Wednesday, April 8, 2009

AI Tonight, Queen Lucia

It was totally worth driving 160 miles to hear second graders, gussied up in their Old West best, sing Erie Canal, My Darlin' Clementine (which song used to make me cry, when I was a kid- I mean, she drowned and even though she wore shoeboxes on her feet, she deserved to be mourned), Old Dan Tucker (died with a toothache in his heel- lotta dying in old folkie songs. ever notice that?) and I've Been Workin' On the Railroad. My granddaughter's school does it right- herd 'em on stage, let 'em sing, and herd 'em right back off in swift order. They were adorable and I'm so glad we live close enough to do this (the other grandkids are in SD, but too far for a weeknight evening drive).

However, doing our very pleasant Grandparently Duty meant missing American Idol last night, and since we don't have a DVR, I really missed it. And it sounds like I missed something incredible. I'm not sure I've ever seen Simon stand and ovate. Adam is growing on me, and from all accounts, he deserved the recognition. And I hear that Allison was good too. I'll see (and recap) bits and pieces tonight.

Did I tell all y'all that I finished listening to the Librivox recordings of Miss Mapp? What a deliciously malicious book. I'm now listening to Queen Lucia (also E.F. Benson, set a bit before Miss Mapp, and well before Mapp and Lucia meet and form a critical mass). The reader for Queen Lucia is wonderful (he may have read a few of The Moonstone chapters as well), and I am loving the story, though he says Foljamb, which I mentally pronounce Fole-jum, as Fall-jam-bee. If my pronunciation has been wrong all these years, it's too late to change now. Fole-jum she will remain. For those who are unfamiliar with the whole Mapp/Lucia cycle, give Queen Lucia a couple of chapters to get rolling. Most of the first part is all intro, exposition, and backstory. Once you get to the Guru, the pot will boil beautifully.

Knitting, you ask? I'm working on the Christmas pinkish sock, and am down to the heel on a project sock that I can't show yet.

4 comments:

Barb said...

check out all the songs here http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/ Adam was fantastic. I thought I would vote but didn't know his number. I thought you could vote online but No. He cleaned up his act a bit, clean costume and makeup, and he was very entertaining.

Ellen Bloom said...

I think you can catch up on the Idol performances online...maybe Youtube or the Fox site?

It was a pretty good show, but I think the judges must have cotton in their ears. Lots of pitchiness last night!

LizzieHelen said...

For once I was home to watch AI. And, yes, Allison and Adam were excellent. Adam's performance gave me chills. Pared back, no fancy costume, makeup, or screaming. I don't recall ever hearing the song before. In a way, this gave him an advantage, because everyone else's songs could be easily compared to the original--and, usually, better--versions. It may go down as a "Great Moment in AI History" like Bo's a capella performance. He does make you anticipate each week--"what will Adam do THIS week?" each time.

maxine said...

http://www.americanidol.com/

at the official site there is a link for watching Tuesday's performance again...go to it...