I'll admit, I'm quite the nerd. Some people would call it OCD, but I would say SOCD, which is Selective Obsessive Compulsive Disorder... I don't obsess about much, but I'm very picky about what I obsess about... its almost like, I know whats important to me, how important it is to have things done the way I want the done... but only about certain things that sometimes no one else cares about.
Case in point... iTunes.
iTunes has this thing called a "play count", which is both a blessed and cursed thing. In my mind, once I play a song, I want it counted. Once I listen to a song, I want it noted... it truly doesn't mean a hill of beans to anyone in the entire world that I've listened to "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon 34 times, or that I've fired up the original "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley 8 times.
But its important to me. I dunno why, and I really am not sure I care to psycho-analyze, but that's just one of those quirky, nerdy things about me. We'll come back to this, but first I have to give a bit more exposition, then tie it all together at the end like a good little storyteller.
Yesterday, I finally purchased a portable hard drive. We've owned a regular external hard drive for about three years, and backs up most of what is on my, and The Lovely Steph Leann's, computers. For me its music, audiobooks and pictures, for her its mostly pictures and Creative Memories back-up files... but the problem is, its so clunky and bulky. In the Casa de Pesos apartment, it wasn't a big deal, because our place was so small, we just kept our PC and the back up drive and such altogether, and even when we got laptops, they mostly just stayed in the guest bedroom. I could write and blog and do whatever, and with a television in the room, I could still watch whatever, or play a movie or anything of the like.
When we got The Cabana, though, it was harder, because we kept the back-up drive upstairs, and the laptops stayed downstairs mostly, so I didn't back up much stuff, just every now and then. With my growing love (and ear) for audiobooks, I finally had to move them off of my laptop because I had gotten to the point where I had less than 10gb of space (off of 300gb). It took almost 2 hours, but I moved almost 80gb of audiobooks onto the harddrive, plus a few movies and some other space-taking items.
Now, for anyone who owns an iPod, you'll notice that if you try and sync your iPod, and you've moved some files, a little "!" will appear by those files. And when those files are on an entirely different drive altogether, its even worse, because you get a hundred or two of those "!" when they are audiobooks. So, I now have a set up on our dining room table, this external hard drive to my left, cords and USB cables running everywhere and anywhere, and like, four things plugged into the nearby outlet. Thus, the need for a portable hard drive.
So I'm currently moving, from the external to the portable, over 100 audiobooks, encompassing 32,000+ files (the Harry Potter series alone contains at least 1,500 tracks), which makes up about 140gb of space. I have another 60gb of pictures to move over. And at some point, in the future, I'll move over all my music from my laptop to the portable hard drive.
And now, we get back to play counts. See, when I move over the music, I have to reload all songs back into iTunes. And when I do, all play counts go back to zero. Everyone. So me listening to Nilsson's "I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City" 29 times? Its like it didn't happen.
However, don't think I haven't considering recreating all the playcounts. Easy, really... click on a song, click "repeat" twice (which makes the song repeat) and then click on the end over and over. It will advance from beginning to end, then start over. Yes, this is a really stupid, useless thing to do. Yes, there are far better uses of my time. Yes, I've thought about it. We'll see.
Play counts are a funny thing... it kinda tells you and the world what you truly like. My official Top Five list of songs are: (1) "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan... (2) "I'd Die Without You" by PM Dawn... (3) "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russell (ft. Joe Esposito)... (4) "Not the Only One" by Bonnie Raitt... (5) "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears. Coming in a close 6th is "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
Other songs that have wandered their way in and out of my Top Ten including "Let Her Cry" by Hootie and the Blowfish... "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton... "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney and Wings... "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles and "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John....
But you know what? Out of those 11 songs I just listed, none are in my Top Ten of the Play Count List, and only one is in the Top Twenty, at 19th. So, I thought it might be fun to list my Top Fifty Songs on the Play Count List, the songs that have been played the most. Bear in mind, too, that I listen to a ton of podcasting and audiobooks, so music isn't my top priority most of the time, but sometimes, you just wanna hear Timberlake, or Flo Rida or Billy Joel or Bill Withers...
So, here we go... Song, artist, and (play count)
There is a huge six way tie at 50, featuring...
50-tie. Running From an Angel by Hootie & the Blowfish (34)
50-tie. Clarity by John Mayer (34)
50-tie. 3AM by Matchbox 20 (34)
50-tie. Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon (34)
50-tie. Welcome to Delaware by Watermark (34)
50-tie. White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic (Video) (34)
All the way down to #40 is another tie or two, featuring the only song that appears twice in our countdown, in both audio and video versions. Also, The Dixie Chicks make their first of three appearances.
48-tie. Cowboy Take Me Away by The Dixie Chicks (35)
48-tie. Sunday Afternoon by Joel Blount (35)
40-tie. ...And Our Feelings by Babyface (Video) (36)
40-tie. Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel (36)
40-tie. Close of Autumn by Caedmon's Call (36)
40-tie. The Trolley Song by Judy Garland (36)
40-tie. Taylor, the Latte Boy by Kristin Chenoweth (36)
40-tie. B.O.B. by OutKast (36)
40-tie. Light My Candle by Mimi and Roger from The Cast of Rent (36)
40-tie. You Mean the World To Me by Toni Braxton (36)
The next set of ten, down to a four way tie at #31...
39. I'll Be Okay by Amanda Marshall (37)
36-tie. Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers (38)
36-tie. In the Light by dcTalk (38)
36-tie. Possession by Sarah McLachlan (38)
35. Snow (Hey Oh) by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (39)
31-tie. Full Moon by Brandy (40)
31-tie. Callin' Baton Rouge by Garth Brooks (40)
31-tie. The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson (40)
31-tie. The Remedy (I won't worry) by Jason Mraz (40)
The next ten are all older songs, anywhere from five to fifteen to thirty...
26-tie. Let's Stay Together by Al Green (41)
26-tie. Still Not a Player by Big Punisher with Fat Joe (41)
26-tie. The Story by Brandi Carlile (41)
26-tie. My My My by Johnny Gill (41)
26-tie. Chains by Tina Arena (41)
24-tie. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift (41)
24-tie. Say It Right by Nelly Furtado (Video) (41)
23. Season of Love by The Cast of Rent (43)
21-tie. Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawio'ole (45)
21-tie. The Light In Your Eyes by Blessid Union of Souls (45)
And our teens part of the countdown gives us another helping of The Chicks, an obscure but incredible song by Jill Paquette and of course, Cool J.
19-tie. My Favorite Mistake by Sheryl Crow (46)
19-tie. I'd Die Without You by PM Dawn (46)
17-tie. Tortured Tangled Hearts by The Dixie Chicks (47)
17-tie. Drops of Jupiter by Train (47)
15-tie. Sin Wagon by The Dixie Chicks (48)
15-tie. Lift My Eyes by Jill Paquette (48)
13-tie. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley (49)
13-tie. I May Hate Myself in the Morning by Lee Ann Womack (49)
11-tie. Loungin' (who do you love) by LL Cool J (50)
11-tie. If I Ever Lose My Faith in You by Sting (50)
Before we get to the Top Ten, I wanted to give you a list of ten songs that, were I to do this same column in a year two, you'd probably see some of them appear in this very list, maybe because they are new and I listen to them frequently now or because they were just outside the top fifty and have gotten some recent love from my playlist... they include "Hey Soul Sister" by Train... "Travelin Soldier" by The Dixie Chicks... "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John... "Relator" by Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson... "You Give Good Love" by Whitney Houston... "Better in Time" by Leona Lewis... "Right Round" by Flo Rida... "I Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum... "Everything Zen" by Bush... and, of course... "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus
Now, here's the Top Ten... a little eclectic, but a little predictable all the same...
10. Collide by Howie Day (53)... I cannot even name another Howie Day song. But I love this one. I told The Lovely Steph Leann if I played guitar and could sing, this would be part of my set.
9. ...And Our Feelings by Babyface (54)... This is a perfect song to sing while driving. My vocals get nowhere near the level of Babyface, but that doesn't mean I don't try.
7-tie. How to Save a Life by The Fray (55)... This and their other big song, perhaps one of the biggest, most awesome one-two song punches ever.
7-tie. You and I Both by Jason Mraz (55)... Its a great video, its a great song, and its also fun to sing. And the lyrics are easier to learn than "The Remedy".
6. My Boo by Usher (ft Alicia Keys) (56)... I was a little surprised when I did this list how far up this list that "My Boo" ended up. But I'm perfectly okay with it.
5. Wildwood Flower by Reese Witherspoon (57)... I bought the "Walk the Line" soundtrack, and I'll be honest, I listened to this song non-stop. When I first got my iPod, I remember this song being the first one to 20 plays ever.
4. Fergalicious by Fergie (Video) (58)... Fine. I'll admit it. I like this song, and this video is fun. I would venture to guess that 40 of the plays were done within a year of it being released.
3. Love Song by Sara Bareilles (59)... If I could use the Billboard Charts term "with a bullet" on my own little list, than I would use it here with this song. I wouldn't be shocked to see this become number one in the near future, because I am completely addicted to this song.
2. Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake (61)... What can I say? Timberlake is cool. The song is cool.
1. Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray (63)... Again, I'm not entirely sure how this song got so high, number one in fact, but I make no apologies. It is a song that I could listen to non-stop (and have) and not get tired of (I haven't).
So what about you? Does your list of favorite songs and your actual play counts tell two different stories?
Showing posts with label Garth Brooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garth Brooks. Show all posts
Idol Inspires... and Gives Back
Here I am, its a Wednesday night. Idol Gives Back is already on, but I haven't seen the performance show. Its 10 after 7, and I planned it that way. I'm about to pick up the remote, and watch the performances... then immediately go to the Idol Gives Back show, though I'm not sure we'll see any results this time... when they did this a few years back, they didn't eliminate anyone, they just combined that weeks votes with the following week and dropped 2 people.
I want to be able to fast forward through some of these performances if desired... so its easier while watching it on DVR. I have the power, oh yes, I have... the power.
THIS
IS
AMERICAN
IDOL
Its "Inspirational Song" week here on Idol, but don't think you'll be hearing stuff from Amy Grant or Third Day or Stevie Curt Chapman... no, this is when you just pick songs that... well, inspire you. Personally, if I were a singer and on Idol, I do one of two songs:
"Standing Outside the Fire." by Garth Brooks. I think its the video of the Downs kid running on the track team that does it for me. Oh, and Garth just looks cool with fire all around him.
OR
"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. I do this one only if I were a chick. Which I'm not. Digressing....
Its our Top Seven singing this week... Big Mike, C'Bosox, Tim-may, Aaron, CJ, Lee De and Siobhan. And mentoring them this week? Alicia Keys. Okay, so, have you ever heard the song "Falling"? I'm sure you have... it was every other song on the radio some years back... and don't get me wrong, her voice is absolutely beautiful and haunting... but "Falling" is a terribly written song. Just my two cents. Who said "Fergalicious?" Shut up.
CJ is up first. Your first clue that this week is not "Inspirational" but "Songs That Make You Feel Good" is that Casey James is doing "Don't Stop", the classic by Fleetwood Mac. This is one of my least favorite Fleetwood Mac songs... personally, I'm a big fan of "Gypsy", "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me"... though who doesn't love "Go Your Own Way", especially because of the bitterness behind it--let's face it, everyone slept with everyone in that group.
Randy says the song was good, but not the best. Cindy Jo disagrees. She would vocalize it, except for the drooling. America's Favorite Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres busts out a real critique... "You have to be great, and I don't think anyone is going to remember that tomorrow". Kara the New Hotness is frustrated because he's better than that. Simon the Cowell says he wasn't inspired at all. And I can agree with that.
Lee DeWyze is doing Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer", which you'd know because it goes "Li la li... (crash) li la li li li la la la la li (crash). I like that song, but for me, you can't beat "Sounds of Silence" and "Hazy Shade of Winter" (though I prefer The Bangles 1987 version from the Andrew McCarthy/Jami Gertz/RDJr masterpiece of drugginess, "Less Than Zero"). Yes, yes, "Mrs Robinson" is good too.
What is this song about? Its about overcoming loneliness and poverty in New York City. So sez Wikipedia.
Randy the Dawg really liked it. Ellen DeG says it was great, the best of the night so far. Kara the New Hotness says Lee has his moment tonight. Simon says that two performances in, it was the best of the night... and then says it was sincere, emotional and inspirational.
Timmy Urban is doing "Better Days" by The Goo Goo Dolls, one of those bands that, almost 20 years later, they keep putting out likable songs. My personal favorite? "Black Balloon", though I've admitted that I haven't a clue what its about... didn't stop me from ranking it as one of the saddest songs ever.
"Slide", however, is a great, great driving song.
Tim-may Urban is having, shall we say, pitch problems. Randy says it was just so-so. Ellen DeG compares him to soup that sometimes she likes and sometimes she doesn't... and tonight, she didn't. Kara the New Hotness didn't like it. Simon the Cowell is finding it difficult to believe in him, and thinks it was a step back.
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear... "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly is what Aaron Kelly chose. Directly from the soundtrack to the groundbreaking motion picture "Space Jam". You know how some people have said they've never seen Star Wars? Well, I've never seen "Space Jam". I'm okay with that.
You know which song I like by R. Kelly? "Ignition (remix)". That song rules. Especially when I start singing to The Lovely Steph Leann, "No I'm not tryin to be rude, but hey pretty girl I'm feelin you the way you do the things you do, remind me of my Lexus coup..." though by the time I get five words into it, she's already given me a stern look.
Aaron Kelly's version was terrible. I don't know what Randy the Dawg is hearing, liking it, but wow. That was dreadful. Ellen DeG believes Aaron can fly. Kara the New Hotness loved it. Simon the Cowell admires the guts to take on that song, but didn't like the performance at all.
Do you want to know Whitney Houston's worst song? And Mariah Carey's worst song ever? Its the same song. And Siobhan Magnus is doing it tonight... from "The Prince of Egypt", its "When You Believe". I hate this song, I really do. I really, really do.
Okay, I'll say this... she's got a great voice. She sings the song decent enough. But this song... is just terrible. Just terrible. I miss the Siobhan from the early weeks of the show... its like she listened to her own hype and wanted to morph into something more "radio friendly", and by doing so, lost what made her awesome.
Randy the Dawg didn't like it all that much. Ellen DeG loved it. Kara the New Hotness said "Technically, it was good. But it was theatrical". Simon didn't like it either.
Big Mike is doing "Hero" by Chad Kroeger. Once again, from a movie, this time from "Spiderman". Is this "Song That Make You Feel Good" or "Songs That Come From Movies But Also Make You Feel Good" Week?
Not a huge fan, but after this night, its the almost the best of the junk.
Randy the Dawg liked it. Ellen DeG liked it. Kara the New Hotness didn't like it. Simon the Cowell said it was sung well, and comments that it was from Spiderman.
And in the pimp spot. Crystal Bowersox is ready to blow us all away. I heard she was doing "People Get Ready", and immediately I thought of Crystal Lewis Rapture-Jam, "People Get Ready (Jesus is coming)" and I was all pumped.
Well, this is actually the version from the 60s by The Impressions. The first verse is sung acapella and Oh Em Gee. Wow. Wow. Wow wow wow.
Sans instrument for the first time, she just blows it away. And she ends up crying at the end. And it was so freaking awesome, I'm doing something that I haven't done all year... I'm rewinding it to watch it again.
Sometimes you see a performance that is just... well, magical. Amazing. Unbelievable. And tonight, Crystal Bowersox just did one of those, one that will be tossed into the ranks when they do those "Best Idol Performances Ever" lists.
