gareth Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 "I would nevertheless concur that the faux-liberal public schoolboy 'managers' at the BBC positively revel in the idea of belittling such popular culture as does not fit their template. They burnish their metropolitan image the better to demonstrate how far they are above 'ordinary people'. They look down their noses at the peppy, brightly attired contestants and presenters; they pass arch, spiteful comments and disguise them as 'irony'. The fact is, the BBC hates anything 'common' unless it can make a patronising, paternalistic documentary about it. So that's Eurovision damned because the generally upbeat populism doesn't fit the BBC's glum world view. That's [i]my[/i] popular myth subscription, anyway... The BBC's superciliousness may certainly contribute to our lack of success for no one likes to be sneered at; but the mainspring of our failure lies elsewhere. It is merely that established and successful British 'traditional' songwriters are few and far between; even the best of today's crop do not bear comparison with those of yesteryear." Wonderfully observed and so true - thank you - and this is all done with our money, yes the saps like us that pay the license fees - and I include myself here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I remember years ago , being really excited that Heavy Pettin had put a song in for song for Europe. A completely shameless publicity stunt which prevented their descent into memory by a few months ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I'm rooting for finland again this year. Apparent they have a disabled punk band representing them. Good on them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1425893555' post='2711782'] We will never win, because the rest of Europe doesn't like us, because we openly laugh at them and their best efforts. It isn't cheesy and naff to the other countries and it shouldn't be to us. The UK's superior, snotty and condescending attitude to the competition would piss me off if I was an entrant. The BBC in allowing the idiot Wogan to drunkenly take the piss out of the other songs and the competition in general for so many years has guaranteed us nil point, and rightly so. [/quote] Mein Gott!! I thought sir Terence was the best thing about it! Edited March 9, 2015 by ubit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectoremg Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 The saddest thing is that the powers that be still think we should enter this Eastern European voting lock-out. (or maybe that I give a sh%t is the saddest thing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1425916055' post='2712150'] It's not just our entries that are sh*t so are everyone elses [/quote] Ah, but it doesn't matter if [i]you[/i] think everyone else's songs are sh8. There's only one of you and 195m of them and they don't agree. For myself, I consider the acknowledged inability to produce a song for a different pop culture to be a searing indictment of Britain's Songwriting Community. Mind you, most of them are hipster-bearded little squits dabbing away at their 'decks' and sampling James Brown and 'mashing up' perfectly good songs for a Jamie T 'project', then you point them at a grand piano and they say' What's that? Is it - like - a horizontal cupboard?' I blame the smoking ban. Everything's gone to the dogs since songwriters were forbidden to smoke in studios. You simply [i]can't write a song[/i] unless you've got an Embassy stuck in your face and the keys are buried under a couple of inches of ash. It's what they call 'authenticity' and one can't buy [i]that[/i] just by having a Maori symbol tattoo'd on one's youthful, boyish, downy arse-cheeks. And - songwriters! - take those stupid Tibetan woolly hats off. They make you look like total c***s. Edited March 9, 2015 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1425927966' post='2712418'] I blame the smoking ban. Everything's gone to the dogs since songwriters were forbidden to smoke in studios. You simply [i]can't write a song[/i] unless you've got an Embassy stuck in your face and the keys are buried under a couple of inches of ash. [/quote] So true. And it seems like a lifetime ago when you could smoke in rehearsal rooms without anyone batting an eyelid. Only on a genuine vintage bass (or a well-considered relic) will you see the tell-tale headstock cigarette burn, a result of sticking one's lit fag behind the 'E' string... happy days *cough*. Where are the snows of yesteryear? *Cough* Edited March 9, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1425928330' post='2712428'] So true. And it seems like a lifetime ago when you could smoke in rehearsal rooms without anyone batting an eyelid. [/quote] Or - indeed - neck a six pack of Special Brew and spark up a chalice of frankly Brobdingnagian proportions. Nowadays people stand around a rehearsal room like it was a Amish prayer meeting then get in their hybrid-electric cars and drive (below the speed limit) to their smoke-free, pet-free homes and place classified advertisements for instruments 'from a smoke-free, pet-free home'. When did everyone start to become such pathetic, weedy wets? I'll tell you. Thursday 22 November 1990. Which leads me to my next point. The minute the Europeans saw the fight had gone out of us they started dicking us around with the Eurovision. For 25 years the contest has been the perfect metaphor for our wider relations with the continent. Beckoning us lewdly on and soliciting our 'valued participation' then stabbing us in the back in a series of deals conducted in smoke-free rooms by giggling Frenchmen, haughty Spanish Dons and bull-necked Prussian Junkers. The only way we're going to win the Eurovision again is by reasserting ourselves and we can't do that if we haven't got an army that will make Ivan think twice. Only when our Armed Forces are back at the centre of Our National Life will the [i]Grand Prix De Chanson[/i] come home, never mind the Golden Rose of Montreux. Edited March 9, 2015 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1425929589' post='2712449'] The only way we're going to win the Eurovision again is by reasserting ourselves and we can't do that if we haven't got aircraft carriers and an army that will make Ivan think twice. Only when our Armed Forces are back at the centre of Our National Life will the [i]Grand Prix De Chanson[/i] come home, never mind the Golden Rose of Montreux. [/quote] Absolutely. Being successful is all about confidence, and