so it’s Monday again, and we’re just at the halfway point of introducing all five categories for Monday Morning Mashed Potatoes… hopefully you’ve been enjoying these and hopefully, i’ll get through the remaining two this week so that starting next week, these features will be taking a queue from its full name and occurring once a week (on Monday mornings-ish) and pullfrom each of the five categories… anyway, today the focus is music and i’ve got three doozies for you…
now, a quick note before diving in, there have already been a lot of good albums released this year and, i… well, i don’t get quite as many albums as i used to, so i can’t really speak to albums like, say, The Rocket Summer or TobyMac, or Fair… or even albums released this week, like Lifehouse, Meredith Andrews, Danny Gokey, or Pocket Full of Rocks… and, i’m not complaining, per se, but i want you all to know that if you ask me about certain albums, popular ones, i may not have gotten them…
once things get going a little more regularly, i certainly hope that i start getting more consideration… until then, we work with what we’ve got… off we go…
certainly one of the most exciting music news of the last few days is the official release date for the new Deepspace5 album, The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be… the crew has signed on with Mega Royal Records and plans to release the album on April 27th… on top of that news is the official release of the amazing video for the lead single, From the Outside… which i’ve been enjoying for a long time unofficially and have now been playing pretty much on repeat for the last few days… it is highly, highly addictive and posted below…
as i’m sure you can tell, this is shaping up to be an unbelievable album… one that i’ll hopefully be able to get ahold of for early coverage… (*wink wink, nod nod*)…
when last i was in Nashville for the annual shindig known as GMA Music Week (RIP – another story), the talk of the town was none other than NewWorldSon… and, true to form, they put on a brilliant showcase performance – one of the very, very few to actually inspire all of the serious and uppity critics and collegues to move during the show… you see, it’s kind of a tradition, or expectation, that one remains serious and stationary during showcases, which can make things rather awkward for the folks pouring out their hearts and sweat on stage… NWS managed to break down that barrier and wow us all…
then came Salvation Station, their debut CD with Inpop Records that managed to – on some level – capture the essence of the live show with energetic arrangments and soulful vocals that might make listeners clap and move around at least a little bit… the album was well received and proved to be a solid effort worth repeat visits… however, for me, the album lost some of its luster over time and i was more than ready for some new material…
That preparedness was rewarded by the self-titled follow-up album released in February… the experience, though, is certainly a rocky road… it starts out pretty strong with “You Set the Rhythm” and maintains a steady keel until the back half where it begins to fade and fade quickly… while i still enjoy the album as a whole, i find myself skipping through the self-indulgence of “Total Eclipse” and “Jamaican Praise Medley” among others… i will say that “O Lament” is probably the best on the entire album and it’s likely because it translates so well to the recording… many of the other tracks leave me longing for a live performance…
This is, of course, a matter of opinion… the group is still immensely talented and probably still one of the better live shows… this album just didn’t keep me wanting to come back quite like the last one… [NewWorldSon is available at such fine retailers as Amazon, AmazonMP3, and iTunes]
speaking of bands who sound totally different in concert than on CD… Starfield is one of those bands that initially struck me – and this is years ago – as a band with some pretty good potential, but when i saw them live at Creation Festival, i was really blown away by their enthusiasm… mind you, pretty much every “rock” band sounds better, harder, stronger when they’re feeding off of a live crowd and hoping to get everyone moshing along with the rhythm, but Starfield was truly impressive… but their albums always seemed to leave a little something to be desired…
Well, that’s all changed and now they’re a band with loads of potential that has the added danger of being aware of their strengths… The Saving One reveals a band confident in who they are and more than capable of expressing everything they desire… this turn clearly began sometime around when they were working on the previous album (I Will Go, but has culminated with the honesty and well-craftedness of this release…
Certainly, rock fans will eat up the energy of the title track, Declaration of Dependence, and Overwhelm among others, but nothing on the album beats the heart-wrenching lyrics and delivery of Something to Say and Rediscover You… these two songs really bring some serious Psalms / end-of-myself type worship to the mix and they are just phenomenal… i’ve always liked Tim’s vocals, but these tracks in particular really make them pop… and it’s all-in-all a really solid effort, one that definitely proves that they’ve got it together…
[The Saving One is available at such fine retailers as Amazon, AmazonMP3, and iTunes]
WHAT SAY YOU?
okay, that’s what i’ve got to say… have you any experience with or thoughts onthese three choices? I’d love to hear it… that’s what makes life fun… next time on MMMP it’s books… see you then…
well, it’s the girls turn and the big question is whether or not Krystal Bowersox will be able to compete… chances are if she does, they give her the pimp spot out of pity… and here’s the lineup, BoSAWX is at the end and she says that she’s good to go… the judges… Ellen is in the middle again… it’s a good idea for her not to be the first one to comment… and they address the issue of Kara morphing into Paula and cozying up to Simon this year… she has a huge hair tail today… totally a throwback to Paula’s cheerleading days… on we go…
Crystal BoSAWX… oh, she’s going first, and she has a twin brother… singing a gospelled up version of CCR’s Long As I Can See the Light… apparently “gospel” means taking the slow train… she’s screaching a little… and i really, really don’t like that lip thing… so distracting… it’s an alright arrangement i suppose, and she does an alright job… i don’t know how much i’ll remember it though… kind of drab over all… Randy says she is the truth, and the girl that she wants to be, and that girl is HOT!… Ellen says that she’s amazing and she needs to say healthy… Kara takes her head off of Simon’s shoulder long enough to say that she’s recovered from last week – even to the point of hitting a new level… Simon likes that she is probably a really serious artist, along the lines of Kelly Clarkson…
Haley “Smiles Too Much”… last week you butchered a Beatles song, this week, you’re taking on a Miley Cyrus song (which is supposed to sound horrible)… good freaking call… actually, this should fit her a lot better… with “The Climb”… oh, it’s a slow song… which means that the vocal is exponentially more important…and unfortunately, though she does have some good moments, they are brief moments and she quickly finds her way to off side of the pitch… she just doesn’t have a strong voice and i can hardly believe that she managed to pick a good artist, but a horrible song… that was a nightmare… Randy says that it was really, really bad… Ellen says that she didn’t seem to connect with the song at all, but she needs to keep smiling… Kara says that people probably like her, but, honey needs at least a year of vocal training… Simon says it was a complete and utter mess…
Lacey “The Token Red-haired Gal” Brown… every season has one girl with unnaturally red hair… this year is Lacey’s turn… and her personality reminds me of Leigh Nash… oh, and she’s singing Sixpence’s Kiss Me… oh my gosh… she sounds like Leigh, too… except when she gets happy enough to smile, that takes her out of the groove… it’s pretty good… i guess my biggest qualm with it is that she kind of alternates between copycatting Leigh’s vocal and just talking through the lyrics… she also seems a little disconnected from it… especially for “loving this song”… Randy says that it felt like karaoke… Ellen says that it was, and she is, adorable… Kara says that it brought back her vocal stylings, but she needs to step it up even more… Simon says that it was marginally better than last week, but it wasn’t artistic or memorable…
Katie Stevens… so, clearly SHE should be singing Kiss Me… instead of… Corrine Bailey Rae… okay, here’s what i really don’t get… THIS IS SO NOT A YOUNGER SONG… i get that CBR is a newer artist and this is a hip choice, but it’s the same style… she does sound a lot better, but it’s still skewing rather old to me… she needs to dive into something like Miley or maybe Duffy… it really opened up nicely though, certainly enough to get her through… and a lot better than last week… Randy said that he thought she can take on something more challenging melodically… Ellen says that it’s still not exactly right for her age… Kara is frustrated and says that Katie needs to be more consistent from the beginning… Simon says she doesn’t seem to know who she wants to be as an artist yet…
DiDi Benami… she looks a lot like that piano playing hippie from a couple years ago… Brooke White… and she’s got the whole jazzy, raspy thing to her voice… let’s see how that translates to Lean on Me… she’s just chillin’ on that stool here, giving the verses a rather sunny disposition… far poppier than the original… lacking in soul… her vocal sounds a bit tinny and maybe even frail… but it’s not too, too bad… i kind of liked the arrangement actually… and she did alright with the performance… Randy says it heightened her imperfections… bad song choice… Ellen says great voice, great presence, wrong song… Kara says it really wasn’t good… karaoke, inconsistent, bad interpretation… but Kara’s still a fan… Simon says something about a cat… it was screechy and genaric… a wasted opportunity… she’s about to explode into tears…
