Random 10 for May 27, 2008
1. Portishead, “Machine Gun.” At first, I thought this was obnoxious atonalism, a great big Metal Machine Music finger wagged at their old trip-hop followers. But the melody unfolds beautifully if you give it time. Third is difficult, but it’s worth the effort
2. My Vitriol, “Always Your Way.”
3. Jim Noir, “Good Old Vinyl.”
4. William Shatner, “Ideal Woman.”
5. Bebel Gilberto, “Momento.” It’s in Portuguese, but Gilberto could be singing police reports from Sao Paulo’s homicide division and it would sound like sex.
6. Flight of the Conchords feat. Rhys Darby, “Leggy Blonde.”
7. Peter Bjorn and John, “Objects of My Affection.”
8. The Pogues, “Turkish Song of the Damned.”
9. Ween, ”Tastes Good On th’ Bun.” Ween’s fans are the best fans, especially the ones with far too much free time in between Scotchgard binges.
10. Doves, “Catch the Sun.”
Sidney Pollack Dies at 74
Sidney Pollack, 1934-2008
For a remembrance of Pollack, see my entry at the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Web page.
Reading the Tea Leaves on David Cook’s Career
David Cook
Tulsa’s David Cook entered the competition on a lark and won a dark horse victory Wednesday against a teenage pop singer, and now Cook is an “American Idol.” Now comes the hard part: a lasting career that transcends the victory.
Before Cook, only one rock singer built a substantial following from “American Idol,” and he was a fourth-place finisher. But while Chris Daughtry’s mainstream rock approach might be the short-term template for Cook’s career, the new “Idol” champ is likely to be thinking bigger.
“I think we’ll see him go sort of down the Daughtry route — I say ‘sort of,’ because I don’t think they’re going to sound the same,” said Shirley Halperin, senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think we’re going to have two Nickelback clones, necessarily. I think that he’s going to go for a real rock record in the vein of someone like Jimmy Eat World or Foo Fighters, who he listed as among his favorite bands.”
Both Foo Fighters and Jimmy Eat World are groups with longevity who built a fan base that withstands shifts in popular taste. Halperin, who has covered “American Idol” since its first season, said she expects Cook to make hard rock music that will sound good for years.
“I just think he’s going to take the credible rock route as opposed to the sort of formulaic, borderline pop commercial route. He opts for things that are a little heavier, a little more complex,” Halperin said, noting Cook’s allegiance to the Canadian group Our Lady Peace. “He has the chance, finally, to really make a commercially viable album that people from all sides of the spectrum can embrace. For the first time, we have somebody who can really pull it off.”
Cook will record his major-label debut while under contract to “Idol” creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment and much will be riding on making his first record a creative and commercial success on a par with Oklahoma’s previous winner, Carrie Underwood.
The 25-year-old singer-songwriter benefits in the short term from pulling an upset victory over the performer many people expected to win, 17-year-old David Archuleta of Utah. Halperin said that it came down to voter preferences: when more rock-oriented singers such as Carly Smithson and Michael Johns got voted out, their fans were unlikely to gravitate to the teen-pop and Broadway-leaning Archuleta.
So when those disaffected fans called in and texted their preference, they had one place to go.
“It’s almost as if David Cook had his own secret stash of superdelegates, but they only came into play in the last 24 hours,” Halperin said.
Beyond mathematics, Halperin said Cook had a slight edge because he presented a humble, personable presence on the show.
“From everyone I’ve talked to, he seems genuinely unaffected and nice,” Halperin said. “I think we’ll see someone, like the Foo Fighters, who will look at the big picture and the long picture, not just what’s coming up in the next year. I think what we have here is a true artist. He’s got something very special.”
Heaven Knows He’s Miserable Now
I’ve come to wish Morrissey an unhappy birthday. He’s 49 today, and unlike the good ladies and gentlemen at Idolator, I cannot resist the easy charm of a video album.
“How Soon is Now”
“Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”
“Panic”
“This Charming Man”
“Shoplifters of the World Unite.”
