Topic: THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM (Read 89814 times)

Matt H. · « **Reply #150 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:04:03 PM »

It was a good night on AMERICAN IDOL. Now that the iffy singers are gone and everyone left can go beyond carrying a tune, it was a night of quite wonderful standards, and these five showed they can sing well and without ostintation when they choose.

Of course, LaToya London sang "Too Close for Comfort" and "Don't Rain on My Parade" in big band arrangements, and Simon congratulated her on a good Broadway performance. Yep, they're Broadway tunes, but the performance was pure big band.

It was the same with everyone else. They all handled the standards very professionally. LaToya has just that tiny bit of confidence when she sings that the others seem to lack.

If I had one quibble with everyone tonight, it's that the arrangements included low notes that none of them could really hit with authority. Their big voices would go down and there would either be silence or a wavery grunt. Otherwise, though, I really had nothing very negative to say.

I thought Jasmine's few interpolated high notes in her head voice ruined a good first song. George seemed more nervous than usual, but made "It's a Wonderful World" his own. Diana had great control, and so did Fantasia who had more low notes than anyone and didn't handle them well (though the rest of the singing was first rate).

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #151 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:05:44 PM »

P.S. - I don't think it's Leslie Parrish...

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #152 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:13:11 PM »

Well, as you no doubt have already seen, Matt, you & I disagree. Even though they were standards...they were obvious choices. If you're going to pick a Fred Astaire song... not really Big Band, though the Big Band covered the tunes...How about something like Slap That Bass, Isn't This a Lovely Day?, I'm Putting All My Eggs In On Basket, Let Yourself Go...rather than things we've heard eight hundred times like Cheek To Cheek and The Way You Look Tonight? Even our own Guy Haines has the taste to pick Pick Yourself Up for his album.

bk · « **Reply #153 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:13:32 PM »

Where in tarnation IS Leslie Parrish? It's LOVE I'm talkin' about.

bk · « **Reply #154 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:14:55 PM »

Welcome nine GUESTS. It's LOVE I'm talkin' about. It's Leslie Parrish I'm talkin' about. And devilled crabs, let's not forget the devilled crabs.

Matt H. · « **Reply #155 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:20:05 PM »

Charles, I can guarantee that the under 40 crowd of AMERICAN IDOL's audience was totally unfamiliar with "Cheek to Cheek." As far as standards are concerned, it was as good a choice as any. I don't know about you, but I don't hear "Cheek to CHeek" played on the radio very often at all any more.

Panni · « **Reply #156 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:27:05 PM »

Forget dem crabs. How 'bout devilled eggs?

bk · « **Reply #157 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:32:18 PM »

I want devilled something. I'm hungry. I had three bagels today - not that much in the scheme of things. I was on a bagel kick and that's all there was to it.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #158 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:33:27 PM »

What a yummilicious dinner der Brucer and I had tonight. We took advantage of the special $30 Tuesday tasting at the Blue Moon (three courses, with wine), and while there were no deviled crabs, there were other things to be eaten that were just as wonderous.

For the appetizer, we both went for the Oriental Duck Salad, which had been very slowly cooked and pulled, mixed with chives and bits of pistachio, and served on a small lemon grass tortilla, with some baby mache on the side. This was followed with a mixed field greens salad, which had been splashed with a maple sesame vinaigrette, sprinkled with sundried cherries, and topped with a small wedge of toasted foccacia and a slice of smoked gouda.

For the main course, I had the grilled swordfish steak, which was moist and tender and topped with the meat from a lobster claw and diced tomatoes, and served with a jasmine rice and daikon pilaf and steamed spinach. All right, the spinach needed some salt. Der Brucer had the lobster and Dungeness crabcake, which was served atop some fresh Old Bay pappardelle, sauced with roasted pepper aioli, with a helping of buttered shoepeg corn. ("Pappardelle? Looks like someone ran over the spaghetti with a steamroller!" der B joked.)

Dessert added to the tab, but was worth it. Der Brucer had a apple and prune crisp, topped with fresh-churned ice cream; I had a lemon and poppy seed mini-Bundt cake with a blueberry sauce.

