Draxblog III

Hang On, Halid!

Media in the region report that Halid Bešlić, popular Bosnian folk singer, was gravely injured in car accident in Sarajevo this morning. His condition in unclear - some claim that his injuries aren't life-threatening, while other media cite local doctors who say "that they can't speculate about that". In any case, what is known is that he suffered terrible facial injuries, and that the surgeons are fighting to save one of his eyes. Some speculate (including the Nacional article in the link), that it is yet unknown whether he could sing ever again, because his tongue was also gravely injured.

All I can say is to repeat the phrase I encountered on some Croatian forums - "Halide, drži se", or "Halid, hang on". This part of the world had its share of musician-related tragedies lately.

Southern Comfort

Severina Vučković (Severina Vuckovic), despite cacophony of sycophantic prediction by nearly every member of Croatian media establishment, failed to make much of an impact at Eurovision Song Contest. Despite all the hagiographic publicity and despite the attempts to put most positive "spin" on the famous film depicting her "boating accident", Eurovision voters were left unimpressed.

Even the former Yugoslav voters – who were supposed to be her ticket to the top - preferred Bosnian representative Hari Mata Hari and his song "Lejla".

In the end, Severina even failed to provide Croatia with finals at next year's Eurosong.

Croatians, on the other hand, didn't have to be in state of national mourning for too long. Only 24 hours later results of referendum in Montenegro gave Croatian media ample material for triumphalistic headlines like "Serbia Finally Humiliated" and "Serbia Loses Sea". This is only a first glimpse of months, if not years of Schadenfreude that would dominate Croatian media, especially if something in Croatia itself turns not as good as it was cracked up to be.

My 2006 Eurovision Song Contest Favourites

While I wait for the results of 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, I can't resist the temptation to rate the best talents (and "talents").

12 points – Lithuania

10 points – Bosnia-Herzegovina

8 points – Germany

7 points – Denmark

6 points – Norway

5 points – Finland

4 points – Ukraine

3 points – Turkey

2 points – Moldova

1 point – Macedonia

And I still can't fathom the semi-final exit of Silvia Night.

Sad Loss

In past years I rarely encountered situations in which my views correspond with those in Guardian articles. This is one of them.

Two days after Silvia Night's semi-final exit, it appears that "Eurovision Song Contest" is really not mature or honest enough to face the truth about itself.

Occupational Hazards

You try to be cold, objective and you try to keep distance. But sometimes, regardless of how hard you try not to be affected by your work, you allow the abyss to look back at you and suck you in.

At least this is the way some people will interpret some of the consequences of my coverage of this year's Eurovision Song Contest or, to be more precise, the discovery of Silvia Night as my new hero.

Jacko Walks

So, he was pronounced not guilty on all charges. I was apparently wrong, not taking into account recent history of celebrity justice in Califronia. This case, like the cases of O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake before it, shows that is all but impossible to convict an entertainment industry icon in USA.

Eurovision Song 2005 Liveblogging… Sort of

I'm considering whether to liveblog Eurovision Song Contest or not.

So far, I picked Hungary as my favourite.

The most interesting answer to be provided by this Eurovision Song Contest is whether the deteriorating relations between Serbia and Croatia, caused by certain WW2 anniversaries, are going to affect the voting patterns. If they do, Bosnian "Femminem" is going to profit from that.

 

UPDATE:

Apparently, nothing dramatic happened. 12 Croatian points for Serbia-Montenegro seems as certain as 12 Greek points for Cyprus and vice versa.

And I don't mind Greece winning, although Hungary was my favourite.

MTV Adria in Split

MTV Adria – newest incarnation of the world’s best known music channel  which is going to be launched on former Yugoslav airwaves – is searching for its first batch of VJs. Auditions were held in Split, Croatia. All applicants must have between 18 and 26 years of age, speak Croatian and English fluently, and “use some Slovenian”. Some of the images of people who are supposed to rescue modern urban culture in this part of the world could be found here.

Two Horses in the Race

Unlike many other European nations, Croatia is enjoying enviable head start in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It is likelier that a Croatian representative will win this than anyone else.

This is for a very simple reason. Croatia is going to have two representatives in the contest. The first one is Boris Novković (Boris Novkovic), winner of Dora contest held in Zagreb few days ago. He won with his song Vukovi umiru sami (“Wolves Die Alone” in English). I still have to listen to this song but those did say that it is very much like Lane moje, Serbian song that won 2nd place on last year’s contest.

The other representative is Feminnem, Croatian female pop trio formed by three of Hrvatski idol finalists. They will represent Bosnia-Herzegovina after winning that nation’s Eurovision competition. Two of their members were born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, thus making them eligible.

Neighbourhood Music

The first major scoop of 24 sata was the story related to Dora, HRT song competition whose winner also becomes Croatian finalist for Eurovision Song Contest. The newspaper alleged that the contest was fixed. Needless to say, this was one extra reason to watch tonight’s Dora final.

However, I still treasure my mental health too much and every now and then I had to switch channels. On Nova TV I noticed Hrvatski idol – horse which has been dead for months – being beaten again.

More interesting was Serbian BK TV where I discovered Idol franchise spreading to Croatian eastern neighbour. I noticed that the show was title simply as Idol, without any national identification. At the end I realised why – competitors came not only from Serbia-Montenegro, but also from Macedonia. I think this might serve as a survival recipe both for Eurovision Song Contest and Idol franchises in former Yugoslavia. Just like basketball, pop music simply can’t maintain high quality on the miniature markets of former Yugoslav republics. All pop music performers and aspiring stars needs broader audience and those kinds of shows – elevated to supra-national level – might do the trick.

In the meantime, pop music fans of former Yugoslavia are soon going to encounter new ambitious project that treats former federation as one big market. MTV is going to start new channel called MTV Adria, which is going to cover areas of former Yugoslavia. MTV Adria is currently searching for their first VJs.

Many rock critics and cultural commentators see MTV Adria as the last chance for rock and urban culture in former Yugoslavia to turn the tide in their losing battle with “turbo folk”.