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American Idol, Season 8, Final 9

2009-04-01T11:42:00.005-06:00

It's Digital Download night, and I have no clever intro to offer., except to say it's been far too long since I wrote anything of interest to anyone. Amy and I are guest judges tonight for GG's AI Season 8 project: read his mashup here. That business over, down to other business.

Anoop Desai
Usher "Caught Up"
Anoop says that he's "eager to get back to the high energy stuff". Ah. I hadn't realized that 'Noop was lighting up the stage at any point this season. The ballads have been all right so far, but after the judges give him a well-deserved "meh", Desai begs to differ by explaining that Usher's popular and energetic version was great. Which apparently means that Anoop's version must also have been just as good, because he sang a lot of the notes. Um, no. 7 out of 10 for managing a couple nice runs, 4 out of 10 for forgetting his high energy promise. And I'm not going to give him the benefit of rounding up: 5 out of 10 for 'Noop Dawg.

Megan Joy
Bob Marley "Turn Your Lights Down Low"
Megan doesn't know how to choose the right song. Period. She has a unique, interesting voice, but that's about it. As with Desai, Megan has very little energy on stage, doing very little to connect with the song, much less communicate it well. I think she's just going through the motions at this point, waiting around to be cut, singing songs because she has to. Kara spells it out for her - wrong song, forgetting her strengths. Paula throws away a few hundred thousand dollars worth of air time, Simon lays it out there as usual "BORING", and Randy book ends the proceedings by agreeing with Kara. My scores - 6 out of 10 vocally, 3 out of 10 for performance: a well deserved 4 out of 10 from me.

Danny Gokey
Rascal Flatts "What Hurts the Most"
DISCLAIMER: I am a BIG fan of Danny Gokey. I would give Amy's new iPodto be able to sing like Danny ('cause you KNOW how much that would end up costing me) - he's real, he's raw, and he can probably sing anything. But here's the thing about tonight's performance - it was good. But it just wasn't quite good enough. I think he can go bigger than that in a song like this, and if he was holding back for any reason, I don't know why. Sure, it sounded great, and his voice is miles better than the first two (thank you for agreeing with me Simon), but it didn't quite satisfy my expectations for him. The judges lap it up, and set him up for future greatness. I give him 8 out of 10 for an ALMOST great vocal display, 7 out of 10 for a performance that should have given at least a little more. Danny gets the benefit of the doubt from me, so 8 of 10 for Mr. Gokey

Allison Iraheta
No Doubt "Don't Speak"
And from the moment she opens her mouth, Allison shows that she is the dark horse of the competition, and quite probably soon to be the frontrunner if Adam ever slips up or gets lazy. I gotta agree that her outfit is distractingly awful, but appearance is only a small part of what I look for. The guitar wasn't necessary, and as Amy points out, it kept her in place, when she really should have been pacing the stage angrily and letting the song really take over. Tough call here - mixed responses from the judges, and from me as well. 8 of 10 for vocals (I LOVE her tone) and 7 of 10 for handcuffing herself to center stage. But I'm going to use my Judge's Extra Point and give her an 8.1 of 10, ahead of Danny.

Scott Macintyre
Billy Joel "Just the Way You Are"
Scott is nice. I like Scott. His piano playing is nice. I like his singing. Scott should consider enrolling in the David Foster Institute for Young Men with Lots of Hair Who Sing Nice and Can Sell Tickets to Older Women and Their Daughters Who Have Finally Realized That What They Really Don't Want to Do is Spend Another Ninety Eight Bucks on Josh Groban. That would be a smart career choice for him. I know. He has a Great Back Story. He has Sympathy on his side. I get it. I like him just the way he is, but that's not good enough to win this thing. 7 out of 10 is a nice score.

Matt Giraud
The Fray "You Found Me"
Interesting song choice, could be pretty cool. Playing keyboard in the middle of the college cutie corral is a new conceit for Idol... none of the cuties seem very enthused about the performance until the end when they do the obligatory clap they are instructed to do for everyone (seriously - they are brought in to look good, sway and clap on cue). And Matt doesn't manage to make this one sparkle - I think it COULD have worked, but as with Allison's positioning at center stage, I think he limited his performance by having to stay behind the keyboard out in the middle of the corral. He can sing well enough, he can play piano well enough, but this one just falls flat, and the judges let him knowit. 6 out of 10 vocally, 5 of 10 for performance - I'll give him 6 of 10 overall.

Lil Rounds
Celine Dion "I Surrender"
Uh oh. Can Lil manage to avoid the "Don't Even Go There" problem that plagues many contestants who've tried and failed to do Big Songs by Big Artists? (Also known as the"Whitney Houston" rule). And the answer is...No. This is too much song for Lil. Randy actually compliments her singing. Dude. She was FLAT. She was UNINTERESTING. And Paula gives her first decent advice tonight - I don't want to see the Adult Contemporary Lil ever again. I don't understand why they are saying that she sounded good, because she was not all that tonight. 5 out of 10 for relatively poor vocals, and 5 of 10 for a boring performance. Lil gets a lil 5 of 10 tonight.

Adam Lambert
Wild Cherry "Play That Funky Music"
The lovechild of k.d. lang and simon le bon struts to center stage and turns out another hot vocal performance. For me, the thing about Adam is that his performances usually feel forced; vocally, he's easily the best in this competition, but I would like for him to find some way to make his performances feel more real. I'll give him a well deserved 10 of 10 for that vocal and a great arrangement, but the performance gets an 8 of 10 from me. Adam takes the lead with an overall 9 of 10.

Kris Allen
Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"
A lot of artists have done this song - ever hear Paul McCartney's version? LOVE. IT. This is a make or break choice - if Kris can make it his own, it could work really well. I really like the quiet and reflective start, and the string quartet is a nice touch as well. Kris sells the song convincingly, but almost ruins a near-perfect vocal workout with a weak finishing note. If he could have hit that solidly, I'd call it even with Adam. Kara's right - it was artistry. Simon agrees with me about the good arrangement. I'm going to give him second place tonight - 9 of 10 vocals, 9 of 10 forperformance, a 9 of 10 overall.

And as we wrap things up, oh yeah - Anoop sang tonight. Awoops. Forgot about him. NOT a good sign. But the next clip seals it - I think I called it correctly when I wrote up Megan's Mess. Buh-bye, Miss Joy. With a side of Lil Annop on the stools tomorrow night.

Adam gets the nod over Kris by a very slick hair's breadth, with Allison taking third.

Top 3
Adam Lambert
Kris Allen
Allison Iraheta

Da Middle 3
Danny Gokey
Scott MacIntyre
Matt Giraud

Bottom 3
Lil Rounds
Anoop Desai
Megan Joy

roheblius.net » Ghosts Of ‘81: J - T - O

2008-10-02T08:48:00.002-06:00

There's a brand new dance that has yet to earn fame
That people from SF do again and again
It's big and it's bold, makes your loyalty clear
They do it over there but they don't do it here
(apologies to David Bowie)

GG invents the J-T-O (Forty Niner fans will understand...)
roheblius.net » Ghosts Of ‘81: J - T - O

Josh Silver: How the Media Sold Their Souls to Wall Street

2008-10-02T08:22:00.001-06:00

Excellent article on the media's non-coverage of what many real economic experts are saying.

Josh Silver: How the Media Sold Their Souls to Wall Street

American Idol Dessert Break(down)

2008-04-10T06:46:00.005-06:00

Dreyer's Slow Churned Ice Cream. Yummy.

American Idol's Melinda DooVeryLittleSinceComingInThirdLastSeason and Chris "NO. I'm NOT Justin Timberlake, But Oh Dear Lord, How I Wish I Was" Richardson pitching Dreyer's Slow Churned Ice Cream. Not so yummy.

It's so marvelously schlocky that I'm afraid mere words cannot do it justice.

This is something that must be seen to be believed.

Here you go: http://idol.dreyers.slowchurned.com/idol/americanidol.html

American Idol 7.3

2008-03-25T20:50:00.010-06:00

American Idol 7.3: The Year They Were Born

Week One of American Idol without Amanda's streaky hair and strong talent. Alas for our rocker chick, America loves barrel horse riding non-talent more than nurses who can actually sing...

Tonight's theme - each contestant sings a song from the year they were born. Was "Amazing Grace" written when Kristy Lee Cook was born? So, we won't be hearing the only song she can sing well...

So what's in store for tonight? Probably a bunch of stuff from the mid to late eighties or so...

Ramiele Malubay: Heart "Alone"
Hey - if it vaulted Carrie Underwood to the top, it might just do the same for me, right? Why do people insist on singing songs that other people do well, hoping for some sort of talent to seep into their own performance by some weird form of musical osmosis?

Anyway - Ramiele tries to bust out with a big rock ballad by Heart - at least she's trying something unexpected, but this is bigger than anything she can adequately handle. Randy's right and Simon's wrong - this WAS pitchy. (Just listen the end of each phrase in the chorus and you'll hear it) Rami's delivery is fine, the tone of her voice is pleasant, but she can't contain the pitch when she Goes Big. Simon IS right that it was better than last week (and in my opinion, anything else she's done), so it's likely that she stays on again for next week. And Paula said something too - blah blah blah

Jason Castro: Sting "Fragile"
For a song that's been recorded in Spanish, Portugese and English as well as rearranged a few times for various albums and concert tours, Jason's managed to bring something original to the song - it's a nice, simple Latin vibe, and I like that he switches over to the Spanish lyric of "Fragilidad" at the end. Randy has apparently not been paying attention over the years to what Sting has done with the song, and his comment is way off the mark. Paula la la la la. Simon thinks it another bad week "the equivalent of someone busking outside the train station" - well, maybe, but I thought it was aight. Certainly not horrible; Jason should be safe for next week.

Syesha Mercado: Stephanie Mills "If I Were Your Woman"
Well, Syesha cheats a bit on the theme - this was originally a Gladys Knight song, but Stephanie Mills covered it in 1987. And hey - Syesha is BACK! Wow. That was STRONG. A very solid ballad, a lot of soul, and it's about time she performed up to her potential.

Randy recognizes this and calls it "blazing hot". PA chimes in. Simon pulls back a bit on the praise; he did seem to like it, but he thinks there are limits to how far to take things. He's right, but I don't think she overdid anything with this performance.

Chikezie: Luther Vandross "If Only For One Night"
Ryno grills the Ezie on the uncomfystools. ChikMan talks about how it's time to do what he feels is right, a song that resonates deeply with him. In other words - his week one experiment was terrific, the second week's repeat attempt sucked, so now it's time to get things back on track by going back to basics. Probably a wise choice for the Big Ezie...

And what better way to get back on track than to attempt a soulful Luther Vandross ballad (oh wait. another cheat - this was a Brenda Russell song) Chikezie starts a bit weak, yet as the song moves on into the bridge and final chorus he really warms up and finishes strong.

Randy makes a good point that the arrangement wasn't "hip and cool, the vibey Chikezie that I love". Paula makes a lucid point about the origin of the song - and Simon makes a good point about a lack of originality in the performance. Chikezie needs to find that personality again, the spark he displayed in week one.

Brooke White: The Police "Here Comes the Sun"
OOOH OOOH! Please sing "Mother"! Oh too bad. She starts out the more obvious choice of "Every Breath You Take" in the wrong key, corrects it quickly and moves on into a Brooke White piano version, but unfortunately, this does NOTHING for this song. Here's the thing - Sting wrote this song as a joke in twenty minutes, his attempt to show how easy it is to write a shallow pop ballad, and so this song is very, VERY basic. Even though it sounds nice enough with just Brooke and the piano, it is NOT anywhere near original or interesting. This is one song to avoid unless you are Sting. (FWIW - Sting plays this one as an encore at most of his shows, and these days, it's a MUCH stronger rock ballad than the original recording. Even Sting has punched it up since it was first released...)

Randy's right (he's pretty well on his game tonight), Paula blathers, and Simon's with Randy - he doesn't hate it, but he's not happy about it. Neither am I.

Michael Johns: Queen "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions"
Well now: THIS is a good choice for Michael Johns to sing - oh wait, he's not singing the rock anthem anymore (and FWIW it was pretty good) and now he's on to We Are the Champions. And you know what? I think this is the most entertaining performance of the night so far - Syesha's in the lead for musical talent so far. but Michael made this work. He was fighting it in parts, but he managed to rise to the occasion. Both songs fit his voice really well, but I think he should have simply chosen to sing one or the other, not both. However, it did give him the chance to rock out and also to show a little bit of tenderness too... Queen suits Mr. Johns pretty well, I say

Randy was blown away, Paula said something I missed while typing a couple more thoughts and Simon christens the performance as the only memorable one of the night to this point - I disagreee with him, but he's right that this was quite good.

Carly Smithson: Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Well, Tyler sang it, but this is a Meatloaf song through and through, and Carly does the big guy proud by outsinging Tyler and AI's pro backing vocalist as well. If you can outsing those ladies, you're doing something right. (of course, any really great backing vocalist knows better than to sing better than The Talent, so this observation is probably off a teeny bit...)

Randy gets it mostly wrong - he's right about the last notes (they didn't fit), and Paula decides that she's going to contradict him and love on the ending notes. Poor, poor, deluded Paula. Someone hand her a ticket to ride - wrong week. Simon didn't like it as much as he'd hoped - I think he and Randy are both wrong; it was pretty good, maybe not the best of the night, but definitely solid.

David Archuleta: David Foster "You're the Voice"
Another "cheat" - John Farnham wrote and recorded this one in '86, but since David Foster put it on his 1990 album "River of Love", it's the first song performed on Idol that I have never ever heard before. It's all a bit theatrical, but it's not bad. Randy is mildly surprised to have never heard this song before, and he likes it, which means Paula's definitely cool with it, and Simon's back to comparing songs he doesn't like to theme park musical numbers.

During the break, we get to see the AT&T ad about the unused Motorhead tickets - the best ad from my company in a while. Still makes me laugh after having seen it a lot. Yay us.