Michelle Delamor… she’s the corporate singer… whatever that means… she teaches kids how to sing and this will be interesting, she’s singing Creed’s With Arms Wide Open… Scott Stapp will be proud, if he’s sober… (sorry, i think he has changed his ways)… i don’t like those gloves… and i really don’t like this arrangement… somehow, with all the dramatic touches and the big runs, it loses all the emotion of the original song… i’m not ashamed to admit that the original gives me goosebumps… vocal is a little off tonight too, that last note really didn’t hit… Randy says it fell flat, but she looks hot… Ellen says she looks fabulous and she almost forgot that it was a rock song and it almost worked, but not quite… Kara waxes on and waxes off (danielson) and says it was her favorite Michelle performance… Simon kind of agrees with Kara… she took a risk and tried to make it her own…
Lilly “Tinkerbell” Scott… she’ll be playing a twelve-string and singing Sam Cooke’s masterpiece, A Change Is Gonna Come… okay, somebody stop her, i’m already done… we’ve heard enough… no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO… sorry, my fingers just got stuck there for a second… that’s just a bad, bad arrangement of a truly great song… Randy says she’s unique and she worked it out and it was his favorite from the night… Ellen says she’s got “it”… again, the best performance of the night… Kara says she had a rivoting moment… she’s gonna change the game… Simon says it was good, but he wasn’t crazy about it like the others…
Katelyn Epperly… playing the piano and singing Coldplay’s The Scientist… (GREAT song)… she really has a great voice… and she’s tweaked the arrangement a bit, throwing in some extra pauses and breaths here and there… but i kind of like it… i liked the way she dropped down on “this hard”, but i don’t like the huge breath before the last note, which fell a little flat… she’ll learn from that though… Randy says that he liked it even though it was really slow… Ellen pulls a Paula and calls a piano a guitar, then mentions that it was too, too slow… sleepy slow… Kara says she kind of loves her… she needs to figure out who she is to make the most of it… Simon says it was a smart choice, but she can border on being corny when she performs…
Paige Miles… she likes to color… and she’s singing Kelly Clarkson’s Walk Away… Simon is tying his shows or something… it’s so weird to hear people perform such energetic songs with absolutely zero energy… how do you do that?… okay, her vocals just aren’t doing it… she’s probably oversinging, but whatever it is, it’s really grinding on the ears… the song really doesn’t let her open up the vocals though, so maybe that’s part of the problem, she’s overcompensating for the quick pace of the verses… i don’t know… didn’t really work out for me… Randy says he liked it, but it wasn’t the best song choice… Ellen says she loved everything about it… Kara, who wrote this song, says it’s not a song you smile about, but she liked it anyway… Simon says it was the wrong song and she got lost in it, just like last week…
Siobhan MAGNUS VER MAGNUSON… closing out the show with a big old Aretha Franklin song, Think… (wonder how much thought went into that)… this is kind of like a mouse trying to roar loud enough to scare a lion… yeah, it’s definitely like that… she’s got a really strong voice actually, like strong man competition strong, but this is totally the wrong song for her… she’s not got the soul… i loved that high note… but the follow-up was not where it needed to do… i’m really torn on that… great chops, but no real rhythm, great highs, but lots of lows as well… Randy says she slayed it… Ellen calls her a Snuggie… Kara can’t get over that note… Simon says she’s such a strange person… and that it was really good and really bad at the same time…
well, the girls are definitely better than the guys… there’s not much argument there… now, who’s going home… well, it’s between Haley, Didi, Paige, and Lacey… and despite how i really feel… it seems to me that Didi and Paige are going to find the hot seat this week… what’s your call, people?
okay, so i think this one will be shorter than the last few, but here’s my live, play-by-play for this week’s episode of LOST… i was expecting this to be about Sun and Jin, but it seems that it will be about Sayid… i don’t have too much time to breathe, and it’s starting, so off we go…
previously… it’s all about Sayid… shot by Roger, drowned, revived, tortured, infected… now, this is interesting… Sayid leaves a cab rings a doorbell and it’s his girl, Nadia… he found her! um… Uncle Sayid?… is that Sayid’s brother? translating oil contracts… Omar… has opened a new store… so, there’s something going on behind the scenes here… they still have a thing for each other… and now it’s out in the open… awkward…
okay, Sayid confronts Dogen… he wants answers… okay… so this is the first deviance from order of character studies from season one… Dogen explains that Sayid tipped the scale towards the dark side… “You think you know me, but you don’t”… Sayid explains that he’s a good man, but now everybody is king-fu fighting… Dogen is fast as lightning… baseball reminds Dogen of his son?… after besting Sayid, he tells him to leave the temple for good… that baseball bounced kind of oddly… Dogen has homeless gloves on…
Claire and smokeLocke stand at the edge of the ash circle… smokeLocke is sending her on a mission to the temple… he will hurt the ones who won’t listen… she’s warning them?
