Adam Lambert - June 5, 2010, Starland Ballroom

This comes rather late but I just wanted to mention the wonderful concert I was lucky enough to attend at Starland Ballroom earlier in the month. As one of the fastest sellouts in Starland history, Adam Lambert managed to live up to most of the hype and deliver a vocally phenomenal performance.

While I'm not the biggest fan of his songs individually, his voice makes up for anything the music itself may lack - and the fans! For an artist that has only been around a little more than a year, these people are pretty obsessed. While most of the crowd was females of every race, creed, and age you can imagine, the standouts to me were the young men (and even some older) dressed in Adam's trademark black eyeliner and spikey hair. These people made the night for me. Many ladies dressed for Adam as well with feathers, chains, shiny black materials, and any other synthetic fabrics out there. I'll admit that I did a little Glambertification as well. Wearing torn black tights, a brightly colored skulll t-shirt (that happened to be THE NATIONAL band shirt I picked up at a concert the night before), and black ankle boots, I was definitely trying to get in on the action.

Of course no one beat the original. Lambert looked stunning in the Cher-Lady Gaga-Rihanna sort of way. His outfits were so magnificent and arena worthy that they actually looked absurd in such a small club. With a gigantic feather in his Tom Petty-sized hat and a gorgeous jacket that I was too far back to get a good look at, he emerged at the end of a pre-recorded version of "For Your Entertainment". I will say that the beginning of the show was really odd for me. The lights went down and a random bunch of photographs of him in various glam settings came on to the screen and people started screaming like he was Mick Jagger - or more appropriately Britney Spears. The whole thing was a little too worship-like for me but then again some of these people had been waiting for 12 hours for him to get on the stage so I can understand their over-excitement (seriously, Starland had to post a warning on their site that no one would be allowed to wait over night in their parking lot and they turned their first person away over 24 hours before the show began - this is a standing room only, general admission venue after all).

I'm not an expert on the album but I'm pretty sure he did every single track off it along with an Egyptian version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" (as some of you will remember from American Idol - Country Week was it? HAHA) and the wonderous Tears For Fears "Mad World". That obviously brought the house down. My absolute favorite of the night was an acoustic version of "Aftermath", a song I long forgot off the album that sounded ten times better live. Lambert's voice is a force to be reckoned with. Something that is not such a force is the strange dancing that goes on within the show. He has four dancers behind him and he also manages to get in quite a bit of choreographed dancing during the performance. It's not that it's bad, on the contrary the professional dancers are excellent at their craft, but after seeing him master Led Zeppelin on television, it's difficult to get into the zone of Pink-esque pop music that he is really a part of. I wish he would've gotten a little more rock but he was certainly trying to cater to every audience he has garnered since the American Idol days. He literally glamified every major genre, changed costumes at least four times, and sang in so many different styles that I couldn't keep track. He is trying in a big way. I can't wait to see where he is in five years.

Also, I must say, Adam Lambert is a great personality to be with for a little over an hour. His rapport with the audience was so easy, it was almost as if he was friends with everyone in the venue. He's articulate, funny, and rather witty - one of those people you can instantly tell is intelligent and has a sense of self. This was only his second stop on his first ever concert tour and he really did a fine job.

Adam Lambert - June 5, 2010 - Starland Ballroom Setlist

Voodoo

Down The Rabbit Hole

Ring of Fire

Fever

Sleep Walker

Whataya Want From Me

Soaked

Aftermath

Sure Fire Winners

Strut

Music Again

Broken Open

If I Had You

Encore:

Mad World

This is my favorite kind of video. Just found this on Youtube and although it's not the greatest sound quality, it gives you that 'concert feeling'. The wonderful excitement of the crowd cheering and singing along with every word. Watch and enjoy. "Aftermath" is a great song.

Photos courtesy of myself and my ridiculous camera.

Music Video to Love: Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert

I'm a big Adam Lambert fan. I'm not a fan of this style of music typically but this is a case of the artist (and the massive talent) surpassing the quality of the song. I will listen to Adam sing anything he wants to - he's vocal perfection to me.

