One hour, ten hours... Same difference. At any rate... Second verse, more emotionally invested than the first.
10. "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing," Aerosmith
It's probably the cheesiest rock song ever written. It doesn't even sound like Aerosmith, really. But to me, it's just a great anthem of undying love. Not only that, but I use it to be able to say in conversation, "Oh, yeah, I like Aerosmith." ...what? They're not all going to be brilliant reasons. I just really like the song. It's the song I geek out to, really. Check out Allison Iraheta's softer cover that removes some of Steven Tyler's, erm, histrionics.
9. "Halo," Beyoncé
The hard-pumping religiously allegorical "Halo" is arguably her best effort. Though the beat is a little overused (you can hear it, or a version of it, in Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," Leona Lewis' "Happy," and Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," all produced by Ryan Tedder), it's still irresistible. It's also the only time I feel that Beyoncé truly restrains herself. On other songs, her crazy personality is fully on display, but on this one, she keeps it under control. It's a Beyoncé I can admire, not the Beyoncé I'm a little scared of.
8. "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler
Oh, my relationship with this song is so interesting. Starting from driving in the Toyota Corolla with my best friend blasting this song to listening to Glee's Lea Michele do her cover version and watching it somehow rocket to number one on the iTunes charts to watching the literal video (haven't watched it? Go. Now. Do it.) over and over again until I remembered those lyrics better than the original ones. The best part? It's a horrible song. Awful. Completely nonsensical. The video's even worse. But I love it. It's truly amazingly bad. My ultimate guilty pleasure.
7. "Knock You Down," Keri Hilson f/ Ne-Yo & Kanye West
"I never thought I'd hear myself say, 'Y'all go ahead, I think I'm gonna kick it with my girl today.'" This is my favorite hip hop song because it is so beautifully orchestrated. The three artists' parts are weaved together beautifully. I consider it a hip hop masterpiece. But it is also a difficult song to listen to, because of when I really loved it most. I loved it, and a good friend of mine who I'm no longer close with loved it too. We would sing it loud and proud driving on 360 with the windows down and music blaring. It's a highlight song, but it does remind me of times gone by that I'm sad don't exist anymore. But to paraphrase the song, when life knocks you down, you just gotta get back up again.
6. "Yesterday," The Beatles
I gotta say, leaving this out of my Top Five is really hard. It's my favorite Beatles tune, quite out of step for the Fab Four. It's an aching tale of a metaphorical morning after a loved one leaves. This song has helped me live through at least one difficult time where I needed to remember the past while still moving on. It is cathartic and a means for living with the past. When you're at your lowest point after a breakup or a friendship ends, take a listen to this song. It can help you realize that just because yesterday is gone doesn't mean you go with it. Listen to Syesha Mercado's heavily stylized cover that recasts the speaker as a woman wronged. It's not better, but it's a pretty damn good stand-alone.
Now, for the Top Five. I would say that most of these could be interchanged. But the following order is probably the most accurate for me.
5. "Paint It Black," The Rolling Stones
Who among us hasn't envisioned that our world gets darker when we're in a bad mood? The Stones took this to an extreme, imagining a world where everything is painted black. The guitar is almost Middle Eastern-influenced, and the lyrics are powerfully gripping, creating an anthem of depression. I will say, however, that I didn't love this song quite as much until Siobhan Magnus tore it up on this past season of American Idol. As good as the original is, I actually prefer Magnus' "demented toybox" version. It's damn impressive, and the sonic scream she pulls out at the end could be irritating but turns out to be the perfect finale. A wonderful interpretation of a wonderful song.
4. "Because of You," Kelly Clarkson
If there's one contemporary pop artist I've followed with the most consistency, it would be Kelly Clarkson. She was my first big concert, the first album I learned all the lyrics to, the first pop star I was ever disappointed in for changing too much, and the first comeback album I ever owned. All in all, she was, and is, my American Idol. This song explains perfectly why I love her so much. Written first when she was sixteen, it's amazingly deep for a pop hit. In it, Clarkson sings about her parents' divorce and how damaging the relationship with her mother was. Sure, I loved "Since U Been Gone" and "My Life Would Suck Without You." I even liked the random "Addicted," "How I Feel," "I Want You," or "Save You." But "Because of You" is special. It's the moment I knew Kelly Clarkson wasn't the average pop star. She's an artist, and she's something special to me.
3. "Falling Slowly," The Swell Season
"I don't know you but I want you all the more for that." Talk about a universal feeling. That gal or guy you see across the room who catches your eye and you can't stop watching. The chance encounter that lasts only a fleeting second but you want to last forever. The aching feeling when you realize that you've truly, completely fallen for someone who doesn't yet love you. It's not a hymn of unrequited love, it's a hymn of a love not yet in existence that you can just taste. I've felt it many a time. It's something you can't fight but in your most difficult moments you succumb to far too often. But just the emotion and the lyrics wouldn't be enough. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are extraordinary artists who evoke incredible emotion of their audiences. I can honestly say that no song makes me more emotional. It's a tearjerker.
2. "So You Can Cry," Ne-Yo
Speaking of songs about pain... This catchy ballad by current R&B king (sorry, Usher) Ne-Yo is about getting over the past and moving on, because life should be a celebration, not a funeral dirge. Like "Yesterday," which is more about remembering the past but still about moving on, "So You Can Cry" appeals to me as a reset button, a way to completely throw away the past and move on with your life. There was at least one period of my life that so desperately needed to be forgotten and thrown away that I wish I had heard this song long ago during that time. It might've helped, because one thing I know now is that in the greatest moments of crisis, music may not be a miracle cure, but it can be a great emotional outlet.
And here we are. Number one. My favorite song of all time is...
1. "You Don't Know Me," Ben Folds f/ Regina Spektor
...the most non-emotional song on this list. Huh? Isn't this all about the story about the song? How did this one win? Let me explain. This was the song of my summer in 2008. Up until that point, that was the best summer of my life (trounced by the summer of 2009 and 2010 is on its way to trouncing it as well). It was bubbly, fun, indie but pop-influenced: the best of all possible worlds. It is the one song I can never tire of listening to (though, strangely, it is behind "So You Can Cry" on my Most Played iTunes list), and the one song I immediately feel sheer joy for when it plays. When someone suggested that American Idol season 9 finalists Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze cover it, I felt immense pleasure that it was being referenced and leapt into defensive Mama Bear mode to protect my favorite song from such debauchery. I have no more love for any other song. This is my song. This is my story. (Cliché ending, right? It had to come sometime.)
Well, there it is. My 20 favorite songs and the reasons why I love them so much. What are your favorites? Give me a taste in the comments section of either Part I or Part II.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Stories Behind The Songs, Part I
I was planning on moving to 30 Rock first, but I have to figure out exactly which episodes are my favorites before I do that. So it's music first!
Rolling Stone recently came out with a list of the Best 500 Songs ever. Somewhat expectedly, it was heavy on rock and roll, but especially on classic rock (Rolling Stones, Beatles, U2, etc.). I can appreciate some of the selections (Top 10 placement for John Lennon's "Imagine" and Aretha Franklin's "Respect"? Hell yeah!), but others (why does "Paint It Black" not even break the Top 100? Why doesn't "Yesterday" break the Top 10?) really frustrate me.
Thus, I've formulated this theory: it is impossible to compile a subjective list of best songs ever. Each person has different memories of different songs, has different tastes, and therefore no one will be able to create a rubric for grading every song ever written and deciding which is "best."
What is possible, however, is to compile a personal favorite playlist: 20 songs one likes the most. They don't even have to be good songs, really: what is important is the emotion behind the song. What connection does one have to the song? What's the story behind the song?
In these two posts, I'll detail my favorite 20 songs of all time, as well as explain exactly why each of them is so important to me personally. Readers, I don't expect you to agree. You shouldn't agree. But I challenge you guys to come up with your top 20 (or 10, or 5) songs not from a technical level, but from a personal level, and post them in the comments section. You can explain them or you can not explain them, but make sure each song means something.
One note: not everything below is going to be super deep, but there will be some that are pretty personal. I'll do my best to not name names when the explanation is sticky.
20. "Russian Roulette," Rihanna
I absolutely hated how the press handled the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident. It was like they were afraid to pick a side. Like Brown somehow wasn't completely in the wrong. Jesse James cheats on Sandra Bullock and he's a sub-human, but Brown beats his girlfriend and we should "hear both sides of the story." It was sickening. This was Rihanna's first single off her fourth (and best) album, Rated R, and it is by far the most emotionally-loaded song she's ever written. Love is, for her and for all of us, a sick game, one where we never know what is right behind the door. Is it safety or is it jeopardy? The song is beautifully orchestrated and layered. It inspires an emotional reaction at each bated breath and especially at that first cold gunshot.
19. "The High Road," Broken Bells
I can't stand people who follow indie music just so that they can say they follow indie music. (People who legitimately enjoy indie music, however, actually compose a good portion of my best friends, so don't read that wrong. I hate the posers, not the true indie fans.) While I like some independent artists here and there, I would never consider myself an "indie kid" or anything in that vein. (The last song was Rihanna, for crying out loud.) However, a friend introduced me to this song, and I fell in love with it. The first part is just goofy enough to be a blast, like the intro to a Mario game, and the softer outro is a brilliant choice to end it. After hearing this song, I bought the album, and am still to this day the only person I know who owns the Bells' album. So no, I'm not an indie kid, but this is one group I cop to being a fanboy for, and this is the song that started it all.
18. "Don't Rain On My Parade," Barbra Streisand
Admittedly, the Streisand version isn't my favorite version of this song. There's no doubt she has the raw emotion in her voice, but it's always struck me as a little too grand. No, my love for this song first started with Lea Michele's cover version in the midseason finale of Glee, "Sectionals." It's a brilliant song and a brilliant performance, but it's the story I really relate to. Rachel, Michele's character, is the most talented singer on the show, full stop. Yet other characters and fans alike reject her because she steals the show too often. Then, when they most need her, she pulls this out of her hat and kills it. There's a central truth there that the best will be the best no matter what, and just because they're overexposed or too self-aggrandizing doesn't take that away.
17. "Like a Star," Corrine Bailey Rae
Rae's soul-filled waltz about a broken relationship that's just so damn addictive is absolutely beautiful, and especially meaningful since the death of her husband between her two albums. Her British croon is certainly popular elsewhere (Duffy, ADELE, Amy Winehouse), but she does it better than any of her more popular contemporaries on this track that taught me that every relationship has its ups and downs, but for true love, you can live with the annoyances and irritations.
16. "Is That All There Is?," Peggy Lee
"Then one day, he went away, and I thought I'd die. But I didn't. And when I didn't, I said to myself, 'Is that all there is to love? Is that all there is?'" The speaker in Lee's fatalistic anthem doesn't see a point in, well, anything, even death. Everything is a disappointment. I know that I have had, and I'm sure others have had similar, thoughts that life isn't worth living if there's no joy or fun in it. (See also: Jenny in An Education.) Here's the truth, however: life is worth living when you surround yourself with loved ones you can trust. In fact, life can be beautiful. You don't ask, "Is that all there is?" but rather, "What's next?" That's an important lesson for anyone. It certainly was for me.
15. "All Alone," Chris Richardson
We've hit the first song absolutely no one will know! (It's actually probably the last one too...) Richardson was a finalist on Season 6 of American Idol, and was generally considered a lightweight by, well, everyone, including me. However, his debut single (which woefully underperformed) showed up on a recommendation from iTunes. It was only $.99, so I went ahead and bought it. Thank God I did. I take back anything I ever said about Richardson: his tone is great, his lyrics aren't too deep but they're decent, and the song is infinitely listenable. It's Justin Timberlake-esque pop, but unlike the far too ubiquitous former *NSYNC member, Richarsdon can keep me hooked. I just wish he'd release more music!
