And Now There Are Six

Well, what do you know? I ended up being right about who I thought would make it through "Idol" this week! Well, not counting the wildcard ... and I hope my guess on that one is right as well ... I hate to think we've seen the last of Megan.

Who do I think the wildcards should be so far (assuming they pick one from each week)? Easy: Anoop Desai and Megan Joy Corkrey. I still don't know how the wildcard round works ... do they pick one from each week and bring the finals up to 12 participants? Or do they do a "sing-off" and choose one, making it a group of ten? I guess we'll see in a couple of weeks.

Oh, and fun seeing Brooke White again! Nice song, too ... guess maybe I oughta download it from iTunes....

American Idol 2009 - The Top 36, Round 2

Here we go with round two ... the second of three groups of twelve get to strut their stuff tonight. Unfortunately, eight of them are going to be axed. Will any of our favorites make it through? (Uh-oh ... I'm starting to sound like Ryan.)

Jasmine Murray ["Love Song" by Sara Bareilles] -- She did well, but didn't knock my socks off ... and the judges said what I was thinking, that her notes danced around the melody a bit too much. I kinda think she's not good enough to make it through, but we'll see.

Matt Giraud ["Viva La Vida" by Coldplay] -- Oh yeah, the guy who did that great rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" in Hollywood! Let's see how he does ... Hmmm ... he's letting himself get breathy ... and Coldplay is an odd song choice for "Idol" ... I kind-of like this guy, but I think this is gonna hurt him.

Jeanine Vailes ["This Love" by Maroon 5] -- Gosh, what's with the pitchiness tonight? She started out very shaky, but did get better. Was it enough to pull her through...? I'm not sure about the song choice comments, 'cause I thought it was an interesting choice. I'm just not sure she did the right thing with it.

It's at commercial right now. I'm surprised to hear that Nick's next ... would have thought they'd save him for last. I hope he's wised up and is dropping the "Norman Gentle" shtick tonight, 'cause it's not like he doesn't have a voice that could work for him. Let's find out....

Nick Mitchell ["And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Holliday] -- Holy crap ... now I've seen it all. Who ever would have thought Nick/Norman would be the best contestant of the night so far?!?!?!? Entertaining, for sure ... and I don't agree with the judges about the vocals, 'cause I thought he was probably the least out-of-tune singer so far tonight.

Allison Iraheta ["Alone" by Heart] -- Well, now things are looking up. She wasn't the most articulate person in the world when she was chatting with Ryan, but she's one of the most promising singers of the night. As it stands now, I can definitely see her cracking the Top Twelve.

Kris Allen ["Man In The Mirror" by Michael Jackson] -- Pretty good, but it's always difficult to pull of Michael Jackson. Good enough to make it through? I'm not so sure.... I am shocked as hell that Simon had positive things to say!

Megan Joy Corkrey ["Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae] -- She's lived up to her previous auditions quite well, I think ... not a perfect song (missed a bit here and there), but she's got that likeability, probably the most of any of the female contestants. I like her, and I usually don't care for the female contestants, so that should give you an idea.

Matt Breitzke ["If You Could Only See" by Tonic] -- One of the "roughnecks" I was looking forward to seeing. I like his song choice ('cause I like Tonic) ... but for some reason I'm a bit disappointed. It sounded like he was holding back with his voice here ... and probably with his performance, too, like the judges said.

Jesse Langseth ["Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes] -- The song choice doesn't impress me, but she's got an interesting voice and gave a good performance. She could turn out to be a wild card....

Kai Kalama ["What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" by Jimmy Ruffin] -- Very good ... one of the better ones of the night. He had a weird look on his face through most of the song, which was a bit distracting ... but he's got a good chance.

Mishavonna Henson ["Drops Of Jupiter" by Train] -- Hmmm ... not sure what to think. An interesting song choice, but not sure if it's right for her. She's a good singer, but I have a feeling she's not gonna make it, and not necessarily through any fault of her own.

Adam Lambert ["(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones] -- Well, they did indeed save the best for last, didn't they?! I loved just about everything about that performance, especially the way he started it out slow and sultry (if that word can be applied to a guy) ... and it only got better from there! If he doesn't make it through, I'll eat my hat. (Well, I don't actually own a hat, but you know what I mean.)

Who I think will make it to the Top 12: Adam Lambert (duh), Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, and Megan Joy Corkrey.

Who I think should make it to the Top 12: Adam Lambert, Megan Joy Corkrey, Nick Mitchell (What can I say?), and Allison Iraheta.

