Life gets in the way sometimes, doesn’t it? Some of you have asked in comments about where I’m at and what I’m doing, and while I’m not quite there to reveal all (trust me, it’s not that exciting), I’ve got multiple posts that I want to update that are kicking around my head, screaming to get out.
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Cast Recording of “In the Heights”, which won the Grammy for Best Cast Recording last week. Now, let me clarify one thing: I am not a musical guy. Never have been, and I doubt I ever truly will be. Having said that, there have been certain musicals that have resonated with me, in part because they embrace more contemporary styles of music. My first was Dreamgirls (melding my love of R&B music and divas, apparently), and then Chess (“One Night In Bangkok” hooked me, “I Know Him So Well” locked it in for life), followed by Rent (front row balcony, I was spellbound).
“In the Heights” follows in that tradition of pop-influenced scores, with more Latin and Hip-Hop melodies stepping to the forefront. Wikipedia describes it as “the story (of) three days in the characters’ lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights.” While the story itself follows a similar arc of many musicals, it’s the music that really causes this show to stand out. Killer hooks, grooving melodies, and soaring ballads all suck you into the story, and don’t let you go until the closing number. While some of you may never listen to a cast recording as long as you live, for those of you open to it, I highly recommend it.
So Hollywood Week, with all of its drama, wrapped up this week on American Idol, and it’s hard to know where we stand, since it’s been a bit of a cluster this season so far. However, I do think we have some clear answers on certain aspects:
– Talent can shine through – I will, begrudgingly, use Von Smith as an example. Up until Wednesday night, I was extremely opposed to Von going on to the Top 36, based on some of the most bombastic performances ever seen on Idol. Problem was, boy actually can sing, and he apparently took Simon’s criticism to heart the final day of Hollywood Week, performing a much more subdued song in his final audition. Well played, Von…well played.
There are some pretty cool things going on here in the non-virtual world, so updates won’t be coming quite as regularly for the next week. Without going into too much detail, there are a couple of cool professional/academic challenges that need to be met, along with a top-secret mission in the personal life that will be accomplished by Sunday night. I’m hoping that I can fill y’all in next week. [BTW, the clock is in tribute to PSB, who are now up for pre-orders for their upcoming CD. It’s a good time to be a fan of pop music.]
What I would like to mention really quick is that, while folks were initially talking about Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Jennifer Hudson, and Sugarland being the recipients of bumps, it looks like Adele really came out the big winner. Krauss & Plant’s current #1 is a given, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Best New Artist pick up this much momentum off of a Grammy win without having significant success prior to the show. After having been blown away by the response that she received off of the Saturday Night Live performance, it looks like the record company did a perfect job of positioning her to peak at just the right time. The challenge at this point is how do you capitalize on this, because I’ve felt all along that “Chasing Pavements” was the only song that really stood a chance on pop radio here in America. Could “Hometown Glory” be a hit? I hope so, but I just don’t know.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
BEST NEW ARTIST
RECORD OF THE YEAR
SONG OF THE YEAR
And to mix things up a bit…
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
One whole hour of auditions, and I wrote down six names of folks I was impressed by. Not a good start, but definitely better than an audition show. First off, Lil Rounds (left) sang the Whitney version of “I Will Always Love You”, and as much as I hate to admit it, she tore it up. Still should be a song never attempted in that form, but she did alright. Jasmine Murray lost some of that nasally sound, and really did a great job with “The Trouble With Love”. I really enjoyed Stephen Fowler’s take on Stevie Wonder, and Jeremy Michael Sarver (I think there’s another Michael Sarver out there, hence the Jeremy addition) also gave a pretty soulful performance. Danny Gokey’s take on Seal was alright, although I wasn’t in love with it like Paula, but the highlight for me only lasted 10 seconds. Matt Giraud, dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, showed he not only has the vocals, but he also has the image and presence to truly challenge for the title of American Idol.
Group Day is the stuff of legends. Throw three or four strangers together, and you might get instant chemistry. As in EXPLOSIVE chemistry! So let’s talk about the inspirational performances. “White Chocolate” contained two potential stars in Matt Giraud (right) and India Morrison. While Matt played the Justin Timberlake role well, India blew everyone away with her rap in the mix. It seems like she’s being positioned for the Blake Lewis role in this season, but I hope she’s treated legitimately, instead of as just a novelty.
My mom’s vinyl collection probably seemed pretty pedestrian at the time, but to me, it was awe-inspiring. The Beatles, James Taylor, Electric Light Orchestra, Melanie (look THAT one up, kids), Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, and Barry White all populated my early musical education. Between those records and the AM transistor radio that used to hide under my pillow late at night, I became a sponge for pop music.
As the 70’s ended, and I was able to assert myself a little more on what music I would listen to, I stuck pretty close to the pop charts. First 45: it’s a tie between “The Rainbow Connection” and “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. First LP: “Hi Infidelity”. Yeah…all over the place. I would listen to the American Top 40 every Sunday, and I would track the pop hits on index cards religiously. The lady at the Central Library in Syracuse must have known my voice when I would have to call and get chart positions I had missed that previous Sunday from the new issue of Billboard magazine. For the longest time, my most cherished possession was a vinyl copy of American Top 40 that I had won for sending in a postcard. I need to check to see if my mom still has that.
If you haven’t picked up on it from previous mentions (such as comments I have left on certain blogs), I have a “thing” against Wal-Mart. When I lived in Atlanta at the turn of the century, I worked for a company that did business with Toastmaster, who sells small appliances. Toastmaster was approached by Wal-Mart about reducing their price point, and great folks that they are, they already had it figured out. Close down your US production, move it overseas to China (“we’ve got a facility already picked out for you”), and make something that’s cheaper to ship back to the US than to actually make it there. We didn’t lose that many jobs, but just the concept of what went down was disgusting to me, and I swore that I wouldn’t support such a company.
Nine years later, I personally think Wal-Mart has played a small role in our economic downturn by making us more dependent on foreign imports for the sake of saving a buck or two here or there, and not doing enough to protect US jobs. That’s why when I heard that Bruce Springsteen had 
If a ban occurs, it couldn’t occur at a worse time, because Bruce not only has a Greatest Hits out, but he also released his 16th studio album, entitiled “Working on a Dream”. In originally defending the Wal-Mart exclusive, Springsteen’s manager 
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Pop Music Notes 