Randy the Dawg says "That was unbelievable" and gives her a standing O. Ellen DeG says she's beautiful and loved the song. And DVR cuts out before I hear Kara the New Hotness and Simon speak, but I can only assume they went nuts too. I just did.
Tonight... Crystal Bowersox. Everyone else didn't matter.
Coming quickly... watching Idol Gives Back...
And here we go...
To give us a heading of how great this show is going to be, its He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected and The First Lady, Michelle. I just threw up in my mouth.
THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL
GIVES BACK!!!!
I wonder when He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected will start giving back... taxes, maybe? Personal freedoms? Government control? I'll stop before I start kicking things around The Cabana living area.
Seacrest reminds us we can make a difference. I'm wondering what the over/under is on how many times i'm going to fast forward tonight? Plus 400?
Seacrest is hosting, but Queen Latifah is co-hosting over in Pasadena. I used to totally dig her talk show when it was on. Tonight... the Black Eyed Peas! Carrie Underwood! Joss Stone! Annie Lennox! More! Yeah!
The time is 8:30, so I wonder how fast I'll shoot through this 2 hour show. Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys are here tonight too!
Fast forward through the Top 12 reunited (and it feels so good) group song
Fast forward through Jennifer Garner's report on what Idol Gives Back has done for Kentucky
Fast forward through Posh Spice and Seacrest
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Capt Sulley's pleading for Idol Gives Back
Seacrest banters with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Not a funny bit.
The Top Seven sit on the Couch of Anxiety, all dressed in white as per usual Idol Gives Back dress code. Siobhan Magnus isn't used to such bright happiness.
Back over to Queen Latifah, who introduces The Black Eyed Peas. I'm completely alone in my chair, and out loud I just said "What the freak is Fergie wearing?" This song is a prime example of artists who sound great on the radio and in studio but onstage... uh... not really...
Fast forward through The Black Eyed Peas rockin' that body
Todd Bridges is in the audience. How did he get there? Shouldn't he be parking cars?
Fast forward through Malaria's greatest hits
Fast forward through commercials
Finally... some results. I thought they might push back an elimination until next week, but nay nay. And in another only slightly funny bit, George Lopez is onstage. Let's dim the lights.
Lopez then walks to the judges, as if one of them is getting voted off. He then takes some great shots at both Randy and Kara the New Hotness... Lopez then takes another shot at Kara's affections for Casey James, which then the camera pans to CJ, who grimaces. He didn't like that at all.
Seacrest then introduces Lopez as "Erik Estrada", which made me laugh out loud.
Fast forward through the Ford commercial
Now, really dim the lights. CJ and Crystal Bowersox join Seacrest in the middle of the stage. CJ looks grim, he knows he's in the Bottom Three or Two or whatever they'll do. He's standing next to C'Bosox. And in shocking news, Casey James heads to the Silver Stools of Shame, Crystal Bowersox lives to fight another day.
Aaron Kelly and Lee DeWyze come to the middle... which puts Aaron Kelly in the Bottom Three. By the way, I called that while Seacrest was still talking. Aaron heads to the Silver Stools of Shame.
Back to Queen Latifah, lets hear...
No, Fast forward through Jeff Beck and Joss Stone
Fast forward through dying mothers in Africa
Fast forward through commercials and Ban Ki-Moon, the Sect General of the U.N. Yeah, thats how you get me to donate. Put the U.N. support behind it. You could have gotten Bernie Madoff and I would have given it more creedence.
And now, Morgan Freeman. Can I just tell ya, I think he grand kids must have the absolute best time during story hour with Grandpa.
Fast forward through Mississippi's poverty kids
Fast forward through Alicia Keys
Fast forward through commercials
Seacrest banters again with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Jim Carrey makes an appearance... and seriously, he looks OLD. And why break up with Jenny McCarthy? Wow.
Queen Latifah introduces Carrie Underwood, singing the song "Change". This strikes me as a song that is going to inspire me, and they'll probably show video of kids. She looks ravishing... but...
Fast forward through Carrie Underwood. No background montages of kids, I'm guessing Carrie is too big of a star to have the camera not on her now.
Fast forward through Hungry People montage
Fast forward through a bunch of poverty stricken kids in church
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Bill and Melinda Gates
Fast forward through who I consider one of the least funny people in America, Wanda Sykes
Back to results. Siobhan, Timmy and Big Mike join Seacrest in the center of the stage. One will head to the Silver Stools of Shame. Siobhan is safe. She goes back to the Couch of Safety. Big Mike is safe. Timmy Urban goes over to the Silver Stools of Shame, joining Aaron Kelly and CJ
Fast forward through David Cook
Fast forward through poor kids in Ethiopia
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Annie Lennox in Africa
Fast forward through Annie Lennox, still in Africa
Fast forward through Annie Lennox singing. She might still be in Africa, who knows. Her song, "No More I Love You"... one of the Top Ten Worst Songs in the History of the World, in my opinion. Just saying.
Fast forward through commercials
And we're back. Its 9:07, and I've gone through 1:52 in just over 30 minutes... back to Queen Latifah and a bunch of others singing "Stairway to Heaven"
Fast forward through Queen Latifah and a bunch of others singing "Stairway to Heaven"
And I fast forwarded right to the end of the DVR recording. Its 9:09, and I quickly go to Fox 6 to see who gets kicked off... and the show is still going. Queen Latifah is standing with Sir Elton John, who doesn't look much older than Jim Carrey that we saw early.
Elton John sits to sing "Your Song"
Fast forward through... wait... crap. I'm watching this live.
Tis okay, though... I can handle this one. I dig early Elton, before we all knew he was singing to a guy. I do like that Elton John is on the show, even though he called the show "incredibly racist" after a Season Three Bottom Three featured black contestants Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia (Jennifer Hudson went home).
And a commercial shows that Kristin Chenoweth to be coming back to "Glee" soon. Looks like I might be watching "Glee" again. If Kristin Chenoweth was on a show called "An Hour of Watching Leaves Dry", I'd watch it.
Aaron Kelly is safe, by the way. I think Timmy Urban is done for the season.
And.... as usual, I'm right.
Because they were pressed for time, I'm sure, as its now 9:24, they don't even let Tim Urban sing the final song. They show his "journey" clips, and then cut out. And thats it for Idol Gives Back.
Okay, okay, here's the number to donate if you want... 1-877-IDOL AID and here's the link if you want to donate.
I want to be able to fast forward through some of these performances if desired... so its easier while watching it on DVR. I have the power, oh yes, I have... the power.
THIS
IS
AMERICAN
IDOL
Its "Inspirational Song" week here on Idol, but don't think you'll be hearing stuff from Amy Grant or Third Day or Stevie Curt Chapman... no, this is when you just pick songs that... well, inspire you. Personally, if I were a singer and on Idol, I do one of two songs:
"Standing Outside the Fire." by Garth Brooks. I think its the video of the Downs kid running on the track team that does it for me. Oh, and Garth just looks cool with fire all around him.
OR
"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. I do this one only if I were a chick. Which I'm not. Digressing....
Its our Top Seven singing this week... Big Mike, C'Bosox, Tim-may, Aaron, CJ, Lee De and Siobhan. And mentoring them this week? Alicia Keys. Okay, so, have you ever heard the song "Falling"? I'm sure you have... it was every other song on the radio some years back... and don't get me wrong, her voice is absolutely beautiful and haunting... but "Falling" is a terribly written song. Just my two cents. Who said "Fergalicious?" Shut up.
CJ is up first. Your first clue that this week is not "Inspirational" but "Songs That Make You Feel Good" is that Casey James is doing "Don't Stop", the classic by Fleetwood Mac. This is one of my least favorite Fleetwood Mac songs... personally, I'm a big fan of "Gypsy", "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me"... though who doesn't love "Go Your Own Way", especially because of the bitterness behind it--let's face it, everyone slept with everyone in that group.
Randy says the song was good, but not the best. Cindy Jo disagrees. She would vocalize it, except for the drooling. America's Favorite Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres busts out a real critique... "You have to be great, and I don't think anyone is going to remember that tomorrow". Kara the New Hotness is frustrated because he's better than that. Simon the Cowell says he wasn't inspired at all. And I can agree with that.
Lee DeWyze is doing Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer", which you'd know because it goes "Li la li... (crash) li la li li li la la la la li (crash). I like that song, but for me, you can't beat "Sounds of Silence" and "Hazy Shade of Winter" (though I prefer The Bangles 1987 version from the Andrew McCarthy/Jami Gertz/RDJr masterpiece of drugginess, "Less Than Zero"). Yes, yes, "Mrs Robinson" is good too.
What is this song about? Its about overcoming loneliness and poverty in New York City. So sez Wikipedia.
Randy the Dawg really liked it. Ellen DeG says it was great, the best of the night so far. Kara the New Hotness says Lee has his moment tonight. Simon says that two performances in, it was the best of the night... and then says it was sincere, emotional and inspirational.
Timmy Urban is doing "Better Days" by The Goo Goo Dolls, one of those bands that, almost 20 years later, they keep putting out likable songs. My personal favorite? "Black Balloon", though I've admitted that I haven't a clue what its about... didn't stop me from ranking it as one of the saddest songs ever.
"Slide", however, is a great, great driving song.
Tim-may Urban is having, shall we say, pitch problems. Randy says it was just so-so. Ellen DeG compares him to soup that sometimes she likes and sometimes she doesn't... and tonight, she didn't. Kara the New Hotness didn't like it. Simon the Cowell is finding it difficult to believe in him, and thinks it was a step back.
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear... "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly is what Aaron Kelly chose. Directly from the soundtrack to the groundbreaking motion picture "Space Jam". You know how some people have said they've never seen Star Wars? Well, I've never seen "Space Jam". I'm okay with that.
You know which song I like by R. Kelly? "Ignition (remix)". That song rules. Especially when I start singing to The Lovely Steph Leann, "No I'm not tryin to be rude, but hey pretty girl I'm feelin you the way you do the things you do, remind me of my Lexus coup..." though by the time I get five words into it, she's already given me a stern look.
Aaron Kelly's version was terrible. I don't know what Randy the Dawg is hearing, liking it, but wow. That was dreadful. Ellen DeG believes Aaron can fly. Kara the New Hotness loved it. Simon the Cowell admires the guts to take on that song, but didn't like the performance at all.
Do you want to know Whitney Houston's worst song? And Mariah Carey's worst song ever? Its the same song. And Siobhan Magnus is doing it tonight... from "The Prince of Egypt", its "When You Believe". I hate this song, I really do. I really, really do.
Okay, I'll say this... she's got a great voice. She sings the song decent enough. But this song... is just terrible. Just terrible. I miss the Siobhan from the early weeks of the show... its like she listened to her own hype and wanted to morph into something more "radio friendly", and by doing so, lost what made her awesome.
Randy the Dawg didn't like it all that much. Ellen DeG loved it. Kara the New Hotness said "Technically, it was good. But it was theatrical". Simon didn't like it either.
Big Mike is doing "Hero" by Chad Kroeger. Once again, from a movie, this time from "Spiderman". Is this "Song That Make You Feel Good" or "Songs That Come From Movies But Also Make You Feel Good" Week?
Not a huge fan, but after this night, its the almost the best of the junk.
Randy the Dawg liked it. Ellen DeG liked it. Kara the New Hotness didn't like it. Simon the Cowell said it was sung well, and comments that it was from Spiderman.
And in the pimp spot. Crystal Bowersox is ready to blow us all away. I heard she was doing "People Get Ready", and immediately I thought of Crystal Lewis Rapture-Jam, "People Get Ready (Jesus is coming)" and I was all pumped.
Well, this is actually the version from the 60s by The Impressions. The first verse is sung acapella and Oh Em Gee. Wow. Wow. Wow wow wow.
Sans instrument for the first time, she just blows it away. And she ends up crying at the end. And it was so freaking awesome, I'm doing something that I haven't done all year... I'm rewinding it to watch it again.
Sometimes you see a performance that is just... well, magical. Amazing. Unbelievable. And tonight, Crystal Bowersox just did one of those, one that will be tossed into the ranks when they do those "Best Idol Performances Ever" lists.
Randy the Dawg says "That was unbelievable" and gives her a standing O. Ellen DeG says she's beautiful and loved the song. And DVR cuts out before I hear Kara the New Hotness and Simon speak, but I can only assume they went nuts too. I just did.
Tonight... Crystal Bowersox. Everyone else didn't matter.
Coming quickly... watching Idol Gives Back...
And here we go...
To give us a heading of how great this show is going to be, its He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected and The First Lady, Michelle. I just threw up in my mouth.
THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL
GIVES BACK!!!!
I wonder when He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected will start giving back... taxes, maybe? Personal freedoms? Government control? I'll stop before I start kicking things around The Cabana living area.
Seacrest reminds us we can make a difference. I'm wondering what the over/under is on how many times i'm going to fast forward tonight? Plus 400?
Seacrest is hosting, but Queen Latifah is co-hosting over in Pasadena. I used to totally dig her talk show when it was on. Tonight... the Black Eyed Peas! Carrie Underwood! Joss Stone! Annie Lennox! More! Yeah!
The time is 8:30, so I wonder how fast I'll shoot through this 2 hour show. Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys are here tonight too!
Fast forward through the Top 12 reunited (and it feels so good) group song
Fast forward through Jennifer Garner's report on what Idol Gives Back has done for Kentucky
Fast forward through Posh Spice and Seacrest
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Capt Sulley's pleading for Idol Gives Back
Seacrest banters with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Not a funny bit.
The Top Seven sit on the Couch of Anxiety, all dressed in white as per usual Idol Gives Back dress code. Siobhan Magnus isn't used to such bright happiness.
Back over to Queen Latifah, who introduces The Black Eyed Peas. I'm completely alone in my chair, and out loud I just said "What the freak is Fergie wearing?" This song is a prime example of artists who sound great on the radio and in studio but onstage... uh... not really...
Fast forward through The Black Eyed Peas rockin' that body
Todd Bridges is in the audience. How did he get there? Shouldn't he be parking cars?
Fast forward through Malaria's greatest hits
Fast forward through commercials
Finally... some results. I thought they might push back an elimination until next week, but nay nay. And in another only slightly funny bit, George Lopez is onstage. Let's dim the lights.
Lopez then walks to the judges, as if one of them is getting voted off. He then takes some great shots at both Randy and Kara the New Hotness... Lopez then takes another shot at Kara's affections for Casey James, which then the camera pans to CJ, who grimaces. He didn't like that at all.
Seacrest then introduces Lopez as "Erik Estrada", which made me laugh out loud.
Fast forward through the Ford commercial
Now, really dim the lights. CJ and Crystal Bowersox join Seacrest in the middle of the stage. CJ looks grim, he knows he's in the Bottom Three or Two or whatever they'll do. He's standing next to C'Bosox. And in shocking news, Casey James heads to the Silver Stools of Shame, Crystal Bowersox lives to fight another day.
Aaron Kelly and Lee DeWyze come to the middle... which puts Aaron Kelly in the Bottom Three. By the way, I called that while Seacrest was still talking. Aaron heads to the Silver Stools of Shame.
Back to Queen Latifah, lets hear...
No, Fast forward through Jeff Beck and Joss Stone
Fast forward through dying mothers in Africa
Fast forward through commercials and Ban Ki-Moon, the Sect General of the U.N. Yeah, thats how you get me to donate. Put the U.N. support behind it. You could have gotten Bernie Madoff and I would have given it more creedence.
And now, Morgan Freeman. Can I just tell ya, I think he grand kids must have the absolute best time during story hour with Grandpa.
