https://eurovision.tv/event/liverpool-2023
I'm away on holiday in Derbyshire tomorrow, but will be watching :)
Earlier this evening 5 Live had an interview with the musical director for the UK's most recent winning entry; Katrina and the Waves' Love Shine A Light of course.
None other than Deep Purple, Colosseum II, Rainbow, Sabbath, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne keyboard maestro Don Airey! I didn't know that.
Quote from: Slim on May 11, 2023, 08:08:46 PMEarlier this evening 5 Live had an interview with the musical director for the UK's most recent winning entry; Katrina and the Waves' Love Shine A Light of course.
None other than Deep Purple, Colosseum II, Rainbow, Sabbath, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne keyboard maestro Don Airey! I didn't know that.
Wow! He truly is a maestro!
I have the second semi final on TV at the moment (muted of course to listen to real music) and the set and staging, lighting etc is really fantastic. In fact the whole thing looks super slick, unlike the Italian effort last year which looked a bit iffy in places. We do have a knack in this country to make things like this look very good - again shame about the crappy music underneath it all.
Quote from: pxr5 on May 11, 2023, 05:44:39 PMI'm away on holiday in Derbyshire tomorrow, but will be watching :)
A like for choosing God's own County for your holiday, a dislike for choosing to watch Eurovision.
Had the misfortune to see the last 15 mins from tonight.. utter shit.. the dramatic pause nonsense when announcing who had got thru then the clips from those who had.. just machine gun the lot of them... and why does it now last a fucking week.. instead of a whole Saturday night as before...
Quote from: Fishy on May 11, 2023, 10:48:00 PMHad the misfortune to see the last 15 mins from tonight.. utter shit.. the dramatic pause nonsense when announcing who had got thru then the clips from those who had.. just machine gun the lot of them... and why does it now last a fucking week.. instead of a whole Saturday night as before...
Partly because it's been appropriated by the cause du jour with the full support of those in power in the media, the arts and governments of Europe. The new religion
Its been like that since 2004. All those Russian satellites wanting to join, all those Yugoslavian, Czechoslovakian countries etc. Not to mention Australia!
17 countries competed when Abba won in 74. Now there are over 40!
Do you know what - for a long time I've been pretty indifferent to this event; I don't think I've watched a Eurovision final from start to finish since Terry Wogan was affectionately taking the piss out of it.
However, the way the stars are aligned this weekend I may end up accompanying the little 'un for a mini viewing party - she's excited to do so since Sam Ryder's Spaceman did so well last year. Actually sounds like it could be fun and of course I can join in the shenanigans here also. :)
Ah. I'd forgotten that Australia were in it last year. That was a real wtf moment. I cannot remember if anyone explained why.
Whilst we enjoy watching the final, we don't have the stomach for the semi-finals as well. We only want to watch them once!
Should maybe be in the What Made You Grumpy thread but again, watching Saturday Kitchen Live, when discussing the number of times various countries have won, one of the guests enquired,
"What's England on?" I've never been much of a nationalist but that still rankles.
Quote from: The Picnic Wasp on May 13, 2023, 11:01:20 AMShould maybe be in the What Made You Grumpy thread but again, watching Saturday Kitchen Live, when discussing the number of times various countries have won, one of the guests enquired,
"What's England on?" I've never been much of a nationalist but that still rankles.
Yes, saw that - he was Swedish though. But I get why it irritates.
We're going in.
The Grand Opening is tacky and over-theatrical, but of course no-one could have expected anything else.I suppose it's inevitable that Ukraine will win again, with a huge public vote. For me whoever gets the highest level of approval from the collective international juries will be the moral victor.
How did it come to this? A song contest intended to foster a sense of community between the nations of Europe has descended into a freak show.
When did the woofters hijack this once innocent celebration of unexceptional music?
Austria - not sure what to make of it really. Simple, not very interesting. It won't win but it's not awful, I'll say 5/10.
Next up, Portugal - I quite like this - spirited performance, uptempp folky vibe which I think suits Eurovision. An unkind person might describe it as Eurovision By Numbers but I'll give it a 6.
Switzerland - the boy has a nice voice but it's a tedious, formula ballad. Inoffensive at best, I'll give it 5.
