Oldies night . . .

You know you're getting old when the music you grew up listening to is on the oldie stations. Tonight's theme is songs from the years the Idols were born, which means a bunch of 80s music. The youngest is Allison, which means the most contemporary song we'll hear is from 1993. This is good for me since I lurve 80s music, but does little to boost the credibility of these singers as being appropriate for today's satellite radio.

With 8 singers left, there are four clear front-runners, three people in play and one person just taking up space. You decide who is who.

After my trip to Baltimore last week, it's good to be blogging from the comfort of my own living room once again. Don't get me wrong, the Sheraton is very nice and my employer treated me very well, but I like being home and sleeping in my own bed once again.

What happened to the big, scary announcer guy and the judges coming out from behind the stage? And who is the bald guy in the suit who looks constipated?

Leading off in the dreaded Dead Man's Spot is MWJD, ostensibly because he's the oldest. His song is "Stand By Me" and it's way too slow. I still don't understand why people think he's a great singer; he's okay, but too prone to shouting and his breathyness really bothers me. He'll easily break the curse of going first because he's one of this year's TCOs, but this sounds way too Copacabannaish for my liking. Like the Arch last year, Randy slurps him even when he would have bashed another singer for doing the same thing. At least he sings with his eyes open.

Even before hearing the rest of the singers, I'm calling the bottom 3 as Kris, Matt and Scott.

Going second is Kris. His life's ambition was to be a taxi driver. Ho-hum. He's singing a jazzed-up Don Henley, which strangely works. Taking Matt's spot in the Mosh Pit does not. I'm not a fan, but this is actually pretty good, if a little original. He needs to shave and leave the scruffy bad-facial hair look to the guy who went first. Mrs. High Lord didn't care for him. Why is it that the judges praise Gokey for rearranging a song, but they bash Kris for doing the same?

I think there needs to be a moratorium on Simon using the word "indulgent". For a guy who wastes so much air time bringing attention to himself, he needs to keep his pie hole shut.

Without a commercial break, Lil comes out and her mama goes right after Simon. I like her mama already. She's trying her hand at Tina which, like Kris, mostly works. She's flat in a several spots but overall not bad. She's packing almost as much back as Lil Kim. Lil doesn't get lost behind the band, nor does she do too much oversinging . . . at least until the end. Paula starts out by calling her hot, which is a bad sign. Then she tells Lil she should have done more to "make the song her own". Didn't she just tell Kris that he did too much? Make up your damn mind!

Lil's stock started high, but has been dropping of late. She started the season as a TCO, but I think she's been replaced slowly by Allison in the Top 3 behind Adam and Gokey. The could be the week she makes an appearance in the bottom 3.

Don't forget to write to your congressman or woman and encourage them to force NASA to honour their contest and name the new space station module after Stephen Colbert.

Last week, Anoop took us to Usherville (Population: You) and now he's gone AFE on us with Cyndi Lauper. Mrs. High Lord doesn't like him 'cuz he's a Tar Heel fan (she's a Dukie). Before Kodak started using it in their advertisements, this was one of my all-time fave 80s tunes. He's also flat in spots and Chris Richardson-nasally in others. I get the feeling that he's holding back, which is usually good, but I think he needed to come out big tonight to avoid being relegated to the stools tomorrow.

We're already running short of time and TBG takes me back to middle school with some Survivor. Do you think he's going to play the guitar or just stand there? If anyone sees Emily Frumpkin, please tell her I'm waiting for my slow dance; I'll be over in the corner of the gym. As of right now, Scott is clearly the weak link of the show. He should be the next to go, but I think the bazillion sympathy votes TPTB handed him in the audition rounds will carry him for another week or two. I'm sure Jennifer is happy that Scott's hot brother is in the audience tonight. Simon rightfully tells him to go back to the piano.

The show ends in 16 minutes and there are three people left to sing: Adam, Allison, and Matt.

Allison was born after I graduated from high school. I am officially old now. She goes the ballad route, which is good. I don't see her screaming this song like she's prone to do. This wasn't her best performance, but it was solid and shows that there's more than just this year's "rocker". If Allison has a weakness it's that her technical skills are lacking behind some of the others. However, she more than covers for it with a fair amount of natural talent.

Who ever is directing this show needs to take control of the talking heads. There is waaaaayyyyy too much filler and there's no excuse for them to be running as late as they are.

Like Scott, Matt is a 1985 baby and he's singing one of my least favourite Stevie Wonder songs. Given some of the songs from that year, why are they all picking crappy ones? I'm not a Matt fan, and I didn't care for him tonight. I think he's one of the guys who just needs to sing the song; he tries too much.

Did you notice that they're rushing the judges through? The show is supposed to end in 3 minutes, Adam still has to sing and then there's the recap. Of course, between Matt and Adam, Seacrest sends us to commercial. This is pathetic. Good god, how many ads can they pack in?

Getting the Pimp Spot is EBA who trades in the pompadour for his drag queen hair. I liked the first part of the song; he goes understated on us. This is very apropos for the 80s music genre. He also forgoes all of the screeching, although there is still to much of "the false". I like how Adam stays in character for the entire performance; his consistency is probably a product of his musical theater background. He was the best of the night and about half a step better than everyone else.

Has Simon ever stood up and clapped for anyone? In 8 seasons? Didn't think so.

The Good
Adam, "Mad World"
Allison, "I Can't Make You Love Me"

The Bad
Kris, "All She Wants to Do is Dance"
Lil, "What's Love Got to Do With It"
Matt, "Part Time Lover"
Anoop, "True Colors"
Danny, "Stand By Me"

The Ugly
Scott, "The Search is Over"

So far this season, no one has been eliminated from the Dead Man's Spot but it's 3 of 4 for the bottom 3. I think this week breaks that trend because there's no way Gokey is in danger tomorrow night.

By rights, if this truly is a "singing competition", then Scott should be the one who gets eliminated, but I think Anoop, Kris and Matt could also be in danger. I think Lil could also be in the bottom 3, but I don't think she'll be going home this early. She just needs to pick better songs.

Who should be in the bottom 3:
Anoop, Danny, Scott

Who will be in the bottom 3:
Kris, Matt, Scott

Who should go home:
Scott

Who will go home:
Scott

To me, there's a clear top 3, a clear middle of three, one person who should get canned and then there's Lil. She ought to be in the Top 3, but she can't seem to pick a good song to save her life. This week wasn't so bad, but I have a feeling that TPTB are abandoning her.

Scott needs to get sent home. Have I mentioned that I think it's unfathomable that he's still around and Alexis is watching from home?

Anyway, those are my picks.

High Lord. Out.

DTWS Results

Mrs. High Lord and I are both amazed that Ty and Steve O didn't have to dance off. What's up ABC? Don't like the brothas?

I don't think either DAG or LT has a chance to win, but I'm happy to see that everyone this season is trying. We still can't figure out how they could saddle Lawrence and Edyta with such craptacular music and expect them to do any better.

If Mrs. High Lord ever leaves me and Julianne doesn't break up with Chuck, I would so make out with Kym. Just sayin'.

Who's going to see the Hannah Montana movie? I'll be the one in line for GI Joe, Transformers, Star Trek and Wolverine, but if you see me at Hannah Montana, you'll know that I either lost a bet or I got suckered into babysitting a gaggle of 8 year old girls.

I was "meh" on the dance off and it's DAG and Kym who get the boot. That makes me sad. He must really have not gotten any votes since his scores were a lot higher from the judges.

Come back tomorrow and see who gets whacked from Idol tomorrow.

High Lord. Out. Again.