tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post2011077683913244773..comments2023-10-08T05:13:18.117-07:00Comments on wikifray: The Ugly Genius of American IdolWikiFrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420433870074751645noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-24025658255784461772007-01-18T17:10:00.000-08:002007-01-18T17:10:00.000-08:00Never watch it. I'm more a fan of ideas like this...Never watch it. I'm more a fan of ideas like <a href="http://www.garageband.com/">this one here</a>, but the site lost funding and closed for awhile, and I've never gotten back into it. Well, and I don't if they were able to revive their grand prize - a major-label recording and touring contract. It'd be nice to see an accompanying Idolesque television show, though.<br /><br />Schad: I hope you've seen <i>Little Miss Sunshine</i>? If you haven't, you should.<br /><br />Topazz - never underestimate the seductive power of self-delusion. I mean, look at me..TenaciousKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16329335294478431462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-38663650521630504582007-01-18T16:23:00.000-08:002007-01-18T16:23:00.000-08:00What I really want is for Paula Abdul to try out. ...What I really want is for Paula Abdul to try out. It would be worth it just to hear her encouraging herself.augusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12042512777302374341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-30165346513819622922007-01-18T16:12:00.000-08:002007-01-18T16:12:00.000-08:00Those really dopey & pathetic contestants are hand...Those really dopey & pathetic contestants are hand-picked from the audition crowds and put on the stage <i>specifically</i> to be snarked off by Paula, Randy & Simon.<br /><br />As far as feeling sorry for them? I think they're in on the whole sham from the minute they're approached. I'd even bet that the bug-eyed guy & his lispy fat pal (from last night) were given scripted lines, too - it all just smacked of it. They're laughing all the way back to their Professorships at MIT.topazzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06379903935323340176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-14732986394470128032007-01-18T14:20:00.000-08:002007-01-18T14:20:00.000-08:00i don't watch this show (any of 'em, actually). b...i don't watch this show (any of 'em, actually). but i find joy in knowing that people bet on reality shows.twifferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07019975906761715327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-85237810864240537932007-01-18T13:56:00.000-08:002007-01-18T13:56:00.000-08:00John: yes, I think so.
rundeep: you nut.
The wor...John: yes, I think so.<br /><br />rundeep: you nut.<br /><br />The words "gratuitous cruelty" come to mind. But I think I know why they're doing it, at least I have a theory. Their fan base, by definition, probably contains a beaucoup amount of geeked-out wannabes. So, via schadenfreude, they're appeasing that contingent through mannered manipulation.<br /><br />I think we're one on this notion. I certainly have no problem with Simon going off on some entitled arrogant-for-absolutely-no-good-reason talentless she-male. No sir, no problem. But I think it steps over the line when Randy starts bad mouthing people just to appeal to the producers need to make others feel better about themselves. It's not supposed to work that way. But what do I know.<br /><br />The same thing happens to me every year, and it's pathetic: 1.) excitement about new season manifests itself in my enjoyment of watching people sing who can't; 2.) which gets real old after about the 1st hour of the second 2-hour premier; 3.) which evolves into disenchantment; 4.) which, yet again, for the 7th time, allows me the realization that the show really isn't any good until they all get to Hollywood; 5.) and even better when they're being backed by the whole band's playing real charts by actually pretty damn good arrangers.<br /><br />Every year.<br /><br />I.e., "Yes."swittershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14271393212302533995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-2606764753263056542007-01-18T13:34:00.000-08:002007-01-18T13:34:00.000-08:00okay, saw part of it last night. Is it just me, or...okay, saw part of it last night. Is it just me, or is the whole thing getting meaner year by year? It's getting perilously close to making fun of the disabled. The arrogant self-deluded are one thing, but the poor sweet programmer with the bug eyes and "Unchained Melody" did they have to make him squirm for so long? I mean really.rundeephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13268692799782942178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-40006612846080271002007-01-18T10:38:00.000-08:002007-01-18T10:38:00.000-08:00Ender,
If you're going to blow smoke up someone's...Ender,<br /><br />If you're going to blow smoke up someone's ass, you'll need one of <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=rectal+fumigator&meta=">these</a>.Michael Daunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882263663318068988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-50924155253439048252007-01-18T08:30:00.000-08:002007-01-18T08:30:00.000-08:00Haven't seen Magnolia. I'm boycotting movies invo...Haven't seen Magnolia. I'm boycotting movies involving Scientologists (starring, written/directed by, about, etc.).<br /><br />Cruise can act, yes. It's just that he most often chooses not to (ungrammatical?).<br /><br />Enjoyed Prairie Home Companion. Didn't love it.Michael Daunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882263663318068988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-57556919857475410482007-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:002007-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:00Do you think anyone gets to the Paula-Randy-Simon ...Do you think anyone gets to the Paula-Randy-Simon room without their fate already determined? It seems like everyone's already in one of the boxes switter mentions. <br /><br />I'm not a rabid follower of the show, but it doesn't seem that there are many borderline cases.JohnMcGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476537916134121570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-80443898718682363522007-01-18T07:48:00.000-08:002007-01-18T07:48:00.000-08:00Keifus, m'boy!
