Canadian Idol Fans Watching American Idol

[ross 1]

Simon doesn't know much about music, if you ask me.

I voted once in the poll. can you vote repeatedly? I don't really feel like doing that tonight. Adam always wins these things, anyway. Not because he's so popular; we all know the reason. It doesn't help that his picture is at he top of the poll.

 

[missaddicted]

From MJ's:

UPDATE: Lee is strapping on his guitar and getting ready to sing…the songs are: “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, an original tune, “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder, “Walk Away” by Ben Harper, “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkle, “Crash into Me” by Dave Matthews, “So What Now” (original), “Holiday in Spain” by Counting Crows, he started “Hey Jude”, stopped, and then launched into another original song. Finally, he sang “Stay” as his encore. He threw new lines into “The Boxer” - “Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights are leading me”. Lee sang 10 songs altogether. Lee teared up several times on stage. “I’m going to try to win this thing,” as he said goodbye. Official attendance: 41,369 at Arlington Park!

Apparently, he didn't want to leave the stage at the end, LOL. Wished he could have done some of those songs on Idol (except his originals and the ones he already did!).

I hate that they put him in that rocker box, when he's obviously more into singing this kind of stuff:

YouTube - Lee DeWyze

 

[ross 1]

Cultural Studies - Worshiping at the ?Idol? Church - NYTimes.com

I kind of liked this, because it's been a long time since I listened to She Works Hard For the Money.

 

[missaddicted]

I voted once in the poll. can you vote repeatedly? I don't really feel like doing that tonight. Adam always wins these things, anyway. Not because he's so popular; we all know the reason. It doesn't help that his picture is at he top of the poll.

Yes, you can vote repeatedly if you refresh. It's rare that I vote in polls, but that one goes with the "Top 24 American Idols of all-time" that Billboard posted a couple weeks ago (the NY Post took those results) and I figured that it was somewhat more important than fluff polls that don't mean a thing.

 

[ross 1]

Lee's okay. I agree he's not a "rocker". I didn't know what Randy was talking about last week. His voice is good, but it's sort of generic. I just don't find him interesting. Nothing about him inspires me to care about him.

 

[missaddicted]

Cultural Studies - Worshiping at the ?Idol? Church - NYTimes.com

I kind of liked this, because it's been a long time since I listened to She Works Hard For the Money.

Aww, I love Slezak. Nice that he had the chance to write for the NY Times.

 

[ross 1]

I think musicians have a musical personality that comes across. Not just singers, instrumentalists also. I don't think Lee has shown us a lot of musical personality, or maybe I just don't really respond to what he's showing. I don't think the other two are much better, but Lee is more enigmatic. I don't really know what kind of music he wants to make, based on his Idol songs, and I don't really get a sense of who he is. I don't get a sense of it when he talks, either.

Just elaborating on what I said in my last post.

 

[missaddicted]

I think what makes me like Lee more is his pre-Idol music, I really like it. Maybe it's a sin, but I actually like his Slumberland album more than I've ever liked most of Brand New Shoes. (My favorite is still David's Analog Heart though, I still listen to it.) But I agree that Lee's Idol run has been far from impressive. Kris definitely had a more definitive musical personality on the show. But I was happy to read what songs Lee performed today and I'll probably watch the videos, because to me, it all makes sense and I actually see a pretty defined musical identity in Lee. He just hasn't shown it that well on Idol and it doesn't help that the judges keep putting him in that rocker box.

Mainly, I think Lee has probably been battling with self-confidence issues for a long time, so it's probably that his lack of confidence is affecting how he's portraying himself on Idol. Of course, that doesn't excuse his pitch issues, which he really really needs to work on.

 

[ross 1]

I think what makes me like Lee more is his pre-Idol music, I really like it. Maybe it's a sin, but I actually like his Slumberland album more than I've ever liked most of Brand New Shoes. (My favorite is still David's Analog Heart though, I still listen to it.)

It's not a sin. Haha.

I don't think pre-Idol music is always reliable. It depends on how far along musically the person was. Some of it is experimental, some is more professional. Kris's album was just self-produced and he said he didn't try to sell it. While Lee's was on a label of some sort, wasn't it?

