Tuesday, March 30, 2010

idle idol

kinda boring start, what with soiban blowing the pitch all over the room and becoming a character... she needs to find her soft depths and more variety to win this, and most especially she must stay on pitch... even more, she must learn to take criticism and deal with not being perfect cuz everybody has off nights, especially early on in a career... her sheltered, maybe spoiled diva showed tonight... or just too sensitive?... two sides of the same coin... either way, she's becoming too predictable... maybe she should try some janis ian or minnie ripperton or mariah or even barbara streisand...

luckily, there are a few others who don't have a fraction of the talent, like didi, andrew, and tim (though tim does have personality and a contageous positivity which should carry him a few more weeks, maybe)... they have some talent, but not enough to go much further... or farther, for that matter... we shall see what they do tonight... meanwhile, casey locked in another week doing what he does, which is what so many have done before, which is entertaining, like last years winner, but not amazing... i want amazing...

and while michael was not amazing, he was closer than casey... there are soft depths i was talking about... that is michael's element, the soft teddy pendegrass melodic bluesy songs, sad or happy, emo sells...

didi almost sold the song on performance, but it got overdone and hammy and off and i did not enjoy her voice at all... ryan may have saved her by exposing (or suggesting) the personal heartbreak behind the song and yet, her inability to talk about it dropped her even further from idol status... got to be able to make the people cry with your story when you've got one if you want to climb to the top...

am i taking this crap seriously?... lol lam

every one of these ten singers are going on the americal idol tour and if they do not feel that bliss every week, they are fools and more egocentric than i want to root for, so yes, soiban disappointed and dropped a bit, michel rose... and tim exemplifies what i mean about enjoying the once in a lifetime opportuninty, but still looks way too goofy to sell a beautiful love song to the camera, even as his voice gets better each week, it still stays way too white bread flat to be another surprise like chris from last year, and then again he could go surprisingly far (he already has, actually) just cuz he's got the right attitude... maybe...

andrew, i find boring... low energy and no personality and not entertaining, but he might have skated through this week, unless the blatent blast of personal pity-the-girl melodrama saves didi...

katy has guts taking on songs and artists that may be beyond her years, but she's surprisingly carrying it off more often than not and tonight, choosing aretha, follows her bold pattern... the outfit was so potato sack looking that it distracted from the performance... trying to look hot and raw and sexy and full of attitude in a potato sack does not work, but her voice improves each week and she moves on easily...

lee is a bruce springsteen wanna-be with potential to make it into the top five if he lets himself go and finds more confidence... and he came closer than he has in a few weeks to performing up to his potential, i do see the bruce in him rising, so he moves on for sure... he could have dropped into the bottom three, but he didn't...

crystal has put on a lot of weight since early on, maybe the diabetes, but she's got the pipes and personality and talent and style... and if she gets up from the piano to really sing (cuz she's concentrating too much on the fingers)... and she did, and it was almost amazing... she's still #1 for me, even if, in the end, she isn't america's idol...

aaron has so much potential for his age, he could go top few if he hits every note and grows into his songs... and he sings a great song and pulls it off, even though i didn't like the last note or a few others and he was boring during the i know, but he still moves on...

so bottoming out remains didi, andrew, and tim... maybe soiban if they want to bring drama to the show (and that means either they fix the voting or the majority of viewers are fickle and have add voting many times each), but she has too much voice to be knocked off this early if talent means anything on this show... and the judges would save her if they have any integrity... anyway, the top few don't change much for me... get on with it, aye?...

Saturday, March 27, 2010

commercials

are switching to geico commercials getting more and more stupid?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

why?

how, why, wow... how did paige get as far as she did on american idol... since before the first 24 i wondered how she got through to hollywood... and then i wondered how she got through week after week... and for her to have beat out lacy last week was a crime... i have said it week after week, she's got to be gone... what could possibly be keeping her on the show, her looks?... her skin color?... she is embarrassing to the show...

and i lost interest in the show and switched over to ncis... whatever the voters decide, the show is much more a popularity contest based on superificial whatever and not any sort of real talent contest, no less singing contest... but then, that's the entertainment business, after all, just look who is the guest artist giving advice this week... a world of life experience, no doubt... and people ignore the shallowness because of the skin and glitz and hype...

ok, switching back and forth, tim was ok, not great, no personality, but he didn't deserve the worst of the judges and i think the judges needed to drag tim down to balance paige for whatever reason, they want paige on the show... and aaron was good, but now i'm excited to hear crystal sing janis...

ok, she is not janis... and the song was too short for the reve up it needed... maybe she could given the runway, but too short for the energy the song demands... still, she is good... dang good... and so what's the point of week after week when the two best singers-performers are crystal and soiban and if they are not there at the end, the show blew it again and it really doesn't matter because they will both have hit records and careers... lacy should be on the tour too... michael is good, he's through...

