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Post by carpentersgermany on May 23, 2008 10:07:11 GMT -5
Tomorrow night will be the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, a show that I've always loved very much. I read somewhere that the show has been broadcasted to some non European countries, including the U.S. I would like to know if some of you has ever watched one of these shows. Since 1956 it's an yearly event. It's a huge competition of singers from all over Europe who perform a song live. Since it would be too complicated for me to explain everything concerning this contest, here is a link to a very informative Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_song_contestThe most famous ESC winner is ABBA and their song "Waterloo" (Sweden 1974): de.youtube.com/watch?v=0oMimCa6Hd0Several other songs became very popular, sometimes with other interpreters, like "Nel blu di pinto di blu (Volare)"(Italy 1958): de.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DVi0ugelcOther famous ESC Contestants: Olivia Newton-John - Long live love (UK 1974, 4th place) de.youtube.com/watch?v=mm4IdMGNvZ0Ofra Haza - Hi (Israel 1983, 2nd place) de.youtube.com/watch?v=tqPGYSWnSFgCeline Dion - Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland 1988, Winner) de.youtube.com/watch?v=8pEYw8PcBast.A.T.u - Ne Ver Ne Boisia (Russia 2003, 3rd place) de.youtube.com/watch?v=y3UGzwRo62AWhat I love most about this contest is that every country has the chance to represent a part of their specific culture (which can be very very different from country to country). Sometimes it's strange to our (German in my case) ears to listen to a song in Russian for instance (it's the same the other way around, I guess), but sometimes you find real musical treasures. Unfortunately a great part of the Contestants were singing in English during the last shows, because they wish for international success. Some of my favourites (besides the already mentioned ONJ and Ofra Haza performances) Vicky Leandros - Apres Toi (Luxembourg 1972, Winner) de.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Ar-YiiPFsGali Atari and Milk&Honey - Hallelujah (Israel 1979, winner) de.youtube.com/watch?v=eTi2KwixNjgKatja Ebstein - Theater (Germany 1980, 2nd) de.youtube.com/watch?v=RP21evYWHmoSertab Erener - Every way that I can (Turkey 2003, Winner) de.youtube.com/watch?v=23DV5Pd9RFoBlue Cafe - Love Song (Poland 2004, 17th place) de.youtube.com/watch?v=cp_iIgXJgQMSince Serbia won last years competition (Marija Serifovic - Molitva de.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sp9OOoxCJo)the show tomorrow will be in Belgrade. I don't like the German song at all but from what I've heard so far, the Turkish and the Portuguese songs are pretty good: Mor ve Ötesi - Deli (Turkey 2008) de.youtube.com/watch?v=xV0aaiHJrNAVania Fernandes - Senhora do mar (Portugal 2008) de.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZZxgHxYrwUnfortunately Germany has won the ESC only one year: Nicole - Ein bißchen Frieden (1982) de.youtube.com/watch?v=83dZCZhb0VgThe best German participant through the last years for me was Texas Lightening - No No Never (2006, 15th place) de.youtube.com/watch?v=NlDm86hE99MI hope you'll enjoy some of the songs and I'm looking forward to get some feedback from you!!
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Post by Rick Henry on May 23, 2008 10:22:43 GMT -5
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Post by carpentersgermany on May 23, 2008 16:08:24 GMT -5
I totally agree on Ofra Haza but I'm not sure about t.A.T.u.. I don't know their albums or anything because I always thought the marketing strategy around them, like being "naughty girls" and lesbians was ridiculous. I was very surprised to hear that Richard Carpenter worked together with them. I'd like to listen to those songs. But what I love most about the ESC is that less popular artists get the chance to perform. Last year 300 Million people were watching the show live!!! I'm not sure but I can imagine that you'll like the Turkish group of this year for instance, Rick ( de.youtube.com/watch?v=xV0aaiHJrNA). But I think there's something for every one: some Rock, some pop, some folklore, some dance and some bizarre characters - a very colourful mix.
