Of course I watched; being an old fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, the yearly European musical contest, that lets several countries compete with a pop tune. I never miss it, I look forward to it every year. I've always had the feeling, that this is not something for the young and the cool. This is a Saturday night TV show for the nerds, the couch people and those elderly who are not too old for TV. When I went to high school and asked some of the "cooler kids" if they watched it, I got snobby remarks. I have always been a TV person and I'm not someone, who wants to hang out on town, in the weekends, it's never suited me.
I remember Eurovision from way back, when I was a kid and me and my brother was allowed to stay up late, with our blankets, to watch it. I usually always fell asleep and never saw who won. Back then it was more fun to stay up, than watching the show, after a few songs I was rather bored of it I assume.
I liked Carola as a kid, as a lot of other's did back then. I had a friend who went to the hairdresser, to get her hair just like her's. Carola won once in Eurovision, with her "Trapped By A Stormwind" song, I knew back then that she would win. I have also had the strong feeling about other songs, being convinced that they would win and pretty much always, I was right. As Carola was in the contest with a song, this year aswell, I really thought she would win again. First of all, because she's a rather well known musician, second of all, she's a pretty good stage performer. It's not that Carola is fabulous, I don't even own an album by her, she's also been a bit silly in the media at times, making herself a bit unpopular. -But, she's not bad at what she's doing, so I ended up voting for her with my phone. Thinking she had the best chance of winning and because of me being an old fan of her.
You can vote for any other country, than your own. Personally I would never vote for my own country, even if we could, unless I really liked the tune. Usually my country; Norway have "No Chance Of Winning Whatsoever Songs" in the contest, almost every year. They get some people who have never stood on a stage before, give them a mic and let them perform a song they scratched together, by lyrics and soundwork that you have heard someplace else before, a million times.
Eurovision is a bit like the Olympics, the opening of the Olympics, cause that's the only part that I look at, as I'm not into sports. And every time I see these things, it reminds me how fond I am of entertainment like this. Every year they try to make it more spectacular, than it was last year. As it varies which country, stage the show itself, it brings in a lot of cool cultural aspects. It's all brought into a glamour glittery event, of wonderful expensive arty splash. It makes me think that this was my dream, also as a kid, to be someone who made stages like this, colour lighting shows like this, costumes that fits with the theme like this. This year they seemed to have a water theme to the show, there were dolphin dancers, blue lights, a shiny water alike stage and sea like little things. Every country flag was inside a water bubble, shaped like a heart, created trough computer animation, splashing out of the sea. The more the better, I feel. At every Olympics opening show, I feel the same thing; -"Wow! This is even better than the one last year!" If only there could be more shows like this, I'm so easily touched, even though I know, that they probably use way too much money, on those fancy details. I don't care. It's what I enjoy most of all on TV and if I could go see it in reality, I would probably be stunned. It's got everything I like; music, prettiness, artiness and it blows me away. If only it could be more, cooler, richer, bolder, better!... You should be able to lie in bed watching it, at the event. It should be open air and outdoors. Dancing, food, funky drinks, bubble baths, gigantic gas balloons, the list goes on. Add more.
Anyway, last year I voted for a song I liked, but didn't think would win. A country that had never won before. They had a political song, something that doesn't ding well, in this frivolous popish contest. I was glad they ended up getting some points at least, knowing that there were people that liked them. I thought maybe that I should do the same, this year too, but I still ended up voting for Carola. My choice would then otherwise, have been on the actual winners; the hardrockers Lordi, with their "Hard Rock Hallelujah" song. I was going to give them my vote, because I was convinced, they would never even stand a chance, at getting a lot of points, much less winning. But since their song wasn't really one of those I liked the most, I ended up not voting for them.
My actual favourite this year, was Spain; "Bloody Mary" by Las Ketchup - Yes that awful group, who had that terrible summer hit, a few years ago, with that Ketchup song. But this one was rather funky I thought and I love to hear the nice Spanish language, it's much better, than when some of the contestants, choose to sing in boring English. Even if you don't get what the lyrics are about, you have the feeling of the song anyway and if the song is good, you don't really need to know the text then. It's fine that they have a choice, to sing in English, but it does leave out, some of the country's cultural feature a bit at times. In that way, I would say the best ones, are those that bring on something you can't so easily hear, in your own country, even if most of the songs are popish ones.
Like I said I voted for Carola, being an old fan of her and I really thought she would win. I was rather shocked when the hardrock tune "Hard Rock Hallelujah" won, they won with more points than any other song, have managed to get, since way back in the 70's. It's amazing and it was really nice I think, because Finland have never won before and because a song like this, is something new in this contest. It's a pop music contest, made for people who stay at home on Saturday, with their family and sit nicely around their TV sets. There were lots of homely nerdy folks and elderly women, who rang in voting, for the hardrockers in Halloween outfits, that night! It made Carola go pale and mute, she got no further than number six. It made her say, that they should change the voting system, have a jury aswell, not just let the people ring in, to vote forth their favourite. A silly thing of her to say of course, as this is meant to be a fun innocent contest.
Although I probably wont buy an album by Lordi, I think it was very nice that these ones won. It's even nicer, when you read some of the online gossip mags, featuring angry parents, who says their kids might be scarred for life, by these Satanists, on the family TV show. It's good that they won, it's good because of this. Because now this contest will expand it's stage a bit and open up for more creative features, I look forward now more than ever, to what we can see next year. I remember the media critics who judge the songs, before the actual show, always saying, if the song was less popish or Eurovision alike, that it simply didn't fit, it was not the right forum and etc. The song that won this year couldn't fit less, the singer in his Halloween outfit, even had an axe on stage! Ok, it's very far from that sweet, perfect Carola, with her innocent romantic songs and her brilliant voice and how much she straves to be that way.
I remember I was scared of Iron Maiden as a kid, Iron Maiden and W.A.S.P. I was so scared of them, the horrid drawings in the Iron Maiden posters and the singer of W.A.S.P in the videos. But it was innocent, it was unreal like horror films, like Tales From The Crypt. Kids understand more, than adults like to think. Some adults are sadly too stuck in their adulthood, to realise what is really bad for the kids and what really isn't all that bad. Iron Maiden and Tales From The Crypt never harmed me, it was an innocent fun fear, a fear I wanted to keep and seek out, even as an adult. This is why I still today enjoy things like this, this is why I look at horror films and science fiction and this is why, I like the scary image of some bands like this. I think it's worse when you have bands, influential people, who have a negative lifestyle, in crime or in drugs, that decide that it's not their responsibility, as a public person, to say that they at least wish, that young people wouldn't copy them. It's also worse, with parents who raise their kids, in the idea that Cradle Of Filth type of bands, is the cruel thing in the world. Some people need to focus more on what is bad, in their own home, than the bad that comes, from outside the home.
The fact that Lordi won in Eurovision, a band who is far away from being satanic, or religious, or specifically deeply meaningful at all, other than being an clowning fresh feature. It gives you a good feeling, that next year this show, will be even more colourful.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar