WEBVTT - Eurovision, Chapter One: A Ridiculous Origin Story -- and A Smash Success 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:27.639 Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.280 the show, fellow Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:35.320 much for tuning in. Let's hear it for the man, 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:41.800 the myth our super producer Max Uh think about things, Williams. 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:47.920 What what? What? What? What? Max? The more you know Williams. Wait, No, Ben, 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:53.400 you were referencing a Doddy FREYERTI oh, yes, our Dotti 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:58.400 from the Nordic climbs of Iceland. Way No, Iceland's the 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:00.000 Green One, Greenland's the Cold One. 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.280 Ah Yes, classic bait and switch. I am Ben bowling 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:08.319 for the purposes of this show, that is, mister Noel Brown. 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:12.240 We are talking about something as very exciting for us 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:18.600 and may well end up being a two part series. Guys, Guys, Eurovision. 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:21.160 Is this like a special pair of glasses that makes 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:24.480 everyone look like they're eating bars of chocolate and smoking cigarettes? 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.800 I mean, I think I think we're still in the 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.160 brainstorming phase. That's pretty cool. 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:31.160 I like that, bitch. 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:37.399 We also know it as the Eurovision Song Contest. 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:42.640 Yeah, folks stateside who maybe aren't familiar and maybe the 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:46.440 closest analog over here might be something in the neighborhood 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:52.960 of American Idol, a talent show extravaganza featuring performances by 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:57.760 various artists, in this case singing original songs, and then 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.760 they are judged. But I believe in euro Vision, man, 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:04.680 it is a much more of a democratic process rather 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:08.680 than Simon Cowell or Randy what's his face just telling 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.040 you he's not feeling a dog. 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:14.600 Oh. Democratic, What an interesting word to use for this. 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.799 Also known as the Colkus Revision de la Chanceon, it's 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:29.320 a huge deal across the pond. Almost every year since 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.440 nineteen fifty six, various countries, not all of which are 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:37.600 in Europe, submit an original song that is supposed to 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:42.240 represent their culture, and it has performed and broadcast live 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:47.799 via the Eurovision and euro Radio networks. Noel, this thing 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:52.480 is nuts. It is way before the autre spectacles of 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:57.000 American performance shows like The Voice or America's Got Talent 0:02:57.240 --> 0:02:59.720 or that other one you mentioned, what was that. 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:03.240 Again, American Idol, which I've always found funny. The idea 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:06.440 of a pop idol, it just seems very inherently sacrilegious, 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.880 especially being that we are such a you know, a 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:14.200 religious country these days. We're not supposed to worship idols right. 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:19.720 Right now, Far before these American performance shows, Eurovision brought 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:24.600 this stunning, electric, occasionally downright bizarre music to the masses, 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.680 and we're going to argue that it has gone far 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:31.360 beyond your typical songwriting or talent show. 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:32.160 Now. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:37.160 It is an acknowledged example of what we call soft diplomacy. 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:42.680 Soft diplomacy. Indeed, it is a way of reaching across 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:50.240 geographical and ideological barriers in order to you know, mend 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:54.880 fences and to make peace, not war, at least in theory. 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:59.480 In theory, in theory, right yeah, just like communism. It's 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:05.680 great and let's get into it. While Eurovision officially launched 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.680 way back in nineteen fifty six, we can argue the 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:13.800 real story begins a few years earlier in son Remo, 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.920 Italy or son Remo Italy if you want to be that. 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:17.480 Guy about it. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.520 That is the home of the son Remo Musical Festival 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:22.920 or music festival. 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.920 I do love a good music band ben the San 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.919 Ramo Music Festival. The first edition of this fest in 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:33.599 San Ramo, Italy was held between the twenty ninth and 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:38.200 thirty first of January in nineteen fifty one, and ever 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:42.440 since then it has happened more or less every single year, 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:46.840 making it the longest running annual television music competitions and 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.599 one of the longest running TV programs overall in the world. 