Fast forward through Mississippi's poverty kids
Fast forward through Alicia Keys
Fast forward through commercials
Seacrest banters again with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Jim Carrey makes an appearance... and seriously, he looks OLD. And why break up with Jenny McCarthy? Wow.
Queen Latifah introduces Carrie Underwood, singing the song "Change". This strikes me as a song that is going to inspire me, and they'll probably show video of kids. She looks ravishing... but...
Fast forward through Carrie Underwood. No background montages of kids, I'm guessing Carrie is too big of a star to have the camera not on her now.
Fast forward through Hungry People montage
Fast forward through a bunch of poverty stricken kids in church
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Bill and Melinda Gates
Fast forward through who I consider one of the least funny people in America, Wanda Sykes
Back to results. Siobhan, Timmy and Big Mike join Seacrest in the center of the stage. One will head to the Silver Stools of Shame. Siobhan is safe. She goes back to the Couch of Safety. Big Mike is safe. Timmy Urban goes over to the Silver Stools of Shame, joining Aaron Kelly and CJ
Fast forward through David Cook
Fast forward through poor kids in Ethiopia
Fast forward through commercials
Fast forward through Annie Lennox in Africa
Fast forward through Annie Lennox, still in Africa
Fast forward through Annie Lennox singing. She might still be in Africa, who knows. Her song, "No More I Love You"... one of the Top Ten Worst Songs in the History of the World, in my opinion. Just saying.
Fast forward through commercials
And we're back. Its 9:07, and I've gone through 1:52 in just over 30 minutes... back to Queen Latifah and a bunch of others singing "Stairway to Heaven"
Fast forward through Queen Latifah and a bunch of others singing "Stairway to Heaven"
And I fast forwarded right to the end of the DVR recording. Its 9:09, and I quickly go to Fox 6 to see who gets kicked off... and the show is still going. Queen Latifah is standing with Sir Elton John, who doesn't look much older than Jim Carrey that we saw early.
Elton John sits to sing "Your Song"
Fast forward through... wait... crap. I'm watching this live.
Tis okay, though... I can handle this one. I dig early Elton, before we all knew he was singing to a guy. I do like that Elton John is on the show, even though he called the show "incredibly racist" after a Season Three Bottom Three featured black contestants Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia (Jennifer Hudson went home).
Aaron Kelly is safe, by the way. I think Timmy Urban is done for the season.
And.... as usual, I'm right.
Because they were pressed for time, I'm sure, as its now 9:24, they don't even let Tim Urban sing the final song. They show his "journey" clips, and then cut out. And thats it for Idol Gives Back.
Okay, okay, here's the number to donate if you want... 1-877-IDOL AID and here's the link if you want to donate.
A.I. in the A-T-L
FYI... when I do an Idol recap, I usually do it as I'm watching it... which means my first impressions are truly my first impressions... then I go back and add links, pics and videos. Just know that reading this is just like my reactions as it happens! Facebook users.. go to Clouds in My Coffee to get some real love and some pants on the ground!
Its been cold as cold can be... but guess what's making Atlanta hot? The American Idol Auditions!
THIS IS
AMERICAN IDOL!!
I have no idea where American Idol held auditions this year, but I do know that it might be likely that winners of the American Idol Experience down at Hollywood Studios would come to this particular one... here's how it works--they have three people perform on their stage during each show, all throughout the day. The audience votes, and the winner comes back that evening to the day's finale. The winner of THAT show gets a special golden ticket, which sends them to the front of any American Idol audition line, anytime, anywhere in the country. I've heard that you get "Star" treatment as well, with special food, nicer waiting rooms and so on.
I've also heard that they've had a slight problem getting good talent to perform as well... on a recent Inside the Magic podcast, someone said that the quality of winners for some days is much lower than you'd think it would be--based on who tries out.
Either way, being this is a Fox show, I'm not sure they'll do much promotion on an Disney/ABC attraction--although its good PR, I guess.
Tonight's guest host? Mary J. Blige, one of those legendary R&B soul artists that might be legendary only because she's been around so long. I don't own any Mary J cds. I dont know anyone who does own any Mary J CDs. Out of all my friends on FB, (anywhere from 909 to 912, depending on the day), I don't know anyone who calls themselves a huge Mary J. fan. I will say, though, in 1992, she came with this song called "Real Love", off of her "What's the 411?" album, that was just awesome. I can sing it front to back, though I still make up some of the words.
This is not to disparage Mary J in any way... I think she's awesome. I just don't know who else does.
First up, Dewone Robinson, telling us all about how he would sing as a kid. He gets on the elevator, going up to the 27th floor of the audition building. He's going to sing one of his own songs... one he calls "Lady We're Not Together Anymore". He tries to harmonize on his own, and do every voice in a Boyz II Men group, singing the line "...its over, its over, its over..." Its kinda foretelling. I like that Mary J just puts her head on the table.
We see another guy who just didn't make it, and with his high pitched voice ended up killing three birds and a boom mic operator in the process.
Big smiles from Keia Johnson with the frizzy afro--I can dig the frizzy afro. And she belts out some Celine Dion, loud and proud, and gets all the notes right. Mary J is almost speechless. Randy liked the phrasing. Kara the Hotness calls her geniune. Simon liked her, but called it more Broadwayey than anything else. However, Princess Keia gets the nod to Hollywood! And the 3,882 people waiting for her at the bottom of the elevator ride celebrate with her.
Miriam Lemnouni (we have our first "The Climb" reference... but I liked her anyway), Noel Reese and Tisha Holland all wow the judges (and I dug on Tisha's bluesy style)... all three head to Hollywood.
Jermaine Sellers is 26, and is a church singer. He's wanted this his whole entire life... and he takes care of his mother, who has Spina bifida. He'll be singing "One of Us" by Joan Osborne... and you can tell he has that church influence behind him... rock on. I keep waiting for the touching story that turns into a terrible audition... but not this one. Kara the Hotness loved it, Randy the Dawg says best all day, Mary the J loved it, Simon the Brit loved it. Jermaine is headed west.
And in the background... we hear "I Gotta Feeling" from the Black Eyed Peas. Thought I'd hear it much earlier than this...
Every few audition shows, we have one of those over the top chicks who is borderline annoying... and can easily go over the line. Christy Marie Agronow is doing "Love is a Battlefied" by Pat Benatar... personally, I don't think its that... I was going to say bad, but she his one of those ending lines, and I take it back. Singing is her life, music is her passion. The judges don't like it all, Mary J is smiling, and they send her on her way. And she cries. And her big, friendly personality turns into an ugly, "I will never watch this show again" personality.
Here's your montage of people who don't make it... lots of disappointed faces, shots of the elevator door closing with people smiling, and later those same people crying as the door opens.
Straight from Baltimore, Tennessee, here's a girl who likes jumping off of bridges into the water... no, I'm not kidding at all. No, seriously... I'm not kidding. She and her family are jumping off of bridges. She plays her guitar, she's wearing a dress she bought for $4 at the dollar store, she hangs out with her mom on her mom's porch on her mom's trailer. She's like Pickles, but not nearly as cute.
She's very toothy too. She's going to be singing some Old Crow Medicine Show... Vanessa Wolfe. I was totally expecting one of those "great, tender story, terrible audition" but she was... unexpectedly, she was really good... I like how she sings "flowers" as "flerrs" and "hours" as "hurrs". Simon says, "you are incredibly unprepared, but when you are good, you are good..." Randy the Dawg says yes. Kara the Hotness says yes. Mary J says yes. Simon says yes. However, this chick (who just said, "I get to ride in an aero-plane?") is going to be fascinating to watch in Hollywood.
Though Paula is not here, I'll speak for her. "Bubbles, butterflies, daisies, snowflakes, punkin' pie".
Day one is over! Day two is up!
Jesse Hamilton from... Anniston. Yep, Anniston, Alabama. He's almost died three times... one as a baby, one in a bullet accident, and one by almost being run over. They show this in what they call a "cheap dramatization". There's a difference in "tender backstory" and "openly mocking"... American Idol is doing the latter... and I love it. Is that bad?
He sings... well, no... he attempts... well... he is about to try to attempt a Garth Brooks song. "The River"... Mary J is laughing so hard, she buries her face into Kara the Hotness's shoulders. Mary J and Kara turn around to compose themselves. He can't remember the first line of "The River" (which is " you know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows") so Randy suggests "If Tomorrow Never Comes", which lets Jesse launch into a terrible, warbly, scratchy tune slightly resembling "If Tomorrow Never Comes", only similiar in the fact that Jesse's version and the original song have the lines "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in them.
During the next montage of rejects, is it bad that I chuckled at the poor girl crying into her phone, "They took my dreams away..."? Cause that was kinda funny on so many levels.
Bo Bice is in a Moe's commercial. The Lovely Steph Leann and I were discussing this last night... if you take out Kelly Clarkson & Justin Whathisname, is there a bigger disparity between a winner and second place in American Idol? Bo was unlucky enough to there with Carrie Underwood... not saying Bo Bice hasn't done well for himself, but really... a local Moe's commercial? While Carrie's third album just went platinum? Again? Just sayin'.
If Pickles was an idiot (go with me here, okay?) she'd be the next chick, who is dressed up like a guitar. Simon rolls his eyes. Mary J is already laughing, and I think if we could hear what she was thinking, it would go along the lines of, "you crazy white people..."
"You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" by Loretta Lynn is Holly Harden's audition song. She's not bad, really... I kinda thought this would be a train wreck. Kara kinda likes her and her voice. Mary J says, "I don't get it". (re: you crazy white people). Kara says yes, while Mary J says no, flat out. Simon says yes. The whole episode, we haven't seen anything from Mary J until now.
More terrible auditions. More wincing from Mary J, Simon, Randy and Kara. Here's a dude singing "Reflection", making me wish The Lovely Steph Leann was here. And here's a guy singing "Oops, I Did It Again".
Randomly, I found the video to "Real Love", which I'd never seen until just a few minutes ago. "oooooooh... when I met you I just knew that you would take my heart and run..."
Mallorie Haley is from South Dakota, and hey... she's got the looks, she's got the voice, and she's got the name, "Mallorie". That's a name I don't hear enough of. Mallorie Dollar. Hmm? Not sure. Mary J calls Mallorie's performance "Dope". Randy is wondering why Mary J took his verbage. She heads to Hollywood.
Skii Bo Ski. That's what he calls himself. Skii Bo Ski. "When I gets in that judge room, they gonna be blown away." He's singing "Heard It Through the Gravevine", and he's dressed like a discount pimp. Once again, I am expecting a train wreck... and again, its not bad. Kara and Mary J are both impressed... Mary J says, "Image wise, if you can match your voice, then you will be alright".
Skii Bo Ski says, "I'm like the dollar store... even with the dollar store, you can have everything you want in that one package, and it only costs you a dollar." In other words, he makes absolutely no sense. I'm not sure I understood a single phrase this guy uttered the entire time he was there, other than "I heard it through the grapevine..." Either way, much to Simon's dismay, he heads to Hollywood.
Carmen Turner, 19, and Lauren Sanders, 18, are besties. They've been friends since they were in the 3rd grade, and the question arises--what happens if only one makes it? They say, "That's not going to happen". We know from the teaser commercial that one doesn't make it. They are equally annoying...
Lauren goes first... I like how the subtitle says, "Lauren Sanders, Baxley, GA, Age 18, College Student/BFF". Her voice sucks. Terrible. And here comes Carmen... who is the complete opposite of Lauren, ie, good. Lauren barely whispers, Carmen throws down. I'm also dazzled by the 8 inches of blue eyeshadow on each chick.
Randy and Kara says yes to Carmen, no to Lauren. Mary J says the same. Simon would have said no to both. Carmen is through, Lauren is not. Naturally, Carmen is crying, Lauren is smiling. Simon says, "If its any consulation, you'll be back together soon enough." Kinda reminds me of The Widower Danny Gokey and his buddy last year who got split up before the finals. Cindy Jo is openly weeping right now.
While its on commercial break, its a good time for me to mention what I'm looking forward to the most about the new season... Ford Commercials! Yeah. Or not.
And we're back in Atlanta, on the 2nd day of auditions, and its time for more terrible voices, this montage under the guise of "Southern Belles", one of which makes Mary J shriek--when asked if her friends tell her she's a good singer, she says, "Not really, but I won't let them discourage me." After this, Simon passes off his mic, declares "migraine" and bugs out.
And here comes a Tennessee police officer, about to bust out "Superstar", in Ruben's style. Officer Bryan Walker starts, and whaddya know, its pretty good. Heck, its really good... what a great song... "...don't you remember you told me you loved me baby, don't you remember you said you'd be coming back this way again maybe, baby baby baby oh baby, I love you, I really do..." Even if it is about a stalker.
Kara the Hotness digs on Officer Walker, so does Mary J and Randy, and off to Hollywood he goes.
Up next is a big Mary J fan, someone who not only thinks Mary J is an Idol, but also has slits cuts in his eyebrows. Lamar Royal starts, and this is the best way I can write it out, by singing, "OOhh yeaH, thE MORe I coMPaRe yoU to a KisS FROM A roSe ON the Grave..." Each time you see a capital letter as you sing that song, shout that part of the word. Before he goes up the elevator, Lamar says he will respect whatever the judges say... so of course, when Kara the Hotness, Mary J and Randy Big Dawg say no, he not only argues, he curses, he keeps singing and he even gets told by Mary J.
And while doing the "la la la's" of "My Cherie Amour", he gets taken out by security. All the way down the elevator, he not only decides that Kara the Hotness is a nobody, but he also declares that Mary J can't sing a... thing. All the way out, followed by security, he continues his rant, throwing in a few more "la la la's" from Stevie.
Every now and again, someone comes on Idol that, despite not having a Barnett Having a Nice Meal Out chance (that means none) of winning, they still command attention. William Hung, anyone? There was the Chinese guy who barely spoke English that came out in the ridiculous costume, singing a song about togetherness and getting along... and now, there's this guy, General Larry Platt, singing a song called "Pants on the Ground", for people who need to pull their pants up.
Currently, I'm joining Kara, Randy and Mary J in laughing hysterically... this guy is cracking me up! Its so ridiculously stupid and annoying and funny all at the same time... Simon tries not to be amused, but he can't help it. At 62, General Larry is slightly over the 28 year old age limit.
Pants on the Ground, Pants on the Ground, lookin' like a foo wid yo' pants on the ground...
From Atlanta, there were 25 to make it to Hollywood... next week, its on the way to Chicago, with guest judge Shania Twain... but for tonight, here's who stood out (besides General Larry)... Mallorie Haley... Vanessa Wolfe... and Jermaine Sellers
Its been cold as cold can be... but guess what's making Atlanta hot? The American Idol Auditions!
THIS IS
AMERICAN IDOL!!
I have no idea where American Idol held auditions this year, but I do know that it might be likely that winners of the American Idol Experience down at Hollywood Studios would come to this particular one... here's how it works--they have three people perform on their stage during each show, all throughout the day. The audience votes, and the winner comes back that evening to the day's finale. The winner of THAT show gets a special golden ticket, which sends them to the front of any American Idol audition line, anytime, anywhere in the country. I've heard that you get "Star" treatment as well, with special food, nicer waiting rooms and so on.
I've also heard that they've had a slight problem getting good talent to perform as well... on a recent Inside the Magic podcast, someone said that the quality of winners for some days is much lower than you'd think it would be--based on who tries out.
Either way, being this is a Fox show, I'm not sure they'll do much promotion on an Disney/ABC attraction--although its good PR, I guess.
This is not to disparage Mary J in any way... I think she's awesome. I just don't know who else does.