Let's check in tomorrow and see just how right I am...!

(Oh, and remember to update your bookmarks to this new URL if you haven't yet!)

The Times They Are a'Changing

So, you're probably asking ... why "Tom's Music Continuum"? (Or maybe you're not asking, but I'll answer anyway.) Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, I realized a little while ago that music is not a finite series of neatly separated genres, as some of the more narrow-minded business types in the music industry might have us believe. Maybe we used to be able to define music as belonging to one genre or another, but that's become more difficult lately. Genres are blending together and crossing over like never before, and music really has become a continuum (defined by Merriam-Webster as "a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees"). There's probably at least one album in my collection that could be tagged as belonging to just about each primary genre out there, at least as it might be described on the surface. But there's something about all of them that appeals to me on some basic level -- that level probably being that undefinable thing that makes music music.

But, enough of the deep philosophical/metaphysical stuff. The other reason for the blog's new name is the simple fact that I kind-of look at my CD collection as a "continuum" ... constantly evolving, with items I've lost interest in always being rotated out and new items of interest always being introduced in. Being a "Star Trek" fan, I chose the word "continuum" carefully, not only because of the Q Continuum (yes, that's what the "q" is doing in the URL ... but partly because I wanted to keep it short and easy to type too -- and also 'cause the first few URLs I tried to claim were already taken), but also because of a concept called "The Great Material Continuum", which is explained here ... kind-of a curious notion, fitting right in with the forementioned nature of my CD collection.

And, last but not least, I was kind-of getting tired of the whole "Thnairg" bit and wanted to start using a real name for a change. But anyway, I hope you like the new look and new title, but rest assured that you'll be getting the same kind of content you've come to expect from me in the past. Enjoy, and let the music play!

Seeing Some Results

Okay ... I was half-right with my prediction (and half-right with my "wish list") ... sort-of. I thought there would be four chosen, 'cause doesn't it go from the Top 36 down to the Top 12? I heard there's something about a "Wild Card" ... is there one from each group of twelve, but they don't get announced until the third group's results show two weeks from now? I'm mildly confused.

It was majorly cool, though, to see Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, wasn't it?!? An album from Michael in May ... yeah!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I thought this was priceless...!

American Idol 2009 - The Top 36, Round 1

Well, color me surprised ... I wasn't going to watch the mass-audition episodes of "American Idol" this year, but I ended up doing so (though I missed the San Francisco round). And then I didn't think I was going to start doing my weekly on-the-fly blogging again this season either ... until I heard how this round was going to work. I thought they'd be eliminating two each week from each of the three groups (and being a little puzzled 'cause that would take forever) -- but when I heard that ALL BUT FOUR would be walking away from each of the next three rounds, I knew it was going to be interesting. I've got a few early favorites picked out already, and it'll be a bit nerve-wracking seeing how many of them get tossed out in just this first round. So, without further ado, here we go with the first twelve of the Top 36!

Jackie Tohn ["A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley] -- Paula's comments were right on the money: excellent stage presence, and not the best vocals in the world, but more than good enough -- after all, if a singer has a perfect voice but no stage presence, how entertaining can they be?

Ricky Braddy ["A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway] -- Wow! What is this, the Top Four?!? An absolutely stirring performance ... excellent, gorgeous voice! If these first two are any indication, this is going to be a hell of a decision for the voters!! And, for the second time so far this evening, I'm harrumphing at Simon's comments....

Alexis Grace ["I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" by Aretha Franklin] -- Decent voice, but then this is what you have to be afraid of when you follow two strong performers. Very good, but not good enough, I fear. The judges loved it more than I did, that's for sure.

Brent Keith ["Hicktown" by Jason Aldean] -- One of the few "All-American boys" in this year's contest ... Not bad at all, but then again, he couldn't help but leave me just a little cold after Jackie and Ricky. Still, though, he may have promise down the road (to carry the country metaphor). Aha ... Kara's comments point out what I think bothers me about his performance ... a little too "safe".

Stevie Wright ["You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift] -- Hmmm ... how can I say this nicely? She started out very weak and didn't really get any better ... I'll be flabbergasted if she makes it past this round. To put it another way, I agree wholeheartedly with Simon for the first time tonight ... I would have said it more nicely, but there you have it.

Anoop Desai ["Angel Of Mine" by Monica] -- Ready to say it? "Anoop-dawg in da house!" Maybe not the best performance of the night, but very good, and I think he's enough of a favorite that it'll get him through to the next round ... but then again, we've only heard half of this group so far.

