EP 14: Eurovision Behind The Iron Curtain (The Intervision Song Contest)

Episode 14: Eurovision Behind The Iron Curtain

 

25:00 Dr. Dean Vuletic (Historian, “Intervision: Popular Music and Politics in Eastern Europe”)

 

40:28 Chris Molanphy (Chart Expert, Host of Slate's Hit Parade, Author, "Old Town Road") 

 

This week we're talking about the Intervision Song Contest - the Eurovision equivalent organized by communist governments during the cold war. Putin has been making noises about restarting the ISC, but as we talk about, he fundamentally misunderstands the original festival. Intervision was a liberalizing force, run by reformers working to open their countries to the rest of the world. We discuss what Intervision is and why it's so often misremembered.

 

Then we talk to a true Eurovision and Intervision expert, Dean Vuletic, a historian specializing in Eastern Europe, whose work has focused on the history of Intervision.

 

Finally, we sit down with Chris Molanphy, the host of Slate's Hit Parade, and author of Old Town Road. Chris is an expert on the American pop charts, and brings his knowledge of American music trends to analyzing songs in the ISC -- as we try to figure out how different the songs coming out of the Eastern Bloc were from their contemporaneous Western equivalents. It's a game we're calling Intervision Tops and Bottoms, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the ISC.

 

Marta Kubicova, A Prayer for Marta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IzKWTcK1po

 

Helena Vondráčková, Painted Jug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=c-kcwGpItzQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.plotek.pl%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt

Intervision Tops and Bottoms, Or How I Learned to Stopped Worrying and Love The ISC

Karel Gott, 1965,  Tam, Kam Chodí Vítr Spát (Where The Wind Goes To Sleep) - Czechoslovakia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CZLrd69eds

Kati Kovac, 1977, Elegy - Hungary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BephMNnWFFA

Farah Maria, 1977 El Recuerdo De Aquel Largo Viaje - Cuba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UorQpuOB5I

Czerwone Gitary, Nie Spoczniemy, 1977 - Poland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IWb1K75nAY

Tahmina Niyazova, Zangi Telefon, 2008 - Tajikistan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVDv4XNWmHw