short, even if it manages to squeeze a proper structure into that short duration.
7. (2.) Vendetta – Leve Palestina is another rap song with completely digitized vocals, which may perhaps make it somewhat more listenable, but the problem is that no English translation of the lyrics is available. Seriously, the lyrics are pretty much the whole point of rap and this event was meant for an international audience, so this is baffling.
8. (1.) Nour Badra – F.T.R.T.T.S. is a rap song with a reasonably listenable sound, but the point of such songs is the message and I’ll just assume that it’s the reason why it won, but no English translation is provided and I’m not going to bother to look for one elsewhere. And it’s not like I’d have boosted it that much because of the lyrics, in fact I might have even penalized it, depending on the details, so I’ll just leave it here.
9. (4.) The Accidental Rapper, Leen, Aziz Abushark, Abood Aladham – Press Vest is another rap song, but in this case the chorus detracts from instead of adding to its value. I guess that sort of sound makes sense in this context, but I really don’t like it, and the fact that it starts that way almost made me pretty much shut it out before the rapping started and I realized that the lyrics definitely deserve attention, and that’s what should matter in such songs. But I can’t not penalize it for that chorus, even if I recognize that it’s not just an entirely subjective matter, but probably goes against what one should favor at such an event.
10. (9.) Frida och Mariam – Folket i Gaza is another entry that relies on the lyrics but has the serious problem of not even having an English translation posted, so the message is completely lost for an international audience. Otherwise, it doesn’t sound bad, but it’s not something I’d care to listen to either. So it’s just sort of there; doesn’t bother me, doesn’t catch my attention.
11. (13.) N I T E F I S H & Ellen Flowerhill – BDS – Baby Yes isn’t something I’d care to listen to, and a certain part of the lyrics also makes me frown. That said, there also good points, and that beat can rattle your teeth, so it’s not exactly a forgettable song.
12. (3.) Mohamad Walid – Alt Er Dekket av Blod is just too weak, the vocals simply don’t have the strength for such a song, and the fact that they’re digitized makes that even stranger. Plus that it relies too much on just repeating that slogan, which is debatable in itself. And that’s a pity, because the rest of the lyrics would deserve more attention… Which makes me wonder why the English translation is once again only available in the video and not also on the page.
13. (7.) ASAT – GAZA is another folk song, and the voice is passable at best, so nothing notable in any way. But the message, while entirely understandable, does make me raise an eyebrow, seeming to go a little too far, even if it may not explicitly spell it out in full, so I’d rather discard it.
14. (15.) Refractory Period – Claws simply doesn’t belong at this event. An explanation that’s supposed to make a connection is provided, but I don’t buy it, and I take issue with the original idea behind the song… Which isn’t that good in itself, in terms of sound, either, so I have no qualms about throwing it almost all the way down to the bottom.
15. (12.) AfterpartyAngel – Angels Can’t Be Killed is an atmospheric but also, if I’m not misusing the term, psychedelic song, which makes me pretty much ignore it. It’s the sort of thing that I forget I’m listening to even while listening to it, and I definitely can’t pay attention to any lyrics or message, so all of that is completely lost… Not that I can find much meaning there even if I simply read the lyrics.

I did also listen to the entries that didn’t make it into the final, but only quickly and some time ago, so while there definitely were some that I’d have wanted to see in the final instead of some that did make it, I couldn’t actually make a proper list at this point and this post is a week late as it is, so I’ll just end it here. I guess I could do what I do with my personal posts, editing it later in order to add that part, but I have no idea how long it’ll be before I’ll manage to do so and, either way, this is probably enough as it is. And I hope that next year something like this will no longer be necessary…