Notes from the Armenian Blogosphere
What is it about Armenians? Doesn’t matter if something is worth supporting or not? As long as there’s an Armenian connection it must be pushed even if it isn’t right. One case in point is Silva, a new pop star in Armenia who somehow made it into the selection of songs for the BBC World Service’s The Next Big Thing.
Now, we’re all called upon to support her as if it’s our duty and talent shouldn’t enter into it. We’re called on to vote for her not because the song is any good, but really only because she’s Armenian.
Guys only a few hours left, but go to this site and vote! Silva is on the list of the remaining 20 in the BBC’s competition The Next Best Thing. If you don’t know anything about her, she’s a new artist from Armenia, and currently has a very popular ballad on the charts in Armenia. If you want to support an Armenian artist then DO IT NOW!!!!
Great, you might say, let’s really support Armenian talent, but what if that so-called emerging style is really very mediocre and she can’t really sing in English? What if blindly supporting someone threatens the real emergence of a genuine contemporary music scene in Armenia? And anyway, shouldn’t it really be about whether the song is any good?
On that, Zarchka over at Life Around Me, a very talented and exceptional singer and songwriter in her own right, puts the Armenian entry into perspective.
Well, the girl has a good voice, much better than that of the most Armenian “Pop stars”, but the fact of being nominated itself is rather interesting, because her song is a typical melody that we are used to hear right from the point when the Armenian new pop music came into existence. I know she has had several failures as well as successes during competitions, also that her family members are musicians and that they help her a lot in her career making, also having Aram Avagyan as her producer (not a big deal though), well, let’s see what she will end up with.
So, what is needed to become famous? – An ordinary song and such a video – In any case, wish her success. Hope later she will not be obsessed with rabizmania.
Well, definitely, there are more deserving entries in this competition by a long shot although it has to be said that most are pretty boring. Still, there were some promising entries such as The Skagz from England, the eNeA crew from Uruguay, and Sweet Cherry Fury from Brazil.
Whitwell is about Skagz’s singer getting attacked by yobs in a village near where they live. Dave from Skagz says “Like all Skagz songs, it’s about real life experiences, it’s honest and it’s real.”
eNea crew is made up of two female MCs, Tatiana Farina and Cecilia Ibias (both 18-years-old), from Uruguay. The band produces mainly Hip Hop music.
Whitwell is about Skagz’s singer getting attacked by yobs in a village near where they live. Dave from Skagz says “Like all Skagz songs, it’s about real life experiences, it’s honest and it’s real.”
Meanwhile, we have yet another fashion victim Britney Spears wannabe singing about the same old crap that keeps the minds of youth perpetually dead in a country afflicted by conflict, corruption, environmental destruction and a lack of democracy and respect for human rights. Indeed, I consider voting for someone just because she’s Armenian pretty much similar to falsifying elections — something, of course, which we’ve become experts at of late.
Let talent and the music determine the outcome of competitions such as this, and not some blind pride. Ultimately, when people hear this song it will represent the country to them. Moreover, when an Armenian makes it big based on their worth, we can all feel justly proud and know that it was talent that did it for them and not some orchestrated attempt to artificially alter the outcome of the vote.
On that, I see that Silva so far has 5.4 percent of the vote while the Drainpipes and Pleiades have 20.6 and 15.2 percent respectively. Wouldn’t have voted for any of them, but there’s no accounting for musical taste. However, I hope that it will be music that determines the outcome of the competition and not ethnicity. Bringing this back to Armenia, however, is it any wonder why the music scene here sucks big time?
As with almost every other sphere, the contemporary music scene is as corrupt and stagnant as most other areas of life in the Republic. Add to that nepotism and an obligation to serve the ruling regime at times of elections and it really is no surprise that pop music here sucks big time and that most youth listen to rabiz or Western and Russian offerings.
Naaah, I’m not going to vote for her… not a good choice. Let win the one who deserves it, is it about nationality???!!! Don’t think so.
Comment by Zarchka — November 28, 2006 @ 6:09 pm
I’ll vote for her, but thank God it’s anonymous. Plausible deniability. =p And it’s not because I like her music - it’s pretty standard - but because the more chance there is for Armenians to enter the international spolight the better.
Until there are enough Armenians occupying enough of the world’s vision I’ll vote on nationality… Unless of course it’s some morally profound issue. Though, one could argue, would Armenians want their entrance to into the spotlight to be remembered for quality such as this?
Comment by Esoteric — November 28, 2006 @ 6:38 pm
Right, and that’s the point, isn’t it? With so much talent here existing but having stuff like this rise to the surface isn’t it about time that we let the music and listeners determine who succeeds and who fails? It’s precisely because we don’t that we take such crap for granted as being the music scene rather than demand higher quality from more sincere and genuine artists.
