Olympic Boredom !

Exactly. British pop music has always been celebrated for its edginess and innovation, so in an ideal world you'd have wanted Bowie (retired), the Stones, Pink Floyd, The Smiths (disbanded)/Morrissey (despises Royals, politicians, media), Happy Mondays, Pulp, Suede, Paul Weller, Kate Bush (recluse), Blur, Oasis (not Beady Eye's Oasis-lite), New Order, The Specials, Amy Winehouse (deceased), even Lily Allen (maternity leave)... but of course all of these would have been far too unpredictable a prospect for the global audience. So instead we are treated mainly to the kind of bland rubbish for which the Brits are rightly derided.

Boris dancing like a dad at a wedding to the Spice Girls kind of said it all.

Enjoyed the Olympics but last night the closing ceremony made me moan a fair bit. I just think it`s lazy to stage a pop concert. Infact I even thought the mostly impressive opening ceremony was in danger at one point of over doing the pop music side of things. We get away with it I suppose because our music is so well known around the world. Lazy though.

Main moans - Whoever decided to repeat the same songs played earlier when the flag bearers came into the stadium can be used by Steven Wilson for target practice to cut down a bit on the cost of clay pigeons. Couldn`t believe I was hearing Madness, Blur and One Direction again!

Could they not have got Noel and Liam together for just four minutes? Talking of which I was amazed they didn`t have a little Oasis in the opening ceremony just before or just after Blur. Normally I`m all for skipping quickly past the 90`s but in this instance not.

Would have made me smile to hear some Smiths/Morrissey.

Emeli Sande singing in the opening and closing ceremony? I know she`s `current` but her rendition of `Abide With Me` in the opening ceremony was average at best. Surely Katherine Jenkins, Sarah Brightman or Lesley Garrett would have been better choices. Whilst saying that she did sing very well last night in the closing ceremony.

One Direction are the biggest `boy-band` on the planet which just goes to prove what I`ve always said and that is young girls have too much pocket money nowadays. And they mimed of course.

I thought it was odd to have Stephen Lawrence`s mother in the opening ceremony and just when I thought it couldn`t get any worse Naomi Campbell turns up in the closing! You do realise that if you keep giving her publicity she will never go away. It was so disappointing because when they started playing `Fashion` I thought David Bowie was being brought out on one of those trailers.

Andy Murray played well but do we really have to have a close-up of his mother after every point! One day during the Olympics at the end of the programme there was a musical montage which had images of several Olympians plus one. The plus one was of course Andy Murray`s mother. Enough already.

Lastly, it`s a shame Victoria `Pedal-ton`is retiring. I shall miss watching her fine `form` on the race track.

I must confess, I've never watched a closing ceremony before so cannot comment on the relevance or comparison to previous events. I don't suppose it needs to have a story or message about the host nation to the same level as the opening ceremony. However, I thought it wasn't half bad but a few highs and lows.

Lows

1) George Michael - not my favourite of artists but cannot argue the global status of this guy as a performer. However, last night he was shocking and needs a serious wardrobe re-think. Men beyond a certain age should not wear leather trousers (even when riding motorbikes) and that belt buckle...........

2) Beady-eye - if no-one could get Noel and Liam to bury the hatchet (and not in each other) then they should have looked elsewhere. I imagine the older of the Gallagher boys will be down John Lewis this morning looking for a new plasma and a replacement for whatever ornament he threw at the telly last night.

3) Pet shop boys - there must have been better options although as "West end girls" is their song it was perhaps unavoidable considering the general theme

4) Bowie wasn't in any of those "fashion" lorries - I was convinced he was going to be

Highs

1) Take that and the Spice girls - love em or hate em, these are the two biggest boy and girl bands in history - period (and both British).

2) Waterloo sunset - bit of a dodgy start but always a brilliant song

3) Boris Johnson - a bit of a bafoon most of the time but I cannot help liking the guy

4) Freddie Mercury - OK so only a graphic but still had the crowd singing

5) Brilliant lighting effects

6) John Lennon - the imagine thing was pretty good, particularly the face they built

7) I liked the presentation from the athletes to the volunteers - nice touch I thought

8  No Macca - I think it's because recently he's been on everything, done the same thing and I hate the song "Hey Jude"

9) I enjoyed more of the show than I disliked. Also, those inside the stadium seemed to be enjoying the occasion - which I guess is the main point of it all

So thats the end of that, bring on the Paralympics

I thought that fae was a rather creepy death mask myself. Still.

I forgot, last night, to mention the twitter controversy of the games:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/morgan-slammed-wiggins-anthem-criticism-092950646.html

Allegedly Andrew Ridgley was invited to join the Micheal for a reunion but got lost.

I don't geddit.

I considered this during the games (i.e. what would I do if stood on top of the podium).

Part of me would want to acknowledge the home nation's support and belt out the national anthem. However, the republican in me would never sing "God Save the Queen" (at least the official version) and assume my position as loyal and reverential subject.

This ambiguity (or potential conflict of interests) bound up in the British national anthem is perhaps the cause of so many athlete's mumbled or half-hearted renditions.

Well I've just got back from France and am going to spend a week trawling through iPlayer...

I love that response, whether from Wiggins or a fan, it really made me laugh. Morgan is the devil.

Some interesting figures for the doubters, such as ChudleighPaul, reported in the telegraph. 8 out of 10 hotel rooms were full - far higher than Beijing or Sydney. Restaurant takings were up 20% during the Olympics. Theatre ticket sales doubled in the second week. All positive stuff 

Well, for some, yes...

Opiate of the masses, and the damned BBC just cannot let go, the pox on them all!

Well, it's just two days since the games closed, so at this point it seems unfair to suggest the BBC "cannot let go." Besides, there's been relatively scant reflection on the games on the BBC's main channels.

I'm not one to heap praise on the BBC, but I think the Olympic coverage was perhaps its greatest success. Sure, there were a few blips, but the coverage--over 24 dedicated HD channels--was in the main superlative.

The logistics of it all were simply staggering. Furthermore, the commentary was largely erudite and generous in the sense that, yes, presenters were excited by Team GB's successes, but still celebrated other nations' achievements.

The coverage was considerably more democratic than you'd find in many other countries, though admittedly this was facilitated by the breadth of the BBC's resources and unfettered access to Olympic venues.

And frankly, given how awful a state the country is in, a quick opiate shot is probably what most of us need, just to make things tolerable. Marx and Engels would be distressed by that last comment, but in the absence of a revolution, I'll snatch whatever fleeting moments of happiness I can.

That's a little harsh on Songs Of Praise.