Part two of this ever-so-exciting entry begins with my commentary from the DVR replay of last night’s American Idol program…

THE FINAL TWELVE

Sayesha: singing Gotta Get You Into My Life… oh that’s a cute hairdo… kind of a Claire Huxtable look going on… i’m not so much big on the song… i guess this is more Earth Wind and Fire than Beatles, and she’s doing fine, but i guess i just don’t like the song very much myself… nice horns from the band… overall not bad… Randy says, Earth Wind and Fire, right?… pitchy, but alright… Paula says she’s a good singer, and she found her zone somewhere in the middle… Simon says it was better than alright, but she looked nervous…

Chikezie (like Sunday morning): lives outside of LA, looks like a Celtics fan… that’s odd… singing “She’s a Woman” with his own little funk… funk apparently means fiddle… oh dear… that’s something special… i didn’t think he was the rocker, but he’s got it going on right now… oh yeah, buddy… i like this… little bit of Prince, little bit country, little bit rock and roll… yeah… that’s a hot one… Randy says, Dawg, I was thoroughly entertained… you SMASHED it… Paula said… O Brother reward paid I knew it, brother, something something something… Simon says terrific… Ryan fires everyone up…

Ramiele (ratatouille): she’s singing “In My Life” and dedicating it to her close friends who are already cut from the show… she’s facing the wrong way… she’s FACING THE WRONG WAY… SOMEBODY TELL HER TO TURN AROUND!… okay… phew… now she’s off the stairs and on the stage and she’s the other side of Chikezie’s magnet… the slow, boring, uninspired side… no wonder she was facing the wrong way… she’s got a killer voice, but this is very slow and boring… i said that already… this is showtunesy… Randy says… pretty…. BORING… Paula says “my darling, you look wonderful tonight”… pretty? try pretty, safe… see what we hear… Simon clarifies that seeing and hearing are two different senses… and reminds us that she was very boring… MORE LIKE BORE-APHYL!…

Jason (Fidel) Castro: he seems a little slow when he talks… he’s singing “If I Fell“… you know, if Ramiele fell down the stairs, it wouldn’t have been so boring… Jason’s got himself a little geetar… i think he’s making eyes at me… i’m not a fan of that thankyouverymuch… this is kind of slow too, actually… i guess it’s a little less boring because it’s a better song and he’s got a guitar… eh, though, it’s alright… nice tone… Randy says… liked it, didn’t love it… Paula says… ohmy GAWSH you’re so SPECIAL and UNIQUE… can I FEEL YOUR HEART?… now he’s rethinking the whole goo goo eyes thing… Simon says… you sounded like a student in a bedroom at midnight clipping toenails chewing stale twizzlers drinking flat coca cola… okay i made some of that up…

random thoughts: i like the new stage and i think i want to see that new movie, 21… Carly and Amanda screaming at each other… interesting… hmm… just realized that the results show isn’t recording… better fix that…

Carly (Harley) Smithson: singing “Come Together“… oh, a Third Day song… oh, no… i’m kidding again… that’s a pretty odd top there… clearly she wanted to make sure everyone saw her uniqueness in that scary looking tatoo-ed arm… points to her for mentioning Coca-Cola in a song… here’s some sponsor dollars… she’s got a really good voice… and this is an interesting arrangement… i liked it, but maybe it’s largely because the last two were so boring… Randy says that felt amazing, right? it was stellar… Paula says she already looks like a star… Simon says she finally picked the right song… and she reminds him of Kelly Clarkson…

David Cook: i don’t particularly like this guy… but here goes… he’s singing “Eleanor Rigby“… and he’s giving me more reason not to like him… what a genaric drunk-rocker vocal… sounds a bit like he had some dental work done earlier today and the novacaine hasn’t worn off yet… he’s turned it into a rock song for sure, but it’s so not a rock song… yeah… not feeling that one, dawg… Randy says… check it out… you can rock out… it was rocking… you got this… Paula reminds him of his name and then goes off on some stange horse rambling… frontman, front frontman something… Simon said it was brilliant… i don’t know why SImon is so in the tank for this guy…

Brooke White: man, i’m only halfway done?… this is a lot… i like Brooke, but i think she looks at least ten years older than she is… good grief, she’s only 24??… she’s singing “Let It Be” which was released 14 years before she was born… okay… anyway… she’s at the piano and i like that… she has a great quality to her vocal… i do like this song… the camera is making me dizzy, but she’s doing a fabulous job… just a straight up, no frills version which works… and i think she’s crying… she IS… she IS crying… Randy says it was heartfelt and he’s a fan… Paula says this is her niche and she started talking about emotional heart feeling connections again… Simon says it was one of the best of the night… brilliant choice of song…

David (yeah, THAT guy) Hernandez: pizza bistro, eh? is that what they’re calling it these days?… he’s singing “I Saw Her Standing There“… he’s working the crowd… i don’t like the outfit… no, i’m not implying that he should take it off… maybe he should just get off the stage… he doesn’t have the vocal for this… seems like all the guys got together and decided to all try and rock out… this guy just fell flat in my opinion… Randy says it was too overdone… Paula says he kind of overdid it… wait, i heard that before… Simon says (Paula go to rehab, she said) no no no… corny, verging on desperate… david is fast talking and he’s clearly holding back tears… or something…

Amanda: Oh, i definitely want to see Leatherheads… JIM! Yes! the office comes back next week!… oh dear… what is that look, Amanda… “You Can’t Do That“… she’d never heard this song before this week… Amanda-spin = tye-dye to death… holy smokes… this is terrible… these lyrics are all incoherant… seriously, dear… take a cue from the lyrics… you CAN’T DO THAT… man… i know she’s gonna be around for a while too… how annoying… Randy says the true mark of a great song is apparently that you can butcher it and it still is a great song… Paula avoids the question and says it’s the most talented year ever… Simon says it wasn’t as good as last year and he couldn’t understand the lyrics… three more to go…

