As you may or may not remember, about this time a year ago I wrote a piece acknowledging that perhaps the world and I were not so far apart. The American public and I had agreed on who the winner of American Idol should have been. Yes, on the important issues of our time, the American people and I could agree, important issues like David Cook being better than the other David.
Well, a year has passed, events have transpired, we've elected a new President (boy did you blow that one America) but once again on the issue that really matters, you and I have seen eye to eye America. I congratulate you and thank you for seeing that Chris Allen was a much better choice for American Idol champion than Adam Lambert.
I'll keep this short and sweet and as I closed my post last year I'll simply say once again the world has shown a little sanity and a small amount of reason in selecting Chris Allen as this years American Idol. Chris, let me be one of many to say, good luck and many blessings upon your future. I look forward to your first record.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Return of Vedder
For those not in the know, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame wrote and performed the soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild. The film is based on a book by Jon Krakauer which chronicles the life of Christopher McCandless. Leaving the greatness of the movie and book aside I focus on the superb work done by Vedder in this endeavor. Vedder's work and contribution, easily matched the expectations of Director Sean Penn, as well as, the quality of the film and the book.
Many of you may be Pearl Jam fans from way back and may have been dismayed at the falling off that the band has had in recent years in terms of mainstream commercial success. While Pearl Jam still has the ability to sell out arena venues, (as I witnessed last year when they came to the Verizon Center in DC), rock radio and mainstream airplay seem to have left the band in the last millennium with the other faded away bands of the Seattle glory days.
However, what this new effort by Vedder proves is that not only can he still bring it artistically with great sound and lyrical genius, he is still relevant in a world watered down by American Idol pop music drivel driven by pure commercialism and money over substance and talent. Like one of his own iconic heroes, Neil Young, Vedder continues to produce quality, meaningful, and inspiring music well after the so called experts have stated his prime has past.
Vedder's accomplishment on Into the Wild is hauntingly good when understood in the context of the story that inspired the music. He is able to mix sadness, joy, fear, pain, and bravery into a lyrical and acoustic masterpiece that one could reasonably believe McCandless would have listened to himself had it been available on his expedition into the wild.
Taking off on an expedition of his own, Vedder recently went on his first ever solo tour in support of his Into the Wild album. The tour was only on the west coast and lasted a month, but I hope that two things will come of it. The first being more solo efforts by Vedder in similar intimate small venues and the second being that the full contingent of Pearl Jam will play the new songs from the soundtrack on their national tour this summer to give fans who may not be familiar with the film and the solo project exposure to the magnum opus.
Do yourself a favor and check out all the offerings of Into the Wild, the book, the film, but especially the soundtrack. If only to discover for yourself that music can still mean something profound.
Many of you may be Pearl Jam fans from way back and may have been dismayed at the falling off that the band has had in recent years in terms of mainstream commercial success. While Pearl Jam still has the ability to sell out arena venues, (as I witnessed last year when they came to the Verizon Center in DC), rock radio and mainstream airplay seem to have left the band in the last millennium with the other faded away bands of the Seattle glory days.
However, what this new effort by Vedder proves is that not only can he still bring it artistically with great sound and lyrical genius, he is still relevant in a world watered down by American Idol pop music drivel driven by pure commercialism and money over substance and talent. Like one of his own iconic heroes, Neil Young, Vedder continues to produce quality, meaningful, and inspiring music well after the so called experts have stated his prime has past.
Vedder's accomplishment on Into the Wild is hauntingly good when understood in the context of the story that inspired the music. He is able to mix sadness, joy, fear, pain, and bravery into a lyrical and acoustic masterpiece that one could reasonably believe McCandless would have listened to himself had it been available on his expedition into the wild.
Taking off on an expedition of his own, Vedder recently went on his first ever solo tour in support of his Into the Wild album. The tour was only on the west coast and lasted a month, but I hope that two things will come of it. The first being more solo efforts by Vedder in similar intimate small venues and the second being that the full contingent of Pearl Jam will play the new songs from the soundtrack on their national tour this summer to give fans who may not be familiar with the film and the solo project exposure to the magnum opus.
