What, no Eurovision Thread?

[nice90sguy]

I enjoyed watching the attractive girls. Had the sound down most of the time

 

[THBGato]

We had a Eurovision party last night. Lots of fun. My wife's nephew was one of the dancers.

We thought Ukraine were robbed.

It did strike me as the ideal setting for a GM story.

 

[Bramblethorn]

There's a Eurovision thread over on the Politics board but I wouldn't recommend it.

First time in years I haven't gotten up at sparrow-fart to watch the finals live, but by all accounts it was not entirely harmonious this year.

 

[nice90sguy]

sparrow-fart

Am I right in thinking that was coined by Barry Humphries' character "Barry McKenzie" in "Private Eye"? Always loved that phrase

 

[Bramblethorn]

Am I right in thinking that was coined by Barry Humphries' character "Barry McKenzie" in "Private Eye"? Always loved that phrase

Haggard Hawks (delightful site for obscure words and etymologies) has it documented as Yorkshire dialect all the way back in 1828, so it wouldn't have been original to Barry Humphries. But he may well have raised its profile.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I enjoyed watching the attractive girls. Had the sound down most of the time

Eurovision is watchable if it's almost on mute. With some very rare exceptions, the music there has been utter garbage for years, probably even decades. It's not that authors are incapable of making decent songs anymore, it's that such songs don't cut it with the audience and probably wouldn't come out on top even in national contests. It's all about doing something flashy, something different, something shocking, while the music is barely above the one that existed in the Neanderthal times.

 

[lovecraft68]

Like anything else these days they have made it political, with a lot of little Nazis in an uproar because Israel is represented.

This has never been of interest to me, but the Bambi Thug character is an eye roller. There is nothing new there. Siouxie Sioux had that look decades ago.

 

[THBGato]

Aw... you've got to take it all as the camp, tongue-in-cheek fun it is.

We have a sweep stake, all chucking in a couple of local currency, then drawing names and deciding if they will win or lose. My wife successfully picked both winners and losers. We also play eurovision bingo as we watch:

- Pleather!

- Something on fire!

- Emo!

- Men with shirts off!

- Clothes ripped off!

- Joke falls flat!

- Sequins!

- 12 points to a neighbour!

- Blatant political voting!

- Happy tears!

Honestly, the whole evening was hysterical, especially as one of our guests was my son's primary teacher and she kept swearing in front of him every time peak gay was achieved.

 

[TheLobster]

in an uproar because Israel is represented.

The “Euro” part of Eurovision name is more or less a joke anyway when participants include not just, say, Morocco but also frigging Australia.

 

[TheLobster]

- 12 points to a neighbour!

- Blatant political voting!

Oh come on, these are just free squares.

 

[lovecraft68]

The “Euro” part of Eurovision name is more or less a joke anyway when participants include not just, say, Morocco but also frigging Australia.

I don't think the uproar is over them not being part of Europe, but simply having the nerve to exist.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

I find it entertaining in that it's goofy but not super into it.
This however will always make me cry:

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Love me some Eurovision, even if this year's winner appears to have skinned Bagpuss.

In some ways it was better when you didn't know half the songs in advance from radio, didn't see the semi-finals, and any politics didn't register. Let's just say I was in Norway (famous for usually getting nul points) the first year they won. It was a truly national event.

My favourite song has to be Peace Peace Love Love. But in general picking a couple countries in a sweepstake, betting on your favourites, printing off a bingo card, getting trollied as the mirror balls and burst of fire highlight some fit gyrating people to a background of perky pop - what's not to love?

The Grand National only gives you five minutes of similar entertainment and no-one simulates sex.

 

[intim8]

I'm more lost reading this thread than I am reading one about brother-sister tentacle bondage

 

[Bramblethorn]

Like anything else these days they have made it political,

2022: Russia was disqualified from Eurovision for reasons relating to the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine won the contest by a huge margin, probably fair to say a large sympathy vote there.

2019: Performing in Israel, Icelandic band Hatari made a series of statements over Israeli occupation of Palestine and held up a Palestinian flag in the final. In the same contest, Madonna performed an intermission act with dancers wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags.

2016: Two years after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Ukraine won ESC with "1944", a song about Stalin's WWII victimisation of Crimean Tatars.

2013: Drag queen Conchita Wurst won the contest. Her selection was met with fierce opposition by homophobes across Europe and beyond.

2009: With the contest held in Moscow, Georgia attempted to enter a song titled "We Don't Wanna Put In".

2007: Ukrainian contestant Verka Serduchka, another drag queen, came second with a song with words that sounded suspiciously like "Russia Goodbye". (Serduchka claimed it was a Mongolian expression for "whipped cream".)

2003: Belgium came second with "Sanomi", performed in a made-up language. I haven't seen a statement on why they did that, but there's considerable tension between Dutch- and French-speaking Belgians, and picking either one would probably have alienated half the Belgian population. What I can say is that one of Belgium's singers ended up having to sit out the contest because of alleged far-right links.