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Post by ps11932 on May 23, 2008 16:11:47 GMT -5
This is exciting! I have not seen nor heard much of the Eurovision Contest but with the wide national and cultural reprresentations I can see where it would be an annual highlight, and something probably suprior to any other musical event in the world. There is a field of study called ethnomusicilogy (I believe) that specializes in the impact of music in various cultures around the world; and Europe is at the heart! It is interesting to read that Eurovision participation expands beyond Europe, with Turkey and Israel represented.
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Post by carpentersgermany on May 23, 2008 16:21:13 GMT -5
This is exciting! I have not seen nor heard much of the Eurovision Contest but with the wide national and cultural reprresentations I can see where it would be an annual highlight, and something probably suprior to any other musical event in the world. There is a field of study called ethnomusicilogy (I believe) that specializes in the impact of music in various cultures around the world; and Europe is at the heart! It is interesting to read that Eurovision participation expands beyond Europe, with Turkey and Israel represented. Hi ps11932, it is very exciting indeed! Very interesting what you said about Turkey and Israel. People are often irritated, especially about the fact that Israel is represented. But the Contest is open to every member of the "European Broadcasting Union" (EBU). There are not only European members in the EBU, but also from Asia, North-Africa and the Middle East.
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Post by carpentersgermany on May 23, 2008 16:36:20 GMT -5
By the way, I always thought the Carpenters would've fit perfectly to the ESC. With a song like "Bless the Beasts and Children" for instance, I'm pretty sure they would have won the competition in 1971.
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Post by carpentersgermany on May 23, 2008 17:30:09 GMT -5
This is exciting! I have not seen nor heard much of the Eurovision Contest but with the wide national and cultural reprresentations I can see where it would be an annual highlight, and something probably suprior to any other musical event in the world. There is a field of study called ethnomusicilogy (I believe) that specializes in the impact of music in various cultures around the world; and Europe is at the heart! It is interesting to read that Eurovision participation expands beyond Europe, with Turkey and Israel represented. Concerning ethnomusicology (or whatever the right term might be . A lot of countries in the last years had songs that combined ethno or folklore elements with a modern dance sound. This is often criticized in Germany and North-Europe, but I like it. It's kind of entertaining. Some examples: Elena Paparizou - No. 1 (Greece Winner 2005 and my favourite among those songs) de.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe0nKho8DISeverina - Moja Stikla (Croatia 12th place 2006) de.youtube.com/watch?v=gOV0vcPQtH4Ruslana - Wild Dancers (Ukraine Winner 2004) de.youtube.com/watch?v=4x7CatMaINE
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 13, 2008 7:36:15 GMT -5
What! No Finnish artists make your favourites' list! Small wonder: we hold the record for being jumbo in ESC...
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Post by carpentersgermany on Jun 13, 2008 9:39:51 GMT -5
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 13, 2008 15:22:07 GMT -5
This year...I didn't even care to watch the whole thing- I don't know the winning song at all so I can't really comment. It was way back in the seventies when I was interested in it all. My favourites? The Shadows' Let Me Be The One, Abba of course, lots of Italian stuff - Si, Era etc. (it's too bad they won't participate anymore), loads of Finnish songs you won't care to know, Moja Generacija (or something like that) Yugoslavia I think it was, Ireland's Johnny Logan's ballads, I won't even get into the sixties cos' there was plenty of good stuff goin' on then on the ESC. I liked Ein Bisschen Frieden too (who wouldn't?)! Tschingis-Khan was a big hit over here also (echoes of that song in this year's Finnish participant don't you think?). To put it short - if I'm not a fanatic at least I've been watching it a lot!
