Category: Music Page 16 of 19

Connie plays 4 musical instruments and her daughter is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville with a degree in Music Business and once worked for Taylor Swift. She may comment on concerts or reminisce on concerts of old.

Thinking back over Wednesday night’s “American Idol” girls-only show from Hollywood, my overall impression? Dull. Dreary. Mostly boring.

That doesn’t mean that there weren’t some strong voices on display, but the ones that were strong chose songs that the judges almost universally pronounced to be “the wrong song” and the entire energy of the show just felt washed-out, dried up, blown away.

THE GOOD

The singers who impressed me this night were Siobhan Magnus, who sang “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak. She began the song in a nice, very low register and soared to the “I don’t wanna’ fall in love” refrain with a lilting voice that was great. Ellen DeGeneres probably echoed my thoughts the best when she said, “I loved it. I really liked it a lot.” Simon followed up saying, “You really are a funny little thing, aren’t you?” He asked her why she had chosen that particular song, and she responded that she found it “haunting” and “memorable” and “I have a softer side, too.” Simon called it “a very, very dark song,” while Randy encouraged her to “reach for bigger things, but the short snippet that showed her being whispered about as “ a dark horse” were interesting, because Siobhan said, quite disingenuously, “What’s a dark horse?” as though she had never heard the term.

Another singer who has consistently impressed me was the multi-talented Crystal Bowersox, age 24, from Elston, Ohio, who auditioned in Chicago. Crystal sang a song by Alanis Morissette, accompanying herself on guitar and harmonica. The best summation of her performance was, “You were good tonight, but you have greatness in you.” Ellen DeGeneres said: “We are lucky that you auditioned for ‘American Idol.’ You add something fresh to the show.” This on the heels of Crystal’s admission that she had not been a big fan of the show in prior years. Other comments: “Originality. I loved the honesty. I like what you do. I like that honesty. I’m a fan,” from Randy. Crystal, A.I. watchers will recall, is the mother of a young son and got his name tattooed on her back after winning. Her back-story is interesting, too. The only negative remarks were, as usual, from Simon, who, while saying, “I really, really like you. I think you’re refreshing,” urged her to try a song by someone like David Bowie, to present herself in a different light.

Another standout performance was that of Littleton, Colorado’s Lilly Scott, who said, “It means so much to be here right now. Everything I’ve done musically has led up to now.” Lilly has the gray hair and the look of a vampire bride, but she sang, quirkily, with her guitar “Fixin’ a Hole” by the Beatles. She wears eye shadow that makes her resemble a raccoon, but she has a very different quality. Ellen said, “I think that’s what we’re talkin’ about. You sounded great.” She praised Lilly’s “random song choice” but other less positive comments were: “I’m still not feeling much Star Power.” Both Simon and Randy commented on Lilly’s honesty and believability. Simon: “Best so far. Well done. You’re believable. You come from your heart.” “ I could feel you were comfortable in your performance,” said Kara and Randy chimed in with, “I love the honesty. I thought it was great.”

THE BAD

Worst of the night, for me, was final contestant Katie Stevens, singing Michael Buble’s “Feelin’ Good.” Katie was way sharp when she went up for the high notes. When she sang, “Birds feelin’ high”,that was the sharpest off-key note of all of the many. She was pitchy and off-key throughout the song, (Grandmother with Alzheimer’s or not, she seemed to be channeling Granny this night in her performance and her appearance). She looked “old.” Her hair was done in an old-fashioned way, her dress, her demeanor: antique. Ellen DeGeneres said, “I want to see you be 17. The song was a little old for you.” Simon agreed, saying, “I totally agree with Ellen. So much so that it started to become annoying. Very pageant-y.” Kara finally pointed out the elephant on the dining room table, saying, “You were all over the place” on the pitch, and Randy finished up the same critique I would have given her singing saying, “You were pushing so hard that all the notes were going sharp.” Another comment: “Wow! That was not on key.” (Kara) This is never good in the finals of an “American Idol” competition.

Others that were not good: Lacey Brown (Dull. Bad outfit.) Simon said, “It was quite depressing. After about 15 seconds I wondered how much longer we’d have to listen to this. It was just boring. Sorry.” The Dixie Chicks need fear nothing here.

Haeley Vaughn: I have not been a fan of Haeley’s since the would-be black C&W singer made it through to the Final 24 over the far superior (vocally) Angela Martin. I found her song, her voice, her rendition of the Beatles “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to be just a little too chipper. I made the note, “Painful” at one point, and then Simon started in saying, “I’m being honest. For me, it was verging on terrible. A complete and utter mess. It wasn’t very good.” (Don’t hold back, Simon. Tell us how you really feel.) Ellen DeGeneres countered, “If it was a mess, it was a hot mess,” as she had previously praised Haeley, the person, saying, “Sixteen and so much presence. You just shine.”

Ashley Rodriguez, who was so promising initially, disappointed with a Leona Lewis song. Kara pointed out “Moments that weren’t great. I couldn’t really see you take a risk.” Simon called her performance “clumsy” and said he “didn’t like the arrangement.” He accurately said, “I think you are going backwards from the first time we met you Just someone who sings other people’s songs not that well” was how he characterized the Chelsea, Massachusetts college student’s performance (Ouch!). Ashley had said in previous clips, “This is the dream. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.” The dream may have to be deferred to another year if Ashley doesn’t step up her game.

Paige Miles, 24, from Naples, Florida had the dubious honor of going first. It wasn’t a memorable performance and telling us that she was sewed into her black dress with the white sash and had been “waiting 5 hours to pee” was a little bit TMI for me. She sang “All Right Now” and, although she was told she “had the best voice out of all the girls” by Simon, and told “You’ve got a ridiculous voice, girl” by Kara, the consensus seemed to be “It’s about self-belief. You have to believe you’re a star.” Paige was not a star this night, but, in all fairness, she had to sing first (always a disadvantage, I feel).

THE OKAY:

Janell Wheeler, 24, of Orlando, the wine representative who is supposed to be quarterback Tim Teabow’s girlfriend tried a “Heart” song while wearing skin-tight black leggings of some sort. Randy felt that “the song choice didn’t work for you. I like your voice.” Ellen said, “I like that song. I thought you sang it well and I like you.” Simon brought some reality to the bleating of “What about love?” by saying, “You gave it 100% effort and delivered 65%. (Leave it to Simon to articulate the thoughts of the masses.) He did say there were “moments in the song when I did like your voice,” while telling her she had gone off-key at times. He advised Janell, a fairly attractive (but not stunning) blonde, to “try to do something that makes you original” and both Simon and Kara warned her that taking on an Ann Wilson song was “too big” for her voice.

Katelyn Epperly, age 19, from West Des Moines, Iowa is a personal favorite (as an Iowa native). I put her in the “okay” category tonight, because she adopted a black strapless dress with a chanteuse look, a thing in her hair (feather, I think), big earrings, and a much “dirtier girl” look. I liked her better when she first auditioned with her wild fly-away “Witches of Eastwick” hair, and so did Kara, who commented on her look. Simon said, “I actually like you. You’re quirky, interesting, brave. I like you a lot.” Kara said, “You know your voice very, very well, you switched it up in a way,” but Kara was the judge who (also) pined for Katelyn’s fresh-faced look. Katelyn defended the many facts of her personality to Kara’s desire that she be “a little bit more natural.” Randy said, “Here’s the thing I really, really like about you. You concentrate on tone, not runs. I think you can go places and do stuff.” Ellen found her performance “interesting,” but said, “I felt like it was pushed, but you have an amazing voice.” Has the potential to be in THE GOOD category next time out. I think she will stay around.

