HBO has been running a 15-minute documentary entitled “The Music of the Sopranos,” which features interviews with creator David Chase, Steven Van Zandt and others. Chase describes the methodology he uses to choose a song for a particular scene or montage, including how he decided on A3’s “Woke Up This Morning” as the show’s theme song.
They’re running it one more time this week: tonight at 11:45 PM ET. For fans of the show (or fans of music), it’s time well spent.
Last night’s “American Idol” grand finale had few big surprises, some good performances and a lot of the usual fluff. And of course, Jordin won. Not that the entire world, including the African Children’s Choir, didn’t see that coming.
It started out with Jordin and Blake singing the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” which was okay and kind of fitting since Jordin is 17 and the lyrics are about a girl being “just 17.” Then they cut to Gwen Stefani wearing a cream puff and singing her new single while on tour…that was random, and mildly annoying.
Then Kelly Clarkson sang her new single, and it was both angry and great…her raspy growl is in fine form.
Then they started with that “Golden Idol” award crap. The best presentation went to Margaret Fowler, aka Big Bird. It was funny, especially when she kissed Ryan on the lips, but other than that forgettable. Then the top 6 guys from this season sang “Ooh Baby Baby” and Smoky Robinson came out to sing a medley with them….which was pretty decent.
Then it was a highlight of the show, as Blake came out to beatbox with Barry B. and Doug E. Fresh. Wow, I have no idea how they do that, and that’s what makes it so damn entertaining.
The next Golden Idol Award went to the most original vocal, and it was Sholandric, who I barely remembered from the auditions….yawn.
The 6 female finalists got to sing “Heard It Through The Grapevine,” and welcomed Gladys Knight to perform a medley with them. Tony Bennett was welcomed back after that to perform since he was sick after his mentoring a few months ago.
The Golden Idol award for “Best Buddies” went not to Simon & Ryan, but to Jonathan and Kenneth…..those guys were weird but are so funny to look at. Simon’s reference of Jonathan to a “bush baby” was validated when they showed a photo of an actual bush baby.
Then Melinda got to sing with BeBe and CeCe Winans, who she used to perform with as a backup singer. That was pretty cool. After that, Carrie Underwood came out and sang the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You,” which she had performed last month in Africa for “Idol Gives Back.” It was boring, but then Clive Davis came out to present Carrie with an achievement award for selling 6 million albums. He also mentioned that Chris Daugtry’s album has sold 2.5 million. Wow.
Then came the African Children’s Choir, and they were great, but they followed that with Sanjaya singing “You Really Got Me,” complete with Joe Perry on guitar and crying girls in the audience. Green Day then sang John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero,” and it was kind of bland.
Taylor Hicks sang “Heaven Knows,” and it was okay. Are you sensing a pattern here? The whole show had a pretty bland theme.
Jordin and Ruben Studdard sang a duet together, and it was actually pretty good….though Ruben stood five feet away from Jordin for fear of knocking her over.
After that, Bette Midler came out and sang “Wind Beneath My Wings,” one of the sappiest songs of all time. It really wasn’t very good either, and I wish she would have sung “Rachelle Rachelle” instead.
Then came the Sgt. Pepper tribute, with all of the past champs except Fantasia contributing. Where was she anyway? Anyway, it was okay except for Carrie Underwood singing “She’s Leaving Home”….ugh, nothing like butchering a classic.
Finally it was the moment of truth…..the judges all but proclaimed Jordin the champ, and then Ryan made it official. Blake, you just couldn’t measure up with that sappy ballad. And since Jordin’s dad is a former New York Football Giant, I’m hoping her win is a good omen for my G-men this fall. Hey, I had to say it.
Folks, it’s been fun recapping this season with you…..by the time we meet again in January, Melinda will have out-sold both Blake and Jordin and we’ll be saying that it really doesn’t matter who wins this thing. Have a great summer everyone…..
While last year’s season finale ranks among the best ever cliffhangers in television history, tonight’s two-hour finale was a little rough along the edges. That doesn’t mean that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse haven’t done it again, because they have, and the proof is in the number of “holy crap” moments that took place throughout the final twenty minutes of the episode. Instead of deconstructing the entire episode, however, I’ve decided to mix things up by focusing my attention on six events that everyone will be talking about tomorrow morning.
1) Sayid, Jin and Bernard’s sneak attack on the Others
I actually thought that Ben would radio his team to warn them of a possible attack after he discovered that Juliet had betrayed him, but the attack went off without a hitch. Well, sort of. Both Sayid and Bernard hit their targets dead-on, killing five of the Others, while Jin’s aim was a little off. He did manage to kill two more with his pistol before all three survivors were captured by the remaining Others: Ryan, Tom and some random dude.