First up, Dewone Robinson, telling us all about how he would sing as a kid. He gets on the elevator, going up to the 27th floor of the audition building. He's going to sing one of his own songs... one he calls "Lady We're Not Together Anymore". He tries to harmonize on his own, and do every voice in a Boyz II Men group, singing the line "...its over, its over, its over..." Its kinda foretelling. I like that Mary J just puts her head on the table.
We see another guy who just didn't make it, and with his high pitched voice ended up killing three birds and a boom mic operator in the process.
Big smiles from Keia Johnson with the frizzy afro--I can dig the frizzy afro. And she belts out some Celine Dion, loud and proud, and gets all the notes right. Mary J is almost speechless. Randy liked the phrasing. Kara the Hotness calls her geniune. Simon liked her, but called it more Broadwayey than anything else. However, Princess Keia gets the nod to Hollywood! And the 3,882 people waiting for her at the bottom of the elevator ride celebrate with her.
Miriam Lemnouni (we have our first "The Climb" reference... but I liked her anyway), Noel Reese and Tisha Holland all wow the judges (and I dug on Tisha's bluesy style)... all three head to Hollywood.
Jermaine Sellers is 26, and is a church singer. He's wanted this his whole entire life... and he takes care of his mother, who has Spina bifida. He'll be singing "One of Us" by Joan Osborne... and you can tell he has that church influence behind him... rock on. I keep waiting for the touching story that turns into a terrible audition... but not this one. Kara the Hotness loved it, Randy the Dawg says best all day, Mary the J loved it, Simon the Brit loved it. Jermaine is headed west.
And in the background... we hear "I Gotta Feeling" from the Black Eyed Peas. Thought I'd hear it much earlier than this...
Every few audition shows, we have one of those over the top chicks who is borderline annoying... and can easily go over the line. Christy Marie Agronow is doing "Love is a Battlefied" by Pat Benatar... personally, I don't think its that... I was going to say bad, but she his one of those ending lines, and I take it back. Singing is her life, music is her passion. The judges don't like it all, Mary J is smiling, and they send her on her way. And she cries. And her big, friendly personality turns into an ugly, "I will never watch this show again" personality.
Here's your montage of people who don't make it... lots of disappointed faces, shots of the elevator door closing with people smiling, and later those same people crying as the door opens.
Straight from Baltimore, Tennessee, here's a girl who likes jumping off of bridges into the water... no, I'm not kidding at all. No, seriously... I'm not kidding. She and her family are jumping off of bridges. She plays her guitar, she's wearing a dress she bought for $4 at the dollar store, she hangs out with her mom on her mom's porch on her mom's trailer. She's like Pickles, but not nearly as cute.
She's very toothy too. She's going to be singing some Old Crow Medicine Show... Vanessa Wolfe. I was totally expecting one of those "great, tender story, terrible audition" but she was... unexpectedly, she was really good... I like how she sings "flowers" as "flerrs" and "hours" as "hurrs". Simon says, "you are incredibly unprepared, but when you are good, you are good..." Randy the Dawg says yes. Kara the Hotness says yes. Mary J says yes. Simon says yes. However, this chick (who just said, "I get to ride in an aero-plane?") is going to be fascinating to watch in Hollywood.
Though Paula is not here, I'll speak for her. "Bubbles, butterflies, daisies, snowflakes, punkin' pie".
Day one is over! Day two is up!
Jesse Hamilton from... Anniston. Yep, Anniston, Alabama. He's almost died three times... one as a baby, one in a bullet accident, and one by almost being run over. They show this in what they call a "cheap dramatization". There's a difference in "tender backstory" and "openly mocking"... American Idol is doing the latter... and I love it. Is that bad?
He sings... well, no... he attempts... well... he is about to try to attempt a Garth Brooks song. "The River"... Mary J is laughing so hard, she buries her face into Kara the Hotness's shoulders. Mary J and Kara turn around to compose themselves. He can't remember the first line of "The River" (which is " you know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows") so Randy suggests "If Tomorrow Never Comes", which lets Jesse launch into a terrible, warbly, scratchy tune slightly resembling "If Tomorrow Never Comes", only similiar in the fact that Jesse's version and the original song have the lines "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in them.
During the next montage of rejects, is it bad that I chuckled at the poor girl crying into her phone, "They took my dreams away..."? Cause that was kinda funny on so many levels.
Bo Bice is in a Moe's commercial. The Lovely Steph Leann and I were discussing this last night... if you take out Kelly Clarkson & Justin Whathisname, is there a bigger disparity between a winner and second place in American Idol? Bo was unlucky enough to there with Carrie Underwood... not saying Bo Bice hasn't done well for himself, but really... a local Moe's commercial? While Carrie's third album just went platinum? Again? Just sayin'.
If Pickles was an idiot (go with me here, okay?) she'd be the next chick, who is dressed up like a guitar. Simon rolls his eyes. Mary J is already laughing, and I think if we could hear what she was thinking, it would go along the lines of, "you crazy white people..."
"You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" by Loretta Lynn is Holly Harden's audition song. She's not bad, really... I kinda thought this would be a train wreck. Kara kinda likes her and her voice. Mary J says, "I don't get it". (re: you crazy white people). Kara says yes, while Mary J says no, flat out. Simon says yes. The whole episode, we haven't seen anything from Mary J until now.
More terrible auditions. More wincing from Mary J, Simon, Randy and Kara. Here's a dude singing "Reflection", making me wish The Lovely Steph Leann was here. And here's a guy singing "Oops, I Did It Again".
Randomly, I found the video to "Real Love", which I'd never seen until just a few minutes ago. "oooooooh... when I met you I just knew that you would take my heart and run..."
Mallorie Haley is from South Dakota, and hey... she's got the looks, she's got the voice, and she's got the name, "Mallorie". That's a name I don't hear enough of. Mallorie Dollar. Hmm? Not sure. Mary J calls Mallorie's performance "Dope". Randy is wondering why Mary J took his verbage. She heads to Hollywood.
Skii Bo Ski. That's what he calls himself. Skii Bo Ski. "When I gets in that judge room, they gonna be blown away." He's singing "Heard It Through the Gravevine", and he's dressed like a discount pimp. Once again, I am expecting a train wreck... and again, its not bad. Kara and Mary J are both impressed... Mary J says, "Image wise, if you can match your voice, then you will be alright".
Skii Bo Ski says, "I'm like the dollar store... even with the dollar store, you can have everything you want in that one package, and it only costs you a dollar." In other words, he makes absolutely no sense. I'm not sure I understood a single phrase this guy uttered the entire time he was there, other than "I heard it through the grapevine..." Either way, much to Simon's dismay, he heads to Hollywood.
Carmen Turner, 19, and Lauren Sanders, 18, are besties. They've been friends since they were in the 3rd grade, and the question arises--what happens if only one makes it? They say, "That's not going to happen". We know from the teaser commercial that one doesn't make it. They are equally annoying...
Lauren goes first... I like how the subtitle says, "Lauren Sanders, Baxley, GA, Age 18, College Student/BFF". Her voice sucks. Terrible. And here comes Carmen... who is the complete opposite of Lauren, ie, good. Lauren barely whispers, Carmen throws down. I'm also dazzled by the 8 inches of blue eyeshadow on each chick.
Randy and Kara says yes to Carmen, no to Lauren. Mary J says the same. Simon would have said no to both. Carmen is through, Lauren is not. Naturally, Carmen is crying, Lauren is smiling. Simon says, "If its any consulation, you'll be back together soon enough." Kinda reminds me of The Widower Danny Gokey and his buddy last year who got split up before the finals. Cindy Jo is openly weeping right now.
While its on commercial break, its a good time for me to mention what I'm looking forward to the most about the new season... Ford Commercials! Yeah. Or not.
And we're back in Atlanta, on the 2nd day of auditions, and its time for more terrible voices, this montage under the guise of "Southern Belles", one of which makes Mary J shriek--when asked if her friends tell her she's a good singer, she says, "Not really, but I won't let them discourage me." After this, Simon passes off his mic, declares "migraine" and bugs out.
And here comes a Tennessee police officer, about to bust out "Superstar", in Ruben's style. Officer Bryan Walker starts, and whaddya know, its pretty good. Heck, its really good... what a great song... "...don't you remember you told me you loved me baby, don't you remember you said you'd be coming back this way again maybe, baby baby baby oh baby, I love you, I really do..." Even if it is about a stalker.
Kara the Hotness digs on Officer Walker, so does Mary J and Randy, and off to Hollywood he goes.
Up next is a big Mary J fan, someone who not only thinks Mary J is an Idol, but also has slits cuts in his eyebrows. Lamar Royal starts, and this is the best way I can write it out, by singing, "OOhh yeaH, thE MORe I coMPaRe yoU to a KisS FROM A roSe ON the Grave..." Each time you see a capital letter as you sing that song, shout that part of the word. Before he goes up the elevator, Lamar says he will respect whatever the judges say... so of course, when Kara the Hotness, Mary J and Randy Big Dawg say no, he not only argues, he curses, he keeps singing and he even gets told by Mary J.
And while doing the "la la la's" of "My Cherie Amour", he gets taken out by security. All the way down the elevator, he not only decides that Kara the Hotness is a nobody, but he also declares that Mary J can't sing a... thing. All the way out, followed by security, he continues his rant, throwing in a few more "la la la's" from Stevie.
Every now and again, someone comes on Idol that, despite not having a Barnett Having a Nice Meal Out chance (that means none) of winning, they still command attention. William Hung, anyone? There was the Chinese guy who barely spoke English that came out in the ridiculous costume, singing a song about togetherness and getting along... and now, there's this guy, General Larry Platt, singing a song called "Pants on the Ground", for people who need to pull their pants up.
Currently, I'm joining Kara, Randy and Mary J in laughing hysterically... this guy is cracking me up! Its so ridiculously stupid and annoying and funny all at the same time... Simon tries not to be amused, but he can't help it. At 62, General Larry is slightly over the 28 year old age limit.
Pants on the Ground, Pants on the Ground, lookin' like a foo wid yo' pants on the ground...
From Atlanta, there were 25 to make it to Hollywood... next week, its on the way to Chicago, with guest judge Shania Twain... but for tonight, here's who stood out (besides General Larry)... Mallorie Haley... Vanessa Wolfe... and Jermaine Sellers
It's 3 a.m. I Must Be Lonely
"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so pleasant about that place. Even your emotions have an echo in so much space." Gnarls Barkley
Hale: "Your out of your mind."
Deak: "Yeah... ain't it cool?"
Two more days, and the decade is over. How absolutely crazy is that?
Anyway, not much to discuss... well, that's not true--there's probably a lot to talk about, everything from reviews of "Avatar", "It's Complicated" and "Sherlock Holmes" to what in the world is up with my Go Gators and the Urban Meyer, "I'm resigning cause my heart can't take it no I'm not I'm just taking a leave of absence but is that really the truth maybe I am resigning I'm just saying 'leave of absence' so my recruits will be okay" dance.
But, as it is, its 217 in the morning... and my iPod is syncing, which is why I'm still up. Its a blessed problem, really... "blessed problem" being, I have no reason to complain, I'm only whining about my toys and how annoying they can be, and if I sat back and had perspective, I'd know that I not only have 1 iPod, I now have 2 iPods, and those without would look at me and say, "Quit your whining, you big baby."
I opened up iTunes the other day, and nothing was there. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sighed, because this has happened before.. my music is right where I left it on my computer, in my music folder, but its as if I had downloaded iTunes for the first time. This means all my ratings, all my lyrics, all my playcounts gone, all gone... now I'll never know the lyrics to Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (i won't worry)" or know whether I rated Garth Brooks' "Wild Horses" higher than Whitney Houston's "Savin' All My Love For You", now my knowledge of how many times I truly listened to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus or "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton or "Everything Zen" by Bush was gone! No more ratings! No more playlists! No more 'last played'! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!
I guess there are worse things in life... well, I'm pretty sure there are. Cancer... car wrecks... He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's Health Care Plan... (random song names.. check... random line from "A Christmas Story"... check... potshot at The President for Brad Latta's sake... check...).
The only upside is that I get to re-organize my music, and for a nerd like me, this is a big deal. I have one folder, called "Distribute", and anything downloaded goes there. If I've downloaded the song from a less-than-paid for site, I can do a virus scan on that folder to make sure everything is on the up and up. If I rip a CD, it goes there, as does any audiobooks I get. Over time, and because I'm too lazy and forgetful to move stuff when I load it, it builds up.
This iTunes issue happened last in August of 2008. In 16 months, my "Distribute" folder had collected 245 different artists worth of stuff. It took me about three hours to move music and audiobooks out of that folder into their proper places.
The Lovely Steph Leann did well this year.... she usually does, but this year especially. I got some great stuff, like some books, my "Mountain Soul II" CD by Patty Loveless that I was hoping for, a cute little Mickey Mouse tie, Super Mario for the Wii (more on that later), and in my stocking, I pulled out some candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the best, aren't they?), some weird little "put them in water and they grow!" animals that The Lovely Steph Leann got a big kick out of and at the bottom... an iPod Touch.
I held it, I looked at her, looked back at it, then looked back at her smiling face. "You... you got me... got me... an iPod Touch?" I stuttered. Very little leaves me stammering, but this did the trick. She smiled, and told me that she won it at work in some sort of contest... she was quick to point out that, "Had I not won this, you wouldn't have gotten it. Just so you know."
I had kinda been wanting an iPhone, but my issue with that was the phone bill per month would be higher... not necessarily the actual phone plan, but the cost of all the bells and whistles that went with it. An iPod Touch is basically the same thing, just without that pesky phone part. I can connect to the interweb, download applications, load contact info and so on... in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm capable of with it. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to launch a cupcake business and tap into the space shuttle interface.
Its been a learning curve, using both iPods on the same iTunes... yeah, yeah, I know, poor me, pity me and so on. I'm just telling you how it is. The Touch is great, though... the screen is really wide, so I've enjoyed watching music videos and TV shows on it... on a weekend trip to Tullahoma, TN, last weekend, I managed to take in Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" and the first episode of "Mad Men", a show I have a feeling I'm about to plunge headfirst into.
So now, at 253am, I'm reloading my iPod, the 60gig. Essentially, I have to wait for it to unload 54 gigs of music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts in order to then reload 54 gigs of newly organized music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts. Whilst I wait, I watch the last few minutes of "Broken Arrow" on Fox Movie Channel, an incredibly bad, incredibly awesome flick starring Christian Slater as Hale and John Travolta as Deak, awaiting my iPod's new sync of my reorganization of iTunes.
Also got Toy Story Mania for the Wii... it rocks. I'm killer at the Plate Skeet Shoot. I tried Super Mario Brothers. Apparently, there's a glitch in the game that doesn't allow you to go to the first world. This happens only on certain games, though... I looked it up on the interweb, and seems like lots of folks are having this issue, with the only solution being to call Nintendo directly.
Okay, so I'm going to bed. Its too early... late... whatever. "Sweet Thing" by Keith Urban? Fun song. Listening to it now on my new iPod Touch (movie just ended). Why bring up Keith Urban? Cause its 3am, I must be lonely. She says baby, well I can't help but be scared but oh sometimes the rain's gonna wash away I believe it... (that may not be the exact lyrics, but I swear that's what Rob Thomas says...)
Ah, the problems of a guy who owns 2 iPods. I'm going to bed. Right after this Bob Seger song goes off, that is.
Hale: "Your out of your mind."
Deak: "Yeah... ain't it cool?"
Two more days, and the decade is over. How absolutely crazy is that?