Kristy Lee Cook: Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA"
1984! I graduated that year - so many great songs to choose from, but OH CRAP. She is likely to murderize something I really love and - oh that's a relief. She's singing one of the worst songs ever. No, seriously - I. HATE. THIS. SONG. Trust me - it is not unpatriotic to dislike crap like this, no matter how many heart strings the cheesy lyrics pull on, and (adopting the voice of Scrub's Dr. Cox) OH DEAR GOD, it's a key change, and it's KristyWhoMakethEverythingCountry singing it, and please oh please, won't you just make it stop.

And when it finally does stop - the judges let me down completely. I've been thrown under the bus here - Randy "loves that song" and Simon calls it "brilliant". Sometimes I really wonder about these judges - what is in those Coke cups?

David Cook: Michael Jackson "Billy Jean"
Hey! 1982 - how about some Huey Lewis or Hall and Oates, or maybe even some - no way. Michael Jackson by way of another cheat - Chris Cornell. OK David - we get it - you're the guy who knows all the alternate rock versions of famous songs. I just don't think this version works very well with the lyrics, what's being sung doesn't quite fit the feel of the words, but I gotta admit, David rocks it. He is really good at this sound - so, as long as he sticks to this genre, he should be fine. But I really would like to hear him try something totally unexpected - I'd have paid a stack of money THIS high to see him romp across the stage in a bustier singing Madonna's "Holiday"... oh sorry, that would have been Sanjaya, had he been in this week's competition.

The judges pay homage to David (Paula with a particularly inspired babbleblather delivered entirely from a standing O position), and we're done for the week.

Hmmm. A tough call this week. Strong performances from a couple unexpected sources - Syesha and Michael rediscovered their spark this week, and turn up the heat on front runners Carly and David Cook. I'm going to give MJ Most Improved; Syesha gets the Most Likely to Succeed (for another couple weeks, at least) award, and David Archuleta earns Most Likely to Go to a Prom with his Implied Girlfriend Sitting Next to His Dad Because He's Not so Interesting Anymore Though Certainly Still Talented and Cute and All.

So who's going home? KLC cranked out a song SO bad it made her sound good in comparison and VFTW can't possibly vote for anything else but that horrific combination. Ramiele noticeably improved this week, and she has been noticeably missing from the bottom three - she has a fan base, that much is certain. David A is the cute one the teengirls love, David Cook is solid, Michael Johns and Syesha surged at the right time. Chikezie went back to basics and didn't impress, and - oh no - here's the bottom three:

Chikezie, Carly and Brooke.

Who's going home? Well - I am going to kick myself if it turns out to be true, but I am going to say that Brooke is going home. Carly will pick up the votes left behind by Amanda and Chikezie has his demographic all to himself right now.

Brooke is simply overmatched.

American Idol 7.2

2008-03-18T22:54:00.004-06:00

American Idol 7.2: The Beatles

As if the Lennon - McCartney songbook weren't incredible enough, this week, the contestants get to choose from the entire Beatles discography - that's well over 150 solid songs to choose from this time. And the stakes are high - who will miss out on touring with the AI juggernaut this summer? Everyone who makes it past this week makes the tour - tonight is make or break night for someone...

Amanda Overmyer: "Back in the USSR"
I love Amanda's realistic view of her place in American Idol - sure, she's out of place, out of another time, and probably out of bleach, but she sticks to her guns and goes for the gusto every week. Last week, she shouted her way through "You Can't Do That" - oh yes, yes she can...

If ever there was a Beatles song built for Amanda Overmyer, "Back in the USSR" is it. And maybe that's my problem with her performance - this is what she's supposed to be good at, but we're not learning anything new about Amanda tonight as she screams and shouts her way through this bluesy rocker. OK - she can rock. We knew that. When will you show us something new Amanda?

Randy breaks out a numeric 7 out of 10 for Amanda, Paula tries her hand at critiquing rhythm, and Simon is solidly with me: "predictable". "You are in danger of becoming a bit boring". Simon is the Man."

Kristy Lee Cook: "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"
Where to start? ummmm...wow. and that's not a good wow, people. I mean, Kristy Lee can sing, but she hasn't shown she can "sang". And I really do think she can - if she can ever stop making with the eyes… Oh, right - she murdered "Eight Days a Week" last time. Yee. Ha.

Back from commercials (new ATT ad! woot!) to find Ryan and Kristy on the notsocomfystools discussing her continued presence in the bottom of the voting pile. And in her pre-song piece, she admits that she heard her song choice for the first time today. This does not bode well for her chances to join the group on tour. Kristy strides forward with zero stage presence as she sings along with a really cool arrangement, a hybrid "Live and Let Die" mix of the song. I'm typing all this up as she sings and my ears confirm that she's not doing much with it at all - what a wasted chance! By the time Randy and Paula blah blah blah their way through it, Simon says pretty much what I'm saying - bland, no energy, no nuthin. Don't bother with a TiVo replay, darlin' - Kristy ain't worth it.

David Archuleta: "The Long and Winding Road"
Two things, David: 1) Don't try to sing ANY Stevie Wonder arrangements. It's not your thang, dude. 2) Under no circumstances are you EVER AGAIN to step out onto that stage without a complete and utter comprehension of each and every lyric. "We Can Work It Out" deserved better from you - you really need to work it out this week, L'il Dave...

David says that he CAN do a Beatles song well - and he's chosen a safe, dependable McCartney ballad. Question is - will he be able to make it uniquely his, or will it suffer the same fate as the original (over produced, smarmy and syrupy sweet - yes, I just trashed what most consider a "classic"). oh look - the crowd waves it's arms right on cue as the band plays it straight, it's the Phil Spector arrangement. David sounds fine, he's hitting all the right notes really well, but he's simply singing the original track and throwing a few runs in to give it that oh so fresh modern sound. Bleah. Sorry dude - I don't care how well you sing, you really need to recapture the magic.

Randy says the hotness is back - I disagree. Paula beams and pronounces that David has risen above adversity, and that he is buidling character. Simon thinks that he was amazing, a "master class". Well, I think it was good, but not memorable like his version of "Imagine"

Michael Johns: "A Day in the Life"
Dear Michael - I was touched to hear that "Across the Universe" is a song with special meaning for you. So - what exactly does "Jai guru deva om" mean to you anyway? I wasn't feeling the love when you sang - that.

Ryno schleps for AT&T and Apple by grabbing a conveniently placed iPhone from a cute blonde in the most pit and the rambling through a cheesy product placement bit - Randy and Paula top it off with equally cheesy grins and raised Coke cups as Simon grimaces. Not complaining about the boost my company gets from AI, but can't we get a decent job of it from Ryan? Prolly a bit much to ask for.

Michael's made the brave decision to condense "A Day in the Life" into ninety seconds. Dude. The piano echo at the end of the track runs out to about seventy seconds. This is NOT going to be an easy fit for a compressed AI performance. There's no originality to this arrangement either, just a quick cut and paste job as Michael bleats his way through a condensed verse, chorus, abridged bridge, second chorus capped by the wrong lyrics and a final stumble into a weak ending. Not a nice day it seems after all.

Randy says that Michael hasn't found the right song to connect with - I'm blaming this one on a really BAD arrangement of a fantastic song. Paula tries to give him an out by blaming it on the fact that Michael's not wearing the in-ear monitors - I'm not buying this one either because there are very likely on stage monitors up there, and I doubt that the overall sound sucks on that stage. Simon tells it like it is - he's batting three for four tonight.

Brooke White: "Here Comes the Sun"
The shimmering songstress lost a bit of her lustre last week with a slightly too tenuous version of "Let it Be" - Brooke needs to find a song that will let her rip…

Brooke is perched on a stool, "the sweetest person alive" declares HairBoy. I'm liking Brooke's hair tonight, actually, and I think I'll be loving "Here Comes The Sun" a GREAT choice for her. With her voice, the song comes across a little more country than the original, and it works. Brooke sashays across the stage, twirling around in her mustard yellow dress - she's really enjoying herself, despite yet another less than appealing arrangement from Ricky and the band. What's up with the lack of originality this week? Brooke makes the most of it though, and manages to project her personality well this week.

Randy thought she wasn't connected with the song, Paula couldn't help but smile and she loves the yellow for the sun and yadda yadda yadda Paula liked it? Simon thought it was a terrible performance, not digging the Yellow theme, the lack of conviction, and Brooke actually interrupts him to sort of apologize "it's not OK but it is." Well, I liked it better than the judges, maybe they were looking for more of the same, I liked it because she tried to bring something new to her style tonight.

David Cook: "Daytripper"
The show's real male rocker stands tall after dressing up "Eleanor Rigby" in orchestral rock majesty last week. The only questions about David's skills right now have to do with his comb and that hair…

Welcome back and Ryan's shilling iTunes in the mosh pit, and gives a shout out for Ruben's goodbye song written for this season's show. Meh.

David admits to ripping off a Whitesnake version of one of the Beatles best songs ever (IMHO) - and he's got a Talk Box to use for his guitar solo in the middle eight. I agree with Randy - another solid performance. I agree with Paula (ouch!) he's ready to go sell records. Simon misses the Geico commercial reference Paula makes, and says that he looked a bit smug throughout - David's "lost his element of surprise". A good observation there - David's established his niche, so how does he maintain the momentum throughout the rest of the season?

Carly Smithson: "Blackbird"
Carly growled out a scintallating "Come Together" last week, and should easily maintain her position near the top of the heap again this week if she keeps up the consistently solid performances.

Ryan reminds us that we get to watch a performance from Kelly Pickler tomorrow night. Oh. Goodie. And now Paula is doing a faux Simon/Brit accent trying to illustrate what they were talking about during the ads.

Would someone please stop the crowd from doing that stupid hand wave every time the lights go down as a slow song starts up? It's really stoopid. Now, this is a nice arrangement - the chords have been changed up a bit, and they set off the melody very nicely, which is fortunate because Carly doesn't sound quite as strong as she has in the past. It's a decent performance over a really really good arrangement -could've been so much better. Not bad at all. And Paula just gave her an 'F' (for "fantastic" she says). Simon doesn't like it, and Carly defends the performance with an impassioned plea about how artists feel broken down by the music industry. Now Simon feels awkward. Me too. That was - odd.

Jason Castro: "Michelle"
The embodiment of the importance of being earnest. And cute. But will the dreadlocked dude be able to coast on these virtues if he continues to limp through songs he isn't really connecting with? Not sure what other people thought they heard when he sang "If I Fell" last week, but he'd better not let the tempo fall apart again. Stay with the band, man...

Ryan wants to know if we've heard our favorite Beatles song yet - not me, not yet. Not sure that I will. And I'll have to wait longer since Jason is tackling the French/English lyrics of "Michelle".

I've got to say - this is a perfect choice to fit Jason's style, and he manages to pull off the French pronunciation pretty well, even though we're back to unoriginal arrangements. I need to, I need to, I NEEEEED to say - Jason is coasting on cute right now. He's better than most guys who coasted on this quality in past seasons, but I don't think he'll make it past the top six.

Randy's sucking in his breath again - he pulls out the "not really connected" phrase again, what's really sad about that phrase is that it was Paula's phrase from last week. Paula uses it too, and then Simon says that maybe it wasn't a good idea to continue with The Beatles this week. I have to agree with him - this week's performances are a lot worse than last week's. David was aight, but not so much...

Syesha Mercado: "Yesterday"
Last week, Syesha started off the finalists episodes with a real snoozer version of "Got to Get You Into My Life". Syesha, honey - got to get some real energy into your songs!

Ryan sits on a stumpy stool next to a woman who looks vaguely familiar - where did all the frizz go? Syesha looks hot as usual, but what will she do with the perfect pop ballad?

Here's the thing - "Yesterday" is one of the most covered songs of all time, it's also one of the highest played songs on radio for all time. It's probably impossible to bring anything new to this song, and even all the vocal acrobatics that Syesha adds to this straight version of the song don't do enough to make it hers, I think. It's pretty, it's nice, but it's not all that.

Randy thought it was very, very good, Paula fumbles through something about vulnerability and "connecting" again, Simon gives it a "probably your best performance so far" even though he thinks she chose the wrong song (he says Brooke should have done it).

Chikezie: "I've Just Seen a Face"
With his incredibly energetic, and surprisingly versatile rendition of "She's a Woman", Chikezie was the hands down winner last week. Can he remain fresh for another week? Will there be a return to the orange-suited smoothness of Hollywood week?

Chikezie's wearing an orange shirt under his jacket and he's going to sing a lesser known tune - and it's slowed down a LOT. At this tempo, it's a Bryan McKnight joint with a country vibe, and I really like it OH WAIT we're off into a fast four again. Not good. Chikezie's not keeping up with the change, and he's not selling it like he did last week. I think I would rather have heard the whole song at the slowed down tempo. Randy disagrees with me, preferring the faster tempo. Paula busts out a couple keywords "depth" "range" and some other crap that doesn't matter. Simon thinks Paula's spouting nonsense, and he nails it when he calls it gimmicky and compares the last part of the song to Achy Breaky Heart.

Ramiele Malubay: "I Should Have Known Better"
Poor little Ramiele. Pining for her precious Danny N (look - they're hair twins!!), she dedicated last week's performance of "In My Life" to the memory of "close friends who'd left the show". Luckily for her, she should be joining them soon...

Ramiele MaLOOOOObay is last up tonight, and she's talking about all her really good friends again. This does not bode well for originality in her performance tonight - I'm not sure she knows how to be original. Karaoke is her thing. Her upbeat choice of "I Should Have Known Better" is made all the more sassy by that hat she's sporting - and she doesn't know what to do with the high note other than to scream it out in a bad Christian Aguilera impression. As she wraps it up, I think we've just witnessed the poorest week of the season so far - not a truly memorable performance at all tonight.

Randy thought it was a happy go lucky kinda joint, Paula thought it was better than last week and then says she's better at ballads - so, which is it? Simon likes Ramiele but he didn't like the arrangement at all, and I think he's absolutely right that she chose a mediocre song. There were a LOT of songs not picked tonight that could have worked much better."
"In retrospect, it turns out that Amanda had the most appealing performance tonight, and I wasn't too thrilled with it to begin with. Kristy Lee Cook may have actually had the best arrangement of the night, and she did nothing to make it shine. I'd love to hear what Carly would do with that particular piece -

Maybe I was anticipating more from tonight's theme - no one really made the most of a golden opportunity. A few people gave predictable performances - David Cook's was probably the best, but I anticipated hearing something exactly like that, so it lost a lot of impact. Should he have gone with the even more predictable "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and shown us what he can do with a guitar solo? I guess we'll never know.

