April 26, 2006

"A strange combination of religion, karaoke, and pride."

Why Birmingham, Alabama is at the core of "American Idol."

3 comments:

hygate said...

An interesting article. I've been living in Birmingham since 1995 and am considered a 'Damn Yankee'. (Came down from the north and stayed.)This gives me something of an outsider’s perspective. For one thing, this place has a lot of churches. I have had friends visit from elsewhere in the South and comment on how many churches there are. I cannot overstate just how many churches there are here. There are more churches than barbecue places, and that is a lot. Also, this place is not Hicksville, USA. There are hicks of course, but then this place is also a major center for cutting edge medical research. As for the club scene, my wife and I are homebodies. I see lots of ads and articles in the papers concerning local bands, but we don't go. We don't think we'll like the music (because our tastes have fossilized) and even if we did we're sure it will be too loud. However, I'm not surprised that there is a vital music scene. All those students at UAB (University of Alabama, at Birmingham - where they do the cutting edge medical research) have to have some way to blow off steam.

Lonesome Payne said...

In fact Jimmy Carter had some Kellie Pickler in him: seriously cute but not quite as talented as we first thought. And is that aw shucks humility just a pose?

vbspurs said...

In fact Jimmy Carter had some Kellie Pickler in him: seriously cute but not quite as talented as we first thought. And is that aw shucks humility just a pose?

Someday, this nugget of inspired wisdom will be quoted, as we quote from Bull Durham today.

Cheers,
Victoria