Eurovision 2023

(13-05-2023 22:57 )Tumble_Drier Wrote:  We need more Cornelia Jacobs and her 1 woman wet t-shirt contest.

Yeah it's a shame she had a bra on because that would of been a really good view it still was because you had a good nipple view.

WTF is Iceland snorting tonight?

(13-05-2023 22:45 )Kingsmind Wrote:  Croatia said they would sing naked if they win , never ever say things like that because you never know what could happen.

We've been spared that experience, thankfully

7th win fior Sweden making them the most succesful eurovision winner and 50 years after ABBA. I wonder if they'll stage it in Abba's home city?

I am wondering if we lack A) someone writing a very good song & B) someone to perform it. At least we beat Germany buty now have to qualify in Sweden.

^^ I thought the UK don't need to qualify? They're one of the five countries that put the most money in to the competition to make it possible.

(14-05-2023 10:03 )Regenerated Wrote:  ^^ I thought the UK don't need to qualify? They're one of the five countries that put the most money in to the competition to make it possible.

Correct - the BBC made this clear throughout the week. I suppose it's progress though that he hasn't said why are we in the competition when we've left the EU

(14-05-2023 10:09 )SecretAgent Wrote:  

(14-05-2023 10:03 )Regenerated Wrote:  ^^ I thought the UK don't need to qualify? They're one of the five countries that put the most money in to the competition to make it possible.

Correct - the BBC made this clear throughout the week. I suppose it's progress though that he hasn't said why are we in the competition when we've left the EU

Australia and Israel not in EU either I believe. Can understand Australia bring a bit of fun to proceedings, lsrael however have no friends in their part of the world so Europe us saddled with them.

Highlight of the show was Mel Giedroyc.
No not her commentary which was the cause of a lot of complaints but her on screen appearance as a Polish butter churning milkmaid. Takes me back to that Eurovision show of old.

The UK is one of the core five countries, which were the nuclei of the contest.

There's a lot I could say, also related to my views about current music more broadly, and what I've yet to post about Ken Bruce's leaving Radio 2..

However, suffice to say.. the contest was started several years before the music industry became a major part of cultural and economic life, globally, which was very much inaugurated with 'Beatlemania'.
At the time it began, it had overlapping motivations with the creation of the EEC, European Economic Community, i.e. manage competition among European nation-states, especially dealing with Germany's being the leading European economy, which was a major cause of both world wars, and facing the threat of USA being the emerging superpower, alongside and against the Soviet Union and its bloc.
In terms of music, it was also very much USA that was dominant at the time, and a lot of quite idiotic ideas were around, more widely, about "protecting" European cultures from its influence, such as the Communist Party of Great Britain campaigning against comics.
Also, French radio instituted a quota, to minimise how much non-French music could be aired.
Hence, the music entered was mostly what would later when the music industry expanded massively, be considered 'middle of the road' (M.O.R.): variations on classic, pre-rock'n'roll, popular song, tinged with local European folk elements.
Nonetheless, for the contest to not remain merely a 'light entertainment' sideshow, it had to break out of its bubble, and come to terms with music that was actually exciting people more widely.
More than any UK entry, it was ABBA that did that, with a song that was both Eurovision enough, and related to broader musical currents.
Re: idiotic ideas about "protecting" national European cultures, if you see the BBC Four documentary, 'The Joy of ABBA', you'll see the joyless, boneheaded response of Swedish 'counter-cultural' leftists to ABBA and Eurovision! SMH

Since then, the balancing act of being both traditionally Eurovision, and addressing wider music audiences, has been managed very variably, by all concerned.
However, in the 21st century when so much 'pop' music is similar, namely based on a historical pick'n'mix, mostly using relatively cheap, accessible technology, for example, the much-hyped, and over-rated 'k-pop', doesn't necessarily have much distinctively 'k': Korean about it, and is very much like Euro-American music generally, what's identifiably Eurovision is in doubt.
Hence, Australia is not only participating, but has mostly finished in the top ten, and the introduction of semi-finals has meant that mainstays such as Ireland, haven't always reached the final, and cultural identity politics, around sexuality, that crosses national borders, has increasingly filled the vacuum where a lot of the traditional Eurovision was.

I actually watched the whole show for a change and aside from a couple of stinkers the quality was pretty high.
Ours wasn't very good at all imo, didn't like it when I first heard it, didn't like it last night either. lol.

Mel Giedroyc churning butter was indeed a highlight Charle...not gonna lie, I've got a thing for her