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:51.760 Isn't that crazy? 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.800 It's pretty cool, man, I think it's pretty Italians did 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:55.160 it first. 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.560 The Italians. Italians do it better, it in a more 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:06.200 stylish way. The Italian contest highlights composers rather than singers themselves, 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:11.640 and it captivated regional audiences. It also inspired a ton 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.839 of people in the media landscape, especially a guy named 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:20.880 Marcel Besencolt. He's a Swiss journalist. He's a medium mogle, 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:26.000 he's top brass. He's the director of the European Broadcasting 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:30.200 Union between nineteen fifty four and nineteen seventy, so he's 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.440 kind of liked their Lorne Michaels. 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.920 Well, it's interesting, Ben, because the idea of the early 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.400 versions of what we're talking about today featuring composers makes 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.800 a whole lot of sense. In the fifties, especially in Europe, 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.600 but even in the United States. I mean, composers were 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:46.640 kind of the first rock stars, kind of the first 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:52.320 pop stars, and classical music, even contemporary classical music was 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.000 you know, occupying a similar space to what we think 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.320 of today, as you know the top forty hits. Right, 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:01.440 oh yeah, just so, And if. 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.200 I can jump in here real quick, I've just gone 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:06.560 down a rabbit hole recently watching old Simpson's clips and 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:08.960 it's really enjoyablecause you remember how great the show is. 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.200 And there's one from like I guess it was like 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:14.120 they saw spinal Tap play and there's a riot afterwards, 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:18.159 and the Natives reporter Ken Brockman's like, so, like, you know, 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.640 here's my two cents on this is rock concert. Why 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.680 we have riots? No, people were rioting from mostart back 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.960 in the day. So my solution, let's ban all music. 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.800 Right classic Ken, He walked down the street for that one. 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:33.960 But I mean no, he's referencing, of course, the riots 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.080 that took place like during the Rights of Spring by Stravinsky, 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:42.920 which was famously such an alarmingly ooh tree, an outlandish 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.760 piece of modern classical music that went against all of 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.279 the kind of traditional standards that people were used to 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.400 for classical music, like atonality and having a lot more 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:55.200 dissonance and you know, just kind of aggressive, you know, 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.040 music that also had some pretty aggressive dancing that went 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.520 along with it. It did lead to riots when it 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:01.400 was premiered. 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:06.159 Right, it also calls to mind the phenomenon of Listomania. 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:11.880 Shout out to Phoenix another Europe France and in nineteen 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:16.360 fifty four, the year hour Pal Marcel becomes the director 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:20.560 of the European Broadcasting Union. He arrives at this new 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:24.640 position with a preloaded pitch. He says, why not take 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:28.679 what they're doing at San Remo and go bigger with it? Now, 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:35.600 to Marcel, this has a huge profit motivation because if 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.160 they can make a show like What's happening in Italy 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:43.680 and they can broadcast it throughout Europe, then they're going 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.280 to save a lot of money because now they have 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:49.400 the same program right, so that they don't have to 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.880 pay extra one per one. They just have to send 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:58.480 this thing out to wherever they can. And he also 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.560 he got a little bit on a soapbox about this, 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.240 and he was saying, hey, guys, we're gonna make a 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.200 lot of money, We're gonna save a lot of money. 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:11.400 But this is more than a neat television program. This 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.840 is a way for us to unite the nations of 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:19.200 post war Europe again. Nineteen fifty four. Right, so World 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:23.560 War two has already happened. But we need to keep 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.840 in mind that even a decade pasted the end of 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:30.760 World War Two, Europe was still pretty much wrecked. Like 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:34.880 it was not ideal, No, no, it was definitely a yeah. 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.920 When they say post war, they get it was in 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:42.640 the shambles. The infrastructure was, you know, very very significantly. 