Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Do Not Try This at Home!


I believe other nations have much to offer us, so I'm usually receptive to exploring their cultures for insights into the human condition that are not familiar to the pragmatic American ethos.

Which is why, two days ago, I decided to check out who won the Eurovision 2009 competition. If you're not familiar with Eurovision it is, as best as I can tell, a competition between the countries of Europe along the lines of American Idol. Each country submits its winner, and a United Europe chooses the year's champion. It is, I understand, a very big thing in Europe.

This year's winner was a Norwegian named Alexander Rybak. Here is the video, BUT BEFORE YOU WATCH IT, HEED THIS WARNING:

I'm not sure how much you can watch without going stark, raving mad. I can tell you I made it to the end, and by then it was too late. For two days I have had this tune pounding around in my head like a hundred ball bearings, and I have frightening dreams of Nordic men doing gymnastics. I have fantasies of stuffing Alexander Rybak into a burlap bag and throwing it off a bridge.

Do not watch this video with children you love in the room.



Maybe Dick Cheney and John Bolton are right, after all. Maybe we shouldn't care what the Europeans think about us.


5 comments:

Kay said...

Not that much to do in Norway, eh? The lyric that won't leave my head - "No one else can make me cider". Huh? Am I hearing that right? It's a catch tune alright.

Sempringham said...


Kay,

Check back with me in two days. And you can't say I didn't warn you.

Bob

Jeannelle said...

After a close listen, I believe the line is, "No one else can make me sadder".

Actually, the lyrics present a unique situation.....falling in love with a fairy tale....something possibly not thought of before. Maybe thats why he won......and, maybe those gymnasts simply wandered into the wrong act and had to improvise with the music. What else could they have done in such a situation, really?

Ted said...

What's the matter, you don't like Norwegian rap music?

The Other Ted said...

I wanted to say it's like being on a powerful hallucinogen without the nasty hangover, but I have a hangover.

The first Ted's line was funnier.