ETA: I've been watching a little of the hometown stuff on MJ's blog. It's amazing what a cultural phnomenon this show is. I don't ever totally get it. I mean, it's a TV show, it's all manufactured, yet people take it seriously and buy into the premise. I don't think I'm saying it too well. I mean, it's amazing to me that the news covers it, for instance. It's a weird blurring of entertainment and reality. I never watched it, so I never had any idea how far reaching it is.

I always think: why do people take it for granted these people are anything special? Because 19E and Fox put them on TV and tell us they are? It's so weird.

 

[missaddicted]

I don't think pre-Idol music is always reliable. It depends on how far along musically the person was. Some of it is experimental, some is more professional. Kris's album was just self-produced and he said he didn't try to sell it. While Lee's was on a label of some sort, wasn't it?

Yes, he was on a small indie label. For sure, Kris's album was already a few years old, and he himself still says he doesn't really like it and that it wasn't supposed to get that kind of exposure. Lee's album (his second one) was put on iTunes at the beginning of this year though, so it's still pretty fresh, I guess. And David's Analog Heart (which he produced himself, with no label) is also close to what he's been doing after Idol, even though he's not overly attached to it. He still played the song Straight Ahead from that album during the Declaration Tour and it was a perfect fit with the rest of the show. So, pre-Idol music is not always reliable, but I think it's still a good indication of where their musical identity lies. It's clear from David's pre-Idol music that he wanted to make rock music. And it's clear from Lee's music that he's more Dave Mattews Band or something like that than Nickelback, whatever the judges say.

Hey, the chat function is gone, did you see?

 

[ross 1]

Yes, no chat, I noticed!

Well, I agree that it (Pre-Idol music) gives you an idea of musical identity. Of course, it does. But it can give you a really clear idea or only a hint, depending on the artist. I was just saying I can see why something that's on a label and available on iTunes is better than something that was never meant to be heard by a lot of people and was meant to be a kind of trial run or experiment (Lee vs Kris). I guess I was saying I'm not sure it's always fair to compare people's pre-Idol music. It's all at different levels of experience and competence, as well as different levels of quality in terms of musicians involved, production, etc.

 

[ross 1]

Just for an example, there are tapes of me acting when I was 18, and I'm not sure I'd want people who see me act now to watch tapes of me acting at 18 and judge my abilities on that.

I don't even like to listen to people's older music if they say it wasn't meant for general consumption. Or, at least, I don't attempt to judge it. It seems unfair to them if they never intended it to be heard by a large public. Especially if they were more or less amateurs at the time. Once they're releasing music as professionals they should be judged as professionals. But you can't judge them by professional standards when they weren't even intending their work to be at that level.

 

[missaddicted]

I was just saying I can see why something that's on a label and available on iTunes is better than something that was never meant to be heard by a lot of people and was meant to be a kind of trial run or experiment (Lee vs Kris). I guess I was saying I'm not sure it's always fair to compare people's pre-Idol music. It's all at different levels of experience and competence, as well as different levels of quality in terms of musicians involved, production, etc.

You're right, for sure. I guess I didn't really want to compare them per se. Just comparing my enjoyment of these albums! It's just a plus when I do enjoy their pre-Idol music! And actually for Lee, I don't think I would've liked him at all on the show if I didn't have that pre-Idol music, which shows me that he does have something going for him musically. Well, I think I would've liked some stuff, but I wouldn't have that belief that he can actually be good. For Kris, I didn't need that, he made me a fan mainly because of what he did on the show... and that Over the Rainbow sound clip. I don't think it's on You Tube anymore, but I have an MP3 of it and listened to it the other day and fell in love with it all over again.

 

[missaddicted]

ETA: I've been watching a little of the hometown stuff on MJ's blog. It's amazing what a cultural phnomenon this show is. I don't ever totally get it. I mean, it's a TV show, it's all manufactured, yet people take it seriously and buy into the premise. I don't think I'm saying it too well. I mean, it's amazing to me that the news covers it, for instance. It's a weird blurring of entertainment and reality. I never watched it, so I never had any idea how far reaching it is.

I always think: why do people take it for granted these people are anything special? Because 19E and Fox put them on TV and tell us they are? It's so weird.

Just saw that you posted this.

The way I see it is that people love to root for someone, whether it's a sports team or an Idol contestant. There's a feeling of pride involved. "Oh, look at Crystal, I don't know her, but she comes from my city!" It is manufactured, but for the contestants, it's real. We all like to see somebody doing well, even if we don't know that person. We all want to be involved in getting that person to the top.

