Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,
welcome to the closing night of the Battle of the Songs 2015-2016.
We started more than five months ago with, in front of us, a long road made of good music to listen and hard choices to make.
We have sailed across an ocean of amazing songs (118!) with the wind of classic hard rock vigorously pushing our boat through the waves. Today, after a long, perhaps difficult but I hope also amusing travel we have finally arrived to the shore. As it was supposed to be, in the spirit of the battle, we have left behind many wonderful pieces of music. Thirty brave warriors have participated to this edition of the battle, placing their votes at least once. I cannot read minds but I don’t think that I am far from the truth if I say that each one of them would have chosen a different winner for the battle. Because thirty songs (at least) could have well deserved to be at the top of the list tonight.
But there can be only one champion, chosen by the community, and the two last surviving songs have fought really, really hard until the last second for the crown.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time now to proclaim the winner. Ian, can you please provide a little drum roll
Thank you.
Here’s the result of the final:
The final countdown – Ready or not: 9 – 8
The final countdown is the ultimate champion!!!
Is that the expected result? Yes and no. When we talk about Europe, for the good and for the bad, like it or not, you simply cannot ignore
The final countdown. If you ask around who did
Jump or
Eye of the tiger (just to name a couple of songs everybody knows) somebody will give the right answer but many people will shrug. But for some reasons, most of the times, when you say
The final countdown the people will reply: Europe! That’s it. It’s an unbreakable pair. For the good and for the bad, like it or not. That song is special, it is a part of the culture of the world and it cannot have but a very special meaning for all of us, Europe fans. We feel it as a part of us, sometimes something that has contributed to make us as we are. That’s why it arrived here in the final. That’s why it has won the battle.
But for that very same reason it wasn’t at all easy! Because it’s the gift and the curse of a band that is not only
The final countdown. Europe has issued 10 albums in more than thirty years. Not many maybe, but all of them are top class albums, stuffed with amazing, beautiful, energetic, sexy, touching, positive, thundering songs that haven’t received one tenth of the visibility of
The final countdown.
Ready or not is an album track. It’s not a famous track. It’s not an overworked song, a symphonic or a bombastic tune. It doesn’t have a videoclip associated with it. It goes straight to the point and to the soul, makes you want to fist pump as soon as the riff explodes. It has a melodic verse and a catchy chorus. It’s an authentic, unmistakable, trademark Europe song. That’s why it got to the final losing it for just one vote.
For future memory and for a final applause here is the final standing of the first eight songs of the battle:
1. The final countdown
2. Ready or not
3. Start from the dark
4. Girl from Lebanon
5. Always the pretenders
5. Days of rock ‘n’ roll
5. Heart of stone
5. No stone unturned
So, the battle is now over.
Please allow me some final words before making a fair step aside. I’ve had a great time, really. For me it has been very interesting, exciting and funny. I would have never expected such an overwhelming and lovely participation. I had to improvise a bit, I’m not sure to have taken always the right decisions, sometimes I have written too much (a mistake that I keep on doing, it seems) and probably some things would have been better done in a different way. I would have loved to ask for your suggestions in some critical moments but that would have meant to compromise on the pace of the game and that was something I didn’t feel to do. In my defence I can only say that leading a thread like this was sometimes like getting lost in the woods at night: in the end I found a way out but I cannot say if the road I’ve taken was the best or the smartest one. So, blame it on me the comments out of place and over the top (this one included), for the mistakes and for the wrong turns.
On the other hand I believe that, in spite of my sabotage, the battle has been full of great and entertaining moments. If you have enjoyed it consider that most of the credit has to be given to
Eva Tomorrow for her unswerving passion and dedication. She has convinced me to start this madness once again, she has always been there, in rain or shine, stepping in when I was forced out and she has even offered some cool prizes to add some spice. No battle would have been possible without her support.
Which leads me to another mandatory thanksgiving. No Aph…ops, no Wingsoftomorrow forum, no battle. True, we could have probably done without the battle, but for this wonderful site and forum, for the support and the patience: thank you,
Stein, you rock!
So we had a cozy and comfortable place where we could meet. We had a couple of passionate users to light a small fire to warm our bones. We had an amazing catalogue of songs from one of the greatest rock band on the planet that provided the perfect atmosphere. But this all would have been useless without you, dear fans and forumers, “old” and “new”, close and far.
I loved every single post from you. I know it wasn’t always easy. Many of us are not native English speakers and it can be very uncomfortable (I know it very well!) to properly express feelings and ideas in a foreign language. This is why besides the intense, amusing, funny, surprising, interesting and charming posts that have enriched the thread from many of you, I have also appreciated a lot also the simple votes. They were the weapons that have fought the battle, the food that has fed the thread. I wish to thank you all, dear WOTers, and send you a big virtual hug. It was a fun and a pleasure to play with you.
…You gotta look for the magic
If there's a way, there comes a time…
…It’s not where we’re coming from, it’s how we turn from here.
We know where we want to go, we just need a light to get us there…
Long live Europe the bands and fans!
Game over
P.S. Stay tuned for the upcoming raffle on this very same channel…