Just spent the evening with our neighbours, the Firths from Australia, watching the Eurovision Song Contest. Lots of laughter - especially at some of the translation antics! I wish the BBC or whoever was doing the interactive stuff tonight actually employed someone who understood what they were doing all the time! So often the translation didn't match what someone was singing or completely lost the artistry of the song (presuming there was any in the first place!). I loved the ploy of leaving things in the original language to add a kind of coyness to the song - I want your loca and I want to kiss her boca and...my goodness! And I am sure that the Hebrew of the Israel entry was actually written left to right (well, each word was right to left but the sentence order was wrong!). So many of the songs were so trite! I am afriad the concept of love was dealt another dangerous blow this evening! And what was that Loca song all about! Yes, and the strange song about high heels!
And what is there to say about the Finnish entry! How can you have hard rock demons singing Hallelujah...or calling for the arrival of the Arockolypse!!! Ha! Much mirth. I particularly liked the line about "the prophets of false"! So hilarious! Although it sounds like the Finns are not impressed!
Personally I wanted Lithuania or Romania to win - Lithuania because of the cheek of it - singing a song about being the Winners of the Eurovision! and Romania because I thought it was the best song!
David and Lynne and their kids have just gone home reeling at the depths to which European culture has sunk...o well! Such fun!
Apparently you can buy the DVD!!!
Pete
Hi Pete. Great to know I am not the only NT scholar who likes to watch Eurovision. But it was odd watching it here in the US this year, over a broadband connection transmitted from Norway! No Terry Wogan commentary -- boo! Cf. my comments at http://uktous.blogspot.com/2006/05/eurovision.html .
Posted by: Mark Goodacre | June 09, 2006 at 02:49 AM