2) Locke is still alive
This was a bit of a given, since we all know that Locke plays a major part in the good vs. evil dynamic between him and Jack. Of course, I wasn’t expecting a vision of Walt to be the thing that motivates him to live on, but Locke still seems to believe that he has a purpose on the island and he’s not about to give up now. On a completely unrelated note, I totally forgot how bad of an actor that kid who plays Walt is. It’s probably a good thing that we don’t have to see him on a weekly basis anymore.
3) Charlie talks to Penny
This is definitely one of the biggest revelations of the episode. After punching in the code to disarm whatever was jamming the radio signals, Charlie receives a video transmission from Penny. Not only does she know that Desmond is on the island and alive, but she also knows that the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are there as well. This will no doubt lead to the arrival of the “real” rescue team later in the show’s run. (More on this later)
4) Charlie makes the ultimate sacrifice
This one hurt the most to watch. I actually believed that Charlie was going to make it out alive (especially after him and Desmond found diving equipment for the both of them), but then that damn Mikhail had to foil our hero’s plans yet again (is that guy made out of metal or what?). When he discharged a grenade from outside the station, I actually said “What the fuck?” so loud that it woke my girlfriend in the other room. Of course, Charlie could have easily saved himself by running out of the transmission area and closing the door behind, but as we’ve learned from other season finales this week, sometimes the writers would rather make a ridiculous sacrifice instead of just being reasonable. And so Charlie, one of my favorite characters, is no longer. It won’t lead me to stop watching the show (especially now that we know only three more seasons remain), but it is enough for me to hold a three-year grudge against the writers of the show. Shame on you for killing Charlie; especially when it appears it was all for nothing. Well, I guess it wasn’t for nothing. Desmond knows that Naomi’s boat isn’t the rescue team they believed it to be, but will he relay the message to Jack and the other survivors in time?
5) Hurley the hero
Gotta hand it to the guy. Dude saved Sawyer and Juliet’s lives; not to mention the other three (Jin, Sayid and Bernard), who were being prepared for execution by Tom. When he rode on to the beach in that VW van and smashed into Ryan, it left me with the biggest smile on my face. It only got better as Sayid snapped that random dude’s neck with his legs, and then Sawyer shot Tom point blank in the chest. “That’s for taking the kid off the raft.” Classic stuff, and I’m glad that Sawyer finally seems fed up with giving these assholes countless second chances.
6) Future Jack wants back
I was saving the best for last as this is most likely the “rattlesnake in the mailbox” that Lindelof and Cuse were talking about during an interview earlier in the week. Styled as a typical flashback involving Jack dealing with some serious emotional issues, he’s driven to kill himself when he finds a newspaper clipping about a death to someone he knows. It’s never mentioned who, but that’s not really the point. By the end of the flashback, Jack calls who appears to be Sarah (his ex-wife) to meet him at the airport, but when the mystery guest arrives, it’s Kate. Yeah, that Kate. It wasn’t a flashback at all, but rather a flash-forward into the future. Jack doesn’t discuss how they got off the island, but he wants to go back. He seems to think they were never supposed to leave the island in the first place (sound a little like someone else we know?), and he’s been flying every week with the hope that he’ll crash again. So, do our survivors really get off the island, or is this future meeting all just taking place in Jack’s head?
The rest of the episode had some other great moments (like Jack beating the shit out of Ben, Kate pondering pregnancy, and Locke killing Naomi with a knife to the back), but none are worthy of serious commentary. Instead, think about this: it wouldn’t be “Lost” if they didn’t actually stay lost for the remainder of the series, so even if they do finally make it off the island in the end, it’s definitely not going to happen any time soon.
In the final faceoff of the season on “American Idol” last night, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks did very good, but there is one thing I noticed about them both….they were extremely relieved upon finishing their final song. Blake was like a kid on a sugar rush, and Jordin started crying during her last few notes. Then, it was in the hands of voters, and there was no more preparation or nerves….there is no decision, but they both knew that they could now relax and enjoy the grand finale.
Before we get to the performances by Blake and Jordin, we have to mention that Paula Abdul allegedly broke her nose after tripping over her dog at home. I wonder if the dog was waiting with a breathalyzer.
So this week the final two got to choose their favorite song from a past episode, another random song of their choice, and the song written by the winners of the songwriting competition on the show.