This video is really subtle for him and I appreciate how the music is allowed to take center stage. He's mentioned in interviews that this is the kind of song he likes to step back from and allow the words to take shape in the listener's mind and I feel like he really achieved that - a kind of achievement that's rare for such a newcomer.

Of course, Mr. Lambert is quite different from everyone on all levels.

Enjoy.

15 Songs to Spruce up December

As usual there are so many things I should be doing but cannot seem to concentrate on - one of which is a final revision of a short story I wrote for my creative writing class. I turned on my iPod in the library hoping it would clear my mind of all the things I'm thinking about (and nervous about) but of course it just filled my mind with music and how great all the songs are that I've been listening to for the past month.

In October I thought things couldn't get any better. In November, I figured it was already the end of the year so nothing else was going to come out that would blow my mind and now in December, I'm astonished by all the music that waited until year's end to bestow its greatness on us - and I haven't even touched the surface yet. There are still so many albums to run through on my iTunes list that I keep hearing good things about. I couldn't wait any longer though: here is my brief playlist for the final month of 2009 that touches on a few of these new singles and a couple from the past couple years that I'm just discovering.

Robin Thicke ft. Jay-Z - Meiple
Beyonce ft. Lady Gaga - Video Phone
Passion Pit - Moth's Wings
John Mayer - Assassin
David Gray - Fugitive
Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang
Wale ft. John Mayer - Letter
Silversun Pickups - Substitution
The National - Cherry Tree
Mayer Hawthorne - Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'
LMFAO - La La La
Passion Pit - Little Secrets
Jennifer Hudson - Spotlight
Phoenix - Countdown
Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me

Lambert/Gaga/Rihanna: Fashion Envy

I am addicted to fashion blogs. I don't know what I would do on the internet without them. They save me from boredom at least ten times a day and I find them a breath of fresh air in comparison with the music blogs I tend to read frequently as well.

In my own life, things have been really boring lately. Nothing has been good, nothing has been bad.. just a collection of middle of the road occurences that don't add up to much in the long run. When times like these fall on my head I like to mix things up in whatever way I can and that's usually displayed in my appearance more than anything else. In times like these I spend way too much money at silly mall stores and beg people to go shopping with me that end up only frustrated by the day's end. I tend to go overboard on the fashion front sometimes but always within good measure.

Lately, I've been obsessed with Rihanna and Adam Lambert's style. My boyfriend tends to believe that these aren't the greatest fashion icons but their mix of modern glamour and old school, campy rock is so fun and detailed that I find myself trying to do a cheap rip-off any chance I get.

After the age of 16, I fell in love with harder edge clothing after becoming immensely bored with the flowery, pastel clothing of my youth. Purchasing clothes with my own money gave me another avenue to express myself and try different things - that's when I discovered those aforementioned silly mall stores: Aldo, Forever 21, Bakers, the Macy's shoe department, H&M, Urban Outfitters, etc. These stores gave me a chance to mimic the more offbeat styles that the magazines flaunted on every page and I haven't been able to stop since. This probably dates back much earlier than I'm admitting to: my first request from Santa Claus when I was 3 years old was a pair of red party shoes... I knew exactly how much sparkle there should be on the front and exactly what size the heel should be. There was nothing better than shoes and other than music - there still isn't.

Blending the two together is always the most fun. Here are some examples:

Music Video to Love: Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

Although I still don't think the song is up to Lambert standards, it is starting to grow on me and this video is helping tremendously. Aside from his spectacular vocals, Lambert has had the fashion aspect of the music business down from the very beginning. This guy oozes sex and glamour and that has never been more apparent than in this video. While I still think the song would be better suited for Britney Spears, the video takes it up a notch in Lambert's favor and makes me understand the concept a little better. I hope you enjoy, lots of campy, classy fun.

Let's Pretend With Adam Lambert's New Single "For Your Entertainment"

Mr. Adam Lambert, a man I hold in high regard based on his exemplary performance on the little known television program American Idol, has come out with a single, "For Your Entertainment", that is not only unexpected but very troubling to my soul.

