FINALLY

American Idol (or, as I call it - AI because I'm cool) starts it's EIGHTH season tonight! It seems like just yesterday that Kelly Clarkson and that guy with the hair were duking it out in the first season. Look how far we've come!

I'm hoping there will be a new smokin' hot guy with dreads this season. I miss the old one:



I apologize in advance for too many AI posts. I just can't help myself.

AMERICAN IDOL FINALE!

David Cook won!



Now you don't have to read any more about American Idol on this blog ever again. Until February when it starts all over again.

It should have been Jason Castro...

DO I KNOW HOW TO PICK THEM OR WHAT?

Jason Castro is in the FINAL FOUR. Tonight's theme is "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". It should be good!

GO JASON!

TWO WORDS

JASON CASTRO FOREVER!



Even Bel Air bass player Matt is a fan after that performance. I believe his words were "Jason is the best one - he should win. He's the only one that I can live in this world with"

IDOL IS GETTING WEIRD

Peace Out, Chikezie.

Jeff's favorite contestant Chikezie was eliminated last night. Wyatt liked him a lot for a while there too but has since switched his allegiance to Syesha. I don't think too many people were surprised that he was eliminated, though. What was weird was that Jason Castro was in the bottom three! I really liked his bilingual cover of Der Stingaling's Fragile. It was good! And, he's so goofy and cute that you can't not love him. Wyatt even likes him - although, he did make fun of his pants on Tuesday saying that if you squinted it looked like he wasn't wearing any. Ha!



Other weirdness:
- Carly Smithson blamed her uncomfortableness during her performance this week on the fact that she was wearing Spanx. Is she pulling an Ashley Simpson? Carly went on to deny pregnancy rumors.
- David Archuleta was born in 1990.

HAVE I BECOME A CLICHE?

Everyday I read a number of blogs: food blogs, music blogs, fashion blogs, apartment blogs. It was in one of the apartment blogs that I found an entry that links to a NYT article about a school teacher who won a housing lottery and was able to purchase a studio apartment on the upper east side for $14,000. Did I mention I love a run-on sentence? Here's the article

I'm happy for the guy and for me because I have a cheap apartment on the upper WEST side (so much better) of Manhattan that I've said on several occasions I won't give up until I get married. Then I read the comments. Specifically, this one:

"I wonder if this guy will become a typical commitment phobic New Yorker. Afraid that if he finds someone special he will have to give up his great deal and pay real rent/mortgage."

As I'm getting close to being a "real" New Yorker (10+ years in the city), I now fear I'm a cliche. I have no fear of commitment but I do fear life after my apartment. It's just so cute! And, cheap!

Other newsers - American Idol is on tonight. JASON CASTRO 4EVA! Wyatt and Jeff are big Chikezie fans. We'll see who prevails. Is there really any competition, though??

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Looks like someone beat me to the punch and put up a Jason Castro fan site!

Jason Castro Online!

I found it while looking for video of his performance from last night's show which I didn't get to see because, duh, I have a life. Um..yeah.

Below is his masterful rendition of "Hallelujah". And, like Randy, I must give my dog props for choosing this song, you feelin' me? It's a great song and not easy to do well. Check it out!

YAY!

I'm happy to say that Jason Castro has made it into the top 20 on American Idol - despite the fact that my friend Tom called him a "class A toolbox". I was a little sad to see that Ellen Degeneres guy go. God, I'm pathetic.

Here's something interesting (to someone other than me) - the company who is going to replicate our CD shares a space with the Woody Guthrie Archives! Wyatt and I went there for a meeting with our account rep and were greeted by pictures of Woody on the wall and a package for Nora Guthrie on the reception desk. Billy Bragg visits this archive in the documentary "Man in the Sand". If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth netflixing. It's the story of how the album Mermaid Avenue came to be. It's a tribute to Woody and a history of his strange life but it's also a look at how difficult collaborations can be. Apparently Jeff Tweedy can be difficult to work with! Who knew??

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Over the weekend Bel Air hung out with Jamie MacKenzie and Erich Sturm, our friends and artistic power couple. Jamie took some pics of us and Erich has been working on the cover art for our CD. We were all anxious to see what he had come up with. Turns out he had come up with was Wilco's Sky Blue Sky cover, only way better.



Just to clarify - Erich had never seen this cover. He doesn't even listen to Wilco. Like, ever. It's just totally bizarre. I really liked it, too. We all did. It would have been perfect! But it was SO similar. Uncannily similar. Stupid Wilco. Jeez. They should hire Erich for their next album cover. He's better than their guy.

In otherhoozer newzers - Allie is smitten with this American Idol hottie: