Idol Analyzed
I’ve been wanting to post something about the pull that American Idol has on me, an exploratory piece that would inevitably include my take on this year’s contestants. But I could never really find the words (or the time!) to do such a post justice. Lucky for me, Gary Kamiya over at Salon did a much better job than I ever could with a recent post. I highly recommend any fan of the show to give his article a read. Definitely worthwhile.
“American Idol” offers a strange, and in some ways subversive, perspective on pop music. Because it features amateurs who lack the seamless, produced polish of pop pros (although one or two ringers have apparently sneaked in), it actually deconstructs the very medium that its contestants aspire to conquer. Maybe the weirdest and most compelling thing about the show is watching real people who, for perfectly good reasons, desperately aspire to be devoured by the great plastic machinery of pop stardom — but who, in order to seize that gold ring, have to tap into their own naive, mundane talent, have to be themselves. It’s a paradox as old as America, and it drives the show. When Ryan Seacrest tells contestants who have been voted off that they have to sing for their lives, it’s hokey — but it’s irresistible. And because the contestants actually need to be talented, there are fewer of the synthetic hard-body pretty boys and girls who pop up in shows like “Survivor.” Whether by the Machiavellian wiles of the producers in charge of the selection process, or more likely just because that’s who they are, the finalists are refreshingly unstylish and nondescript. They’re basically a bunch of schmoes who can sing.
As for his take on the remaining contestants, I can’t really argue with his synopsis. However, his praise for Adam Lambert went largely unqualified, which I think was slightly off point. I would’ve pointed something out that I think could be working against him and could ultimately lead to his demise. Lambert’s obviously an incredible talent but equally important in this show is the likeability factor, something which I’m afraid Lambert is sorely lacking. It’s not the homosexuality issue that could bring him down as Mr. Kamiya suggests (unless, of course, the evangelicals and Mormons rally around the issue just like they have gay marriage, complaining that it infects their children’s sensibilities). Rather, it’s the fact that the dude comes off as a dick. He’s not overt by any means, but there’s something lingering just beneath the surface that I can’t help but notice. Something that tells me he jokes with his friends off screen about how the other contestants are posers and he’s clearly the best. He just seems so incredibly disingenuous when he’s up there, trying to act like he’s down-to-earth when it strikes me as painfully apparent he is anything but. It’s one thing to perform with confidence, which he surely does. It’s quite another to cross over into the world of cocky, which he also does. And that may be what ultimately does him in. America wants someone to root for and Lambert makes that hard to do, no matter his amazing talent. That being said, on the basis of talent alone, he is certainly a cut above the rest. It’ll be interesting to see how America decides.
Pleasant Surprises
While Susan Boyle deservedly gets showered with praise and attention for her surprising turn on Britain’s Got Talent, I discovered another story from the show that was equally heartwarming. Turns out the winner from last year, Paul Potts, is just as unassuming in character yet boasts an even more powerful voice.
Not too shabby, eh? It takes special pipes to pull off that song and he did it beautifully. The next clip goes on to show the wonderful success he’s had since the show. And to that I say, bravo! What I love about these shows is that it allows average, everyday folks to shine. Really great stuff.
Slice Of Awesome
Most Definitely Not
JJ reminded me of a post I intended to write over the weekend about last week’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
I appreciate Maher’s goal of bringing folks from the world of entertainment and the general political intelligentsia together to discuss the issues of the day. Ideally, such an effort would foster a debate capable of cutting across multiple demographics that would reach a wide audience. However, there are moments when this experiment runs painfully awry. We saw such an instance this past week when Maher’s three panelists were the esteemed Salman Rushdie and Christopher Hitchens….and Mos Def (whose name I assume is short for “most definitely”).
To say this was an intellectual mismatch would be an understatement. Now, I don’t knock Mos Def for his inability to match wits with Rushdie and Hitchens. After all, they are two of the brighter bulbs around – insightful and cunning agent provocateurs with a sometimes dangerous gift for words. Most of us would resemble mental midgets when compared to those two. My problem is that Mos Def has too high an opinion of himself, so much so that he actually dominated the discussion with largely incoherent dribble, stealing from us an opportunity to hear the thoughtful ruminations of the other panelists. If Mos Def had more of a social IQ, he would’ve been switched on to the idea that he didn’t have much substance to add to the discussion and should therefore sit back, listen and pick his spots. This way, the audience could actually learn something while he would also come off as thoughtful (and respectful in the presence of genius). Instead, the discussion was hijacked by an ignoramus with a horrendous signal-to-noise ratio, and we were robbed of a chance to enjoy the musings of two truly great minds.