Songs that could have made a HUGE impact went completely untouched - a few possibilities I came up with during the week as I mused over who might sing what:

Michael Johns could have rocked the house with a strong arrangement of "All You Need is Love". Brooke could have shaken things up by applying her own light touch to "Lady Madonna". And can you imagine what David Archuleta might sound like if he tried his hand at creating a new "Revolution"? That might have been a train wreck, or it might have been a bold choice, but there were a LOT of strong songs left untouched - of course, with a catalog this good, you're not going to get to all the good stuff, but tonight's lackluster performances made it seem as if all the good songs had been used up last week. Not a good week in my opinion -

So, who's going home? Hard to say. I think that Ramiele might have done enough to stay on again, and Syesha was definitely better this week, so she might not be on the floor this time. I think that Kristy is going home this time - she totally wasted a fantastic arrangement and missed a great chance to finally shine. Against that wonderful chordal structure, the melody should have stood out, and the vocal should have been memorable, but once again, Kristy doesn't project anything at all, and it's all for nothing. Somebody write her a check so she can buy that barrel horse back this week...

American Idol 7.1

2008-03-12T17:37:00.003-06:00

Let's blog this thing LIVE... (well, OK. 90 minute TiVo delay)
Tonight's Theme: Lennon / McCartney Songbook

1) Syesha Mercado "Got to Get You Into My Life"
"a song I can get into and show a little more of my personality"

I hate to use Simon's favorite critical phrase, but this is definitely cabaret.Sysesha is not getting on top of these notes - she sounds a bit nervous, and she is fighting the arrangement. I think the arrangement is winning.Not awful, but not a good way to start things out. Not memorable at all.

Randy says it's an EWF arrangement, "loosen up and fly with it", he calls her on some pitch problems
Paula copies Randall on the pitch criticism, then says she sounded good from the midway point to the end
Simon liked the choice, and better than alright. He thinks she was nervous, and actually liked the arrangement

Come back from commercial and Ryan and Chikezie chat with each other about his job as a guard at LAX, and how they set things up for Paula and Ezie to meet when she fliesEzie is sporting a tie under that sweater, and a sweatband watch as well. Hmmm.

2) Chikezie "She's a Woman"
"putting my own funk on it"

Oh yes. Bluegrass jam (banjo, tambourine, fiddle), and Chikezie is working it sitting down with this trio. He gets up and the band kicks into a kickbutt rock groove, and Chikezie is definitely keeping up. Stutter vocals, nasty high falsetto screeches. I LOVED IT. Greatness. THAT is how the show should have started. The whole world just forgot about Syesha - It was really refreshing, and it was completely original.

Randy "I was thoroughly entertained." "Who knew you had the falsetto? Chikezie smashed it"
Paula "those who take the risk, the greater the reward" She says she's been waiting for this sort of thing from him
Simon "I'm... really surprised... that I actually agree with these two." "unlike the first singer you actually changed from last week"

Ryan's overdoing the cheerleading afterwords

3) Ramiele Mabulay "In My Life"

"it's for my close friends who've left the show already" (a reference to Danny?)

shaky start, but fixes it pretty quickly. Nice tone through the verse. Very beatle-esque string arrangement, slowed down a lot from the original. A bit of R&B touch in her voice through the second verse. Need to control that last high note - it popped out noticeably. OK, but again - not memorable.

Randy "you know, it was kinda pretty, but pretty boring" "didn't move any earth for me" ????
Paula "it was pretty safe." positives positives blah blah blah blah blah "I feel like you're holding back"
Simon "I was bored to tears throughout the entire song" Forgettable, boring, and I expect a lot better from you
Audience doesn't sound enthused either

Ryan stands on a vanity platform up top - hey, we can download audio AND video. "Thank you iTunes" he says chirpily

4) Jason Castro "IF I Fell"

Jason tells us he failed his music minor class at Texas A&M. "oops" "it's a song I can really relate to"

Jason is seated on a stool, and playing his guitar. It's pretty much the Beatles track as originally recorded, and Jason is having a hard time getting into the groove when the band comes in. Jason adds some falsetto here and there, changes up the melody in places. That's about it for making it his song. Yeah, he's cute, but this isn't going to win it.

Randy "I liked it, I didn't love it..."
Paula disagrees with Randy "what is so special and unique about you - I feel your heart" blah blah blah blah blah "unique" "special" "emotional connection"
Simon "Last week you were incredible. This time, it was all a bit student in the bedroom at midnight" "is he going to make the same impact this week - no"

Have to agree with Simon on this one

Ryan and Simon are toying with each other, trading dumb barbs againRyan asks if America wants "the dreads" back again. Ryan and Carly are seated on "the most uncomfortable stools in television history" How is rooming with Amanda going? "pretty good"

5) Carly Smithson "Come Together"

"usually, it goes down a treat - I'm going to change it up a bit"

Well, it's a bit more bluesy than the original, and she's really belting it out (quite well, I might add). She's working the stage, selling it well, overall a great performance

Randy loved it.
Paula thought she was "already watching a star"
Simon thinks she chose the right song - finally. "this reminds me - six years ago - exactly the same week - of Kelly Clarkson"

Ryno high fives Smithson and throws it to commercialAd for Horton hears a Who - the entire cast is singing I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore - is that in the movie, or made just for this show?

6) David Cook "Eleanor Rigby"

"this song is already so powerful - if I were to play guitar, it would be overkill"

It's a David Cook groove - a moody rock groove, and David drags the mic stand around with him. I LOVE the minor piano arpeggios. And a really strong chorus, HUGE rock orchestra sound. BIG screamer note at the end that he holds out pretty well. I LIKE. I think he's my favorite so far, even if he's not technically the best in this season

Randy "once you hit the chorus it was rockin!"
Paula "I've been telling everyone you're the dark horse in this race"
Simon (after enduring stupid comments from Randy and Paula about him being a Donkey) "David, I thought you were brilliant" Simon also postulates that David COULD win this whole show

Ryno is now hanging out with Ricky Minor on is perch "what up Ricky?" sheesh as we come back from the ads (what ads? we has tivo!!!)

7) Brooke White "Let It Be"

"I really connected with the story"

Brooke is playing the piano. It's the McCartney concert intro I've heard for myself in 1990 at Berkeley. The arrangement behind her at the chorus features more strings, a bit of gospel backing vocals. Second chorus, the band comes in a bit stronger, but it's restrained. She's not able to get the power going that the chorus needs. This week, Brooke just seemed like one of the girls, and in a season that obviously belongs to the boys, that is NOT a good thing. She lost her originality this week

Randy "you gave a very heartfelt performance. The dog is a fan"
Paula mentions the emotional connection again - it's the emotion that makes people fall in love with you
Simon thought is was one of the best songs of the night, brilliant song choice. "It's believable"I wasn't so impressed this week, but I LOVE that Brooke is so real, so genuine, and is just doing her thing the way she wants

At the break, Judge Amy says "prepare for plastic man" referring to David H's pending performance

8) David Hernandez "I Saw Her Standing There"

"it's fun, it's upbeat, and I'm gonna work the stage"

Hmmm. It's the Beatles arrangement with some instrumental breaks thrown in to change things up. David "works the stage" by starting out behind the judges, singing a bit, failing to impress the girls in the moshpit as he runs to the stage. The only good thing I can say about this performance is that David H is actually capable of sounding like Kenny Loggins. But Kenny sings better than this.

Randy "I was a little lost. Too much going on for me"Paula "I love your voice" David "I love you too" OOOPS.
Paula's trying to keep it positive but failing
Simon "No. No. No. Corny verging on desperate"

Ryno and Amanda site on the not so comfy stools. "What's it like back stage?" Amanda "tends to sit in a corner and wait"

9) Amanda Overmyer "You Can't Do That"

"I'm going to speed it up, rock it up a bit"

When you speed things up, start at the right speed, and make sure you don't lose it either. This performance feels more like Tina Turner than Janis Joplin - Amanda needs to sing less sloppy, slurring things up and down into each other. It's energetic, and she's doing pretty well, but it's not up to the same standard David Cook is bringing right now. However, she and Carly are having no problems keeping up with the boys

Randy and Paula love it, blown away.

Simon uses my word! "slurring the words" woo hoo!

Ryno is up in the crowd exhorting them to hold signs higher.

10) Michael Johns "Across the Universe"

"you're not a real musician if you haven't been affected by the Beatles"

He's singing it smoothly, pretty nice until he gets to the jacarudayuh word. It just doesn't work that smooth. How Lennon made it work, I'll never know, but it certainly doesn't work here. The song is nice but should be filed with the forgettable performances of the night

Randy "a little sleepy but aight"
Paula disagrees with Randy again and gets applause for it. She says connected again.
Simon agrees with Randy, then forgets Carly's name referring to her in praise "now is the point you've got to let yourself go a little bit - I'm frustrated still that we haven't yet heard what you're capable of"

Ryan plays judge four again and gives Paula a chance to state her case again. Ryan - you're the presenter. Stop editorializing

11) Kristy Lee Cook "Eight Days a Week"

"I'm changing it into a country song"

News flash, Kristy. It's already a country song. OH. My bad - she's turned it into a hoedown. At least she's doing what works with her voice. WWCUD? I have to say that this speeded up, Hee Haw version is completely boring. There's absolutely no dynamic change, nothing to make the song interesting except the novelty, and I don't think they'd allow this on the stage at Grand Ole Opry.

Randy is laughing "I actually liked the idea of the song. Kinda torn with this one"
Paula is hemming and hawing. She didn't enjoy it - she thinks that Kristi took their advice too much to heart (to stick with country)
Simon "you sounded like Dolly Parton on helium - a very brave, but very foolish thing to do"

And the crowd goes wild as Ryno introduces...

12) David Archuleta "We Can Work it Out"

"definitely the most nervous I've ever been"

He's doing a funky version (is this the Stevie Wonder arrangement?), and he forgot the words of the second phrase. Yes - think of what you're saying David. He's forgetting more words now. I think that this would be a much better song if he was more confident about the words of this song. I will say this - he set a high level of difficulty for himself - he is not in control of this song. I think he bit off more than he could chew.

Randy "it was not on point. this kind of vibe is not your vibe. felt very forced - all I heard in my head was that Stevie"
Paula keeps it on a positive tip, natch, but she's right that this wasn't his week
Simon "I'm going to keep this fair. That was a mess"

In the recap, my daughter says "oh yeah. Syesha performed"

And as we go through this again, I think that Chikezie won the night, with David Cook and Carly Smithson following close behind. Several forgettable performances and a few very, very good ones - here's the kicker. Kristi's performance was horrible AND memorable, so I'll choose her as this week's VFTW target. I think that Ramiele is the one in most danger of going home at this point.

Better formatting next week - promise!

U2 3D: Uno! Dos! Tres! Fantastic!

2008-01-23T18:04:00.001-06:00

The hype doesn't even come close to reality...

2008-01-21T09:07:00.000-06:00

Cloverfield

Pros: Fantastically realized terrifying scenario captured on "home video".

Cons: Horrifyingly realistic depiction of destruction in Manhattan likely to be too much for some

The Bottom Line: JJ Abrams delivers on the hype and more. This is a must see movie.

It's very rare for the hype that precedes a movie to be eclipsed by the actual film once released.

JJ Abrams' Cloverfield is one of those rare movies.

For me, the hype began with my first viewing of the completely enigmatic trailer that preceded Transformers last summer. When my son and I left the theater that night, we completely ignored the robotic mayhem we'd just witnessed and instead spent the next hour enthusing over the two minute teaser for a film that, at that point, wasn't even named. All we knew was that we wanted to see "that movie with the party and the explosion in New York City", and last night, every imagination, every fantastic conjecture, and all our expectations were exceeded.

Cloverfield is simply a marvelous film...

Read my entire review at epinions.com

Watch the latest trailer!

I can't, I can't, I can't stand looking...

2007-09-04T10:54:00.000-06:00

The Police: The Synchronicity Concert (DVD)

Pros: It sounds really, really good...

Cons: ...but you could hurt yourself (literally) if you watch it

The Bottom Line: The visual effects in this 1983 concert are decidedly annoying. The Police's excellent performance is largely ruined by Godley & Creme's experimentation.

Getting tickets to a concert by The Police this year was not easy - with this being their first tour in over thirty years, demand was very high for their shows. And so, seeing a show by these megastars of the early eighties remains a rare event - even if you want to see a show in the comfort of your own home.

The Police's Synchronicity Concert DVD is the only complete concert widely released on DVD (there is a South Korean DVD of a Ghost in the Machine tour show, but it's not really "official"). Despite the band's enormous popularity during the earliest days of the rise of MTV, and despite the known existence of recorded shows from various tours, this 1983 show at the Atlanta Omni remains the only filmed performance by the band to be brought up to date using today's technology.

Directed by Godley & Creme, who also directed three of the videos from the Synchronicity album, the concert video is basically seventy-five minutes of visual experimentation using some common video tricks of the era. Video and MTV were still relatively new, and at this point, there weren't any stereotypes or expectations for what live performances should look like when filmed.

Godley and Creme used several cameras and a lot of video post-production editing to attempt to create a new look for concert films. Some of it works, some of it does not. Unfortunately, there are some moments where the director's work overwhelms the music, and with the rarity of concert videos by The Police, it leaves fans of the band like myself wishing for more concert videos where the music gets the lion's share of the attention...

Read the entire review at epinions.com

Fighting familiar foo for Jesus...

2007-08-07T10:44:00.000-06:00

Aaron Shust: Whispered and Shouted

Pros: Catchy pop-rock tunes, interesting personal stories for each song in the liner notes

Cons: It's not truly original, but it does "the usual" so very well...

The Bottom Line: Aaron Shust's brand of CCM pop-rock is a cut above the usual...

