American Idle

I've never bothered to buy any CDs by any of the "American Idol" winners, because they've just never interested me, and I've never had a serious temptation to even watch the show. I did buy finalist Jim Verraros' CD (a pretty decent album), and have thought a bit about buying Bo Bice's album after enjoying his performance on Santana's latest CD, but that's as close as I've come to being an "American Idol" fan. I have, however, in recent years stumbled across a few good CDs by the winners of other "Idol" shows around the world, so here are a few recommendations....

Kurt Nilsen: "I" -- Winner of not only Norway's "Idol" show, but also of the global showdown "World Idol", and for good reason. This guy's got a hearty and slightly raspy (but far from irritating) voice which goes well with the rock-infused songs on this enjoyable album. (And it doesn't hurt that he covers songs by Duran Duran and Tal Bachman, two favorite acts of mine.)

Kalan Porter: "219 Days" -- Google a picture of the winner of "Canadian Idol" season two, and you'll find a skinny, baby-faced blond with delicate facial features. Listen to him sing, however, and you'll be hit with an amazingly solid voice that fluctuates from growling baritone to sweet-but-confident tenor. This is a fine selection of pop songs, with Kalan occasionally exhibiting his talent on the violin (including a cool solo for the album intro). You might laugh, but only from wondering how such a big, thick voice can come from such a thin, wispy body. Look for a contribution from Guess Who and BTO alum (and fellow Canadian) Randy Bachman.

Will Young: "Keep On" -- The third album from the winner of the first UK "Pop Idol" competition continues Mr. Young's steady upward climb in quality. He's got a skilled voice that can carry him through a broad variety of songs (well, as broad a variety as, say, the more adventurous Ronan Keating album), and is worth checking out.

My (Very, Very, Very) Musical Life

I like music. I really like music. No ... I must say I love music. I have over a thousand CDs ... that's how much I love music. I'm starting to think I love music a little too much, so lately I've been trying to trade in more CDs than I buy, to ease the burden on my poor, overstressed bookshelves. I think I've been gaining ground, but I'm gonna try harder.

About the only thing I haven't done yet is go through my CDs, one by one, and deliberate the validity of their presence in my collection ... and I think that's something I'm gonna start now. It probably won't be easy, but I really ought to give it a try. There's no telling how many (or, more to the point, how few) trade-ins I'll end up accumulating, because I've already trimmed a lot of the "dead weight" out of my collection.

Maybe this blog will help me along in the task. In a blog I used to write (which still lingers on the web, at least for now), I had trouble making regular entries for one reason or another. But I fully intend to make weekly (if not almost daily) entries in this one ... mostly devoted to music, including my odyssey through my CD collection, as well as a "spotlight CD of the week" type of thing, as well as the new releases I'll inevitably pick up fairly frequently. But I'll also take the occasional sidestep to other topics of varying sorts.

So, I hope you enjoy my ramblings. And don't be shy ... leave a comment if you feel so inclined!