Indulgence

I want to be a Rockstar

Umberto Eco from In the Name of the Rose
Laughter kills fear, and without fear there can be no faith because without fear of the Devil there is no more need of God.

My friends all know I'm a frustrated singer. Hell, strangers know I'm a frustrated singer as I walk the streets of this city with my CD walkman in my bag and the ear phones connected to my ears. I mouth the words and bang my head to the beat and sometimes, people discover that I can't sing when an occasional off-note comes out of my lips. I love music so much, I'd give up all the things I'm good at to be able to sing, play instruments and write songs.

But what I'm not sure is whether people realise that I'm really a rocker at heart. Sure, people know I love to dance and I go clubbing and I love to dance to electronic music. People know that I like to belt out to pop tunes and I'm not afraid to admit that I like ABBA and I like quite a lot of Celine Dion songs and that I may hate Mariah Carey, I will admit that I'm a big fan of One Sweet Day, Always Be My Baby, Music Box and her version of Bringing on the Heartbreak. Hell, I'll admit to owning a Britney Spears CD, Shakira, Marion Raven and Cher.

But I'm not sure if my friends realise that I'm really a rocker at heart. Maybe I'm not a dirty rocker but I've got my roots. I grew up listening to folk rock like John Denver, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Neil Diamond and the like. There was always a lot of classic rock playing at home like The Beatles, John Fogerty, Fleetwood Mac, Clearance Clearwater Revival, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, The Doors, Peter Gabriel and Jimmy Hendrix. U2 and Sting have always been favourites at home. Later on, my brother Datu was influential in making me appreciate the music of Motley Crew, Guns and Roses, Metallica, Pantera, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Lynrd Skynrd, White Shark, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and the rest.

Eventually, my love for feminine vocals led me to discover the women of rock -- Heart, The Pretenders, Stevie Nicks, Annie Lennox with The Eurythmics, Pat Benatar, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and of course, Kate Bush. Modern times called for more modern singers and I was drawn to Bjork, Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love, Nina Persson as A Camp or The Cardigans, Skunk Anansie and more. I even rock on to the music of Chantal Kreviazuk, Heather Nova, Holly McNarland, Leah Andreone, Nina Gordon and Veruca Salt, Skin and the like. And yeah, I really love the music of Poe.

But I've decided to explore my horizons having added Coldplay, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Our Lady Peace and Audioslave to my playlist.

If I were going to become a singer I can't help myself but I'd be a rocker. I'm going to want to rock out and write intense rock songs akin to Tori Amos, Bjork, Fiona Apple and Kate Bush; just male version. Ha Ha Ha Or better yet, I'd love to be David Bowie.

A little side note: David Bowie is one of the greatest singers/song-writers ever. I love his songs and the way they are so complex and intricate and intelligent. Bowie's songs really are great to sing to and can really make you think. And just in case you were wondering, Kate Bush can really rock. From the Hounds of Love album you can hear the strong underlying rock themes of Running Up That Hill and I've got a kickin' rock version of Hounds of Love. From Sensual World, I've got an awesome rock version in my head for Rocket's Tail (Song for Rocket) and in The Red Shoes she's got an awesome rock ballad And So Is Love with Eric Clapton providing some real cool guitar playing. Listen to Big Stripey Lie for some real cool rock guitars played by Bush herself. The girl can rock if she wanted to but her music is bigger and grander than that.

So I'm really digging Rockstar: Supernova. Unlike Rockstar: INXS where they are looking for a vocalist to take INXS to a new generation and they have an established sound and famous hit songs, Rockstar: Supernova is out to start a whole new band with a whole new sound with some really great rockers. This is more exciting to me because this is really the start of something extremely new.