For me, Didi Benami was also “okay.” She sang in a terrible outfit…a multi-colored vest-like garment, but the judges did not find her memorable, as she wanted the audience to “Take Me the Way I Am.” Her performance was pronounced, “Dreary. Missing a spark. In the real world, I think that would be totally forgettable. You’re just so sleepy for me.” Ellen probably phrased it the most diplomatically, saying, “First impression: A little low key.” I definitely liked her better than the judges seemed to like her.

Michelle DelaMor described herself as “a corporate singer” prior to her selection by “American Idol.” She is tall, dark and sexy. She is 23, from Miami and works at a clothing store.” I’m so excited because I know my family will be there in the audience, and I just hope to make them proud.” She sang Alicia Keys’ “Fallin.” She wore a cute black top and gray pants, but was criticized for mainly doing a cover version of the song that was not unusual or original. (I, in fact, couldn’t remember her at all and had to go back on my TVO and watch her performance for a second time, which means that she wasn’t very memorable.) She has “the look” and is a beautiful girl. Ellen said, “That was fantastic. I feel like it was safe and it seemed so easy for you. I feel like you have more in you. I think that you were great, but I know that you can do better than that. I thought it was amazing.” Simon said, “It sounded close to the original. Not as good as the original. There wasn’t one moment in the performance that I went, ‘Wow!’ I think you’ve done enough to get through to the next round, and you look fantastic by the way.” Kara said, “There were moments that it wasn’t great.” She urged Michelle to be technically immaculate every time she stepped on the stage and she felt that Michelle lacked believability but could “get there.’ Randy said, “You actually did a pretty good job doing it. You’ve got a great voice and a great look. All that is hot and dope and cool. But take some risks. Show me something nobody has showed me yet.”

I think that Simon’s comment about things being “a mess” (countered by Ellen DeGeneres’ saying, “But a hot mess,” followed by Simon’s saying, “Seems to be the way it’s going tonight”) was accurate for the entire program. The girls—who seem stronger than the boys this year— (even Simon was quoted this way in the New York Post) didn’t deliver. It may have been nerves, as the talent is definitely there. My top 3 for the evening may soon be joined by the likes of Katelyn Epperly or Michelle DeLaMor, but, overall, the evening was disappointing, and, without Simon’s caustic honesty, the comments of the other judges would have been fairly insipid.

Top 24 Idol Contestants Announced on Feb. 17, 2010

By Connie Wilson

On February 18, 2010

In Music, Reviews, Television

My impression that the female singers, this year, are stronger than the male singers, was seconded by the Judges on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, as the Final 24 were selected to be this year’s “American Idol” contestants.

In predicting, in fact, I even found it difficult to come up with the names of 12 strong male singers and was laboring under a couple of misperceptions:

1) Stories abound on the Internet that “Big Mike” Lynche was disqualified because his father let it slip that he had made the top 24. It’s a rule that is controversial and selectively enforced, like kicking Kevin Smith off an airplane for being too fat. So far, Mike Lynche is still “in,” as far as I know, but the stories persist that his mother works for a newspaper in Orlando and his father confirmed his presence among the top 12 male singers. (His brother made it pretty far in a previous Idol competition.) Supposedly, Dad’s phone number is now disconnected. I’m wondering what gives?

2) Another misconception I had was that Tim Urban was gone after group week. Tim Urban made the final cut, and that was good news, to me.

Others among the men who made the Final 24 contestants were:

Tyler Grady – a Jim Morrison wannabe who said, “This is huge.”

Alex Lambert

Joe Munoz

Jermaine Sellers

John Park

Tim Urban

Alex Lambert

Andrew Young

Honestly, this year’s crop of men is far less memorable than the women. I do remember John Park, Jermaine Sellers and Andrew Young. It was hard not to remember Thaddeus Johnson. He spent most of this night sobbing on his mother’s shoulder. The judges generally lauded his onstage performances, but he was not the most physically appealing of the group. Tyler’s comments in leaving: “I killed it. I just thought it was my time.” When asked if his being cut was a big shock, he said, “Yes, it’s a big shock, because they acted like they loved me, but it was kind of fake.’ (Ouch!)

I found myself focusing more on this year’s female contestants, so much so that I only gave readers a “reminder” of which females were “best,” so far. My list was not too far off the mark (8 of 12). The ones I missed, were, quite frankly, almost unheard-of and not given any airtime as they auditioned. Those unheralded contestants, who made the list for the women were:

Paige Miles

Siobhan Magnus

Michelle Delamour (she was predicted to have made the cut on some Internet websites)

Those who made the cut who had been featured prominently and nearly all of who (m) I predicted were:

Lilly Scott

Janell Wheeler

Lacey Brown

Ashley Rodriguez

Crystal Bowersox

Haeley Vaughan

And Katie Stevens

I did remember Katie’s back-story about her grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease, and I did remember Tory Kelly, (who did not make it). I accurately predicted nearly all the contestants that we, the at-home audience, had been allowed to see.

The notable exception to my predicting would be the elimination of Angela Martin. Privately, I wonder if the 6 days in jail she did for “traffic violations” was an influence on the judges’ decision, but, again, it’s hard to comment on young women like Paige Miles, Siobhan Magnus and Michelle Delamour, whom none of us at home saw. [I was paying close attention, Folks].

So, admitting that the men, this year, are not as compelling, I’m feeling okay about predicting the following contestants: Janell Wheeler, Lacey Brown, Ashley Rodriguez (again, check her out on the posted Internet video), Crystal Bowersox, Lilly Scott, Haeley Vaughan, Didi Benami and Katelyn Epperly.

That’s 6 correct female picks—8 if you accept my hand-on-heart contention that I had picked both of the 2 announced on Tuesday night (Didi Benami and Katelyn Epperly). I missed 4 out of 12 for 2/3% accuracy.

The question can legitimately be asked whether Angela Martin should have been cut. Angela’s comments after her elimination, which involved an almost full-out counseling session with Judge Kara sitting with her in one chair, were “Music heals me. I can’t give it up.”

The judges obviously knew they were doing something that would be viewed as controversial when they cut Angela. Some savvy music executive might still pick Angela up as a client, and she could be one who has a career despite being eliminated (Jennifer Hudson, anyone?). While Thaddeus Johnson did not have the “look” that the judges are seeking, and was far too dependent on dear old mom for support at every turn, making him seem less than adult, Angela had been through a lot and deserved a shot. For me, she was far superior to Haeley Vaughan (black C&W singer), who made it through. I had speculated that Courtney Vance might make it through, but, in my notes after her first appearance, I commented, “Very small voice. Will not go far.” That last part proved accurate.

[*Note to self: must start paying more attention to the male contestants, even if they aren’t as good as the girls.]

Predictions for Top 24 in “American Idol” (2/17/10)

By Connie Wilson

On February 17, 2010

In Music, Pop Culture, Television

Tuesday, February 16, 2010, “American Idol” from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and there are 71 contestants still standing. In the 2-hour Tuesday show, the 71 were to be pared down to 24 Finalists.

While we, at home, are, no doubt, being denied complete exposure to every single “comer” (i.e., all the good singers are not revealed early on; it took a while for “American Idol” to let us get a good look at Adam Lambert last season, for example), sometimes we get a quick glimpse of a contestant who will possibly be one of the Final 24, like Genesis Moore or Ashley Rodriguez.

One Orlando contestant (male) was booted from the show when his father couldn’t keep his mouth shut and blabbed it around town that his son had made it through to the Final 12. The contestant (Nicci Nix) who claimed to have flown 14 hours from Florence is no longer seen onscreen. Danielle Hay, who was really a very good singer, was booted for failing to reveal some troubles with the law. There was also a contestant in Chicago (male) whose visa or green card from Northern Ireland posed problems for the show, so he was out.

To try to make a prediction of the Final 24—12 male contestants and 12 female contestants—is, therefore, almost impossible at this point in the competition, but it’s fun to try. The Final 24—-or, I should say, the remaining 17, since we already know 7 of them after Tuesday night’s show— are going to be announced Wednesday, February 16^th’s show. I am going to make predictions right now, much as is done prior to the announcement of the Oscar nominees.

Please bear with me as I scour my notes and my not-always-that-great memory. Please forgive me my spelling errors of names, early on. Most of the last three weeks’ worth of auditions I watched without benefit of TVO, as we were moving around in Florida (see previous AC articles).

Let me go out on a limb and we can all saw it off tomorrow night when I am way off the mark. If you’d like to make your own predictions, see if you can do better. And let’s not forget: by the end of Tuesday night’s show, we knew the names of 2 of the female final twelve and 5 of the male final twelve.

Who will the remaining Finalists be, following on the heels of the 7 announced tonight?

By show’s end, the male contestants who had made it through were:

1) Michael Lynche, the 26-year-old personal trainer from Astoria, New York, whose wife just had a new baby girl (“Big Daddy”).

2) Casey James – I like to call Casey “Mr. Shirtless.” (If you’ve been following the auditions, you’ll know what I’m referring to.)

3) Aaron Kelly – Aaron’s continued presence surprised me, since he forgot his words at one point, but his back story (Aunt and Uncle had to raise him) and likeability made him a finalist.

4) Lee Dewyze – [Do you remember him?]

5) Todrick Hall – Todrick has danced and sung on Broadway with Fantasia in “The Color Purple.”

Female Contestants Named on Tuesday, Feb. 16:

1) Didi Benami – The Nashville songstress’ story is primarily how the death of her best friend is motivating her.

2) Katelyn Epperly – I’m pulling for the West Des Moines native with the “Witches of Eastwick” wild blonde hair. Her backstory is less compelling: Dad left Mom and she wants to prove that there is life after divorce.

So, those are the 7 contestants (out of 24) that have been announced as I write this. I’m going to predict some sure things for tomorrow night, and some strong possibles.

Female Contestants (in no particular order, but bold-faced are the stronger bets) to be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 17: (#3 through #12):

#3 – Angela Martin

#4 – Lilly Scott

#5 – Crystal Bowersax

#6 – Haeley Vaughan

#7 – Charity Vance

#8 – Ashley Rodriguez

#9- Janell Wheeler

#10- Genesis Moore

#10-Lacey Brown

#11-Christian Spear

For #12, some whose names were dropped (after which they disappeared) are; Tory Kelly, Kimberly Carver, Dawntoya Thomasen and a girl whose first name was Megan (did not get her last name). There are some fine male singers this year, but there seems to be more female talent this year.

Male Contestants: (#6 through #12):

#6 – John Park

#7 – Jermaine Purefory

#8 – Lloyd Thomas

#9 – Andrew Garcia

#10-Thaddeus Johnson

#11-Chris Golightly

#12-Dave Pittman

What? You say you don’t remember these names. Let me give you a quick refresher course on the Best Female Bets so you’re ahead of the game on Wednesday night.

#3) Angela Martin: Angela made it to the Top 40 in Season 8. She said, “I’ve seen a lot of dreams die. I can’t give up until I touch my dream.” Angela sang a Mary J. Blige song. The 28-year-old native of Chicago lost her father just before being cut in Season 7 and, in Season 8, missed out because she had a traffic court citation. She was described as “really talented” and the phrase “try and try again” was used. Get the picture? If you watched on Tuesday, Angela was wearing a fake leopard-skin one-shouldered dress and looked great. She ended up in Room 3, and Room 2 was the room where contestants went to die.

#4) Lilly Scott – Lilly was described as “a sandwich-maker from Denver.” She has distinctive gray-white hair and wore long peacock earrings. Kara said, “Everything about you is refreshing.” Would seem to be a shoo-in.

#5 – Crystal Bowersax – If Crystal, a 24-year-old from Chicago, doesn’t get in, there is no justice. From Chicago, she both played guitar and harmonica while singing, totally charming the judges. Crystal describes herself as a musician and a mother. Simon said of her, “You’re infectious. People will like you,” That, plus she is a very good bluesy chanteuse Sheryl Crow-like singer.

#6) Haely Vaughan– Haeley is the would-be black C&W singer. I honestly don’t think she’s that good, but Randy, in particular, really seems to like her.

#7) Charity Vance – Charity got the second gold ticket in Chicago singing “Summertime” and talking about her mother and father’s beauty shop. A pretty blonde, she had a small, soprano voice with a nicely lilting vibrato. Charity was a member of the female trio “Faith” during group week, along with Ashley Rodriguez, and all 3 of the members of this trio made it through.

#8) Janell Wheeler – Janell sang “House of the Rising Sun” and is rumored to be Tim Teebow’s girlfriend. Look for her to make it through to the top 24 for that reason, alone.

#9) Ashley Rodriguez – One of the trio called “Faith” during group week, Ashley has a video online under the name Ashley Makailah (“Gravity”, by Sara Bareilles), which is worth checking out. She is a true beauty who can really sing and Simon has said she has “it.” A lot of the videos of Ashley have been “pulled,” so she is one they’re keeping under wraps to spring on us.

#10) Genesis Moore – There is video of young Genesis at age 13 blowing the judges away in a talent competition singing “Summertime.” We hardly saw her at all during the auditions. This black chanteuse is one who can blow.

The last 2 spots may well go to any one of these names: Christian Spear, Tory Kelly, Kimberly Carver, Dawntoya Thomasen, Megan ?. I think the “best of the best” (i.e., the best of the female talent) is already listed above.

Since the girls are the strength area this year, I’ll remind you about the male contestants after they are announced on Fox tomorrow night, Wednesday, February 17^th, 2010.

52nd Grammy Awards Are Weird and Wild

By Connie Wilson

On February 1, 2010

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

The Grammys. “Sasha Fierce” wasn’t quite fierce enough? The Groogrux King should drink Big Whiskey with the Kings of Leon, since royalty belongs together? Let’s begin with some historical perspective on the meaning with which other winners have imbued this esteemed award. What can you say about the Grammys? “The race goes to the swift,” as in Taylor Swift?

We could quote one of this year’s nominees for Best New Artist, Silversur Pickups frontman Brian Aubert who said of the group’s nomination before they lost to the Zac Brown Band, “Does it really matter to us? No. Absolutely not.” (As quoted on www.spinner.com/2010/01/27/grammys-backlash/?ncid=webmaild12)

Some observations on the night’s program: I can’t get the image of Pink clad only in thin strips of fabric dangling from the ceiling out of my mind, especially when she finished her set dripping wet. (Did Tony Bennett ever have to do this to earn his Grammys?) Keith Urban, backstage later, said, of Pink, “She was killer.” He did not mean this literally, but he could have. Me? I was fearful that her sling would break and she’d literally be killed, falling from that height. [Hey! It happened to Ann Margret in Vegas. Look it up! Of course, in the redhead’s case, she didn’t get killed, but she did have to have her jaw wired shut for months, after she fell off a giant moon prop.]

