NBC's The Sing Off -- Season 2 Premiere Recap

I know this places me firmly in the demographic group along with cat owners and crocheters, but I enjoyed The Sing Off, NBC's mini summer series last year.  Ten a cappella groups of various regions, ages, genres and backgrounds, competing to see who was the most entertaining and least in need of accompaniment.  While I disagreed with America's choice (not unlike Seasons 8 and 9 of American Idol and the 2008 US Presidential election), I enjoyed the path we took to get there.

This year there are ten new teams against demonstrating that the only unifying feature is the fact that none of them had to learn an instrument.  The teams range in age from the high schoolers Eleventh Hour from Columbus, Ohio, to the members of Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town from Oakland, CA, who stopped off on their way to the early bird special at IHOP.  The progeny of the world's first collegiate a cappella team was there in the starched shirts and white gloves of uber-exclusive Yale's Whiffenpoofs.  Competing against them were viral video sensations On the Rocks, from the "lower-SAT scores are welcome" University of Oregon.  There were two teams carrying the redemption story, with both the afore-mentioned Lawson and Jeremy Lister of Street Corner Symphony seeking to reclaim past musical glory.

Back behind the judges' table were Ben Folds, Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman -- all three of whom have more musical knowledge and are better able to articulate their opinions than the last group of judges on American Idol.  They split the ten competing teams into groups of five and eliminated one team from each group -- the public need not weigh in at this phase.

The first group had On the Rocks, Eleventh Hour, Groove for Thought, Pitch Slapped and Jerry Lawson et al.  I thought On the Rocks had the best overall performance with a repeat of their YouTube sensation -- Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.  It was cute, it was kitschy, it was fun.  The judges did not love it and they even channeled Randy Jackson by referencing certain pitch problems which I think are besides the point when you have over a dozen dudes pretending to be Monsters. 

I also liked the group from the Berklee College of Music (which they called the Ivy League of music schools, causing the Whiffenpoofs to sue for trademark infringement).  First, they had the punniest name with Pitch Slapped and they were all ridiculously multi-talented, singing a song my daughter would have loved, Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship.  C'mon, points for introducing them to a new audience. Second, they rocked it.  Their vocals were spot on, they had energy, they incorporated a lot of variety, and they entertained.  Loved them.  So, of course, they were the first group eliminated.

Instead, the judges became nearly apoplectic lavishing praise on the oldsters for singing exactly like they would have fifty years ago.  They didn't stretch out of their comfort zone or do anything new, but they were really old and made the judges feel better for ignoring granny and putting her in that smelly home.  They also inexplicably liked Groove for Thought, comprised of music teachers and one of their daughters (and for the first time the phrase "father-daughter" made me squirm) doing a passable job on an old Stevie Wonder classic.  Perhaps they thought they were voting for the song and not the performance?

The second group opened with the nattily attired Whiffenpoofs, a supergroup of seniors culled from the other Yale a cappella groups.  They looked stiff and silly, then they broke out with Grace Kelly.  Seriously.  They were over the top and weird and wonderful.  They apparently have perfect pitch, or they're cyborgs, because they sounded amazing, but they were also funny (something I thought Yale beat out of you if you stayed all four years) and entertaining.  Huzzah, boys.

If I hadn't already loved the scraggly, relaxed sextet from Nashville, Street Corner Symphony, from their pre-performance video, I would have fallen hard once I heard they were doing Tears for Fears.  One of the most underrated bands of the 80s, I'm thrilled any time I have a chance to hear anyone sing their songs (rememberAdam Lambert's version of Mad World?  Mesmerizing!).  The lead singer of the group had been through the music industry ringer, record and album and watch it die, and this was his last chance at fame.  I don't know if this is the show that will give it to him, but he and his group really moved me with their performance of Everybody Wants to Rule the World.

The last group to perform was Committed and with their introduction as a gospel group that is relatively unfamiliar with music out of the god-genre, I was concerned.  But they not only chose an unexpectedly ungospel song, This Love by Maroon 5, but they sang the hell out of it (if I can say that without being sent there as punishment).   I was far less impressed with the so-called supergroup from Cali, The Backbeats, whose lead singer sounded like an East German speed skater with a mouth full of marbles for much of Beyonce's If I Were A Boy.  But they were spared and it was Men of Note, a New Jersey based all men's group, who sped through the Billy Joel song For the Longest Time perhaps realizing how not good it was. 

We saw and heard snippets of next week's songs and it looks like the groups will all be stretching themselves more creatively and that should make for a good show.  I'm looking most forward to the Street Corner Symphony, the Whiffenpoofs, and Committed which means, with my track record on backing talent show contestants, you should not expect to see any of them in the finals.

Review of Farmer's Daughter by Crystal Bowersox

Crystal Bowersox' post-American Idol debut "Farmer's Daughter" is available to listen in full here at the AOL listening party.  Expectations were high because Crystal was such a force to be reckoned with on the TV talent show and anyone with ears realized she was immensely talented.  Could her first record live up to the promise?  It could and it did.

The album opens with the rousing country-pop, Ridin’ with the Radio. I was surprised because I never thought of Crystal as a country singer, but she does a great job. It’s bouncy, it’s fun, and, in appropriate Crystal fashion, it basically challenges you. Keep an open mind, she says, give this a fair listen. Okay, point taken.

For What it’s Worth was an unnecessary cover. It doesn’t improve on the original and it fails to use Crystal’s ample gifts well. Her vocals do nothing to elevate the song and it lost the urgency it had when it first was released. The music overpowers the song and demonstrates the "less is more" adage.  But it is the one and only dark spot on this otherwise illuminating record.

Farmer’s Daughter is the title song. It’s her signature song, it’s her life story, it’s her connection to the audience. She’s in her element when she’s allowed to sing from her heart and not forced into a particular musical genre. This is a Crystal song, not folk, rock, country or anything else.  She wears her heart on her sleeve and can be both tough and vulnerable at the same time. 

Holy Toledo is the highlight of the record.  Passionate, heartfelt and beautiful, it's hard to imagine that this song wasn't enough to get her a record contract and that she had to jump through the American Idol hoops to get noticed.  Her voice goes from angelic to fervent, she shows range both vocally and emotionally that separates her from the pop chanteuse du jour.  This is real and raw and if it were on an old LP, it would be worn down smooth in no time.

Lonely Won't Come Around is catchy, but a little too pop for me, somewhat aural cotton candy.  But her vocals are strong and assured.   I could have done without On the Run and Kiss Ya.  There's nothing wrong with these songs, her voice is great, but the songs just are flimsy, unsubstantial and perhaps I expect more from Crystal.  It may not be fair, but when you can write Holy Toledo, songs that could be on Sugarland's next CD pale by comparison. 

About the time you hear Hold On you decide that democracy was a good idea.  One man, one vote.  Not one prepubescent teen, a gazillion votes. There is no reason that Crystal lost to Lee DeWyze if the criteria was talent.  Her voice is strong, clear, vibrant, mutable.  All of the accolades and attention that came her way early in the contest were actually well deserved.  This song, and FWIW, were the only songs not penned by Crystal, but it fits neatly with the other songs and shows that Kara DioGuardi (the co-writer) can knock out a catchy ditty and that Crystal can take a pop song and transform it.

Speak Now is a great bluesy number where Crystal gets full use of her smoky vocals.  It's also refreshing to hear a song go old school -- was that a real guitar solo?  So retro.  A song that takes it's time and creates atmosphere.  In Mine All Mine Crystal goes into a falsetto that is really pretty and tender and helps make this a really beautiful love song.

Crystal's husband Brian Walker co-wrote the song Mason, named after her son.  Their duet is sweet and a nice throwback to the singer-songwriters of the 1970s.  Brian's vocals are not as solid as his better half, but if your heart is still pumping, you can't resist the lyrics and their meaning.

The ballad Arlene closes out the record.  It's more the Crystal we expected, stripped down instrumentation, her voice conveying every range of emotion.  I don't know if this or any of the other slower songs is what radio programmers will jump at, but anyone who appreciates good, honest, heartfelt music should revel in her efforts to bring back the folk troubadour as an important part of mainstream music.

