Pribek

What is the difference between a good singer and a bad one?

The answer, of course, is purely subjective.

American Idol is supposed to be about finding a good singer. In truth, it is about finding a personality that can be marketed effectively. The genius of the show is that they figured out a way to make a ton of money while looking. They make more money from the show than actually selling music.

When I hear a singer, I think about things like, is this person sincere, are they believable, do they sing with rhythm, does the audience like them. If the audience reacts, I always take notice, even if it isn’t my cup of tea.

I have only seen Sanjaya sing once. He seemed to have a likeable personality that came across onstage and the audience seemed to like him. The media seems to think that Sanjaya is around because of some type of subversive activty like the promotion from votefortheworst.com. Here is an article from the NY Daily news in which, Idol’s executive producer Ken Warwick says…

“There is very little hype anybody can do to affect the vast numbers of votes we get,”

Of course he is going to say that to protect the “integrity” of the show. Think of this though, there are a whole bunch of great singers, that have been adored by the public, that wouldn’t fare well with the Idol criteria for good singing.

How would Johnny Cash do if no one had ever heard of him before? “A little pitchy dog, you ‘gotta pick up the tempo, your image is dreadful, lose the black suit..” What about Bob Dylan, Ernest Tubb, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell; the public loves them all, but Simon? 100 years from now, will people be listening more to Carrie Underwood or Tom Waits?

Some crazy music news the last few days; Billy Joe Shaver shot some drunk guy in the face and Kieth Richards snorted his dad’s ashes. For some reason I’m not really surprised by either.

When Kieth fell out of a tree, I read that he was whisked away to someplace to get some type of surgery. I remember joking to people and wondering if he got trepanned. I saw some documentary about this, where people were drilling holes in their own heads and recommending it because it gave them a constant feeling of mild euphoria. Then I saw Kieth at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction show and I wondered again. I mean, he looked a little euphoric, mentioned “the wonders of medical science”, and played the longest guitar solo I’ve ever heard him do during the all-star jam part.

Check out this article about the dad-snorting thing. He did get trepanned! That is the real news. I want to hear more about the hole in the head, Kieth. I mean, who hasn’t thought about huffing a family members ashes but, trepanning, that takes nerve my man. Something to think about, Billy Joe?