Naw Dawg, Naw

"Archuleta is boring but the boy’s got pipes. He needs to make his money now cause there’s not a place for him in the industry. And rightly so." -Joe H.

Joe "Simon" Hays couldn't be more wrong. It's true that the right person won American Idol last night. It is also true that I am on the record as saying he is a poser. I take that back. Cook took chances and was rightly rewarded for it. Choosing Collective Soul's "The World I Know" as his last song was brave and he totally pulled it off. I would buy that album. Archuleta's "Imagine" was impeccable and better than the first time he sang it, but after a million plus views on YouTube people knew what he was going to do with it. It's another example of how our society right now is ready to embrace "CHANGE" over the assuming the who the inevitable winner is going to be!

But that's not to say Archuleta has no future or doesn't belong in the industry. The path of success for artists like Archuleta is well worn and he will navigate it to become a very successful artist. He is no Taylor Hicks.

Look at Carrie Underwood's audition tape from three years ago and then check out her performance from last night. You have a young, wide eyed, unexperienced, gifted singer who in three short years is at the top of the music industry. Archuleta has all the same raw characteristics as she does. Good looks, an incredible flexible voice, and he is moldable!

Another example, Jordin Sparks. She is about the same age as Archuleta (he's a better singer) and young to the world of music. So what did they do, they paired her up with Chris Brown for the duet "No Air" which has become a major hit!

Cook has the maturity, skills, and now platform to have major success, and he deserves it. But Archuleta isn't dead in the water and he will make a place in the industry.

Catch-Up Post!

If you are a fan of the Daily Show, then you will love this podcast I recently discovered. It's called, The Bugle - Audio Newspaper for a Visual World. Here's the description from their iTunes page:

Based respectively in a penthouse turret in metropolitan New York and a small lair in South London, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, with their combined height of 3.59 meters, will together canoe through the murky swamp of big stories, small stories and assorted hogwash that inundates our daily world. Comprising news, sport, comment, analysis, other stuff, and our unique audio crossword, The Bugle is the newspaper of the future, before the future actually happens.

Here's the link to the most recent episode (episodes come out once a week).

*****

I hope Hillary looses both Indiana and North Carolina tonight, AND that Jason Castro gets booted off American Idol. Politics and pop culture all on a Tuesday night! I happen to be partial to MSNBC (Tim Russert is the best analyst on TV). Will you watch the primary results tonight or are you lame or I mean busy.

*****

Saw this incredible headline (sorry no t-shirt available):
Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

My jaw dropped when I read that. According to the WHO the suicides per 100,000 males are 17.1 (source). According the article 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. If suicide rates were consistent with national rates for those 1.6 million soldiers then approximately 273 males would be likely to commit suicide.

There have been 4,560 soldiers killed in combat since 2001. If soldiers and veteran suicides do in fact outpace the death total from these two wars that would represent a 1,670% increase over the standard national suicide rate. Here's the damning part. A big part of the reason why there are so many suicides is because money isn't being spent to make sure the 53% of returning combat veterans who have PTSD get the help they need.

This from a country that spends over 700 billion every year on it's defense department (China is upping their spending to 53 billion). This injustice is sickening. We ask our young people to go to war for us, and then leave them hanging out to dry once they have done our dirty work for us. This will have ramifications for years and shows how insincere our Commander in Chief and congress is about supporting our troops.

Idol Gives Back

Watched Idol Gives Back last night, and I was super impressed by it. Two and a half hours of pushing and prodding people to give to charities that mainly go to benefit children all over the world. Heartbreaking stories and jaw dropping injustices were all on display on television's biggest show. You know in that Nooma Video called "Rich" where Rob Bell says "It's a dangerous thing to think that our world is THE world." Idol Gives Back worked to illuminate that point.

Yes having wealthy and glamorous people highlight the despair of the less fortunate can be a little off putting (see Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus visiting a family in the Appalachians). But arguing that point is a little being too cynical and judgmental. If Simon Cowell inspires me to give up some of my money to needy kids, then how can you really fault that.

I tell you one of the segments that hit home for me was the one Simon did in NYC. He was touting the Children's Health Fund which was started by Paul Simon and Dr. Irwin Redlener. Based out of the South Bronx CHF has several mobile hospital RV's that travel to undeserved areas in NYC to help families who can't afford health care. This resonated with me because since both boys are sick (cough and ear infections respectively) we had to go to see their doctor ($50) and get three prescriptions filled ($40). Not a problem, we could afford that and I am thankful for the great health insurance I have that prevented the bill from being $500 more if our only option was the ER.

I couldn't help but think about a family who wasn't in as fortunate of a situation as we are with a stable job and employer based health coverage. I can't imagine being the parent who looks at both their children who are sick who is forced to choose which one would get the medical attention because they don't have the money to get help for both kids. So would it be Zeke or Levi? A country who can come up with enough money to spend 9,000,000,000 a month to fight a war in Iraq, can surely find enough money to ensure CHILDREN for God's sake have all the health care they could ever need for free! If you don't believe that should or can happen then I think you should seriously examine your religious, ethical, and political beliefs.

Anyway if you watched the entire Idol show last night you know they ended with a rousing rendition of Shout to the Lord. Allison and I sat there with our jaws wide open at the choice of song the producers used to end the show on. It's particularly powerful considering that one of the central tenets of the show is song choice and what it conveys.

BUT...while Shout to the Lord was great, it was Carrie Underwood's choice to sing "Praying for Time" written by George Michael off the Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 album that brought tears to my eyes and fire to my heart. If Shout to the Lord was the equivalent of a nice feel good Psalm, then "Praying for Time" was like reading scripture out of Amos! It was cutting and damning of the tremendous wealth and security we in the developed world hoard for ourselves. And Carrie Underwood sang it that way too. She prophetically sang this song to the audience and millions of people watching at home. Check it out.

"These are the days of the empty hand
Oh you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year

This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say what's mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much but I'll take my chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score"

'Poser' Idol and New (2me) Music

If you watched American Idol last night you might have been impressed by David Cook's rendition of Billie Jean. Randy thought it was blazin hot, Paula thought it was brave and boundary pushing, and Simon thought it was amazing. You might infer that he took a big risk in taking a classic MJ song and put a rocker spin on it.

BUT HE IS A POSER!!

Astute readers of the J-Wild blog will remember that on April 2, 2007 Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean was posted on the blog. If you read that post and watched American Idol last night you knew that David 'poser' Cook did nothing new or original. He merely followed the footsteps of Chris Cornell who should have been given credit for that song.

Now I will go on record as saying I would buy Brooke White's album tomorrow. David Archuleta has the most incredible voice for anyone, let alone a 17 year old. But the dude has to pick some better songs. I am a sucker for Carly Smithson and her accent, but she has the worst outfits ever.

Moving on!

Two nights ago I watched Allison Krauss and Union Station on Austin City Limits. They are just amazing. But the second act Kathleen Edwards blew me away too. I haven't purchased her album, but I am thinking about it. Check out her video from Austin City Limits. Anyone out there already a fan of hers and care to comment?