Well, tonight I watched American Idol. Taylor Hicks pretty much owned the show with his three performances, pushing his soul man routine to the max. I really enjoyed his rendition of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful", I actually liked it more than the original. Kathernie McPhee proved she is a voice in need of serious direction. Her performance improves if someone is calling the shots for her, such as Simon selecting "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" or her performance under the coaching she received from celebrity guest stars. Most of her personal selections of music without extra assistance has fallen flat. Elliot Yamin gave a solid performance but lacked the fire he showed in the previous weeks. I would predict Elliot is going to go...but given the show's unpredicatability I would not be surprised if Taylor was voted off. For no reason other than it would be shocking.
An additional review, though I haven't had time to closely listen to it, is Pearl Jam. I've liked Pearl Jam for a long time and have bought many of their CD's (the regular albums, at least). Their new disc is the best they have sounded in years. Although I have always enjoyed their music, somewhere after Vitalogy they seemed determined to write the least catchy songs they could think of. While this move resulted in good music that was less commerical and kept them from competing with the copy cat bands that rose in their wake, I was always wanting them to return to their original sound. Pearl Jam's CD features music that is as energized and anthemic as their early discs, particularly on the single "World Wide Suicide". The slower paced "Parachutes" also stood out to me. As time goes by, I'm sure I'll have more to say about this album. I give it an 8 out of 10.
In the near future, I'll also start listing my favorite CD's. I like to read other people's favorite CD lists, so I thought I would put one out there too. I'll probably do one disc at a time...after I get around to making the list.
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