A Week's Worth of Stuff in 3 Paragraphs

Hey everyone. Sorry for the weeklong absence. Real life/College life can get in the way like that sometimes. Let's get started with all the stuff that I've been meaning to post for the last week.

A combination of my joining the Activist club on campus plus and doing community service work on MLK Day led me to pick up a whole bunch of Rage Against the Machine music. I iTunes'd their self-titled album and bought The Battle of Los Angeles via Amazon and the latter arrived today and I love it. Look for a second spin column on them in the near future.

Rage Against the Machine - Testify [iTunes]
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire [iTunes]*

*Easily the best RatM song, and perhaps one of my new favorite songs from my lifetime

In the last week Chris Daughtry has once again trashed American Idol, been verbally spanked by someone tied to the show, and consequently backpedaled from said comments. Daughtry told Rolling Stone that AI has lost a lot of credibility since he's been on the show, citing the poor ratings from last season as well as the failed records by Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Reuben Studdard. Randy Jackson then proceeded to say something to the effect of "Without American Idol there is no Chris Daughtry". Daughtry then backpedaled on his website, agreeing with Jackson's statements. The problem is, both sides are right. American Idol did create Chris Daughtry, and ironically getting kicked off the show was the best career move Daughtry could have made. Also, Taylor Hicks sucks. End of story. It's science. "Tattoo" is a great song and Jordin Sparks has talent, but Kelly Clarkson she ain't. Blake Lewis could potentially be a hit, but his record label doesn't seem interested in promoting him, so its a safe bet he'll be seen working at a coffee shop within two years. I don't know what it'll take to make AmIdol relevant again, but if Chris Daughtry has any ideas, they'd do right to listen.

This next bit isn't exactly music related, but the theatre guy in me won't let this go unnoticed on this blog. Heath Ledger's death earlier this week was just crushing. I was shocked when I first got word, and talking to people on campus I haven't heard a single person express any level of apathy. Everyone I've talked to is shocked and saddened beyond words. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain or Casanova (what are believed to be his best performances), but A Knight's Tale has always been a favorite of mine and is probably one of the most depressingly underappreciated movies ever. There was so much future ahead for him, and as Alex said, there is one less star on Earth tonight.

RIP Heath Ledger...you will be missed

Yellowcard - View From Heaven (Live) [iTunes]
Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me [iTunes]

Back soon.

==TJ==