Every so often, one of those recordings comes along, its sounds diving deep into my brain and circulating within my memory for weeks and weeks. Snippets of song will rise unbidden at seemingly random moments, phrases jostled out of the corners of my mind to begin looping in my head while I rush for the disc and my favorite headphones so I can listen to the song in full.

(...swirling electronics, a Foo Fighter-esque guitar hook, and a fast four rock tempo...)
There are always days when I don't feel like singin'
There are always days when I don't care at all
But I know the king of all creation reigns completely
Over every moment great and small

Long live the One who gives us
Life and peace and hope for tomorrow...
(and rock out on air guitar as more Fooey hooks are played…yeah!)

Aaron Shust's Whispered and Shouted is full of great moments like this - a solid offering of catchy contemporary Christian pop-rock that will have you listening to the album over and over. It's definitely one of those recordings that will have you pressing repeat on your CD player...

Read the entire review at epinions.com

These praises ring true, mostly...

2007-07-09T10:41:00.000-06:00

Lincoln Brewster: Let the Praises Ring

Pros: Quality Pop Rock Sounds, Quality Worship Songs
Cons: A few mis-steps here and there
The Bottom Line: Lincoln Brewster is a versatile guitarist, with an engaging voice and a knack for crafting nifty pop-rock hooks. "Let The Praises Ring" is a solid collection of his best work.

Does an artist whose discography contains just four albums truly deserve a "Best of" collection? Well, sure, if you’ve got talent and a knack for creating some of the more interesting music in your chosen genre...

Since he debuted in 1999, Christian music’s Lincoln Brewster has proved himself to be a quality guitarist, singer, writer and arranger; Integrity Music’s 2006 collection, Let the Praises Ring - The Best of Lincoln Brewster is a solid, seventeen track retrospective of this established worship leader’s best work.

Drawing equally from his three studio recordings and his recent live album, Let the Praises Ring showcases Brewster’s guitar-driven brand of pop-rock worship, a sound similar to that of Chris Tomlin, Newsboys, Charlie Hall, and David Crowder but with one notable exception: Brewster can bang out a terrific guitar solo at any given moment. Other popular worship groups write equally good music as Brewster, but just don’t have the advantage of having a really great guitarist in the band...

Read the entire review at epinions.com

The Police World Tour: Dallas June 26, 2007

2007-06-27T13:54:00.000-06:00

“Don’t ruin it for me…”

My wife was not happy with me as we left the American Airlines Center in Dallas last night. No sooner had we stepped out onto the rain-soaked plaza when I began verbally deconstructing the two hour concert we had just witnessed – the first and, quite possibly, the last show by The Police we will ever see.

“You always do this.”

I have to admit it – I had started writing this review in my head the instant Stewart Copeland jumped up onto his percussion platform and sounded the massive gong hanging behind his drum kit. I had begun trying to think of neat turns of phrase, new and different ways to describe this show even as it was unfolding in front of me.

“Just let me enjoy it for a while, OK?”

I quickly recognized that I was threatening to ruin her good mood. She was in high spirits that had not been dampened by the downpour that pelted us earlier that evening as we crossed the plaza from the railway station to the venue, that had not faltered even faced with vertigo induced by our eagle eye view from the top row of section 308, that had never wavered even against the onslaught of the overly friendly drunk couple who insisted on dancing badly and playing grabass in her face all night long – my wife had been looking forward to this concert for months, and she thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

She was not to be deterred from her mood by her idiot, analytical husband. So, I did the right thing and shut up.

Her immediate opinion of the concert was, of course, more accurate than mine – what matters most when going to see The Police during this world tour is to simply enjoy the fact that the trio has come back to play their hits for their fans. The bonus is that the band is playing the songs with new enthusiasm and new interpretations; why critics and some fans have decided that The Police (version 2007) is somehow inferior to The Police (version 1980) escapes me.

The band is playing the songs the fans want to hear, and they are re-inventing the songs a bit because they feel like it.

Got a problem with that?

I nearly did, but thankfully, my wife talked me out of it...

complete review available at epinions.com

My Escort ZX2 saves me from living in a van, down by the river...

2007-06-27T10:30:00.000-06:00

Ford Escort ZX2

Pros: Great for in-town commuting, impressing teen-aged daughter with an itch to start driving
Cons: road noise, limited rearward visibility
The Bottom Line: A good value for the things I need from my car - decent mileage, decent room, responsive driving.

Remember Chris Farley's inspirational speaker character, the guy with the big glasses who said he was "living in a van, down by the river?"

For a long time, I feared that might be me.

I've driven a Plymouth Grand Voyager to work and back every weekday for years. A nice, quiet comfy ride with a huge drawback: low gas mileage. The 24 mile round trip is completely in-town - no highways, no expressways, just some fairly straight avenues going through technology parks and a few neighborhoods at 40 miles per hour; 40 miles per hour, that is, when not stopping for lights or small traffic back ups.

So, when the front end of the PGV started to get a bit wonky (the wheels started sounding like the engine of Sebulba's pod racer from Star Wars Episode 1 - womp, womp, womp, womp) and gas started to stick at nearly $3 per gallon, I knew it was time to find a new ride to work. If I tried to pay to get the van fixed, and continued to shell out $45 to fill up every several days, I'd end up living in the van, down by the river...

It's bad enough that sometimes people think I resemble Chris Farley.

Searching Craig's List in Dallas, my wife found a used Ford Escort ZX2 that turned out to meet all our needs. Low mileage, right price, clean and well cared for, we got a great deal on a used car. And now that I've had a few weeks to drive it around town, I have to say that the pros outweigh the cons...

Read the entire review at epinions.com

American Idol: A Singing Competition? Please...

2007-05-23T15:10:00.002-06:00

Simon Cowell needs to give up trying to convince us that American Idol is a singing competition, much less a serious one at that. Please, Simon - you know exactly what this competition is, and you are its puppet master (and a very good one at that)

If AI were really about singing, then tonight's finale would be Melinda Doolittle versus some other fabulous singer with real experience and chops. If AI were really about vocal excellence, Frenchie Davis would have gotten to the final weeks of her season, rather than getting the boot. If AI were really about being the best singer, rather than the Lowest Common Denominator, then it would be a completely different show. And probably cancelled three weeks into its first season...

And THAT is why AI is what it is. Melinda, Frenchie, and the few truly talented individuals who have graced the big blue stage are the exceptions to the rule; they legitimize what is, for all intents and purposes, a high school prom queen contest. (Clay Aiken was SO robbed...)

AI is about the dumbing down of the American Listener, the relentless push of musical mediocrity upon a public all too willing to settle... Not to say that some of the contestants aren't actually talented singers, some of them are, but so very few of them are truly talented, dare I say, gifted, musicians.

Of course, the truly gifted are already out there making their own music - whether anyone is hearing it or even buying it is another story altogether in this day and age of corporately programmed radio stations, "music" television, and ProTools gee-whiz fakery. Sure, a lot of the stuff we hear these days is fun and entertaining, but its really hard point at the record and radio charts as an indicator of any talent. Pop and rock radio have long been populated with popular, yet vapid music but for many years, you could find solid acts throughout the charts, people you could be proud to listen to rather than today's cringe-inducing crap that ClearChannel/Viacom/American Idol claims is "music"

And so, we talk endlessly about Haley Scarnato and Sanjaya Malakar instead of Melinda Doolittle and Chris Sligh (a guy who I feel is much more talented that some are giving him credit for) - did you see Haley's dress? Did you see Sanjaya's hair? For all his musically inclined bluster, Simon can't help but pimp these comments himself, leering at Haley and ridiculing Sanjaya for their looks - if he really wanted the best singers in this competition, then he certainly missed a lot of opportunities in the last day of Hollywood week this year (and in all other past seasons).

If AI were really a singing competition, Melinda would be going home a winner tonight. Instead, she lucks out and goes home in third place, a good place to be if you want a real music career that merely gets a boost from the AI phenomenon.

If there is any justice in this world, Melinda will go on to become a true legend of blues and gospel - she has the voice, she has the experience to pull it off, and now she has the exposure to boost sales of her first recording.

Jordin will win tonight, and she may have a bright future ahead of her; she's young enough to make something of her time in the spotlight. Blake will have a career for a while, but he'd better keep something on the back burner for when the girls give up on him.

Which will probably be right around the time the next season of American Idol gets underway...

American Idol - Top Three

2007-05-16T10:18:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, I post a comment somewhere else that I like enough to want to share it with more people...
==============================
Melinda.

Going Home.

Tonight.

Yes, just like the GSWs, MsDooLots is going home tonight, head held high, riding off into a promising, dawning career. You see, Simon is at it again - he is nailing the coffin shut on yet another singer even while praising her. He loves Melinder, he thinks she can do no wrong, she deserves to win.

To a Blaker Girl - them's fightin' words. My guess is that last night saw record numbers of votes for the Blakester (who actually DIDN'T channel Sting last night, despite what Simon says - trust me, I've heard Mr. Sumner sing "Roxanne" live several times, an' that ain't it)

And I believe that the LaKisha Lovers still have a few water balloons they'd like to throw at Melinda, or as they might call her "That Non-Lisping Goody Two Shoes Who Just. Won't. Die. GRRR!"

So Jordin wins by getting the LaKisha voters, her own voters, perhaps some VFTW voting going against Melinda and maybe even catching Melinda voters napping after hearing Simon's soothing suppositions - and wouldn't you like to hear Kiki try to say that fast five times?

Yeah, I went there.

The Office Sanitation Nazi

2007-05-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

There's a new sign taped to every mirror in every bathroom on every floor in our office building.

"Do not use the sinks to clean your nose."

Yep, the office sanitation nazi strikes again.

No one knows who s/he is. No one has ever seen this person hang his or her notes on the bulletin boards, on breakroom walls, and other various public places.

But until last week, the bathrooms had apparently gone untouched - at least untouched by evil nose-pickers with snot encrusted fingers, that is...

Look, we all know what the poster meant by "Do not use the sinks to clean your nose" - s/he doesn't want people clearing their sinuses and spitting the mess into the sink. I can understand that; it's gross, and I don't want it in my sink either.

But should we call attention to this unpleasant reality?

Now that the sign is up there, others have begun wondering about whether the sinks are EVER truly sanitary - think about it: people go into the bathrooms to do their various bits of business, and inevitably, various bits get touched and... well, you get the picture.

And these after the business is concluded, people wash their hands. Meaning, they touch the sink with the hands that have just touched - well I'll leave it to your imagination here again...

And so, I have to wonder if the office sanitation nazi has thought this thing all the way through. Is this code thorough enough? Can we come up with a more stringent policy that covers all potential bathroom gross-nosity? Perhaps we should consider enacting the following Bathroom Sanitiation policy...

All nose-picking is to be done on authorized breaks within authorized nose-picking zones. Please. No flicking.
Do not handle your bits without a company-approved handling device.
Do not use the company-approved handling device without wearing company-approved sanitary gloves.
Do not touch the sink with the company-approved handling device, nor with the company-approved gloves you handled the company-approved handling device with. Use a new pair of company-approved gloves to touch the sink.
Use a third pair of company-approved gloves to shut off the water when you have washed your hands (at least four times, as prescribed in the company-approved Sanitation Guidelines - now available encased in clear plastic for your convenience!)

Whether any of this will actually work in reality is beyond me - all I know is that these policies would probably send the sanitation nazi into previously unexplored realms of ecstasy...

as long as s/he cleans up afterwards, that is...

Diop Dirk!

2007-05-04T08:38:00.000-06:00

Dear Mark Cuban,

I know that you must be going through a "difficult time" right now, so I'll be brief...

Mark, please - look at what the Warriors just did to your favorite toy. They bullied you, Mark - they stole your toy out from under your nose and teased you with it, almost giving it back, but snatching it away again when you thought you could get it out of their hands.

So, what now, Mark? What will you do to protect yourself from the big meanies who live in the wild, wild West, Mark? I have an idea for you, and you aren't going to like it...

Drop Dirk. ASAfreakin'P

You have all the pieces you could ever want or need, but your best player isn't protecting your precious toy from the bullies, Mark. Where was he last night? Your other players were staying with the Warriors throughout the second quarter just fine without Dirk - did he really need to come back in the second half?

What you REALLY need, Mark, is a power forward who will bully the bullies, step in and help Diop (and whatever center you bring in to replace Dampier - hint, hint) bang the bodies inside. You need to strike some fear into the hearts of the other kids on the block, Mark. Sure, they know you can score lots of points, but they aren't afraid of that - they just have to try to score more points than you, and you know how they do that? By pushing you around, that's how...

Dirk doesn't push back. He's seven feet tall, he's a smart player, and he can shoot like no one else his size in the league - but he's a pushover. Stick a feisty six foot six guard on him, and he gets flustered.

Mark - go find a power forward and/or another center who isn't afraid to go to the rim, who isn't afraid to give up a few points in favor of instilling some fear and respect within the hearts of your opponents. In game 5, Diop came out and showed you what you need - a guy who'll disrupt everything inside and create points and rebound opportunities.

Trade Dirk, Mark - trade him now while he's still got some shine left in that dubious MVP honor he's probably going to get soon... somebody needs him, Mark.

But not you.

Mavs take Game 5 - one down, two to go

2007-05-02T09:02:00.000-06:00

Two words: DeSegana Diop
One Statistic: 11 points

Eleven points from De Segana Diop is a Texas-sized cloudburst of much needed offensive-ness for the D-Mavs. They needed something to spark a rout of the Warriors, and for the first few minutes of the the first quarter in Game 5, Diop was The Man. He went after the ball on both ends of the court, and had scored 5 points within the first three minutes of the game - Diop is not an offensive machine, but last night, he gave Dirk & Co. a much needed kickstart.

Of course, the Mavs blew their great start, and even threatened to throw the whole thing down the toilet, but Nowitzki FINALLY took over in the last three minutes to toss up a dozen and overcome a nine-point DeficitMonkey wearing a yellow We Believe t-shirt...

Game 6 is in Oakland - the Mavs need to come up with another explosion of points Thursday night and assert their authority before coming home to win game 7 and keep the Warriors at Bay...

