Hello,
Just a quick blog today, I do not have a lot of time. I am working on Sunday's blog, which will be a lot longer. I will be reviewing the new Counting Crows CD, "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings". I will also be reviewing the "AI" 8th place contestants and what, if anything, they have done. Also songs that are rocking my iPod, including the Carpenters. (Yes those Carpenters!) Also I will be reviewing who was going to rocking 2006 according to Rolling Stone. I am also going to start a feature reviewing classic CD's. (If you are wondering what I mean by classic CD's, it means CD's by Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Guns 'N' Roses and the Dixie Chicks.) If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me or leave comments. When I receive comments, I automatically get an e-mail with the contents of the comment in it.
Here's the commitment I will make to you my faithful reader(s). Here's some background first: I read an article about Perez Hilton. If you dont know already he is a blogger as well. I won't say he is a blogger like myself. Two big differences he gets about 7 million page views a day and his blog is mean spirited. While I would welcome the page views I am not going to be mean spirited to get those. I am not going to be mean spirited for any reason. (Although I know some David Archuletta fans probably won't agree with that.) I am going to highlight all the good things in the entertainment industry, especially music. I will only call out people when I need to, that includes myself.
Also according to ew.com singer Shirley Manson is going to be joining the cast of "The Sarah Connor Chronicles". If you don't know who she is, she is the singer for the excellent band Garbage. Their music is great and they are also a great live band.
Today is the day that goombah.com highlights 15 free songs on their website. I downloaded about 6 or 7 songs today. One song I reccomend that you get is "On The Beat"- Electrocute. There are also a few other good songs you can get. Again these are all free and also they aren't illegal downloads. Also amazon.com and iTunes have free MP3's available every Tuesday. Some of those songs are quite good.
One final note: With "American Idol" being over, all the songs the contestants have sung can now have their songs listed based on sales on the Billboard charts. So the first week these songs are eligible David Cook has 11 songs debut in the Top 100. That includes the #3 song "The Time of My Life". It would probably be #1 if it was actually a good song. David Cook's debut CD is available in the fall. David Archuleta has 3 songs land on the Billboard Top 100. His highest ranked song is his version of John Lennon's "Imagine" at #36. Also if you are a complete music geek, like myself, check out their cool website billboard.com. It is one of the about 7-10 websites I look at each day. Have a great weekend, themusicaddict
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Archie comments, Link to excellent Esquire article
Hello,
In the month plus I have been writing this blog, I have received 3 comments about what I have written. All 3 comments have been disagreements of my evualation of Archie's talent and his prospects for a successful career. The latest comment I received called me "an arrogant SOB" and "to say this kid will never be a big star is to wallow in your musical ignorance". This comment comes from a self-described "42year-old rock drummer". He calls himself "Steve". The first thing I would like to say to you Steve is that I am jealous that you have musical ability. The only way I can carry a tune is in a bucket. Second of all you are not the first person to call me a "SOB", nor probably the last. However I hardly think I am arrogant.
Again as I have discussed in my blog I don't like Archie as a singer, he just bores me to tears. (Again nothing against him personally, it would be fine with me if he becomes a superstar.) He reminds me a lot of Taylor Hicks, in fact I think he will have a similar career. He will have good sales of his first CD, but I predict that will be his peak. Taylor Hicks has been dropped by his label now due to poor sales. Although he just was cast in "Grease". So he is in all likelihood able to make a living from his singing. Another similarity that strikes me between Taylor Hicks and Archie is that both contestants had strong followings during their "AI" runs. Hicks fans were called the Soul Patrol and Archies fans are called the Archangels. However it looks like the Soul Patrol has abandoned Hicks and I think the same thing is going to happen with the Archangels.
Also my last word is besides David Archuleta how many other second place finishers can you name. I will give you a couple of minutes to think about it. This is how weak the second place position has been in "AI" history, arguably Clay Aiken has been the most successful second place finisher. He has solid sales, a devoted audience who attends his concerts and he recently appeared in Broadway in "Spam-a-Lot". That last one is his most impressive feat in my opinion. However let me ask you this question, "How many Clay Aiken songs can you name?". Also "How many Taylor Hicks songs can you name?" I can't name any for Aiken and the only one I can name for Hicks is the awful, "Do I Make You Proud?" (The answer is "No".)
That all being said I admit I could be wrong, David Archuletta could go on and be a huge star. Maybe the Archangels will stick with him like the Claymates have stayed with Clay Aiken. Also predicting who will be popular next year let alone 10 years is a very difficult process. I will review in an upcoming blog who Rolling Stone magazine called the "10 Artists To Watch for 2006". All I know is I will never buy any of his music or see him in concert unless he completely breaks out of his niche.
Also if you are interested in seeing interviews with Archie, he has interviews both at rollingstone.com and ew.com.
Also just a couple of other quick notes, in my reading I have read some more information about Jessica Sierra. She was the 10th place finisher of Season 4"American Idol". (That was the year the awesome Carrie Underwood won.) She is now more known for her drug habit than her singing. She recently appeared on Drew Pinsky's "Celebrity Rehab". Apparantally that did not work out real well for her and the last heard is that she is still battling and trying to get straight. So my prayers go out to her.
Also I had heard good things about this movie titled "Once". So I watched it with my beautiful wife the other night and I have to tell you this movie sucks. If it wasn't for my blog and trying to save you from crap, we would have turned it off about halfway through. A lot of the songs sung in the movie are great, but the story sucks. Not that there is really that much of a story. So stay far away from this movie, your money would be better spent buying the soundtrack.
Also here are the latest songs rocking my iPod, as always in no particular order. 1) "On and On"- The Bell 2) "Get Up, Stand Up"- Bob Marley 3) "Listen Like Thieves"- INXS. 4) "Baby Girl"- Sugarland. A great, great song. 5) "Wake Up"- Arcade Fire 6)
"1985"- Bowling For Soup. 7) "The River and Me"- Tim McGraw 8) "Perfect"- Flyleaf 9)
"Chicago"- Sufjan Stevens 9)"Spiral"- XTC
Also I have 3 great CD's that you should buy. 1) "The Rising"- Bruce Springsteen. This is his 9/11 CD and his reaction and feelings about that extremely sad day in world history. 2) "Funeral"- Arcade Fire. They have a never CD than this but this is easily their best CD. This will go down as one of the best CD's of this decade. 3) "Come on Feel the Illinoise"- Sufjan Stevens. All three of these CD's are must haves in your collection.
Then last and not least I am going to link you to an excellent article that is in last month's Esquire magazine. It goes into the toll of the Iraq War. The article is titled "The Things That Carried Him" and it is a must read. Here's the link:
http://www.esquire.com/features/things-that-carried-him
I am working a lot of hours this week, hopefully I will have my next blog out by Sunday at the latest. I have a lot of good stuff upcoming, including the first week on the charts for David Cook and the much beloved David Archuleta. Quickly one thing: David Cook told RS.com that his CD would be rock based. Really? I was expecting him to produce the next polka CD. Also I am going over the list of who Rolling Stone said would be rocking our 2006. Here's a hint if you really stretch it, they were about 30% accurate. In their defense that is not an easy thing to do. I will also go over the 8th placed "American Idol" contestants. As always I will try to keep you abreast on all the good music and will save you from bad music as much as possible.
Have the rest of a great week, themusicaddict
In the month plus I have been writing this blog, I have received 3 comments about what I have written. All 3 comments have been disagreements of my evualation of Archie's talent and his prospects for a successful career. The latest comment I received called me "an arrogant SOB" and "to say this kid will never be a big star is to wallow in your musical ignorance". This comment comes from a self-described "42year-old rock drummer". He calls himself "Steve". The first thing I would like to say to you Steve is that I am jealous that you have musical ability. The only way I can carry a tune is in a bucket. Second of all you are not the first person to call me a "SOB", nor probably the last. However I hardly think I am arrogant.
Again as I have discussed in my blog I don't like Archie as a singer, he just bores me to tears. (Again nothing against him personally, it would be fine with me if he becomes a superstar.) He reminds me a lot of Taylor Hicks, in fact I think he will have a similar career. He will have good sales of his first CD, but I predict that will be his peak. Taylor Hicks has been dropped by his label now due to poor sales. Although he just was cast in "Grease". So he is in all likelihood able to make a living from his singing. Another similarity that strikes me between Taylor Hicks and Archie is that both contestants had strong followings during their "AI" runs. Hicks fans were called the Soul Patrol and Archies fans are called the Archangels. However it looks like the Soul Patrol has abandoned Hicks and I think the same thing is going to happen with the Archangels.
Also my last word is besides David Archuleta how many other second place finishers can you name. I will give you a couple of minutes to think about it. This is how weak the second place position has been in "AI" history, arguably Clay Aiken has been the most successful second place finisher. He has solid sales, a devoted audience who attends his concerts and he recently appeared in Broadway in "Spam-a-Lot". That last one is his most impressive feat in my opinion. However let me ask you this question, "How many Clay Aiken songs can you name?". Also "How many Taylor Hicks songs can you name?" I can't name any for Aiken and the only one I can name for Hicks is the awful, "Do I Make You Proud?" (The answer is "No".)
That all being said I admit I could be wrong, David Archuletta could go on and be a huge star. Maybe the Archangels will stick with him like the Claymates have stayed with Clay Aiken. Also predicting who will be popular next year let alone 10 years is a very difficult process. I will review in an upcoming blog who Rolling Stone magazine called the "10 Artists To Watch for 2006". All I know is I will never buy any of his music or see him in concert unless he completely breaks out of his niche.
Also if you are interested in seeing interviews with Archie, he has interviews both at rollingstone.com and ew.com.
Also just a couple of other quick notes, in my reading I have read some more information about Jessica Sierra. She was the 10th place finisher of Season 4"American Idol". (That was the year the awesome Carrie Underwood won.) She is now more known for her drug habit than her singing. She recently appeared on Drew Pinsky's "Celebrity Rehab". Apparantally that did not work out real well for her and the last heard is that she is still battling and trying to get straight. So my prayers go out to her.
Also I had heard good things about this movie titled "Once". So I watched it with my beautiful wife the other night and I have to tell you this movie sucks. If it wasn't for my blog and trying to save you from crap, we would have turned it off about halfway through. A lot of the songs sung in the movie are great, but the story sucks. Not that there is really that much of a story. So stay far away from this movie, your money would be better spent buying the soundtrack.
Also here are the latest songs rocking my iPod, as always in no particular order. 1) "On and On"- The Bell 2) "Get Up, Stand Up"- Bob Marley 3) "Listen Like Thieves"- INXS. 4) "Baby Girl"- Sugarland. A great, great song. 5) "Wake Up"- Arcade Fire 6)
"1985"- Bowling For Soup. 7) "The River and Me"- Tim McGraw 8) "Perfect"- Flyleaf 9)
"Chicago"- Sufjan Stevens 9)"Spiral"- XTC
Also I have 3 great CD's that you should buy. 1) "The Rising"- Bruce Springsteen. This is his 9/11 CD and his reaction and feelings about that extremely sad day in world history. 2) "Funeral"- Arcade Fire. They have a never CD than this but this is easily their best CD. This will go down as one of the best CD's of this decade. 3) "Come on Feel the Illinoise"- Sufjan Stevens. All three of these CD's are must haves in your collection.
Then last and not least I am going to link you to an excellent article that is in last month's Esquire magazine. It goes into the toll of the Iraq War. The article is titled "The Things That Carried Him" and it is a must read. Here's the link:
http://www.esquire.com/features/things-that-carried-him
I am working a lot of hours this week, hopefully I will have my next blog out by Sunday at the latest. I have a lot of good stuff upcoming, including the first week on the charts for David Cook and the much beloved David Archuleta. Quickly one thing: David Cook told RS.com that his CD would be rock based. Really? I was expecting him to produce the next polka CD. Also I am going over the list of who Rolling Stone said would be rocking our 2006. Here's a hint if you really stretch it, they were about 30% accurate. In their defense that is not an easy thing to do. I will also go over the 8th placed "American Idol" contestants. As always I will try to keep you abreast on all the good music and will save you from bad music as much as possible.
Have the rest of a great week, themusicaddict
Monday, May 26, 2008
Happy Memorial Day!
Hello,
First things first: Hug a veteran! Thank them for their service to our country. Without the veterans, we would all be speaking German or Russian. So hug a veteran, not just today but everyday. If you want to read some good books about veterans and what they go through, two pop to my mind. First is the excellent World War 2 history "Flags of Our Fathers". The author is James Bradley and the book is about his discovery that his father was one of the 6 famous flag raisers on Iwo Jima. (The co-author is Ron Powers.) This is the historic picture that was taken. Here's the link: http://www.iwojima.com/raising/lflage2.gif
The second book is the Vietnam history, Neil Sheehan's "A Bright Shining Lie". This follows the life of John Paul Vann and his experience's in Vietnam, including his prediction of the Tet Offensive. (By the way both were made into movies and the Clint Eastwood directed "Flags of Our Fathers" is a much better movie. Note here I am not saying best book but but best movie. Both books are equally fantastic. Also "A Bright Shining Lie" won a Pulitzer Prize.)
One more real quick movie note, this past Saturday I was able to go see "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull." Before I went to see this movie, I had heard only negative things about this movie. That being said I thought this was a good movie and I enjoyed it. It is the weakest of the four Indiana Jones movies though. Shia Lebeuf steals the movie. If I am a third as vital as Harrison Ford at that age I would be very happy. He is easily one of my favorite actors of all-time. I would reccomend that you go see this movie. On two conditions though 1) Go into the movie not expecting much. 2) You probably should be a humongous Indiana Jones fan. By the way the movie earned $126 million in it's first four days of opening. (That's good because I was starting to worry about George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford and where they were going to come up with the money to eat.)
