And Now For Something Completely Different...

Oh I know there is a POTUS race going on and delegate infighting to be had. I know. But I'm kind of tired of it at the moment.

So let's talk American Idol!

My primary, overarching thought about American Idol contestants is this: it is very hard to credibly sing a song with which you cannot identify. Last night, as with all other nights, I watched these 17 year-olds sing songs (it was 80's night) like Against All Odds and Didn't We Almost Have It All. They were technically sung well; good voices, good timing, etc. But what was lacking (as IMHO in all seasons of this show) is any sense that the singer has any real emotional clue about what the song is really saying. The role of a singer is to interpret the music and lyrics of a song in a way that resonates with listeners, and these kids just can't do it. Not because they are not good singers (some of them) but because they have exactly zero hours of the life experience necessary to really feel--and interpret--the songs they are singing. One girl sang "Faithfully" by Journey, which is one of my favorite songs of all-time. And she just did not feel it at all. It was killing me to see her just skimming past the key lyrics that speak to being separated from someone, then being reunited after a time and "learning to fall in love again" and "rediscovering" each other. All very sort of adult, married, long-distance love type feelings with which she seemingly cannot identify. Contrast it with the bluesy woman (Allison? Amy?) who sang, 'I Hate Myself For Loving You." You definitely got the feeling that she has indeed hated herself for loving you at some point in her life.

And of course no discussion of American Idol would be complete without the obligatory discussion of what substance Paula Abdul ingests prior to taping. Seriously. She is 100% absolutely chemically affected during this show. She reminds me of me back in my drinking days after about 2 large glasses of wine, where you are just SO HAPPY for all the kids and you JUST LOVE your cohosts and you can't seem to find just the right word in your happily-addled brain to say what you are trying to say so you settle on nebulous concepts like, "You are so shiny!" or "Your voice just has so many...colors! And textures!" And the entire time you think you are being all sparkly-charming but your friends really just know you are buzzed. That is Paula. And somebody needs to call her out. Or maybe they don't because they know people tune in to see what crazy high sh*t she is going to say tonight. Either way, an intervention would not be out of order for our girl Paula.

Okay, I open the floor to your thoughts. That's assuming I'm not the only loser who watches this show...