There have been other examples of this in the past (I recall Chris Rock having a similarly bad performance), and so I’d suggest that Maher do two things: 1) do a better job of vetting his guests; and 2) do a better job of managing the discussion. The fact that he allowed Mos Def to run roughshod was a failure of the moderator above all else.
I still love the show, even if Maher’s political agenda sometimes makes me cringe (particularly when it comes to fiscal issues). And as much as I love Rushdie and Hitchens, my favorite guest so far has got to be Corey Booker, the mayor of Newark, NJ. What a thoughtful, articulate and passionate guy. He’s exactly the type of leadership we need in government today. And Maher should invite him back every chance he gets.
Cover Of The Day
In the spirit of American Idol, I’ve got to give a shout-out to this mighty fine rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine by David Archuleta.
Glasvegas
My main man Coley the Cole-man recently recommended that I give the Scottish rock band, Glasvegas, a listen. As usual, his taste in music proved spot-on, and I’ve been listening to the band’s self-titled album pretty much non-stop over the past week. For your listening pleasure, I’ve included a clip from one of the band’s live shows. The song is called Go Square Go and the part at the end gets me so fired up that it makes me want to smash my head through a window.
Danny Gokey
I’m ashamed and embarrassed to admit that I – fully 31 years of age – still watch American Idol. I’m even more reluctant to admit that I have my own list of favorite contestants. One of them was Anoop Desai, aka Anoop Dog. He’s a well-spoken Indian dude with a rockin’ voice. Unfortunately, he got the boot last night, which I attribute to us being a nation of cowards when it comes to race (I’m channeling the befuddling Eric Holder here).
However, my real favorite – and Lizzi agrees – is Danny Gokey. This dude can blow. He’s got kind of a dork vibe about him but it’s not overwhelming by any means (though the fact that he’s a church music director doesn’t help his cool quotient one bit). And he’s got a heartbreaking story to boot. Apparently, the poor guy’s wife died a couple weeks prior to his initial audition, which was certainly played up during the show’s early coverage. Now he’s made it through to the final twelve, a feat that I say is very well-deserved.
Below is a selection of his work thus far (audio only):
Sungha Jung
I was introduced to this kid’s videos while hanging out with some friends after the Eric Clapton show last night (which was great, by the way). This little dude is what I like to call redonkulous. Apparently, he’s an eleven or twelve year-old guitar prodigy from South Korea who is quite good with the strings. Check out some of his videos below (starting with one of my favorite songs from Once).
And a little U2:
And an Extreme classic:
Coldplay
We saw Coldplay at the Saitama Super Center on Wednesday, which was the first show on their new world tour. Fresh off their Grammy appearance (and wins), the crew showed no signs of jetlag as they managed to bring a decent amount of energy to the show. Nonetheless, I was a bit disappointed in their performance. Don’t get me wrong, the guys sound great live…and therein lies the problem. They pretty much sound exactly as they do on their albums. This isn’t all bad since I do very much enjoy their music and consider these guys to be wonderful musicians. And Chris Martin certainly gives it his best from an entertainment perspective (though some of his machinations do feel a bit contrived). However, it would be nice if things weren’t so formulaic. A little experimentation would be nice; you know, loosen up a bit and try something different. Instead, the guys put on a very professional performance that was just that – professional. I guess that’s what you get with these arena shows.
Speaking of the arena, the Saitama Super Center is actually quite cool. The building can physically change shape to cater to the crowd size, going from a large stadium to a smaller arena depending on the event, which adds a level of versatility that is quite impressive. And it’s got a Gold’s Gym at the top! I was hoping to see a solitary figure jogging on the treadmill as we left, which would’ve been a perfect representation of “random Japan”. Unfortunately, nobody was in the mood for a post-concert workout.
It’s also worth commenting on the behavior of the crowd, which turned out to be classicly Japanese. Doors opened at 3:30 the day of the show and the opening act was scheduled to go on at 5:00. Thanks to some online sleuthing, we estimated that Coldplay wouldn’t start until about 6:30, so we timed our arrival pretty much perfectly. However, when we arrived at the arena (after about 45 minutes on the train), we were slightly concerned that we had the wrong night. There was no crowd whatsoever and things seemed eerily peaceful and quiet outside the arena. This, of course, is not the type of pre-concert atmosphere we’ve grown accustomed to after years of attending shows in the U.S.
