Eurovision Reaction Thread

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I have been arguing about it for half an hour at work. :(

Comments

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an hour well spent!

It didn't start until 11pm locally so I didn't even watch it this year. Shameful, I am, shameful. (Of course, I've already had years to live with Vera Serduchka.)

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Reaction in Slovenia was weird (I was in Ljubljana for a long weekend and watched it in a bar in the centre of the city). The Slovenes generally don't get along that well with their Balkan neighbours, and generally, there was booing of the performances by Serbia and Bosnia. Yet when the voting was announced, Slovenia gave Serbia 12 points, which confused me. Personally, I'm very disappointed that Ukraine didn't win, with the most camp Eurovision song since Dana International, whilst I also had high hopes for Germany's swing effort, and was thoroughly annoyed with Malta and Ireland for ruining our own nil points attempt.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I text-voted for Romania and Georgia. Other highlights: Ukraine, Sweden, Romanian entries on youtube that didn't make it (one called "Dracula, My Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-BxdC3-l0Y)" is SO AWESOME...)

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

I actually watched Eurovision for the first time and got really into it! Paul, flatmate K and I were betting on who we THOUGHT was going to win. I wanted to vote Serbia but K got in there first, so I had Ukraine (who I actually liked best of them all) and Paul had Russia. AND THEY WERE THE TOP 3! I am impressed with our collective Eurovision nous.

I larffed non-stop at Sweden and all the GOTHS.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I really have no idea why Sweden placed in the bottom half, their song was excellent. Similarly I have no idea why that emo-ballad, above all the others, got so many points (far more than can be explained by just tribalism).

Early on, when it appeared to be between Ukraine, Serbia, Latvia (I think? The mental drumming one) and Turkey, we were saying "anyone but Turkey", but naturally after it thinned out we were rooting for the Ukraine.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Also to hell with all of you, the real winner is and remains Terry Wogan.

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

I was gutted when Andorra's Busted copycat band didn't make it out of the semis personally, once they'd gone it all seemed less fun.

Can't even remember how the Serbia entry went, I can still picture the Zammo-a-like singer but that's about it.

A question for the oldsters

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

When did the perception of Eurovision as 'camp' get so entrenched here?

The most unedifying aspect of the post-match reaction here hasn't been the "oh it's all bloc voting" stuff (which explains which countries are likely to win but not why specific winners and losers do well or badly) but angry reactions about how voters who hated Scooch "don't understand" what Eurovision is "about".

Looking at the last two years, I think we need a return to the jury system, said jury to consist of jel_bugle and NO OTHER.

"mrs wogan"

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

mein host for the evening PTEE mentioned this personage and i was astonished: it had never occurred to me that wogan was not a wannabe swinging bachelor who never actually landed a date

i think his tenure is deeply related to the SATANIC REIGN of THE WRONG CAMP -- i hope the scooch debalce has ended NORTON'S chances of continuing the bad

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

My mother says there were "far too many women who looked like they ought to be on Conan the Barbarian."

I didn't watch it so can't tell whether this is some previously unrevealed tendency towards racial slurs or whether this was actually true.

SCOOCH OF THE ANTARCTIC

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

the thing wogan&ilk never adverts to is that the NEWER entrants, from Expanded Europe, actually care and mind how they do and put some FUCKING WORK into their entries, and are thus voting for one another on decent mututally respectful craft-skills terms as much as anything

cf "amundsen's norwegians ALREADY KNEW HOW TO SKI the big cheats"

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

i dont like rat pack as musicians or actors (i do like them as pimps and thugs), and find most of the simulacra fairly annoying, this included. However, i still have a soft spot for Robbie Williams attempt

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

why did you think the ukrainains were cynical, the dressing up, the randomness, the sheer camp and even the menace were similar to dana international or lordi

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

i think that the idea that you cannot watch it for camp, and pure enjoyment is a falsehood. geoff parkes (queen g) writes eloquenlty about that in his lj. i mean i watch eurovision for similar reasons to liking liza minelli and musical theater, because it does have a kind of queer gaze to it...but that queer gaze is one of genuine love and bemusement not cynical detachment.

the queen is dead

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

whatever happened to the rumours that moz was going to perform?