Category: Television Shows

By:

The Dude on the Right
Well we missed our last installment of "Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up!"
because I was off playing hooky seeing the Chicago Cubs’ Home Opener. 
Sadly they lost to Houston, on a cold, cold, cold, Monday afternoon.  But
this podcast really isn’t about baseball, it pretty much has three topics. 
First comes my Don Imus talk, who has been fired from everything now, and how I
think the latest chapter of his career will be inserted into every broadcast
school’s curriculum under the topic "What not to do when you put your foot in
your mouth on the air."  Second comes how I was disappointed in the return
of "The Sopranos," and
Bobby
Bakala is still fat.  And finally, it being Thursday, and yesterday
being Wednesday, of course I talk about American Idol and how I was sad to see
Haley go because she is hot, hope Phil goes next week, and Sanjaya is still
alive, no thanks to Howard
Stern, no thanks to
votefortheworst.com, but mostly thanks to me because of my crusade to keep
him on the show.  Yup, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
At least Jennifer Lopez seems to be giving some of the singers some real advice
this week, although it appears none of the contestants, except maybe Sanjaya,
actually took it. Maybe the other “coaches” in previous weeks gave just as much
advice, but with one more contestant gone it gave J Lo more screen time. Here’s
my rundown of the contestants…

Melinda: Sings “Sway.” Since we all know she can sing, unless she
forgets words or falls on her face, it’s about looks. The giant smile with the
upper gum is still a bad look, the hair makes her look old, not 20 years old –
50 years old. Keep it hip girl.

LeKisha: Sings “Conga.” Most camera shots were far away, or
highlighting the band, because, and since we know she can sing, she looked
stuffed into that dress. Like Melinda she sounded fine, but superficiality will
be her downfall right now.

Chris: Sings “Smooth,” the Rob Thomas/Santana version. He’s still
singing too low for the song most people recognize, and I’ve met Rob Thomas,
even though it was a bunch of years ago – and Chris is no Rob Thomas. Maybe
Paula really needs to see Rob Thomas to sing it to her because she seemed to like Chris.

Haley: Sings “Turn the Beat Around.” Nice shorts but needs less up
top. She sings okay but needed to practice some Shakira “moves” to maybe get her
to the next round, especially for this song. Simon knows the score, and if she
would only embrace it she could actually win. She’s practicing the wrong things,
like singing.

Phil: Sings “Maria.” He’s got a hat back on, but all of us already are
stuck with his bald head in our heads. He’s trying to be a Latin singer, but he
doesn’t have the machismo to pull it off, and his voice is cracking in a lot of
places. Please let him go ahead of Haley.

Jordin: Sings “The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.” Why is it that none of
these folks seem to understand Latin music? It’s singing combined with body
movement and emotion. Jordin still looks a little chubbier than I remember, even
though her singing is good. She’s just not working it with her body.

Blake: Sings “I Need to Know.” Nice hat. He epitomizes the white guy
dance. The song exudes sex, and he, well, doesn’t. Maybe it was better live, but
on TV he sucked for me.

Sanjaya: Sings a Spanish song that I don’t know that the title is. Oh
my God, I hate to say this, but of all of the singers he understood the “Latin”
theme and nailed it.

Performance-wise, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Sanjaya actually
got the theme of the night, while most of the others sucked. Sure, they can
sing, but we are starting to see most of them don’t know how to perform. In a
shocker I can see LeKisha getting the boot, but is should probably be Haley or
Phil who get the boot. I’m hoping Phil gets booted, and that Haley wears a
little less next week!

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Normally I would do a podcast on Thursday, complete with my analysis of who got
voted off "American Idol," but I’m frantically working on the animation for our
next episode of "Stu & The Dude Reviewin’ the Movies for You!" so I didn’t have
time to put together the audio clips I wanted to for the podcast.  I know,
my dedication is lacking at times, but I did want to give some quick thoughts
about Gina getting the boot on "Idol."

For starters, I’m blaming myself for
Gina getting the boot.  If you have been reading any of my blogs or
listening to my podcasts you know that I am firmly vested in the "Vote for
Sanjaya" movement, and on Tuesday I got so psyched in my voting for Sanjaya
Malakar and thinking Gina was probably safe that I didn’t vote for Gina. 
So Gina, I apologize, and if, among those 30 million votes they said were
supposedly cast last Tuesday night, and you got voted off because of about five
votes, it is my fault.  The underlying problem with "American Idol" and
their voting is they never actually tell us the vote tally, nor never reassure
us that the accounting firm of, at least, "Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe" has
certified the votes.

Now even though I was sad to see Gina Glocksen go home,
at least she made it to the top ten so she can be on the tour, and I doubt she
would have made it to the finals, but what do I know.  But the bummer part
of her getting voted off is that she didn’t make to Bon Jovi week, because as
the resident rocker chick, I’m guessing that would have been the week for her
truly shine.  Nope, she got sidelined by a week of "standards," where I
would have advised her two things.  One would have been to lose the tongue
piercing for the week.  As a dude, as she was singing, I didn’t hear her
singing because all I kept seeing was her tongue piercing and thinking, well,
umm, thinking, umm, things.  My guess is the "conservative" voting block
thought it was gross, unlike me where I was thinking, umm, things.  My
other advice for her would have been to stick with her rocker chick attitude. 
Sure, start "Smile" off as a standard, but then in the middle kick things into a
gear where you could actually perform the song rather than be stuck behind the
microphone.

Me, I’m not hired as an advisor for any of these folks on American
Idol, but here are a couple of other things I would advise for our remaining
contestants:

Haley: Re-watch season one of Idol and follow the Kelly
Clarkson path.  You have an edge on her in that you totally have the looks,
legs, and assets right now, without losing any weight.  Pay a little bit
more attention to your singing and performing, but keep the outfits kind of
skimpy.

Jordin: Watch your outfits so that they don’t make you look
fat.  You already have the voice.

LeKisha: You have the voice but
you perform like a linebacker.  Perform like Aretha.

Melinda: It
looks like you have been losing weight, and if so, keep it up.  If not,
keep picking the outfits like you did this week.  Also, watch your smile
and keep it tight.  Never let your upper lip go above your teeth showing
your gums.

All of the Dudes: Phil, always wear something to cover your
bald head.  Chris & Blake, you two aren’t dudettes, so I’d rather see you
both gone.  Sanjaya, keep being the Sanjaya you have found, and pray people
like me don’t lose interest in the "Vote for Sanjaya" movement.

It’s back to
animating for me, and seeing if I can maintain my loyalty to the Sanjaya
movement, when I probably, as a dude, should be shifting it to the "Haley’s
Comet" fan club.

Vote for Sanjaya, and Haley.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Though not nearly as cute as Gwen last week, Tony Bennett was the helper coach
for this week’s "American Idol."  Maybe it’s because the show is trimmed
down to an hour, but the clips didn’t show Tony helping the kids that much, just
giving his opinion (always nice) about the contestants.  But as I’m a
half-hour in for this  re-cap, and trying to hit the redial as much as
possible between sentences, my votes for Sanjaya seem to be blocked by busy
circuits.  And other than Gina’s performance, I couldn’t be more happy.

In
any case, here are my reviews of tonight’s "American Idol" performances.

Blake: Sings "Mack the Knife." I actually think he did a fantastic job this
week, up until the ending, and I usually don’t like him. He kept it mostly how
the song should be sung.

Phil: Sings "Night and Day." That bald head just does not work (he
should have worn a nice top hat or derby). His singing was okay, but I don’t
think this was a good week for him. I found him boring. Paula said he reminded
her of a young Frank Sinatra, and Simon said it best simply blurting out "What?"

