Post by Cindy on Jan 22, 2006 22:41:28 GMT -5
I apologize in advance if this seems sloppy and rushed...and it is probably full of typos...but here it is. The tour frenzy has kept me pretty busy posting updates, so I couldn't get to this sooner:
The reality episode opens with the rockers a bit shell shocked after the double elimination. We see sad looking rockers, making mournful comments, some looking rather tearful (the usual suspects--Suzie, Ty, MiG....)
As they are munching down on the spread, in pops lovely Liz, Marty's big sister. There is a joyful reunion and group introductions. While Marty takes Liz to see the mansion, they stop in at his and Ty's room, where Liz presents him with a wonderful, warm letter from his mom. We discover by the conversation that Marty has a large family and this becomes my first introduction to the Casey clan. Liz represents them well; she is personable, kind, caring, and very proud of her baby brother. My two favorite moments of her visit to the mansion are when Marty is reading his mom's letter and he is so tickled by his mom writing about Nirvana. The other great moment is when standing outside by the wall, Liz whispers conspiratorily telling him about how INXS was one of HER favorite bands and how cool this is that he is there.
Meanwhile, back at the other rockers, Suzie starts up with her signature waterworks because she says she misses her family and is therefore jeolous that Marty got a family visit. I think this is about where her ubiquitous tears started to get on my nervers. I am an easy crier too, but I swear she seems to get all emotional over stuff that has little or no real reason for the tears, other than just crying for crying sake. I have noticed that Suzie is not the most articulate person in the house and many times when asked a question point blank, has difficulty expressing herself. Maybe her crying is her outlet for being not so hot with words?? Anyway, Mig has a logical response to Marty's visitor, "Is this what's gonna be?" If you do really well, you get to see your family?" Boy, this sounds like prisoners bargaining for visitation rights!
Then we have the week's clinic, a voice clinic with vocal coach Ron Anderson. Kirk Pengilly of the Snidely Whiplash moustache sits in as well as Dave Navarre. Ron insists he is not there to alter their voice, just help them. Next comes the prerequiste breathing exercises and all those wierd noise sound making. We see several of the Rockers really get helped, and others struggle a bit more. But don't really get to see any extended moments with our boy, Marty. So we will get past this clinic and on to the music selection. With the songs posted, the Rockers convene in the pool room to work out who gets what. MiG is the first one to latch onto something.... he goes right for Queen's We Will Rock YOu--right up his alley. There is a bit of drama about who is going to get Tonic's "If You could Only See" but Brandon triumphs over Ty for it. Ty ends up with Everlong by the Foo Fighters and states the song is "so not me" and that he has never heard it before. Logic tells us that this song would have been exactly perfect for Marty, but Marty wisely opts out of it as it might be seen as being Nirvana redux had he taken it. We don't know at this point what Marty has gotten. We also get to see JD one more time manipulate and misrepresent his intentions to get the song he wants. He snows Suzie over and she thinks she has gotten Get Back because JD has generously given it to her....but in reality, he wanted her to think that so he could have The Letter uncontested, plus make it look like he is a being a nice guy to Suzie. He does a bit of duplicitous acting in the song selection scene as he fakes that he isn't familiar with The Letter and that in telling the group what he thinks of it, he makes a blahh face. So no one suspects his true interest. He is the only one we see doing these underhanded tactics, and it registers with me that I really want his antics to back fire on him. I suppose after his grandstanding the second week before and now being a tricky dick with Suzie and taking her for a real ride....this is probably where I began to think that JD was definately not one of my favorites.
This week has some really outstanding work from quite a few of the leading contenders. The performance episode starts out with a bang....MiG doing "We Will Rock You." No surprise here, he nails this in just about every way possible. You gotta kind of think that was the song put there as a plant for him to do so as to make up for the Queen butchering by JD before. Deanna is up second and she and does a very admirable job on "I'm The Only One." During the last verse of the song, she wisely works her way over to the INXS platform and entertains them with a near lap dance. Of course they eat it up with a spoon and a fork. She has a terrific body, sexy smoky voice, and her choice of a Melissa Ethridge tune is right up her alley.
