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Buzzcook's Idol Review
So, most folks know a couple of inspirational
songs, “We Shall Over Come”, or “Everyday People”.
The depth and breadth of the material is huge
and unless Idol makes the kids pick off a limited menu,
everyone should find a song that they can do
and that also speaks to their hearts.
But then again I said pretty much the same thing about Elvis week.
Casey shirtless boy does “Don’t Stop”. Well Casey
makes pleasant background music.
The boy is losing ground over the last few weeks.
Thanks for the memories of the Clinton campaign though.
Randy damns with slight praise, wants Casey to
try something different. Ellen says his guitar playing is great but he
isn’t.
Kara calls jam band. Simon says it isn’t very
inspirational, says bad song choice.
Lee Dewyze does “The Boxer”. Doesn’t really seem
like an inspirational choice to me. But Lee is headed toward
second after Crystal so we’ll see. Pulls a bit
back from the S&G version and does a bit of the Streisand on it.
It works ok but it doesn’t quite make it. Maybe
if he didn’t have to cut the heck out of it, Lee could have developed the
song better.
As a rule, songs with lyrics of "La,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la" tend to blow
donkey. The lone exception Here
How can "La,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la" be inspirational?
These best thing about this Paul Simon snoozefest
is the cannons exploding - but Lee didn't have that.
Randy says he’s one of Lee’s biggest fans. Ellen
thinks it’s a beautiful song choice.
Kara calls it a moment. Simon says it’s the best
so far.
Tim Urban does “Better Days”. Tim starts out nervous.
He tries to build but hits a couple nasty off notes.
There is nothing to this version. It’s not a
very difficult song and Tim can’t hack it. Thank god Tim has Jezuz on his
side. ha ha
Randy is all "Yo it’s karaoke." Ellen uses some bad pre-scripted material.
I agree - Ellen used her canned material horribly
and I figured out how she does it. The judges get the songs
in advance so Ellen calls her writers and has
them come up with some lame-ass jokes that just don't fly.
Ellen's joke last night was "It's
like a restuarant - sometimes I like the soup,
and sometimes I don't. Tonight I didn't like
the soup."
IMNTBHO, Ellen is going to kill this show when she takes over next year.
Kara doesn’t say anything. Simon thinks Tim has over stretched himself.
Aaron Kelly does “I Believe I Can Fly”.
While Aaron does ok he should think of Art
Linkletter’s daughter before he sings this again.
ha ha - that's terrible!
Aaron goes for the big finish and hits the notes. Aaron is officially the next Disney boy.
Randy say he did ok. Ellen fails with another
pre-scripted bit. Kara says it ended well.
Simon likes the end too. I think the judges sense
the futility of it all.
Siobhan Magnus does “When you Believe”. Breathy
at the start. Kind of schizophrenic arrangement.
Hopping from slow and contemplative to full Mariah
just doesn’t work. She is now officially just another pretty girl with
a pretty voice.
The judges tell them constantly - do NOT do Mariah,
Whitney or Aretha, but they never listen.
I have a theory: In their head, when they sing
a song by the greats, they hear the great's voice.
I think Siobhan's going home tonight. .
Randy says it’s just ok. Ellen babbles. Kara thinks it’s got technical merit but no style points. Simon says it’s old fashion.
Don't you hate it when the Idol producers say,"We're
doing slow, shitty ballads this week,"
and then the judges say,
"For me, it seemed kind of slow and shitty...."
I think that "theme" crap is crap.
They wanto see the country kid sing soul - why?
They want the Brother to sing a twangy country
song - why?
Big Mike does “Hero”. Did someone force him to
use the strings? Even if Mike tried to put some edge on the vocals
(he didn’t) the arrangement made it all soft.
In some ways this was a good song in that Mike was out of his comfort zone.
Where Mike failed is where he always fails, he
played it safe. Mike has a go to church voice and he should have used it.
Howard Stern has a theory ..
He says the band always screws up the songs -
not in a technical sense,
but he says the contestants always sound better
with less band and he might be right.
Did you know, after Kevin Eubanks leaves Jay Leno's
train wreck of a show,
the Idol band is taking over - so we can all
sit on pins and needles waiting for that. (heavy sarcasm)
Randy thinks it worked. Ellen says nothing. Kara
says it wasn’t her fav.
Simon says it’s not jelly. I think the judges
are just waiting for Crystal.
Crystal Bowersox does “People Get Ready”. Crystal
does a Crystal job.
Her voice gives a bit of a screech in part. A
bit of emotion at the end.
That explains the screech a bit and the slight
lack of lung power.
Still better than anyone else.
Randy calls it outstanding. Ellen babbles. ha
ha - That's not a review because Ellen
always
bables :)
Kara admits that Crystal is the only one there.
Simon likes the emotional break, says it means Crystal isn’t mailing it
in.
So with a couple exceptions the kids don’t seem
to know what an inspirational song is.
At least Tim didn’t shoot for his xtian roots
and pick a Sandy Patti song.
For a second I thought Big Mike was going to
sing a Bette Midler song, at least we were saved that.
So tomorrow we’ll see if the power of JeZuZ still
works.
Buzzcook