Ah! I think you should listen to the studio version. It's a lot cleaner and you can hear all the instruments. It's absolutely HUGE in Estonia. 5Miinust (pronounced Vee- mee - noose) are MASSIVE in Estonia. So are Puluup (Which I notice you didnt put in the title!). Puluup are the two older bearded men with the string instruments which are indigenous to Estonia. It's great we're getting a song that has this folk element. I love how we're combining TWO genres: pop/rap through the young 5Miinust with the old string folk of Puluup. This will attract BOTH old and new listeners but also the crazy live performance with that iconic dance will win many people over. I'm expecting a high televote result for this one, but the jury might like it's musicality. Live it's PURE madness but that's the intension. The lyrics are quite great as they are touching on the serious subject of trying to prevent the spread of drugs! Also, it's in Estonian, so that's always a GREAT thing. I'm expecting to get a good result, probably better than last one! I think the stuff you noticed about the singing is to do with the fact that Estonia have bad live audio that kept cutting them out.
@TheManInBlueFlame Thank you for your comment, it's very interesting. What Rachel is saying is that the melody line has only two repeated sections, and this makes the song musically a bit poor. And she's right on that. But it stays in mind, that's true. Would be very interesting to know the meaning of the song. Can you put a correct translation below? (translators often don't give back the real meaning of a language)
You know what I can definitely respect your opinion on this one and I understand a lot of your reasoning, but personally this is one of my absolute favourites of the year! I love that they showcase the Estonian language, unique instruments, male voice types other than tenors and just overall a really fun and entertaining performance. 💜
I’m honestly kind of obsessed with this song. It’s my 5th of 22 rn but I agree the live performance is a mess but the song is just so infectious I can’t stop singing it
For me the live performance is what won me over. I heard the studio version and didn't connect with it at all, then I saw the live in the semi of esti laul and was absolutely sold. It's madness, but in a good way for me.
I dont really get the why so many people say the live performance is a mess? i think it perfectly captures the chaos of the song and lyrics and fit the vibe 100%. There's just something about the chaos leading up to the traditional dance part in the middle that's such a satisfying payoff i just UGHH i love this song and performance sm its just so good.... also how they're basically fighting in the chorus and how it goes back and forth between that guy and the deep voiced guy, his singing genuinly makes this song a 10 for me. Easily one of the better songs this year, maybe not for everyone but it definitely sticks out among the rest
Live performance MUST be chaotic in this song, but I feel that you need a controlled chaos like Finland did last year, otherwise its going to feel messy rather than fun
This is one of my favourites and I can see it doing quite well at Eurovision, at least with the public. I can completely understand why some people aren't keen though. I know the act are very popular in the Estonia so this tune's victory came as no real surprise.
Yup. It's as much welcome as a language as was Finnish last years. I wish most countries preferred their own languages instead of simply and unoriginally choosing English. This year's two English-language songs from non-English-speaking countries however are very interesting (Rim Tim Tagi Dim - Croatia; The Code - Switzerland). Mustii's Before The Party's Over might have rocked even with French lyrics.
The criticisms in this video are very fair. I think however, what drew me to this song was a) the backing track and b) Marko from Puulup’s bass vocals. I think the contrast in registers between the youthful vocals of 5Miinust and the bass timbre of Marko add a lot to the conflict and drama of the song. The percussive nature of the Estonian language vocal also adds so much to the rhythmic quality of the song. I also love the variety of vocalists, however chaotic it may be. This keeps me interested. The use of traditional talharpa (I hope I got that right) seals the deal for me. This song is my absolute favourite this year. I cannot stop listening to it. 🇮🇪❤️🇪🇪
Chaotic performance for a chaotic song . I thought your points were valid regarding the entry and gives a different perspective which is why I enjoy your reviews. I like it because of the chaos and the dance and because it is not the same thing seen before. Kaarja effect is correct though.
I love this one, but the staging is too chaotic... They have done performances in which they were just singing and not moving around and their voices were great, I don't think it's a problem of bad singers but really the fact that they are out of control lmao
This analysis makes me think why Baby Lasagna was not one of the 24 original picks for Dora. Any "fun" song will have one or more areas that can be criticized to infinity as reason to discount a song. But we all are listening to multiple songs and comparing them, and while both Croatia's and Estonia's may have areas where they lag in comparison to others, they have even more areas where they outshine others by orders of magnitude, and hence they are fan favorites. Juries and televoters use very different metrics to assess songs, beyond just technical knowledge of music.
It is in my top 10 as well but your reaction actually makes me think of what a lot of people watching the Final might have when they see them live for the first time. Because us Eurofans we love the studio cut but if you discover the song through this live performance it might not do them too good 😕 Hope they can improve the staging and instrumental for the big day! Congrats on 20k by the way! 🤩
Eurovision fans being way too protective of their favorites of course! You keep making good reviews regardless of whatever opinion you hold. I happen to have Estonia very low in my toplist as well.
