I never had a chance to audition for American Idol. I'm an adequate singer. With practice before the audition, plane fare to wherever it would take place, and the wherewithal to face the trio of judges, I could've spent at least thirty seconds to a minute singing something. I probably would've tried something in moderate tempo without high notes. It's not to be, though. I'm too old to be a contestant.
One man auditioning a few years ago came out wearing a Darth Vader costume. I could've lasted a few seconds longer than he did. The Darth Vader contestant apparently didn't take the show seriously. Simon Cowell dismissed him almost immediately, disgust showing on his face as he earned his millions dealing with a stream of non-talent decorated here and there with genuine artists.
The show will air its final season this next go-around. Its impending demise will probably inflate its ratings. Jennifer Lopez's final appearance on the show will let us see real tears on a reality program hostess's face. I won't watch the final season, just like I didn't watch the other seasons. I see clips on other shows, including news programs. Someone said, "Pop will eat itself," and he was right.
This morning I listened to a singer more along the lines of what I like: Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, possessing one of the best rock and roll voices. Is he the Robert Plant of America? Maybe so.
When I was in ninth grade, Cheap Trick's album Live at Budokan got a lot of play on the radio, particularly the songs "Surrender" and "I Want You to Want Me." I've heard these songs hundreds of times and they still work. They have nothing of the spirit of what one hears on American Idol. They're vibrant, original, and alive, and yet, Zander's voice and others of its kind, wouldn't be accepted on American Idol. If you sound like Whitney Houston, however, you just might make it to that show's top tier, but really, how many Whitney Houston knockoffs do we need, if any? I have nothing against Whitney Houston; in fact, I was sad when I heard she died. American Idol voice-clones of Houston? No, please stop. Would Jennifer Lopez want to sit before hopefuls imitating herself?
If I had ever been young enough to audition for American Idol, would I have tried to sing like Robin Zander? No. I can't sing like he does, but I would've put forth an original style, and that's probably essential in winning the marbles on that show.
Vic Neptune
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Until just recently, all of the people looking at my blog have been Americans, but someone from Ukraine checked it out. Thank you, and hello.
I haven't written in seventeen days. I've been eating a lot of junk food, which may slow me down. My birthday came and went, rich food was available. I like Pringles and Cheetos way too much. Even so, when I stepped on a scale a few days ago, my weight was fourteen pounds below what it was in December. I don't remember exercising since then. My overactive brain, perhaps, sweats off extra fatty layers. If one could actually lose weight this way, Chris Christie would fit inside a Volkswagen Beetle by now. Imagine the mental juggling he has to do to maintain his governorship, deal with the Bridge Scandal, and run for President.
His top aide, David Wildstein, pleaded guilty to supervising lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013. Christie insists on his ignorance of the dickish move. Tom Brady says he had no idea the footballs he used in the last AFC Championship game were under-inflated. Powerful people seeking advantages never have any idea what's going on to benefit them. You walk by a tree one day and the next morning there are fungi at the base of the trunk. Who knows how such a thing could happen? And anyway, it's pointless to litigate the past. The Iraq War started twelve years ago. Why talk about it anymore? What does Iraq have to do with the 2016 election?
Well, even Megyn Kelly of Fox News Channel asked Jeb Bush a relevant question: "Knowing what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq?"
This could be seen as a jab against Jeb Bush's older brother. Perhaps he felt defensive when he responded, "Yes, I would have, and so would've Hillary Clinton by the way."
Jeb Bush got hit by severe criticism from Republicans who don't want their great white hope sounding like a fool who can't learn from the past. He backtracked later on, assuming, I guess, we didn't hear him answer Kelly's question. I don't think he's stupid. I think the question gave him pause. Wheels turned in the Bush gray matter, he lost a few ounces thinking about it, and uttered something plausible-sounding to himself, dragging Hillary Clinton with him. Senator Clinton did vote for the Iraq War Resolution, basing her vote, like scads of other senators and congresspeople, on the "intelligence" shown to them by the Bush administration. Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He was working on creating more. He sought to develop nuclear weapons. Wile E. Coyote has a long history of dealing with Acme Explosives.
