I know you’re all waiting for it, but there is no news about Queen and Adam Lambert. Instead, we’ve got news that Paula Abdul is leaving American Idol. This is a disaster for the show. She is a complete train wreck, and one of the main reasons that the show is worth watching is to watch her bizarre antics. Whether it’s rubbing up to Simon Cowell or her inane comments, it was always entertaining. I used to not watch at all, but my kids like it, and since we only have one TV these days, I started watching. Once in awhile, there is some good talent on there, but it is ultimately Simon Cowell’s stinging comments or Paula’s bizarre behavior that makes it worth watching.
Fox is making a mistake, unless they find some other reality TV refugee to fill her shoes. And what is Paula going to do? She can’t think that her singing career is going to go anywhere. If it wasn’t for Milli Vanilli, she would’ve been the lip-synching poster child of that era. Paula and Fox should work it out, unless Courtney Love or Lindsey Lohan is available.
As far as Wilco’s last record, it’s lack of experimentation put me off a little at first, but after a few more listens, you can’t hide from the fact that they are great songs that are executed well by the band. They are the best melodies Tweedy’s come up with since “Being There”. Sometimes us critics come up with all this drivel about “brilliance” and the fact that if a band isn’t always pushing to new horizons, that they are somehow a disappointment. Wilco throws that theory out the window. Good songs, clean but not overbearing production, and great musicianship always wins out.
Wilco aside, anyone who thinks Americana died when No Depression stopped printing, was way wrong. Besides the fact that blues, country, and folk will never really die, it is good to know that last week’s Newport Folk Festival was dominated by young up-and-comers like The Decembrists, Low Anthem, and Fleet Foxes, among others. It is nice to know that there are tons of young artists out there doing new and interesting things with old-school music.
Now there is the heat that Leonard Cohen is taking about playing Tel Aviv. The Palestinians freaked out, the leftist Israelis freaked out, so he had to promise to make donations to all these peace groups and call it a “benefit”. Settle down, people. There are always axes to grind, and there are those that will exploit every opportunity to grind theirs, especially when there’s some money or a headline in it for them.
Fox is making a mistake, unless they find some other reality TV refugee to fill her shoes. And what is Paula going to do? She can’t think that her singing career is going to go anywhere. If it wasn’t for Milli Vanilli, she would’ve been the lip-synching poster child of that era. Paula and Fox should work it out, unless Courtney Love or Lindsey Lohan is available.
As far as Wilco’s last record, it’s lack of experimentation put me off a little at first, but after a few more listens, you can’t hide from the fact that they are great songs that are executed well by the band. They are the best melodies Tweedy’s come up with since “Being There”. Sometimes us critics come up with all this drivel about “brilliance” and the fact that if a band isn’t always pushing to new horizons, that they are somehow a disappointment. Wilco throws that theory out the window. Good songs, clean but not overbearing production, and great musicianship always wins out.
Wilco aside, anyone who thinks Americana died when No Depression stopped printing, was way wrong. Besides the fact that blues, country, and folk will never really die, it is good to know that last week’s Newport Folk Festival was dominated by young up-and-comers like The Decembrists, Low Anthem, and Fleet Foxes, among others. It is nice to know that there are tons of young artists out there doing new and interesting things with old-school music.
Now there is the heat that Leonard Cohen is taking about playing Tel Aviv. The Palestinians freaked out, the leftist Israelis freaked out, so he had to promise to make donations to all these peace groups and call it a “benefit”. Settle down, people. There are always axes to grind, and there are those that will exploit every opportunity to grind theirs, especially when there’s some money or a headline in it for them.
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