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American Idol - pick the winner and WIN!!! (NOTE: Contest extended until THUR)

2/28/2012

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(NOTE: I realized later that my great idea for a contest showed up pretty late in the day - so I've extended the contest through to Thursday, 7pm CST - when the voting results show starts.)

Friends, Romans, Countrymen: lend me your American Idols...

We have 24, and a surprise 25th competitor coming to our television sets tonight, in the 11th year of American Idol. (12 guys, 12 girls, and then one additional guy that the judges put in in the last minute, but who won't be announced until tonight)

And, as always, I will be blogging my reactions to the performances of the competitors as I watch it - we've gotten through the preliminary auditons, Hollywood week, a jaunt to Las Vegas for the "final finals", and now we're back to LA for the "real" competition, the one where the American People get to vote.

I'm excited, as it's a strong crop of young performers who I think could really make a splash in the pop culture scene.

So here we go: Who wants to pick the winner now? Anyone who puts their pick in the comments section before the first live show tonight will be entered: and anyone who picks the actual winner by the time the final show airs, will win a $25 iTunes giftcard from yours truly.

Anyone. If I have two winners, that's two giftcards. If I have no one pick the winner, well, that's none. So do your research - I'm not going to give you the names here - go to the American Idol Website and determine your pick. You get one pick. (and to be fair, if you pick one of the four dudes who haven't been announced yet, your pick will go to the 25th contestant regardless of which dude it ends up being.)

Good luck!

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Post-(non)Rapture Pop Culture Spirituality Spike

5/24/2011

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Well it's been an interesting week for pop culture, everyone getting over the fact that no one obviously Christian had been raptured after Saturday had passed. There were several items I saw on the pop culture landscape today that I thought were worth mentioning, so here goes:

First, it's been exactly one year since LOST gave us a Series Finale worth talking about. Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen offers up part one of a commemorative piece about the show and its themes today, focusing in on the spiritual themes of the show and his take on them. You can read that article here.

Secondly, Lady Gaga released "Born This Way" the complete CD today - I had the opportunity yesterday at Starbucks to stream the entire collection on my computer, and I have to say that her faithful re-creation of the best parts of eighties music arrangement and production was practically a religious experience for me. But lyrically, she has never been more in tune with exploring the spiritual side of things: songs about God, Jesus, Mary, Judas... she may be picking and choosing from the religion buffet table lyrically, but she knows a great pop riff when she steals (writes) it...

And third, it was announced today that Mark Burnett of "Survivor" fame has been contracted by the History Channel to create a series called "The Bible", which will combine live-action and CG effects to tell selected stories of the Bible. Could be interesting. Read a tiny article about that here.

And if you would prefer to listen to my dulcet tones describing that which I see all around me in the world of pop culture through the internets and directly onto your favorite mp3 player, please subscribe to my podcast! The Pop Culture Pulpit is ready for you - just uploaded a new episode yesterday - and if you have listened to the show and enjoyed it, I would love it if you headed over to the iTunes page and left positive feedback. Apparently that kind of feedback is very valuable in that area of the internets... so help me help me!

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But we're huge in Russia

8/23/2010

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Last night I went to see RUN RUN RUN, an alternative indie rock band, play at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. I know of this band because its lead singer and chief songwriter, Xandr Smith, is a friend of mine dating all the way back to kindergarten. We have known each other for many years! In high school we were in a band together, and in college we toured coffee shops in Los Angeles as a sort of Simon and Garfunkel acoustic group.

It was great to see him, and his band was great! I got to hear about their recent adventures, which were fascinating. Apparently, they had an opportunity to tour Russia with a Russian band called Mumiy Troll. (Mumiy Troll was there last night as well.) As you might expect, if this is the first time you've heard of RUN RUN RUN, well, you're not alone. Breaking into the mainstream of pop culture can be complicated and difficult. But here they are, touring alongside this fairly well known Russian band, and playing these packed stadiums with thousands and thousands of people there going crazy. Pretty surreal for them.

RUN RUN RUN is coming back to Chicago on September 15, at Schubas. You can check out their music here, and below you'll see some highlights from their Russian tour. My friend is the one rocking the 'stache circa 80s Oates...
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Music News + Golfing with a Buddhist

8/20/2010

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A couple of noteworthy music news items:

Bob Dylan is staging a concert in San Francisco, and the tickets are being sold at $60 each, at the door only, cash only, one per customer, and when you buy it you must enter the venue. Take that Ticketmaster, Stub Hub, and everyone else who uses ticket vending as a profit venture...