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:45.480 Damaged, as was morale. So people needed something, you know, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.320 something peppy enough beat to focus on, and something that 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:53.720 could potentially unite the different countries in Europe that maybe 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.280 had some beef with one another. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:59.880 We have to recall that unlike the United States, which 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:04.439 managed to preserve the vast majority of its infrastructure and economy, 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.640 the Great War of World War Two left a lot 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:13.079 of Europe just absolutely wrecked and demolished. People are still 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.720 trying to rebuild by the mid nineteen fifties. And there 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:20.440 are countries that have been enemies during the war. There 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:23.920 are countries that had also historically been dixed to each 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:28.600 other for centuries before. It's not as if an official 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.280 peace treaty he suddenly made all these folks BFFs. 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.400 No, No, absolutely not. And a lot of these simmering resentments, 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:41.000 of course, remained, and what better to get some folks 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:43.400 to simmer down from some of those resentments than to 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.559 unite them through song. At least that's what Marcel was thinking. 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:48.360 He was looking at this situation as a kind of 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.080 win win. There's a lot of power in unifying people 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.160 through the shared love of music. And of course he 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.600 was not blind to the potential profits that there were 0:09:57.720 --> 0:09:59.280 to make bling. 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.640 Bling every time time I come around your city. Right, 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:07.800 So the first official Eurovision conte Oh spoiler, Marcel's plan works. 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:12.040 So the first official Eurovision contest takes place on May 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:16.960 twenty fourth in Switzerland in nineteen fifty six. And this 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:21.719 is historic for multiple reasons, the chief of which is 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.200 that it was one of the earliest attempts in all 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:30.920 of history to broadcast a live, televised event to a 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:35.280 huge international market. Now, this is not the Eurovision that 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:37.800 you're going to see in twenty twenty seven or anything 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:40.760 like that. There were only a few countries that took 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:44.040 part in the contest. Nol And there's some of our favorites. 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:49.480 There's Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg. What are you guys 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:53.959 doing the scamps, the Netherlands and swits Ridge, I know, 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.440 right also, but we got to think about this. Nineteen 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:02.439 fifty six Germany like the main bad guys of World 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:03.520 War two. 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:05.120 Bad they were the baddies. 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:09.520 Yeah, and now they're going, well, let's see if Vickan 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:11.600 sing a song, they can. 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:15.319 Yeah. The journal has a lovely, lovely tradition of song. 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:17.559 So the first. 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:22.640 Edition again is so different from the spectacle we know today. 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:26.760 You could not have a musical group. So if Max 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:31.480 mill yours truly and all our fellow ridiculous historians to 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:36.040 get together and we have a banger song representing the Netherlands, 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:38.240 they're not going to let us in. It can only 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.679 be for the first year a single singer. The song 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:47.520 cannot be longer than three and a half minutes. And 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.000 as sort of a fig leaf for an olive branch, 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:55.560 you get a twenty four piece orchestra accompanying you. You 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.360 also get two chances. You get two chances. 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.600 Yeah. This is also back in the day where like 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:05.559 you know, you had symphony orchestras associated with different broadcast 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:09.320 companies and you know, like the RCA Radio Orchestra, and 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.160 so much of this stuff was performed live, and again, 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:15.400 we are still very much in the heyday of classical 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.640 music being king, you know, and I mean a lot 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.400 of times like these pop songs or early sort of 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:26.200 proto versions of pop songs were kind of looked down upon. 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.080 So we're starting to kind of see a combination of 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:33.360 those things, and we're starting to see the earliest emergence 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:38.720 of the singer songwriters solo pop kind of persona. 