i like ncis much better than ncis:la mostly because of the ensemble, but also for the quirkiness, especially abby... and oh wow, they must know it cuz there is abby stumbling on to the set as if right on cue...

the others will have to carry andrew through the top ten tour, but he still can't go because paige was the absolute worst once again and and she really should not be on the top ten tour unless the show simply needs a cute black girl to balance out the top ten... and katie gets better each week... the top six or seven are gonna be fun to watch...

casey will be there for a while, he's got the package they want around in the top few... but he's still just an imitation, a good imitation, but nothing original... and simon nailed because the casey charisma doesn't effect him... it was a copy, a good copy, but a copy...

and didi is another copy... jessica simpson wanna be and jessica is no great talent... this show will finally get good when they get down to the last six or so... crystal, soiban, katie, michael, aaron, casey, lee, it really trails off after the first few though... they are all still too scared on stage, so rarely are any of them letting it all go...

and soiban nails it... i didn't like the song choice, didn't life some of the beginning and middle, but she seems like can handle just about anything... yeah, let's get it down to the top few already...

Sunday, March 14, 2010

cable strangles the mind

yes, there are many more channels to choose from now and while there are still just a limited number of shows that interest me, there is, for the first time in years, a choice between two, three, sometimes (though not often) four different shows on at the same time that i might watch, at least glance up at in the background, if only one of the shows was on...

so i suppose i ought to revise the side bar one of these days, but not until i have a bit of mind to space... until then, i'll just take it one moment at a time...

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

idol boys

ok, ellen is getting on my nerves... how many times will she use the words adorable and great and think she can get away with it just by following it with her dumb grin (and i adore her, mind you)... but she is adding so little to the show beyond the i'm just a goofy fan bit and occasional silly amusing lines... and cara does little more... the judges are the most annoying and boring part of the show... and that's the impression the first five minutes gave me...

first contestant?... oh, was there one?... yeah, the bruce springsteen clone will probably do well, especially if he chooses the right songs because he has that good old american grittiness and sincerity in his voice... like many of the third or fourth place finishers have had in previous years... maybe even a second placer, aye?...

ok, so lee is americana and moves on to next week... and number to, alex, too stiff and performing and not in the song... he might not make it... and the stupid intellectual pit bull war between ryan and simon is juvenile and the slurpy flirtation between cara and simon is too put on and the atmosphere is losing authenticity and drowning out the voices... and poor randy, his dawg schtick used to be annoying, but i almost miss it because it was more authentic than the soft soap he's peddling now... the absence of paula and her emotional connection with the idol dream and the contestants is becoming more evident with each show...

and tim does a decent job with halleluya, but no roof is being blown off... he moves on in my book though... andrew sanitized christina's genie in a bottle and is did not work for me at all... and the brevity of the performances is also killing the show... they should have stayed with two hours and let the singers sing whole songs... the show is not about the music, it's about the judge's soap opera antics and quips and way too little music... the judges are disappointed a lot this year, and this idol viewer is very disappointed in the judges and production... was it paula that kept the emphasis on the performance of the singers?... or is the transparency of the egocentric judging finaly showing through... or both...

casey has what it takes to be in the top three... he has a style that takes over a song, a genuine performance quality that is uniquely his which is what a star is about, becoming part of the song and give it your mark... not great, but he'll move on... and the judges remain annoyingly innocuous... aaron has something like clay aikin did, a nerdy nebishy surprising quality that will probably keep him in it, but he's not a favorite for me... but the judges are reading way too much into things, especially cara... two women trying to do what paula did and they fail miserably... and all four judges are contradicting themselves so much week to week, it's making their input into the show, which is the majority of face time, meaningless... they are so not giving me the impression that they have any credibility in judging singers or performers... maybe because none of them are (turn on the sarcasm sign)...

it's sad that most of my impressions of the show are about the judges, not about the eight singers... but that's what is most wrong with idol season nine... the spotlight is turned in the wrong direction...

toddrick trying to do freddy mercury was sad... good karaoke version of the somebody to love, but it did not win me over... for me, he's got to be gone next week, but the theatrical quality of the song might get him more votes than others who gave lackluster performances tonight... all in all, the girls impress me much more than the guys, but that's not saying too much this year as a day later, in spite of enjoying a few of them a lot last night, i am not remembering any of the girls as must see again performances...

michael has grown on me... i want him to do well... not impressed with the song at all, but that's just taste... the voice and performance, however, definitely got my attention... he moves on for sure no matter what the judges might say... and after listening to the judges all i come away with is how self-serving and put on they are... and cara is so getting on my nerves way more than ellen did at the start of the show...