Incidently, I often wonder how System of a Down started out in the U.S. Listening to their music and the language used in their lyrics I suspect that their community in the Diaspora hated what they were doing. Didn’t stop them, though. An international audience appreciated them and once they started to become famous Armenians everywhere suddenly professed to like them.
But why? Because of the music? Or because they were Armenian?
Doesn’t matter at the end of the day because it is the music that counts and if Armenian artists are to do well on their local and international stage let them do it on their own merits. Those that have it them to represent Armenian contemporary culture at home or abroad are the ones we should be supporting, and not every Armenian that comes along and fancies themselves to be a pop or rock star.
Like I said, it is precisely because we accept so much shit and don’t speak out because this singer or that is Armenian that the music industry is in such a pitiful state here. And really, it’s so boring and crap it’s unbelievable. It’s a joke, in fact, and maybe even some sick parody of how culture should progress.
In the meantime, stick some some dadik singing her musical advert for bleach into an international community and some in the Diaspora would vote for it while the rest of the world just laughs at when they think Armenian culture is. Absurd, and totally illogical.
Comment by Onnik — November 28, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
Onnik, did you miss the “Armenians Are Their Worst Enemies!” article while you were browsing Groong? Just in case you did, here it is:
http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg170100.html
Comment by Mr. E — November 29, 2006 @ 6:47 am
Right. For example, when the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections were falsified and thousands of citizens were attacked and beaten by interior ministry troops on Baghramian Avenue in April 2004, where were the same Armenians in the Diaspora who are being called on to vote for Silva?
Or when thousands of citizens were kicked out of their homes so that corrupt officials and connected businessmen could tear them down and build apartment blocks that will only enrich themselves, and not the State? Were was the support for fellow Armenians then?
Yeah, Armenians are their own worst enemies. You just have to look at the situation in most spheres to see that. We’re called upon to support Silva, but who supports those real talents in the Republic who are trying to emerge in a very stagnant and corrupt music scene?
Where are the audiences when real musicians from Armenia tour the U.S., for example? Like I said, support Armenian culture based on its worth, and not on any other merit. Seems like the right approach to me, and I have every confidence that local culture can be appreciated abroad with this approach. Silva, however, isn’t it.
In the meantime, Rouben Mamoulian and Steve Zaillian are interesting examples. I wonder how they became so famous? By surround themselves with Armenians or by being professionals? Regardless, they still act as wonderful Ambassadors of Armenians everywhere precisely because of that professionalism.
Funny. In one breath Edmond Azadian attacks them, but I bet you he names them constantly when surrounded by foreigners talking about Armenian contributions to world culture. Anyway, it’s worth pointing out that I didn’t say let’s not support Armenians, I said in the area of music let’s support those worthy of it.
Comment by Onnik — November 29, 2006 @ 8:53 am
According to the BBC web site Silva has made it into the Top 7. Good luck to her if she got those votes from people who truly liked her entry and I hope that was the case.
As for the finals, not that I give a damn about the BBC World Service apart from its news, I like the Skagz and Sweet Cherry Fury. Still, I could only really say that three acts were particularly interesting. The rest, including Silva, won’t set the world alight.
Might interest you to know that someone is spending money advertising her entry on Armenian TV and the fact that she can be voted for online. I don’t watch TV here, but was at a friend’s apartment earlier and the ads are being shown frequently.
Still, may the best act win. In another online poll on the BBC web site, Silva is currently in the lead, but whether or not the campaign to get Armenians everywhere to vote for her works or not, the BBC says it will be “a panel of music industry experts” that decides the winning act.
Comment by Onnik — November 30, 2006 @ 1:39 am
Man, something really isn’t right. As of posting my blog entry, Silva had 5.4 percent of the votes. A day later, after a campaign which involved TV adverts in the Republic, to get Armenians to vote for her just because of her ethnicity, her share miraculously increases to 17.1 percent.
Sorry, I just don’t believe that’s normal. Last time I remember something like that happening was when the Referendum to amend the Constitution was falsified last year. Empty polling stations across the country later turned into a record voter turnout despite all logic and appearances suggesting otherwise.
Comment by Onnik — November 30, 2006 @ 3:22 pm
I listened to 3-4 songs. I didnt like any of them. Sylva is certainly not the worst. As for voting, I didnt know there was voting, otherwise I would. It is about promoting Armenia, not about Sylva or hight art.
Comment by Gagik — December 1, 2006 @ 12:17 pm
Silva now has 37.19 percent of the votes, but I’m pretty sure that this is because a few Armenians are attempting to distort the vote. I say this because a) the BBC site doesn’t appear to be preventing multiple voting and b) there have only been 2,724 votes cast which is low enough for a few hundred Armenians to try to disrupt or influence proceedings.
Anyway, this particular vote thankfully won’t affect the outcome. That’s up to an international jury so let the best act out of some very mediocre entries win.
Comment by Onnik — December 1, 2006 @ 5:47 pm