Myself kirjoitti: Huilumies kirjoitti: I am also among those who blame Azerbaijan for never having music of their own. One year of five or ten using a foreign composer, this can apply to any country. But Azerbaijan always does it. If not Swede, then a Greek. What next? Why never an Azeri composer with music with more Azeri/Caucasian taste?
First, I admit that I exaggerated. Yes, in 2008 everything in AZE’s song was Azeri. (Though, a very weird song, I bet it was not exactly Azeri mainstream pop!
) Also in 2009, Arash (whom I count as Azeri even if born in Sweden) made the song, with the help of Swedes and Greeks. But ok. “Always” is btw still my favourite ESC song from AZE, you are right, it has a taste of what I suppose to be an Azeri sound. And Aysel is sooo beautiful, I would have voted her right Miss Eurovision 2009
I think she should have had a bigger role on stage in Moscow, the video was far better.
Myself kirjoitti: Huilumies kirjoitti: I asked this question in the Azeri press conference 2012, and I will keep asking it again. (I could have been nasty and added in my question “while other Caucasian countries like Armenia do bring more music of their own”… but I did not want to be thrown out from the Press Centre
) One could think being “patriotic” as you Azeris are, would mean to rely on your own products (like Serbia… never even in English!
), rather than trying for any price to be a “cosmopolitan centre” of pop music, attracting foreign composers.
What was the answer of your question?
I have written it down, should look for it, but as I remember now, something like this: “Azerbaijan wants to have the best quality for its ESC song, therefore we have cooperation with Swedish composers… And our performance has Azeri elements too, (they gave some details about the stage performance, maybe some instruments and some choreography).” So I did not really get any answer, nor a promise to have more Azeri flavor some year. National instruments or choreography is not enough for me, if the whole song could come from anywhere in the world.
In a Swedish newspaper, I read more about AZE’s attitude to ESC, about the will to be somewhat a cosmopolitan centre for good pop music… I will get it and refer it later.
Myself kirjoitti: Honestly, for me it is not a big deal to use your or some other countries composers. I like the music and if its hit that came out of Eurovision who cares about the country and author? It is not a folk music festival. It is century of Globalization, where every country try to make something similar in order to everybody like it.
“Myself”, I see your attitude is a million miles away from mine. Let me tell you my history.
I was born in a bilingual family, Finnish and Swedish spoken. A part of my childhood I spent in a French-speaking country, where I also learnt German at school. No English so far. There, I watched my first Eurovision, and it was so nice to have different countries competing with music on stage!
At that time, I understood only those 4 languages and had a clue on their relative languages as well (such as Norwegian, Danish and Dutch). But non-understanding of some languages did not disturb me at all!
Later on, I more and more loved the possibility to have every year music form different corners of Europe in their own languages. At that time, there was no
http://www.diggiloo.net to check the lyrics, so I had to sing e.g. Turkish songs just how I heard them, it was so fun!
I treated English (which I then had at school) equal with other languages, for example Ireland was my winner in 1988. But what I hated, was when some countries put foreign sentences in their songs, this spoiled the song in most cases.
In the mid-1990’s, I was so happy to welcome so much new countries to Eurovision. Also in my life, I had those years a big boom towards Eastern Central Europe: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary… only Czechs were missing from Eurovision. I loved to hear their languages too!
I was VERY disappointed when I heard in 1999 the language rule would be spoiled. Immediately, this lead to more than half of the songs being in English
More than half of the fun in Eurovision was spoiled. And some countries have since then never ever tried with their own language! Speaking about Sweden (3-time winner in Swedish!), Denmark, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan… Own languages have been used by Romania only ½ song, by Netherlands, Norway, Iceland only once…
Come on, you do not need to understand the lyrics when you hear the song! Many people do not even care about lyrics, even if they could understand them. You can always read the lyrics in Diggiloo, they have translation in English. And Finnish TV is in the lucky situation to have subtitles, which tell us the story during the song. It is useful even when the song is in English, don’t think the articulation is so clear on stage!
For me, Eurovision needs to be somewhat a folk song, folk pop song or ethno pop festival. It shall NOT be fully cosmopolitized/globalized! You must hear from where about the song comes! At least most songs, you should. When I meet non-Eurovision-fans, one of the most common reactions is: “I don’t like when everybody sings in English!” More and more people would like to have national flavours in ESC songs, not only me!
Myself kirjoitti: The same goes to Finland in ESC. Ding Dong was purely Americanized song. Shall I care that this Americanized song was not made by American but Finnish? I liked it and it was in common language and understood by everyone.
If Finland would every year send an “americanized song” like “Marry me”, I would also complain. But it does not. The last 6 years, we have had 3 (!) songs in some of our national languages: 2008, 2010 and 2012. Among those, especially “Työlki ellää” from 2010 was very Finnish also by music style. AZE should send this Tunzalә Agayeva or somebody similar for a couple of years and I stop complaining
Myself kirjoitti: every country try to make something similar in order to everybody like it
Yes, but this does not mean every tv viewer wants only similar things which he/she has heard before or which could come from anywhere. Do not underestimate the demand for national flavor in music! People do not want a dull pop contest, they want interesting music from different corners of Europe!
Myself kirjoitti: Yet, I would like to have some fusion ethnic-pop Azeri music style in Eurovision. So keep asking them the question
I will
Myself kirjoitti: Serbia or even Russia can have songs in their own language. Because Serbian language is well understood in whole Balkans (except Greece) and Russian in whole East Europe. But Azeri language is understood only in Azerbaijan and maybe in Turkey. I prefer both Azeries and Serbians have song in English. Even thought I understand both languages, but I get bored If Balkans sings in their own language in ESC. I prefer English.
No, no, no! The more English, the more dull and spoiled. I refer to Sziget’s examples about Estonia’s good placings. They can come also without English. Countries should try more, and more examples would occur.