When I am listening to Eurovision songs, one thing that always strikes me is the authenticity of the performer. When you have a singer who is out there truly singing from their heart, it creates a connection with the audience in a way that someone merely performing lyrics does not. This is why we’ve seen people like Nemo, Kaarijaa, Konstrakta, and Bambie Thug do so well at the contest in recent years.
And I think this is a good thing! I think it’s a better, more sustainable model for Eurovision than one where a small group of songwriters shop the same “Eurovision-y” generic songs around the continent.
So why is it that I love Survivor by Parg so much?
Take a listen:
I mean, this is a song that has EIGHT CREDITED SONGWRITERS to come up with lyrics like:
“I’m a survivor, stay-aliver” and “I got my bad shades on, Jet black I’m in the zone” and “You ain’t got shit on me, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.”
Clearly, Parg is not someone who is surviving by his wits and snappy comebacks. And I have a soft spot for himbos who come out on stage and show a little muscle and present just text, no subtext. In a complex world, it’s kind of nice to have something that is wholly uncomplicated.
But after listening to this song several times, I realised that one reason I like it so much is that it’s very musically similar to the 2013 song Black Skinhead by Kanye West (back before Kanye became as toxic as he is today.)
There’s something about the driving beat in both songs, and how it serves as the backdrop for boasts about one’s machismo.
Unlike the many other solo men sending songs with dance beats and dance breaks to Basel – Norway, Belgium, Czechia, Cyprus – Parg is appealing to something more primal within us. His music is not designed for Euroclub; it’s designed for the man with the folded arms whose dance moves are limited to some head nodding. It is somehow the straightest song in the contest – again, not a bad thing, but just a case of being all text, no subtext.
Indeed, in this era when we’re having debates about masculinity and what that looks like and who role models for young men can be, we could do a lot worse than having a young man really get into the aesthetic of flames and armor and driving beats and the uncomplicated but ultimately harmless posturing of Parg and Survivor. If the choice is between having someone go down an incel podcast loophole or get caught up in choosing the coolest pair of jet black shades, I know what I’d rather be having young men spend their time doing.
dudepoints.fun 