Have we ever debated the value of American Idol here? Ok, Ok, I'm joking. God knows Still A Dog hates it and everything it stands for....and I respect his opinion as one of the most if not the most intense and knowledgeable music fans I know. Some other whack packers always watch (Still A's While, Jet, Sis). Still A Cowbell - not sure where he stands but he's a musician at heart and our two circles in the music Venn Diagram overlap a lot. While respecting everyone's opinion, I thought I'd take a second to address a point that none of us has ever made here. Like I've said before, American Idol is a superb chance for me to bond with my daughter as she simply adores the show. We talk about music while watching it and why we like or dislike a performance. She can definitely tell you like Randy when somebody goes off key and gets "pitchy". She's also pretty damn good at determining the genre of a song for an almost nine year old. To get back to the point I wanted to make - if you are a fan of music in general - there's almost no denying that the show opens up volumes of music to those who have never heard it before. As ZZ Top finished up playing with David Cook last night, I looked at my wife and said "Sharp Dressed Man" will be on iTunes Top 100 downloads tomorrow. My daughter was asking questions about their beards and thought they were funny and cool. I told her we'd listen to some more ZZ Top this weekend as thanks to the Dog, I have about 80 ZZ Top tracks on my iPod. Everyone my age has Eliminator somewhere. If you don't, what cave did you live in? Well, I just checked iTunes and just as predicted "Sharp Dressed Man" is number 62. That's really incredible when you think about it. ZZ Top's main demographic (shit, their top 3 or 4 demographics) probably were not tuned into the show last night - that's a safe bet. Also, their main demographic already owns the song. So, last night's performance, where they didn't even sing (Cook did the singing) sparked enough buzz for people to go pay for their song. I browsed the Top 100 quickly and I saw that Bryan Adams got a bounce for "Summer of '69" as it was #77. Think of all the young kids who never heard "Imagine" before and bought it (albeit the Archie version) at #17. That might be the first taste of The Beatles for an entire generation. Same thing for "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" at #9. While a newer song (not really, I'm just getting old) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" done by Cook is #3. As little kids are weened off of The Wiggles and graduate to Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers, this is really the next logical step (in my opinion) to introduce them to "big people" music. I remember playing The Police's original version of "Every Step You Take" for my Daughter after she liked the rendition by Brook White. She also downloaded White's version of "Here Comes The Sun" and loves it. Are these versions better than the originals? Not usually, however I like some of the covers very much. David Cook's version of "Hello" rocks. There are undeniable problems with the show. Too often it runs too long. You are supposed to be left wanting more. I don't need any one show more than 60 minutes and the kickoff shows could be reduced to 30. They should learn something from ABC cramming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire down everyone's throat four nights a week. I can't make up my mind about Paula. She is so annoying when she speaks, yet it's also very entertaining. She can't sit down anymore. Sit down, Paula, you're driving me nuts! I will keep watching as long as my daughter is interested and it continues to be one of the few shows my entire family watches together. Last word.....please, please if there is a God in Heaven, please stop the group numbers. I don't care if you replace them with a blank screen, just stop it.
3 comments:
We will keep watching it as well. My kids love it and it does expose them to a lot of different music.
(But Mariah Carey I could have done without this year.)
Unfortunately my oldest daughter loves the auditions more than anything else. She is a lot like her dad where her uncontrollable laughter comes at someone elses expense but I sit and laugh too.
Since you don't know where I stand - I don't watch the show. I can't handle the people in the beginning who think they have talent but don't. Generally the later music isn't my cup of tea or otherwise I don't really need to see other people succeeding at what I wish I was really doing with my life.
Idol is a bullshit Hollywood scripted show from the get-go.
The people who think it is real (hence the term reality TV) are the true idiots.
That being said, there's two sides to every coin. So... If families can bond and talk about it, fine. If young people discover blues-rock by listening to ZZ Top by watching it, great. If one or two talented contestants can forge a music career out of it, wonderful. But overall I just think it does more damage than good. Creating false illusions in the minds of contestants and viewers alike isn't good.
One caveat, if your kids watch it: If they enjoy a new genre of music they hear on the show. Please take the time to do what Fan did and let your kids hear the real deal. If they're singing reggae, put on some Bob Marley. If they're singing country, put on some Merle Haggard. If they're singing blues put on some BB King. And do your best to find the actual song they heard.
...and yes, if they're singing Mariah Carey and the song isn't Vision of Love, blow a hole in your big screen with a .45.
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