Shane Life

This is a little too much awesome for me to handle.

Coldplay + My favorite song off Viva La Vida + Jay-Z = Lost+

Enjoy.

In the democratic primary, this would be a landslide. Not even close.

56% to 44%

David Cook wins American Idol by a landslide, just like I thought he should. Not only was I surprised he won, but I was SHOCKED at the margin.

The hometown KC-Blue Springs boy is the man. The haters will come out of the woodwork tonight. 

I’ve never been a person to hide my hometown shame.

There’s a large part of me that wants David Cook to win because he hails from Kansas City. But for those that aren’t from Kansas City, here are some other reasons why David Cook should be the next American Idol:

1. He’s genuine. Say what you will about David Archuleta, I just don’t buy his “aw shucks” schlock routine. I believe that David Cook believes the words he sings. That was evident tonight.
2. He does things on his own terms. The difference in maturity between the two Davids tonight was evident. Instead of choosing the songs that America would like (as Archuleta and his father did), David Cook chose songs that HE wanted to sing. I think that shows more courage than choosing cheesy “In this Moment” ballads. The title of this reason could also be, “He’s not a puppet.”
3. Chris Daughtry should have won. I know that was two seasons ago, but America has a chance to make up for past wrongs. Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks could be more forgotten than they already are if American Idol were to actually crown a rocker as champion.
4. He wasn’t hand-picked by the judges. Just as last season was skewed to favor Jordin Sparks over Blake Lewis, this season has been heavily skewed for David Archuleta to win. He got Neil Diamond’s two most famous songs. He has either had the first pick the whole time, or there’s been a producer (or his dad) in his ear the whole season telling him which songs were the most sugary and would generate the most sympathy for him. David Cook has done everything against the grain, from his completely different arrangements to choosing songs that people might not necessarily know (or that he has not yet sung, like tonight with his choice of Collective Soul’s “The World I Know”).
5. He will sell more records than David Archuleta. This is a fact. David Archuleta is like the Jordin Sparks of this season. Good voice, malleable, BORING. David Cook will make a better record for the reasons above and more people will buy it. This is the truth. I will not be proven wrong by time on this one.

So there you go. Five good reasons why you should vote for David Cook over David Archuleta. Either way, he’s going to make a record and either way, he’ll sell more units than his younger counterpart. So light up those phones, America.

866-436-5701
866-436-5703
866-436-5705

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

Your musical tastes are intense and rebellious. You are intelligent… but in a very unconventional way. You are curious about the world. You love doing something new. In fact, you enjoy taking risks and doing things most people would shy away from.

You are very physical. It’s likely that you’re athletic, but not into team sports. You have the soul of an artist. Beauty and harmony are important to you.

I’m not sure if I agree with all of this, but it’s pretty on point.

via Emaw

Tonight when I was watching Dancing with the Stars (yes, I watch Dancing with the Stars), the “Stars of Dance” special feature was Omarion covering a couple Michael Jackson songs to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Thriller.

There’s no doubt that Michael Jackson is off-the-reservation-crazy, but there’s also no doubt that he still remains one of the single most influential figures in pop music and Thriller is the seminal album in his long career. It contains some of the greatest pop songs of all-time, including “Billie Jean” and the title track, both of which were covered by Omarion during the performance.

During the performance, I leaned over to Alli and said to her, “You know there are some songs that should be like retired numbers in sports…they shouldn’t be covered by anyone else.” Thriller is one of those songs. Omarion is a decent performer (he’s no Chris Brown, but he’s passable), but his version of Thriller was a train wreck. They dropped it an octave and the song just doesn’t work there.

I know there are a ton of other songs out there that shouldn’t be covered. Vogue by Madonna would be one. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen would be one. Others that come to mind: Enter Sandman by Metallica, Hotel California by the Eagles, The Joker by the Steve Miller Band, Hound Dog by Elvis Presley.

What songs would have their numbers retired in your CD collection?

