Idol Observation

Tonight belonged to the men. Kris was a teen dream in the David/Shawn Cassidy (or David Archuleta) mold. I thought he was fine on "Do You Remember the Time?", but the little girls in the audience went apeshit. Anoop did "Beat It," and I thought he was fine, too. According to the judges, I'm a cult of one.

Adam, Adam, Adam! He took "Black and White" and made it sound brand new. I'm so impressed. (So was Paula. She went over the top, even by Paula standards, about what a brilliant performer Adam is.)

The only one of the women I really noticed tonight was Alexis Grace, who sang "Dirty Diana" with a rockin' bad-girl spin. Tonight I found all the other girls were completely forgettable. (Gawd, do I sound like Simon?)

Most of all, I'm impressed by how phenomenally gifted Michael Jackson was, and am saddened by the freak he's become.

This sums it up rather neatly

I have this charming piece of artwork before me all day at work, and I love, LOVE it! The artist, Anne Taintor, has a million of 'em, and they all make me smile. But this one is just sooo me.

Tuesday Tunes #19

Pick one album you remember the most about every 5 years of your life and tell us why its important to you.

My music-loving life didn't begin until the Beatles in 1964, so I'm starting there.

1964-1969: A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles. I've heard it said that AHDN opens with the most recognizable chord in recorded history, and I believe it. This movie and album defined the individual Beatles' personalities for us, helped us to feel that we knew them, and those impressions of The Lads remain with me to this day.

1970-1975: The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand. The 1970s were not that great a decade for music, and these were my isolated, defiant high school years, which were not that great for me. Babs' persona, her vocal style and her success around this time (and especially of this album) meant so much to me. Her adult contemporary stuff was so listenable, so good, that I was introduced to a lot of the great American songwriters by her. She was a role model who showed that you can be a woman of integrity and spirit and still make it ... big time.

1976-1980: Wings Over America. This was the concert tour when I finally saw MY Beatle, Paul, live, and so this was a terrific keepsake. It also shows Macca coming into his own -- finally and comfortably -- post Beatle.

1981-1985: Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen. At a time when the US seemed to be entrenched in wealth-worship, Dallas and Dynasty and Reaganomics, here was The Boss, speaking for me. God bless him.

1986-1990: Tunnel of Love by Bruce Springsteen. A somber examination of love gone wrong. Of the "dirty little wars" that can erode a relationship. I went through a big, confusing break up at this time, and it was enormously comforting to know that Bruce didn't know any more about making love work than I did.

1991-1995: The End of the Innocence by Don Henley. Again, all about love, and a reflection of what I was going through. Songs about scarred and scared people risking their hearts. That was me.

1996-2000: Negotiations and Love Songs by Paul Simon. This album almost always suits my mood, whatever my mood may be, and I especially love "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War," a song that completely escaped me before this compilation.

2001-2005: The White Album by The Beatles. Not that I had ever forsaken this gem, but at some point early in this new century I decided it was the funnest album I've ever owned and hardly a day goes by that I don't listen to something from it.

2006 to present: Peace, Love and Barbecue by Marcia Ball. My favorite new artist (meaning new to me -- she's been recording for decades). Love her bluesy piano, and love the wink she manages to put into her vocals. A unique voice and I love listening to her.

To play along yourself, and check out other blogger responses, click here.