| Sputnikmusic
 

Seriously, the world has gone fucking mad! If it wasn’t enough that Tenacious D just won a Grammy award for ‘Best Metal Performance’, it has just been announced that Australia has been allowed to enter the Eurovision Song Contest this year. That’s right, the EUROvision Song Contest. Never mind the 16 hour flight it takes to get there. Upon first hearing the news, I immediately thought that the organizers of the event had done a Jim Carrey:

I guess that we shouldn’t be surprised, since the reigning winner of this cheesy contest is Conchita Wurst / Thomas Neuwirth; a bearded, umm, person from (ironically) Austria. Talk about opening the proverbial can of worms; while supposedly a “one-off initiative to mark the contest’s 60th anniversary”, we could one day have a Eurovision Song Contest without a European nation taking part! Of course, the only reason why the participating countries are relevant anyway, is for them to vote along political lines to the point of predictability. And the best thing about the contest itself is the hilariously demeaning voice-over commentary.

So the next step is for Australia to choose an entrant, and the mainstream media are all over it in asking for possibilities. Sadly, it’s the usual dross that’s put up for discussion; which basically amounts to Kylie Minogue or any one of a number of young female reality show contestants. Some bright spark, however, has taken it upon themselves to think outside of the box and put up a potential entrant that would best showcase what Australia is all about it. And the best way to publicize such a thought is to get people to sign a petition. So, before I even explain who they are, I demand that you go to the following link and sign your life away: https://www.change.org/p/the-australian-public-reform-the-band-tism-and-represent-australian-at-eurovision-2015

So, who are TISM? An acronym for “This Is Serious Mum”, they were a comedic alt/dance-rock septet who made their name throughout the 1990s. Remaining mostly anonymous by constantly wearing balaclavas, there had been rumours that it was the part-time gig of The Wiggles! From band member names such as Eugene de la Hot-Croix Bun to song titles like ‘I Might be a Cunt, But I’m not a Fucking Cunt’, it’s an understatement to say that the band was as controversial as they were hilarious. Some of their lyrics were also quite clever with “I’m putting off procrastinating until next week” a personal favourite. And then there were the videos; Let’s just say that most of them were banned, so choosing one to highlight is a difficult task. Let’s go with ‘Whatareya? (You’re a Yob or You’re a Wanker)’:






DaveyBoy
02.14.15
On a worldwide basis, TISM are probably best known for their song ‘(He’ll Never Be An) Ol’ Man River’, which is often mistakenly called ‘I’m on the Drug that Killed River Phoenix’.

Artuma
02.14.15
i thought esc died in the 90s but damn it's still a thing

DaveyBoy
02.14.15
No way Artuma. It's probably larger now than it was back then. How did you not hear about the bearded, ummm, person last year? It very much made worldwide news.

One of the (ridiculous) reasons why Australia has somehow been granted a place this year is because it's a huge television event down under.

Piglet
02.14.15
i didn't even know about this hahahahah i'll be disappointed if we don't take the piss

DaveyBoy
02.14.15
Really piglet? It's been all over the mainstream and music news. But yes, I will also be disappointed if we don't take the piss. It's likely to be a one off, so we may as well take advantage of that.

Coast
02.14.15
It's how we roll. Australia hosted and won the Asia Cup in Soccer.

DaveyBoy
02.14.15
Haha,we are invaders. Don't forget that we have also won the America's cup.

Artuma
02.14.15
"It's probably larger now than it was back then. How did you not hear about the bearded, ummm, person last year? It very much made worldwide news"

yeah probably larger show-wise but it's gone to the point of being just ridiculous. what i meant was that i don't think anyone takes the contest seriously anymore (apart from some hardcore fans)

Archelirion
02.14.15
Definitely didn't die, but it's gotten shiter. Last one that I thought was any good fun was when Finland won it back in 2006.

ShitsofRain
02.14.15
and "like a satellite"

DaveyBoy
02.14.15
" i don't think anyone takes the contest seriously anymore"
You know who's fault that is, don't ya? Probably the "band" that Aaron is talking about in the next comment.

Lena's 'Like a Satellite' didn't do a great deal for me. I just recall the 1st 3 lines being awful. Something about rhyming "doing my hair & buying underwear".

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
She wasn't in the contest proper Arcade. I think she was just a musical guest.

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
Oh wow, just realised that the petition is closing in on 14,000 signatories. Not a bad number, all things considered. Doubt it would get TISM out of retirement though.

Metalstyles
02.15.15
"yeah probably larger show-wise but it's gone to the point of being just ridiculous. what i meant was that i don't think anyone takes the contest seriously anymore (apart from some hardcore fans)"


That is the point though. It's so incredibly cheesy that no one takes it seriously, at least among the people watching at home, but it does entertain. It provides some good laughs for a once-in-a-year event that's fun to drink to (the musical part of the contest is, in general, worse and worse every year, so I doubt most are keeping tabs on it for the sake of receiving an aural experience). In Estonia we even have a special radio program where two local comedians act as commentators for the event while getting wasted wasted on air. And it's our #1 radio station! They don't get payed for it, but the station does cover the booze I've heard.