Okay on to the music. I will get my two "American Idol" comments out of the way. Here is a review of the 9th ranked contestants and how they have fared so far after "AI". Season One: Ejay Day Honestly I don't even know if this person is a boy or a girl. Obviously I have never heard of this person. Season Two: Corey Clark, the only reason I knew who this goofball is all the accusations he made about Paula Abdul. I think he released a CD, but the fact that I don't know means it is irrelevant. Season Three: Camile Velasco, I have never heard of her. Season Four: Nikko Smith, all I know about him is that he is the son of Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith. Season Five: Mandisa, I don't know anything about her "career". Season Six: Gina Glocksen, she was last season's rock chick. She has surfaced doing a show about this season of "AI". Season Seven: Ramiele Malubay, I know I am in the minority here but I really like her. That being said, I don't think she is going to be having a big career. However Ramiele I would love to be proved wrong on this.
Also I received a comment about my prediction that David Archuleta would "never become a big star". Now obviously I will admit I could be wrong on this and if I am that is okay. It is not anything personal, I just don't like the small niche he sings in. I don't like the way his dad is pimping him, it seems like this might be more about his dad than David. (I also don't like the way the "AI" judges and producers were pimping him as well.) I watched a video of him singing on Jr. Star Search singing Alicia Keys, "Fallin" when he was 12. He actually sang better then.
The commenter asked, "Just what was David Cook doing when he was age 17 that would indicate that he was bound for stardom?" My answer to that is I don't know. However I think that is the point, from what I know his parents weren't pushing him to succeed. He had to make his own breaks, he was living life, he probably had several struggles to overcome. So other than trying to make a career of music or at least thinking about it at that point, there was probably nothing indicating that he would be a star. Honestly winning "American Idol" doesn't guarantee that you will be a star. Where are Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard? I also think "AI" should raise the minimum age limit to at least 21. Poor Archie on the night of the finale, I thought he was going to break down under the pressure. Meanwhile the older and more mature David Cook seemed to just sail through it. (By the way I appreciate the comment, I would love to create a dialogue on this blog. That will make this blog much more interesting for you and I.)
One more thing and then I will let you go. amazon.com is selling a MP3 CD each day at an extremely discounted price. Today's discount CD for example is Jay Z's "The Black Album". That CD is $3.99 only, about $3.98 more than I would pay for it. Honestly I have not been impressed with their discounted selections so far, I thought I had read that the discounted CD was going to be $2.99 each day as well. I must have read that wrong. Also they have 5 new CD's every Friday for $5 each, I believe that lasts for the following week. Now on these $5 CD's they have a much better selection. Two of these CD's are easily worthy of your $5. Those two CD's being Bob Marley's Legend" and Metallica's "The Black Album". If you can only buy one, buy "Legend". That is probably one of the Top 50 CD's of all-time.
again don't forget to hug a veteran, themusicaddict
First things first: Hug a veteran! Thank them for their service to our country. Without the veterans, we would all be speaking German or Russian. So hug a veteran, not just today but everyday. If you want to read some good books about veterans and what they go through, two pop to my mind. First is the excellent World War 2 history "Flags of Our Fathers". The author is James Bradley and the book is about his discovery that his father was one of the 6 famous flag raisers on Iwo Jima. (The co-author is Ron Powers.) This is the historic picture that was taken. Here's the link: http://www.iwojima.com/raising/lflage2.gif
The second book is the Vietnam history, Neil Sheehan's "A Bright Shining Lie". This follows the life of John Paul Vann and his experience's in Vietnam, including his prediction of the Tet Offensive. (By the way both were made into movies and the Clint Eastwood directed "Flags of Our Fathers" is a much better movie. Note here I am not saying best book but but best movie. Both books are equally fantastic. Also "A Bright Shining Lie" won a Pulitzer Prize.)
One more real quick movie note, this past Saturday I was able to go see "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull." Before I went to see this movie, I had heard only negative things about this movie. That being said I thought this was a good movie and I enjoyed it. It is the weakest of the four Indiana Jones movies though. Shia Lebeuf steals the movie. If I am a third as vital as Harrison Ford at that age I would be very happy. He is easily one of my favorite actors of all-time. I would reccomend that you go see this movie. On two conditions though 1) Go into the movie not expecting much. 2) You probably should be a humongous Indiana Jones fan. By the way the movie earned $126 million in it's first four days of opening. (That's good because I was starting to worry about George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford and where they were going to come up with the money to eat.)
Okay on to the music. I will get my two "American Idol" comments out of the way. Here is a review of the 9th ranked contestants and how they have fared so far after "AI". Season One: Ejay Day Honestly I don't even know if this person is a boy or a girl. Obviously I have never heard of this person. Season Two: Corey Clark, the only reason I knew who this goofball is all the accusations he made about Paula Abdul. I think he released a CD, but the fact that I don't know means it is irrelevant. Season Three: Camile Velasco, I have never heard of her. Season Four: Nikko Smith, all I know about him is that he is the son of Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith. Season Five: Mandisa, I don't know anything about her "career". Season Six: Gina Glocksen, she was last season's rock chick. She has surfaced doing a show about this season of "AI". Season Seven: Ramiele Malubay, I know I am in the minority here but I really like her. That being said, I don't think she is going to be having a big career. However Ramiele I would love to be proved wrong on this.
Also I received a comment about my prediction that David Archuleta would "never become a big star". Now obviously I will admit I could be wrong on this and if I am that is okay. It is not anything personal, I just don't like the small niche he sings in. I don't like the way his dad is pimping him, it seems like this might be more about his dad than David. (I also don't like the way the "AI" judges and producers were pimping him as well.) I watched a video of him singing on Jr. Star Search singing Alicia Keys, "Fallin" when he was 12. He actually sang better then.
The commenter asked, "Just what was David Cook doing when he was age 17 that would indicate that he was bound for stardom?" My answer to that is I don't know. However I think that is the point, from what I know his parents weren't pushing him to succeed. He had to make his own breaks, he was living life, he probably had several struggles to overcome. So other than trying to make a career of music or at least thinking about it at that point, there was probably nothing indicating that he would be a star. Honestly winning "American Idol" doesn't guarantee that you will be a star. Where are Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard? I also think "AI" should raise the minimum age limit to at least 21. Poor Archie on the night of the finale, I thought he was going to break down under the pressure. Meanwhile the older and more mature David Cook seemed to just sail through it. (By the way I appreciate the comment, I would love to create a dialogue on this blog. That will make this blog much more interesting for you and I.)
One more thing and then I will let you go. amazon.com is selling a MP3 CD each day at an extremely discounted price. Today's discount CD for example is Jay Z's "The Black Album". That CD is $3.99 only, about $3.98 more than I would pay for it. Honestly I have not been impressed with their discounted selections so far, I thought I had read that the discounted CD was going to be $2.99 each day as well. I must have read that wrong. Also they have 5 new CD's every Friday for $5 each, I believe that lasts for the following week. Now on these $5 CD's they have a much better selection. Two of these CD's are easily worthy of your $5. Those two CD's being Bob Marley's Legend" and Metallica's "The Black Album". If you can only buy one, buy "Legend". That is probably one of the Top 50 CD's of all-time.
again don't forget to hug a veteran, themusicaddict
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"AI" Season 8 reccomendations
Hello,
The following are several of my suggestions to improve my favorite TV show "American Idol". 1) I think the most important thing is to get rid of both Randy and Paula. Randy's pimping of David Archuletta was shameless. Why was he pimping him so much anyway? Also he only has about 3 phrases that he uses repeatedly. What the hell does he mean that someone "can sing the phonebook"? Also go off script a bit, don't just be pimping a David/David final the whole season. There were many other viable candidates this season. 2) Let the contestents sing the full song, not just a 90 second snippet. 3) Also if we are forced to have themes, can they please be more relevant. It's nice to mix in a Neil Diamond every once in a while, but how about someone from the 90's or even this decade. How about Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse or even R.E.M. All are currently relevant. People under the age of 20 actually buy their music. 4) Those lame group numbers have got to go, they add nothing to the show. Honestly do you know anyone that likes them? Also the lame dancing has got to go away, the choregraphy sucks.
5) Let's develop artists not just singers. Actually make the contestents write their own songs at least once? That would actually be a good theme, let's see what they have. ("The Next Great American Band" actually did this and for the most part the songs were good.) Singers are a dime a dozen, artists are much more rare and exciting. I think this would weed out some of the Sanjaya's and other horrible contestants we have had to endure over the years. 6) Also after the tragedy of David Archuletta this year, no more stage parents. If they aren't old enough or skilled enough to make it on their own, they shouldn't be there. 7) Also please tone down the overdone commercialism. Do we really have to have a Ford video. I know that "AI" is greedy, but can't the commercialism be a little more subtle. For instance, the whole "Pips" performance. Those three were promoting something but it was not shoved down our throats.
Here's the comparison on the tenth-place finishers from all 7 seasons of "American Idol". Season One: Jim Verraros: I have never heard of him. Season Two: Julia Demato: I have never heard of her. Season Three: Amy Adams: Other than doing some writing for ew.com, I have not heard of anything else she has done. Season Four: Jessica Sierra: I have never heard of her. Season Five: Lisa Tucker: I have never heard of her. Season Six: Chris Sligh. He actually writes for ew.com as well. He also has actually released a CD. According to him, USA Today is writing good things about it. I don't know if he is the greatest performer ever, but at least he is trying to make a career out of it. Most of the contestants just fade away. Season 7: Chikeze: He sucks and I hope he fades into obscurity asap. Again with the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry coming out of "AI", I thought that this show had produced so many lame contestants. "AI"'s track record is actually not that good.
Also the "American Idol" tour opens on July 1st in Glendale, Arizona. Get your tickets now. Out of all the concerts this year, that is about the 20th most concert I want to see.
Finally songs rocking my iPod. 1) "Come On Eileen"- Dexy's Midnight Runners. 2) "What's A Girl To Do?"- Bat for Lashes 3) "It's A Hit"- Rilo Kiley. 4) "Dreaming (Live)"- Blondie. 5) "Sometimes A Fantasy"- Billy Joel. 6) "Chelsea Dagger"- The Fratellis. (This is one of the best of 2007 CD's) 7) "Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe?"- The Dears (Yes this is a real song. 8) "Something In My House"- Dead or Alive. 9) "Last Resort"- Papa Roach. 10) "I Just Shot John Lennon"- The Cranberries.
I will be back tomorrow, don't worry from here on out I will not be focusing on "American Idol" so much. Only if it is musically relevant. Also from now on I am going to do my best to make this a no-Archuletta zone. Have a great Memorial Day, tell those you love that you love them. themusicaddict
The following are several of my suggestions to improve my favorite TV show "American Idol". 1) I think the most important thing is to get rid of both Randy and Paula. Randy's pimping of David Archuletta was shameless. Why was he pimping him so much anyway? Also he only has about 3 phrases that he uses repeatedly. What the hell does he mean that someone "can sing the phonebook"? Also go off script a bit, don't just be pimping a David/David final the whole season. There were many other viable candidates this season. 2) Let the contestents sing the full song, not just a 90 second snippet. 3) Also if we are forced to have themes, can they please be more relevant. It's nice to mix in a Neil Diamond every once in a while, but how about someone from the 90's or even this decade. How about Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse or even R.E.M. All are currently relevant. People under the age of 20 actually buy their music. 4) Those lame group numbers have got to go, they add nothing to the show. Honestly do you know anyone that likes them? Also the lame dancing has got to go away, the choregraphy sucks.
5) Let's develop artists not just singers. Actually make the contestents write their own songs at least once? That would actually be a good theme, let's see what they have. ("The Next Great American Band" actually did this and for the most part the songs were good.) Singers are a dime a dozen, artists are much more rare and exciting. I think this would weed out some of the Sanjaya's and other horrible contestants we have had to endure over the years. 6) Also after the tragedy of David Archuletta this year, no more stage parents. If they aren't old enough or skilled enough to make it on their own, they shouldn't be there. 7) Also please tone down the overdone commercialism. Do we really have to have a Ford video. I know that "AI" is greedy, but can't the commercialism be a little more subtle. For instance, the whole "Pips" performance. Those three were promoting something but it was not shoved down our throats.
Here's the comparison on the tenth-place finishers from all 7 seasons of "American Idol". Season One: Jim Verraros: I have never heard of him. Season Two: Julia Demato: I have never heard of her. Season Three: Amy Adams: Other than doing some writing for ew.com, I have not heard of anything else she has done. Season Four: Jessica Sierra: I have never heard of her. Season Five: Lisa Tucker: I have never heard of her. Season Six: Chris Sligh. He actually writes for ew.com as well. He also has actually released a CD. According to him, USA Today is writing good things about it. I don't know if he is the greatest performer ever, but at least he is trying to make a career out of it. Most of the contestants just fade away. Season 7: Chikeze: He sucks and I hope he fades into obscurity asap. Again with the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry coming out of "AI", I thought that this show had produced so many lame contestants. "AI"'s track record is actually not that good.
Also the "American Idol" tour opens on July 1st in Glendale, Arizona. Get your tickets now. Out of all the concerts this year, that is about the 20th most concert I want to see.
