Posh on Latvia

Intars Busulis – Probka 1/5
The best thing about this song (and I use the word “song” loosely here) is the picture of a rotating signpost on the LED screens. That’s about as nice as I can be to Latvia. The absolute worst part is that there is no song to be found in this entry plus the strangling attempt to falsetto at one point.

Posh on Latvia

Pirates of the Sea - Wolves of the Sea 1/5
1 point just because it is catchy but I really don’t like this and I even doubt that my kids at work will fall for something so cheap. When they take their last note I seriously feel like if I had been working out for 3 hours non-stop in the gym. And I don’t do gyms. Ever. Though I fear that it will qualify.

Becks on Latvia

Pirates of the Sea - Wolves of the Sea 0/5

If you wondered why I struggled to stay so nice towards Lithuania before, it is just because they are so much better behaved than their Baltic brothers. The Lithuanian vocal exercise may be dull, but at least it is not offensive. But this...?

To make one thing perfectly clear - I am a big fan of Latvia. Riga is one of my favourite cities and Latvians are great people. But they are not making it easy for me and they really put my love to the test here.

This is simply horrific. An insult towards intelligence, taste and music. Grown-ups dressing up as pirates, singing badly, looking a bit embarrassed themselves. Well, they ought to be.

Out of the horrific entries, and there are quite a few this year, this is the worst of the worst. And to top it off - it is written by Swedes. What is everyone in Latvia up to? Bring us some domestic quality next year, but stop the madness. Now.

In the final?
No, no, no. (I know I am probably wrong, but I refuse to accept it before it even happens.)

La-la-latvia!

In Europe, one of my favourite places is Riga. It is a fantastic city that I love and cherish for many various reasons, and I always have a blast when I go there. So, I love Latvians and most of the things they are up to.

Therefore, I always make an extra effort to like the Latvian entries for Eurovision as well. I really, really want to like them. And sometimes it is hard.

This year's ditty, for instance, is an annoyingly simple little singalong about pirates, not very unlike DJ Bobo's vampire fiasco for Switzerland last year. (And isn't it exactly the same song as the one that finished second in Iceland?) I get the same kind of irritation as I felt about Norway last year - if you get a song from abroad, get a good one. If you set out to flop, it is better to do it with a domestic product. Why promote bad songwriting from another country? I just don't get it.

But on the other hand - Latvia has an almost spooky way of making their entries work live. They make the most appalling things look good when it comes down to business. So these pirates could very well make it to the final.

But aren't there too many jokes already?



Pirates Of The Sea - Wolves Of The Sea - Latvia 2008