Inlägg 318Yannis Papadopoulos skrev:den 14 augusti 2009 kl. 16:31
AS ABOVE; REPOSTING ALL GREEK ARTICLES ON ALEX I HAVE TRANSLATED. NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, SORRY. DIFFERENT ARTICLES ARE SEPARATED WITH ==============


A Greek article in defence of A. Rybak against Eurovision haters (Summary)

«Alexander Rybak: Welcomed like a hero»

May 20, 2009
Original: http://www.politismospolitis.org/?p=5663


Although I fully endorse the anti-eurovision sentiment expressed by my colleagues, I have some questions to raise:

1. If nobody likes it, who were the viewers who gave it a 89% TV rating?

2. If nobody cares for it, I can't understand how everybody seems to be well aware of the contest's proceedings, even the least shown ones.

3. Why shouldn't we mention the fact that a 23-year old boy is able to do everything, from writing lyrics and composing up to singing? The fact that his victory broke every record isn't worth of mention?

4. And if this contest is so insignificant, why everyone (even the King and the Prime Minister) welcomed him as a hero when he returned to his homeland? As a matter of fact, his arrival coincided with the Constitution day in Norway, and people there were not hesitant to elevate Alexander Rybak to a national symbol.

5. And what about the equally shining welcome the singer from Iceland experianced in Reykjavik?

I fully agree that the Eurovision is not so big deal. But if it's called off, which is the international contest that could replace it?

- Soccer? We already know how "dirty" it has become.
- The Olympics? Totally ashamed by commercilization and dopping scandals.
- A basket tournament? Just the same, due to financial interests.
- Politics are not even worth of mention.

But still, all Eurovision haters would consider the above contests better. Why?

- Are they cheaper?
- Do they help people stop being stuck to their TV sets?
- Do they help them to focus on important issues?
- Or maybe they do promote physical exercise? On a couch...?

What kind of musical event could replace the Eurovision then?

- An international Opera festival?
- An instrumental music festival?
- A folklore festival?

How many of these Eurovision haters would join them, or, at least watch them? I trend to believe our average music is of much lower quality than Alexander Rybak's.

The only reason some people despise this contest is hypocricy: all they try to do is to mislead us about their low musical standards. Our insecurity is already known to many and, sometimes, they take advantage of it.

by Dionysis Vitsos (the author is a well known columnist and owner of a publishing house in Greece)

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A Greek reviewer on "Fairytales" album
Source: http://www.freewebs.com/tranzistoraki/othernews.htm

Who is Alexander Rybak? Bright? Restless? Expressive? His face is a map where all the emotions can be expressed. He is torrential and gifted with a disarming truth and an even deeper musicality! Even all these are not enough to describe this 23-year musician, who won this year's ESC with "Fairytales".

[There are some biographic details at this point in the article, but I am omitting them from my translation because we all know them very well]

What an incredible and fantastic debut! That's how his album is regarded everywhere in Europe [sic]. It spawns a wild, Dionysian celebration, by alternating the Norwegian and Russian tradition with pop elements, imagination and humor in the first tracks, accompanied by his incredible violin solos and his amazing vocals. His innovative melodies remind us of the genius and the originality of Paul McCartney. The deep but musical background of this young Norwegian -not to forget the skills of his parents- are revealed in the last four tracks of the album. In "If You Were Gone", o Alexander cover with mastery and originality a musical theme of Hennig Sommero, while "Abandoned", a great piano ballad, encompasses influences ranging from Edvard Grieg to Elton John. His dramatic intensity and his passion will leave you speechless, due to his vocal capabilities. "13 Horses" is a disarming track, that will make you to whisper: "pure magic". But "Dolphin", a revision of an old Russian melody for violin, will transfer you to the world of... Disney. The last instrumental track, "Song Of A Secret Garden", is the ultimate anthem to the overwhelming beauty of this album. But the listener will hurry to return to "Fairytale", which won the Eurovision. We will never get bored to listen to its ingenious chorus.

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«The victory of the young Norwegian violinist is an artistic upgrade for Eurovision»

Monday 18 May 2009

Once upon a time there was a kitsch festival with disgusting monsters, topless centaurs, amazons, rude chickens and clowns [it's about the 2006 ESC, hosted in Athens]. But then this boy came [Alexander Rybak], played his violin, and drove all these creatures away for the next century. That was an improvement for this contest, which evolved into a Fairytale. [...]

