Meiecundim​eesükskor​sakovläk​seilelätti

March 29, 2013 2:52 PM

The most insane Eurovision contest performance you'll ever see, courtesy of Winny Puhh with their song Meiecundimees üks Korsakov läks eile Lätti.

Their Facebook photostream is worth checking out also.

posted by MaryDellamorte (75 comments total)

I was going to say there was no way they could match Lordi's Eurovision performance but...holy crap. These guys make Lordi look like Sinatra circa 1982.
posted by PlusDistance at 3:01 PM on March 29, 2013

have you ever played a banjo so hard that gravity stopped working
posted by theodolite at 3:02 PM on March 29, 2013 [24 favorites]

Lion-O?? o_O
posted by Iosephus at 3:04 PM on March 29, 2013

Regardless, that's a pretty bold claim.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:05 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Thing is, Lordi (like Sinatra) also had good music to go with the crazy. They got the irony vote AND the this-is-a-great-song vote. This only has irony appeal.
posted by jb at 3:08 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'm a bit confused, are they singing in English or their native language?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:09 PM on March 29, 2013

Previously.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:11 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Here's a direct link to the video on YouTube.

Would much rather have that be the main link, and the media site a via citation. The article adds close to nothing.
posted by jsturgill at 3:12 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

When they sang themselves free of the Soviets, I'm fair sure nobody saw this coming.

OH MY PEOPLE.
posted by cmyk at 3:14 PM on March 29, 2013 [4 favorites]

Is this where I complain about the UK entry this year? Bonnie Tyler's still got it, but clearly somebody needs to find Jim Steinman and bribe him to do the impossible--write a three-minute song.
posted by asperity at 3:17 PM on March 29, 2013

This feels like a bad concert scene from a terrible dystopian movie. Like if Mad Max has its own Mos Eisley Cantina.
posted by lattiboy at 3:19 PM on March 29, 2013 [6 favorites]

Haaaa haaaa wow woooooooooooooooooow THAT'S SO COOL OH WHY CAN'T I BE THIS COOL? YAAAAAA! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 3:20 PM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

The Finnic languages (which includes Estonian) always sound like good languages to have a berzerker fit in. For instance, here are the three sweet young ladies of Värttinä singing Iro (in Finnish). I wish I could have found the album version on-line, as it's clearer and more frenzied.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:21 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

Regardless, that's a pretty bold claim.

I was going to say... When was the last year Eurovision didn't produce something quite bizarre?

Actually, it might have been last year. Then again, Jedward were there. But they're almost normal by Eurovision standards.
posted by hoyland at 3:22 PM on March 29, 2013

Ahhh. And we here in Sweden had to listen through stuff like this.
posted by Namlit at 3:22 PM on March 29, 2013

For the first few seconds I thought that the banjo player and the guitarist had strap-ons over their faces.

I quite liked it, to be truthful.
posted by Jehan at 3:22 PM on March 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

You should hear it when not on cake.
posted by munchingzombie at 3:24 PM on March 29, 2013

I loved Lordi!!
posted by airmattress at 3:24 PM on March 29, 2013

Thing is, Lordi (like Sinatra) also had good music to go with the crazy. They got the irony vote AND the this-is-a-great-song vote. This only has irony appeal.

I liked the song.
posted by Flunkie at 3:33 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

On behalf of all Canadians, I'd just like to take this opportunity to remind the world that it's the Swiss who are entirely to blame for Céline Dion.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:34 PM on March 29, 2013 [4 favorites]

This feels like a bad concert scene from a terrible dystopian movie. Like if Mad Max has its own Mos Eisley Cantina.

I was thinking "fictional music genre from a Neil Stephenson novel."
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 3:37 PM on March 29, 2013

It can't hold a candle to Romania's 2013 entry... ladies and Gents, I give you Cezar!
posted by zaelic at 3:37 PM on March 29, 2013 [10 favorites]

This club has everything... two butthole surfers type drummers on a spinning platform attached to the wall, traditional folk instruments playing thrash punk metal, Bearded Chynnas...

[uhhh stefon, what are 'bearded chynnas'?]

It's this thing...? where... you get some bearded ladies from the circus sideshow? and you put her in a wrestling unitard, and strap a microphone to her head... and pump as much coffee into their veins as their bodies can handle, and then turn the amps up all the way to eleven?
posted by not_on_display at 3:38 PM on March 29, 2013 [12 favorites]

I can only imagine how dumb this would look without the epileptic editing.
posted by eugenen at 3:38 PM on March 29, 2013 [9 favorites]

Unitards are not a good look on anyone. That is all I have to say about this.
posted by drlith at 3:39 PM on March 29, 2013

They're singlets, not unitards.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:43 PM on March 29, 2013

So who is Meiecundimees Korsakov and why are they old pipe? Is being old pipe a positive or negative attribute? Is there an Estonian speaker in the house?
posted by fido~depravo at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

I give you Cezar !