Then Marty comes out and has wisely chosen a power ballad to show the band he can deliver on that level. He gives a passionate, intense performance that I simply loved. He just stands there and delivers....on a song that can easily become cheesy in the wrong hands. I love his mad conductor moments in this one...and it sure tickles MiG as his enthusiastic reaction catches the notice of the cameraman. You can really see how Marty becomes the song.... he just moves as if he is part of the music and if there is such a thing as method singing (like method acting), Marty practices it. I love Marty's choice in the final verse of removing the mic from the stand and stepping forward toward the audience to deliver the last few lines with such powerful intensity. INXS is very happy with what Marty has done with this song and they are impressed with how he has grown as a singer and they can't wait to see what he does next.
Ty stuggles with Everlong, and this was not a song he wanted or was familiar with and it shows. He joyfully bounds around the stage, theatrically sweeping here and there. My thought is that he really doesn't understand the meaning of the song, nor does he get the complex, rambling modern rock edge of it. You have to give him credit though for taking it on when it was so outside of his box. Jessica and Brandon do fairly good jobs of their songs, although neither really sings that well.
Then we have the stellar performance of Jordis doing the Nirvanesque version of Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World. So much have been written about and commented on this performance, that I don't know what new I could add....I will just say I loved it and was moved.
JD's The Letter is hard to explain. There are parts of it that remind me of the Joe Cocker version, but Cocker has way more blues sound than JD. If JD would just leave out his side comments, the baby, this and whatever else he says outside of the songs lyrics, I would have liked this a lot better. When he does that it reminds me of a lounge lizard. I didn't hate this performance, I just didn't love it.
The show wraps up with two female singers...Tara doing a rather dull Message In a Bottle (I have heard this covered by others, and it really can sound interesting...this just does not)...and Suzie doing a solid job on "Get Back." Suzie looks like she is having fun and I really enjoyed her performance. I remember voting that night online for Jordis, Suzie, MiG, Deanna and Marty. I know I voted several times for both Marty and Jordis. I loved both of them this night, and by now I had developed the M.O. of voting for both of them multiple times each week.
Elimination night this week is exactly what I expected.... Jordis encored and the bottom 3 is Ty, Tara and Brandon, although it would not have surprised me if Jessica would have been there in stead of Brandon. And it is Tara hitting the road. Tara's exit seems to almost be a relief to her by her comments of not being able to take the stress much anymore.... I felt for her and think she took her dismassal with grace and dignity. We don't see much from Marty during this week's elmination, but sometimes no news is good news here, especially when you want to avoid the bottom three.
The reality episode opens with the rockers a bit shell shocked after the double elimination. We see sad looking rockers, making mournful comments, some looking rather tearful (the usual suspects--Suzie, Ty, MiG....)
As they are munching down on the spread, in pops lovely Liz, Marty's big sister. There is a joyful reunion and group introductions. While Marty takes Liz to see the mansion, they stop in at his and Ty's room, where Liz presents him with a wonderful, warm letter from his mom. We discover by the conversation that Marty has a large family and this becomes my first introduction to the Casey clan. Liz represents them well; she is personable, kind, caring, and very proud of her baby brother. My two favorite moments of her visit to the mansion are when Marty is reading his mom's letter and he is so tickled by his mom writing about Nirvana. The other great moment is when standing outside by the wall, Liz whispers conspiratorily telling him about how INXS was one of HER favorite bands and how cool this is that he is there.
Meanwhile, back at the other rockers, Suzie starts up with her signature waterworks because she says she misses her family and is therefore jeolous that Marty got a family visit. I think this is about where her ubiquitous tears started to get on my nervers. I am an easy crier too, but I swear she seems to get all emotional over stuff that has little or no real reason for the tears, other than just crying for crying sake. I have noticed that Suzie is not the most articulate person in the house and many times when asked a question point blank, has difficulty expressing herself. Maybe her crying is her outlet for being not so hot with words?? Anyway, Mig has a logical response to Marty's visitor, "Is this what's gonna be?" If you do really well, you get to see your family?" Boy, this sounds like prisoners bargaining for visitation rights!
