Final Four, baby!

The Tar Heels are headed to San Antonio to play in the Semi-finals!

The Birth Year Schtick Again

The idols had to do a song from their birth year, in what's gotten to be a common theme each season. I personally thought it was going to be disco night, so this caught me off guard.

David Cook ended the show and it's a good thing he went last because he stole the whole show. Using his power to change any song into a angst-ridden rock ballad, he took "Billie Jean", rode the razor edge of cheesiness vs. brilliance, with the band cranking out power chords all the way, and really put it into the classic category by ending the song with a low "remember to always think twice", which earns anti-teen-pregnancy-public-service-announcement brownie points. If Cook wins the prize at the end of the season, he'll have done it with his brain rather than his voice. I kinda like that.

Ramiele needed to hit a home run tonight, and she didn't. It turns out she was sick and lost her voice this week. She did an admirable job overcoming it but the accuracy on the notes wasn't there. I'd probably put her in the bottom three.

Kristy Lee dipped into the cheese pot tonight and pulled out Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA". I buried my face in my hands when they announced the song, but she actually did a nice job on it. For once, the key of the song wasn't too low for her. Will pandering to the redneck demographic earn her some votes? She's been saved by luck twice in a row.

Michael Johns' performance convinced me that the judges are shilling for him. Also dipping out a double handful of cheese, he did a medley of "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions". It stank to high heaven. Between Michael's missed notes, non-attempted notes, microphone-jerked-away-before-it-could-sound-bad notes, and general cringiness of his fake stage presence, the band completely failed to fill in the spaces between the lyrics. The buildup and chorus of Champions should have huge descending chords behind the singer's voice, and it failed to happen. The backup singers were so weak, it was nearly like an unplugged version of the song. I still blame the sound engineers on the show for this junk. Of course, the judges gushed about how good this was, showing that they have some hidden agenda to advance this guy.

Brooke was OK, not great, doing an unplugged "Every Breath You Take" on piano. I pretty much agreed with the judges that the buildup at the bridge of the song should have left out the band. She could have done it herself by hitting big chords on the piano and it would have fit better.

Carly was also just OK, with "Total Eclipse of the Heart". She didn't have enough edge to her voice and overdid the big notes. Again, the band failed to build up the chorus enough to make it convincing.

Syesha was probably a top three performer tonight, continuing her string of improvement. Jason Castro did a Sting song I haven't heard before but it was very good, albeit safe. No change from him - he'll be eliminated from the voters becoming bored eventually. Chikeze was OK, not memorable, probably not enough to keep out of the bottom three, maybe boring enough to be eliminated.

Archuleta picked the most boring song I've ever heard, no one other than Simon had heard of it, and he didn't juice it up at all. His vocal wasn't great, either. I'd call it a bottom three performance. Of course, the teenage girl demographic is going to put him in first place again, so why does it matter?

My predicted bottom three: Chikeze, Carly, Kristy. Maybe Ramiele.
Eliminated: I can't call it. All four were better than Michael and David A., but not good enough to be safe. My (considerable) gut says Ramiele may be gone, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

David Cook might be able to wrest the trophy from David Archuleta eventually, but right now Archuleta looks like he'll get the votes no matter how bad he is. I bet Cook is #2 on dialidol this week, though.

Okay, This is Freaking Funny.

http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html

(points for the assist from kottke.org)

Out With Bleach

Kristy Lee got a reprieve. America decided this was the week to send Amanda home, surprisingly. What was also shocking was that Carly joined them in the bottom three, and was genuinely surprised when she was declared safe.

DialIdol.com had the bottom two correct, but was stunned by Carly's presence in the bottom three as well. They had Chikeze there instead. Of course, margin of error made everyone except David Archuleta fair game for elimination. Archuleta had a score twice as large as the #2 ranked singer.

Kristy will have one last chance to get it together next week. It's Disco night (shudder).

Update:
Have you noticed that none of the themes this season have been music that the contestants would actually have encountered in their lifetime? (Aside from the 80's theme, but they'd have all been under 10 years old.)

It's like they're trying to keep them from getting anything they can actually relate to. Celeb coaches this season? Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton, Andrew Lloyd Weber, and Neil Diamond. WTF? Mariah's been irrelevant for at least 10 years and WTF with the old geezers?

