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vernonk | 21:00 Thu 12th May 2016 | Music
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Why are most Eurovision songs so bad? It gets an enormous audience and s a fantastic showcase for songwriters as well as singers, so why do all these nations churn out such tosh? It doesn't even represent what's in the charts
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It probably represents what is in their own charts.
Each individual country choses a bad song. Good songwriters are whittled out due to the likelihood of not winning.
I think that the songs are usually designed not to offend rather than excite, so you get bland pap in an effort not to lose votes. Surprisingly despite that there have been some strange winning ones along the way that bucked the trend.
I have taped it
can anyone tell me the good bits ?
and I will FF the rest ... thanks
What's in the charts is what teenage girls buy, there is another world beyond that.
I actually like our song this year for the first time in years,
I gave up watching this tosh aaaaages ago .... pure rubbish .... all hyped up and lots of countries voting for each other.
I really couldn't give a monkey's ass who wins ......... and IF we ever win again :P
Just listened to a bit of it Prudie ... Yes it's a song with a nice refrain ... and now I will listen to the second part ♫ la la la lal la la ♀ la la la la la la la
We are seriously spoiled in this country, because our pop music has been, and remains, cutting edge for the last sixty years.

The rest of the world has far less edgy, exciting, innovative tastes, so it breeds a far tamer and more MOR pop culture - which is reflected in Eurovision every year.

Speaking as someone unable to ignore or screen out any radio, or background music I hear, I am always delighted to return home after a European holiday, so I can hear some decent music again!
Sadly for the UK and Ireland the contest has become so much more blatantly political over the years that it is highly doubtful that either country will be winning again some time soon.

There have been many atrocious entries since the ESC started in 1956 but there have been plenty of good songs.

For all the guys out there check out the Yugoslavian entry from 1990. A blonde bombshell named Tatajana Matejas (Tajci).

Although her song 'Nocas' was not an ESC entry it remains my favourite foreign song of all time!
I quite like our entry this year as far as Eurovision goes. I wouldn't buy it or think I'd love to listen to this song right now, but it's ok.
But, yes, most of the entries have been quite dreadful. I don't bother watching the performances any more, but enjoy Graham Norton's commentary on the voting.

Is it true that Richard Osman is our man who will be telling the UK votes?
See HardTalk with Brian Eno:

Musicians borrow features of the musical landscape they grow up in.

(From this and existing views I say that) Not all British pop songs made a breakthrough in European countries but, where they did, some cross-fertilisation occurs and, generations (of songs) later, German songs sound very German, French songs very French and British songs very American.

He even manages to throw Evolution theory into how he develops artworks and music using computers, running very simple algorithms. Complexity arising from simplicity.

Anyway, general principle is that populations kept apart become more and more like themselves and their tastes diverge from those of other populations.

I don't personally watch Eurovision. Perhaps I should (broaden my musical tastes)?



Hypognosis:
I love Eurovision but it's most definitely NOT the place to broaden your musical tastes. Most countries seem to be looking for something 'safe and familiar' with their choice of a song for the competition, rather than offering anything new (or even which is representative of their traditional music).

For example, I watched this year's first semi-final on BBC iPlayer a few hours ago. (I've yet to watch Thursday evening's second semi). While it was worth watching as an 'entertainment spectacle' (with the lighting and special effects teams definitely worthy of awards), most countries 'played safe' with generally unoriginal pop/rock entries. Only the Netherlands stood out as 'different' (for their choice of a country number, which made it to the finals, and even that wasn't very 'original'), perhaps also along with San Marino (for a brave attempt to emulate the voice of Telly Savalas in a rather catchy pop number, which failed to be selected - see video).

If you really want your musical tastes broadened then, as a lover of 'world music', I'll be happy to introduce you to some outstanding music from Africa, South America, Pakistan, etc (and even some superb sounds from Europe that would stand no chance whatsoever of being selected for the Eurovision Song Contest!)

Anyway, here's the sort of thing that you're missing through not watching Eurovision:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzPkDb2FSeg
Remember when Greece used to give all their votes to Cyprus and vice versa? I only used to watch it to hear Terry Wogan. It will never be the same again.
JD33:
I loved Terry Wogan's commentary but I was surprised when he pulled out of the show, apparently because he'd come to believe some of the stuff he'd been spouting (apparently with his tongue firmly in his cheek) for many years.

His 'block voting' theories clearly made some sense, as it's unsurprising that people in, say, Greece and Cyprus like the same type of music. (After all, they tend to listen to the same radio stations). However they failed to explain why the country of his birth still holds the record for the most Eurovision wins!
Ireland won because the rest of Europe was anti-UK. It was a two-fingered gesture to us. Hopefully in a few weeks' time we will be able to return that gesture to Europe in spades.
@jackdaw33

"nul pwang" is part of British popular culture even among non-viewers, like myself.

I have to ask: were we the first country to suffer that humiliation or, if not, did other countries take ownership of the snub in quite the same way that we did?

I don't think we were. I seem to remember Norway many years ago getting 'nul points'.
>>> were we the first country to suffer that humiliation

Belgium, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands were the first, in 1962. It was 41 years before the UK got there!!!

http://www.nulpoints.net/the-nul-pointers/

And here's how bad our song was ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu5kgSeZHfw
Sounds to me like they were trying the, "Let's sound like the European entries", strategy that year. And couldn't compete with them at their own game.

Absolutely dire. Both song and performance.

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