Sorry, no. I thought that was painfully boring. Am I missing some context?
posted by Iosephus at 3:53 PM on March 29, 2013

I put the title through google translate and got:
"One Meiecundimees Korsakov just went to Latvia"
posted by mister_kaupungister at 4:01 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

just went to Latvia

Worst euphemism ever.
posted by 445supermag at 4:10 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

I like how the vocalist is already out of breath ten seconds into the song. They ended up third in the Estonian vote, so unfortunately we won't be seeing Meiecundimees in the finals.
posted by ikalliom at 4:12 PM on March 29, 2013

I was hoping Cezar would go up another octave, and the camera would cut to dogs in the audience nodding in time.

I'm not as knowledgeable about Eurovision as most here, so could someone tell me at what point some? many? countries decided, "You know what? Fuck it. Put the dogfaced boy on. We don't need tunes."? Is it a continent-wide exercise in camp? I have this vague recollection of watching Eurovision performances from the '60s in which there was some minor prestige to the proceedings: Gainsbourg and Lulu and such.
posted by the sobsister at 4:19 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

Something more along these lines.
posted by the sobsister at 4:40 PM on March 29, 2013

It's no Mötley Crüe rollercoaster drum kit
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:13 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

> could someone tell me at what point some? many? countries decided, "You know what? Fuck it. Put the dogfaced boy on. We don't need tunes."?

The countries who will opt for the weird when they know they have no hope of winning and have no national pride at stake to justify investing the money necessary to put up a credible chance. I'm half inclined to believe it's their way of saying, "We're small and you only acknowledge us when our government goes bankrupt. But you can't kick us out, so we're going to make you watch this."

In all honesty, there should be an alternate Eurovision award for most attention-getting.
posted by ardgedee at 5:31 PM on March 29, 2013 [4 favorites]

How do they grow all that hair on their faces?


I feel old
posted by triggerfinger at 5:47 PM on March 29, 2013

That's pretty amazing.
posted by ph00dz at 6:01 PM on March 29, 2013

Okay, I really need to know what Meiecundimeesükskorsakovläkseilelätti means. Someone? Anyone?
posted by bookish at 6:07 PM on March 29, 2013

I give you Cezar !

Sorry, no. I thought that was painfully boring. Am I missing some context?

Are you missing the fact that he sings in falsetto-soprano for almost-but-not-quite-the-whole-thing?
posted by unSane at 6:17 PM on March 29, 2013

Well, I've finally found the perfect complement to the KLF/Extreme Noise Terror appearance at the BRIT Awards.
posted by mykescipark at 6:43 PM on March 29, 2013

I was greatly hoping this had something to do with Russian Winnie the Pooh.
posted by JHarris at 6:44 PM on March 29, 2013 [4 favorites]

benito.strauss: Värttinä's Iro is available on Grooveshark.
posted by eemeli at 6:49 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

I can only speculate why they disabled comments for that Cezar video.
posted by daHIFI at 6:58 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

The countries who will opt for the weird when they know they have no hope of winning and have no national pride at stake to justify investing the money necessary to put up a credible chance. I'm half inclined to believe it's their way of saying, "We're small and you only acknowledge us when our government goes bankrupt. But you can't kick us out, so we're going to make you watch this."

Actually, Eurovision is one of those contests that, generally speaking, no country _really_ wants to win. If you win, you host it the next year, with all of the headaches and expenses inherent in that.

Okay, I really need to know what Meiecundimeesükskorsakovläkseilelätti means. Someone? Anyone?

From an interview with their lead singer, which includes a music video of sorts:
"In English it’s called “Our homeboy Korsakov went to Latvia yesterday.” It is about a guy named Korsakov who in a previous life has made some wrong choices and had some really ill fate. A lot of injuries as well. Whatever he chose to do went wrong. But as we showed in the film clip for the song he became a healer and is now helping common people. Our song also has healing power if listened to very loudly at least 10 times a day."