Pink Floyd's post "Dark Side of the Moon" catalogue is now "out of print", because their deal with EMI expired in July. This means that you can't buy "The Wall" anywhere, unless the CD has already been printed, as it is also pulled from iTunes. It's sure to be rectified soon, I just find it odd that in the age of digital, the concept of "out of print" lives on...

This morning I golfed with a Buddhist. I rarely golf, and I rarely find myself hanging out with people who aren't Christians. Mark Dwyer has started a Missional Community through three different golf courses in the Suburbs here. And today, I played the "Divine Back Nine", and met a cool dude who can golf, and who is a Buddhist. Very cool to be providing a way to connect with others through a common interest. I hope he teaches me about how to golf - he's good! And I hope I get a chance to teach him about Jesus - 'cause he's good! Great job Mark for casting a vision and inviting and including everyone.

That is all.
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Lady Gaga said it this time.

4/12/2010

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Yep. She did. Lady Gaga says she's celibate, and encourages her fans to be celibate as well. I don't write 'em, I just report 'em. Read the whole article here.

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American Idol - top 20, the girls

3/3/2010

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Well, it's time for the girls - they're still being hush hush about Crystal, but they let her go first. Let's go, and I'll try to stay as brief as I can given that any time spent on this is probably superfluous...

Crystal Bowersox: "As Long as I Can See The Light" - I would totally buy this record. Of course, with iTunes I could, and probable won't, but I would. Love it.

Haeley Vaughn: "The Climb" - and the hands releases, and she falls.

Lacey Brown: "Kiss Me" - Good for sixpence to get some royalty $  - she was okay, but it's not a "singer's song." and her nerves get the best of her.

Katie Stevens: "Put Your Records On" - Much better than last week, she's got potential to become a player in the competition.

Didi Benami: "Lean On Me" - Boy I could be okay not ever hearing this song again. She's okay though, this performance shows that her little accents and tone are really her, their not imitating Adele per se.

Michelle Delemour: "With Arms Wide Open" - Congrats Creed, you've arrived. As for Michelle, well... meh. That was a lot of things, but good was not one of them.

Lilly Scott: "A Change is Gonna Come" - Another one where I would totally buy it if I could but I can't even though I can so I won't when I could. Loved it. These indie freaks can actually sing, and they're putting the "singers" who don't have any personality on notice.

Katelyn Epperly: "The Scientist" - That was Streisand-ian. At first I was put off by the dramatic tempo change, but I eventually bought it. A bronze medal for sure.

Paige Miles: "Walk Away" - Simon's right, she's got the best effortless voice. The problem is, the effortlessness looks like she doesn't care as much, so I'm not sure that I do...

Siobhan Magnus: "Think" - She looks like she came off of the Desperate Housewives set. I swear her unpronounceable name will either be her undoing or her saving grace. Holy moley that last note. She might be an alien.

Okay, well, that's it. Lovin' me some Crystal and Lilly. Okay, I know their names now.

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American Idol - top 20

3/2/2010

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Well, last week came and went, didn't it? I would have blogged about the guys last week, but it would have been really short: they were all bad, but the ones who were at least not truly horrible ended up going home anyway. Hmmmm. But, they get to go first since Harmonica girl had an undisclosed medical condition - so the girls sing tomorrow night. Fun. Well, off we go. Here are my thoughts, as usual, before the judges have their say...

Michael Lynche: "A Man's World" - Big Mike kept a James Brown song from being catchy. How is that even possible?

John Park: "Gravity" - This fits for him, but it's not enough of a singer's song for him to be off on even one note. And he was.

Casey James: "I Don't Wanna Be" - Seems too low for him. I actually like him, but wasn't crazy about that song choice.

Alex Lambert: "Everybody knows" - Much better than last week's freakout. Nothing to write home about though.

Todrick Hall: "What's Love Got To Do With It" - I think he's actually a genuine performer, with legit stage presence. One big "eh?" on the song choice and arrangement.

Jermaine Sellars: "What's Goin' On" - could not dislike this any more than I do unless maybe Pee Wee Hermann was next to him doing sign language. No wait, that would make it better.

Andrew Garcia: "something by james morrison" - eeek. That was no good.

Aaron Kelley: "My Girl" - Good, but his face is still looking strained. Tanked the falsetto in the middle.

Tim Urban: "Come On Get Higher" - I am so over this hairstyle for the tween boys. It's like he loses his ability to have breath support so it doesn't seem like singing, it seems like aiming at notes with short arrows.

Lee Dewyze: "Lips of an Angel" - This guy has the authenticity that David Cook wished he had. Not sure he's as good a singer, but he's good.

So there you have it. And since last week I couldn't come up with the names of the girls, here are the three I like: Big Mike, Pretty boy, Gruffy. What do you think? Who's going home?


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