American Idol!

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 17 Feb 2009 6:36 am

Hey Donna,
I knew ya had my back!

Watch tonight, I think Ann Marie is singing "Natural Women"!
If you like her, Vote.....

Brian Kurlychek · Post by **Brian Kurlychek** » 17 Feb 2009 8:44 pm

I don't think Ann Marie will make it past tonight unfortunately. Probrobly be Danny Gohke for sure though.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 18 Feb 2009 7:14 am

Right, Brian - Sorry, girls, Ann Marie is toast. A mini review of her performance on Fox news said:

"Same goes for Anne Marie Boskovich who said she wanted to show people who she was by singing Natural Woman, but all her lackluster vocals and jazz hands managed to show was who she’s not: Aretha Franklin."

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Feb 2009 8:57 am

Unless someone shows up from the next 24,( not Jack Bauers show ) the Danny guy is carrying the big stick. Natural, calm, just does it, he has all the ingredients , he doesn't even look like he's working all that hard.

t

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 18 Feb 2009 10:12 am

Needless to say I didn't hear this lady trying to sing 'Natural Woman', but, if there's anything closer to professional suicide than trying to cover a song that Aretha has totally nailed, I'd like to know what it is.....

Brian Kurlychek · Post by **Brian Kurlychek** » 18 Feb 2009 10:24 am

Roger Rettig wrote:Needless to say I didn't hear this lady trying to sing 'Natural Woman', but, if there's anything closer to professional suicide than trying to cover a song that Aretha has totally nailed, I'd like to know what it is.....

The guy after her sang "rock with you" by M. Jackson. Total suicide. Then someone else sang Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" which was another suicide. One guy should have been on Nashville Star instead of Idol. I cringed for the entire 2 hours.

Funny thing though is how much better my "ears" are getting. I can hear the pitchiness of the singers and how they are out of tune with the band. And much like a Pedal steel sometimes sounds great by itself, and then out of tune when playing with a band, the same holds true for the singers voices. Amazing really.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 18 Feb 2009 10:26 am

Wow, Brian - are they CRAZY????????????????????

Brian Kurlychek · Post by **Brian Kurlychek** » 18 Feb 2009 10:32 am

Roger Rettig wrote:Wow, Brian - are they CRAZY????????????????????

What is crazier is that one of the best singers (Danny Gohke's friend) got cut and they let horrible people advance through. I know its like WWE wrestling in that its a produced show, but its still fun to watch.

But you know alot of talented people never win and some of the past winners careers are null. Look at Jennifer Hudson. Easily the best singer they have ever had on that show and she gets cut, but the thin, pretty ones with the bad voices go all the way. Oh well, look at Jennifer Hudson now... Grammy, Oscar. And where's Fantasia????.Ha!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 18 Feb 2009 10:38 am

I cringed for the entire 2 hours.

Sounds like a nice way to spend an evening.

That's why my TV stays Off and I find other ways to occupy my time.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 18 Feb 2009 10:40 am

Roger Rettig wrote:Needless to say I didn't hear this lady trying to sing 'Natural Woman', but, if there's anything closer to professional suicide than trying to cover a song that Aretha has totally nailed, I'd like to know what it is.....

:whoa: :lol: >:-) :whoa:

I didn't hear it either, but I assume the contestant tried to do "Natural Woman" in a "post-Aretha" style--I agree that's a bad idea! I think Carole King's own version was quite all right on its own merits, though it was done after Aretha's had "set the bar".

I make the assumption above because the aggregate twenty minutes or so of scattered glimpses of "Idol", or performances by "Idol" winners, I've seen, seemed to make clear that the show is firmly based (apart from the schadenfreude of watching foolish unfortunates be humiliated) on the premise that "singing" = belting out with maximum melisma--the Universal Pop Singing Style that I personally detest.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 18 Feb 2009 10:54 am

""singing" = belting out with maximum melisma--the Universal Pop Singing Style that I personally detest."

Me too, but I think that's what the vast majority of the TV audience equates with 'great singing'; the louder the better.

Isn't it sobering to realise that Alison Krauss, were she to enter the 'Idol' arena as an unknown, wouldn't even last five minutes? Does that trouble any of you 'A.I.' fans?

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Feb 2009 11:48 am

It's just a show , entertainment, it seeks it's own value level. We find ourselves being very much in line with the new gal Kara and Simon's opinion. If it was not for the judges comments the show would not have lasted 5 min let alone 8 seasons. It's not really a show about the singers anyway, they just need singers to have the show, and one of them does indeed win and get to play the big arena's at least for awhile.

Last night after one of the performances Simon commented about the hideous keyboard playing ! My wife and I laughed because we thought the same thing during the song .." God, listen to that keyboard ", 80's style lounge playing.

it's just a show, and now and then a very good performance emerges, such was the case with the Danny guy, he is really good.

Round table discussion:

Hey lets start a TV show

Ok, about what ?