So, there's that.
posted by delfin at 7:20 PM on March 29, 2013 [11 favorites]

Thanks benito.strauss, for the link to Värttinä! Adding them to my Rhapsody playlist now.
posted by Triplanetary at 7:47 PM on March 29, 2013

Thanks for the link, eemeli. Sorry if I insulted your language family.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:13 PM on March 29, 2013

Sadly, it's not really all one word in Estonian.

Which is kind of a shame. I was hoping that meiecundimeesükskorsakovläkseilelätti would just be the Estonian word for prisencolinensinainciusol.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 8:17 PM on March 29, 2013 [7 favorites]

Sounds a bit like a cover of Earache My Eye.
posted by jenkinsEar at 8:18 PM on March 29, 2013

The countries who will opt for the weird when they know they have no hope of winning and have no national pride at stake to justify investing the money necessary to put up a credible chance. I'm half inclined to believe it's their way of saying, "We're small and you only acknowledge us when our government goes bankrupt. But you can't kick us out, so we're going to make you watch this."

I actually think there's (at least sometimes) some clever subverting of Eurovision going on with the bizarre entries. This might be mostly due to the one time Denmark entered a drag act. If we assume Denmark actually want to win Eurovision (I have the impression they care slightly more than some countries, but not a whole lot), that was a bust, what with the not making the final, but I think it says something interesting about Eurovision that I've never really been able to articulate. But that year featured a nutty entry that finished second, which is also some sort of commentary on Eurovision in that Verka Serduchka is a character played by a comedian and not an actual person.

But I don't think anyone but Azerbaijan has actually wanted to host Eurovision. I'm not sure that worked as a propaganda manoeuvre, though. I was watching the German stream and I doubt a Eurovision broadcast has ever spent so much time talking about human rights.
posted by hoyland at 8:19 PM on March 29, 2013

Verka Serduchka got fucking robbed that year.
posted by 7segment at 8:35 PM on March 29, 2013 [8 favorites]

In English it’s called “Our homeboy Korsakov went to Latvia yesterday.”

Knowing that this is the translation, it's almost comprehensible in Finnish.

meiecundimeesükskorsakovläkseilelätti ~= meidän kundi mies Korsakov lähti (läksi) eilen Latvialle
(our guy man Korsakov left yesterday to Latvia)

I don't quite know what to do with the "üks"; meesüks sounds like it could be something like "male family member" (i.e., homeboy), being "mies" (man) + "suku" (family). But my Finnish is pretty rusty at this point.
posted by Pyry at 9:22 PM on March 29, 2013 [3 favorites]

Well, that was pretty much more interesting than all the hours of Australian Idol I have ever had the misfortune to come across.

Eurovision is the best. One year I want Rammstien to represent Germany, because they have the flame-spurting cock. Otherwise I would be down with Blixa as long as he makes risotto while singing.
posted by Mezentian at 12:22 AM on March 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

There's a link at the bottom of that article to an "extremely NSFW" video. You need to take that warning very, very seriously. See, people like to cry "NSFW"! at nipple slips. This... is not that.
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:15 AM on March 30, 2013

The Estonians always make me feel old.
posted by infini at 2:29 AM on March 30, 2013

I don't quite know what to do with the "üks"

It pretty much works just as an indefinite article, and I suspect it's there only because the line needed one extra syllable. Try singing the line to the tune but skip the "üks", and it no longer works.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 2:30 AM on March 30, 2013

See, people like to cry "NSFW"! at nipple slips. This... is not that.

So what are we talking?
Plastinated corpses?
Abbatoir footage?
posted by Mezentian at 2:47 AM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stills of some older Estonian dude who seems to have crapped his pants peeing and appearing to eat his own poop.

#tookonefortheteam
posted by unSane at 3:26 AM on March 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

"Stills of some older Estonian dude who seems to have crapped his pants peeing and appearing to eat his own poop."

???HaHAhA! OhOh yeah? Really? Gee.. Well thank you Europa/Europe/EuroVision.
That will be watched tonight.
posted by artof.mulata at 3:55 AM on March 30, 2013

But I don't think anyone but Azerbaijan has actually wanted to host Eurovision.

Armenia did too. But mainly because the Azerbaijanis did. Eurovision is one of the most bitterly political events in the world. While it's true that the larger nations typically don't want to win, understanding who does and why in any given year will provide a valuable insight into regional politics.
posted by howfar at 5:22 AM on March 30, 2013

In all honesty, there should be an alternate Eurovision award for most attention-getting.

Moldavia would be awash in awards.

I love Eurovision. That is all.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:46 AM on March 30, 2013

My dog did not care for this. I thought it was fantastic.

