The Train Wreck That Was/Is AI Season 7

So I'm looking back on my notes from the running diary of last night's Idol...and I hate it. I don't know how Idolator managed to make theirs interesting, but mine's pretty lame. So in lieu of that, some rumblings from last night's episode, as taken from said diary.

-Number of times a contestant cried during the hour broadcast: 3 (all during the going home montages). David Cook did the best job of hiding it, but he squirted some too. Syesha was remarkably steadfast in her final song, which leads me to believe that a) she was determined to go out with some dignity, or b) she knew as well as everyone else that she was done this week and got her tears out last night.

-Estimated number of montages: 5, including that positively absurd one with the shameless Ford promotion in it. Are we really so shallow as to believe that Archuleta is gonna have piano by a reflecting pool and Cook will own a dozen cars?

Oh, wait...we are? Right. This is American Idol.

-Just once I'd like Ryan Seacrest to introduce himself as "your Captain Obvious for tonight's show." At least we'd know that's what his purpose was, beyond standing there looking only slightly less awkward than David Archuleta.

-Speaking of which, if Idol gave out points for personality, it'd be a whole different ballgame. Syesha had the advantage of not only being articulate on camera, but actually having some degree of presence when she's on TV. Archuleta was a goofy, plastered-on smiling dork who couldn't get three words out at a time. Cook probably has some real personality, but the whole rockstar image won't let much of it out, which is kind of a shame.

-David Cook definitely had the coolest coming home segment. Private jet, concert in front of a bazillion people, cheerleaders, and he threw out the first pitch at a baseball game (so what if it was the Royals?).

-Fantasia's performance = (Mary J Blige + P!nk + Janis Joplin) - Sexy

-Estimated number of potential movie plots from this season of AI: 2. One for David Cook being the guy who auditions on a whim and wins it all, and oh yeah, one for the whole thing being fixed. Maybe a third that ties the two together?

-On a scale from 1 to 10, how excited is Jason Castro about the summer tour? If this video is any indication, I'd say about a -32.

-You have to love how Seacrest blatantly plugged next season's subplot when he asks if we'll see David Cook's brother next year. Also noted is his mother's adamant head-shaking in the foreground as lil' Cook answers.

-By my count there have been 3 uses of material by Chris Daughtry on the show in the last two years; "Home" as the kicked-off song last year, his appearance on Idol Gives Back and "What About Now" during one of the montages. I can't decide if the obvious use of Daughtry's success is Idol's retroactive apology for showing him the door, or a backhanded "You're Welcome". Leaning toward the latter.

-Having watched just this one episode, I kind of feel bad for Syesha. She definitely got shafted, and she's a hell of a lot more interesting to watch than Archuleta, and has at least as much talent as Cook.

I think that's the best of what I got. In closing, running diaries are good for long events like the Grammys, but I don't know how to make an hour long show worth the trouble. As for the season, we all know what's gonna happen. Sit back and watch the carnage, or just go on with your life as usual. Six months from now when Spygate: Idol Edition breaks, look for me to be leaning against a wall, arms folded in self-satisfaction.

And yes, I am rooting for David Cook, despite the fix. (Memo to iTunes: PLEASE get his studio version of "Baba O'Riley" up)

David Cook - Let's Go

==TJ==

Pissing Off The FOX Execs...And Having A Damn Good Time Doing It

So I've been thinking about trying to do a running diary of tonight's American Idol results show when we prove once and for all that the whole damn thing's rigged, but I haven't decided yet. Over the course of all seven seasons of Idol, I estimate I've watched about 20 minutes of the show (about 15 of those minutes came when I discovered the awesome that is Chris Daughtry...and no, I'm not ashamed to say that). Furthermore, I question how much I really want to help FOX keep its chokehold on America with this dreck. And lastly, I'm currently in the middle of my second play-through of David Cook's independent release Analog Heart, which popped up on one of my forums after being pulled from AmazonMP3.

Let's get one thing straight; nothing on Analog Heart is particularly original. If it were, Cook wouldn't be trying to garner success on a reality show right now. Snarky comparisons to 90s post-grunge bands are in fact accurate. But with rock and roll music increasingly catering to either a) looks and aesthetic (See Also: Seether), or b) overall weirdness and rejection of the expected (See Also: Vampire Weekend...ugh), it's good to see David Cook focus more on the crafting of a song and making something has some tune and fun, even if it means some blatant worship of Collective Soul, Soundgarden, and the like. If you're willing to take a look at it, there's actually some potentially great material on Analog Heart.

