Note to partisan hacks: If you’re going to tar someone by calling him/her an appeaser, take the time to learn what appeasement actually means—preferably before going on TV.
[Hat tip: Con Queso]
Tag Archive for 'on TV'
Sasha Frere-Jones, the music critic for the New Yorker, offers this harsh (yet mostly accurate) assessment of American Idol favorite David Archuletta:
David Archuleta, a smooth-skinned man-child with a giant smile, a good voice, and a creepy inability to become displeased with himself … may lose to the dark horse David Cook, a slightly doughy twenty-five-year-old rock singer who sounds improbably assured, and seems smarter every week, as Archuleta’s woodland-creature routine feels increasingly forced.
I’ve never been a big fan of Archuleta’s style, but I can give the 17-year-old a lot of credit—he’s the most natural talent on the Idol stage.
[In no particular order]
1. SHOULD we boycott the Beijing Olympics? Point:
2. WHY did Michael Johns get booted from American Idol?
3. WHY are we still in
4. WHAT’S UP with that 28 percent that approves of President Bush’s performance? Sub-question: What would Bush have to do to get their disapproval?
5. WHY are you using Evite when you can use Pingg? I can understand using Evite only if you like poorly designed, shaming invitations that are filled with ugly ads.
Also, while I can’t put it into question form, I thought I’d acknowledge how cool it is that
Three songs into last night’s Idol and one thing was immediately clear: The back-to-back Beatles episodes were a bust. Most of the contestants offered feeble-to-embarrassing renditions of a bunch of timeless songs. Last night, even though there we some flops, it was easy to see that they were on more comfortable terrain.
Chikezie Cheesy.
David Archuleta Very Disney. And that’s not a compliment.
Syesha Mercado Muscular, bold performance, if not particularly earth-shattering.
Amanda Overmeyer I missed her. She brought a refreshing rebelliousness.
Michael Johns Awesome.
David Cook As much as I think it’s weird to do a cover of a cover (in this case a cover of Chris Cornell’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”) I will grudgingly admit that his performance was pretty great.
Brooke White Not so good. But 37 times better than her performance last week.
Carly Smithson Despite the weird finish, I thought she rocked it.
Jason Castro He’s a total bimbo, but I suppose that’s 90 percent of his charm. He chose a great Sting song but sullied it with his guitar playing.
Ramiele Malubay Can’t for the life of me remember anything about her performance …
Kristy Lee Cook As an anti-American, I thought this performance was a travesty. Just kidding. (About the anti-American part.)
Paula What on earth were your wearing on your hands?
Let’s move from discussions of race and religion to more serious matters …
Here are some quick thoughts about last night’s American Idol:
After a bad—really bad—performance, Brooke White cracked up. Brooke: Just. Stop. Talking. Please.
Chikezie didn’t put in his best performance but nonetheless reminded me why I like him: he’s funny, not too serious, playful, innovative, varied and energetic.
David Archuleta’s performance was totally hackneyed and I’m curious as to why Simon thought it was so great. Conspiracy?
Syesha Mercado … did she sing? All I remember is the lack of dress in her dress, specifically in the top half.
Amanda Overmeyer does her thing quite well. Most memorable: her able sparing with Simon, who insists on judging her by criteria she simply doesn’t care about.
Michael Johns (aussie, emo-mullet) crammed a complex song into too small a space, and the result was messy. Also, the cynic in me thinks his post-song dedication to a late friend was partly political. (Does that make me a terrible person?)
Bombastic, soul-patched David Cook usually bugs me, but I liked him last night.
In general, I’m a year to two year behind the times. I’m on Facebook but still haven’t uploaded a photo yet or made many friends.
In the case of American Idol, I’m about six or seven years late. Better late than never! Based on declining ratings, I suspect many people have a ‘been-there-done-that’ attitude about the show. But I love it. It’s riveting. It’s funny. It’s occasionally moving (although not generally during the biographical montages that are meant to be moving). And there are some amazing performances—both from the actual performers and the three-person jury of Simon, Paula and Randy.
Yeah, Simon is a jerk, but he’s usually the most accurate in his criticism. Randy is genial (if a little too generous). And Paula, well, she’s delightfully loony. Apparently there is a drinking game that involves imbibing whenever she doesn’t form a complete sentence. And Ryan Seacrest, who initially struck me as sort of a goober, is actually quite funny and a great host. He’s also the perfect foil for Simon.
Visionary Larry introduced me to the Kiwi folk duo Flight of the Conchords a few months ago.
Back in November, Conchords stars Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement appeared on the NPR radio show Fresh Air with Terry Gross. (Well, I suppose one can’t appear on a radio show.) They talked with Terry for about 20 minutes and gave some on-air performances of their favorite songs, including “Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” and “What Is Wrong in the World Today.”
Listening to the segment, I was surprised to learn that Bret had a part in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Also, I learned that Jermaine speaks flawless French.
Click “Hear the Original ‘Fresh Air’ Interview and Performance.”