Where did you get that sweater? I absolutely love it The Eesti Laul stage didn't do this justice imo. I think once we get to May and there's more resources put into the stage show will likely be much better.
Nawww dangit, Rach isn't into this one 😞 I suggest listening to the studio version as well since the cool instruments shine more, but ofc, I get that this isn't your thing. Also - not sure if this is the semi or final performance, but the latter was HEAPS better. I forgot to consider that when writing. Personally - I FREAKING LOVE IT. The most fun I've had with a Eurovision song this year, and could do a Trenuletul in May. But then I just like when a country lets go, has a blast and sends something completely random but catchy and that the people support (and they're behind this 1000%). Good luck to them, I say.
Wow i thought for a second me absolutely loving this song is a hot take judging by your video but the comments speak my language here kinda. I would say agree to disagree but as some have mentioned the studio version is very clean and impressive, fantastic video and all. Also (personal note) ESC is for me at its worst when it devolves into a singing competition-- its a song contest so i usually get so tired of these big ballads and operettes and just yearn for a song like this. This here is my clear clear favorite and the whole album is sick btw.
Juries would hate it but I love it very much! It's a great mix of old and new, for me it's a qualifier but I don't think they rank high due to the juries but the Televote might place them in top12. It's in my top10 since they won. Love it!
This one is a grower for me, especially the music video version. I love the energy of the live version, but agree that the beginning vocal is hard to listen to, since the initial singer appears to have been singing in the wrong key. He was at least consistently off, which is actually encouraging for his odds of being able to fix the issue with better in-ear monitoring. It is still a repetitive song, but love the enthusiasm of the performers, the cool instrumentation, and that it's in Estonian. Really hope they can nail the live performance.
Estonia & Croatia this year are for me the two entries that make me go “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!” normally for me there’s only one country where I feel that but this year I’ve got two and I don’t like either of them 🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪
This song is my current top choice. You really missed the boat on this one. Maybe if you'd grown up in an era when great music was all about chaotic energy, it would've hit you differently.
@@ThePeaceAround I grew up in NYC during the heyday of CBGB's. Amazing times! If you were around in those days, allow me to say that you look AMAZING! 😃
Hi, I have a question for you. Do you do reactions to NFs contestants as well? I would genuinely recommend reacting to Zorja - Lik u ogledalu (I think the live version would be better!). She is currently competing in our/Serbian National selection. She made it into the Finals with her breath-taking vocals, performance and her song itself of course, which was made by her and her husband, all the instrumentals were recorded live, in Germany with an orchestra so I really think it's up your alley. It's a really powerful song with great instruments as well, thank you for consideration. 🙏🏼
I don’t usually do National final reactions due to time constraints, but listen to them in my own time. I’ll give this one a listen though, sounds cool :)
@@ThePeaceAround I understand, hopefully you'd like and enjoy the song regardless of whether we see you reacting to it. Warm greetings from Serbia. 🇷🇸👋🏼
Hi Rachel good to see you! I share your thoughts on this one, it seems like amuse-ic instead of the music. Just there in an attempt to give people a giggle. But musically, it’s not got much to offer.
Yeah it definitely is - Finland wasn’t strong but still had some musical ideas that were more coherent, developed, thought out than Estonia IMO. They had a more detailed structure and everything
So far I haven't listened to a lot this year, but this is one of my favourites! I totally understand, and agree, with all you're saying. But this one seems to be a breath of fresh air in a year that, for the time being, feels quite stale to me!
not a fan of this one too unfortunately :/ eesti laul was really good this year and they had so many better options imo. Also, even just the performance was really messy and had no proper structure to it which made it really hard to follow
I think it is Viismiinust ja puuluup, the artist called. It is 5- with the wooden intstrument played by a duo. But better explain my dear neigbours Estonians 🤩
Thank you Rachel for reviewing Estonia's song "(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi". I watched Eesti Laul 2024 Final, online from the UK, on demand, three days late. I must admit, I ranked this song tenth (last) in My Eurovision Scoreboard; it's not my taste in music. It has a powerful beat, and makes use of unusual stringed instruments. I’ve noticed the translation of the title is “We (really) don't know anything about (these) drugs”. I haven’t fully analysed an English translation of the lyrics (I may do that in due course), but I feel the English translation of the song's title could be cause for concern. My own review video of Eesti Laul 2024 Final is available here (you might like how I've tried pronouncing Estonian artist names and song titles). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S8XSKpfTWvs.html
It's not my narkootikumidest cup of tea, neither. Music is as big as it is because I can say that and another persona can say that its his/her favourite song of the year :) I liked La Forza, Hope, Bridges.. and Eesti Laul was great in 2023, but not sure about this year.
I know people like this as its fun and bouncy. But musically, i agree there is nothing much there. Its all about rhe energy and the perfotmers themselves, and perhaps the lyrics but thats it
'This is not doing anything for me, at all. Personally I think it's a bit of a mess' is exactly what I think not only of this but also of Irelands entry. And Norways. 🙃😉
I was like, yes I can follow you, but then you mentioned Norway ... That's kind of an insult to music really ;') Norway is my number 1, possibly of all time, and Estonia and Ireland are my bottom 2 songs and will probably stay there. Strange how tastes go sometimes !
