Eurovision

[rwayland]

Well, I am astonished that there has been no comment on the Eurovision awards. I am wondering what musicians are thinking about it. I also wonder if the event will be available on commercial DVD.

Richard

[BenNichols]

Is it really worthy of comment?!

[sakari.lindhen]

as a European, I must say I fail to see a connection between the Eurovision contest and music...

[BenNichols]

as a European, I must say I fail to see a connection between the Eurovision contest and music...

as a European, and a musician, i fail to see the connection... :p

[buckshead]

its absolutely awful, dont'cha know, to say frightful would be being kind. But it has a large audience, what does that say about Europe

[rwayland]

Is it really worthy of comment?!

Well, I don't know, as I did not see the program. That is why I brought up the topic.

Richard

[rbowser-]

Hmmm, your thread made me curious, Richard, so I just now Googled up the Norwegian winning song "Fairy Tale." I've never followed Eurovision, and am not a big fan of the event's most famous group to emerge from the contest - Abba.

But, well, "Fairy Tale" is a pleasant enough Euro style pop song. I don't see any reason to be particularly contemptuous of it. Perhaps musicians too often waste time feeling and expressing sour grapes over other people's success?

Randy

[Pingu]

But, well, "Fairy Tale" is a pleasant enough Euro style pop song. I don't see any reason to be particularly contemptuous of it. Perhaps musicians too often waste time feeling and expressing sour grapes over other people's success?

Randy

Not really. I didn't see this year's contest, but most years there are some truly awful, awful entries (think disco bagpipes on speed). Most years there are a few serious(ish) ballady type entries, some ABBA style fluffy numbers - some years one of those will even win - possibly this was one of those years, if you're saying Fairy Tale was ok. BUt then, other years, it'll be the Armenian thrash metal group dressed as Satan's minions, sporting rubber phalluses on their heads.

[rbowser-]

lol--Why don't you tell us how you Really feel, David. ;)

It's probably my mellowing older age, but I just don't find it interesting to be disdainful about most anything. Pop culture has always been simplistic and unenduring. I cant find room to begrudge anyone their success in those commercial markets.

Which means I feel your response just underlined my point, David. You'd probably hate "Fairy Tale." It's in the Disco realm, featuring a simple fiddle riff as its instrumental hook. Innocuous, catchy, won't stay in anyone's heart for very long. Meanwhile it's a huge hit, and the writer of that little piece of fluff has succeeded to have an audience and make some money - rewards the vast majority of "serious" musicians will never enjoy.

Best to not let it get under our skin. And I humbly suggest that being snide about other people's work only harms ourselves, not the targets of our disgust.

Randy

[qccowboy]

hehehe, I'm a contrarian by nature, I suspect...

I just listened to the clips of all the songs, and quite honestly, I think I liked the lowest-rated ones best!

Although, my mind, in its perversity, doesn't seem to want to let me forget that dreadful dance the Greek singer did!

[pcor]

My wife's cousin is a musician in Frankfurt (although he is central european). He enters regularly, but never has gotten far, he's probably one of the lower rated ones that is more interesting. His latest entry was a fado balkanese, taking folk songs from the balkans and giving them a more fado like treatment. I liked it, but I am biased. He says it gets him better gigs when he says he enters. Practical reality of being a performer...

Paul

[nikolas]

I love Eurovision! As much as I love Mozart mimicks in contemporary music! :wow:

I find that the quality of the songs is excellent! As much as I think that sf2 files quality is excellent too! :wow:

I think that the EUROvision should be extended to other continents as well. Oh wait! :P


I actually enjoy for a short gap of a few days some of the tunes. I even liked the brit one (although I was loling alone seeing A.L.W. on the telly (once more)). Nice tunes, catchy melodies, great outfits (you've GOT to give them that. Purple boots ->Moldova. Roman empire ->Slovakia. etc...), that last less than a week and then you forget about the whole thing, including the poor souls who won and were forgotten afterwards. I mean there was ABBA, I think Celine also was spoted there and after that... nothing.

[Pingu]

lol--Why don't you tell us how you Really feel, David. ;)

It's probably my mellowing older age, but I just don't find it interesting to be disdainful about most anything. Pop culture has always been simplistic and unenduring. I cant find room to begrudge anyone their success in those commercial markets.

Which means I feel your response just underlined my point, David. You'd probably hate "Fairy Tale." It's in the Disco realm, featuring a simple fiddle riff as its instrumental hook. Innocuous, catchy, won't stay in anyone's heart for very long. Meanwhile it's a huge hit, and the writer of that little piece of fluff has succeeded to have an audience and make some money - rewards the vast majority of "serious" musicians will never enjoy.

