I have been on a Eurovision hiatus for the past five years. Until this year, my one and only entry into Overthinking It’s multimedia coverage of the competition was a short Think Tank piece that I wrote about Belgium’s 2009 song, “Copycat”.
However, a few weeks ago, our Eurovision Czar Matt Belinkie called me up and told me to check out France’s entry into this year’s competition, “Moustache” by Twin Twin.
I’m glad that he put this song on my radar (and also co-wrote, directed, and edited the video). Not only did the song get stuck in my head for days, but delving into the English translation of the lyrics led me analyze the song’s major themes, including the commodification of coolness, the social history of moustaches (or mustaches for all of you Americans), and the physical embodiment of identity.
It is worth noting that not everyone loves this song as much as I do. Early in the 2014 Eurovision cycle, Twin Twin were accused of plagiarism due to the similarity between “Moustache” and earlier songs by Stromae, Jordy, and MIA/Major Lazer. Although those accusations have largely been forgotten, France’s chances in the competition are still very slim. My hope is that even if Twin Twin aren’t bound for Eurovision glory, they’ll join their countrymen Daft Punk, Phoenix, M83, and Yelle in making inroads onto the American pop charts and indie scene.