Yes, of course I watch it.
Idol has always rewarded performers who built an emotional connection over good singers; that’s why people like Syesha Mercado are doomed to exit earlier than they should. But this year is downright strange, with not one but two folkies among the finalists. I don’t think that Brooke White or Jason Castro will win (one of the Davids will) but the fact that they are doing so well is interesting in what is says about pop culture. Along with the rise of new female singer-songwriters, this makes me wonder if we’re due for another shift away from glossy pop.
Another ‘Idol’ finalist booted from competition – CNN.com
As music goes, so goes quite a lot of pop culture. Movies also seem to be caught in the grip of an intent towards honest emotion lately, even in raunch comedies. Wonder what that means for games.
10 Responses to “American Idol is weird this year”
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I just can’t get over the fact that the “contestants” are now all apparently professionally “produced” going into the competition.
Not really an amateur talent contest anymore (if it ever truly was).
I sure hope you’re not talking about the likes of Knocked Up…
I was lead into this post wanting to know what you find in American Idol that caused you to add the qualifier “this year”.
But I gotta say, I think you’re touching on a principle that is as important as the cultural shifts which occured in the 1960s. Honesty is coming back in a big way.
Now, literary and cultural scholars talk about major epochs in culture segmented by new forms of cultural expression and/or a movement that used a familiar medium in a new way. Neo-classicalism gives way to Romanticism and Realism and Modernism and Post-modernism – I don’t want to get too academic here. I think right now were entering another major epoch, and a primary cultural problem that this epoch is gearing itself to answer is the psychological condition of future shock. You could call it post-post-modernism or transmodernism or whatever, it might be better described as a search algorithm with radically new hueristics.
Games are the premier medium of this new epoch. They are honest in their procedurality and allow us to explore concepts safely, which can actually help people deal with the seeming unreality of an accelerating world.
Folk singers have more difficulty doing that, but they’re alright.
The rise of self-publishing and content creation on the Web may be part of this trend, too. It is much harder for an individual or small group to create and produce media that gets much of its oomph from “big production values.” If you need 5 backup singers, a 10 piece band, a lighting crew of 4, a sound crew of 8, 15 roadies, 12 dancers, a choreographer, costume designer, etc. in order to fill the seats… well, that’s a tall order.
On the other hand, if you’ve got a guitar or a piano, a decent voice, and some really nice tunes and something to say… you don’t need all that anymore. You can publish/produce yourself, and god speed. Success with that kind of content favors, I believe, honesty. If, by honesty, we mean media that is trying to actually mean something, rather than simply fill a space.
Also (at least in the US), we’re in the middle of a recession, and have been living in a culture of manufactured fear for almost 7 years. Hard times tend to drive darker, deeper media. Remember that the big-fun-pop era of Madonna and Culture Club (andy many hair bands) accompanied an economic boom in the early/mid-80’s that, when it pooped out, ushered in the whole “grunge” thing.
As for games, I think we are seeing a rise of “dark matter” there, too. Time lists the following top 10 games for 2007: Halo, The Orange Box, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy, BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6, and God of War 2. Six of those are *decidedly* dark titles with some heavy themes and plot. [Seven if you count Super Mario Galaxy as being a metaphor for consumerism and the exploitation of mushrooms].
I know you were kidding, but Super Mario Galaxy has the darkest storyline of any Mario game so far, by far.
sorry to burst your folk-singing bubble, but the reason that the awkward, petrified Brooke is still on American Idol is that http://www.votefortheworst.com is voting for her.
Dead on, Raph. I’m seeing it too in the way the certain of my songs are picked up. The folk material is doing better.
As someone who started as a young one in the Sixties singing folk, I’m too old to ride this wave but damm glad to see it. I might start listening to other people’s music again.
Only this week — which doesn’t cover her survival all these other weeks.
Well, Idol typically isn’t a boxing match where a great fighter on a bad night can lose it all. Contestants build up a fan following that consistently votes for them, so the people who love David Archuleta will vote in droves even when he has a crappy night (and he’s had several).
I think Simon nailed it in this week’s results show: Jason and Brooke are both charming. Jason comes off as genuinely in awe of being in front of a worldwide audience, and Brooke obviously brings a deep emotional connection to the material. (For the record, my favorite performance of the night was Castro’s.)
Most weeks Syesha leaves me flat, though I liked her this week. Archuleta is supremely talented but doesn’t have the maturity to convey the depth of a true artist (the only time I felt it from him was during “Imagine”).
David Cook should win, as he’s the most rounded of the bunch. Plus he’s just damn good. I’ve never bought a record by anyone on American Idol before, but I’ll be picking up whatever Cook, Castro, and White put out.
And by the way, this week with Neil Diamond is going to kick ass!
An interesting metric. I’m not sure what it means. I was in Puerto Rico all of this week until today on business. That means time in Atlanta/Hartsfield and the San Juan airport. I’ve not been flying in some time, but as a guitar player, I stopped carrying a guitar years ago because it was tough to get it on the airplane. On the flight back and forth, literally dozens of people were walking through the terminal with axes strapped on putting them on airplanes. I’ve never seen so many guitars on random individuals this side of a bluegrass festival.
Something is happening because these were ALL acoustic guitars (counting the quatros).