@@ThaGamingMisfit to you it’s the best thing since sliced bread, to me it’s just a Norwegian lady stepping into a nail and screaming about it for two minutes. But if we all agreed, we wouldn’t have Eurovision 😂
While I disagree with this one, I loved the review! You always teach me so much new things about music theory! I can teach you that the instrument is talharpa, a baltic sea traditional instrument!
You were wrong. Fully wrong. No electric instruments, no cellos. All music was made by using those ancient (more than 1000 years old) instruments. And their dance was very old folk dance from one of Estonian islands. Just for knowlege...
I get that it is a very chaotic song, and therefore it needs a somewhat chaotic staging. But maybe it should aim for a more... "controlled chaos". Cause this is a lot, and it's almost over stimulating and you feel dizzy. They can't be all still either, but maybe a bit more... organized.
I strongly disagree with your comment about mixing traditional and modern elements here. As someone who listens to a lot of modern folk, this is to me quite a good mix, it catches a very traditional vibe. Unlike most Eurovision folk-influenced entries, this feels like something that would have gone down just as well to audiences a thousand years ago as it does today. (Especially in Eurovision context this is folk influences done right, ESC unfortunately has kind of a terrible tradition of very badly done and super kitchy "folk influences") This and Gåte gives us two different but equally good ways to do folk influences well, in my opinion. Some songs are also just supposed to be simple and chanty, to me this song is pretty much exactly as it's needs to be to work.
I found it really interesting you made so many critical red flag moments with this song and zero critical analytical comments of let's say Finlands song where there was literally no analysis or D minor whatever talk. Seems a bit biased, if you want to do musical analysis then do it for all, you seem very influenced by your personal tastes when your background made me think we can understand what judges think.
That’s funny you said that, because I ran through your previous comments which suggested I wasn’t critical enough, and now I’m too critical? Seems like polarising suggestions. And to say I made zero critical analytical comments on Finland shows that you didn’t actually watch the video. Don’t sling mud 👀 every video on my channel is not a carbon copy of itself. I happened to feel that Finland was more charming and had its merits, without letting my own personal tastes get in the way. Your grabbing thin air and reaching.
@@ThePeaceAround I appreciate your honest opinion about last year's Estonian entry as well as this year's. Not every shout is singing, and not every waving is good humor. And the more local fans aggressively supporting that yelling, the lower it falls in my rankings.
Rachel, I respect and accept your opinion that musically you don't like the song, but if you don't know what the song is about and why the performance is messy on stage, then there is no point in reacting to the song. Listening to your reaction from beginning to end, I wonder how you came to like It's Crazy It's Party, Käärija ft Johnny Cash ( who is an Estonian rapper with rather rude lyrics...), whose song video is a total mess. ❤
I disagree about ICIP - the video was well produced, controlled chaos. I felt the Estonian entry was chaos chaos and perhaps the ideas they had and wanted to communicate to the audience get a bit lost in translation
I'm from Estonia and I don't like this song at all. My last place this year. It's kinda sad, that I don't like my own countries entry at all. The only positive thing is, that it's in estonian but... this is not the estonian I want to hear in Eurovision.
I personally really liked the video and the studio version. But even though they clearly improved from their semi final performance, I'm still not a fan of this live performance. The vocals are, as you said, not the best. I find the vocals too shouty. And the staging a real mess. So actually this has gone down my ratings after the live performance.
Your sweater is so cute! The song is also not my cup of tea. But I love the performers and I think they should have been given a better song. Thanks as always, rachel
Thank you! I was going crazy thinking I was the only one who didn't like this song. It's too repetitive for me and every single person was extremely pitchy. On top of that the styling and the staging concept were completely wrong. There's one word that keeps popping back up in my head when I think of that performance - manosphere, however harsh I know that is. I would love to like but I don't.
I can barely stand listening to it to be honest 🤷🏻♂️ I heard it once when it won that night and now is the second time through your video. I think the next and last time will be at the semi and then hopefully never again as it will disqualify 😬
Yeah just because of Rachel I've sat through this a second time, and it already feels like one too many times :D I'm baffled how many people think this is the best thing since sliced bread, I'll never understand I guess.
Oof, finally someone who agrees with me, I thought I was going insane, my brain can't understand why so many of the people seem to LOVE this song. I'll be honest I have put this song second last of the current 22, just before Ireland because to me it doesn't feel like a song. It does sound like pain in the ears just like last year's Croatia entry, which sounded even worse than this. For me it has to be something musically and this is barely to me, it has like 2 notes, just some thrown together stuff. I usually like ordened chaos songs, but this one is just noise in my ears. I guess it has a message, but I don't get it. I'm sorry Estonia ... I did like last year's Estonian entry a lot though, and Elina Nechayeva's 2017 entry is still als still on my playlist !
