Среда 18 Июн 2008, 22:27

It's always all about Alice in Chains for me. No matter what else I listen to, I always end up back with Alice in Chains.

I've had other bands and artists on my personal music radar lately, but then I heard David Cook a few weeks ago and that was it for me. I don't even want to listen to anything else most of the time. I'm sure Alice in Chains is waiting in the wings to take over again, but in the meantime, David Cook is it for me.

I am not a fan of American Idol. I've never even watched it, but I recorded the last episode of this season to see OneRepublic. I was blown away by David Cook.

I actually really enjoyed the finale show, though. I loved seeing Graham Nash and Bryan Adams (an artist I've recently rediscovered as I was never a big fan though I was aware of him, but in my old age I can appreciate him more), George Michael (I've never been a big fan, but he was amazing that night), and especially ZZ Top.

I started making a list of my favorite David Cook songs, but then I realized how stupid this is because, duh, I could just look on my profile to see that.

Instead, I'll talk about why I like certain tracks:

Always Be My Baby - I mostly dismissed this one at first, but once I watched the live performance of it on YouTube or the AI site or wherever, I fell in love with it. Now I love it because it's a catchy tune and he sings it so beautifully.

Innocent - This was the first DC song that I fell in love with, and I still love it. It's a great song. I downloaded the original as well, and I like them both, but I'm a bit partial to DC's version right now.

Makeover - This is the song that has been stuck in my brain for the past several days. I just love this song. It has substance and a bit of a catchy melody, but it's not really a pop song. It's from Analog Heart.

The World I Know - I didn't love this when I first heard it. I thought it was a nice version, but I was so attached to the original–and really, to certain parts of the original that (obviously) weren't in this shortened version, that at first I couldn't tell how good this really was.

Not Around - I found this somewhere listed as "Axium - The High School Recordings." It's a pretty song. It has a catchy chorus and I love songs played on an acoustic guitar like this.

Little Sparrow - I fell in love with this the moment I heard it. It is haunting and strange and perfect. Words cannot express how much I love this version of this song.

Billie Jean - This version of this song was amazing. I admit that I was fan of Michael Jackson's version back in the day, and I've also heard the Chris Cornell version (of which this was a cover) and liked it a lot, but I am so in love with DC's voice and, IMHO, he took this song and just made Cornell's haunting version so intensely beautiful. I almost have to stop what I'm doing whenever this cones on.

Hello - As much as I'm glad we have The World I Know, I almost wish he had sung this one again, because I'd love to have a full-length studio version of this. It's amazing. I was a mild fan of Lionel Ritchie way back when–or at least, I appreciated his songs. But this version is so different–haunting and beautiful and amazing.

The Music of the Night - This was a surprise to me. I didn't watch the show and didn't know anything about DC before I watched this clip, and I was amazed. I love both the live version and the studio version.

Day Tripper - This song was just so fun. I prefer the studio version as I wasn't a fan of the vocoder (vocorder? whatever that thing is) that he used in the live version, even though I was a huge Peter Frampton fan in the olden days. I didn't hate it, but it seemed to interrupt the song unnecessarily and in the 90-second version, it really didn't work for me. I love listening to this one because it's a rocked-out modern version of an old favorite.

The Truth - This is another one from Analog Heart. This was actually the first song from that album that I fell in love with, and I still love it. I actually prefer the acoustic version that Oklahoma TravelNet has on their website, though the audio is so bad on that one. If I could be in control of DC's career for just one day, I'd have him record an acoustic version of this song–just him and his acoustic guitar. I still love the song, though.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - I've always loved this song. I wish there were a full version. The original was an awesome song in its day, and DC sang it and made it so beautiful. I never in a million years would have imagined that he could sing a song like this and stay somewhat true to the original in the verse, but still make it his own. I just… I'm still blown away by this song.

On second thought, if I could control DC's career for just one day, I'd have him record full versions of every AI song that does not yet have a studio version along with the acoustic version of The Truth. I guess that would take more than one day, though.

I love pretty much every other song he sang on the show. I forgot to mention the Neil Diamond songs and probably too many others, but this is already too long.

In conclusion: I love David Cook's voice and I think he's a sweetie. There. I said it. heh