This year's winner is music itself. Alexander Rybak's victory has achieved more than just bringing the ESC to the country of fjords. It marked the end of an era - when exaggerating impression used to defeat genuine and simple music. The high scores of Iceland (ranked 2nd), England (5th), France (8th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (9th) lead to the same conclusion. Alexander Rybak has promoted an artistic upgrade for this contest, usually associated with the pop subculture. The combination of audience and judge voting managed to restore the balance end restrain "ridiculous" entries from winning.

"I won because I had a story to tell". That's what this boy said, leaving everybody seeking "hit recipes" out of arguments. According to his statements, this song combines the melancholy he has inherited from his motherland, Belarus, the joy of Norway and a love story. He has broken all previous records in the history of the contest. [...]

Despite the negative attitude of some Greek journalists, who mandated Greeks not to vote for Norway [since Norway was favorite to win], the viewers acted fairly and awarded 12 points to UK's Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and 10 points to Norway»
http://www.e-tipos.com/newsitem?id=90191

Since the source link has become unavailable due to newspaper's bankruptcy, I'm offering the original text here for the record:

«Η νίκη του νεαρού Νορβηγού βιολιστή σήμανε καλλιτεχνική αναβάθμιση του θεσμού»

Δευτέρα, 18.05.09

Μια φορά κι έναν καιρό ήταν ένα φεστιβάλ του κιτς με αποκρουστικά τέρατα, γυμνόστηθους κενταύρους, αμαζόνες, αυθάδικες κότες και γελωτοποιούς. Μια μέρα ήρθε ένα αγόρι, τους έπαιξε βιολί και τους αποκοίμισε μέχρι τον επόμενο αιώνα. Και έζησε αυτός καλά και ο θεσμός καλύτερα. Το πανηγυράκι έγινε… παραμυθάκι. [...]

Φέτος το πεντάγραμμο εκδικήθηκε. Ο θρίαμβος του Νορβηγού Αλεξάντερ Ρίμπακ πέτυχε περισσότερα από το να φέρει τη Eurovision 2010 στη χώρα των φιόρδ. Σήμανε το τέλος μιας εποχής -όταν το απλό και ωραίο έδινε τη θέση του στο οπτικά εντυπωσιακό- αλλά και την αρχή μιας νέας. Αντίστοιχα και η ανάδειξη σε υψηλές θέσεις τραγουδιών όπως της Ισλανδίας (2η), της Αγγλίας (5η) και της Γαλλίας (8η) και της Βοσνίας (9η) προήγαγε την καλλιτεχνική αναβάθμιση ενός διαγωνισμού που κατά καιρούς δεν απέφυγε να συνδεθεί με την ποπ υπο-κουλτούρα. Ο συνδυασμός κοινού και κριτικών επιτροπών φαίνεται πως κατάφερε να βρει τη χρυσή τομή ανακόπτοντας -αν μη τι άλλο- την πορεία «αστείων» συμμετοχών.

«Κέρδισα γιατί είχα μια ιστορία να πω» είπε το παιδί με το δοξάρι και έτσι απλά αποστόμωσε όσους αναζητούν περίτεχνες «συνταγές» επιτυχίας. Το νικητήριο τραγούδι «Fairytale» συνδύασε -όπως δήλωσε ο ίδιος ο Ρίμπακ- τη μελαγχολία της Λευκορωσίας, χώρας καταγωγής του, με τη χαρά των Νορβηγών και μία ιστορία αγάπης. Με απόσταση σχεδόν 170 βαθμών από τη δεύτερη Ισλανδία, ο 23χρονος έσπασε κάθε ρεκόρ. [...]

Παρά τις «αυστηρές» απαγορεύσεις της Μπέτυς Μαγγίρα αλλά και ουκ ολίγων εκπομπών, που επιχείρησαν να δασκαλέψουν το ελληνικό κοινό να «μαυρίσει» τον Νορβηγό, οι Ελληνες τηλεθεατές και η κριτική επιτροπή ψήφισαν κατά συνείδηση, δίνοντας το 12άρι στον Αντριου Λόιντ Γουέμπερ και την Αγγλία και το 10άρι στη Νορβηγία».

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