In a way, it's not fair to ask someone who wasn't in the Senate or the House what they would've done if presented with the Dick Cheney-approved false evidence of Saddam Hussein's evil intentions. President Obama has often said, proudly, that he would've voted against the Iraq War Resolution. Well, he wasn't in the Senate, then. There's no way of knowing how he would've swung on that one. For a lot of American politicians in the years 2001 to 2003, it was prudent to agree with the prevailing attitudes. Senator Edward Kennedy was once pulled aside by the TSA as if he was a threat to national security. A mistake, or a dickish move?
The pose by Republican presidential hopefuls when it comes to their party's role in destroying much of the Middle East, its people and cultures, lacks genuine feeling. George W. Bush's foreign policy is no longer popular, even though the 2016 presidential hopefuls on the right were all for it from 2001 to 2009. They just don't like it now because Bush and Cheney's violation of the Middle East turned into such a clusterfuck. Jeb Bush is particularly vulnerable here. He says now that he wouldn't have voted to invade Iraq, yet his foreign policy advisory team consists of many of the same fuckers who advised his older brother, including his older brother!
What the fuck, Jeb? What are your plans for the rest of the world? Whose children will die?
Vic Neptune
I haven't written in seventeen days. I've been eating a lot of junk food, which may slow me down. My birthday came and went, rich food was available. I like Pringles and Cheetos way too much. Even so, when I stepped on a scale a few days ago, my weight was fourteen pounds below what it was in December. I don't remember exercising since then. My overactive brain, perhaps, sweats off extra fatty layers. If one could actually lose weight this way, Chris Christie would fit inside a Volkswagen Beetle by now. Imagine the mental juggling he has to do to maintain his governorship, deal with the Bridge Scandal, and run for President.
His top aide, David Wildstein, pleaded guilty to supervising lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013. Christie insists on his ignorance of the dickish move. Tom Brady says he had no idea the footballs he used in the last AFC Championship game were under-inflated. Powerful people seeking advantages never have any idea what's going on to benefit them. You walk by a tree one day and the next morning there are fungi at the base of the trunk. Who knows how such a thing could happen? And anyway, it's pointless to litigate the past. The Iraq War started twelve years ago. Why talk about it anymore? What does Iraq have to do with the 2016 election?
Well, even Megyn Kelly of Fox News Channel asked Jeb Bush a relevant question: "Knowing what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq?"
This could be seen as a jab against Jeb Bush's older brother. Perhaps he felt defensive when he responded, "Yes, I would have, and so would've Hillary Clinton by the way."
Jeb Bush got hit by severe criticism from Republicans who don't want their great white hope sounding like a fool who can't learn from the past. He backtracked later on, assuming, I guess, we didn't hear him answer Kelly's question. I don't think he's stupid. I think the question gave him pause. Wheels turned in the Bush gray matter, he lost a few ounces thinking about it, and uttered something plausible-sounding to himself, dragging Hillary Clinton with him. Senator Clinton did vote for the Iraq War Resolution, basing her vote, like scads of other senators and congresspeople, on the "intelligence" shown to them by the Bush administration. Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He was working on creating more. He sought to develop nuclear weapons. Wile E. Coyote has a long history of dealing with Acme Explosives.
In a way, it's not fair to ask someone who wasn't in the Senate or the House what they would've done if presented with the Dick Cheney-approved false evidence of Saddam Hussein's evil intentions. President Obama has often said, proudly, that he would've voted against the Iraq War Resolution. Well, he wasn't in the Senate, then. There's no way of knowing how he would've swung on that one. For a lot of American politicians in the years 2001 to 2003, it was prudent to agree with the prevailing attitudes. Senator Edward Kennedy was once pulled aside by the TSA as if he was a threat to national security. A mistake, or a dickish move?
The pose by Republican presidential hopefuls when it comes to their party's role in destroying much of the Middle East, its people and cultures, lacks genuine feeling. George W. Bush's foreign policy is no longer popular, even though the 2016 presidential hopefuls on the right were all for it from 2001 to 2009. They just don't like it now because Bush and Cheney's violation of the Middle East turned into such a clusterfuck. Jeb Bush is particularly vulnerable here. He says now that he wouldn't have voted to invade Iraq, yet his foreign policy advisory team consists of many of the same fuckers who advised his older brother, including his older brother!
What the fuck, Jeb? What are your plans for the rest of the world? Whose children will die?
Vic Neptune
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