Finally songs rocking my iPod. 1) "Come On Eileen"- Dexy's Midnight Runners. 2) "What's A Girl To Do?"- Bat for Lashes 3) "It's A Hit"- Rilo Kiley. 4) "Dreaming (Live)"- Blondie. 5) "Sometimes A Fantasy"- Billy Joel. 6) "Chelsea Dagger"- The Fratellis. (This is one of the best of 2007 CD's) 7) "Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe?"- The Dears (Yes this is a real song. 8) "Something In My House"- Dead or Alive. 9) "Last Resort"- Papa Roach. 10) "I Just Shot John Lennon"- The Cranberries.
I will be back tomorrow, don't worry from here on out I will not be focusing on "American Idol" so much. Only if it is musically relevant. Also from now on I am going to do my best to make this a no-Archuletta zone. Have a great Memorial Day, tell those you love that you love them. themusicaddict
AI review redo
Hello folks,
This is my second write up of the "AI" season finale. I was not able to watch it again, but I still have some additional thoughts. Wednesday's show started off with one of those lame group numbers. They have to get rid of these for Season 8. (That is just one of my many reccomendations coming Sunday.) They are always a lowlight of each show. Just look at the dread in the eyes of Amanda and Jason as they have to do those stupid dances. Then talented David and little david came on the stage and sang Chad Kroeger's "Hero". That was pretty good. "The Love Guru" promo was painful for the most part, although him teasing little david about puberty was funny. (Don't worry I am sure his daddy is going to explain it to him.) Also does anyone want to see "The Love Guru", isn't Mike Myers time in the spotlight done yet?
So that was a relatively painful 20 minutes then thankfully it was time for some great performances. Syesha and Seal then came on and sang Seal's song "Waiting For You". First of all I thought Syesha was great and she looks like a star. As long as she does not have Jeff Archuleta manage her career, she will be fine. Seal also sounded good, his voice is so good. That was a great duet. Every time I see Syesha perform I think she can be a really big star. However I wish it would have been a David Cook-Syesha finale. Also Syesha stick with one name, you can be like Bono, Madonna, Prince, Whitney or Mariah in one nameness.
I don't have the show in exact order, somewhere in here Brooke White sang "Teach Your Children" with Graham Nash. That is one of the top 1000 greatest songs of all-time. Brooke absolutely nailed it. (BTW one of Brooke's songs from her previously released CD "Songs In The Addict" is available for free at amazon.com. It will be available until Monday. The song is titled "Come To My Rescue" and it is a pretty good song.) Also I have to add Brooke White's "I Am...I Said" to the list of transcendent songs from this season. One of only three from this season. Although Carly Smithson's "Crazy on You" was pretty good. That was when I started be a big Carly fan.
Then singing one of the three transcendent songs again its Jason Castro. I think his "Hallelujah" was even better the second time. That song deserved to be sang again unlike little david's boring, overcooked "Imagine". That is partially why you lost little david, you are just a niche singer. It is not a niche that is very exciting either. I mean it is the finals take a chance, that is exactly why you will never be a big star. Also take a break from singing and live a little and tell your Dad to piss off. He obviously is too much of a stage parent. One person on ew.com's "Idolatry" called David Archuleta "veal", because he has been prepared from a young age to be a pop star. I thought that not only was funny, but also heartbreaking.
The 6 female contestants had to perform another group number. This time it was to Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money". This is one of the many 80's highlights. (Poor Amanda had to dance again, "AI" producers please stop torturing that women.) Then a disoriented looking Donna Summer came on the stage, she looked like she was really struggling. (Don't mock Donna Summer for being disoriented, it worked for Paula Abdul). Thankfully Syesha came in to save her, she sang the Summer classic better than Summer herself. I think tonight's finale highlighted Syesha more than anyone except for David Cook. Unfortunately we had to suffer through Ryan attempting to dance.
Next up is Carly (yeah!) and Michael Johns singing a rockin' version of "The Letter". Jimmy Kimmel then came out and eviscerated Sanjaya (isn't his 15 minutes of fame over with?), Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. Kimmel is a breath of fresh air on that show. He is funny and makes sure no one takes themselves too seriously which is a big chore especially with Simon Cowell around.
Now they made the men perform another lame group number, singing and dancing to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and "Heaven". (It is good to see David Hernandez again, he was kicked off the show much too early.) Hey look it's another 80's artist. Then the man himself came out and sang some song I have never heard of. Then in the most bizarre performance of the night, David Cook sang "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Topp. That was okay but ZZ Topp singing as David Cook's backup band, that was a bit weird. (That makes me wonder wasn't Hanson available to be little david's backup band.)
Then they show the bad contestants, the miserable Alexis Cohen and that guy singing the Moses song. Both of them are so awful that they are hilarious. Then of course they had to have Renaldo come out and sing, "I Am Your Brother". Wasn't that also a little bizarre, they didn't do that for ratings. Renaldo must have some pictures of either Simon or Ryan doing something embarrasing.
Then Archie sang "Apologize" with the original band who sang it. I realized the name of the band is OneRebublic. How appropriate those two sing together as they both will be fading into obscurity soon enough. Then Jordin Sparks took the stage and she was okay. I really like her. Although I would have really liked to see Melinda Doolittle as well. The only Season 6 performers that received screen time on this season's "AI" were Blake Lewis (lame) and Jordin Sparks. Then they had Gladys Knight with "The Pips". BTW "Midnight Train to Georgia" is one of the greatest songs of all-time as well. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. were the Pips, they are promoting their upcoming movie "Tropic Thunder". That was much more tasteful than the lame "Love Guru" promotion. That promo actually made me want to see "The Love Guru" even less and I hadn't been real excited about it anyway.
Then in my personal highlight of the night, Carrie Underwood came on the stage and sang. ("AI" producers give her some money, she can't afford any clothes.) Ms. Underwood is gorgeous and a great singer. (Allegedly Tony Romo was dating her at one time and he gave her up for Jessica Simpson? Oh I understand where the bad karma came from that knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs.) So the song she sang "Last Name", am I the only one who thinks that sounds a lot like "Before He Cheats". While watching her sing I was thinking I would like to see her concert the next time she comes to town.
Then they showed the lame Archie commercial. Surfing the 'net yesterday, I don't know how many Chris Hansen jokes I read in regards to that commercial. Him being in his underwear is very unseemly though, isn't it. The David Cook commercial seemed to be more believeable. The kind of commercials Archie should do are the kind that would appear on Disney Channel.
Then they had to have another 80's artist/ group performance with George Michael. I was disappointed with George Michael, was I the only one?
Now it is time for the big announcement, David Cook is your next "American Idol". In the convincing victory he was gracious as always while archie stammers for something to say. (Reason 6 million and 4 while Archie will never be a big star.) Then David Cook was forced to sing, uh I mean given the excellent song, "This is Your Moment". (The song is okay, but nothing you would want to hear too much. I actually like the other public submitted song he sang better. That song being "Dream Big", that song actually rocks a bit. That is a song that he will now have to live down for the rest of his career and may it be a long career. In a nice touch the other 11 finalists surrounded him as he sang the song. As of this morning David Cook had the top four songs on the iTunes list of singles. On Sunday afternoon he no longer has the top 4 songs, now he has 4 of the top 8 songs. I think we have a star on our hands.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, themusicaddict.
This is my second write up of the "AI" season finale. I was not able to watch it again, but I still have some additional thoughts. Wednesday's show started off with one of those lame group numbers. They have to get rid of these for Season 8. (That is just one of my many reccomendations coming Sunday.) They are always a lowlight of each show. Just look at the dread in the eyes of Amanda and Jason as they have to do those stupid dances. Then talented David and little david came on the stage and sang Chad Kroeger's "Hero". That was pretty good. "The Love Guru" promo was painful for the most part, although him teasing little david about puberty was funny. (Don't worry I am sure his daddy is going to explain it to him.) Also does anyone want to see "The Love Guru", isn't Mike Myers time in the spotlight done yet?
So that was a relatively painful 20 minutes then thankfully it was time for some great performances. Syesha and Seal then came on and sang Seal's song "Waiting For You". First of all I thought Syesha was great and she looks like a star. As long as she does not have Jeff Archuleta manage her career, she will be fine. Seal also sounded good, his voice is so good. That was a great duet. Every time I see Syesha perform I think she can be a really big star. However I wish it would have been a David Cook-Syesha finale. Also Syesha stick with one name, you can be like Bono, Madonna, Prince, Whitney or Mariah in one nameness.
I don't have the show in exact order, somewhere in here Brooke White sang "Teach Your Children" with Graham Nash. That is one of the top 1000 greatest songs of all-time. Brooke absolutely nailed it. (BTW one of Brooke's songs from her previously released CD "Songs In The Addict" is available for free at amazon.com. It will be available until Monday. The song is titled "Come To My Rescue" and it is a pretty good song.) Also I have to add Brooke White's "I Am...I Said" to the list of transcendent songs from this season. One of only three from this season. Although Carly Smithson's "Crazy on You" was pretty good. That was when I started be a big Carly fan.
Then singing one of the three transcendent songs again its Jason Castro. I think his "Hallelujah" was even better the second time. That song deserved to be sang again unlike little david's boring, overcooked "Imagine". That is partially why you lost little david, you are just a niche singer. It is not a niche that is very exciting either. I mean it is the finals take a chance, that is exactly why you will never be a big star. Also take a break from singing and live a little and tell your Dad to piss off. He obviously is too much of a stage parent. One person on ew.com's "Idolatry" called David Archuleta "veal", because he has been prepared from a young age to be a pop star. I thought that not only was funny, but also heartbreaking.
The 6 female contestants had to perform another group number. This time it was to Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money". This is one of the many 80's highlights. (Poor Amanda had to dance again, "AI" producers please stop torturing that women.) Then a disoriented looking Donna Summer came on the stage, she looked like she was really struggling. (Don't mock Donna Summer for being disoriented, it worked for Paula Abdul). Thankfully Syesha came in to save her, she sang the Summer classic better than Summer herself. I think tonight's finale highlighted Syesha more than anyone except for David Cook. Unfortunately we had to suffer through Ryan attempting to dance.
Next up is Carly (yeah!) and Michael Johns singing a rockin' version of "The Letter". Jimmy Kimmel then came out and eviscerated Sanjaya (isn't his 15 minutes of fame over with?), Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. Kimmel is a breath of fresh air on that show. He is funny and makes sure no one takes themselves too seriously which is a big chore especially with Simon Cowell around.
Now they made the men perform another lame group number, singing and dancing to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and "Heaven". (It is good to see David Hernandez again, he was kicked off the show much too early.) Hey look it's another 80's artist. Then the man himself came out and sang some song I have never heard of. Then in the most bizarre performance of the night, David Cook sang "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Topp. That was okay but ZZ Topp singing as David Cook's backup band, that was a bit weird. (That makes me wonder wasn't Hanson available to be little david's backup band.)
Then they show the bad contestants, the miserable Alexis Cohen and that guy singing the Moses song. Both of them are so awful that they are hilarious. Then of course they had to have Renaldo come out and sing, "I Am Your Brother". Wasn't that also a little bizarre, they didn't do that for ratings. Renaldo must have some pictures of either Simon or Ryan doing something embarrasing.
Then Archie sang "Apologize" with the original band who sang it. I realized the name of the band is OneRebublic. How appropriate those two sing together as they both will be fading into obscurity soon enough. Then Jordin Sparks took the stage and she was okay. I really like her. Although I would have really liked to see Melinda Doolittle as well. The only Season 6 performers that received screen time on this season's "AI" were Blake Lewis (lame) and Jordin Sparks. Then they had Gladys Knight with "The Pips". BTW "Midnight Train to Georgia" is one of the greatest songs of all-time as well. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. were the Pips, they are promoting their upcoming movie "Tropic Thunder". That was much more tasteful than the lame "Love Guru" promotion. That promo actually made me want to see "The Love Guru" even less and I hadn't been real excited about it anyway.
Then in my personal highlight of the night, Carrie Underwood came on the stage and sang. ("AI" producers give her some money, she can't afford any clothes.) Ms. Underwood is gorgeous and a great singer. (Allegedly Tony Romo was dating her at one time and he gave her up for Jessica Simpson? Oh I understand where the bad karma came from that knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs.) So the song she sang "Last Name", am I the only one who thinks that sounds a lot like "Before He Cheats". While watching her sing I was thinking I would like to see her concert the next time she comes to town.
Then they showed the lame Archie commercial. Surfing the 'net yesterday, I don't know how many Chris Hansen jokes I read in regards to that commercial. Him being in his underwear is very unseemly though, isn't it. The David Cook commercial seemed to be more believeable. The kind of commercials Archie should do are the kind that would appear on Disney Channel.
Then they had to have another 80's artist/ group performance with George Michael. I was disappointed with George Michael, was I the only one?
Now it is time for the big announcement, David Cook is your next "American Idol". In the convincing victory he was gracious as always while archie stammers for something to say. (Reason 6 million and 4 while Archie will never be a big star.) Then David Cook was forced to sing, uh I mean given the excellent song, "This is Your Moment". (The song is okay, but nothing you would want to hear too much. I actually like the other public submitted song he sang better. That song being "Dream Big", that song actually rocks a bit. That is a song that he will now have to live down for the rest of his career and may it be a long career. In a nice touch the other 11 finalists surrounded him as he sang the song. As of this morning David Cook had the top four songs on the iTunes list of singles. On Sunday afternoon he no longer has the top 4 songs, now he has 4 of the top 8 songs. I think we have a star on our hands.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, themusicaddict.
Friday, May 23, 2008
"AI" Season Finale Review 80's Night.
Hello folks,
This is my first review of the "AI" season finale. Tonight's show started off with one of those lame group numbers. They have to get rid of these for Season 8. (That is just one of my many reccomendations coming Sunday.) They are always a lowlight of each show. Just look at the dread in the eyes of Amanda and Jason as they have to do those stupid dances. Then talented David and little david came on the stage and sang Chad Kroeger's "Hero". That was pretty good. "The Love Guru" promo was painful for the most part, although him teasing little david about puberty was funny. (Don't worry I am sure his daddy is going to explain it to him.)
