Sunday, May 22, 2011

Mainstream





Pop seldom comes on top of my list when picking my choice of sounds. Prejudice stems from this notion that most Pop songs are either too cheesy, its lyrics too shallow or the vocalist, too over the top. Personal preference also dictates that I should avoid the mainstream. For this reason, seldom will you hear me listen to Britney Spears or refuse any beats from Nicki Minaj, not because I look down on their music but because everyone includes them in their playlist.

But there are exception to the rules. Like when an artist - such as Madonna transcends her music style from Ballad to Electronica or Pink, whose lyrics scrape the barrel of human emotions. Or when Katy Perry uses her wispy voice to evoke an ambient state of mind. There are also days when I come across tunes that are familiarly infectious but they never reach the local airwaves. Such is when a fellow blogger (Cigarette Butts and Senseless Tangenialities) share some picks from the recently concluded Eurovision Song Contest held in Düsseldorf, Germany.    

The Eurovision Contest is like the American Idol of the United States, except that nations actually compete to pick the champion. Countries in Europe take this event very seriously and its live telecast garners millions of votes across the continent.  This year's winner came from Azerbaijan, a country who just sent its first representative very recently.  The song "Running Scared" by Eldar and Nigar caught the hearts of judges, as well as viewers that the duo was catapulted at the top spot by the end of the final voting.

I would leave the interpretation of the song with you.  Also pay close attention to the stage, including the layout of the whole stadium. More than the "oh, ohs," and the LSS-inducing chorus, the overall presentation leaves the viewers spellbound.









28 comments:

claudiopoi said...

ang galing! habang pachaka ng pachaka ang american idol, ay paangat ng paangat naman ang mga bagong singing competitions, katulad ng 'the voice' at ito.

ang ganda lang. :D

Mugen said...

Claudiopoi:

What' sooooo good about this contest eh original yung composition ng mga contestants! I owe Ron the blogger for introducing me to Eurovision.

Eurovision pala is 50 years old na halos.

Kapitan Potpot said...

Ang galing pala talaga nila! Though jologs as I am, I cheered for Blue. Lol.

I've read somewhere that the two had some humble beginnings. Besides, it's nice to see na hindi lang ung bigger EU countries ang nanalo dito. :)

Mugen said...

Louie:

Mas well-researched ka sa akin ah! Hindi ko alam yung background nila. Ikaw jologs? Cmon! Hehehe.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

Hi Mugen! Thanks Thanks. I told you nakaka LSS noh? haysss... cuticle remover pa si kuya. lolx.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

btw, ABBA is one product of Eurovision. Trivia.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

at ang best ng stage db?! magsorry!

Mugen said...

Ron:

At dahil ikaw rin ang may pakana nito, yup ni-research ko na product nga si ABBA at Celine Dion. At ito na ang bago kong LSS. Tapos na yung World Spins Madly On. Hehehe. At ang stage, wala akong masabi! Yun rin una kong napansin.

Nga pala, bakit nagsara ka ng blog? Iintroduce pa naman kita sa mga bloggers dito.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

Nope. di ako nagsara. iniba ko lang link. edit mo na plang puhleasseee....

www.ronronturon.blogspot.com

yung date kase obvious masyado ang identity ko. haha. artista?

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

Ui thanks pala sa pag introduce. andami ko pang di alam d2 sa blogger. haha. bago lang kase. tanga tangahan pa. lolx. Thanks ah! salamat sa pag introduce friend!

nga pala, pano mo malalaman pag may nag reply sa comment mo? lolx. yak, ang tanga ko.

Mugen said...

Ron:

Thanks rin for introducing the song dude, and for dropping by as well. Hmm.. Paano ba, di ko alam eh. Kailangan mo talaga mag check ng blogs na nireplayan mo.

I hope the other bloggers from my links would follow you. Sama ka na rin sa pag-tweet. Masaya dun!

Mugen said...

Just protecting your identity. Followed.

Lyka Bergen said...