My little fantasy? I actually can sing and play the guitar and piano, I'd join and if I had a chance to choose my songs, these are the songs I'd sing on the show. Smashing Pumpkins' Bullets with Butterfly Wings, Bjork's Army of Me, Superman is Dead by Our Lady Peace, I'm Afraid of Americans by David Bowie, Come Together by The Beatles, The Guns and Roses' classic Paradise City, Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac, The Door's Paint it Black, Yellow by Coldplay, Rocket's Tail (Song for Rocket) by Kate Bush, Good by Better Than Ezra, Sweet Jane by Lou Reed and Baba O' Riley.

But that's just me.

I'm enjoying Rockstar: Supernova right now and I've got my own little set of favourites.

Jenny Galt: one of my absolute favourites in the show. I love her voice and her arrangements. I am totally in love with her version of Tainted Love but I know for a fact she won't win. Her voice is too sweet for the kind of dirty rock that Supernova is looking for. She's a lot like Liz Phair, Nina Gordon and Poe -- hard rockin' chicks but their voice brings their rock a level down. But I love her. I hope she stays for a long time, gets signed by a big label and starts churning out record after record. Because if her version of Tainted Love is any indication of her musical tastes, I'll be buying every record she releases.

Dilana: A fantastic performer and singer. She scares me totally but she knows how to use her voice and boy does she know how to rock out. Her version of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire was absolutel rivetting and I thought it was the best performance that night. She proved that you don't have to scream loud to rock the house. She can carry the intensity of a rock song without exploding. The intensity is that of an implosion and can be just as strong. I also love the whole Stevie Nicks outfit. She's going to last to the top 4, I'm sure.

Storm Large: Big woman, big voice, big talent. I love her but she's not a dirty rock singer. She's not Supernova but her fearlessness and ability to really carry any song she sings makes her a winner for me. Team her up with Nellee Hooper in 1 album and then Rick Rubin in the next and Jon Brion in another album and I'm telling you, I'm buying all them albums! I am definitely going to watch out for this one.

Toby Rand: Great version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door and a really kickin' version of Somebody Told Me by The Killers. This guy is definitely a winner and a great kick-ass rocker. I'll be enjoying every performance of this guy until he reaches the top 3.

Lukas Rossi: I don't like him. He's taking the whole rocker thing too seriously and he's too confident. My problem is: he's a fantastic singer. He's got this great voice, fantastic intensity and he really knows how to control and restrain and then explode. The guy is good and I won't be surprised if he makes it to final 4 and might even win. If not, he's going to make some real good records.

Dana Andrews: The girl has a fantastic and powerful voice. Amazing voice! Unfortunately, the girl is no rocker. She's as much a rocker as Britney Spears is when she sang I Love Rock and Roll; you may honey, but rock n' roll sure don't like you. In fairness, I did like Britney's version of that song but it wasn't a rock song. Dana Andrews can sing but she isn't a rockstar. She'll make it as a pop-rock princess but she really needs to get down and dirty if she wants to get far in this competition.

Patrice Pike: Patrice Pike is good. She's really good. But I don't remember her. She isn't outstanding. She doesn't stand out against the others. She's going to have to really break it through because she just gets swallowed up by the intense performances of the others. She's going to have to step it up if she's going to be noticed or remembered.

Josh Logan: He may have a great voice but I can't understand anything he says. And what the hell?!?! He's doing the whole soul thing and forcing the issue when Supernova is going to be a kick-ass, dirty rock band and there's no way he's going to make it. Like Jay said, he has this whole boy band vibe going on. Give me a break!

The others don't really evoke a strong emotion in me to talk about them except for the fact that Jill Gioia screamed her way through Violet and I love Courtney Love and she really ruined that song. She acts like a pop-tart and how dare her not own up to the fact that she was trying to copy Courtney Love. What kind of rocker is she that she doesn't know what the hell Courtney Love is doing and to say that she didn't care what Courtney Love is doing. You don't care? Courtney Love is a fucking rock goddesses! Be humbled, Jill, you are not in her class!

posted by wanggo @ 5:22 PM