American Idol Weekly Rundown-Top 11

Last night was a pretty big dud in the entertainment department. Why did they have to do another Beatles week? How very dull. Anyway, as it stands, here is my take.

THE BEST:
1. Syesha - She performed "Yesterday" in a very contrived but emotional way. It was lovely and pretty memorable-especially when paired w/ the rest of the comparative tripe that came our way last night.

THE GOOD:
2. David A.-definitely a far cry from last week's chaos. The bright and shiny David gave us "The Long and Winding Road" in a very nice way. It was melodic and well-sung, even if it did sound a bit 'musical theater' at times. I could tell he was forcing it a bit and the desperation was kind of apparent. But it's nice to hear him do well again.

3. Kristy-sang "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and I felt it was her best performance in spite of the bad choices in arrangment and a few flat notes. I finally heard her actually SING and understood why she made it to the finals at all. She seemed comfortable w/ her performance as well and not afraid to belt it a few times. The judges were not impressed, however, and this could be the end for Kristy.

4. David C.-Thought it definitely didnt compare to The Bad Brains rendition of 'Day Tripper', I actually liked the arrangment. He sang it pretty well. His downfall was his self-confidence which bordered on blatant arrogance last night. Throwing picks into the crowd, the 'Frampton'-style voice box etc...bad decision. It's still
a contest at this point.

5. Carly-sang 'Blackbird'. It was pretty and she has a great voice. But still kind of a 'molehill' after last week's 'mountain'.

THE BAD:

Amanda-'Back in the USSR' was not a very good choice, I felt. It was a little safe and I too am getting a wee bit tired of her schtick. I like how unassuming and unwilling to change she is, however. She really milks the audience and pays little attention to the judges-which is kind of refreshing.

Michael- The song choice was bad. 'Day in the Life' is a bit of an epic and not suitable for condensing into 1 and 1/2 minutes. It sounded rushed and indeed it was. Also, though he sounded great at the beginning-he hit some really sour notes in there as well.

Brooke-"Here Comes The Sun" was again, absolutely the wrong choice. Without her piano or guitar, she looked really awkward and self-concious. And then she tried to dance around a bit, which looked even more desperate. The delivery of the song could have been worse, but the performance was far too distracting to notice many good points.

Jason-"Michelle"...hate the song. But anyway...that's neither here nor there. Jason performed it very strangely. It was okay if you were just listening to it, but watching it was kind of painful. He looked so odd up there clinching the microphone stand like Edith Piaf. And when he started walking, it was all a little 'hey, how's your steak?' for me. But Simon is right; he's got a great face.

Ramiele-It was very 'Libertyland' for me. "Should Have Known Better" was a nice peppy choice for her but she looked extremely uncomfortable trying to keep time in those stillettos. And the high waisted pants and hat brought to mind a little polynesian leprechuan. heh heh. Her vocals were okay but I thought she was better last week...when she was just boring.

THE UGLY:

Chikezie-Wow. Top to bottom in one week. I think the problem is that poor Chikezie took the judges' praise too literally. While, they admired his funky southern song arrangment last week; they did not say he needed to do it again. When he started doing 'I've Just Seen a Face', it was nice but I had a problem w/ the steel guitar. Then he shot it all to heck by upping the tempo and relegating the tune to something out of a friggin' hoe-down.

Funny Stuff

This makes me so happy. Silly brother of mine...

And I thought I'd go ahead and add the following video also, against my better judgement. I hope I dont offend anyone but I laughed so hard at this little clip that I nearly peed...

Music Clip of the Week-The Evolution of Clutch

No secret Clutch is one of my alltime favorite bands. Thought I'd post a few of their videos to show how they've progressed over the years...really remarkable, I think.

1. A Shogun Named Marcus- 1993


2.Dragonfly- 2000 (no video, just the song...but it's a great one. This is my boys' favorite album.)


