Tuesday, February 10, 2009

February 10, 2009 Earworm



As much as I love Jennifer Holiday, I am a full fledged Jennifer Hudson fan. Not only is she a gifted a vocalist and actress , she has charm to spare, has shown grace under horrific pressure, and she circumvented the hyperbole of American Idol to shine on her own terms. "Spotlight" was a perfect summer single, languid yet anxious, a slow simmer that brought to my mind an image of her tapping her foot and waiting for the news to sink in - wise enough to know she will not hear anything that will change the scenario. Unfortunately, I can no longer hear it without thinking of the how harsh the spotlight can be. But then, I think of how deftly she stepped out of it, refusing to let the press manipulate her grief into soundbites for an infotainment starved world.

Now she's back, basking in a Grammy glow, a winner, and a shining star.

Monday, February 9, 2009

February 09, 2008 Earworm



Watching the Grammy telecast last night was a less in aging. Providing running commentary of the happenings on Facebook allowed me to have a Grammy party without leaving the house or having to clean up when everyone left. After experiencing the bonding of an on-line community during the Obama inauguration, I was surprised by how little my friends, both old and new, were interested in the show. When I would ask, I received a variation on a theme of "It doesn't interest me anymore". WTF? But, as the show went on, I began to realize that most of the performances weren't very interesting to me, either. And that's when I began to feel my age until I remembered that the acts that performed on the Grammy's were seldom interesting to me. In fact, I usually considered myself lucky if I enjoyed just one performance. I feel better now. And younger. With even more smugging power!

It was a well paced show and that makes it a good Grammy show. It was great to see Alison Krause and Robert Plant in action and, after all she's been threw and kept it private for so long, Jennifer Hudson could have come out and sang the Hokey Pokey as a polka and the place - and I - would have stood and cheered while wiping away tears. I'm still not sure how I feel about the Rev. Al Green's get together with Justin Timberlake but it was nice of them to help out in a pinch.

Which brings me to the missing and the song I've been unable to get out of my head all day. What's going on with Rihanna? The young and beautiful pop tart that makes me sing and dance in my driver's seat as passing cars point and laugh! No news on her well being today - not even from her "people".

I hear her singing "S.O.S" over and over again in my head and I worry...