NCF Party Monarch; To Text or not to Text
If you were hoping to have a controversy free Crop Over 2010 you can forget about it, compliments the NCF aka National Cultural Foundation.
Instead of wasting time embarking on matters of cultural development, NCF seems to be quite assiduously seeking to shove proposals down the throats of cultural industries which benefit no one other than themselves and other noncultural entities they are in league with.
I don’t know about you but I for one do not like things being shoved down my throat, so lets take a close look at what’s being shoved.
(1) TEXTING; NCF has proposed they want to take Party Monarch Judging out of the tents and make it a texting competition, so instead of sending judges to see a calypsonian perfecting his stage craft in a tent, they want to listen to cds select who they like and then let the public text to choose who will be Party Monarch finalists.
Why is the NCF so committed to removing Party Monarch from the tents and degrade it to a texting competition? the answer is simple, money. Texting revenues generated are split between NCF and the telecommunications provider.
The calypsonian does not benefit or the Tents but the NCF does, which is what they are all about plus of course the phone company.
While the NCF is meeting with stakeholders and going through the motions as though they are only considering this “texting” change and you are a part of the decision, NCF has already informed sponsors that this change will be happening and also given the impression tent managers and Calypsonians are all in agreement. Sounds like a big fat lie to me.
This system of text voting is lacking in transparency and highly open to manipulation, and I know for a fact in one Caribbean territory a telecommunications provider conspired with parties involved in a competition to influence the result. That could quite easily happen here, don’t you think? Hmm maybe it did, or maybe not.
The range of suggestions being put forward by NCF shows a dearth of any true commitment to the development of calypso culture, they are myopic in scope and will serve only to dilute our festival quality and erode our standards.
It is therefore left to the right thinking cultural practitioners who truly have a love for our art form to sit up and pay attention and not allow these flawed and corrupted proposals to slip through like a thief in the night.
Text me back a response, Boyce has left the building…
If during the reading of this blog there is any thing I might have written which might have incensed or offended you, GET OVER IT! There are many things I read and hear in the media on a daily basis that I don't like either. SO DEAL WITH IT! You are welcome to leave your comments though. Make sure and come back yuh hear !!!...
March 21st, 2010 at 8:24 am
Doesn’t that lead to more controversy? Didn’t NCF stop the texting last year as there were allegations of fraud?
March 21st, 2010 at 8:26 am
It’s quite simple. All the artistes have to do, is say, “No Texting”, and its all over.
I wonder how long its going to take the artistes to realise that they are in control of the whole thing…..oh well.
And from all reports, last year there was not an overly large percentage of text votes.
Still, the whole idea is nonsense.
The only part I DO agree with, is that all the songs to be considered MUST have been recorded. Also, the “pre judges” of the songs should be approved by the artistes.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:41 pm
It is this kind of thing that has caused the quality of our calypsos, especially the party songs, to deteriorate over the last decade. No wonder they are considering Greenland landfill as the venue for this show!
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:18 pm
As said before, all the artistes have to do is threaten to boycott the competition and the NCF will be forced to reverse their stance. The NCF obviously have no respect for the Party Monarch competition as all they want to do is boil it down to being a popularity contest.
March 23rd, 2010 at 7:23 am
Here’s a Facebook Comment below by 2 time kiaso king Adrian Clarke on this topic I thought i would post here:
When was the last time we had a competition where all were pleased with the winner? Last years winners were all deserving in my view but they were still a few who thought otherwise. i thought when i won in 2001 and 2008 that my wins were of merit. Still had a few who thought otherwise. One guy said i won in 2008 because I come from St John and the P M pull strings for me(IDIOT CLOWN!!). If the judging system in place is faulty do you think texting will correct any wrongs? I think not. My opinion is that he or she that is popular and not necessarily the best performer will always win. Here in B’dos is all about personalities. I hear what I term as crap being sung yearly and being loved up by the public. Can these artists perform or sing live. We are into jokes and funny performers. Having a good laugh. I will never be quarrelling with any organiser about his/her show and rules . You enter if you are up to bearing the consequences. If not, stay out. When ever I enter a competition I do it with the fact in mind that the decision is that of the chosen 7 or how ever much they are and not usually that of the masses. They are chosen to do a job we accept them by entering the competitions. (BREATHE!!!!!!!!!)
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:12 am
Well is me agen….de NCF, FB (not facebook) but Festival Bureau(cracy) oops i jes’ say dat???? need to lis’en tuh de co producers o’ de festival….
Mos’ certainly did.
I agree wid all de comments but i tink dat dum tryn’ to rub out some tents but dem en got tuh go far causen i know some dat cud do wid a injection…final! de big head only got tuh got balls! Looka all de FB is men yuh kno’!
but i stray..(rat yuh know) I feel we need tuh agree – ALL O WE – tuh leh dem have a competition wid de people dem want to put in and see how de bajans will support it.
to de dump tuh de dump datis dem way o sayin’ dat kaiso is rubbish! wunnuh en tink so??