Best to not let it get under our skin. And I humbly suggest that being snide about other people's work only harms ourselves, not the targets of our disgust.

Randy

Sorry Randy, I think I came across the wrong way. I'm not being judgemental, or disdainful at all. In fact I just googled 'Fairy Tale' and quite liked it.

I guess I came across as being snide, because I didn't really read your post properly - where you talked about being contemptuous - and was answering a different question in my head. Something more along the lines of 'Does Eurovision really deserve its reputation for bizarreness?'

I think I thought you'd just seen 'Fairy Tale' and got the impression that the contest is all about fairly straight-laced, earnest songs. I was trying to convey the sheer craziness that is Eurovision. It's really several competitions in one. 'Fairy Tale' is firmly in the camp that I'd call the 'fluffy ABBA' entries; solid songs that work, and will be massive for five minutes, but forgotten before next year. THere's also usually a strand of entries that are quite serious ballads, with themes of world peace. Then there's the countries who just defy all description, and present an absolute barrage of craziness that is more about spectacle than the song; not in an olympic opening ceremony way, but a way that will have you rolling on the floor crying with laughter. I stand by my statement that there is some truly awful music on display, but that's half the fun, and I think there's a place for that too.

I don't mind who wins. After all it's not really a song contest - the judging is all about who bombed whom 100 years ago, and who would like better trading relationships with whom. We already have a real song contest called the top40 - you get a much clearer picture of actual musical taste when people have got to put their money where their vote is. I wish the truly crazy acts would win sometimes, because that's what Eurovision is really about.

The contempt that you'll pick up from a lot of people is because no-one's really defined what Eurovision is, and many approach it as a serious song contest, and are then offended that the truly awful songs win. Many entries treat it the same way. Sadly Britain is one of them; we went through a whole palava of having Andrew Lloyd Weber write the song, and auditioning performers by public vote, and then we pin so much hope on it, because we don't realise what the whole thing is about. If it were truly a music contest then we'd all just send our best pop groups (Radiohead would walk it every year).

Incidentally I got it wrong about the Satanic metal. Apparently they were Finnish. Try finding 'Lordi' on YouTube. I'm really not into metal, but they were quite a spectacle.

[Pingu]

I mean there was ABBA, I think Celine also was spoted there and after that... nothing.

We've actually had quite a few people whose success has come off the back of it. We had a group called Bucks Fizz, and an Irish guy whose name I've forgotten. Sandy Shaw and Cliff Richard both won it, although they were both on the way to havng careers anyway. Even our entries who don't do very well quite often still manage two or three albums in the British charts.

[upsider]

Its ok to not say that everything is great. Its being honest, and can help move things forward.

It can obviously have a downside too, but human society is too dynamic to be restricted by any kind of control-freaky 'you cant say anything bad about anything' movements. Amen to that.

( Just a general thought - I dont want to specifically try to guess the thoughts of Mr. Randy Bowser here).

[Pingu]

Its ok to not say that everything is great. Its being honest, and can help move things forward.



Absolutely; but contempt, and disdain are something else. They're intended to make someone else look small, rather than help them improve their efforts, and Randy's right that they're never productive.

[upsider]

Very well put Pingu.

[LFO]

I like Eurovision! It is always entertaining, usually surprising and at times hilarious! (Think the costumed death metal, or whatever it is, bands.) Some of the songs played are great, others not so much but I enjoy watching the bands perform. Does Eurovision get covered on an American channel? Everything I see is on the web.

-Kevin

[mixolydian]

I love Eurovision! As much as I love Mozart mimicks in contemporary music! :wow:

I find that the quality of the songs is excellent! As much as I think that sf2 files quality is excellent too! :wow:

I think that the EUROvision should be extended to other continents as well. Oh wait! :P
ROFL )(~ That posting entertained me a lot more than those Eurodingsbums stuff.

(I don't want to say this contest is bad but they don't seem to have anything for my taste. ...As far as I can tell.)

[Aziraphal]

Well, I finally saw the Eurovision 09. And I must say I enjoyed it. Best bunch of entries in the last ten years. I liked the winner, my fave was Greece. I feel the whole thing is moving away from the last years' trend: ethnic feel with concrete-shattering drum loops and terrible English lyrics.

It should be, indeed, taken as entertainment and not "serious music contest".