eurovision

If you're a North American like me, the only time you've probably heard of "Eurovision" is in a historical retrospective piece about how Abba were discovered in the 1970s. However, having watched the semifinals a couple of days ago and gearing up for the finals tonight, I did a little research: the Eurovision Song Contest has a long history and has brought many stars to light over the decades.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not thrilled by England's entry, Scooch. To my ears, they're just Aqua-esque bubblegum, without the double entendres. (Ok, I admit it, I used to like Aqua, so here's a much better song). However, you shouldn't judge by opinion, as I generally dislike any music made after about the mid '90s ...

But here, there are some serious exceptions. My personal opinion is that it's because with the fall of the Soviet Union (coincidentally at about the same time as when I stopped bothering with "popular" music) and resulting economic devastation that gutted many of these countries, much of the relatively undiscovered talent is only now appearing. In any case, many of the entries here are really good: don't worry, most of them do sing in English. Estonia's entry for example, Gerli Padar, reminded me of Sheena E from the 1980s, with driving drum beats and coarse chords changes. Yeah, sayin', this is my kind of music: so, naturally, they didn't make it when the voting started. (As an aside, digging a little deeper, you might think that the people of Estonia made a mistake in their own voting, let alone those who voted in the Eurovision semifinals.)

Many other ex-Soviet Bloc countries did make it, however, such as Russia's Серебро (Serebro) who I think are really good despite being an obviously manufactured band, and I look forward to seeing them tonight (not to mention, three really hot chicks dressed all in black, how can you go wrong!). I'm also already a fan of several other eastern bloc groups, such as Natalia Barbu (Maldova) who has an excellent vocal range and who actually plays the violin in the intro, Magdi Rúzsa (Hungary) who has an amazingly powerful voice (again, this is my kind of music, which means they won't win), Sopho from Georgia who seem really unusual at first but have an addictive mix of sounds that grows on you quickly, two drummers from Bulgaria who gave an awesome opening act at the semifinals with their song Вода (Water), and the Czech Republic's toned-down metal entry Kabát, who seem to be part Sepultura and part Rammstein (always a big plus for me), with their song Malá Dáma.

There's probably some truth in the thought that western talent gets recognized relatively early, and so western Europe seems to be a bit underrepresented, talent-wise. There are some excellent entries here too though, such as a Meatloaf-like guy from Iceland called Eirikur Hauksson, Edsilia Rombley (the Netherlands), who sounds like she's come straight from BBC Radio 1 (or alternatively, Hot 103.1 in Toronto), and the somewhat overly ethnic Dervish (Ireland) who have also noticed the many excellent ex-Soviet entries. If you're into this kind of stuff, it might also be worth listening to DJ Bobo (Switzerland) despite a fairly high cheese factor, and an electronica band from Cyprus, Evridiki (and here was me not realising that people from Cyprus sing in French) and a Latin beat from Norway, Guri Schanke.

Tonight should be interesting. Go Серебро!

Rock on,
Matt

PS. Wondering what I've been drinking? What else, this is rock music: Bass. ;)

alcohol culture

There's a documentary on BBC Three at the moment about the rise on binge drinking in Britain over the last few years. This week's episode is about young women drinking to excess, and how this causes testosterone levels to rise (the opposite of men) which makes them more aggressive. This increased aggression causes many problems for police on the streets of England and Wales. Women are, on average, out-drinking men of the same age as of 2006: this is called "ladette culture". There is a lot of binge drinking all around while on holiday in tourist resorts in Spain and the Mediterranean for example, creating a bad international impression about the English people and culture.

Now of course there's nothing wrong with a good pint now and then, but my clubbing days are over. I used to drink a lot when I was younger and now that I'm older I go for quality rather than quantity, generally speaking. But there are many people out there who haven't learned this lesson yet. People in the cities here don't drive -- there is no need because of the excellent public transportation systems -- so the need to drive home afterwards doesn't moderate intake. Drinking in public is perfectly legal here, so you see many people drinking on the streets: I saw someone crack open a can of lager on the bus today, but he was a Dad out with his kid on a Sunday afternoon, not an enraged youth bent on drinking themselves into an alcoholic stupor.

I'm not sure what the answer to this binge-drinking culture is, short of increased police (who have enough to deal with lately) presence, but what causes it? There's certainly plenty to do in London, so it's not a lack of options, as is often the case in Nova Scotia. It's an interesting cultural phenomenon. I'm curious to see if it has to do with the general sense of ennui created by rising tensions in the world, and the associated underlying fear of terrorism. Education, awareness campaigns and social programs might help, but blaming the Blair government probably isn't the answer either. I'm tempted to go and see for myself what it's like in the club zones, there are several nearby, but it does seem a bit dangerous for the sake of intellectual curiosity.

In the meantime, let's try to keep it civilized people ... Cheers! Salud! Slante! À votre santé! За здоровье!

The new voice of football

England is a very progressive country in terms of feminism, no doubt. In fact, I would argue that, on the whole, the English are further ahead in this regard than Canada, at least from what I've observed as a noveau Britton over the past couple of months. For example, both of our countries have had female Prime Ministers, but can one really compare Kim Campbell with Margaret Thatcher (she who needs no web link)? Many women that you meet on the streets of London have a more confident air than in Canada, I can't put my finger on exactly why that is but it seems to simply be a prevalent, strong confidence that makes most Canadian women seem positively demure by comparison: the opposite seems to be true of men, I am seen as "gregarious," have "confident body language" and "carry myself well." One must take the bad with the good of course: England's most prominent and infamous criminal mastermind of recent decades had been Shirley Porter, who embezzled millions while leading the Westminster Council in London in the 1980's.