I am one of those in the mindset that Lambert was going to save the world from bad singing. He was going to set the bar higher than those before him and break open the land of mainstream music in a way no one ever has. Lambert was going to make not just the best American Idol alum album but the best album of the year, the decade, the century - the best vocal album, go on to win Grammys, four star praise, and everything that comes along with it. He could live out his days in one of the fancy mansions his millions of adoring fans gave him the opportunity to afford and buy lavish costumes that would fill his many closets when not on tour. He would have the untouchable fame of Cher and Madonna, with the ability to lie about retiring then come back to kill us all with the best selling tour of his career only to retire again and then make a great album we all knew he had left in him. When the light finally dimmed on his mega-successful, triumphant beyond words musical endeavors, we would all rush out and buy the thousands of magazines with his gleaming face on the cover, in his younger years, and mourn the death of the greatest human to ever walk the earth....

Well now I'm doubting all that.

"For Your Entertainment" was Lambert's first chance to knock us all dead with the power that he possesses in his throat that even the best of the best can't attain. This was supposed to IT for every one of his fans, not to disappoint anyone but to "entertain" everyone. Now, why does it sound like Katy Perry?

Maybe it's not always in the best taste to compare musicians to one another but this single isn't in the best taste either. Adam Lambert got his fame on the wings of his voice. He is not using his voice in this single. Let him make the music he wants to make, whether that be dance, electro-pop, pure pop, whatever but at least use that voice! It is like Whitney Houston going out and smoking all that dope and hanging out with Bobby Brown. No one has a voice like Adam Lambert. It should be used for the universal good - in my opinion. There are people like my mother out there who even at 53 years old is still incredibly hip with the current musical trends and absolutely fell in love with Adam. We both did. My stepfather did. Our dog did. Anyone within a 30 feet radius of the television did. He has the gift of angels. And no other singer has ever made me get spiritual before.

"For Your Entertainment" is a decent song. It might even be a great song to dance to but as a first single? It might've been a cool surprise on the album - at say track 8 or something - but Adam's talent is FAR superior to this fluff. I don't even blame Adam for this. No one can turn their back on someone with that kind of mega-talent. He'll still put it to good use I'm sure but it saddens me that as my boyfriend and I sit here listening to his single this morning (me acting like it's Christmas day), my face must go down a little and shake in dismay at what is coming from the speakers. Adam Lambert has a crown on his head. He must remember that and not let Kara Dio-whatever and Dr. Luke get in the way of that.

Don't be led astray Adam!

I will be looking out for the next single with very high hopes that refuse to be tarnished.


PS. I do like the campy, sarcastic album cover though. I think it's pretty clever.

Hey Soul Sister, Ain't that Mr. Mister on the Radio?

I just have to write this second about some excellent work being done by contemporary artists that are really amazing me.

I've already written a lot about Monsters of Folk and briefly mentioned my love of Mayer Hawthorne but I am sincerely addicted to both. They have quickly taken the place of all my go-to artists. I'm also finding a lot of Jazmine Sullivan to be incredibly impressing along with Regina Spektor's new album and of course the always amazing Phoenix. Kid Cudi, Kris Allen (of all people) and Train's latest single have also been topping my most played list as of late and although it's a rather strange mix of people, I'm so excited about all the new discoveries.

Autumn always seems to bring those anticipated new albums from artists you've either been dying to hear more of or up and coming ones you can't wait to be introduced to. I know November will bring about the new discs of Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga's reissue of "The Fame Monster", Britney Spears' single collection with the new song "3", John Mayer's "Battle Studies", Alison Iraheta's debut, and Shakira's "She Wolf"... if you're into that sort of thing. Personally, I was hoping for a new The National album but that won't happen for quite a few more months.