nothing is more confidence-inspiring than being able to lob big ones into Johnny Foreigner's back garden at the slightest provocation. Let's see who awards 'nil points' [i]then![/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1425899966' post='2711885'] Well I think it's a credible and interesting reworking of the Thin Lizzy classic. [/quote] Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the lyrical rhyming qualities akin to Ireland's finest rock band, with a large dose of Paul Simon thrown in for good measure (he should have stayed on the bus, Gus). It fits the spirit of the competition and suits the British zeitgeist of retro-mashed-into-modern, though it's not really banal or brainless enough to sell well to Joe public. I wouldn't buy it, but then the last album I bought was by Joe Bonamassa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1425930446' post='2712463'] nothing is more confidence-inspiring than being able to lob big ones into Johnny Foreigner's back garden at the slightest provocation. [/quote] Nor is there anything more calculated to raise one's spirits. Any time I'm feeling melancholy I lob a big one into someone's back garden and - Hey! Presto - the sun's shining and I'm walking on air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmo Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Didn`t Englebert Humperdink enter a few years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='timmo' timestamp='1425932806' post='2712514'] Didn`t Englebert Humperdink enter a few years ago? [/quote] Indeed he did. It all went horribly wrong. As it so often does when we think we've found 'the winning formula'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1425931026' post='2712477'] ...the last album I bought was by Joe Bonamassa. [/quote] It's only fair to remind you that this is a publicly viewable website. Anyone - friends, family, employer - could read that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1425933147' post='2712523'] It's only fair to remind you that this is a publicly viewable website. Anyone - friends, family, employer - could read that! [/quote] Am I missing something? Joe Bonammasa is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmo Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1425933314' post='2712526'] Am I missing something? Joe Bonammasa is good! [/quote]I like Joe Bonamassa. I thought he was excellent when i saw him a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1425933314' post='2712526'] Am I missing something? Joe Bonammasa is good! [/quote] Irony is best mined in the Welsh hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Mr Bonamassa has dragged himself to the pinnacle of the Blues-Rock market by his own efforts and financial commitment. His love for the form is transparent. He releases God knows how many albums per annum (many on his own label), hurls himself into divergent collaborations, worships the guitar in its physical form, GAS's at an international level and maintains a modest demeanour throughout. Every so often a non-musician or a neophyte hobbyist winds themselves up to observe that 'Bonamassa doesn't have his own voice' and a few pilot fish swim in behind. I know that's piffle, even as an adherent of the rootsier end of blues and no particular fan of his musical output . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 (edited) I think the song is reasonable as a Eurovision entry. However, I agree with the "why are we sending in a non-league team". It would have a lot more chance of winning if it were sung by Charlotte Church and Robbie Williams, depending on how well known they are across the entirety of Europe. Look how well we did with that song by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Imagine where we could have come had the song not been utterly dreadful. They had a segment on a previous Eurovision where they asked people from Eastern Europe what the UK could do to do better. The answer was to send over a top flight artist, such as Leona Lewis. We still aren't doing so. Edited March 11, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 We have absolutely no chance of winning because of the number of other countries that will vote us down however good our entry is. This is I suspect the reason why no division 1 musicians put themselves forward as they do not want to enter something that is not a meritocracy and where they have no chance of winning, as this may damage their career/profile/image/etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1426072665' post='2713980'] It would have a lot more chance of winning if it were sung by Charlotte Church and Robbie Williams.. [/quote] I would find it very entertaining to watch Robbie Williams go through the whole eurovision thing. His unshakeable belief that he would win would dovetail comically with coming near the bottom of the table... I'd love to see the camera keep focusing in on his face when each vote was announced unable to believe why he wasn't winning. I reckon we'd get a free strop thrown in for good measure too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 (edited) Surely the only point in the Eurovision Song Contest was to demonstrate the miraculous technology that enabled TV signals to be beamed faultlessly across the continent. As in "Hello Belgium" <silence> "Can we have your votes please Belgium" <static> "Oh well, who cares about Belgium, is there anyone in France?" Now the technology does actually work, it's all pretty pointless. Edited March 11, 2015 by spinynorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I can't understand why folk get so worked up about it. It's clearly a joke and quite a bit of fun too. I must admit even with my fantastic superior taste in music, that I like it from time to time! Heavy irony intended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pukie Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Blue - didn't win, Guys and gals dressed as cabin crew - didn't win Bloke with women dressed as schoolgirls - didn't win Englebert - didn't win Andrew Lloyd Webber song - didnt win This year - We're not gonna win. As for the rest of Europe not having a sense of humour...The best Eurovision song in years "Woki mit deim PoPo" by trakshittaz didn't even get past the semi finals. (Check it on yooo toob it's still there). --- Oh, and If I had to mark the Polish milk maids I would definitely have given them one. .....fnarr fnarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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