“The Queen is Dead”
“There is a Light That Never Goes Out”
“The Boy With the Thorn In His Side”
“Girlfriend in a Coma”
“Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
“Suedehead”
“Interesting Drug”
“Last of the Famous International Playboys”
“Tomorrow”
“The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get”
“Irish Blood, English Heart”
“You Have Killed Me”
Random 10 for May 23, 2008
1. Ian Dury & the Blockheads, “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.” The late Ian Dury was truly one of the most beloved characters to come out of the pub rock/punk/new wave era, and for sheer lunacy, I highly recommend the song “Blockheads” as a tonic for clearing out cobwebs and excising frustration. As it is, “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” is pretty good for it, too, though I’ll be damned if I know what he’s talking about. I have my suspicions.
2. Art Brut, “Direct Hit.”
3. Dave Sardy feat. Liela Moss, “Giant.”
4. The Dirtbombs, “Indivisible.”
5. Coldplay, “Viva La Vida.” My favorite Chris Martin song since “The Scientist” in 2003, and it is the finest realization of the band’s sonic goals to date. Yes, I’m a big sucker for opulence. Once their flirtation with Brian Eno ends, Martin ought to have Wayne set them up with Dave Fridmann. Pardon the iTunes ad, but it’s all we’ve got so far, other than my curiously acquired song.
6. Air, “Radio #1.”
7. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, “The False Husband.”
8. Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, “When I Say Can you Dig It (You Say Yeah We Can).”
9. Ween, “Dr. Rock.”
10. Jill Cunniff, “Lazy Girls.” Her solo debut, City Beach, was not as thoroughly satisfying as it might have been if Gabby Glaser and Kate Schellenbach were still around to supply some rough edges, but “Lazy Girls” is a perfect summer song in the vein of “Ladyfingers.” Did I just write “in the vein of ‘Ladyfingers’”? It’s been a long week.
Video of the Day: American Music Club, “All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco”
From The Golden Age, the second disc since Mark Eitzel reconvened American Music Club in 2003 after a decade of solo work. It’s a beautiful low-key pop ballad, complete with a yacht rock-style trumpet riff that offers a nice Steely Dan echo. And to top it off, the video features one of Staticblog’s favorite freaks, Grace Zabriskie, famous for her work in “Twin Peaks,” “Wild at Heart” and “Big Love.”
Random 10 for May 22, 2008
1. Supergrass, “Diamond Hoo Ha Man.” From the band’s bravura new release, Diamond Hoo Ha, which trades the contemplative tone of Road to Rouen for pure nasty glam.
2. Hot Chip, “Playboy.”
3. The Last Shadow Puppets, “The Age of the Understatement.”
4. John Legend, “Stereo.”
5. M.I.A., “Sunshowers.” From Arular, a somewhat less accessible disc than Kala, “Sunshowers” nevertheless offers one of that disc’s most pop-oriented moments.
6. Interpol, ‘Rest My Chemistry.”
7. MC Paul Barman, “Vulture Shark Sculpture Park.”
8. Bryan Ferry, “I Thought.”
9. Beulah, “I We Can Land a Man on the Moon…”
10. Goldfrapp, “A&E.” For fans of Alison’s more electro output, “A&E” splits the difference between her ultra-glam dance songs and the pastoral balance of Seventh Tree. While Tree has gotten an unusually chilly reception, I’m a sucker for anything that could pass as a soundtrack to the original “Wicker Man.”
Video of the Day: Shy Child, “Astronaut”
At first, “Astronaut” just sounds like electro-pulse twaddle, but once the drum-and-keytar duo gets going, the math-rock polyrhythms and arpeggios move melody closer to traditional prog.
Courtesy: Pitchfork.tv
Welcome to Staticblog’s Live Coverage of the “American Idol” Season Finale
Yes, this is the site of up-to-the-minute, play-by-play, nitro-burning funny car excitement for the next two hours. Live from Staticblog World Headquarters in the historic and picturesque central neighborhoods of Oklahoma City, I will be chronicling every time-waster, every superfluous use of the word “pitchy,” every sub-sentient utterance by Paula Abdul, every strange and underwhelming guest appearance, and the ultimate coronation of Simon Cowell’s pet human. What does it look like when the country’s favorite show reaches it’s critical mass? It looks like two hours of watching toothpaste harden. Here we go!