Poland - again I feel like I've heard this before, formula Europop. I will say though that this is the most visually appealing of the acts so far. By quite some distance. It's a 5.
Just switched on. This act is a bit like a latin Brittany. Weird then that she comes from Poland
Serbian entry is a but weird. Think it might grow on me but I'll probably never hear it again
Edith Piaff trills from France!
Serbia - ohh.. nice Bond theme vibe in the intro. But that's all there is. Outstays its welcome in a minute. Actually only has the same three chords all the way through. It's a 4.
So far I haven't heard what I'd call a good song yet. Can France change that for me?
Oh it's an archetypical French torch song that morphs into an uptempo, moody ballad. Easily the best of the night so far, it's a 6.
Yes liked it too. She looked a little precarious up there. Glad she didn't fall
Cyprus my fave so far. Spain incredibly annoying.
Cyprus - here's a song with a trite message that - again - sounds like boring overwrought chart music. Cheese. 4.
Spain - I'm getting Arabic vibes from this one. Perhaps it is a bit Flamenco-ish. Otherwise very unremarkable. 5.
Really reverting to their Andalus heritage here. Sevillanas to the fore. Just missing castanets and the formerly ubiquitous donkey!
That Sweden entry sounded very familiar.
Here's the 2012 winner, returning for Sweden and it's one of the favourites. It's a power ballad, reminds me very much of Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus. Well, it might win but I think it's overblown tosh. Maybe a 5. I do like Wrecking Ball, actually.
Albania - bonus point for the Ace Frehley costume. Again it's a ballad but it has interesting harmony, it's a decent song and it feels more heartfelt than overwrought. Going to give this one a 6.
Looking at the points I've awarded so far, they're all in the 4-6 range. No absolutely stinkers, nothing exceptional.
Italy I enjoyed.
Italy - another cheesy minor key ballad. Sounds like it was written by ChatGPT. Decent vocal performance, very ordinary song. At least it's not as bad as that awful pseudo-rock wank that won for the spaghetti munchers a couple of years ago. It's a 4.
Estonia - oh I say, she's bang on for 20. It's a nice song, well performed. Perhaps she's chewing the scenery a little too much in the second part of the song but I like it. I can't give it more than a 6 though in good conscience.
So impressed with the 20 year old Estonian entry. Such poise and presence.i'm sure if I'd been wearing that dress attempting to cover the stage like she did, I would have fallen over
Finnish entry had me laughing. Pretty sure it was intentional
Finland - what fresh hell is this? Can this hot, spicy garbage really be one of the favourites? Preposterous performance and even for the brief period when it morphs into something approximating a song, it's utter wank. It gets a huge response from the crowd. Easily the worst of the night though, a 2.
Czechia, or if you prefer, the Czech Republic. It's a trite girl power message based on Eastern European power-folk with a quasi-rap element. And yet somehow it works. 6.
Voyager - I wonder if the old Sounds magazine adage about ER bands will still hold true.😁
Voyager a bit of a poppy Muse
Boy George crossed with Simply Red = Belgium
Australia - well it's a rhythmically interesting '80s radio style soft rock tune. Rhythmically it reminds me of Love Like Blood by Killing Joke which is a belting tune, I wouldn't say this is though. But I did quite like it if I'm honest. It's a 6.
Belgium - has an early '90s disco feel, accoring to Graham Norton. And I think that's right. I didn't hate it but it really sounds derivative to me, I'm sure I've heard that hook before - but I have to say I really dig the jazz / soul feel in the chorus. Can I give it more than a 6? I .. I don't think I can.
Armenia - boring song, charismatic performer though. 5.
Moldova - eccentric power-folk with a nice flute part. It's not a good song, got to be a 5.
Moldova - entertaining and catchy
Ukraine reminds me of Youssou N'Dour. Not a bad thing but unexpected
Here comes the likely winner, Ukraine. I might be a bit Eurovisioned out at this point but I was just bored. Two chord tedium, 4.
Norway - well for what it is, it's a decently spirited little tune but I can't really get excited. Pretty standard Eurovision fare. 5
Germany - another stinker; ridiculously overwrought, utterly hackneyed cheese. This is what happens when you leave glam rock on the radiator. Awful. 2.