so michael leads, casey second, lee third, tim, aaron, alex bunched behind them and the other two are gone for me... so who cares, aye? :)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

idol growing on me

ok, so i adore the dream of singing because i love singing and so i tune in again to american idol and i am hopeful that someone will seriously wow me and while there's still no absolute wow, anyone singing house of the rising sun without making want to scream shut up has me smiling (cuz it's a favorite song)... simon was right, she could have done it better, especially with her range, but she must go on another week and is in my top five for tonight... lacey makes it too, but just behind siobhan… the first one is not ready, katie, too young and inexperienced, but definitely has potential talent… katelyn disappointed, but still should move along… before the show started didi and paige were the ones who should go… let’s see if they can change my mind…

meanwhile, I love what somebody is doing on wikipedia

didi challenges me with a stevi nicks song (I adore stevi)… didi is no stevi nicks… she might make it in a folk club, but she’s gone from idol… wow, the audience almost didn’t applaud… that was so karaoke… club talent, maybe, but not superstar… and simon and kara are amazing in their positive comments (which other singers on the show tonight deserved but did not get), but maybe they do what they do for the show… and the paige singing another of my favorite songs… and she is gone for me too… and all four judges agree… will voters react to save her because the judges all put her down… I stand by my two elimations…

crystal rises to the top once again… she’s my top candidate for American idol and win or lose, she’s got a career ahead of her… she really does need to fill the gap in her teeth though, in spite of the authenticity it gives her, an idol winner can afford perfect teeth… but perfect look or not, she’s my number one this week…

coming into this week, lilly shared that number one spot with crystal last week or whenever I last saw them, so it’ll be interesting to see what she can do tonight… sioban and lacey fill our my top four girls.. katelyn and katie make it for me, but with kara and simon behind did, she might beat out katie…

lilly is adorable… and so my six are picked in this order (I know you’ve been dying for me to do this, shhh, don’t pretend you aren’t dying to know… we won’t tell)… she’s number two for me, soiban a close third, then lacey, katelyn, and katie…

of course the best singer or performer does not always win idol…

but I love singing and the dream…

Sunday, March 7, 2010

caprica

as i watched another episode of caprica, the prequel series to battlestar gallactica i remembered why i did not watch battlestar after catching a few random episodes... on a subconscious level the series turned me off at first glance for a number of reasons... war does not appeal to me at all... i have not sat through star wars, for instance... i've seen bits of some of the nine films, but the whole buck rogers war genre of sci-fi turns me off (i only glanced at buck rogers as well)...

so why did i choose to pay for the downloads of caprica a few weeks ago?... impulse, yes... the same impulse that leads me to occasionally glance up and get into smallville and that seventies show and dollhouse (though dollhouse had the dual appeal of a mystery and/or intriguing premise like the dead zone and dead like me and heroes, maybe) and even dawson's creek, simply, a pretty face... though caprica's pretty face is not in the same league as others, maybe smallville, which i seldom actually choose to watch... caprica offers an intriguing premise and possibilities, though i sense it will not live up to the possibilities i see in it because, after all, humans are creating it and it will most likely reinforce all the stupid human beliefs in the end...

give me some heinlein or sci-fi that actually challenges human beliefs and that i will want to see, probably go out of my way to see, even... and after seven or so episodes the grating aspects of battlestar are starting to reach a repetition that is challenging to ignore... the moronic use of the word frack, for instance... i mean, fucking frack this and frack that and even substituting frack for shit and other words... the lack of creativity (and guts) is a purtid stench in the script and the puritanical language fear is nauseating to my ears...

and then there are other ignorance fears and prejudices played upon to what the writers must believe is either an ignorance audience or an audience who wants to see human superstitions and prejudices and fears played out by other races, maybe in that insecure human desire to validate their own fears and prejudices... like a train wreck or a plane crasj attracts an audience... and yet, i want to see if the possible enlightened outcome might be where the writers are going (that is so very rare in human literature and arts)... so i download the episodes...

then the next irritant shows itself, the ultra-slow pacing of the story as draggin on and on as any soap opera ever was... i will further alienate most of my human audience by stating that i feel the only way i could actually watch a soap opera day after day is if i was severely retarded... at least... i have yet to see one, and i have tried watching for stretches of time in this life, that does not move so slowly that is is utterly predictable and overall, asks so little of the brain outside of sit and watch in a vegetative state...

meanwhile, the commercial for the news just urged me to watch to see the opening of python humping season... yes, tv news, python humping, the news... the founders of the fourth estate would no doubt be proud...

anyway, back to caprica, i'm tired of talking about it at the moment (awwww, what a let down, aye?)... there's more, but perhaps now we see why, at least for me in this life, tv is little more than background noise...