“10 Musical Legends Whose Deaths Were Legendary” – Re-done

Ok, maybe I shouldn’t be one to talk…since I haven’t done a very good job keeping up with my own blog. But sometime I’ve got to come out of the hiatus when people over look the obvious. In case you’ve ever read Rob O’Conner’s blog on Yahoo!  “List of the Day” – you might know what I’m talking about. This isn’t the first time I thought he did a terrible job with his picks. See the blog he gets paid for here — http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/131478/10-musical-legends-whose-deaths-were-legendary/

Alright, now what should be the real list:

10. Jeff Buckley – Much more talented than just being ranked #10. But, he didn’t get much of a chance to leave a mark on the world. His voice was amazing. No other version of “Hallelujah” comes close to his cover.

9. Randy Rhoads/Duane Allman - I believe the youngest people on this list. They made everyone re-think how to play the electric guitar. Allman died at 24, in a motorcycle wreck and there’s no limit to what he did and could have done to Southern Rock. Randy died while pranking Ozzy Osbourne with his low-flying pilot – the plane actually clipped the tour bus and crashed. Randy brought classical music into metal. Only making it to 26, he had already changed the face of 80’s hair metal.

8. Keith Moon/John Bonham – I don’t really want to group these 2, but they were both insanely good drummers. Their influence still lives on.

7. Cliff Burton – Maybe the least recognizable name on this list. But, he’s the reason we know of the band Metallica. Still considered one of the best (if not THE BEST) bassists ever. He did things with 4 strings that people didn’t think were possible at the time. If he had lived through the 80’s, its very likely that Load – St. Anger would not be considered low points for Metallica.

6. Bob Marley – While I’m not that big of a fan of Marley. (Sorry, I just don’t appreciate Reggae that much) I still have a huge amount of respect for a guy that defines his entire genre. Nobody makes that kind of music without getting compared to him — or at least sharing his last name.

5. Kurt Cobain – This was Rob O’Connor’s biggest oversight. The music of the 90’s wouldn’t exist without him. He single handedly killed hair-metal. His suicide made a whole lot of people re-think their fantasies about being famous. If nothing else he continued the rockstar tradition of making it to 27.

4. Elvis Presley/2pac — I know, I know…its very weird to combine the two. Elvis makes it this high, because of the obvious. But 2pac gets this high for me because he shares the same after-death treatment as the king of rock-n-roll. They both have huge cult followings that believe they didn’t really die. Elvis had peaked long before his death, but his legend only grew. And 2pac became arguably the most famous and respected rapper – especially with so much of his work released posthumously.

3. Michael Jackson – He gets mentioned, but then not placed on Rob’s list …interesting. I’m sorry, but this is the same thing as #4, only this will be bigger than Elvis. I’ve already heard people trying to spread rumor that Jackson’s death is a hoax, there’s question of murder or accidental death, and lets not forget – its freakin Michael Jackson. His music is timeless, his life-style was insane, and his influence will never end. 

2. John Lennon – Possibly the most tragic death on this list. This guy was a Beatle. That alone qualifies you for most influential people of all time. He had been there – done that. He didn’t need to accomplish anything else. Yet, it still feels like he was robbed from the world. We all want to know what else he could have done.

1. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison – The 60’s died when these 3 heavy hitters left the world. The legend of “age 27″ starts with them. Joplin was a pioneer for women in rock. Morrison was an anomaly that changed everyone’s image of the classic “frontman”. Jimi Hendrix only needs his guitar to do the talking.

Alright so my ‘top 10′ included 15 people – sweet. And, just for the fun of it – Honorable mentions…

Bradley Nowell- Sublime is still one of the most influential bands of the 90’s, after like what…one album?
Sid Vicious – He only made it to 22…really?
Dimebag Darrell- One of the best metal guitarists of all time. The way he was killed in front of his brother is horrible.
Freddy Mercury – It doesn’t matter what his sexual orientation was…he will always be a requirement for top singers lists.
Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper – 3 major tragedies all in one.
Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines – Southern rock suffered a huge loss with this plane crash.

Near misses -

Travis Barker – He and DJ AM nearly lost their lives in a plane crash. Tragically, DJ AM found another way to go.
Billy Joel – 1 suicide attempt and 3 car crashes…is he cheating death or have a death wish?
All Members of Motley Crue – Seriously. Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx…how did they survive?

