January 20, 2009

It's been an all-Obama, all-inauguration day on the blog so far, but I suddenly realize...

"American Idol" is on tonight! Come on! Relax! Unwind! Pour yourself a big glass of cabernet or whatever and hang out with me again. Let's talk about frivolous nonsense. Fulfill your Americanness on this most American day with "American Idol."

ADDED: Well, obviously, after all the simulblogging earlier in the day — not to mention first-day-of-class law-school teaching — I don't have the oomph to go through AI point by point. So let me just say: 1. I like that theatrical "Bohemian Rhapsody" guy and I'm sick of their bellyaching about theatrical boys, 2. They made that one girl keep doing that laugh to generate all that footage of her laughing, 3. I'm sick of the people that are given extra credit for being good to members of their own families, and 4. Kara is a pseudo-Paula who helps us see what makes Paula a brilliant, comic TV persona.

40 comments:

cardeblu said...

"It's been an all-Obama, all-inauguration day on the blog so far, but I suddenly realize...

"American Idol" is on tonight!"


There's a difference?

The Dude said...

Yeah, the winner of AI can actually do the job.

Trooper York said...

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOMEPLACE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO HEAR FROM ALPHALIBERAL AND THE REST OF THOSE DOUCHEBAGS.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

San Francisco drives me up the wall. It has one of the most beautiful settings of any city in the world, but is overwhelmed by meddlesome "art student" types who try way to hard to be "different." It is a city of bizarrely dressed conformists.

chickelit said...

It is a city of bizarrely dressed conformists.

Dare to be square

Tibore said...

"Let's talk about frivolous nonsense."

Already done.

XWL said...

"Pour yourself a big glass of cabernet or whatever and hang out with me again."

I think today requires something more than just plain old wine.

Keeping it simple with a bit of Jack and Coke, that'll do nicely.

traditionalguy said...

let's talk about the Curvacious Slopes we've known and loved in California, where all the girls are above average, and the golden hills keep you supplied with Pinot Noir. I've enjoyed all the Washington, D.C. Barack Noir I can handle today.

Roberto said...

Definition of an asshole: Senator John Cornyn of Texas objected to including Mrs. Clinton’s name in a unanimous consent vote for several Cabinet nominees, scheduled for hours after the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama.

BJM said...

XWL said: I think today requires something more than just plain old wine.

Plain? I'm sipping an artisan '05 Syrah that's a mouthful of ripe fruit, smooth as silk with a smoky finish.

Does anyone else find the new, gentler, kinder Idol cloying?

Way too much crying and not nearly enough snark.

Roberto said...

BJM (blow job man) Yeah, why would anyone want to leave Bush & Co. behind?

I mean...they were so good to us...

BJM said...

Michael, the definition of an asshole is a commenter who interjects OT to hijack a thread for his own edification.

Go away.

ricpic said...

Is there a jiggly contestant on AI tonight? I'm for her, giggedy giggedy.

Methadras said...

Michael said...

BJM (blow job man) Yeah, why would anyone want to leave Bush & Co. behind?

I mean...they were so good to us...


So did you kneel on your kneepads in front of the TV praying that Andrew Sullivan could be as good enough a substitute for your Little Blessed Black Jesus?

MadisonMan said...

I missed the bikini babe last week, but she was nicely skewered on Idolatry (which is at EW.com -- I recommend it most highly, even though the guy who does a lot of the commenting was anti-Syesha last year).

Roberto said...

Methadras said..."So did you kneel on your kneepads in front of the TV praying that Andrew Sullivan could be as good enough a substitute for your Little Blessed Black Jesus?"

Is there a shrink in the house that deals with homophobic racists in the crowd?

I BET there is.

Roberto said...

BJM - I apologize.

I meant blow job mutant.

Roberto said...

American Idol.

Law professor.

Local gathering ground for people who think they're educated or knowledgeable.

Or merely full of shit.

Funny.

Stephanie said...

Is this a commercial interruption for a new show called Assholes on the Internet?

MadisonMan said...

So I watched online about the guy who's wife died like a month ago, trying to use the pity factor to get on AI (did it work? I didn't see much of last week). And now I think: How long before someone kills their spouse to get pity for an AI audition? (Of course, it wouldn't look like a homicide). That's why I don't really like watching auditions; there's a race-to-the-bottom quality to it that the producers unfortunately like to highlight, IMO. The good singers (Jason Castro, for example, never made the TV until after he was picked as one of the survivors of Hollywood) are relegated to the background if there's no good backstory for them.

I like reading about the trainwrecks that I don't watch, however, so please fill me in! I'll start watching more in earnest in a month, post-Hollywood.

J. Cricket said...

Tropper York says:

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOMEPLACE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO HEAR FROM ALPHALIBERAL AND THE REST OF THOSE DOUCHEBAGS.



