Melodifestivalen (popularly known as Mello) is the
most popular TV show in Sweden, and functions as the qualifying contest for the
EBU's (crazy) Eurovision Song Contest. This year (2016), I thought Mello was more
boring than usual (including Frans' winning entry “If I were sorry”), but
listening to this double-CD I realize that many of the songs have “aged
gracefully”. It actually works as background music when I write Amazon reviews.
OK, that may be a stupid test, but it is *my* test!
As usual, Melodifestivalen is very diverse, in many senses of that term. Perhaps that's necessary, given that Sweden is a very small nation. In this contest, soon-to-be-retired has-beens (think After Dark) rub shoulders with, well, soon-to-be-retired teenage wanna-bees (think Smilo or Dolly Style). Most songs are pop-inspired tunes in English, but this year, we also got White women performing in Swahili, pansexual BDSM, a chant-inspired entry and heavy metal with very typical lyrics. Molly Sandén, who is apparently big in America at the moment, participated alongside perennial icon Anna Book, who was disqualified but allowed to perform her song anyway during an intermission. And so on…
Although Melodifestivalen 2016 should really be seen on TV or perhaps DVD, this CD is relatively tolerable, and I therefore give it three stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment