Casey James
Casey James — Putting the Cool Back in Texas
Friday, May 21st, 2010 | American Idol, Concerts, General | No Comments
The Man from Cool Texas
The run is over for contestant Casey James, the pride and joy of dusty Cool, Texas — but who could feel sorry for the svelte blond Texas bluesman given the fawning he has received from female viewers, including the ageless Shania Twain herself. And there is no way an understated guy like James could ever win a true-to-form reality show like this in which sensationalism is required to trump substance. In his second to last performance on the show James gave a solid and bluesy rendition of “OK, It’s Allright With Me” by Eric Hutchinson. He received tepid reviews from the Judges, but who cares. This is the group who every week seems to crave Ethel Merman-styled high notes, spandex unitards and sexually ambiguous performances that shock, as if more is always more, and as if subtlely is evil. Idol isn’t about perpetuating guys like Casey James, nor would a young Eric Clapton have had a chance before the self-important analysis of Kara DioGuardi.
It is a fact that Idol contestants get less cool each week they compete on the show. You realize this when you review the video montages of the departing contestants — Idol’s overbearing presence dulls the edges of artistry as it works to m
anufacture cookie cutter Justin Bieber-esque clones. The Ford commercials, the corny tap and jazz ensembles before each Results show, the hair and wardrobe make-overs . . . in the end it is hard to know what is manufactured by FOX and what is the genuine article. Yet I keep watching like a meth-addict.
Who knew James would make it this far — second runner-up — when Victoria Beckham a/k/a Posh Spice asked him to remove his shirt during his first audition, revealing a slender if somewhat furry physique that caused Kara DioGuardi to blush and caused me confusion because it appeared that Mr. James did not have nipples.
So there you have it, Mount Prospect, Illinois native Lee DeWyze and Western Ohio’s Crystal Bowersox are headed to the Final. As I stated in my last Post, DeWyze is too good for this show, and he “should” be the hands-down winner, and thereafter he should be capable of producing real music, unlike the limp post-Idol debut of previous winner Kris Allen, whose “Live Like Your Dying” makes lactose-intolerant people immediately crap in their pants without warning.
American Idol – Michael Lynche Ends His Run
Friday, May 14th, 2010 | American Idol, Concerts | No Comments
It was not surprising that Michael Lynche was sent packing this week from his fifteen minutes of fame as the third runner-up on Fox’s hit TV show American Idol. On this show, fifteen minutes of fame lasts so long that some contestants start thinking that they are actual celebrities. Lynche is a very large man — could probably eat Ryan Seacrest — but not a fantastic singer. To this writer, he is a cheesier version of Luther Vandross, but without the vocal range or musical heft. It was time for him to go.
Of the remaining three contestants — Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox and Casey James — all seem to be credible musicians. They are largely believable, have a genuin musical identity, and thus rarely embarrass themselves with the antics of typical Idol contestants who seem to lose Street Cred every time they pathetically ass-kiss the judges or explain hackneyed, karaoke-style vocal disasters with the American Idol contestant canned response “I had fun with it.”
I have a clear favorite — Lee DeWyze — but I find myself wondering whether it would be better for him to lose. At its core, American Idol is a Fox-style cheese-fest, and it robs its finalist contestants of dignity just as a yellow chicken suit does to a man hired to promote a rotisserie grill. Imagine buying a Taylor Hicks CD? Has anyone unrelated to that over-confident divo winner ever done that? The problem I have with Mr. Hicks is that he made the mistake of believing his title, and started assuming people unrelated to him actually give a crap about how he feels “as an artist.” Were the Idol predecessors who kicked-ass on the Gong Show artists?
DeWyze is a former paint shop salesman and I can completely imagine chatting him up about whether Mocha Moon or Pale Celery would be a better pallate for my powder room. The reason I like him so far is because he still seems like a paint shop guy, despite the adulation that the Fox-Industrial Complex has showered upon him. Michael Lynche got too proud of himself a few months ago and that was the beginning of the end for him. We got it Mike, you are huge and you could play ping pong with the heads of most men. But you flexed too much, and your smile was faker each week, and the American mainstreem can detect this, the 1992 election of Bill Clinton not withstanding.
I’ll be disappointed if DeWyze loses I guess, because as a matter of competition I think he is the best and most relevant singer on the show. But I’ll be even more disappointed if when he does win he starts throwing off Lorenzo Lamas winks and otherwise forfeits his biggest human asset in exchange for the behaviors the needy contestants think they are required to adopt.
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