Blake started with Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” one of his shining moments from a few weeks back. It wasn’t quite as good as the first time, but still pretty damn good. Randy gave Blake a 10 out of 10 on the beatboxing, but said the vocals were just “aight.” Paula said he outdid himself, and Simon said Blake is a great performer but that the vocal was flat in the middle. His second choice was Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved,” and it was kind of mediocre. Randy said it was a nice vocal this time, Paula said it sounded great (she is a wuss with or without a broken nose), and Simon said it was good but safe, and not as good as the first song. Then Blake performed the winning song, “This Is My Now,” which was a horribly sappy, formulaic piece of crap…..it doesn’t matter if they leave this to professionals or everyday peeps, the result is always going to be something along the lines of Diane Warren Lite. Anyway, the song was clearly better suited for Jordin, because Blake sounded pretty bad singing it. Randy said the song didn’t suit him, but that it was still pretty good; Paula said he did a great job (of course she did), and Simon said it was a little odd, and “not you.” Taking nothing away from those songwriters, that song may have cost Blake the title.
Jordin started with Christina Aguilera’s “Fire,” a very ambitious song but one that she kind of grabbed by the balls to force out a decent performance. Randy said it wasn’t the greatest performance but that the vocal was stellar, Paula said it was stellar, and Simon was happy she chose a “younger” song, but that it was “shrieky.” He then said that Round One went to Blake. Jordin’s second choice was Martina McBride’s “Broken Wing,” and she hit it further out of the park than the first time she sang the song. It was the kind of performance that wins titles. Randy said Jordin is the most talented singer at her age the show has ever seen and that the performance was flawless, Paula said it was a great vocal, and Simon said “THAT was good.” Tie game? Maybe a slight edge to Jordin at this point. But then she took on the sappy “This Is My Now” and as you would expect, did a better job than Blake. Randy said Jordin was the best singer of the night, Paula said she was proud, and Simon said he didn’t think Jordin did well enough last week to win, but that he was wrong…..and that she had just “wiped the floor with Blake.” Yep, pretty much.
So while Blake hung in there for a long time and is one of the most unique contestants the show has ever seen, barring a miracle Jordin will be crowned the sixth American Idol tonight. I’m still bitter about Melinda, but in the end, despite what they want you to believe, this is NOT a singing competition…..rather, it’s a competition based on a combination of singing, performance and good looks….and Melinda didn’t have as much of the latter as the other two.
The show closed last night with Chris Daughtry playing “I”m Going Home,” the song that has been played at the end of each results show this whole season. That dude also was robbed last season, but he got the last laugh because he’s running rings around Taylor Hicks and Kat McPhee with his record sales. There is hope, Melinda.
See you all tomorrow as we wrap this sucker up.
With only two episodes left in the season, you’d think that this week’s show would have been a little more significant to the big picture, but alas, it only served to amplify the same points that have been made throughout the course of the last few episodes. Hernan is still missing and his handler isn’t at all pleased. Claudette couldn’t care less as long as he holds up his end of the deal (that being the arrest of the San Marcos murderers), but she might have a problem soon enough, as Hernan most definitely doesn’t want to be found. Vic seems to think it’s because he’s so deep undercover, but it’s more likely that he’s simply fallen for the gang life. If that were the case, however, why would he give Vic a heads up about the automatic weapons burglary? That remains unseen, but what is clear is that Vic has found an ally in Hiatt.
The only Strike Team member not involved in tracking down Hernan is Shane (obviously), who is spending his time doing a little side work for the Armenian mob. Pissed about the unexpected death of the gas station attendant, Shane goes to visit the mob boss, Mr. Kesakhian, but is instead greeted by his daughter, Diro (Franka Potente), who apologizes and pays him for his “troubles.” Little does Shane know that Diro is actually running the family business while her father withers away on his deathbed until, of course, he eventually figures it out. That doesn’t change his position with the Armenians, though, and it’s only going to land him in some serious trouble in the future. My money’s on the Armenian’s finding out about his involvement with the money train a few years ago, and it might just be Vic who pulls the trigger.
Nonetheless, Shane is clearly trying to make as many friends as possible, and that doesn’t exclude persuading Ronnie to his side. Of course, when Ronnie confronts Vic about Terry later in the episode, I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at how well he took it. In fact, he seemed to agree that it was necessary, and his only regret was that Vic didn’t tell him about it earlier. Wow. I always knew Ronnie was a cool dude, and I really hope he plays a major part in whatever Vic has planned for Shane.
The rest of the episode was relatively tame. Dutch and Billings work a “stab and grab” involving a designer purse racket, Tina relishes in her newfound fame, and Aceveda unleashes his plans to run for mayor. The latter is probably the most exciting prospect of the episode, but one that will no doubt be saved for the final season. After all, Aceveda is at the top of Vic’s list when it comes to people he plans to take down with him, and once Shane is out of the way, there shouldn’t be anyone else remaining.
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