Then we have the week's clinic, a voice clinic with vocal coach Ron Anderson. Kirk Pengilly of the Snidely Whiplash moustache sits in as well as Dave Navarre. Ron insists he is not there to alter their voice, just help them. Next comes the prerequiste breathing exercises and all those wierd noise sound making. We see several of the Rockers really get helped, and others struggle a bit more. But don't really get to see any extended moments with our boy, Marty. So we will get past this clinic and on to the music selection. With the songs posted, the Rockers convene in the pool room to work out who gets what. MiG is the first one to latch onto something.... he goes right for Queen's We Will Rock YOu--right up his alley. There is a bit of drama about who is going to get Tonic's "If You could Only See" but Brandon triumphs over Ty for it. Ty ends up with Everlong by the Foo Fighters and states the song is "so not me" and that he has never heard it before. Logic tells us that this song would have been exactly perfect for Marty, but Marty wisely opts out of it as it might be seen as being Nirvana redux had he taken it. We don't know at this point what Marty has gotten. We also get to see JD one more time manipulate and misrepresent his intentions to get the song he wants. He snows Suzie over and she thinks she has gotten Get Back because JD has generously given it to her....but in reality, he wanted her to think that so he could have The Letter uncontested, plus make it look like he is a being a nice guy to Suzie. He does a bit of duplicitous acting in the song selection scene as he fakes that he isn't familiar with The Letter and that in telling the group what he thinks of it, he makes a blahh face. So no one suspects his true interest. He is the only one we see doing these underhanded tactics, and it registers with me that I really want his antics to back fire on him. I suppose after his grandstanding the second week before and now being a tricky dick with Suzie and taking her for a real ride....this is probably where I began to think that JD was definately not one of my favorites.
This week has some really outstanding work from quite a few of the leading contenders. The performance episode starts out with a bang....MiG doing "We Will Rock You." No surprise here, he nails this in just about every way possible. You gotta kind of think that was the song put there as a plant for him to do so as to make up for the Queen butchering by JD before. Deanna is up second and she and does a very admirable job on "I'm The Only One." During the last verse of the song, she wisely works her way over to the INXS platform and entertains them with a near lap dance. Of course they eat it up with a spoon and a fork. She has a terrific body, sexy smoky voice, and her choice of a Melissa Ethridge tune is right up her alley.
Then Marty comes out and has wisely chosen a power ballad to show the band he can deliver on that level. He gives a passionate, intense performance that I simply loved. He just stands there and delivers....on a song that can easily become cheesy in the wrong hands. I love his mad conductor moments in this one...and it sure tickles MiG as his enthusiastic reaction catches the notice of the cameraman. You can really see how Marty becomes the song.... he just moves as if he is part of the music and if there is such a thing as method singing (like method acting), Marty practices it. I love Marty's choice in the final verse of removing the mic from the stand and stepping forward toward the audience to deliver the last few lines with such powerful intensity. INXS is very happy with what Marty has done with this song and they are impressed with how he has grown as a singer and they can't wait to see what he does next.
Ty stuggles with Everlong, and this was not a song he wanted or was familiar with and it shows. He joyfully bounds around the stage, theatrically sweeping here and there. My thought is that he really doesn't understand the meaning of the song, nor does he get the complex, rambling modern rock edge of it. You have to give him credit though for taking it on when it was so outside of his box. Jessica and Brandon do fairly good jobs of their songs, although neither really sings that well.
Then we have the stellar performance of Jordis doing the Nirvanesque version of Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World. So much have been written about and commented on this performance, that I don't know what new I could add....I will just say I loved it and was moved.
JD's The Letter is hard to explain. There are parts of it that remind me of the Joe Cocker version, but Cocker has way more blues sound than JD. If JD would just leave out his side comments, the baby, this and whatever else he says outside of the songs lyrics, I would have liked this a lot better. When he does that it reminds me of a lounge lizard. I didn't hate this performance, I just didn't love it.
The show wraps up with two female singers...Tara doing a rather dull Message In a Bottle (I have heard this covered by others, and it really can sound interesting...this just does not)...and Suzie doing a solid job on "Get Back." Suzie looks like she is having fun and I really enjoyed her performance. I remember voting that night online for Jordis, Suzie, MiG, Deanna and Marty. I know I voted several times for both Marty and Jordis. I loved both of them this night, and by now I had developed the M.O. of voting for both of them multiple times each week.
Elimination night this week is exactly what I expected.... Jordis encored and the bottom 3 is Ty, Tara and Brandon, although it would not have surprised me if Jessica would have been there in stead of Brandon. And it is Tara hitting the road. Tara's exit seems to almost be a relief to her by her comments of not being able to take the stress much anymore.... I felt for her and think she took her dismassal with grace and dignity. We don't see much from Marty during this week's elmination, but sometimes no news is good news here, especially when you want to avoid the bottom three.
and loving the letter Marty's Mom wrote to him. Still do. It would be unreal to see my mom writing about Nirvana and Lithium, too.
I know! Now I just love seeing it. I actually watched it three times in a row. It's so good and emotional and sincere.