The Damned Song Contest

There's been alot of talking about the last Eurovision Song Contest lately. Although I don't watch this kind of crap, I wanted to say a couple of things about all this. So here goes...

(As a sidenote: I'm a musician myself, so I guess my point of view might be of interest for those who aren't)

First thing: I believe this "contest" is ridiculous. Most contestants are people you have never heard of before... not only outside the given countries, but also inside the countries they're competing for. So how the hell can anyone pretend these guys/girls/mutants represent the best a country has to offer musicaly speaking?! They're just sending trained monkeys on a stage to perform some cheap tricks in front of millions of people who - like with politics - only have the choice between bullshit and even more bullshit. Most songs are created to fit the taste of a given audience... some tracks even are only simple interpretations of existing tracks... Where's the point of a song competition if the main thing aka the music is completly left behind?!
They could as well call it a performance contest or singing contest... but NOT a song contest.

And this takes us to this years winners. Those halloween caracters from Finland. The feeling I got was simple: people didn't vote for the music (cause the track itself is all too plain and stinky, totaly unoriginal... nothing special indeed). They've voted for the show... for superficial things which aren't part of music at all... Unless you have a look at what's going on in the music business nowadays. Because that's exactly it! That's what is sold as "music" all around to people: faces and a show. Not the music itself. It's sad... really sad.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not bothered about "who" won. Really... if it would've been anyone else, my opinion wouldn't have changed a bit. What really itches me is this "song contest" thing... it has not much to do with a music competition. Just ask a couple of real musicians who've taken parts to so-called "compos" (underground music competitions) and they'll tell you what it really takes to compete musicaly with other musicians... in one damned word: originality. Not pleasing anyone or shocking anyone or anything alike.. just plain talent and originality.