American Idol: VOTE to 5702 & 5703

Ok, not going to do a big review here. Just wanted to give a quick thought to tonight’s performances.

Danny – Can sing his ass off. He has bored me and greatly undershot my expectations. He was awesome when the competition started, easily set himself as a front-runner amongst all the less talented. For a while, I was hoping him and his buddy would go all the way to being #1 and #2. His talent alone got him this far. He’s got a great personality along with it. But his performances recently have been lackluster. For the first time I am saying: this needs to be the end of the road for Danny Gokey.

Adam – Anyone who doesn’t think Adam is talented – please comment with a good reason why not. Then I’m going to say this, there is no good reason why Adam shouldn’t be this season’s winner. Easily the best performer. The guy is just plain cool. If “gay” is something you have a problem with…please refer to Rob Halford and Freddy Mercury. If broadway is another term you’d want to throw around, remember that Sebastian Bach (Skidrow) has been just one of many rockstars on broadway. He’s the first true “rockstar” that’s come along on this show. Daughtry is a good singer/songwriter…but doesn’t have the personality and charisma. David #1 from last year is elevator music comparatively. And, I don’t even know what that one long haired guy’s name is…

Kris – So, I can’t believe I’m actually full-on supporting Kris Allen for the finals. The guy has been SO damn boring to me this whole season. But, he and his funny mouth impressed me tonight. He did a decent version of “Apologize”, which would have been just fine on any previous show…but a little tame at this stage of the competition. Then he whips out “Heartless” – Kanye take notes: he smashed you on this song. I’ve hated this song when it comes on the radio, because Mr. West’s version is injected with entirely too much Auto-tunage. Kris stripped it down, just his vocals and his acoustic. One of the coolest songs of the whole season.

Idol – 4 are left…

Finally, rock nighrdit! Now we’re talking in my language…

Duet one: Kris and Danny – cool song, decently sung. Danny was head and shoulders above Kris during the solo verses, but together they were sounding pretty sweet with the harmonies.

Duet two: Adam and Allison – very cool song. Allison did so much better on this than her solo. I was worried that Adam would just blow her out of the water…but she held her own. Like (somewhat) what Paula said, they fit together.  

4. Kris Allen – I guess that answers that question: What would Jason Mraz sound like if he’d turn up the distortion on his guitar? Honestly, he didn’t do terrible with the song and I’m not putting him lower because of bias (this week), but his low ranking is the combo of not owning the song along with EVERYONE has done this song. Don’t cover it unless you can sing better than the Beatles, Steven Tyler, and Michael Jackson – combined.

T2. Danny Gokey – Just based off the first part of the song, he would take 2nd place on my list all to himself. But that last scream…

T-2. Allison Iraheta – The 2nd most likely “rockstar” after Adam (do what Adam does, even if just using the same hair-lady) I expected more from Allison though. Her vocals rock as is…but with all the awesome female rockers out there, she could have gone a totally different route and totally own it.

1. Adam Lambert – As if there was any possibility of anyone else doing better during rock week. Adam owns vocals totally match up with Robert Plant’s blue print.

 

—side note—  I’ve seen a lot of talk on other sites about people not fully supporting Kara being a judge on the show. I have to say, I was skeptical at first. But really, she’s got every right to be there. She gives better advice than Randy and has a much more respectable background than Paula, not to mention being more coherent. If Simon were to leave the show, at least Kara has the resume to command that kind of respect.

American Idol’s top 7 rankings

Quentin Tarantino week. I think its cool to have an influence like him come in, because his advice isn’t about “hey sing like this cause that’s the way I would or I think you should” intead its “this is what you have to do if I was to hire you”

7. Matt Giraud – Now that Scott is gone, Matt can make himself seems unique while utilizing the piano. He’s good and performs well, but I think he’s continuing to show how he’s one of the weaker singers in a strong group of guys.

6. Kris Allen – yeah, ok…it was one of the better performances I’ve seen from Kris. But…he’s still boring, no personality, and has an awkward way of holding his mouth when he sings.

5. Anoop Desai – Starts off pretty good with a nice smokey sound. It’s not a song I would listen to on a normal basis, but he wasn’t boring with it. I think Tarantino gave him good advice, to put a little power into the ballad vocals. This was definitely one of his better weeks.