The first recording of Robert Levin's completion of Mozart's Requiem

2007-04-24T09:00:00.000-06:00

Mozart: Requiem, Kyrie / Rilling, Stuttgart Bach Collegium

Pros: The quartets are simply exquisite, Rilling's feel for dynamics is marvelous
Cons: Some tempo interpretations just don't work for me
The Bottom Line: This is the first recording of the Robert Levin completion of Mozart's Requiem, and where it is good, it is very good, but I question some of the tempo choices

Pianist, composer and Mozart expert Robert Levin was commissioned in 1987 by the International Bach Academy to produce a new completion of Mozart's Requiem in D minor (KV626). In August 1991, conductor Helmuth Rilling premiered Levin's work at the European Music Festival, winning Levin wide-ranging praise for his efforts. There is no need for me to go into details over the many, many scholarly arguments over the authorship of various sections of the work, nor to flog the details of each and every change made by Levin. Suffice to say, my personal feeling is that the Levin completion is much more satisfying and seemingly true to Mozart than the traditional completions that surfaced during the work's first two hundred years...

...Robert Levin's completion of Mozart's Requiem is convincing, stirring and true. Rilling's interpretation is consistent, disciplined and a touch slow throughout, and fatally so in the climactic moments of Confutatis. The vocal ensemble are the true stars of this recording, giving marvelously balanced performances that are a real delight. Overall, this disc is quite good indeed, but the listener may have to get around his own preconceived notions of Mozart's Requiem in order to really enjoy Levin's completion and Rilling's tempo.

Read the entire review at epinions.com

Diana Krall's Terrific First Album at GRP

2007-04-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

Diana Krall - Only Trust Your Heart

Pros: Love the addition of saxophone to Krall's sound; Christian McBride is greatness
Cons: A minor nitpick - feels a little bit skimpy with nine tracks at forty-six minutes
The Bottom Line: Another incredible recording by Diana Krall and her hand-picked backing band of jazz greats. Krall got off to a fine start at GRP with this high-quality effort.

After recording a stunning debut album with jazz greats Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton, Diana Krall jumped to the prestigious GRP label, and in 1995, released another fabulous album featuring outstanding jazz musicians. Only Trust Your Heart is a showcase for the immense talents of Lewis Nash on drums, Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, and Christian McBride and Ray Brown sharing time on bass, not to mention Miss Krall's marvelous turn at vocals and the piano...

...I probably fall for Diana's music hardest when she turns out a quiet ballad; her throaty alto is perfect for a slow, contemplative work like The Folks Who Live on the Hill and wonderfully seductive in the bluesy All Night Long, penned by Nancy Wilson and George Shearing. I really would have liked to hear more of the quieter side of Diana Krall on this album; there are just three ballads to be found here - the album sounds a bit short to me with just nine songs in forty-six minutes, but then, I could listen to this sort of music all day long.

Read the complete review at epinions.com

The Police World Tour - my personal wishlist

2007-04-12T14:32:00.000-06:00

-- originally published at Epinions.com --

The Police World Tour is one of the hottest concert tickets this year, if not in several years. This is a tour that a lot of people have been waiting to see happen for a very long time, myself included. I've been a rabid fan of the band, as well as Sting's solo career since I first heard them on the radio in 1979. And on June 26, 2007, I finally get to check "Attend a Concert by The Police" from my list of things to do before I die…

But what kind of concert will I see and hear? What will The Police decide to play?

The band only released five albums, a surprise to some when you consider just how huge the band's influence was, how popular their hits – especially those in the early eighties – became. Many people will want to hear a hit parade in this concert, and I'm sure that the band will oblige, but it's my hope that the band will want to play at least some of the more obscure music that us hardcore Police fans have come to love over the years.

It would not surprise me to see the band do a few medleys that at least touch on more obscure songs while moving between the more obvious hits. The band was known for some extended noodling on certain songs, giving Sting a chance to engage the crowd in singing "ee-oh-ee-oh-oh-oh" or other nonsense syllable phrases, and it would not surprise me to see him do it again.
Assuming the band will give a two and a half hour concert with a twenty minute break in the middle, my guess is that they could plan on playing anywhere from twenty five to thirty songs, some in their entirety, some quoted quickly in passing.

And so, I would like to offer two lists to the band for their consideration:

The Obvious and The Obscure

It's my hope that the band will perform a blend of music from both these lists, utilizing most, if not all of them, even if not a complete version of the song:

The Obvious
Here are fourteen hits and a couple other songs, in ascending album order, that I think stand a very good chance of being played at a Police concert near you…

Outlandos d'Amor

Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne

Regatta de Blanc

Message in a Bottle
Walking on the Moon
Regatta de Blanc*

Zenyatta Mondatta

Don't Stand So Close to Me (NOT the '86 version)
When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
Bombs Away**

Ghost in the Machine

Spirits in the Material World
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Invisible Sun

Synchronicity

Synchroncity I
Synchronicity II
Every Breath You Take
King of Pain
Wrapped Around Your Finger

* Regatta de Blanc was an often used instrumental at Police concerts – excellent for crowd singalongs. ** Bombs Away may not be AS obvious a hit as the others, but given the current involvement of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is VERY topical right now.

The Obscure
Here are thirteen other songs that I would like to hear played by The Police in concert, again in ascending album order…

ODA – Truth Hits Everybody
ODA – Next to You
RDB – Bring on the Night
RDB – Does Everyone Stare
ZM – Driven to Tears
ZM – Shadows in the Rain
GITM – One World (Not Three)
GITM – Rehumanize Yourself
GITM – Too Much Information
GITM – Secret Journey
SYNC – Murder by Numbers
SYNC – O My God
Bonus Track from Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack – I Burn For You

So those are the songs. And guess what? I've even got suggestions regarding song order for this concert.

Yep. Because I am just that obsessed over this band and this show.

I know. I am a sad, sad man.

The Tomato's Police Concert Playlist
I'll be sure to keep score at the actual show, and then we can come back and compare notes to see how I did. Please note that I am publishing this list before The Police have played any shows at all, so this one is all me.

Synchronicity I
Next to You / Truth Hits Everybody
The Bed's Too Big Without You / Can't Stand Losing You / Shadows in the Rain / Regatta de Blanc
One World (Not Three) / When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around / Bring on the Night
Too Much Information / Rehumanize Yourself
Driven to Tears / Bombs Away / Murder by Numbers
Invisible Sun / Walking on the Moon
Does Everyone Stare / O My God / Secret Journey
Wrapped Around Your Finger / King of Pain

Intermission

Synchronicity II
Spirits in the Material World / Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Encores

Don't Stand So Close to Me / Every Breath You Take
I Burn for You
Roxanne (acoustic) / Message in a Bottle (acoustic) / Roxanne (rock reprise)

There they are, my predictions and predilections for the show I've waited for all these years. Don't need to hear any of Sting's solo work, I've seen seven of his concert tours, and don't need to hear those songs again for a while yet (though it would not surprise me if Sting quotes Fragile during an encore, especially near the end with Message in a Bottle – a very popular encore during his solo tours)

Got any thoughts on the list? the order? medleys you'd like to suggest? I'd love to read your comments, and here's hoping that you have the chance to catch The Police on tour somewhere near you quite soon!

Diana Krall Steps Out with her Debut Album

2007-04-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

Diana Krall - Stepping Out (Remaster)

Pros: Fantastic jazz performances by three masters of the craft
Cons: Diana's rougher vocal interpretation might not suit fans of her later work
The Bottom Line: This is one of those albums I think any music collector should own ? if you don?t own any jazz, consider expanding your mind with Diana Krall's debut recording

Owning a voice that is both lithe and luxurious, and possessing superb piano skills born of both a classical education and years training with jazz masters, Diana Krall is a doubly gifted musician who has crafted a niche for herself in the world of jazz. She has made a career of performing mostly long-time standards of jazz, exploring works both familiar and unfamiliar to many.

With her debut album, Stepping Out, released in 1993 by Justin Time Records (her only recording for that label), Diana Krall made an indelible mark on the genre, presenting fantastic interpretations of each song, tracks that still stand out as being among the best work she has ever produced...

Read the complete review at epinions.com

American Idol - Top Nine

2007-04-03T21:56:00.000-06:00

American Idol, Top Nine

Things are getting downright nasty around American Idol this past week. Sanjaya survived again, and Chris Sligh went home - it's obviously NOT a singing competition right now, at least as far as Sanjaya is concerned. However, let's not forget that, no matter how much better a singer Chris is than Sanjaya, he still failed to earn more votes than anyone else, so it's not all about Sanjaya and his TeflonTeethofDoom.

Here are the nine contestants left for tonights' tribute to music legend Tony Bennett. I've listed them in order as I see them right now, top to bottom:

Melinda Doolittle
Jordin Sparks
Blake Lewis
Lakisha Jones
Gina Glocksen
Chris Richardson
Phil Stacey
Haley Scarnato
Sanjaya Malakar

So, if I had my way, Malamar would be going home tomorrow night and we could get back to the singing competition that this is supposed to be. But it seems that all of America is tuning in tonight to see what abomination finds its way onto Sadjaya's head.

But let's listen in to the other eight and see if they can grab the spotlight...

Will be quite interesting to see how the more aggressive singers handle the smooth stylings of Tony Bennett's music - will Gina's straight ahead rocker style work? Will Blake try to spin the music again to his personal style? Surprises for tonight could be found in, of all people, Haley Scarnato - she's got a voice that might fit Bennett's music pretty well, if she can manage to find the right groove.

Blake Lewis - Mack the Knife 8/10

Blake begins the evening, schmoozing his way through "Mack the Knife" - he's looking dapper in his blue suit, classic, nicely put together - not to sure about the tie sticking out at the bottom though. His performance starts quite understated, and he's not putting any modern spin on it. He's working that trill in his voice, using it to good effect, and does a pretty good job of building the song as it goes along. Nice jazzy run at the end, and all in all, a decent job. Blake is probably the best of the bunch at adapting each week's theme to his own personal style, and he shows his versatility yet again with this performance.

Phil Stacey - Night and Day 6/10

Phil says that Tony is his hero. I think he needs to spend some more time trying to figure out what that means, at least as far as interpreting this song goes. He starts out with some flat notes, he lets his vibrato get out of control, and he makes a good song bad by taking it too slow - see, Phil didn't take his hero's advice to put some rhythm into this song, and it ends up being a snooze fest. Yeah, he can sing, but he sounds a lot older than he is, and I don't mean more mature - I mean, more tired, and not good at all. Bleah.

Melinda Doolittle - I Got Rhythm 10/10

Sheesh - this woman is fabulous. She takes this thing from next to nothing to all kinds of huge, massive dynamic range, all kinds of jazz inflection, and not a single note out of place or out of tune. I really don't know what else to say about her; she's just incredible.

Chris Richardson - Don't Get Around Much Anymore 7/10

Chris is rockin' the Bing Crosby hat, and the vest is a good look. Taking on a Duke Ellington tune is a good idea, he's got a slyness in his style, and this could really work well. But it doesn't - he doesn't convey the same jazz "cool" that Blake pulls off with ease. He sounds fine, but he doesn't really connect to the song; he sounds like a modern performer doing his own tribute to jazz, which to be fair, is what he is, but I didn't feel the jazz in that performance. Despite Randy and Paula's platitudes, I didn't like all the hip, modern feel as much as they did - it was a good song, he did it well, but it didn't grab me like it seemed to have grabbed the judges.

Jordin Sparks - On A Clear Day 8.5/10

On the other hand, Jordin connects solidly with her inner jazz diva. It's a theatrical performance, it swings, and she puts some power into it. Very nicely done, and I am more and more convinced that this competition should come down to Jordin and Melinda. Unless of course, Sanjaya MonsterKar gets voted through instead of our Miss Sparks...

Gina Glocksen - Smile 7/10

Ooh - this could be good. A chance for Gina to be vulnerable, but also to put some real emotion into a performance. Thing is - those of us in the know know that not only did Tony Bennett sing this, but so did Nat King Cole: definitively. And Gina does a good job with it; however, I think that what is obvious from this performance is that she doesn't have as wide a dynamic range as the front runners. Gina does a good job, but it's not good enough anymore...

Sanjaya Malakar - Cheek to Cheek 6/10

First of all, we must discuss the look. Vintage Pacino a la Scarface. White suit, black shirt, slicked down hair. So, will the music speak louder than the look?

Well, maybe they are on the same level this week. His performance is just as plain, just as black and white as his outfit. The big band style suits him, but he doesn't manage to sell it well. He's cute, he can sing, and sure, he is charming, but he's not anywhere near as good as anyone else left in this show right now. Which makes him the worst. Which means they're going to vote for him again. Which means someone more deserving goes home tomorrow night...

Haley Scarnato - Ain't Misbehavin' 7.5/10

Oh wait - if Sanjaya stays, then maybe Haley will FINALLY go home. I didn't think she deserved to be in the final twelve,

I've picked her to go home a few times already, and she JUST REFUSES TO COOPERATE. Why is she still here? Oh, yeah - she's hot. At least, that's the going theory right now - tonight, she's wearing a sparkly green dress cut down to *there* and up to *there*.

She is definitely working the sex appeal in this performance - but here's the thing: look away from all the jiggle, and she sounds pretty good tonight. Turns out my pre-show prediction was right; this music is greatfor Haley. She sounds really good, to be honest. Sure, she's still not in the same league as some others, but she was definitely not the worst of the week. Jazz works well for Haley - almost as well as the sparkly dress...

Lakisha Jones - Stormy Weather 7.5/10

Divakisha closes out the show tonight, and you just KNOW that she is going to do well this week - a PERFECT song choice for her big, brassy voice. Except that she's missing some notes. The style, the interpretation are fine, but she doesn't sound solid with her tone until the second half. She finds her roundhouse, and starts to really work it, but then she ruins a good ending with a phrase that doesn't fit and leaves her standing there holding a pose while the band ends the song. Odd.

Overall, pretty good, but I have to mark her down for the start and the finish.

SO, where does that leave us going into the vote tomorrow night? Melinda and Jordin safely out in front, and Blake, Lakisha, Chris and Haley (!) in the middle. I think that Sanjaya will stay once again, leaving Gina and Phil as the lowest vote getters. Haley might join them on the floor, but I think Ryan will send her back to her seat, and Gina will go home. It's a girl's turn this week, so I think Miss Glocksen is done.