So that was a relatively painful 20 minutes then thankfully it was time for some great performances. Syesha and Seal then came on and sang Seal's song "Waiting For You". First of all I thought Syesha was great and she looks like a star. Seal also sounded good, his voice is so good. That was a great duet. Every time I see Syesha perform I think she can be a really big star. However I wish it would have been a David Cook-Syesha finale. Also I think Syesha should stick with one name.
I don't have the show in exact order, somewhere in here Brooke White sang "Teach Your Children" with Graham Nash. That has got to be a top 1000 greatest songs of all-time. Brooke absolutely nailed it. (BTW one of Brooke's songs from her previously released CD "Songs In The Addict" is available for free at amazon.com. It will be available until Monday. The song is titled "Come To My Rescue" and it is a pretty good song.) Also I have to add Brooke White's "I Am...I Said" to the list of transcendent songs from this season. One of only three from this season. Although Carly Smithson's "Crazy on You" was pretty good. That was when I started be a big Carly fan.
Then singing of the three transcendent songs again it is Jason Castro. I think his "Hallelujah" was even better the second time. That song deserved be sang again unlike little david's boring, overcooked "Imagine". That is partially why you lost little david, you are just a niche singer. It is not a niche that is very exciting either. I mean it is the finals take a chance, that is exactly why you will never be a big star.
They then gave the Davids their new vehicles. Then the 6 female contestants had to perform another group number. This time it was to Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money". This is one of the many 80's references. (Poor Amanda had to dance again, "AI" producers please stop torturing that women.) Then a disoriented looking Donna Summer came on the stage, she looked like she was really struggling. (Don't mock Donna Summer for being disoriented, it worked for Paula Abdul). Thankfully Syesha came in to save her, she sang the Summer classic better than Summer herself. I think tonight's finale highlighted Syesha more than anyone except for David Cook. Unfortunately we had to suffer through Ryan attempting to dance.
Next up is Carly (yeah!) and Michael Johns singing a rockin' version of "The Letter". Jimmy Kimmel then came out and eviscerated Sanjaya (isn't his 15 minutes of fame over with?), Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. Kimmel is a breath of fresh air on that show. He is funny and makes sure no one takes themselves too seriously which is a big chore especially with Simon Cowell around.
Now they made the men perform another lame group number, singing and dancing to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and "Heaven". (It is good to see David Hernandez again, he was kicked off the show much too early.) Hey look it's another 80's artist. Then the man himself came out and sang some song I have never heard of. Then in the most bizarre performance of the night, David Cook sang "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Topp. That was okay but ZZ Topp singing as David Cook's backup band, that was a bit weird. (That makes me wonder wasn't Hanson available to be little david's backup band.)
Then they show the bad contestants, the miserable Alexis Cohen and that guy singing the Moses song. Both of them are so awful that they are hilarious. Then of course they had to have Renaldo come out and sing, "I Am Your Brother". Wasn't that also a little bizarre, they didn't do that for ratings. Renaldo must have some pictures of either Simon or Ryan doing something embarrasing.
Then Archie sang "Apologize" with the original band who sang it. I am too lazy to look up the name of the original band. Then Jordin Sparks took the stage and she was okay. I really like her. Although I would have really liked to see Melinda Doolittle as well. The only Season 6 performers that received screen time on this season's "AI" were Blake Lewis (lame) and Jordin Sparks. Then they had Gladys Knight with "The Pips". BTW "Midnight Train to Georgia" is one of the greatest songs of all-time as well. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. were the Pips, they are promoting their upcoming movie "Tropic Thunder". That was much more tasteful than the lame "Love Guru" promotion. That promo actually made me want to see "The Love Guru" even less and I wasn't real excited about it anyway.
Then in my personal highlight of the night, Carrie Underwood came on the stage and sang. ("AI" producers give her some money, she can't afford any clothes.) Ms. Underwood is gorgeous and a great singer. (Allegedly Tony Romo was dating her at one time and he gave her up for Jessica Simpson? Oh I understand where the bad karma came from that knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs.) So the song she sang "Last Name", doesn't that sound a lot like "Before He Cheats". While watching her sing I was thinking I would like to see her concert the next time she comes to town.
Then they showed the lame Archie commercial. Surfing the 'net yesterday, I don't know how many Chris Hansen jokes I read in regards to that commercial. Him being in his underwear is very unseemly though, isn't it. The David Cook commercial seemed to be more believeable. The kind of commercials Archie should do are the kind that would appear on Disney Channel.
Then they had to have another 80's artist/ group performance with George Michael. I was disappointed with George Michael, was I the only one?
Now it is time for the big announcement, David Cook is your next "American Idol". In the convincing victory he was gracious as always while archie stammers for something to say. (Reason 6 million and 4 while Archie will never be a big star.) Then David Cook was forced to sing, uh I mean given the excellent song, "This is Your Moment". That is a song that he will now have to live down for the rest of his career and may it be a long career. In a nice touch the other 11 finalists surrounded him as he sang the song. As of this morning David Cook had the top four songs on the iTunes list of singles. I think we may have a star on our hands.
I know I am leaving out some things, so I am going to try and watch the "AI" season finale again. So I will probably be tweaking this post on Sunday. Also on Sunday I have some reccomendations for how "AI" can improve going forward. One reccomendation I would make is to come to Salt Lake City for the tryouts. Singing is such a cultural thing here in Salt Lake City. I then found out that the tryouts will be coming to Salt Lake City, I don't think they will be disappointed.
Have a great weekend, themusicaddict.
This is my first review of the "AI" season finale. Tonight's show started off with one of those lame group numbers. They have to get rid of these for Season 8. (That is just one of my many reccomendations coming Sunday.) They are always a lowlight of each show. Just look at the dread in the eyes of Amanda and Jason as they have to do those stupid dances. Then talented David and little david came on the stage and sang Chad Kroeger's "Hero". That was pretty good. "The Love Guru" promo was painful for the most part, although him teasing little david about puberty was funny. (Don't worry I am sure his daddy is going to explain it to him.)
So that was a relatively painful 20 minutes then thankfully it was time for some great performances. Syesha and Seal then came on and sang Seal's song "Waiting For You". First of all I thought Syesha was great and she looks like a star. Seal also sounded good, his voice is so good. That was a great duet. Every time I see Syesha perform I think she can be a really big star. However I wish it would have been a David Cook-Syesha finale. Also I think Syesha should stick with one name.
I don't have the show in exact order, somewhere in here Brooke White sang "Teach Your Children" with Graham Nash. That has got to be a top 1000 greatest songs of all-time. Brooke absolutely nailed it. (BTW one of Brooke's songs from her previously released CD "Songs In The Addict" is available for free at amazon.com. It will be available until Monday. The song is titled "Come To My Rescue" and it is a pretty good song.) Also I have to add Brooke White's "I Am...I Said" to the list of transcendent songs from this season. One of only three from this season. Although Carly Smithson's "Crazy on You" was pretty good. That was when I started be a big Carly fan.
Then singing of the three transcendent songs again it is Jason Castro. I think his "Hallelujah" was even better the second time. That song deserved be sang again unlike little david's boring, overcooked "Imagine". That is partially why you lost little david, you are just a niche singer. It is not a niche that is very exciting either. I mean it is the finals take a chance, that is exactly why you will never be a big star.
They then gave the Davids their new vehicles. Then the 6 female contestants had to perform another group number. This time it was to Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money". This is one of the many 80's references. (Poor Amanda had to dance again, "AI" producers please stop torturing that women.) Then a disoriented looking Donna Summer came on the stage, she looked like she was really struggling. (Don't mock Donna Summer for being disoriented, it worked for Paula Abdul). Thankfully Syesha came in to save her, she sang the Summer classic better than Summer herself. I think tonight's finale highlighted Syesha more than anyone except for David Cook. Unfortunately we had to suffer through Ryan attempting to dance.
Next up is Carly (yeah!) and Michael Johns singing a rockin' version of "The Letter". Jimmy Kimmel then came out and eviscerated Sanjaya (isn't his 15 minutes of fame over with?), Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. Kimmel is a breath of fresh air on that show. He is funny and makes sure no one takes themselves too seriously which is a big chore especially with Simon Cowell around.
Now they made the men perform another lame group number, singing and dancing to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and "Heaven". (It is good to see David Hernandez again, he was kicked off the show much too early.) Hey look it's another 80's artist. Then the man himself came out and sang some song I have never heard of. Then in the most bizarre performance of the night, David Cook sang "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Topp. That was okay but ZZ Topp singing as David Cook's backup band, that was a bit weird. (That makes me wonder wasn't Hanson available to be little david's backup band.)
Then they show the bad contestants, the miserable Alexis Cohen and that guy singing the Moses song. Both of them are so awful that they are hilarious. Then of course they had to have Renaldo come out and sing, "I Am Your Brother". Wasn't that also a little bizarre, they didn't do that for ratings. Renaldo must have some pictures of either Simon or Ryan doing something embarrasing.
Then Archie sang "Apologize" with the original band who sang it. I am too lazy to look up the name of the original band. Then Jordin Sparks took the stage and she was okay. I really like her. Although I would have really liked to see Melinda Doolittle as well. The only Season 6 performers that received screen time on this season's "AI" were Blake Lewis (lame) and Jordin Sparks. Then they had Gladys Knight with "The Pips". BTW "Midnight Train to Georgia" is one of the greatest songs of all-time as well. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. were the Pips, they are promoting their upcoming movie "Tropic Thunder". That was much more tasteful than the lame "Love Guru" promotion. That promo actually made me want to see "The Love Guru" even less and I wasn't real excited about it anyway.
Then in my personal highlight of the night, Carrie Underwood came on the stage and sang. ("AI" producers give her some money, she can't afford any clothes.) Ms. Underwood is gorgeous and a great singer. (Allegedly Tony Romo was dating her at one time and he gave her up for Jessica Simpson? Oh I understand where the bad karma came from that knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs.) So the song she sang "Last Name", doesn't that sound a lot like "Before He Cheats". While watching her sing I was thinking I would like to see her concert the next time she comes to town.
Then they showed the lame Archie commercial. Surfing the 'net yesterday, I don't know how many Chris Hansen jokes I read in regards to that commercial. Him being in his underwear is very unseemly though, isn't it. The David Cook commercial seemed to be more believeable. The kind of commercials Archie should do are the kind that would appear on Disney Channel.
Then they had to have another 80's artist/ group performance with George Michael. I was disappointed with George Michael, was I the only one?
Now it is time for the big announcement, David Cook is your next "American Idol". In the convincing victory he was gracious as always while archie stammers for something to say. (Reason 6 million and 4 while Archie will never be a big star.) Then David Cook was forced to sing, uh I mean given the excellent song, "This is Your Moment". That is a song that he will now have to live down for the rest of his career and may it be a long career. In a nice touch the other 11 finalists surrounded him as he sang the song. As of this morning David Cook had the top four songs on the iTunes list of singles. I think we may have a star on our hands.
I know I am leaving out some things, so I am going to try and watch the "AI" season finale again. So I will probably be tweaking this post on Sunday. Also on Sunday I have some reccomendations for how "AI" can improve going forward. One reccomendation I would make is to come to Salt Lake City for the tryouts. Singing is such a cultural thing here in Salt Lake City. I then found out that the tryouts will be coming to Salt Lake City, I don't think they will be disappointed.
Have a great weekend, themusicaddict.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Twelve Million Votes!
Hello,
Was that a butt kicking last night or what. If you don't know, David Cook destroyed TCWNCBM by 12 million votes in the "American Idol" finale. TCWNCBM could not even win with the judges pimping him all season. (Also nice back pedaling Simon.)
So obviously to me the right person won, David Cook has the potential to be an all-time "American Idol" great. (In an Entertainment Weekly.com poll, 82% voted that the right David won.) I predict he will quickly pass the other two male contestant winners in sales. For those of you who forgot they are Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard. Although he will be hard pressed to pass Daughtry, which is not a negative to Mr. Cook in the least. Meanwhile TCWNCBM can now begin into his fade into obscurity. I hope he enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame. I sure didn't. Coming Sunday my season finale review of AI.
Also David Cook, just one word of warning, Jordin Sparks debut CD was the lowest selling debut by an "American Idol" champ. The "AI" juggernaut is starting to falter.
Sparks only sold 170,336 copies of her debut CD in it's first two weeks in release. In comparison, The Eagles sold 1,764,613 copies of their new release, "Long Road Out of Eden". Not only that but for the first weeks it was on sale, it was only available at Wal Mart. (Thanks to Billboard magazine for that information.)
Also here is a review of the 11th place finishers of "AI". Season One: Again they only have the Top 10 listed. Season Two: Charles Grigsby, I have never heard of him. Season Three: Matthew Rogers: I had not heard of him until last night. I think he was the goof in SLC with TCWNCBM's fans. Season Four: Mikalah Gordon, She was the one in Kansas City with David Cook's hometown fans. (It's nice that "AI" continues to give their former contestants jobs.) Season Five: Kevin Covais, I don't know anything about him. Season Six: Stephanie Edwards, I think she is great. I have not heard if she has anything in the works, but she was one of the better singers from last season. Season Seven: Amanda Overmyer, I love her and it was good to see her tonight. She hasn't done anything as of yet, she doesn't even qualify for the "AI" tour. I am hoping they don't make her do anymore with "AI" because she is so over them. I think both she and Jason Castro should make future contestants wonder do they really want to do everything they have to do to be on "American Idol"?
Here are some quick CD reviews. All 4 of these CD's I was able to listen to the album streams through pastemagazine.com. I am ranking them in order of quality starting with the best CD. The first CD is Black Keys "Attack and Release". This is a great CD and I would highly reccomend you add it your collection. I am listening to their excellent song now, "10:00am Automatic". If you want to check them out and not pay anything, you can listen to them at download.com. They have 5 or 6 songs you can download. The second best CD is "America" by Romantica. This is good, but not a great CD. This CD does have a few great songs on it though. Next is Arrested Development's "Since The Last Time". Again this is a pretty solid CD, but not great.
Finally the fourth CD is Colour Revolt's "Plunder, Beg and Curse". This is an okay CD, it is not a necessity for a high quality CD collection.
Also here is the current list of songs rocking, or countrying, my iPod. 1) "Challengers"- New Pornographers 2) "Against All Odds"- Ramiele Malubuy. I know that she received a lot of criticism from the judges for this song, but I absolutely love her version of this song. This song also has one of my all-time favorite lyrics, "You are the only one who really knew me at all". That just adds an extra twinge of sadness to the song. 3) "Sorry, Sorry"- Rooney. A very underappreciated band. 4) "Wake Up Bomb"- R.E.M. One of their more obscure songs, but a great song anyway. 5) "Camouflage"- Stan Ridgway. (To continue the Vietnam theme, I would also reccomend Paul Hardcastle's "19".) 6) "Mabel"- Goldfinger An obscure but great song. 7) "Who Made Who"- the great AC/DC 8) Further On (Up The Road)- Bruce Sprinsteen 9) "Strangelove"- Depeche Mode 10) "Alive Again"- Chicago. This is such a great song, I had forgotten how good it is. 11) "Down in the Neighborhood"- Marcia Ball 12) "He Stopped Loving Her Today"- George Jones 13) "Baby Hold On"- Dixie Chicks 14) "Something Left to Say"- Roman Candle 15) "Before He Cheats"- Carrie Underwood (Didn't she look great last night on "AI", although what was up with that commercial of hers?)
That's all I have for today, I'll be back on Sunday. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. themusicaddict
P.S. Brittani Spears is back in the recording studio, I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Just as long as it is not toxic!
Was that a butt kicking last night or what. If you don't know, David Cook destroyed TCWNCBM by 12 million votes in the "American Idol" finale. TCWNCBM could not even win with the judges pimping him all season. (Also nice back pedaling Simon.)
So obviously to me the right person won, David Cook has the potential to be an all-time "American Idol" great. (In an Entertainment Weekly.com poll, 82% voted that the right David won.) I predict he will quickly pass the other two male contestant winners in sales. For those of you who forgot they are Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard. Although he will be hard pressed to pass Daughtry, which is not a negative to Mr. Cook in the least. Meanwhile TCWNCBM can now begin into his fade into obscurity. I hope he enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame. I sure didn't. Coming Sunday my season finale review of AI.
Also David Cook, just one word of warning, Jordin Sparks debut CD was the lowest selling debut by an "American Idol" champ. The "AI" juggernaut is starting to falter.
Sparks only sold 170,336 copies of her debut CD in it's first two weeks in release. In comparison, The Eagles sold 1,764,613 copies of their new release, "Long Road Out of Eden". Not only that but for the first weeks it was on sale, it was only available at Wal Mart. (Thanks to Billboard magazine for that information.)
Also here is a review of the 11th place finishers of "AI". Season One: Again they only have the Top 10 listed. Season Two: Charles Grigsby, I have never heard of him. Season Three: Matthew Rogers: I had not heard of him until last night. I think he was the goof in SLC with TCWNCBM's fans. Season Four: Mikalah Gordon, She was the one in Kansas City with David Cook's hometown fans. (It's nice that "AI" continues to give their former contestants jobs.) Season Five: Kevin Covais, I don't know anything about him. Season Six: Stephanie Edwards, I think she is great. I have not heard if she has anything in the works, but she was one of the better singers from last season. Season Seven: Amanda Overmyer, I love her and it was good to see her tonight. She hasn't done anything as of yet, she doesn't even qualify for the "AI" tour. I am hoping they don't make her do anymore with "AI" because she is so over them. I think both she and Jason Castro should make future contestants wonder do they really want to do everything they have to do to be on "American Idol"?
Here are some quick CD reviews. All 4 of these CD's I was able to listen to the album streams through pastemagazine.com. I am ranking them in order of quality starting with the best CD. The first CD is Black Keys "Attack and Release". This is a great CD and I would highly reccomend you add it your collection. I am listening to their excellent song now, "10:00am Automatic". If you want to check them out and not pay anything, you can listen to them at download.com. They have 5 or 6 songs you can download. The second best CD is "America" by Romantica. This is good, but not a great CD. This CD does have a few great songs on it though. Next is Arrested Development's "Since The Last Time". Again this is a pretty solid CD, but not great.
Finally the fourth CD is Colour Revolt's "Plunder, Beg and Curse". This is an okay CD, it is not a necessity for a high quality CD collection.
Also here is the current list of songs rocking, or countrying, my iPod. 1) "Challengers"- New Pornographers 2) "Against All Odds"- Ramiele Malubuy. I know that she received a lot of criticism from the judges for this song, but I absolutely love her version of this song. This song also has one of my all-time favorite lyrics, "You are the only one who really knew me at all". That just adds an extra twinge of sadness to the song. 3) "Sorry, Sorry"- Rooney. A very underappreciated band. 4) "Wake Up Bomb"- R.E.M. One of their more obscure songs, but a great song anyway. 5) "Camouflage"- Stan Ridgway. (To continue the Vietnam theme, I would also reccomend Paul Hardcastle's "19".) 6) "Mabel"- Goldfinger An obscure but great song. 7) "Who Made Who"- the great AC/DC 8) Further On (Up The Road)- Bruce Sprinsteen 9) "Strangelove"- Depeche Mode 10) "Alive Again"- Chicago. This is such a great song, I had forgotten how good it is. 11) "Down in the Neighborhood"- Marcia Ball 12) "He Stopped Loving Her Today"- George Jones 13) "Baby Hold On"- Dixie Chicks 14) "Something Left to Say"- Roman Candle 15) "Before He Cheats"- Carrie Underwood (Didn't she look great last night on "AI", although what was up with that commercial of hers?)
That's all I have for today, I'll be back on Sunday. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. themusicaddict
P.S. Brittani Spears is back in the recording studio, I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Just as long as it is not toxic!
Monday, May 19, 2008
"Guitar Hero", "AI" Analysis
Hello,
My son received "Guitar Hero 3" yesterday for his birthday. So he installed it and we all took turns playing it. I kind of get the hype now, it is fun to play. I was reminded of my complete lack of talent on guitar. But it is still fun to live out my rock star fantasies a little. I played "Barracuda" as well as I could. Also by playing this game, I received a different insight into these songs. So that is kind of cool as well.
A couple of quick "AI" notes. I reviewed the AI contestants the top 12 over all 7 seasons. After breaking this down, I was surprised how few of these contestants have gone on to do something meaningful. I also am stretching meaningful out to include quite a few things. Starting with #12 I am going to break down who has been the most successful contestant to finish at that posistion. In season one, there are only the final 10 listed. So here are your 12th place contestants and their level of success, this is in no particular order. Season 2: Vanessa Olivarez: I have never heard of her. Season 3: Leah Labelle: I have never heard of her. Season 4: Lindsey Cardinale: I have never heard of her. Season 5: Melissa McGhee: I have never heard of her. Season 6: Brandon Rogers: I only really started watching "AI" show last season. I vaguely remember him and what I remember is that he is lame. Season 7: David Hernandez: I really like him, I think he has a really cool voice. I think he would have gone a lot further if those gay stripping rumors hadn't come out. He is one of my top 6 favorite singers from this season. (David Cook, Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Kristy Lee Cook and Amanda Overmyer are the others.) I even bought his "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", his rendition is very good. If he gets in with the right people, I think he could have a good career. Next blog a relatively uninspiring eleventh place contestants.
Also after hearing how Jordin Sparks is facing all sorts of throat problems, possibly brought on needing to over promote "AI" once the season is over, I am now hoping TCWNCBM wins the whole thing. (Rumors are that Sparks may never sing again, I really hope those rumors are false.) He seems like a nice kid, but he is not a performer. So if "AI" has to burn out someone, let them burn out the very boring and uninspiring TCWNCBM. I really think David Cook could be one of the Top Ten best selling contestants. (That is not really saying much.)
until next time, themusicaddict
My son received "Guitar Hero 3" yesterday for his birthday. So he installed it and we all took turns playing it. I kind of get the hype now, it is fun to play. I was reminded of my complete lack of talent on guitar. But it is still fun to live out my rock star fantasies a little. I played "Barracuda" as well as I could. Also by playing this game, I received a different insight into these songs. So that is kind of cool as well.
A couple of quick "AI" notes. I reviewed the AI contestants the top 12 over all 7 seasons. After breaking this down, I was surprised how few of these contestants have gone on to do something meaningful. I also am stretching meaningful out to include quite a few things. Starting with #12 I am going to break down who has been the most successful contestant to finish at that posistion. In season one, there are only the final 10 listed. So here are your 12th place contestants and their level of success, this is in no particular order. Season 2: Vanessa Olivarez: I have never heard of her. Season 3: Leah Labelle: I have never heard of her. Season 4: Lindsey Cardinale: I have never heard of her. Season 5: Melissa McGhee: I have never heard of her. Season 6: Brandon Rogers: I only really started watching "AI" show last season. I vaguely remember him and what I remember is that he is lame. Season 7: David Hernandez: I really like him, I think he has a really cool voice. I think he would have gone a lot further if those gay stripping rumors hadn't come out. He is one of my top 6 favorite singers from this season. (David Cook, Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Kristy Lee Cook and Amanda Overmyer are the others.) I even bought his "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", his rendition is very good. If he gets in with the right people, I think he could have a good career. Next blog a relatively uninspiring eleventh place contestants.
Also after hearing how Jordin Sparks is facing all sorts of throat problems, possibly brought on needing to over promote "AI" once the season is over, I am now hoping TCWNCBM wins the whole thing. (Rumors are that Sparks may never sing again, I really hope those rumors are false.) He seems like a nice kid, but he is not a performer. So if "AI" has to burn out someone, let them burn out the very boring and uninspiring TCWNCBM. I really think David Cook could be one of the Top Ten best selling contestants. (That is not really saying much.)
until next time, themusicaddict
Sunday, May 18, 2008
R.E.M. "Accelerate" review part 2
So in part 1 of this post I reviewed the first 5 songs. In this post I will review the 6th through 17th songs.
The sixth song off this CD is the title track, "Accelerate". Out of the 6 songs so far 5 songs are straight ahead rockers. (Did I mention that R.E.M. is back?) Then for the seventh song we go to "Until The Day Is Done". This is the most mellow song on the CD so far. It is not quite a ballad but a very sweet song. The next song is "Mr. Richards". From the lyrics I don't know who Mr. Richards is, but whoever he is he really mesed up. Stipe repeats the refrain several times, "We know what's going on." Just like the first three songs of this CD have a theme, all of them are straight ahead rockers, the seventh through ninth songs also have a theme. All of these songs are bleak. There is a feeling of nervousness for the future. At the 2:40 mark of the third song "Sing for the Submarine" the song picks up a bit. In this song Stipe sings about, "These dreams seem real to me". The submarine is where he keeps his fearful feelings, is he alluding to the unconscious of his psyche? Then for the 10th song, it is back to the rockers with the very short rocker, "Horse To Water".
With the members of R.E.M. closing in on their 50's, they are certianly thinking about death and their dread of a bleak future. That being said that doesn't mean they can't have fun as the world falls apart around them. Another rocker, lyrically very similar, to "It's The End of the World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine" is "I'm Going To DJ". This is what Stipe sings in this song, "Death is pretty final, I'm collecting vinyl. I am going to DJ at the end of the world." Then here is where the fun part comes in, again Stipe sings, "I'm not going to go until I am good and ready".
Then the twelveth to seventeenth songs are all non-album tracks. Apparantally they have not had good luck with red heads, because they are very bitter in "Redhead Walking". It is certainly a different feeling then when Bruce Springsteen sings about his red-headed women. Another non-album track is the instrumental song, "Airliner". It has sort of a Los Straitjackets feeling to it. Then the final four songs are live live cuts that are pretty much note for note renditions of the album tracks. The four live tracks are "Horse To Water", "Living Well is the Best Revenge", "Until The Day is Done", and "Supernatural Serious". Again nothing new is really added by any of these songs, but they are a nice addition. Although listening to the live version of "Until The Day Is Done" made me think of how much of a feel for early R.E.M. that it has.
So for both non-R.E.M. and R.E.M. fans I would highly reccomend this CD. I give it a rating of 4-and-a-half out of five stars.
Then just a few random notes. I finally found out when Jennifer Hudson's first CD comes out, it will be released in September. It has been 4 years since her "AI" run and this is her first CD. Also she is appearing in the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie. So listen for her song, "Apotlight". A couple of other "AI" notes, Taylor Hicks will be on Broadway in "Grease". Apparantally he will be playing the Frankie Valli role. I think this is the kind of career that TCWNCBM will have. I don't think either will ever be a big star, they will just drift around on the periphery of the entertainment business. But hey that's better than a "real job".
I also read something funny, I would mention the source, but I can't remember where I read it. Someone has predicted that TCWNCBM, if he wins, will be the most successful male "AI" winner ever. I thought that was funny as that means his competition is Taylor Hicks and Ruben Stoddard. Both of those musicians haven't really tore up the entertainment industry since they won. In fact easily the most successful male "AI" contestant is Daughtry. Out of all musicians, he sold the most CD's in 2007. Not only did he get a lot of sales, but that is actually a pretty good CD. If David Cook is smart, he could have that same kind of career. In fact I think "winning" would be a hindrance for him. In the last poll I saw TCWNCBM leads David Cook 60% to 40% in who they think will win. Once it is over I am going to my best never to mention TCWNCBM ever again. I will let Teen Beat handle that.
Songs that have been rocking my iPod. 1) "One"- Creed. (I know they are mocked by many in the rock industry, but they have many great songs.) 2) "Shut Up"- Black Eyed Peas. This is one of those great songs that runs about a minute too long. 3) "The Kid Is Hot Tonight"- Loverboy. One of the all-time great 80's bands. 4) "Not Coming Home (Live)" Maroon 5. Although I thought they sucked on "American Idol". and 5) "Creepin' Up the Backstairs"- The Fratellis. This is a great band who has not received much publicity. I highly reccomend you get their great first CD, "Costello Music". Anyway that's it for now, I will be back tomorrow. themusicaddict
P.S. I know this is a music blog, but I am going to go and try to see "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls" this week. If I do I will give you a quick review. I am very excited to see this movie. Peace
The sixth song off this CD is the title track, "Accelerate". Out of the 6 songs so far 5 songs are straight ahead rockers. (Did I mention that R.E.M. is back?) Then for the seventh song we go to "Until The Day Is Done". This is the most mellow song on the CD so far. It is not quite a ballad but a very sweet song. The next song is "Mr. Richards". From the lyrics I don't know who Mr. Richards is, but whoever he is he really mesed up. Stipe repeats the refrain several times, "We know what's going on." Just like the first three songs of this CD have a theme, all of them are straight ahead rockers, the seventh through ninth songs also have a theme. All of these songs are bleak. There is a feeling of nervousness for the future. At the 2:40 mark of the third song "Sing for the Submarine" the song picks up a bit. In this song Stipe sings about, "These dreams seem real to me". The submarine is where he keeps his fearful feelings, is he alluding to the unconscious of his psyche? Then for the 10th song, it is back to the rockers with the very short rocker, "Horse To Water".
With the members of R.E.M. closing in on their 50's, they are certianly thinking about death and their dread of a bleak future. That being said that doesn't mean they can't have fun as the world falls apart around them. Another rocker, lyrically very similar, to "It's The End of the World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine" is "I'm Going To DJ". This is what Stipe sings in this song, "Death is pretty final, I'm collecting vinyl. I am going to DJ at the end of the world." Then here is where the fun part comes in, again Stipe sings, "I'm not going to go until I am good and ready".
Then the twelveth to seventeenth songs are all non-album tracks. Apparantally they have not had good luck with red heads, because they are very bitter in "Redhead Walking". It is certainly a different feeling then when Bruce Springsteen sings about his red-headed women. Another non-album track is the instrumental song, "Airliner". It has sort of a Los Straitjackets feeling to it. Then the final four songs are live live cuts that are pretty much note for note renditions of the album tracks. The four live tracks are "Horse To Water", "Living Well is the Best Revenge", "Until The Day is Done", and "Supernatural Serious". Again nothing new is really added by any of these songs, but they are a nice addition. Although listening to the live version of "Until The Day Is Done" made me think of how much of a feel for early R.E.M. that it has.
So for both non-R.E.M. and R.E.M. fans I would highly reccomend this CD. I give it a rating of 4-and-a-half out of five stars.
Then just a few random notes. I finally found out when Jennifer Hudson's first CD comes out, it will be released in September. It has been 4 years since her "AI" run and this is her first CD. Also she is appearing in the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie. So listen for her song, "Apotlight". A couple of other "AI" notes, Taylor Hicks will be on Broadway in "Grease". Apparantally he will be playing the Frankie Valli role. I think this is the kind of career that TCWNCBM will have. I don't think either will ever be a big star, they will just drift around on the periphery of the entertainment business. But hey that's better than a "real job".
I also read something funny, I would mention the source, but I can't remember where I read it. Someone has predicted that TCWNCBM, if he wins, will be the most successful male "AI" winner ever. I thought that was funny as that means his competition is Taylor Hicks and Ruben Stoddard. Both of those musicians haven't really tore up the entertainment industry since they won. In fact easily the most successful male "AI" contestant is Daughtry. Out of all musicians, he sold the most CD's in 2007. Not only did he get a lot of sales, but that is actually a pretty good CD. If David Cook is smart, he could have that same kind of career. In fact I think "winning" would be a hindrance for him. In the last poll I saw TCWNCBM leads David Cook 60% to 40% in who they think will win. Once it is over I am going to my best never to mention TCWNCBM ever again. I will let Teen Beat handle that.
Songs that have been rocking my iPod. 1) "One"- Creed. (I know they are mocked by many in the rock industry, but they have many great songs.) 2) "Shut Up"- Black Eyed Peas. This is one of those great songs that runs about a minute too long. 3) "The Kid Is Hot Tonight"- Loverboy. One of the all-time great 80's bands. 4) "Not Coming Home (Live)" Maroon 5. Although I thought they sucked on "American Idol". and 5) "Creepin' Up the Backstairs"- The Fratellis. This is a great band who has not received much publicity. I highly reccomend you get their great first CD, "Costello Music". Anyway that's it for now, I will be back tomorrow. themusicaddict
P.S. I know this is a music blog, but I am going to go and try to see "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls" this week. If I do I will give you a quick review. I am very excited to see this movie. Peace
Friday, May 16, 2008
Review of REM's "Accelerate"
Hello folks,
Currently I have this job where I have a lot of downtime in which I can pretty much do whatever what I want. I do a lot of reading and listening to music and if my laptop wasn't 100 years old I could also bring that with me.
Last night I listened to the newest R.E.M. CD and I have to tell you its pretty good. Let me get my bias out of the way I am a humongous fan of R.E.M. I have loved them since the late 80s. It took me a few years to catch on to how good they were back in the day. Their last 3 or 4 CD's have been not very good. I thought their career as relevant music artists was over. However this CD is their best work in at least 10 years. I am reviewing the R.E.M. "Accelerate" CD available on iTunes. It is the extended CD with a total of 17 tracks.
First of all let me say this is considerably better than the recent NIN CD "The Slip". To show that they are back, R.E.M. starts off this CD with three straight rockers: "Living Well Is The Best Revenge", "Man Sized Wreath", and the first single, "Supernatural Serious". All three of these songs rawk! That is something that has been sorely missing from them for the last several years. "Man Sized Wreath" is a political rant of some kind, but I am not exactly sure against what. Is is against Bush? At the end Stipe ends the song singing the refrain, "Give me some". Some of what I am not sure of. Then the third song in this streak is "Supenatural Serious". I had never really listened to the lyrics before, the song sounds like it is about summer camp. Stipe repeats the line about "the humiliation about your teenage station." Then at the end of the song he is singing about the "celebration of your teenage station". I will have to get a therapist to explain that to me.
On their fourth song on this CD, R.E.M. sings "Hollow Man". They slow it down a bit but still rock during the chorus. Again this is another very cool song. "Hollow Man" actually found its way on to my iPod and only the best songs get on my iPod. The CD then moves on to "Houston". This is a short song, a sort of mellow rocker. It is seemingly about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Government's lack of quick and proper response to it. The song starts off with the lyric, "If the storm doesn't kill me, the government will". Then Stipe sings, "I've got to get that out of my head". So while that part of the song is tragic, it is also a song of hope as the song talks about the coffee is good and he finally got a good night's sleep.
Part 2 of this review coming Sunday.
Currently I have this job where I have a lot of downtime in which I can pretty much do whatever what I want. I do a lot of reading and listening to music and if my laptop wasn't 100 years old I could also bring that with me.
Last night I listened to the newest R.E.M. CD and I have to tell you its pretty good. Let me get my bias out of the way I am a humongous fan of R.E.M. I have loved them since the late 80s. It took me a few years to catch on to how good they were back in the day. Their last 3 or 4 CD's have been not very good. I thought their career as relevant music artists was over. However this CD is their best work in at least 10 years. I am reviewing the R.E.M. "Accelerate" CD available on iTunes. It is the extended CD with a total of 17 tracks.
First of all let me say this is considerably better than the recent NIN CD "The Slip". To show that they are back, R.E.M. starts off this CD with three straight rockers: "Living Well Is The Best Revenge", "Man Sized Wreath", and the first single, "Supernatural Serious". All three of these songs rawk! That is something that has been sorely missing from them for the last several years. "Man Sized Wreath" is a political rant of some kind, but I am not exactly sure against what. Is is against Bush? At the end Stipe ends the song singing the refrain, "Give me some". Some of what I am not sure of. Then the third song in this streak is "Supenatural Serious". I had never really listened to the lyrics before, the song sounds like it is about summer camp. Stipe repeats the line about "the humiliation about your teenage station." Then at the end of the song he is singing about the "celebration of your teenage station". I will have to get a therapist to explain that to me.
On their fourth song on this CD, R.E.M. sings "Hollow Man". They slow it down a bit but still rock during the chorus. Again this is another very cool song. "Hollow Man" actually found its way on to my iPod and only the best songs get on my iPod. The CD then moves on to "Houston". This is a short song, a sort of mellow rocker. It is seemingly about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Government's lack of quick and proper response to it. The song starts off with the lyric, "If the storm doesn't kill me, the government will". Then Stipe sings, "I've got to get that out of my head". So while that part of the song is tragic, it is also a song of hope as the song talks about the coffee is good and he finally got a good night's sleep.
Part 2 of this review coming Sunday.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
"AI" updates, Happy Birthday Trevor
Hello,
First things first. Today my oldest child turns 12. It is hard to believe we have a 12 year old. Happy Birthday Trevor!
As you well know by now, the finale has been set for "AI". As many people have predicted for several weeks now it will be David Cook vs. TCWNCBM. It will be the talented singer who arranges song and will go on to have a successful post-Idol career David Cook. I like his version of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" much better than either Aerosmith or Mark Chesnutt's version. He will be going against TCWNCBM who will sing his songs in his normal dreary style. Also remember next week one of the songs they will be forced to sing is the songwriting winner of all the submittals to "AI". According to EW.com, the 20 final songs for this honor blow. I would listen to them for you but I can't handle that much crap music at one time. Speaking of crap music one post-Idol CD I will not be buying is TCWNCBM's CD. I will give a review of it now with it not even being made. A bunch of mid-tempo songs sung by one of the most boring "AI" contestants ever. Or as I like to call him Taylor Hicks Jr. If you don't know who Taylor Hicks is, that's my point.
I am looking forward to the first post-Idol CD's by David Cook, Syesha Mercado, (Please don't try to turn her into Mariah Carey, she has an Alicia Keys vibe. Also don't make her sing any more songs from animated movies.) Carly Smithson, Alexandrea Lushington and Kristy Lee Cook. I think CD's by Jason Castro, Brooke White and David Hernandez all could be really great or really bad. (Please whatever you do, don't beatbox.) Also I am still waiting for those first post-Idol Cd's by Jennifer Hudson and Melinda Doolittle.
One final note about last night's "AI", did Fantasia remind anyone else of Dennis Rodman. She kind of looks like him, her herky jerky attempts to dance and that butt ugly hair color. Uhh! Okay enough ranting.
Other music news, one of my all-time favorite Broadway plays is coming to an end. After 12 years of riveting performances, "Rent" will close on June 1st. This play launched the career of Taye Diggs and "Law and Order's" own Jesse L. Martin. The play is great and the music is great. The movie is good and they really rock up all the songs for the movie. Definitely see it on Broadway if you can though.
Here's some other tidbits: I heard the new Motley Crue song "Saints of Los Angeles" the other day. It is a good song but it is also very derivitive of their mid-80's output. However it is good to welcome the Crue back, we need some kick butt rock music in this hip hop era. Also I have never been a big fan of Beyonce, but one song she does really well is "Listen". This is a song from the "Dreamgirls" soundtrack. She really sings it well. If you don't want to buy the whole CD, you should at least download this song. The whole soundtrack is pretty good though. I was a bit bored by the actual movie, although Jennifer Hudson ruled. She deserved her Oscar for that movie.
Upcoming CD releases: This past week, Death Cab for Cutie released their latest CD "Narrow Stairs". From the first single I heard off this CD, I don't hold out high hopes for this CD. If you have an interest in Death Cab buy their excellent CD, "Transatlantism". On May 20th Green Day finally return with their follow up to "American Idiot". Except for this CD they are calling themselves Foxboro Hottubs. The name of the CD is "Stop, Drop and Roll". Also on May 20th Scarlett Johansen is releasing a CD, yes that Scarlett Johansen. The movie star is covering several of Tom Waits songs, the title is "Anywhere I Lay My Head".
On June 10th Alanis returns with "Flavors of Entanglement". Also sometimes Wallflowers singer Jakob Dylan releases his solo CD that day. It is titled "Seeing Things". Also my favorite title of the summer CD's, Martha Wainwright's "I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too". On June 17th Coldplay return (yawn) with "Viva La Vida". Even though I like the first single, "Violet Hill", I only want that CD if Gwyneth Paltrow delivers it personally to me free. Also on June 17th the Offspring return (remember them) with "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". I guess that answers the question that almost no one is asking, "Whatever happened to the Offspring?"
Finally on June 17th, the Crue roll back into your life with the CD "Saints of Los Angeles". I will be buying this CD on the first day it is available and will have a review of it. Also Weezer has another self-titled CD coming out that day. Although the nickname for this CD is the Red Album.