So off the top of my head, here are the new songs I'm really digging (some are repeats if you've been reading all along but this is a more complete list):

Mayer Hawthorne - Maybe So, Maybe No
Mayer Hawthorne - One Track Mind
Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
Monsters of Folk - The Right Place
Monsters of Folk - Dear God
Monsters of Folk - Say Please
Jazmine Sullivan - Need U Bad
Jazmine Sullivan - Switch
Jazmine Sullivan - Lions, Tigers, and Bears
Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying
Train - Hey, Soul Sister
John Mayer - Heartbreak Warfare
Phoenix - Girlfriend
Phoenix - Countdown
Phoenix - 1901
Kid Cudi - Make Her Say
Kid Cudi - Day and Nite
Regina Spektor - Eet

I can't wait to find even more amazing music like this in the coming days...

Some of my current favorite videos accompanying these songs:

Wanna See My Picture on the Cover, Wanna Buy Five Copies for My Mother..

For better or worse, I have always had an intense love affair with Rolling Stone and as frequently mentioned, my mother and I are absolutely enamored with Mr. Adam Lambert. Mix the two together and you have my favorite Rolling Stone interview since Obama was asked about his iPod playlist. The guy can do no wrong in my book.

And in response to Rob Zombie's recent quote stating: "I'm sure Adam can fucking sing 10 times better than Mick Jagger, but who gives a shit? He ain't fucking Mick Jagger. You know what I mean?"

I know what you're saying, Mr. Zombie, but please leave the character judging to teenage girls on The Hills and the musical equivalency tests to the fans. But as Adam would say, way to get your name in the papers and ride his coattails - and give the compliment of the century at the same time! I love it.

Here's some behind the scenes footage where Adam manages to wear more makeup than I wear in a month and not get any in his eye - which I find amazing because that's always my biggest problem.


Pick up the issue, subscribe to Rolling Stone, or read the full article at www.mjsbigblog.com ... either way.

(Post title courtesy of the great Dr. Hook tune, "Cover of The Rolling Stone")

Reality, Reality

I like people who have no filter. I enjoy hearing the reality of things most times far more than meaningless words shoved up my ears. With music, it's a little different. I'm angry that in order to get on the radio all you have to do is sound like Daughtry if you're a guy or some second rate version of Christina Aguilera if you're a girl. That's a little depressing but as the great Adam Lambert said, many record labels are supportive of a little change and perhaps its the artists themselves that are limiting the options. Who knows.

I want to share some great music for the ten people a week who read but I'm not enamored with anything right now other than The National and there are already 11 posts about them on this site. I guess a cute story quickly would be about my mother. As much as I love Mr. Lambert, my mother is CRAZY about him. She is a laid back person 99% of the time but when Adam is on the tv screen, she is like a teenage girl again. Last night she bribed me with homemade hot chocolate and grilled broccoli to watch Adam on Regis and Kelly with her and later hunt down every other talk show he was appearing on for the entire week. It makes me happy to see her so overjoyed by something so simple. I'm going to sound like a nutcase but this guy really seems like a good person and I love the little comebacks he's had regarding Gene Simmons and Clay Aiken in the media over the past few days. He's witty.

Before I move on June 1st, I'm going to finally get around to making mix cds for a few people I should've recognized earlier. One full of classic oldies for a new friend and another for my mom, filled with Adam Lambert and Buffalo Springfield. More than anything I can't wait to fill my new apartment with good music. Having two roommates might make my choices a bit more limited and my dream of dancing around with Stevie Nicks scarves and blasting "Edge of Seventeen" might have to wait until a night when they're both otherwise detained, but the image of my record player in the living room next to a large cabinet full of phenomenal records fills my head like sugarplums and gumdrops.

In my old apartment (if you could call it that), my old love would leave me alone often to drink with his buddies. Since I was underage - and not typically invited anyhow - I would turn up the volume on John Legend's "Once Again" album that had just come out and pretend the place was just mine. Pretend that I was in a penthouse somewhere with my own life - like a John Legend music video. The fantastical effects music can have on the mind are unbelievable. Without that album, I don't see how I could've made it through that period in my life. I didn't have an iPod so I would leave that cd in my Sony walkman for weeks on end, walking around the little Southern town with it, feeling sorry for myself, and wondering if John Legend was making the sky look more poetic than it actually was or vice versa. I would go behind the Martin's supermarket where there was an old railroad and tons of mountains and just relax with Mr. Legend's voice in my ears making everything seem like it could be okay.

