TANZEN! [live blog]

[elisi]

Eurovision in half an hour! *\o/* Here's something to get people in the mood:

Watch on YouTube

Will probably update this post with comments as the night wears on. Bring on Engelbert Humperdinck! :D

(For anyone curious, I wrote a post last year explaining what Eurovision is.)

- I have zero memory of last year's winner. And oh, we're first. That's unfortunate, but damn, he's giving it his all. And he's got a VOICE, unlike others... (Not that Hungary are *bad*, just... sort of '80s.

- "She's an experimental jazz musician and can do extraordinary things with her voice. Not pleasant things, but extraordinary." Love Graham Norton. (Re. Albania.) Blimey, he wasn't wrong. O_O

- All the little films are gorgeous btw, and make me want to go to Azerbaijan. Well done there. And Darcy's verdict on Lithuania (after 0.5 seconds): 'Dead in the water'. (OK, so he can certainly sing, and the back-flip was cool. But...)

- Bosnia. Darcy: "Oh go away." Impish Girl: "She looks like she going to a funeral. For fancy vampires." Ooooooooh Russian grannies now!

- So, that was a thing. Still not as bad as that girl who turned older as she sang.

- Iceland! \o/ Good, but not memorable.

- Cyprus. It's... Eurovision. But not good Eurovision.

- France. Impish Girl: "Her dress looks like that girl's from Flash Gordon. And that was a weird dress."

- Italy. 'Italian Amy Winehouse' is pretty spot-on. :)

- Estonia. Boy can sing. And now Norway... oh dear.

- Azerbaijan. Disney princess. Dull.

- Romania. NOW WE'RE TALKING! This is what it's all about! Doesn't have a chance, but SO much fun! :D

- Denmark. Oh dear again. *winces*

- Greece... "Somewhere the Greece Finance Minister is praying they do badly." Oh Graham. You, quite literally, too the words out of Darcy's mouth. (All lovers of Father Ted will understand this especially. And now I'm thinking of Graham Norton as Father Noel and oh... nostalgia.

- Sweden - I can see why it's a favourite. Very well done. Although Graham Norton explained why she looked so familiar: She's a dead ringer for Claudia Winkleman. (This is a good thing. ETA: Or maybe Claudia crossed with Bjork.) Gorgeous performance. Am a sucker for stuff like this. Not sure it's the best SONG, but - 'tis good.

- TURKEY! Graham Norton assures me that it isn't Sasha Baron Cohen (& his new film). Probably. COATS! Or... what ever those things are. OMG THEY TURNED THEM INTO A BOAT!!!! :D

- And Spain. That was a lot of SINGING.

- Germany. Really liked that.

- Malta clearly decided that more is more. (Which is good.) Wish the song was stronger, because I want to like it.

- F.Y.R. Macedonia. She's... very passionate. We've got nice freshly-brewed tea now. :)

- :D :D :D JEDWARD!!!!! I don't care what anyone says, I'm happy that they exist in the world. It just occurred to me that they ought to sparkle... This is what Smeyer go wrong. Sparkly vampires would be like Jedward. ETA: Graham: "Aw. They learned all the words and most of the moves!"

- Serbia. Well it's from one extreme to another. Lovely song though. But so serious.

- Ukraine. Um, wasn't paying attention. Sounded fun.

- Moldova. It was another thing. No idea who to vote for. Maybe Sweden?

Comments

[jeymien.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, Ireland.. the not so ambiguously gay duo? Okay, I actually dislike me for saying that.. but man, those costumes, that hair.. and the voices aren't.. spectacular. The song reminds me of some noname teeny bopper song.

Also - my husband is still backing the Russian babas. As he puts it, it would be like voting against your grandmothers. And he thinks Russia was very tactically smart choosing them :)

You're also right on these Azerbaijan videos. Gorgeous (and when I say that, the husband's voice says, well, they aren't going to show the slums, silly..)

[elisi]

Hmmm, Ireland.. the not so ambiguously gay duo? Okay, I actually dislike me for saying that..
0_o - They're TWINS! Are you not familiar with the force of nature that is Jedward? Teeny bopper is exactly right. I adore them by the way, because they're unironically kitch. <3

Russia is VERY smart in choosing them. Which is one reason I am not liking them...

Re. the videos, then obviously it's their chance to sell their country. But who can blame them? If they get more interest in the country, it can only be a good thing overall.

ETA: Is your husband enjoying Moldova?

[jeymien.livejournal.com]

Guess they haven't made it on my radar over here. I sort of saw them as a disney kinda of thing.

He definitely liked Moldova.. those dresses and the dancing. To be honest, he's sort of, why the heck are you watching this???? We had interesting conversations during the voting about cultural identities and such though.

Voting is pretty interesting, the cultural similarities on votes.

I felt bad for UK as I watched.. and then there was the fact that the majority of my picks - the ones that I could hear on NA radio, at the bottom. Denmark, UK, Hungary.. Germany was the highest! I did like Sweden, it's just not one I would see with radio play.. but in the clubs, definitely :) I wonder if it's something about the NA culture infecting western Europe..

I watch this and think, North America needs something like this, but I'm not sure they'd understand the kitschyness of it and it'd turn all New York and Hollywood..

[elisi]

Oh no, not Disney. They were discovered on The X Factor (I think - you have Simon Cowell to blame, I remember that much), and have since become their own brand, pretty much. (Google them. They're fun and daft.)

And yes, why watch? Well, because it's Eurovision. And it's all about forging bonds across borders etc, I think. Although the voting is generally HUGELY predictable. *g* (Well OK, people will vote for something if it's really good, but certain countries always vote for each other...)

Poor UK indeed. Although it really didn't help that we were first. And no, the winners aren't chosen by normal rules. It's a weird recipe that you have to adhere to for Eurovision, and a good show/performance is part of that. A good song on its own will rarely do it. Spectacle! That's the word I'm after. Look up Dana International f.ex.

And yes, the US could do with something similar, although I'm not sure how it'd work either... To start with, it's so camp that I think any Republican state would veto it immediately. ;)

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah, I can't really picture something like that quite working here. For one thing, I'm not sure you can establish kitch? It's more something that has to evolve. Or maybe you guys can establish kitch, but we're not quite so talented. How long has Eurovision been happening?

Also the sense of geographical identity is just different here.

[elisi]

Well it's been going since 1956, so it's... evolved. There was a fascinating few years after the iron curtain came down, when there was this sudden influx of new countries, and they were all YEARS behind musically (what with having been censored etc. for years and years), but they've caught up now and are just as good at bland pop as everyone else...

As to your second point, then very much yes. Any country might deliver a predictable pop ditty, but there are certain staples that keep cropping up, and it's fabulous. :)

[promethia_tenk]

I was thinking that, there actually is an amazing amount of cultural diversity in this country, but you really have to travel to see it. What we tend to live with is a feeling of, well, we're all Americans (and Canadians are sorta goofy Americans from America Jr.). Being, say, from Pennsylvania is not an identity that demands to be flouted with sequins and pop ballads.

If we want to watch the chosen representatives of our states do ridiculous things on television, we just watch congressional debates on CSPAN : P

[elisi]

I was thinking that, there actually is an amazing amount of cultural diversity in this country, but you really have to travel to see it.
M-hm, I've become aware of this over the years, but like you say, it's not ingrained the same way National identities are.

If we want to watch the chosen representatives of our states do ridiculous things on television, we just watch congressional debates on CSPAN : P
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