Anyway, not much to discuss... well, that's not true--there's probably a lot to talk about, everything from reviews of "Avatar", "It's Complicated" and "Sherlock Holmes" to what in the world is up with my Go Gators and the Urban Meyer, "I'm resigning cause my heart can't take it no I'm not I'm just taking a leave of absence but is that really the truth maybe I am resigning I'm just saying 'leave of absence' so my recruits will be okay" dance.
But, as it is, its 217 in the morning... and my iPod is syncing, which is why I'm still up. Its a blessed problem, really... "blessed problem" being, I have no reason to complain, I'm only whining about my toys and how annoying they can be, and if I sat back and had perspective, I'd know that I not only have 1 iPod, I now have 2 iPods, and those without would look at me and say, "Quit your whining, you big baby."
I opened up iTunes the other day, and nothing was there. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sighed, because this has happened before.. my music is right where I left it on my computer, in my music folder, but its as if I had downloaded iTunes for the first time. This means all my ratings, all my lyrics, all my playcounts gone, all gone... now I'll never know the lyrics to Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (i won't worry)" or know whether I rated Garth Brooks' "Wild Horses" higher than Whitney Houston's "Savin' All My Love For You", now my knowledge of how many times I truly listened to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus or "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton or "Everything Zen" by Bush was gone! No more ratings! No more playlists! No more 'last played'! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!
I guess there are worse things in life... well, I'm pretty sure there are. Cancer... car wrecks... He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's Health Care Plan... (random song names.. check... random line from "A Christmas Story"... check... potshot at The President for Brad Latta's sake... check...).
The only upside is that I get to re-organize my music, and for a nerd like me, this is a big deal. I have one folder, called "Distribute", and anything downloaded goes there. If I've downloaded the song from a less-than-paid for site, I can do a virus scan on that folder to make sure everything is on the up and up. If I rip a CD, it goes there, as does any audiobooks I get. Over time, and because I'm too lazy and forgetful to move stuff when I load it, it builds up.
This iTunes issue happened last in August of 2008. In 16 months, my "Distribute" folder had collected 245 different artists worth of stuff. It took me about three hours to move music and audiobooks out of that folder into their proper places.
I held it, I looked at her, looked back at it, then looked back at her smiling face. "You... you got me... got me... an iPod Touch?" I stuttered. Very little leaves me stammering, but this did the trick. She smiled, and told me that she won it at work in some sort of contest... she was quick to point out that, "Had I not won this, you wouldn't have gotten it. Just so you know."
I had kinda been wanting an iPhone, but my issue with that was the phone bill per month would be higher... not necessarily the actual phone plan, but the cost of all the bells and whistles that went with it. An iPod Touch is basically the same thing, just without that pesky phone part. I can connect to the interweb, download applications, load contact info and so on... in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm capable of with it. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to launch a cupcake business and tap into the space shuttle interface.
Its been a learning curve, using both iPods on the same iTunes... yeah, yeah, I know, poor me, pity me and so on. I'm just telling you how it is. The Touch is great, though... the screen is really wide, so I've enjoyed watching music videos and TV shows on it... on a weekend trip to Tullahoma, TN, last weekend, I managed to take in Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" and the first episode of "Mad Men", a show I have a feeling I'm about to plunge headfirst into.
So now, at 253am, I'm reloading my iPod, the 60gig. Essentially, I have to wait for it to unload 54 gigs of music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts in order to then reload 54 gigs of newly organized music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts. Whilst I wait, I watch the last few minutes of "Broken Arrow" on Fox Movie Channel, an incredibly bad, incredibly awesome flick starring Christian Slater as Hale and John Travolta as Deak, awaiting my iPod's new sync of my reorganization of iTunes.
Also got Toy Story Mania for the Wii... it rocks. I'm killer at the Plate Skeet Shoot. I tried Super Mario Brothers. Apparently, there's a glitch in the game that doesn't allow you to go to the first world. This happens only on certain games, though... I looked it up on the interweb, and seems like lots of folks are having this issue, with the only solution being to call Nintendo directly.
Okay, so I'm going to bed. Its too early... late... whatever. "Sweet Thing" by Keith Urban? Fun song. Listening to it now on my new iPod Touch (movie just ended). Why bring up Keith Urban? Cause its 3am, I must be lonely. She says baby, well I can't help but be scared but oh sometimes the rain's gonna wash away I believe it... (that may not be the exact lyrics, but I swear that's what Rob Thomas says...)
Ah, the problems of a guy who owns 2 iPods. I'm going to bed. Right after this Bob Seger song goes off, that is.
Hot Sister Cheney Meets Hootie
Help me get to 100 fans... search "Clouds In My Coffee" on Facebook, and become a fan! Its easy! Its free! Its the right thing to do.
Finally... a week and a half of promising, I'll deliver the new music on Clouds in My Coffee. Its always hard not just doing the same songs over and over, cause frankly, I know what I like. I'm a repetitive person, to a point--like, I'll eat the same cereal over and over for two or three months, then after that, I don't want cereal for six months.
Music is like that with me. I have my famous "Hannah Pruitt" playlist (the story of that name is listed in a previous post) which gets changed out every month... artists should consider it an honor to get on this list, as these are songs--new and old--that I will listen to over and over for weeks on end. Then, I'll punt them out of the list. All of the following songs are from this current edition of Hannah Pruitt.
"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon... this stays on the website. It just does. Get over it.
"You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift... my current favorite song of the year, and should rank quite highly in the Coolest Things of 2009. I think what makes this song for me, though, is the video. Unfortunately, for some unknown copyright reason, its hard to find. But me, being as awesome as I am, have it here...
I think they'd give special permission to have it appear here on Clouds in My Coffee. Right? Right.
"Good Intentions" by Toad the Wet Sprocket... You know where I found this song? On the FRIENDS Soundtrack CD, one of the first five CDs I've ever purchased. I remember its also from 1995... because back then, I was going out with Julie Haynes, and I made her a couple of mix tapes with my favorite songs of that year, and this was my 2nd favorite song of 1995. The first? "Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey. Or was it "Fantasy"? Either one.
"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles... She gets the award for the last name thats hardest to remember how to spell. I've written a post that I haven't put up here yet (until just a few minutes ago, I think I forgot I had it) and its basically how to dissect a Romantic Comedy. I think I need to add one more step... when you make the trailer, you need to put this song over it. Why not? 104 other Rom Coms do it. By the way, I think I've heard this song so much, I've tried to get tired of it... and I can't. Love it.
"Just Started Lovin' You" by James Otto... This should have been on the Coolest Things of 2008, but I didn't know the name of it, nor who sang it, so I had no point of reference other than "that cool country song where the guy sings like this and..." I plan on putting it on the end of this year's list, with an honorable mention, a la "Bourne Ultimatum".
"Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton... Sigh. That's fine. Laugh. Make fun of me. I don't care. I dig this song. Heck, I dig Michael Bolton, puffy Kenny G hair and all. This song is cool. Okay, maybe "cool" is not the right word, but seriously, from 1988 to 1996, he had one heck of an 8 year run.
"Running From an Angel" by Hootie & the Blowfish... my favorite song from one of my all time favorite CDs, "Cracked Rear View". I was riding with Hootie with Hot Sista' Cheney (another name with a story, lest you think Chris Hansen and I are BFF) recently, and I took a gander at her iPod. I think a person's iPod can tell you as much about them as just about anything else (unless you've got 10,000 songs on it, like mine, in which you would probably deduce I'm either OCD or bipolar... or maybe ADOS... you know, Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!) and I saw that she only had two or three Hootie songs on it. She's a bit younger than I, so naturally, why would she have more than "Let Her Cry" and "Hold My Hand"?
That's the problem with today's younglings... all they care about is Eminem and Lady GaGa and anything with a beat that talks about the po-po and smackin' up my beeyotch and so on and so forth. I would love a radio station that played some good 90s stuff. Sheryl Crow, Boyz II Men, pre-skank Mariah, pre-crack Whitney, even early pre-crazy Britney Spears would be fine. Am I the only one? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
Anyway, in our conversation, we discussed how she needed to learn more Hootie, and for that matter, early, good Sheryl Crow. Before she went all "use one piece of toilet paper" crazy enviromental.
Later she said she was kidding. I'm not sure I fully believe that she was kidding.
Found these two magazine covers online... Sister Cheney, meet Hootie. Hootie, Paige.
Anyway, I ended up making Hot Sista' Cheney a couple of CDs, one being Hootie's entire "Cracked Rear View" album and a few songs from "Fairweather Johnson" and "Musical Chairs, and other with Sheryl Crow, most of her great stuff from the first several excellent albums, with emphasis on "The Globe Sessions", one of my favorite CDs.
Where was I?
"My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson... This song makes a 2nd month appearance on the list. I don't dig all of her stuff, some of it is really silly and monotonous... but what I do enjoy, I really enjoy. Her song "Behind These Hazel Eyes" made the Top 100 (#25) in 2005, where she herself ended up the 6th Coolest Thing of that year. And this song? Bound for the Top 20, perhaps even a Top 10 appearance, if not for the emergance of "You Belong With Me", as listed above. Kelly and Taylor, slug it out. I knew a girl named Kelly Taylor once. She was pretty.
"Hard Luck Woman" by Garth Brooks... This was featured on the KISS tribute album entitled "KISS My A$$", which though the use of "$" doesn't disguise the words true intentions, its still a comical and clever title anyway. Garth doesn't sound like Garth here, but he does sound awesome. I actually, and this might be sacrelige to some, like this better than the original.
"Dream Lover" by Mariah Carey... I've often lamented my sorrow at how Mariah has turned into a string wearing punchline. She used to be so great, when every song didn't have a subtitle of "(featuring T-Pain)" or "(featuring Common)" or "(feat. insert stupid common word or acronym based rapper gangsta name that will forgotten in a year other than bloggers using it as a joke here)". But I digress. I was tempted to post a few pictures of Mariah, one from 1994 and one from last year, but any picture of Mariah in the last few years is bound to not be Emmy Turnbow safe.
"Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men... This song never gets old. However, I'm sure there aren't many below, say, 28 years old who will understand the line "A-B-C, BBD, the East Coast Family..." in this song.
"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City", by Harry Nilsson... Finally, this song is available on playlist.com, where is where I pull my playlist from. I tried to link to it before, and wasn't able to so do, but viola! Here it is. One of the classic 70's Songwriter's Tunes, its also featured in one of my top 15 movies in The Dave100.
"Basic Instructions" by Burlap to Cashmere... This is the album version, I believe, and still a great song. The better one, though, is the live version from "Live at the Bitter End", a five song EP released shortly after their first (and only?) album... it might not have been their only album, but it was really the only one with any relevance. The live version is a brilliant driving song, wedged in between "La Grange" and "Everything Zen" on my driving playlist. By the way, it took stupid me forever to figure out the "Basic instructions before leaving Earth" reference.
"Fingerprints of God" by Steven Curtis Chapman... Its underrated. But awesome. Simply fantastic. One of those "Let me sit back, listen and remember and praise how awesome God is." Well, those were the words I used to describe "Speechless", which was originally on here... however, even though it stays "Speechless", it plays "Fingerprints of God". Which is great too, so we'll go with it.
And thats our new list. You like it? Tell me what you think.
Finally... a week and a half of promising, I'll deliver the new music on Clouds in My Coffee. Its always hard not just doing the same songs over and over, cause frankly, I know what I like. I'm a repetitive person, to a point--like, I'll eat the same cereal over and over for two or three months, then after that, I don't want cereal for six months.
Music is like that with me. I have my famous "Hannah Pruitt" playlist (the story of that name is listed in a previous post) which gets changed out every month... artists should consider it an honor to get on this list, as these are songs--new and old--that I will listen to over and over for weeks on end. Then, I'll punt them out of the list. All of the following songs are from this current edition of Hannah Pruitt.
"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon... this stays on the website. It just does. Get over it.
"You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift... my current favorite song of the year, and should rank quite highly in the Coolest Things of 2009. I think what makes this song for me, though, is the video. Unfortunately, for some unknown copyright reason, its hard to find. But me, being as awesome as I am, have it here...
I think they'd give special permission to have it appear here on Clouds in My Coffee. Right? Right.
"Good Intentions" by Toad the Wet Sprocket... You know where I found this song? On the FRIENDS Soundtrack CD, one of the first five CDs I've ever purchased. I remember its also from 1995... because back then, I was going out with Julie Haynes, and I made her a couple of mix tapes with my favorite songs of that year, and this was my 2nd favorite song of 1995. The first? "Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey. Or was it "Fantasy"? Either one.
"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles... She gets the award for the last name thats hardest to remember how to spell. I've written a post that I haven't put up here yet (until just a few minutes ago, I think I forgot I had it) and its basically how to dissect a Romantic Comedy. I think I need to add one more step... when you make the trailer, you need to put this song over it. Why not? 104 other Rom Coms do it. By the way, I think I've heard this song so much, I've tried to get tired of it... and I can't. Love it.
"Just Started Lovin' You" by James Otto... This should have been on the Coolest Things of 2008, but I didn't know the name of it, nor who sang it, so I had no point of reference other than "that cool country song where the guy sings like this and..." I plan on putting it on the end of this year's list, with an honorable mention, a la "Bourne Ultimatum".
"Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton... Sigh. That's fine. Laugh. Make fun of me. I don't care. I dig this song. Heck, I dig Michael Bolton, puffy Kenny G hair and all. This song is cool. Okay, maybe "cool" is not the right word, but seriously, from 1988 to 1996, he had one heck of an 8 year run.
"Running From an Angel" by Hootie & the Blowfish... my favorite song from one of my all time favorite CDs, "Cracked Rear View". I was riding with Hootie with Hot Sista' Cheney (another name with a story, lest you think Chris Hansen and I are BFF) recently, and I took a gander at her iPod. I think a person's iPod can tell you as much about them as just about anything else (unless you've got 10,000 songs on it, like mine, in which you would probably deduce I'm either OCD or bipolar... or maybe ADOS... you know, Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!) and I saw that she only had two or three Hootie songs on it. She's a bit younger than I, so naturally, why would she have more than "Let Her Cry" and "Hold My Hand"?
That's the problem with today's younglings... all they care about is Eminem and Lady GaGa and anything with a beat that talks about the po-po and smackin' up my beeyotch and so on and so forth. I would love a radio station that played some good 90s stuff. Sheryl Crow, Boyz II Men, pre-skank Mariah, pre-crack Whitney, even early pre-crazy Britney Spears would be fine. Am I the only one? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
Anyway, in our conversation, we discussed how she needed to learn more Hootie, and for that matter, early, good Sheryl Crow. Before she went all "use one piece of toilet paper" crazy enviromental.
So sayeth Sheryl: "I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares [sic] of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don't want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required. When presenting this idea to my younger brother, who's judgement [sic] I trust implicitly, he proposed taking it one step further. I believe his quote was, "how bout just washing the one square out."
Later she said she was kidding. I'm not sure I fully believe that she was kidding.
Found these two magazine covers online... Sister Cheney, meet Hootie. Hootie, Paige.
Anyway, I ended up making Hot Sista' Cheney a couple of CDs, one being Hootie's entire "Cracked Rear View" album and a few songs from "Fairweather Johnson" and "Musical Chairs, and other with Sheryl Crow, most of her great stuff from the first several excellent albums, with emphasis on "The Globe Sessions", one of my favorite CDs.
Where was I?
"My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson... This song makes a 2nd month appearance on the list. I don't dig all of her stuff, some of it is really silly and monotonous... but what I do enjoy, I really enjoy. Her song "Behind These Hazel Eyes" made the Top 100 (#25) in 2005, where she herself ended up the 6th Coolest Thing of that year. And this song? Bound for the Top 20, perhaps even a Top 10 appearance, if not for the emergance of "You Belong With Me", as listed above. Kelly and Taylor, slug it out. I knew a girl named Kelly Taylor once. She was pretty.