1993-2000: Yugoslavia (Federal Republic) was banned from ESC due to the Yugoslav Wars.

1999: Dana International, representing Israel, won with "Diva". She was one of the most highly visible transgender performers of the day, and her appearance in ESC angered conservative factions in Israel so much that she required a constant guard during the contest.

1977-1988: For a second time, ESC rules banned contestants from singing in a language other than their country's official languages. (Many contestants chose to sing in English because of its wide recognition, boosting their chances with international audiences.) In 1994 there was a scandal when a Polish contestant sang an English version during her dress rehearsal.

1983: Ofra Haza, representing Israel, finished a narrow second with "Hi" ("Alive"), with lyrics including "The Nation of Israel is alive/This is the song that Grandpa sang yesterday to Dad/And today it's me".

1978: Israel won with "A-Ba-Ni-Bi". Several Arabic-language stations cut the broadcast early when it became clear Israel was going to win; Jordan reportedly told viewers that Belgium had won.

1974: "E Depois do Adeus", Portugal's entry for that year's ESC, was used as the signal to coordinate a pro-democracy revolution against the regime of the day.

1966-1972: ESC rules banned contestants from singing in a language other than their own country's official languages.

1970s: Greece boycotted the contest over Turkey's invasion of Cyprus; subsequently, after Greece returned, Turkey boycotted over a Greek song taken as criticising Turkey.

1969: Austria refused to participate in the contest, held in Spain that year, because of objections to the Franco regime.

Plenty more like this I could mention, but it's past my bedtime. Eurovision has ALWAYS been political.

ETA:

with a lot of little Nazis in an uproar because Israel is represented.

You should talk to this guy about that:

I don't know about mentioning them first, but took I took Biscuit to task for throwing the word around constantly and accusing everyone of being one, when most uneducated idiots in today's society don't even know what they really were and what they did because if they did, they would know that short of a extremely low percentage of ignorant morons there are no real Nazis.

Using that word is a dangerous diminishing of what those things really were.

Which is why the morons who run around calling people Nazi's in this country need to be shone every documentary and all available footage from those camps. Because you have no idea what you're talking about and think you're funny. Reality is you're denigrating the people who suffered at the hands of true Nazis and turning it into another thing people get so tired of hearing they tune it out, which is what leads to it being possible.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

2022: Russia was disqualified from Eurovision for reasons relating to the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine won the contest by a huge margin, probably fair to say a large sympathy vote there.

It was a good song and performance, though.

2023: Ukraine technically hosted, just were temporarily displaced to Liverpool, UK. Every hotel and rental and AirB&B within 100 miles sold out within the hour of the location being announced.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The “Euro” part of Eurovision name is more or less a joke anyway when participants include not just, say, Morocco

Morocco hasn't been in Eurovision since 1980, their one and only year in the contest, so it seems a bit late to complain about that now.

But FWIW, Eurovision eligibility is based on the European Broadcasting Union, which includes the European Broadcasting Area, which includes parts of North Africa, because radio waves don't stop at the ocean.

but also frigging Australia.

That, on the other hand, comes down to "it's very popular here and Australia pays to participate".

 

[Bramblethorn]

It was a good song and performance, though.

Yeah, I liked it, but I'd have been surprised if it had won without the invasion.

 

[Bamagan]

But FWIW, Eurovision eligibility is based on the European Broadcasting Union, which includes the European Broadcasting Area, which includes parts of North Africa, because radio waves don't stop at the ocean.

Well, to be a pedant, most radio waves do stop at the ocean, in the sense that they generally don't propagate very far underwater.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

That, on the other hand, comes down to "it's very popular here and Australia pays to participate".

Australia had been an associate member of the EBU for over 30 years, which is taking quite a long view. Their first song in 2015 was catchy, the Australian fans shown clearly grasped the concept, and Europeans liked being able to print maps with Australia displaced and shrunk to the middle of the North Sea (just like Alaska and Hawaii are in the Gulf of Mexico or just off California).

 

[Bramblethorn]

Well, to be a pedant, most radio waves do stop at the ocean, in the sense that they generally don't propagate very far underwater.

Also I should've said "sea" because the Mediterranean isn't an ocean

 

[nice90sguy]

Also I should've said "sea" because the Mediterranean isn't an ocean

I hope you're also bearing in mind the fractal nature of its coastline

 

[Bramblethorn]

Eurovision is watchable if it's almost on mute. With some very rare exceptions, the music there has been utter garbage for years, probably even decades.

It's always hit and miss, and if I never see another dude who's mistaken a guitar and a leather jacket for a personality it'll be too soon.

But IME the 90s through to early 00s were by far the worst era for ESC. So many bland, forgettable songs that were a decade behind the times, and not even hankering back to the good parts of 80s music.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I hope you're also bearing in mind the fractal nature of its coastline

I always appreciate a good fractal. Even broccoli.

 

[Unblemished]

I normally have fun with it, even if half the songs are a bit naff and the good ones never win, but I can’t in good conscience watch it this year. There’s often been drama and sketchy shit, but this time it’s just too much.