American Idol - Top 10

Gwen Stefani is teaching them how to sing? Really? Maybe she could teach them how to yodel, but sing...?

It's funny that No Doubt/Gwen Stefani have sold millions of albums, but it's not good enough to be just their songs this week.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the top 10 tonight:

Lakisha Jones - Too much vibrato - so much that she's starting to sound like Elmer Fudd at times. She also needs to take it down a notch. Her voice even overpowers the music instead of being a compliment to it.

Chris Sligh - Chris, you're starting to bore me. He sounded a little off-key and off-tempo tonight and I'd say it was one of his worst performances. I agreed with Simon - it didn't feel right and would have been a bad first impression.

Gina Glocksen - A good song choice for her tone. One of her best performances - showed control, range and power in her voice.

Sanjaya Malakar - So, you don't like my voice, but you keep voting for me. Well, how about if I come out looking like a trainwreck? I'll put my hair in a funky faux-hawk...will you still vote for me then? Not only was he off-key as usual, but he also forgot words.

Haley Scarnato - After all the comments on her outfit last week, it's no surprise that she came out in another short skirt. It wasn't as good as last week, but another solid vocal effort. She's lost the Broadway image.

Phil Stacey - The right tone for his voice, but he sounded kind of bored. It wasn't one of his better performances, and there are a few guys better than him. He'll be on his way out soon. He showed that No Doubt is not good for vocals.

Melinda Doolittle - Again, I've had enough of the "Really? I'm good?" look. Get over it. You can sing, but unfortunately, you sing like you're 20 years older than you are. She looked a little more confident when singing, but I'm tired of the act already. I don't picture her as a top-selling Idol.

Blake Lewis - I didn't like a ballad for him, but it showed diversity. It wasn't a memorable out-of-place performance a la "Wonderful World" by Chris Daughtry last season, but it was good to show another side.

Jordin Sparks - Like Sanjaya, she showed that No Doubt is not good for vocals. She showed a fun, young personality, but I didn't like her spin on the song. It was kind of up and down with good and bad moments.

Chris Richardson - I didn't like it. He's too much like Justin Timberlake. Though JT's popularity could help, I think he needs his own personality. It could be his week to go.

The bottom three: Chris, Phil and, of course, Sanjaya.

This week's new releases (3/27)

Here's a look at some of this week's new releases:

Elton John "Rocket Man - Number Ones" - A collection of the singer's number one hits.

Filthy Thieving Bastards "I'm a Son of a Gun" - My award for creative band name of the week.

Jennifer Lopez "Como Ama Una Mujer" - A Spanish-language album from Jenny from the block.

Macy Gray "Big" - At least she didn't show up on award shows with the release date printed on her dress...this year.

As always, the names of bands with animal-related names releasing albums this week: Antelope, Spanish Fly, Tha Dogg Pound, Young Buck

Weir doesn't disappoint

A packed War Memorial Auditorium helped bring a little flavor of The Grateful Dead to Greensboro on March 24 as Bob Weir and Ratdog performed for more than three hours.

It was a heck of a show highlighted by a number of Dead tunes in the setlist - "Uncle John's Band," "The Golden Road" and "Cassidy" to name a few.

While Weir kept a watchful eye on the teleprompter for lyrics, his guitar playing was as good as always.

Highlights included the second-set-ending "One More Saturday Night" and the encore "U.S. Blues."

It was the last show on the current East Coast tour and Weir went out with a bang.

Pink vs. Furtado

I saw Pink do a performance on the Today show this morning, and it struck me as pretty interesting - Did you ever think about the careers of Pink vs. Nelly Furtado?

Pink started out as this hip-hop/pop star. She decided it wasn't really "her" and changed her whole image for her second album.

With the change, she found more success and popularity and has kept that image - apparently her "true self" - going for years now.

On the other hand, you have Nelly Furtado.

Furtado started out her career as a folk songstress with a few pop sensabilities.

For her third album, she rearranged her career and image into this hip-hop/pop star and has found a bunch of success.

Is this her "true self" or just an image created to sell albums?

"Idol" Shocker

Wow - "American Idol" gave the boot to Stephanie Edwards and Sanjaya Malakar lives to sing another day on the show...

Some people think that's ridiculous.

American Idol - Top 11

Here are my thoughts on the top 11 tonight:

Haley Scarnato - I thought it was pitchy and a weak performance. A little too "talky" for me instead of singing. It showed a fun side though - better than previous weeks.

Chris Richardson - I wasn't into the falsetto. I think he's a little too much like Justin Timberlake and he needs to find his own identity. The tone also reminded me of Ace Young from last season.

Stephanie Edwards - I thought it was a solid performance, but it always sounds the same. I'd like her to step outside of her comfort zone.

Blake Lewis - He gave the song a modern touch, but left the original intact. I think he provides the most style and character to the competition - he brings something fresh to the table instead of the same old ballads. His style has grown on me and I think he's the best on the competition.

Lakisha Jones - I'm still not impressed. I think she is oversinging at the end of hte song and, like Stephanie, she's always in her comfort zone. People feel the need to vote for her to make up for Jennifer Hudson, but Hudson was also an oversinger.

Phil Stacey - I didn't think his vocals had enough edge tonight. It was just ok.

Jordin Sparks - Solid vocals and personality. To me, she's the strongest female vocalist. She shows control to her voice.

Sanjaya Malakar - The girl crying in the audience was a little too much. I mean, was she crying because it was so bad? I still can't believe he's in the competition. It's really tough to watch.

Gina Glocksen - Not her best performance, but was ok. I thought it was a little shaky.

Chris Sligh - A solid performance, but yet another person who needs to step out of their comfort zone. After five years, I'm getting bored with the same old songs - the ballads all sound alike after a while.

Melinda Doolittle - Out of her comfort zone? How? It was another ballad. She has a powerful voice, but it's boring. She's singing like she's 50 and I'm tired of the "Really? Am I good?" look on her face each week. The spit flying while she was singing wasn't attractive either.

The bottom three: Gina, Phil and, of course, Sanjaya.

The can will return to blogspot

After two years at GoTriad.com, the Musical Garbage Can will return to Blogger in the coming days...

I hope you'll stay tuned.