Melinda: Sings "I’ve Got Rhythm." Keeping with my superficial-ness, it
almost looks like she is trying to lose some weight, or at least is just picking
better clothes. Of all of her performances this one puts her totally, especially
if she is losing some weight, back on the right track. She just needs to quit
smiling so big – popping out the upper gum.

Chris: Sings "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore." He didn’t seem to
understand the crooner thing, and I thought he was bad, even with the nice lid.
Maybe it was better live than on TV because the judges liked it, but I thought
he sucked.

Jordin: Sings "On a Clear Day." Horrible outfit, and she almost seems
to be putting on weight, or horrible outfits. Her singing was okay but for the
most part I found her boring, which bums me out because I really liked her at
the beginning of the competition. Probably better live for the audience.

Gina: Sings "Smile." I thought she sounded great, but really lacked on
the performance side of it, although I’m hot sure how you "perform" that song.
If she wanted to blast this out of the water she would have kept it calm for the
first half of the song, then turned it into a rocker for the second half. Too
bad.

Sanjaya: Sings "I’m in Heaven." He still can’t sing on stage, but he
has figured out that all he needs to do is "work the crowd." The hair was more
conservative this week. All he needs to do is worry about his hair and outfits.

Haley: Sings "Ain’t Misbehavin’." She has learned to flaunt her
assets, sings okay (crooner songs are definitely not her forte), but I don’t
care because according to my TV she is saving all of her love for me.

LeKisha: Sings "Stormy Weather." I’m sorry, but as nice as she sings
all I can think is that if I gave her a bad review she would beat the crap out
of me. Great voice, but somehow she needs to find the right people to make her
flip into being glamorous in an Aretha Franklin kind of way.

This will be an interesting week to see who gets voted off because of many
outside sources, and the fact that the youngins probably have no clue who Tony
Bennett is.  I’m still voting for Sanjaya, Haley, and Gina, because at
least for Haley and Gina, they have the looks to become an American Idol,
although Melinda seems to be closing in fast.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Flying solo for

this podcast all I am really excited about is "American Idol."  I know
that’s sort of sad, but that Sanjaya dude is really the only thing keeping me
interested in the show, except, well, also Haley because she is cute, and Gina
because she is from a town near where I live, and she is looking better and
better every week.  So I guess I have a triplet of reasons why I am still
interested in the show.

And yes, you probably already know, but Sanjaya is
safe for another week.  It might be Howard Stern’s listeners, it might be
the votefortheworst folks, but I’m going to start to take credit and say that it
is the billions and billions of people who can visit our site and can listen to
our podcast that are making the difference.  I have been on the "Vote for
Sanjaya" train for a number of weeks now, and that train is heading across the
nation.

Paula Abdul was a little more subdued than normal this week, so it’s
not really a great week for my "Paula Abdul Clip of the Week."  Even so I
think Paula might have been watching

"Bruce Almighty" before the Tuesday night show.  You know why? 
Because "It’s good."

Thanks for listening.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Gwen
Stefani looked utterly adorable in her little clips, but I have to say she
didn’t come off that great as a vocal coach. Vocals aside, what she really
needed to do was coach some of these folks on stage performance, because, sadly,
some of them seemed to really be lacking this week.

In any case, this episode
was the "music of No Doubt or music that inspired No Doubt" week. What we have
learned is that Donna Summer and The Police seemed to have the most influence on
the band, and that Sanjaya loves to change his hair so we should vote for him.

Here’s what I thought of this week’s performances…

Lekisha: Sang Donna Summer’s "Last Dance." Ugly-ass dress, still sings
great and performs well. I hate being superficial, but she needs to fix those
teeth.

Chris (big hair): Sang The Police’s "Every Little Thing She Does is
Magic." Sounds bad, and is trying to up the performance aspect, but man, it just
doesn’t seem to be working, and he’s still off on the tempo side.

Gina: Sang The Pretenders’ "I’ll Stand By You." Sticking with the punkish
outfit works for her, sounded fantastic, but the only problem I had was she
didn’t work any of the stage.

Sanjaya: Sang No Doubt’s "Bathwater." I looked up at the screen as he
started and yelled "Oh my God!" Why? Because his hair was set up in sort-of
Mohawk mode. He wasn’t good, and I’ll bet the 10 to 12 year olds will still love
him. He had moments of being able to sing, but for the most part he was bad, and
I’m still voting for him. Simon said it best with "I don’t think it matters
anymore what we say." Simon recognizes the magnitude of the Sanjaya movement.

Haley: Sang Cyndi Lauper’s "True Colors." She has the entire pop-idol
package, from the looks to the good-enough voice. It will be interesting if she
can just stick around because they can mold her into the next Kelly Clarkson,
but this performance was just okay.

Phil: Sang The Police’s "Every Breath You Take." Bad skull-cap, but I
think they are using it to cover his bald head that I think looks worse. I
thought the performance was blah compared to what the judges said.

Melinda: Sang Donna Summer’s "Heaven Knows." Still a great voice, knows
how to perform, but back in my superficial mood, could afford to lose a few
pounds (don’t get all anorexic on me now, please), but those couple of pounds
puts her into "Whitney Houston in her prime" mode.

Blake: Sang The Cure’s "Love Song." Took a great song and "bored" it up.
The passion of Robert Smith seemed to be totally lost. I really didn’t like him.

Jordin: Sang No Doubt’s "Hey Baby." I was in the Jordin camp, after
Sanjaya of course, but she didn’t pull this one off at all. Maybe it was better
live for the audience, but for me on my TV it missed the sexiness of Gwen.

Chris (less hair): Sang No Doubt’s "Don’t Speak." Looked stiff as a board
at the beginning, still looked stiff as a board in the middle, and even getting
away from the mike stand, still looked stiff. Sounded okay, but the performance
blew.

I now have only three reasons to watch "American Idol." One is Haley, who
might not be the strongest singer but has the entire "Idol" package. Two is Gina
because she has a good voice and is from my neck of the woods. And of course
three is Sanjaya, because if he won he would be the best Non-American Idol idol
ever.

I’ve been voting for Sanjaya early, and often. I only wish I had some dead
relatives who could also vote. At least Howard Stern has his listeners, I can’t
even convince Mama Gotz to vote for Sanjaya, but hopefully Stu Gotz was able to
sneak in a couple of votes.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Stu tells me that Mama Gotz is not on the "Vote for Sanjaya" train, but for

this podcast it seems we didn’t need her this week.  Yup, my three
favorites are still safe on "American Idol," namely Haley, Gina, and of course,
Sanjaya.  They weren’t even in the bottom three!

But as much as having
Sanjaya continue during this season of "American Idol," nothing is more
important for me tonight than the Southern Illinois Salukis somehow beating
Kansas.  Salukis, you are my only hope in my "bragging rights" in my
brackets.  I don’t know who any of the players are, but if they can get to
the Final Four I have a chance to win, I mean brag about my picking abilities,
to a couple of people.  But then again, if Ohio State loses to anyone, I’m
screwed.

In any case Paula Abdul seems to want to see Simon Cowell naked,
somehow "Paint it Black" becomes "Paint it Purple," and somehow Sanjaya is safe
for another week.  And this podcast has the audio to prove it.

Damn I
love TV!

Thanks for listening and your comments.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Damn, the controversy just keeps growing.  I won’t say who got voted off
tonight, only to say that

Sanjaya Malakar is safe for another week. 
Eric the
Midget must be pissed because I believe that means Sanjaya will be part of
the "American Idol" Tour, and even though "The Stern Effect" is purported to be
over for satellite radio, it is now repurported by various news outlets that the
Howard Stern effect
might now be part of the reason for Sanjaya sticking around?

Now it comes down
to things like these: 

– Are the folks at "American Idol" worried about the ratings since they seem
to have the weakest group of singers ever, and this Sanjaya controversy keeps
folks tuning in?

