#20: Bite The Apple

What if the Eurovision Song Contest were a secret plot to take over the world by forcing people to exercise daily to the winning song? On this week’s episode, Ben, Mike, and special guest Josh Hehner explore this dystopia(?) in the 1980 film The Apple. To celebrate his recent birthday, Ben took in a midnight screening of the 1980 not-quite-a-cult classic The Apple. In this movie, a Eurovision-like song contest is the starting point of an Adam-and-Eve-like story involving hippies, bedazzled beards, lyrics lacking subtlety, and a literal deus ex machina. If this sounds baffling, we invited Apple superfan Josh Hehner to help with bringing some sense to whatever the heck is going on. Along with talking about the movie, we check in with what really happened in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Which the movie got sorta right? We discuss the practicality of National BIM Hour, surgery scheduling strategy, and how the movie might have predicted OrangeTheory. Finally, we make our picks for which songs from the soundtrack could make viable Eurovision entries and pour one out for the late, great Donna Summer. Find your shiniest lamé outfit and add this week’s EuroWhat to your exercise playlist. Episode Summary * Hi, Josh! (1:30) * The Apple synopsis (Spoilers, I guess?) (6:01) * The WorldVision Song Contest and the world of The Apple (13:42) * How’s the soundtrack? (28:31) * What really happened in 1994? (35:28) * Could The Apple work at Eurovision? (37:48) Links * B-Fest * Riverdance debut at Eurovision 1994 (YouTube) Subscribe The EuroWhat? Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your podcast catcher of choice. When you subscribe, feel free to rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other folks find this podcast. You can also follow us on Twitter @eurowhat, see our photos on Instagram @eurowhat, and like us on Facebook. Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. We can also be reached by email, if you prefer.