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:43.280 Sure. Yeah, again, the demi gods, the idols. Right in 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:47.480 a secular world where you know, spirits and gods are 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:51.720 not necessarily real, what do you worship celebrities? They took 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:57.800 that position in society. You also in your nineteen fifty 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:02.880 six inaugural Eurovision and uh, you get to submit as 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:05.840 a country two songs, but they don't have to be 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:10.920 performed by the same artists. So I could have Max 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:15.320 Vogan Flu name I made up for you, Max, especially. 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:21.079 Maxic that actually birth names so low. 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.840 But you know what, good eye you buddy, So. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.840 We could have You're welcome buckeroo, we could have we 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:31.720 could have Vogan Flu do uh two songs by himself 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.280 with the orchestra, or we could have Max do one 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:38.320 song and then we could pull another you know, up 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:43.440 and comer uh to a second song. And the contestants 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:47.720 originally get evaluated by a bunch of reps from these 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:51.199 different countries, and they give you points for each performance. 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.960 Each country sends two jury members over to watch the 0:13:56.040 --> 0:14:01.240 show in Switzerland and they cast their votes in secret. Noel, 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.600 but it's super biased. 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.920 For sure. And I'd love to just correct a statement 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.559 that I made earlier. Less than the American Idol heads 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.200 out there are yelling at their podcast device, there is, 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:16.400 of course a voting, a viewer voting component to American Idol. 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:18.600 I made it sound like it was all about Randy 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:23.280 and Simon and you know whatever, Paula, you know, make 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.520 him the call. Ultimately, they are the ones that call 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:29.000 the herd, let's just say, you know, and they're the 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.480 ones that are kicking folks to the curb who don't 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:33.960 have what it takes to make the finals. Once we 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.200 have that you know, crew assembled of the finalists, then 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:41.240 I believe every episode involves in the ability to vote 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:42.120 from home. 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:45.400 Yeah, to jump in here, since we're talking about American Idol, 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.120 can y'all. You know, they just revived American Idol, can y'all, 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:53.720 name the judges. Hell, no, no, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:55.120 and Lionel Ritchie. 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.480 They're both country people two thirds of the country, folks. 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:04.080 Is that a real name? 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.720 Luke Bryan is a is a famous country singer? On purpose? Huh? 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:09.360 On purpose? 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:10.000 Oh cool? 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:14.080 Lionel Richie, though I've not this is no, no, that's 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:17.680 I don't have the greatest confidence in this paneling judges. Guys. 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.240 Yeah, he's been He's been doing a lot of stuff 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:21.520 as young Lionel. 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:24.880 It just it just feels like a bit of a 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:27.280 half hearted reboot, is what I'm getting at. 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:29.920 I mean, Ryan Seacrest is still there. And I don't 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.760 know how I've told you all this, but I I 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:35.280 graduated from the same high school that Ryan Seacrest went to. 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.880 That's like he's our co he's our coworker by they. 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.200 Technically technically yeah, that's like, that's like my high school's 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.120 like one claim to fame they have. At least when 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.160 I was there, they had football jersey up in the 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:48.760 lot in the weight room, people like when you played football, 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:51.160 and like, yeah, I honestly think he was the kicker. 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.840 He is a handsome man with the gift of gab 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.520 and it's uh, it's cool. 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:07.200 To find success in entertainment, it's difficult. So in nineteen 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:14.360 fifty six, these seven participating countries and their broadcast arms. 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:19.520 They're saying, we're going to cast our votes. We're going 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.480 to cast our votes in secret. So at this point 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:25.920 the audience is not chiming in even though this is 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:31.080 a televised event. And get this, our lovable scamps over 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.760 in Luxembourg are not able to make it to the show. 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:39.160 I think they were too rich or something with their scheduling. 