It’s a little surreal that two countries actively at war with each other are both sending songs to Eurovision. Sadly, this makes the broadcast, which should be about catchy electropop, into yet another proxy for Russia vs. the West. I’m excited as hell for our Eurovision viewing party in New York City (stay tuned for details), but I’m dreading the end. If the bookies are right, Russia’s going to win this easy, and everyone will boo the screen. It must be said in all fairness that Russia has a very strong song this year. Ukraine’s song is remarkable for how bold it is, but as a piece of music it’s not going to make any of my myriad Eurovision playlists.
“The Last of Our Kind” became a fun exercise is plumbing my mental rolodex for examples of that trope. What movies could the song be describing? I have to admit, I completely missed the obvious winner until Stokes pointed it out. The Force is strong with that one. Speaking of Stokes, we have a couple Eurovision reviews written by him in the pipeline, including some music theory for you harmonic progression junkies out there.