No, we can't afford to eat like this all the time, but the original tab (without dessert) to ran $60 for the two of us. Compare that with the $120 the same items would have cost any other night! No wonder the restaurant was full.

And we had people telling us before we left SoCal that we wouldn't ever find a good meal again.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #159 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:34:47 PM »

Quote from: Matt H. on May 04, 2004, 09:20:05 PM

I don't know about you, but I don't hear "Cheek to CHeek" played on the radio very often at all any more.

Is that by the same guy that wrote "Shake Yo Boo-Tay"?

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #160 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:36:06 PM »

Well, Matt, I do hear it on the radio out here occasionally (we have two standard stations now in LA and I also play cable radio in the home) and George, God love 'im, can't compare with the likes of Tony Bennett or Fred Astaire (Fred happens to be one of my favourite singers...so his albums get a lot of play around this house).

I just thought the whole evening was dull and boring...very few, if any, Big Band standards were played (though if they had...We probably would have got Sing, Sing, Sing, Tangerine, and other tired, over-done, on-the-nose choices).

Panni · « **Reply #161 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:38:23 PM »

I'm hungry, too. Devilled bagel perhaps.

Panni · « **Reply #162 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:40:27 PM »

I've just discovered that "deviled" only has ONE "l"... English is a strange language.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #163 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:45:55 PM »

Quote from: Charles Pogue on May 04, 2004, 09:13:11 PM

How about something like Slap That Bass, Isn't This a Lovely Day?, I'm Putting All My Eggs In On Basket, Let Yourself Go...rather than things we've heard eight hundred times like Cheek To Cheek and The Way You Look Tonight? Even our own Guy Haines has the taste to pick Pick Yourself Up for his album.

Wait a sec here, DR Charles. "Pick Yourself Up" and "The Way You Look Tonight" are both from Swing Time, by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. Considering the musical education of the contestants, if you're going to allow one song by Kern and Fields, why not allow the other?

Although, frankly, even der Brucer wasn't very unhappy about missing the show tonight. American Yodel stinks this year, too safe and homogenized. Hung is the only contestant likely to sell any records.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #164 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:47:33 PM »

So if you were an American Idol contestant which songs would you pick:

Ballad/Balladish:

You Go To My Head
My Reverie
I'm Glad There Is You
Music, Maestro, Please
Heaven Can Wait
Everything Happens to Me
Ballerina

Up-Tempo/Zippy:

Make Believe Ballroom
Bob White
Scatterbrain
Got A Date With An Angel
Oh, Look At Me Now
When Did You Leave Heaven?

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #165 on:** May 04, 2004, 09:54:09 PM »

Woody, because THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT is the more obvious, well-known, more frequently recorded, performed song. It won the Academy Award. It's what someone who's 16-21 might pick because somewhere, somehow, it's the only thing they've ever heard. Let's hear something not done as frequently...something where we can't compare them to a dozen other better artists who have recorded the song. Let them show us some instinct for song selection that is not the obvious, predictable choice.

bk · « **Reply #166 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:00:11 PM »

I know deviled only has one "l" but I didn't like the way it looked - it looks like it should be pronounced deVEYEled, as in revile. So, I'll stick with devilled.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #167 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:12:59 PM »

Good Evening!

Well, after tonight's show, I joined some of the cast and we watched "American Idol" via VHS tape. It's sooo much fun watching this show with a bunch of singers!!!

In any case... The thing that "got" me tonight was how the judges - well, mainly Simon - kept saying that the singers didn't have "THE American Idol" sound. What do you expect?!?!? It was BIG BAND night!!! If I'm remembering correctly, when AI started out, didn't they want the singers to sing songs from various periods in various styles? Well...

After the little "history of swing" clip the showed, I was expecting some more traditional material - or at least material from the period rather than post-Big Band stuff arranged in a Big Band style. -Something tells me the whole "charting" deadline had something to do with the song selection... and most of the charts sounded like Linda Ronstadt's or Natalie Cole's arrangements. I would have even liked to hear some stuff we heard in the earlier rounds like "Orange Colored Sky" and "Hit Me With A Hot Note". But given the age of the contestants - and, most likely, the age of the coaches that AI uses - tonight's repertoire was no big surprise to me. A disappointment, yes; but not a surprise. And, again, I have a feeling they had a trunk full of charts somewhere for the band to play. Maybe so, maybe not.