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:45.440 So their friends, the Swiss representatives, voted on Luxembourg's behalf. 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:50.800 This was very much a biased affair because these jury 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:56.880 members were allowed to vote for their own entries. And 0:16:56.280 --> 0:17:00.320 as a result of this, there is a conspiracy see 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:05.560 that begins in the very first year of Eurovision. People 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:10.480 still wonder how the votes went, how they should have gone. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:14.600 Was the voting rigged the winner was? 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:19.800 Yeah, a question that's kinda continue and to the president. 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:23.400 We're gonna get to that in part two of this series. 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.120 But Ben, what was the issue up front? They're already 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:30.720 having scandal. It's literally year one of Eurovision and there's 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.240 already a problem with this whole idea of soft diplomacy 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:34.840 through song. 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:39.120 Yeah, yeah, exactly. So hypothetically, think of it this way. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:45.960 We have a country named, in a burst of humility, Benvania, right, 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:50.800 and the country of Benvania sends its top brass, its 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:51.760 best and brightest. 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:52.600 It's envoy. 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:57.720 Yeah, yeah, the two envoys, Noel von Brown and Max 0:17:58.000 --> 0:17:59.960 what was that name? What was your birth name? Again 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.240 it's lost to history. Okay, Well, it sends these two 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:10.200 guys to vote on Eurovision, but there's nothing stopping them 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.520 from saying, we're gonna vote Benvania and we're going to 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:20.359 screw up the whole election. Either way, Switzerland wins the 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:21.000 first one. 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:22.120 Ah, the Swiss. 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:24.760 Yeah, the host country as well. 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:28.080 Ghost country. Aren't they traditionally kind of known as being 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:35.960 diplomatically neutral, Yes, they are the neutral country. Issues come 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.840 up already challenging that neutrality. It seems that there's what's 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.800 the opposite of neutrality, bias? Yeah, a little bit of that. Yeah, 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:44.359 well put. 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.960 The first winner of Eurovision is now known as the 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:53.720 ground Dome of Eurovision, lis Acia. She performed two songs 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:58.320 for Switzerland. One was called the Old Carousel. It is 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:01.720 a German language and Noel, could you do me a 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:03.560 favor and help us out with the pronunciation? 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.640 Ah Ben, you honor me with the opportunity to pronounce 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:08.760 something in my native tongue. As you know, I was 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:13.560 once a small German boy. The old carousel or does 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:17.800 alta carousel? Okay, cahoussell, Let's see if we can find 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:18.200 a clip. 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:20.720 Yeah yeah yeah. Also, while you're looking for the clip, King, 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.879 give us that German one more time. But if you 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:25.960 can more emphatic. 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:30.120 Oh man, thank you so much for the second opportunity 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.000 to overpronounce something in my native tongue. As you know, 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:38.240 I was once a German boy. That's alta cows clip. 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:40.840 Let's roll the clip. We got it, We got it, 0:19:40.880 --> 0:20:02.000 guys by Liz already see how this is like much 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:03.680 more like a classical piece. 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.640 Definitely sounds yeah, it definitely sounds like. There's twenty four 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:08.720 people in the orchestra. 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:25.120 N s ferchib. 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:33.240 So this is again, as you said, No, this is 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:37.679 dos alte Carousel, the old Carousel. This is one of 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:41.920 the two songs that the Grand Dame of Eurovision submits, 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:44.960 but it is not the one that wins the day. 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:49.920 Her winning entry is a song in the French language, 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:54.880 because you know German and French or common languages in Switzerland. 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:59.280 This is a ballad called refrain, So let's play a 0:20:59.320 --> 0:21:00.040 little bit of that. 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:03.400 That one, isn't that a little redundant? Is about like refrain. 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:05.640 It just refers to like the chorus. I think that's 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:07.720 so funny. Let's see if we can find. 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:30.080 Here we go, same guys in the orchestra, y'all. 