We do not share music tastes.
posted by RedEmma at 6:05 AM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Well, what did you expect? Everybody gave Mumford & Sons so much shit that all of their songs sound the same, it was inevitable they'd go this route.
posted by jbickers at 7:59 AM on March 30, 2013 [3 favorites]

If ever a video needed the Beavis and Butthead treatment, it is this one.
posted by tristeza at 10:57 AM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is there an Estonian speaker in the house?

I studied Estonian in Tartu for a year, but nothing that would have prepared me for this. The songs we learnt were mostly concerned with ants and butterflies, as I recall.
However, there is a useful translation and explanation of the lyrics right here. Well, I say useful...

*Walks away humming "Mu Isamaa on minu arm..."*
posted by penguin pie at 11:10 AM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Try singing the line to the tune but skip the "üks", and it no longer works.

I have an image of you calling over a friend and saying "Check out this song. How about that scansion?"
posted by benito.strauss at 11:16 AM on March 30, 2013

Oh, and on this:

I don't quite know what to do with the "üks"

It means "one" (like yksi in Finnish). It's the same use you might find in slightly contrived English:

"Our local guy, one Korsakov"
same way you might say:
"Our glorious leader, one mathowie".
posted by penguin pie at 11:27 AM on March 30, 2013 [2 favorites]

There's an edge they have, though, that does make me admire that minuscule nation looking for its next Skype
posted by infini at 12:23 PM on March 30, 2013

have you ever played a banjo so hard that gravity stopped working
posted by theodolite at 3:02 PM on March 29 [18 favorites −] [!]

Until I watched the video, I was certain that that was a line from Achewood rather than an actual literal description of the thing itself.

And, like, these guys really do seem like something that accidentally leaked out of the Achewood universe into our own.

man wouldn't it be great if eurovision turned into the great outdoor fight so gradually that no one noticed?
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 12:50 PM on March 30, 2013 [4 favorites]

Watching that Tommy Lee 360-degree drum kit made me wish so hard that was a "Spinal Tap" outtake.

Especially when the kit rolled to the top and I was anticipating the drummer falling down face first.

"That's when we lost Lionel."

"Yah, yah. Wanker forgot to do up his seat belt."
posted by Bill Peschel at 2:53 PM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

An international competition of camp is pretty close to the mark for Eurovision. Sometimes something more current gets through by accident, but Europop is a byword for a reason. If it's not camp, it's slick.

Verka Serduchka got fucking robbed that year.

Was that the year Molitva won for Serbia? I loved that! That woman had soul. Terry Wogan could hardly contain his disgust, and good, cos he stopped compering after that. I mean, so many of the woman singers could not sing for toffee that year and then then Marija Serifovic comes on (butch as anything) and sings her heart out....I got chills. That particular song was a one-off.

OT: Vera Serduchka doing it her way: Gop gop.

My absolute favourite Eurovision song. They came nowhere. Second from last. Fatals Picards. (As an English speaker it's easy to fake speaking English with a French accent, but alternating that with French in an English accent...head explody.)

Na, Estonia aren't gonna get nowher with that s***e
posted by glasseyes at 9:08 PM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

I so want to be one of those drummers.
posted by batmonkey at 9:39 PM on March 30, 2013

It can't hold a candle to Romania's 2013 entry... ladies and Gents, I give you Cezar!

Contratenor singers are relatively uncommon in pop, but it's surely not rare enough to be comparable in oddity to wookies in singlets?
posted by winna at 10:17 PM on March 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Strictly speaking it is a Eurovision song, having entered the Estonian national final (Eesti Laul), but in the final show it finished third. Sharp eyed Eurovisionphiles will have noticed that ERT (the TV broadcaster) switched out two younger jury members for two much older judges, and suddenly the top two songs were of the 'single girl in a sheath dress under a solitary spotlight singing about how bad their love life is' genre.
So Estonia is sending Birgit Oigemeel instead.
I, along with countless other ESC watchers, have not yet forgiven Estonia for this travesty. I have ordered my Winny Puuh T-shirt, and will wear it with pride while I spend two weeks report from backstage at Eurovision in Malmo this year in the run up to the live shows (14/16/18 May)
posted by ewan at 1:55 AM on March 31, 2013 [3 favorites]

This feels like a bad concert scene from a terrible dystopian movie. Like if Mad Max has its own Mos Eisley Cantina.


I know, isn't it great?
posted by louche mustachio at 2:17 AM on March 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

That was sort of fun. If Eurovision was more like this I'd probably even watch it.
posted by Decani at 5:09 AM on March 31, 2013