Ah, classy. In fact, you capture the classiness of the Althouse crowd perfectly!

DaLawGiver said...

Ah, classy. In fact, you capture the classiness of the Althouse crowd perfectly!

You're an idiot. If you want classy you certainly don't look at an unmoderated blog site.

Alex said...

I wish Michael troll would just go away, he's giving us hell.

DaLawGiver said...

Alex,

Please remove your last comment you will only encourage him. If you delete it before noon tomorrow he won't see it. He's either passed out by now or puking on his shoes.

Alex said...

That's it I will become a liberal. Might as well stop the futility and join the dark side.

Alex said...

I figure the Democrats will be ruling the government for the rest of my life now.

Chris Althouse Cohen said...

I'm rooting for Adam Lambert (the "theatrical" guy who sang Bohemian Rhapsody) to win the whole show. First of all, I assume he's openly gay, and I would really like an openly gay guy to win the show. The judges made at least two comments that seemed to be hinting that they thought it was time to have an out gay guy on the show.

Second, and most importantly, look at him performing an original song (that he wrote) in total glam rock mode at the Avalon in Hollywood, pre-Idol. He was holding back in the audition, I think he'll give some big, out-there performances for the real thing and be openly gay. Not necessarily a great songwriter, just based on that video, but he's definitely an outstanding singer with a huge range.

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BJM said...

I agree, Adam Lambert should rock out AI, but you never know, another singer may catch fire with the public and we haven't seen all the real contenders yet, but after watching his performances on youtube, my money is on Adam at this point.

Donna B. said...

Please keep up the commentary on American Idol because I will likely never bother to watch it. This is my only conduit to such meaningless fame :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm with Donna. I never watch it, but at least if I read about it here, I don't seem like a complete unconnected doofus if someone brings it up.

Another public service of the Althouse blog.

Not paying much attention to pop culture, there's not much that's bloggable floating around in my head. I've just tweeted partly about goiters and lima beans. Now THERE's a topic guaranteed to make a troll-free blog post.

vbspurs said...

OT:

I don't know about the talent needed to be on American Idol, but Barack Obama already has his own talentless doppelganger.

Meet Ilhan Anas, an Indonesian photographer whose already scored a gig in the Philippines, on TV ads.

Kinda freaky, huh?

Cheers,
Victoria

Chris Althouse Cohen said...

Now that I've seen this clip, I predict that Adam Lambert will be this season's American Idol winner.

If he doesn't win, I'm thinking he's one of the three best singers ever to be on the show (the other two being Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson). Since one of the other two only finished 7th, you never know what will happen.

KCFleming said...

AI has a ways to go if they are going to reward the most maudlin contestants.

Queen for a Day was an enormously popular show on radio and TV; it ran from 1945 to 1964.

The 4 women contestants had to tell their hard luck stories, and the winner was decided by the applause meter for the studio audience.

It was a race to to the bottom, indeed. The worst stories won. The QFAD wore a red velvet robe, held a dozen roses, and received a few prizes. She was expected to cry.

If AI is looking for longevity, there's the template.

Simon said...

Christopher Althouse Cohen said...
"look at him performing an original song (that he wrote) in total glam rock mode at the Avalon in Hollywood, pre-Idol."

Is it wrong that the first thing that jumped to my mind was Mark Whalberg singing with "Steel Dragon"?

Bissage said...

I would really like an openly gay guy to win the show.

This caused me to wonder where I ever got the idea that we’re all supposed to be ashamed of, and to suppress, the impulse toward biases based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, age, etc.

Maybe I spent too much time as a youngster watching “All in the Family” or something.

Maybe I paid too much attention to my teachers.

Whatever.

Looking back at my sad and lonely little life, it probably would have been much smarter if I’d simply knuckled under and joined the crowd discriminating against everyone who wasn’t white working class male.

I’d probably have had more friends, made better connections, and be happier today.

So . . . it’s too late for me but good for you.

Go for it.

There’s strength in numbers.

And I’m being 100% sincere on this.

John Burgess said...

Pogo: I'd noted the similarities with 'Queen for a Day' in an earlier comment. Your observation serves only to confirm it.

I'm somewhat skeptical--no, make that highly skeptical--about the guy with the sick mom he tends. Was that his brother standing around in the B-roll shots? What, exactly, is her 'seizure' problem? Was she pimping her son to gain pity points?

Something didn't ring right there.

I'd actually prefer a lot less back story and more focus on the talent.

Anonymous said...

What is the difference between "openly gay" and "blatantly obviously gay"? There have been many past contestants who were second. Does "openly gay" require the singer to make a public statement before each performance?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

I would post my observations but there seems to be a distinct lack of respect for the Idol.

Most unfortunate.