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:32.280 I can see why this one won the day though, 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:36.040 because it's a lot more upbeat. That last one was 0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:38.359 kind of a bummer, a little bit of a you know, 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:42.040 like a wistful, you know, reflection on the past. This 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:46.800 one kind of bops. Yeah, it's a little sweeter, hotjazz, 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:52.480 whatever the ear version of mouthfeel is. You know, it's 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:56.720 a little nicer. And then from there Eurovision is off 0:21:56.720 --> 0:22:00.159 to the races, or in this case, the microphone. More 0:22:00.200 --> 0:22:03.320 and more countries are becoming involved with the show from 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:08.320 nineteen fifty six and the format kept changing. Right now, 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:12.879 over forty countries compete, and so the show involves a 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.760 lot of knockout rounds or semi finals we could call them, 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:22.240 before the finals night occurs. The final night, as we 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:25.360 can tell you because we have been watching a lot 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:30.120 of Eurovision. The final night is pretty long. It's twenty 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:34.640 six acts at no more than three minutes each. Getting 0:22:34.680 --> 0:22:39.080 a shot on stage can be complicated, but luckily the 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:43.720 rules to qualify for your performance are pretty simple. They've 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:47.800 got five rules, and they break the fifth one all 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:54.120 the time. They sure do, Ben, they sure do. Here 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:57.520 we go. Rule number one is it must be a 0:22:57.560 --> 0:23:04.680 new song tune, the musical composition and the lyrical content 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:07.600 the libretto right. 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:12.600 Right, So sorry, Estonia, Norway, there's no death metal version 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:16.800 of Mary had a little lamb that you can pull off. Yeah, no, 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:17.680 that'd be fun though. 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:19.600 And can I just add to that, we're not gonna 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:22.119 play clips throughout this entire series. I think it was 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:23.760 important that we were able to kind of show you 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:26.240 how it progresses a little bit with some of these 0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:28.480 vintage clips. But of course this would get closer and 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:30.840 closer to the modern day. We're gonna be hit with 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:33.879 copyright strikes, so we're gonna do our best to demonstrate 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:36.800 some of the evolution without you know, playing too too 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:37.320 many clips. 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:42.320 Maybe with some bad impressions. Everybody tune in. Also funny, Yeah, 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:46.600 The second rule sacer sanct is that your performance must 0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:50.440 be no longer than three minutes. 0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:52.280 And I will die on this hill. No good pop 0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:56.199 song worth its salt should be and movies should be 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:59.320 no more than one point five hours. WHOA, really, I'm 0:23:59.359 --> 0:24:04.840 just kidding, but like you know, I do love you know, brevity, man, brevity, brevity, 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:05.840 so the soul of wit. 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:08.200 I was talking to my dad about two thousand and 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:09.679 one of Space House and I'm like, Dad, you know 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:12.879 it's like fifteen movies, it's like forty eight hours longest. 0:24:12.920 --> 0:24:14.760 Like it's not my voice four hours longest. 0:24:14.960 --> 0:24:16.119 Well, that it is. Yes. 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:22.320 I remember when Gettysburg, the not the Battle, the film 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:25.080 based on the battle, was out in theaters and they 0:24:25.160 --> 0:24:29.720 had an intermission and I thought we could leave, but 0:24:29.760 --> 0:24:31.480 my creepy family made me stay. 0:24:31.960 --> 0:24:34.359 Oh man, I do remember the good old days where 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:36.919 movies like that of that length had to be served 0:24:37.000 --> 0:24:40.159 up to you on two rubber banded VHS tapes that 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:41.879 would like flop together. That's right. 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:45.240 Oh did I ever tell you guys? My first time 0:24:45.720 --> 0:24:52.040 seeing The Godfather's series was through VHS tape and it 0:24:52.160 --> 0:24:55.919 was it was exactly what you're describing, Nol. This was 0:24:56.000 --> 0:25:00.359 blockbuster for anybody who was also old at last video. Yeah, 0:25:00.400 --> 0:25:03.199 and they had the two VHS tapes and of rubber 0:25:03.240 --> 0:25:07.040 banded together, but they put the tapes in the wrong order. 0:25:07.480 --> 0:25:11.480 So I'm watching this, I'm thinking, whoa, this is so nonlinear. 0:25:11.880 --> 0:25:17.640 This is groundbreaking, crazy artistry in the forefront. What's going 0:25:17.720 --> 0:25:21.960 to happen has already happened. And then later one of 0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:26.560 my friends said, hey, man, you know they have a 0:25:26.600 --> 0:25:30.240 little sticker on the tapes. One one says number one 0:25:30.560 --> 0:25:31.840 and the other says number two. 0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:34.600 It's sad that we're not going to make that kind 0:25:34.600 --> 0:25:37.560 of mistake so much anymore, you know. In the well, actually, 0:25:37.560 --> 0:25:40.560 that's not true. I have accidentally started watching the last 0:25:40.600 --> 0:25:44.760 episode of a series on streaming before and not understand 0:25:44.760 --> 0:25:46.800 that that's what was happening, And then also had a 0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:49.879 similar thought, whoa, this is wild. They're just dropping me 0:25:49.920 --> 0:25:51.680