maybe the worlds not crazy?

So as you can tell from the title of this blog, sometimes I think one of us has to be crazy, either it's the world at large or it's me. I'm not quite sure which one it could be, but I know that opinions and values and thoughts and ideals can't be separated by a gulf that large without one side or the other being fundamentally and certifiably crazy. These differences between the world and I have spanned for pretty much every aspect of life, education, national security, politics, personal relationships, sports, entertainment, and morals, values, and ethics. However, every so often, every once in a blue moon, like a shot from the dark, the stars align and I ask, maybe the worlds not crazy?

The question is often times more of a rhetorical pondering than anything grounded in substance and I'm usually shocked back to reality in less time than it takes to actually ask the question itself, but still I'm left to ponder, maybe the worlds not so crazy after all. You are asking yourself right now, what magical happening took place that would make me doubt for even a split second the pure and utter madness of the world. Well the answer is as purely ridiculous as the question itself. American Idol!

Yes, the show I'm drawn to watch but love to hate, the show whose existence is the foundation for my soapbox railings against the watered down mediocrity that we call music today. The primary reason I have come to despise an industry driven by the whimsical and clueless lusting of teenage girls who wouldn't recognize talent or musical ability if it jumped right out of their IPOD earbuds and right into the cochlea itself. Yes, today American Idol makes me question if the world is actually a little bit sane after all.

Last night with a record number of people voting, David Cook overwhelmingly defeated teeny-bopper David Archuleta. In what could be described in a historical context as a battle between Barry Manilow and Bob Seger, Archuleta droning out the mellow Manilow like classics over and over again and Cook showing range and versatility in being able to go from rocking and rolling to power ballads just like Seger did.

While I don't think that either David sounds like his analogical partner, it presents a clear example of the difference and dichotomy between the two American Idol finalists. Cook came out playing his electric guitar and looking scruffy with a couple days worth of facial hair growth as his typical style and Archuleta was the cute all-American teen looking pre-pubescent and sweet as pie, never having shaved a day in his life. They had this polar opposite feel all season with Cook rocking and Archuleta crooning the songs you hear played on MUSAC in elevators and department stores everyone. Whats more, the Teen Beat and Tiger Beat buying teenage middle school girls went nuts screaming and gushing like Archuleta was the Beatles circa 1964 landing in America.

This adulation of Archuleta by the female teen market led me to believe he was certain to win American Idol and I would once again be left standing there saying, yes, the world is crazy. However, this time, as the stars aligned and the envelope was brought forward I was left jaw agape, shocked and amazed as host Ryan Seacrest read the words your new American Idol is. . . . . David Cook. So it seems that maybe once again the world has shown a little sanity, a small amount of reason in selecting what was clear and obvious to me as the best musical choice and most talented person in this years competition.

David Cook you are this years American Idol, good luck and many blessings upon your future. I look forward to thinking the world got one right this time...and to your first record.