14. "Paparazzi," Lady Gaga
Trust me, it was not easy to decide whether it would be this or "Bad Romance" that made it onto the list. (I almost put both.) Some like to dismiss Gaga as nothing but a one-trick pony. I would like to ask those people exactly when they stopped paying attention/started smoking hallucinogenics. Gaga has more than a few tricks up her sleeve, and "Paparazzi" was her first reinvention. She transformed from the party girl to an introspective pop star looking at the photographers who follow her around in a completely different way: instead of scorning them, she inhabited them and made herself her man's stalker. The video was her first insane one (starring True Blood's Alexander Skarsgård), setting the stage for "Bad Romance," "Telephone," and most recently, "Alejandro." When you think about it, "Paparazzi" is the reason why we, and especially I, hang on Gaga's every movement. She's not just an artist: she's a pop culture phenomenon. (If you want a cover to check out, try Felix Theis' acoustic cover. Find it on YouTube.)
13. "My Funny Valentine," Frank Sinatra
Here's a little O'Keeffe family trivia: this song was my mom's first Valentine's Day gift to my dad when they were engaged. Two years ago, as a harkening back to that, I burned a CD of twenty different "My Funny Valentine" covers for my parents for their 20th anniversary. There's something so sweet about the song, and I consider it the anthem of my parents' incredibly strong marriage. My favorite cover is Carly Simon's quieter, more lovely than loving version, but I also love the R&B-twinged Melinda Doolittle cover and Sinatra's original, though I do think it's a song for a woman to sing to a man, not vice versa. (Saying a woman's figure is "less than Greek" sounds significantly more sexist than saying it of a man's figure.)
12. "Say My Name," Destiny's Child
Two artists have two entries each on this chart. Beyoncé is the first: one as a solo artist, one as part of Destiny's Child. (There would have been a third if I could have decided on a Regina Spektor song, but they're all too evenly matched for me to pick a favorite.) "Say My Name" had a striking video that I still remember to this day: that may have been because this was the first music video I ever saw. The then-four members of Child were positioned around an apartment, each member in a differently colored room and dressed to match. The action then shifted to a garage-esque setting, and the singers did a rotating dance that would become iconic. The song is super-catchy, with just the right amount of sass. I smile instantly when the song comes on, remembering all the times I listened to the song as a kid and watched the video. It's the ultimate kiss-off song, and one that I will probably remember the words to forever.
The final song of the lower tier is...
11. "You Oughta Know," Alanis Morrisette
This was not an easy one to remove from the Top 10, but I couldn't find one to drop in its favor. My science teacher once referred to Morrisette's music as being "angry lesbian music," which is incredibly true. However, this song is also a beautiful testament to exactly how thin that line between love and hate really is. Personally, I have hated people I knew I loved. Neither of those emotions is illegitimate: when love is unrequited, hate is born. This passionate rant of a woman scorned may be a tale of hatred, but there is also no doubt that she loves her ex-lover as well. Love is too complex to be trivialized as a one-emotion issue. It is incredibly complex and incredibly passionate, and that's what I love most about this song.
Part II will be up in a little over an hour, so stay tuned for that. It gets loads more personal, I can guarantee you that.
Rolling Stone recently came out with a list of the Best 500 Songs ever. Somewhat expectedly, it was heavy on rock and roll, but especially on classic rock (Rolling Stones, Beatles, U2, etc.). I can appreciate some of the selections (Top 10 placement for John Lennon's "Imagine" and Aretha Franklin's "Respect"? Hell yeah!), but others (why does "Paint It Black" not even break the Top 100? Why doesn't "Yesterday" break the Top 10?) really frustrate me.
Thus, I've formulated this theory: it is impossible to compile a subjective list of best songs ever. Each person has different memories of different songs, has different tastes, and therefore no one will be able to create a rubric for grading every song ever written and deciding which is "best."
What is possible, however, is to compile a personal favorite playlist: 20 songs one likes the most. They don't even have to be good songs, really: what is important is the emotion behind the song. What connection does one have to the song? What's the story behind the song?
In these two posts, I'll detail my favorite 20 songs of all time, as well as explain exactly why each of them is so important to me personally. Readers, I don't expect you to agree. You shouldn't agree. But I challenge you guys to come up with your top 20 (or 10, or 5) songs not from a technical level, but from a personal level, and post them in the comments section. You can explain them or you can not explain them, but make sure each song means something.
One note: not everything below is going to be super deep, but there will be some that are pretty personal. I'll do my best to not name names when the explanation is sticky.
20. "Russian Roulette," Rihanna
I absolutely hated how the press handled the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident. It was like they were afraid to pick a side. Like Brown somehow wasn't completely in the wrong. Jesse James cheats on Sandra Bullock and he's a sub-human, but Brown beats his girlfriend and we should "hear both sides of the story." It was sickening. This was Rihanna's first single off her fourth (and best) album, Rated R, and it is by far the most emotionally-loaded song she's ever written. Love is, for her and for all of us, a sick game, one where we never know what is right behind the door. Is it safety or is it jeopardy? The song is beautifully orchestrated and layered. It inspires an emotional reaction at each bated breath and especially at that first cold gunshot.
19. "The High Road," Broken Bells
I can't stand people who follow indie music just so that they can say they follow indie music. (People who legitimately enjoy indie music, however, actually compose a good portion of my best friends, so don't read that wrong. I hate the posers, not the true indie fans.) While I like some independent artists here and there, I would never consider myself an "indie kid" or anything in that vein. (The last song was Rihanna, for crying out loud.) However, a friend introduced me to this song, and I fell in love with it. The first part is just goofy enough to be a blast, like the intro to a Mario game, and the softer outro is a brilliant choice to end it. After hearing this song, I bought the album, and am still to this day the only person I know who owns the Bells' album. So no, I'm not an indie kid, but this is one group I cop to being a fanboy for, and this is the song that started it all.
18. "Don't Rain On My Parade," Barbra Streisand
Admittedly, the Streisand version isn't my favorite version of this song. There's no doubt she has the raw emotion in her voice, but it's always struck me as a little too grand. No, my love for this song first started with Lea Michele's cover version in the midseason finale of Glee, "Sectionals." It's a brilliant song and a brilliant performance, but it's the story I really relate to. Rachel, Michele's character, is the most talented singer on the show, full stop. Yet other characters and fans alike reject her because she steals the show too often. Then, when they most need her, she pulls this out of her hat and kills it. There's a central truth there that the best will be the best no matter what, and just because they're overexposed or too self-aggrandizing doesn't take that away.
17. "Like a Star," Corrine Bailey Rae
Rae's soul-filled waltz about a broken relationship that's just so damn addictive is absolutely beautiful, and especially meaningful since the death of her husband between her two albums. Her British croon is certainly popular elsewhere (Duffy, ADELE, Amy Winehouse), but she does it better than any of her more popular contemporaries on this track that taught me that every relationship has its ups and downs, but for true love, you can live with the annoyances and irritations.
16. "Is That All There Is?," Peggy Lee
"Then one day, he went away, and I thought I'd die. But I didn't. And when I didn't, I said to myself, 'Is that all there is to love? Is that all there is?'" The speaker in Lee's fatalistic anthem doesn't see a point in, well, anything, even death. Everything is a disappointment. I know that I have had, and I'm sure others have had similar, thoughts that life isn't worth living if there's no joy or fun in it. (See also: Jenny in An Education.) Here's the truth, however: life is worth living when you surround yourself with loved ones you can trust. In fact, life can be beautiful. You don't ask, "Is that all there is?" but rather, "What's next?" That's an important lesson for anyone. It certainly was for me.
15. "All Alone," Chris Richardson
We've hit the first song absolutely no one will know! (It's actually probably the last one too...) Richardson was a finalist on Season 6 of American Idol, and was generally considered a lightweight by, well, everyone, including me. However, his debut single (which woefully underperformed) showed up on a recommendation from iTunes. It was only $.99, so I went ahead and bought it. Thank God I did. I take back anything I ever said about Richardson: his tone is great, his lyrics aren't too deep but they're decent, and the song is infinitely listenable. It's Justin Timberlake-esque pop, but unlike the far too ubiquitous former *NSYNC member, Richarsdon can keep me hooked. I just wish he'd release more music!
14. "Paparazzi," Lady Gaga
Trust me, it was not easy to decide whether it would be this or "Bad Romance" that made it onto the list. (I almost put both.) Some like to dismiss Gaga as nothing but a one-trick pony. I would like to ask those people exactly when they stopped paying attention/started smoking hallucinogenics. Gaga has more than a few tricks up her sleeve, and "Paparazzi" was her first reinvention. She transformed from the party girl to an introspective pop star looking at the photographers who follow her around in a completely different way: instead of scorning them, she inhabited them and made herself her man's stalker. The video was her first insane one (starring True Blood's Alexander Skarsgård), setting the stage for "Bad Romance," "Telephone," and most recently, "Alejandro." When you think about it, "Paparazzi" is the reason why we, and especially I, hang on Gaga's every movement. She's not just an artist: she's a pop culture phenomenon. (If you want a cover to check out, try Felix Theis' acoustic cover. Find it on YouTube.)
13. "My Funny Valentine," Frank Sinatra
Here's a little O'Keeffe family trivia: this song was my mom's first Valentine's Day gift to my dad when they were engaged. Two years ago, as a harkening back to that, I burned a CD of twenty different "My Funny Valentine" covers for my parents for their 20th anniversary. There's something so sweet about the song, and I consider it the anthem of my parents' incredibly strong marriage. My favorite cover is Carly Simon's quieter, more lovely than loving version, but I also love the R&B-twinged Melinda Doolittle cover and Sinatra's original, though I do think it's a song for a woman to sing to a man, not vice versa. (Saying a woman's figure is "less than Greek" sounds significantly more sexist than saying it of a man's figure.)
12. "Say My Name," Destiny's Child
Two artists have two entries each on this chart. Beyoncé is the first: one as a solo artist, one as part of Destiny's Child. (There would have been a third if I could have decided on a Regina Spektor song, but they're all too evenly matched for me to pick a favorite.) "Say My Name" had a striking video that I still remember to this day: that may have been because this was the first music video I ever saw. The then-four members of Child were positioned around an apartment, each member in a differently colored room and dressed to match. The action then shifted to a garage-esque setting, and the singers did a rotating dance that would become iconic. The song is super-catchy, with just the right amount of sass. I smile instantly when the song comes on, remembering all the times I listened to the song as a kid and watched the video. It's the ultimate kiss-off song, and one that I will probably remember the words to forever.
The final song of the lower tier is...
11. "You Oughta Know," Alanis Morrisette
This was not an easy one to remove from the Top 10, but I couldn't find one to drop in its favor. My science teacher once referred to Morrisette's music as being "angry lesbian music," which is incredibly true. However, this song is also a beautiful testament to exactly how thin that line between love and hate really is. Personally, I have hated people I knew I loved. Neither of those emotions is illegitimate: when love is unrequited, hate is born. This passionate rant of a woman scorned may be a tale of hatred, but there is also no doubt that she loves her ex-lover as well. Love is too complex to be trivialized as a one-emotion issue. It is incredibly complex and incredibly passionate, and that's what I love most about this song.
Part II will be up in a little over an hour, so stay tuned for that. It gets loads more personal, I can guarantee you that.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Gleeless: My Dissatisfaction With The Finale
To paraphrase a wise, apparently-barren woman, "Somewhere in a stately manor in the countryside of England, Journey is crying."
Kids, you should know off the bat that this is not going to be a happy post because I was supposed to move onto 30 Rock and music. Since I'm still on Glee, it can only mean one thing: rant.
If you haven't watched last night's finale, stop reading. This is gonna be spoilery.
The episode last night, "Journey," was rushed, ignored plot, and was completely ingenuine to Glee's roots. Then agian, that shouldn't be a shock: these last nine episodes of the spring have all, in one way or another, failed to live up to the Great Glee Promise.
What is the Great Glee Promise, you ask? Flash back with me to the first thirteen episodes. Remarkably solid, all thirteen had a spirit that you would be hard-pressed to deny. Even the lowest points ("Acafellas," "Hairography") had redeeming moments ("Imagine," for example) that reminded us why we loved the show.
