JayFublerHarvey.com

There’s always one award show each year that I can rely on not making me cringe, not writing stupid jokes for the presenters to deliver and always finishing on time. The Tonys were always the masters of intelligently produced extravaganzas…at least until this year…

The insertion of badly written comedic intros (for the most part) left the show with a taste right between the Grammys and the MTV movie awards. I fully expected to see Busta Rhymes and Martha Stewart show up next to present the Best Pimp Slap in a Musical or Revival award. Noone is interested in the comedy unless it’s written and delivered by the person speaking (i.e. Nathan Lane’s excellent bit….). Give up the pen and get back to giving awards.

What was most shocking was the unpredecented lack of professional mixing of the sound. This is something even the Busta-Award shows get right. Make all the appropriate level adjustments in rehearsal and be done with it. It’s not rocket science (or even 8th grade science). But after a full night of hearing so many vocals drowned out by the background music, I’m still left rather stunned. I did better mixing at the local dance recital last weekend…

And was it just my imagination or did Aretha actually sound bad last night? Something not right about her getting overpowered by Hugh Jackman…
(I would chalk that up to the mixing problem, but something tells me that wasn’t the case…)

Still…the show did have it’s moments….

• The great fall off the stage by Christina Applegate in homage to her real fall in Sweet Charity
• Hella-strong, high energy performance by the La Cage aux Folles ‘gals’
• Best of the night: Reverand Al Sharpton as the special guest speller in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (which is now on my definite must-see list)

And definitely appreciated that everything finished on time as usual (tho it didn’t give the Spamalot people enough time for their speech…)

Alright kiddies…remember what we talked about for next year.
Gotta get back to being as tight as Grape Nuts….

I have to admit it was pleasing at first to see that Dave Chappelle finally made it to the original Sunday edition of 60 minutes. Back in the olden days, getting a Sunday slot meant you had truly become a mainstream success. Dave hadn’t made it there yet tho…50 million dollar contract…best selling TV DVD set of all time…only worthy of a 60 Minutes Wednesday appearance.

And yet, here’s Dave on a Sunday. It looked like they were using him as filler…but even so, in this post-season-finale era, he might get more of an audience than usual. But probably not with a decent end result the way 60 Minutes framed it.

The ‘Way-too-ready-for-primetime-players’ framed his segment on a down note. That he had disappeared…that he was found in South Africa where he said that he was neither crazy nor on drugs. But that, “He offered no explanation for his flight from the spotlight.”

Now, this is all happening two weeks after the detailed Time Magazine article came out in which Dave tells everyone exactly what happened (for the most part). Surely more than enough detail to make 60 Minutes’ comments seem uninformed and unprofessional.

C’mon 60…it’s not like this one needed some pipe-hittin’ journalism to be completed. This smacks of opportunism and downright laziness. Bitches…

Side Note: Looks like Dave is back home in Ohio chillin’…Rock on!

Double Side Note with Chili Fries: Check out the bonus DVD on Season 2 of Chappelle Show. The extra Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Story about him being Eddie Murphy’s head of security is too damn funny. ^_^

The media speculation machine just flies off the handle sometimes when they can’t get full verification on a story. Contrary to popular belief, Dave Chappelle hasn’t lost his marbles. He’s in South Africa at a close friend’s place taking in some deep personal reflection…not recovering at a mental institution from a breakdown.

What? You don’t believe it?

Time magazine talked to him in South Africa this past Friday so he could set the story straight. Sounds like the brutha’s got more of a solid head on his shoulders than most people…

The karaoke fest continues…Yawn. Think I’ll pass from now on until they settle on the final twelve…

Faves:

Carrie Underwood & Nadia Turner

Two completely different singers who both know themselves well enough to be comfortable. Both strong vocally…bring enough of themselves into a song so that it doesn’t become boring. (Especially Nadia). They’ll make it, no problemo…

Quote of the Night:

“…I’d love to be your microphone”
    - Simon Cowell to one of the pretty, less talented singers.

Passed up to Watch American Idol:

My new Miyazaki DVDs…I must not be feeling well…
Back to Nausicaa!

My status as a pop-culture whore continues…as I begin to seriously watch the 4th season of American Idol.

Each season provides a better collection of singers and this year seems to be no exception…raising the age limit definitely seemed to up the ante for everyone.

But does anyone really expect the show to ever find the next great talent? The next Aretha…next Whitney…next Luther? Probably not. And considering the returns of the past Idol finalists, it doesn’t look like we’ll see anything like that anytime soon. (Damn…not even a true star yet….and no, Clay doesn’t count…)

But America loves rags to riches stories. Local guy/gal makes finally makes good. American Idol offers up such possibilities every week. Past, present and future dreams get played out vicariously through our TV screens. And so….we continue to watch. Yes, even us adults. :)

So after watching the first installment of 12 possible future indentured servants….

My Personal Faves:

1) Bo Bice
The first rocker of the night. Easily the most confident and expressive voice of the group. Definitely understands his own voice well enough to use it to its fullest effect. There seems to be enough underlying soul in his voice where he probably won’t have any trouble with any Soul/R&B songs either. Should be very interesting.

2) Scott Savol
The local boy! NEOhio in the house!
Strong soulful voice coming out of someone whom you wouldn’t think would have anything close to it. He hit his song with no problem. Simon…the whole “he doesn’t look like an Idol” is so played out. Get new script writers. Let’s hope the voters look past the mug…

3) Mario Vazquez
Best Stevie Wonder imitation of the night. Someone who actually realized that putting your own charisma into a performance might be a good idea. Sounded like you were having fun, kiddo.