Casey Carlson ["Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police] -- A gutsy gamble, doing a song by The Police ... and I'm not sure it paid off. Not bad ... she was definitely good to get through to the Top 36, but I think that's as far as she'll get. Sweet spirit, though ... she was still able to smile and say she had fun!

Michael Sarver ["I Don't Want To Be" by Gavin DeGraw] -- Here's one of my early favorites ... how can you not like this guy? Let's see how he does ... Very good performance, but is it good enough to pull him through to the next round? I have a feeling that he and Anoop will be fighting it out in the "likeability" category. Simon said it all.

Ann Marie Boskovich ["(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin] -- Ah yes, the "come back as yourself" girl ... Ted Danson seemed to like her, and I liked her, too ... maybe not as much as Jackie, but I think she's the second-best girl of the night. Too big a song for her? Maybe ... I guess we'll see tomorrow night.

Stephen Fowler ["Rock With You" by Michael Jackson] -- I have mixed feelings about this guy ... never should have been allowed through for giving up on his performance in the final Hollywood round. But then, maybe the point is moot, 'cause this one was not much better than lukewarm. As Randy might say, "I wasn't feelin' it."

Tatiana Del Toro ["Saving All My Love For You" by Whitney Houston] -- (Isn't she the hysterically-babbling "oh my god!!!" girl? I'll try not to hold that against her.) Hey, now that's a pleasant surprise ... I expected her to crash and burn, but she was pretty damn good!! In fact, I think she might take Ann Marie's place as my second-favorite female performance of the evening. Will that get her anywhere...? Hmmm ... I think she was doing just fine until she practically begged for votes just before Ryan took the show to commercial.

Danny Gokey ["Hero" by Mariah Carey] -- Now why did I know they were going to save him for last? Let's see if it worked to his advantage ... I haven't heard a bad performance from him yet, and tonight is no exception. I know he's already got a fan base, and I'm pretty sure it'll carry him through, especially with a fine showing like this!

Who I think will make it to the Top 12: Danny Gokey, Jackie Tohn, Anoop Desai, and Alexis Grace.

Who I think should make it to the Top 12: Danny Gokey, Jackie Tohn, Michael Sarver, and Anoop Desai.

Oh, and one thing I won't be doing this year is voting ... I don't know why I bothered doing so last year, 'cause since people can vote as many times as they want to, it's pretty much pointless. That's one big problem I have with "Idol" ... but that's another discussion entirely. Happy voting, for those of you who choose to do so!

Thnairg's Podcast - February 2009

My apologies again for not having a January podcast to give you, but here's the February edition! What's it about? Well, I'll give you a vague little hint: it starts out with a crappy (and artificially enhanced) Ryan Seacrest impersonation!

Thnairg's Podcast - February 2009

Coming next month ... I'm not sure yet, but probably "stuff I've recently gotten". But I've got a couple of lofty plans in mind for my podcast's future, which I'll discuss soon.

Note: Thnairg's Podcast is delivered at the bitrate of 64kbps ... below CD quality, but still perfectly listenable. This is done both to make for quicker downloading, and to discourage piracy. As always, if you enjoy the music featured in my podcast, I encourage you to buy the artists' CDs or MP3s through legitimate means. After all, that's why my podcast is here!

Stay Tuned

Yes, I'm still alive. I'm sorry for the delay in the next podcast (and yes, there is going to be one). I really want to get it out to you -- I meant to do it last weekend and again this weekend -- but for some weird reason I just haven't been able to find the motivation to actually do it. (It might have something to do with the fact that I was a little unhappy with the way my voice sounded in the last podcast ... thought I had mastered how to tweak it so that there wouldn't be any distortion, but obviously I miscalculated somewhere.) Apparently it's possible to psych yourself up too much for a task. I guess I just need to totally take my mind off of it for the week (since I do have it all planned out) and it'll happen naturally.

In the meantime, so that this post isn't a total waste ... I thought I'd share an upcoming release with you, a promo of which I just got sent in the mail. It's the new album, "The Quiet Hype", by electropop group Jupiter Rising. It's not usually my sort of thing, since it has a lot of hip-hop in it (although the lyrics in the raps are more inventive than I usually find them), but it was an interesting listen, and I'm thinking I may be hanging onto the CD for awhile. Here's the video for the dandy single, "Falling Away". Enjoy!