4. Lil Rounds – I think she sang so much better this week. Simon is right, she isn’t really stepping outside of the box, but I think he was a bit too hard on her. My DVR didn’t catch that whole argument at the end, but not a big deal. Lil is good, but she needs to pull some serious Lambert moves and make a classic song seem like its never been done by anybody but her.

3. Danny Gokey – Some guys without glasses sang good…haha. Great voice and tone, boring song though. Simon said exactly how I felt. Its hard to criticize the guy, because he does sing so well but it wasn’t exciting or interesting.

2. Allison Iraheta – She did a really good job with this song. Although, I do have to say I was slightly worried when she started, like the first 6 words seemed weak to me. But, once she kicked in her power vocals – she was good to go. The judges gave about as high of praise as you could get.

1. Adam Lambert – It was nice to see Adam back in full-blown rocker mode. What’s great is that, his performance was just that – an actual performance, he put on a show! I’d also encourage you to go back and hear the performance again, listen to the interesting things he’s doing vocally.

American Idol: Eclectic Eight

First note: Rob Dyrdek was in the audience – awesome! second note: Just now getting this posted right before the results show…great timing. Honestly if they could just ditch half this group tonight, it would be fine…there’s really only four contestants that I think are worthy.

8. Kris Allen – Just for the record…I couldn’t hear his guitar at all. So what’s the point? The trumpets were nice. Cute childhood story. That is all.

7. Anoop Desai – He was better this week, but I wasn’t impressed by the performance. If he stays in the ballad-genre, it will be better for him.

6. Scott Macintyre – Hey look, I could hear his guitar! He wasn’t all there vocally though, those high notes were painful. He has a better low range, he should stay there.

5. Matt Giraud – It wasn’t ‘that’ good. But still pretty good. I’m liking him more now, but I still don’t think he has a chance against a couple other certain contestants.

4. Lil Rounds – I hate that she keeps doing the “copycat” songs. She keeps singing these songs well, and she deserves to be at this stage of the game…but if she doesn’t take the judges advice, I don’t know how long she’ll last.

3. Allison Iraheta – The female race’s best hope for winning American Idol this season. She still proves that she can take on some of the heavy hitters in the male race.

2. Danny Gokey – Isn’t he cheating? It shouldn’t count to use a cover from the year you were born. He didn’t start off the song in a way I liked, but it ended really well. Pretty much exactly what Kara said.

1. Adam Lambert – Ok, I realize that everyone else on this show is just his openers, but he needs to start performing earlier in the show. I just about flipped when my DVR cut out right before his performance. Thank the internet gods for youtube. Adam yet again kicked serious ass vocally. AND, he sang one of my favorite songs. He should provide Lil Rounds with lessons on how to put your stamp on a piece.

Metallica: Hall of Fame (with Jason)

Thought I’d share a video I watched today. For all the Metallica fans out there. It’s not the greatest performance, but it’s still cool to see Jason Newstead up on stage with them.

My Rank of the Top 9

Am I the only one that noticed that the band seemed to drown out the performers most of the night?

9. Anoop Desai – He can sing, but he didn’t win any props from me this week. He’s starting to bore me again.

8. Kris Allen – Cool song – uncool singer. Please America, no more votes for Rick Moranis’s little brother. 

7. Megan Corkrey – I love her, she’s gorgeous. I totally agree with the judges though, her unique way of singing kind of hurt her this week. It’s cool how she sings, but she didn’t do anything new or really “out there”. I still hope she stays – if for no other reason than eye candy.

6. Scott Macintyre – Well, he did pretty good this week. I actually really enjoyed him. He finally did what I wanted him to – in terms of performance – he opened up his vocals more, really put in some body movement as he was playing, and I think he earned his way out of the bottom 3 (if just for this week).

5. Matt Giraud – I think the judges were too hard on him. He put on a performace this week, he should get 15 extra votes for piano placement. He’s still not one of my favorites, but he entertained…and that’s what’s really important.

4. Allison Iraheta – Sweet, she brought out a guitar. Amped up her cool factor (pun intended). I really thought No Doubt’s song was a good fit for her, in terms of style…but she really didn’t impress me like she has before.