During that time, I also managed to become friends with the lone owner of the only record store in town across the street from my boyfriend's workplace. I would go in just to browse but ended up striking up many a conversation dwelling mostly on how out of place we both felt. I told him more than I should have and he ended up knowing my boyfriend from face (of course we never came into the store together because that's not how we were). He understood my troubles and asked me what kind of music my boyfriend liked, as if this may uncover some clues into his ways of thinking. Although music was one of the things that brought us together, I had a difficult time thinking off the cuff - "Bright Eyes, definitely. The Cure. Johnny Cash." Immediately, this guy understood him like any good record store employee would. If I had been old enough and wise enough maybe I would've clued in on it too.

There's no denying that at times I miss having someone close to me who would make me genuine, honest to god MIXTAPES - as in cassette tapes - and listen excitedly as I strummed up enough phone passion to discuss Tom Petty's "The Waiting". Here's something I wouldn't typically say but if I had to analyze myself, this very site could in part be dedicated to a person who helped me understand within myself how much music could mean - in terms of a human's entire timeline on earth. When he was gone, the music was still there and lord knows I wouldn't have been able to decipher anything about The National without all the heartache he put me through. My heart can still break when I hear The Cure. Actually, I can't even listen to them. There are just some moments in time that were so, so good even if all the other moments surrounding them were terrible that become not only a part of you, but a literal piece of your skin. No one had ever taken music and handed it to me in that way, filled with so much of their own emotions mixed inside. This person seemed to better infuse his thoughts into other's music than his own words. I am very happy with the people in my life now and their own incredible musical histories, but I still search within conversations for someone to break my heart like that again with their stories. I don't think anyone ever will and that's totally okay. As I get older, I learn to care less and less about the dangerous things and more about the real things.

But if this person ever reads this, thank you for The National.

I am the Ugly One (and why Adam will win AI)

I wrote this awful post the other day regarding an encounter I had with a stranger at a pub. I said such mean things in a voice that was not my own but one of absolute, unrestricted anger. I would not be proud of anyone seeing that and when I imagine my partner reading such things and thinking I'm a maniac or my gorgeous professor ever coming across this blog it makes me stop and think: I should always write from a place of love or at least a place of understanding. I will from now on. Maybe I will even try to speak once again to the person that brought up all that hatred in me. Luckily, I have deleted the entry so no further explanation is needed. All that is needed is beautiful music and there's plenty of that.

Also, I have to address something else a very perceptive reader brought up. He thinks I have "American Idol Turret's Syndrome". I don't think I have a problem with that but I would like to go one further and show you why: Entertainment Weekly's American Idol Central

It is insane. I think Michael Slezak is my hero. Really. I love watching him interview past contestants on his Idolatry series and I usually agree with the keen observations he makes 'week after bloomin' week' as he would say. And even if I disagree with something, I'm always in tune with his impeccable, conversational writing. I would give my entire cheap Forever 21 jewelry collection to be friends with him. I would only hope that I could keep up.

And on a night when Kara DioGaurdi's love puppet, Matt Giraud, was kicked off after his "nine lives" as he put it, and the one and only Mr. Adam Lambert was faced with the bottom two after never being there in his entire life, it is only fitting that I mention something about this situation.

It was obvious Matt was going home first of all. Everyone knew that and I don't even think office pools were running this week - there was basically no point. He had several chances and making it to the top five was really like winning for him. Just as Mr. Sleazak from EW has his passionate obsession with Kris Allen, I had mine with Giraud almost the entire season. I was willing to bypass that Viva La Vida thing after Hollywood week and his unusual Songs from the Cinema escapade until forever if that's what it took to get him to the number two spot - the only place he could acceptably go. Unfortunately, his good looks continued to be the only constant in his performances. Some fell really short, vocally, and since the beginning of time we all knew that the world would surely fall to pieces if Adam didn't win the entire circus. He had Jamie Foxx crying! (who I loved by the way - BEST mentor of them all). Although I'm positive that Matt deserved that top four spot much more than Kris who did nothing with a great song on Tuesday. Matt is an artist and will do really soulful, interesting music elsewhere much better than on a singing-only competiton like American Idol where fantastic artistry in other formats isn't wholeheartedly appreciated.