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
I was waiting for you to chime in Magnus. I can just see you there sitting by the tv cheering on the Estonians & cursing whichever country didn't vote for your heroes! If your country doesn't make it this year, just remember that it was us Aussies that are to blame. ;-)

"no-one takes it seriously" seems to be a common theme of late (also see: Grammys). I guess that you raise the best point; it's all about entertainment value. There are just too many things that occur during its gruelling length that make people laugh - in a cringeworthy kinda way, of course. And yes, as I mentioned in the blog, the commentary is the best part about it; whether it's the demeaning highbrow Englishmen, the drunk Estonian or the yobbo Aussies.

Metalstyles
02.15.15
"I was waiting for you to chime in Magnus. I can just see you there sitting by the tv cheering on the Estonians & cursing whichever country didn't vote for your heroes!" I guess I'm like 40% Estonian and 60% music fan because I can't remember the last time I was actually rooting for us ha.

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
"I can't remember the last time I was actually rooting for us"

Come on Magnus, I know it was 2001, when the Estonians brought home the gold because "every night's a Friday night". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_(Tanel_Padar_and_Dave_Benton_song)

Metalstyles
02.15.15
Ok you got me, I do remember, that song totally got my head bobbing back then. I also count it as one of the main culprits for Estonia's surging growth in drinking percentages!

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
Hahaha. Well, if every night's a Friday night, then let's get on the grog. Pardon my ignorance, but is your country's poison of choice vodka?

Metalstyles
02.15.15
Mostly yeah. Vodka and copious amounts of beer.

I myself, I am and always have been a rum guy. I always go for that Caribbean spirit while drinking.

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
I always knew there was a reason I liked you Magnus. I'm also a rum guy - and don't even discriminate which type of rum I drink. White, Spiced, dark. All rum is delicious.

Metalstyles
02.15.15
Oh god yes, same here. I prefer spiced and dark versions to white, but I too am against the escalating crime of rum discrimination. Last great excursion for me was an Indian rum called Old Monk. Tasted like Jägermeister mixed with dark rum and had quite a kick to it.

I also really like doing the whole Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow "welcome to the Caribbeans, love" thing, so there's that.

NorthernSkylark
02.15.15
if you find a way to move your continent, you're always welcome

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
There's discrimination against rum? If ever there was a need for capital punishment, that is it. ;-)
Indian rum!? Ooh, if it's anything like Indian food, I'm out.
Haha. YouTube that impersonation Magnus. You'd go viral in a matter of minutes.

NorthernSkylark, our continent is constantly on the move. Global warming would have to kick up a few gears to get us much closer though.

Pangea
02.15.15
I think de songfestival can be quite fun, albeit mindless entertainment. The dutch entry this year sucks hard, which is a shame because the last two years they we're actually decent. As for Australia joining: i'm indifferent really

DaveyBoy
02.15.15
"fun" & "mindless entertainment" are perfect ways of putting it Pangea. The Dutch entry is already known? I guess it's better to be organised than be last minute. Plus, it gives us Aussies an excuse (late notice) when no-one votes for us.

Metalstyles
02.16.15
"Haha. YouTube that impersonation Magnus. You'd go viral in a matter of minutes."

I do small stages only ;)

DaveyBoy
02.16.15
Our festival has an 'Olympus Stage'!

Metalstyles
02.16.15
Then I'll see you at the festival.

DaveyBoy
02.17.15
UPDATE: The latest that has come out on Australia's contestant is that it will be decided upon in early March and that there will NOT be any mini-contest of sorts to decide it. In other words, one person is probably gonna pick his favourite singer.

Metalstyles
02.17.15
Now we know...how it's done.

Archelirion
02.17.15
The Smith Street Band for Eurovision 2015.

Fuck, I'd vote for them until my phone broke.

DaveyBoy
02.17.15
We have a winner. Great nomination Aaron. You can even hear the accent in the singing, which is more than I can say for (insert female reality show contestant here).

Another one could be Gotye. At least that way, we'd maybe get the Belgian vote.

DaveyBoy
03.04.15
Surprise surprise, our entrant is an ex-reality show contestant... GUY SEBASTIAN
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/Guy-Sebastian/15450/

Silvius
03.04.15
Well Israel also participates in esc so clearly the philosophy behind invitations is to get countries with European cultural heritage to take part. next up will be Canada i guess and then there'll be peruvian pan flute bands or something

DaveyBoy
03.05.15
At least Israel is in the general vicinity of Europe. But I think we'll all be happy if Peruvian pan flute bands were entered.

DaveyBoy
03.05.15
What are you suggesting Arcade; that he/his management paid the most to be the contestant?

DaveyBoy
03.05.15
Nothing would surprise me about this whole affair.

I have no idea if it's true or not, but I saw somewhere that the other 3 in contention were Jessica Mauboy, Kylie Minogue & Megan Washington.

You need to be logged in to post a comment
Login | Register

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy