Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Kanye West, "Stronger"
It's been a while since I had one of those "awestruck by pop music" moments, but a couple of days ago my jaw dropped open when I saw Kanye West's "Stronger" video for the first time. Goth clubs probably wouldn't have the guts to play this song even though the glistening keyboards and industrial-strength backbeat likely smoke just about anything else they'd normally play. I could claim that Kanye has made good on Derrick May's 20-year old futuristic utopian vision of black music (even though he had to sample Daft Punk in order to do it), but that would be going a little bit overboard (and willfully ignoring a bunch of old Wu Tang videos). Let's simplify things: the electrode-plugging, body-scanning stuff just reeks of stale pre-millenial paranoia, but screw it, Daft Punk are IN THE VIDEO, looking like cool as fuck alien svengalis, and are about to make a billion zillion dollars off this song's can't-miss success.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Big Sellers
Articles like this don't appear nearly often enough. With catalog sales accounting for 40% of all physical music sales and 64% of download sales (according to the article), you'd think that there would be a lot more ink devoted to the hows and whys behind this aspect of the music business.
The sizable, year-in and year-out sales of many twenty and thirty year-old albums lends support to my "discount theory" of music sales, that is, the notion that people will gladly pay money for albums if the price is right (as opposed to downloading them for free from file-sharing networks). Classic albums routinely go on the sale racks at large retailers like HMV as part of a "buy three discs for forty bucks" display or some numbers to that effect. It's easy to be cavalier with one's money when you're buying an twenty-year old album that you know will be great, particularly when it costs far less that a new release that you may or may not like now (or twenty years from now!). We're long past the point of baby boomers re-purchasing their old vinyl collections. People making these catalog purchases are 1) buying music that they know very well but never got around to buying, 2) finally checking out an album that they always heard was great but somehow never heard, 3) younger fans who are starting to build their collections or simply want to check out what all the fuss is about with an album that's older than they are, 4) any of the above groups of people who know that twelve or so bucks isn't a lot of money so what the hell, why not spend a bit of cash on some older music, 5) ...
It's a bit bizarre that normally bankable artists like REM and Mariah Carey don't sell many copies of their debut albums. I chalk this up to turnover of their style and fanbases. Most of REM's catalogue sounds a lot different than the music they were making in 1982. The new fans they picked up over the next ten years stuck with their newer sound, and many never looked back to investigate the older one. "Everybody Hurts" and "Losing My Religion" probably get 100 times more plays that "Radio Free Europe" on radio and VH1, so it's not too shocking that the albums containing those songs are the ones that still sell.
Mariah's career pulled an about-face when she split from Tommy Mottola and began making music for kids instead of music for adults. It's little wonder that not many of her fans care to return to the outdated style of her shlocky debut, even if it was a huge seller at the time. This notion is enforced by Mariah's bumpy career path: becoming the biggest-selling female artist ever, followed by the Glitter/psych ward/label-dropping debacle, only to stage a remarkable comeback and become bigger than ever thanks to the top-selling album of 2005. Fans seem eager to forget her past in favour of whatever she's doing at the moment, and in doing so they further distance themselves from the music she made at the beginning of her career.
Although it's worthwhile to wonder why some recent classics sell ("OK Computer", "The Soft Bulletin", Pavement re-releases) while others don't ("Loveless"), there's a much larger elephant in the room: why are AC/DC still shifting so many units? "Back In Black" might be widely known, but it's not the type of album that fans and critics (even those who are strong devotees of classic rock) would regularly rank high on "best ever" lists. And yet somehow, "Back In Black" now finds itself among the top ten best selling albums ever, and much like the similarly eye-popping sales figures for "Eagles Greatest Hits", these numbers really sneaked up on people.
Neither band ever had the Beatles/Stones/Zeppelin honour/stigma of being the "anointed band", and therefore never reached a level of overexposure and oversaturation that those bands did. When I was in high school, those were three bands that were passed down to us from our parents and were anecdotally acknowledged to be part of the musical canon that you simply had to be familiar with. AC/DC didn't have to be the greatest ever, they were simply a very good band that played balls-out rock and roll, which for 99% of the populace is far more important than who was the most influential or most innovative.
The sizable, year-in and year-out sales of many twenty and thirty year-old albums lends support to my "discount theory" of music sales, that is, the notion that people will gladly pay money for albums if the price is right (as opposed to downloading them for free from file-sharing networks). Classic albums routinely go on the sale racks at large retailers like HMV as part of a "buy three discs for forty bucks" display or some numbers to that effect. It's easy to be cavalier with one's money when you're buying an twenty-year old album that you know will be great, particularly when it costs far less that a new release that you may or may not like now (or twenty years from now!). We're long past the point of baby boomers re-purchasing their old vinyl collections. People making these catalog purchases are 1) buying music that they know very well but never got around to buying, 2) finally checking out an album that they always heard was great but somehow never heard, 3) younger fans who are starting to build their collections or simply want to check out what all the fuss is about with an album that's older than they are, 4) any of the above groups of people who know that twelve or so bucks isn't a lot of money so what the hell, why not spend a bit of cash on some older music, 5) ...
It's a bit bizarre that normally bankable artists like REM and Mariah Carey don't sell many copies of their debut albums. I chalk this up to turnover of their style and fanbases. Most of REM's catalogue sounds a lot different than the music they were making in 1982. The new fans they picked up over the next ten years stuck with their newer sound, and many never looked back to investigate the older one. "Everybody Hurts" and "Losing My Religion" probably get 100 times more plays that "Radio Free Europe" on radio and VH1, so it's not too shocking that the albums containing those songs are the ones that still sell.
Mariah's career pulled an about-face when she split from Tommy Mottola and began making music for kids instead of music for adults. It's little wonder that not many of her fans care to return to the outdated style of her shlocky debut, even if it was a huge seller at the time. This notion is enforced by Mariah's bumpy career path: becoming the biggest-selling female artist ever, followed by the Glitter/psych ward/label-dropping debacle, only to stage a remarkable comeback and become bigger than ever thanks to the top-selling album of 2005. Fans seem eager to forget her past in favour of whatever she's doing at the moment, and in doing so they further distance themselves from the music she made at the beginning of her career.
Although it's worthwhile to wonder why some recent classics sell ("OK Computer", "The Soft Bulletin", Pavement re-releases) while others don't ("Loveless"), there's a much larger elephant in the room: why are AC/DC still shifting so many units? "Back In Black" might be widely known, but it's not the type of album that fans and critics (even those who are strong devotees of classic rock) would regularly rank high on "best ever" lists. And yet somehow, "Back In Black" now finds itself among the top ten best selling albums ever, and much like the similarly eye-popping sales figures for "Eagles Greatest Hits", these numbers really sneaked up on people.
Neither band ever had the Beatles/Stones/Zeppelin honour/stigma of being the "anointed band", and therefore never reached a level of overexposure and oversaturation that those bands did. When I was in high school, those were three bands that were passed down to us from our parents and were anecdotally acknowledged to be part of the musical canon that you simply had to be familiar with. AC/DC didn't have to be the greatest ever, they were simply a very good band that played balls-out rock and roll, which for 99% of the populace is far more important than who was the most influential or most innovative.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Newish albums: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly II
The Bad II: Apparat, "Walls". I don't understand why more producers these days seem to be influenced by Orbital's poppier, later phase (in particular "The Altogether", but perhaps to a greater extent the bright, optimistic bleepiness of "Middle of Nowhere") instead of their mellower, brooding, prog house peak phase ("In Sides", "Snivilisation"'s epic, paranoid world view ... even the Brown Album, although it was banging dancefloor stuff, is half euphoric, half something of a darker mood entirely). Apparat's "Walls" has followed me around for weeks -- on my iPod, various times of the day, as background music for a dinner party -- but for the most part it has failed to make a lasting impression. Its best function was the last of these -- it's a bridesmaid album, always in the background but rarely stands out in the foreground. Once in a while I was caught humming a tune or two, but it was always the grimier, Death In Vegas-y stuff like "Hailin From the Edge" or "Hold On". The more abstract tracks like "Fractales" are engaging and offer new twists with every listen, but for the most part I'm simply not amused by the album's relentless bouncy cheer. Ellen Allien brought some thump to this kind of material on last year's terrific "Orchestra of Bubbles" collab, but once most of the dancefloor elements are removed, my attention span vanishes along with them.
The (very, very) Good: Matthew Dear, "Asa Breed". His earlier vocal effort, "Leave Luck To Heaven", was a great idea in theory but not so much in execution. Vocals meandered on top of a Montreal minimal blueprint, and although the combination seemed fresh at the time, there wasn't any need for these two components to be stapled together. These songs didn't need vocals, they were simply there for the sake of being there, and on virtually every track the beat was the star and would have been improved had the singer simply stepped aside.
"Asa Breed", however, might be the first true minimal pop record. Artists like Luomo have received a lot of credit for bringing pop and soul into a largely stoic, mechanical genre (minimal techno) but Dear actually went out and made what is first and foremost a pop record. It so happens to be chock full of weird, warped, minimal elements. With an uncanny resemblance to late-70's Bowie, Dear's voice intones strange, twisted tales over funky minimal numbers like "Don and Sherri" and "Pom Pom" -- both of them being abrupt, three-minute pop gems. Darker corners and bizarre sounds abound in the album's freer, more experimental tracks ("Midnight Lovers", "Give Me More"), and the druggy blues of "Vine To Vine" finely accentuates the record's dark, cagey perspective.
The (very, very) Good: Matthew Dear, "Asa Breed". His earlier vocal effort, "Leave Luck To Heaven", was a great idea in theory but not so much in execution. Vocals meandered on top of a Montreal minimal blueprint, and although the combination seemed fresh at the time, there wasn't any need for these two components to be stapled together. These songs didn't need vocals, they were simply there for the sake of being there, and on virtually every track the beat was the star and would have been improved had the singer simply stepped aside.
"Asa Breed", however, might be the first true minimal pop record. Artists like Luomo have received a lot of credit for bringing pop and soul into a largely stoic, mechanical genre (minimal techno) but Dear actually went out and made what is first and foremost a pop record. It so happens to be chock full of weird, warped, minimal elements. With an uncanny resemblance to late-70's Bowie, Dear's voice intones strange, twisted tales over funky minimal numbers like "Don and Sherri" and "Pom Pom" -- both of them being abrupt, three-minute pop gems. Darker corners and bizarre sounds abound in the album's freer, more experimental tracks ("Midnight Lovers", "Give Me More"), and the druggy blues of "Vine To Vine" finely accentuates the record's dark, cagey perspective.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Newish albums: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Bad I: Ulrich Schnauss, "Goodbye". I used to hyperventilate while reading pre-release hype for the latest guitar-IDM-electronic twee-MBV knockoffs. No really, they said, this is the 21st century successor to "Loveless", this is what it would have sounded like if they'd used keyboards instead of guitars, etc. You get the drill. These days, I don't even flinch. M83's "Run Into Flowers" was probably the closest anyone got to making good on those descriptions, and even they left that sound well behind after their second album.
Schnauss' "A Strangely Isolated Place" was an exercise in electronic lush, which is why I was a bit shocked to catch him live a couple of years ago and discover his keyboard-prog tendencies. Great, here comes ear-splitting keyboard solo chorus #25, sounds a lot like #14 and #23, so let's get on with it. With "Goodbye", all the MBV-ish hype turned out to be something far less grandiose -- he simply went goth. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going goth, but if you've heard nearly any release from Projekt Records in the past 15 years, then you've heard "Goodbye".
Schnauss' "A Strangely Isolated Place" was an exercise in electronic lush, which is why I was a bit shocked to catch him live a couple of years ago and discover his keyboard-prog tendencies. Great, here comes ear-splitting keyboard solo chorus #25, sounds a lot like #14 and #23, so let's get on with it. With "Goodbye", all the MBV-ish hype turned out to be something far less grandiose -- he simply went goth. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going goth, but if you've heard nearly any release from Projekt Records in the past 15 years, then you've heard "Goodbye".
Selfish Thoughts
I'm oddly fascinated with the recent war of words between Avril Lavigne vs Chantal Kreviazuk. Part of me would love to see a reprise of the 1995-6 Elastica "Name That Tune" game, with Avril subbing for Justine Frischmann, and part of me thinks about what all the non-Canadians are thinking, namely "who the hell is Chantal Kreviazuk"? Chantal could do worse than plying the route of Controversy Creates Cash, maybe then she'll get a bit more publicity for helping to write other people's songs.
The new Die Hard movie is tremendously entertaining, although once it was over I found myself remembering the original movie more fondly, in lieu of any real yen to see the new one ever again. What's more, the computer hacker hero had an awful taste in music, getting off on goth metal like Evanescence and dissing CCR. This put me in a very unfortunate frame of mind -- wanting to see the fucker get blown up for his shitty taste but resigning myself to the need for tolerating him for the two hours that followed. Now compare this to "War Games", and to a lesser extent, "Hackers". The "Hackers" gang made computer nerdiness seem cool, and the movie had a cool soundtrack to boot. Really, that should have been the last word in movies about evil computer geniuses causing mischief. And let's be serious -- the terrorists in "Die Hard" might have caused havoc on a local level (car crashes, power outages, etc.), but Matthew Broderick nearly started a nuclear war in "War Games". Worldwide nuclear war with everybody dying is a tad more serious than a few traffic jams. Also, IIRC, Broderick's character was big into punk and new wave. A true hero! "War Games" really was the template. Now *that* is what these hacker-action movies need -- a slick late 70's/early 80's soundtrack of new wave, geek rock, electronic pop, and krautrock. I guess we need some Television, probably Devo (I'm not a huge fan of either, but nobody will argue if that stuff is included), Feelies, early Human League, maybe some Japan if some dark/atmospheric moments are required, Cluster during the scenes when somebody is downloading a lot of data and numbers are streaming across the movie screen like in the Matrix, and so on.
The new Die Hard movie is tremendously entertaining, although once it was over I found myself remembering the original movie more fondly, in lieu of any real yen to see the new one ever again. What's more, the computer hacker hero had an awful taste in music, getting off on goth metal like Evanescence and dissing CCR. This put me in a very unfortunate frame of mind -- wanting to see the fucker get blown up for his shitty taste but resigning myself to the need for tolerating him for the two hours that followed. Now compare this to "War Games", and to a lesser extent, "Hackers". The "Hackers" gang made computer nerdiness seem cool, and the movie had a cool soundtrack to boot. Really, that should have been the last word in movies about evil computer geniuses causing mischief. And let's be serious -- the terrorists in "Die Hard" might have caused havoc on a local level (car crashes, power outages, etc.), but Matthew Broderick nearly started a nuclear war in "War Games". Worldwide nuclear war with everybody dying is a tad more serious than a few traffic jams. Also, IIRC, Broderick's character was big into punk and new wave. A true hero! "War Games" really was the template. Now *that* is what these hacker-action movies need -- a slick late 70's/early 80's soundtrack of new wave, geek rock, electronic pop, and krautrock. I guess we need some Television, probably Devo (I'm not a huge fan of either, but nobody will argue if that stuff is included), Feelies, early Human League, maybe some Japan if some dark/atmospheric moments are required, Cluster during the scenes when somebody is downloading a lot of data and numbers are streaming across the movie screen like in the Matrix, and so on.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Spice Girls Reunion
The rumour mills have been swarming for months, and Simon Fuller's recent announcement has all but officially confirmed it.
I am loving it for many reasons. Of course, I am always eager to add new data points to my Everybody Reunites theory. When you've got Robbie Williams occasionally appearing on stage with a reunited Take That, then it's safe to say that Everybody reunites. Robbie also made up with longtime producer/collaborator Guy Chambers. Now it's the Spice Girls' turn.
The SG's were on my mind last week when I wrote that Robbie Williams was a great performer and a great artist despite not having a catalogue of great songs. In contrast, I thought, the SG's had nothing but great songs, and many outstanding singles. Their personalities and off stage antics far outstripped their actual on stage presence, but the songs were so great that it didn't matter if their dance routines weren't up to snuff, or that they did very little during big numbers other than run around spontaneously.
Is it time for the SG's to get their due? I expect that we'll see a recycling of all the old ridiculous critiques, such as 1) "Girl Power" is a stupid catchphrase (not true), 2) they're not the prettiest girls we've ever seen (so what? who cares?), 3) they're not the greatest singers in the world (neither are 99.9% of all pop stars), 4) they're manufactured (why does this matter?), 5) they rely on their producers to help write songs and shape their sound (as does every person working in music today ... with the rise to fame of Neptunes, Timbaland, the Matrix, and all the other production geniuses who are currently fawned over by both critics and casual fans, this silly and baseless SG criticism has been thoroughly debunked and discredited in the years since their breakup), 6) they're not good role models (most pop stars aren't, and I still maintain that the SG's emphasis on individualism did make them positive role models), and many more that I've long since forgotten.
I am loving it for many reasons. Of course, I am always eager to add new data points to my Everybody Reunites theory. When you've got Robbie Williams occasionally appearing on stage with a reunited Take That, then it's safe to say that Everybody reunites. Robbie also made up with longtime producer/collaborator Guy Chambers. Now it's the Spice Girls' turn.
The SG's were on my mind last week when I wrote that Robbie Williams was a great performer and a great artist despite not having a catalogue of great songs. In contrast, I thought, the SG's had nothing but great songs, and many outstanding singles. Their personalities and off stage antics far outstripped their actual on stage presence, but the songs were so great that it didn't matter if their dance routines weren't up to snuff, or that they did very little during big numbers other than run around spontaneously.
Is it time for the SG's to get their due? I expect that we'll see a recycling of all the old ridiculous critiques, such as 1) "Girl Power" is a stupid catchphrase (not true), 2) they're not the prettiest girls we've ever seen (so what? who cares?), 3) they're not the greatest singers in the world (neither are 99.9% of all pop stars), 4) they're manufactured (why does this matter?), 5) they rely on their producers to help write songs and shape their sound (as does every person working in music today ... with the rise to fame of Neptunes, Timbaland, the Matrix, and all the other production geniuses who are currently fawned over by both critics and casual fans, this silly and baseless SG criticism has been thoroughly debunked and discredited in the years since their breakup), 6) they're not good role models (most pop stars aren't, and I still maintain that the SG's emphasis on individualism did make them positive role models), and many more that I've long since forgotten.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Free Music
While slowly (and somewhat unenthusiastically) getting caught up with some of 2007's new releases, I've been putting a lot of listening time into some live gigs from around the internet.
Eluvium, April 2007. Eluvium (Matthew Cooper) is one of my most-listened-to artists of the year. But his anodyne new album "Copia" really doesn't prepare you for the shoegazey power of his recent live shows. Gentle, repetitious piano and guitar licks slowly rev their ways into huge roars, and that's a trick that never grows old on me. I've long since accepted the fact that the North American concert calendar is surviving quite fine without me, but missing out on the Explosions In the Sky/Eluvium double bill really hit me hard.
Kristin Hersh, "The Thin Man", May 2007 It was already the best track on her new album, but this gentle, slinky live take actually improves on the recorded version. Kristin's voice is totally shot these days, but she still sounds sexy as hell if confined to a whisper. You have to pick your spots with this gig, as things can turn to shit in record time due to her fading, raspy voice. The encore version of "Me and My Charms" is particularly depressing. She literally can't hit a single note during the chorus, exuding not much more than a pained, hissing croak.
Low, "When I Go Deaf", May 2007. Somehow I'd never noticed that some 50 Low gigs had piled up on the Live Music Archive. Even though they wimped out on the dinner party-friendly version of "Violent Past", they made up for it by closing the show with a sensational rip through "When I Go Deaf", a perfect ending for a "Great Destroyer" fanatic like me who thinks that Low are at their best when they play and sing with urgency and guts, as if they're about to suck their final breaths.
J Spaceman, "Anything More / Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space", November 2006. I'm picturing Jason Pierce on stage, running through what has to be the 3830th career reworking of "Walking With Jesus", not to mention reinventing nearly every other song in his live set yet again. More accurately, he overhauled and rearranged the entire contents of his live set from start to finish, punctuated it with a spate of fantastic new tunes, and brought "Let It Come Down" back into the fold (it's about time). And I have to remind myself that he nearly died not too long ago, but is now back on stage doing all the things I just mentioned, almost as if nothing had ever happened. Enough tears for now, save them for one of the many highlights of these recent acoustic shows, particularly "Anything More / Ladies and Gentlemen". Even after many listens, I can suspend my disbelief and not know the changeover is coming, and the segue is so heartbreaking that I still get a lump in my throat even when hearing it for the millionth time. Hearing the crowd roar in recognition and starting to sing along merely cinches it. Jason said he was a gospel artist all along, right back to the Spacemen 3 days. We didn't believe him, but check out what he's done with "Amen", for instance, and feel your stomach melt into goo during the wrenching finale of "Goodnight / Funeral Home".
Arcade Fire, "Windowsill", March 2007. "Neon Bible" (a near-perfectly sequenced album) brilliantly positioned this as its penultimate song, occurring one right near the end of the record's gradual buildup toward it's triumphant, concluding ode to escapism ("No Cars Go"). Obviously, I am assuming that the black eye that is "My Body Is a Cage" doesn't exist. So what a disappointment it is to hear such a flat, lifeless version of "Windowsill", wedged nondescriptly in the mid-set doldrums. Recorded during the same week that "Neon Bible" was released, it starts magnificently with "No Cars Go" (yeah, they've tacked the album's natural end to the set's beginning, but somehow it works) but grinds to a halt starting with, of all things, a Gainsbourg cover. "Windowsill" pops up in this middle third, and all this is reminding me of the time I saw American Music Club in 1994, when "I Broke My Promise" wound up as a victim of the mid-set blahs even though I'd pre-convinced myself that it would anchor the set due to (like with "Windowsill") its general awesomeness and similar placement toward the end of "San Francisco". Arcade Fire get their second wind with "Neighbourhoods #3" and suddenly, it's a great gig once again.
Robbie Williams, "Come Undone", Knebworth, August 2003. I'm reading Chris Heath's "Feel", so what better time to check out arguably the pinnacle of Robbie Williams' career. I'm not simply referring to the Knebworth gigs, but this specific performance. Witness Robbie on the verge of breaking down before, during, and after the song (although this happened countless times at Knebworth). Witness the most adoring, frantic, going apeshit-for-the-man's-every-move crowd you'll ever see. Witness 125 000 people singing along to the single that helped lead to collaborator Guy Chambers' departure from the Williams camp. just because he hated it so much and didn't want his name associated with it. Witness Robbie get to second base within seconds of bringing a girl on stage from the crowd.
Robbie is a lot like Iggy Pop. A survey of his career reveals plenty of good songs but few truly great ones. Nevertheless, he's such a great performer that it scarcely seems to matter. The key ingredient in Robbie and Iggy songs are Robbie and Iggy, the music itself is usually secondary. Same goes for the gigs -- music is simply a vehicle for getting people out to the shows to see the performer they paid their money to see. The similarities don't stop there. For the "Come Undone" video, Robbie recreated a wild LA party in a series of flashbacks, hired real porn stars and models for the shoot, and had scorpions and cockroaches crawling on their faces and out of their mouths. This makes Robbie more punk than ... well, anyone really.
Eluvium, April 2007. Eluvium (Matthew Cooper) is one of my most-listened-to artists of the year. But his anodyne new album "Copia" really doesn't prepare you for the shoegazey power of his recent live shows. Gentle, repetitious piano and guitar licks slowly rev their ways into huge roars, and that's a trick that never grows old on me. I've long since accepted the fact that the North American concert calendar is surviving quite fine without me, but missing out on the Explosions In the Sky/Eluvium double bill really hit me hard.
Kristin Hersh, "The Thin Man", May 2007 It was already the best track on her new album, but this gentle, slinky live take actually improves on the recorded version. Kristin's voice is totally shot these days, but she still sounds sexy as hell if confined to a whisper. You have to pick your spots with this gig, as things can turn to shit in record time due to her fading, raspy voice. The encore version of "Me and My Charms" is particularly depressing. She literally can't hit a single note during the chorus, exuding not much more than a pained, hissing croak.
Low, "When I Go Deaf", May 2007. Somehow I'd never noticed that some 50 Low gigs had piled up on the Live Music Archive. Even though they wimped out on the dinner party-friendly version of "Violent Past", they made up for it by closing the show with a sensational rip through "When I Go Deaf", a perfect ending for a "Great Destroyer" fanatic like me who thinks that Low are at their best when they play and sing with urgency and guts, as if they're about to suck their final breaths.
J Spaceman, "Anything More / Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space", November 2006. I'm picturing Jason Pierce on stage, running through what has to be the 3830th career reworking of "Walking With Jesus", not to mention reinventing nearly every other song in his live set yet again. More accurately, he overhauled and rearranged the entire contents of his live set from start to finish, punctuated it with a spate of fantastic new tunes, and brought "Let It Come Down" back into the fold (it's about time). And I have to remind myself that he nearly died not too long ago, but is now back on stage doing all the things I just mentioned, almost as if nothing had ever happened. Enough tears for now, save them for one of the many highlights of these recent acoustic shows, particularly "Anything More / Ladies and Gentlemen". Even after many listens, I can suspend my disbelief and not know the changeover is coming, and the segue is so heartbreaking that I still get a lump in my throat even when hearing it for the millionth time. Hearing the crowd roar in recognition and starting to sing along merely cinches it. Jason said he was a gospel artist all along, right back to the Spacemen 3 days. We didn't believe him, but check out what he's done with "Amen", for instance, and feel your stomach melt into goo during the wrenching finale of "Goodnight / Funeral Home".
Arcade Fire, "Windowsill", March 2007. "Neon Bible" (a near-perfectly sequenced album) brilliantly positioned this as its penultimate song, occurring one right near the end of the record's gradual buildup toward it's triumphant, concluding ode to escapism ("No Cars Go"). Obviously, I am assuming that the black eye that is "My Body Is a Cage" doesn't exist. So what a disappointment it is to hear such a flat, lifeless version of "Windowsill", wedged nondescriptly in the mid-set doldrums. Recorded during the same week that "Neon Bible" was released, it starts magnificently with "No Cars Go" (yeah, they've tacked the album's natural end to the set's beginning, but somehow it works) but grinds to a halt starting with, of all things, a Gainsbourg cover. "Windowsill" pops up in this middle third, and all this is reminding me of the time I saw American Music Club in 1994, when "I Broke My Promise" wound up as a victim of the mid-set blahs even though I'd pre-convinced myself that it would anchor the set due to (like with "Windowsill") its general awesomeness and similar placement toward the end of "San Francisco". Arcade Fire get their second wind with "Neighbourhoods #3" and suddenly, it's a great gig once again.
Robbie Williams, "Come Undone", Knebworth, August 2003. I'm reading Chris Heath's "Feel", so what better time to check out arguably the pinnacle of Robbie Williams' career. I'm not simply referring to the Knebworth gigs, but this specific performance. Witness Robbie on the verge of breaking down before, during, and after the song (although this happened countless times at Knebworth). Witness the most adoring, frantic, going apeshit-for-the-man's-every-move crowd you'll ever see. Witness 125 000 people singing along to the single that helped lead to collaborator Guy Chambers' departure from the Williams camp. just because he hated it so much and didn't want his name associated with it. Witness Robbie get to second base within seconds of bringing a girl on stage from the crowd.
Robbie is a lot like Iggy Pop. A survey of his career reveals plenty of good songs but few truly great ones. Nevertheless, he's such a great performer that it scarcely seems to matter. The key ingredient in Robbie and Iggy songs are Robbie and Iggy, the music itself is usually secondary. Same goes for the gigs -- music is simply a vehicle for getting people out to the shows to see the performer they paid their money to see. The similarities don't stop there. For the "Come Undone" video, Robbie recreated a wild LA party in a series of flashbacks, hired real porn stars and models for the shoot, and had scorpions and cockroaches crawling on their faces and out of their mouths. This makes Robbie more punk than ... well, anyone really.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Aimee Mann on "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Read it here.
This fun little op-ed has been making the rounds lately and not only did I enjoy it, but I agreed and/or empathized with a lot of what Aimee Mann has to say. Loving an album so much that you don't feel like ever hearing it again? Check. Coming to the realization, years later, that said album is heavily flawed and recognizing the connection between those flaws and one's sagging enthusiasm for it over the years? Check. "I’m ashamed to say it, but sometimes John Lennon’s melodies feel a bit underwritten, while Paul McCartney’s relentless cheerfulness is depressing". Oh hell yes, check. Like many concept albums, "Sgt Peppers" is a concept in search of great melodies, gonzo ideas in search of great music to carry it. It tried to let the weirdness carry the day and cover for the lack of decent tunes contained within, much like certain movies go overboard on special effects and explosions in order to cover up for the lack of a decent plot or compelling characters. The White Album is weird but is weird in so many different styles over such a gargantuan length that it succeeds through sheer force of willpower (provided you have the endurance and attention span for the bumpy ride, most people don't but I love sprawling messes done right which is probably why it's my favourite Beatles album). "Revolver" is weird but has great tunes, a lot more George Harrison than "Sgt Peppers", and a few touching/depressing bits, which is why the consensus has currently deemed it to be the best Beatles record.
Oh, and I believe that I also thought that The Lonely Hearts Club band was an actual band, back when I used to stare at the record cover in the basement of our old house.
This fun little op-ed has been making the rounds lately and not only did I enjoy it, but I agreed and/or empathized with a lot of what Aimee Mann has to say. Loving an album so much that you don't feel like ever hearing it again? Check. Coming to the realization, years later, that said album is heavily flawed and recognizing the connection between those flaws and one's sagging enthusiasm for it over the years? Check. "I’m ashamed to say it, but sometimes John Lennon’s melodies feel a bit underwritten, while Paul McCartney’s relentless cheerfulness is depressing". Oh hell yes, check. Like many concept albums, "Sgt Peppers" is a concept in search of great melodies, gonzo ideas in search of great music to carry it. It tried to let the weirdness carry the day and cover for the lack of decent tunes contained within, much like certain movies go overboard on special effects and explosions in order to cover up for the lack of a decent plot or compelling characters. The White Album is weird but is weird in so many different styles over such a gargantuan length that it succeeds through sheer force of willpower (provided you have the endurance and attention span for the bumpy ride, most people don't but I love sprawling messes done right which is probably why it's my favourite Beatles album). "Revolver" is weird but has great tunes, a lot more George Harrison than "Sgt Peppers", and a few touching/depressing bits, which is why the consensus has currently deemed it to be the best Beatles record.
Oh, and I believe that I also thought that The Lonely Hearts Club band was an actual band, back when I used to stare at the record cover in the basement of our old house.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
American Idol Finale Diary
In the spirit of last year's showcase finale, I took notes as we counted down to Jordin's inevitable win. The singing finale, like all finales with the exception of season 2, was a major disappointment. Clay vs Ruben was great, not only because there was actual doubt as to who would win, but because they each performed three new songs (i.e. nothing they had already performed that season) and most importantly, none of them were introduced by an announcement that they were about to sing some grandiosely shitty ballad that was slated to be the new single. Blake was badly hurt by this year's rules -- not only did he have to sing a shitty ballad, but he didn't even get his *own* shitty ballad. Instead, he had to sing the same shitty ballad as Jordin, who excels at singing big shitty ballads. Jordin took him to school on the final song, sealing her victory beyond any possible doubt.
I say this every year, but I hate HATE when the judges drag out the whole "it's a singing competition" line. It's not a singing competition, it's a star-making competition, which is why Melinda didn't make the final, Haley stuck around weeks longer than she should have solely based on her looks, and ratings sank once Sanjaya was voted off because he was eccentric, unpredictable, and very different from any finalist they'd ever had. If it was a singing competition, then Blake wouldn't have made the final. He obviously did so based on his creativity and showmanship rather than purely on account of his voice (which is very good, but certainly not spectacular). After diverging into rock and country over the past two seasons, and away from the show's R&B and pop beginnings, Blake was the only truly "new" type of talent (unless Sanjaya counts), genre-wise, that AI produced this year. Why turn sour on that, during the finale no less? Maybe the show's producers know that they got lucky with Blake and figure that a turn to more "pure singing" is the way forward for the next couple of seasons. I don't know. In any case, Blake's only chance was to compete against Melinda and steal the youth vote from Jordin's elimination. Instead, Melinda was voted off, the "singers" vote obviously went to Jordin, and the youth vote was split. No contest.
1. Blake/Jordin, "I Saw Her Standing There". This is silly, fun, inoffensive goofiness, and is perfectly suited to Blake's puppy dog good looks. At this point, I thank the heavens that Melinda wasn't in the finale because then she would have been singing this with Blake instead of Jordin and I might have had to cut my own balls off due to the complete and utter unsexiness of it.
2. Gwen Stefani graces us with a "live" performance from her current tour. Who gives a flying fuck about this pointless self-promotion? Yes, her album is a hit, but she already had a whole week devoted to her and contributed almost zero in terms of useful guidance to the Idols.
3. Kelly Clarkson sings her new single "Never Again". Kelly really shouldn't do the "angry young bitch" act; she's too wholesome to pull it off properly and tends far too much toward shouting in live performance. "Since You Been Gone" was more playful and celebratory, but this sounds like something PJ Harvey would have sung circa 1993. Not to mention that this performance is a tuneless, screaming train wreck, the kind of thing that would have gotten Gina Glocksen voted off three weeks earlier she actually did.
4. Smokey Robinson and the top six guys ... hearing each of them (sans Blake) sing their solo bit only serves to emphasize how boring this collective bunch of guys turned out to be. No sooner than I can think "Smokey showed up and he's doing bloody 'Being With You'?!?!", they switch to "Tears of a Clown" with the guys doing Four Tops-ish dance moves in the back. The dancing reminded me of how my dad always says that he preferred the Temptations to the Four Tops because the latter group danced like a bunch of white guys, with really simple hand-waving and turn moves that any klutz could do. The whole medley here was passable enough though.
5. Blake, Doug E Fresh, "The Show". And here it is, actual hip hop making a spectacular debut on AI, probably for the first and last time. This, to borrow Randy's phrase, blew it out the mofo box and I might as well turn off the TV now because there wont' be anything better tonight. This is a good time as any to reiterate that Simon Cowell is a great talent critic but an iffy talent scout, having passed up (during the audition phases) Clay Aiken (doesn't look like a star, voice is too Broadway), Taylor Hicks (doesn't look like a star, don't like me no soul or blues), and Blake Lewis (too much reliance on beatboxing, it's a singing competition you see).
6. The top six girls perform their medley, and Melinda introduces Gladys Knight (fittingly, considering the similarities) for an ensemble take on "Midnight Train To Georgia". This was vastly more interesting than what the guys did more interesting than the guys did, principally because the girls were interesting this year, meaning there was actual anticipation involved in seeing the band put back together again. It doesn't hurt that everyone looks stylish and adorable, either.
7. As Ryan introduces Tony Bennett, do I spot Constantine Maroulis in the audience looking like a homeless guy shoveled into a suit? Bennett's voice has weakened a lot in the past ten year or so, but who cares, the dude is like 80 years old and is still captivating, romantic, luxurious, and when he needs to (like during the red hot finish) he can bring it on without breaking a sweat. For a moment, right before the coda of "For Once In My Life", I fear they'll bring in "old soul" Sanjaya to duet, but thankfully they don't. The only thing that could have made this cooler would have been Bennett borrowing the pseudo-smoking jacket that Randy is wearing tonight.
8. Melinda, BeBe and Ce Ce Winans, AKA the people she used to sing backup for who are now 1000x less famous than she is. We see that the Winans were good talent spotters and hired the right backup singer because these sorts of soul rave-ups are Melinda's bread and butter.
9. Carrie Underwood, "I'll Stand By You". You know, I think I liked Gina's version better from earlier in the season! Gina was undervalued this year -- it's not like she could have won but she was top five material. One of these years, AI is going to land a 19-year old brown-haired rocker chick who can do the Pat Benetar thing properly and it's going to be massive. Just try convincing me otherwise -- Avril Lavigne and the rest of the pop punk princesses aren't going away anytime soon. In the aftermath of this, Blake and Jordin win new cars, and Jordin's ugly pink and fuchsia striped dress lead me to think that she had a terrible ratio of ugly:decent or good dresses this year, maybe worse than any Idol contestant ever.
10. Clive Davis gives the State of the Idol Union Address. It justifies the overall theme for the evening, i.e. we make the stars now, so this year we're not going to rely so much on outside singing talent in order to stock our finale with big names. Chris Daughtry and Kat McPhee's are praised (Taylor Hicks, who he?), then they make up an award on the spot and present it to Carrie Underwood for selling a zillion albums, and Carrie's speech is all like "I'm not gonna waste more time here, let's move on with the show already, Blake and Jordin are nervous."
11. The African Children's Choir burn up the stage ... it's the next generation of Idol contestants!
12. Sanjaya is joined by Joe Perry in reprising his early-season version of "You Really Got Me". Amazingly, he's the only person from this season to sing solo tonight! Whatever your opinion of him, three years from now he might be the only guy anyone will remember from this season once Melinda returns to singing backup, Jordin vanishes a la Diana Digarmo to rid herself of some baby fat, and Blake's failed Ne-Yo produced single peaks at #24. Everyone will still remember that mohawk.
13. Green Day perform "Working Class Hero", from the upcoming Darfur charity album. I'm a bit surprised that ultraconservative FOX would allow Green Day to take the stage on their #1 show, but I guess it's easy to find common ground over John Lennon and the issue of Darfur. Actually, if the left and right can't find convergence over Darfur, then we're all fucked. Don't expect "Green Day week" on AI season seven, however.
14. Taylor Hicks belts out his single "Heaven Knows" and I guess asking for a jumpstart to his career is too much to ask. If Chris Daughtry can stoke the flames of angst rock's popularity (notice how he wears eye makeup now, just like Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and all the other cool rock kids) then why can't there be a Michael Macdonald revival? I know, that doesn't make any sense. The point, as always, is this: Chris Daughtry sucks.
15. Speaking of careers needing a jumpstart, here's Ruben Studdard to sing "You're All I Need To Get By" with Jordin. Ruben still has the big bubba soul brother thing going on, remains in fantastic voice, and overall does a great job of showing the good qualities that everyone saw in him in the first place. Unfortunately, his look (the size, the suits) isn't MTV-friendly and his singles were such drab R&B fodder. Let this be a reminder to anyone who thinks Melinda Doolittle can sell records.
16. Bette Midler, "Wind Beneath My Wings". OK, so if she's taking over for Celine in Vegas and plans on charging several hundred dollars per ticket, then she didn't do herself any favours here, at least as the long-term health of her show is concerned. Her voice sounds tired and restrained, she simply can't make the vocals take off and soar and all the other flying metaphors that apply. On top of that, as is the case with pro wrestling, why give away something on free TV instead of making people pay big money for it on Pay Per View (or concert tickets)? And after these dismal results, who will want to pay that sort of money now? I guess there's always "The Rose" ...?
17. 17. Tonight's surprise mystery number is a "Sgt Peppers" medley featuring all the past Idol winners (except for Fantasia, who is duly occupied on Broadway. Joe Perry and Kelly Clarkson tackle the title track quite well, Taylor Hicks takes "A Day in the Life", Carrie Underwood (and the Idol girls choir) is surprisingly good on "She's Leaving Home", Ruben (and the Idol boys) sing "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and we wrap with everyone doing "A Little Help From My Friends" in tonight's "epic booking" blowoff moment. Again, this cemented Clive Davis' "look at our legacy" speech, with the former Idol winner playing the parts of the big celebrities from last year's show. Regardless, I preferred last year's show. Former Idol contestants might sell millions in the real world, but this TV show isn't the real world, it's a place where ordinary people get boosted to megastar status. Viewers like watching the American Dream unfold before their eyes, that's why everyone watches. So when someone like Burt Bacharach appears and performs with the Idols, it's a "Pros vs Joes" moment, a WTF juxtaposition, an acknowledgement of "hey, the music business takes us seriously". Seeing former Idols perform with current Idols removes that shock element. I see the same Carrie Underwood back in the environment I most associate with her (the Idol stage), and somehow, that's a tough image to shake no matter how many records she sells. Plus there's absolutely no WTF reaction you can get from seeing Ruben performing with a 2007 Idol that compares to the unlikely duo of Mary J Blige and Elliot Yamin, or sitting with one's mouth agape as former sexpot Toni Braxton rubs herself on an uncomfortable Taylor Hicks while they sing about poverty.
18. 74 million is a LOT of votes, hey that's the third shot of Jerry Springer tonight, Jordin's parents fill David Hassellhoff's role, and we're out!
I say this every year, but I hate HATE when the judges drag out the whole "it's a singing competition" line. It's not a singing competition, it's a star-making competition, which is why Melinda didn't make the final, Haley stuck around weeks longer than she should have solely based on her looks, and ratings sank once Sanjaya was voted off because he was eccentric, unpredictable, and very different from any finalist they'd ever had. If it was a singing competition, then Blake wouldn't have made the final. He obviously did so based on his creativity and showmanship rather than purely on account of his voice (which is very good, but certainly not spectacular). After diverging into rock and country over the past two seasons, and away from the show's R&B and pop beginnings, Blake was the only truly "new" type of talent (unless Sanjaya counts), genre-wise, that AI produced this year. Why turn sour on that, during the finale no less? Maybe the show's producers know that they got lucky with Blake and figure that a turn to more "pure singing" is the way forward for the next couple of seasons. I don't know. In any case, Blake's only chance was to compete against Melinda and steal the youth vote from Jordin's elimination. Instead, Melinda was voted off, the "singers" vote obviously went to Jordin, and the youth vote was split. No contest.
1. Blake/Jordin, "I Saw Her Standing There". This is silly, fun, inoffensive goofiness, and is perfectly suited to Blake's puppy dog good looks. At this point, I thank the heavens that Melinda wasn't in the finale because then she would have been singing this with Blake instead of Jordin and I might have had to cut my own balls off due to the complete and utter unsexiness of it.
2. Gwen Stefani graces us with a "live" performance from her current tour. Who gives a flying fuck about this pointless self-promotion? Yes, her album is a hit, but she already had a whole week devoted to her and contributed almost zero in terms of useful guidance to the Idols.
3. Kelly Clarkson sings her new single "Never Again". Kelly really shouldn't do the "angry young bitch" act; she's too wholesome to pull it off properly and tends far too much toward shouting in live performance. "Since You Been Gone" was more playful and celebratory, but this sounds like something PJ Harvey would have sung circa 1993. Not to mention that this performance is a tuneless, screaming train wreck, the kind of thing that would have gotten Gina Glocksen voted off three weeks earlier she actually did.
4. Smokey Robinson and the top six guys ... hearing each of them (sans Blake) sing their solo bit only serves to emphasize how boring this collective bunch of guys turned out to be. No sooner than I can think "Smokey showed up and he's doing bloody 'Being With You'?!?!", they switch to "Tears of a Clown" with the guys doing Four Tops-ish dance moves in the back. The dancing reminded me of how my dad always says that he preferred the Temptations to the Four Tops because the latter group danced like a bunch of white guys, with really simple hand-waving and turn moves that any klutz could do. The whole medley here was passable enough though.
5. Blake, Doug E Fresh, "The Show". And here it is, actual hip hop making a spectacular debut on AI, probably for the first and last time. This, to borrow Randy's phrase, blew it out the mofo box and I might as well turn off the TV now because there wont' be anything better tonight. This is a good time as any to reiterate that Simon Cowell is a great talent critic but an iffy talent scout, having passed up (during the audition phases) Clay Aiken (doesn't look like a star, voice is too Broadway), Taylor Hicks (doesn't look like a star, don't like me no soul or blues), and Blake Lewis (too much reliance on beatboxing, it's a singing competition you see).
6. The top six girls perform their medley, and Melinda introduces Gladys Knight (fittingly, considering the similarities) for an ensemble take on "Midnight Train To Georgia". This was vastly more interesting than what the guys did more interesting than the guys did, principally because the girls were interesting this year, meaning there was actual anticipation involved in seeing the band put back together again. It doesn't hurt that everyone looks stylish and adorable, either.
7. As Ryan introduces Tony Bennett, do I spot Constantine Maroulis in the audience looking like a homeless guy shoveled into a suit? Bennett's voice has weakened a lot in the past ten year or so, but who cares, the dude is like 80 years old and is still captivating, romantic, luxurious, and when he needs to (like during the red hot finish) he can bring it on without breaking a sweat. For a moment, right before the coda of "For Once In My Life", I fear they'll bring in "old soul" Sanjaya to duet, but thankfully they don't. The only thing that could have made this cooler would have been Bennett borrowing the pseudo-smoking jacket that Randy is wearing tonight.
8. Melinda, BeBe and Ce Ce Winans, AKA the people she used to sing backup for who are now 1000x less famous than she is. We see that the Winans were good talent spotters and hired the right backup singer because these sorts of soul rave-ups are Melinda's bread and butter.
9. Carrie Underwood, "I'll Stand By You". You know, I think I liked Gina's version better from earlier in the season! Gina was undervalued this year -- it's not like she could have won but she was top five material. One of these years, AI is going to land a 19-year old brown-haired rocker chick who can do the Pat Benetar thing properly and it's going to be massive. Just try convincing me otherwise -- Avril Lavigne and the rest of the pop punk princesses aren't going away anytime soon. In the aftermath of this, Blake and Jordin win new cars, and Jordin's ugly pink and fuchsia striped dress lead me to think that she had a terrible ratio of ugly:decent or good dresses this year, maybe worse than any Idol contestant ever.
10. Clive Davis gives the State of the Idol Union Address. It justifies the overall theme for the evening, i.e. we make the stars now, so this year we're not going to rely so much on outside singing talent in order to stock our finale with big names. Chris Daughtry and Kat McPhee's are praised (Taylor Hicks, who he?), then they make up an award on the spot and present it to Carrie Underwood for selling a zillion albums, and Carrie's speech is all like "I'm not gonna waste more time here, let's move on with the show already, Blake and Jordin are nervous."
