[Judge_Fire]

The annual musical freak show called the 'Eurovision song contest' finally gets a worthy contender, as Finland voted these guys to represent us:



More info

I wonder how many points we'll get from the Vatican.

J

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Judge_Fire

The annual musical freak show called the 'Eurovision song contest' finally gets a worthy contender, as Finland voted these guys to represent us:

I wonder how many points we'll get from the Vatican.

J

Oh, LORDY! Er, Lordi

The Vatican would probably give -12 points if they could.

Wait... the Vatican City can vote in the contest???

[Person Man]

Feed the hamster.

[olePigeon]

*sniff* Rob Zombie would be proud.

[TETENAL]

No chance against Texas Lightning! Germany will win this year!

Dancing Queen

[Weyland-Yutani]

I enjoy the Eurovision song contest. It is a good opertunity to laugh, have fun and party!

PS: Finland will be getting a vote from me!

cheers

W-Y

[wdlove]

I like those costumes Judge_Fire.

[ajprice]

And the UK entry is....

A rapper and a schoolgirl choir!!


Oh well...

[von Wrangell]

Icelandic entry:

Til Hamingju Ísland (Congratulation Iceland) by Sylvia Nótt.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...q=til+hamingju

[Weyland-Yutani]

Hehe, looks like no-one is going to take Eurovision seriously this year

I'm already looking forward to the party!

cheers

W-Y

[Judge_Fire]

Originally Posted by wdlove

I like those costumes Judge_Fire.

They put an effort in pneumatics/hydralics/pyrotechnics usually, too. Let's see if they get through event security at the contest.

J

[olePigeon]

This is America's entry:

[Hugi]

Finland has definitely earned my vote.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by wdlove

I like those costumes Judge_Fire.

No you don't. Stop lying.

-t

[tae667]

Here's the song they're playing.


BTW. Timmy

[Person Man]

Greece is sending Anna Vissi this year.



She's done it twice before, in 1980 representing Greece, and in 1982 representing Cyprus. Will third time be a charm? (I'm not too sure about that).

Should be an interesting contest this year, and I'll be watching the live internet stream like I did last year.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by ajprice

And the UK entry is....

A rapper and a schoolgirl choir!!


Oh well...

Um... Is that guy trying to look "gangsta?" 'Cause he sure ain't no Eminem.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by olePigeon

This is America's entry:

Yep. Sounds about right for Eurovision (if they weren't American).

[Person Man]

Greece is not going to win this year.

I just heard Anna Vissi's song, "Everything," and it's just meh.

Still, with quality performers like Lordi and Texas Lightning, the show still promises to be a fun diversion

[Aquataris]

Hanoi Rocks, 69 Eyes, The Rasmus, HIM, Children Of Bodom, Lordi...

Is there anything Finland can't do?

HIM and COB are by far my favorite bands ever.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Aquataris

Is there anything Finland can't do?

Growing oranges.

[Aquataris]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Growing oranges.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Growing oranges.

Geht doch. Frag Patrick Packard

-t

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Growing oranges.

I've never heard of them before? Which country are "Growing Oranges" going to represent?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by wdlove

I like those costumes Judge_Fire.

Nice to see you back wd

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Nice to see you back wd

Either that was sarcasm or you didn't know this is an old thread...

[Person Man]

The whole politics of the Eurovision Contest is the really fun part.

As a Greek American who was born and raised in the United States, I didn't know about the ESC until 2001 when I was in Germany in May and my cousin's 13 year old daughter was watching it.

I remember going into the room and asking her what she was watching, and when she told me I first thought it was a serious thing ("Oh wow, that's so neat. European countries getting together and sharing the common bond of music, etc.") Then I watched the voting... it quickly dawned on me that for the most part, people weren't voting solely on the merits of the song or the performance. It was politically/ethnically motivated. Now that I understand that, it's really fun to watch and be surprised when some country gives their top vote to something you don't expect. (For example, you expect Cyprus to give a 12 to Greece, or Serbia to give their 10 or 12 to Croatia, but when Turkey gives a 12 to say, Israel, or something, you get to have fun figuring out why).