L-O-S-T
Sayid sleeping on the couch… Omar approaches and almost catches a bad one… he’s in trouble… loan shark trouble… he wants Sayid to “convince” them to leave him alone… “I know what kind of man you are”… “I’m not that man anymore”…
back at the temple… Sayid is packing his back… Miles asks what’s up… Sayid says that he’s been banished for being evil… Miles reveals that Sayid was dead for two hours… whatever brought you back, wasn’t them… Claire shows up… “he wants to see you (Dogen)”… they’re arguing over home field advantage… Dogen puts Claire in a pit, wants to see Jack and Hurley… Sayid will have to do… “Things have changed”
Sayid and Dogen converse… smokeLocke is evil incarnate… he was trapped, but now that Jacob is gone, he’s free… Dogen asks Sayid to kill smokeLocke… if there is good in your soul still, prove it…
Uncle Sayid with the kids… he takes them to the bus and tells them that he’s going to Toronto soon… Nadia comes rushing out… Omar is at the hospital… punctured lung from a mugging… Sayid gets ready to get some revenge… Nadia begs him not to…
Sayid is in the jungle and runs into Kate, who’s returning to the temple… she says, what’s up? he says, “ask Miles” and she is back… Miles tells her that Claire is back… oooooooh… pit fight in the making…
Sayid is searching for smokeLocke… drinking water… he’s not supposed to let smokeLocke speak… wind storm… polar bear growl? black smoke.. “Hello Sayid”… STABBED!! didn’t work… “why’d you go and do that?” dun dun duuuunnnnnn!
smokeLocke gives him the dagger back… “what are you?”… Sayid looks really confused… smokeLocke tries to convince Sayid that Dogen is tricking him… Sayid sees that smokeLocke is tricking him… “what if i told you that you can have anything you want?”… “she died in my arms”… i can work with that… FAUST!
Sayid is trying to fix a broken vase… he’s been babysitting, but Nadia is back from the hospital… Sayid wants to pay off the loan… Nadia says that Omar needs to handle it… Omar IS Sayid’s brother… Sayid carries much guilt around with him…
back in the hungle, Sayid returns to the temple, which really freaks Dogen out… he tells everyone smokeLocke’s message – that none of the Others have to stay there anymore and can leave the island with smokeLocke… if they stay past sundown, they’ll all die…
Lennon doesn’t like that Kate is back… Kate wants to see Claire… Lennon gives her two minutes… Claire is singing “Save it for a Rainy Day”… Kate wants to know why Claire is in the pit… Kate confesses to having taken Aaron… Claire is turning as green as her eyes… (like the Hulk)… Kate says that she came to rescue Claire, who says she’s not the one who needs to be rescued…
courtyard… the others are panicking… Sayid says he simply delivered a message… the others all want to leave… Miles asks what on earth is going on… he says that he needs to return that dagger… uh oh…
Sayid comes out of Nadia’s house and is confronted by the loan shark (familiar face)? they threaten the kids and take him to a kitchen… probably the one that Miles went to for his test… Keemey is the cook… Keemey is the loan shark who makes great eggs… Keemey and Sayid have a standoff… this is a good tension… Sayid manages to take out both henchmen and have a gun on Keemey… suddenly the debt is forgiven… Keamey takes one to the chest anyway… someone else is there… it’s… Jin!… no English… so Keemey was the one Jin delivered the watch to? speaking of Jin, where is he on the island? and where did Sawyer get to?… smokeLocke seems to recruit folks and then make them vanish…
temple… Dogen is sitting in front of the pool… Sayid drops the dagger… notes that it’s now two times that Dogen has tried to have Sayid killed… Dogen tells a story of his past… he got a promotion, got drunk and then managed to kill his son in a car accident… hence the baseball… then in the hospital, a man came to him and told him to come to the island and he’ll save the boy, but Dogen could never see him again… Dogen says that it was Jacob… Jacob drives a hard bargain… drawing people to the island… smokeLocke drives a hard bargain… drawing people away from the island… Dogen asks Sayid if he wants to stay or go… Stay! then he drowns Dogen… Lennon freaks out… “You just let it in!”… stabbed! “I know”…
courtyard… smoke monster is tearing up the temple… complete havoc… Kate goes to save Claire… Miles is hiding… Ilana shows up with Frank, Ben and the gang… Kate tries to save Claire who says that the pit is safer… smoke does a flyover… it is safer…
pool… Ben comes to bring Sayid out… there’s still time, not for me… weird smile…
where’s your husband, Jin’s alive? last i saw…
Ilana finds a secret passage… escapes the smoke monster…
Sayid surveys the wreakage… Claire and Kate emerge from the temple to join him… Kate grabs a gun, because she’s not under the spell… they meet up with smokeLocke, the pied piper of the island… who disapproves of Kate’s presence… Kate doesn’t like what she sees, but follows anyway?