Do yourself a favor and check out all the offerings of Into the Wild, the book, the film, but especially the soundtrack. If only to discover for yourself that music can still mean something profound.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Best Musician You've Never Heard Of...
For those of you who don't know, Bob Schneider is the best performer you've probably never heard of. For his bio information check out ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Schneider ). Without going into all the details of his background which you can find at wikipedia, I'll tell you of my experiences with Bob.
I first heard of Bob Schneider in the spring of 2006 as I was invited to see him play at the State Theatre venue in Falls Church, VA. What can I say other than I was blown away! What a performer and a great live act. I have since seen him again at the State Theatre about 9 months later and then a year after that in December of 07 at the Jammin Java in Vienna, VA.
You're probably thinking that I haven't told you why Bob is so great. Well, he's an outstanding musician who plays about 4 or 5 different instruments during the course of his show and he plays them very well. Second, Bob's lyrics and presentation are outstanding. He weaves a sound that ranges from one end of the musical spectrum to another. Common comparisons that come to mind are rocking songs that sound like Live or Matchbox 20, softer songs that some might say is similar to a Dave Matthews or Bare Naked Ladies kind of a feel. He also does songs that are upbeat and mix in notes of hip-hop and could be compared to the Beastie Boys or 311. His songs range from deeply sad and touching songs of loss to sweeping anthems of love to comedic songs about Captain Kirk and Batman. Performance wise Bob owns the stage interacting with the audience, telling jokes and stories along with the songs. He encourages crowd participation and is just a lot of fun to see live. Bob also records every show and sells the recordings (called FRUNKS by the fans) afterwards. An additional note, at two of the shows I've been to, Bob came out afterwards and signed copies of the FRUNK or studio CD's for the fans.
Bob is also an artist and writer. His artistic streak can be seen on his album covers and in his selfmade videos. Check out one of the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXsmVxTHew&feature=related
While I could go on about why you should make Bob a staple of your IPOD rotation, I'll leave links to his myspace page and his website below so you can check him out for yourself.
Happy Listening!
http://www.bobschneidermusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bobschneider
I first heard of Bob Schneider in the spring of 2006 as I was invited to see him play at the State Theatre venue in Falls Church, VA. What can I say other than I was blown away! What a performer and a great live act. I have since seen him again at the State Theatre about 9 months later and then a year after that in December of 07 at the Jammin Java in Vienna, VA.
You're probably thinking that I haven't told you why Bob is so great. Well, he's an outstanding musician who plays about 4 or 5 different instruments during the course of his show and he plays them very well. Second, Bob's lyrics and presentation are outstanding. He weaves a sound that ranges from one end of the musical spectrum to another. Common comparisons that come to mind are rocking songs that sound like Live or Matchbox 20, softer songs that some might say is similar to a Dave Matthews or Bare Naked Ladies kind of a feel. He also does songs that are upbeat and mix in notes of hip-hop and could be compared to the Beastie Boys or 311. His songs range from deeply sad and touching songs of loss to sweeping anthems of love to comedic songs about Captain Kirk and Batman. Performance wise Bob owns the stage interacting with the audience, telling jokes and stories along with the songs. He encourages crowd participation and is just a lot of fun to see live. Bob also records every show and sells the recordings (called FRUNKS by the fans) afterwards. An additional note, at two of the shows I've been to, Bob came out afterwards and signed copies of the FRUNK or studio CD's for the fans.
Bob is also an artist and writer. His artistic streak can be seen on his album covers and in his selfmade videos. Check out one of the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXsmVxTHew&feature=related
While I could go on about why you should make Bob a staple of your IPOD rotation, I'll leave links to his myspace page and his website below so you can check him out for yourself.
Happy Listening!
http://www.bobschneidermusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bobschneider
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