American Idol - Season 10 (1 Viewer)

[Jeremiah]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun





So I'm not the only one who thought LG's latest "Born This Way" was a rehash (musically) of "Respect Yourself"?

I agree they sound the same but that's only one song, she has what, eight #1 songs since 2008. I figured everyone would realize she is pretty damn good by now.

 

[Phil Taylor]

I was SOOOOOOoooooo very ecstatic when Haley took her seat tonight that I let out a WHOOOP and clapped!! I hope she wins it ALLLLL!!!

 

[Bryan X]

If you haven't watched the results, don't read this: Interesting. When they made Lauren safe first, I told my wife one of the guys was going home. If it were Haley ( or Lauren ) like everyone expected, they would have left the two girls standing to build suspense.

 

[EricSchulz]

Unf*cking believable! (as Mr.Tyler might say...)



Didn't care for the song but DAMN did Jordin "grow up"!


BTW, for the first time I will give up on Idol before the finals. I really don't give a damn who wins.

 

[Jeffery_H]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun





So I'm not the only one who thought LG's latest "Born This Way" was a rehash (musically) of "Respect Yourself"?

Please, you can't get any lower for me than either LG or Kasha. Those two are very CHEAP (and I use that word in every sense) rip-offs of what has already been done. They are just dialed up versions of Madonna and LG obviously borrows from bands like Kiss for her outrageous makeups. As Randy said though, "We have to pray for everyone", which I thought was very appropiate

 

[Malcolm R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

So I'm not the only one who thought LG's latest "Born This Way" was a rehash (musically) of "Respect Yourself"?

The Bruce Willis hit from the 80's? Madonna has never recorded a song titled "Respect Yourself."

 

[Jeffery_H]

Originally Posted by Adam_S

it's worth remembering that WWYWTWST came out in october 2001 when we hadn't yet gone to war in Iraq and before Fox News became the official propaganda machine it quickly morphed into (otherwise, would a country song ever reference The Great Satan lamestream media CNN?). It's also worth pointing out that like a LOT of country songs it's very ill suited to Idol. The song itself is a long recitation of what people were doing when they heard the news interrupted by two chorus. Scotty used the first four lines and repeated the chorus twice, it makes the song sound much worse. The power of the song comes in the recitation of real experiences, not the invocation of god and ignorance in the chorus. As done on Idol it is indeed more pandering than god Bless the USA. It could have been worse, he could have sung Toby Keith's "We'll put a boot in your ass! it's the American Way" Courtesy of the Red White and Blue song.


Why do I get the feeling that when Gaga was telling Scotty not to move his lips off the microphone she didn't actually say anything about tongue down the throat. Why do I feel like Gaga probably referenced kissing other lips (not the mouth) and that Scotty should not move away from the mic just like you shouldn't move away from the other. that the line about the tongue down the throat was a wild line because the producers couldn't have anything as racy as that.


I loved Gaga's intro line. "I don't think any of these kids would be heard without American Idol, so it's doing such a nice service." lol. Saying that none of them are good enough on their own merits. So true this season.


I'd have loved to see Casey meet Gaga. It would be even cooler if Casey went full crazy and did one of Gaga's songs. :-p

TOTALLY disagree with you and your views posted about the Scotty song. I know you can't get into politics, but since you posted it, I must say that it is something I strongly disagree with. For me, it is the right song, at the right time (we finally killed Usama Bin Laden) and it was perfect for all of us that are not secular-progressives. It's a good Christian song that Scotty performed quite well and I agree fully with Randy's comment. Also, you posted comments about Fox News and all I will say there is I fully disagree there too and leave it at that.

 

[Jeffery_H]

As most everyone has posted, tonight was the biggest shocker of the whole season for Idol. How in the heck can anyone vote for Haley or Lauren over James is beyond me. I didn't even have either one in my top 5, much less them in the top 3. With the exception of Scotty, I have ZERO interest in the girls and would not buy any records they make. For me, the ones that got kicked off already, plus Scotty are who I would actually pay money and buy records of. James, Scotty, Casey and Jacob all interest me, but Haley and Lauren, NEVER.


All I hope for now is Scotty wins the whole thing. So I hope the voting is true and he gets a billion votes more than anyone at this point.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Ripoff? Homage? They're all ripoffs to some degree. We take what came before, add our flavor, and create something new. I don't listen to Lady Gaga and she's not my thing, but I wouldn't deny her talent. In fact, I'd say she's much more talented a musician than Madonna, Listening to her songs on Glee without all the pomp and circumstance made me take another look at what she's doing. There's substance there. And I know what she did before she made it. She's worked for it and honed her craft. I've nothing bad to say about her (except, if pressed, she's "weird").