"Hard Luck Woman" by Garth Brooks... This was featured on the KISS tribute album entitled "KISS My A$$", which though the use of "$" doesn't disguise the words true intentions, its still a comical and clever title anyway. Garth doesn't sound like Garth here, but he does sound awesome. I actually, and this might be sacrelige to some, like this better than the original.
"Dream Lover" by Mariah Carey... I've often lamented my sorrow at how Mariah has turned into a string wearing punchline. She used to be so great, when every song didn't have a subtitle of "(featuring T-Pain)" or "(featuring Common)" or "(feat. insert stupid common word or acronym based rapper gangsta name that will forgotten in a year other than bloggers using it as a joke here)". But I digress. I was tempted to post a few pictures of Mariah, one from 1994 and one from last year, but any picture of Mariah in the last few years is bound to not be Emmy Turnbow safe.
"Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men... This song never gets old. However, I'm sure there aren't many below, say, 28 years old who will understand the line "A-B-C, BBD, the East Coast Family..." in this song.
"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City", by Harry Nilsson... Finally, this song is available on playlist.com, where is where I pull my playlist from. I tried to link to it before, and wasn't able to so do, but viola! Here it is. One of the classic 70's Songwriter's Tunes, its also featured in one of my top 15 movies in The Dave100.
"Basic Instructions" by Burlap to Cashmere... This is the album version, I believe, and still a great song. The better one, though, is the live version from "Live at the Bitter End", a five song EP released shortly after their first (and only?) album... it might not have been their only album, but it was really the only one with any relevance. The live version is a brilliant driving song, wedged in between "La Grange" and "Everything Zen" on my driving playlist. By the way, it took stupid me forever to figure out the "Basic instructions before leaving Earth" reference.
"Fingerprints of God" by Steven Curtis Chapman... Its underrated. But awesome. Simply fantastic. One of those "Let me sit back, listen and remember and praise how awesome God is." Well, those were the words I used to describe "Speechless", which was originally on here... however, even though it stays "Speechless", it plays "Fingerprints of God". Which is great too, so we'll go with it.
And thats our new list. You like it? Tell me what you think.
Grand Idol Opry (with sad results)
THE RESULTS
So, Seacrest comes on and tells us that he has the results... results that may shock us all. Hmm... perhaps The Ambigiously Gay Adam is the odd boy out? Of course, the judges can save one person, once in the entire season--and of course, they didn't use it with Jazz Murray or Jorge the Latin Lover.
My prediction of who should go home? Well, as much as I want to say the obvious, the guy is talented. Even though I don't like him. The weakest, though, and the one who doesn't have a shot in Ensley of winning this thing? Mike the Oil Rigger, followed closely by Scott the Blind Guy and possibly MJC. Then again, if Lil Rounds goes home, its not going to shock me.
The Lovely Steph Leann just raved about The Ambigiously Gay Adam, how effortless he sang, how his voice moves back and forth with so little strain, and so on and so on. I threw up in my mouth twice as she raved.
But first, here's the reason we should let the whole thing record, then watch it via DVR... the group song. Tonight its a butchery of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" by Travis Tritt...
And yes, this entire paragraph got me through the group song, the commercials and partly through the horrendous Ford commercial. I think it would be funny, though, to see Scott the Blind Guy driving in one of these videos.
I guess to kill the hour, we see video of what happens when Idols go home, Mike the Oil Rigger talking to his daughter and video of everyone covering their mouths during rehearsal due to MJC's illness...
The Widower Danny Gokey is safe... remember, the Top Ten go on tour, so you'll see The Goke on the road. Lil Rounds sits down, she's on the tour as well, and freaks out when she's told to sit. The Eyebrowed One, Anoop Dawg stands. Seacrest discusses the judges comments last night, and Anoop Dawg is safe.
Red Ally and Mike the Oil Rigger both stand... never good when two stand, especially when one was a bit iffy last night. Seacrest asks Paula to guess who is in the bottom three, and Paula stammers and stumbles and stutters and mutters and Simon says "Answer the question" about fifteen times. And Red Ally is... in the Bottom Three. Booo!! Mike the Oil Rigger still stands, asking aloud, "What does that mean for me?" And he's in the Bottom Three as well. He joins Red Ally on the Silver Stools of Jeopardy.
And here to perform his new single "Then", Grand Ol Opry member Brad Paisley. With a name like "Paisley" and his boyish goofy look, I wasn't a Brad Paisley fan to begin with... but over the years, I've really started to pay attention to his music and ya know what? I really like this guy. Seriously, with "I'm Gonna Miss Her" and "Whiskey Lullaby" and "Online" and heck, who doesn't love a song that suggests searching his loved one for "Ticks"?
Back now... the American Idol results are in. Scott the Blind Guy stands up... he's going on tour with the top ten. Up next? Megan Joy Corkery, who has this look of "oh crap" on her face. The judges loved her, but really, I just thought she was okay... sort of weird. But either way, she's safe.
Matty G stands. And I just noticed that Alexis Grace and The Ambigiously Gay Adam are sitting at the end of the bench... so after telling Matty G he's safe, which Seacrest just did, he'll tell Kris Allen he's safe, which he just did... and now, Alexis and The Ambigiously Gay Adam stand together.
Simon admits that he rewatched the show after going home, and says, "Adam, it was even worse the second time." Seacrest goes judge by judge, asking their opinions, and The Lovely Steph Leann rolls her eyes and says, "Oh, blah blah, let's go..."
And who is in the bottom three? Alexis Grace. The Ambigiously Gay Adam sits down, to freak us out and make our skin crawl next week. Seacrest decides to send one back to safety... Red Ally goes back to the Couch of Anxiety.
But before we find out the results, we see Carrie Underwood discussing how wonderful her life has been, and Seacrest's narration tells us that she's had 9 consecutive #1 singles, won over 40 awards for her career, and been nominated for Entertainer of the Year. And you can add to that list "And she never dissed the show that created it all for her, unlike Kelly Clarkson, so we'll continue the Carrie love fest forever!" Not saying she doesn't deserve it, cause Carrie Underwood is feeeee-nominal...
She and Randy Travis are doing a duet called "I Told You So", which led me to ask The Lovely Steph Leann, "Is this a remake of the old Randy Travis song?" She shrugs, unknowing, but when Carrie starts, "Suppose I called you up tonight and told that I loved you..." I nodded. Yep. This is an old school Randy song from the 80s, from the 1987 album "Always & Forever". The song is also Carrie's 5th single from her fantabulous second album, "Carnival Ride".
Simon reveals that one of the two, Alexis and Mike the Oil Rigger, is worth a save-consideration. Though Alexis is probably not ready to admit it to herself, Mike the Oil Rigger is thinking "uh-oh".
And the voters say... Mike the Oil Rigger is... safe. WHAT? WHAT??? Alexis Grace could be going home? What? Uh... though I'm not shocked, I'm a little unhappy with this item. So Simon tells her that she is going to sing, and they'll save her based on what she will do right here and right now. She sings "Jolene" again. And understandably, her voice is a bit crackedy, and she's about ten feet in front of all four judges, who are huddled and staring at her and whispering to themselves.
The judges say... it wasn't good enough. They keep the "save". Alexis Grace goes home, and though she's been told by the judges now that she's got an amazing career ahead of her, let's be honest... how many 10th, 11th and 12th place Idol contestants do you remember? Brandon Rogers? Julia DaMato? Amy Adams? Vanessa Oliverez? Maybe Chris Sligh? Exactly. Alexis will drift into the back of our memories, while, like Sanjaya, The Ambigiously Gay Adam will be stuck forever. I'm bitter. Very, very bitter.
________________________________________
THE PERFORMANCES....
Thankfully, this Tuesday has been much, much less eventful than the previous, so tonight, we'll turn to...
THIS IS AMERICAN
IDOL
So how's this for vague? Not just country music... not just songs from The Grand Ol' Opry. Its songs from artists who are members of The Grand Ol' Opry, whether their songs are featured in the walls of the Opry or not.
This is a hoot, because I grew up on old school country music... The Statler Brothers, Johnny Cash, The Mandrell Sisters, The Oak Ridge Boys, even early Judds and early Randy Travis, who just so happens to be mentoring the contestants tonight.
Don't get me wrong... I love Carrie Underwood, and Garth Brooks and Clint Black and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss and of course, Pickles--I love Pickles!--and so on and so forth, but old country is still classic. And to see Randy Travis teaching them is kinda funny... he's like the old uncle that you don't want to talk to, but is actually in fact wise beyond his years. And he was in the Patrick Swayze Magnum Opus, "Black Dog".
Aw... did you know she's coming to B'ham in September? Will I go? I just might.
Ever want to know the members of the Grand Old Opry? You can find them right here...
Jorge the Latin Lover and Jazz Murray left tonight. Eleven more perform tonight.. its 8pm, so we'll see if we can catch up to the show in an hour. Country Week is going to be a little tougher, maybe tougher than Michael Jackson, because at least with Jacko, you have a slight range of music--but with Country? All sorts.
Simon makes a point that he doesn't care for country music at all... and we know this.
Mike the Oil Rigger apparently is going to take on some Garth, singing "Ain't Goin' Down Til the Sun Comes Up", which as Seacrest points out, "He has a lot of words to memorize".... but really, any country fan, ie, Garth Fan, worth his salt knows every word to this song. And its one of those you can't just jump in mid-verse... you gotta start that off right at the beginning. "Six o'clock on Friday evenin', mama doesn't know she's leavin'..." gets you going.
Not sure if I liked Mike the Oil Rigger's performance, or I just happened to really like the song, but I think it was pretty good. Randy says it was a cool song choice, though it didn't bring out certain vocal capabilities. Kara liked his personality, but wants the big notes. Paula liked it. Simon couldn't understand it, though Mike the Oil Rigger said, "Country folks understood it."
Here comes Red Alley, aka, Allison Iraheta. She's going to do "Blame It On Your Heart" by Patty Loveless, who I really dig. Actually, its "Blame it on your lyin', cheatin', cold dead beatin' two timin', double dealin', mean mistreatin', lovin' heart." Just so you know.
Her voice is just awesome, by the way. She's not to the point where I'm ready to crown her My Next American Idol, but I look forward to hearing her in the upcoming weeks, perhaps a rock week or something like that. And I really like her take on this song... very rockabilly.
Two songs in a row that I could sing from from to back, start to finish on my own. Love it.
Kara loved it. Paula talks about flowers and rainbows and pink clouds. Fluffy puffy poo. Simon said it was good, but perhaps a little out of tune here and there. Randy thought it was DOPE! Indeed.
One of my favorites last week, Kris Allen comes out, though he is singing "Make You Feel My Love", another Garth song that either he lent to Billy Joel, or Billy Joel lent to Garth, who knows. (actually upon looking it up, its a Bob Dylan song). This is dangerous, by the way, because slow, soft ballads like this can show off alot or really backfire.
This from the musical expert, right?
It was good, but it was slow. Paula was pleasantly surprised. Every word seems to be a struggle for her, though I'm not sure if this is any different than any other week. Simon thought it was terrific, and thinks it was a great song choice. Randy thought it was really cool, "with tender moments with my dawg Kris. A tender dawg." Kara loved it.
Oh, another note... its from the movie "Hope Floats", one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life.
Lil Rounds! She's like Brad Pitt... I want to not like her, but I just can't help myself, really. I just like 'em. She's bringing home Martina McBride's "Independence Day", which you cannot, must not and shall not sing unless you have one heckuva voice. Martina is like the white, non-crack, non Bobby, country version of Whitney. And Martina? Totally a member of the Ashley Judd Club. In great standing.
Its kinda weird though to see a black chick take on such a country staple. Another song I can sing front to back... I liked Lil Rounds singing this, but it was not nearly as big as I thought it was going to be... she should have wailed that song at the end... it looked uncomfortable, and sounded so.
Randy felt the same way. Of course, since Idol's producers love Lil Rounds, doing something a little different will be okay for her, right? All great artists take chances, right? Kara says just as much. You let MJC do this, sound exactly the same, and I guarantee they slam her for song choice, and picking too big a song. Paula liked it, but felt she should have sang different parts. Simon, who calls her "Lit-Tul", and then finally "Lil", says it came over as a wedding singer that is forced to sing a song that someone else has requested. He is wondering where the Mary J ("Blige" not "Jane", by the way) went.
After four... its Red Ally, Kris Allen, Mike the Oil Rigger, Lil Rounds
And now here comes The Ambibiously Gay Adam Lambert. A guy like Adam is the kind of guy that a guy like Randy would just as soon shoot. The Ambigously Gay Adam is going to try to take on "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, but put a different spin on it.
THIS SONG SUCKS!!!
You know what this reminds me of? When Alex and Sophie write this sweet little ballad song in "Music and Lyrics" and then Cora, the arrogant pop star turns the song, "Way Back Into Love", into this weird, freaky, sexual, unnecessary tune. If Johnny Cash were alive, he would likely come out and put a size 12 cowboy boot in The Ambigiously Gay Adam's face.
Kara thought it was strange. But then she tosses on "But I kinda liked it!" at the end, almost as if the producers yelled, "We love this guy! Say something nice, or your fired!" Paula would hand her rooms keys over, though she's not sure if she'd get some action or they'd compare shoe shopping experiences. Simon? "I think was Randy Travis was trying to say is 'What the heck was that?'" Randy (Jackson) says it was fresh and hot and all that. I hated it.
The Lovely Steph Leann, however, really likes him. Seriously. She, for weeks now, has gone on and on about how amazing his voice is, and his vocal talent, and how great he is and how talented he is and blah and blah and blah... we're in counseling now.
Scott the Blind Guy is going to sing another Martina song, "Wild Angels", to which Randy Travis says, "When I first heard this idea, I thought 'not a good idea'." But he came around to like the version.
This song has never been one of my top faves of Martina, though its not bad. And Scott the Blind Guy's version is not bad, either. Its funny, for me Martina McBride is one of those artists who has songs that I really don't like, but conversely, the songs I do like, I really, really like.
Paula is impressed, though he should step away from the piano. Simon says that is a stupid idea. He does criticize the song choice, but Scott the Blind Guy jokes, "I've lost a lot of hat picks". Randy says it wasn't the song, but is looking for better vocals. Kara sums up by challenging him to "up the game a little bit."
Here's how Martina should sound... and any song about an abused wife blowing her house up with her jerkweed husband in it? Good stuff. And for folks like Brad Latta, I didn't post the song for the opening remarks, I posted it for the quality of the performance...
Alexis Grace, who looks ravishing, is up next. She does the right thing by buttering up Randy Travis, telling him how great he is... then she tells him that she'll be singing "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, one of my favorite old school songs, and one of my favorite two or three Dolly songs.
"Jolene" is a song about a chick of the same name, who is movin' in on the singer's man. The singer is begging Jolene to back off, because Jolene is apparently the new hotness, and can have any man she wants, but "please don't take my man... just because you can."
I do love me some Alexis Grace. Lovin' this version, by the way.
Randy wasn't sure about the notes, and tried to make it more bluesy than it should be. Kara tells her she lost her edge, and maybe she should have gone with "Last Name" or "Before He Cheats". I can't believe this, but when Paula says, "I think that song served you better than they think you did", I agree with her. I think Alexis Grace did a great job with it, and "Jolene" is just the right kind of angst song that suited her well. Simon didn't like it all that much.
Kara and Paula say they "miss the dirty"... what is this, American Stripper?