Maybe Sanjaya will do some bright red highlights in her honor next week...

American Idol - Top Eleven: British Invasion

2007-03-20T22:20:00.000-06:00

Week 2, Top Eleven, British Invasion - featuring Peter Noone (Herman's Hermits) and Lulu
Well, here we are with the top eleven, minus Brandon who went home last week. My pre-show prediction has been that Phil Stacey will go home this week - let's see how the show shakes out this week...

Haley Scarnato: Tell Him

Hmmmm. My pick to go home in week one performs Tell Him, and she is at least better than last week. She definitely looks great, she looks the part, and she sings the song well. But there's no real "oomph" in her voice, no real power, nothing to show off her talent as a singer. I think I agree with Simon - people will remember this performance more for her shorts and backless top ensemble than for the actual singing.

Chris Richardson: Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'

A beautiful arrangement of a song by Gerry and the Pacemakers, Chris starts out seated next to an acoustic guitarist on stage. Glad to see that the JT posing is at a minimum, though he can't keep the stereotypical boy band performance off his face. A much better performance than last week, sang it pretty straight, and it worked out well - the lack of vocal gymnastics throughout made his little falsetto run at the end much more dynamic. Very well done.

Stephanie Edwards: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

Without hearing the performance yet, I must say this is a great song choice for Stephanie - hope she can make it smolder.Oh no - a VERY hokey instrumental introduction, and she blows the initial rhythm on her entry. And then again later in the song, blows the same rhythm. She sounds OK, but she is pitchy, not quite 100% in control of this song; she could have really made this one soar, and it never really even gets off the ground - this is not a great performance in my opinion - let's see if the judges throw her a life preserver to keep her chances afloat this week. Yay, Randy agrees with ME, Paula compliments her fashion sense, and Simon says she may be "losing her edge...losing her soul". I think they actually got this one right. Not her best performance so far.

Blake Lewis: Time of the Season

So what will Blake come up with this week? He's the real innovator of the group, and the dark horse favorite to take it all. Peter Noone cautions him not to go overboard with the beat boxing... he starts it out with a bit of the beat boxing, and it really works. Problem is, he's a little flat in places, and just like last week, the performance lacks the energy we saw in the first few weeks of the show. He's stretching to hit the high notes, and they sound strained. I fear that Blake is on a downward swing right now. Randy calls it "brillaint", Paula thinks he "raised the bar" and Simon says..."a million times better than last week". Hmmm. I'll agree that he made it sound contemporary, the arrangement was fine, but I completely disagree that it was even close to being his best, or even a simply great performance. I think they just did him a great disservice - he needs to get back to the energy he displayed early on, and he's being pointed in the wrong direction.

Lakisha Jones: Diamonds are Forever

Lakisha foregoes Lulu's advice to sing "You're My World" and instead tackles Shirley Bassey's title track from the James Bond movie of the same name. And, well - it's good enough. But it has some iffy moments; she bottoms out on a low note here and there, missing them a bit, but it's not awful. She looks good, the green dress works well on her, but for once, Lakisha isn't making the song look good. She performs it well, but she doesn't own it, like the songs she's sung in past week. Simon makes a good observation - it seems like the performance was something she'd do fifty years from now, once her career is long over. The song fell a bit flat, BUT let's be honest - it's still better than Haley or Stephanie right now.

Phil Stacey: Tobacco Road

He says he chose it because it's fun for him to sing. Well, let's hope he gets his entrance right, doesn't oversing it, shout it, or fail to sell it - all problems he's had in weeks past.
Well...now this is a refreshing change of pace. Phil's rocking it pretty well, no missed notes in the entrance, he does oversing a bit, but it works in this song. He throws in a few nice, bluesy runs, a couple falsetto jumps, and he works the stage. All in all, a good performance and I think my prediction just went out the window after that. But was it good enough? Not sure. As Simon pointed out, it didn't sound gritty enough, it needed to sound a bit harsher, a bit more rock and roll than it came off, and I think his point is a valid one. I guess I'm just happy to see Phil doing better than he has in the last few weeks.

Jordin Sparks: I, Who Have Nothing

Woah. A bold choice. Lulu is giving her great advice, telling her to really scream it out near the end - this is a powerhouse of a song, another Shirley Bassey number, gobs of drama. Can Jordin handle it?

OK, a first for the competition - Jordin outsang Lakisha. She did a fabulous job, fantastic control, fantastic emotion, AMAZING range, and all kinds of drama conveyed in her voice. A 10. Excellent job. Wow.

Could Jordin win the night? It will take a very good performance from one of the remaining contestants to convince me otherwise at the moment...

Sanjaya Malakar:

OK, Ryan's making smarmy jokes about Sanjaya before the break, so I think even Seacrest wants Malakar out. I fear what is about to be unleashed upon us by the Boy with the Teflon Hair. And Sanjaya is trying to choose between singing You Really Got Me, and (embarassingly) Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good.

And he goes with The Kinks.

Oh dear.

Shiny happy people should not try to emulate The Kinks, much less a song even more closely associated with Van Halen. This may have been one of Sanjaya's better performances, but everything is relative, and this is not even remotely entertaining. It's creepy, really. I can't reconcile DLR's spandex prowl with DazzleBrite Boy's faux pawing.

Gina Glocksen: Paint It Black

I really like Gina. I love her attitude, I love her drive, and her ambition. I also like the new haircut and the funky black outfit. And to sing this Rolling Stones classic rocker? This COULD be good. Let's see if it works.

An interesting arrangement, if they put any more metal edge on it, it might be a goth rock/emo variant that we'd hear from Garbage or (forgive me) Evanescence. She doesn't start strong, but she warms up to it, and I think that if she could do the whole song, it would work even better than the short AI timeslot allows. She did OK, but I really don't think she really has a chance at winning this thing. Hope she can stick around for at least a few more weeks, at least to give us some change of pace among the female singers.

Chris Sligh (glasses ON this week): She's Not There

Oh, this one SHOULD work well for Chris. It's got all kinds of opportunity for him to show off his range, some dynamics and some style.

I think that this is the PERFECT song choice for Chris this week. I think he did a great job with it, nice falsettos, and then to return to the same notes in full voice - Niiiiiice. Very good performance overall, and definitely an improvement over last week's song.

Melinda Doolittle: As Long As He Needs Me

OK - first things first. New Haircut, a sort of modified Dorothy Hamill bob, I think. It's cute, but I'm not sure it's the best look for her.

But that really doesn't matter, because Melinda is far and away the best singer in this competition. At least, she has been until tonight. Until Jordin raised her game tonight. Can Melinda maintain her position at the top? She admits that she's out of her comfort zone with the "British Invasion", but I think this is a good choice for her. She ALWAYS manages to find the heart of each song she sings...

And only a few bars into the performance, it's still clear: Melinda is the woman to beat this year. She is SO good. It would be criminal for her to not win this thing, but of course, winning AI is not the end all and be all of having a career in the music industry. Let's face it, Melinda does NOT need AI to succeed. She could walk away, wait out the contract and come back to sell a gazillion albums.

Hearing the playback of the eleven at the end, a surprise: now that I can hear all the performances relative to each other, Stephanie comes off the worst, with Blake a close second. Interesting - I now like AquaNet Man's take on The Kinks better than the performances of those other two; how odd. However, I think that I will have to now go with Haley Scarnato as this week's sacrficial lamb; she drew the dreaded first slot, and her performance was less memorable than her outfit - not a good combination.

And another thing - I think that Jordin actually DOES have a chance at winning this thing; she's young, she's adorable, and she's VERY talented. She COULD take this whole thing if enough of the voters decide to put her through over Melinda - could it be that Melinda is TOO talented to be voted the American Idol? Stay tuned...

American Idol - Brandon Rogers Goes Home

2007-03-15T12:52:00.000-06:00

Well, I came this close to getting it right with my parting shot in yesterday's blog.

"Oh, and Brandon Rogers sang. Yeah, he's that forgettable. But Haley's going home."

Missed it by that much.

Apparently, Brandon committed a cardinal sin of American Idol. "Thou shalt not forget thy words, especially when giving a lackluster performance, and most especially when you aren't one of the obvious fan favorites."

Haley broke that commandment as well, flubbing her words, but not quite as badly as Brandon, and probably getting more votes than Brandon based simply on having some cleavage on display during her performance. Sexist? Yes. True? Also yes. Bad Andrew.

So, we're going to be subjected to another week of Sanjaya Malakar, AKA Teflon Boy, and Haley Scarnato. If we're lucky, Sanjaya will be part of the bottom three again, and America will get a clue that he belongs there and send him packing. But he's got that hair. Those eyebrows. That puppy dog cuteness. And enjoyed a LOT of backstory camera time during the audition weeks. Those spots are Gold.

Early predictions for next week's elimination:

WishList Bottom Three: Sanjaya, Haley and Phil
Realist Bottom Three: Phil, Gina and Haley (Sanjaya gets some love from his fans and stays off the floor for a week)
Wishlist Elimination: Sanjaya
Realist Elimination: Phil Stacey

American Idol Top 12

2007-03-14T14:23:00.000-06:00

Back to the AI blogging after a couple weeks away...

We've finally arrived at our top 12, and I'll just quickly point out the obvious: Sanjaya Malakar and Haley Scarnato just do not belong in this group. It's not that these two aren't talented - on the contrary, they do have good voices. The problem is that they don't have fabulous voices.

But since when did having the best voice mean anything to the Idol voters?

And on that note, I think that after last night's performances, Sanjaya is bound to stick around for another week. Prior to Tuesday's show, I'd chosen Haley to go home first, and I think that not even Simon's surprisingly positive appraisal of her performance will save her. It seems that Sanjaya is this year's girlie-girl favorite, which will probably keep him around at least another few weeks. I'd love nothing more than for him to go home tonight, but I think Haley's next.

Let's hit the highlights of Tuesday's show, shall we?

#1. Melinda Doolittle proves over and over that she is a better singer than most famous pop artists out there today. I think that she is arguably at the same level as some of the greatest soul and R&B singers of the sixties; it was no exaggeration for Simon to compare her to Gladys Knight. She really is that good. Her humble spirit and her seasoned professionalism only make her talent shine even more.

#2. LaKisha is the runner-up to Melinda right now, and I LOVED her version of "God Bless the Child". She really worked the low end of her register, and she did a very good job of giving some of her own character to the Billie Holiday classic. Randy took the words out of my mouth with his comment - she "didn't overdo it", and that's something that some other contestants (Phil Stacey and Gina Glocksen most notably) need to learn.

#3. Jordin Sparks might be the third wheel out of the best women - she has definitely got IT; question is, can she convert IT to stardom as the Idol? She did a pretty good job with the ballad, but she's up against two powerhouse singers. Might just be that this isn't her time YET...

Blake Lewis will be a star, with or without the AI title. The guy is really talented, love that he is a real musician, and that he can make something out of the beat box skills without making it ALL about the beat box. He's hip, fresh and a lot of fun to watch on stage. Only problem is that last night's performance didn't do much for me. Wasn't bad, but it really lacked the energy of the previous weeks. I think he's going deep into this competition, but this wasn't his best.

As for the rest, it was an average week - even Chris Sligh didn't impress with his Coldplay style arrangement of Endless Love (an interesting idea that fell flat). Phil, Stephanie and Gina were alright, but Justin - oops, Chris Richardson - didn't really connect with the melody at all, missing all kinds of falsetto notes badly and it didn't work. But again, he's not going home...

Oh and Brandon Rogers sang. Yeah. He's that forgettable. But Haley's going home.

One good reason NOT to move to Texas...

2007-03-05T12:29:00.000-06:00

Never saw a dust storm before in my life...

February 24, 2007 is a date that I probably won't forget for a while.

Here's the view from my front doorstep looking west, right into the dust storm that blew all the way across the state and dumped dust all over everything and even into everything.

These pictures have NOT been edited. That's not a sepia tone effect I've added; that is the real color of the sky at 2:30 in the afternoon on an otherwise clear day.

Lots of people, including our family have been having a lot of allergy problems in the days that followed this storm. I can still smell the dust in the air inside the house as we've been doing some spring cleaning, and I can even taste it sometimes. It's thick, nasty stuff and it's definitely one reason to NOT move to Texas.

Being from California, I'm used to skies that turn brownish, but not even the worst smog in the world compares to this stuff. One moment the sky was clear blue, a strong wind had cleaned out the thunderstorm of the night before, and then suddenly, here came a wall of brown. (I wish I'd had my camera with me where I could take a picture of the sky separated into brown and blue - another odd sight I've never experienced before)

Das AI Boot

2007-02-26T12:20:00.000-06:00

American Idol gives das boot to four contestants:

Guys:

Paul Kim

The barefooted one was given boots made for walkin' and that's just what he did. Not really a surprise, but I thought he was marginally better than some others.

Rudy Cardenas

the curse of being first - I think that America made a big mistake here, perhaps forgetting the performance that led off the Top 24. I thought that Rudy had a great shot at the final 12. Too bad...

Girls:

Nicole Tranquillo

Again, a marginally better performance than a few others, but in my opinion a far, far better performance than that of Antonella "Wanna see my pictures? Click Here!" Barba...

Amy Krebs

I don't know - maybe krebs=krabs and America got scared. Maybe I'm trying to hard to be clever - yes, that is more likely. Anyway she's gone, so we move on to the Top 20 this week.

Come on back Tuesday night for my TiVo delayed blog on das boys...

American Idol - Top 24, First Elimination

2007-02-22T10:07:00.000-06:00

My predictions for tonights eliminations:

Guys:

Sanjaya Malakar

Sundance Head

Girls:

Antonella Barba

Haley Scarnato

American Idol, Top Twelve Girls

2007-02-21T23:27:00.000-06:00

AI: The Girls, Week 1

OK – gonna give the live bog thing a shot here (well, actually watching at 9:30 CST tonight, cheating with my DVR – I ♥ Tivo!). Last night, the boys were a'ight, a few good performances (Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson stood out to me – Sanjaya Malakar and Sundance Head are in danger of going home, IMO). So which of the ladies will rock the house tonight? Who goes home and who goes on? Some thoughts from the Tomato, tonight – on American Idol!