L-O-S-T.
woah! a whole lot to ponder… and now i need to go ice my fingers… Tuesday nights are rough…
So the guys are back tonight – well, ten of them anyway… due to BoSAWX being in the hospital… and the judges are playing musical chairs… Ellen is getting a little bit closer to Simon and, after a little bit of banter with the judges, we’re ready to start going…
BIG MIKE… getting to know Big Mike a little better… nothing is negative, it’s all good… singing James Brown WATCH ME!… and immediately he’s a hundred times better than last week… it’s a serious song (“This Is a Man’s World”) and the tone actually fits his vocal a lot better than Maroon 5… it’s actually really solid right now… way better than anything from last week… could use a little more interaction with the crowd… there he goes working the stage a bit… wow… that was a hot one… Randy gives him the first standing ovation of the season… Ellen stands up for women’s rights and says that it’s the one to beat… Kara says she didn’t get it until tonight… he owned it… Simon says it was the transformation between a pussy cat and a lion… by far the best performance for Big Mike…
John Park… i’m gonna need to come up with a nick name for John… singing Gravity by John Mayer… sadly? i don’t know too many John Mayer songs… but perhaps this will be alright… i wanna run through… no wrong song… well, jeepers, he already sounds a lot better, too… just sitting there on a bar stool… a little shaky vocals on the bridge there and the chorus… and when he is on, it’s almost because he’s copying the vocal… not exactly his own identity this week either… much better fit for him though… Randy says it wasn’t anything special and a little bit pitchy… Ellen says it was better than last week, but still a little lacking in the soul department… Kara says – better than last week, but he needs to let loose and take some risks… Simon says Purple Haze is gonna get their lead singer back… it’s a case of the “so whats”…
Casey “Sawyer” James… so Casey has never had a television and never watched Idol… no wonder he’s so perfect… anyway, he’s gonna be singing I Don’t Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw… i like this song, but it’s done a lot… we’ll see… um… Guitar Hero much… that was actually some good licks there… unfortunately it’s fallen off a cliff since that… it seems as though he’s really struggling to remember (READ???) the lyrics… he’s definitely overthinking the performance… the vocal is really kind of flat and at times awful… the guitar distracts from that, but not nearly enough… i’ll give him a 10 for the guitar, but like a 3, 3 1/2 for the vocal… Randy says this is what he could record and sell and the guitar was hot… Ellen says that everything is there on paper, but he needs to perform better… Kara says that the cougar is still a fan, but he took two steps backwards… Simon jokes that Casey must’ve not called her back… then he agrees that he was simply trying to be a rockstar, but didn’t have the real grit…
THE MULLET… this is the guy i think will show the most improvement over the season… i think that he’ll get better from week to week, though that’s so very risky, that i’ll be concerned that he doesn’t make it each week… he’s singing John Legend and playing the guitar… gotta get over these nerves, son… he has such a great tone to his vocal and he’s totally aware of his range, shifting down gears when he needs to… this is still a very tempered performance… clearly still a bit nervous, but overall that’s great… the last note is not too great though… Randy says that he like him and he was way legit… Ellen calls him a banana again… big improvement… Kara says people would die to have his tone of voice and he doesn’t even know how to use it… Simon says it was a million times better than last week, but he needs to turn on the killer instinct…
Toderick “NUTCRACKER”… i think that i was one of five people who liked his version of Kelly’s song last week… but i don’t get this song choice… Tina Turner? we’ll see what happens… i know the song… it’s slower than the original… oh, duh… What’s Love Got to Do With It?… it’s a terribly mellowdramatic arrangement… not sure i’m feeling that… now the mic’s off the stand and in his hand… and it’s picked up a bit… i don’t know… his vocal’s a little fuzzy for me and i wasn’t really feeling the overall performance… Randy says just pick a nice song and sing it… Ellen says sing AND move… DANCE for me little man!… Kara says he’s likeable, but he was way too stiff… Simon says this isn’t working out at all… corny, theme park performance that’s utterly wrong for the show…