Ruling on the Field: 6.5/10

David Cook - Straight Ahead

Eat that, FOX. In the words of the newly revived Pretty Much Amazing..."Yeah Bitch."

==TJ==

PS: In all likelihood there will be a running diary of tonight's Idol

Viva La Mainstream's Obligatory Idol Post

Anyone who reads Idolator, or any other music blog, is aware of the fact that there is overwhelming evidence in favor of the notion that this season's American Idol is gloriously rigged. The benefactors of this fix are former Star Search contestant David Archuleta and grunge-worshipper David Cook, whose album Analog Heart hit #1 on AmazonMP3, only to be squelched by Fox execs wanting to keep the popularity of contestants secret and untainted (read: make sure their guy wins). I've never bothered to watch the show, but if I had to guess how the rest of the season plays out, it would be as follows: Syesha goes home this week, setting up an all-male finale with a million subplots (both have already had success elsewhere, both named David, two totally different styles, and now Archuleta's father is banned from the backstage). Archuleta wins the contest, as hoped for by the Powers That Be, with Cook coming in second. Both get their inevitable record deals, and in a snafu remarkably similar to the Ruben Studdard/Clay Aiken situation (Ruben one, but Clay outsold him by miles), Cook's debut album is a runaway success, while Archie's fizzles out.

Best case scenario, however, has David Cook sent home this week. That way, Cook can still sign a decent record deal where he actually gets to write some of his material on his debut, and isn't stuck with crappy songs that may have been tossed around a few different times. Don't expect me to watch any of the finale, but at least now you have my thoughts.

In keeping with the AI theme of this post, I present to you an EP of stuff from Absent Element, the band fronted by former contestant-turned-rockstar Chris Daughtry. From the looks of it this is pretty exclusive, since nowhere else I know of had it (I got it a year ago from one of my music forums and have sat on it till now). This stuff is much harder than anything on his debut, and a hell of a lot less radio friendly. This might've been what we got had Daughtry not done as well as he did on the show. I'll let you decide whether we're better off or not. For what it's worth, "Break Down" and "Conviction" from this set ultimately became "Breakdown" on the full album. Anyway, have at it, and I'll be back later. Expect a slew of reviews this week now that I have free time again.

Uprooted EP
Absent Element - Break Down
Absent Element - Conviction
Absent Element - Weaker Side
Absent Element - So I Lie Awake
Absent Element - Seven4
Absent Element - Let Me In
Absent Element - Keep Me Close

==TJ==

PS This entry is a test of Blogger's future-post function. I'm typing this 12 hours before the timestamp on this entry. Um, yeah...woohoo!

EDIT: Fixed the goofiness with the links. That'll teach me to be so liberal with my shortcuts :).

Weiland Slashed from Velvet Revolver

I was originally going to devote this entry to all the press Chris Cornell has gotten in the last week after a certain American Idol performance, but Idolator and WMMR picked up this story late yesterday and its more relevant. After a very public battle online and in concert between the members of Velvet Revolver/Guns N Roses and singer Scott Weiland, the band and its management yesterday announced that Scott Weiland was no longer a member of the supergroup. So says Slash:

"This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either...Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."

The on-stage behavior in question is Weiland's statement at a recent concert that this would be the band's last tour. Those remarks sparked a battle between Weiland, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, as well as some nasty statements about ego and jealousy from drummer Matt Sorum. Slash has promised that Velvet Revolver will continue with a new lead singer, preferably one that doesn't go into rehab every 14 months.

Anyone worried about where Weiland will get his next meal/heroin fix can rest easy. A short time ago Weiland's original band Stone Temple Pilots announced it was reuniting and will be playing a number of dates this year. Based on the number of canceled VR dates because of Weilands problems, all tickets for all STP shows will not go on sale until one hour before the show so as to verify Weiland will actually be there.

Memo to American Idol contestant David Cook; VLM humbly recommends tanking this season and auditioning for the Velvet Revolver vacancy.

(Video below is Cook's performance of Chris Cornell's take on "Billie Jean"...more on Cornell later today)

Velvet Revolver - The Last Fight [iTunes]

==TJ==