Most anyone sane who has ever had to suffer through Eurovision song contests walks away stunned. The event has gone on for something like 50 years and drives the Europeans mad. And the associated kitsch isn’t even remotely interesting. Though I’m sure someone like John Waters wouldn’t agree. Genius has no bounds and thankfully, no taste.
But now the European Commission has launched a Music Against Poverty Contest. Some 250 songs were submitted. Contestants range between 15 and 30. And the winner was a Roman based group with their song “Let’s Join Along.” Ok, I just now listened to the song. It isn’t as bad I as I thought it would be. Thank God, it’s not Eurovision.
I remember something like this at the 2005 Make Poverty History Month. There was Bono and Bob Geldof and all the big stars on centre stage. And then there was Emmanuel Jal – a former child soldier who fled through Sudan into Kenya and had since become an huge star in West Africa. Jal was allowed to play for a short while on a faraway stage in Cornwall because he hadn’t sold the minimum number of records to share his message with a greater audience.