Beatles B-sides

I realized last week that I want my Idol posts to be less reprises of the show and more analysis. To that end, I present this week's thoughts.

Just like last season, Idol's producers have shown that they know nothing about music performance. Putting the band overhead and behind the stage looks great on TV, but it has disconnected the band from the singers and there's no rapport between them. The singers have monitor earphones - if they want them. Most of them didn't use them, which is just idiotic. If you can't hear yourself, you cant sing in tune unless you have perfect pitch - which is a rare talent. If you can't hear the band, how can you stay on-tempo? With the band spread apart like they are, you could be in-tempo with one instrument but off with one that's all the way across the stage. The sound levels are still terrible, just like last season.

Furthermore, the arranging is terrible this season. Just abysmal. The only good arrangements we've seen have come from those couple of singers who are capable of doing it themselves (cough-David Cook-cough). Kristy Lee's god-awful hoe-down last week and Ramiele's disjointed arrangement tonight were just unfair. This isn't supposed to be an arranging contest. Simon's been very critical of arrangements lately, and tonight he actually criticized the band a couple of times. I don't know who is responsible for arranging, but if it's Ricky Minor, he's doing a crappy job. I think they're giving the Idols vocal coaching but very little musical advice.

The decision to go with the Beatles catalog again as the theme was just moronic. I actually found a list of the songs in the catalog online and started scratching off the ones performed last week, the two from the group number last week, the ones sung by Ringo Starr, the novelty humor songs, the songs with lyrics like "I'm a Loser" that will get you eliminated, and the songs where the vocals are all harmony and no individual performances. There wasn't much left.

Finally, we're starting to get some separation between the contestants. I think we're seeing a couple of dark horses hitting their stride and a couple of contenders faltering. Between them, there are the ones who haven't found their groove yet but could still be a factor.

Best performances of the night:
1. David Cook (again). Another inspired rock arrangement of an old song ("Day Tripper"). This guy knows the keys he's capable of singing in, and pays great attention to detail. He's doing what Blake did last season: He's outthinking the competition and using his musical knowledge as a secret weapon. He's the only Idol that's fully in control of what he does on stage.

2. David Archuleta. Look, this is the winner of the competition. Last week he can't remember any of the words, and he's still the #1 vote-getter according to DialIdol.com. It's a popularity contest, and he wins. Game over. Tonight, he went back to the sappy ballad and did fine. He'll win, and have a nice Hannah Montana-like career until he grows up and gets into drugs and booze.

3. Syesha. I think this is the first time she's done a ballad ("Yesterday"). I liked the arrangement and the key she sung it in. This was a shift of gears and I think she pulled herself out of the bottom three vote-getters with it.

Personality rather than performance:
4. Brooke White. Went back to the same well as last week and it was dry this time. She's got to work on building up energy in a song and letting it peak at the end note. All we've seen from her is flat-line acoustical stuff, and it is becoming too predictable. She did her song well, but it didn't give her any momentum. Her shushing of the judges afterwards and self-admonishment won her some sympathy points, however.

5. Carly. Not a memorable song, but her commentary afterwards was excellent, slapping down Simon in a sweet but effective way.

6. Ramiele. Good song, good vocals, lousy arrangement. Her video and her reaction to the judgement were positives. She's got to get some momentum going or she'll be gone soon, as we haven't seen anything noteworthy for a few weeks in a row now.

7. Jason Castro. He's essentially singing the same song every week, and it's got to stop. He started the season as a "less is more" guy, and there's been less and less each week. He needs to support his notes, get some upbeat songs in his repertoire, and show us he can do more than coffee-shop vocals and make eyes at the audience.

Static:
8. Amanda. She is what she is and it ain't changing. I give her a couple more weeks, but she's essentially on her own show, she's so disconnected from the rest of the contestants.

Bottom three:
9. Chikeze. Tried to clone his performance from last week, but it didn't work nearly as well. I like his voice, but there's something essential missing from his act, and he hasn't found it yet.

10. Michael Johns. Wow. He had such promise (-according to the judges, that is- I haven't been able to stand him from day one). He missed a big note in a big way early in his song and never recovered. The arrangement stank, anyway. There's a commercial out there that does this song in a much better tempo and style.