I think Ender has/had the same con...Keifus, m'boy!<br /><br />I think Ender has/had the same concerns, and I really do agree. But whereas he'd say it's overproduced, I'd use the phrase "mannered and predictable". Luckily for me, I'm really superficial and slow, so it's a really good fit.<br /><br />I also think you're exactly right. I've held this theory since I've been posting about it lo these many years, but Randy and Paula have no idea what they're doing, and they're really stupid retards. Simon does, though. But, yeah, the real "scouts" are the production assistants scouring the floor for 1.) real talent, 2.) no talent, 3.) freak shows, and 4.) pretty people. It's the average looking average talented folks who fall through the cracks, for better or worse.<br /><br />Interesting, your take on <I>Companion</I>. I posited that only the people who are rabid fans of the show would "get it", whatever "it" was, or something. Maybe yours in the one exception that proves the rule.<br /><br />Bacon, you asshole. For whatever reason, during the holidays I picked <I>Refiner's Fire</I> (Helprin) back up. I really love that book.<br /><br />Simon makes me laugh. Last night after one particularly harrowing performance, he was beside himself with disgust and could only manage to say something like, "I mean, honestly, that sounded non-human…" And there was this awful, awkward silence. Add the mom daughter hippy sideshow act, and I went to bed very disturbed.swittershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14271393212302533995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-27040664971562513372007-01-18T06:53:00.000-08:002007-01-18T06:53:00.000-08:00Prairie Home: loved it. Not a Garrison Keillor fa...<i>Prairie Home</i>: loved it. Not a Garrison Keillor fan -- great voice, tho -- but really I was struck by the modesty and decency of the whole thing. Just a perfect little movie. Watched <i>Tristram Shandy</i> the same evening and was a little disappointed, very funny in parts but diminishing returns as the movie went on. Got very tired of it by the end.<br /><br /><i>American Idyll</i>: the wife gambles on all these things, <i>Survivor</i> and <i>Apprentice</i> et al -- apparently her office is just one endless round of five-dollar pools -- so once it gets to the final twelve or fifteen or whatever, and the names are pulled, I'm sure I'll be subjected to it. Until then... well, I used to find the auditions part of the show thoroughly amusing, but at some point I hit Official Surfeit, and now the mere idea of watching another round of delusion, masochism and ritual humiliation makes my skin crawl. Plus someone needs to push randy down a staircase. Can someone do that, please?P P Gagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00616229802077468760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-44041021768618749252007-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:002007-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00Hey switters,
One thing that gets me, especially ...Hey switters,<br /><br />One thing that gets me, especially with the stadium montage shot in the beginning, is the mechanics of the tryouts, you know? They brag about the tens of thousands of auditions, but it's clear enough that hte three stooges only see the fifty or so in teh lobby for any given taping. So what's the quality of the talent that qualifies as neither worthy nor entertainingly bad? How many screeners? Do they know their shit (better, perhaps, than Randy and Paula)?<br /><br />And in that context, it's kind of another level of rotten, the treatment that hte no-talents receive. Think about it: here some lackwit has been pumped up by his first cut past the screeners, s/he/it (pronounced shee-it, btw) has got to be flying by the time they get to Simon and the gang. I don't feel sorry for them exactly, but I don't respect the producers much. (I'm reminded that almost as many people think they can write and can't as people who think they can sing and can't. Sigh.)<br /><br />And a general observation: too much background drivel, too little singing.