I don't think it's a slam to say without AI we wouldn't know these artists. In fact, it's something I've often said myself. That's why the people go on AI -- they weren't able to make it in the industry previously. And that even goes for people like Adam Lambert, Crystal Bowersox, and even Chris Daughtry. It doesn't mean they're not talented enough to deserve it. What it really means is there are many talented people out there, and only some strike a chord. Music execs try to guess right, but they can't put money into everyone. AI has a process that doesn't require them to bet big on artists, but instead allows America to decide what it likes (after the producers and judges do some initial winnowing).

 

[Tina_H_V]

Originally Posted by Malcolm R /forum/thread/302674/american-idol-season-10/450#post_3811035

 

[EricSchulz]

Originally Posted by Malcolm R

 

[Patrick Sun]

If Haley wins, I know I'm totally out of touch with the pop music voting public, as I don't think I had her sniffing the top 8 in the AI contest.


Sorry about the "Respect Yourself", that phrase only appears once in "Express Yourself" lyric-wise (perhaps it's sung in the chorus, but it's been awhile since I've heard the song), but it's what I remember of the song, go figure.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

TRAVESTY!!! I may actually give up on watching, and I don't think I've ever done that before. Scotty, Lauren and Haley simply bore me at this point.

Originally Posted by Josh Dial

If you were truly a postmodernist, you would easily spot its application to Lady Gaga. It's a pretty simple application of binaries and deconstruction--two of the most-common tools in the postmodern toolbox.

I'm not a postmodernist! I said I was a post-post-postmodernist. :p Of course I can see Gaga's postmodernist approach; the issue is that I consider postmodernism itself to be a philosophy (or as I like to call it, a "fallacy-phy" ) that lets people pretend to be deeper than they actually are. Gaga is an OK (by professional standards) singer and musician performing mediocre songs in wacky outfits. If she wants to poke fun at pop culture in her own way then good for her, and if people are entertained by her then good for them, but she just doesn't do much for me. (And I feel as though I should enjoy her more, because I generally love theatrical performers -- cf. James Durbin, Adam Lambert, et al.)


Jeffery -- I may not be a fan of Lady Gaga, but I don't think it's fair to put her in the same category as Ke$ha. Gaga has more musical talent than Ke$ha could even dream of.


I'm not sure which was a bigger shock -- Jordin Sparks or the fact that 2 of the final 3 are girls! Did anyone imagine that 2 months ago? (As for Ms. Sparks -- did anyone imagine THAT 2 years ago? )

 

[Rob Willey]

Gaga mentoring the Idols looked like the love child of Alice Cooper and Lily Munster.

 

[Josh Dial]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman


I'm not a postmodernist! I said I was a post-post-postmodernist. :p Of course I can see Gaga's postmodernist approach; the issue is that I consider postmodernism itself to be a philosophy (or as I like to call it, a "fallacy-phy" ) that lets people pretend to be deeper than they actually are. Gaga is an OK (by professional standards) singer and musician performing mediocre songs in wacky outfits. If she wants to poke fun at pop culture in her own way then good for her, and if people are entertained by her then good for them, but she just doesn't do much for me. (And I feel as though I should enjoy her more, because I generally love theatrical performers -- cf. James Durbin, Adam Lambert, et al.)

I can understand and respect that she isn't everyone's cup of tea, though, I do take issue with your stance on postmodernism. It's pretty well-ingrained in society (especially the academy and law), as a valid viewpoint. If an artist is actually trying to be postmodern (as I believe Lady Gaga is), can one really saying they are pretending to be deeper than they actually are? They are actively putting those things into their work--that's hardly trying, that's succeeding! One of the hallmarks of postmodernism is its ability to critique absolutely anything (including postmodernism itself!), and I simply think Lady Gaga is applying the movement's tenets to pop culture (while also acting, ironically, within it).


I guess I ultimately think it says a lot about a person's ability to work and grow in the music industry when they encounter someone like Lady Gaga (and here I'm now talking about the Idol performers and judges). Personally, my music tastes are about as wide and varried as they can get, and I appreciate artists who can challenge (even if they fail) long-standing norms and tradition, and constantly strive to better themselves and the industry. Do you think Scotty, who thinks Lady Gaga "dresses strange" will ever *ever* do anything within the country music scene that challenges himself to grow or move the scene forward? Or, will he likely release a by-the-numbers male country album every 1.5 years, coupled with your average male country video, pandering to the "down home folk?" Will he bring back stellar guitar playing (Chet Atkins style) like Brad Paisley did? Will he add pop sound and instrumentation like Lady Antebellum? Will he, will he, will he? I say "no" to these things, because I don't get the feeling that he even understands the first thing about music. He's not an artist, and he's not an entertainer. He's a singer. And, as Simon used to say, we all know this is a singing competition.