11. Kristy Lee Cook. I'm afraid this is the end. She never stepped up her game or tried to go outside her tiny comfort zone. She also has consistently picked keys too low for her voice and failed to put any excitement or personality into her performances. When you demonstrate that you can't tell good from bad on this show, you're gone.

Prediction:
Kristy Lee is gone.

Consulting the Oracle:
David Archuleta is the next American Idol. David Cook wins the "Chris Daughtry" award and a real career. Brooke White makes it on the country charts.

Beatles Night

It would take me an hour to analyze tonight fully, so I won't. I'll hit the highlights:

Top Performers:
1. David Cook (twice in a row...he's on a roll)
2. Carly
3. Chikeze!!

Worst performances:
10. David Hernandez
11. David Archuleta (forgot lyrics and fell apart!)
12. Kristy Lee (did a hoe-down to "8 days a week"!)

Predicted loser: Either Hernandez or Kristy Lee

Update: DialIdol.com says it's Syesha going home. Could be.

3 out of 4 Correct

OK, I'm doing well this season. I didn't think Asia'h would go home, because she did a really good job on her song, but c'est la vie!

My wife simply hated Danny, but I kinda liked his style. Too bad.

OK, here's my rankings of the final 12, based on talent:
1. David A.
2. Carly
3. Ramiele
4. Syesha
5. Jason
6. David C.
7. Michael
8. Brooke
9. David H.
10. Kristy Lee
11. Amanda
12. Chikeze

This won't hold up, because of the young ones being inconsistent from week-to-week. Here are my rock-solid predictions:

First to go: Chikeze
Biggest underachiever: Michael
Most annoying that will stick around forever: Amanda
Contender who will go into a slump late in the season: Carly
Dark Horse: Ramiele
Most likely to melt down on stage during a performance: Ramiele
Non-winner who will have a better career than the winner: Brooke
Most likely to make it as an actor after their AI run: Jason
Most likely to be heard on the radio after AI: David Cook
Already guaranteed fame and fortune in another country: Ramiele

Simon Cowell is on Drugs

Anyone who saw Idol tonight and thinks the boys were better last night needs to get off the drugs. 7 out of 8 girls gave pro-level performances tonight, whereas the boys had maybe one do that well.

Sadly, the eighth was Kady Malloy, whose inability to hit notes on pitch in the low range was once again compounded by her choosing a song ("Who Wants To Live Forever") that used low range heavily. Three strikes and you're out, girl. She made the same mistake three weeks in a row.

Amongst the others, I honestly don't think anyone deserves to go home.

Asia'h sang "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", took her lumps from Simon for singing a Whitney song, and did a darn good job.

Carly sang "I Drove All Night" and showed what it means to have pro chops. Vocal projection, harmonization, perfect pitch control, etc. She really doesn't sound like someone with lots of tattoos.

Kristy Lee did a country-fied version of "Faithfully" by Journey, and tried to Christian it up, substituting "Lord" for "Girl". She sang the song pretty well, but not as strong as she could have (we learned from Paula's comments that she's been sick all week). Personally, I think it could have been improved by incorporating even more country elements.

Amanda toned it down this week and also picked a predictably more appropriate song ("I Hate Myself For Loving You"), which she did predicably well. The problem? Predictable! I think she's the least versatile of the remaining performers, and I'm bored with her.

Brooke sat on the edge of the stage and did an unplugged version of "Love is a Battlefield". It was a brilliant tactic, and it totally worked. Bonus points for cleverness.

Ramiele did a very nice strong version of "Against All Odds", and followed it up by scoring points with the audience by rebuffing Ryan's attempt to get personal by asking her what made that song her choice this week. The answer? "Just....STUFF!".

Then the show was closed down by Syesha. I heard the intro, realized she was about to sing "Saving All My Love For You", and braced myself for what the judges would say about choosing too big of a song, etc etc. Well, first of all, I don't think Whitney Houston's recorded version was any better than this live performance was. Syesha blew away the big notes and stayed sweet and low on the verses. She hit all the highs perfectly and powerfully. Unfortunately, the show was running out of time, and all we got was cursory "Good", "Good", "Predictable, but good" from the judges. I hate to say it, but that stinks. Voters are actually swayed somewhat by the judges comments (except for us egotistical music critics), and to rob her of the opportunity for Randy and Paula to gush and for Simon to grudgingly admit she was good could actually hurt her vote totals. This was the best performance of the night, however.