Jermaine “ONESEY”… yeah, let’s not be rocking the onesey on national television… singing Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On… and i don’t think that he should’ve made it through last week… his vocal is so strident… i mean he’s got some pipes… but he’s still doing trying to do way too much… and it almost seems like he’s still a bit disconnected from the song… like he’s just out there trying to sing his entire resume with each performance… Randy says it was so close and still too far away… Ellen says she likes his style, but he still pushed it too much… Kara says that he doesn’t have to try to show off every trick in the bag… Simon says that he’ll go to church with him, but that wasn’t even church singing… Jermaine asks what song he should sing next week because he knows that he’ll be here because Jesus is his homeboy, yeah-ee-yea-eee… please… don’t act a fool, homie…
Andrew Garcia… he’s a breakdancer… nice… he’s going to be singing James Morrison – You Give Me Something… i’m completely unfamiliar with it, but he’s pretty much safe regardless of what he sings… sitting on the stool… he’s got a nice mellow vibe going on… and the verse is pretty solid but he’s really forcing the vocal on the chorus and to some extent powering through it, but i’m not sure that’s working out… now he’s all over the chart on these notes… it’s falling apart… hold it together, man… hold it together… Randy says it was the wrong song choice and it was pitchy throughout the whole thing… Ellen says that she disagrees, but he pretty much peaked with his “Straight Up” performance… Kara agrees and says that he needs to do something that makes him stand out… Simon says that he’s been found wanting… disappointing yet again because he can’t find the right song…
Aaron Kelly… so this dude is Simon star-struck… singing My Girl by the Temptations… what was that show, White Shadow? this was the theme song for it… i think of it every time i hear this song… okay, well, not so much tonight… could someone please teach this boy about soul… this is kind of a strange, terrifying mix between R&B and Country… i’m not feeling it at all… not one bit… he was all over the place… clean up on aisle six… there’s a real mess sitting up on stage there… Randy says that it was good, but got strange, but alright… Ellen says that it wasn’t a good song choice, but he’s got a great voice… Kara liked it, no, really liked it… Simon verifies his age… he didn’t like the song, it was all over the place and a step backwards… Kara interrupts and argues Aaron’s case… i’m ready for him to go home now…
Tim Urban… and we’re back… seems like there’s plenty of time to kill… Tim got crushed last week (rightfully so)… and he’s gonna try to prove himself… i didn’t quite catch the song title… oh, Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson… it’s a nicer fit for his voice that’s for sure… he’s still a bit on the weak side though… i’m not sure if it’s confidence or what, but the vocal just isn’t quite there… very long way to go for this guy… he just doesn’t have it… you know, “it”… it’s not there… there is some potential, but he’s going to need to bat his eyes to make it though… Randy says it was karaoke… Ellen plugs Glee – perhaps her first negative remarks… Kara says it was a good song choice, but it’s not all there yet… Simon says that it was a marked improvement from last week…
Lee “Da Wise Guy”… in the pimp spot… he’s kind of like an Elliott Yamin without the incredible vocal… it’s LEE DEWYZE… he was terribly pitchy last week and, because somebody on the producer panel like him, he’s got a chance to shine… singing Lips of an Angel… and slowly making his way to the front of the stage… how very dramatic… he’s pitchy again this week and you just have to wonder who ever told him he could sing… he growls and shouts and sounds HORRIBLE… he’s a paint salesman and listening to him sing is like watching paint dry, chip, and fall on the floor… Randy says it was rough, but he liked it… Ellen says she really likes him… Kara says he can really open up his vocal and do well… Simon says that he’s head and shoulders ahead of all the other guys… i say that they’ll never make up for missing the mark with Daughtry… it didn’t work with Cook and it won’t work here…
alrighty… all in all it was a much better night for the guys than last week… however, there was still plenty of awfulness to go around… it’s gonna be tough to pick who’s going home once again… i can see John, Toderick, Jermaine, Tim, Lee, or Aaron going, but – trying to factor in who will vote and why… i’ve gotta go with.. Jermaine and Tim going home… what do you all think?