Michael (Porta) Johns: singing “Across the Universe“… you know… The Beatles aren’t available on iTunes… i bet they’d have sold a lot last night if they were… the Across the Universe soundtrack is #2 on Amazon… i’m not really a big fan of this song actually… but he’s doing a pretty good job with it… very safe, very subdued, but very good… Randy says it was a little sleepy… and Paula says nah, he’s brave and brilliant… Simon says nah, it was boring, don’t listen to the crazy love-struck chick next to me…

Kristy Lee Cook: “Eight Days a Week” in the style of country… what is with the shoulders?… um… oh dear… i don’t think this is country per se… i think it’s just a little bit hyper… okay, maybe a lot a bit hyper?… what has she done to this song… that run wasn’t too bad, but this song is way off… way way off… boo… oh, that close wasn’t good… Randy says it’s a half and halfer… Paula didn’t enjoy it and i think she’s about to cry… she didn’t get it… Simon says it was horrendous… Dolly Parton on helium… HA!…

more random comments the last performer is coming up but first, some more Amazon numbers… The White album is #23, Sgt. Pepper is # 25, 1 is #64, Abbey Road is #67, Rubber Soul #79, Love #82, Revolver #87, and Let It Be is #91 that’s not too bad i guess… 9% of the top 100 sellers… also worth noting is Jeff Buckley is at 69 and Dolly Parton (minus the helium) is at 83

David Archuleta: is his mom a gypsy?… anyway… “We Can Work It Out,” the Stevie Wonder version?… bad choice to cover Stevie… i’m just saying… again with the stairs?… um… what were those words? is this American Idol or Don’t Forget the Lyrics?… where’s Wayne Brady?… aw… poor little kid… it’s not even that great of a version… his voice is breathy and he’s not really hitting his notes… it’s probably not the worst, but it’s certainly not good… and yet, they’re all cheering like mad… Randy says it was not on point… you can’t do stevie better than stevie… Paula says i love you… remember the lyrics next time… Simon says that was a mess… and that’s that…

Chikezie was my favorite from the night… scary, right?… for the record, i had blindly picked Remie to go with Syesha and David Hernandez rounding out the bottom three… i think i’d pick it a little different now, but it’s all good…

ROCK IT…. YEAH

This weekend, they announced a new batch of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and they included Madonna, John Mellencamp (the “Cougar” has a few more years before it’s eligible), Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures… everyone has been covering Madonna and Mellencamp, but for me the big deal here is Cohen… he’s good and he wrote some phenomenal songs… anyway, what on EARTH was Justin Timberlake doing there introducing Madonna?… wack, yo… let’s DANCE…

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 15-21Joshua 6: 15-21
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
15 On the seventh day, the army got up at daybreak. They marched slowly around Jericho the same as they had done for the past six days, except on this day they went around seven times. ¹⁶ Then the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua yelled: Get ready to shout! The Lord will let you capture this town. ¹⁷ But you must destroy it and everything in it, to show that it now belongs to the Lord. d destroy ... now belongs to the Lord: Destroying a city and everything in it, including its people and animals, showed that it belonged to the Lord and could no longer be used by humans. The woman Rahab helped the spies we sent, e sent: See . so protect her and the others who are inside her house. But kill everyone else in the town. ¹⁸-¹⁹ The silver and gold and everything made of bronze and iron belong to the Lord and must be put in his treasury. Be careful to follow these instructions, because if you see something you want and take it, the Lord will destroy Israel. And it will be all your fault. f Be careful ... fault: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Don't keep any of it for yourself. If you do, the Lord will destroy both you and Israel.” ²⁰ . The priests blew their trumpets again, and the soldiers shouted as loud as they could. The walls of Jericho fell flat. Then the soldiers rushed up the hill, went straight into the town, and captured it. ²¹-²⁵ . They killed everyone, men and women, young and old, everyone except Rahab and the others in her house. They even killed every cow, sheep, and donkey. Joshua said to the two men who had been spies, “Rahab kept you safe when I sent you to Jericho. We promised to protect her and her family, and we will keep that promise. Now go into her house and bring them out.” The two men went into Rahab's house and brought her out, along with her father and mother, her brothers, and her other relatives. Rahab and her family had to stay in a place just outside the Israelite army camp. g camp: Rahab and her family were Canaanites and were considered unclean. If they stayed in the Israelite army camp, the Lord would not help the Israelite army in battle . However, Rahab and her family later became part of Israel. But later they were allowed to live among the Israelites, and her descendants still do. The Israelites took the silver and gold and the things made of bronze and iron and put them with the rest of the treasure that was kept at the Lord's house. h the Lord's house: A name for the place of worship, which at that time was the sacred tent. Finally, they set fire to Jericho and everything in it.

The Payoff

It’s day seven… they get up early and start marching around Jericho seven times in one day… then a trumpet blast, which is quite symbolic and some shouting because The LORD has given them the city… and in turn they are to devote it entirely to Him… there’s a warning here in verse 18 about taking things that you shouldn’t take, they’re defined more clearly in verse 19, but the warning is pretty severe… destruction and trouble…

and here’s the payoff… the trumpets sound, the people shout, the wall falls down and they all charge in, destroying pretty much everything in sight… so, this land of promise is now in ruins… but wait.. .there’s more… oh yes… there is more…

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK

i know that i skipped some things, but time is short… and my list is long… hoping to get some more things done soon… ’til then…

peace… love… bdg…