I was more impressed with Dave Matthews singing “You and Me Together” after being introduced by Adam Sandler. Dave’s album this year, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” is his best since “Under the Table and Dreaming,” IMHO. Dave agrees that it is his best, but he lost the Album of the Year award to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless,” which did nothing for my faith in the Grammys and leads me to yet another www.spinner.com quote (see above), this time from 50 Cent who, in 2009, after being nominated 13 times, “Man, f*** the Grammys! I couldn’t care less about the Grammy awards.”

Early in the evening, the front page of AOL was buzzing about the opening number that featured Lady Gaga singing her hit “Poker Face”, wearing sparkly green wings and sparkly green spikey boot shoes and a long blonde wig, with purple eye-shadow. After that, she was paired with Elton John, who wore a glittery mask. Each had black stuff all over their faces. (I prefer Elton in full-on duck costume and I’ll lend them both a washcloth…or Pink can provide some water for the soiled singers.)

Stephen Colbert won for Best Comedy Album of the year at the 52^nd annual Grammy Awards for his Christmas album, and said he was there to celebrate “our most precious right: the right of celebrities to congratulate one another.” He got in a dig at “Glee” and then said to his teen-aged daughter (in the audience), “Have a good time, Honey. Stay away from Katy Perry.”

Taylor Swift won for Best Country Album for “Fearless,” which was not a surprise. She said, “I want to thank my record label for letting me write every song on my album” and likened her win to “an impossible dream.” Taylor always looks great. She sometimes does not sound as great, and that was the case when she and Stevie Nicks teamed up. Off-key is the kind description.

Beyonce put on quite a production number, backed up by dark-uniformed male dancers (she was wearing a black short flouncy skirt with a bustier top. On CBS’ “Sixty Minutes,” which preceded the Grammys, we learned that Beyonce began performing at age 9. Beyonce said, “Once I saw the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson, I said, ‘Oh, my God.’ And I wanted to do that all day, every day.” Beyonce made $80 million dollars last year and was on 200 magazine covers, according to “Sixty Minutes.” She has performed in 12 countries and has given 110 sold out performances in countries like Korea, India, Egypt and Japan. I can see why she wants to “do that all day, every day.” [Later in the evening she would win a Grammy for her song “Put a Ring On It.”]

Seal announced Leonard Cohen as the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. Before the night was over, others that would be awarded went to luminaries like Honey Boy Edwards, who (m) I did not know, and Andre Previn, whom I did know. (One-time husband to Mia Farrow).

Let’s hear a quote from another former nominee back in 1996, when he was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performer. Eddie Veddor (“Pearl Jam”) said, at that time, “I don’t know what this award is. I don’t think this means anything.” (www.spinner.com/2010/01/27/grammys-backlash/?ncid=webmaild12.)

“Kings of Leon”—whose CD “Use Somebody” is in my car right now, (along with the Dave Matthews aforementioned album) won for Best Record of the Year and gave one of the most refreshing acceptance speeches, saying, “We’re all a little drunk, but we’re happy drunk.” They proceeded to thank God, their family, RCA, their producers and “whoever else I forgot, I’ll buy you shots afterward.” Humorously, another member of the band stepped up to the microphone to speak, but was cut off. Backstage, one happy band member said, “We’re getting’ my mom wasted.” [Sounds like the Kings of Leon have their priorities straight: drink a lot.] The Nashville group also expressed the feeling that their success abroad is finally translating to success in their homeland.

Robert Downey, Jr., came out and gave another of his impromptu riffs. He’s becoming famous for them. This time, he said, “Thank God I’m here to attach some dignity and classical fare to what is otherwise this garish undertaking.” That remark led to Jamie Foxx, wearing boots and a military jacket, (with Slash on guitar), a little hit of faux opera, and his singing (with others).

I enjoyed Ringo Starr and Norah Jones coming out together and Ringo saying, “Thank you, Norah, for being shorter than me.” They announced a Lifetime Achievement Award for Bobby Darin and the camera quickly cut to son Dodd Darin, Darin’s son with former blonde movie starlet Sandra Dee. (Subject of a “Grease” song with the lyrics, “Look at me; I’m Sandra Dee.”)

Katie Perry and Alice Cooper came out and announced a Trustees Award for Florence Greenburn, whom I did not know. (What, exactly, is the distinction between a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Trustees Award?) Green Day then were announced as Grammy winners for “21^st Century Breakdown.” I liked “American Idiot,” and, right about now, the title seemed apropos.

Why did Chris O’Donnell intro the Zac Brown Band? Weird. Only thing weirder was a visibly heavier Quentin Tarantino’s appearance later in the evening screaming “Hip-Hop is forever!” Ryan Seacrest introduced Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks singing a duet that was off-key. “You Belong with Me,” nominated for Record of the Year. Gack.

Lionel Richie introduced the 3-D extravaganza tribute to Michael Jackson, which featured Usher, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson singing, after which Paris and Prince Jackson accepted an award “for Daddy.” Jackson created the 3-D video for “Earth Song,” his ballad about environmentalism.

When Bon Jovi —much touted as performers in the early stages of the evening—finally came out to sing 3 songs, one of which, “Livin’ on a Prayer,” had been selected by computer voters, and the band was announced as having given 2,600 concerts to 34 million fans, I was struck, again, by how the band seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of groups. “They don’t get no respect.” Although the mosh pit below them was enthusiastically dancing and waving their hands in the air, the audience of their peers, as a whole, sat on their collective hands. This group can’t win for losing. Of course, they’re still laughing all the way to the bank, and I’ll still go to see them July 30th in Chicago (for the second or third time).

It was interesting that a win for “Run This Town,” which was executive produced by Kanye West and featured Jay Z and Rihanna, was handed only to Jay Z and Rihanna , as Kanye was not in the house. (Taylor Swift: you can breathe easy.)

A tribute to stars who died this year, similar to that at the Academy Awards, gave me these names I knew: Mary Travers of “Peter, Paul, and Mary;” Koko Taylor, Chicago’s lady who sang the blues; Louis Bellson, Moline (Illinois’) drummer well-known for his marriage to Pearl Bailey; Dan Seals; Teddy Pendergrass; Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM; Stephen Bruton, who wrote many of the songs in “Crazy Heart,” collaborating with T Bone Burnett; composer Maurice Jarre; Arthur Ferrante of the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher; Ellie Greenwich, the composer of sixties hits; Al Martino, who played an Italian singer much like himself in “The Godfather;” and Les Paul, whose fender guitar is legendary. There were many more, but, for me, these were the ones that I knew.

The program ran long. It ended abruptly and unceremoniously, leaving me to wonder, after Taylor Swift was announced as the Grammy winner of Album of the Year for “Fearless” whatever had possessed Toby Keith to say recently, “The Grammys don’t respect country.” (www.spinner.com). (Keith was nominated as Male Country Vocal Performer of the Year in 2006.)

Weird.

“Blues Brothers” Are Recreated at Universal Theme Park

By Connie Wilson

On January 28, 2010

In Music, Pop Culture, travel

The Blues Brothers (Jake and Elwood) arrived on the streets of Universal’s theme park that resembles a movie set in a souped-up cop car. They were, of course, on a mission from God…just as they were in the 1980 movie of the same name…the one that had them growing up in an orphanage in Rock Island, Illinois. The impersonators doing the honors were preceded by a wonderful female singer (the Aretha Franklin role in the film) and a Soul Man Saxophone player.

Jake and Elwood made the assembled crowd this day (January 27, 2010) shake their tail feathers and led a conga line in the cobblestone street as their set ended. They sang the “Rawhide” song from the movie, and Jake even broke out the whip, (although he didn’t do much with it.)

It was 4 p.m. in the afternoon and they’d be back at 5 p.m. for an encore; the previous day the Blues Brothers act played to a crowd of about 100 tourists at 11 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. [The times are constantly changing, depending on the season].

Jake The John Belushi impersonator was by far the closer in appearance to the original Belushi but both sang well and put themselves into their role(s). The Dan Ackroyd look-alike was tall and thin. He danced around in the background, just as the original Ackroyd used to do, but not with as much demented fervor.

The show played at 12:30 and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the day of Obama’s State of the Union Address.

“Jake” winked at me, put his hand to an imaginary cell phone, and mouthed, “Call me” as he exited. It was a quick, fun show, well worth the price of admission, which was nothing. (You do have to stand throughout, however.)

A fun (and free) half hour of entertainment on the grounds of Universal Theme Park on Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

“American Idol” from Los Angeles: January 26, 2010

By Connie Wilson

On January 26, 2010

In Music, Pop Culture, Television

Los Angeles, California, described by Ryan Seacrest as “the epicenter of entertainment” was not uniformly entertaining during Tuesday, January 26^th’s “American Idol” auditions. (As usual, CAPITAL LETTERS mean the contestant made it through, while lower case means the contestant was rejected.)

Neil Goldstein

The very first contestant out-of-the-box was a weird guy named Neil Goldstein, 19, who, ironically, forgot the very first line of a song (by Meat Loaf) about not forgetting (“Rock ‘n Roll Dreams Come True”), causing Simon to utter the word “ironic.” Simon cautioned the would-be singer—who said he had an I.Q. of 168—“You’ve got to have a reality check.” He was less-than-macho, had a long girlish page-boy bob (which changed during the try-out film, however) and kept insisting that he was not going to leave. Neil’s response to Simon’s suggestion that he realize his singing was not that great with a “reality check”, “There’s no reality but what we make for ourselves.” Neil refused to leave the stage, until Simon threatened to have him escorted out. Guest judge Avril Lavigne said, “That was really bizarre,” when the contestant finished.

Neil Goldstein, after being cut, declared, “In the greater scheme of things, ‘American Idol’ is going to be the greater loser.

JIM RANGER

Contestant #5054, the 27-year-old married father of 3 from Bakersfield, a worship pastor, sang a song of his own entitled “Drive.” Although the judges wondered, aloud, how he was going to both tour and be a pastor, he was voted through to Hollywood.

Jayson Wilson (19, Seattle): a screamer. Jesse Cheng, 23; Martin Perez, 19: All rejected.

Damian of the sandwich store came in, declaring that “pepperoni” was the favorite sandwich at his shop and then forgot the name of the Righteous Brothers song he planned to sing. It turned out to be “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” It turned out, also, that Damian had lost any ability to sing well, in addition to the name of his song selection. Simon: “Damian, you should just go.” Damian’s response? “On my way.” (At least he left without a fight.)

MARY POWERS

Mary, from Burbank, did a Joan Jett impersonation which Simon found clichéd. The mother of an 8-year-old daughter, she still got a golden ticket. Short black hair. Punk look. Pretty. Daughter came in and Simon said, “Are you sure this isn’t my daughter?” when she turned out to have a bit of attitude.

A.J. Mendoza

A.J. sang “The Cult of Personality” by Living Color. From Upland, California, the 20-year-old was bad. Simon said, “It sounded like you’d gone to the dentist about 10 minutes ago and your anesthetic had worn off.”

Austin Fullmore

Austin Fullmore, 19, of Glendale, California, sang “Surrender” by Cheap Trick, complete with weird posturing. Beforehand, he said, “This is my purpose in life, I think.” After Austin’s audition, Simon said, “That is one disturbed young man” and Katy Perry, who was the guest judge at this point in the program asked the question of my last column, “Are these people frisked before they come in here?”

ANDREW GARCIA

Andrew could really sing. His parents, George and Mary Garcia, who were involved with gangs in Compton but moved the now-23-year-old father of a small boy to Moreno Valley was praised as “a genuinely good, good singer” by Simon. Katie Perry said of his audition, “You gave me chills,” Kara passed him on “110%” and Randy declared, “You’ve got mad vocals.”

TASHA LAYTON

The Pasadena resident who said she was a personal assistant by day and a minister by night sang Joss Stone’s “Baby, Baby, Baby” and, after getting her golden ticket, said, “I’m going to Hollywood. Now what?”

Jason Green

Jason Green, 21, a student sang Divinyls “I Touch Myself’ and was generally effeminate and disgusting. He ended up on the floor on his knees, causing Simon to say, “I knew you’d get down there eventually.” After that crack, Jason hit on Simon obliquely, causing Randy to protest, “Don’t hit on my friend.” Katy Perry, who was attired in a tight, red, low-cut dress, said, after Jason’s audition, “I feel dirty.” The catty Jason then said, “I’m sure it does…especially with that top.” (Snap!) As he left, doing ballet moves on his way out, he said, “But the point is, I’ll be back next year.” When he encountered Ryan Seacrest outside the door, Jason commented, “They (the judges) did enjoy this,” and proceeded to give Ryan his phone number, telling him to “call me any time.” Ryan took the folded phone number over to a very butch-looking individual, commenting, “Don’t believe everything you read” as he gave it to the bodyguard, who looked like a prison inmate.

CHRIS GOLIGHTLY

Foster child Chris Golightly, who entered foster care at age 18 months and grew up with 25 different foster families, had reddish mop-like hair and a good voice. A Los Angeles shoe salesman, Chris said, “Music is where I always felt comfortable” and sang with a sweet tenor that seemed to polarize the panel. While Kara declared, “There’s something very interesting about you,” commenting on “your story and your pain,” Chris did not impress Katy Perry as much, as she turned to Kara and said, “This is not a Lifetime story, Kara.” Eventually, Chris Golightly earned 4 “yes” votes, 2 with a small “y,” one with a big “y,” and one (Randy) with a giant “Y.” Chris said, rather plaintively, “I’ve had nothing in life.”

All-in-all there were 22 contestants passed on to Hollywood from the Los Angeles Rose Bowl Stadium crowd of 11,000 hopefuls who made it past the regular judges, plus either Avril Lavigne or Katy Perry. We saw a few of the other “yes” votes jumping about: the cute guy, the chubby blonde, and the black guy.

On another note, one Orlando contestant (an African American) also had his golden ticket revoked when he confided to his father that he had made it through to the Final 24 and his father blabbed. Apparently, all contestants are sworn to the strictest secrecy and Dad’s loose lips sank his ship.

“Dreamgirls” Is A Dream of a Play in Chicago

By Connie Wilson

On January 24, 2010

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Dreamgirls,” the 1981 Motown musical by Henry Krieger and Tom Ewen which became the 2006 hit movie that made Jennifer Hudson (Effie) a star and garnered Eddie Murphy a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as James “Thunder” Early, a character based on James Brown blew into the Windy City on Tuesday, January 12^th for a mere two-week run. As I write this on Saturday, January 23, the play has a very short life in town left and will be gone before it can be appreciated as the best show Broadway in Chicago has mounted this season…so far (and there’s only one left, “101 Dalmations.”)

The play began at the Apollo Theater last fall, where it received rave reviews and there is buzz that it might have a full-on Broadway opening after the tour, which includes a month in Tokyo. The production “stars” Syesha Mercado in the movie’s Beyonce role as Deena Jones, said to be based on Diana Ross. The Supremes who back her up are played, first, by Moya Angela as Effie, the role that Jennifer Hudson took all the way to Oscar gold, and then byAdrienne Warren as Lorrell Robinson and Margaret Hoffman as Michelle Morris, the later “Dream” girls (after Effie is replaced).

In the movie, Jennnifer Hudson took the “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” song and belted it impressively, but Moya Angela is no less impressive. Her voice is impressive: massive and worthy of the starring role she portrays. Syesha Mercado’s stint as Deena Jones is good, also. After all, the singer was second runner-up in the 2007 “American Idol” tryouts, and, a graduate of the theater program of Florida International University, she received the prestigious South Eastern Theatre Conference’s Best Supporting Actress award even before that.
Deserving of special mention are the two male leads: Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis Taylor and Chester Gregory, a Chicago native, in the Eddie Murphy role as James “Thunder” Early. Shepherd appears onstage more than any other actor, tying the entire plot together and he both acts and sings extremely well. He has appeared as Harpo on Broadway in “The Color Purple” and was on the Billboard charts 3 times in 2009. His soul/R&B album is to be released during the “Dreamgirls” tour. His gospel work was Grammy nominated in 2009.

The crowd favorite amongst the male leads, much as in the movie, has to be Chester Gregory, a graduate of Columbia College (BFA) who got his start at Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theater playing Jackie Wilson, courtesy of Jackie Taylor of that ensemble. Said Ms. Taylor, in a Chicago Tribune interview on Sunday, January 17, “I had been wanting to produce the Jackie Wilson story for a long time, but I always felt like I didn’t have a strong enough Wilson. This was going to be a ride specifically for Chester.”

And what a ride it was! It took Chester Gregory (he has now dropped the II from his name) all the way to New York’s Apollo Theater, where he made enough of a mark, complete with a Wilson-like back-flip while onstage, that he has picked up work ever since with parts in “Hairspray,” “Cry-Baby,” “Tarzan,” and performing for Michael Jackson. In fall, 2011, Gregory has promised to reprise his star-making role as Jackie Wilson for his “theatrical mother” Jackie Taylor at the opening of the Black Ensemble Theater’s new North Side home. The play was the most popular and profitable the Black Ensemble has ever put on.

For his role as the womanizing James Brown-like James “Thunder” Early in “Dreamgirls” Chester Gregory gets the most memorable stage time (along with the part of Effie) if not the greatest amount of it. Manager Curtis Taylor, Jr., tries hard to tone down the soul brother, so that, at one point, the unhappy singer says, “Last time I was here three people thought I was Tony Bennett.” It’s Curtis’ plan to break the black acts into the Big Time, and he wants James to tone it down and behave because it’s hard to book black acts into places like Miami in the sixties. As one character says, “That place is so white they don’t even let our boys park the cars.”

Chester Gregory makes the most of his time onstage. At one point, he sticks the microphone into the front of his pants, and there is the famous scene (also in the movie) where he drops trou while playing a chi chi white club, causing Curtis to fire him and tell him, “Your time has passed.”

The character of Curtis (Chaz Lamar Shepherd) is described at various points as a “two-bit car salesman” and he certainly seems to be a huckster (called a “second class snake” by Marty, Jimmy Early’s first manager) who will woo whomever he must to get his way. However, Curtis does seem to have idealized and idolized Deena (Syesha Mercado), who eventually becomes his wife, as he sings to her, “I needed a dream but it all seemed to go bad. You were the only reason I had to go on. You are the things I can never be. They’ll never take my dreams from me.” Unfortunately, as Deena (Syesha Mercado) tells him, “I want to be an artist,” most specifically a film star. Curtis says, “You’ll do what I tell you.” Deena (Syesha Mercado) says, to Effie, in a scene of reconciliation, “I played the role he gave to me. Now I don’t know who I’m supposed to be.”

Special mention should be made of the singing, of course, but the dancing and costumes are just as outstanding. William Ivey Long did the costume design and the sparkly lavish costumes rival anything the real Dreamgirls (i.e., the Supremes) ever wore. There is even one very creative costume change (for Effie) that takes place while she is singing about changing, onstage. The spotlight focuses to just Effie’s (Moya Angela’s) face and, in a heartbeat, she emerges from “everyday” clothes she is singing in for an audition and is now clad in a lavender sparkly gown.

This was by far the best play of the series, so far, beating “In the Heights” by a mile and “Young Frankenstein” by a nose. I also liked it better than “The Addams Family,” which is supposed to take Broadway by storm. It’s just a shame that “Dreamgirls” is leaving Chicago so soon, as it definitely is worth Broadway theater ticket prices, with energy and talent to burn.

Fifty Fun Facts Featuring Elvis

By Connie Wilson

On January 17, 2010

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Movies, Music, Pop Culture

Elvis recently had a birthday (he turned 75) and I ignored his birthday, at the time, just like I try to ignore my own birthdays.

A McCarthy newspaper writer named Valerie Kellogg wrote “75 Things You May Not Know About Elvis” at the time of his birthday. Some of them amused me…not all, but some. Plus, we recently visited Graceland in Memphis, so I decided to throw out the less-interesting or more well-known “things you might not know” about Elvis, insert a few of my own, and shorten Kellogg’s article to a mere fifty. So here goes:

1) Elvis’ first 2 recorded songs cost him $4 at Sun Studios in Memphis, where he recorded “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” as a gift for his mother, Gladys.

2) Elvis is Norse for “all wise.”

3) When he was 15 months old, Elvis almost died in a Tupelo, Mississippi tornado, which would have meant that he would have joined his dead-at-birth twin Aaron.

4) At age 1, Elvis enthusiastically joined an Assembly of God church service choir in singing, wriggling away from his mother’s grasp to do so.

5) At age 10, Elvis placed fifth singing “Old Shep” at a children’s talent show, thereby surpassing Michael Jordan, who got cut from one of his first basketball teams.

6) Songs recorded: anywhere from 600 to 1,200. [With mixes like “A Little Less Conversation” being released many years after his death, that number could change.]

7) Sometimes, Elvis would sign “Elvis” on a female fan’s left breast and “Presley” on the right. (There is no truth to the rumor that this gave rise to the term “double-breasted.”)

8) Elvis’ maternal grandmother was Jewish, so Elvis added a Star of David to his mother’s gravestone in the mid-sixties. (Since most of the family is buried out back at Graceland in a weird circle that tourists visit, I assume it is this tombstone. It is just a stone’s throw from the really small tea-cup-sized swimming pool that looks like it belongs behind a Hampton Inn in St. Louis.)

9) Other ethnic derivation for Elvis Presley: Scottish, Irish, German, Welsh, Cherokee Indian and French. (A little something for everyone.)

10) “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, a 1961 Presley hit, is set to the melody “Plaisir D’Amour,” an 18^th century French love song.

11) Presley hated fish. He wouldn’t allow Priscilla to eat fish at Graceland. We all know he loved fatty, deep-fried goodies, and he also loved biscuits and gravy, potato/cheese soup and meatloaf with mushroom gravy. The dining room table at Graceland, however, was not very large, (considering Elvis’ fame and fortune). It is hard to imagine seating more than 11 or 12 comfortably in the cramped dining room. The room isn’t big enough and the table isn’t big enough.

12) Presley preferred sponge baths.

13) Presley worked as an usher at Lowe’s State movie theater in Memphis. He was fired when he was discovered taking free candy from the girl working the concession stand.

14) Presley was honored, while in the Army, by his commanding officers for “cheerfulness and drive and continually outstanding leadership ability.”

15) Germans called Presley “the rock-and-roll matador.”

16) Elvis smoked thin German cigars.

17) Elvis’ big disappointment while in Germany in the Army? He never got to meet Brigitte Bardot. (I think we can all relate to that.)

18) Presley’s movie idol? Tony Curtis.

19) Hair dye used? Miss Clairol 51D, “Black Velvet” and “mink brown” by Paramount, to make his hair look black onscreen in movies. He once dyed his hair with black shoe polish in his do-it-yourself days. He also dyed his eyelashes, which caused him health problems later in life. (Good thing he didn’t EAT the dye).

20) In 1956, Elvis made “Love Me Tender” and in 1957, he did “Loving You.” In the hiatus between filming these two epics, he had plastic surgery on his nose, had his teeth capped, and had his acne professionally treated.

21) Elvis dated Natalie Wood, but only for a very brief period. He said he didn’t like the way she smelled. (No report on what Natalie Wood thought of the sponge-bathing Elvis’ scent.)

22) “Unchained Melody” was a song he only performed during the last 6 months of his life.

23) Unverified reports claim Elvis’ range spanned three octaves, but unverified reports of the day also said that the Colonel (Tom Parker) would have another singer interpret the song while Elvis listened and then Elvis would record the song after hearing it sung by someone else. It is also true that Elvis never did a World Tour, which was because of legal problems that Colonel Tom Parker, his dictatorial manager, faced in travel outside the country. (The Colonel had passport problems.)

24) Presley had a slight stutter.

25) Elvis used A&D ointment to keep his lips soft.

26) Elvis recorded 15 songs with the word “blue” in the title.

27) Some strangely titled Elvis songs include: “Queenie Wahini’s Papaya,” “Yoga Is as Yoga Does,” “There’s No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car.”

28) Elvis began using “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” a 19^th century Strauss tone poem and theme of the 1968 movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” because he liked its rhythm and movements.

29) UK viewers couldn’t see Elvis much-vaunted TV special “Aloha from Hawaii” because the BBC refused to pay the price for the 1972 concert.

30) Presley and the Beatles met at his BelAir, California house in 1965, after Colonel Tom Parker forced Elvis to invite the Fab Five over. That same year, Elvis talked about joining a monastery. No word on whether he discussed entering a monastery before or after meeting the Beatles, who ended his reign as undisputed King of Rock ‘n Roll.

31) Presley met Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in 1975 but Wilson says that the meeting went badly. Wilson made an unexpected karate move on Presley, after Presley had asked him specifically not to do so. (I now understand why Brian Wilson spent so many years alone “in his room”).

32) When Presley met Richard Nixon in 1970, Tricky Dick said: “You dress kind of strange, don’t you? Elvis replied, “Well, Mr. President, you got your show, and I got mine.” We didn’t find out the extent of Nixon’s “show” until Watergate, but it’s not hard to imagine Elvis drawling that statement to Nixon.

33) The Washington Post broke the news of that secret meeting between Nixon and Presley. [I think we’ve all heard the stories of Presley’s fascination with law and law enforcement, his desire to be named a ‘special agent,’ etc.]

34) When Presley met Muhammad Ali, he gifted the boxer with a robe that said “The People’s Champion.” Ali, for his part, gave Presley boxing gloves that said, “You’re the greatest.” [This surprises and confuses me. I thought Ali was “the greatest?” The two probably should have traded gifts.]

35) Once, after receiving a kidnap/assassination threat, Elvis performed with a pistol in each boot.

36) In the early 1970’s, Presley would impersonate a police officer and pull people over and hand out autographs. He had purchased police equipment for his 36^th birthday.

37) Some members of the Memphis Mafia called Presley “Crazy.” He turned down the opportunity to play Kris Kristofferson’s role in “A Star Is Born” opposite Barbra Streisand, because the Colonel wouldn’t let him take the part. The chance was a career-making comeback opportunity, and ex-wife Priscilla urged him to take the role. Now THAT was “crazy.” What was NOT crazy was the way Priscila turned Graceland into a moneymaker after Elvis’ death.

38) Once, while showing a woman a karate move in his Las Vegas hotel suite, he broke her ankle. (Sounds like an instant replay of the Brian Wilson bad meeting.)

39) In Chinese astrology, Presley’s sign was “the dog.”

40) Four psychics told actor Patrick Swayze that Elvis was his guardian angel. If so, Elvis didn’t do a very good job of watching over the recently deceased actor, who died too young of pancreatic cancer.

41) The year before he died, Presley was prescribed about 10,000 pills. (I wonder what the count against Michael Jackson’s final year would be: which would score highest?)

42) When Presley played Madison Square Garden in 1972, he rented the New York Hilton’s top floor.

43) Presley’s pet turtle’s name was Bowtie.

44) Other Presley pets: a basset hound, 2 Great Danes, a Pomeranian, several horses, some donkeys, some peacocks and guinea hens, ducks, chickens, a chimpanzee, a monkey and a mynah bird. His golden palomino, Rising Sun, is buried at Graceland, along with his parents, his grandmother and his twin brother who died at birth.

45) Presley’s pet chimp, Scatter, is thought to have died of liver disease, since the chimp had developed a drinking problem. Some think a maid, whom he had bitten, poisoned the chimp. (Wonder whatever happened to Bubbles, Michael Jackson’s chimp?)

46) Presley believed he would die in his forties like his mother, Gladys.

47) Presley had a strange “Madonna/whore” fixation. According to Priscilla Presley’s autobiography, once she gave birth to Lisa Marie, he no longer considered her sexually desirable because she was the mother of his only child. Presley did have a longstanding attraction to co-star Ann Margret, though, and always sent her a large floral tribute whenever she opened in Vegas.

48) When Elvis was alive, there were about 170 Presley impersonators (1977). Today, it is estimated that there are around 250,000.

49) Presley had one room of his Graceland mansion (the house that grew like Topsy and has many wings that were added to the sprawling structure) completely carpeted in shag carpeting and sometimes recorded there. The Jungle Room, a strange futuristic circular bed with fake fur: many “Elvis’ taste was all in his mouth” moments while touring Graceland.

50) Elvis’ last words (to his girlfriend Ginger Alden, who had cautioned him against falling asleep reading in the bathroom) were; “Okay, I won’t.”

“American Idol” Auditions in Atlanta on January 13, 2010

By Connie Wilson

On January 14, 2010

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Music, Reviews, Television

[*With thanks to all the hard-working English teachers who collated and contributed the actual analogies and metaphors from their high school students’ essays into one hilarious article, which I am going to “lift” for my analysis of January 13, 2010’s “American Idol” Atlanta tryouts. If you are the nameless student, condolences and apologies.]

Mary J. Blige joined the regulars as guest host. Ellen DeGeneres won’t join the judges until February 7^th, when the contestants reach Hollywood.

First up this night was a 27-year-old African American singer (I use the term “singer” loosely) named Dawon Robinson who said that his uncle had discovered Gladys Knight and the Pips and his father was known as Motown Bobby. Dawon kept pronouncing the word “lady” (while singing) as “lay tee.” The free associating thoughts Dawon shared tumbled in his head “like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.”

Another black male singer who sang in an extremely high voice, like someone who has undergone castration, followed Dawon. We were saved by the appearance of Keia Johnson, who wore bright lime-green pants and was once named Miss Congeniality in a preliminary to a Miss America contest. (Simon ventured that, were it him, he’d rather win the beauty part.) Keia sang the love song from “Titanic” and she sang well. Keia was given a golden ticket to Hollywood and was followed by singers named Meriam Lemnoumi and Noel Reese.