on to the next area of interest… movies… now, this may not be the order in which i address these in the future – there may not be an order at all, really – but this is the way i’m going today… i’ve got three movies to talk about and hopefully i’ll be more succinct… i mean, i DO have other things to write about… not to mention a site that needs building… off we go…
Oh, before we begin, i suppose i should mention that i viewed all three of these movies for free because they want me to write about them… “they” being publicists and such… two of them sent me promotional DVDs and one granted me access to an online viewing area… with that taken care of, we shall begin…
The Imposter first up is a movie that i believe has been in the works for at least three years… the film features Kevin Max, Jeff Deyo, and Kerry Livgren all of whom became pretty famous for their roles in widely popular bands with spiritual overtones (dcTalk, SonicFLOOD, and Kansas, respectively) before striking out with solo careers… and by “striking out” i don’t mean in the “Casey at the Bat” sense…
Anyway, the movie revolves around “Johnny C,” the frontman for the widely popular band with spiritual overtones, Grand_design… Johnny C is quite charismatic and, despite his position, marriage, and daughter, has a thing for the traditional spoils of rock and roll (think sex, drugs, rock and roll)… and the film chronicles his downward spiral and attempts at reconciliation…
There are some wonderful tongue-in-cheek moments to the film, such as the narration addressing the formulaic expectations for an emotional altar call scene and a loving father embracing his prodigal son… now, i don’t want to spoil anything, but i will say that i kind of liked the resolution as it transpired… Sure, the acting at times provided some moments of unintentional chuckling and the script has its share of stereotypes and flat characters, but all in all, The Imposter, proved to be a pretty enjoyable movie (if not uncomfortable due to potential parallels to the actors’ own career paths)… it’s the type of movie that might spark some honest dialogue about how we perceive celebrities and pseudo-celebrities… now, if i can only find that Jeff Deyo song from the movie called, “Push Me Over the Edge” or something to that effect…
To Save a Life i feel like i’ve already written about this movie, but apparently not… actually, something pretty interesting happened after i watched it the first time… well, for me, anyway… the movie, as you can easily tell from the trailer deals with the effects of suicide on surviving classmates… now, in the days of my youth, i knew someone who took his own life… unfortunately, i’d guess that most of us know someone who’s done that… i remember going through some peer counseling classes to recognize the warning signs and learn the proper procedures for reporting and talking through issues in an effort to stifle the contagiousness of suicide… most of all, i remember feeling a sense of responsibility of prevention…
i don’t know if that’s a natural response, but as i watched Jake – the main character in the movie – struggle with a similar response, names came into my head… names of those i had “flagged” (for lack of a better word)… and, while that’s not particularly interesting in and of itself, shortly after watching the movie, out of the blue, i came into contact with one of those names and that’s the interesting part… that’s where i’ll leave it…
back on the movie… it’s kind of a teen movie with a conscience… there’s partying, carousing, and a lot of reminders of the high-school caste system we’re all glad to have grown out of (assuming we all did grow out of it, which isn’t necessarily the case)… and the main theme running through it all is Jake, the former best friend of a suicide victim, struggling with faith, responsibility, and life in general… and for the most part, that’s fine… it works well and you’re prett engaged in the story, rooting for who is clearly the hero and subconsciously forming the obvious moral of the tale…
and then, as if trying to hit seven targets with one arrow, it becomes exponentially more complex… Jake takes on a Job-like role and everything that was clear moments ago is buried knee deep in muddy waters… now, here’s the thing… complicated is good… life is complicated – i know this – but, you can almost hear the writers giggling to themselves and saying things like “you can’t make this stuff up” even though they did, indeed, just make it all up…
the bottom line, without spoiling anything, i really enjoyed watching To Save a Life and it was a meaningful experience… i just think that it could have been more impactful if it had stuck to one main important theme instead of stuffing in a bunch of additives that deserve equal time but are relegated to minor roles… still, plenty to talk about afterwards and probably beneficial to a youth group…
Sarah’s Choice okay, this blog entry is getting rather long, and it’s probably best that this ends up being the shortest of the reviews… Sarah’s Choice is, unabashedly, a vehicle for the pro-life movement… now, keep in mind that i’m very much pro-life… i think abortion is a choice that’s made when the wrong question is asked… that said, unlike the Tim Tebow Superbowl ad, this movie DOES offend me… more on that in a second…
first, the good points… Brad Stine does a fine job in his role… it was a surprising performance that anchored the “guy-side” of the story… in fact, that aspect of the movie actually worked really well… also worth noting, there’s a scene or two involving balloons that play rather well (trying to remain spoiler-free)… there may be other good points, but they’re escaping me at the moment…
okay… no more delays… overall, the acting was definitely B-movie or worse grade… the last time i saw Rebecca St James in concert, i was amazed at how incredibly awkward she seemed on stage and her performance in the role of Sarah deepened that impression… perhaps the only thing worse was the ridiculous treatment she receives from her boss and coworkers (completely unrealistic)… and the storyline was downright irritating…
if you’re wondering how a pro-life movie could offend a pro-life viewer, here’s how it works (and this may spoil some plot points, but i’ll do my best)… borrowing from A Christmas Carol – haven’t seen that before – Sarah is visited by a ghost of the Christmas that could be… she’s presented with visions of two possible outcomes – one if she chooses abortion and one if she keeps the baby… and it’s basically a choice between a life of roses and champagne, where she gets married, has tons of free time to spend with her daughter, and seems to live the easy life of happiness… and the other life, is one of solitude, pain, and, apparently, terminal illness…
the issue of regret was introduced elsewhere in the movie and (i think) should’ve been the big argument made, but instead we got absolute extremes that make little logical sense and, yes, offend me… if we can’t deal in honesty, then we shouldn’t be dealing in issues… i mean, it’s easy to drop superlatives in order to make a point, but it’s not accurate and it rings so incredibly false that it encourages opposition… i could probably go on and on about this point, but hopefully i’ve made it and now, i’m just moving on…
i have to say that it’s perfectly fine to pass on Sarah’s Choice… it’s an incredibly stereotypical “Christian” movie… and i honestly wish it weren’t…
ROLL CREDITS…
that’s a wrap as far as movies go… stick around for mashed potatoes from books, music, and more… soon… and while you’re waiting, check out the first entry, monday morning mashed potatoes in television…
it’s Monday, and it’s March, and i’m chiming in like a lion… well… i’m chiming in anyway… i’ve been “under the hood” on and off, redesigning and now, rebuilding, the front page, and i hope to have that all functioning soon, but there is still a lot to be done on that front – plenty of restructuring content, redoing how it’s all stored and displayed, you know, nerdy little details that don’t matter to anyone else unless they don’t work..