3. Lil Rounds – Another one that the judges were a bit too hard on. She’s really got the best female vocal cords on here.

2. Danny Gokey – And Danny reminds everyone why he was a favorite back at the start of the season. Give him freedom with song choice, and he’s set. Maybe it was the themes from the last couple weeks that have been holding him down  for me.

1. Adam Lambert – No one is this competition lays more on the line and sets themselves up for possible disaster than Adam. Then he steps on stage and makes everyone else look like they were just his opening acts.

American Idol: 1 more than top 10

American Idol Grand Ole Opry night…damn, I hate country. Here’s my ranks:  

11. Kris Allen – I was bored for his performance. It was not terrific, Simon. But, probably the best I’ve heard him sing. And, just like Kara stated, it wasn’t country…which means I should have jumped for joy. Instead he made country more boring. 

10. Matt Giraud – I don’t know why, but I still just can’t get behind this guy. He seemed to have a good performance, and again he seems like better behind the piano than Scott. I have nothing to say against him, but he’s definitely not one of my favorites.

9. Alexis Grace – This is a voice that is great, but I didn’t like her version of the song. I really like the White Stripes cover better. She’s still really good though.  

8. Lil’ Rounds – She can sing, that’s established. As Randy said it didn’t feel comfortable, I think she just wasn’t comfortable period. If this is her weakest performance, everyone else should be afraid.

7. Michael Sarver - Ok, country night, and its the only country-like singer left in the competition. He stayed true to the genre, performed, and sang a bunch of words. I don’t think I could tell him he did a bad job, he’d have a comeback against me. I still like him though, and like he said – it looked like he was having fun up there.

6. Scott Macintyre – That was the best I’ve heard him. I really liked what he did this week. I liked it better when he stayed low rather than him going higher, I disagree with Kara on this one. His timbre is better when low, he doesn’t have a good falsetto.

5. Megan Corkrey - She’s so awesomely awkward. I just wish she’d learn how to move on stage. She has such random movements. Still one of the most original performers on the show. Finding out she’s sick as well, makes me support her even more.

4. Danny Gokey – I was really worried for him at first, especially after the re-cap video. I thought he would stumble hard this week. But of course, Danny kicked in his voice when it mattered.

3. Allison Iraheta – She did well, I think it was shaky at first. Her voice seemed to be wavering. She finished strong though. I miss her harder edged raspy, power vocals though. I admit they wouldn’t have fit here though, so she did well. 

2. Adam Lambert – So I started laughing halfway though, not at him, but at the thought ‘you know, Johnny Cash had a really low voice’ haha. I think overall that was a cool rendition of the song though. Cash and his disciples probably would hate it. Adam, like me, is much happier now that country week is done.

1. Anoop Desai – Who the hell was that on stage? No way was that Anoop. He did really really well. I liked his performance the whole way through, and I really like that he came out and surprised me this week. The sound of his voice was very cool right when he started the song. I don’t think he has a chance to win, but he’s got my full support this week at least.

Britney Spears Revalation…”MPIHO”

Ok so…I’m not going to try to post a video of it, cause i’ve noticed a lot of them are taken down and such now. But try to look up anything dealing with Britney Spears, her Tampa show, and what she says after “slave for u”. Everyone is focusing on how much of a “slut” or how dirty Brit is for the slip, but there’s really one big thing being over looked in all of this…

 

Does that mean she actually wasn’t lip-syncing for a performance?!??!?

American Idol – top 13 ranked

Alright, so I will admit that this season I have started watching the musical virus known as American Idol. I watched the first season, I think Kelly Clarkson is great, for being a pop singer, and I never watched anymore. Reuben and Clay mean nothing to me, I couldn’t care less about Fantasia, Carrie Underwood is ok – I hate country though, Taylor who? You mean Chris Daughtry right?, also don’t care about Jordan Sparks, and neither of the Davids interest me. Why I started watching this season – I have no clue, but I started, supported some favorites, so now I gotta stick it out to see who wins…damn it.

Ok, so there’s my Idol back-story. Now on to ranking the top finalists for this week. I’m gonna try doing this before the voting each week, but I really enjoy DVR and not commercials, so most likely I will be late. Here’s my favorites based on their performance and my overall opinion of them.