3.Electric worry-2007

American Idol Weekly Rundown-The Top 12

So I really wasnt excited about the Beatles. I'm not a fan and I think opening up their song book was a bit 'anti-climactic' since neither Lennon or McCartney had a great voice and therefore their songs are not that vocally challenging. The real trick here was making the songs 'new', so to speak. There is only so much you can do with 'She Loves You (yeah yeah yeah)' or 'Ticket To Ride'. But I will admit that if one were willing to try and conquer some of the less well-known songs, like 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' for example, good stuff could ensue. As it stands, most of the selections were predictable. Here's how I call it:



THE BEST:

1.CHIKEZIE- I knew this guy had something to prove! This was great. The arrangement he attached to 'She's A Woman' was nothing short of perfect for his 'comeback' performance. It reminded me of the great Robert Randolph (and the Family Band) whose music combines American Delta Folk with Funk to come up w/ a truly unique sound. Chikezie borrowed from this vibe and produced the 'moment' of the night. Plus, he was having a blast and carrying the audience along with every note. I'm surprised that no one mentioned the absurdity of the sweater vest, however.


THE GOOD:(in no particular order)

2.Carly- I hate 'Come Together'. It's one of those songs that gets all kind of credit for being a phenomenal piece of rock history when it is ludicrously obvious that the ditty was written in a drug induced haze and contains on the 'skillful' song-writing of a 3 yr old. Stupid stupid lyrics. I know...I'm mostly alone on this. I don't care. If you're going to use drugs as the impetus, at least give us some better imagery. Anyway, Carly sang a great rendition of it either way. The gal has pipes.

3.Jason- I think he and his mellow guitar may eventually bore America. But I really liked 'If I Fell' as he performed it. He changed up the melody a little to make it interesting and actually hit the majority of his falsetto notes this week. And the teeth...have I mentioned the teeth?

4.David C.-The resident 'rocker' performed Eleanor Rigby within an inch of its life. It wasnt bad, actually, albeit extremely predictable. I was telling my husband, "Now watch, he's gonna sing it straight until 'I look at all the lonely people' comes around and then he's gonna go all Linkin Park on us...' which is exactly what happend. However, some credit should be given for the arrangment (if it is indeed his own) and the 'sellability' of the cover. I'm surprised, however, that Simon didnt have anything to say about how 'indulgent' this performance was.

5.Brooke-Aside from 'Let it Be' being a very predictable song choice for her and -even with the piano- a very drowsy performance, it was still nice. I enjoyed it. I was washing dishes while she sang and I didnt look up from my pot-scrubbing or anything. But it was pleasant. I think she might be a bit of a 'one-note'. I'll have to see. I'm not sure she could stake a viable claim in the ranks of female singer/songwriters out there nowadays.

6.Michael-I was a bit surprised he didnt really blow me away w/ 'Across the Universe' since it is one of the only songs from this catalogue that I truly love. I adore Fiona Apple's version. But Michael didnt really bring much originality to the arrangement. He sang it well though, and it is a good enough song to give him an easy pass to next week, I think.

7. Amanda-Though she has a pretty face and a meek persona, Amanda's performances are really the antithesis of all that's sexy. It's almost off-putting, even for a true rock and roll lover. That said, she sang the heck out of 'You Can't Do That', rendering it almost unrecognizable. Which is just fine by me.

THE BAD:

8. Syesha Macado-Once again, song choice may prove to be the downfall for her. It was a bold pick, 'Got To Get You Into My Life', but she had problems w/ the pitch at the beginning and though it picked up a bit toward the end; it was probably too little too late. A better song choice? 'Get Back' would have given her more options.

9. Ramiele Mubalay-'In My Life' is a lovely song. And she has a lovely voice. The two together were...lovely. And really really dull. A better choice? 'Something' would have allowed for more range.

10.David H.- 'I Saw Her Standing There' was a dumb song. And Tiffany covered it in the eighties. Those two things should make any AI contestant run Forrest run. But instead, David embraced the cheesiness. In my old high school, there was a group of kids (hated by almost everyone) called Show Choir. At every school event, they were there en masse...dressed in sordid color coordinated duds and crooning medleys of insipid pop tunes that would cause the most tolerant ears to bleed. This performance could have been yanked from any one of those shows. A better choice? I can see him really giving an r & b vibe to 'Sgt Pepper' and making it work.