Ryan Murphy, the show's creator, made a promise to Gleeks everywhere that he would stay true to the spirit of the show when it took five months off. When it came back in April, it wasn't the same show we once loved.
That's not all bad: some of the episodes have been great. But on the whole, the episodes have taken a darker turn into dramatic territory, only alleviated by ditzy Brittany (Heather Morris). Even Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), the Chuck Norris-esque iconic character, has faltered into melodrama several times.
However, Glee is not bad at drama. Look at "Theatricality" and, especially, "Dream On." Those two episodes were masterpiece dramatic theater. Mike O'Malley's performance in the former as proud father to Kurt (Chris Colfer) was indescribably passionate. The duet of "I Dreamed a Dream" between mother (Idina Menzel) and daughter (Lea Michele) was inspired.
What makes it difficult, then, is when Glee fails to either live up to the Promise of funny, inspiring television OR be dramatic. Last night, the show failed spectacularly to be either.
I'm sure there are some who genuinely liked last night's episode. I ask you to recollect with me on exactly what happened last night. The competition was treated like an afterthought, with the group's Journey medley minimized. (Why wasn't the new version of "Don't Stop Believin'" given proper treatment? It sounded killer!) Not only that, but we were expected to be surprised when Vocal Adrenaline won for their cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was a million times better. The plots had no resolution, with barely-there writing explaining things away. Shelby Corcoran (Menzel) got Quinn (Dianna Agron)'s baby. Rachel (Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) kissed and are in love. Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) is still in love with Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). Sue has a heart and voted for the kids, so she convinced Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) to give them one more year to turn things around.
It was all a reset button. A "hey, we're gonna keep doing the same thing for another year" excuse. A reason for Season 2 that could have easily not come to pass.
Glee showed at midseason that they know how to do a finale. This was a major disappointment.
Murphy and the show's writing staff needs to consider exactly where they want Glee to go next season. Do they want it to live up to the Promise? In that case, all the melodrama needs to go, and more humor needs to be injected.
Or would they prefer stick with the "Theatricality"/"Dream On" direction? If they do, then here's what they gotta do, pronto.
1. Eject Sue Sylvester. The woman is born to be in the original Glee world, not this one. If we're gonna see a darker direction for the show, she needs to get her own spin-off where she can be simply Sue.
2. Stop the stunt casting. No more Idina Menzels or Jonathan Groffs. All the characters have to be completely real and genuine. I would even dump part of the main ensemble (Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowicz, and my lovely Morris).
3. Make the songs appropriate. Crap like having a mother and daughter do "Poker Face" isn't gonna fly. Nor are episodes entirely devoted to being "funky" to get out of a "funk." Every episode must act as the first few did: drop the hokey themes and assignments and let the music tell the story.
I'm sad that Glee is going through this identity crisis, but I know that it can win its audience back quite easily. They just need to remember who they are and why the show is so great.
Kids, you should know off the bat that this is not going to be a happy post because I was supposed to move onto 30 Rock and music. Since I'm still on Glee, it can only mean one thing: rant.
If you haven't watched last night's finale, stop reading. This is gonna be spoilery.
The episode last night, "Journey," was rushed, ignored plot, and was completely ingenuine to Glee's roots. Then agian, that shouldn't be a shock: these last nine episodes of the spring have all, in one way or another, failed to live up to the Great Glee Promise.
What is the Great Glee Promise, you ask? Flash back with me to the first thirteen episodes. Remarkably solid, all thirteen had a spirit that you would be hard-pressed to deny. Even the lowest points ("Acafellas," "Hairography") had redeeming moments ("Imagine," for example) that reminded us why we loved the show.
Ryan Murphy, the show's creator, made a promise to Gleeks everywhere that he would stay true to the spirit of the show when it took five months off. When it came back in April, it wasn't the same show we once loved.
That's not all bad: some of the episodes have been great. But on the whole, the episodes have taken a darker turn into dramatic territory, only alleviated by ditzy Brittany (Heather Morris). Even Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), the Chuck Norris-esque iconic character, has faltered into melodrama several times.
However, Glee is not bad at drama. Look at "Theatricality" and, especially, "Dream On." Those two episodes were masterpiece dramatic theater. Mike O'Malley's performance in the former as proud father to Kurt (Chris Colfer) was indescribably passionate. The duet of "I Dreamed a Dream" between mother (Idina Menzel) and daughter (Lea Michele) was inspired.
What makes it difficult, then, is when Glee fails to either live up to the Promise of funny, inspiring television OR be dramatic. Last night, the show failed spectacularly to be either.
I'm sure there are some who genuinely liked last night's episode. I ask you to recollect with me on exactly what happened last night. The competition was treated like an afterthought, with the group's Journey medley minimized. (Why wasn't the new version of "Don't Stop Believin'" given proper treatment? It sounded killer!) Not only that, but we were expected to be surprised when Vocal Adrenaline won for their cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was a million times better. The plots had no resolution, with barely-there writing explaining things away. Shelby Corcoran (Menzel) got Quinn (Dianna Agron)'s baby. Rachel (Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) kissed and are in love. Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) is still in love with Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). Sue has a heart and voted for the kids, so she convinced Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) to give them one more year to turn things around.
It was all a reset button. A "hey, we're gonna keep doing the same thing for another year" excuse. A reason for Season 2 that could have easily not come to pass.
Glee showed at midseason that they know how to do a finale. This was a major disappointment.
Murphy and the show's writing staff needs to consider exactly where they want Glee to go next season. Do they want it to live up to the Promise? In that case, all the melodrama needs to go, and more humor needs to be injected.
Or would they prefer stick with the "Theatricality"/"Dream On" direction? If they do, then here's what they gotta do, pronto.
1. Eject Sue Sylvester. The woman is born to be in the original Glee world, not this one. If we're gonna see a darker direction for the show, she needs to get her own spin-off where she can be simply Sue.
2. Stop the stunt casting. No more Idina Menzels or Jonathan Groffs. All the characters have to be completely real and genuine. I would even dump part of the main ensemble (Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowicz, and my lovely Morris).
3. Make the songs appropriate. Crap like having a mother and daughter do "Poker Face" isn't gonna fly. Nor are episodes entirely devoted to being "funky" to get out of a "funk." Every episode must act as the first few did: drop the hokey themes and assignments and let the music tell the story.
I'm sad that Glee is going through this identity crisis, but I know that it can win its audience back quite easily. They just need to remember who they are and why the show is so great.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Gleeful Part Four: Mob Mentality
The conclusion of my Gleeful series comes with the big final category: group numbers. If you've watched just one episode of Glee, even just the back half of one, you know how each episode ends: with a big song to tell us all what we've learned. If that sounds biting, it's not meant to be: group numbers are commonly known as the best the show has to offer. We all love the solos, the duets, even some of the guest performances, but the group numbers are Glee's life's blood.
Not to say each one is good (God, "One" really was awful, wasn't it?), but when they're good, they're phenomenal. But beyond each group performance is a truly standout performer, and as an added bonus, I'll select my standout performer on each of the following ten tracks. (Sometimes they're more obvious than others.)
Honorable Mentions
"Gives You Hell" - Originally by the All-American Rejects
Rachel's kiss-off to Finn using the first syllable of the week's theme, "Hello," starts off at too high a pitch, but when the group comes in, it becomes a rollicking, fun number that calls to mind the original without sounding too familiar. It's a realistic number for a high school glee club to perform on the spot. Points for that. Standout performer: Lea Michele (though those first few notes are a little painful).
"Run Joey Run" - Originally by David Geddes
Who didn't have the echoing chorus of "Run, Joey, run, Joey, run" rattling around their heads for hours after this performance? It's one of the worst songs ever, and Rachel rehabs its reputation, showing us that anything once thought bad can be made good again. Also: that video is priceless. Standout performer: Mark Salling, for setting up the story and hilariously overacting in the video.
"Like A Virgin" - Originally by Madonna
The Madonna episode does not sit well with me upon further reflection. But nothing could kill my love for the clever spin on this risqué Madonna standard. It's sung in three parts by three different couples, and the staging was amazing. Though it was all a dream sequence, it still remains memorable. Standout performer: Naya Rivera, who gets her first solo lines and uses her siren-esque tone to entrance listeners.
"My Life Would Suck Without You" - Originally by Kelly Clarkson
Okay, it can skew a little Kidz Boppy. But don't tell me you don't remember that mash-up of dance sequences. Don't tell me it wasn't in your head for the next few days as you lamented the coming months without Glee. And don't tell me it wasn't a perfect final performance. I just wish they'd done it in competition over that horrifyingly cliché Rolling Stones number. Standout performer: Michele, though she couldn't outsing Clarkson (but who can?).
"It's My Life / Confessions, Pt. II" - Originally by Bon Jovi / Usher
The original mash-up, the boys' Bon Jovi / Usher mix was considered a tie to the girls' Katrina and the Waves / Beyoncé combination, but truly, the boys ran away with it. A perfect blend of "live in the moment" and "the consequences of living," it was a perfect song for the boys' vocal strengths, and remains memorable for starting the mash-up trend. Standout performer: Kevin McHale, showing how his voice can be great.
The Top Five
5. "Imagine" - Originally by John Lennon
Okay, the song alone would have made it to the top three. It was the horrendous "let's improve the deaf kids' song" attitude that the performance had that really ruined this. The song itself was beautifully performed, a standout from what is still Glee's weakest episode to date. Standout performer: Amber Riley, restraining herself wonderfully.
4. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Originally by Bonnie Tyler
Tyler's one and only big hit has an amazing redemptive quality. Be it through performances on American Idol or literal videos surfacing on YouTube (haven't seen it yet? GO), the song, once considered a bit of a joke power ballad, finds a way of always being contemporary. This version is no different. What a fresh take on a somewhat musty song. Standout performer: Michele, because we truly believe that every now and then she falls apart.
3. "Bad Romance" - Originally by, duh, Lady Gaga
SO. MUCH. FUN. Elaborately costumed and staged, with the solos spread well between the women (and, er, Kurt), it was also welcome that Rachel didn't get a solo: more room for the superb Riley, Agron, and especially my standout performer: Rivera! She nails the French lyrics, and she sings the last portion of the song better than even Gaga does.
2. "Don't Stop Believin'" - Originally by Journey
Blasphemy! Sure, this is where Glee got its start, and it is truly an amazing performance. It's fun, joyous, and, well, Gleeful. But it's still not their best. They came so close to perfection so early, but there was one performance that topped it... (Standout performer: Michele, already!)
1. "Somebody to Love" - Originally by Queen
The solos were spread. The bombast was fully present. The harmonies were glorious. And the show hit its stride. I still wish we could have seen their reprise at Sectionals, because this song has never been done better, not even by the original band. This song is what Glee is all about, and for her powerhouse ending, the standout performer is Riley.
If I had to rank the No. 1 performances against each other, it would probably fall:
4. "Poker Face"
3. "Endless Love"
2. "Don't Rain On My Parade"
1. "Somebody to Love"
But they're all phenomenal. (And they all have Michele in them. Just throwing that out there, Rachel haters.)
Hope you guys enjoyed the Gleeful series. Next up is two new series of posts: one on 30 Rock and one on favorite songs. After that, we'll be in Emmy season, along with which I'll continue posting about Top Chef and Mad Men as they return.
Any questions about this post? Thoughts? Take them to the comments!
Not to say each one is good (God, "One" really was awful, wasn't it?), but when they're good, they're phenomenal. But beyond each group performance is a truly standout performer, and as an added bonus, I'll select my standout performer on each of the following ten tracks. (Sometimes they're more obvious than others.)
Honorable Mentions
"Gives You Hell" - Originally by the All-American Rejects
Rachel's kiss-off to Finn using the first syllable of the week's theme, "Hello," starts off at too high a pitch, but when the group comes in, it becomes a rollicking, fun number that calls to mind the original without sounding too familiar. It's a realistic number for a high school glee club to perform on the spot. Points for that. Standout performer: Lea Michele (though those first few notes are a little painful).