I got this video sent to me by my cousin Char, the up-and-coming photographer and soon-to-be-graduate from Seattle Pacific University. I didn’t even realize that it was him for a sec, but it’s pretty cool. He graduates in June and I hope that he’s able to pursue photography full-time because he’s totally talented.

Rock on, Char.

So Brooke went home tonight on American Idol. The fact that she stuck around as long as she did is a feat unto itself. After forgetting the words on Andrew Lloyd Webber night, I thought she was done for sure.

Other than David Cook, she is the only one who I could see myself actually paying for her music. She was kind and sweet and you could tell that she did not once take the opportunity on American Idol for granted.

I, for one, am tired of David Archuleta. Look, the kid is good, but I am starting to doubt his sincerity. I also think it’s kind of unfair that he got to sing Neil Diamond’s two most memorable hits (the only other argument that could be made is perhaps “I’m a Believer”, which Brooke sang). I’m sure that the others chose their songs for a reason, but it seems an awful lot like the producers are trying to skew the votes in the young dude’s favor (the Taylor Hicks effect).

And Jason Castro. You have made it very far in this competition without very LITTLE range. Now flash that smile at the camera one more time and stumble into just a little more money as you make it further. Same for you, Syeshia. You’re no Fantasia. You’re no Jennifer Hudson even. Lakeisha from last season had a better personality and your creepy baby laugh…it’s a good thing that you’re not doing that anymore because you’re lucky to still be around.

If David Cook does not win this competition, it’s rigged. I don’t know if he’s as good as Daughtry, but he’s better than the rest of those fools left by a landslide. America, you should seriously seek therapy if you stop voting for him. If he doesn’t win, America got it wrong (like two years ago when Taylor Hicks won).

I found out about the Friday Feast via Chimpotle originally. But I feel like linking Logtar today.

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

I have the uncanny ability to make my writing more masculine or feminine at a whim. I have mad handwriting skillz. Also, back when I expected to be a famous athlete and expected to be signing jerseys and whatnot all the time, I perfected my signature. My signature is awesome. It looks like the signature of someone who is famous. You should probably ask for my autograph sometime.

Soup
Do you prefer baths or showers?

The problem with baths is that the water gets cold and tubs are never large enough to accommodate my large…frame. Huge tubs and one of those immersion temperature controls (like they use for molecular gastronomy) - I could really get into baths (get it?). But I don’t think they make immersion cookers that large so I almost never take them.

Salad
What was the last bad movie you watched?

Sweeney Todd. That movie was well-acted and really really bad.

Main Course
Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

Chipotle. Alli and I can’t really stop, which makes it very difficult to lose weight. We are certain that there are addictive chemicals in it that make us crave it fortnightly.

Dessert
Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

It’s a tossup between acoustic guitar and piano. I think that the sitar is a beautiful instrument, but only in the right setting. Acoustic guitar and piano work nearly everywhere.

I’m stealing this from Average Jane, who stole it from Bea. Feel free to participate. Or don’t.

Open up your iTunes and fill out this survey, no matter how embarrassing the responses might be.

How many songs total: 8266
How many hours or days of music: 23.3 days
Most recently played: Wanted by Holly Brook
Most played: Warning Sign by Coldplay
Most recently added: Like Blood Like Honey album by Holly Brook

Sort by song title:
First Song: A by the Barenaked Ladies
Last Song: 1969 by The Vines

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: Intro from Michelle Branch’s Hotel Paper
Longest Song: Lush Life by John Coltrane

Sort by album:
First album: Abbey Road
Last album: 311 (Why did iTunes start putting numbers at the end?)

First song that comes up on shuffle:
Closing In by Imogen Heap from Speak for Yourself

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death - 75 (buoyed by 4 Death Cab for Cutie albums, I’m sure)
Life - 189
Love - 457
Hate - 17 (filtered out the 18 instances of “Whatever”)
You - 943 (WOW)
Sex - 49 (Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magic and Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds helped…)

Anybody else want to play?