Stephanie Edwards – How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore? (Alicia Keys)
9/10

I don't really remember her audition; is that a bad thing? It's a sticking point with Simon, at least it was last night with the guys. Anyway, Stephanie looks poised and she's rockin' a sassy hairstyle and attitude to match. Excellent dynamic range, she's workin' the crowd, and she owns the song – great gospel/blues style. A little slip holding the last note, but all in all a very solid start for the show. Great job!

Randy loves it, "loved the conviction", and commends her on her vocal runs. Paula gushes about how she's already a star, and Simon says she was a million times better than anything last night. He says she looks and sounds as if she came out ready to win the competition.

Amy Krebs – I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt)
7/10

Again, someone I really don't remember from earlier shows; wasn't a problem with Stephanie, so let's see how Amy fares.

Ah, a Bonnie Raitt tune, one of my favorites. It's the same arrangement as the original, so comparisons are inevitable. Amy's trying to give it some flavor with a run or two, and I'm not buying it. She's got a nasal quality to her tone that bugs me. She sings well, but I don't think she has IT. A run at the end wanders and I'm left unconvinced.

Randy agrees with me, he thinks it was too safe and the runs didn't work. Paula agrees with Randy (big shock) and Simon wants to know what Paula is really saying (big shock). Simon says he still can't remember her – she has "the personality of a candle….you're just like this thing that sings." Gotta agree with Le Cowell on this one

Oh look - Amy's a few inches taller than Ryan, and you KNOW it's not just the heels…maybe Ryan left his heels in the green room?

Leslie Hunt – You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin)
6/10

I do remember Leslie Hunt. I remember that I didn't think she deserved to go on to the Top 24. And now, she's going to attempt to sing this song? Yikes – career suicide on national TV is in the works if she doesn't pull this off. And as usual, yet another female contestant proves that you just shouldn't attempt to emulate the Queen of Soul if you can't bring something special to the performance. And Leslie doesn't. She can sing, but so what? It wasn't anything.

And Randy agrees with me again – he says the song was just too big for her, and I think he's right. And now, Paula says that Leslie did a great job, but cautions her to "watch the songs you pick". Oh, so she DOES agree with Randy, but decided to couch it in the form of a compliment (that's her other usual tactic). Now, Simon's going on about how Leslie looks like a dog walker or something and Leslie's entourage in the audience is incredulous. Well, I guess they don't speak British metaphor or something. Not sure that I do either, but somehow, Simon manages to convey that Leslie was out of her depth. And of course, he's right again.

Sabrina Sloan – I Never Loved A Man (Aretha Franklin)
9.5/10

Sabrina has that "I should be in the touring cast of Rent" look about her, but tonight, she's all about the rhythm and blues. And wow – she's turning this song OUT. Big voice, but not out of control and the runs are fan-tas-tic. Unlike Leslie who wasn't cutting it with her song by the Queen, Sabrina shows that she is up to the task. She's not outsinging Aretha, but she is definitely holding her own, making the song work for her voice, and she is selling it well. Really great job and a great song choice – most girls pick the well-known Aretha hits, but this one is not as well known (it's from the same album as "Respect", "A Change is Gonna Come") and I think that works in Sabrina's favor. Let's un-pause the TiVo and see what the judges have to say…

Randy loves it, he thinks we've "finally got a competition…that's the one to beat right there, that was hot!". Paula gives up one of her solo standing o's. Simon mentions how they've been taking heat for being overly critical of some people, but says that Sabrina's performance shows why they have to be that way: some people just take part in the competition, but she shows the desire to work hard at it and bring something special. That's what he wants to see from every performer, and that's why he criticizes those with talent who are just coasting – and I agree with him 100%.

Great job, Sabrina!

Antonella Barba – I Don't Want To Miss a Thing (Aerosmith, from the Armageddon sountrack)
3/10

OK, now Antonella I do remember. She's one of the beastly girls, OOPS, I mean she's the friend of the icky girl (Amanda) with the attitude problem, who ousted Bayley, who claimed she wasn't flirting, who said that she got through because "God likes good people" ICK. Anyway, Antonella auditioned with her, and she made it to the top 24. I'd have picked one of a few other girls – she forgot her words a couple times, she was shaky with the group sing. ; I really believe that Antonella got in more for her looks than her singing (which, to be honest, isn't bad at all, just sayin…) So let's see what she brings tonight

Oh dear.

Armageddon is a bad movie. Truly awful. I love watching it just to hear the really cheesy line at the end. It makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.

Antonella's performance is just as bad as the movie. But I'm not laughing.

Oh dear.

Randy's gonna rip into her. He asks "Antonella, what do you think I'm going to say to you?" NOT a good sign from Randy. She offers "maybe you could see my nerves a little bit?" Uh no, dear – we could see your LACK OF VOCAL CONTROL, AND THE FACT THAT YOU DON'T BELONG HERE EXCEPT AS SIMON'S INSURANCE POLICY SO HE CAN GET YOU VOTED OUT AND KEEP LAKISHA.

But I digress…Randy lets her have it, "pitchy, bland, wasn't great" and the usual boos from the audience are noticeably missing. They KNOW it too.

Simon confirms my suspicions. "Well the good news is – you're attractive." No doubt – she is that. "The bad news is – it didn't work." The boos come for that, but they're half hearted, I think. Simon advises her to find some pop song and go with that.

So, Antonella's wonderful audition goes out the window, and she's on the edge of elimination. That rogue asteroid headed our way right now won't get here until 2038, so no danger of a distraction to keep the voters from voting her out.

Jordin Sparks – Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman)
8/10

Jordin's young, she's cute, and she's been described as "sugary sweet" by Simon in the past. But I do remember her audition – and I thought it wasn't so sweet as he thought, she had a good edge on her voice, and I enjoyed her in the Hollywood weeks. And now, she's putting her own spin on Tracy Chapman.

A little faster than the original, but the problem is that there's no range on this blues number. She does take it up an octave at some points to give it some more dynamic and it's not bad, but it's not up to the same level of Stephanie and Sabrina. She is a good performer, and she's yet another one taller than Ryan. He didn't take his shoes off again, did he?

Randy wants her to go for it – he doesn't think there's any song too big for her voice. Paula thinks she did well, and she again echoes Randy "go for it go for it go for it". An aside – I have to wonder if Paula stole her choreography for those videos back in the eighties; does she ever have an independent thought? Simon does, and he thinks that Jordin has made a big change, he likes her voice, he wants her to push herself to see how far she can get.

Nicole Tranquillo – Stay (Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu)
7/10

Nicole has that average look, that average appearance, and an above average voice and performance style. She comes out with attitude and I'm not buying it. It seems faked, like she's put on a mask for this performance. The voice is speaking loud and clear though, when I look away from the screen; she sounds much better when I'm NOT watching. Don't work so hard at it, Nicole.

Randy doesn't think it was her vibe. Paula disagrees. She and the guys loved it "out of this world" says our girl. Simon and Paula are sniping a bit, he found it "unnatural and fake, over-rehearsing, indulgent" SEE? Simon and I are bash-buddies. She can sing, but that was NOT the right song.

Haley Scarnato – It's All Coming Back to Me Now (Meatloaf)
5/10

Now, Haley's audition I DO remember. This girl is hot – great voice, great look, great chance at going far. But she's going to sing Meatloaf..yikes. The king of ballads custom designed for oversinging.

Odd. It started well when she was being quiet and building to the chorus, but once it got going, it's like she couldn't keep up. Randy and Paula are non-commital, Simon thinks she has a good voice, but also thinks she sounded "old" and "boring". Yep. That would be Meatloaf…

Melinda Doolittle – Since You Been Gone (Aretha Franklin)
9/10

Melinda. Professional backup singer. EXCELLENT voice, a fun personality, and knows what it takes to succeed. Highly deserving of being in the bright spotlights out front. But can she bring it with the third tribute to the Queen this evening? I hope so, because I LOVE her voice, I love her spunky attitude when she starts singing…

And wow – maybe not quite as good as Sabrina, but again, a great performance. I think the edge that Melinda has is that she puts a lot of nuance into her singing, a lot of terrific touches here and there that make her style perfect for singing a Franklin song.

And Randy agrees (so does Paula, natch). Simon says she has HUGE talent and loves that she is so humble. I think he's rooting for her, and so am I.

Alaina Alexander – Brass in Pocket (The Pretenders)
6/10

I think she's one of these finalists who has a good voice, but is out of her depth. Perhaps she's one of the other Insurance Picks? We'll see – maybe she can rise to the occasion…
Well, it's the right song, if you're trying to match voices. She does sound like Chrissie Hynde. But she can't sell it. She's flat here and there, cracking a vocal tone now and then. I'm not sure that she's "special –so special".

And again Randy and I are on the same wavelength, Paula steals our thoughts and Simon wraps it up by repeating my thought – she sings that she's special, but there wasn't anyone special about it.

Gina Glocksen - All By Myself (Eric Carmen / Celine Dion)
7/10

Gina is one of my favorite characters from the first few weeks. I love her so much; she's taken a no-nonsense approach to rehearsing, but hasn't lost her sense of originality or fun. I think she's great. But will she manage to do well on the finalist stage?

Interesting song choice – doesn't really seem to match the red streak in her hair, but maybe it's an attempt to do something unexpected. And she almost handles Dion's long, drawn out key change, throwing in a too-long pause in the ending before giving a NICE run to finish. Hmmm…it was NOT the right song for her to sing, Randy or Paula. Does Simon agree? Well, he didn't expect it either, and he heard the problems with the big note too. Points to Gina for going against type…hope she sticks around longer.

Lakisha Jones – And I'm Telling You (Dreamgirls)
9/10

I would SO love to see Lakisha go far this season. I'd love to see a real woman, a woman with a real life (a young child at home, struggling to make ends meet) do really well, and Lakisha can blow. Can a bank teller ride the Jennifer Hudson train to the top? I think she could…

well, it was very good. it was very big. but was it great? Not sure… I think she can find yet another level in that voice of hers, but I don’t think she managed to bring it any stronger than Sabrina. It's close. The judges are loving on her, Simon wants to suggest to the other 23 "book your plane tickets, you're going home"

I don't know. She owned it, she did well, but was it the best? Not sure…

Will she make it through? Pretty sure she will – I don't think that Antonella or Haley will be back after tomorrow's vote. But all in all – the girls took week one, no doubt. The boys have their work cut out for them – come back next Tuesday and get my take on the top ten men….

Governor Perry wants to protect your daughters...

2007-02-07T11:09:00.000-06:00

I'm not too pleased with Governor Rick Perry of Texas right now - he recently signed an executive order that directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules requiring that girls who are entering sixth grade in 2008 must be vaccinated with Merck's new Gardasil vaccine. This vaccine is said to protect against strains of the HPV (human papilloma) virus, which has been shown to be a contributing cause in cervical cancers.

Now, I'm not against the use of this vaccine, especially if it proves to be relatively safe to use, without any major side effects. But why does this need to be mandated? And, I wonder how the governor intends to pay for it - at $360/injection, it's not cheap.

According to the Dallas Morning News (Liz Austin Peterson, AP story published 02/07/2007 ), Gov. Perry has ties to Merck, whose political action committee contributed $6000 to Perry's recent re-election campaign. Merck is lobbying for this Gardasil mandate in other states as well; one of the company's three lobbyists is Perry's former chief of staff, Mike Toomey.

So, did Perry simply wake up one morning, see the new Gardasil ad and think to himself "I need to make sure that every little girl in Texas is safe from cervical cancer and I'm going to do something about it today!" Or, could it be that the suggestion was fed to Perry from Merck via their PAC, or Toomey? That seems more likely to me...

I also wonder if Perry has done the math - $360 per sixth grade girl is a lot of money. Will the state underwrite the effort at all, will families have to bear the entire cost? Where is the money coming from to pay for this mandated vaccine?

But what most concerns me about this mandate, and not only here in Texas, but in any state - what message might we be sending our daughters and parents by mandating a drug that protects against a sexually transmitted disease? And what does this say about our society's views on parental responsibility, or even a woman's right to choose?

Texas schools are under another mandate - they are required to teach abstinence in sex education classes. Does mandating Gardasil vaccinations seem counter to that teaching? How will teachers reconcile the two in sex ed classes? Doesn't mandating this vaccine make an assumption that teenage girls are going to have sex? Not saying that assumption isn't accurate to some extent, but bear with me here...

In America, a woman has the right to choose what she wishes for her own body, but then the government steps in to mandate something like this. Yes, parents will be given the option to opt out of this program for religious or philosophical objections, but doesn't Choice dictate that we should be opting IN, rather than OUT?

To me, granting Choice requires great responsibility on the part of an adult woman, or on the part of a girl's parents. I fear that, as a society, we aren't instructing ourselves to take responsibility for our actions in situations BEFORE we get into trouble. Rather than taking reactive positions that are based in the thinking "oh well, we're going to do it anyway", we should all be taking a proactive stance to educate and prevent the problems from occurring in the first place.

So, if parents feel it is important to vaccinate their daughter with Gardasil, they have the Choice to do so. Parents should teach their children to be responsible by pushing abstinence as the best Choice, even while educating children about the realities of sex and about preventive measures. Parents need to rise to the challenge to be excellent role models for their children, and show them that it is better to be smart about the choices they make so they can avoid problems, rather than being lazy and worrying about the consequences later.

===================

wow, my first REAL blog...
leave a comment if you want to flame me/hug me/or otherwise discuss this issue

voices still carry, even twenty years later...

2007-02-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

'til tuesday - Voices Carry

Pros: "Voices Carry" - the song - was an instant classic
Cons: "Voices Carry" - the album - is remarkably unremarkable outside it's signature hit
The Bottom Line: The only reason to buy it is if you're an eighties or Aimee Mann fanatic. If you just want the title song, you can find it in many 80's collections.

How far can one track carry an album? Can one terrific song justify all the rest in a studio release? Those questions come to mind regarding til tuesday's 1985 CBS/Epic debut, Voices Carry and its hit single of the same name. ...

