Blogger and friend Andrew Ian Dodge, at one of his many venues, Tech Central Station, offers this poser on the recent, ahem, bracing winners of the Eurovision song contest:
Does Lordi’s win reflect the rot in Europe, a final admission of rock’s power on the continent? Or is it merely an unintentional blip that Eurovision’s chiefs will seek to keep from ever recurring? Will heavy-metal find its way into Finland’s EU presidency? Is it just a silly music contest won by a bunch of rubber clad nut-cases? Oh no dear reader. It is far more than that.
Hey, heavy metal music is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, although I often find that the most unusual sorts of people (mostly men, but some women too), will confess to a passion for the odd heavy metal track, played as loud as possible. I have had some of the funniest and most enjoyable nights out at gigs where such nutters play. Most of these people don’t take themselves remotely seriously. The very fact that their music offends “right thinking” people of the crusty left and the crunchy right only adds to the appeal. Rush, the Canadian rock band, were inspired by Ayn Rand. The Iron Maiden front man, Bruce Dickinson, is a qualified and working commercial airline pilot. Heavy rockers often seem to have an equal passion for gadgets and cars. I once visited a Royal Navy warship at London’s Docklands and went into the navigation/weaponry control room, and in the background, ACDC was playing (Very ideologically sound, if you ask me).
Meanwhile, on the subject of music competitions and the usual feelgood sense of life they tend to give out, this comment by Timothy Sandefur on the recently completed American Idol is rather nice:
Moreover, American Idol is a rebuke to those silly “crunchy conservatives” who insist that modern technology and mass production denigrates community, and so forth – in T.S. Eliot’s idiotic words, “The remarkable thing about television is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely.” But that’s not true! The community has all joined in on this wholesome, fun, harmless moment to celebrate opportunity, singing, and lightheartedness. What could be more American than that? Lightheartedness is, I think, a profound and incredibly rare value, and one which our country has figured out how to mass produce. That may be among its greatest accomplishments ever.
I just think it’s a pity that, with so many great metal bands out there, Lordi is hogging all the spotlight. They’re mediocre at best…Even in Finland there are dozens of much, much better metal bads.
Anyways, better then the usual Eurovision crap.
In the Netherlands the theory has been floated that the votes for Lordi reflect an attempt of the hetrosexual male to recapture popular culture. The outrage among the professional entertainers is hilarious.
A quibble: the current breed of metal which is popular in Finland and indeed in the rest Scandinavia is more properly called Power Metal. From Wikipedia:
Anyway, I’m glad that Lordi won; maybe now even more people will discover the joy of bands like Stratovarius and Hammerfall.
What I desperately love about the whole Lordi palava is the fact it managed to annoy both the right-on Euro-weenies/Euro-vision pursits and religious sentivities all in one go.
However it is true to point out that HIM, Nightwish or any number of Finnish acts would be rather better than Lordi. Full point to Lordi for giving it a shot and kicking three shades of dung out of the other dross on offer.
Thanks for the link mate.
Does anyone else agree with Ian Hislop in thinking that Lordi’s keyboard player looks like Margaret Beckett?
What the hell is a “crunchy conservative”?
“What the hell is a “crunchy conservative”? ”
One that’s been lightly battered and deep fried.
Lordi are not the best metal band out there but they were leagues ahead of the usual Eurovision sappy crap.
…and yes, I’m proud to be a metalhead! whats the alternative these days? Rap to rhyme with Crap, like the UK entry?
American Idol sucks. I didn’t want to listen to bland pop music when it was the staple of 1970s variety shows, I don’t wanna listen to it now.
Hey, it’s Eurovision! (or was last week). The only thing that worries me is that every year more and more countries “get it” and put up deliberate novelty acts. It takes away from the true spirit of Eurovision which is abysmal music being taken very seriosuly by the performers.
A malign fate has determined that I should have a family of metal-heads – wife and children both. If you want to hear rock that takes nothing seriously, thrashes guitar riffs, and can make the unprotected listener bleed from the ears, you have to go with punk. Could you imagine Metallica singing something like this?
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Always wondered why I hated Rush’s music.
Now I know. “Inspired by Ayn Rand”… egads. And all this time I thought it was Geddy Lee’s yelping vocals.
A.a.a.and from the ancient history department —
Many years ago, aboard a U.S. warship which I will not name and which no longer exists as such, one of us came off liberty with a copy of Machine Head.
Eventually we disturbed the pilots being briefed next door to the point of having to run headphone wires rather than listening to speakers. Fortunately the compartment was secured, so there was very little random visitation, and the department head was very understanding when he came in and it took some minutes for someone to look up and announce, “Attention on deck!”
Smoke On the Water is a near-ideal accompaniment to landing jet airplanes on the roof, if one has sufficient electrons available to give it force. ACDC in the computerized war room seems quite appropriate.
Regards,
Ric
I understand Motorhead and Steppenwolf are also very popular when heading into battle.
Nice to see someone using this fine site to trash me.
Speaking of AC/DC:
PADOOM PADOOM PADOOM PADOOM
Bob & Tom fans know what I mean!!!! LOL
Am I missing something or does the fact that the UK gave it’s ‘douze point’ to a Finish Black Metal group mean something?
I just thank God that the dreadful Daz Sampson pedo-chant gained ‘null point’ from just about everyone except maybe the Belgians (never trust a country whose main source of pride is having been the Wehrmacht’s DriveThrough Little Chef).
There was concerted campaign online and through metal-mags to make sure Lordi won. Most people in the metal-community have always thought they were a bit of joke…but compared to the rest of that lot especially the UK one…Lordi deserved all of our votes.
I’m a Bob & Tom fan. He says Padoom three times not four