"Run Joey Run" - Originally by David Geddes
Who didn't have the echoing chorus of "Run, Joey, run, Joey, run" rattling around their heads for hours after this performance? It's one of the worst songs ever, and Rachel rehabs its reputation, showing us that anything once thought bad can be made good again. Also: that video is priceless. Standout performer: Mark Salling, for setting up the story and hilariously overacting in the video.
"Like A Virgin" - Originally by Madonna
The Madonna episode does not sit well with me upon further reflection. But nothing could kill my love for the clever spin on this risqué Madonna standard. It's sung in three parts by three different couples, and the staging was amazing. Though it was all a dream sequence, it still remains memorable. Standout performer: Naya Rivera, who gets her first solo lines and uses her siren-esque tone to entrance listeners.
"My Life Would Suck Without You" - Originally by Kelly Clarkson
Okay, it can skew a little Kidz Boppy. But don't tell me you don't remember that mash-up of dance sequences. Don't tell me it wasn't in your head for the next few days as you lamented the coming months without Glee. And don't tell me it wasn't a perfect final performance. I just wish they'd done it in competition over that horrifyingly cliché Rolling Stones number. Standout performer: Michele, though she couldn't outsing Clarkson (but who can?).
"It's My Life / Confessions, Pt. II" - Originally by Bon Jovi / Usher
The original mash-up, the boys' Bon Jovi / Usher mix was considered a tie to the girls' Katrina and the Waves / Beyoncé combination, but truly, the boys ran away with it. A perfect blend of "live in the moment" and "the consequences of living," it was a perfect song for the boys' vocal strengths, and remains memorable for starting the mash-up trend. Standout performer: Kevin McHale, showing how his voice can be great.
The Top Five
5. "Imagine" - Originally by John Lennon
Okay, the song alone would have made it to the top three. It was the horrendous "let's improve the deaf kids' song" attitude that the performance had that really ruined this. The song itself was beautifully performed, a standout from what is still Glee's weakest episode to date. Standout performer: Amber Riley, restraining herself wonderfully.
4. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Originally by Bonnie Tyler
Tyler's one and only big hit has an amazing redemptive quality. Be it through performances on American Idol or literal videos surfacing on YouTube (haven't seen it yet? GO), the song, once considered a bit of a joke power ballad, finds a way of always being contemporary. This version is no different. What a fresh take on a somewhat musty song. Standout performer: Michele, because we truly believe that every now and then she falls apart.
3. "Bad Romance" - Originally by, duh, Lady Gaga
SO. MUCH. FUN. Elaborately costumed and staged, with the solos spread well between the women (and, er, Kurt), it was also welcome that Rachel didn't get a solo: more room for the superb Riley, Agron, and especially my standout performer: Rivera! She nails the French lyrics, and she sings the last portion of the song better than even Gaga does.
2. "Don't Stop Believin'" - Originally by Journey
Blasphemy! Sure, this is where Glee got its start, and it is truly an amazing performance. It's fun, joyous, and, well, Gleeful. But it's still not their best. They came so close to perfection so early, but there was one performance that topped it... (Standout performer: Michele, already!)
1. "Somebody to Love" - Originally by Queen
The solos were spread. The bombast was fully present. The harmonies were glorious. And the show hit its stride. I still wish we could have seen their reprise at Sectionals, because this song has never been done better, not even by the original band. This song is what Glee is all about, and for her powerhouse ending, the standout performer is Riley.
If I had to rank the No. 1 performances against each other, it would probably fall:
4. "Poker Face"
3. "Endless Love"
2. "Don't Rain On My Parade"
1. "Somebody to Love"
But they're all phenomenal. (And they all have Michele in them. Just throwing that out there, Rachel haters.)
Hope you guys enjoyed the Gleeful series. Next up is two new series of posts: one on 30 Rock and one on favorite songs. After that, we'll be in Emmy season, along with which I'll continue posting about Top Chef and Mad Men as they return.
Any questions about this post? Thoughts? Take them to the comments!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Gleeful Part Three: Hello Solo
Boy, am I glad I waited until tonight to write this one, because it contains an entry from one character I would never have thought to consider. Let's just say that I am officially pumped for Quinn's version of "To Sir, With Love" next week, because tonight, on "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," girlfriend brought it.
Quickly, to define a "solo" in the context of Glee: Amber Riley and Jenna Ushkowicz audibly back Lea Michele on Rihanna's "Take A Bow," yet it's considered a solo. However, "I Say A Little Prayer" is considered an ensemble performance despite the fact that Dianna Agron is clearly the lead vocal. Why? In the first, Michele is undoubtedly the anchor, while in the second, Agron is not nearly as central, and in fact, the performance is pretty equally split among Agron and her supporting vocalists (Naya Rivera and Heather Morris). Get the difference? Hope so, because here we go!
Honorable Mentions
"Bust Your Windows" - Amber Riley
Riley cast Mercedes as a scorned woman who, quite appropriately, busts the windows of Kurt's car. It could've easily come off as a joke and shown the Achilles' Heel of Glee, but it was done in a powerful styling that beats Jazmine Sullivan's original.
"Dancing With Myself" - Kevin McHale
Okay, time to voice an unpopular opinion. Honestly, a lot of people would put this in their top three favorite solos, not just an honorable mention. I'll admit that I sing along to this Billy Joel cover, but it's nothing that special. Honestly, it's just amazing a male could turn in a solid solo. Finn's only had a few and they've all been beyond mediocre. Puck lacks vocal strength. Kurt's a little too fond of his castrato. Artie at least had this, but McHale's voice is too nasal and can even be grating. (I won't even get into how infuriating his characterization is.) Still, it's a cool interpretation of an older song, and it fits amazingly well with the plotline, so it gets a mention.
"On My Own" - Lea Michele
No one does a ballad like Rachel. Just moments into the pilot, we get a too-small slice of this Les Miserables number, and, as always, Michele brings the house down. Her voice really is the best on this show, despite others' insistence to the contrary. She may not have the same passion (we'll debate that point in, oh, five songs down), but technically, it's on another plane.
"Rose's Turn" - Chris Colfer
If only this was a minute longer, I would rank it top two easy. The power and passion behind it is amazing. Colfer has never performed with more ferocity. The lyrical changes are a little cutesy, and as mentioned, it's way too short, but nonetheless, it is one of the best male vocals of the season in any category.
The Top Five
Not only are these my top five performances from the solo category, a lot of them are my favorites of the entire season. Glee is often best when showcasing one performer's talent.
5. "Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl" - Matthew Morrison
The performance that so infamously caused Rachel to completely miss the point, it's a genius mash-up, making both songs so much better. I love when Morrison stretches beyond white boy rap (hello, "Ice Ice Baby" and "Bust A Move") to real vocal riches (this, "One Less Bell To Answer / A House Is Not A Home"). Both fun and meaningful to the plot, this is the best main cast adult vocal of the season.
4. "Home" - Kristin Chenoweth
I say "main cast" on the last performance because very little has a chance of holding a candle to this incredibly theatrical, powerhouse rendition of The Wiz's "Home," in and of itself a bit of a fun callback to Chenoweth's involvement in another Wizard of Oz-brand production, Wicked. Capping off a musically devastating episode ("One Less Bell / A House," "A House Is Not A Home," "Beautiful"), this vocal brought it all home. What power from such a tiny package.
3. "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" - Dianna Agron
Hey, champions of Mercedes and Kurt who argue that no one else has passion behind their vocals: you wanna see real passion? Check out this performance by a very pregnant and very angry Quinn. It may not be pitch-perfect: the screams are a little off, for example. But it's a raw, emotional, believable performance from a character and an actress whom I had no faith in before. I was beyond impressed.
2. "And I Am Telling You" - Amber Riley
"Do I even have to tell you what song?" was how Mercedes started this performance, acknowledging the cliché of having the big black girl do the song Jennifers Holliday and Hudson made so famous in Dreamgirls. Wanna know what's not cliché? How Riley takes both former Effie Whites to town and puts them both on notice that this is how this song is sung. It's pure power in both vocal and delivery, and as emotional as any performance I've ever heard, Glee or not. Worthy of a standing ovation every time.
1. "Don't Rain On My Parade" - Lea Michele
Rachel idolizes Barbra Streisand. Rachel has been working on this performance since she was three. Before Rachel even descended the aisle at Sectionals to the tune of the big band, we should have known exactly how bombastic this performance was going to be. And yet we were stunned. So much passion, so much love for the theater, so much absolute power is packed into this performance it sends chills up the spine each time. Michele is truly our great star for this generation, and this performance proves it. Rachel is the star of glee club, and Michele is the star of Glee.
Comments? You know where to put them.
...No, not there. That's inappropriate. I meant the comments section. Obviously. Sheesh, mind outta the gutter...
Quickly, to define a "solo" in the context of Glee: Amber Riley and Jenna Ushkowicz audibly back Lea Michele on Rihanna's "Take A Bow," yet it's considered a solo. However, "I Say A Little Prayer" is considered an ensemble performance despite the fact that Dianna Agron is clearly the lead vocal. Why? In the first, Michele is undoubtedly the anchor, while in the second, Agron is not nearly as central, and in fact, the performance is pretty equally split among Agron and her supporting vocalists (Naya Rivera and Heather Morris). Get the difference? Hope so, because here we go!
Honorable Mentions
"Bust Your Windows" - Amber Riley
Riley cast Mercedes as a scorned woman who, quite appropriately, busts the windows of Kurt's car. It could've easily come off as a joke and shown the Achilles' Heel of Glee, but it was done in a powerful styling that beats Jazmine Sullivan's original.
"Dancing With Myself" - Kevin McHale
Okay, time to voice an unpopular opinion. Honestly, a lot of people would put this in their top three favorite solos, not just an honorable mention. I'll admit that I sing along to this Billy Joel cover, but it's nothing that special. Honestly, it's just amazing a male could turn in a solid solo. Finn's only had a few and they've all been beyond mediocre. Puck lacks vocal strength. Kurt's a little too fond of his castrato. Artie at least had this, but McHale's voice is too nasal and can even be grating. (I won't even get into how infuriating his characterization is.) Still, it's a cool interpretation of an older song, and it fits amazingly well with the plotline, so it gets a mention.
"On My Own" - Lea Michele
No one does a ballad like Rachel. Just moments into the pilot, we get a too-small slice of this Les Miserables number, and, as always, Michele brings the house down. Her voice really is the best on this show, despite others' insistence to the contrary. She may not have the same passion (we'll debate that point in, oh, five songs down), but technically, it's on another plane.
"Rose's Turn" - Chris Colfer
If only this was a minute longer, I would rank it top two easy. The power and passion behind it is amazing. Colfer has never performed with more ferocity. The lyrical changes are a little cutesy, and as mentioned, it's way too short, but nonetheless, it is one of the best male vocals of the season in any category.
The Top Five
Not only are these my top five performances from the solo category, a lot of them are my favorites of the entire season. Glee is often best when showcasing one performer's talent.
5. "Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl" - Matthew Morrison
The performance that so infamously caused Rachel to completely miss the point, it's a genius mash-up, making both songs so much better. I love when Morrison stretches beyond white boy rap (hello, "Ice Ice Baby" and "Bust A Move") to real vocal riches (this, "One Less Bell To Answer / A House Is Not A Home"). Both fun and meaningful to the plot, this is the best main cast adult vocal of the season.
4. "Home" - Kristin Chenoweth
I say "main cast" on the last performance because very little has a chance of holding a candle to this incredibly theatrical, powerhouse rendition of The Wiz's "Home," in and of itself a bit of a fun callback to Chenoweth's involvement in another Wizard of Oz-brand production, Wicked. Capping off a musically devastating episode ("One Less Bell / A House," "A House Is Not A Home," "Beautiful"), this vocal brought it all home. What power from such a tiny package.