Best: Syesha, Brooke, Carly
Worst: Kady (by a mile)

Predicted elimination: Kady and, sadly, Kristy Lee.

We'll only have one blonde left, unless America shows some taste and eliminates Amanda instead.

Luke, It Is Your Destiny...

Luke Menard must go home this week. I missed his song the first time around, but on the reprise...oh my...that stank worse than his previous efforts. Wham. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-go". Falsetto. Plinky-plink keyboard backing. Can you say backyard karaoke? Thought so.

David Archuleta went for three slow, mournful songs in a row, and it failed to impress. There's no way in heck he's going home, even though this was the second-weakest effort of the night.

Then the gay bloc struck...
Danny Noriega with a remixed version of "Tainted Love". A for personality (CRINGE - seriously, this guy is becoming more of a gay stereotype every week), D for vocals. It was entertaining, however.

David Hernandez, recently revealed to be a gay stripper in Arizona, did a darn good performance of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now". I have to wonder if his exposure on the news wire will cost him a lot of his fans. I think it will, and I wonder if they'll address that on the air if he gets voted out.

Michael Johns chose poorly, in my opinion (though the judges seemed to love it). "Don't You Forget About Me" isn't a stage-performance song, and it requires a booming low voice. Michael was very off-key on the lows, and he ended up taking most of the song up an octave, which didn't really work. I can't imagine that anyone would choose to stick with that song if it sounded like that during rehearsals.

Then came the wave of good stuff...
David Cook, who I admit I didn't like in the very beginning of the season, knocked out Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" by remixing it with a buzzy, chordy guitar...well, I'd describe it as a cross between Queen in Flash Gordon and Boston in Third Stage. Surprisingly good, and my favorite performance on the night.

Jason Castro did a song I don't think I've ever heard before "Hallelujah" from Leonard Cohen. I really liked it. Jason has mixed up his songs nicely so far in the competition, and I can't wait to see him go through the different genres they'll throw at him starting next week.

Then there was Chikeze. We had a burst of severe weather and it ionized my dish for a while, so I missed his song. It was "All the Woman I Need" from Luther Vandross. From the reprise, it wasn't too bad, although he's made a mortal enemy of Simon from his first two weeks of jabber during judging.

Based on performances tonight, I'd lay it out like this:
1. Cook
2. Castro
3. Hernandez
4. Archuleta
5. Johns
6. Chikeze
7. Noriega
8. Menard

Based on my guesses as how the voting goes:
Safe: Cook, Castro, Archuleta, Johns, Chikeze
In danger: Menard, Noriega, Hernandez

Predicted Elimination: Menard, Noriega

How To Make Saturday Last

When I got up this morning, I realized that we really made Saturday count.

We got up early, took my parents to the airport, went to SC for cheap gas, walked thru the flea market next to the gas station where we ate fresh fried-mini-donuts as we walked, then we went to Nothing But Noodles for lunch (just OK - the Pad Thai was waaaaay too sweet, and I'll order something else next time), came home and did some chores, watched State piss away the game against dook, tried to go to the Reuse center, which was closed, went to Lowes to get grass seed and weed killer/fertilizer, went to the grocery store, watched the end of the Carolina-BC game, made dinner, fiddled on the computer for an hour, watched TV, watched Star Trek - the Motion Picture on DVD (which will make any day seem 12 hours longer), and went to bed finally.

Today, it's nearly 10 am and I haven't even made breakfast yet. I suspect Sunday's gonna fly by to make up for it.

50% correct

Well, I called half of them right. Alaina and Alexandrea, Jason and Robbie. I had all 4 in my least favorite category, though.

Now I have to hear Luke for another week. Ick.

10 Girls

Hey, am I psychic or what? The day after I complain about never getting Chicago songs, I get one!

Does anyone besides me mix up Alaina and Kady? I can't keep them straight in my head.

Anyhow....

