Well, in a FIRST for OnEurope, Monty’s seminal piece about Polish Turd Polishing hasn’t gone down well in some quarters.
As we are a balanced, if slightly unhinged, website – we had a request for right of reply….. from a real person – to counterbalance Monty…
Step forward John Abrams…
Clear you throat and speak…
“After reading the article about Poland `You can’t Polish a turd` from the erudite Monty Moncrief I felt I had to respond. I simply disagree.
National finals are very important for Eurovision fans. Firstly, they desire each country to enter a competitive song to create a strong contest. Secondly, fans start `rooting` for songs when they hear a great one. Instincts and hopes rally round the song and its artist. Long gone are the days when they were neither seen nor heard like naughty children.
Personally, I didn’t think Margaret’s performance was THAT bad and to say `fans hadn’t done their homework` is, might I add, a bit rude. I suppose if you don’t look into the demographic profile of the broadcaster (apparently average age demographic at the higher end of the age scale) and that there was only one vote counted per device then perhaps they hadn’t done that homework. They may have been at fault for not swotting up – they certainly weren’t at fault at not getting behind the song.
Furthermore, with such a selection it’s important to look to the future. Is it better to have a great song that is sung averagely or an average song that is sung well. What can be changed? A finished article that is mediocre or an unfinished one that has prospects?
The problem we’re grappling with is the attitude of certain broadcasters listlessly plodding along without strategy. Lacking a sense of determination from the broadcaster fans are cast adrift focussing on the here and now – thinking of the national final as a court of law dryly weighing up evidence. `Is there any corroborating evidence, m’lud`. Yawn.
Too many of these finals seem to be about making a great big soup: `just stick it all in` without regard to recipe nor refinement with benefit of past experience. If they felt Margaret’s singing wasn’t up to scratch then they should have sacrificed the song or the artist. It’s about taking control and giving a damn.
The contest isn’t akin to sending someone to jail – the national finals shouldn’t just be about what you see and hear in front of you – it’s also about the future and its possibilities. Young people who took to Margaret saw the potential of both her and the song. If the performance doesn’t change at the competition at least there was a great song! Onwards and upwards! I can’t see any groundbreaking change for the Poles with Michal.
The petition wasn’t just about Margaret. It was also a call to arms for the Poles to step up to the plate and take the contest seriously. It was a cry to the future. TVP should embrace this spirit and make amends for 2017. Or am I crediting them with more imagination than they deserve?”