3. "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" - Dianna Agron
Hey, champions of Mercedes and Kurt who argue that no one else has passion behind their vocals: you wanna see real passion? Check out this performance by a very pregnant and very angry Quinn. It may not be pitch-perfect: the screams are a little off, for example. But it's a raw, emotional, believable performance from a character and an actress whom I had no faith in before. I was beyond impressed.
2. "And I Am Telling You" - Amber Riley
"Do I even have to tell you what song?" was how Mercedes started this performance, acknowledging the cliché of having the big black girl do the song Jennifers Holliday and Hudson made so famous in Dreamgirls. Wanna know what's not cliché? How Riley takes both former Effie Whites to town and puts them both on notice that this is how this song is sung. It's pure power in both vocal and delivery, and as emotional as any performance I've ever heard, Glee or not. Worthy of a standing ovation every time.
1. "Don't Rain On My Parade" - Lea Michele
Rachel idolizes Barbra Streisand. Rachel has been working on this performance since she was three. Before Rachel even descended the aisle at Sectionals to the tune of the big band, we should have known exactly how bombastic this performance was going to be. And yet we were stunned. So much passion, so much love for the theater, so much absolute power is packed into this performance it sends chills up the spine each time. Michele is truly our great star for this generation, and this performance proves it. Rachel is the star of glee club, and Michele is the star of Glee.
Comments? You know where to put them.
...No, not there. That's inappropriate. I meant the comments section. Obviously. Sheesh, mind outta the gutter...
The Class of 2010 in Oz
This was a speech meant to be given sometime during the graduation festivities this year. Sadly, it got cut, as there was no proper time to give it. Still, I'm very proud of this speech, and I feel its one everyone in our class and beyond should hear. Enjoy, and feel free to leave any comments.
Graduation is, of course, a time of joy and congratulations. It is a time when we can all take a breath of relief knowing that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives. We are all continuing on to exciting new ventures; some of us moving on to different cities, some to different states, and, for a few of us, on to a different continent.
While we are all both excited and a bit nervous about these different worlds we have to explore, graduation is also a time of reflection on four years past and the last chance we have as a class to come together. In these past four years, we have grown together as a unique family known as the Class of 2010, and today, the feeling is bittersweet as that family breaks apart.
But like many classes that have come before us, the Class of 2010 will remain remarkable for years to come, and while challenges ahead may worry and sometimes scare us, the inherent qualities present in every person in this class will allow us to rise to those challenges and make our mark on the world.
When thinking about what makes our class special, I thought of L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The inspiration for classic musicals like The Wizard of Oz and, more recently, The Wiz and Wicked, Oz is a tale of one girl, Dorothy Gale, and her attempts to find her way back home after being thrown into a mysterious land with no friends or allies besides her little dog, Toto. Throughout her journey, she meets new friends all seeking the titular wizard of Oz in hopes of finding something they lack. What Dorothy’s companions lack is exactly what our class has in droves.
Dorothy’s first companion, the Scarecrow, desperately seeks a brain. The St. Michael’s Class of 2010 is intelligent, well-versed, and full of wit. Walking down the senior hallway this year, the average person might be shocked at the high caliber of conversations happening between friends. No matter what the topic of choice, this was not a class that relied on the kind of dialogue you’d see in another high school. From world issues to independent music to football season statistics, the Class of 2010 knew what we were talking about and were nothing if not eloquent and loquacious in our speech, a signal of our greater acumen. However, this class also avoided becoming hypercompetitive and intelligent to the point of arrogance. It is a group both elevated and moderate in brainpower, and those are important qualities rarely seen together.
Another of Dorothy’s companions was the Cowardly Lion, who desperately wanted to find his courage. From our student athletes to actors, you would find no shortage of bravery in each person of this class. If there was a risk to be found, like applying to a college you had only an outside chance of getting into, or taking an advanced class that would require more work but might yield greater rewards, this class took the chance boldly and with great bravado. Going the safe route was something never seen in this group, because anything less than our best wasn’t acceptable. The courage of this class is and should forever be seen as nothing short of astounding.
Diehard Wizard of Oz fans might have noticed that I skipped Dorothy’s second companion, the Tin Man. I did so because what he sought from the Wizard is what is most important to this class: heart. Our class has heart in every sense of the word. Filled with love for one another that we explored on retreats, especially on Kairos, the members of this class have a mutual respect and admiration for one another that is rarely seen among high school students. Filled with hope for the future, our hearts never deflated in the face of greater challenges. The Class of 2010’s heart is its best quality, because whenever we weren’t the best in other areas, we still held on to our faith, determination, and love for one another.
This class will be remembered for so many reasons, but it is with both excitement and sadness that we now graduate and part from one another. We leave behind families and friends, as well as memories of a high school experience that will hold special significance for everyone throughout their lives. But to the families, who fear losing their beloved children to college and worry about their futures, take solace in knowing that each student in this class has the courage, the brains, and the heart of Dorothy’s traveling companions. And don’t forget the ending of the story: even after all that traveling and all those adventures, Dorothy ultimately knew that there was simply no place like home.
I just want to thank each and every one of the members of the Class of 2010 for being the greatest class anyone could hope to be a part of. I'll miss everybody when I'm in Los Angeles next year.
Graduation is, of course, a time of joy and congratulations. It is a time when we can all take a breath of relief knowing that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives. We are all continuing on to exciting new ventures; some of us moving on to different cities, some to different states, and, for a few of us, on to a different continent.
While we are all both excited and a bit nervous about these different worlds we have to explore, graduation is also a time of reflection on four years past and the last chance we have as a class to come together. In these past four years, we have grown together as a unique family known as the Class of 2010, and today, the feeling is bittersweet as that family breaks apart.
But like many classes that have come before us, the Class of 2010 will remain remarkable for years to come, and while challenges ahead may worry and sometimes scare us, the inherent qualities present in every person in this class will allow us to rise to those challenges and make our mark on the world.
When thinking about what makes our class special, I thought of L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The inspiration for classic musicals like The Wizard of Oz and, more recently, The Wiz and Wicked, Oz is a tale of one girl, Dorothy Gale, and her attempts to find her way back home after being thrown into a mysterious land with no friends or allies besides her little dog, Toto. Throughout her journey, she meets new friends all seeking the titular wizard of Oz in hopes of finding something they lack. What Dorothy’s companions lack is exactly what our class has in droves.
Dorothy’s first companion, the Scarecrow, desperately seeks a brain. The St. Michael’s Class of 2010 is intelligent, well-versed, and full of wit. Walking down the senior hallway this year, the average person might be shocked at the high caliber of conversations happening between friends. No matter what the topic of choice, this was not a class that relied on the kind of dialogue you’d see in another high school. From world issues to independent music to football season statistics, the Class of 2010 knew what we were talking about and were nothing if not eloquent and loquacious in our speech, a signal of our greater acumen. However, this class also avoided becoming hypercompetitive and intelligent to the point of arrogance. It is a group both elevated and moderate in brainpower, and those are important qualities rarely seen together.
Another of Dorothy’s companions was the Cowardly Lion, who desperately wanted to find his courage. From our student athletes to actors, you would find no shortage of bravery in each person of this class. If there was a risk to be found, like applying to a college you had only an outside chance of getting into, or taking an advanced class that would require more work but might yield greater rewards, this class took the chance boldly and with great bravado. Going the safe route was something never seen in this group, because anything less than our best wasn’t acceptable. The courage of this class is and should forever be seen as nothing short of astounding.
Diehard Wizard of Oz fans might have noticed that I skipped Dorothy’s second companion, the Tin Man. I did so because what he sought from the Wizard is what is most important to this class: heart. Our class has heart in every sense of the word. Filled with love for one another that we explored on retreats, especially on Kairos, the members of this class have a mutual respect and admiration for one another that is rarely seen among high school students. Filled with hope for the future, our hearts never deflated in the face of greater challenges. The Class of 2010’s heart is its best quality, because whenever we weren’t the best in other areas, we still held on to our faith, determination, and love for one another.
This class will be remembered for so many reasons, but it is with both excitement and sadness that we now graduate and part from one another. We leave behind families and friends, as well as memories of a high school experience that will hold special significance for everyone throughout their lives. But to the families, who fear losing their beloved children to college and worry about their futures, take solace in knowing that each student in this class has the courage, the brains, and the heart of Dorothy’s traveling companions. And don’t forget the ending of the story: even after all that traveling and all those adventures, Dorothy ultimately knew that there was simply no place like home.
I just want to thank each and every one of the members of the Class of 2010 for being the greatest class anyone could hope to be a part of. I'll miss everybody when I'm in Los Angeles next year.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Gleeful Part Two: Guest by Request
Fans' feelings on guest stars in Glee are bitterly divided: some love them and feel they add something special to the show, while others want the show to focus on its principal cast. I'm of two minds: when the show uses a guest star really well (Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris), Glee is never better. When it uses a celebrity for a quick cameo (Josh Groban, Olivia Newton-John), it can be a really fun parody of the celebrity's public persona.
But then certain guest stars get woefully misused, Victor Garber and Molly Shannon principal among them. Shannon's been particularly misused, being introduced as a major character but only popping up very infrequently since for completely unsubstantive material.
As poorly executed as those guest roles are, the ones that trouble me more are those of Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel, two key figures of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline. Both stars are incredibly talented musically, with Groff's duet of Hello with star Lea Michele being a highlight of the back nine episodes of this season. Menzel's performances in particular, as you'll notice below, are superb. But the characterizations of both Groff's Jesse St. James and Menzel's Shelby Corcoran are disturbingly off-base. I'll do my best to keep this brief, as this post is really about the music, but this is something that's been bothering me.
First: Groff's Jesse. A rather infamous article written in Newsweek magazine, by an author so revilingly stupid I won't give him the pleasure of reprinting his name, posited the theory that gay actors who are out cannot convincingly play straight characters on television, in film, or on the stage. Groff was one of the actors singled out for this article. The theory has been roundly criticized as "completely idiotic" from anyone with a brain and a basic knowledge of Neil Patrick Harris' performance on How I Met Your Mother.
However, as much as it disgusts me to agree with anything this disgusting writer wrote, since his theory was so grossly misinformed and formed from a place of great hate, I must agree that Groff does an awful job on Glee. Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with his sexuality. He could do it with farm animals and he would still be awful as Jesse St. James.
Groff comes from a world of theater, where everything is meant to be overplayed. For some of the actors, this works to their advantage. (Michele, for example, knows how to imbue that spirit into Rachel Berry, whose life is made to be overacted.) Groff, however, comes off as nothing but a caricature, a poor role written as nothing but a stimulus to advance the plot. I don't believe that Rachel would fall for Jesse, nor that he would be able to convince any of the other characters that he wasn't plotting something underhanded. He reeks of drama, and he has only one setting: attempting to be hot. (He's not.) Again, this has nothing to do with his sexuality: he just isn't acting well IN THIS ROLE.
His character exists for one reason only: to get Rachel to realize her birth mother is his glee club director, Shelby Corcoran. Menzel plays Corcoran fairly convincingly at first, and she does the best she can with the material, but hoo boy. Shelby might be one of the worst-written characters in television history. Basically, she establishes contact with her daughter, then ditches her because it turns out not to be right after singing "Poker Face" in a stripped down, cabaret style.
...what?!
I wish both characters, while musically gifted, were better formed in personality and purpose. But I digress. The music's the thing, and without further ado, I present to you the best guest performances from this season of Glee.
(Of course, Chenoweth and Groff aren't in this set, because they're featured in the duets and solos sections.)
Honorable Mentions
"Funny Girl" - Idina Menzel
This is a great song choice for so many reasons. First, it's good for the plot, because it recalls when Rachel, Shelby's daughter, chose another Barbra Streisand tune, "Don't Rain on My Parade," for sectionals. Second, Menzel sings the shit out of it. Third, it shows how theatrical one can be without being overly dramatic...a lesson promptly whacked by "Bad Romance," fun as it was. So points off for being irrelevant to the week's lesson, but still a high point of the back nine episodes.