13. Kris Allen – I don’t like him in the first place. He’s boring and awkward. He holds his mouth funny when he sings and reminds me of Rick Moranis(sp?). Even less impressed by his acoustic guitar. Same ol’ Mraz/Mayor/Nathanson. Boring MJ cover. He probably won’t get voted off yet, because apparently he’s a heart-throb…

12. Jorge Nunez – I like him better than this ranking, he had a really bad performance last night. He’s got a good voice, and seems like a nice guy. I’m just mad that the judges told him to American-up, because I think he really only has a shot at winning if he starts laying on the latinostyle. That would set him apart. Singing with no accent and no style makes for boring Jackson cover.

11. Scott Macintyre – Stop it. He’s blind, but I’m not deaf. I know – sad story, heart-warming rise, over-coming obstacles…blah blah. Really though, if we were to scan the country for disabled musicians, there are lots we’d find better than Scott. Not trying to be mean, but eventually we’re gonna have to be honest. Sympathy is great, but it shouldn’t let him win. Obscure Jackon tune didn’t help much.

10.  Jasmine Murray – I also like her more than this ranking, but she’s been pretty boring the last 2 weeks for me. I remember her standing out from the pack, but she needs to really step it up if she wants to be any sort of comparison to the other ladies. I don’t even remember what MJ song she sang…

9. Anoop Desai – They made a 13th spot for him? I’m with Simon, mistake. Not that he doesn’t ‘deserve’ to be in the finals, but I think that just gave him false hope. He seems fun and nice. I have him ranked this high, because I give him credit for actually stepping up and singing a Michael Jackson hit…instead of B-side. Sure it was a little karaoke, but um…has no one noticed that these are all people singing to backing tracks? That IS karaoke! (ps. that’s a hard word to spell…I still don’t think it looks right)

8. Matt Giraud – He’s ok. There’s really nothing wrong with this guy. He has a look, a style, and gets high praise (mostly). But, I’m not impressed with him. Sorry, I just like some of the others better. He puts on a better show behind a piano than Scott. Wish he would have sang a different MJ song, but he did fine on Human Nature.

7. Michael Sarver - I liked this guy from the start, just because I thought of him as an underdog in this competition. He was pretty bland (who wasn’t?) for Jackson night, but I think it’s because he was out of his element. He’s pretty much the closest thing to a country singer left this season, so I think he needs to play that card a little harder.

6. Danny Gokey – Wow, I have him this low? He’s one of my favorite’s for this season, and has been all along. Of cousethe show pretty much forced him, and his sad story on us. He was kind of awkward tonight, but I still remember him doing “Kiss From a Rose” and that keeps him high on my list. I still think his friend should have made it this far, imagining him doing a Jackson cover – he’d easily be ranked at least 8th this week.

5. Lil’ Rounds – Wow, I have her this low? For the longest time now, I’ve thought of her as being far better than any of the other women this season. She just didn’t impress me like I thought she should have this week. There were a few of the ladies that have really stepped it up.

4. Megan Corkrey – She’s hot. She’s got that fun and quirky personality. Add a half-sleeve tattoo and she’s cool too. It wasn’t the best song choice, but she’s probably the only one that could have pulled it off half as well as she did. Anyone else, and it would have been a joke, her doing it – made it just fun and memorable.

3. Alexis Grace – I really hadn’t thought twice about her until now. She was pretty good last night. She’s starting to show off some pipes that weren’t apparent before. I thought she’d be just another Taylor Swift-type, but she actually might have a voice to pull off some diva-type pop.

2. Allison Iraheta – She annoys me when sound isn’t coming out of her mouth, making some of the weirdest, awkward facial expressions. She talks – like a teenager, she’s not trying to act like she’s above her age (as I saw with some of the voted off’s) She sings – freakin badass. She’s like a hardcore-Kelly Clarkson – being hardcore. I really want to see if she can pull off some more rocker-type songs. [see Dilana from Rockstar: Supernova - - make Allison do that]

1. Adam Lambert – Actually wasn’t as impressed by his vocals last night as this ranking. He hits some sick high notes, but sometimes I wish he would start lower and build his way up. I’d really like to hear the timbre of his voice in a lower register. Otherwise, he’s a strait-up performer. Controls the stage and has the presence – he should make it far, whether he is this year’s “Daughtry/Aiken” or actually wins.