THE UGLY:

11. David A.- Poor kid. I read in a recent article that David Archuleta 'is Reality Tv's equivelent of a newly hatched chick' and I laughed because it's such a perfect description of his white-bread shininess. But the judges' golden boy really dropped the ball this week. First, he admits on camera that he's nervous and that he doesnt really know any Beatles songs. Sure David...I'm sure you're just being modest and going to blow everybody away as always. Wrong. He really DIDNT know any Lennon/McCartney tunes apparently. He chose 'We Can Work It Out' and forgot the lyrics...twice. He also started late and stumbled through the parts he remembered. Why oh why didnt he do 'Yesterday' like everyone was sure he would?

12. Kristy- Hilarious. The arrangment she chose for 'Eight Days a Week' was manic and beyond comprehension. Those strings will haunt me, I swear. The tempo was so fast that even she couldnt keep up, though she did try valiantly. Her vocals seemed to be recovered somewhat but the song choice and performance were not salvageable. A better choice? For her 'country' fans, an intelligently constructed cover of 'Helter Skelter' could have been really memorable. Maybe next time.

Though David A. screwed up royally, his previous performances and huge fanbase will save him. I believe Kristy and David H. will be the bottom two this week and either of them could go. Ramiele may also be in danger since she's so small. heh heh.

Music Clip of the Week-Queen/ Who Wants To Live Forever

I thought I'd post this quintessential eighties classic as a tribute to American Idol contestant Kady Malloy who tried her darndest to win over America w/ her rendition of it. I guess it didnt pay off-heh heh.

But hey, let's enjoy the hokey fun of 'Highlander' anyway.

Music Clip of the Week-Bruce Springsteen/ Girls In Their Summer Clothes

I cannot get enough of this song. Love it. Love...it.

Music Clip of the Week-Gene Kelly in It's Always Fair Weather

An often overlooked piece of Kelly's work...and sincerely one of his best!

Not sure what the deal is with the french subtitles but the song is called 'I Like Myself'.

Music Clip of the Week-Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Up Above My Head

Yes, I'm ashamed I discovered her in the movie, Amelie. But hey, a late discovery is better than no discovery at all. She just makes me so happy!

Music Clip of the Week: The Old Crow Medicine Show

A couple of great video clips from my heroes, The Old Crow Medicine Show:

Music Clip of the Week: Brandi Carlile , The Story

I am an unashamed fan of this woman's incredible voice! Actually made it a point to buy her cd last weekend which was a worthy purchase indeed. She just moves me, I guess. My favorite pop discovery since The Killers...

Music Clip of the Week: Scott H. Biram-Hit The Road

I tried doing a monthly feature last year and kept up w/ it somewhat but I figure w/ all these great videos I've been seeing lately, a weekly feature would be more in order this year. We'll see how long I can keep it up.

Scott H Biram was featured in that documentary I mentioned on my last entry, 'Seven Signs' by Col JD Wilkes (of the Legendary Shack Shakers). The performance was the best part of the film, for me, and made me realize again how great he really is. I've been listening to him like crazy lately. Enjoy the Dirty Ol' One Man Band...Oh! and incidentally, the auto accident footage in the video is Scott's own. He was in bad shape for a while and performed some of his shows from a wheelchair...

For Sarah's Little Surprise...

I am posting this very moving little video montage for my friend Sarah who just found out this morning that she is expecting! Here's to unexpected little gifts!

I know you've got dial-up Sarah, but trust me...it's worth it to wait on this one. Dare you not to cry!

For Moose n Muffin...

This video has been circulating the internet like crazy so most of you have probably seen it but I still think it's so funny and cute! And in light of certain karaoke events from the not so distant past, I felt it was fitting.

Goodbye Dan...

I was just informed that Dan Fogelberg passed away Sunday. I know I should probably have known he was sick, my childhood having been wrapped up in his music the way it was, but I didnt. This video clip reminds me that I need to get out all of his albums and play them back to back...such an extraordinary talent. He was my first concert ever as well.

An Acute Case of Nostalgia

For those of you who grew up with The ELectric Company, a couple of Tom Lehrer's finest!

HUM

I heard this song on a Cadillac commercial today and was reminded how off-my-butt-crazy I was inlove with it when it came out. I bought most of their albums and still love the band alot. Sometimes you just need reminders.

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=legOdkkUzP0