I'd rather fly with venga airlines...

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

Now I have nothing against Scooch, although it turns out the only thing by them on my hd is their version of 'Maybe Tomorrow', the theme from The Littlest Hobo. After all if you loved Steps as much as I do, the thought of mini-Steps can't be that bad.  But -- and you knew there was a 'but' coming -- what on earth is it with the (now official!) uk eurovision entry. I had two questions for uk poptimists, but  I think I can answer one myself. So firstly, why will uk tv audiences choose eurovision entries in styles which would have no chance at all in the terminally lumpen uk charts? (And I guess the answer is that the overlap between uk prime time tv audiences and the punters buying singles is minimal.) But secondly, why can't we do this sort of thing honestly? -- The nudge nudge wink wink campness of 'Flying the Flag (For You)' comes across as forced and almost unpleasant, a kind of two fingers to anyone who actually takes eurovision seriously. Not just the actually quite rubbish dance routine, but all those spoken word interjections --  'salty nuts, sir'; 'blow' -- just seem to scream 'this is a piss-take'. And if the uk can't even keep a straight face while picking an entry, why the hell do we bother putting money into the competition? It feels to me as if the whole process gets a bbc frame round it saying 'this is naff, you would be seriously lacking in taste to take it seriously', which implies contempt for at least some of the audience.

Comments

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure the BBC actually wants the UK to win - if we did, it would involve a lot of expense and effort in actually putting the shows (2 of them now there's a semi-final). Whereas just taking part only involves organising the Making Your Mind Up show - and by the looks of the production on saturday night's show (dodgy sound, appalling camerawork, presenters who seemed underprepared) the BBC spent as little as possible on it.

The show still does really well in the UK - over 8 million viewers, and the prevaling view (heartily encouraged by Terry Wogan, who seems more and more out of touch with the contest every passing year) is that all the songs are rubbish, and it's a complete lottery who wins, so we might as well stick a novelty act in ourselves - even though the contest isn't really like that at all any more.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It is cynical sure. But I think the UK public *don't* "take Eurovision seriously". A guy in my office thinks it'll win because it's "kitsch" - it is (though deliberate kitsch is never loveable) and I think we've got it right in terms of the stage show, we're putting a bit of effort in, but the British public either doesn't notice or doesn't care that the last few years have seen Eurovision won by good pop records with good visuals, not deliberately shite ones with same.

Mind you I loved Daz.