I watched Eurovision last night and a thought hit me like a brick: I am too old for this.
Now, coming from someone who actually grew up with Eurovision (as mention here already, my very first LP was compilation of all the winners 1956-1981) and was genuinely enjoying re-watching old Eurovisions on youtube, it did not came as a surprise that technical wizardry eclipses music itself. From year to year, show was getting more spectacular and inevitably it attracted artists who counted on some gimmick to stay relevant or to stand out in the crowd. Even last year, I noticed that Eurovision now favours live performances that have dazzlement of most creative video clips. gone are the days when singer would come and sing to a microphone, the focus is now on projected images that create illusion of waves, volcanoes, asteroids and whatnot all around the performer (including the floor) and in all this spectacle, somehow the music itself is pushed in the background.
What I am experiencing now have been experienced by countless generations before me but this is the first time I am feeling it so openly and can't avoid it: I am now a part of the older generation and this new world makes less and less sense to me. In order to put my thoughts in order, I will try to list them here:
1. There is a whole new world of new young people out there, with their code of speech, communication, moral values, fashions and perspective that personally I find childish and immature. This is because it has almost no connection with my generation and I see that I am turning into grumpy old man - the same very probably happened to those who came before me.
2.I gave it the best shot but I don't see any appeal to this music. Yes, the whole concept of Eurovision covering thirty-seven completely different countries means it will inevitably bring variety but since the focus was on the spectacle, most of this won't work without visuals. At certain points while watching another girl wriggling on the floor and waving her long, ironed hair (its alarming how many of them look exactly the same) I couldn't help but think "how would this music work on the radio?". Huge majority of it sounded derivative to my ears, there was hardly anything original here. Even the stuff I liked (Sweden) was ok simply because it sounded familiar.
3. For the first time ever, I noticed that artists were performing for the TV cameras and not for the audience. In fact, some of them toyed with I-phone kind of camera, like they are posting it all live on Tik Tok. This made all this audience in Malmö a bit more like a background and I seriously expect in the future the live audience might be eventually completely eliminated and replaced with some virtual avatars.
4. Even though Eurovision was always a LGBT magnet, this was the first time that I questioned how appropriate this is for the family entertainment. Performances by United Kingdom and Ireland for example, are not something I would like to watch together with toddlers (or even grandparents), they combined shock value with extreme quasi-pornographic choreography and I found it distasteful, misplaced and misguided. For some time now, Eurovision artists were trying to appear weird (creative?) but this year was THE year of weirdos.
5. All the girls looked the same and most of the guys were either flamboyant or comedic. Scratch under the surface and suddenly the list of quasi-witchcraft and circus clowns becomes tiresome. One could almost BET that the next female performer will wriggle on the floor, etc
6. One performance that I almost enjoyed was France because at least it had some resemblance to the melody and the singer actually had a beautiful, powerful voice. The fact that Netherlands was disqualified and sent packing home seems quite bizarre, more like Eurovision showing off what can they do, to me this was more like future warning to other contestants. Seems that Croatia had a huge support, both at home and in Malmö, but nothing about this seemed particularly original to me, if I heard this on the radio, I would assume it was some Bon Jovi tribute band. Still, why would (relatively) manly Croatia win if there is a effeminate guy dressed in a pink dress, so award went to Switzerland - I watched is performance with amazement because it was acrobatic in every sense, but did I remember the melody? No
p.s
I am actually glad that Abba declined to perform. The chance is perhaps missed but this gives them integrity.
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