7:01 p.m. Here you go: 97.5 million votes for a David. So glad to see the youth so energized by an election.
7:03 p.m. “Correspondent” Mikalah Gordon, dressed in a gold-lame sausage skin, shows Kansas City fans screaming for Cookie, while Matt Rogers looks like he’s going to bust a blood vessel amonst the Archuletans.
7:05 p.m. What a way to suck all the soul out of a Temptations classic. I’m old, so I remember where I saw this group performance first: the “Brady Bunch Variety Hour.” I can hardly wait for Greg to push Bobby in the pool — that’s comedy gold.
7:10 p.m. Okay, so this Chad Kroeger song from “Spider-Man” was not a good choice for Cook, since it only points out what 19 Entertainment has in place for his Nickelbackian post-”A.I.” career. Little Arch gets to do the soaring melisma. Can hardly wait to see him in the next Andrew Lloyd Webber extravaganza.
7:13 p.m. Mike Myers gets a massive plug for his seemingly stillborn “The Love Guru” non-comedy. “Mariska Hargitay,” indeed. According to the Guru, Archuleta might make “boom-boom in your Pull-Ups.” I think my son is doing that right now. In his Pull-Ups. Now I understand why that Hindu group keeps sending me daily nastygrams about this movie.
7:18 p.m. Syesha Mercado and Sealhenry Samuel sing. Honestly, he hasn’t been the same since he stopped working with the illustrious Trevor Horn, who hasn’t really been the same since he produced Yes’ 90125. And Yes hasn’t been the same since that awful Tormato album cover.
7:21 p.m. Ah, a “Love Guru” mersh. Got to savor the rich, full-bodied taste of synergy.
7:26 p.m. Jar-Jar Castro returns for another run at Leonard Cohen. Hey, get that anesthesia mask off me! Oh, there’s no mask, that’s just my bodily functions slowing to tree sloth levels. No, Jeff Buckley didn’t write that, coffee shop boy.
7:28 p.m. I’m going to miss these Ford music videos — I think I’ve seen more of them in the past few months that I’ve seen actual music videos. Great production values. Shouldn’t these people have been practicing instead of clowning around in an Escape hybrid?
7:29 p.m. Oh, they each get one. Nice. You get to pay taxes on that, Cook. And Archuleta, your dad gets to pay taxes on yours.
7:30 p.m. This Donna Summer medley is… pitchy. And here’s Donna Summer performing her new song, apparently not knowing that the Sandmen are coming after her for being over 30 in a shallow pop music environment.
7:37 p.m. Watching that “Incredible Hulk” rehash is, once again, going to be alot like watching my nephew play Playstation 3.
7:39 p.m. Carly Smithson and Michael Johns doing Alex Chilton, but it’s more like the Joe Cocker version, especially Carly. I know many people will see the appearance of also-rans as a charitable move by 19 Entertainment, but that’s not the vibe that comes off it. It’s more like, “You didn’t like these people enough. And here they are for your derision.”
7:44 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel calls “American Idol” “19 weeks of karaoke singing.” He is a national treasure.
7:46 p.m. A Bryan Adams medley is made unbearable by the fact that Cook started out “Heaven” sounding a little hellish. And here’s the man himself, the one honored on “How I Met Your Mother” when Cobie Smulders called Bruce Springsteen, “The American Bryan Adams.” He doesn’t really look any different than he did in 1983. It’s like they’ve been curing him in a vat of Labatt’s.
“I need somebody/ Somebody like you/ Yeah, I need somebody/ Yeah/ I need somebody/what about you?/ Yeah, need somebody.”
Wonder if Castro got the words right.
7:54 p.m. For the love of all things holy, I’ve been doing this for an hour, and nothing has happened. It’s like live-blogging golf. Or C-Span: The Musical.
7:56 p.m. Cookie jams with ZZ Top. And he does the ZZ rubberleg dance, too. This song is as old as he is — seriously. And ZZ Top hasn’t done a noteworthy song since they released that industrial cover of “Viva Las Vegas” the year Archuleta was born.
8:02 p.m. Brooke White looks a little alarmed during her duet with Graham Nash on “Teach Your Children.” Could be because she’s getting schooled.