Upcoming a review of REM's "Accelerate" and also songs that are rocking my iPod. Until tomorrow, themusicaddict.
First things first. Today my oldest child turns 12. It is hard to believe we have a 12 year old. Happy Birthday Trevor!
As you well know by now, the finale has been set for "AI". As many people have predicted for several weeks now it will be David Cook vs. TCWNCBM. It will be the talented singer who arranges song and will go on to have a successful post-Idol career David Cook. I like his version of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" much better than either Aerosmith or Mark Chesnutt's version. He will be going against TCWNCBM who will sing his songs in his normal dreary style. Also remember next week one of the songs they will be forced to sing is the songwriting winner of all the submittals to "AI". According to EW.com, the 20 final songs for this honor blow. I would listen to them for you but I can't handle that much crap music at one time. Speaking of crap music one post-Idol CD I will not be buying is TCWNCBM's CD. I will give a review of it now with it not even being made. A bunch of mid-tempo songs sung by one of the most boring "AI" contestants ever. Or as I like to call him Taylor Hicks Jr. If you don't know who Taylor Hicks is, that's my point.
I am looking forward to the first post-Idol CD's by David Cook, Syesha Mercado, (Please don't try to turn her into Mariah Carey, she has an Alicia Keys vibe. Also don't make her sing any more songs from animated movies.) Carly Smithson, Alexandrea Lushington and Kristy Lee Cook. I think CD's by Jason Castro, Brooke White and David Hernandez all could be really great or really bad. (Please whatever you do, don't beatbox.) Also I am still waiting for those first post-Idol Cd's by Jennifer Hudson and Melinda Doolittle.
One final note about last night's "AI", did Fantasia remind anyone else of Dennis Rodman. She kind of looks like him, her herky jerky attempts to dance and that butt ugly hair color. Uhh! Okay enough ranting.
Other music news, one of my all-time favorite Broadway plays is coming to an end. After 12 years of riveting performances, "Rent" will close on June 1st. This play launched the career of Taye Diggs and "Law and Order's" own Jesse L. Martin. The play is great and the music is great. The movie is good and they really rock up all the songs for the movie. Definitely see it on Broadway if you can though.
Here's some other tidbits: I heard the new Motley Crue song "Saints of Los Angeles" the other day. It is a good song but it is also very derivitive of their mid-80's output. However it is good to welcome the Crue back, we need some kick butt rock music in this hip hop era. Also I have never been a big fan of Beyonce, but one song she does really well is "Listen". This is a song from the "Dreamgirls" soundtrack. She really sings it well. If you don't want to buy the whole CD, you should at least download this song. The whole soundtrack is pretty good though. I was a bit bored by the actual movie, although Jennifer Hudson ruled. She deserved her Oscar for that movie.
Upcoming CD releases: This past week, Death Cab for Cutie released their latest CD "Narrow Stairs". From the first single I heard off this CD, I don't hold out high hopes for this CD. If you have an interest in Death Cab buy their excellent CD, "Transatlantism". On May 20th Green Day finally return with their follow up to "American Idiot". Except for this CD they are calling themselves Foxboro Hottubs. The name of the CD is "Stop, Drop and Roll". Also on May 20th Scarlett Johansen is releasing a CD, yes that Scarlett Johansen. The movie star is covering several of Tom Waits songs, the title is "Anywhere I Lay My Head".
On June 10th Alanis returns with "Flavors of Entanglement". Also sometimes Wallflowers singer Jakob Dylan releases his solo CD that day. It is titled "Seeing Things". Also my favorite title of the summer CD's, Martha Wainwright's "I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too". On June 17th Coldplay return (yawn) with "Viva La Vida". Even though I like the first single, "Violet Hill", I only want that CD if Gwyneth Paltrow delivers it personally to me free. Also on June 17th the Offspring return (remember them) with "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace". I guess that answers the question that almost no one is asking, "Whatever happened to the Offspring?"
Finally on June 17th, the Crue roll back into your life with the CD "Saints of Los Angeles". I will be buying this CD on the first day it is available and will have a review of it. Also Weezer has another self-titled CD coming out that day. Although the nickname for this CD is the Red Album.
Upcoming a review of REM's "Accelerate" and also songs that are rocking my iPod. Until tomorrow, themusicaddict.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
I'm back!
Hello fine folks,
Well it has been a very sad week at themusicaddict's house this week. Yesterday we had the funeral for my sister-in-law. She was 25 years old and left behind two little daughters: 18 months and 3 months. Luckily they have a good Dad and a strong support system, so they will be fine. It just is so sad to me that Ashley was such a good mother. Now she and her two daughters are going to go without all those wonderful experiences they would have had together the next several years. Rest in peace. Nathan if you need anything just give us a call. Our prayers are with you.
So there have been some things going on in the music world this past week. First we will deal with all the "American Idol" stuff first. As I am sure you have already heard TCWCBN's puppetmaster, uh I mean Dad, has had his backstage pass revoked. Apparantally he was being too meddlesome. So what will he do without the backing of his daddy. We only have three contestants left and they each will be singing 3 songs on Tuesday. Out of the three songs apparantally the producers will be picking two of the songs, so that will be a definite challenge for all the contestants. So it will interesting to see what kind of impact this will have on TCWCBN. Here's the link: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Great-American-Idol/David-Archuelta-Father/800039331?imw=Y
This week David Cook was mediocre. Apparantally I am in the minority because I liked his "Hungry Like The Wolf" a lot more than his "Baba O' Riley". (That's the teenage wasteland song.) I was expecting him to kick butt at the end of the Who classic. The contestant that was eliminated this week was Jason Castro. I read the reviews about his performances and so I was not expecting much. But I actually liked his "I Shot The Sheriff" quite a bit. (That song and Syesha Mercado's "Proud Mary" are two most download worthy songs this week.) "Sheriff" is one of the all-time great songs. Bob Marley's original is the best. (If you haven't bought his double CD greatest hits "Gold" yet you need to go buy it asap.) However Eric Clapton's version is also very good and I think Jason Castro can add his name to that electric duo. I really liked Syesha Mercado again. Again I really loved her "Proud Mary", she sang it well and she had fun with it. She has broken out of that nearly all ballad roll she was on. I did not like her "A Change Is Going To Come" though. I thought it was dreadfully boring. I am hoping that she can sneak into the top two with David Cook. With 51 million votes cast, there were only 1 million votes seperating the top 3 contestants. So anything is possible.
Also here's a quick review of the new Nine Inch Nails CD, "The Slip". Again this CD is available for free at dl.nin.com/theslip/signup. So my question: is this CD worth the cost? My answer just barely. "The Slip" has 10 songs on it. About 7 of the songs are instrumental, I don't want to waste the time going back and verifying that.
A lot of the songs are too long that just drone on without any new ideas. The worst example of this is "Corona Radiata", it is basically 7:33 of very mellow, instrumental and boring music. The three best songs are "Discipline", "Echoplex", and "Head Down". If you are a hard core NIN fan get it. However if you aren't don't waste your time.
I listened to this CD on my iPod. Three other songs that I listened to on my iPod that night I would highly reccomend as better songs to listen to. They are Aly & AJ's "Potential Breakup Song", All-American Rejects "Dirty Little Secret" and Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet". That song is one of the most beautiful songs of all-time.
Also for those of you in England that take the Daily Mail paper, Paul McCartney is giving away his most recent CD, "Memory Almost Full" in the Sunday edition. Prince did the same thing about a year ago. For those of you looking for a cheap CD, I am sure some people are selling it on ebay.com.
Two other quick reccomendations: 1) Sounds of Blackness. This is one of those bands that I discovered by downloading any free mp3 I could get. I was able to get three of their songs free at goombah.com. They are a rap/soul band and they are very good. Also I highly reccomend the new Raconteurs CD, "Consolers of the Lonely". This CD is rock and roll at it's finest. One excellent rock song after another. I almost like this band as much as Jack White's other band, The White Stripes.
I will have a lot more time this week, so I will be blogging at least 4 times this week. Have a great week and remember to tell those important people in your lives that you love them. Also hug your mother. Then when those two things are accomplished go and buy Bob Marley's "Gold". Peace, themusicaddict
Well it has been a very sad week at themusicaddict's house this week. Yesterday we had the funeral for my sister-in-law. She was 25 years old and left behind two little daughters: 18 months and 3 months. Luckily they have a good Dad and a strong support system, so they will be fine. It just is so sad to me that Ashley was such a good mother. Now she and her two daughters are going to go without all those wonderful experiences they would have had together the next several years. Rest in peace. Nathan if you need anything just give us a call. Our prayers are with you.
So there have been some things going on in the music world this past week. First we will deal with all the "American Idol" stuff first. As I am sure you have already heard TCWCBN's puppetmaster, uh I mean Dad, has had his backstage pass revoked. Apparantally he was being too meddlesome. So what will he do without the backing of his daddy. We only have three contestants left and they each will be singing 3 songs on Tuesday. Out of the three songs apparantally the producers will be picking two of the songs, so that will be a definite challenge for all the contestants. So it will interesting to see what kind of impact this will have on TCWCBN. Here's the link: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Great-American-Idol/David-Archuelta-Father/800039331?imw=Y
This week David Cook was mediocre. Apparantally I am in the minority because I liked his "Hungry Like The Wolf" a lot more than his "Baba O' Riley". (That's the teenage wasteland song.) I was expecting him to kick butt at the end of the Who classic. The contestant that was eliminated this week was Jason Castro. I read the reviews about his performances and so I was not expecting much. But I actually liked his "I Shot The Sheriff" quite a bit. (That song and Syesha Mercado's "Proud Mary" are two most download worthy songs this week.) "Sheriff" is one of the all-time great songs. Bob Marley's original is the best. (If you haven't bought his double CD greatest hits "Gold" yet you need to go buy it asap.) However Eric Clapton's version is also very good and I think Jason Castro can add his name to that electric duo. I really liked Syesha Mercado again. Again I really loved her "Proud Mary", she sang it well and she had fun with it. She has broken out of that nearly all ballad roll she was on. I did not like her "A Change Is Going To Come" though. I thought it was dreadfully boring. I am hoping that she can sneak into the top two with David Cook. With 51 million votes cast, there were only 1 million votes seperating the top 3 contestants. So anything is possible.
Also here's a quick review of the new Nine Inch Nails CD, "The Slip". Again this CD is available for free at dl.nin.com/theslip/signup. So my question: is this CD worth the cost? My answer just barely. "The Slip" has 10 songs on it. About 7 of the songs are instrumental, I don't want to waste the time going back and verifying that.
A lot of the songs are too long that just drone on without any new ideas. The worst example of this is "Corona Radiata", it is basically 7:33 of very mellow, instrumental and boring music. The three best songs are "Discipline", "Echoplex", and "Head Down". If you are a hard core NIN fan get it. However if you aren't don't waste your time.
I listened to this CD on my iPod. Three other songs that I listened to on my iPod that night I would highly reccomend as better songs to listen to. They are Aly & AJ's "Potential Breakup Song", All-American Rejects "Dirty Little Secret" and Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet". That song is one of the most beautiful songs of all-time.
Also for those of you in England that take the Daily Mail paper, Paul McCartney is giving away his most recent CD, "Memory Almost Full" in the Sunday edition. Prince did the same thing about a year ago. For those of you looking for a cheap CD, I am sure some people are selling it on ebay.com.
Two other quick reccomendations: 1) Sounds of Blackness. This is one of those bands that I discovered by downloading any free mp3 I could get. I was able to get three of their songs free at goombah.com. They are a rap/soul band and they are very good. Also I highly reccomend the new Raconteurs CD, "Consolers of the Lonely". This CD is rock and roll at it's finest. One excellent rock song after another. I almost like this band as much as Jack White's other band, The White Stripes.
I will have a lot more time this week, so I will be blogging at least 4 times this week. Have a great week and remember to tell those important people in your lives that you love them. Also hug your mother. Then when those two things are accomplished go and buy Bob Marley's "Gold". Peace, themusicaddict
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Quick note
Unfortunately with me working near full-time hours that has taken a lot of my free time away. Also we had the shocking news that my 25 year old sister-in-law passed away on Monday. (R.I.P. Ashley. I hope I spelled that right. Our prayers are with you, your husband and your two little girls.)
So I haven't seen any of yesterday's "AI" yet, but I am a little disgusted that the judges love David Archuletta no matter what he does. Apparantally Jason Castro does not even care any more, it is time for him to go home. He sang the Bob Marley classic last night, "I Shot The Sherriff". If he even sort of cared, he could have done something amazing with that song. (According to an EW.com poll, 76% of people want Jason Castro to go home tonight.) Again I have not seen this yet, but I have read a bunch of negative reviews about it.) Then I guess David Cook hit one out of the park with the Who's "Baba O'Riley". However I am dying to see his version of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf". That's a song I would never guess him singing ever.
Well it's time to go to work. Have a great day and remember to tell those you love that you love them. You just never know when it is going to be your time. Peace!
So I haven't seen any of yesterday's "AI" yet, but I am a little disgusted that the judges love David Archuletta no matter what he does. Apparantally Jason Castro does not even care any more, it is time for him to go home. He sang the Bob Marley classic last night, "I Shot The Sherriff". If he even sort of cared, he could have done something amazing with that song. (According to an EW.com poll, 76% of people want Jason Castro to go home tonight.) Again I have not seen this yet, but I have read a bunch of negative reviews about it.) Then I guess David Cook hit one out of the park with the Who's "Baba O'Riley". However I am dying to see his version of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf". That's a song I would never guess him singing ever.