Lithuania - think this might be the highlight of the night, if only for the chorus which does have a nice energy. I don't think it's quite a 7. It's a 6. Nothing particularly original or interesting but I liked it.
It does get quite tough to judge 26 songs you've never heard before
Israel - she sings well and she's quite the dancer as well but I feel like I've already heard this song twice tonight. How did all this serious po-faced over-earnestness come to dominate popular music? 5.
I haven't actually been keeping count but I wouldn't be surprised if every single one of tonight's tunes was in a minor key.
Slovenia, it's another improbably camp "rock" tune complete with guitars being used merely as props. 4.
Croatia.
Words fail me.
Croatia - something lost in the lack of translation!
Seemed unusual for Graham Norton to leave the commentary box. Anyone know if that was planned?
Not very impressed with the UK entry. She doesn't have a great voice
Graham Norton said this was very strong year.
I absolutely disagree.
Croatia. Very, very camp but musically certainly a bit different. I find the performance a bit excruciating but clearly, these boys like a laugh. Well, I'll say 5.
And lastly here comes the United Kingdom, Not sure if I've ever heard this. She looks a bit like a tranny - she isn't, is he?
Sad to say it sounds like very banal, slightly crude Eurovision-by-numbers. I don't quite hate it but I'm giving it a 4 only out of nationalistic sympathies. I feel like I've watched Mel C's less talented little sister at an X Factor audition. There are definitely more talented performers among the other entries.
OK so for me it would be one of Portugal, France, Albania, Estonia, Czechia, Australia, Belgium or Lithuania.
Probably liked Belgium a bit more than the others. Not sure. For sure nothing was outstanding for me tonight.
Logan Roy back from the dead and playing drums with Sam Ryder
(Actually Roger Taylor - they look very similar!)
After a discussion, the popular vote here goes to Poland or Czechia.
Interval act - its not Riverdance!
Couldn't join the fun until the U.K. entry - I was at an extended family gathering tonight for far longer than expected; did about 40 minutes of a solo acoustic set and the little un met a few relations for the first time, so a good time was had.
Anyway - for what it's worth, the U.K. entry not only suffered from being lazy, join-the-dots dance-pop but a very weak vocal performance also. 3/10
Who is doing the voice-over? She's awful - keeps talking over other presenters with inane comments.
Mel Giedroyc.
Ah yes, thought she sounded familiar.
She's actually being very annoying.
So, the winning song.
Very much like the synth sounds which are lifted from Trance music; they should have taken that and ran with it and made it a pumping Trance song outright. Admittedly, that may have adversely affected its chances of winning.
But as it is, it never actually seems to get going. 5/10
I wonder if Mae Muller 'hates the UK' more or less after her humbling experience? ;D
(at least we beat the Germans - we're on a roll in that respect!)
I went to bed before the voting started. Usually the most interesting part but this time I just didn't care sufficiently about any of the entries to make it worthwhile.
Will have a look at the scores later though.
Wonder if the juries were asked to give the Swedish song a bit of a boost so they could commemorate the 50th anniversary of Waterloo in Sweden?
Finland were streets ahead on the public vote and can feel a little unlucky not to be the winners
Quote from: Matt2112 on May 14, 2023, 12:17:46 AMSo, the winning song.
Very much like the synth sounds which are lifted from Trance music; they should have taken that and ran with it and made it a pumping Trance song outright. Admittedly, that may have adversely affected its chances of winning.
But as it is, it never actually seems to get going. 5/10
It's depressing how much of our current pop music content is probably sketched together in Ableton Live in a matter of minutes. I still love synths, but they never quite capture the magic of the 80s artists who used them. Maybe it's because they had first dibs on the emerging digital instruments. Some great dance music later on granted but these days it seems to be just loop based half-hearted gloop.
The songs last night were distinctly average at best, with only a few that were raised above the norm. For me: Serbia, Italy, Belgium. France and Spain were the worst, bordering on unlistenable. The UK effort was quite weak and her voice wasn't good. We deserved to be a bit higher, but definitely on the right of the scoreboard.
I thought the whole show was really well executed and the hosts very good. I noticed too world-wide voting. Maybe it'll be opened up to everyone and we ultimately end up with a world song contest. Imagine how cheesy that could be.