8:05 p.m. Cookie does the Tom Cruise underwear scene from “Risky Business” in a Guitar Hero III commercial. Cook, no matter what he tells you, Dianetics does not have all the answers.
8:08 p.m. The Jonas Brothers perform, which is one of the most demographically appropriate appearances of the evening. They should really have a nice, long chat with two or three Hansons.
8:11 p.m. Tryout zaniness. Jared Wiley should win “Alpine Idol.” That was Von Trapp-worthy. And James Lewis, the guy in the giant gold suit, looked like he was doing Jake LaMotta’s nightclub act — if LaMotta spoke humpback whale.
8:14 p.m. Does this atonal pirate Reynaldo Lapuz really deserve the USC Marching Band treatment? Where’s Lindsey Buckingham when you need him?
8:21 p.m. Young Archie jams with OneRepublic, but without Timbaland grunting and conducting from the control room, they’re nothing.
8:25 p.m. “Correspondent” Matt Rogers tries to sow seeds of hatred amongst Archie’s grandparents. Schmuck.
8:27 p.m. I’m going to say something nice: the song Jordin Sparks is singing, “One Step at a Time,” could have been a hit during Janet Jackson’s prime. Also, that Coldplay song in the iTunes ad is sooooo much better than “Violet Hill.” I guess that wasn’t so difficult. Now, on with the show.
8:34 p.m. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. are Pip-tastic. But this isn’t getting us any closer to the results. I feel like I’m on the “Permanent Midnight Train to Georgia.” Get it? Aaaaah, look it up on IMDb.
8:37 p.m. Just as my colleague Brandy McDonnell predicted, Carrie Underwood is doing “Last Night” again, but she’s looking like a hot wedding cake and sounding better than any of this year’s contestants. Some people don’t need “American Idol” to be stars, but maybe it happened for Carrie just a little bit sooner than it would have otherwise.
8:44 p.m. Now Archie gets to do the Cruise tightie whitey dance for “Guitar Hero.” Xenu, he’s right down here.
8:45 p.m. Mother, the lights are growing dim. The Top 12 women are doing George Michael’s “Faith,” which makes me feel like I’m watching a really bad episode of “Eli Stone.” Now the men are doing “Father Figure,” and it’s going to be really awkward when Archuleta starts singing the lead. Okay, that didn’t happen. So now we’re up to “Freedom ‘90,” and George Michael still hasn’t shown up.
Man, I should know better than to write things like that. Now it’s exactly like a really bad episode of “Eli Stone,” except he’s singing “Praying For Time,” his relatively brave attempt at Elton John singing a John Lennon song — I mean, other than “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Actually, we should all be praying for less time than two hours of this mess.
8:57 p.m. This is a little redundant, given the time stamp and all, but it’s 8:57 p.m., and we still don’t know who the freakin’ winner is. I guess Andrew Speno’s 9 o’clock newscast is getting the bum’s rush.
9:02 p.m. And after all that padding, here it is. And the winner is…
David. Good night, ladies and germs! We won’t be here all week, mainly because it’s already felt like it. And congratulations, Tulsa (and Kansas City, I suppose) — Simon’s pet didn’t win after all.
9:08 p.m. Man… I didn’t even get to use this photo in context. But it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want:
Good night!
Random 10 for May 21, 2008
1. Charlotte Gainsbourg, “The Songs That We Sing.” Not that it isn’t obvious, but the gentlemen making beautiful noise behind Charlotte are Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel, a.k.a. Air.
2. Johnny Cash, “Rowboat.”
3. Belle & Sebastian, “Beautiful.”
4. Portishead and Paul Weller, “Wild Wood.”
5. Girl Talk, “Bounce That.” The following songs get sampled by Gregg Gillis in this monumental mash-up:
6. The Field, “From Here We Go Sublime.”
7. The Flaming Lips vs. Chumbawumba, “Tubthumping.”
8. Public Enemy, “Nighttrain.”
9. The Free Design, “I Found Love.”
10. CSS, “Rat is Dead.” From the upcoming CSS disc Donkey, “Rat” represents CSS in its more straightforward New Wave stance rather than its more electro-oriented, Diplo-matic state.