BUT you could tell that LaToya knows how to talk to the arranger - her "package" tonight seemed the most complete - and her choice of keys - well, key (even though both song modulated) - were very well-suited to her voice. The others just seemed to be singing what was given to them.

-And I also found it interesting that they used the rehearsal clips for the "round up" at the end - which I guess they've done before. I liked the way Fantasia sounded in her sound bite than when she actually sang.

OK - I need to head to bed. I'm playing the understudy rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. -It's nice to know that I'm finally well enough to do so! -And the extra money in next week's pay check will be nice too!

Ohhh... On more thing.... (see next post... well, my next post...)

DearReaderLaura · « **Reply #168 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:22:33 PM »

Jose, I just want to say how glad I am that you are feeling better and are posting frequently again. I missed you!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #169 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:27:34 PM »

Back to the topic of the day for a few more moments...

When Steve and I were together as a couple, there was one time when I had left little Post-It notes with various "sweet nothings" written on them throughout our apartment before I had to leave for an out-of-town gig. I put things in the medicine cabinet, in the roll of toilet paper, on the bottom of his computer mouse, on the phone receiver, etc. It was very cute... and Steve kept finding them for a few days afterwards. -He thought his mouse was broken, but then he picked it up and looked at it, and realized I had put an "I Love You" Post-It note on it. Well... a couple of months later...

I had a gig at the New Harmony Theatre in New Harmony, Indiana a few summers ago. It was the first day, and we were doing all the first day paperwork - tax forms, contracts, etc. Well, I go to open my checkbook, and I find this little Post-It note with "I <heart> U" written on it. It actually took me a second to realize what it was - and who did it.... But after that second I was smiling from ear to ear... Well, throughout the week, I kept finding some more notes here and there... Even one on the inside lid of my box of Altoids! -I even think I found one stray note after I had finished the gig! He had hidden them in various parts of my luggage and bags.

So... Love for me came to mean knowing that that someone special was close - even when they weren't physically close. That I always wanted to be close to that person. And that the "sadness" caused by the "distance" was happily overshadowed by the joy of knowing that he wanted to be near me too.

-And I still have one of those "I <Heart> U" Post-Its.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #170 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:35:24 PM »

Quote from: DearReaderLaura on May 04, 2004, 10:22:33 PM

Jose, I just want to say how glad I am that you are feeling better and are posting frequently again. I missed you!

Thank you, Laura!

And, trust me, I'm very glad that I'm feeling better too!

-My doctor actually gave me a print out of all my lab results, diagnoses, medications, test results, blood work, etc., at my last follow up visit on Monday. WOW!!! I WAS SICK!!! -Alas, I probably have one or two more follow up visits - but they're more for my peace of mind, than on my doctor's orders. -I just want to get checked out once I'm finally not taking antibiotics - which will be this Sunday!!! YIPPEE!!!!!

-And I missed you guys too!

OK - Now I really need to go to bed!

-And DR WFO - Thank you for sharing that truly beautiful story.

And DRs SWW and DerB - The restaurant critic for The Washington Post sometimes "looks" for dining companions. A friend of mine accompanied him a few times on some of his visits to various restaurants. -And all he did was ask! Not a bad way to get some free food!

S. Woody White · « **Reply #171 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:35:55 PM »

Quote from: Charles Pogue on May 04, 2004, 09:54:09 PM

Woody, because THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT is the more obvious, well-known, more frequently recorded, performed song. It won the Academy Award. It's what somewhat who's 16-21 might pick because somewhere, somehow, it's the only thing they've ever heard.

Are you sure they pick the songs themselves? I don't even think they're musically educated enough to know anything other than what they hear on the radio now, and if they know "The Way You Look Tonight" it isn't because it won the Academy Award (deservedly) but because it's currently in use as commercial fodder to sell products.

My bet is they've got coaches working with them week after week, selecting material for them and then teaching them now to sing the songs. The Elton John/Barry Manilow/Gloria Estafan weeks, they had the writers/stars themselves coaching them (and gushing over them), and showed the coaching clips on the shows.