dis is what we do an’ say fuh dis year :
NO TUH DE DUMP
NO TUH TEX’IN’ i got stories bout dat too
NO TUHTEKKIN’ IT OUTTA DE TENTS
NO TUH DE PITTANCE
NO TUH DE SAME SONG IN TWO COMPETITIONS
NO TUH DE PRODUCERS WHO GET TO JUDGE
RETURN TO DE CLOWN COMPETITION EF DUH WANT DEM RES’
THO’ I AGREE WID DE RECORDIN’ TING DE PRODUCERS DOES CHARGE TUH MUCH FUH SOME O’ WE (FIN A SUHLUCION FUH DAH)
LEH WE EXPLAIN TUH DE SERVICE PROVIDURS WUH DE PARTY TING ALL BOUT
LEH WE GET SOME O’ DE MONEY DEM DOES MEK OR FREE PHONE SERVICE FUH A YEAR – NOT ALL O WE JES’ PUT ALL DE NAMES (calypsonians/tent managers/producers – de las’ ef duh like – IN A BARREL, DRAW DE NAMES IN FRONT O WE PON TV, DAT WAY IT TRANS…WUH US DAH WORD AGEN???…FILL IN DE BLANKS…………………
BUT STOP ALL DE TALK OH AN ANUDDUH TING WHEN DUH GOT MEETIN’S BRING DE PEEPLE DAT CUD MEK DECISIONS DAT WAY IT COULD BE OVUH IN A FLASH…ONE WAY OR ANUDDUH…
I DOAN LIKE MOLEY CHEESE THO I IS A RAT!
SO GET WUNNUH HOUSE IN ORDER AND LEH WE HAVE A FREE CROP OVUH!!
WUNNUH HEAR DAT DUH ONLY GOT 4 CAVALCADES??? YEA AN’ ONE IN ST. JOHN…HHHHMMMM
NEX’ YEAR DEM GINE ONLY GOT ONE MARK MY WORD….
CONFUSION MUSSE DEM MIDDLE NAME…..
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:12 am
LOOKA PRINT DAH YUH? EF NOT I EN WRITIN’ NUH MO’
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:50 am
oh lord Fes-tee-bull- B
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Party Monarch has always been more of a popularity contest than anything else, but consider the fact that since Edwin’s Triple Crown in 1995 (and I wrote extensively on that matter over the years) we have only had four Pic-O-De-Crop winners (AC, Kid Site, Gabby and RPB). What’s wrong with this picture? Peter, it’d be good to hear your spin on this one.
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I am either slow or sleepy bajan dave, could u rephrase your question?
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:11 pm
What is wrong with letting the public decide which performers will go to the Party Monarch finals? Surely any good artiste would be willing to take his chances in the court of public opinion. I think people may vote for what musicians may consider “crap” but let us agree that bajans also know good music when they hear it. If as a performer you are beaten out by someone singing crap and who is not a good performer, then maybe you are not as good as you think.
Now if the argument is simply that there are better ways to capture public opinion than “texting” then I have no problem with that.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
@Brutus – the obvious concern for texting a choice is you have what happened to Gore with Bush in 2000 and have ’nuff “chads” or over-texts for a candidate who may have more friends and family than another – so a person wins on body-count not merit! Like stinking, cheating Bush did also with John Kerry in 2004
March 24th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Hi Peter,
Essentially the whole concept of a popularity contest stretches to Pic-O-De-Crop as well. We have only had four Calypso Monarchs since 1995 when Edwin took all the titles (Bag, Gabby, AC and Kid Site) and we tend to see the same finalists year after year, with just one or two other “new” names thrown in for good measure. My question is whether I can look forward to your comments on Pic-O-De-Crop. Great site, by the way.
March 25th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Thanks for your compliment Bajan Dave, thats a very interesting point you made, i never noticed it until u said it, thats why i didnt understand it the first time i read it because i couldnt accept the truth that the same 4 people keep winning the Pic O De Crop Title.
I remember when Edwin won in 1995 sitting down at the table at NCF and the general feeling by everyone accept me that a mistake had happened that some one like edwin singing what he sings had won pic o de crop, which they felt was not calypso. I was out voted and efforts were made that the next year and after it would be won by “traditional calypso. to some extent that mind set still prevails that a new person with anything to ground breaking should not win hence its the same old “safe” faces who do traditional material keep returning….how that can be addressed is a next question…
Thanks to you and everyone for commenting, we must make sure and keep our voices out there so the skull duggery schemes the ncf hatches can be stopped
I get the feeling u dont like george bush Ian, i just sorta feel so….
March 25th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I don’t agree with the NCF which is there to develop the culture and artiste but it seems they come with a mandate to DISTROY.
When they take the Party Monarch judging from the tents they will distroy the tents which is the only source of income for some of these artiste to be able to make back some of the moneyu they spend on the production of music this is something that has to considered careful.
the NCF ( Nuff Cunfussion Foundation) has to stop it before the persons who are planning these thing distroy the festival.
March 25th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
And let me touch a bit on the texting part as i said to the NCF you can have the texting but give a special prize to the artiste that had the most texts this would create a very big problem how about the artiste who has big sponsors who can pay ppl to vote or if its a artiste who has a good song and a can perform but for some reason ppl don’t know him or likes him as much as Lil Rick what is going to happen this is not fair and its very very stupid leave the show how it was it didn’t cause any problems but ya know they want to make money so they friends could get large profits this is for teh development of the festival not the development of Ken Knight and his troops pocket and at the end the artiste, the tents and the musicians that suffers its not these men who controls big jobs in this country.
if we follow this path look who will suffer 100 of bajans,
Artiste, Dancers, Back ground Singers, Musicans, Lighting, Sound, Stage persons, Stage Managers, Drinks sellers, Hot Dog Vendors just to name a few these are people who benefits from a tent night i want them to consider them.
March 25th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Love your comment Dwayne G, thanks for joining the party
April 21st, 2010 at 1:18 pm
In reference to your response to my last post re the meeting at NCF just after Edwin’s victory…I think a similar thing might have happened after Rita won the crown in 1988 as well – the NCF got so much licks after that incident that no woman has won the title since.