It's funny because Ryan Seacrest mentioned something in his opening monologue on Wednesday - the results show - along the lines of, "Will your favorite be voted off tonight?" and that is generally what this show is about. It is always a great group of singers with one sticking out to specific people and that's why we vote for them over another but this season is different for me. There is Adam Lambert and then there is whoever you may believe to be your favorite. Matt was my favorite but certainly not at the price of Adam. He is the winner and then there's a number two. I don't even want to talk about Adam Lambert here - it's not the right setting. If you've heard him sing and do not know what I mean than there is nothing I can say to change your mind. My measely words are nothing in the face of that voice. And what's so wonderful is that it is just that: VOICE. This, as Randy likes to point out, is a singing competition and Adam's unbelievable instrument is his greatest gift.

Some have pointed out that Adam's face sometimes looks a little big in the camera. My mother, on the other hand, thinks he's the cutest thing since Bugs Bunny. I think something in between I guess. I have never once considered his looks while he's performing. His sexual orientation is something I talk about occassionally but that's my own ignorant curiosity. Nothing on earth, whether he was secretly a woman, alien, fuzzy chipmunk, or a combination of all three, could take away from his amazing gift that he's kind enough to share with the world. I understand the connotation of that phrase most in the context of Adam Lambert. He is better than all previous winners combined and probably better than every singer in every jukebox from here to Southern California. I can listen to "Mad World" on repeat for a half hour straight and I could definitely listen to his voice everyday for the rest of my life and have no problem whatsoever - those would be good days.

Here is the ONE AND ONLY concern I have regarding Mr. Lambert: He has such an undeniably special, precious, one of a kind voice that we have, until this point, only heard in equally specatacular songs. He has a knack for picking classics and using his voice to turn them into ... something otherworldy that has yet to be defined.

Can he possibly write songs as well as he can sing?

And the answer is: no way. He would have to be the most amazingly gifted songwriter on the planet to balance out that voice. I doubt he's been blessed with both because other than Robert Plant, who is? And I don't have enough faith in Linda Perry or Diane Warren or any of those other cheesecakes to write good enough songs for him either. I almost want him to do an entire album of covers like Rod Stewart's American Songbook series. Why not? He's destined to do well regardless so why not certify that he'll make quality songs? We'll see I guess.

Enough of that. Top four is Rock Week with Slash as the mentor and hopefully two songs from each contestant. Excuse me while I go purchase Matt Giraud's "My Funny Valentine" and possibly Adam's older "Born to Be Wild" if not for just his crazy phrasing of "I like smoke and lightning, heavy metal thundaaa!"

Still much, much love to Matt. Too sad.

Obsession: American Idol

I am unnaturally excited for tonight's American Idol. I have been watching my prerequsites all afternoon, aka previous Adam and Matt performances, and have even come up with a list of my favorite performances of the season. I've also come up with some hypothesises regarding Adam Lambert and the strange back and forth he does each week with the fast and slow which votefortheworst.com lovingly refers to as "Flamebert" and "Lamebert". Although I love both sides, I'm starting to realize that performances such as "Born to Be Wild" and "Ring of Fire" actually show off his vocal capabilities even more than the slower "Tracks of my Tears" and "If I Can't Have You". It literally hurts my voice to even think of how he gets to the high note at the end of "Born to be Wild". It is absolutely insane.

