This blog is from a musical snob though.

I agree that covers can be done better than what the amatuer, karaoke singers from AI produce, and I like some of the music that Laura suggests.

It's easy to bash Britney, but Laura has also bashed the Beatles, Whitney, Elton, Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, Celine, Mariah and Journey (well, I can't blame her on that last one.) These are not to her musical taste. But then she belittles the average AI watcher's taste by essentailly saying that we are imbeciles for not listening to alternative, indie picks that are mainly from the last few years.

I like new, indie rock too. Right now, I'm into Regina Spektor, Bjork, Duffy, and Ryan Adams. My all time favorite band is Radiohead. But I also like Whitney, Stevie, Britney, the Spice Girls and ABBA, among others. Laura is probably shaking her head at me becaues I am so uncool, but there is good music everywhere!

And what does this blog have to do with AI? Essentially, this blog is about why NOT to watch the show. "Why waste your time on a show that has music Laura doesn't like? Listen to this instead because it is better." (paraphrased) But this music she hates is why people watch AI. The rating would take a nosedive if they sang Bjork, Radiohead or even Ryan Adams, and those artists would never let that happen anyway. As I understand it, this website is for people who watch the show and make fun of it. This blog belongs on a website that doesn't want to watch AI at all.

Laura thinks she is educating us about the good music of the world, but she is actually a close-minded snob who is better than AI. Laura, open your mind or stop watching AI. It will never be the show you dream it should be. It's obviously eating you up to watch crappy singers mutilate music that you already hate.

Holy crap! I didn't realize that. And then they wonder why the winners' albums don't sell. Doing!

Yeah, I loved Cathy back in the 1990s and then was really pleased to see her name keep turning up on great songs by other artists.

You know, while we're on the subject of music trivia - how can Simon Cowell know SO little about music? I swear, he's so musically illiterate that it scares me. And annoys me. Actually mostly it annoys me.

I think you are missing the point of this entry, which is summed up in the second sentence: "I always enjoy when a talented artist brings some emotional depth to a Top 40 cover (Idols, take heed… it can be done!)"

She is actually saying that there are quality songs that lie beneath Britney Spears's insipid baby talk delivery or Whitney's overperformed vocal runs, and it is possible for an artist to really coax some excellent emotion out of these tunes rather than performing note by note, karaoke rip-offs of the original songs they are singing. Laura is simply suggesting that these songs can be performed in new and interesting ways and be popular.

I would also like to point out that nowhere in any of her posts has Laura "bashed" the Beatles, Mariah, Whitney, or any of the others you mentioned, other than calling some of them overplayed. No, really. Go back and read them again. What she is pointing out is that all of these artists (with the exception of the Beatles, who were instead given two weeks of the show) are covered ad nauseum on each successive season of AI. We hear Whitney, Celine, Stevie, and Elton multiple times per season. All Laura is suggesting is that there is other music out there, so why must Idol retread the same ground each season?

Also nowhere to be found in her posts is any belittling of viewers' tastes or calling them imbeciles. She is just suggesting some other artists that are out there by saying, "Hey, if you like so-and-so, you might also want to check out this artist." Personally, there are many bands out there that I never would have heard of if someone hadn't brought them to my attention, and I am thankful to the friends who have helped me expand my musical horizons. I don't see Laura forcing anything down anyone's throats. No one is forcing people to read her blog or subscribe to her musical tastes, as far as I know.

You are absolutely right that the show is not going to change, because most people are not interested in independent music and never will be. But occasionally a singer on AI comes out and does break the mold and has great success doing so (see Jason Castro performing a Jeff Buckley cover or Blake Lewis covering the Cure last season). So should Laura be told to stop watching the show just because she is annoyed that they constantly revisit the same old tired musical touchstones? I don't think so. I feel the same way, but I still watch and enjoy Idol. It appears that it is possible to be a music snob and to watch AI. Who'd a thunk it?

By the way, since I am an admitted music snob, I would not classify Regina Spektor, Bjork, Radiohead, and Ryan Adams as "indie rock." Although technically I guess Radiohead is the definition of "independent" these days.

LINKS!

Yael Naim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5pP55u9s10

Travis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NwqN-xj9Xs

Richard Thompson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAS4ltt7DzI

Nickel Creek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpKX08-aCIo&;feature=related

Enjoy!

No problem. I can be a productive member of society when I want to be, I suppose.

I fixed the Nickel Creek link to a full version with better sound quality. I was a bit bleary eyed this morning.

I've been jamming out to that Yael Naim version for awhile now! I'll have to check out the other remakes too. I met Richard Thompson last year but I'm not all that familiar with him. Thanks for these!!!

I was shocked to see you pick Richard Thompson, as I was sure you wouldn't have heard it...In his hands, it's a brilliant piece of Pop songcraft.

check out richardthompson-music.com for his live bootlegs. Richard Thompson is THE great unknown British Rock God.

Neko Case, now Richard Thompson merits a mention...you got taste.

Check out Kathleen Edwards if you haven't heard her...good songwriter and her band Rocks.

PS: I forget his name, but I got a CD from a guy who did a lounge version that was a mash-up of "Oops I did it again" and "Bungalow Bill" by The Beatles. It's odd how alike those two songs sound!

Great blog, Laura - thank you! :-)