Well it's time to go to work. Have a great day and remember to tell those you love that you love them. You just never know when it is going to be your time. Peace!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Missed Time, "American Idol" (Updated August 28th, 2013)
Hello good friends,
I have been writing this blog for about 3 weeks so far and I am up to 80 views. So thanks for that, although 79 views are probably my own.
Coke has been running a promotion for over two years now, for each Coke product you drink you get a certain amount of points. Well since I drink Coke like crazy, I joined up. I might as well get something back from all the Coke I drink, in fact I should have started sooner. (Also I would like to thank all those who have given me things so that I can get more points.) So I have been saving up the points for about 18 months now. I am trying to get something cool for my family.
So I entered in some more points today. After entering I saw that I could use some of my points to get a free download from Rhapsody. Now I have stayed away from these subscription services because when I pay for music I want it to be mine. But I was hoping I could get this free download on to iTunes. So I had to reinstall the Rhapsody software etc. It was about a one-and-a-half hour process and I have a credit for the CD I want but I have no idea how to download. So I finally e-mailed rhapsody.com to ask them and they will get back to me in "one business day". In this day and age that is very slow customer service.
The whole reason I told you all of that is because while using their site, I guess I have 25 free listens and I am using them now. I am listening to Carly Smithson's debut CD "Ultimate High". That is when she was recording under the name of Carly Hennessy. So this CD I was not expecting a whole lot of, however it is not that bad. Also ironically one song on this CD is "Just Missed The Train". I knew I had heard this song before and sure enough I had. It is on Kelly Clarkson's debut CD as well. One song, two contestants who share being on "American Idol". The CD is not fantastic, but if I had some money I would buy it. I am listening to this CD while I am writing this blog and it is quickly growing on me.
Other "AI" news: as you know we are down to 4 contestants. We have the most likely winner David Cook, the extreme longshot but getting better every week Syesha Mercado, the I would rather be back in Texas with my bong Jason Castro and the soulless and overhyped TCWCBN. This week's theme is something convuluted like the Rock and Roll Fame Top 500 songs that shaped music. The contestants will be singing two songs again this week, I am looking forward to David Cook's selections. I am not looking forward to the CWNCBM's choices, two more songs he will suck the joy out of. (Hey Paula let them sing both songs before you critique them! She's a ditz and is the next person who needs to be voted off.) Also we are done with mentors as well. I wasn't overly impressed with any of the four mentors this season.
Just two more notes on "AI" and then I will move on to other music news. (After all this is a music blog not an "AI" blog.) I'm not the only bored by TCWCBN. Here is a direct quote from the April 7th, 2008 Newsweek, "Cute kid, but who's picking his songs? Probably not next "Idol". Could be next Sanjaya." I thought that was right on and as for who's picking his songs here's an interesting link: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20197246,00.html
In that Newsweek Convential Wisdom piece, here's some of their other thoughts. They were lukewarm on Carly Smithson and Michael Johns. They liked both Brooke White and David Cook and as you can see they are really down on TCWNCBM. (Sometimes I forget the proper acronym but you know who I am writing about. It is The Contestant Whose Name Cannot Be Mentioned.)
Here's a review of the new Coldplay song I promised you, the song is titled "Violet Hill". I'm currently listening to it now. I thought this would be yet another wimpy song from Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow's band, but this song actually has a rock vibe to it, not only that but it is good. If the rest of the CD is this good it will be worth buying. To show you how little of a Coldplay fan I am, I only own three songs by Coldplay "Violet Hill", "Yellow" and "Speed of Sound". I think they are Coldplay's only three good songs. Their first CD is a CD I took back as soon as I found out someone would give me credit towards a good CD. There are still about two days to download this track. Get the song here: http://www.coldplay.com/song.html
Tidbits: Do you want to check out Tom Petty's first band? You can listen to the full audio stream at pastemagazine.com. The name of the band is Mudcrutch. There still isn't an update on the next Guns 'N' Roses CD. However they have management and are supposedly negotiating with their record company. I am hoping they do what the Raconteurs did: announce their new CD was coming out and then the next week it is released. Also according to rollingstone.com here is some exciting news, Pearl Jam is back in the studio doing preliminary work on their next CD. Sweet!
Finally song lyric of the week: "Despite all my rage, I am still a rat in the cage". Of course the classic line from the Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings". Sometimes that song seems really relevant to my life.
This is really the final finally. Songs that have been rocking my iPod the last few days. 1) "Always Be My Baby"- David Cook 2) "I Try"- Macy Gray 3) "...on the Radio"- Nelly Furtado (great song especially if you are feeling some bitterness) 4) "Before He Cheats"- Carrie Underwood (I also like the Teri Hatcher version, although I doubt anybody would be stupid enough to cheat on those two fine ladies.) 5) "Rainbow Tour" from the "Evita" soundtrack. This song is sung by Antonio Banderas and Madonna. 6) "Mud on the Tires"- Brad Paisley 7) "Take The Skinheads Bowling"- Camper Van Beethoven 8) "White Rabbit- Jefferson Airplane 9) "Wicked Garden"- Stone Temple Pilots 10) "Phantom of the Opera" from the musical of the same name. This version has the two incomparable talents of Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford.
I will be working 6 days this week, so my my blogs will be hit and miss, I'll do the best I can. comments, questions contact me themusicaddict
I have been writing this blog for about 3 weeks so far and I am up to 80 views. So thanks for that, although 79 views are probably my own.
Coke has been running a promotion for over two years now, for each Coke product you drink you get a certain amount of points. Well since I drink Coke like crazy, I joined up. I might as well get something back from all the Coke I drink, in fact I should have started sooner. (Also I would like to thank all those who have given me things so that I can get more points.) So I have been saving up the points for about 18 months now. I am trying to get something cool for my family.
So I entered in some more points today. After entering I saw that I could use some of my points to get a free download from Rhapsody. Now I have stayed away from these subscription services because when I pay for music I want it to be mine. But I was hoping I could get this free download on to iTunes. So I had to reinstall the Rhapsody software etc. It was about a one-and-a-half hour process and I have a credit for the CD I want but I have no idea how to download. So I finally e-mailed rhapsody.com to ask them and they will get back to me in "one business day". In this day and age that is very slow customer service.
The whole reason I told you all of that is because while using their site, I guess I have 25 free listens and I am using them now. I am listening to Carly Smithson's debut CD "Ultimate High". That is when she was recording under the name of Carly Hennessy. So this CD I was not expecting a whole lot of, however it is not that bad. Also ironically one song on this CD is "Just Missed The Train". I knew I had heard this song before and sure enough I had. It is on Kelly Clarkson's debut CD as well. One song, two contestants who share being on "American Idol". The CD is not fantastic, but if I had some money I would buy it. I am listening to this CD while I am writing this blog and it is quickly growing on me.
Other "AI" news: as you know we are down to 4 contestants. We have the most likely winner David Cook, the extreme longshot but getting better every week Syesha Mercado, the I would rather be back in Texas with my bong Jason Castro and the soulless and overhyped TCWCBN. This week's theme is something convuluted like the Rock and Roll Fame Top 500 songs that shaped music. The contestants will be singing two songs again this week, I am looking forward to David Cook's selections. I am not looking forward to the CWNCBM's choices, two more songs he will suck the joy out of. (Hey Paula let them sing both songs before you critique them! She's a ditz and is the next person who needs to be voted off.) Also we are done with mentors as well. I wasn't overly impressed with any of the four mentors this season.
Just two more notes on "AI" and then I will move on to other music news. (After all this is a music blog not an "AI" blog.) I'm not the only bored by TCWCBN. Here is a direct quote from the April 7th, 2008 Newsweek, "Cute kid, but who's picking his songs? Probably not next "Idol". Could be next Sanjaya." I thought that was right on and as for who's picking his songs here's an interesting link: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20197246,00.html
In that Newsweek Convential Wisdom piece, here's some of their other thoughts. They were lukewarm on Carly Smithson and Michael Johns. They liked both Brooke White and David Cook and as you can see they are really down on TCWNCBM. (Sometimes I forget the proper acronym but you know who I am writing about. It is The Contestant Whose Name Cannot Be Mentioned.)
Here's a review of the new Coldplay song I promised you, the song is titled "Violet Hill". I'm currently listening to it now. I thought this would be yet another wimpy song from Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow's band, but this song actually has a rock vibe to it, not only that but it is good. If the rest of the CD is this good it will be worth buying. To show you how little of a Coldplay fan I am, I only own three songs by Coldplay "Violet Hill", "Yellow" and "Speed of Sound". I think they are Coldplay's only three good songs. Their first CD is a CD I took back as soon as I found out someone would give me credit towards a good CD. There are still about two days to download this track. Get the song here: http://www.coldplay.com/song.html
Tidbits: Do you want to check out Tom Petty's first band? You can listen to the full audio stream at pastemagazine.com. The name of the band is Mudcrutch. There still isn't an update on the next Guns 'N' Roses CD. However they have management and are supposedly negotiating with their record company. I am hoping they do what the Raconteurs did: announce their new CD was coming out and then the next week it is released. Also according to rollingstone.com here is some exciting news, Pearl Jam is back in the studio doing preliminary work on their next CD. Sweet!
Finally song lyric of the week: "Despite all my rage, I am still a rat in the cage". Of course the classic line from the Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings". Sometimes that song seems really relevant to my life.
This is really the final finally. Songs that have been rocking my iPod the last few days. 1) "Always Be My Baby"- David Cook 2) "I Try"- Macy Gray 3) "...on the Radio"- Nelly Furtado (great song especially if you are feeling some bitterness) 4) "Before He Cheats"- Carrie Underwood (I also like the Teri Hatcher version, although I doubt anybody would be stupid enough to cheat on those two fine ladies.) 5) "Rainbow Tour" from the "Evita" soundtrack. This song is sung by Antonio Banderas and Madonna. 6) "Mud on the Tires"- Brad Paisley 7) "Take The Skinheads Bowling"- Camper Van Beethoven 8) "White Rabbit- Jefferson Airplane 9) "Wicked Garden"- Stone Temple Pilots 10) "Phantom of the Opera" from the musical of the same name. This version has the two incomparable talents of Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford.
I will be working 6 days this week, so my my blogs will be hit and miss, I'll do the best I can. comments, questions contact me themusicaddict
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Happy May
Happy May,
Enjoy your economic stimulus money coming this month, maybe you can buy some new music this month. I have some musicaddict approved tunes as well. Later I will get to those, as you realize I did not blog yesterday. That is because I am back in the workforce and my time has been reduced considerably. So I still have not seen the results episode of this week's "AI", although I do know that Brooke White was elimated. Obviously I am not a pyschic as I predicted that wrong. The ironic thing is that Brooke's "I Am...I Said" was one of the best performances of this whole season. She does that song so well. That song and David Cook's "I'm Alive" are the downloads to buy if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.
About a month or so ago Classic Rock published an article about the making of "Chinese Democracy" and how close it was to release back in 2001/2002. It is a very interesting article, I would highly suggest you read it if you have any interest in Guns 'N' Roses. It is also good insight into the music industry as a whole.
Now on to that new music I promised to tell you about. Two bands, one old and one new at least to me. The new band is called The Detroit Cobras. Yes I know I looked at amazon.com and they have released several CD's. However they are new to me, I have only recently joined their garage rock stylings fanbase. One song in particular that is burning up my iPod is their song "Hot Dog". What a great, fun, sexy, rocking song. The old band is the Scorpions. They have a relatively new CD out, just last year. The name of the CD is "Humanity Hour 1". Okay a very lame title, a little new agey for me but the CD rocks. Seriously this is some of their best music ever made, not quite up to "Rock Me Like A Hurricane" but close. It is good to have one of the great 80's heavy metal bands back at full stride.
Well tonight I am going to try and watch the "AI" results show from this week. My next blog entry will be about that. I also downloaded that new Coldplay song, my review is going to be a lot different than I thought it would be.
till we talk again, themusicaddict
Enjoy your economic stimulus money coming this month, maybe you can buy some new music this month. I have some musicaddict approved tunes as well. Later I will get to those, as you realize I did not blog yesterday. That is because I am back in the workforce and my time has been reduced considerably. So I still have not seen the results episode of this week's "AI", although I do know that Brooke White was elimated. Obviously I am not a pyschic as I predicted that wrong. The ironic thing is that Brooke's "I Am...I Said" was one of the best performances of this whole season. She does that song so well. That song and David Cook's "I'm Alive" are the downloads to buy if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.
About a month or so ago Classic Rock published an article about the making of "Chinese Democracy" and how close it was to release back in 2001/2002. It is a very interesting article, I would highly suggest you read it if you have any interest in Guns 'N' Roses. It is also good insight into the music industry as a whole.
Now on to that new music I promised to tell you about. Two bands, one old and one new at least to me. The new band is called The Detroit Cobras. Yes I know I looked at amazon.com and they have released several CD's. However they are new to me, I have only recently joined their garage rock stylings fanbase. One song in particular that is burning up my iPod is their song "Hot Dog". What a great, fun, sexy, rocking song. The old band is the Scorpions. They have a relatively new CD out, just last year. The name of the CD is "Humanity Hour 1". Okay a very lame title, a little new agey for me but the CD rocks. Seriously this is some of their best music ever made, not quite up to "Rock Me Like A Hurricane" but close. It is good to have one of the great 80's heavy metal bands back at full stride.
Well tonight I am going to try and watch the "AI" results show from this week. My next blog entry will be about that. I also downloaded that new Coldplay song, my review is going to be a lot different than I thought it would be.
till we talk again, themusicaddict
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