I also have fun watching Greek politicians complain about some aspect of the contest as though it was something that really was serious. For example, there was one member of Parliament that was on all the TV channels claiming how a Greek song with English lyrics meant the world was coming to an end. It was a travesty, etc. Amazing how seriously he took it. And very funny, too.

The really funny part about the whole thing was watching my father's opinion of a piece of music change based on the voting. He watched the contest in 2005 in Greece (I watched the live internet stream). He HATED the Greek entry and said that he couldn't understand why it won. I pointed out to him that since Greece won the contest they would host the whole thing in Greece the next year. Instantly his opinion changed and he thought it was a very good song after that.

[euphras]

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

Geht doch. Frag Patrick Packard

-t

Das war Weizen

[Judge_Fire]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Growing oranges.

Just you wait - the climate is getting warmer here. Sure the gulf stream might divert, but if the arctic melts and the siberian permafrost goes, that might just balance it.

Though I'm worried about the latest findings indicating that pine trees emit more carbon-hydrogen particles in a warm climate, which tends to cool local climates. Damn it's a puzzle.


In any case, thanks to the weight of the ice age glaciers, ground is still rising here at about 5mm per year, so we'll actually have some land for growing oranges

J

[tae667]

Originally Posted by Aquataris

Is there anything Finland can't do?

Here's a music video from the 80's. This is one of the worst music videos ever, I'm not sure if it's even funny anymore: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...62188397291938

[Aquataris]

Originally Posted by tae667

Here's a music video from the 80's. This is one of the worst music videos ever, I'm not sure if it's even funny anymore: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...62188397291938

And here we see what it took for Finland to redeem itself...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...om&pl=true

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...gs&pl=true

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...di&pl=true

Though the scar will always remain of my fateful meeting with your posted video, these videos will take my mind off of it.

BTW, if I have any nightmares I can directly attribute to your video, you owe me a trip to Finland.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Person Man

I also have fun watching Greek politicians complain about some aspect of the contest as though it was something that really was serious. For example, there was one member of Parliament that was on all the TV channels claiming how a Greek song with English lyrics meant the world was coming to an end. It was a travesty, etc. Amazing how seriously he took it. And very funny, too.

Actually, I kind of agree with them. The ESC is meant to be a place where you present your country’s own culture, music, language, dances, etc., to the other European countries. Back when contestants were forced to present songs in their own languages, the contest was so much more fun to watch. Now, everybody (except France) sings in English, and a great aspect of the contest has simply disappeared.


P.S.: The Greek 2005 entry did suck, win or no win. Some of the worst songs have been winners; I think here, in particular, of the Danish entry from 1999, Brødrene Olsen’s Fly on the Wings of Love. It won the ESC, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the worst pile of sallow bile coughed up by an invalid rhesus monkey ever produced!

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by Oisín

P.S.: The Greek 2005 entry did suck, win or no win. Some of the worst songs have been winners; I think here, in particular, of the Danish entry from 1999, Brødrene Olsen’s Fly on the Wings of Love. It won the ESC, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the worst pile of sallow bile coughed up by an invalid rhesus monkey ever produced!

The Greek (swedish) song that won might have sucked but who cares when the contestant looks so great. (there's a joke in there that I won't touch....... for now)

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Oisín

Actually, I kind of agree with them. The ESC is meant to be a place where you present your country’s own culture, music, language, dances, etc., to the other European countries. Back when contestants were forced to present songs in their own languages, the contest was so much more fun to watch. Now, everybody (except France) sings in English, and a great aspect of the contest has simply disappeared.


P.S.: The Greek 2005 entry did suck, win or no win. Some of the worst songs have been winners; I think here, in particular, of the Danish entry from 1999, Brødrene Olsen’s Fly on the Wings of Love. It won the ESC, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the worst pile of sallow bile coughed up by an invalid rhesus monkey ever produced!

Let's see... My Number One. Cheesy lyrics? Check. Cheesy dances? Check. Real Greek instruments, drum rhythms? Check. The song did present some measure of "Greek culture," such as it was.