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Post by carpentersgermany on Jun 13, 2008 17:21:25 GMT -5
Huh Hah Huh Hah - yes the echo is unmistakeable. The German commentator mentioned it, when the Finnish participants were introduced. Funny that Dschingis Khan was a hit in Finnland, too. Pretty bizarre those guys, but if you look at the dancing, the costumes and the music, they seemed to be kind of ahead of their times (think of 2004 winner Ruslana or Teräsbetoni, you mentioned them). Concerning ESC I prefer the Classics, too: Ireland had many great songs (like the ones I mentioned before and I love Logan's "Hold me Now"!), I think they are the most successful country in Eurovision. "Let me be the one" (I think there was another group, who released a song with the exact title. Any ideas? ) is cool. I love the Reprise of "Ein bisschen Frieden" where she sings it in English, French, Dutch and Spanish. I think this was a great moment in Eurovision and expresses what it's all about. Like in the song "Insieme" when they sing "Unite, unite Europe". Or Ofra Haza performs "Hi" in Germany, sings something like "Israel is alive" and earns rapturous applause by the crowd. That's what I love most about Eurovision.. But even if the quality of the contest in general gets lower, there are still cool bands and songs participating. Like this year "Mor ve Ötesi" from Turkey, who had a nice Rock Song performed by a very charismatic singer or Portugal with something like the Fado-version of "Crucified" by the Army of Lovers from back in 1991. For me the Night of Eurovision is always something like a happening, we get together young and old, Germans, Turkish, Croatian, Serbian, Italian people and watch the show together. A tradition I wouldn't want to miss..
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 14, 2008 0:38:56 GMT -5
Oh yes, it's a great tradition - likewise here up north too. Can you imagine the excitement here in Finland, when after decades of high hopes always leading to "zero points", Lordi went and won the whole thing! They're nothing like an ESC type of band -and nothing like I would want to hear on those stages either - maybe that was their secret that year? Our neighboring country Sweden takes the contest even more seriously - the qualifying shows are a huge song festival - and imagine their disappointment this and last year - they've had loads of great songs and success beside Abba though. Btw the ESC songs (like Dschingis-Khan, Ding-ding-dong, Aprés toi etc.) were almost always hits over here sung in Finnish by our very own artists!
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Post by carpentersgermany on Jun 24, 2008 17:13:34 GMT -5
Yes Timo, I can imagine the excitement in Finland. I knew Lordi before the ESC because a friend of mine, who works at a radio promotion agency promoted Lordi in Germany before the Contest, so I was somehow "prepared". But my father seemed to almost get a heart-attack when he saw their ESC-Performance "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was a huge hit in Germany. There are some Finnish bands in the German charts, all Rock Bands, like Apocalyptica, Him, Sunrise Avenue and Nightwish. I'm not really into Rock but I remember the Leningrad Cowboys. I really liked them when they had some hits in Germany in the mid 90s. I know, Sweden is a classic ESC-country. I think their 2007 entry was okay, but this year Sweden was rather weak. Our Scandinavian neighbour Denmark was a lot better this year, I think. I saw Frederik singing his Finnish versions of Dschingis Khan, Moskau(Volga) and Sheikki Ali Hassan (Hadschi Halef Omar). That was funny!
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 24, 2008 23:50:48 GMT -5
CG, you really are well-informed! To think that you know of funny ol' Frederik And yes - rock and especially hard rock with all its genres is number one over here. Gloomy stuff it is too, those Cowboys being more of a party band thankfully! But it's true also - we are gloomy people - like a cold, dark winter's night...not an advantage in the ESC circles. What's your opinion on the claimed "voting blocks" - y'know: eastern Europe voting only for their neighboring countries etc. I think it's only natural - they probably understand their neighbors better - Finland often gives the highest points to Sweden too! Here's a few German bands I've enjoyed: Kraftwerk, Can, Rammstein, Falco, Alphaville - why not Modern Talking - wonderful stuff to sing at karaoke!