While I think The Widower Danny Gokey looks kinda like my buddy Justin Fisher, The Lovely Steph Leann still calls him Robert Downey Junior Junior.
He's going to be singing "Jesus Take the Wheel"... the video shows us him messing up over and over in front of Randy Travis... while The Widower Danny Gokey laughs, Randy looks unamused. The camera only shows him from the waist up at first, and in that white jacket, The Widower Danny Gokey looks like a Hoth Stormtrooper, sans the helmet.
So, he sounded okay, but I didn't think it was all that wonderful. The Lovely Steph Leann liked it, though she's been sipping on Gokey-Aid for a few weeks.
Either the judges will love him, or they'll use the words "indulgant" at some point.
Kara didn't like the first part, but loved the second part when "you hit your stride!" Paula loved all of it. Still struggling for words. And coherent sentences. Simon agrees with Paula, disagreeing with Kara. He doesn't like the outfit, using the words "polar expedition"... to Hoth?? Randy didn't like the verses, but loved the chorus.
After eight... Alexis Grace, Red Ally, Kris Allen, The Widower Danny Gokey, Mike the Oil Rigger, Scott the Blind Guy, Lil Rounds, The Ambigiously Gay Adam
Here comes Anooooooooop Dawg. The Eyebrowed One himself will be singing Willie Nelson's immortal classic, "You're Always On My Mind", which was redone by The Pet Shop Boys in the mid-80s. The Boys version was good, but not like Willie.
That might be the first time Randy Travis has ever actually said a Middle Eastern name out loud.
And... it sounds marvelous. Seriously. The Eyebrowed One is bringing it... were this done in 1992, I can honestly say I would consider buying the cassette single of this song, a la Michael Bolton's "When a Man Loves a Woman". And as I was in the middle of typing that last sentence, The Lovely Steph Leann says, "You know... he kinda reminds me of Michael Bolton... in a good way!"
The other night at Jason and Emmy Turnbow's house, our friend Heather King said, "You two compliment each other perfectly!" and Emmy nodded, and mouthed "Yes. Yes."
See what they mean??
But remember, Anoop Dawg isn't The Ambigiously Gay Adam or Lil Rounds, so will the producers tell the judges to really like him?
Paula loved it. Simon said, "You managed to go from Zero to Hero. That was a good, solid song." Randy loved it, cause he liked the vocals and the arrangement, which was dope. Kara commends him for doing what he did tonight, because it is so hard to do with that kind of classic song.
Up now is Megan Joy Corkery singing a country standard, that being "Walkin' After Midnight". Randy says, "This song has been done in every possible way over the years", though he liked MJC's take on it.
Can MJC sing Patsy? Not easy. Except for the tats up her right arm, MJC looks smokin' hot. Not that the tattoos are bad, they are just distracting with that sleeveless dress on. MJC definately has a different sound on the song... not sure if I like it or not, really.
And I'm not sure if MJC has on a dress, or simply a skirt and a boob separator/holder. The Lovely Steph Leann agrees.
Randy thought it was good, impressive. Kara acknowledges MJC having the flu, but liked it. Paula tells the world that MJC has already been to the hospital with her illness, as MJC coughs on stage. Simon says she looks great, but doesn't like the style. He did like the song, though.
Okay, I liked it. I'll admit it.
And to round out the show, in the pimp slot, Matty G. He'll be singing "So Small" by Carrie Underwood, and Randy isn't sure if this is a great song... but ends up liking it.
Matty G was one of my favorites last week, which was surprising. And this week? He sounds awesome. If I were to put this song, Matty G's version, in one of my playlists, it would probably go in with Howie Day and John Mayer and possibly Blessid Union of Souls. Dude sounds great.
Kara loves it, making a comment that forces out a "That's what she said", then a hearty laughter by me, followed by a eye roll from The Lovely Steph Leann. Paula tries to say Authenticity. After four tries, she gets it. Simon says it was great, reminding him of Buble. Randy said it was his favorite of the night.
In a year when I thought I was supposed to like Alexis, Lil Rounds and Scott the Blind Guy, and I end up liking Alexis, Matty G and Kris Allen. Who knew? This is American Idol.
So, tonight's favorites... Matty G, Anoop Dawg, Alexis Grace, Red Ally, Kris Allen, MJC, The Widower Danny Gokey, Mike the Oil Rigger, Scott the Blind Guy, Lil Rounds, four thousand other people who tried out, then The Ambigiously Gay Adam.
So, Seacrest comes on and tells us that he has the results... results that may shock us all. Hmm... perhaps The Ambigiously Gay Adam is the odd boy out? Of course, the judges can save one person, once in the entire season--and of course, they didn't use it with Jazz Murray or Jorge the Latin Lover.
My prediction of who should go home? Well, as much as I want to say the obvious, the guy is talented. Even though I don't like him. The weakest, though, and the one who doesn't have a shot in Ensley of winning this thing? Mike the Oil Rigger, followed closely by Scott the Blind Guy and possibly MJC. Then again, if Lil Rounds goes home, its not going to shock me.
The Lovely Steph Leann just raved about The Ambigiously Gay Adam, how effortless he sang, how his voice moves back and forth with so little strain, and so on and so on. I threw up in my mouth twice as she raved.
But first, here's the reason we should let the whole thing record, then watch it via DVR... the group song. Tonight its a butchery of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" by Travis Tritt...
Ever see one of those quiz things in bars and wing places, and though you aren't playing, you end up guessing, even silently, the answers? You ever find a question that the answer given is kinda wrong? That happened tonight as The Lovely Steph Leann and I had some wings for dinner over at Buffalo Wild Wings... she had the teriyaki, I had the parmesian garlic... the question on the screen was "His second hit was the self-penned 'Anymore'" and the choices were Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawerence, and two others I don't remember. The answer, of course, was Travis Tritt, but the question was wrong. Yes, "Anymore" was an excellent song (with an equally excellent, albeit unintentionally funny, video).
Tritt released "Country Club" and had five hit singles, including the title track, "Drift Off to Dream", "Help Me Hold On", "Put Some Drive In Your Country" and "I'm Gonna Be Somebody. His second album was called "Its All About to Change", and featured "Here's a Quarter (call someone who cares)'", "Anymore", "The Whiskey Ain't Working" and "Nothing Short of Dying", so really, "Anymore" was like, Tritt's 7th single. Very annoying to know so much random crap, and to be able to tell when the Wings quiz show is wrong.
And yes, this entire paragraph got me through the group song, the commercials and partly through the horrendous Ford commercial. I think it would be funny, though, to see Scott the Blind Guy driving in one of these videos.
I guess to kill the hour, we see video of what happens when Idols go home, Mike the Oil Rigger talking to his daughter and video of everyone covering their mouths during rehearsal due to MJC's illness...
The Widower Danny Gokey is safe... remember, the Top Ten go on tour, so you'll see The Goke on the road. Lil Rounds sits down, she's on the tour as well, and freaks out when she's told to sit. The Eyebrowed One, Anoop Dawg stands. Seacrest discusses the judges comments last night, and Anoop Dawg is safe.
Red Ally and Mike the Oil Rigger both stand... never good when two stand, especially when one was a bit iffy last night. Seacrest asks Paula to guess who is in the bottom three, and Paula stammers and stumbles and stutters and mutters and Simon says "Answer the question" about fifteen times. And Red Ally is... in the Bottom Three. Booo!! Mike the Oil Rigger still stands, asking aloud, "What does that mean for me?" And he's in the Bottom Three as well. He joins Red Ally on the Silver Stools of Jeopardy.
And here to perform his new single "Then", Grand Ol Opry member Brad Paisley. With a name like "Paisley" and his boyish goofy look, I wasn't a Brad Paisley fan to begin with... but over the years, I've really started to pay attention to his music and ya know what? I really like this guy. Seriously, with "I'm Gonna Miss Her" and "Whiskey Lullaby" and "Online" and heck, who doesn't love a song that suggests searching his loved one for "Ticks"?
Back now... the American Idol results are in. Scott the Blind Guy stands up... he's going on tour with the top ten. Up next? Megan Joy Corkery, who has this look of "oh crap" on her face. The judges loved her, but really, I just thought she was okay... sort of weird. But either way, she's safe.
Matty G stands. And I just noticed that Alexis Grace and The Ambigiously Gay Adam are sitting at the end of the bench... so after telling Matty G he's safe, which Seacrest just did, he'll tell Kris Allen he's safe, which he just did... and now, Alexis and The Ambigiously Gay Adam stand together.
Simon admits that he rewatched the show after going home, and says, "Adam, it was even worse the second time." Seacrest goes judge by judge, asking their opinions, and The Lovely Steph Leann rolls her eyes and says, "Oh, blah blah, let's go..."
And who is in the bottom three? Alexis Grace. The Ambigiously Gay Adam sits down, to freak us out and make our skin crawl next week. Seacrest decides to send one back to safety... Red Ally goes back to the Couch of Anxiety.
I blame the judges. I completely blame Paula, Simon, Kara and Randy for their hypocritical comments of Alexis Grace, because no, she didn't sound anything like Dolly Parton, even though they said she did, and if she had sounded just like her, they would have chided her for sounding too much like the artist. They chided her for not picking a raw song with angst, as if "Jolene", because a song about a chick desperately trying to protect her man from being stolen by the town hottie didn't provide enough angst. All the while, they pour on affection, love and emotion for The Ambigiously Gay Adam and a very subpar The Widower Danny Gokey. Yes, yes, the people vote, but listen, this is a nation who believed everything that President B. Hussein Obama told them (and see what we got??) so I can fully believe that many people who voted believe much of what the judges tell them. I blame the judges. Okay, the show is back on, I'm done.
But before we find out the results, we see Carrie Underwood discussing how wonderful her life has been, and Seacrest's narration tells us that she's had 9 consecutive #1 singles, won over 40 awards for her career, and been nominated for Entertainer of the Year. And you can add to that list "And she never dissed the show that created it all for her, unlike Kelly Clarkson, so we'll continue the Carrie love fest forever!" Not saying she doesn't deserve it, cause Carrie Underwood is feeeee-nominal...
She and Randy Travis are doing a duet called "I Told You So", which led me to ask The Lovely Steph Leann, "Is this a remake of the old Randy Travis song?" She shrugs, unknowing, but when Carrie starts, "Suppose I called you up tonight and told that I loved you..." I nodded. Yep. This is an old school Randy song from the 80s, from the 1987 album "Always & Forever". The song is also Carrie's 5th single from her fantabulous second album, "Carnival Ride".
Simon reveals that one of the two, Alexis and Mike the Oil Rigger, is worth a save-consideration. Though Alexis is probably not ready to admit it to herself, Mike the Oil Rigger is thinking "uh-oh".
And the voters say... Mike the Oil Rigger is... safe. WHAT? WHAT??? Alexis Grace could be going home? What? Uh... though I'm not shocked, I'm a little unhappy with this item. So Simon tells her that she is going to sing, and they'll save her based on what she will do right here and right now. She sings "Jolene" again. And understandably, her voice is a bit crackedy, and she's about ten feet in front of all four judges, who are huddled and staring at her and whispering to themselves.
The judges say... it wasn't good enough. They keep the "save". Alexis Grace goes home, and though she's been told by the judges now that she's got an amazing career ahead of her, let's be honest... how many 10th, 11th and 12th place Idol contestants do you remember? Brandon Rogers? Julia DaMato? Amy Adams? Vanessa Oliverez? Maybe Chris Sligh? Exactly. Alexis will drift into the back of our memories, while, like Sanjaya, The Ambigiously Gay Adam will be stuck forever. I'm bitter. Very, very bitter.
________________________________________
THE PERFORMANCES....
Thankfully, this Tuesday has been much, much less eventful than the previous, so tonight, we'll turn to...
THIS IS AMERICAN
IDOL
So how's this for vague? Not just country music... not just songs from The Grand Ol' Opry. Its songs from artists who are members of The Grand Ol' Opry, whether their songs are featured in the walls of the Opry or not.
This is a hoot, because I grew up on old school country music... The Statler Brothers, Johnny Cash, The Mandrell Sisters, The Oak Ridge Boys, even early Judds and early Randy Travis, who just so happens to be mentoring the contestants tonight.
Don't get me wrong... I love Carrie Underwood, and Garth Brooks and Clint Black and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss and of course, Pickles--I love Pickles!--and so on and so forth, but old country is still classic. And to see Randy Travis teaching them is kinda funny... he's like the old uncle that you don't want to talk to, but is actually in fact wise beyond his years. And he was in the Patrick Swayze Magnum Opus, "Black Dog".
Aw... did you know she's coming to B'ham in September? Will I go? I just might.
Ever want to know the members of the Grand Old Opry? You can find them right here...
Jorge the Latin Lover and Jazz Murray left tonight. Eleven more perform tonight.. its 8pm, so we'll see if we can catch up to the show in an hour. Country Week is going to be a little tougher, maybe tougher than Michael Jackson, because at least with Jacko, you have a slight range of music--but with Country? All sorts.
Simon makes a point that he doesn't care for country music at all... and we know this.
Mike the Oil Rigger apparently is going to take on some Garth, singing "Ain't Goin' Down Til the Sun Comes Up", which as Seacrest points out, "He has a lot of words to memorize".... but really, any country fan, ie, Garth Fan, worth his salt knows every word to this song. And its one of those you can't just jump in mid-verse... you gotta start that off right at the beginning. "Six o'clock on Friday evenin', mama doesn't know she's leavin'..." gets you going.
Not sure if I liked Mike the Oil Rigger's performance, or I just happened to really like the song, but I think it was pretty good. Randy says it was a cool song choice, though it didn't bring out certain vocal capabilities. Kara liked his personality, but wants the big notes. Paula liked it. Simon couldn't understand it, though Mike the Oil Rigger said, "Country folks understood it."
Here comes Red Alley, aka, Allison Iraheta. She's going to do "Blame It On Your Heart" by Patty Loveless, who I really dig. Actually, its "Blame it on your lyin', cheatin', cold dead beatin' two timin', double dealin', mean mistreatin', lovin' heart." Just so you know.
Her voice is just awesome, by the way. She's not to the point where I'm ready to crown her My Next American Idol, but I look forward to hearing her in the upcoming weeks, perhaps a rock week or something like that. And I really like her take on this song... very rockabilly.
Two songs in a row that I could sing from from to back, start to finish on my own. Love it.
Kara loved it. Paula talks about flowers and rainbows and pink clouds. Fluffy puffy poo. Simon said it was good, but perhaps a little out of tune here and there. Randy thought it was DOPE! Indeed.
One of my favorites last week, Kris Allen comes out, though he is singing "Make You Feel My Love", another Garth song that either he lent to Billy Joel, or Billy Joel lent to Garth, who knows. (actually upon looking it up, its a Bob Dylan song). This is dangerous, by the way, because slow, soft ballads like this can show off alot or really backfire.
This from the musical expert, right?
It was good, but it was slow. Paula was pleasantly surprised. Every word seems to be a struggle for her, though I'm not sure if this is any different than any other week. Simon thought it was terrific, and thinks it was a great song choice. Randy thought it was really cool, "with tender moments with my dawg Kris. A tender dawg." Kara loved it.
Oh, another note... its from the movie "Hope Floats", one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life.
Lil Rounds! She's like Brad Pitt... I want to not like her, but I just can't help myself, really. I just like 'em. She's bringing home Martina McBride's "Independence Day", which you cannot, must not and shall not sing unless you have one heckuva voice. Martina is like the white, non-crack, non Bobby, country version of Whitney. And Martina? Totally a member of the Ashley Judd Club. In great standing.