Also, Croatia's song for 2005 was in Croatian, Israel's song was part Hebrew and part English, Spain's entry was in Spanish, Turkey's entry was in Turkish and "made up language," which seems to be another "thing to do" for the ESC, and there were a few others whose songs were in their native language, but yes, most of it is English, now.

I don't think anyone will ever be able to take the contest seriously.

Still doesn't make it any less fun to watch.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by von Wrangell

The Greek (swedish) song...

The term my brother and I came up for Helena Paparizou's (and her former group Antique's) music is "Sweek." We thought of calling it "Greedish," but that was just plain too silly.



EDIT: Although, from a music label perspective, "Greedish" is probably the better word for it.

[Person Man]

From this page:

Originally Posted by ESCToday.com

Weeks have passed since the sensational victory of monster metal band Lordi in the Finnish selection for Athens, but Hard rock hallelujah is still dividing Finns into two distinct camps of love and hate.

Father Mitro Repo, an Orthodox Christian clergyman based in Helsinki, comdemned the song as "a stupid joke" and slammed the band's name as "sacrilege" in an interview with the BBC World Service programme World Today.

Um, sacrilege? Isn't Lordi named after the lead singer? (Unless it's a stage name).

Not to mention that some lady who is president of the Greek Consumer's Union, (an organization I never heard of) has been pleading to keep them out of the contest, calling them satanists.

Lighten up. I'm Greek Orthodox myself, but this is hardly the controversy that people are making it out to be.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by Oisín

Now, everybody (except France) sings in English, and a great aspect of the contest has simply disappeared.

As if Spain will perform their song in English like evah

V

[Aquataris]

Originally Posted by Person Man

From this page:



Um, sacrilege? Isn't Lordi named after the lead singer? (Unless it's a stage name).

Not to mention that some lady who is president of the Greek Consumer's Union, (an organization I never heard of) has been pleading to keep them out of the contest, calling them satanists.

Lighten up. I'm Greek Orthodox myself, but this is hardly the controversy that people are making it out to be.

Lordi is a stage name.

God, I hope Lordi wins. It's not like the contest is super serious, but there are plenty of people really into it that could use a loosening up. I say Lordi is exactly what all these tight asses need.

BTW, read the lyrics to "Hard Rock Hallelujah", the only thing these idiots could really call blasphemy in the entire song is the line "The saints are crippled" which is something I can only see the most extreme of Bible thumpers crying about.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Aquataris

God, I hope Lordi wins. It's not like the contest is super serious, but there are plenty of people really into it that could use a loosening up. I say Lordi is exactly what all these tight asses need.

Amen!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Nice to see you back wd

Wishful thinking ?

-t

[Aquataris]

Originally Posted by Person Man

Amen!

LOL. Amen. He is the best guitar playing mummy ever!

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Aquataris

God, I hope Lordi wins. It's not like the contest is super serious, but there are plenty of people really into it that could use a loosening up. I say Lordi is exactly what all these tight asses need.

Looks like Lordi made it through to the Finals on Saturday.

Which is good, because I wanted to see their show, but couldn't watch the Semi Finals online because I'm at work and it was on at 3 PM EST and our IT department blocks streaming media. I guess I'll have to watch the DVD when it comes out.

I don't have to work on Saturday, so I'll be watching the Final.

[Hugi]

They got my vote, as promised.

[voodoo]

Wheeee! I was at a Eurovision party earlier and we had lots of fun. We made a list of songs we thought would make it through - I had 8/10 right. Didn't expect Russia to make it over Belgium, but the real surprise was that Turkey made it through! Wow that was bad!!

So yeah, I had already predicted Iceland would *not* make it through, and the writing on the wall was when the audience booed before the song started. That doesn't happen very often.

I totally supported Finland and Lordi. They were *excellent*!! Wow, they'll be in the top 5 in the final. Might even win it too if they hold their own come saturday. Just.. wow.

V

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by voodoo

Wheeee! I was at a Eurovision party earlier and we had lots of fun. We made a list of songs we thought would make it through - I had 8/10 right. Didn't expect Russia to make it over Belgium, but the real surprise was that Turkey made it through! Wow that was bad!!