Luckily, it turned out we had the right night. We had simply arrived well after our fellow Japanese concert-goers, most of whom I suspect arrived at 3:30 and then waited patiently in their seats for the opening act, and were now waiting patiently again for the main event. As we made our way to our seats, the halls were impossibly quiet and pretty much empty. The music being blasted over the speakers inside was totally undetectable and the only people we saw came in the form of hall monitors and the occasional beer stand. Just weird.
The vibe was similarly lifeless during the performance itself. There were occasional signs of life throughout the show but the crowd mostly responded in standard Japanese fashion – quiet, deferential, reserved. Lizzi even had someone tug on her shirt at the beginning of the set to request that she please sit down, a suggestion one would never encounter anywhere else, to be sure. It was so bad that at one point Chris Martin jokingly suggested that we see just how quiet things could get inside the arena. I kinda felt bad for the guy, but then I remembered that he is super rich and married to Gwenyth Paltrow, and the feeling passed.
Left slightly deflated by the whole experience, we’re looking to rebound tonight by catching Eric Clapton at the famous Budokan. Given the show’s location and the fact that it’s, well, Eric Clapton, I suspect this will be a much more fulfilling experience.
Cover of the Day
I’m developing a thing for skillfully-done cover songs. As a result, I’ve decided to make coverage of such songs (pun intended – boo yah!) a standard part of my blog. Below you’ll find a smashing rendition of one of my favorite Snow Patrol songs, Run, performed by the talented British beauty, Leona Lewis. I love this girl’s voice and think she does an incredible job with this song. Pay no mind to the cheesy setting – she was the 2006 winner of the British talent show X-Factor (similar to American Idol) and this version apparently marked a homecoming of sorts for her, having already struck it big with her first post-X-Factor album, Bleeding Love. You’ll notice Simon Cowell falling all over himself after her performance, but I can’t say that I blame him! Look for Lewis to perform along with Beyonce and Jay-Z at Obama’s inauguration next month. Oh sweet diggity.
Shine A Light
We saw Martin Scorsese’s Shine A Light last night, the Rolling Stones documentary that covers one of the band’s NYC shows back in 2006. What an incredible film. Of course, the directing was superb and Jagger & crew were certainly up for the challenge. Having never seen the Stones live, this qualifies as a suitable alternative as far as I’m concerned. It really felt like I was at the actual concert, thanks in large part to the fact that we were seated fairly close to the screen and the sound system was, shall we say, off the hiz. I was so wrapped up in the show that I excused myself to grab the obligatory brewskie (they sell alcohol in Japanese movie theaters) since no show is complete without me assuming my traditional concert-going pose – some bobbing of the head, occasional foot-tapping that may or may not be on beat, and one or both hands clutching a nice cold beer. Heaven. In any event, this was a great show and I highly recommend any music fan – Stones or otherwise – to see this movie. Not only was the music fantastic, but it was a sight to see these old-timers get up there and ply their trade in such phenomenal form. The energy that they expend each night is mind-boggling. I couldn’t imagine doing that for a week, much less the forty-plus years they’ve been going. Unreal. And Scorsese’s touch was true, which should come as no surprise. I particularly liked the insertion of interview clips dating back from when the band had just started out, most of which had interviewers asking questions about the band’s potential longevity. One reporter asked Jagger when he must’ve been just a tad over 20 if he could ever imagine doing “this” at 60. Without hesitation, Jagger answered “absolutely”. How prescient he was!
Below is a clip from the show that includes a guest appearance by Jack White (one of my faves in the biz) for a rendition of Loving Cup. Other guest appearances included equally powerful showings by Buddy Guy for Champagne and Reefer and Christina Aguilera for Live With Me.
Asian Pop
I submitted myself to a brief viewing of MTV in Hong Kong today and was treated to the following fine videos, both from South Korean boy bands.
This one is for a band called Shinwa. What a I loved about this video: the totally ridiculous shootout that is unrealistic on so many fronts (how did the guy they were saving not get shot in the crossfire since he was clearly in the line of fire? and how did his buddy manage to shoot the chains off of his wrist when there was no possible way to get it at it angularly?), and the very unsuccessful attempt to paint these pansies as tough by showing them firing guns in slow motion.
This one is from a band called SS501, which apparently stands for superstars and unison of its five members for eternity (which is was the zero is for). This might be the worst band name ever, both in style and concept. What I love about this video: the fact that these skinny little mites are acting tough in a song about fighting and the workout scenes that show them training in their punk rock clothes. Awesome in a very unintentional comedic way.