– Does Howard Stern fans vote, in such numbers, to make a
difference who stays and who goes?

– I’ll be honest, there aren’t too many
hotties on "American Idol" this season.  Are we now just voting for

Haley, who sang something, I think, but it didn’t matter because she looked
hot in her tight shorts and it didn’t look like she was wearing a bra.  Or
are we voting for Sanjaya, just to keep getting crowd shots of his sister, "Team
Sanjaya," who also, I guess, worked at

Hooters, and if Sanjaya wins, will Simon quit the show?

Suddenly "American
Idol" is getting more free publicity than it might have hoped for, and it’s only
because of Sanjaya, who is still around for another week.

And next week
Sanjaya might still suck, but I’ll still vote for him.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
We’re still voting for Sanjaya, right?  It doesn’t matter that I think he
butchered "You Really Got Me," even though Paula and Randy seemed to think the
Sanjaya-man was coming into his own.

Anyway, it was a night of the ’60s
invasion, and most of the singers had no clue what they were singing, but I have
to say that their "coaches" probably did the best I have seen at making the
singers understand their songs.

I’ve already gotten through four times voting
for Sanjaya (I hope I have the right number), so I hope that isn’t a bad sign,
but in any case, here’s my thoughts on the singing tonight.

Haley: Sang
"Tell Him."  She broke out of her shell, great outfit showing her assets,
but smiles too much. Simon: "You naughty little thing." And I agree, who cares
about her singing.

Chris: (with almost no hair): Sang "Don’t Let the Sun Get you Cryin’"
Thought he sounded good, but seems to lose it in on the "personality" side.

Stephanie: Sang "You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me." Good song, just
off a bit. Something is missing in terms of performance.

Blake:  Sang "Time of the Season," complete with Paula dancing. I
think Randy is screwed in the head, and so was Paula, because they both liked
him.  I thought he was okay, in a "Dancing Robot" kind of way, but how do
you turn that into a concert act?

LeKisha: Sang "Diamonds are Forever." It was a horrible dress, but she
still has a great voice. She doesn’t have the stage presence as the singer, and
I can’t believe our Fox affiliate is having problems with their feed right now.

Phil: (The Bald Dude): Sang "Tobacco Road."  Still the best so
far out of the dudes, but man, he can’t pull off the bald look. Maybe he just
tried too hard for Simon.

Jordin: Sang "I Who Have Nothing."  Unless Melinda blows everyone
out of the water, Jordin is turning into the person to beat. She has the voice,
and the looks, and the attitude, to put herself into Kelly Clarkson mode.

Sanjaya: Sang "You Really Got Me." What the hell was with the crying
girl in the audience? Simon has a look on his face like "Oh my ‘f’-ing God. What
the hell was that?" Paula and Randy seemed to like him because he ran around the
stage, but he sounded like crap on my TV.  VOTE FOR SANJAYA!

Gina: Sang "Paint it Black."  Lose about 15 pounds and she could
turn into the Pat Benatar of 2007. She’s not a pop-idol and needs to follow the
Chris Daughtry road, getting out of the "American Idol" mold. Simon misses her
potential this week, I think, but in the end she’s not for this show.

Chris (with bushy hair): Sang "She’s Not There."  A good voice
but is just missing the stage presence to put him into the next league. He’s
trying, but it’s not natural.

Melinda: Sang "As Long as He Needs Me."  She has the killer
voice, and great stage presence, but, isn’t an "American Idol" personality. 
Doesn’t matter, she will be a force to be reckoned with in the R&B movement.

I’ve gotten through a couple of more time in my voting for Sanjaya while I
was typing this blog, so we’ll see what happens in keeping him along.  In
any case "American Idol" has gotten boring this year, at least for the singing. 
Right now, thanks for Sanjaya.  We’ll see if he is safe in the results show
tomorrow.

In any case, always keep voting for your "American Idol." It’s kind of like
living in Chicago where you vote early, and you vote often.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!