Where chaos stops and more chaos ensues. Where Filia plays the electric keyboard.
Where anything goes.
-//o_O\\7 *Home of the Awful, Mediocre and Pathetic* -//u_u\\7
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Where chaos stops and more chaos ensues. Where Filia plays the electric keyboard. Where anything goes. -//o_O\\7 *Home of the Awful, Mediocre and Pathetic* -//u_u\\7 |
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Saturday, October 30, 2004 "And all that jazz ..." This throwaway term is usually used to refer to something that is either unduly elaborate and largely worthless, or simply because the speaking is far too unimpressed or exasperated to continue to describe the object or situation at hand any further. This entire notion of excessiveness and boredom is thus what most accurately describes the genre of jazz music, where, people basically make noise, not for the hell of it as most rock musicians (noise-makers, perhaps?) would, but because they actually believe that artistic value can be assigned to it and are willing to argue for ages upon end to defend this rather convoluted but unconvincing point of view. Or maybe it's just that I'm one of the odd few who really, really hate the whole idea of jazz. The saxophone, for example, is my most loathed musical instrument. And I can't stand that annoying trumpet pizzicatto which is the mainstay of any jazz tune. Sure, if you're the oddball who loves playing or listening to jazz, go ahead and criticise me, but I shall let you know that from the mediocrity of the performances put on by the Singapore Idols in their Big Band performance, and their lukewarm reception from the largely disenchanted audience, that the vast majority of Singaporeans out there would share my views. Odd, eh? Charlotte enjoys dragging the weight of the majority behind her when it suits her cause, but is quick to turn around and rail at the lot of them for being uneducated, mediocre plebians for not sharing her high-minded, self-approbating views. But you already knew that I was full of this kind of crap. And that's out of point, by the way. Actually, it's just a facade. I have no idea what constitutes the "Big Band" ... I didn't even know that the "Big Band" was an acceptable term for the saxophone, trumpet, light drum kit and maybe a cello or tuba. But I tend to aver from any music style which is favoured by a large majority of any particular racial group of Americans, and jazz is one such example. What songs feature in the "Big Band", then? Do jazz performers actually even sing, or are they just wailing away? I don't know ... because ignorance is a large motivating factor in my multitude of hatreds for things, I'm not the best reference as to things which I loathe with a passion. Okay, okay, ranting aside, I did still stay to watch Singapore Idol ... heck, having sat this far through the show, it's not likely that I would leave simply because I hated the genre. And while I might not be able to appreciate that particular brand of music, I could still tell who was the better singer on that night, a task made so much easier by the immense divide in talent between the contestants of the competition. With that in mind, I present my evaluation. Charlotte's Pick ... 6. Daphne Khoo Orange-coloured sky? Well, unlike Douglas Oliviera, I have actually heard of the song, but I'm not going to pass any comments as to whether the popularity or lack thereof of the song is a factor (because I honestly don't know). However, what I do know is that someone ought not to growl below their range for half the song and yell above the top of it for the other half of it. Yeah, well, cheery, happy, smiley faces, as usual, but it's no point smiling if your noisemaking is going to scare the lights out of the listeners and disappoint your fans. 5. Leandra Veronica Rasiah There wasn't anything really wrong with her singing technique, but those appalling repetitive cooing syllables repeated over and over again in a baby-like voice are gripping my heart like a vice. With what remains of my sensibility I would like to lay a curse on the writer of this song and all daft enough to think it worth singing. Not to mention all people with curly hair and baby-like voices as well, but I don't think I have curses enough for all of that. 4. Sylvester Sim He can't articulate his words, and he shuffles his speech, and he can't dance except in ways related to the mutilation of his clothing. But he looks quite the nice guy ... and his Chinese background makes him more appealing because there's a true Chinese within him. Okay, so I'm biased, but only when judging the grotesquely inept. 3. Christopher Michael Lee Not bad, I thought. Though definitely not as excellent ("excellent" on Christopher Michael Lee several weeks ago would evoke a cacophony of laughter) as the previous week's performance, if he sticks to the genre of the calm, controlled and serene he can actually survive. But again, it is up to the themes of the next weeks' Singapore Idol to decide whether he can get that chance, whether fans are willing to risk a gamble that he will keep himself composed enough for his next performance, and whether his sanity holds together long enough before he foolishly begins to imagine he can rock the house down with his performances. 2. Taufik Batisah Well, I don't like jazz, but Taufik makes it easy to appreciate it when he's singing. Actually, it's not really jazz altogether, just that he's got a jazz band playing behind him. Whatever. Great to see that he's back to his usual composure. 1. Olinda Cho I think you must have a fever if you don't feel she is going to rule this competition ... as far as talent is concerned. At least until the final round. And, Charlotte's ... un-pick ... 2. Daphne Khoo 1. Leandra Veronica Rasiah Well, as the competition starts to narrow down, and the truly worthless contenders have been dealt with (and one very much worthless contender seems to have shaped up of late), the votes increasingly begin to swing in favour of blind favouritism rather than any true appreciation of talent. Remember how Jeassea was kicked out? The lousy hair, that's why. Oh ... the point being is that the people who stay in this competition are the people who are the most liked, regardless of their talent. I also doubt many people have this in mind when they vote, but as the number of contenders decreases, the strategic importance of voting out any one contender increases, not merely in the elimination of yet another potential competitor, but also in the sense of the number of votes freed up to the benefit of the other idols. And, with that in mind, I am going with both favouritism and strategy when I say that I want Leandra out over Daphne, despite performing not as atrociously bad. There are so many American wannabes in this world, but it doesn't take more than just one crooner with curly hair and a babylike voice to utterly unnerve me. And also, I insist, and I repeat, that Daphne is not going to win this competition. Maybe get into the final three, but definitely not win (if the people of Singapore have any sense left in them). Which means that it would be better, for my picks at least, to vote out someone with even a minimal chance of winning over someone with no chance of winning at all. Both were bad, but my biased nature singles out Leandra for the boot. And what does Singapore have to say about that? 2. Leandra Veronica Rasiah 1. Christopher Michael Lee Well, at least I got one of them right. Poor Chrissy-poo, he did seem to be improving (and Florence Lian seems to be very much infatuated with him ... as she is with all the Chinese boys, it seems ...) but it looks like Singapore doesn't want to give him a chance. I guess it's only fair, though, because if it wasn't for the travesty in earlier rounds he would have received his marching orders long ago and would never have had a chance to show that he could actually sing, so it was an opportunity granted for him to progress this far, and now it's time for him to take his bow. Mmm ... it seems that I always feel sad for the really hopeless people once they leave, because it's then when they choose their final song that you realise that they can actually sing ... a little ... and maybe it's just that fortune didn't go their way? Then, if, let's say by some odd chance or another the whole round was conducted in Chinese and Sylvester was top because he could actually pronounce and Taufik got kicked out for not being able to squeak a word ... far-fetched, yes, but only so much as believing that things can actually go their way for someone all the time. posted by Charlotte | 4:53 pm
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Disclaimer : The Slayers and Filia Ul Copt and all images thereof are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own any of them, although if I had a choice I would want Filia ... ~//n_n\\7 |
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