Other Thoughts

1) Replace Paula
She has nothing new to say. She has no advice to offer than what she can parrot from Randy or Simon. Even the back-n-forth between her and Simon is getting tired. She needs to bounce….
(Bring back Gladys Knight. She’s not as cute as Paula, but at least she gave good advice and knew what the hell she was talking about.)

2) Attention Black Men
We all love Stevie Wonder. We don’t love you. You think you sound like Stevie. You very well might sound like Stevie. Sounding like Stevie still leaves you minus the energy, spirit and genius of Stevie. Imitating him ain’t gonna get it. Make the song your own or leave it the hell alone.

Bring on da Ladies….

Congrats to Matt Drudge for helping to give Chris Rock and the Oscars more publicity (and certainly higher ratings) than they ever expected. Backfire’s a bitch, ain’t it?

(And Matt…everyone remembers that you and Rock have a not-so pleasant history…oh let the bias thrive!)

There was a time when I wondered what the hell was wrong with the Grammys. They obviously didn’t understand what was truly happening. Had no idea what were the best songs and albums of the year. They just didn’t get it. (Heavy Metal giants Jethro Tull, anyone?) That was 15 years ago…when I actually enjoyed what was played on top 40 radio. (Does that automatically make my 17 year old self musically suspect? ^_^)

These days, I can barely stand the majority of what’s on top 40 radio. Thumping beats will always work, but the number of talentless individuals has just seemed to have skyrocketed. (Reference my “1/4 of an artist” article). Yet where do I find myself on Grammy night? Happy that there’s somewhere I can find out about the true cream of what’s currently happening in all genres. Would’ve never discovered the fantastico Robert Randolph and the Family Band without the show.

As appreciative I might be, I still gotta pick with it… :)
(Note: I did miss parts of the second hour….)

Best Performance of the Night:

My sweet, sweet Alicia Keys performing “If I Ain’t Got You”. Tearing the house down never felt so good. :) (So happy to see ya without those tight braids too, Lady A)

Overblown Moment of the Night:

The “historical” tsunami relief performance of “Across the Universe”. Just because you get a bunch of past and present superstars up on stage together doesn’t mean it’s all going to gel.

Norah Jones sounded scared to be up there. Brian Wilson just sounded bad. And Stevie, Stevie…where was the power at the beginning, man?

On the flip side: More powerful vocals from Alicia. A great harmonica and comeback blow from Stevie. Even Tim McGraw sounded great….

Made for a very uneven performance.

And there’s something simply not right about the lead singer of Green Day breathing air on the same stage as Stevie Wonder….

Unexpected “Am I Hearing This Right?” Moment:

Gwen Stefani and Eve channeling Fiddler on the Roof into a pop song. Holy Toledo, I like it! ^_^

Unexpected “What The Hell?” Moment:

Melissa Etheridge looking like Uncle Fester. Took a good 5 seconds for me to figure it out. Still, she blew mighty game on her Janis Joplin tribute. Keep on rocking, Unc! (Here’s hoping for a quick recovery!)

Need to Check Out:

Los Lonely Boys!
And Queen Latifah’s standards album…she’s not Ella, but she gave good enough to warrant more of a listen. ^^

Oh No…Not Again Moment:

I love Ray Charles…I truly do. But seeing another “someone died, so let’s give it to them” award simply turns my stomach…

Length of the Show:

No more excuses! It’s perfectly possible for any award show to finish on time. The Tony Awards do it EVERY YEAR. Directors…get with the program and stop blaming long acceptance speeches for your inability to run a tight ship.

Eyes Rolling Moment of Night:

That 70’s Grammy Head-Bigwig-Dude talking about a lawsuit against internet piracy and how it’s about compensating the artist for their work. Nothing about the record companies’ raping of the artist in sight…

Oh, Hell No! Moment:

James Brown referring to Usher as the “God Son”. The vomit can’t spew fast enough…

Attention Black Eyed Peas:

When performing in concert, it’s a good idea to rap INTO the microphone. It looks like will.i.am got his degree in it…rest of you need to follow suit.

Attention Marc Anthony:

Get your wife off the stage, please? Thanks.

ATTENTION Marc Anthony:

Seriously…Get your wife off the stage, now!
(While she still is your wife…)

Many people thought Hardee’s insane with their new 2 minutes-till-heartattack burger.

Still, you gotta give ‘em credit for inventive marketing…hitting their target consumer right in the…mouth… ^^

*Cough*

I like to bid a fond farewell to the heart and soul of Law and Order, Mr. Jerry Orbach who passed away last night at the age of 69.

I was always amazed at how a show could be performed so consistantly well over such a long period of time, especially with cast members flying to and fro. Solid writing does have a lot to do with it, but there still needs to be an anchor somewhere. Jerry’s character Lenny Briscoe was that anchor. Lenny became the true mainstay of the series…the character you could always count on to take care of business and leave you with a smirk or two. (Lenny was a fountain-o-wit when it came to his ex-wives).

I’m glad he was able to give his character some closure before the end. I hope he was able to do the same in real life. Kudos to ya, Jerry. Hope the afterlife (or baby crib) is working great guns for ya.

One of these days, I hope the majority of producers, directors, and screenwriters will start respecting the source material they use for their movies. The Sci-Fi channel’s recent miniseries, Legend of EarthSea, seemed to be in real need of more hours to really develop the characters and story, both on screen and off. As the hours went by, you couldn’t help but wonder what those of us that had not read the books were missing…

Plenty, it seems. Author of the EarthSea series, Ursula K. Le Guin, did not like what she saw at all. And had no problem giving the Sci-Fi channel a big smack upside the head. Nothing like getting berated by the original creator, eh? :)

(Side Note: One bright spot for the minseries, the lovely Kristin Kreuk ^^)