Crystal Bowersox has put together a great debut showing range and talent that belie her second place finish.  This is a winner of an album with at least three songs that should be remembered long after the TV show that launched her fades from memory.

Top Chef All Stars -- Second Chances

The theme for the first Top Chef All Stars edition is redemption.  Unlike other reality shows that amass an all star group comprised of both winners and losers, the eighteen returning chefs each lost their season and are coming back to prove that loss was a mistake.  Many of the cheftestants were front-runners in their season and were as surprised as the audience when they were not crowned the champion.  From the driven Tiffani Faison of Season One, to Season Four's Richard Blais, through last season's runner-up Angelo Sosa, there are chefs who are seeking what they thought was rightfully theirs in the first place, the title Top Chef.

Some left far sooner than they should have and it's great to see them have another chance to show what they can do (Dale Talde, Jamie Lauren and Tre Wilcox).  Then there are that other group of chefs who are back because they are fan favorites (Fabio Viviani and Carla Hall), to fill the requisite reality TV villain slot (Mike Isabella and Marcel Vigneron), or for comic relief (Dale Levitski and Spike Mendelsohn).  Why Stephen Asprinio, the fussy sommelier, was brought back is a mystery to me.  But the person I was least happy to see on my TV screen was Elia from Season Two.

If you missed Season Two of Top Chef, you missed one of the strangest, most disturbing moments in the history of competitive reality TV.  Keep in mind, the premise of Top Chef is to see who is the best cook (within the parameters of time and the structure of the challenges).  It is not supposed to be about the personalities of the contestants and how far you get in the show has nothing to do with alliances or voting, but solely on judging by a panel of experts.  In Season Two, a couple of the contestants became so irritated with one of the other contestants that they attacked him, held him down, and threatened to shave his hair (all while videotaping the high-larity of it all).  It was way over the top and, if you pardon the bad pun, left a bad taste in the mouths of anyone who saw it. 

Elia was part of that group and thought it was funny.  It was a great example of high school bullying and she was the cute girl who sided with the bullies.  Why she has been rewarded with a return ticket to the show is beyond me.  But Karma works better than the casting office....

The elimination challenge for the first episode was as inspired as it was cruel.  Remember that dish you made that got you kicked off the show, that made you a laughingstock, that cost you $100,000 and a boatload of Glad products?  The dish you've seen in your nightmares and in the faces of menacing strangers and your mother-in-law?  That dish that you swore you would never speak of again, let alone make?  Make it.  Fix it.  Show that it was an aberration and that me were all wrong about you and you aren't the weakest link -- sorry, wrong show.  Get back in there and re-imagine that dish that took out a tiny piece of your heart and a bigger slice of your soul and make it sing.

Most of the contestants rose to the challenge.  Given another shot, they were thrilled to show that they know what they did wrong and know that they can fix it.  They added more, added less, they seasoned differently -- one happily separated scallops from butterscotch, something that should never have been put together in the first place.  While looking at their old ingredients like the cut out portion of a divorcee's wedding picture, they saw that they could redo it and make it right.

The standout contestants who, when we viewers are groggy or forgetful,we think were their season's winners -- soared.  Richard, Angelo, Dale Talde and, dare I say it, Spike all put out great dishes according to the judges (aided this year by the virile, sexy Anthony Bourdain, thank you Bravo!!).  The win went to the similarly tantalizing Angelo when kitchen-cam showed that Richard had continued to plate his superior dish beyond the buzzer, disqualifying him. 

Then it was time for the bottom three and the only surprise was seeing Fabio there.  He twice now has been at the bottom with a pasta dish.  Perhaps he should be stripped of his Italian heritage, but what is the Anglican form of Fabio?  He plated pasta on paper, confusing it perhaps with fish and chips. Then he covered his concoction with oily fried basil leaves because nothing says winner like clumsy appearance and excessive grease.  Stephen, who convinced us that he was a wine connoisseur first, cook second, was not unexpectedly in the bottom three.  But as unappealing as his dishes might have been, they were not nearly as appalling as the undercooked and under-thought steamed fish of Elia. 