So it may seem surprising that one of the current ongoing debates in England at the moment is whether Jacqui Oately should be allowed to be the commentator on BBC's Match of the Day (which is to English football what Hockey Night in Canada is to hockey). People are up in arms: a woman? Commenting on football? Outrageous! An interviewee on BBC's Breakfast the other day said that he didn't want "some woman shrieking at him" during the exciting bits.

To many Canadians, this may seem just a bit patently ridiculous, I mean what does it matter whether a man or a woman is reporting the commentary during the football matches: so long as they know football, as Jacqui evidently does, isn't that the important thing? We can laugh at this typically British attitude, and say how backward the cause of English feminism must be to even have such a debate in the first place and who cares about football (soccer) anyway. However, keep in mind that football is to England as hockey is to Canada, to understand it is to understand the country itself. Can you ever imagine replacing Ron MacLean with a woman, no matter how much she may know about hockey? Why not? Isn't that more or less what progressive, modern feminism is all about: total equivalence in every respect?

And with that, I'm off to do some shopping at a nearby farmers' market (see entry below) and then have a pint or two in the nearest pub, before an afternoon of football and -- wait for it -- filling out tax forms online (yay, it's April). Watch for pictures of the London Marathon sometime tomorrow.

Peace,
Matt

Facebook

I'm conforming to the trends of the masses by registering on Facebook, if anyone's interested in that kind of thing. There's not much there yet, but hey, there's not a hell of a lot here either and you're reading this!! :)

Cheers!

Chelsea farmers' market

The last couple of Saturday mornings, I've been going to a farmers' market in Chelsea near Sloane Square. It's a relaxed atmosphere which sells organic meats, vegetables, fruit juice and cheeses straight from the farms and dairies of rural Britain, plus bakers selling all manner of breads, meat pies -- venison, pheasant, or game -- and gourmet mini quiches. My mother, my cousin Juliet and her mother have all enjoyed this particular farmers' market, and I think it may become a regular Saturday morning staple for me as well. The Halifax farmers' market is raucous and crowded by comparison, this is a much more civilized and relaxed atmosphere in which to roam about randomly, sample wares, and perhaps recover from the previous nights' indulgences. Speaking of which, long story ... :)

À la prochaine!

The bus

The train system across the UK is an amazing thing. The tube in London, or the "subway" for us North Americans, is an extremely convenient thing. However, day in and day out, the squealing wheels and brake dust can get a bit grating.

For the last few days, therefore, I have been taking the tube in the morning when it's full of commuters, but taking the bus in the evening when things are a bit more quiet: this way the bus doesn't take long at all to get from Liverpool St to Charing Cross, about 15 minutes usually. In rush hour it would probably be double that, but we've been a bit busy at work lately, so it's been more like 9:30 or 10:30. It's a bit more relaxing, plus this has given me the ability to take pictures like this one, from the front seat of the upper deck of a double-decker bus.

Peace!

TV licensing

I have made a donation to the BBC on the order of 130 gbp, or about C$300.

They have a TV licensing thing here, whereby you have to have a license to own a TV, and renew it annually. Yes, really, it's not just some sort of dubious scam to filch pounds from the pockets of hardworking London taxpayers. It goes towards funding the BBC, to bring us quality programming such as The 10 o'clock News, Six Nations Rugby, Top Gear and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

They have "detector vans" that search for people who haven't paid their license, using rotating antennae. I knew about this, but I had assumed that the landlords had paid the license already, since the TV came with the flat. When I got back this afternoon, there was a letter in the post saying they hadn't, and detailing the subsequent court proceedings and substantial fine if I don't pay it quite promptly thank you very much. However, I'm perfectly happy paying the fee, so long as I can take the license with me when I leave at the end of June: I rang them up and paid it, and they say all I have to do is ring them up three weeks prior, and they'll refund the balance.

Anyway I find the whole thing quite amusing I must say, although I find a lot of things amusing lately. :)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

A new blog

I'm visiting central London at the moment in a vain attempt to remain employed. If things go well, I should be here until the end of June, minus a couple of trips back to Canada for the odd weekend here and there. If things go badly, I'll be back shortly ...

London is an interesting place. It really is the centre of the known universe: everything and everyone can be found here. It is truly fascinating just to wander about randomly in this city, especially from a born-and-bred small town Nova Scotian such as myself. I have a pay-and-go mobile phone with a camera, so that I can take pictures of things that catch my eye: many of these pictures may be found here.

I am living in Villiers Street near the Victoria Embankment, home of both Charles Dickens and Ben Franklin, about 2 minutes walk from Trafalgar Square and 5 minutes walk from Big Ben. A couple of really good jazz musicians frequent the street to gather change from passing tube passengers, and as I write this someone is belting out an Italian opera (I'd only be guessing as to which one).

I'm notoriously bad at remembering to keep my blog updated, but I will give it a shot this time as much as I can.

Cheers!