We used to have our own Asian version of the Eurovison, ryt? And its, most of the time, won by the Philippines. What happened to that one?

Asia is more Ballad, dont you think? Not the genre you and I listen to. :) But when Asians go Pop... things go cheesy. That, to a greater extent (Korean Pop?) Nobody nobody!

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

salamat Mugen!

zeke said...

naging Ron help na rin haha. Sa e-mail mo, may mababasa ka na replies sa comments mo, kung naka-allow siya.

at napansin ko lang din ang contest na itey dahil cutie pie si koyang winnur. haha.

kaloka, parang di ako to.

nga pala Mugen, nakikinig ka ba ng Screamo? wala lang. haha. Medyo masarap makinig nun pag galit ka sa mundo. pero siyempre lahat naman ata ng tao nagsimulang mahilig sa popular music, then saka lang nila marereliaze na minsan baduy or what, tapos makakarinig sila ng something cool sa ibang genre which will make them patronize that line.

Mugen said...

Greenbreaker:

Matapos kong mabasa na nagtikol ka habang iniisip yung ex gf mo, tapos biglang gamit ng gaytalk... WTF! Lolz.

Screamo? Hindi eh. Nung kasing edad mo ako, hindi uso screamo nun. Hehehe. Alternative kami pare, Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Smashing Pumpkins, Dishwalla, Vertical Horizon. Hehehe.

Miss Lyka:

We're more into Ballads. Pero alam mo naman ang mga katulad natin, once a song becomes mainstream, nabobore na tayo. I think our pop songs are equivalent to the novelties a few years ago.

Ron:

Walang problema. Kaya pala familiar ka sa Eurovision eh nakatira ka sa isang nordic country. Hehehe.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

onga. Kainis, d nakasama sa finals ung representative namen. hehe.

Mugen said...

Ron:

Trip ko yung representative ng Norway nung 2008 si Alexander Rybak. Mas cute yun kesa kay Ell! Hehehe.

Spiral Prince said...

Okay, I love everything about it. Ang surreal talaga.

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

mugen, d ko pa napapanood. i check ko nga yan. hehe.

Yuan said...

was Asia supposed to have something like Eurovision too?

Anyway, its because of sir Mugen kaya kahit papano lumalawak ang aking music library. puro kasi mainstream eh.

^^

Unknown said...

I got introduced to Eurovision when a friend told me about Israeli transgender singer Dana International, who won for her song "Viva La Diva" in 1998. Since then, I discovered her very campy song "Cinque Milla" (watch the video on youtube! :D)

t.A.T.u. also joined Eurovision in 2003 with "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia", which won 3rd place.

Yj said...

kapag nagkaroon tayo ng AsiaVision ang unang ipapadala ng Pinas ay si Aleck Bovic para kantahin ang kanyang

Gusto Ko ng Nota

ewan ko lang kung hindi siya magwagi :))

pero seryoso, madaming magagaling at cute sa eurovision kuya lalo na nang mga nagdaang taon... :))

orally said...

Abba is a product of Eurovision if I'm not mistaken

Desperate Houseboy said...

napanuod ko yung Eurovision this year. hindi man ito yung stand out pero one of the best. :)

Thanks pala sa comment. Malaking bagay yun papa Mugs.

Mugen said...

DHouseboy:

Walang anuman! :) Malaking bagay na sobrang simple ang performance nung duo. I think that's one of the reason they were picked. Heheh.

Orally:

Tumpak! Hehehe Miss ko na ang mga blog entries mo.

YJ:

Masculados na lang padala natin, o kaya si Lito Camo. Mananalo talaga tayo!

Mugen said...

Ron:

Napanuod mo na?


Datu:

Mistress, yup product nga sila. Si Dana International rin na sumali this year pero hindi nanalo. Heheh.

Yuan:

Haha andami ko pa gusto isulat under music. Tinatamad lang ako.

Thanks thanks!

RoNRoNTuRoN said...

yep. cute cya pero parang dinrowing lang muka nya. theres something wrong. haha. :D nice cya.