"I Dreamed a Dream" - Idina Menzel & Lea Michele
This could easily have made it as high as No. 1 had "Poker Face" not come along and shown viewers what Menzel and Michele were really capable of. However, it's still a brilliantly reimagined duet, with the lines "And still I dream she'll come to me/That we will live the years together" not referring to a lost lover, but to a mother from a daughter desperately seeking that relationship. Beautifully sung, if a little inappropriate at moments for the storyline.
Top Three
3. "Physical" - Olivia Newton-John & Jane Lynch
Think Lynch faked her way through "Vogue" and still can't sing? Take a listen to the utterly contemporary, fun, revived "Physical" and realize that she has talent to match a legend like Newton-John. Is the vocal Auto-Tuned? Sure. They all are these days. But it's still a great performance, and one that is infinitely listenable.
2. "Dream On" - Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison
American Idol contestant Danny Gokey will happily tell you exactly how difficult to execute the scream at the end of "Dream On" truly is. But not only do Harris and Morrison do it well, they knock it out of the park. In fact, this whole duet is a home run. It's powerfully sung, almost a competitition for the two singers (which concomitantly works for the plot, as all songs should in this show but usually don't). It's a pleasure to listen to on repeat, something that doesn't happen much these days.
1. "Poker Face" - Idina Menzel & Lea Michele
GAH. Oh, sorry, that's not English. Or any language. But it is the instantaneous reaction when listening to Michele and Menzel belt this usually fast-paced, dirty ditty from Lady Gaga. They slow it down and make it a show number, even moreso than Gaga herself does in acoustic performances. The implications, er, aren't great (the song's originally about bisexuality...and this is a mother and daughter...), but neither are the implications of "Endless Love," my favorite duet of the show. Sometimes, for Glee, you've gotta suspend disbelief for what is truly amazing.
Sorry that part of this turned into a venting session, and it should not be taken as a statement of dislike for the show in any fashion. There's just no such thing as a perfect show, and since, unlike with the awful pregnancy plotlines last fall, no one is pointing out exactly how disappointing this Jesse/Shelby plotline really is, I thought I would.
And just in case anyone had any further confusion, I think the article written in Newsweek was absolute slime with absolutely no basis in fact. The author, a self-professed gay man, needs to take some time to realize exactly how stupid he sounds. But as is so often the case, upon hearing criticism born from a place of hatred, respondents choose to canonize the criticized: namely, Groff. Sadly, while Groff may be undeserving of the writer's criticism because of his sexuality, he is deserving of criticism because of his acting.
But then certain guest stars get woefully misused, Victor Garber and Molly Shannon principal among them. Shannon's been particularly misused, being introduced as a major character but only popping up very infrequently since for completely unsubstantive material.
As poorly executed as those guest roles are, the ones that trouble me more are those of Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel, two key figures of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline. Both stars are incredibly talented musically, with Groff's duet of Hello with star Lea Michele being a highlight of the back nine episodes of this season. Menzel's performances in particular, as you'll notice below, are superb. But the characterizations of both Groff's Jesse St. James and Menzel's Shelby Corcoran are disturbingly off-base. I'll do my best to keep this brief, as this post is really about the music, but this is something that's been bothering me.
First: Groff's Jesse. A rather infamous article written in Newsweek magazine, by an author so revilingly stupid I won't give him the pleasure of reprinting his name, posited the theory that gay actors who are out cannot convincingly play straight characters on television, in film, or on the stage. Groff was one of the actors singled out for this article. The theory has been roundly criticized as "completely idiotic" from anyone with a brain and a basic knowledge of Neil Patrick Harris' performance on How I Met Your Mother.
However, as much as it disgusts me to agree with anything this disgusting writer wrote, since his theory was so grossly misinformed and formed from a place of great hate, I must agree that Groff does an awful job on Glee. Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with his sexuality. He could do it with farm animals and he would still be awful as Jesse St. James.
Groff comes from a world of theater, where everything is meant to be overplayed. For some of the actors, this works to their advantage. (Michele, for example, knows how to imbue that spirit into Rachel Berry, whose life is made to be overacted.) Groff, however, comes off as nothing but a caricature, a poor role written as nothing but a stimulus to advance the plot. I don't believe that Rachel would fall for Jesse, nor that he would be able to convince any of the other characters that he wasn't plotting something underhanded. He reeks of drama, and he has only one setting: attempting to be hot. (He's not.) Again, this has nothing to do with his sexuality: he just isn't acting well IN THIS ROLE.
His character exists for one reason only: to get Rachel to realize her birth mother is his glee club director, Shelby Corcoran. Menzel plays Corcoran fairly convincingly at first, and she does the best she can with the material, but hoo boy. Shelby might be one of the worst-written characters in television history. Basically, she establishes contact with her daughter, then ditches her because it turns out not to be right after singing "Poker Face" in a stripped down, cabaret style.
...what?!
I wish both characters, while musically gifted, were better formed in personality and purpose. But I digress. The music's the thing, and without further ado, I present to you the best guest performances from this season of Glee.
(Of course, Chenoweth and Groff aren't in this set, because they're featured in the duets and solos sections.)
Honorable Mentions
"Funny Girl" - Idina Menzel
This is a great song choice for so many reasons. First, it's good for the plot, because it recalls when Rachel, Shelby's daughter, chose another Barbra Streisand tune, "Don't Rain on My Parade," for sectionals. Second, Menzel sings the shit out of it. Third, it shows how theatrical one can be without being overly dramatic...a lesson promptly whacked by "Bad Romance," fun as it was. So points off for being irrelevant to the week's lesson, but still a high point of the back nine episodes.
"I Dreamed a Dream" - Idina Menzel & Lea Michele
This could easily have made it as high as No. 1 had "Poker Face" not come along and shown viewers what Menzel and Michele were really capable of. However, it's still a brilliantly reimagined duet, with the lines "And still I dream she'll come to me/That we will live the years together" not referring to a lost lover, but to a mother from a daughter desperately seeking that relationship. Beautifully sung, if a little inappropriate at moments for the storyline.
Top Three
3. "Physical" - Olivia Newton-John & Jane Lynch
Think Lynch faked her way through "Vogue" and still can't sing? Take a listen to the utterly contemporary, fun, revived "Physical" and realize that she has talent to match a legend like Newton-John. Is the vocal Auto-Tuned? Sure. They all are these days. But it's still a great performance, and one that is infinitely listenable.
2. "Dream On" - Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison
American Idol contestant Danny Gokey will happily tell you exactly how difficult to execute the scream at the end of "Dream On" truly is. But not only do Harris and Morrison do it well, they knock it out of the park. In fact, this whole duet is a home run. It's powerfully sung, almost a competitition for the two singers (which concomitantly works for the plot, as all songs should in this show but usually don't). It's a pleasure to listen to on repeat, something that doesn't happen much these days.
1. "Poker Face" - Idina Menzel & Lea Michele
GAH. Oh, sorry, that's not English. Or any language. But it is the instantaneous reaction when listening to Michele and Menzel belt this usually fast-paced, dirty ditty from Lady Gaga. They slow it down and make it a show number, even moreso than Gaga herself does in acoustic performances. The implications, er, aren't great (the song's originally about bisexuality...and this is a mother and daughter...), but neither are the implications of "Endless Love," my favorite duet of the show. Sometimes, for Glee, you've gotta suspend disbelief for what is truly amazing.
Sorry that part of this turned into a venting session, and it should not be taken as a statement of dislike for the show in any fashion. There's just no such thing as a perfect show, and since, unlike with the awful pregnancy plotlines last fall, no one is pointing out exactly how disappointing this Jesse/Shelby plotline really is, I thought I would.
And just in case anyone had any further confusion, I think the article written in Newsweek was absolute slime with absolutely no basis in fact. The author, a self-professed gay man, needs to take some time to realize exactly how stupid he sounds. But as is so often the case, upon hearing criticism born from a place of hatred, respondents choose to canonize the criticized: namely, Groff. Sadly, while Groff may be undeserving of the writer's criticism because of his sexuality, he is deserving of criticism because of his acting.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Gleeful Part One: Let's Duet
As my second-favorite new show comes to an end in the next two weeks (sorry, but The Good Wife occupies the top rung), I thought paying tribute to the first season of the cultural phenomenon Glee. Through a series of four posts, I'll discuss my favorite performances from the cast in four categories: favorite guest performances, favorite solos, favorite group performances, and today's entry, best duets.
Glee amazes me with its ability to elevate songs to a different level simply because of how it's staged and performed. The greatest example of this, for me, is "Dream On" from two weeks ago, performed by Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris. Done as a showdown song, with the two Broadway veterans attempting to out scream each other on that legendary final Steven Tyler note, it hit a new level of awesome that seems to only be reachable in Glee World.
But you won't find that performance on this list. (I wouldn't be reaching to say you'll see it on the guest performances list, though...) What follows are my favorite duets from this season.
(NOTE: While I won't count Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, or Olivia Newton-John's duets in this category, I will count Kristin Chenoweth and Jonathan Groff simply because their characters are much more intertwined into the storyline of the show. Also: Chenoweth accounts for three of the best duets. Sue me.)
Honorable Mentions
"Defying Gravity" - Lea Michele & Chris Colfer
While not truly a duet, it was recorded as one, and a damn good one too. There's always been a lot of debate about whether Michele's technically perfect portion was better or worse than Colfer's impassioned performance, but I'm just fine enjoying both on this track, thanks.
"4 Minutes" - Chris Colfer & Amber Riley
Madonna's most recent hit is, let's be honest, an awful song. It sounded like a desperate woman trying to get her youth back. So you'd figure this duet would be similarly desperate. Hardly, actually: it's Colfer's best performance on the show, and Riley absolutely tears it up!
"Maybe This Time" - Kristin Chenoweth & Lea Michele
There aren't words in the human language to describe Chenoweth's performance here. Michele holds her own, sure, but Chenoweth rips this song to shreds. If it were a solo, it would be in my top three. Unfortunately, the mixing between the two singers isn't great, so it falls short of my top three duets. It's still a powerhouse vocal, though.
"Hello" - Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff
I at first thought this nothing but a pale imitation of another duet on the show (that just happens to be my No. 1 duet...), but when I bought the most recent soundtrack, I learned to love this Lionel Richie duet. It works great, and the second chorus in particular is ridiculously good. It literally just missed the top three.
The Top Three
3. "The Boy is Mine" - Amber Riley & Naya Rivera
Brandy and Monica couldn't have done it better. Rivera is quickly becoming one of the strongest vocalists on the show, and I'm sure next season when she and Heather Morris (dimwitted Brittany) get promoted to series regulars, she'll get even more moments to shine. This duet was brilliantly done, with Riley showing off exactly why everyone loves her: her powerhouse voice just can't be denied.
2. "One Less Bell to Answer / A House is Not a Home" - Kristin Chenoweth & Matthew Morrison
One of the show's signature mashups, these Burt Bacharach tunes first put together by Barbra Streisand are the perfect match for Chenoweth and Morrison. So much of it is beautifully sung, but for me, it's the interlude of "House" that Chenoweth nails and the final slow burn note that hits an amazingly high pitch that really make the song one of Glee's best.
1. "Endless Love" - Lea Michele & Matthew Morrison
Yeah, the whole thing has unfortunate implications. And it's a cheesy song, sure. But damn if Michele and Morrison don't absolutely tear it apart. It's better than any other version of this song ever, and it's a testament to this show and the singers that it holds up incredibly well on repeat listenings. Truly a masterpiece.
Glee amazes me with its ability to elevate songs to a different level simply because of how it's staged and performed. The greatest example of this, for me, is "Dream On" from two weeks ago, performed by Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris. Done as a showdown song, with the two Broadway veterans attempting to out scream each other on that legendary final Steven Tyler note, it hit a new level of awesome that seems to only be reachable in Glee World.
But you won't find that performance on this list. (I wouldn't be reaching to say you'll see it on the guest performances list, though...) What follows are my favorite duets from this season.