And Idol is still the most watched show on TV, it does have a cultural impact, even though that impact might be smaller now than ever.

 

[ross 1]

Yes, you put it into the proper perspective. Well, I guess what I mean is, I used to assume Idol was just a TV show and the action was confined to the TV show. I didn't think it involved all the interviews of the news, the hometown visits and concerts with thousands of people. Etc. I was weaned on Canadian Idol. It's so different. Like when Kris, Allison and Adam were on the morning news after they made it into Top 36. I really didn't think the news, or any entity other than Idol and Fox, cared about this stuff, covered it, whatever. Like the press conferences people have after they're voted off Idol. And appearing on Letterman. It's surreal. To me they're just unknowns, but they get all this attention. I think it's somehow even more obvious this year because most of the people seem so unworthy of the attention! When they're fantastic, it's more easily justified.

 

[ross 1]

By the way, an interesting thing this year is that they've brought out the Idol magazine again, they're advertising the Idol album on TV and mentioning all the artists by name (I don't remember this last year), and they actually seem to be pushing all the show-related merch and the contestants in general more than last season.

ETA: So Kris is stranded in Austin, Texas. (Due to weather.) Seems crazy that he and his dad flew to Texas (to a lake @700 miles from Conway) to fish. The kid never stops. I'd think with a couple of days off, he'd just want to sit still.

 

[ross 1]

Or I guess Kris was also playing a show in Texas.

Well, goodnight, guys.

 

[SleepinIn]

Allison and Orianthi together sounds like it could be a good idea. They're both with 19, and both kind of get lost in the shuffle since their records sound more pop than rock. I know pop gets more airplay but if they don't put out music that suits them ultimately it's not going to come across as from the heart. Then they are touring together so it's got a chance to make an impression on people.

and

Lee's Idol studio recordings are quite good. I've bought more Lee singles than anyone. (admittedly this season that doesn't equal a lot of singles) His live performances though have been so awkward at times. It's very frustrating.

 

[ross 1]

Some of the stuff MJ posted yesterday with Lee and Casey is better than their Idol performances. I also watched the weather report with Lee, and Casey's visit to the hospital where they saved his life after the motorcycle accident. That was fairly emotional. It was nice how he visited that young guy, also. Then I watched part of a TV interview with Casey, his brother, and his mom. I knew they performed together but didn't realize his mom was (apparently) a professional singer. She was very articulate in the interview. I don't think Casey is exactly articulate. Or he's shy at the moment. Ditto, Lee, in a different way. Because sometimes Lee does that babbling thing, and other times he has nothing to say.

-----------------------

It was great so many bloggers and even USA Today remarked on how Kris wasn't 'credited' somehow with Falling Slowly. Then we had to hear from all the horde who said he didn't deserve a mention. I think that since he basically introduced the song to a lot of people, got it cleared, and got thanks from the composers/original singers (who later did his mashup), he deserved something. What, I don't know. Maybe not a mention on the show; after all they can't mention him all the time a song he chose is chosen this season (which is a lot of times). I guess it's just cool that plenty of people brought it to the attention of plenty of other people.

 

[ross 1]

Allison and Orianthi together sounds like it could be a good idea. They're both with 19, and both kind of get lost in the shuffle since their records sound more pop than rock. I know pop gets more airplay but if they don't put out music that suits them ultimately it's not going to come across as from the heart. Then they are touring together so it's got a chance to make an impression on people.

Various good points, there. I haven't really listened to either record, to be honest with you.

I don't really know what kind of music Allison prefers. She has the rock ability, but what kind of music does she really want to sing? What was she singing before Idol? I can see her doing pop, as long as it's not bubble-gum pop, and still being true to herself. If it's good pop-rock, could she possibly be happy?

An interesting thing about the Adam/Orianthi/Allison tour (though the whole thing screams "loud, obvious, and possibly tacky" to me) is that you have these two chicks, one who sings rock great, and also plays, and one who plays great, and also sings, plus the rawk gawd, who can bring the wailage if he feels like it. I wonder how much rock they'll be doing on the tour? Together or separately? Does Adam want to do this music, or get away from it and do his more clubby-dance-glam-ballady stuff? Can he get away from it, with those two on his tour? What will the audience want? Will they be a pop audience or a rock audience? I guess they'll mainly be an Adam audience. Anyhow, it should be a crowd-pleasing show.