Pete's TV and Music Blog

New MIX Music this week

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:35:00 GMT

This week you'll notice O.A.R.'s new song Shattered on our station. If you went college you'll recognize the name. They've been getting alot of buzz in the college world for about a decade. I actually have a niece that said she listened to them when she was in high school ten years ago. I've heard of them and we played one of their songs last year called 'Love And Memories' that I really liked. They've got a pretty big underground following and are now just breaking thru. BTW, if you're wondering, O.A.R. stand for ' of a revolution' . (No caps, all smaller case. Yet the band name is in all CAPS. Funny guys.) Feel free to comment on the song here. Come back next week and I'll give you a sneak peek at what you'll hear next!

The Office: Funniest Show EVER.

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:46:00 GMT

Told Ya

Sun, 25 May 2008 15:53:00 GMT

I thought I'd let the shock wear off for a few days before I said it... So Cook won, huh? I have to admit I'm surprised, I was sure the DA had it locked up. I'm glad Cook won, but he didn't need to. In fact it probably would have been better for him if he hadn't.

If you don't know the inside workings of American Idol, you might be surprised that all of the top 12 get a shot at a record deal. The top 5 are virtually guaranteed a two album deal and the winner is locked in for three. In a way that's a bad deal for the 'rockers'. They are virtually told exactly what songs will be on their albums, and there's no chance that they'll get to write a song, or even choose the performers on their first two albums.

Kelly Clarkson's first album (Thankful) was like that. Her second (Breakaway) had one song written by her and four co-written by her. The one song she wrote by herself was 'Because Of You', even though two guys from Evanessence are credited as well. They just helped polish it and gave musical direction. Rumor has it 'Walk Away' and 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' were written by her alone, but the credits show differently. On her third album (My December) she was involved with all the songs... but Clive Davis, the big wig at Sony (the label that owns American Idol) wanted to shelve the whole album because Kelly refused to work with their songs and songwriters. Rightly so, since each song she was involved in off Breakaway was a monster hit. She felt she earned some voice. Although My December sold faster than her previous two, it fizzled out on US radio stations (including ours and... despite you telling us you liked it, our consultant had us pull it only after three weeks on the air!) and she cancelled a tour because of it. Even though there's no direct proof, it was the feeling in the media that Sony smacked her down with a few phone calls. That's the power that the A-I Machine holds over their winners and top 12. If you play by their rules, shut your mouth and do the songs they give you blindly, you get famous (Carrie Underwood). If you don't ... you're a nobody... and they make sure of it (Taylor Hicks).

Soooo, as much as David Cook really deserved the win, he'll now be forced by the A-I Machine to record exactly the songs they want him to, with the exact performers they want him to and in the exact way they want him to. So the question you should ask in eight months is... 'Are we really hearing David Cook?' You may just have to wait five years before you find out.

Oh and by the way... I TOLD YOU HE'D WIN! There, now I feel better.

The David Archulleta Factor

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:51:00 GMT

    Ok, so I just watched the Final Three Idol performances and seriously, is David A really that good? I mean c'mon, for just about every performance this season he's kind of sung the same song. Ballads.
           Tonite he took a shot at what must be a pretty popular song by Chris Brown. I guess I'm outta the loop, but I didn't recognize it. Honestly I haven't recognized many of his songs. Now I'm pretty familar with music as a whole, (POP junk and RAP not so much) and if I don't recognize the songs, does the voting audience? Probably not. That makes me agree with Simon that this show has become a popularity contest rather than a singing contest. If you ask me (and you didn't) the best singer is already gone... Carly.
        If you listen to our show you know I think DA has a giant head and ears that make Dumbo look like Brad Pitt. Yes, he has a nice voice, but is he an American Idol? Does he have the stuff to perform at the level of Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood? David Cook might have it if he gives up the gruff smoky sound and rolls rocky like Bice or Constantine... and Syesha? She definately can belt it out like Fantasia and Kelly Clarkson. But David A? Not likely. He's not even an Elliot Yamin or Bucky Covington. He's hardly a teenager and his voice hasn't even changed yet. Let's see him hold those long sorrowful high notes when he's 20.
       Personally, I'm pulling for Syesha because David Cook already has his future sewn up. Next year at this time, I guarantee you we'll be playing David Cook's music on MIX 94.9 and I bet David Archuletta will be headlining the Archuletta Family Band at your local VFW.