There is so much to be said for Adam Lambert, a man I think is the greatest technical singer I have ever heard in my life, and that makes it all the more difficult to appreciate someone like Matt Giraud who in the past few weeks has become my favorite. Is it because I think Mr. Giraud is merely attractive? Am I like Kara DioGaurdi and only using Matt for his body? I'm not sure just yet. I need him to stay on another week at least to decide. I'm not even swayed by the infamous mole on the center of his forehead. Whether it's covered by a hat a la "Staying Alive" last week or in full swing during "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" week, I'm really into his style and will stick by him with $1.79 votes from my Sprint phone which American Idol does not appreciate as much as AT&T. Will I write Matt poems and add creepy smiley faces on to my posts at americanidol.com like some middle aged, married women do? NO WAY. I'm simply torn as to whether he's just another hot guy with a nice outfit and cool demeanor or a talented musician that will force me to overspend on iTunes.

There's that controversy brewing right now over the iTunes Top 100 charts making the internet rounds with the American Idol contestants alloted in. Of course this is not supposed to happen as the producers like to keep the billboard numbers a secret in order to ensure equal opportunity to all participants. I guess they assume that if we all know Adam Lambert has the highest selling singles then we will automatically vote for him over the practically equally talented Allison Iraheta. They are wrong. Knowing that Matt Giraud has some of the lowest numbers on the charts, I want to vote for him even more. My mother observed today that it's quite unfair they've been having ununsual themes for the past few weeks now. How can a rock singer like Allison have the full opportunity to shine during Country Week, Disco Night, and Rat Pack Day? It's strange. Are any of these contestants right for those genres? Maybe Danny Gokey because you sing karaoke to anything - OH!

Yeah, I don't like Danny. Or let me rephrase: I went through the same experience with him as I'm going through with Matt right now. I was originally taken with Danny. I fell for his dead wife gimmick and genuinely felt bad for the guy. I loved that he auditioned with his talented friend and seemed to really be a soul guy. Unfortunately, he took the soul in a really bad direction and turned the milk sour real fast. The schmaltzy, YELLING that is in my face each week is only suppressed by the fact that I think he is really hot. It's been mentioned that he looks like a young Robert Downey, Jr. and I'd be forced to agree. I'm loving the scruff, the big brown eyes, the cute smile.. he's really lucky because otherwise I would have to go further about how much I hate his music. Except P.Y.T. in Michael Jackson week (the best week by the way). I bought that performance and still listen to it a lot.

Let's see, who else is left. Could it be the guy with the wife who looks just like a younger version of his mother who is always making strange faces in the audience? Yes! That's the one. Kris Allen is a cutie but he scares me with his religious fanatical ways that are somehow well hidden throughout the weeks. Underneath that faux Jason Mraz style lies a man who is a huge God believer and a creepy bible storyteller, I know it. I like him a lot on the surface though, I won't deny it. I'm not into his look that much - both physically and stylistically - but I appreciate his passion and tend to believe his performances a lot more than the other contestants. He works it so that he is IN IT. That's always good.

I guess one final shout out has to be given to Allison though. On EW.com, they always say that Anoop Desai was the Rodney Dangerfield of the competition - getting no respect - but it has to be Allison for me. She is damn good. She's nearly amazing in fact. I always check out her studio performances on iTunes and am always impressed with her performances. She deserves to go to the top 2. It should really be Adam winning the whole thing, Allison running it up, Kris taking second runner up, Matt bowing out at 4, and Danny going home tomorrow. The chances of that are really slim though. Matt will be going home tomorrow regardless of how he does today. I do hear he's singing My Funny Valentine tonight and if that's true: What a way to go. One of my favorites made most famous by the beyond fabulous, little recognized Mr. Chet Baker. I will be sure to post about him tomorrow.

So let me close with a list of my favorite performances thus far from season 8:

Adam Lambert - Black or White
Matt Giraud - Let's Get it On
Adam Lambert - Born to Be Wild
Matt Giraud - Part Time Lover
Danny Gokey - P.Y.T.
Adam Lambert - Satisfaction
Adam Lambert - Mad World
Kris Allen - Man in the Mirror
Adam Lambert - Play that Funky Music
Jorge Nunez - Never Can Say Goodbye
Kris Allen - Remember the Time

This is Not Cool Enough

There are 12 year old boys who update their music blogs more than me with interesting photographs, insights on bands that dismantled 30 years before they were even a thought in their mother's brain, and funny anecdotes about The Cure or Tears for Fears. I, on the other hand, mope around all day, buy expensive shoes that only get beer spilled on them, and watch way too much Keeping up With the Kardashians, which should be a punishable crime.