(NOTE: While I won't count Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, or Olivia Newton-John's duets in this category, I will count Kristin Chenoweth and Jonathan Groff simply because their characters are much more intertwined into the storyline of the show. Also: Chenoweth accounts for three of the best duets. Sue me.)
Honorable Mentions
"Defying Gravity" - Lea Michele & Chris Colfer
While not truly a duet, it was recorded as one, and a damn good one too. There's always been a lot of debate about whether Michele's technically perfect portion was better or worse than Colfer's impassioned performance, but I'm just fine enjoying both on this track, thanks.
"4 Minutes" - Chris Colfer & Amber Riley
Madonna's most recent hit is, let's be honest, an awful song. It sounded like a desperate woman trying to get her youth back. So you'd figure this duet would be similarly desperate. Hardly, actually: it's Colfer's best performance on the show, and Riley absolutely tears it up!
"Maybe This Time" - Kristin Chenoweth & Lea Michele
There aren't words in the human language to describe Chenoweth's performance here. Michele holds her own, sure, but Chenoweth rips this song to shreds. If it were a solo, it would be in my top three. Unfortunately, the mixing between the two singers isn't great, so it falls short of my top three duets. It's still a powerhouse vocal, though.
"Hello" - Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff
I at first thought this nothing but a pale imitation of another duet on the show (that just happens to be my No. 1 duet...), but when I bought the most recent soundtrack, I learned to love this Lionel Richie duet. It works great, and the second chorus in particular is ridiculously good. It literally just missed the top three.
The Top Three
3. "The Boy is Mine" - Amber Riley & Naya Rivera
Brandy and Monica couldn't have done it better. Rivera is quickly becoming one of the strongest vocalists on the show, and I'm sure next season when she and Heather Morris (dimwitted Brittany) get promoted to series regulars, she'll get even more moments to shine. This duet was brilliantly done, with Riley showing off exactly why everyone loves her: her powerhouse voice just can't be denied.
2. "One Less Bell to Answer / A House is Not a Home" - Kristin Chenoweth & Matthew Morrison
One of the show's signature mashups, these Burt Bacharach tunes first put together by Barbra Streisand are the perfect match for Chenoweth and Morrison. So much of it is beautifully sung, but for me, it's the interlude of "House" that Chenoweth nails and the final slow burn note that hits an amazingly high pitch that really make the song one of Glee's best.
1. "Endless Love" - Lea Michele & Matthew Morrison
Yeah, the whole thing has unfortunate implications. And it's a cheesy song, sure. But damn if Michele and Morrison don't absolutely tear it apart. It's better than any other version of this song ever, and it's a testament to this show and the singers that it holds up incredibly well on repeat listenings. Truly a masterpiece.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Tired of Oscar? Try Emmy! Now Available in Gold.
It's getting closer to summer, which means one thing to those of us who are insanely awards-minded: the Emmys. Honoring every niche in the world of television, the brutal reality of it is that only certain categories are worth caring about. What follows is my dream Emmy ballot.
REALITY
Get the useless genre out of the way first, I guess. There are three categories here.
Best Reality Competition Series
What once used to be among my favorite categories is now an annoyance to me. I'd love to see Top Chef win, but it will inevitably go to The Amazing Race... American Idol and Project Runway, perennial nominees, had terrible seasons. So I guess my dream ballot consists of one winner: Chef.
Best Reality Series, Non-Competition
Is it too much to ask that the inane, trashy/fantastic Real Housewives of Atlanta be nominated here? It's campy, fun, and insanely watercooler chattable, which is everything a good reality show should be. That's about all this category has to offer, sadly.
Best Reality Competition Host
This, to me, belongs to either Heidi Klum of Project Runway or Padma Lakshmi and the fantastic Tom Collichio of Top Chef. Since the former wasn't exactly on her game this past season, give it to the two judges of my favorite reality competition.
COMEDY
It's not my favorite set of categories, but anything's better than that reality shlock. There are seven categories here.
Best Comedy Series
Glee and 30 Rock are tops on the air right now, and one should win. I'd also love to see nominations for Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, and Community. I would love to see the increasingly unfunny The Office get snubbed, but that won't happen.
Best Lead Comedy Actor
Well, the category belongs to Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock, but I would love to see Joel McHale nominated for Community. Nominated, not win. Let's not get crazy.
Best Lead Comedy Actress
Tina Fey, of course, would get one of my nominations (now there's a shock). Lea Michele would too, for Glee, and I'd even give one to Cougar Town's Courtney Cox. (No Modern Family nominations here or in Lead Actor can be attributed by the cast's idiotic decision to go entirely supporting. Sweet, but truly idiotic.)
Best Supporting Comedy Actor
Jack McBrayer is routinely fantastic on 30 Rock, and it's time we properly recognized him. However, I'd say all challengers will have a tough time with Chris Colfer, Glee's resident powerhouse young actor, if he can get nominated for such an unconventional role. If he gets nominated, though, and submits this week's Lady Gaga-centric episode as one of his entries, he's won. Eric Stonestreet and Danny Pudi are both great scene-stealers on their respective comedies, and are far more likely to be nominated. (Pray that Entourage's Jeremy Piven gets passed over...)
Best Supporting Comedy Actress
Jane Lynch is Glee's greatest star, and gives a weekly clinic on what comedy truly is. Yvette Nicole Brown and Allison Brie of Community are both cute and do great work. Katrina Bowden is truly GENIUS as Cerie Xerox, useless assistant, on 30 Rock, but the more likely nomination (and the more deserving one) from that show is for Jane Krakowski, who has turned Jenna Maroney from an utterly intolerable moron into an absolute riot. And Sofia Vergara has officially ousted 30 Rock's Salma Hayek as my favorite hilariously Hispanic actress. (That's not racism, by the way: they really used their ethnicities to create brilliant comedy.)
Best Guest Comedy Actor
Michael Sheen as recurring Liz Lemon love interest Wesley Snipes (really) on 30 Rock was brilliantly pesky. Neil Patrick Harris was a lot of fun as Bryan Ryan on Glee's best episode, and his duet on "Dream On" with series star Matthew Morrison was amazing. But this belongs to Glee's most unlikely star: former Yes, Dear star Mike O'Malley. On a musical dramedy, O'Malley brings the drama, providing the most brutally honest and realistic portrayal of Burt Hummel, a supportive father of a gay teenager in television history. He should, will, and absolutely deserves to win the Emmy here. He could enter four different episodes and still win. He's genius every time he's on the show. It never feels cliché or dishonest. It feels true.
Best Guest Comedy Actress
Elizabeth Banks is brilliant as Jack Donaghy's newest girlfriend (and baby mama!) on 30 Rock. Heather Morris and Naya Rivera are the perfect cheerleaders on Glee, and Morris in particular turned into the most quotable characters on television (sometimes even moreso than Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester!). Kristin Chenoweth was such a joy to watch during both of her appearances on Glee that it's hard to see her getting snubbed here. Not only was her performance comedically gifted, hearing her "Maybe This Time," "Home," or "Alone" shows how her musical talent truly elevates her performance.
DRAMA
Ah, the real stuff. Not because drama is better than comedy, but because there's more quality drama on television than comedy these days. There are also seven categories here.
Best Drama Series
Mad Men should have a very difficult time this year fending off the newbie, The Good Wife, and the (likely, sadly) departing veteran Damages. All three shows had absolutely amazing seasons, with Wife's acting and writing being a breath of fresh air for the procedural genre. In fact, I'm not sure if I wouldn't give my win to Wife, too, but then I consider the last three episodes of Men this season, each of which packed more wallop than most shows get in throughout their entire series runs. Finally, Damages finally reclaimed its Season 1 glory, and in the best way. I just think that series (?) finale was insufficient, sadly.
Best Lead Drama Actor
Bryan Cranston, last year's winner, certainly does great work on Breaking Bad, but I want to see either Mad Men's Jon Hamm win after his beautiful work this season that finally proved to me that he can go so far beyond the stiff-upper-lip affect he had for the first two seasons (seriously, that episode when Betty confronted him, and he broke down? Absolute brilliance), or the extremely overdue Hugh Laurie, who shined in a down season for House, especially in its two-hour season premiere.
Best Lead Drama Actress
Julianna Marguiles redefined the procedural's protagonist with an amazing portrayal of wronged wife Alicia Florrick. This was a woman for the 21st century: one who didn't allow herself the time to pout over her husband's infidelity, instead doing what she needed to for her kids. The performance is one for the ages, as is the show. That's not to say Kyra Sedgwick isn't still overdue for her Emmy for The Closer, or that Glenn Close doesn't deserve a third for her absolutely amoral alter ego Patty Hewes on Damages. Should a nod go to January Jones? I'm not a big fan of her personally, but her performances in this season of Mad Men were nothing short of incredible. The work gets the nomination, not the person.
Best Supporting Drama Actor
Vincent Kartheiser and John Slattery are both equally deserving for their work on Mad Men, as are Martin Short and Campbell Scott for Damages, though Short would be my winner. In the "underappreciated" division, J.K. Simmons of The Closer and Robert Sean Leonard of House definitely qualify.
Best Supporting Drama Actress
I fell in love with a fictional character this season: tough-as-nails The Good Wife investigator Kalinda Sharma, played with such fire and enigma by Archie Panjabi. It's hard for me to consider anyone else for the win but Elisabeth Moss, so inspiring and revolutionary as Mad Men's Peggy Olson, but I then look not too far and see Joan Holloway Harris herself, Christina Hendricks, and wonder why that redheaded bombshell hasn't been nominated yet. Another egregious oversight: never nominating the brilliant Lisa Edelstein, who, thanks to a Cuddy-centric episode this season of House, should finally get her recognition. Two lawyers also in need of recognition: Rose Byrne, who more than holds her own against no less than Glenn Close on Damages and so often comes out of the battle as the victor, and the sometimes over-the-top Christine Baranski, who actually brought a beautiful subtlety to Diane Lockhart that I wound up loving as much as I loved Baranski by the end of the season.
Best Guest Drama Actor
Ted Danson is always brilliant in Damages, and even though he was less astounding this year, he was still Emmy-worthy. If he doesn't see a nomination, it'll be a crime. Even more of a crime would be ignoring the brilliant Alan Cumming as The Good Wife's political mastermind. His scene with a scheming 16-year old girl alone would be enough to win it for him. Also from that brilliant program is Mr. Big himself, Chris Noth, who acted brilliantly while both scheming and repenting all season as bad husband Peter Florrick. The Good Wife also had Gary Cole as ballistics expert McVeigh, a truly brilliant counterpart for Diane Lockhart. Finally, Jared Harris as British ax-man Lane Pryce was beyond incredible on Mad Men, and this season simply wouldn't have worked without him.
Best Guest Drama Actress
Lily Tomlin in Damages was a brilliant puppetmistress. And Mary McDonnell's performance in The Closer was nothing short of deliciously evil, especially when spouting vicious, self-centered bile like "My investigation must come first!" Both of them deserve nods, but the win should go to young Kiernan Shipka, a wünderkind on Mad Men at such a young age. (Also from Men: Allison Brie, also a dream nominee for me for Community!) I would also love to see Martha Plimpton nominated for her brilliant two-episode stint on The Good Wife as opposing counsel. She was just pitch-perfect.
So those are some of my favorites for the Emmys this season. Who are yours? Let me know in the comments section!
(Also: if anyone is wondering where my hatred for the reality categories came from, let's just say that Crystal Bowersox didn't win American Idol tonight, and I'm not taking it well. Stupid paint salesman...)
REALITY
Get the useless genre out of the way first, I guess. There are three categories here.
Best Reality Competition Series
What once used to be among my favorite categories is now an annoyance to me. I'd love to see Top Chef win, but it will inevitably go to The Amazing Race... American Idol and Project Runway, perennial nominees, had terrible seasons. So I guess my dream ballot consists of one winner: Chef.
