Every year, there is one National Final song with which I fall deeply, deeply in love.
Put it on repeat for a solid hour love.
Force my non-Eurovision friends to listen to it love.
Smush all my belongings into a Ryanair sized bag so I can see it performed live in case it doesn’t make it through to Eurovision love.
And this year, that song is Tuju by Meelik.
The video is hilarious – mixing an old-school Ed Sullivan Beatles vibe with what appears to be inept camerawork and the obvious discomfort of the participants.
And the music is glorious – a garage rock hummer that has a hook even those who don’t speak Estonian can grab onto, with Meelik playing on the fact that “Tuju” (mood) in Estonian sounds a lot like “Do you” in English.
The whole thing gets even funnier if you listen to the song with a translation of the lyrics.
It is a joyful paean to enthusiastic, consensual sex, and may indeed be the first time that the word condom has appeared in a Eurovision entry.
The reason I love it so much is that it’s not an obviously sexy song – one that’s full of seduction and come-ons and whispered phrases. Instead, it captures the awkward realities of actual sex, like the weird pains that come when overusing certain muscles and the sheepiness of having neighbours overhear you in the act, and yet still manages to convey sex as a fantastic thing to be doing. The line “My biceps are out for a week” is particularly delicious!
When the Eesti Laul acts were polled as to which act they wanted to send to Eurovision, Meelik won. I don’t know whether they’ll do as well with the Estonian public, but I hope to see these guys sneaking their disarmingly awkward selves into Liverpool.
If not, at least Meelik is continuing to produce new music! Maybe an EP soon?
dudepoints.fun 