I still constantly listen to music but my highest musical opinions are saved for Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud, two names you may be familiar with from a little indie show called American Idol. I drool over the thought of Simon and Paula finally getting together - since let's be honest, they are practically sucking face the entire time anyway - and I wait with over the top excitement during each commercial break to hear the next contestant's crazy song choice. Recently, my anticipation has become so much that I scour the Internet several hours before show time for the "spoilers" and scan them with wonder hoping that Lil Rounds isn't really crazy enough to do a Tina Turner song from the '80s. Of course she is and it turns out just as expected - karaokalicious.

You know, say what you want about their performances, since any performer gives less than stellar ones at some point, but at least be willing to hear their iTunes studio versions of these songs. Adam Lambert is always sweeter, Danny is always raspier, and Matt is always sexier. They really - vocally - do an excellent job with these renditions and it's a shame everyone doesn't know about this. Typically, these recordings are available Wednesday night or Thursday morning and for 0.99 I'm sure it's worth it to some die hard fans to get some of the first recordings these up and comings stars have ever made. I'm going a little overboard here since obviously we'll never hear about 99% of these contestants for the rest of our lives but people like Adam Lambert, Alison Young-Girl, and possibly Matt Giraud, have futures. Particularly Adam and Alison - they're rare finds. I can live without every single other person on the entire show though and personally, none compare to Michael Johns, the 8th place contestant from season 7. Speaking of which, his single is available on iTunes this Tuesday and sounds really promising. Produced by John Shanks whose worked with the likes of Sting and Jon Bon Jovi, I hear it hearkens back to a Joe Cocker sound and I'm okay with that. It could be great for all I know.

My weather prediction for tonight: A strong chance of Kris Allen tears with a gust of the judges' save that may or may not turn into severe stormy weather.

In the meantime, enjoy Adam Lambert's prior musical endeavors..

If You Like Pina Coladas... or American Idol

This is controversial to some (and well accepted by millions) but I am a fan of American Idol. So what? I understand the contestants aren't Ella Fitzgerald or Robert Plant or any other iconic singer you can think of but I adore their charisma. Some of these cats have emotions seeping out of all their pores and the rawness can't be denied. Although one of my favorites - Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell - is long gone, there are still some classics like the crying Ricky Ricardo, Jorge Nunez and the wonderfully flamboyant Adam Lambert who fits himself into a Rolling Stones song like a snake burying into a thick bed of grass. They're all rough around the edges but they bring something fresh to songs that may have been otherwise forgotten on a daily basis. It brings me to wondering what kind of impact American Idol and its little minions have on classic music in general.

Whether you like a specific participant's rendition of a song or not, more than likely if you're a fan of the song it will stick with you long after the little kid is voted off. This recently happened to me with several personally long dismissed hits like Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror and Bruce Hornsby's Mandolin Rain, a song I never even realized I liked until it was sang to me by a blind man from somewhere in the midwest. Naturally, I immediately went on iTunes to retrieve these songs and relive them on my headphones. To my surprise I found that iTunes was way ahead of me and already had a genre button for "American Idol Songs by Original Artists".

Well, hmm.

I guess everyone has to get a piece of the pie. It's fun for me to think of Mary J. Blige sitting at home with her husband somewhere in the hills of New Jersey listening to a woman named "Lil' Rounds" sing her songs and get more of a reception - and probably audience - than even she sometimes get. What do these artists think? I'm truly fascinated. Do you think some one hit wonder artists try to get in contact with the contestants or judges and beg for their songs to get some air time? If they haven't already they probably should. Pay Danny Gokey a little on the side to sing the Pina Colada song or something.

Just something to think about.