Pride goeth before a fall, it is said, and blind faith in a dish that cost you one title went before another ouster.  If Elia was stubborn in the defense of her dish, perhaps seeing it cost her yet another title will convince her that maybe she still has something to learn culinarily speaking.  It might also convince her that a little humility and self-reflection will go a long way.  Or, she can continue to be stubborn and believe she knows best.  Whichever she chooses, at least it won't be on my TV screen, because Padma gave her the pack up your knives and skeedaddle.

I know All Star versions of reality TV show are a ratings grabbing ploy, a no-thinking-involved formula for success, but for Top Chef I think it goes beyond that.  There is a chance to see very talented people excelling at what they do best, given a chance to go farther than they did the last time and claim their rightful place on top.  After a little more weeding out of marginal contestants (I'm looking at you wine boy), this will be a tough and tight race as they each make good use of their culinary second chance.  Bravo, Bravo!

Can Rock Music Survive?

I try not to be one of those "back in my day" people, constantly telling the younger generation just how much better life was before they came along and ruined everything.  But when it comes to the state of music, it's hard not to be nostalgic for what used to rule the airwaves and more than a little sad for the direction music has gone.

Do you remember rock music?  It was a huge category that was open to so many variations, all united in the idea that music should be personal, intense, meaningful and liberating.  It wasn't defined by song length or instrumentation, by geography or experiences, by age, gender or ethnicity.  It was music that moved you, that spoke to you, that made you angry or happy or depressed.  It was defined by its lack of rules and its lack of limitations. 

But that's not what is ruling music today.  Now it's pop and hip hop and hip pop -- prepackaged, overly controlled, prefabricated music that is as interchangeable as it is forgettable.  I miss guitar solos and songs that go on forever and lyrics that give me pause.  I liked going to concerts and knowing that the live version was going to be different from the recorded, that music wasn't static and perfect but a living thing.  There wasn't going to be a backing track to make sure that the audience got what they'd heard fifteen times a day on their local radio station.

So I'll try to introduce what is new in this genre in the hope that we can support what may be a dying art form. If you like what you hear, click on the link, buy the music, support it. Money rules the music business, like every other business, and if there are buyers there will be more product. If, instead, only Pop sells, then guess what you'll be hearing more of?

My Chemical Romance has a new album out "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" and I think it's even stronger than their last one.  Here's a video of the second single off the album, Sing:


Neon Trees are a throwback to the New Wave sound, but since they have covered Justin Bieber, it's hard to think of them as truly alternative.  They released their album "Habits" earlier this year and the first song off of it is very catchy.  It's called Animal:


One of the few "rock" acts nominated in a general Grammy category was Mumford & Sons. Their debut album Sigh No More has received critical praise and attention.  They're more folk-rock, a la CSN&Y, and they have a banjo for heaven's sake. Here's their top ten single Little Lion Man

Let's look at this week's Billboard charts under the category "Rock" music.  Number one, Stone Sour with Say You'll Haunt Me:


Stone Sour is fronted by the former lead singer of Slipknot. They also had this song, which you may have heard, Through Glass.


Next up is Tighten Up by The Black Keys:


Number three this week is, fittingly, Three Days Grace with World So Cold:


There are hundreds of unsigned bands out there, practicing, writing, playing, trying to keep the music alive.  Here's a link to the MySpace page of one of these up and coming bands, named after one of my favorite movies, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.  I hate to sum up a band in just a few words, but they remind me of Counting Crows (with a little less angst).  The first song of theirs I heard I really liked. It's called Landslides

Rock music is out there.  Thirty Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, Kings of Leon, Cake, Broken Bells, Florence & the Machine, Tired Pony, Bruce Springsteen.  Even The Smashing Pumpkins have a new song out. Don't give up on rock. Listen to it, support it. Keep Neil Young's promise alive:  Rock'n'Roll will never die.