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Post by carpentersgermany on Jun 27, 2008 14:19:04 GMT -5
I heard somewhere that, besides Rock, Tango is a big thing in Finland, too. Is it right? I absolutely agree on what you said about the "voting block"-thing. It's a BIG discussion over here. But I see it like you: neighbouring countries understand each other better, they often share the same musical interests and artists. The only problem is, that Germany has no relation to a bordering country like countries in Scandinavia or Former-Yugoslavia for instance. Let's face it, Germany isn't the most popular European County in general. So people over here often feel discriminated when it comes to the televote. People here think it's not fair that we, as a part of the "Big Four" (Germany, France, Spain and the UK) rank so low in the votes, when without our financial support the whole show wouldn't be possible. But I think you just can't force anybody to vote for us.. An interesting collection of German Bands, I especially share your liking for Kraftwerk. They are definitely one of the best German bands ever. Alphaville had some great tracks, too. Wow, Rammstein, some heavy stuff. They have some great music videos. But I'm not quite sure what to think of the image they represent. Funny that you mentioned Modern Talking, they had a huge Comeback in the late 90s and especially Dieter Bohlen, the blond one, is omnipresent in the German media (as the "Star" of the jury of the German "American Idol" version for example.) Talking about Eurovision, Thomas Anders, the one with the dark hair, he reached the fourth place, in the ESC Qualifying Show in 2006: de.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6wWRtyQiQ
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 28, 2008 6:33:28 GMT -5
Ah yes, the Finnish Tango - a very distant cousin of the Real Thing from Argentina - probably sounds more like marching music to everybody else's ears! It's a big thing indeed: the annual Tango Fair is fast approaching where a new singing Tango King and Queen are selected by a jury and the voting public to reign until next year. Needless to say it's more to the liking of other than the younger generations (until they get older). The former Kings and Queens are often seen qualifying for ESC naturally, with at least one of them making it (Jari Sillanpää a couple of years ago in Istambul - "Takes two to tango" was indeed his song - didn't make it through to final...). My kids made me listen to (and watch) Rammstein's "Amerika" a couple of years ago, wonder what our friends overseas would make of it!!!? I think Thomas Anders' song is alright, a very beautiful song in fact. Maybe it was too "ESCque", though? And the Idols - now that could be a thread of its own here (or has it already been?) Finland has always been like a little brother looking up to Germany, in good and in bad (I believe even the tango craze was picked up from there in the 1930's). Good luck tomorrow to your football team in the European Championships final!
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Post by carpentersgermany on Jun 28, 2008 20:42:15 GMT -5
I remember Mauri Numminen speaking about Finnish Tango in a German Talk Show a couple of years ago. I think he wrote a book about it. I found that very interesting. "Amerika" has great lyrics (and a great video). Interestingly enough Rammstein are quite successful in the U.S.A. as far as I know (please, correct me if I'm wrong). Apart from that Rammstein's music is way too heavy for my personal taste, I don't know what to think of their attitude. The way they sing, the words they choose, the martial appearance is part of a German stereotype that is discussed controversial over here, not only over here I guess. Even if they disassociate themselves from being right-wing or anything, they use this cliché. In their Clip "Stripped" for instance, they use excerpts of Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia film from 1936. I think their videos for "Rosenrot" and "Ohne Dich" are absolutely brilliant. You should watch them! Interesting what you said about Finland looking up to Germany. I didn't know that. Than please give at least some points to your big brother next year at the ESC!!! Thank you! You can't believe what is going on here since Germany has reached the final of the Championships. I'm really excited about tomorrow! What about soccer in Finland. I can't remember a Finnish team taking part at a World Cup or European Championship. Is that right? I think winter sports are more popular in Finland. And you have some successful racer of course.
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timo
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Post by timo on Jun 29, 2008 3:37:17 GMT -5
I promise I'll vote for Germany next year - even if you've got Rammstein performing! I really don't know much about them - just what I've been force-fed - it's mighty powerful stuff anyway. Finland was only one goal away from the European Championships this time but I'm sure everybody enjoyed Portugal -who qualified instead- more! As for the next World Cup qualifying: we've only got Germany and Russia and some lesser countries to beat. I predict you won't see Finland in South Africa 2010. I'll wave for Germany tonight! Ice hockey's the most popular and succesful sport over here. And ski jumping. The winter sports, you knew it. And those road-raging formula and rally drivers. I wish I knew some YouTube links of M.A. Numminen singing - not tango but his voice is something else...
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