Wednesday, April 29, 2009

AI RESULTS

The only surprise tonight was that Adam was in the bottom three. That, and that Natalie Cole looked as good as she did.

Otherwise, see you next week.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

AI RAT PACK

Rat Pack week on AMERICAN IDOL, much to my surprise, brought out the best of several idols, and the worst from Matt Giraud, who has already been voted off the island once. No question he will be the bottom (although the judges liked him; even Simon).

Jamie Foxx actually turned out to be a good coach. Allison probably would have been better with an up-tempo song like "That's Life," but did surprisingly well. Adam Lambert showed off his technical chops and campiness at the same time. Right now I think he's the guy to beat, with Danny Gokey closely behind in popularity, although I think he's not so great.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Dodgers beat Rockies at Coors

It's hard for me to root against the Dodgers after holding season tickets for several years, and especially this year as so many of the kids I watched move up from the minors are maturing into excellent ballplayers.

Both teams had pitching problems tonight, with Jimenez allowing 4 runs before I was even settled into my seat at the stadium (had to watch the Red Sox take a commanding lead before I entered), even though I was only 2 outs into the game. It's hard to overcome that.

But MacDonald allowed 3 runs in the third, and the game remained close until the end, yet the Rockies never took a lead or even tied the game.

Manny looked terrible, striking out 3 times.

Otherwise much was to be expected.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

AI: Results

I didn't actually see the results show, but I have to wonder if the judges regret keeping Matt in last week's show. I think they assumed he would get voted off this week, and he wasn't even in the bottom three.

Allison was, and has been there numerous times. Next week's show theme is the Rat Pack, and I can't imagine her pulling it off, so she's likely to be dumped, putting Matt in the top 4, where he certainly has no place being.

Strangely I think Anoop would have done well in the Rat Pack week.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

AI: Disco

American Idol had its worst night in ages tonight. Rather than simply have fun with some Kool & the Gang or KC & the Sunshine Band, the Idols decided that they wanted to re-invent disco, something that did not need to be done. One of the few people who sang a straight-ahead disco song, and who sang it well, was roundly booed by the judges. I don't get why they suddenly took a dislike to Lil, unless something happened off camera that I don't know about. Either that or they figured that dissing her so badly would unite the audience to vote for her and save her. She ceratainly does not deserve to go home yet.

Matt Giraud does. He gave a pathetic performance tonight that was perhaps the worst karaoke the show has seen in a long time. They should not have saved him last week; they may have needed it for tonight, because Allison sang her heart out yet is currently on the bottom at DialIdol and may be one of the two to go home, along with Matt.

The judges raved about Adam, whom I usually like, but his performance lacked emotion and was forgettable. So was Kris Allen, and he has probably overstayed his welcome as well.

That leave Anoop and Danny. I'm not a huge Danny fan, but he still is worth keeping on the show, and Anoop has also overstayed his welcome.

Tough to predict at this point who will make it past next week.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

AI: Save

I correctly predicted Matt would be voted off, but I did not think he would be saved (nor was he worth it). He'll be voted off again next week, in disco week, which could be a lot of fun.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tarantino: Vocal Coach???

Quentin Tarantino might be able to make a good mix tape, but that does not make him a good vocal coach. Unfortunately, American Idol feels otherwise. I'm not at all a fan of Anoop, but Q's comments to him were comically inappropriate, and thankfully he ignored them.

Although the theme tonight was movie songs, it seems like they were limited to rock song from the last 15 years or so (except for "The Rose" and "Born to be Wild"), which meant a lot of crappy songs. Bryan Adams, Aremegeddon, etc. Songs no one in their right mind would pick. One thing that they do not explain on the show is that although they do give choices to the contestants, they are from a very short list of songs. Since the songs are being used on TV, they have to get synch rights from the publishers, who in some cases are the artists, and the rights have to be affordable. In addition, the show's producers want them to pick songs that will go over with contemporary audiences as they sell the performances on iTunes.

Unquestionably, the best artist on the show is Adam. He picked the best song, "Born to be Wild," and did the best cover, making it contemporary (with drum loops and samples) yet hard-edged at the same time. He's far more mature than any of the other contestants, and phenomenally talented. He has a huge career ahead of him.

After him, it's somewhat of a tossup for the next few slots. I like Allison a lot, but she's so young, she has a lot of developing to do. Her song choice tonight was terrible. But her singing is great. Her history on the show is not great, she's repeatedly been in the bottom 3.

Until the last three rounds, I would have said Lil Rounds should be up there in the top 3, but has has faltered several weeks in a row, especially tonight, where she was very pitchy. I've always hated that song ("The Rose") and she did not do it very well.

Danny "Karaoke" Gokey is, stylistically, not at all my favorite, but he's at least consistent and will probably make it to the top 2 or 3. Anoop is weak and should probably be in the bottom 3, but did well tonight and may avoid it.

Kris gave his best performance yet, but ultimately he's one of the weaker performers and I expect him to be in the bottom 2 with Matt, who is ultimately the most forgettable singer left. I think he'll be the one to go, or at least should be.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Opening Day at Coors Field!


The Rockies had an excellent opening day, scoring 10 runs off 14 hits. Cole Hamels debut with the World Champion Phillies was ruined by giving up 7 runs in less than 4 innings. Marquis, on the other hand, pitched quite well for the Rockies, going a full 7 innings and allowing only 2 runs. Seems like a smart pickup for the Rocks. Marquis also had 2 hits, and an RBI in addition to his sac bunt. Not bad for a pitcher!

Atkins made his first hit of the year count as a 2-run homer. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a ballgame, and it was a pleasure to watch the Rockies get their 3rd win of the season!

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

AI 8 Results

America got it wrong, Scott should have stuck around for about another two weeks, and even worse, Lil was in the bottom three when she should be near the top.

Kris or Anoop should have gone home, or even Matt. But I think Scott chose poorly last night. VoteForTheWorst.com proved its irrelevance again, they couldn't even make up the 30,000 vote difference to keep him alive, and I wish they had. But in the end, he would have gone home soon.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

AI 8

I pad American Idol by 3 minutes and still we missed most of Adam Lambert's performance, as well as the recap, which is usually a good way to judge voting as it is the last thing people see and the first they will remember. I'm going to guess that Adam did well as always.

VoteForTheWorst.com has tastelessly picked Scott as their next victim. What, he's blind, so let's pick on him? There are at least 3 other singers worse than him.

The bottom 3 should be Anoop (although better this week, he's a weak singer), Matt, and Kris. The judges really like Matt because he looks like Justin Timberlake, and they think he's marketable, but he's a terrible singer and I predict he will have no career regardless of how far he makes it in the competition. Kris was completely forgettable this week which is usually the kiss of death so I think he'll be gone.

I don't like Danny, but he's still safe as well. Lil had a terribly off week on a song she should have killed with, but she's safe. Allison finally seems to be getting her props from the voters (according to DialIdol.com anyway). If Lil regains her form, I think she, Allison and Adam would be the top three, although the judges and the crowd really love Danny "Okey Dokey" Gokey.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

15,000 Views!

Someone from Baltimore who viewed my post There Will Be Crap was the 15,000th person to visit my blog since it began in August 2006, which isn't bad for two and a half years. I find this pretty amazing. I post almost nothing of interest, even to me. Yet for some reason people seem to want to read this stuff. So I guess I'll keep doing it. 

I am aware that I have cut down my postings significantly. I've been trying to be more selective about what I post. It doesn't seem to have hurt my hits. BTW, the average length of visit is under a second, so I guess I shouldn't get too swollen of a head.