<br /><br />Also meant to tell you that I saw Prairie Home Companion over the holidays. Had some reservations going in, but as it turned out I really, really enjoyed the flick. I think being only a rare listener to the show helped probably.<br /><br />KKeifushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00287358319899471490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-67749252760972284572007-01-17T14:43:00.000-08:002007-01-17T14:43:00.000-08:00Hey Schad: I feel for you, man. 11 nieces and neph...Hey Schad: I feel for you, man. 11 nieces and nephews. I'm fortunate in that 1) my brothers and sister didn't peddle their kids like so much... stuff that's peddled; and 2) they actually listened to me when they wanted an honest answer to the question of whether or not I thought my nieces/nephews had any musical talent. Imagine that. They all did, of course, naturally. It's just that I did my best to steer them away from pursuing it. Call me a sage. As for breaking character, sounds like he's got a pretty good handle on this whole deconstruction humor bit the kids are so crazy about these days.<br /><br />Obsessed here lately with a scene from <I>Magnolia</I>, the one where all the main characters sing a part of the song. Be interested in your thoughts on it. Mine, briefly: <I>Magnolia</I> makes <I>Closer</I> look like <I>Insert Movie Here</I>.<br /><br />'Sup, Ender. Agreed. But the opening montage, though very over-produced, was really really outstanding, and it all went down hill from there. Look for the Bham auditions to be quite entertaining in a variety of ways, whenever that's on. I figured they'd dispell with the boring auditions early, even at the risk of alienating their core audience, which is, really, impossible, considering. It's the new viewers they're gonna lose. Still, looks to be another good run this year.swittershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14271393212302533995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-87697540786482185432007-01-17T13:51:00.000-08:002007-01-17T13:51:00.000-08:00AI thoughts: I kinda missed the opening, but last ...AI thoughts: I kinda missed the opening, but last night’s show was rather boring as far as they go. Paula, apparently calling in to Brian’s radio show this morning, agreed. The Minneapolis auditions weren’t the first of this season, i.e. they’re showing them out of order. I kinda felt bad for Jewel, seeing as Minneapolis really did suck, and even the ones they let through were mediocre at best. I was surprised no one apologized to her at the end of the day. Paula seemed kinda quiet. Otherwise, it went as expected and no real issues from my end, but if I were to be difficult, I’d complain about the overproducing, and that thing they do when they bring back all the featured losers and make a collage of them singing the same song with cuts to exasperated looks from the judges. It’s overkill, and not for a second do I believe the judges stick around for it. Anyway, tonight’s show looks promising.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02489993293956077552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4760967123218143470.post-16361792322902872882007-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:002007-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:00My kid had a thing last night with his class. Bil...My kid had a thing last night with his class. Billed as a "cabaret".<br /><br />Dear God.<br /><br />One poor deluded girl couldn't carry a tune in a bucket - perfect Simon fodder.<br /><br />About another, my wife commented, "She'll either turn out to be a great actress or a stripper." This girl obviously <b>LOVED</b> being on stage, perhaps just a bit too much.<br /><br />Most of the rest was a demonstration of just how easy it is to waste money on music lessons.<br /><br />There were really only three talented kids in the class, and two of them were funny. One girl sang well enough, but looked like she'd been kissed by a Mack truck.<br /><br />My kid rocked, though (although he did break character once to explain to the audience that "I'm not really mentally deficient, you know.")Michael Daunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882263663318068988noreply@blogger.com