So yeah, I had already predicted Iceland would *not* make it through, and the writing on the wall was when the audience booed before the song started. That doesn't happen very often.

I totally supported Finland and Lordi. They were *excellent*!! Wow, they'll be in the top 5 in the final. Might even win it too if they hold their own come saturday. Just.. wow.

V

hehe. And certain Greeks tried so hard to get Lordi to drop out of the contest.

I don't think Anna Vissi will win this year.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by Person Man

hehe. And certain Greeks tried so hard to get Lordi to drop out of the contest.

I don't think Anna Vissi will win this year.

Don't be too sure

I think Anna will go far. I like her a lot.

V

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by voodoo

Don't be too sure

I think Anna will go far. I like her a lot.

V

I like her, myself. (Counts songs) I have 202 of her songs in my iTunes Library.

I'm not too keen on the song she's singing...

My father, on the other hand (who is in Greece for the summer), keeps saying, "I can't believe they picked a Grandma to represent Greece! Couldn't they find another sexy young Helena Paparizou?"

I keep reminding him that this Greek "Grandma" made the top of the charts here in the US... not too many Greeks have that kind of success outside of the Greek community. Others have tried, like Despina Vandi. I think Helena Paparizou has a good chance of making it big in the US, too.

At 48, Anna Vissi can hold her own against some people half her age. And she DID have a hit dance track here in the United States. ("Call Me" was number one on the Billboard Dance Chart in April 2005)

I think Anna will make it to the top 5, at least.

[Person Man]

Well, it's the "big night" (day for me here in the US). Who is going to win? Will the voting be political?

If anyone else here wants to watch it, it starts around 3 PM Eastern Time, and the streaming solution they're using is called Octoshape, and there is a Mac Beta client, which works. The only drawback is that it requires Tiger and Microsoft Windows Media Player for Mac (which is a dead end now). But it does work.

The site is here: http://www.eurovision.tv

[TETENAL]

01 Switzerland: Boring. Ralph Siegel's daughter is much more interesting than his compositions.
02 Moldova: Where is that? And they speak Spanish there??? This wouldn't even rock after a bucket of sangria.
03 Israel: Mediocre gospel and singer, but he must have been one of the most horrible dancers I have ever seen.
04 Latvia: Where is the mute button? (ps: maybe half an extra point for the CGI-robot effect.)
05 Norway: Nice ethereal song.
06 Spain: Now this would rock after a bucket of sangria. "Tutti free, tutti free, tutti freeeee!"
07 Malta: Doomp, doomp, doomp, dooomp, doomp, "I doooooooo love you!" A song straight from the gay parade.
08 Germany: Beautiful text, beautiful song in country arrangement. Really great. The audience was ecstatic. I doubt this can be topped.
09 Denmark should stick to drawing cartoons. Outdated rock songs is not one of their strengths.
10 Russia: Hilarious with the ballerinas in the background. This is going to be a well merited last place.
11 Macedonia: Wow, what a gorgeous woman!

12 Romania: see 7
13 Bosnia & Herzegovina: That was one beautiful song, no kidding. Sort of traditional, then fading over to modern rhythms. I like it. The best so far.
14 Lithuania: "We are the winners, of Europvision. Vote!" In your dreams.
15 UK: A rapping teletubby
16 Greece: Rather decent pop song.
17 Finland: Wow, what crap. http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail141.html
18 Ukraine has a Shakira as well. And she's cuter than the original even.
19 France: Really not good.
20 Croatia: I need a bucket of Slivovitz now.
21 Ireland: Boring.
22 Sweden: Boring with a tremolo and a techno beat.
23 Turkey: Actually quite good song, and süper use of Sprechgesang, but I hate tattoos, so Turkey is disqualified.
24 Armenia: Last song. Let's say it this way: The Russian was worse.

My top 5:

1.) Bosnia & Herzegovina
2.) Germany
3.) Greece
4.) Norway
5.) Ukraine

[Judge_Fire]

AAGH the pain,

which only Eurovision songs can enduce

J