David Cook = 42 (Forums)

True, but you don't have to have seen a movie to know it exists, and SMS has a considerably higher profile than your run-of-the-mill concert video; it was directed by Jonathan Demme, had a pretty successful theatrical release, was considered ground-breaking for its time, and got excellent critical reviews. So given a choice between a) he's a rock musician who studies and strives for great live performances and has a longtime appreciation for the Talking Heads but he's never heard of Stop Making Sense, and b) he wasn't even born yet so despite his appreciation for 80's rock, he somehow just now "discovered" their genius, my guess - and yeah, that's all it is - was B.

Of course, I was almost an adult when the Heads were in their heyday and when the movie came out, so my perceptions may be slightly skewed. :)

Does anyone know if Talking Heads have shown up on any of the iPod playlists or influences he's cited? I know someone on DCO was keeping a running list of those, but don't remember who that was or where it is.

Thanks to you swm, and to AheadOfStraight for the welcome! It's good to be back. RL is kind of crazy these days, but I'll try to join in the fun more often.

ETA: Out of curiosity I just checked the box office stats, and SMS is #6 all time for concert videos - tragically bumped 2 spots recently by Miley and JoBros. Source.

See, that's what I was thinking. The phrasing of his tweet: "nay, sir, where do I find this gem?" is what got me, I think. Because, the real answer to that question is, "Um, Blockbuster?" Like, if someone asked you, have you seen "Pulp Fiction," you wouldn't say, "no, where can I find it?" I dunno. Doesn't matter, anyway. Just good to know the boy appreciates the genius, regardless of how long he's been doing it.

Also, welcome back, MsDarcy!

Idolatry is up.

Will need a bit of time to process. Much yay, a little "O RLY," and the tiniest bit of "are you fucking kidding me?"

Assuming the "are you fucking kidding me" is in reference to the mentions of Max Martin and Ryan Tedder?

silverbunny, it's honestly more Tedder. Max Martin has the rep for his sound, of course, but he has branched beyond it (Apocalyptica's "I Don't Care"), and I am, at any rate, quite fond of "So What" and "Who Knew." But I honestly think Tedder's rep took a huge dive with the Halo/Already Gone thing, and as an artist I think I'd be reluctant to deal with someone who was exposed that publicly as a hack.

On the bright side, I'm very pleased that he is working with the band and he likes what they've put together.

The rest of it I'm going to sleep on. Which I can, since I don't have to work tomorrow. Snowmageddon FTW! (After all the FTL beforehand, it's about time.)

ETA: Kvon, Imogen Heap is probably best known for her work with Frou Frou (particularly "Let Go," the promo/soundtrack song in Garden State). She also got a lot of TV exposure for her her solo material such as the OC using "Hide and Seek," which was sampled extensively in Jason DeRulo's big single "Whatcha Say." She's also pretty well-known in music circles for using social media to build her fanbase before the release of her last album, Ellipse. I wouldn't call her style a capella at all. She tends to layer her vocals. I like her, but I do tend to prefer different voices for harmonizing, so that's why I was a bit O RLY about it.

And yea for more pianos and less wall-of-sound in Idolatry. And writing songs with Anthemic.
I'm not familiar with Imogene Heap, can anyone point me the right direction? I'm assuming it's some kind of a capella song. Which would be neat (but don't try anymore a capella in concert).

Piano songs are good, but who is going to play the piano during live concerts? Andy is okay, but not brilliant. For instance, on Light On, there was a big difference (imo) between Andy's playing and Tony (from Crash Kings)'s.

The most popular Imogen Heap song is Hide and Seek. Very pretty. I'm curious how Dave is going to execute it, though. Can't wait to see whether it will come into fruition. With RCA's track record wrt David, I don't think so.

