European Music that Makes Me Grin

Because of yesterday's post, I ended up spending all morning watching old videos on You Tube from the Eurovision song contest.

Every spring, we gather around the TV (most years on satellite, one year we were actually in Portugal) and revel in what is a mix of both awesome and cheesy music, usually with over-the-top sets and costumes.  It's so much fun and so indicative of what my sisters and I experienced when we would spend our summers overseas.

A few years ago, my sisters learned how to make our satellite dish in Portugal pick up German MTV, where we'd immerse ourselves in club and pop goodness in a whole bunch of languages that we did't understand.  And when you listen to the radio, you DO have a lot of American music-- but you're also treated to songs in Portuguese, Spanish, German, Greek... It's more about the music and less about the lyrics at that point.  That's how my sister became hooked on a Moldovan group (O-Zone, whose song "Dragostea din Tei" was sampled by Rhianna in "Live Your Life":)

Dancing on a plane wing... because they can

And how I ended up buying a copy of Kyo's latest CD.  They're different and fun in their own way.

But... enough tripping down memory lane... you KNOW that you want to see some of my top picks from the recent Eurovision song contests, don't you?

1. (My FAVE) is Satellite by Lena (Germany)... see my post from yesterday.  I LOVE that song.

2. This song is SOOOO much fun (and so cheesy.)  I can't help but dance to this one:  OPA! by Giorgos Alkaios and Friends (Greece-- song starts around 2 minutes)

3. Not cheesy, just awesome clubby-ness from France (Jessy Matador- Allez, Ola, Ole):

4.  This one is pretty-- Ell & Nikki - Running Scared (Azerbaijan, 2011):

5. And some are just plain fun-- Belarus KNEW that it wasn't going to win, so they made the most Awesome "patiotic" song, "I Love Belarus" by Anastasia Vinnikova.  Folk Dancers to a pop beat--Seriously:

6.  And Portugal's entry from 2010, Filipa Azevedo, "Ha Dias Assim"

I loved growing up with this mix of languages and culture, and it's nice to immerse myself yearly in the music and silliness of the contest.  And... it can give me some GREAT writing music sometimes.