Then came one of the diamonds of the day, Tisha Holland, 18, of Georgia, a waitress. She was followed by another star, Germaine Sellers from Joliet, Illinois, a 17-year-old church singer who cares for his mother, who suffers from spina bifida. The comments? “I think that’s the best we’ve seen all day.” Germaine sang Joan Osborne’s “What If God Is One of Us.” He’s going to Hollywood. Mary J. Blige said, “You’ve got skills. Best we’ve seen of all the cities. That was incredible. It was anointed.” Plus, Germaine has the all-important back-story that this year’s competitors seem to need. (Talent, alone, isn’t going to be enough, it seems.)

A TV hostess from “Hotlanta,” Christy Marie Agronow, then regaled the group with a Pat Benatar song. The revelation that the judges did not share her feeling that she was a great singer hit her “like a guy who goes blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.” She left in a huff. (“How dare they!”)

Next up was Vanessa Wolf, who shared the news “I jump bridges.” She is either from Baltimore, Tennessee or Vonore (population 658) and shared this sad statement: “I’m stuck in Vonore. I can’t get out.” She had purchased her dress for $4.50 at a Dollar General store in Smyrna, which I seem to remember was Julia Roberts’ birthplace. Tennessee must be so proud, at this point in time, of the way their state is being portrayed. Vanessa was very likeable, but “her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.”

Jessie Anison, 26, of Alabama, #99342, shared several near-death experiences he had recently endured, which allowed “American Idol” to make several “cheap dramatizations” related to Jessie’s riveting stories. Jessie grew on us “like he was a colony of e coli and we were room temperature beef.” As for his audition, it didn’t help that Jessie couldn’t remember any of the words in the song he had selected and had never before sung in public. Mary J. Blige collapsed in helpless mirth and had to be comforted by Kara. Jessie had a mind “like a steel trap, but one that has rusted shut.” ”The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and ‘Jeopardy’ comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m.” Jessie, also, left in a semi-huff. He traveled down the 47 stories in the elevator, “hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.”

After Jessie and the “cheap dramatizations” (once, at band camp, Jessie was almost hit by a stray bullet or a falling flute or some damned thing) we were treated to Holly, age 27, who sang Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man.” Holly proclaimed, “I’m the next great thing.” She was as modest as Donald Trump during one of his Rosie O’Donnell rants. “She had a deep throaty voice like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.” Holly made it through to Hollywood.

At one point, Simon actually said, to one contestant, “You sound like a cat barking; it shouldn’t happen.” The gargling noise of contestant Hansel Enriquez was not well received. Blake Smith of Covington, California came to his audition attired in a tee shirt that read “Britney Spears Changed Her Life.” (It didn’t change Blake’s). “Guitar Girl” (attired in a guitar outfit with guitar glasses) lucked out. She caught your eye “like a wet nose hair glistening after a sneeze.”

Tony Skiboski, contestant #91870, actually could sing, but his attempts to make himself sexually appealing, in the process of singing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye were about as enticing as “ maggots just before you fry them in hot grease.” When it was pointed out to Tony Skiboski that he was missing a letter on his shirt, he replied, “That’s what they’ve got discounts for.” Skiboski actually made it through, which seemed “as unlikely as a little boat gently drifting across a pond, exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.”

We were treated to Loren Sanders, age 19, of Baxley, Georgia, and her BFF Carmen Turner, 19, also of Baxley, Georgia. Unfortunately, only Carmen sang well. The news that she was being cut from the competition hit Loren as a rude shock, “like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.”

Police officer Bryan Walker sang “SuperStar” and earned a golden ticket to Hollywood, but he looked very old. “He looked as old as a 60-year-old retiree.” (Or as old as General Larry Platt).

Lamar Royal sang Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” song. Before he went up in the elevator for his audition, Lamar was quite pleasant, saying how much he was looking forward to meeting Mary J. Blige. After Lamar delivered the loudest version of a Seal song ever heard and would not shut up (security had to be called to stop his audition), he changed his tune considerably and uttered the night’s most hostile remarks, yelling, “F*** Y’all” as he left. This earned him a round of applause from a passing carful of motorists. (At least Lamar said “Y’all”).

Last, and certainly least, General Larry Platt, age 62, sang his own original composition “Pants on the Ground.” “General Larry was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But, unlike Phil, General Larry actually works.” General Larry earned praise for his attempts to break dance for the judges, although, in his case, the word “break” is meant literally.

And congratulations to former contestant Jason Castro, who, in addition to his budding career as a performer, got married. I noticed his smiling dreadlocks on the “American Idol” website while scoping out the schedule, and it reminded me that I heard this news somewhere. Ah, young love. “Jason fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.” Imagine “the star-crossed lovers racing across a grassy field toward each other, like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 66 mph; the other from Topeka at 4: 19 p.m. at a speed of 35 miles per hour.”

Stay tuned for next week’s shows on Tuesday, January 19^th, from Chicago and on Wednesday, January 20^th, from Orlando

Philip Seymour Hoffman Rocks on in “Pirate Radio”

By Connie Wilson

On November 15, 2009

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Pirate Radio” (also known as “The Boat That Rocked”), written and directed by Richard Curtis, is the true story of a pirate radio boat operating on frequency 203 in the North Sea off the coast of England, a floating radio station that broadcast rock and roll to England, in defiance of the government. Ninety-three per cent of the British public liked the music, but the authority in charge, assisted by a character named “Twatt,” is determined to pass a new law, called the Marine Offenses Act, to outlaw the format and the station.

Cast as the man who is determined to stomp out the affront to civilization that rock and roll represents is Kenneth Branagh as Sir Alistair Dormandy. (Branagh’s ex-wife, Emma Thompson, also has a small cameo as the glamorous Charlotte, mother of Young Carl, played by Tom Sturridge.)

The log line for the movie is “1 boat. 8 DJ’s. No morals.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays The Count, an American DJ whose prominence at the station is challenged by the reappearance of popular disc jockey Gavin Cavanagh, played by Rhys Ifans, whom fans will remember as Hugh Grant’s kooky side-kick in “Notting Hill.”

Also recognizable from “Flight of the Conchords” is the actor playing Angus, Rhys Darby, who provides some—but not all—of the comic relief. The funny lines are numerous, so Angus is only a tiny part of the overall humor.

It’s a bit disconcerting to view Rhys Ifans (formerly seen primarily in comic roles such as the Brit who attached helium balloons to a lawn chair to go airborne) as an irresistible chick magnet who says things like “This is Gavin, tweaking the nation’s nipples.”

One of my favorite lines from the movie was Philip Seymour Hoffman declaring “Why am I so fat?” while challenging Gavin Cavanagh to a “chicken” contest involving mast-climbing, a contest designed to punish Cavanagh for an offense to fellow DJ Simon (Chris O’Dowd). When Gavin (Ifans) first returns to the floating radio station, he character says (to Hoffman), “You’re the Count: what does that make me? The King?” To which Hoffman responds, “Or the Joker.”

Oh, it’s on!

The film has a subplot (which is a bit like a Maury Povich episode), involving determining which member of the ship may (or may not) have fathered Young Carl. There is still more humor from a character called Thick (misspelled on his cabin door as “Thikc”) Kevin (Tom Brooke).

The soundtrack for the film is outstanding. It was supervised by Nick Angel and features songs like “My Generation” from “The Who.” There’s also a bit part played by January Jones as Elenore. (Jones plays Betsy on “Mad Men.”)

It’s a film you might miss, because it doesn’t have the huge advertising budget of “2012,” but it is going to be infinitely more satisfying and way funnier.