That being the case, they might as well do the overly familiar, because these kids aren't smart enough to know what might better. I don't see any of them having careers to speak of. There hasn't been any hint of any of them knowing how to play an instrument, or how to dance beyond a few perfunctory steps. God forbid any of them should try to write a song themselves and sing it.

Come to think of it, I don't think any of the judges would know what to make of it if one of the kids did perform an original song. They wouldn't have a previous performance of the song to compare it to.

If Simon keeps complaining about how everything is predictable, he's only got himself to blame. He and the other two and the minions who winnowed the bulk of the auditioners out of the process in the first rounds were the ones who selected these "contestants."

The whole show is a waste of time, a sham from start to finish. Time to move on to something else.

And that is the state of the rant!

Jrand74 · « **Reply #172 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:36:05 PM »

Lovely story DRJOSE.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #173 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:38:39 PM »

OH! I just looked to the left and realized I broke the 1000 mark! Cool!

S. Woody White · « **Reply #174 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:42:57 PM »

Quote from: JoseSPiano on May 04, 2004, 10:35:24 PM

And DRs SWW and DerB - The restaurant critic for The Washington Post sometimes "looks" for dining companions. A friend of mine accompanied him a few times on some of his visits to various restaurants. -And all he did was ask! Not a bad way to get some free food!

Nope, it ain't Tom Sietsema. Our host will be more local. He's supposed to cover the entire state, but is based in Wilmington (northern Delaware) same as his paper, so Wilmington gets the bias on coverage. At least he's trying to get more balance going, and any help I can give him (and thereby help my neck of the woods) will be worth it.

George · « **Reply #175 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:43:33 PM »

About the Topic of the Day: Others here have expressed opinions far more eloquently than I ever could.

A woman that I work with and her husband counsel young adults in relationships (within a religious context). One thing that she said she asks the kids is something like, do you think you are "truly" in love or is it just "pizza" love? In other words, do you really feel a deep love that can (hopefully) weather the storms throughout life or do you love each other in the same way that you love a really good pizza (and it’s the kind of "love" that can change very easily)? I don’t quite remember the details of her questions, but it was something like that and it seemed like it was a great way to talk to kids about the subject and have them really be able to relate it.

Personally, I've only really been in love once. And it was completely unrequited (I hate that). We both worked for the library (where I still work) and I barely knew him, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. It eventually developed into feelings that I had never had before (and not really since…darn it all). I found out that he was gay

but had a partner

. We eventually became friends but I never told him how I felt. The feelings have since faded (it actually didn’t take too long) and we’ve all moved on. That was about 13 years ago. Damn, that’s a long time ago.

I’ve had a lot of crushed over the years, and I have had a great 3-1/2 year relationship with someone who lives in Seattle. Even though I never truly "fell in love" with him, we were/are very compatible as friends. We broke up mainly because of the long distance. If we lived in the same city and had easy access to each other (his job takes him out of town for a week, every other week and he doesn’t own a car), I think that it could’ve happened. I even visited him this past weekend because his birthday was yesterday and mine is tomorrow.

Panni · « **Reply #176 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:45:07 PM »

Sweet story, Jose. Glad you're feeling better.

I just had some scrambled eggs with turkey. Thought all the late night denizens would be wildly interested in that.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #177 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:45:21 PM »

DR Jose has re-ascended! We have another

[size=20]DEUS AU DEUX![/size]

S. Woody White · « **Reply #178 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:46:27 PM »

Quote from: Panni on May 04, 2004, 10:45:07 PM

I just had some scrambled eggs with turkey. Thought all the late night denizens would be wildly interested in that.

I thought you were calling him Wussburger these days!

George · « **Reply #179 on:** May 04, 2004, 10:48:50 PM »

Quote from: JoseSPiano on May 04, 2004, 10:38:39 PM

OH! I just looked to the left and realized I broke the 1000 mark! Cool!

Congratulations!! 13 more posts after this one and I'll be the next to hit four digits!

News:

Author Topic: THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM (Read 89814 times)