Its kinda weird though to see a black chick take on such a country staple. Another song I can sing front to back... I liked Lil Rounds singing this, but it was not nearly as big as I thought it was going to be... she should have wailed that song at the end... it looked uncomfortable, and sounded so.
Randy felt the same way. Of course, since Idol's producers love Lil Rounds, doing something a little different will be okay for her, right? All great artists take chances, right? Kara says just as much. You let MJC do this, sound exactly the same, and I guarantee they slam her for song choice, and picking too big a song. Paula liked it, but felt she should have sang different parts. Simon, who calls her "Lit-Tul", and then finally "Lil", says it came over as a wedding singer that is forced to sing a song that someone else has requested. He is wondering where the Mary J ("Blige" not "Jane", by the way) went.
After four... its Red Ally, Kris Allen, Mike the Oil Rigger, Lil Rounds
And now here comes The Ambibiously Gay Adam Lambert. A guy like Adam is the kind of guy that a guy like Randy would just as soon shoot. The Ambigously Gay Adam is going to try to take on "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, but put a different spin on it.
THIS SONG SUCKS!!!
You know what this reminds me of? When Alex and Sophie write this sweet little ballad song in "Music and Lyrics" and then Cora, the arrogant pop star turns the song, "Way Back Into Love", into this weird, freaky, sexual, unnecessary tune. If Johnny Cash were alive, he would likely come out and put a size 12 cowboy boot in The Ambigiously Gay Adam's face.
Kara thought it was strange. But then she tosses on "But I kinda liked it!" at the end, almost as if the producers yelled, "We love this guy! Say something nice, or your fired!" Paula would hand her rooms keys over, though she's not sure if she'd get some action or they'd compare shoe shopping experiences. Simon? "I think was Randy Travis was trying to say is 'What the heck was that?'" Randy (Jackson) says it was fresh and hot and all that. I hated it.
The Lovely Steph Leann, however, really likes him. Seriously. She, for weeks now, has gone on and on about how amazing his voice is, and his vocal talent, and how great he is and how talented he is and blah and blah and blah... we're in counseling now.
Scott the Blind Guy is going to sing another Martina song, "Wild Angels", to which Randy Travis says, "When I first heard this idea, I thought 'not a good idea'." But he came around to like the version.
This song has never been one of my top faves of Martina, though its not bad. And Scott the Blind Guy's version is not bad, either. Its funny, for me Martina McBride is one of those artists who has songs that I really don't like, but conversely, the songs I do like, I really, really like.
Paula is impressed, though he should step away from the piano. Simon says that is a stupid idea. He does criticize the song choice, but Scott the Blind Guy jokes, "I've lost a lot of hat picks". Randy says it wasn't the song, but is looking for better vocals. Kara sums up by challenging him to "up the game a little bit."
Here's how Martina should sound... and any song about an abused wife blowing her house up with her jerkweed husband in it? Good stuff. And for folks like Brad Latta, I didn't post the song for the opening remarks, I posted it for the quality of the performance...
Alexis Grace, who looks ravishing, is up next. She does the right thing by buttering up Randy Travis, telling him how great he is... then she tells him that she'll be singing "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, one of my favorite old school songs, and one of my favorite two or three Dolly songs.
"Jolene" is a song about a chick of the same name, who is movin' in on the singer's man. The singer is begging Jolene to back off, because Jolene is apparently the new hotness, and can have any man she wants, but "please don't take my man... just because you can."
I do love me some Alexis Grace. Lovin' this version, by the way.
Randy wasn't sure about the notes, and tried to make it more bluesy than it should be. Kara tells her she lost her edge, and maybe she should have gone with "Last Name" or "Before He Cheats". I can't believe this, but when Paula says, "I think that song served you better than they think you did", I agree with her. I think Alexis Grace did a great job with it, and "Jolene" is just the right kind of angst song that suited her well. Simon didn't like it all that much.
Kara and Paula say they "miss the dirty"... what is this, American Stripper?
While I think The Widower Danny Gokey looks kinda like my buddy Justin Fisher, The Lovely Steph Leann still calls him Robert Downey Junior Junior.
He's going to be singing "Jesus Take the Wheel"... the video shows us him messing up over and over in front of Randy Travis... while The Widower Danny Gokey laughs, Randy looks unamused. The camera only shows him from the waist up at first, and in that white jacket, The Widower Danny Gokey looks like a Hoth Stormtrooper, sans the helmet.
So, he sounded okay, but I didn't think it was all that wonderful. The Lovely Steph Leann liked it, though she's been sipping on Gokey-Aid for a few weeks.
Either the judges will love him, or they'll use the words "indulgant" at some point.
Kara didn't like the first part, but loved the second part when "you hit your stride!" Paula loved all of it. Still struggling for words. And coherent sentences. Simon agrees with Paula, disagreeing with Kara. He doesn't like the outfit, using the words "polar expedition"... to Hoth?? Randy didn't like the verses, but loved the chorus.
After eight... Alexis Grace, Red Ally, Kris Allen, The Widower Danny Gokey, Mike the Oil Rigger, Scott the Blind Guy, Lil Rounds, The Ambigiously Gay Adam
Here comes Anooooooooop Dawg. The Eyebrowed One himself will be singing Willie Nelson's immortal classic, "You're Always On My Mind", which was redone by The Pet Shop Boys in the mid-80s. The Boys version was good, but not like Willie.
That might be the first time Randy Travis has ever actually said a Middle Eastern name out loud.
And... it sounds marvelous. Seriously. The Eyebrowed One is bringing it... were this done in 1992, I can honestly say I would consider buying the cassette single of this song, a la Michael Bolton's "When a Man Loves a Woman". And as I was in the middle of typing that last sentence, The Lovely Steph Leann says, "You know... he kinda reminds me of Michael Bolton... in a good way!"
The other night at Jason and Emmy Turnbow's house, our friend Heather King said, "You two compliment each other perfectly!" and Emmy nodded, and mouthed "Yes. Yes."
See what they mean??
But remember, Anoop Dawg isn't The Ambigiously Gay Adam or Lil Rounds, so will the producers tell the judges to really like him?
Paula loved it. Simon said, "You managed to go from Zero to Hero. That was a good, solid song." Randy loved it, cause he liked the vocals and the arrangement, which was dope. Kara commends him for doing what he did tonight, because it is so hard to do with that kind of classic song.
Up now is Megan Joy Corkery singing a country standard, that being "Walkin' After Midnight". Randy says, "This song has been done in every possible way over the years", though he liked MJC's take on it.
Can MJC sing Patsy? Not easy. Except for the tats up her right arm, MJC looks smokin' hot. Not that the tattoos are bad, they are just distracting with that sleeveless dress on. MJC definately has a different sound on the song... not sure if I like it or not, really.
And I'm not sure if MJC has on a dress, or simply a skirt and a boob separator/holder. The Lovely Steph Leann agrees.
Randy thought it was good, impressive. Kara acknowledges MJC having the flu, but liked it. Paula tells the world that MJC has already been to the hospital with her illness, as MJC coughs on stage. Simon says she looks great, but doesn't like the style. He did like the song, though.
Okay, I liked it. I'll admit it.
And to round out the show, in the pimp slot, Matty G. He'll be singing "So Small" by Carrie Underwood, and Randy isn't sure if this is a great song... but ends up liking it.
Matty G was one of my favorites last week, which was surprising. And this week? He sounds awesome. If I were to put this song, Matty G's version, in one of my playlists, it would probably go in with Howie Day and John Mayer and possibly Blessid Union of Souls. Dude sounds great.
Kara loves it, making a comment that forces out a "That's what she said", then a hearty laughter by me, followed by a eye roll from The Lovely Steph Leann. Paula tries to say Authenticity. After four tries, she gets it. Simon says it was great, reminding him of Buble. Randy said it was his favorite of the night.
In a year when I thought I was supposed to like Alexis, Lil Rounds and Scott the Blind Guy, and I end up liking Alexis, Matty G and Kris Allen. Who knew? This is American Idol.
So, tonight's favorites... Matty G, Anoop Dawg, Alexis Grace, Red Ally, Kris Allen, MJC, The Widower Danny Gokey, Mike the Oil Rigger, Scott the Blind Guy, Lil Rounds, four thousand other people who tried out, then The Ambigiously Gay Adam.
New Month, New Theme... November's Music List
Thought five days into the month, it might be time to change our music. For a day it was the appropriate "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers, but I didn't have a great mix to surround it with.
So I spent a little time and come up with a good playlist for the month of November, which typically is known for its great fall weather, Thanksgiving, craziness in college football, DeNick AND DeLisa's birthdays and even more...
And here's what I chose for November:
"As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith... Wow... this could definately be my new theme song. For a while, I kept "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon in the leadoff spot, but this song is perfect. Because yes, I ain't as good as I once was... and that's just the cold, hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feeling bulletproof. So don't double dog dare me now, I might have to call your bluff... cause I ain't as good as I once was... but I'm as good once, as I ever was. (possibly the funniest country video ever)
So I spent a little time and come up with a good playlist for the month of November, which typically is known for its great fall weather, Thanksgiving, craziness in college football, DeNick AND DeLisa's birthdays and even more...
And here's what I chose for November:
"As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith... Wow... this could definately be my new theme song. For a while, I kept "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon in the leadoff spot, but this song is perfect. Because yes, I ain't as good as I once was... and that's just the cold, hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feeling bulletproof. So don't double dog dare me now, I might have to call your bluff... cause I ain't as good as I once was... but I'm as good once, as I ever was. (possibly the funniest country video ever)
You'll probably want to pause the regular music player before hitting play on this... but its worth it.
"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley, featuring Dolly Parton... Talk about sentimental. This is one of those songs that make you sit back and just... well, sigh, and think of how beautiful Home will finally be.
"1,2,3" by Gloria Estefan. Gotta say, I lurves me some Gloria, always have. Even when she does that Spanish Cuban music I can't understand. Still, she's magnficent. I actually wanted "Here We Are", one of the Top Five Most Painful Songs Ever Written, but this will do. Makes me think of the Junior Honor Society Beach trips we'd go on in the Spring. It had to be an "educational" trip, so Mrs Whittle and Mrs. Rials would take us to the "Frog House", a mansion where the movie "Frogs" was filmed in the 70s. Terrible movie. Interesting house. Then we'd go to the beach. Its where I, as a 13 year old boy, first glimpsed not only Jennifer Lambert but also Stephanie Phillips in a swimsuit. When you are that young, this is an awesome thing. Now? I feel kinda creepy thinking about it. Crap. Chris Hansen is on my porch.
"Shameless" by Garth Brooks. I always liked Amanda Webster. Well, not "like" like, I mean, I wasn't crushin' on her by no means-that was Julie Wise, the Clouds In My Coffee Official Samson High Crush, but Amanda was always really cool to me. I only mention this because Amanda was my 2nd slow dance ever. Angiejay--who has rejected me on Facebook, by the way, and that has made me very bitter--was my first, to Alan Jackson's "Wanted". Where was I going with all of this, if only to rail against Angiejay again? I'm not really sure. But Amanda and I danced to this song at her birthday party. Amanda, I hope you are superduper well!
"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" by Sting. Some artists, U2 comes to mind, have now hit that "we are so big we're almost overrated" status. Honestly, U2 really hasn't done that much in the last several years. I mean, Bono wears the sunglasses and goes to Africa alot, but musically, their stuff have just been, well, 'eh. Sting, however? He's still the man. He's hit that "I can do whatever the crap I want, I'm freakin' Sting" status. This is a song directly from that status' peak.
"More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark. Unfortunately, the title track to the d$'s Life Soundtrack was unavailable. No, not "You're So Vain" (and no, not "Your an Frickin Idiot", Anonymous Poster), but "Welcome to Delaware. So, I chose this little friendship ditty from one of my all time favorite bands, Watermark, who stopped performing as "Watermark"--I was going to say broke up, but since Watermark was husband and wife Nathan and Christy Nockel, how bad would that be?
"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. The man, the master, the pimpdaddy of soulful 70s. Seriously, does it get any more pimp than Al? This is a song used masterfully in "Pulp Fiction", as most all songs are in a Tarantino movie.
"Alone" by Heart. When I hear this song now, it makes me think of Carrie Underwood on American Idol, in leather, with big, hairsprayed up hair, blowing this song out of the water. This truly is one of Heart's best. Perhaps next month I'll rock it a little more with Barracuda. But for now... How do I get you aloooone? How do I get you aloooone??
"Like a Child" by Jars of Clay. One of the best two or three Christian albums ever. Talk about the Law of Hootie--come out with your first album, and five albums later, the first is still the most popular and best of the bunch? I've actually interviewed Steve Mason from Jars of Clay, back when I did Sunday Night Power, a Christian Music show for Troy's WTBF in college. Steve said this was one of their favorites to record, because its just so simple. Faith like a child.
"The Way I Am" by Jennifer Knapp. Its better to be deaf, dumb and blind than to be the way I am. Could I sum up my life any better than those 15 words? Brilliant writing, and you can't believe how much I miss J-Knapp. This is from "The Way I Am", her final CD before Gotee Records released like, 40 greatest hits and live packages. The CD was actually going to be called "Deaf, Dumb and Blind" but producers nixed that idea.
"Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon. All I know is this... you will leave this computer singing this song. If you aren't singing it, it will be stuck in your head. If you did an entire album of songs that are meant to be played at high volume inside a fast moving vehicle, this would have to be on there. Heard if from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you been messing around. Isn't that how rumors get started?
"The Promise" by When In Rome. So, I worked at WKMX in Enterprise, doing the overnights on weekends. Well, during the Breakfast Jam with BJ Kelly, they would do a "name this old song" type of contest. Naturally, working there, I couldn't win, but one day, they played the first three or four notes of this song. I'm not kidding, I knew it as soon as those few little notes were played (when you hear it, you'll know what I mean). I immediately called, threw on this very feminine--and very fake sounding--voice. When they asked me my name, I said the first chick name that came to my mind--Valerie Newman.
Well, I/Valerie won, and then even asked me, "We thought this was a hard one, how did you know this so fast?" and in my fake, high pitched voice, I replied, "I just love this song!" Well the real Valerie Newman had never heard it, or so she told me when I called her a few minutes later. She was living in the Alpha Gamma Delta house at the time, and so a few days later, she, I and FarmHouse brother Jason White jumped in her Pontiac Grand Am and made the 30 minute trek to Enterprise to pick up her prize. I don't remember what it was, except that there was a free tanning package included. I don't know that she ever said thanks. Hmm...
"Kiss & Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans. Another American Idol reference, this one from Season Two. One of my top two or three performances ever was watching Ruben Studdard come out and just knock this song out of the park. He was amazing, so much so that I rewound it (I had a VCR at the time) and watched it four times. I'm afraid to go find it on YouTube, because I'm afraid it won't be as good as I remember. Kinda like a slow dance now with Angiejay.
Yep. I watched it again on YouTube. Yes, its good. But not nearly as good as I remember it being. Wait... what if Angiejay is my Anonymous Poster? That would make sense... hmmm...
"American Boy" by Estelle, featuring Kanye West. Let's be very clear, I'm not a fan of Kanye's politicking. I personally don't agree with him that Dubya hates black people. Truthbetold, I don't really like most of Kanye's stuff--"Gold Digger" is the exception. However, I can dig this song. Its a little rap, a little R&B, and even he manages not to screw it up too badly. And the bad word is deleted in the song... this might be my favorite song of 2008 thusfar.
"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. Naturally. Its a Clouds In My Coffee music playlist standard.
There ya have it... November's playlist selection. Fifteen songs, different genres, yet somehow, they seemingly kinda go with each other.