regardless, since that’s still a ways off, and i haven’t been putting too much out there in the way of new content, i wanted to go ahead and unveil one of the new things that i’m looking forward to making a regular feature… something i’m calling “Monday Morning Mashed Potatoes” (MMMP)… basically, this will become a weekly sounding board for me to talk about five or six things that will be on my radar in the coming week and why… sometimes more, sometimes less, but it should be fun… since this is the first one, i’ve got a lot in the list, so i’ll be breaking it up into a series seperate posts based on the type of media involved… first up, television…
So the Winter Olympics are (FINALLY) over and, aside from a few shining moments – the 3 US Gold night, being one – it was utterly lackluster for me… i lost interest early and often in all the events and was entirely sick of NBC’s “Oprah” approach to Olympic coverage… it seemed that each event was buried by hours of docu-drama footage and i honestly don’t want to know that much about the people competing… i certainly don’t want the folks over at the network manipulating my emotions and subversively telling me who i should be supporting… this seems to be the new MO of “reality” television in general and i suppose it works on some level, but i don’t like it one bit…
Anyway, one positive note is that the Olympics saved the best for last… yesterday was the final event, the gold medal game in men’s hockey… the set up took care of itself (as it should)… the US underdogs upset Canada a mere week before, leaving a taste for vengence up North and a sense of hope for the Americans… and they clashed again, in what was an epic battle chock full of heart-stopping moments and nail-biting scenarios… if you’ve managed to avoid the results thus far and are still looking forward to watching this game on your DVR or whatever, i’ll spare you the spoilers, but that, was easily the best event of the entire Winter Games… even people who never watch hockey (ie. 95% of America) were glued to the coverage…
piggy-backing on the end of the Olympics, is the return of normalcy during primetime… this means that my DVR will finally have more than episodes of LOST and American Idol for me to watch… i’m specifically happy to see Chuck and The Office return to the schedule, but i’m also looking forward to checking out Parenthood and The Marriage Ref to see what they have to offer… i kind of missed the sneak preview of the Marriage Ref last night, but it looks like it will be a fun show, and i really like the tagline (official or unofficial) “Thank you for letting us into your marriage – it’s worth fighting for”… talk about counter-culture…
and to wrap up this extended television, um, set… i’d like to talk about a new show that i have been watching and, thus far, enjoying… the show is called Undercover Boss and the premise is downright intriguing… a corporate big wig dons the life of an Average Joe for one week and tries out the blue collar functions that fund his or her high life…
this, of course, is filmed and edited down into fun soundbytes where the big boss’s new bosses say things like, “You don’t have much of a future here” and “Maybe you should look into a different type of work”… What’s really cool about the series, though, it exposes the ever-growing gap between workers and managers, shedding light on the utter disconnect and often amusing discoveries… for instance, is it possible that the CEO of Hooters was really surprised to learn that the general public doesn’t think his restaurants are family-friendly?…
overall, this show provides a really fun look into the corporate world and offers the premise of improving the work environment for all… currently airing on Sunday nights, this show rivals Extreme Home Makeover for feel-good reality television, though i can also see this as a short-lived experiment… time will tell, but i like what i’ve seen so far…
FIN.
that’s all from the world of television for this week… stick around for mashed potatoes from movies, books, music, and more… soon…
The Imposter
To Save a Life
Sarah’s Choice