I guess that's why he's still there, and James is gone.


It's just frustrating when I see people (fans and singers like those on Idol alike) do the following:


Fan #1: Music today is so crappy--it's bland and just panders to the lowest common denominator.

Fan #2:Oh really? What about Lady Gaga (to continue the example)?

1: Oh she's WEIRD! She dresses odd and wears funny makeup!

2: Well, did you even consider that she feels the same way about you vis-a-vis the music industry, and her act is a commentary speaking to that effect?

1: She's strange!

2: Yes, I understand that. Have you considered XYZ?

1: Weird makeup! I will pray for her.


The music industry certainly can be characterized as bland and uninteresting. However, I would submit that it's people like fan #1, along with singers like Scotty, who are to blame. People like Casey and James (give metal a chance!) and Lady Gaga are, at least, trying to change things.


PS: regarding Ke$ha, while I'm definitely not a fan, her video for "Blow" is pretty hilarious. It features a club full of unicorn-people who, when shot, bleed rainbows, and James Van Der Beek taking off his bra without removing his shirt. I laughed.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I wonder if Ryan was being prescient, or issuing a subtle caution to James fans, when he observed during the performance show that top 4 was the stage at which Chris Daughtry was eliminated; James being the rocker and this season's Chris (or closest thereto).


Shocker, yet not entirely surprising. But it still boggles my mind that Haley, whom I pegged at #11 in the Challenge, is still going strong in this. Sheesh...

(And since I'm running the Challenge, I don't get to tune out, unlike some of you lot. But then again, I now have a morbid curiosity as to which of the remaining 3 bland singers will wind up winning this.)

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Josh, I'm 100% with you on that last post, except for the first paragraph.


And the last one, but only because I haven't seen that video. I'll definitely check it out.

 

[Adam_S]

Originally Posted by Jeffery_H It's a good Christian song that Scotty performed quite well

but WWYWTWST isn't a Christian song, it's a country song. One I know by heart and have always been fond of. That said it's incredibly pandering to sing it. I think the song is particularly hurt by cutting it so short and repeating the chorus twice, without the verses, it doesn't earn the chorus. Oftentimes adapting longform country songs to the 90-120 second Idol format hurts country songs really badly, another example would be the wretched adaptation of Coat of Many Colors Kristy Lee Cook did in season 7. some songs just do not work as well when cut short.


But just putting God into a song doesn't make it christian radio material. otherwise every song on christian radio would be just like the "Cartman starts a Christian Band" episode of Southpark... oh... wait... I think that is what christian radio is... :-p

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Putting "Jesus" into a song sort of makes it a Christian song. Musically it's Country, but there are Christian songs and bands in every musical genre.


The worst was when Chris Daughtry tried to sing Innuendo, a 7-minute Queen epic. It's a brilliant song, but the 90-second version was awful. In fact, IIRC it got him eliminated.

 

[Jeffery_H]

Originally Posted by Josh Dial


The music industry certainly can be characterized as bland and uninteresting. However, I would submit that it's people like fan #1, along with singers like Scotty, who are to blame. People like Casey and James (give metal a chance!) and Lady Gaga are, at least, trying to change things.

That's where we see things differently and have vastly different views. I do not believe at all LG is trying to change anything, but rather a tired act that is been done before with nothing except cheap rip-offs. Others too have done the same, Britney Spears, Christina, etc. are all just riding the coat tails. While I will check out a song on my music service, such as MOG, I would never listen to her again. Also, I would never let any kids listen to her because I have a real problem with her morals as a person. If you are over 18 I would not have a problem, but personally I would not let anyone younger in my house around that.


I see Scotty as a wholesome performer, someone I would let my kids listen to that was raised right with good morals. A real throwback to "OLD" Country as Randy has mentioned. Now, rather or not he can get any play time or make a record in that style is a different matter. As stated prior, the trash today for the most part is NOT real Country music, it's that generic cross-over junk (i.e. "Gone"). No, Scotty won't break any new ground, but he's not trying to unlike those you mention. He knows exactly where he fits in, OLD Country, which is what he should do if they will let him. He could be another Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, etc. and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.