Best Reality Series, Non-Competition
Is it too much to ask that the inane, trashy/fantastic Real Housewives of Atlanta be nominated here? It's campy, fun, and insanely watercooler chattable, which is everything a good reality show should be. That's about all this category has to offer, sadly.
Best Reality Competition Host
This, to me, belongs to either Heidi Klum of Project Runway or Padma Lakshmi and the fantastic Tom Collichio of Top Chef. Since the former wasn't exactly on her game this past season, give it to the two judges of my favorite reality competition.
COMEDY
It's not my favorite set of categories, but anything's better than that reality shlock. There are seven categories here.
Best Comedy Series
Glee and 30 Rock are tops on the air right now, and one should win. I'd also love to see nominations for Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, and Community. I would love to see the increasingly unfunny The Office get snubbed, but that won't happen.
Best Lead Comedy Actor
Well, the category belongs to Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock, but I would love to see Joel McHale nominated for Community. Nominated, not win. Let's not get crazy.
Best Lead Comedy Actress
Tina Fey, of course, would get one of my nominations (now there's a shock). Lea Michele would too, for Glee, and I'd even give one to Cougar Town's Courtney Cox. (No Modern Family nominations here or in Lead Actor can be attributed by the cast's idiotic decision to go entirely supporting. Sweet, but truly idiotic.)
Best Supporting Comedy Actor
Jack McBrayer is routinely fantastic on 30 Rock, and it's time we properly recognized him. However, I'd say all challengers will have a tough time with Chris Colfer, Glee's resident powerhouse young actor, if he can get nominated for such an unconventional role. If he gets nominated, though, and submits this week's Lady Gaga-centric episode as one of his entries, he's won. Eric Stonestreet and Danny Pudi are both great scene-stealers on their respective comedies, and are far more likely to be nominated. (Pray that Entourage's Jeremy Piven gets passed over...)
Best Supporting Comedy Actress
Jane Lynch is Glee's greatest star, and gives a weekly clinic on what comedy truly is. Yvette Nicole Brown and Allison Brie of Community are both cute and do great work. Katrina Bowden is truly GENIUS as Cerie Xerox, useless assistant, on 30 Rock, but the more likely nomination (and the more deserving one) from that show is for Jane Krakowski, who has turned Jenna Maroney from an utterly intolerable moron into an absolute riot. And Sofia Vergara has officially ousted 30 Rock's Salma Hayek as my favorite hilariously Hispanic actress. (That's not racism, by the way: they really used their ethnicities to create brilliant comedy.)
Best Guest Comedy Actor
Michael Sheen as recurring Liz Lemon love interest Wesley Snipes (really) on 30 Rock was brilliantly pesky. Neil Patrick Harris was a lot of fun as Bryan Ryan on Glee's best episode, and his duet on "Dream On" with series star Matthew Morrison was amazing. But this belongs to Glee's most unlikely star: former Yes, Dear star Mike O'Malley. On a musical dramedy, O'Malley brings the drama, providing the most brutally honest and realistic portrayal of Burt Hummel, a supportive father of a gay teenager in television history. He should, will, and absolutely deserves to win the Emmy here. He could enter four different episodes and still win. He's genius every time he's on the show. It never feels cliché or dishonest. It feels true.
Best Guest Comedy Actress
Elizabeth Banks is brilliant as Jack Donaghy's newest girlfriend (and baby mama!) on 30 Rock. Heather Morris and Naya Rivera are the perfect cheerleaders on Glee, and Morris in particular turned into the most quotable characters on television (sometimes even moreso than Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester!). Kristin Chenoweth was such a joy to watch during both of her appearances on Glee that it's hard to see her getting snubbed here. Not only was her performance comedically gifted, hearing her "Maybe This Time," "Home," or "Alone" shows how her musical talent truly elevates her performance.
DRAMA
Ah, the real stuff. Not because drama is better than comedy, but because there's more quality drama on television than comedy these days. There are also seven categories here.
Best Drama Series
Mad Men should have a very difficult time this year fending off the newbie, The Good Wife, and the (likely, sadly) departing veteran Damages. All three shows had absolutely amazing seasons, with Wife's acting and writing being a breath of fresh air for the procedural genre. In fact, I'm not sure if I wouldn't give my win to Wife, too, but then I consider the last three episodes of Men this season, each of which packed more wallop than most shows get in throughout their entire series runs. Finally, Damages finally reclaimed its Season 1 glory, and in the best way. I just think that series (?) finale was insufficient, sadly.
Best Lead Drama Actor
Bryan Cranston, last year's winner, certainly does great work on Breaking Bad, but I want to see either Mad Men's Jon Hamm win after his beautiful work this season that finally proved to me that he can go so far beyond the stiff-upper-lip affect he had for the first two seasons (seriously, that episode when Betty confronted him, and he broke down? Absolute brilliance), or the extremely overdue Hugh Laurie, who shined in a down season for House, especially in its two-hour season premiere.
Best Lead Drama Actress
Julianna Marguiles redefined the procedural's protagonist with an amazing portrayal of wronged wife Alicia Florrick. This was a woman for the 21st century: one who didn't allow herself the time to pout over her husband's infidelity, instead doing what she needed to for her kids. The performance is one for the ages, as is the show. That's not to say Kyra Sedgwick isn't still overdue for her Emmy for The Closer, or that Glenn Close doesn't deserve a third for her absolutely amoral alter ego Patty Hewes on Damages. Should a nod go to January Jones? I'm not a big fan of her personally, but her performances in this season of Mad Men were nothing short of incredible. The work gets the nomination, not the person.
Best Supporting Drama Actor
Vincent Kartheiser and John Slattery are both equally deserving for their work on Mad Men, as are Martin Short and Campbell Scott for Damages, though Short would be my winner. In the "underappreciated" division, J.K. Simmons of The Closer and Robert Sean Leonard of House definitely qualify.
Best Supporting Drama Actress
I fell in love with a fictional character this season: tough-as-nails The Good Wife investigator Kalinda Sharma, played with such fire and enigma by Archie Panjabi. It's hard for me to consider anyone else for the win but Elisabeth Moss, so inspiring and revolutionary as Mad Men's Peggy Olson, but I then look not too far and see Joan Holloway Harris herself, Christina Hendricks, and wonder why that redheaded bombshell hasn't been nominated yet. Another egregious oversight: never nominating the brilliant Lisa Edelstein, who, thanks to a Cuddy-centric episode this season of House, should finally get her recognition. Two lawyers also in need of recognition: Rose Byrne, who more than holds her own against no less than Glenn Close on Damages and so often comes out of the battle as the victor, and the sometimes over-the-top Christine Baranski, who actually brought a beautiful subtlety to Diane Lockhart that I wound up loving as much as I loved Baranski by the end of the season.
Best Guest Drama Actor
Ted Danson is always brilliant in Damages, and even though he was less astounding this year, he was still Emmy-worthy. If he doesn't see a nomination, it'll be a crime. Even more of a crime would be ignoring the brilliant Alan Cumming as The Good Wife's political mastermind. His scene with a scheming 16-year old girl alone would be enough to win it for him. Also from that brilliant program is Mr. Big himself, Chris Noth, who acted brilliantly while both scheming and repenting all season as bad husband Peter Florrick. The Good Wife also had Gary Cole as ballistics expert McVeigh, a truly brilliant counterpart for Diane Lockhart. Finally, Jared Harris as British ax-man Lane Pryce was beyond incredible on Mad Men, and this season simply wouldn't have worked without him.
Best Guest Drama Actress
Lily Tomlin in Damages was a brilliant puppetmistress. And Mary McDonnell's performance in The Closer was nothing short of deliciously evil, especially when spouting vicious, self-centered bile like "My investigation must come first!" Both of them deserve nods, but the win should go to young Kiernan Shipka, a wünderkind on Mad Men at such a young age. (Also from Men: Allison Brie, also a dream nominee for me for Community!) I would also love to see Martha Plimpton nominated for her brilliant two-episode stint on The Good Wife as opposing counsel. She was just pitch-perfect.
So those are some of my favorites for the Emmys this season. Who are yours? Let me know in the comments section!
(Also: if anyone is wondering where my hatred for the reality categories came from, let's just say that Crystal Bowersox didn't win American Idol tonight, and I'm not taking it well. Stupid paint salesman...)
Who? Who Killed Samantha?
After an AP exam-induced break from blogging, I'm back to lament a great show shoved off the air by its network simply because the network couldn't figure out where to put it: Samantha Who?, the Christina Applegate-anchored sitcom about a pretty blonde amnesiac trying to reform her image post-car accident.
Applegate was winningly charming as Samantha Newly, the centerpiece of a warm, fun ensemble that included The Nines' Melissa McCarthy as former and new (it's complicated) best friend Dena, Crash's Latina cop Jennifer Esposito as the absolutely killer scene-stealing drunkard Andrea (that's Ahn-drea, not Ann-drea), 24's former First Lady Jean Smart, Vicky Cristina Barcelona blank slate Kevin Dunn, deadpan doorman Tim Russ, and 7th Heaven's eldest son Barry Watson. Each of them is infinitely better here than in any of their other projects, with Smart (deservedly) winning an Emmy for her role as Samantha's mother.
The acting ensemble was fantastic, but it was the writing, which could always have lapsed into goofy and overly-broad but always stayed smart and insanely funny, that really made this show great. It had more pacing than either Glee or 30 Rock has, and remained similarly funny, if not as over-the-top as those two programs. Not only that, but it knew the strengths of each of its players and played to those strengths, something Rock didn't really understand until halfway through its second season (and that Glee still doesn't understand, or else it wouldn't have Mr. Schuester rap...).
Why I'm bashing so hard on those two shows, despite them being two of my favorite shows on the air, is because in both of their cases, they were allowed the time to grow and gain an audience despite poor initial ratings. Samantha had great ratings behind Dancing With The Stars, yet was tossed from time slot to time slot until ABC eventually had enough of an excuse to cancel it. Of course, with shows like Modern Family, it sure seemed like they made the right decision, but if you think about it, how was Scrubs' awful last season or the dreadfully rated Better Off Ted more worthy of pickup than this gem?
For all the networks that are excited about their new fall lineups (which, I'll admit, actually look very good), they should remember that sometimes, a show takes a while to get off the ground. When they come across the instant hit that Samantha was, they shouldn't take it for granted.
Applegate was winningly charming as Samantha Newly, the centerpiece of a warm, fun ensemble that included The Nines' Melissa McCarthy as former and new (it's complicated) best friend Dena, Crash's Latina cop Jennifer Esposito as the absolutely killer scene-stealing drunkard Andrea (that's Ahn-drea, not Ann-drea), 24's former First Lady Jean Smart, Vicky Cristina Barcelona blank slate Kevin Dunn, deadpan doorman Tim Russ, and 7th Heaven's eldest son Barry Watson. Each of them is infinitely better here than in any of their other projects, with Smart (deservedly) winning an Emmy for her role as Samantha's mother.
The acting ensemble was fantastic, but it was the writing, which could always have lapsed into goofy and overly-broad but always stayed smart and insanely funny, that really made this show great. It had more pacing than either Glee or 30 Rock has, and remained similarly funny, if not as over-the-top as those two programs. Not only that, but it knew the strengths of each of its players and played to those strengths, something Rock didn't really understand until halfway through its second season (and that Glee still doesn't understand, or else it wouldn't have Mr. Schuester rap...).
Why I'm bashing so hard on those two shows, despite them being two of my favorite shows on the air, is because in both of their cases, they were allowed the time to grow and gain an audience despite poor initial ratings. Samantha had great ratings behind Dancing With The Stars, yet was tossed from time slot to time slot until ABC eventually had enough of an excuse to cancel it. Of course, with shows like Modern Family, it sure seemed like they made the right decision, but if you think about it, how was Scrubs' awful last season or the dreadfully rated Better Off Ted more worthy of pickup than this gem?
For all the networks that are excited about their new fall lineups (which, I'll admit, actually look very good), they should remember that sometimes, a show takes a while to get off the ground. When they come across the instant hit that Samantha was, they shouldn't take it for granted.
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