11. The African Children's Choir burn up the stage ... it's the next generation of Idol contestants!
12. Sanjaya is joined by Joe Perry in reprising his early-season version of "You Really Got Me". Amazingly, he's the only person from this season to sing solo tonight! Whatever your opinion of him, three years from now he might be the only guy anyone will remember from this season once Melinda returns to singing backup, Jordin vanishes a la Diana Digarmo to rid herself of some baby fat, and Blake's failed Ne-Yo produced single peaks at #24. Everyone will still remember that mohawk.
13. Green Day perform "Working Class Hero", from the upcoming Darfur charity album. I'm a bit surprised that ultraconservative FOX would allow Green Day to take the stage on their #1 show, but I guess it's easy to find common ground over John Lennon and the issue of Darfur. Actually, if the left and right can't find convergence over Darfur, then we're all fucked. Don't expect "Green Day week" on AI season seven, however.
14. Taylor Hicks belts out his single "Heaven Knows" and I guess asking for a jumpstart to his career is too much to ask. If Chris Daughtry can stoke the flames of angst rock's popularity (notice how he wears eye makeup now, just like Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and all the other cool rock kids) then why can't there be a Michael Macdonald revival? I know, that doesn't make any sense. The point, as always, is this: Chris Daughtry sucks.
15. Speaking of careers needing a jumpstart, here's Ruben Studdard to sing "You're All I Need To Get By" with Jordin. Ruben still has the big bubba soul brother thing going on, remains in fantastic voice, and overall does a great job of showing the good qualities that everyone saw in him in the first place. Unfortunately, his look (the size, the suits) isn't MTV-friendly and his singles were such drab R&B fodder. Let this be a reminder to anyone who thinks Melinda Doolittle can sell records.
16. Bette Midler, "Wind Beneath My Wings". OK, so if she's taking over for Celine in Vegas and plans on charging several hundred dollars per ticket, then she didn't do herself any favours here, at least as the long-term health of her show is concerned. Her voice sounds tired and restrained, she simply can't make the vocals take off and soar and all the other flying metaphors that apply. On top of that, as is the case with pro wrestling, why give away something on free TV instead of making people pay big money for it on Pay Per View (or concert tickets)? And after these dismal results, who will want to pay that sort of money now? I guess there's always "The Rose" ...?
17. 17. Tonight's surprise mystery number is a "Sgt Peppers" medley featuring all the past Idol winners (except for Fantasia, who is duly occupied on Broadway. Joe Perry and Kelly Clarkson tackle the title track quite well, Taylor Hicks takes "A Day in the Life", Carrie Underwood (and the Idol girls choir) is surprisingly good on "She's Leaving Home", Ruben (and the Idol boys) sing "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and we wrap with everyone doing "A Little Help From My Friends" in tonight's "epic booking" blowoff moment. Again, this cemented Clive Davis' "look at our legacy" speech, with the former Idol winner playing the parts of the big celebrities from last year's show. Regardless, I preferred last year's show. Former Idol contestants might sell millions in the real world, but this TV show isn't the real world, it's a place where ordinary people get boosted to megastar status. Viewers like watching the American Dream unfold before their eyes, that's why everyone watches. So when someone like Burt Bacharach appears and performs with the Idols, it's a "Pros vs Joes" moment, a WTF juxtaposition, an acknowledgement of "hey, the music business takes us seriously". Seeing former Idols perform with current Idols removes that shock element. I see the same Carrie Underwood back in the environment I most associate with her (the Idol stage), and somehow, that's a tough image to shake no matter how many records she sells. Plus there's absolutely no WTF reaction you can get from seeing Ruben performing with a 2007 Idol that compares to the unlikely duo of Mary J Blige and Elliot Yamin, or sitting with one's mouth agape as former sexpot Toni Braxton rubs herself on an uncomfortable Taylor Hicks while they sing about poverty.
18. 74 million is a LOT of votes, hey that's the third shot of Jerry Springer tonight, Jordin's parents fill David Hassellhoff's role, and we're out!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
American Idol: Final Three
There are always one or two weeks where something rotten is in the air and all the performers turn in subpar efforts. It's too bad that the most glaring example of this had to happen on such an important episode. Two weeks left, with all the chaff finally cleared out and sent home, leaving only the four Idols with a realistic chance of winning. Instead of stepping up, every one of them found a way to expose the limitations of their talents.
Melinda went Broadway, as always, and oversang everything in lieu of actually giving a crap about any of the songs. LaKisha's naive charm had been slowly morphing into arrogance as she started to buy into her stardom. Everyone associated with the show is on a major fame high right now, and they have a tendency to think that the fame is for real and can perpetuate once separated from the show. Poor LaKisha. In this case, she ignored Barry Gibb's advice to sing "Stayin' Alive" in a higher key and it turned out to be a plodding mess. Simon was dead on about Jordin and her tendency to lapse into pageant-y, OTT glitz.
Nobody exposed himself worse than Blake, who, after a season filled with smart decisions and daring creative gambles, looked and sounded awful. Blake does two things well: 1) radical remakes of popular tunes (Bon Jovi), 2) straight-ahead, frills-free versions (Keane, Latin Week), using his boy-band-ready voice to add contemporary sheen to almost anything. Nowhere in this model for success is there room for a falsetto. Nowhere in this model for success is there room for throwing off random scratches and beatboxing noises just for shits and giggles, just to prove that he can.
The fact that he survived last week shows that his (young) fanbase is loyal, and he may or may not have actually been in the bottom two (the third straight week that we've learned nothing about the rankings, so he has as good a chance as any to vault himself into the final with a strong showing tonight.
Melinda went Broadway, as always, and oversang everything in lieu of actually giving a crap about any of the songs. LaKisha's naive charm had been slowly morphing into arrogance as she started to buy into her stardom. Everyone associated with the show is on a major fame high right now, and they have a tendency to think that the fame is for real and can perpetuate once separated from the show. Poor LaKisha. In this case, she ignored Barry Gibb's advice to sing "Stayin' Alive" in a higher key and it turned out to be a plodding mess. Simon was dead on about Jordin and her tendency to lapse into pageant-y, OTT glitz.
Nobody exposed himself worse than Blake, who, after a season filled with smart decisions and daring creative gambles, looked and sounded awful. Blake does two things well: 1) radical remakes of popular tunes (Bon Jovi), 2) straight-ahead, frills-free versions (Keane, Latin Week), using his boy-band-ready voice to add contemporary sheen to almost anything. Nowhere in this model for success is there room for a falsetto. Nowhere in this model for success is there room for throwing off random scratches and beatboxing noises just for shits and giggles, just to prove that he can.
The fact that he survived last week shows that his (young) fanbase is loyal, and he may or may not have actually been in the bottom two (the third straight week that we've learned nothing about the rankings, so he has as good a chance as any to vault himself into the final with a strong showing tonight.
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