Shallow-note: He looks so cute during the interview.

wavingfeather, I'm thinking it could be a Petra Haden/Foo Fighters sort of thing. She recorded the violin parts on IYH with them, and then went on tour with them, without actually being a Foo per se. (I'd say maybe they could tap Dallin Applebaum if only they'd actually had her play with them at all on the tour. [shrug])

Or, Cook and/or Skib start taking really hardcore lessons and try to do it themselves on the road. I could see them committing out of pride, and not wanting halfassery.

ETA: I think this is the mentioned Tommy Henriksen. Kinda Gabriel-esque. I do like that he's into alternate instrumentation.

Idolatry! Slezak! Happy! Can I just say how adorable those two are? All dressed up pretty for each other? And Slezak, with his tie all cinched up to keep the butterflies in his stomach from flying up his throat and escaping? Acting all professional and composed, and asking such great questions? And Cook, with that self-conscious smiley thing he does when he knows the interviewer is a really.big.fan? Oh, you guys!

And, then there's the actual content of the interview. The "layered vocals" idea is something he could so totally pull off in a way not too many male singers could, I think. And, I don't even care what the song's about, "With Me Empty" is a great song title. And, he said he wrote it "with my band." Yay!

And again, with the less "wall-of-sound" promise. I feel like, once upon a time, someone's idea of how an American Idol "rock" record should sound involved dreaming up a "pop" record and adding guitars. Because rock music has guitars; that's how you know it's rock music, isn't it? And maybe there was no getting around that with the creation of DCTR. Now, though... well, I get the sense Cook may have a little more leeway to decide how this record should sound, which is really exciting.

And, someone pointed out on Twitter that the word "rock" didn't come up, not even once - how awesome is that? Apparently, he is no longer required to categorize himself as a "rocker," even in Idol-related press. Good riddance, silly Idol-speak!

ETA: On the piano topic, 2 things: (1) I absolutely love it when Cook, or any artist, composes songs with an ear to how they're going to work live, because, as many of us have been fortunate to experience this year, there are very few things as exciting as a really good, high-energy rock show. (2) I also love it when Cook, or anyone else, uses the recording process to create a piece of music that couldn't possibly be replicated live, whether it involves layered voices, or strange instruments, or Chantal playing the piano, or whatever. With luck, the record will be around and people will be listening to it long after the artist is past his prime and has no business performing the songs live (*cough*Who*cough*). I think there's room for both approaches on the same record.

I haven't actually seen the interview yet but just read the transcript posted by Cool_shades. I thought it was a great interview - NOTHING mentioned about this season of Idol or Paula/Ellen, Archie, etc. Love you Slezak!! The only comment that gave me pause was the mention of Tedder but I'm choosing to ignore it because I loved so much of the other content. My new pony is that the guys play "With Me Empty" in CA! Now I'm dying to actually watch the video and take in the hawty-goodness.

I am not sure why, but the thing that made me smile was his reference to DCTR as "this last record."

Who thinks David will be at this on Friday? I know I would be if I lived in the area!

http://bit.ly/9FZtCN

I don't even have to click the link to guess what you're talking about, so I'm gonna post and then check to see if I'm right. Last week, Glenn Howerton, who plays - oh crap, what's his name, Dee's brother, the handsome toolish one - Dennis! that's it - tweeted 'cuz they were auctioning some front-row seats, and I went so far as to tweet the link @ theCook and theSkib suggesting they go and try to get Charlie Day to sign the Greenman suit. I should be way more embarassed to admit that than I actually am. I'm growing more embarassed by the moment, though.

I missed your tweet! So yes, you win the, uh, bragging rights for getting it correct? Sorry, it's all I've got.

I really shouldn't post, because I have nothing interesting or profound to say about that interview. I would have to google all those names he dropped, then read their wiki pages, and listen to some music, absorb it, and then form an educated opinion. And every time I start to do those things, the wonderful EW video repeats on a loop, and I forget all of the above just to stare at the pretty blue shirt and the guy in it. Its hopeless. Besides, whomever he works with, or whoever produces DCTR2, all I ask is "don't cover up the voice" and "please, no David singing with David on top of David." OK? Thanks.