Uhmm, lets get a few people judging something

Uhmm, good idea , what do the judges judge ?

Hey, how about bad singers ?

WOW ! what a great concept ! Quick call Sony before someone else does !

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 18 Feb 2009 11:56 am

It's confirmed again and again:

Nobody ever lost money by underestimating public taste.

'Entertainment', Tony? That, surely, is a matter of opinion.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 18 Feb 2009 1:47 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:
I cringed for the entire 2 hours.
Sounds like a nice way to spend an evening. That's why my TV stays Off and I find other ways to occupy my time.

Geez, you can't leave it alone, can you?

And as far as the other posters lambasting the show, nobody fell off the turnip truck around here just yesterday.

Of course it's mindless entertainment, of course they let people through to the next round because they add "color" to the show instead of choosing from only a bunch of earnest wannabe vocal stars.

Of course the network has you right where they want you - unless you have a DVR and fast forward through the commercials.

I'll practice steel and dobro for awhile after work, and then I better head to the bookshelf and catch up on the Tolstoy and Faulkner I have yet to read!And after that I'll head out to the garage and see if I can hack a big block of marble I found at a landscape supply yard into a replica of the statue of David!

Nobody's going to change anyone's mind about watching American Idol because they're railing against it on the Steel Guitar Forum.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Feb 2009 1:58 pm

I don't know why others watch it but I watch because I want to ! I practice instruments in the early morning, I work and read mindless technical documents and quotes during the work day and by the time 8PM Eastern time rolls around I'm good for a sit down with a show that all I have to do is watch and not worry about any high level of sophistication . I also like Hells Kitchen . Simon is the top chef in that show, well not actually Simon but his twin !

I think we are trying to assign to much value to the show, I also watched Rudy Kazoody and Howdy Doody ! Now there was some talent !

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 18 Feb 2009 2:07 pm

Mark

No-one's mind is ever changed on or by the Forum, regardless of the subject under 'discussion'. Does that mean we can't vent a little frustration about things, like what I see as the gross misuse of a medium that has such great potential?

This Forum is mostly used up by people vigorously expressing their views on any number of topics, while others vehemently disagree. Every so-often there's a genuine exchange of useful information, but mostly it's the same old dogma.

If we desist from participating in such topics, b0b will need only a fraction of the bandwidth now being used! Where's the fun in that?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 18 Feb 2009 2:56 pm

And after that I'll head out to the garage and see if I can hack a big block of marble I found at a landscape supply yard into a replica of the statue of David!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Feb 2009 3:59 pm

Roger Rettig wrote:
This Forum is mostly used up by people vigorously expressing their views on any number of topics,

Wow, was I wrong , all this a time I thought the forum was to try to find out which brand of strings was the best !

t

Steve Feldman · Post by **Steve Feldman** » 18 Feb 2009 4:16 pm

I can't believe I'm going to say these 2 things:

1) I watched American Midol last night (on and off), and

2) there was one woman named Alexis (something, something) who really blew me away. She was the one with short blond hair with pink highlights. She sang this soul number and I swear she was channelling Janis Joplin (er...that's a good thing....). Very nice, I must say.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 18 Feb 2009 5:37 pm

Roger Rettig wrote:

This Forum is mostly used up by people vigorously expressing their views on any number of topics,

Wow, was I wrong , all this a time I thought the forum was to try to find out which brand of strings was the best !

t

Well, that too ....

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 18 Feb 2009 10:04 pm

A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 19 Feb 2009 1:16 am

...the gross misuse of a medium that has such great potential...

I agree. So much potential, yet so much waste. The viewing public is to blame. The public Wants trash TV and they love it. Idiot reality shows, stupid sitcoms, dumbed down talk shows. That's what 80% of TV is because people keep watching it, and they want more of it. So the networks keep pumping it out. It doesn't say much for the viewing public. I quit watching 25 years ago and never regretted it. Complain? You're d@mn right we're gonna complain. We're talking about the decline of western civilization here!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Feb 2009 2:40 am

I guess there is some truth to not watching TV because of it's decline in "value" so we can now spend that time arguing on internet forums that TV is a waste of time ! I watch TV and argue on internet forums

Brian Kurlychek · Post by **Brian Kurlychek** » 19 Feb 2009 5:33 am

Well 2 out of my 3 picks made it through. I had thought Danny and Alexis would make it, and they did - with Tatiana as a wildcard, but I was wrong on Tatiana.

For me that is part of the fun, kind of like betting on a horse (for fun only) or picking which football team will win, I like to try to guess who advances and who gets cut. You have to take into account both the singers performance and who you think is popular with the voting public.

So, if you look at it as an interactive game, its actually not a bad show.

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 19 Feb 2009 5:40 am

I knew Alexis & Danny would get the most calls. I thought Michael did better with his audition, but I'm happy for him.

Maybe, Ann Marie still has a chance with the "Wildcard"!

LOL Tony!