The problem shared by all the girls last week was the flu. Tonight it was the key. I only think two girls chose the proper key to sing their song in. In most cases, it was too low. The vocal coaches are really falling down on the job on Idol so far this year.

Bottom of the pack was Amanda the rockin' nurse tonight. That may have been the worst performance not made by someone named Sanjaya. I don't think she actually got one single note right. I'm pretty sure that's the end for her, and it's too bad because I really wanted to hear her sing AC/DC and try to channel Brian Johnston's lead vocals. Oh well.

After her performance, there was a logjam for middle of the pack. Alaina or Kady might have put themselves in the most danger. Alaina, no, Kady did "Magic Man" in a horribly low key, such that she couldn't get out the verse so it could be heard. Kady, no, Alaina did "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and didn't do it badly, but she just has no personality on stage. When the judges criticize her, she gives them the "I hate you" stare and that's about it. I just don't think she's connecting with the audience.

Top honors goes to Carly - and I misjudged her during auditions. With a band backing her, she's pretty good. She did a Heart song as well, "Crazy on You", and hit it nicely.

Ramiele ("Don't Leave Me This Way") was terrific again, and Syesha ("Me and Mr(s) Jones") was the next strongest. Kristy Lee redeemed herself with a nice rendering of Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good".

I have to say this yet again: Idol contestants should NEVER pick a song about going home, breaking up, letting it end, going down in a blaze of glory, or some other subject that would be truly ironic if they were eliminated and had to sing it as their farewell performance. "You're No Good" would be a terrible thing to have to sing after being voted off. I don't think Kristy Lee is in danger this week, but if she gets voted off, the gods of irony will have struck yet again on American Idol. You hear that, Phil Sawyer?

Brooke did a really good job with "You're So Vain", looking Simon in the eye the whole time. She used the original key, but it was a tone too low for her to sing the first words of the chorus properly. She's safe, though. I like her.

Alexandre'a totally messed up my perfectly good rant by singing "If You Leave Me Now" (another ironic song if eliminated) by Chicago. It occurred to me that Luke Menard should have sung this last night, as his falsetto fits Chicago perfectly. I think Alexandre'a is safe because her performance was adequate and better than some of the others, but I don't get the likable vibe from her. She will be vulnerable until she wins over some voters.

Asia'h took a risk and sang "All By Myself", which is a difficult one to pull off, and she did it while sick. She broke on the very first chorus, recovered, and did a darn good job for the rest of the song. Bonus points for ballsyness.

Strongest: Carly (way out front), Ramiele, Syesha
Weakest: Amanda, Alaina, Kady

Predicted losers: Amanda, Kady

Week 2 American Idol: The Guys

Tonight, the theme was the 70's, and we saw better song choices from just about everyone.

Before I get started, I have to air one of my pet peeves. Why hasn't anyone on AI in 8 seasons ever sung a Chicago song? I don't get it. We had two Blood Sweat and Tears songs last week, but never ever anything by Chicago.

Anyway, only one of the guys stunk up the joint tonight: Luke Menard. Two weeks and I hate him already. Any fool can stand up and sing falsetto off-key, and that's apparently his shtick. I hope he's gone on Thursday.

Nobody else stank. David Hernandez ("Papa Was A Rolling Stone") and Chikeze (some Donnie Hathaway song about remembering his name), who were my least favorites last week, were much better tonight and sounded stronger than just about any of the others. Jason Castro, who I really like because of the effortless way he performs, was in my top 3 with Hernandez and David Archuleta. Archuleta is way out front of the pack right now. David Cook was pretty strong as well, so that's 3 Davids in of my top 4 this week.

Danny Noriega (the gay kid) did a passable job with his song, but his personality may not win him any votes. Robbie Carrico did a very bland, slow, and too low performance of Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" and could also be in danger. Jason Yeager did a pretty good "Without Love", but all three judges panned him for the second straight week and that could doom him.

My least favorites this week: Menard and Carrico. I predict Menard and Yeager go home on Thursday.

How To Cook A Steak

First, get two really nice steaks.


Lightly coat with olive or canola oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and grind on coarse black pepper.

Toss on a HOT grill for 3 minutes per side.

Also coat some thick slices of yellow squash and sweet potato with olive oil, sprinkle kosher salt, and throw on the grill with the steaks.