...Instrumentally, Voices Carry is a marvelous slice of mid-eighties pop/new wave (slowly chugging guitar chords, lots of the era's familiar analog wave sound) but it's Aimee's highly charged vocal performance that really sells the song. It's a terrific song, one that belongs in any music lovers library.

But is it strong enough to support Voices Carry, the album? Is any album worth ONE song?

...Answer that question by reading the complete review at epinions.com

Some things are better left unsaid...

2007-01-30T16:52:00.000-06:00

OR INSTEAD - published on your personal blog because you really don't want to hit that back button on the Epinions message boards... I REALLY wanted to say this to someone in the general boards today, and I really don't need to start anything more in that thread. BUT, I really want to get this off my chest, so here goes:

It's very simple...

If you choose to treat Epinions as the business that it is, and you focus on writing or helping others to write solid, consumer focused reviews, you might eventually become recognized for those efforts. Your reward could likely come in the form of a TR or Advisor hat. You might even make some decent money in the process from a business that gives it to you despite your volunteer status.

If you choose to get involved in the community aspects of Epinions, and you focus on making friends, writing creative pieces aimed at members and working with others to make Epinions a more vital community, you might eventually become recognized for those efforts. Your reward could likely come in the form of a relatively large web of trust. You might even find that you are something of a celebrity on the site.

If you choose to blend both of the above, using your skills in writing to draw consumer and member attention alike, leading our membership by example, you might eventually become recognized for those efforts. Your reward could likely come in the form of a Category Lead assignment. You might even find that Epinions is a relatively important aspect of your life that you care about.

And if you strive to do your best in all these things, no matter how much or how little you participate, then you are a quality member of this community and your reward is the satisfaction of doing your best and being recognized for it by your peers.

Or - you could come in here making general statements (labeled as "jokes" to make sure that your FA is covered) about how awful people can be, how horrible you think you've been treated, and how you are going to take all your toys and go home.

Toughen up, buttercup. Get with the program or get out.

For those of you who don't frequent Epinions, I'm sorry that this will go right over your heads. For those of you who are members or frequent readers of Epinions, all I can say is that some people need to get a clue and start contributing things of real value, rather than just creating sandcastles in the Epinions sandbox for the other clueless people to fawn over. Look, there's nothing wrong with participating in the community aspects of Epinions; it can be a lot of fun, and it should be fun for everyone. But when you start stirring up stuff out of ignorance and react badly when people who know more about how Epinions really works tell you that you're misinformed...well, maybe you get what you deserve. Sorry for being so blunt, but dem's da berries...

A new year... a few weeks late, don'cha think?

2007-01-27T17:47:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is - January 27 already and the first blog of the new year.

Timely. Yep that's the word to describe me these days - timely.

The problem is that my personal computer continues to be dead. Deceased. Ringing in the choir invisible. It is still an ex-PC.

Despite all appearances to the contrary. It really should be working. It's just confused, and has slipped into a maddeningly long coma from which I am afraid it may not recover. And so, my writing time is on life support right now, since I am BUSY at work even at lunch, and my time in the evenings have been taken up this month with other stuff.

Bother it all.

So here it is - the first blog of the new year and it's coming to you from my wife's PC.

Because she's out watching "Dreamgirls" with friends...

I wonder how many reviews I can pump out in a couple hours?

A little gift for you...

2006-12-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

I'm really proud to share this with you. In fact, I'm practically bursting with parental pride over this.

Over the past few years, Matthew has been developing into quite the artist. He really enjoys being creative with his hands, whether it's using them to draw, sculpt or even do the technical things behind the stage. I've been so pleased to see him use his talents so eagerly, and was happy that he used his drawing talent to enter an annual Holiday Card contest held by the Plano School District.

Long story short, his card design didn't win the contest, but it was chosen as one of the middle school finalists. And as a finalist, the card is featured on display in the district's office and also on the district's website.

But of course, I must share it with you here as well - proud father that I am...

LastFM - you really should try this..

2006-12-07T15:36:00.000-06:00

Ever wondered what that list of songs is at the top of my blog? Well, those are the songs that I've listened to most recently on either my home or work computer. LastFM tracks the songs I listen to, and creates a bunch of nifty charts for me, showing me the artists and songs I listen to most each day, each week, each year.

I've been discovering a lot of artists for myself this year thanks to LastFM - us forty year old dads don't tend to have a clue when it comes to new music (at least, that's what my daughter thinks - dads can't possibly be cool, can they?)

What IS cool is that I've got a bunch of Epinions friends who use the site too, and LastFM shows me what they're listening to as well. We've got our own group on the site, and we get a weekly chart of the most popular music among all of us - it's interesting to see what we have in common, and to discover new music through the listening habits of our friends.

Other fun stuff includes Recommendation Radio and Neighbour Radio - two "stations" I can listen to on my computer, created by LastFM based on comparing my listening habits to those who share similar tastes as myself. I can tell LastFM to make my Radio match the artists of my neighbours, or I can set it to give me more esoteric choices that it thinks I might like. I can tell Recommendation Radio to keep or trash artists that it offers me, and this refines the list of what I prefer to listen to even further.

Maybe someday, LastFM will start recommending what I want for dinner...

Jose Saramago - The Stone Raft

2006-12-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

Jose Saramago - The Stone Raft

Pros:
Saramago tells a fantastic tale set within our own world, fascinating and thought-provoking
Cons:
Perhaps the reality is too much. I find his other works more satisfying
The Bottom Line:
Jose Saramago is a master story-teller, and The Stone Raft is no exception. You owe it to yourself to read all his works...

In The Stone Raft, Nobel Prize winning author Jose Saramago takes us to the Iberian peninsula of modern day Portugal, Spain and France. There, he presents five strangers and a dog, all drawn together by oddly unique, super-natural experiences and one extraordinary event.

Joana Carda draws a line on the ground that cannot be erased. Joacim Sassa lifts a large stone and tosses it hundreds of yards into the sea. Pedro Orce gets out of bed one morning to feel the earth shaking constantly beneath his feet. A flock of starlings follows Jose Anaico wherever he goes. Maria Guavaira picks at a thread on a sock, and the thread keeps pulling loose, a never ending pile of thread that grows and grows.

And Ardent, the dog, is the first to find the crack in the earth…
Read the complete review at epinions.com

Grrrr.... stupid computer

2006-11-26T17:21:00.000-06:00

Computers can be annoying.

I mean, I love owning computers, I love using them, I love the way they keep me in contact with the world, my family and friends. But they can be so annoying.

Especially when my computer decides it doesn't want to start up. It tries. It looks like it might work, but then it hiccups and starts all over again.

My computer is under the mistaken impression that the system fan isn't spinning, and so it refuses to do anything other than this annoying hiccup non-start. At the very least, I'm going to have to try to recover from an earlier starting point - IF it lets me get that far. At the very worst, I'm going to have to revert this thing back to where it started.

Like I said, computers can be annoying.

I've been promoted...

2006-11-19T21:14:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true - I have a new job.

No, I haven't left Cingular, and I haven't been promoted there either. I do hope to be promoted at my place of employment sooner rather than later, but I'm actually talking about Epinions.

Epinions is my favorite online community. Sure, it's a consumer opinion site, and to date, I've published 243 articles there, but it's my friends in the community that have kept me coming back nearly every day for the past three years. Now, the Epinions staff has decided to give me one of the Lead positions for the Music category - my Epinions experience is probably about to get even more intense. I've done just about all there is to do at the site other than actually work for the company (as in draw a real salary with benefits) - I've been a Music Advisor and Top Reviewer, as well as a General Moderator for the message boards, and now I have the chance to work at the highest level of the community.

I'm looking forward to the chance to work closer with Shelly, the other Music Lead - I've enjoyed working with her as a Moderator and Admin for the wonderful forum that she and her husband host, the Epinions Music Source. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to contribute something to the improvement of Epinions overall - the Leads are a great group of Epinionators who care about the development of Epinions both as a business and a community. And that's my goal - to be able to help bring something to the table that will make Epinions a better place in the long run.

This is going to be fun...

meet the kids...

2006-11-16T21:15:00.000-06:00

My kids will be oh so very happy with me for posting this picture for the world to see, but it's one of my duties as a dad to make sure to annoy and embarass them at every opportunity.

Plus, I'm proud of Matt and Katy - they are great kids, well, more like young adults these days. They're both officially teen-agers now that Matt hit the big one-three this year. At fifteen, Katy already has the whole teen thing down pat, definitely much further advanced that I ever was at her age.

Anyway, there they are - good looking kids, aren't they?

I thought so.

That's it for now - just the basic introductions. We'll get to details in later posts.

Yes, I'm a geek...

2006-11-15T14:06:00.000-06:00

Let's hear it for Microsoft for creating SharePoint, the (mostly) easy to use and (fairly) well-designed database application that gives us analyst types a new way to manage information distribution to the masses...

I've been using SP for several months now, ever since my company (Cingular Wireless) officially adopted it for use by it's IT and Customer Service centers. As a senior analyst, I've been responsible for the development and maintainance of billing issues reports for several years now - it's a constant cycle of improve, refine, release, repeat - utilizing several regionalized Excel spreadsheets at first, then consolidating those down to a single Access database which fed a set of national reports.

But all of those tools were limited by the fact that they had to be produced by hand by myself and one or two other persons, then approved by management, and then held until a weekly release date. The system worked but it was wonky...

With SharePoint, I've been able to create a fully functional database that creates instant reporting based on data entry by all the members of our Billing Issues team. They enter the issues they are tracking, they are routed automatically to managers for approval - once approved, these issues display instantly within various reports based on different parameters - all with no intervention from me.

I really do love SharePoint - it's made all of our jobs a lot easier...

I am SUCH a geek.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again...

2006-11-15T09:37:00.000-06:00

I'm going to give this blogging thing a try...

Yeah, yeah - you've heard it all before. I've tried this a few different times at a few different sites and never really managed to get into it. Well, I think that I really do need to collect all my various ramblings into one place, and so I've decided just to start from scratch.

I deleted all my various blogs hither and yon, and created this new one to be the genesis of my writing career. I really have no idea where this will lead, but for now, you can pretty much count on reading about my family, my church, my work, my Epinions reviews - hopefully, I'll feel brave enough to let you in on the details regarding all these things and more.

Josh Groban - Awake

2006-11-07T11:11:00.000-06:00

Awake

Pros: Yay! More Josh Groban! Love his music...
Cons: ...when it's performed LIVE. Hmmm...
The Bottom Line: Josh -put out another CD/DVD combo. Make me fall in love with these songs. You're a great theatrical vocalist; keep it on the stage from now on, OK?

Vocalist Josh Groban returns with his latest recording, Awake, and while this is the first of his studio albums that I've managed to really connect with, the problem is that I'm not completely convinced by this effort either. Maybe I just need to wait for the next PBS special / DVD release to come out and be happy with that.

I've always enjoyed listening to Josh sing, but I've always preferred the sound of his live albums over the studio albums. I think that the reason is pretty simple – the theatrical quality of his voice and his music just seems to lend itself better to the stage rather than the studio...
Read the complete review at epinions.com

2006-10-23T12:14:00.000-06:00

Songs from the Labyrinth

Pros: Music made simply for the love of it succeeds in becoming music to be loved
Cons: None from me. Some will be turned off by it simply because it's "classical"
The Bottom Line: A loud and enthusiastic ovation for Sting - for working so hard to present us with music he cares deeply about, and for presenting it so authentically. A masterwork, indeed...

Sting has faced this perception before – some might view his latest album, Songs From The Labyrinth as nothing more than a conceit. In 1985, his move into the world of jazz was widely commented upon, even derided and dismissed as a misguided attempt to prove his jazz roots and his own genius – dismissed, that is, until the world heard his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Sting captured audiences old and new alike with his unique jazz, pop and rock fusion, and in the process, re-energized his own love of making music. Now, more than twenty years later, an older, wiser, definitely less brash Sting has reached into new territory again, this time fully immersing himself in the songs of John Dowland, a widely traveled and popular minstrel of the Elizabethan Renaissance who never found favor with his queen...

Read the complete review at Epinions.com

Sting's Greatest Work to Date

2006-10-01T12:50:00.000-06:00

Nothing Like The Sun
Released October 1987 by A&M Records

Sting's first solo album, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, was deliberately crafted to showcase Sting as a solo artist, to break him free of the mold of The Police - the highly successful band that he had fronted for several years. Sting's first solo recording drew heavily on jazz influences, and accomplished the clean break from The Police that he desired. With his second solo album Nothing Like The Sun, released in 1987, Sting began the process of creating a signature style. Sting has always maintained his that he is a “pop” music artist, while consistently producing music that defies pop convention, transcending most other artists who are considered “pop”. Nothing Like The Sun was made up of songs that took a familiar form in pop music, such as a dance single, rock anthem, or ballad, and fashioned them into something more elegant, powerful, and poignant. With Nothing Like the Sun, Sting made music that mattered...

Read the full review at Epinions.com

Sting Takes Flight in a Dream...

2006-10-01T12:44:00.000-06:00

The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Released June 1985 by A&M Records

...To many, this first glimpse of Sting as a solo artist did not match his Police profile - I was familiar with an arrogant prince, not a thoughtful and beguiling troubador fronting a band of accomplished musicians who, more often than not, seemed to be creating the music around Sting. Janice Pendarvis and Dolette McDonald were the first voices heard on the album: "Free, Free...set them free", Branford Marsalis graced each phrase with a fluid saxophone, Omar Hakim provided rhythmic flourishes that still touched on Stewart Copeland's skills with the hi-hat and toms yet suggested that something new was happening, Kenny Kirkland infused jazz and gospel into the sounds with his amazing command of the keyboards, and Daryl Jones aptly handled the bass, given rein over Sting's own instrument. Here was something new, something different, and after first hearing, something exciting. From the very start, The Dream of The Blue Turtles lifted above The Police, above the murky English new wave favored by the Breakfast Club wannabes walking in my footsteps after my graduation from high school. And, it lifted me into a new appreciation for Sting as a lyricist and composer...

Read the full review at Epinions.com