If it looks so good you forget to take the picture, just take the picture after you've cut half of one of the steaks for your wife.


Perfect pink on the inside!


This is what it looks like when it's done.

It's Curtains for You, Lefty!

The new curtains are complete, sans tie-backs.

Fabric chosen by Bernie, bought and hauled all the way from Malaysia.
Sewing by Jason's Mom.
Valances built, upholstered and installed by Jason.

You can see the framed print in between the windows no longer goes with the curtains. We'll have to replace it with something more appropriate. We have a Chinese lyre and an Indian horn (lying on the desk) to put on the wall as decorations, as well. Mom has a bedskirt from the same material on the way to us.

Results

I nailed it! The two girls I singled out were the ones sent home. I didn't actually predict for the guys, so I'm claiming a perfect score. I didn't want to see Garrett sent home so early, though. I thought he had some potential. I'm willing to forgive a weak performance in a 17 year old more than I am in an older performer.

It's too early to see trends, though. The first week is just there to survive and get your feet wet. Reset all expectations for next week.

Analyzing the Ladies

I only got to watch the second half of Idol last night, due to basketball awesomeness (I had to watch this one, since I'd ditched the last two games). However, I did DVR it and scanned the first 5 singers after watching the last 7 live.

Favorites:
Syesha - I can't make up my mind if I like her or not, but there's no denying she's good.
Ramilie - My favorite. Two completely different personalities depending on if she's singing or not.
Carly - I wasn't impressed with her until this performance. The band makes a difference.

Going home:
Amy - Oh my God, that was bad.
JoAnne - Not bad, but very weak, and she's playing the fat card too much.

As usual, I'll change my mind week to week. Overall, I was disappointed in the ladies, as I thought they'd be better than the guys based on auditions. Once we weed out the weak ones, I think we'll have a better 6 females than guys, though.

We'll see later on - elimination is tonight.

First Idol Post of 2008

Bernie and I watched American Idol last night to see the 12 guys sing. There's too many of these people to run down strengths and weaknesses individually, however, I will say that all twelve of these guys are better than any of the guys from last season's finals. Including Blake.

Nobody earned less than 7 out of 10 on my (fictional) scorecard last night, whereas I don't think I would have given that many points to more than a couple of male performances during last season.

I think the Hernandez guy (first performer of the evening) and Chikeze (Jacuzzi, according to Simon) were the worst of the lot, with the falsetto dude Menard close behind. The best was David Archuleta, who if they don't let him giggle like a retarded child on camera too much (like they did last night) might have a chance to win this season. The guy with the dreadlocks wasn't bad either. The Australian guy irritates me for some reason, and he's a quarter pitch flat most of the time. I actually liked the gay kid and the Ellen Degeneres look-alike kid, though Simon hated them.

From what I've seen of the ladies this season, the female contingent will overwhelm the guys once we go head-to-head in 3 weeks. If the guys are better this year, the girls look to be stellar.

Judge-wise, Simon was the worst he's ever been on last night's show. He's definitely scripting his insults before the show airs, and he isn't a good enough actor to hide it. It really doesn't make sense to blather on and on about being "relevant" and "modern" if the theme is 60's night. The contest is for singing, not for arranging (if it was, I'd enter and win). The judge comments were the least interesting aspect of the show last night, which is a switch. I'm beginning to think that Randy actually is the best judge of talent on the panel these days, even if 90% of what he says is indecipherable.

One day, they'll let the vocal coaches from Idol get on camera and tell us what they think. That will be interesting to hear. Probably the only intelligent commenting we'll ever hear from this show.

End of an Era

In earth-shattering news, the saga of the twisted column has come to an end. The builder finally sent two guys to replace it. The epilogue will be when they come to paint it and my railings.

No other news to report, other than I'm probably going to get sick soon. The evidence is that my face is breaking out - a sure sign that my immune system is in overdrive fighting something.

Prolonging My Life

I've given up watching UNC basketball games for the most part. Not because I don't care - it's because I'll die of a heart attack if I have to endure the adrenaline rush 3 times a week until March.

Two, count-em, TWO overtimes tonight. Down by 16 in the second half, and UNC wins anyway. I can tell you this because I read it online. I didn't watch, and boy am I glad I didn't.